Intermission 2
- Liam's island base, the now named 'Outer Heaven' -
September 7th, 2023: Akashi's workshop-
"...Nnyyyaaa...~!"
*Tap, tap, tap*
"Alright, if we can keep the margin of error within these range of values then... hai! I think we'll have a winner, nya!" Akashi muttered to herself after finally pulling the last all-nighter she needed to finish running the latest and, hopefully final, batch of simulated activation tests for the AI programs she and Metis developed to be implanted into the synchronized wisdom cube integrated combat androids the pair finished prepping before Liam and the others left for their mission. "But seriously though, I'm amazed we really could 'prime' the wisdom cubes so that they could be used later even if Shikikan wasn't here, nya. Still, we never would've known that if he hadn't suggested we try it... Anyway, now that we've come this far, all that's left is to go and try the real thing and pray there aren't any issues..."
"That is all well and good, my lady, but would not now be a fine time to mayhap take a break? Thou hast gone several days with little to no rest already, no?" kindly suggested a tall shipgirl dressed in a red and black, loosely military themed outfit in a quiet, polite voice filled with worry for the cat eared verdette who clearly pushed herself too hard in order to make the impossible, possible.
"...Nya...? Oh, York-san...~? A break huh? *yawn...~!* I'd like to. Really I would, but I'm just so close to, so close to... Zzzzz...~"
And, the instant she stopped working, her body decided to make the choice for her and follow Duke of York's suggestion whether she wanted to or not. Duke of York, for her part, just smiled while remembering the request her dear Lord made of her before he left.
"Just, look out for Akashi since me and Eldridge won't be around to keep her in line, alright? That brat has a bad habit of getting completely absorbed in whatever projects she's working on at the time and tends to overwork herself to the breaking point trying to finish them."
"His Excellency was right. You really do need someone to look after you..," quietly remarked the reddish, orange haired vampire knight to herself as she gently picked up the now fast asleep and slightly drooling catgirl.
xxx xxx xxx
Outdoor training ground number four-
"...HAAAAHHH!" King George V cried as she leaned in for another charge, officer's sabre in hand.
"Take this!" Prince of Wales countered as she prepared to meet her sister's attack head on.
*CCLLAAAANNGG!*
Sparks flew and swords clashed again and again as the two crimson eyed, blonde beauties similarly dressed in red, white and black - incidentally the same colors of the Royal Britannian Islands' military - continued their deadly waltz of slashes, thrusts, parries, and too close for comfort dodges. Yet, even in the midst of such intense combat, the two couldn't help but smile in spite of themselves... which was also pretty much the norm for the two knightly Royal Navy battleships since 'waking up'.
...
"...Ugh...!"
Off to the side and watching the dueling pair were three small and petite, identical looking shipgirls with waist length, straight snow white hair and bright green eyes dressed in light purple, blue and green outfits respectively, reluctantly carrying out their assigned task of recording their sparring matches to share and go over with the others once they got back.
"Hey, they've tied like, four or five times now, right?" asked I-401, the middle, slightly rebellious sister.
Both her younger and older sister nodded, equally annoyed at the situation.
"...Yup," said I-402
"Indeed they have," added I-400
"Then, how long are they planning on going? I mean, these fights are cool and all, but seeing hot chicks beating the crap out of each other gets boring really fast, like after the second bout. Actually, why are we even watching them do this again?" I-401 asked, wondering why they weren't patrolling the island or training themselves.
"...Because this is the task Shikikan-sama asked us to do, remember?" replied her more responsible and older sister sister, I-400.
"Okay, yeah... but couldn't they like, switch out already at least? And why can't we just leave it up to Metis-chan's trash cans or something then?" countered I-401, not at all seeing the point to personally doing it.
"...Sis has a point y'know. Why are we here if we've got drones to take care of stuff like this for us?" asked (the not so secretly otaku-ish) I-402 with clear irritation.
I-400 just sighed. "...Because when they finish, we still have our own sparring matches to take care of too, that's why. I agree the two of them are dragging this out but, do either of you have any bright ideas to get them to stop...? Because, I'm not even going to try getting in the middle of that hot mess."
"Then why haven't you three said anything to them?" asked the reddish orangette heading over to join them after putting Akashi to bed while wearing an amused smile at the submarine triplets' 'plight'.
"...Uh.."
"...That's, er... see we, um... Crap."
"...Well, what about you!? I mean, it's easy to stand there and criticize us but, do you have any bright ideas!?"
"You were all just too into the show and stopped thinking until you got bored, isn't that right?" Duke of York rightly guessed, enjoying the sight of the three submarines dumbly nodding with those silly looks on their cute little faces. "But, if you're of a mind to listen, then yes. Yes, I actually do have one idea that might help save thee from thy little predicament, and 'spice things up' if everything goes well~ "
"...You, do?" I-402 hesitantly asked, nervous but undeniably curious.
"Indeed I do! Not only wilt thou get to vent thy frustrations and accomplish thine own assigned tasks, but thou wilt surely get to see something... most interesting come of it all, as well!" added the capricious vampire with a devilish smile and mischievous gleam in her baby blue eyes.
"I'm in," I-401 said, immediately agreeing to whatever Duke of York had in mind.
"Me too!" I-402 said, almost all too eagerly.
"...Sigh. Alright, count me in as well then," added I-400 with a resigned shrug.
"Really?" Duke of York asked, happy they agreed.
"Yeah, I mean... we really just want them to pick a winner so we can just move on already," I-401 admitted.
"That, and some payback would be nice," appended I-400
"Yeah, that too!" agreed I-401 with a nod from both her and I-402.
"So? What exactly is this oh so great plan of yours then, York-san?" asked I-402 with a small hint of impatience and a dash of sarcasm.
Duke of York smiled impishly, "It's quite simple really. We take advantage of them not paying any attention to anyone but themselves to split them up and force them into two, separate two on one matches with the constant threat of being utterly humiliated in front of our Lord when he and the others return should they lose."
Utter silence ensued after hearing Duke of York's 'master plan'.
"Second part aside, are you really suggesting that we.. actually fight them!?" a wide eyed I-400 half shouted.
"..But, I mean... that might be the only way to handle it though. Besides, the thought of utterly humiliating them is honestly just too hard to pass up," I-401 followed up, practically drooling at the though of getting some sweet, sweet revenge.
"... You know what? I don't care what we do anymore. All I know is that my ass is numb from sitting around for so damn long and we need to do something about that..!" I-402 grumbled with a slightly bitter fire in her eyes.
Duke of York, satisfied that the triplets were on board with her idea, nodded and smiled. "Good, good. Ah, and I assure you that with the sort of indignities I plan for the losers to suffer through... I think it'll most certainly make our dear sisters slip up with panic and make a mistake, thus ultimately ensuring our victory in the end!"
"Let's... GO!" (x 3)
"Good, good! I'm happy that thou art all so motivated!"
Seeing the triplets so fired up from her little pitch, Duke of York couldn't help but smile from ear to ear as she began explaining just what exactly she had in mind after splitting King George V and Prince of Wales up along with just what, exactly, would happen should either side lose.
...
'Oh, this is going to be ever so much fun~!'
xxx xxx xxx
Back at outdoor training ground number four-
"Ah, such Passion! ...Do mine eyes deceive me!? The way you two are so focused on each other with such single-minded passion is enough to make a girl blush with envy! What, pray tell, would His Excellency think and say were he to learn his beloved knights were engaged in such... intimately physical and illicit debauchery... *gasp!* ...Scandalous..!"
In the midst of King George V and Prince of Wales intense sparring match to see which of them was truly the better knight, they suddenly heard an unexpected yet very familiar voice call out and finally get them to stop, if only due to the utter shock of what their dear sister just implied.
"...!"
"...York!? Wh, what are you saying!?"
Oh yes, there was not a single doubt that Duke of York was absolutely enjoying every second of the priceless looks on their stunned faces
'Ah, I knew that would do the trick! Hook, line, and sinker! They're just so, so easy!'
The ever teasing vampire knight couldn't help but snicker with pure amusement at seeing just how effective her words tripped up her all too serious and straitlaced sisters, even reducing them to nothing but wide eyed, blushing wrecks with their mouths rapidly flapping open and closed in utter shock and disbelief at her insinuations... which created the perfect opening, one a certain trio of very motivated and irritated submarines were not about to waste to take advantage of and exploit.
"Get 'em!" suddenly 'cried out' I-400 in her typical flat tone while gripping a large, single bladed broadsword faintly covered in a light purple aura whose total length was longer than she was tall with surprising ease.
"Oooohhhh!" followed up I-401, her green eyes ablaze with the flames of desire to whoop a bitch's ass, her own (much smaller) single bladed broadsword covered in a faintly glowing blue aura.
"Here I come, you blonde, uselessly big tiddied holsteins!" far too happily exclaimed I-402 with an almost too wide, almost feral grin while wielding a single edged blade covered in a faintly glowing green aura.
"...I beg your pardon!?" King George V protested while weakly covering her well endowed chest in what could only be called a vain, halfhearted attempt to try and preserve her maidenly dignity.
"AHAHAHA! Now that's how you make an entrance! Ah, wonderful!" chirped up the ever free-spirited vampire knight as she summoned not just one, but two of her beloved ebony bladed military sabres before moving in to join the others. Meanwhile, King George V and Prince of Wales were finally able to recover from their sister's rather effective mental surprise attack just in time to barely defend themselves against the sudden ambush.
"...Yorkie really got one up on us, didn't she?" King George V whispered to her fellow blonde to her right.
"Aye, that she did. And, is it me, or do the little ones look especially fired up?"
"They most certainly do, yes. But seeing such cute and petite shipgirls brandishing such large swords feels... really odd, somehow. Almost a little unsettling even," King George V observed, eyebrows quirked with a number of mixed feelings that she just couldn't quite place.
"Ah, well... we can dwell on all that later; they're coming!" Prince of Wales replied, reading her sabre.
Just then, and even managing to actually catch the two blonde knights off guard, I-400 suddenly vanished in a burst of speed the two blonde knights were clearly not expecting only to reappear right in front of them barely an instant later and unleashing an almost equally fast downward, vertical slash accompanied by a complete and utterly flat joke of a 'battle cry'.
"...Eeeiii...!"
Thankfully, none of that was enough to stop the two Royal Navy knights from quickly evading the stoic little submarine's surprisingly savage assault. '...Well I'll be damned! To think she could put so much power into her attacks despite being so... tiny!'
Luckily for King George V and Prince of Wales though, I-400 seemed to have put in too much energy into her attack since she was forced to stop and try to pull her large blade out of the ground and burying it halfway into the concrete where she struck. Unfortunately, however, neither she nor her fellow blonde could take advantage of that unexpected opening since there were two other submarines and their dear sister Yorkie left to deal with yet... and they were more than eager to pick up where I-400 left off too.
"...That's what you get for trying to show off and kill steal sis," admonished I-402 as she dashed in to deliver a quick and simple horizontal slash at Prince of Wale's barely defended midsection while I-401 and Duke of York focused their own efforts on King George V, quickly forcing her on the defense. "Anyway, just hurry up and get over here!"
*CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!*
"Tch! Cheeky little brat! Fine! If that's how you want to play then I'll kindly oblige and show you just what your big sister's really made of!" Prince of Wales declared as she went on the offensive. 'Heh, they might be cheeky little brats, but I can't say I don't like the surprise challenge though! And they're a fair bit more skilled than they seem too! Honestly, maybe I should be thanking Yorkie instead... Then again, knowing her...'
A few exchanges and one too many close calls later, the two blonde knights finally spotted an opening when the three attacking submarines paused to catch their breaths, most likely from suddenly overexerting themselves with that little blitz of theirs, to take the chance to pull back and regroup.
"Hah! That's what you little brats get for recklessly charging in like thoughtless bulls in an Empery shop!" King George V taunted as she took that chance to move in for a counterattack...
"Oh no you don't, my dear sisters!"
...only to be stopped dead in their tracks by Duke of York, her ebony blades in hand.
"...Dammit!" King George V cursed under her breath. 'And since when could she dual wield?'
"What!?"
"Tsk, tsk. Language, language my dear," Duke of York playfully admonished with an amused gleam in her baby blue eyes and a wave of her finger, much to her sisters' clear annoyance.
"Since when could you do that!?" asked a very shocked Prince of Wales in utter disbelief at seeing her sister's newest little trick. Moreover, that little stunt of hers made them briefly forget that they weren't alone, a fact Duke of York was all too happy to remind them of.
"Instead of worrying about that, I think you should be paying more attention to them, no?"
"What are you talki-"
*BOOM!*
- With one of the nearby Metis(partition) controlled 'trashcans' observing the battle -
'Hmm. It was simply a conjecture, but it seems shipgirls really can partially manifest their riggings to fight on land just fine. Still, I didn't expect the submarine types to be the ones to do it first though,' Metis(partition) observed as she noted the triplets' partially manifested riggings fire a barrage of torpedoes at a shocked King George V and Prince of Wales before they hastily called out their own riggings to defend themselves. 'Not only can they partially manifest their riggings, it seems they also get a small but noticeable boost to all of their overall physical abilities too! Also, while they might not be able to move as gracefully or as fast as they can on water, they're still much faster than any human (augmented or not) or combat android if the numbers I'm seeing are accurate. Hm, I wonder how Akashi and I can use this data in our our project?'
Metis(partition), for her part, couldn't help but marvel at just how much power they could call up and use for the first time and yet showing the expert level of control needed to keep the overall damage of their now high speed battle to only the immediate area around them... and all in the span of five or so minutes too. It really was quite impressive.
'..You girls might not know it, but this little tiff of yours will really come in handy when we finally activate and begin testing our modified combat Dolls. But, more importantly, I wonder how much of that performance I'll be able to replicate once I get my own body?' the AI mused while she ran countless hypothetical simulations in her nonexistent head about all the cool things she'd be able to do in the (hopefully) near future. '...Ah, I can't wait!'
Just then-
[Incoming priority message: Metis(main body) to Metis(partition): Prepare to receive footage of our first engagement against Siren forces along with the accompanying combat reports]
'...Oh?'
...
[...90%... 95%... 98%... 99%... Download complete: now extracting]
'Better make sure to edit and snare this with the others later...'
- Back with the triplets, the vampire, and the knights -
'...At this rate.. Wales and I might actually lose to Yorkie and those cheeky little brats,' mentally griped King George V as she continued to evade and parry I-400 and I-402's relentless assault while Prince of Wales was busy dealing with a grinning Duke of York and I-401. 'And they managed to split us up again too.'
"Hey, pay attention!" I-402 called out while wildly swinging her blade around in a flurry of attacks and leaving King George V hardly enough time to dodge or block, let alone counter... only to end up right behind a now fairly worn out Prince of Wales panting heavily and trying to catch her breath.
" ...So. What do you think Yorkie did to get them to come at us so fiercely?" Wales quietly asked her sister.
"Who knows, but whatever it was must have been really effective to get these results."
Prince of Wales nodded. "Indeed, but you can still keep going, right?"
"Aye!"
"My my, do my dear and lovely sisters need a break? Or would you two like to surrender, perhaps?"
"...Ugh." '...Really? Must she be so damn... Ugh!' Prince of Wales couldn't help but twitch in annoyance seeing Duke of York's smug expression and hearing the clear arrogance and mock concern in her voice.
"...Surrender? What makes you think we'd ever even consider that?" King George V asked with narrowed eyes. 'I'm really not going to like her answer though, am I?'
Duke of York's smug yet playful smile suddenly turned downright vile when she heard her beloved sister's reasonable but oh so silly question. Still, if her dear sister really wanted an answer that badly, who was she to deny her what she wanted to know. "Oh, I'm so glad you asked!"
"...Great. Now look what you did!" Prince of Wales remarked with a groan.
"Oh hush. I'm sure it'll be fine!" '...It'll be fine, right?' "And you! Just spit it out already!"
King George V did her best to not let it show but even she could admit she didn't like that smile on York's face, nevermind that mischievous glint in her now crimson red eyes.
"Impatient, aren't we? Well, fine." Duke of York's smile only grew wider as she proudly spread her arms wide. "It's all about having the right incentives my dear sister, that's all."
"What, do you mean by 'the right incentives'?" Prince of Wales asked even though she was quite sure that she probably that would not like her answer.
"Oh, I just added a little prize/punishment for the winners and losers of the match to liven things up, that's all. Heh, once I explained the details, the little dears couldn't wait to jump onboard, consequences be damned. You see, I said that if the winners would earn the privilege to spend a whole day together with His Excellency once he returns while the losers would have to..."
Oh how Duke of York enjoyed the frustrated looks on her normally ever composed and dignified sisters' beautiful faces as she spoke and made them wait even one second longer for the next word.
"...The losers would have to what...?" King George V repeated, wondering just what sort of evil scheme her younger sister had come up with.
"The losers... would have to serve the winners and His Excellency while wearing nothing but a maid themed two piece bikini... of the most incredibly revealing kind, for the entire day!"
By the time she finished, Duke of York's smile went from smug and playful, to just outright evil while her now glowing red eyes were positively sparkling with delight and filled with a perverse glee at the thought of seeing her ever regal and dignified sisters' beautiful bodies exposed for all the world to see as they fulfilled their every whim and wish. Worse still was that the triplets didn't seem to react at all to the ridiculous penalty Duke of York added despite the fact that it could very well be them who had to suffer such indignities should they be the ones to lose. Honestly, the absurdity of it all had all but crashed the two blonde knights' proverbial operating systems for a good thirty or so seconds while they (repeatedly) tried, and failed, to process the possible reality that might await them.
...
"...I'm sorry, but could you... could you repeat that?" was all a barely functioning King George V could finally ask. Prince of Wales, however, still needed a little more time to reboot.
"The losers will have to attend to the winners and His Excellency's every need wearing nothing but a skimpy, maid themed two piece bikini... for the entire day," Duke of York mercilessly repeated in a deliberately slower, almost sing-song tone while her shit eating grin only grew wider and wider with each and every word she uttered. Oh yes, she and the triplets absolutely loved watching as the two knights' usually proud and composed features slowly morphed into expressions of utter horror and extreme embarrassment at the very thought of being forced into such humiliation, indecency and (albeit temporary) servitude. Well, to be fair, it would've been fine had Liam been the one to ask them to do it and in private, but this? This would be nothing short of pure disgrace of the highest order.
"Nonononono...! But, you... what, what if you're the ones who lose? You would all have to do the same, wouldn't you!? York aside, would you three really be willing to subject yourselves to such... depraved debauchery!?" King George V all but shrieked while looking at the three triplets, her widened, panicked eyes all but pleading that they weren't seriously okay with Duke of York's madness.
...Unfortunately for the two knights, reality just wasn't that kind...
"...Meh," I-401 simply shrugged before adding. "We wouldn't even mind if we had to serve Big Brother completely naked with dildos stuffed up out tight little cunts or had butt plugs shoved up our virgin asses really. Ah, but now that I think about it... both at the same time wouldn't be so bad either, I guess."
"What!? You, you can't be serious!"
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me! Have you girls no shame!?"
"Pfft! Shame? Are you serious?" I-402 scoffed, completely dismissing the blonde's appeals to their maidenly virtues and modesty. "Big Brother's already seen us naked when we were first constructed and has been at the mercy of the other big sisters rather aggressive advances for awhile now, and that's not even taking into account the 'nightly sleepovers' everyone has either. If showing off some skin and being a little more bold (lewd) gets us what we want, then so be it. And honestly? We'd be perfectly okay losing to you on purpose if it makes you feel any better. Well... not that we would, but that's only because we just really wanna beat you. Oh, but any other time after this is totally fair game though."
"Oh, and by the way, the whole 'serving the winners naked' thing was the original plan actually," I-400 flatly clarified before looking over at Duke of York... who was now busy howling with unrestrained laughter while clutching her sides. "But imouto-chan there said that'd be too much and too soon for you, so we decided to scale back a bit," she added, pointing over to I-401.
...
"...Bu, butt plugs... and d, dildos!?"
"Such, shameless indecency...!"
Sadly, and just as the triplets and Duke of York guessed, revealing the losers' fate was just too much for their pure and virginal minds to handle... Oh well.
"Ahahaha! Priceless!" Duke of York noted before wiping a tear from her eye and getting back to business. "Right then, time to play dirty and finish this up while they're still out of it, yes?"
The three I series submarines simply nodded and moved in for the kill without any hesitation, pity or hint of remorse. After all, they had a date to win or bikinis to put on, whichever came first.
xxx xxx xxx
Later on, in the fleet dorm's common area.
"...Hmm?" Algerie wondered aloud as she saw the priority notice on her tablet that suddenly popped up, also piquing the interest of the petite and lively raven haired destroyer sitting on the couch next to her.
"What's that?" Hatsuzuki asked.
"Not sure yet. Give me a second to check first," Algerie calmly replied before opening up the notification. "Oh."
"Well? Well? Is it something good?"
"It's footage and the attached battle reports and combat logs of our sisters' first and most recent battle with the Sirens," Algerie said as she waited for the footage to finish loading. "... Oh? It seems they even fought a Siren Elite too."
"What, really!? But they...-"
"-only just left this morning, oui."
"...Whoa...!"
"Anyway, could you be a dear and go get Azuma? She should be in the kitchen making lunch. In the meantime, I'm going to let everyone else know what's happening over the 'Joint Tactical Network'."
Hatsuzuki nodded before hopping off the couch, her long, lustrous raven black hair accented in red swaying gently behind her with each and every lively step. "Just remember not to start the show until me and Azuma-nee get back, 'kay?"
"Don't worry, I won't."
- A little later, after Hatsuzuki returned with Azuma in tow -
"Alright, since you're both here and everyone else is synced up with me through the 'Joint Tactical Network', so I'm going to go ahead and press play now."
"Hai," Azuma quietly and politely replied.
"Yup!"
With that, Algerie started up the now Metis(partition) edited combat footage.
...
Between the dorms common room and the outdoor training grounds, the ten shipgirls that remained on the island saw the highlights of the battle.
From Eugen, Strasser, and Saratoga's fleets using divide and conquer tactics, the Liberty firing off its main cannon at the Siren Elite only to have it be blocked and then be hit right back right after, the three fleet leaders breaking off to fight off the Siren Elite herself after the bulk of the Siren forces' reinforcements retreated, to finally the sudden submarine surprise attacks that ultimately led the Siren Elite to decide to retreat too.
"...Wow..." (x3) whispered/gasped the three white haired submarine triplets.
"So That's what a Siren Elite is capable of..," King George V whispered, followed by many other similar awed reactions.
Needless to say, everyone would have a LOT to talk about among themselves and questions to ask their Commander and fellow fleet sisters when they returned.
xxx xxx xxx