Chapter 27
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September 28th, 2023 - Morning
Inside one of Outer Heaven's larger training fields.
"... Sh, shit...! ...Huff, huff...!"
Breathing heavily, covered in sweat, and feeling more than a little exhausted from the unfortunate combination of waking up early, more academic lessons, and finishing by exercising his ass off while wearing modified leg and arm weights, Liam was now splayed on the ground spread eagle and red faced as he stared up into the clear early morning sky wishing more than ever that he could be a cloud floating about without a care in the world.
'...H, holy sh, shit...! I really, I really should've taken sis's advice and been more serious about exercising!'
As a former single, faceless office grunt, avid RPG gamer and moderate introvert with few friends to his name Liam was not at all the most physically or socially active person out there. Now though, after having become a Fleet Commander to a veritable army of cute/beautiful human shaped weapons, the poor bastard found that he seriously needed to up his game in every area to even hope of having a chance to keep up with them, on and off the battlefield. Luckily, he was a stubborn moron who didn't like giving up when there was something when given the right motivation.
"My Honorable Master, are you alright?" asked a concerned Sirius, water bottle in hand. "Ah, and please drink this!"
"... Thanks, a lot Sirius...!" Liam gratefully said between gasps as he took and drank the proffered wattle bottle. 'Ah that hits the spot!'
"By the way, my Honorable Master, I just received word that loading of the Liberty's supplies for our trip to the Sakura Islands has just wrapped up, along with the first round of training for our newest fleet sisters," Sirius reported after taking the now empty water bottle from Liam's hand and replacing it with a towel.
"Whoa, really? I guess a lot more time passed than I thought," Liam said as he wiped himself off. "Alright. I'm gonna go grab a quick shower and then meet everyone in the the mess hall. That's where we agreed to meet for our final briefing, right?"
Sirius nodded. "That's right. Don't worry, I'll be sure to go ahead and let everyone know."
"Thanks!"
"Not at all, my Honorable Master."
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The ACSC Liberty's dock.
"Aaannndddd! Done nya~!" Akashi happily declared as she finished debugging the recently tested and triple, no quadruple, retested the Liberty's various recently upgraded systems. "And with that, all of the overall improvements to the ship's balance, command, fire control, defensive, and propulsion systems have been accounted for nya! How are things coming on your end, Metis-chan?"
"No issues here, though we won't know for absolutely sure until we leave. Either way, we've done the best we can with the time we had."
"True enough nya. Anyway, it's about time we got going."
"Well, my body's already at the mess hall, so I'll see you there."
"Heh. Must be nice being able to just hop in and out of your body whenever you want nya."
"Being a Doll has its perks, yes."
xxx xxx xxx
Temporary Mirror Sea observation post, somewhere 'above' the currently cloaked Outer Heaven.
"They've certainly been busy, haven't they?" Pola META remarked while she and the others in the two dispatched 'independent support fleets' continued to observe Liam and his ever expanding fleet tirelessly worked on their preparations for their trip to the Sakura Islands. Littorio META, who had been mostly silent for most of their time watching them for the better part of the past week couldn't hold it in anymore and finally asked aloud what everyone else was likely also wondering about by now.
"... Why are there Sirens there?"
"You mean those androids?" Zara META asked.
"Are you telling me you really haven't noticed?" Littorio META asked back. "It might be much more faint from what we're used to, but their aura is unmistakably the same as those wretches... And what's more, that light haired one looks just like-"
"-Observer," Nicoloso da Recco META quietly finished, her gaze fixed on the figure in question as she directed some of Liam's shipgirls loading supply containers onto the Liberty.
"This world really is odd," Andrea Doria META noted. "Not just those not-Sirens, but that ship too. Tell me, do any of you recall anything like that from your old homeworlds? Because, I don't."
"What, you don't think it's not just another difference in this Branch's 'world development index?" Littorio META posited, not sure where the META battleship was going.
"That very may be, but it's the fact that this seems like a world where both we Kansen and Sirens seem to peacefully coexist under a single Commander. That's what I find odd," Andrea Doria META clarified, recalling not just her own world, but every other world she's either visited or heard about up to this point. "After all, until now, we believed that two of the biggest differences in the worlds where we or Sirens came to exist were which were developed first along with whether or not research into the Origin Cube led to the development of the E-Cube or Wisdom Cube first. To put it another way, every world containing those two key points we've seen or know of until now has been a case of one taking precedence in the absence of the other, with every possible variation in a given world's history stemming from either before or after those two critical events. Tell me, can any of you recall any world at all before this one where Kansen and Sirens existed together like this?"
"... That's..."
And it wasn't just Littorio META who was stumped either, but almost every other member of the two dispatched META fleets.
"Littorio, Eldridge. Tell me. You both come from worlds that had the same Commander, yes? The one Bremerton said Eldridge helped out. The Commander aside, did either of your worlds have that flying ship or Siren allies?"
"... No, we didn't," Littorio META finally said after a moment of going through back through her memories. 'Besides, if we did have something like that ship or friendly Sirens on our side, then perhaps. No, it's far too late to bother dwelling on pointless 'what-ifs' now...'
"..."
Eldridge, for her part, simply just shook here head, though she was only paying the bare minimum attention required as the she stared fixedly at the figure of her other self happily walking side by side with the Akashi and beloved Commander of this world. Needless to say, there were many countless, complicated emotions flickering across her dull, near expressionless eyes.
"Not that this isn't fascinating or wholly unimportant to our overall mission objectives, but should we not think about what we're going to do going forward?" Nagato META interrupted, bringing everyone back to reality.
"... What, do you mean?" Eldridge META asked back, though she (and likely everyone else present) had a pretty good idea what the petite fox eared battleship really wanted to know.
"Should we not make our presence to them known soon? After all, we can most likely have all those questions Andrea-san brought answered as well if we do, no? More importantly, they will be leaving for the Sakura Islands soon."
"That's, very true," Littorio META finally said after a moment. "Then, we should get going."
...
"Then Eldridge will go."
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September 28th, 2023 - Early afternoon, Outer Heaven mess hall, just after the assembled fleet's final meeting.
"Right then, I know we just got done going over everything concerning fleet formations and what the overall plan is for when we get to the Sakura Empire, but does anyone have any other questions before we leave? This'll be the last chance you'll have so ask now or forever hold your peace," Liam asked while looking around the mess hall, tablet in hand with Akashi and Metis standing on either side of him to his left and right, respectively.
"Um, just curious but... counting you and the bridge crew, I thought the Liberty could only hold up to about forty or so of us. How are we going to git everyone if we can't bring the escort ships?" Black Prince somewhat timidly asked.
Nodding, Akashi was the first to answer the shy pinkette.
"Good question nya! And it's very simple actually! It turns out the Liberty was built to be able to hold more than what was listed in the documents we found! Go figure, nya. Well, besides getting some more rooms ready and accounting for that in our supplies needed, we just did a few tweaks here and there while were at it, nyahaha~!"
"Um, but weren't you and Miss Metis busy working on the two escort ships you found? How did you even find the time to work on the Liberty too?" Black Prince asked, giving voice tow what most everyone else, Liam included, was thinking.
"That wasn't really an issue since much of the work done was minor and could easily be carried out by the many maintenance drones under my control," Metis explained while showing off a hologram of said maintenance drones and the new and (slightly) improved Liberty. "Besides, since we couldn't make any major changers the ACSC with the time we had, Miss Akashi and I only focused on the Liberty's power, shield and weapon control systems along with double-checking a few other things."
"About the extra supplies, will we have enough space to fit everything you'll need?" Vampire asked.
"Tell me, did your group notice any lack of storage space in the cargo hold while loading supplies?" Metis asked the tall bluenette standing next to Vampire.
"Come to think of it, no. Not really," New Jersey admitted.
"You see, despite what we initially thought, ACSCs were actually designed to carry far more than what was listed in their accompanying documents," Metis explained, zooming in and highlighting the rather large cargo holds on the bottom and sides of the ship. "It's something of an annoying convention where things like this are concerned, but there you have it. Now then, any other questions?"
Seeing as no one had any other questions, Liam nodded and stood up.
"Alright then, we'll be leaving in roughly two hours, so for those of you going to the Sakura Islands, make sure you take care of everything you need to by then and head over to the dock when it's time to go."
With a chorus of nods and affirmatives, all the shipgirls and dolls got up and left to take care of whatever last minute preparations they had to, eventually leaving Liam and Metis behind.
"So, what are you going to do with the little free time you have left, Commander?" Metis finally asked.
"Get some rest, what else?" Liam answered, scratching the back of his head. "Though, I doubt I'll get any real sleep or anything like that. What about yo-"
"-... Commander!"
Just then, the familiar voice of one petite little zapper quietly called out to her favorite person in the whole world, small little sparks dancing the air around her all the while.
"Eldridge? What's up? Need something? Actually, shouldn't you be getting ready to go too?"
Eldridge lightly shook her head. "Green Cat, helped pack everything last night, so... all ready! Um, what about Commander?"
"Hm? Me? Oh, I finished packing early too so I was thinking of heading back to my room for a bit," Liam replied while gently patting the little zapper on the head, chuckling a bit at the little heart and star shapes her bio-electric sparks were making.
"...Then, can Eldridge show Commander her special spot? Secret! Quiet! A nice place to relax! Eldridge promises!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Mm! Green Cat, Bunny, Anchorage and Eldridge found it while, exploring island...! So, come? Bring friends too! Nap! Um, small nap!"
Liam turned to a smirking Metis.
"Go ahead. I'll be sure to call before it's time to go, assuming Miss Eldridge doesn't just zap you awake first, that is."
"That's, uh..."
"Commander, come?" asked the little zapper again as she lightly tugged on her Commander's sleeve.
Liam chuckled. "Alright, alright. Lead the way then."
"Mm!"
xxx xxx xxx
Less than ten minutes later, just as Liam, Eldridge, Laffey, Anchorage and (funnily enough) Natsuha were about to enter the little zapper and friends' 'secret spot' ...only to see that someone else was already there.
"... Mm?"
Standing there with her back turned to Liam and the others was the figure of a petite girl who had both a mysterious but yet familiar aura to her that reminded everyone of Eldridge, something that she herself seemed to pick up on and who then, without another word, slowly made her way over to the mystery figure, her bio-electric sparks crackling about her in sync with her curiosity.
...
"... So, the other Eldridge found this place too?"
"...!? ... Other, Eldridge? Oh, are you, like Blue Tease?"
Neither confirming or denying, the silver haired and darker skinned Eldridge lookalike slowly turned around to face her other self and the others.
"... Hello, Other Eldridge. Hello, Commander. Oh, Bunny and Anchorage are here too? ... And, the blonde not-Siren too..."
"... Eh? Blonde, not-Siren? But, Natsuha is Natsuha," Natsuha protested before turning to Liam. "Um, Big Brother?"
"...Yeah?" Liam absentmindedly replied, his gaze fixed on the tanned, silver haired Eldridge lookalike standing there in front of them.
"Why are there two of Eldridge? And why did she call Natsuha a 'not-Siren'?"
"... That's; a really good question.." 'More importantly, how could she know our new Dolls are basically just Sirens? Just what is going on here?'
"... Commander...?" the other Eldridge asked, head cutely tilted to the side and sporting the exact same expressionless look he was so used to seeing by now.
"... Mm? But, Commander is Eldridge's Commander? Why did other Eldridge call him that?"
"..."
Ignoring her blonde counterpart's question, much to her annoyance, the silver haired, tanned Eldridge kept her eyes focused on Liam.
"... Eldridge, just wanted to see Commander, and to tell him that, Eldridge's friends will come to see him soon..."
"Wait, what? Friends? Are you one of Admiral Yang's shipgirls then? Like the blue haired Eugen? Actually, wait, how did you even get here?"
Rather than answering any of his, or anyone else's, questions, the other Eldridge simply smiled faintly before slowly fading away where she stood.
"...Whoa...!"
"...Eh? Teacher, Teacher! How is the silver Eldridge doing that?"
"... I, have no idea...!"
But, by the time Liam and the others' surprise wore off and they could get their thoughts in order, the other Eldridge was long gone and, sensing how important an encounter this really was, Liam quickly turned around while taking out his tablet, quickly calling up Metis in the process.
"Sorry girls, but I need to find Metis and gather up the fleet leaders to talk about what just happened. Wait, no, actually, Eldridge, can you come with?"
Liam understood that it was far too late to change or cancel their plans to head to the Sakura Islands now, but what just happened here still needed to be addressed as soon as possible, especially with how easily the other Eldridge was able to just show up with absolutely no one noticing until she was literally right in front of them.
'... Nothing useful may come of this, but even so... It's better than doing nothing.'
xxx xxx xxx
Later, in Liam's office. A little over and hour remaining before their planned departure.
"So, how's it looking Metis?" Liam asked.
Metis shook her head. "Inconclusive. At the very least, none of the island's early detection systems or my drones picked up anything hinting at an intrusion."
"Then, the only things we know for certain are that another you showed up literally out of nowhere, said whatever she wanted and then just left?" Prinz Eugen reiterated.
Eldridge nodded. "Mm. But, Eldridge could tell. Could tell the other Eldridge wasn't an enemy. Could feel it. Tease understands, right? Like with Blue Tease."
"Are you talking about 'resonance'?"
Another nod.
"Then, what do you want to do, Commander?" Saratoga asked. Clearly concerned about the apparent security breach by the other Eldridge but just as unsure about what to do about it as the rest of them. "If Metis can't find anything in the records and the other Eldridge can apparently teleport, then I don't know what options we really have here."
"No, we might have some options. It's faint, but some traces of an unknown ether pattern were left behind in the area where she showed up. I'm currently having a few of my drones record and analyze them now, though I can't say anything more until I finish analyzing them," Metis said, bringing up a few data screens to illustrate her point. "Also, and this is simply conjecture for now, but based on how she left no records when entering, I think that those traces were something she very deliberately left behind, perhaps as a way to show that she, and likely whatever faction she belongs to as well, are not our enemies."
"You think?" Liam asked.
"It's the only reason I can think of that makes any sense to me, based on the limited data we have so far at any rate," Metis replied.
"I think so too," Prinz Eugen added, thinking back on her own interactions with her blue haired counterpart.
"Eldridge, what do you think? About that other you I mean."
"Mm? Um, other Eldridge is Eldridge... Loves Commander. But, feels... sad? Mm. Sad."
"Sad?" Liam repeated.
"Mm. Sad. But, Eldridge doesn't understand why. Still, not enemy. So, can trust...!"
Liam sighed. "Okay, once those results get analyzed, input them into our early detection system's database. We might not be able to keep them from coming or going as they please, but we should at least be able to know when they do, which is still better than nothing and will allow us to at least not be caught off guard next time, I hope."
"And if they do show up again while you're all away?" Peter Strasser asked,.
"Unless they act hostile, just talk to them. See what they might want. But, I don't think you'll need to worry about that though, at least while we're gone anyway."
"Why is that?" Saratoga asked.
"Ah, I see. It's because the other Eldridge said her friends would come to meet you, ja?" Prinz Eugen posited.
Liam nodded. "Which means, that's just one more reason why we can't change our plans. I mean, if I'm who they want to see, and in the one in a quadrillion chance they do turn out to be hostile, then I'll have you all with me and our home won't get caught up in the crossfire."
"Hmph! Other Eldridge loves Commander, so her friends must love Commander too!" Eldridge pouted, arms crossed, cheeks puffed out and emitting sparks of annoyance.
"I know, I know but... look, it's still something I have to consider, as your Commander."
"... Boo."
"The Commander's right though.," Jean Bart said. "Until he meets and talks with them, there's no way to be totally sure if they're enemies or not, even based on yours and Miss Eugen's experiences, so it's better to be cautious."
"Ja, good point. Especially given the way my own counterpart introduced herself..," Eugen agreed, recalling when the other Eugen made her appearance.
"... Hmph!"
Eldridge was not at all satisfied, but could at least understand her fleet sisters had a point so didn't put up any more fuss about it.
"Right then, other than what we've already discussed here, we'll proceed as normal and get ready to leave. Metis, how much time do we have left?"
"About half an hour."
Liam let out another sigh. "Well, so much for getting some rest."
"Don't worry, Commander. I'll take over on the bridge for a bit once we leave so you should be able to get at least a little rest during out trip there," Metis tried to reassure.
"Thanks."
xxx xxx xxx
Back in the temporary Mirror Sea observation post, somewhere 'above' Outer Heaven.
"Oh, you're back," Bremerton META said, noting Eldridge META's return before asking. "So? How did it go?"
"... Mm. Saw Commander, happy. Other Eldridge, made lots of friends... found secret base too. But, unsure how to feel, about the not-Siren..."
"Understandable but, more importantly, did the Siren seem like an enemy to you?" Nagato META asked.
After a moment of silence and putting her thoughts in order, Eldridge META shook her head.
"... No. Blonde not-Siren, did not feel like other Sirens. Warm."
"I see. And what of our little 'present'? Did you make sure to leave it for them?"
Eldridge META nodded. "Mm. Made sure, to make it easy for them to find..."
"Good, good. Now then," Nagato META then turned to Littorio META. "What now?"
"No changes. I don't think the Commander will have altered his plans and instead will take our invitation into consideration and expect our meeting," Littorio META replied before turning to Eldridge META. "Right?"
"Mm. Commander, will be waiting for us...! Can't, wait...!"
"Alright then. So shouldn't we go meet them then?" a slightly impatient Pola META asked.
Nagato META shook her head. "No, not yet. Not until they are well beyond the range of their home base. They only just left after all, and we don't want to give them any reason to think we are their enemy. Regardless, that shouldn't take very long, so just wait a little longer."
"Still though. I wonder how it'll go. Our meeting I mean," Izumo META wondered aloud.
"We'll just have to wait and see but, I don't think we'll need to worry too much," Amagi META reassured.
"Well, we can only hope so at least," Littorio META quietly said. "At any rate, we'll be leaving once they get far enough away. Ah, but be sure to keep an eye out for any outside interference, particularly from Sirens or other potentially hostile forces."
Nodding, the other META shipgirls vanished to finish making their own preparations for their very soon to come meeting with Liam and the others.
xxx xxx xxx
Sakura Empire, Akitsushima Island's Imperial Naval District - Admiral Yang Wen-li's office.
"Alright, then I'll begin getting things ready for your group's arrival on our side."
[Thanks, and sorry we took so long on our side.]
Admiral Yang shook his head. "It's fine. Logistics and last minute preparations are always something to take into account, so it's no problem."
[True, and thanks again. Right, based on the speed we're currently going, we should arrive at Akitsushima Island sometime tomorrow afternoon or tomorrow evening, provided noting unexpected happens.]
"That's fine. Preparations for your arrival have been ready for a few days now, so all we need to do is give all the right people a head's up."
[Got it, then I'll give you a head's up when we're close by.]
"Thanks, and see you soon."
[No problem. Later then.]
"Right."
Signing off, Admiral then turned to his two most trusted officers, his adjutant Frederica Greenhill and captain of the Rosenritter Walter von Schonkopf.
"Well, as you've both just heard, our guests will be arriving soon, so can I leave getting in touch with the right people to you two?"
"Not at all, Admiral."
"About time! Heh, leave it to me."
"Thanks you two, and leave reporting this to the other admirals and the Royal Islands' special envoy to me. I need to drop off our latest scouting reports anyway."
With a nod, the pair stepped out, leaving Admiral Yang alone to get his thoughts in order before heading out himself.
'Heh. Things will likely get very busy, very fast soon, so best to enjoy the peace and quiet while I can...'
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A/N:
And... DONE!
First update of the new year! And on the second New year's I get to celebrate too!
Pretty nice timing actually!
Sorry about being later then I planned though. Been penning design docus for a game I'm trying to make myself along with getting sucked up in AL, GFL2, and other books/games I've been reading/playing. Still made it though!
Oh, speaking of games... I can't wait for the upcoming Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition release!
Um, just a question... been thinking of a GFL2 AU story starring a bounty hunter who, due to various circumstances of his own, would come to lead a gaggle of T-Dolls who just so happen to be based on the Sangvis Ferri Ringlleader units from the first game. Just an idea for now, so who knows. Still, couldn't help but think about wanting to do something like that.
Anyway, a lot happened huh?
Preparations were done, the META shipgirls FINALLY made their move, and Liam and his fleet are on their way to the Sakura Empire!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy and I'll see you next update!