Notes

Well. here I am. returning back to a 3-7 day schedule whenever I don't end up playing too much or i am stuck in servers. So to prevent the comment section on the other site or the reviews here from turning into a endless purgatory of NSFW reviews. speculation on outrageous notions and modernized shipgirls. and pairings or anything that might include the Shikikan. Here's another chapter! And some information about my Mikoyans to try and ground down their stats.

MiG-29SM (Norfolk)
Similar to the 9.13 variants. but microprocessor'd and with modern electronics. as well as open-source capability and universal compatibility with almost all weapons systems.

There are features of the K variant. such as the enhanced RD-33MK engines. folding wings and buddy refueling and possible application of RAM material. However, the presence of extra guns and armor suggest an gunfighter mindset.

4x Oerlikon KCA Cannons (600 rounds total. 800 kg extra. another 800-1000 kg from armor. ammunition box replaces the fatback 240 litres fuselage fuel tank). Tungsten rounds will be fired instead out of long-term contamination concerns from Iraq memories (Even if shipgirls make radiogenics and extremophiles look small..)

Uses HEF Fuel (Range doubled. offset slightly by a 5% and 10% decrease in range). Doesn't Supercruise.

RADAR is of the Topaz or the Zhuk variant (Unspecified)

Has Laser rangefinder and IRST. Can work with Western targeting pods.

Wing Area:38 M2 plus 10 M2 from fuselage. Enhanced by 1.15x due to the presence of magitech. causing a plasma flap/blown-flap effect that doesn't cause drag and further increased by 1.15-1.2x due to LERX augmenting. This compensates for the weight gain.

8 hardpoints as usual.

The KOLS-29 IRST used does not image but is cooled. making it more of a radio locator than a TV camera. Still useful in the night!

Has Internal L203 Gardenia Jammer capabilities (C-X Band) and SPO-15 RWR (Nigh useless with VHFs around)

Similar stall speed to the Fw 190s.

Usual 'Pathfinder' Medium-range loadout would go like this. 4 R-73E/Ms at 6 secs boost/12 secs sustain. 2x Skyflash SARH (Non-supertemp. 2.8 secs boost/8.4 seconds sustain). 1x drop tank

Interdiction of surfaced submarines or Picket destroyers would have APKWS CRV-7 pods and two AN-M59 bombs replacing the four along with a suitable laser designator. Seeing as the SAPHEI Incendiary warhead was designed to take out Field HAS shelters and there was a training round/steel APFSDS with a legacy RA-79 and its modern MPP Raufoss variant. Several CRV-7s hitting together will cause serious localized catastrophic damage to a surfaced Type VII U-Boat threat. If that's not the case however, the MiG-29 will likely turn around before firing again at the shipgirl in question. Destroyers would warrant the usage of rockets first to destroy AA mounts before being dive-bombed. Sonobuoy deployment from modified pods would be left to the Prowlers however. In an emergency some means could be devised to mount HVARs or RP-3s.

Networked with datalinks.

"My HS did the same thing, seeing all the future jar head bootlickers flock to sacrifice themselves for a country that doesn't give a shit about them, really just played up the "kill Iraqi natives guilt free" American war machine propaganda.

A lot of them died in the following years, 10 year anniversary was bleak as fuck."-Unknown

A day later of so...

I was lying in bed. staring straight up at the ceiling and just enjoying my time on this late morning. I wasn't scheduled to be anywhere, And I'd already gotten back from having a chat with Comet. which... went alright? I guess Comet had the ability to try and hold on to not being happy from something I did in the past. She'd let me talk with her in private. but there was not a lot else I could do that didn't immediately leave the both of us in silence. At least she was opening up more. but work was still to be done.

Maybe I am expecting results too early combined with a low speech skill. Granted. It's been a entire week ever since my inception into the UN's/NATO's/Azur lane's ranks of Kansens/Kanmusus. A entire week of being in custody. having my technology examined while I watched uniformed humans discussing my condition. possibly Defense companies and officials with a interest in classifying any confidential technology i may hold. getting basic education and school lessons to help me catch up given that I discovered that a few... shipgirls suffered from the shock of old traditions and customs no longer being there. having been replaced by modern today's culture. Also trying not to destroy the Masquerade and thus my secret identity as well.

I'm honestly glad that Blake is taking it easy with the experiments and prodding on me. though I still kept koch-blocking them by making the arcane components of my systems nightmarishly difficult to analyze correctly-They can puzzle out the basic operating principles given enough time and resources, but can they really produce a replica. let alone a functioning prototype like say. a F-86 or a AIM-9 that doesn't output disappointing results on par with real-world statistics or is just too ahead of its time mixed with enigmatic properties? And for Vestal, The repair ship had commented that if I was more relaxed around here it'd be easier to run some of the more in-depth tests she wanted to run. Not sure how i felt about that, but Vestal told me it wouldn't be anything invasive.

She's being too naive with thinking the members of Azur lane will stick to their promises in the dark. but the more optimistic part of me countered by pointing out how it wouldn't make sense to anger someone who held the key to ultra-tech right now...

That said, I was trying my best to enjoy my time off and partly put it to use doing shady stuff. I am just somewhat disappointed that I haven't gotten anything new for my quarters yet aside from a few more clothes after a trip with Dorsetshire and Kent. It had gone well enough but having to deal with her constant adoration and in turn staying close to Kent for some measure of safety had been infuriating. I felt like I was a goddamn little sister dealing with a big sister that doesn't know of her potential and a sane cousin.

Honestly, the reason I hadn't bought anything other than making requests for what fiction-related novels i could get my hands on was because I just have not had the time to return to some sense of 'normalcy' on the internet. and because I sort of made it a personal rule in my mind that I needed to build up my emotion-reading abilities before I risked going out into town and possibly running into say. Akagi or Jean Bart.

Although. now that I had free time. I got up after humming Lunatic Tears to myself. trying to follow the vocals and chorus of voices with half embarrassment and half determination to put my language banks to use. I went over the laptop and closed the lid before walking to the center of the room. I had acquired starter guides to the magical world of harry potter. The Force. and a few fringe books about ESP and psychics. basically anything that could help me with any knowledge that might just prove true in my situation.

Ever tried reading a book written by some terrible madman? While the beginner books skimmed over or didn't touch their versions of magic too heavily for it was not their major main focus. Some of their information had proved useful like trying to attune yourself to your surroundings. seeing spells as the means to an end by manipulating the physical world and achieve your aims by will alone and associating words with images to make it reflexive. But the other fringe books and crackheads? Trying to read these was like trying to read a scientologist trying to describe a spirit. attempting to glean any useful information from pseudo-scientific (pseudo-alchemy?) and HAARP and Qanon bullcrap all rolled into one demotivating package, That's not to say I didn't find the amount of misinformation in them useless... But by the time I was done with them. I was just about ready to start violently bashing and smashing the nearest wall with Raising Heart.

At least the meditation techniques did work for me. Kind of in that it increases the accuracy of my sixth sense. Unfortunately no, it doesn't seem to accelerate my skill delay noticeably like a Aria incantation or simple intent does.

So, looking at the blankets on my bed. I narrowed and squinted my eyes at its direction. held my hand out at it and began attempting to manipulate it telekinetically...

'Come on! Come to me. I command you!'

Nothing happened. I strained. face clenched in concentration. closing my hand into a fist as particles began to fly out from it.

'The Mind Commands you. Bend to its will! Shogun! Nani! Shoogun! Give. way. before. my will!'

Nothing.

...

I opened my eyes. seeing how I felt something like a limb and tingles on my twintails... only for it to be cut off, My blankets just laid there. silently taunting me and my frustration and useless rage directed at it.

Oh what the fuck... Just what the fuck? Not for the first time have I decided that Kyubey or the Blob Overmind from Cataclysm and Tenshi Hinanawi existed to simply laugh at lesser beings like myself. Even now, as I put my outstretched arm down and back to my hips. my eyes still watch as if demanding a answer. I wanted to see if Telekinesis in Force or Madoka or EM bionic implants in Cataclysm exists and what do i get for all my latent might?

A blanket that weighed next to nothing compared to a air fryer refusing to budge and move under my magic-powered demands. mind you. powered by enough potential to bulldoze character casts into the local asphalt foundation several times over if I was sufficiently pissed off myself.

No. I don't get that.

What I get is that was mind-boggling.

But then again, It was possible for some random dude in Fate night to die despite his supposed ability to predict the future and take measures to protect himself. For a proton torpedo to somehow make a ninety degree angle into an exhaust port the size of a Holstein cow that was expelling the entire of a attack moon's waste heat with a simple application of the Fucking Force. And you had people like Sakura kinomoto who was reality-warping houses into another with her cards and in the recent movies was time-travelling as a ghost. And then you had the conceptual. more than often overblown abilities of Touhou because noone had any fucking clue let alone any solid information about their capabilities. And there was Emiya shirou getting stuck in a loop himself because some superintelligent Organic AI decided it was fun to trap everyone in a temporal paradox made manifest.

Were my face capable of looking like I had ate something quite bitter. I would have made that face. Instead I settled for laughing to myself almost in disbelief. "Hahaha...Are you kidding me right now...?"

The only consolation I could take in all of this is that telekinesis of no. I still had more basic active powers at my disposal like the ability to generate a basic energy barrier. a simple healing power and starter shooting projectiles. as well as a basic offensive support skill to make my main gun projectiles behave partially like PELE on impact. and of course. Raising heart herself if I ever felt like I wanted to bash someone's skull in into a bloody display on a bad day and hover-dashing short distances.

But damn, even if i can only bash people and not shipgirls against walls non-stop with my mind until they are dead. that still has so many uses, such as remotely opening doors from a distance and super-finesse for delicate work if my hands are occupied.

Shaking my failures away. I was able to go out for an walk when Shropshire showed up at my door. I asked her what she was doing here and the Heavy cruiser responded.

...It appears I have to report for a briefing. Sixth sense also tells me its likely to be a combat-related one.

Well then. It looks like my schedule's just been altered. I stepped away from the door and allowed Shropshire to leave of her own accord, pulling the closet open and getting into my official outfit before heading over to the administration building where all the briefing and strategic rooms were. To do that I had to go outside from the residential areas to the building in question, and in looking toward the docks I spotted a few light cruisers doing practice drills.

Luckily, I had time to map out the local area and keep it burned into my memories out of interest. and I wound up finding the briefing room in respectable time. Not enough time to beat the destroyers and a cruiser that had been ordered in though. I don't know whether to chalk that up to them having more operational time than i ever had or if it's a case of them being excitable and speedy by nature. Possibly both.

I just sat down at an empty seat, not that difficult since this briefing room could fit an entire high-level command staff group and there's only several of us. I tried to stay near the destroyers instead of heeding my reflexes and sitting away from everyone else. Though now I was stuck having to debate if Le Malin was about to slack off of not. She looked either tired or just plain bored. or if Phoenix was able to blow a boiler because she looked tense amidst Echo. Firepower Icarus. or Z20 or Z19. including Spence and Libeccio.

The door opened three minutes later and Princeton stepped in. "Good morning to you all." She said professionally, I was going to stand with attention. but Phoenix only bothered while the other replied with quick hellos. I just sat and returned her formal greeting, Shortly after her. Nicholas walked in and sat herself on the seat in front of the nearby computer before debriefing began. Princeton cleared her throat.

"Thank you all for coming here on short notice." Princeton began. I snorted and held my head. preparing myself for the wave of information i was going to absorb... Judging from what she was saying. It was a trade route as I watched Princeton gesture and point at what must have been a map. "...Submarine attacks on ships passing along the route have been increasing. For a while, we've had no idea on where they could be coming from. as it would be difficult for the Sirens to send attack submarines into the area considering their current warfighting abilities."

Princeton's face became more serious and Phoenix watched closely. "That is, until we briefly lost contact with one of our allied submarines. who came under attack by ASW vessels shortly after. U-522 managed to evade and disengage before returning to base where they reported the incident to Joint Command HQ and destroyers were dispatched to conduct recon of the area."

I heard shuffling of pictures and document pads. and for a brief moment I saw a few red dots in the middle. "Through that we've confirmed that the Sirens have managed to establish a resupplying and depot point for their submarines near the Trade routes." More acknowledgements and questions followed. and I heard that Enemy activity was unusually high. complete with sightings of heavy capital ships.

Judging by the number of shipgirls present here in the room. I had some concerns regarding any operations to send me out and the lot in this room on a attempt to disrupt enemy tender activity for a while. Looks like High command thought that the Core fleets wouldn't send reinforcements to their important slice of territory because they were more busy and focused on holding off an feared unexpected attack. It was a valid concern to them, Judging by the fact that they seemed to be posturing defensively. The last time an attack had managed to catch one of their training grounds off-guard one time. It resulted in the devastation of several tens of recruits and even the destruction of a entire Fast Carrier task force. as dozens of other alerted Rapid Response Forces had mobilized to aid other units that came under U-boat and carrier attack.

Unlike all of these previous examples, however. This submarine tender and resupply beacon was a key piece of the Siren's war machine. If what Princeton was saying is correct, They were one of the few sectors allowing the Sirens to launch damaging and disruptive attacks on supply chains via the sinking of oil tankers. rare earth shipments from China. and the destruction of electronics and chips from without incurring high losses. Whereas if they wanted to raid other routes instead. it sounded like they would have to risk sending their submarines and forces out on a less sound supply and safety standpoint. and therefore risk being attacked by patrolling fleets and hostile escorts and as such weren't important to their cause.

This trade route. however unimportant it sounded... just fit that word perfectly.

Processing the unspoken atmosphere in the room. It looks like there would be Phoenix as close support. Le Malin and Echo as my recon units. Icarus. Z20. Z19 and Libeccio with Spence were to be my generalist picket units. And then that would leave me as the flagship, Then there would be two to three medium-sized fleets and the Illustrious Sisters if I overheard them correctly. This would leave me with independent command of my own group.

Princeton went ahead and started explaining the plan. It boiled down to interdicting their resupplying shipgirls and cracking open any early warning pickets that were going to be around. One of the fleets was supposed to keep any surface ships of enemy aircraft in the area off our backs as we closed in and began hunting down their surfaced submarines and resupply units. forcing them to flee or either be forced into a battle. The destroyers were there given the obvious presence of Attack and Fleet subs while we went to work. After that, The rest of us would clear out whatever was left.

Seems simple? Yes. it does. No, I see problems in this. specifically my fleet composition. I have a feeling that Blake only put me on this mission because I needed my first combat sortie to get into the mindset of working in a fleet in an actual live-fire combat scenario. I might also be paranoid because I had a feeling in the back of my mind that this plan. while seemingly simple. was probably gonna go balls-up at some point.

"S-Sir." I began. "With respect. There are flaws in the plan." I protested. forging ahead despite the destroyers and Phoenix in the room turning their heads around to listen to what I had to say. "Firstly, Submarines and early warning pickets Will alert the Sirens an impending attack on a key sector absolutely critical to their war machine and ability to cripple our economies. They will reinforce the trade route with all available shipgirls and maritime patrol aircraft. Second, they will be expecting a large attack force. Any less would be suspicious. Thirdly, You are expecting me to be the keypoint in the plan by I-including me as the trump card. which is unusual for you given I am still one battlecarrier. Princeton-quite unlike any resourceful strategies and likely would cause friction with Marine Nationale command. All heavy surface assets will be expected to be present and if they don't become suspicious. Enemy military leaders will be."

By now. Princeton was motioning for me to speak. given my insistence there were problems in the plans to drive the Sirens off their resupplying point to attack strategic trade routes and disrupt maritime shipping. judging by her neutral eyes and silence.

"Finally. The attack force to lock down their surface assets is an obvious distraction. They will wonder where the other fleets are, They will likely know that something is wrong. A larger assault force needs to be sent to present them with... the options of having to ignore the first fleet or either splitting their attention."

Inwardly, I was glad I had my databanks to draw on. It prevented me from simply stuttering out on a lot of my points. Even now I could imagine my nervousness rising up. my hands idly moving and reflexively trying to prepare a spell.

"I-I understand I-if i am out of line here. But let me propose this, Reinforce my division with additional ships. and strengthen Hornet's reserves so that she appears to be the main battle line. Imply that the other fleets are subordinated to Hornet's command and allow me to handle the submarines with my sensors and aircraft search once I have sufficient screening. The sirens will believe that I am merely a battleship detachment operating independently some distance away while Hornet will lead a direct assault on their main surface fleets to distract them on the high seas while my fleet searches for and hunts down submarines and key personnel."

"Hmm..." Princeton muttered. "I understand your concerns, Norfolk. but the assault is meant to neutralize their early warning assets and harass them. If we were to send a larger force, then there is the risk that they would devote their full might into a all-out defense and pitched battle. Instead, they will attempt to chase down a smaller force. and become overconfident. After that, by the time word reaches them of your exploits. it will be too late for them. We will put them at a serious setback one way or the other. but if there were to be more ships. the diversion may not be successful."

Well... Damn. that was a valid point, Looks like this is going to be a matter of persuasion that could go on for several minutes. and I have to be careful to try and act like a more leader-minded Norfolk while not slipping off anything that might hint at my true nature.