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Yokohama, near Kumeta High School, Tuesday 3 April, mid-evening (Brockton Bay time: Tuesday, breakfast; Pensacola/Davenport time: Tuesday, an hour before breakfast; London time: Tuesday, an hour after lunch; Vale time: Gaycan 23 Treichleam, An hour after breakfast)…
"…thank you for saving her, ma'am. I can't believe that she got hurt so bad…"
"Hmph! Even with all she did, to be brought down LOW like that…!"
"HEY!"
"Arthur, is that necessary?"
Silence then echoed through the mind of the Watchful One, Lemyo ("Oracle"), born Ōra Kanako as the miasmic vision her cosmic clairvoyance played out while she moved to dress in her normal outsized clothes.
"I do apologize, ma'am. I'm not particularly fond of failure."
"'Failure'?" challenged the white-skinned regal woman with the red blood streaks indicative that her physical form clearly wasn't fully up to snuff when it came to mastering whatever powers she possessed. "I do not see failure here," she said as she waved to the nicely burned idiot Kanako recognized as Cinder Fall of Mistral on the planet Remnant, a world that recently got the interest of Isaac Thomas and a whole host of Yizibajohei for a tonne of reasons. Realizing then that the white-skinned woman was the death-cheater known as "Salem" — the being believed responsible for unleashing the plague of the Grimm on that planet which attracted the Wise Lone Sage's attention the previous fall — the Watchful One then reached for her PAA.
"There is no need for cruelty towards young Cinder. Despite her wounds — which are to be expected considering what she ultimately faced some nights ago in Beacon — she allowed herself to become the Fall Maiden, destroyed Beacon Tower and, most importantly of all, killed dear Ozpin. So, I'm curious: To what failures are you referring to?"
And in a flash of teleportation energy, the clairvoyant/precognitive of the Kumeta Group was off…
Somewhere in the Land of Darkness, within Evernight Castle, that moment…
Arthur Watts of Atlas flustered. "Well, there is the girl with the Silver Eyes…"
"We've dealt with people possessing that power before, Professor," Hazel Rainart of Vale calmly concluded, the tall and muscular warrior gazing with a touch of admiration at the wounded Mistralite now being cared for by the Queen of Darkness. Indeed, given what had been accomplished in the attack on Beacon, there was much cause to celebrate. Still, given that he himself had bested several huntresses possessing that power, the fact that Cinder had come out of it missing an eye and an arm…
"And there's Thomas, too!" Mercury Black then spat out.
People perked at what he said, then Salem looked over. "Isaac Thomas? The man who founded Renaissance Industries?"
"Same guy!" the dark-haired man forced to wear above-knee battle prosthetics due to training injuries endured at the hands of his late father Marcus growled. "It's like he…!" Here, he hissed out before shaking his head. "I don't know. Like he knows WAY too much! It's bad enough that he's moving to introduce tech that doesn't need Dust, but thanks to those robot soldiers of his…!"
"What happened?!" Arthur demanded.
"The casualties in Vale weren't as much as what could have been."
Eyes then focused on Emerald Sustrai, who was scowling as she looked out a window at the surrounding pools spawning new Grimm within the long shadows of the castle. "I noticed a considerable number of Grimm were slain that evening, but that's to be expected with such a major attack," Salem noted as she focused on the green-haired Mistralite which had been recruited by Cinder after being found in a poor village near-starving. "How could Thomas have created machines to destroy them?"
A sigh escaped her as she drew out her scroll. "It isn't much, but this is what we got from the feed we hacked from the Atlas warbots we used to distract the hunters and huntresses when Cinder made her run for Beacon," she declared, handing it over.
Salem took it, then gestured to create a holographic screen for the others of her inner circle to see…
"Oh, my…just in time," Isaac Thomas snidely chuckled as he gazed down an alley somewhere in Vale.
A man whom both Mercury and Emerald recognized as Gray Haddock — visibly missing his left arm from above the elbow, now doubt thanks to the glowing green energy sword in the hands of the founder of Renaissance Industries — then was shot in the forehead by one of the companion Knight-200 battle droids which had been hacked into that evening. "HEY!" Gray's fellow White Fang street fighter Scott Mata — easily spotted thanks to the broadsword he normally used when he sought to beat up on anyone who enraged him — then snarled as he drew his weapon and charged towards the attacking droids.
"SCOTT, WAIT!" Monica Khan — who had been sent to Vale by Adam Taurus to help monitor things as well as stand by to deal with casualties if required — then howled as the ovine therianthrope deflected several shots before he got clipped by another android in the left knee, sending him face-first into the street. "SCOTT!" the young niece of the White Fang's current leader shrieked as she lunged over to save him, forcing both Ken Tukson and the man they had been sent to hunt to shield her.
As the hacked battle droids moved to mow down the rest of their targets, Isaac's energy sword and Ken's broadsword quickly cut through the air to send those killer shots well away from Sienna Khan's niece as she moved to heal Scott, many of those bolts being bounced back to knock down a considerable number of droids, though the one recording this managed to escape harm. As Isaac crouched in anticipation of lunging at the remaining threat, a buzzing sound echoed over the scene.
"Damn it, Albert! Not now!" the founder of Renaissance Industries called out.
"I take it I'm interrupting a fight scene, Isaac?!" a cackling man's voice echoed from…somewhere.
"Yeah, you are!" Isaac calmly quipped as the remaining section of Knight-200s ceased fire to charge him. "Looks like Mister Black didn't care for my calling him out in front of General Ironwood like that!"
"He didn't!" Ken warned.
"Ah! I assume that's young Mister Tukson?!"
The broadsword warrior awked on being called out like that, which seemed to be the cue for Isaac to leap up, rebounding off the side wall of the alley above the battle droids' heads with practised grace before he spiralled down, his weapon spinning with him to decapitate four in one sweep. As the other Knight-200s — including the one filming this — tried to bear on him, Ken then charged, sword high in the air. Isaac back-flipped clear, allowing the other man to chop the remaining three machines down.
Just as the feed faded to darkness, Isaac got back to his feet, energy sword at the ready…
"No semblance…!" Hazel then hissed.
"No Aura that I could perceive, either!" Emerald snapped before she reached over to squeeze Mercury's shoulder; the latter had been shuddering in outrage on seeing how skilled Isaac Thomas really had been…even if he had been fighting basic battle droids and not experienced hunters. "When we came back here with Cinder to have Miss Salem heal her, both Mercury and I poured over what data we got from the battle droids. We also tried to contact Adam's friends to learn what happened after the people from Atlas finally got their machines under control. No one — and I mean NO ONE! — is answering our calls!"
Salem hummed as she returned the scroll. "Where is Adam now?"
"We don't know," Mercury stated.
The Queen of Darkness nodded. "Find him. I need answers."
Everyone in the healing chamber nodded…
Vale City, Renaissance Industries headquarters, Gaycan 23 Treichleam, two hours before lunch…
"There has to be some way for you to intervene, Isaac…!"
"We can't let Coco face that monster alone!"
"ENOUGH!"
Isaac Thomas breathed out in relief before looking over. "Thank you, Professor."
Shannon Ozpin smirked as he adjusted his glasses. "My pleasure, Isaac," the immortal headmaster of Beacon Academy said before he gazed sympathetically at the other members of Team CFVY. "Velvet, Fox, Yatsuhashi, I can understand your concern when it comes to Coco. But given she's just been Gifted as a high-level FISS-type, she stands a much better chance of surviving a battle against the likes of young Chiyo's and Ayumu's friend than any of you." Before the three — much less the one member of Team RWBY, all four members of Team SSSN, much less the four members of Team CRDL — could say anything more, the Undying Warrior Sage gazed upon their host. "These fights are normally done in this 'Battlezone' place, correct?"
"Indeed, it does, Professor," the New Yorker asserted before he looked over. "Is this fight being broadcast on the Great Show nets, Chiyo-chan? Are any of the usual announcers like Brain or Typhoon officiating this?"
The Bright Genius of the Young Guns was gazing at a holographic screen projecting from her large PAA, such showing a tactical map of the central area of the continent-sized wasteland on Yiziba's central equatorial landmass which had become the primary dueling "theatre" for Named and Nameless metahumans wanting to strut their stuff since the beginning of the Great Show of Life two millennium before. Two target icons marked TAKINO TOMO/WARWIND and COCO ADEL/PHALANX in local Remnantian script as well as Japanese kanji/kana were intersecting, breaking away and trying to manoeuvre around at speeds beyond anything even Ruby Rose could achieve using Petal Burst. Around the pre-teen genius from Itabashi were a chorus of wide-eyed children, all of whom where hushed silent as they watched the Wild Warrior of Passion and the Human Legion — even if there was no live-stream camera directly following the two as they clashed — go at each other. "No, Isaac-san, neither Hahe'e-sensei nor Dusesa-sensei have commented on this." A snide smile crossed her face. "Then again, given how often Tomo-chan does this sort of thing with every FISS-type she learns about, these bouts are pretty much rated as 'sleepy scenes'."
People gazed on her. "'Sleepy scene'?" Dove Bronzewing asked.
Roman Leakee chuckled from the table he currently shared with Seth Rollins. "It's boring, kid." As people then focused on the Samoan-descent Floridian, he drank his coffee before adding, "People on Yiziba like to watch unique and different things. Watching constant replays of 'Warwind fighting her latest punching bag' gets stale after a bit."
"Is there ANY control on this kid whatsoever?!" Qrow Branwen demanded.
Chiyo hummed before she sighed, her ponytails drooping. "It's hard, Qrow-san."
People gazed her way once more…
…before a flash of teleportation energy made everyone turn as two people appeared, both in flowing traditional sleeved Yizibajohei jumpsuits. One, looking to be of the same general ethnic origins as Chiyo and her peers, was in solid white from neck to toe, possessing extra-long sleeves to cover her hands, with brown trim and boots, that topped by an Eye of Providence-type image over her heart. The other was like Isaac, dressed in a green uniform with grey trim and boots, the uniform dotted with various animals gaily dancing around; she had an intricate badge over her heart which made the Remnantians immediately think of some sort of school symbol. Seeing who just came in, Isaac blinked with surprise. "Kanako-san?! What are you doing here?!" he demanded of the Watchful One. "And what's with bringing Amy here? Does Taylor know about this?"
Ōra Kanako snorted as Amelia Lavere shook her head. "All the news about the latest victim of Tomo-chan's 'I've got to prove I'm the strongest of them all' obsession got out almost within minutes of Coco-san being Gifted." Here, the native of Yokohama gazed on the other members of Team CFVY. "That's why I brought one of our star healers with me."
"Don't you have school right now, Amy-san?" Osamu Shirayuki demanded as she moved immediately to make coffee.
The Flesh-Twister, Rietier'ba ("Shaper"), smirked as she moved to take a seat; she knew the Great Chef of the West all too well when it came to being fed by her. "Joys of being on call with JSWC…" — here, Amelia pronounced the shortform of the United States Joint Specialized Warfare Command by the standard /ˈd͡ʒeɪswɪk/ phonemicization — "…all the time, Shirayuki. Once Kanako briefed me in on Takino's latest punching bag, I called in absent for the day from Arcadia and came here."
Blake Belladona blinked before she looked at Kasuga Ayumu. "Who are they, Lady Ayumu?"
Immediately, introductions were made. On hearing that Amelia was a powerful biokinetic touch-healer with experiences that spanned the ages, the natives were quick to take extra interest in the Bay Stater; given that anyone born with a healing semblance like Monica Khan was seen as VERY valuable in the eyes of kingdom leaders, a show of profound deference to such a person was expected. As she was introduced to all the major personages present at this time, Amelia was quick to sense how much the levels of naquadah had infiltrated into the biosphere of the third world of Oum over the previous two thousand years and more. Naturally — in a reflection of what she had done when she had just been "Panacea of New Wave" back before she was Gifted the previous winter — she was quick to heal up whatever wounds people possessed. Of course, for those Faunus who had fallen victim to the wrath of Team CRDL the previous day, those boys got VERY ugly looks from Amelia as a result.
By the time the Flesh-Twister got through with the last of the necessary healing, Kanako had taken Isaac aside, handing him a mesonium crystal she forged from her own blood with the Bay Stater's help before they teleported to Remnant. On seeing that, the Wise Lone Sage was quick to motion both Ozpin and Qrow over to join them; by this time, Glynda Goodwitch had gone back to the grounds of the Beacon Academy to survey how much Neville Longbottom's wind daisies had cleared up the plague of Grimm that had been unleashed by Cinder Fall and her friends some nights before, while James Ironwood was busy preparing to have his forces return to Atlas now that the situation in Vale was stabilizing. "You're a seer?" Ozpin asked.
"Pretty much so, Kōchō-sensei," the Yokohama-jin affirmed with a friendly smile. "I was about to sit down for a late supper when I got a vision of your ex-wife and her little posse having a meeting about what happened when they attacked this place." Here, she gave a regretful look to the Wise Lone Sage. "You're known to the enemy, Isaac-kun."
The New Yorker nodded. "Well, that's to be expected." He gazed towards the Goddess Who Walks Among Men — naturally, given whom Ayumu's first-self had been and what he had done to Remnant all those years ago, there was quite the crowd of Faunus children close to her — before he bit his lip. "Did Salem sense it when Ayumu-chan or Margo came to Vale?"
Kanako considered that for a moment before she hummed. "Not that I could sense. But the death-cheater demanded that her people find Blake-san's old pillow scene partner, so it might not be long before someone local spills the miso soup."
Ozpin hummed. "Especially given that Miss Fall and her two companions managed to escape from Vale that night."
"We need to really sanitize the whole area of Grimm, Oz," Qrow warned before he looked over. "Hey, Fujiko!"
The Blizzard of Death perked on hearing the former bandit call out, then she came over. "What is it, Qrow-san?"
"If Hinako's going out soon to find your kid sis Akemi and her sisters, do any of you guys need to go along with them?"
The adopted native of Maizuru hummed as she considered that before she shrugged. "Well, one of us should go to make sure that Akemi-chan and her sisters understand this isn't some mean American trick to make them betray their crews' oaths to Tennō," she noted before gazing fondly on the girl who had helped salvage her weeks before. "Even if Hinako-chan is powerful…"
"Some of those girls went down in pretty violent battles," Isaac completed as he drew out his PAA to scan things. "Of the girls in question, Ayako — Ayanami — lost 26 of her crew when she was scuttled. Shikuko — Shikinami — lost half her crew when she was torpedoed; one of the Ryūseizen was there to rescue most of the rest." Smiling as Fujiko quivered with delight on hearing of the magical battleships who were the hidden true lifesavers in the Greater East Asia War, the Wise Lone Sage added, "Saki — Asagiri — lost half her crew when she sunk in Ironbottom Sound; again, one of our lovely dragon slayers (this one being from Australia) was there for her crew. Yūko — Yūgiri — was shelled to pieces at Cape Saint George, but Watanabe Masako's and Taoka Seiko's crews were there, so there was no need for any support from the Canadians, Australians or New Zealanders…"
Fujiko frowned. "Who?"
"Ina'ana and Inbai respectively," the New Yorker provided. "I-177's and I-181's hull numbers said in goroawase."
"Oh, right!" the reborn destroyer said as she crossed her arms. "Hard to believe that an alternate version of Tariko-san actually thought up human names for every shipgirl that existed in that other dimension…"
"True. Anyhow, back to the roll call: Ami — Amagiri — went down slow in the Makassar Strait; few casualties. Sayako — Sagiri — lost half her crew when the Dutch got her off Sarawak; our New Zealander friends were there for her. Otsune — Oboro — lost most of her crew off the Aleutians; one of the Canadian ships was there. Akemi — Akebono, naturally — lost a little under a quarter of her crew when she was sunk, but since Kumasaka Akina — Akishimo — was there, one of the Ryūseizen was present. Namiko — Sazanami — lost most of her crew when she was torpedoed; Akemi was there for the rest, as was one of the new Australian battleships. And Shiori — Ushio — survived the war, being scrapped in 1948 at Yokosuka."
Fujiko considered that for a moment. "Well, I could go for Namiko-chan before Akemi-chan…"
A flash of energy then made people yelp before looking over…
…then people cried out as a moaning and heavily bruised native of Vale dropped to the floor close to where the members of her team were seated. "COCO!" Velvet Scarlatina shrieked as she and Yatsuhashi Daichi lunged over to help their groaning leader back into a sitting position while the Flesh-Twister moved to start healing the just-Gifted fashionista.
Footfalls then made many people pause…
"Good fight."
That simple, strangely calm statement from the Wild Warrior of Passion made everyone gaze her way. As Kasuga Ayumu used her own Sight to examine Coco's wounds before glancing at Mihama Chiyo's PAA to note that the bout between Takino Tomo and the leader of Team CFVY had lasted well over a Yizibajohei ACT — which was 53 minutes and 20 seconds equivalent in either Earth or Remnant time keeping — the Bright Genius of the Young Guns whistled under her breath. "Well, that should have helped Coco-san get over her post-Gifting shock like NOTHING would…!" she quietly intoned.
Amelia grunted as the bruises on Coco's face vanished, making both Velvet and Yatsuhashi breathe out in relief. "How long?!"
"An act and six scenes, Sensei," Chiyo answered. "Sixty-three minutes and twenty seconds here or on Earth."
People took that in, then Tomo smirked as she moved to depart. She stopped as her eyes focused on Ozpin before a curt nod twitched her chin. "You teach your kids good, Kōchō-sensei," she complimented before gazing at Saeru Hinako. "You going to go out and track down more girls like Fujiko-chan and her sisters here, Hinako-chan?" the wildcat of the Azuma Group asked.
The Spirit of Innocence hummed. Of those in the room, she was first to understand what had driven the likes of Warwind to seek out battle against the just-Gifted Coco Adel. Beyond the understandable urge to prove herself the most powerful of all FISS-types on the World of the Forge, Takino Tomo also understood — thanks to her many past-selves' battles against certain Goa'uld system lords like Apophis — that fight scenes would sometimes get drawn out, forcing even the likes of the Wild Warrior of Passion to exert her/himself well beyond what was normally needed to put someone down. No doubt, just like her other friends from the Azuma Group had done, Tomo realized that resolving this situation on Remnant was going to be a long slog before the Queen of Darkness was destroyed and the Grimm rendered extinct. Helping in her own way to ensure the faces would win that war — and respecting, of course, that this was the Remnantians' battle first and foremost — was just doing the right thing.
Insane nutcase she could be at times, Takino Tomo was clearly a face in this incarnation.
"Hai, Tomo-chan! Hina was going to go home and go to bed soon. Why?" the Niigata-jin asked.
"Keep an eye way to the north," Tomo advised. "Something BIG happened up there in the last couple of days." She then pointed at Fujiko, then several of the other Fukushima sisters. "Their kind of big."
With that, the Wild Warrior teleported away. Watching her go, Isaac's eyes narrowed…
Sweet Valley in California (forty kilometres west-northwest of Santa Barbara), that moment (local time: Two hours before breakfast)…
"Didn't you get any sleep at all last night, Liz?"
Hearing that moaned complaint from her father Ned, Elizabeth Wakefield chuckled before sipping her tea as she monitored things at her main ground work station, located in a repurposed bomb shelter in the back yard of the family home in one of the old fish canning town's more affluent neighbourhoods" Given the close proximity of Vandenburg Air Force Base, that the Wise Genius of the Circle of Thought had been able to turn this place into a well-outfitted laboratory shortly after her Gifting sometime after "Sweet Valley Summer" in 2007 was par for the course. "The nightlife over in Sunnydale was being extra-ornery tonight, Dad," the picture-perfect blonde high school senior with the sea blue-green eyes answered as she relaxed in her chair.
"Oh?" the lawyer who had found himself becoming the father of one of the first true American metahumans in recent years snorted as he walked over to prepare a cup of coffee; he had got up early this morning, then noticed that his elder daughter hadn't slept in her bed that evening. "What was it this time? Some new 'big bad' or just a big pack of normal vampires?"
"Bit of both," Elizabeth answered as she tapped a couple of controls. "The Whirlwind hasn't been seen since Margo came to town back in March to destroy the Judge, so who knows what this lot is on about." She then grimaced as she tapped another control to bring up a private screen on her main monitor. "Atop that as well…"
Ned came over, then his jaw dropped in surprise. "My God! You've rebuilt her THAT far?!"
A beaming smile answered. "Pays to be the current incarnation of one of three people who designed the automated repair networks for a whole PLANET two millennium ago, Dad," the leader of the Sweet Valley Boosters, America's first team of proper metahuman "mystery men" since the Second World War, declared as she herself scanned the quite incomplete hull now floating in a pocket dimension away from real space as it was rebuilt from parts scattered across a whole nation and beyond. "Given that almost everything in the hull was recycled when she was scrapped…" — here, a frown crossed her face; despite her not seeing herself as warlike despite her Gifting when she was still in elementary school, Elizabeth was proud of her nation's incredible accomplishments during the World Wars, especially shouldering such a massive burden forced on humanity as a whole in the second go-around with the Germans — "…it would take a long time to locate those parts, repurpose them back to the way they were when she was built, then reassemble the whole mess. Fortunately, the repair systems on Yiziba…"
He chuckled; while having not worn the uniform himself since he had grown up in the post-Vietnam era without the national draft hanging over his head, Ned was just as proud of America's military accomplishments as almost anyone else in the Union. "Do we need to ask Winston to come over to see if her living kami has actually started to come back?"
"He came by just before midnight to confirm things."
"And?"
Elizabeth grinned as she tapped a control to create a spiritual metaphysical image of what was now being rebuilt in her pocket dimensional "drydock". Sure enough, now lying asleep over the mostly-rebuilt stern, was a vision of beauty.
Ned nodded. "Enterprise…!"
Over Sano Bay in northeastern Siberia, that moment (local time: Wednesday 4 April, an hour after midnight)…
The reborn, now-human seventh carrier of Operation Z blinked before she moved to lay down on her futon — a special one that had been prepared by the gamájun to let her be as comfortable as she would have been as a ship on a calm sea — then she gazed with her own Sight far to the southeast, allowing her mind's eye to reach out towards the area around southern California as she felt the growing presence of a VERY powerful ship spirit being drawn back from the Realm of the Kami. Noting its roughly exact location allow Itō Yoiko's eyebrow to arch in confusion. "Sweet Valley? Why there…?!"
"Are you alright, Yoiko-chan?"
The adopted native of Maizuru perked before she looked over to see the officer of the watch, a Los Angeles-born dōhō named Matsuhara Yoshi, giving her a concerned look from the entrance of the private cave set aside for the Ice Warrior of Eternity. "I'm just sensing another ship spirit being reborn, Yoshi-san," she affirmed. "In America. Sweet Valley to be exact."
The amateur poet who had returned to his ancestral homeland during the Second Sino-Japanese War to fight for the Heavenly Sovereign blinked before he walked it to sit beside her on the fur rug laid out to prevent people from walking on cold stone. "Fish-canning town not far from Santa Barbara as I recall," he admitted. "Why there, though?"
Humming, she reached over to pick up the large personal administrative assistant device — which she had been telepathically taught how to use by a certain missile cruiser sometime after her Gifting — to place it beside her on the futon before tapping the control mechanism. Instantly, a holographic screen appeared to reveal a lot of information; naturally, Yoiko had mentally commanded her machine to display everything in Japanese even if she was fluent in many other languages, including her adopted homeworld's tongue. "The city has fallen on somewhat hard times; it's now seen as more as a distant bedroom community to Santa Barbara and Los Angeles beyond," she stated. "However, the American Air Force has a large space-launching complex located just to the northwest of the city near Honda Point; named in honour of the second Chief of Staff of that service, Hoyt Vandenburg-taishō. No doubt, civilian relatives of personnel assigned to this complex reside in Sweet Valley."
"A potential target," he admitted.
Yoiko didn't comment on that. While she herself knew the mission to attack Pearl Harbour was effectively over, her crew were still bound to the orders given to Fujita Hiroshi by Yamamoto Isoroku decades ago. Even if common sense dictated it was the best thing to simply go back home and reunite with whatever families had survived the Greater East Asia War, a lot had to happen ahead of time. As Naomi Height-Ashbury herself explained to the would-be commander of Operation Z the afternoon just past, it wouldn't be hard to approach the Heavenly Sovereign to release the necessary Imperial Rescript to have the mission aborted and let the over 2,600 souls that Yoiko was now personally and spiritually responsible for to return to the Home Islands.
Given they had been gone for over SEVEN DECADES, though…!
"True. However, the bigger issue given what happened to me is this: That city was a large recruiting target for Tariko Katabarbe-san during her casting drive. In the summer of 2007 and again two years later, she made her way to Sweet Valley from Kabi-koli to recruit many people her age into being Gifted as metahumans. They now form a large team of 'mystery men' using the parlance from our day, calling themselves the 'Sweet Valley Boosters' as a group." Gazing at the names listed there — along with a standard threat-level marker that had been used by participants in the Great Show of Life for centuries to indicate who were the truly dangerous ones — she tapped on one name. "Elizabeth Wakefield. The Academician. Team leader."
Yoshi got closer to take in the information there. "Quite young…"
"You were younger when you went for basic pilot training," she playfully scolded, making the Californian nisei fluster in embarrassment at that tone. With that, she scanned the basic biography. "Part of the first generation of Boosters, father's a lawyer, mother works as an interior decorator, has an older brother and a younger twin sister; the latter is Gifted as Rampage, a high-level physical fighter with flight capabilities, invulnerability and enhanced speed." Looking down the list, she then blinked, her grey eyes widening. "She actually went as far as to build a real starship for her personal summer project in 2008?!"
"What?!" Yoshi hissed. "Show me!"
She mentally commanded the PAA to do just that. "Ten-to-one scale version of United States Starcraft Discovery One from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey; Brent-san told you about that one, didn't he?" As the amateur poet nodded, she added, "Nominally a private, secure research ship, is well equipped for battle as well. Defensive fields, point-defence weapons…" Here, she chuckled. "I see she's a fan of Star Wars as well." As Yoshi looked at her — yes, Brent Ross had told him and others about that series of science fiction/fantasy movies — Yoiko smirked. "The main communications array amidships was totally redesigned to be a hypermatter cannon emitter. Same potential power as the Death Star battlestation's main weapon."
The dōhō was ashen-faced. "Kami-sama, why…?!"
"No doubt, the lar'beke threat being dealt with at this time by Stargate Command," she affirmed, a hungry smile touching her lips for a moment as she recalled her synthezoid-self's many attacks on Goa'uld starships in the Second War of Banishment over five millennium ago; she had yet to properly adjust to using Yizibajohei temporal measurement terms such as "saga". "And with some inspiration from Return of the Jedi, the third of Lucas-sensei's original films. That black rōnin Palpatine used the operational hypermatter cannon of the second Death Star battlestation to destroy Alliance ships in the Battle of Endor individually. While I'm sure that such potential use drove Elizabeth-sensei into making her Discovery a viable strategic weapon for Earth as a whole, I know that my adopted people are loath to consider anything close to genocide of all things."
He considered that. "Were there times that people on Yiziba went that far?"
"Three times, once being last spring in fact," she affirmed. "The Children of the Forge even have a term for it: R'bemomadae." Fortunately, her green battlesuit came with an omniversal translator system which allowed her guest to understand what such a term meant. "In that incident, a woman forcefully transplanted into our universe by Lord Rjazán' himself was forced to return to the dimension of her birth to deal with a mass gathering of the so-called 'kimfombeke'; those are the creatures who help some metahumans be empowered through 'trigger events' as many worldwide have experienced since the late 1980s." As Yoshi grimaced — much that he was glad to be a normal person even if long-lived at that thanks to Sano-wan's mesonium deposits, he and others of Yonaga's crew had overheard many radio signals describing the horrors of such occurrences to a worldwide audience — Yoiko added, "Her name is Taylor Hebert; she goes by Skitter these days and leads her own team, the Brockton Bay Undersiders from the city of the same name in Massachusetts not far from Boston. In that incident, Taylor-san asked the Quadrumvirate of Yiziba — Infinity, the Weaver, Oblivion and Doctor Death — to come help her and her team destroy several dozen such creatures who were moving to overwhelm her home dimension; the resulting destruction was quite widespread."
"Would you have to face such things?" Yoshi asked.
She took a deep breath. "I don't know." Turning back to the holographic screen over the PAA, she hummed. "Ah! According to this, Elizabeth-san's performing a special project for Bartlett-daitōryō, bringing back a special ship spirit to be embodied and help ensure that Naomi-chan will no longer be a 'fleet of one' anymore. Doesn't name who it is, though…"
"But you were able to sense her, right? She has a strong karma, then!"
"VERY strong karma." Here, Yoiko then hummed. "But very weary as well. She fought quite the long fight, no doubt against our own fleet mates." She then rubbed her chin. "Wouldn't be Saratoga, I believe. Sempai was sunk in one of those atomic bomb tests post-war." Ignoring Yoshi's loathsome look on hearing of THOSE ghastly weapons that had been used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the summer of 1945 before THAT broadcast went over the air, she sighed. "It can only be one ship."
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
Then…
He breathed in. "Enterprise…?!"
A light smile answered him. "Who else could it be, Yoshi-san?"
A grimace answered her. "You'll have to brief the admiral about this after breakfast then, Yoiko-chan. Many of us…"
She nodded in understanding…
Vale, the headquarters of Renaissance Industries, lunchtime…
"Damn…someone get the number…of that megoilath…that hit me…?"
A warm chuckle of understanding amusement made Coco Adel blink before she looked over to see a sympathetically-smiling Isaac Thomas gazing at her from a chair beside the bed the leader of Team CFVY had been placed on. Sensing she had been treated by an experienced healer — Isn't Blake's old girlfriend a healer? she then wondered — the Humal Legion grunted as she stretched herself. "It wasn't a megoilath or any of the other heavy Grimm types, Coco," the Wise Lone Sage advised. "You're the latest contestant to participate in 'Warwind's Hit Parade' that the current incarnation's run since she was Gifted last year."
Blinking as flashes of memory of that intensive near-eternity of hitting, being hit, dodging, repositioning and hiding from the Wild Warrior of Passion replayed before her mind, she hissed. "If I had my weapon…" Coco muttered before blinking as her past-selves' experience with the likes of Warwind — there had been a few — came up from her deep subconscious. "On second thought, never mind!" she concluded with a dismissive wave of her hand. "She'd probably smash Gianduja with one hand, then give me an extra-nasty beatdown with the other. That happened to a past-self of mine." At Isaac's surprised look, a smirk crossed her face even if part of her was surprised that she was able to accept that she had the memories of over two dozen people who had received the Gift of the Human Legion over the last two sagas. "My past-self ambushed her in Habitation Two on the northern continent for some stupid reason. He had an ebony mesonium cannon made by the Weaponeer who wanted it tested. Well, Warwind…" A chuckle escaped her. "He didn't care for that. Crushed the damned thing's barrel with one hand while holding my past-self by the neck, then jackalope-punched him with ONE HAND after tossing the thing away!"
"And she's seen as a HERO?!"
That was a wide-eyed Velvet Scarlatina, making Coco spin around to see the other members of her team — and a strange brown-haired girl she immediate recognized as the current incarnation of the Flesh-Twister, a high-end biokinetic healer; given the shape of her face, she was probably from the same area of Earth where Isaac hailed — relaxing nearby. "Tomo's more a chaotic neutral than a fully-fledged face, Velvet," the New Yorker explained. "Sure, she's more than happy to do the right thing if the chance presents itself, but she has issues in trying to master the full extent of her power. Never mind her initial lack of discipline before Tariko helped her get Gifted." As Coco winced on hearing that, he gazed her way. "Don't worry about that, Coco. You've earned Tomo's respect, which is just as precious in places." At her surprised look, he added, "She said 'Good fight' when she brought you back from the Battlezone. And delivered you straight to Amy here…" — here, he indicated Amelia Lavere, who raised a hand in greeting — "…to see you healed. Never mind her complimenting Professor Ozpin in training you."
That saw Coco's jaw almost hit the floor. "She…?! Wait! We're talking about WARWIND, right?! You sure…?!"
"Yeah, Coco-chan, Tomo-chan really likes you!"
Coco yelped before turning around to see the Goddess Who Walks Among Men now standing beside her bed, an amused smile on the Wakayama-jin's face. "Wait! You're part of the same BATTLE TEAM as her?!"
"Hai!" Kasuga Ayumu affirmed with a nod. "Yeah, she can be silly at times — and don't get me started on the fact that she couldn't NAME anything with any sort of imagination — but she'll back you up…"
BEEP!
"DAMN IT, ŌSAKA! JUST BE ŌSAKA!"
"She overhead you, Ayumu," Amelia warned.
Ayumu's dark eyes sparkled with amusement. "Tomo-chan, just like I told you when we saved Penny-chan and Pyrrha-chan in the Doll House!" she called out in a teasing tone into the open air, not bothering to draw out her PAA from her belt pouch. "How can I 'just be Ōsaka'?! I was born in Wakayama and raised in Kōbe after I met Tariko-chan! Geez…!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHHHHHH…!"
The members of Team CFVY blinked in confusion, then Yatsuhashi Daichi gazed in confusion at the only Faunus member of their team. "Um, Velvet, do all the legends of the One Above the Gods speak about a sense of HUMOUR?"
The leporine therianthrope weapons maker shrugged…
In the nearby cafeteria…
"I'm hearing that Takino woman screaming again…!"
Given that warning from Blake Belladonna, Monica Khan tensed, her upper ears flattening. "Is that monster coming back?!"
"Oh, relax, Monica Khan," a voice called out from nearby as Remnant's first two Gifted metahumans came over to join the group of former and current White Fang members. "Takino Tomo simply can't help but be a silly person," Penny Polendina added, she indicating the nearby Mihama Chiyo in emphasis. As the resident young genius of the Azuma Group looked over and nodded in confirmation, the Mind-Moulder of Armour exchanged knowing looks with the Warper of Metal. "Sadly, most if not all incarnations of the Wild Warrior of Passion often have acted as uncontrollable monsters throughout their lifetimes…"
"Wow! That is NOT reassuring, Penny!" Sūn Wùkōng noted from the table he was sharing with the rest of his team nearby.
Pyrrha Nikos rolled her eyes. "No, it's not, but it's predictable in its own way, Sūn. Which IS reassuring."
People gazed at her. "So, what did you get when you got Gifted, Pyrrha?" Ken Tukson wondered as he crossed his arms.
The Mistralite huntsman prodigy shook his head. "It's not any sort of possession, Ken. It's like having a whole album of memories stored for generations opened for you all at once, then placed deep in your mind along with the powers you receive." As the other who had been Gifted now listening to this — among them being Saeru Hinako and Osamu Shirayuki, both of whom were now preparing to head back to Earth and get some needed sleep after such a busy day — nodded in confirmation, a chuckle then escaped her. "I can tell you some insane stories dating back years — or 'seasons' as they're called on Yiziba — but to get all the details to make you understand it would force me to meditate for a bit to dredge those memories up." She then breathed out. "I can understand why this Tariko Katabarbe woman wanted to get outworlders involved in the Great Show…"
Neptune Vasilias hummed. "Because she was adopted of one of the 'nameless'. People who develop semblances — be Gifted, I mean — but don't allow their memories to get saved in the Great Crystal when they die, right?"
"Exactly, Neptune Vasilias," Penny affirmed. "Nameless such as Tariko Katabarbe's late mother Ayone Katabarbe have long pressed for better controls concerning bestowing the Named Gifts to future generations. Not force the issue on people who are too young, for example. I'm aware of occasions where children as young as FIVE SEASONS OLD were Gifted! Fortunately, before he passed on, the third incarnation of the Healer of Destruction — who helped provoke the Dawn of Power in the first place two sagas ago — saw to it that the memories of those Named buried in the Great Crystal of Power wouldn't overwhelm future generations." A disquieted look crossed her face. "While I wouldn't really understand it since I came into existence as a gynoid, would you approve of someone as young as Hinako or Chiyo being forced in intimate relations at their age?"
Disgusted looks crossed other people's faces. "No way, no how, nuh-huh!" Sage Ayana hissed, rapidly shaking his head.
Pyrrha breathed out, "But once puberty comes…"
"When it comes, it comes, Pyrrha-san," the Bright Genius of the Young Guns cut in as she secured her field PAA in a large carrying case she could sling over her shoulder. "I don't waste time thinking about it now. Neither do Hinako-chan nor Shirayuki-chan," she added, waving to the Spirit of Innocence and the Great Chef of the West. "When it does come, we'll see."
"Mushy, silly stuff!" Hinako grunted as she moved to stand, stretching herself. "Fujiko-chan, are you coming?!"
"Just a minute, Shirei-kan!" the Blizzard of Death called back from one side of the room, where she had gathered with her sisters — currently, the third of their class, Fukushima Hatsue, was mounting a standing patrol over Vale City — to brief them on things. "Just wanted to make sure everyone was clear in their orders before we deployed back to base."
Flynt Coal looked over. "Are you going out after breakfast your time to find new shipgirls, kid?"
"Hai, Flynt-san, but Hina needs to get some sleep first…huh?!"
The Niigata-jin then focused on the Faunus member of Team RWBY, which made people look over…
…then Monica gasped on seeing her old lover's hands GLOWING! "Blake!" she screamed out, moving to hug her.
The Gifted people in the room gasped. "No, miss!" Neville Longbottom barked. "If you do that…!"
Tene lomher'buo, Blake Belladonna…!
Tene lomher'buo, Monica Khan…!
As the two feline therianthropes cried out while their bodies began to glow brightly, the Master of Plants sighed. "You'll force your own Gifting too soon," the teen wizard from Devonshire dryly completed before shaking his head.
Before people could make comment, however…
Nesu…R'BEMYAKOR'BIM!
Nesu…MITU ERBA!
The two natives of Menagerie both howled as their pre-Gifting silver jumpsuits instantly melted and transformed, allowing them to emerge from the transformative light in more intricate jumpsuits. The daughter of the founder of the White Fang was in a modern sleeveless suit coloured similarly in the off-grey shades and blacks she preferred as a huntress, the latter colour forming the base hue for her jumpsuit, with the former shade appearing on belt and boots. And while she could be spotted in the shadows if light was shone on her the right way, the Night Moulder, R'bemyakor'bim ("Midnight Heart"), had the ability to manipulate all forms of shadow. When augmented by her clone-creating semblance, this could — as Blake was now realizing while her mind was briefly overwhelmed by the initial input of so many memories into her very soul — cause massive levels of panic against all forms of opponents, especially during night battles. On the other side of the equation, the Healing Tigress, Mitu Erba ("Doctor Aílurous"), found herself draped in the more traditional sleeved uniform, coloured overall green as Amelia Lavere wore as the Flesh-Twister, though trimmed with dark crimson belt and boots, pale green animal striping on the sleeves and leggings generally matching the soft fur covering her own body, with the symbol of the long-defunct Putayana Varsity, the oldest school of animal husbandry existing on the World of the Forge before the Dawn of Power. As she was now learning thanks to her own empowerment, her first-self Healer-Husbandress Nameta Taam of the old nation of Meketuto gained the reputation of a savour of many animal species during the Starvation Times, subsequently helping the Circle of Thought in repopulating many of those self-same species in more hard-hit areas of the World of the Forge to allow a natural balance to return to the planet.
Noting that, Chiyo then giggled before leaning over to whisper to Shirayuki, "Sakaki-san will be happy to meet her."
"Desu no…!" the Nagoya-jin affirmed with a nod…
An hour later (Tōkyō time: Wednesday, an hour after midnight)…
"I stand relieved, Miyuki."
"I relieve you, Hatsue-chan."
As the Cosmic Blizzard exchanged salutes with her sister before she walked out of the cafeteria to head off on her own aerial watch over Vale City, James Ironwood nodded in approval. "You girls really know how to run a tight operation," he then complimented Miyuki's younger sister Mayako, who was now in charge of the shipgirl force on Remnant.
The Raging Storm, Lo'om ("Murakumo"), nodded in appreciation. Much that she had an instinctual dislike of any sort of army person, she did admire those leaders who had their shit together and could directly things right from the front. The native of Atlas had those sorts of capabilities in spades; from what she had learned from Isaac Thomas' people when the attack on the Beacon Academy was carried out, Ironwood had been in the heat of the fight from start to finish, which said a lot about the man. "It's a simple exercise in the end, General," she explained. "We're treating this as keeping watch over a fleet at anchorage. The 'fleet' in this case is all of Vale City itself. Neville-san's laid out 'mines' — the mist dandelions and those trees he gave everyone once Shirayuki-san came to help feed everyone — to add to the defences, which allows us to be rested and ready in case a new threat comes up. You have quite large types of Grimm both on land and in the sea, right?" As he grimaced, she shrugged. "We need to be fresh and ready in case this death-cheating onryō decides she doesn't care for normal people 'defying' her like that…"
"We should have shipgirls reborn from cruisers or capital ships here…"
That was Fukushima Itsuko, the reborn ninth of the Fubuki-class now known as the Shy Tsunami, Tiba ("Isonami"). Humming, Ironwood then gazed on the adopted native of Yokosuka. "What other types of warships did your kingdom have?"
Pulling out her PAA, the somewhat timid girl with her long hair in a pair of side-to-side French braids tapped the control to produce an image of her as a warship, complete with the イソナミkatakana on the side of the hull written in then-standard right-to-left style. "I'm a destroyer, an escort ship for larger vessels as well as civilian — unarmed, in other words — ships." The image then changed to that of a four-funnel vessel somewhat larger than her ship-self. "Light cruiser Sendai, the flagship — where our formation commander would be based on — of the formation I was in, the Third Destroyer Squadron. She's armed a little more than I was as a ship; light cruisers were always formation flagships for escorts." The image changed again. "Heavy cruiser Aoba; she was part of the First Fleet, the higher formation the Third Squadron worked in. Heavy cruisers served as long-distant scouts for the fleet when there was no need for larger ships." Another image then flashed. "Battleship Kongō; she was also in the First Fleet. Battleships are considered 'capital ships'; these are the ones who do the heavy in-close fighting with enemy formations when required. However, we also had…" One last change of image. "Aircraft carrier Hōshō, who was also in the First Fleet. These ships launched, land and control waves of small strike aircraft that could hit from long distances."
"Aircraft carriers effectively took the place of battleships as the true 'capital ships' of any navy in the war we were involved in," Itsuko's younger sister Urako said as she came over to join them. "They're that way to this day."
Ironwood hummed. "Well, we're more dependent on forces fighting on the ground since trade between the kingdoms via ships is quite peaceful these days. Save for attacks from ocean-based Grimm, of course." As the destroyers chuckled in amusement, he added, "Still, given how powerful you girls are if what Miyuki did to that king taijitu on the grounds of the Academy when young Hinako first came here showed anything, would introducing more powerful shipgirls do more harm than good?"
Mayako, Itsuko and Urako exchanged looks, as did their older sister Fukushima Shirayuki; the reborn-second of her class was busy cleaning up the kitchen now that Osamu Shirayuki had gone back to Nagoya for a good night's rest. The just-relieved Fukushima Hatsue — who, as her sisters had all concluded, certainly earned her own "tag line" sobriquet of the Silent Blizzard, Rurike ("Hatsuyuki"), thanks to her developing some serious hikikomori attitudes when it came to any sort of mass exertion — was lying on a nearby couch, her PAA in hand and in video gaming mode to allow her to practice on some of the interesting modes of entertainment modern-day Japanese children her spiritual "age" engaged in. "Hai, Taishō-san, that is a strong possibility," the reborn second of her class breathed out before moving to make some tea for the Atlesian warrior. "That's why we need to get more shipgirls to scout around and get the lay of the land before we can help you on your campaigns."
Footfalls then heralded the arrival of the five just-Gifted Remnantians to date, plus the teammate of one of them, from a nearby meeting room. "Oh, General!" Coco Adel called out with a wave of her hand.
Seeing the Human Legion clearly recovered from her harsh introduction to the Wild Warrior of Passion, Ironwood smiled. "I see Healer Lavene got you back on your feet right properly, Miss Adel," he said with a nod before gazing in confusion at Velvet Scarlatina. "Has anything happened to you just yet, Miss Scarlatina? If you're with Penny and the others…"
Polendina smiled. "Velvet Scarlatina is sensing something reaching into her from the Great Forge, General. To help prompt same without harm — not to mention help Blake Belladonna, Coco Adel and Pyrrha Nikos replace the weapons they lost on their Giftings — we were going to proceed to Shigaten Kamen's workshop on Yiziba to obtain new equipment."
That made people perk. "Who is she, Penny?" Scott Mata — who had been giving an extra round of healing from Amelia Lavere before the Bay Stater had gone back to Earth; he was now working on some lessons concerning how things were run in this place by his girlfriend Tara Tukson — then wondered as he looked up from his modified scroll.
"She's the Weaponeer, Scott," Blake Belladonna answered. "The planet's supreme weapons designer and quite the philosopher on life in general in a post-Dawn of Power Yiziba. I didn't shed Gambol Shroud in time before I was Gifted…"
"As I didn't with Gianduja," Coco Adel wryly added, earning her a supporting pat on the shoulder from Velvet Scarlatina.
"And I lost Miló and Akoúo when Cinder came and crashed the fight scene," Pyrrha Nikos finished with a helpless shrug.
Ironwood hummed. "Could this woman replicate those weapons easily? Given they're powered by your semblances…"
"Which they still have, sir; a Gifting doesn't take any native metahuman power away unless the Giftee wants that to happen," Mayako cut in. "I've heard of the Weaponeer myself. If it's ever existed, she can make an exact replica of same…"
"Or as close of an approximation as can be done using Yizibajohei-based technology," Penny finished. "My immediate past-self arranged with the-then Weaponeer to store his various armoured suits and base creative materials in a secure location before his soul was returned to the Great Crystal. If I'm to start adapting myself to my new situation, I must recover those various artifacts, General." She then paused before blushing. "How soon will Father be informed of what happened to me?"
"I send a message to him to be hand-carried by Winter back to Mantle to expect a full briefing from me as soon as I'm back home, Penny," Ironwood assured her. He then winked. "We want to keep your survival secret, after all."
An understanding nod answered him from the once-gynoid. "Please tell Father I'll come see him as soon as it would be safe to do so, General. I've SO MUCH to tell him about my experiences here in Vale!" A light blush then crossed her face.
The shipgirls were quick to see that, as did Blake. "Hey! We'll get you and Ruby back together again as soon as the basic script bible says its clear to do that, Penny," the daughter of the founder of the White Fang assured the other woman.
Hearing that made the freckled strawberry blonde huntress-turned-technokinetic armour designer blink before she reached up to squeeze the dark-haired Faunus' hand in thanks. "I pray it comes soon, Blake Belladonna."
Mayako hummed. "Itsuko, you won't be on watch for quite a bit, so go with them and make sure they stay safe."
"Hai, Mayako-chan!" the Shy Tsunami affirmed with a bow of her head.
That made the native Remnantians blink. "Oi, oi!" Blake called out with a raised hand. "We're going to one of the safest places on Yiziba, Mayako! There's no need for an escort, not to Kamen's workshop."
The Raging Storm gave the Night Moulder an annoyed look before she pointed to Blake's former lover. "Healer." Said finger then shifted to indicate Coco's teammate. "Currently a civilian. Hinako-chan warned us that even Kamen-sensei's shop could be raided if some dork heel decides he or she wants to be particularly stupid. Don't argue with me, alright?!"
The other shipgirls snickered as Ironwood shook his head…
To Be Continued…
WRITER'S NOTES
Part of the first couple of scenes are derived from the initial scene depicted in "The Next Step" (volume four, episode one).
Ōra Kanako (Oracle) is a minor character from Sayonara Zetsubō-sensei, created by Kumeta Kōji; she first appeared in the story "The Cat Who'd Heard It a Million Times" (manga chapter 54). In this series, she made a brief appearance in the alternate-time short A New History. Likewise, Amelia Lavere (Shaper, née Panacea) is one of the more popular characters from the popular web serial Worm by John C. "Wildbow" McCrae; she first appeared in the second interlude for "Insinuation" (arc two of Worm). Of course, the "Taylor" that Isaac Thomas (Doctor Renaissance) here refers to is the star character of Worm, Taylor Hebert (Skitter). Both of their stories in the universe of this series are covered in the story From Shards to Gifts.
Hahe'e Be'emam (Brain) and Dusesa Numro'om (Typhoon) are Yizibajohei analogues to two famous WWE (then WWF) wrestlers (later announcers) from the golden age of that company in the 1980s, Raymond "Bobby" Heenan (1944-2017) and Robert Marella AKA Gorilla Monsoon (1937-99) respectively.
The list of the Ayanami-class (AKA the second flight of the Fubuki-class) destroyers soon to appear here:
Ashikaga Ayako-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Ayanami [KK-166])
Ashikaga Shikuko-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Shikinami [KK-167])
Ashikaga Saki-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Asagiri [KK-168])
Ashikaga Yūko-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Yūgiri [KK-169])
Ashikaga Ami-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Amagiri [KK-170])
Ashikaga Sayako-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Sagiri [KK-171])
Ashikaga Otsune-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Oboro [KK-172])
Ashikaga Akemi-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Akebono [KK-173])
Ashikaga Namiko-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Sazanami [KK-174])
Ashikaga Shiori-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Ushio [KK-175])
Save for Saki and Yūko, all the girls above take after their Kantai Collection interpretations. As neither Asagiri nor Yūgiri have been implemented in KanColle, I won't bring these girls into this fanfic series just yet.
The other shipgirls mentioned by Isaac Thomas in his review over the fates of the Ashikaga sisters:
Kumasaka Akina-chūsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Akishimo [KK-242])
Watanabe Masako-shōsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan I-177, now Nihon-koku Gunkan Ina'ana [SK-177])
Taoka Seiko-shōsa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan I-181, now Nihon-koku Gunkan Inbai [SK-181])
Akina will take after her Kantai Collection self. Masako and Seiko have yet to be implemented in KanColle, so they won't appear yet in this series. Note that in this universe, Japanese submarines (hull classification code SK for Sensuikan) are originally referred to by their wartime pennant numbers, then would receive a new name based on goroawase ("phonetic matching"); this is where homophonous words are associated with a given series of numbers, letters or symbols to associate new meaning with such a series, usually for humorous effect. There is a Japanese language goroawase generator I use in cases like this, which can be found with a simple search of "語呂合わせジェネレータ"; look for the one from SEOI-dot-NET to see what I mean. Note also that the post-war ship prefix for Japanese warships here is NKG, short for Nihon-koku Gunkan ("Warship of the State of Japan"). Once they become subgirls, Japanese submarines are given the automatic honorary rank of Shōsa ("lower-rank field officer"), which is equal to a Royal Canadian Navy/United States Navy lieutenant commander.
The one American ship mentioned by Itō Yoiko (THG Yonaga):
Captain Olive Dionysia Doolittle USN (United States Ship Saratoga [CV-3, formerly CC-3])
Dionne (as Dionysia is nicknamed) will not appear until Part 25 of Boy Meets Girl Meets Metahuman. Naturally, the one spoken of by Yoiko as well as Elizabeth Wakefield (the Academician) and her father Ned Wakefield will be introduced soon.
Finally, the ships mentioned by Fukushima Itsuko (THG Isonami) to James Ironwood in the final scene:
Asano Hoshie-taisa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Hōshō [KB-1])
Chihaya Anne-taisa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Kongō [JS-5])
Fujimoto Ayako-taisa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Aoba [JJ-67])
Hashimoto Sei-taisa DNTK (Tennō Heika Gunkan Sendai [KJ-58])
Chronologically, Ayako and Sei will first appear in this series in Before the Dream, while Anne appears in Extreme Shipgirls and Hoshie has yet to appear in this series as of the time of this writing (September 2024). The hull codes introduced here are JS — Junyō Senkan (Battlecruiser/Fast Battleship), JJ — Jūjun'yōkan (Heavy Cruiser) and KJ — Keijun'yōkan (Light Cruiser).
A quick note on Yizibajohei time measurements, plus describing the lineal differences with Earth/Remnant time…
First, the basic terms: Saga (Radale) — Millennium; Series (Sidyale) — Century; Mini-series (Homsidyale) — Decade; Season (Terikeli) — Year; Storyline (Lelu'uli) — Month; Episode (Pali) — Day; Act (Natoli) — Hour; Scene (Tyu'ur'beti) — Minute; Frame (Du'uli) — Second; Shot (Tieloli) — 1/100th of a second.
A storyline on Yiziba is equal to 36-37 Terran days. Because of this, storylines are divided unevenly; odd numbered storylines get thirty-seven days/episodes and even numbered ones get thirty-six. The equivalent of Terran leap year days come every fourth season and are added to the end of the last storyline, just before R'byuim-pali or "Premier Day". On Earth, R'byuim-pali normally falls around the first day of April in the Gregorian calendar.
And measuring time within a solar day/episode (pali): There are 100 seconds/frames (tieloli) in a minute equivalent/scene (tyu'ur'beti). This would leave 864 scenes/episode (average time on Earth [and Remnant as well] is 86,400 seconds/day). Running on the 1:100 scale, the number of hour equivalents/acts (natoli) would be 8.64, which wouldn't divide evenly as the Terran 24-hour system does. However, a factor of 1:32 can divide an episode into 27 acts of 32 scenes each. The first thirteen acts measured from midnight (yakyo'o) are seen as "before noon (meal)" (dulim), the fourteenth act is "noon meal" (duram), and the last thirteen acts are "after noon (meal)" (dudo). Note there is no daylight savings time practiced on Yiziba.
Lieutenant Commander Matsuhara Yoshi first appeared in the second of Mr. Albano's novel series, The Second Voyage of the Seventh Carrier (1986). He would remain one of the primary characters of the series for the rest of the run.
Finally, some quick translations (all Japanese unless indicated): Dōhō — Compatriot; Taishō — Navy admiral/Army general/Air Force air chief marshal; Rōnin — Masterless samurai/rogue; R'bemomadae — Death of all (Yizibajohei); Daitōryō — President (of a nation-state); Shirei-kan — Commander; Putayana — Literally "hilly mountains", the name of the analogue city of Okayama in Japan (Yizibajohei); Meketuto — Literally "dawning sun", the name of the analogue kingdom of Japan itself (Yizibajohei). As an aside, a "varsity" (in Yizibajohei, ohomuseali) is their term for a place of higher education like a university or college. Along with that, a husbander/husbandress (nasu; such terms are gender neutral in Yizibajohei) is one who specializes in handling animals; add "healer-" (baso-) to that title indicates the equal of a veterinarian.