Icywinter
50% ice, 50% winter
- Location
- ?
- Pronouns
- She/Her
"If you say so, sir," Erika said. "Need a hand?"
The Biggest Clusterfuck That Ever Was [KanColle x World of Warships] (IC)
- Thread starter NuclearNickel
- Start date
"If you say so, sir," Erika said. "Need a hand?"
Skywalker_T-65
Writer with too many ideas.
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- Plural/They/He/Her
Well, this has been an illuminating day...
Sighing softly, I turned to head back to the mess hall. Everyone seemed to be heading that way anyway, and amusement from Kongou being Kongou aside, it was probably best to go that way. It might have been amusing how Walker stuck close to me as we passed by what's-his-face and Klondike, but I couldn't really blame her all the same. Maybe I hadn't been in the military long enough to develop the proper sense of humor. Maybe his sense of humor sucked. Regardless, I wasn't inclined to get mixed up in...
Well, whatever had happened. Walker was just sticking by me since she wasn't the 'huggy' type, and didn't want to be glomped again.
"Well, we should probably get some food," I told my girls, as we got closer to the mess hall.
"No argument here sir," Sara smiled, as she shook her head ruefully, "It was what we were trying to do, before Kongou was...Kongou."
I couldn't help the snort of amusement at that, "Well, there's never a dull moment with her around."
"Too bad the others aren't here," Walker spoke up.
And there went the amusement. I had been trying to not think about the fact it was only Sara and Walker with me. Ark, York, Guam, Thayer...not one of them had come along for the ride. Granted, if they all got their hulls back this base couldn't support them. But...it still hurt, a bit. I'd gotten used to having those girls around. It was almost like a big, highly, dysfunctional family. And now they were who knew where, and we were who knew where.
That worried me, more than I'd like to otherwise admit. What were we going to do? We needed to get back, before something happened to us or those we left behind. But there wasn't any sign of a way back, just empty ocean all around. Especially considering we had no idea how this had even happened in the first place.
Man, this is a mess...
Shaking my head, I sent a stronger-than-I-felt smile at the girls, as we entered the mess.
"I'm sure we'll figure out a way back to them, eventually," a small sigh escaped me, as I gathered food and claimed a table, "I'm sure of it."
I really wish I wasn't lying...
Sighing softly, I turned to head back to the mess hall. Everyone seemed to be heading that way anyway, and amusement from Kongou being Kongou aside, it was probably best to go that way. It might have been amusing how Walker stuck close to me as we passed by what's-his-face and Klondike, but I couldn't really blame her all the same. Maybe I hadn't been in the military long enough to develop the proper sense of humor. Maybe his sense of humor sucked. Regardless, I wasn't inclined to get mixed up in...
Well, whatever had happened. Walker was just sticking by me since she wasn't the 'huggy' type, and didn't want to be glomped again.
"Well, we should probably get some food," I told my girls, as we got closer to the mess hall.
"No argument here sir," Sara smiled, as she shook her head ruefully, "It was what we were trying to do, before Kongou was...Kongou."
I couldn't help the snort of amusement at that, "Well, there's never a dull moment with her around."
"Too bad the others aren't here," Walker spoke up.
And there went the amusement. I had been trying to not think about the fact it was only Sara and Walker with me. Ark, York, Guam, Thayer...not one of them had come along for the ride. Granted, if they all got their hulls back this base couldn't support them. But...it still hurt, a bit. I'd gotten used to having those girls around. It was almost like a big, highly, dysfunctional family. And now they were who knew where, and we were who knew where.
That worried me, more than I'd like to otherwise admit. What were we going to do? We needed to get back, before something happened to us or those we left behind. But there wasn't any sign of a way back, just empty ocean all around. Especially considering we had no idea how this had even happened in the first place.
Man, this is a mess...
Shaking my head, I sent a stronger-than-I-felt smile at the girls, as we entered the mess.
"I'm sure we'll figure out a way back to them, eventually," a small sigh escaped me, as I gathered food and claimed a table, "I'm sure of it."
I really wish I wasn't lying...
- Location
- United States, EST
- Pronouns
- He/Him
When the whoever-it-was-es insulted Self and his division, as well as cruisers in general, Harder just about growled in anger and Akatsuki gasped in shock. When Self started talking back Harder's scowl changed into a smirk, while Akatsuki continued to worriedly look on. Then Juneau stepped up, and that switched over to shock. Harder didn't even remember to give the insulters a dirty look on the way back to the mess.
He did make a mental note to take Juneau aside and try to give her a pep talk about that whole "I don't care if you insult me" thing. That wasn't gonna fly.
"Only just came to full consciousness a little while ago and have been eating breakfast since, not a lot of chances for things to go right or wrong yet," I responded absently. The other group was busy talking amongst themselves or something, I guess. "What's this about a something-or-other Smith?"
I turned to look at Self as I asked the question, and only then did I notice the bandages on his everything, particularly the extra bleeding through the bandages on his face. Then I remembered how apparently his patrol went south too. I was saved from the further realization that I was staring by Tenryū returning to the table with her second plate of food - pancakes, this time. "Hey." She took one look at Self and said succulently, "You look like shit."
And then someone tackled someone else at the entrance to the mess. A girl in a miko outfit and a guy in an officer's uniform, respectively.
Tenryū buried her face in her hands, and I couldn't tell if she was trying to avoid laughing or crying. "Kongou..." she groaned. So that's the girl she was talking about, then?
I stared at the scene for a moment, tilting my head slightly. "Is this... normal?"
He did make a mental note to take Juneau aside and try to give her a pep talk about that whole "I don't care if you insult me" thing. That wasn't gonna fly.
-------------------------
"Only just came to full consciousness a little while ago and have been eating breakfast since, not a lot of chances for things to go right or wrong yet," I responded absently. The other group was busy talking amongst themselves or something, I guess. "What's this about a something-or-other Smith?"
I turned to look at Self as I asked the question, and only then did I notice the bandages on his everything, particularly the extra bleeding through the bandages on his face. Then I remembered how apparently his patrol went south too. I was saved from the further realization that I was staring by Tenryū returning to the table with her second plate of food - pancakes, this time. "Hey." She took one look at Self and said succulently, "You look like shit."
And then someone tackled someone else at the entrance to the mess. A girl in a miko outfit and a guy in an officer's uniform, respectively.
Tenryū buried her face in her hands, and I couldn't tell if she was trying to avoid laughing or crying. "Kongou..." she groaned. So that's the girl she was talking about, then?
I stared at the scene for a moment, tilting my head slightly. "Is this... normal?"
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Greek Fire
One of these days, I'll actually start writing.
- Location
- The Earth Sphere
CompassJimbo
Where’s Your North?
- Location
- The former Rubber Capital of the World
I watched as the Admiral forced Kongou off, but apparently he was used to it. Kind of. I looked over and saw that the confrontation wasn't exactly about to die down. I walked up after managing to calm down.
"You don't exactly have to tackle him, hon." I said. "Even if it's been a while since you last saw him." I turned to Smith and apologized. "Sorry 'bout that, sir. She's been a handful since we met."
"And I can't help but love her for it." I muttered.
"You don't exactly have to tackle him, hon." I said. "Even if it's been a while since you last saw him." I turned to Smith and apologized. "Sorry 'bout that, sir. She's been a handful since we met."
"And I can't help but love her for it." I muttered.
- Location
- Eastern Coast Fleet Command
While the angry child had his temper tantrum, I noticed him taking off his bandage. For a moment I assumed he had some sort of bizarre mystical power, as after seeing girls who were the spirits of battleship, and having the ability to directly control a long obsolete destroyer, anything was possible. I mentally started reciting the Lord's Prayer, attempting to protect myself from the child's evil, while retaining my external stoic look.
When he showed me my drivers license, I mentally relaxed. This was a joke. This kid knew nothing, yet had command of a fleet? This was like a bad cartoon from Japan. I was happy now, as I had control. The kid blowing up meant I could simply take control, and so I did. For an engineer, seemed melodramatic. He would be eaten alive at Boeing, or Lockheed, or even a happy company like Betchel.
The cruiers's threats were another thing. If I had been carrying my service pistol, I would had to resist the urge to shove it in the girl's face, because threatening a kanmuso, an action in the Soviet Union and the UN Fleet that was punishable by restriction, even for the kanmuso, for a perverse sense of family, but instead, I simply raised a hand, and said, "Let's go somewhere," holding Klondike's hand as I entirely blew off the fuming cruiser. Her lack of knowledge of logistics was critical. The girl reverting to threats of murder? What was she, an edgy teenager? I headed out to a smoke pad. That was the cure to this nonsense. She was still yelling as I slipped away with Klondike.
A support ship had the most important job, making sure these frontline ships could fight, and she could easily cut the cruiser in two with a mine to the chest, or her various welding tools applied directly to her keel, or perhaps a simple high energy plasma bolt from her repair yard. She was clearly sociopathic, and bipolar, a legacy of the bad vibes of her defeat in the war. The knowledge she had that she could end this girl was good enough, because not all wars were fought on the battlefield, as much as the weapons designers thought. Wars were battles of logistics and intelligence, and this girl already lacked the second part. Before she could speak, her partner held her hand and walked away, heading to one of the many smoke pads on the base.
"Sir, I could cut a bitch right now," she said, "That psychopathic thing. I'm shocked she isn't an Abyssal with all that vile. She needs a major re-adjustment."
I nodded, "and that kid. How the hell does he not know basic military commands? Do they not have mandatory service?" I shook my head, inhaling the smooth menthol cigarettes, the feeling in my lungs liberating the stress. "Well, we'll support them in battle and make sure if they fall to recover them," I said, "But if he tries to order me, I'll go McAullife on them," I laugh, as Klondike smiles, her own thinner cigarettes still faintly wafting away.
"I mean honestly, you support your higher ups, but you don't threaten to murder people. What if you were more irrational. She doesn't know who we are. I mean hell, if you were like your mentor, there would be bodies-"
I laughed, "I'm not like President Ryan," he laughed, "The man did amazing things," he laughed, "Now let's go back inside," I put out the cigarette, placing it into the handy pit.
"Again, I miss mandatory military training," Klondike said, before following me back into the large galley.
When he showed me my drivers license, I mentally relaxed. This was a joke. This kid knew nothing, yet had command of a fleet? This was like a bad cartoon from Japan. I was happy now, as I had control. The kid blowing up meant I could simply take control, and so I did. For an engineer, seemed melodramatic. He would be eaten alive at Boeing, or Lockheed, or even a happy company like Betchel.
The cruiers's threats were another thing. If I had been carrying my service pistol, I would had to resist the urge to shove it in the girl's face, because threatening a kanmuso, an action in the Soviet Union and the UN Fleet that was punishable by restriction, even for the kanmuso, for a perverse sense of family, but instead, I simply raised a hand, and said, "Let's go somewhere," holding Klondike's hand as I entirely blew off the fuming cruiser. Her lack of knowledge of logistics was critical. The girl reverting to threats of murder? What was she, an edgy teenager? I headed out to a smoke pad. That was the cure to this nonsense. She was still yelling as I slipped away with Klondike.
- * *
A support ship had the most important job, making sure these frontline ships could fight, and she could easily cut the cruiser in two with a mine to the chest, or her various welding tools applied directly to her keel, or perhaps a simple high energy plasma bolt from her repair yard. She was clearly sociopathic, and bipolar, a legacy of the bad vibes of her defeat in the war. The knowledge she had that she could end this girl was good enough, because not all wars were fought on the battlefield, as much as the weapons designers thought. Wars were battles of logistics and intelligence, and this girl already lacked the second part. Before she could speak, her partner held her hand and walked away, heading to one of the many smoke pads on the base.
- * *
"Sir, I could cut a bitch right now," she said, "That psychopathic thing. I'm shocked she isn't an Abyssal with all that vile. She needs a major re-adjustment."
I nodded, "and that kid. How the hell does he not know basic military commands? Do they not have mandatory service?" I shook my head, inhaling the smooth menthol cigarettes, the feeling in my lungs liberating the stress. "Well, we'll support them in battle and make sure if they fall to recover them," I said, "But if he tries to order me, I'll go McAullife on them," I laugh, as Klondike smiles, her own thinner cigarettes still faintly wafting away.
"I mean honestly, you support your higher ups, but you don't threaten to murder people. What if you were more irrational. She doesn't know who we are. I mean hell, if you were like your mentor, there would be bodies-"
I laughed, "I'm not like President Ryan," he laughed, "The man did amazing things," he laughed, "Now let's go back inside," I put out the cigarette, placing it into the handy pit.
"Again, I miss mandatory military training," Klondike said, before following me back into the large galley.
I tiredly blinked as I began shoveling food into my mouth. Occasionally Jack would put her hand on mine holding the fork to quietly imply that I need to pause and breathe air instead of food. It was a long-standing habit of my brother and myself to eat quickly, so this was the compromise Jack and I had come up with this issue. I took those enforced breaks as chances to guzzle one of my three cups of water followed by some milk from my fourth cup. Atlanta split her time between consuming her three plates of food and trying to uplift the confidence of Juneau. Juneau just sullenly sat and ate slowly compared to her although she was consistently reducing her own two plates of food at an appreciable rate. Aurora ate daintily and slowly for a cruiser shipgirl, but she was probably eating faster than me as well. Cole...she just picked at her food. Granted, whenever she did so, she speared a large amount of it and then devoured the entire serving in one bite somehow.
I looked back at Mike, ignoring the ruckus at the entrance. "Nah, all things considered, I think today...." I looked over at Tenryuu and pondered my next words carefully as I could feel my medication for my concentration begin kicking in. "...has the potential to be worse. Can't stand one of the new people and his partner." I grumbled a bit more under my breath, but Jack was willing to let it go without comment. I rested my fork on my plate and squeezed Jack's hand in appreciation, earning myself a warm smile. I pushed my empty plate into the middle of the table and leaned into Jack and laid my head on her shoulder in a contemplative mood while basking in her affection and support.
Who needed to control their allies when you could all work together toward one goal? I slowly felt my hatred and anger from earlier drain out of my emotional pressure cooker. On my left side, Juneau rubbed my knee while I absently rubbed her shoulder to help Atlanta slowly bring Juneau out of her own fugue. If there was one highlight of this whole miserable experience from this morning, it was that I was with people who were to indulge in my need for personal and physical contact to calm down and relax.
I shifted into a slightly more-comfortable position that wouldn't put any pressure on my bandages. Just as I was about to respond to Calcifer, Cole spoke up after swallowing another gargantuan mouthful of food. "He's a prick and a scumbag to boot." she paused to drain one of her coffee mugs. "Whoever his buddy-buddy-girl is, she's got some wit unlike that Lieutenant Smith. Our Juneau here," Cole pointed to the suddenly-surprised shipgirl at the spotlight of attention, "ripped them structurally-superfluous new behind." I couldn't help myself from snickering lightly. Cole looked back at me. "Yeah, Self here went super passive-aggressive first when he shut them down. Between them both, I'd said they got wrecked appropriately."
I clenched my right hand before allowing it to relax. I contemplated getting another plate of food when I found a fork of food in front of my face held by Jack. "Really Jack?" Her response was obvious as she poked my mouth once with the utensil before I obligingly opened my mouth and began chewing the pancake bit once the fork was out of my mouth. Once I finished chewing, I looked at the cruiser who told me how poorly I looked. "Honestly, I feel like shit. Inadequate and kinda useless to boot after dealing with that Lieutenant Smith. Cole's right that he's annoying, but I may have jumped the gun on trying to rip out his throat. I'm not so good at times with people before my normal meds kick in." I noticed the shipgirl's own array of bandages and such. "You don't look too good yourself. How are you holding up after yesterday?"
I idly paused rubbing Juneau's shoulder to point at Calcifer. "That question goes to you too, by the way. I've gone to the funerals for friends lost in the war as well as for perfectly mundane things. Just because...uh, shit. Hang on." I wracked my brain for her name. She was famous, so how could I forget her name? "Right, Tenryuu. Just because she's back with us all doesn't mean that all of your guilt and such is gone or even wrong to feel in the first place." I smiled sadly as I noticed Aurora shy away slightly from Mike and Calcifer. Mike I could understand, since he had sunk her Abyssal form, but why was she shying away from Calcifer? Did she not trust him because he got Tenryuu sunk? I focused back on Calcifer. "Like a lot of people who live near coastal areas, I have plenty of experience in dealing with grief, although I'm not a professional or even sure that whatever helped me will help you. Just know that I'm here to help if you need it."
Jack looked over at the newest group with suspicion before I felt her body quiver with excitement. "Hey Tiger, it's Sara!" I tilted my head a bit to look past her neck to see another guy with two presumable shipgirls. One of them did look like Jack's fellow carrier and friend, USS Saratoga. I mumbled something that I didn't know what I meant as I continued to enjoy my restful perch on Jack's shoulder. She patted my head affectionately before I then felt my head being lifted from her shoulder. "Cole, I kindly request that you to do me a favor to be returned in the future. Please, come over here." I dimly noticed Cole nodding slightly and getting up from the other side of the table and then vanishing from view.
Jack pushed me nearly upright gently while unwrapping my right arm from around her waist. When had I done that? I felt really sleepy with how full and content I was. After a moment, my head was lowered back onto somewhat narrower shoulder and my arm pulled back around a definitely different waist. I tilted my head enough to see Cole's face framed by her silver-colored hair and could only think how pretty she looked, especially with how her blushing seemed to contrast really nicely with her hair and eyes. I nudged a bit closer into her neck with my head and fell into a state of drowsy, half-awake resting while breathing in the oddly-nice smell of Cole. I never would have pegged her as the type vain enough to use perfume, scented shampoo, or anything like that. Distantly, I heard Jack walking away and introducing herself to the other possible American carrier girl. "Hey Sara! Long time, no see huh? How have you been?" She seemed to have gotten over this morning's incident quickly as I idly drummed my right hand's unharmed fingers on Cole's right hip in complete subconscious forgetfulness that I was not cuddling with Jack.
Breakaway25
All hail the Mighty Tomcat
- Location
- Stuck on the Quarterdeck
"Thank you," I said, then used the battleship's outstretched hand to pull myself up. I scanned the room a few times, taking in everyone in the room. I recognized everyone in the room from earlier conversation.
I turned to Alphonse and asked, "Is this everyone?"
Cmmdfugal
I married female crota
- Location
- being a verified boat
I began to stir wondering why my bed was so fluffy and really warm looking around it was actually quite cramped and, i heard a familiar voice coming from somewhere near me.
"Hmmm? Don't go"
ahh and there explains the feeling: the cotton in the box and Taihou snuggling up to me.
"Hey wake up we may want to tell everyone about this place." it would honestly be a great distraction for everyone
"Hmmmm" she just kept snuggling almost like a cat. either not sharing my enthusiasm for this idea or still sleeping
i knew that we needed something to keep spirits up so why not make it comedic. but when you girfriend is keeping you snuggled and unable to move well things go to logical extremes.
"Someone is trying to steal your grilled bird recipe."
she still kept trying to snuggle me but paused for a moment. as if processing what i had just said.
she opened one of her eyes narrowed and filled with a murderous rage and when the other had been opened the unimaginable feeling of death had filled the small area.
Shit I should not have said that
almost exploding in to movement and blasting the lid off of the top of the box we were in she entered a state of unbridled fury grabbing me by my shoulders
"WHO THE HELL TRIED TO TAKE IT WHOOOOOO"
before i could respond she looked around and it took her a moment but it clicked
"You did this to wake me up didn't you."
seepishly i smiled back before reeling over in pain as i felt her fist connect with my stomach
"Ok...i may have deserved that.....can we just get some food and tell everyone that we have a masssive supply of cotton."
"What would we need cotton for?"
"I don't know maybe someone else know all i can think of right now is using them as beds as we just proved"
"fine but you have to make dinner tonight"
as we left the building and made our way to the mess hall we could hear the noise coming from it but considering some of the ship girls in here it was not too surprising from the stories I have hear. entering the door looking around there were some new faces around the building i figured that maybe we should hold off the cotton until we had a larger meeting as opposed to the more inter personal thing here.
"Hmmm? Don't go"
ahh and there explains the feeling: the cotton in the box and Taihou snuggling up to me.
"Hey wake up we may want to tell everyone about this place." it would honestly be a great distraction for everyone
"Hmmmm" she just kept snuggling almost like a cat. either not sharing my enthusiasm for this idea or still sleeping
i knew that we needed something to keep spirits up so why not make it comedic. but when you girfriend is keeping you snuggled and unable to move well things go to logical extremes.
"Someone is trying to steal your grilled bird recipe."
she still kept trying to snuggle me but paused for a moment. as if processing what i had just said.
she opened one of her eyes narrowed and filled with a murderous rage and when the other had been opened the unimaginable feeling of death had filled the small area.
Shit I should not have said that
almost exploding in to movement and blasting the lid off of the top of the box we were in she entered a state of unbridled fury grabbing me by my shoulders
"WHO THE HELL TRIED TO TAKE IT WHOOOOOO"
before i could respond she looked around and it took her a moment but it clicked
"You did this to wake me up didn't you."
seepishly i smiled back before reeling over in pain as i felt her fist connect with my stomach
"Ok...i may have deserved that.....can we just get some food and tell everyone that we have a masssive supply of cotton."
"What would we need cotton for?"
"I don't know maybe someone else know all i can think of right now is using them as beds as we just proved"
"fine but you have to make dinner tonight"
as we left the building and made our way to the mess hall we could hear the noise coming from it but considering some of the ship girls in here it was not too surprising from the stories I have hear. entering the door looking around there were some new faces around the building i figured that maybe we should hold off the cotton until we had a larger meeting as opposed to the more inter personal thing here.
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- Location
- United States, EST
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Right about then, Harder and Akatsuki arrived at the table. Harder dropped his plate - ham and eggs, it looked like - on the table with a clatter. "Yep," he growled. "Complete prick." He sat down and added, "Juneau and Self here handled it pretty well, though," nodding to the two in question. I nodded, filing the information from Harder and the girl I hadn't met before
ṣ̤̹̥͉̭̬̖̉T̟̫̻̟̥̻̖͈ͭ̔̈́̍̉̾̅̚ë̲̭̜͚̤̠̩̞́͆̂̿̌̽̃̾ͤ͠A̵͈̺͍͈ͨͧ͆͌͛͘͢d̸̲͚͂́͜f͆̆̅҉̶͕̠̤̖͍͍̗̤̗a̶̢̟̩͍̹͒̇͞ͅSͬͨ͋̒͐́͏̧͈ẗ̶́͘҉͉̝̰̖-̡̮͍͖̐̚͜Ư̷̦̦̹̮ͯͭ̔̓̉́̏͜ͅN͚̖̪͉͖̼͍̙̳ͭ͊Y̵̥̤̓̀I̎ͫ̃̽̽̉ͯ҉̳̞͓͈ͅE̶͈͇̺̅͠L͙̬̲̺͚̦̺̤̓̓ͨ̈́̉̌D͍̊ͭ̎͛͑͢I̷̘̮̘ͪ̈̇N̋ͮ͋͂ͪ̏͏̡͙̲̭̭̦̹G̡̦̪̺̙̞͑̔-͉͔͙͑̈́͒̔̃l̺̺̭̣̟̹̠ͭ͌͋̃ͤ͒̆̎̿͘ͅo̱̟͕̣̮̞̾̈́̃̃ͣ͆ẏ͕͚̟͚̤͇̬͖̃ͯ͢͡ả̶̩̝͙̦̫͓̺̆͋l
away for later, before peering distractedly at the colourful box of cereal Akatsuki had set on the table next to her bowl....Were those cornflakes or sugarflakes?
For some reason, I felt like running away.
I grinned at the couple's little antics while Tenryū answered. "'M fine. Still alive, aren't I? And I'm healing faster than usual anyways; should be better by this afternoon. Not that that stops some people from getting all overprotective..."
"You were fugging sunk," Harder replied.
"Forgive us" me "for being a little worried about you after that," I added dryly. Akatsuki made a little noise of agreement and gave Tenryū a doleful look. Tenryū grimaced in a way that said she knew all that and she understood, but that didn't mean she had to like it.
I froze with my coffee mug halfway to my face, then forced myself to finish the sip and set the cup back down. "I'm... functional," I eventually answered. Not fine. I know I'm not fine. Even as asleep as I was, I remembered to check each ship that I passed on my way here to make sure that they were all still afloat, that everyone was still alive.
Tenryū gave me a sidelong look. Yeah, she wasn't buying that for a second, was she?
It was interesting to think that Jack knew one of the people who had just walked in. Considering they hadn't been at the briefing the other day so far as I could remember, they'd probably only very recently turned up. 'Course, I hadn't a clue who they were myself. "Sara", apparently.
Then Jack stood up to go say hello to "Sara". Which was perfectly reasonable. Except the method she used to deal with Self, who had started nodding off on Jack's shoulder, was to call the girl who had been talking earlier - "Cole", I suppose - over and lean Self up against her. And then Self started cuddling her as he dozed off. And Cole blushed - which wouldn't be too remarkable, considering the position she was in, except my only other real interaction with her so far had been her calling someone I'd never met a "prick", so it was a bit incongruent.
Harder was busy with his food and, if my read on him was right, he probably wouldn't care a whit anyways. Akatsuki was in the middle of her second bowl of "cereal" and seemed just slightly too innocent to pick up on the byplay. Tenryū and I shared a Look. It went:
Is... Is this what I think it is?
I dunno. Maybe?
I muttered, "I thought Self and Jack were..." before realizing I was actually talking aloud and cutting myself off with an awkward cough.
"So," I began as though nothing else had been said, plastering a smile on my face, "I don't think we've met before. Calcifer Improvisation, at your service."
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NuclearNickel
smug.jpg
- Location
- Bootes Void
I decided that the little...expedition that I had led on had stagnated, so instead of waiting or pressing the subject I opted for secret option number three.
Walking away whilst yawing the tired French/Irish/American I was.
I paced forward, tugging my jacket to keep the collar near my face when I noticed a peculiar sight....a man, with some bloodied bandages here and there, leaning on a rather gorgeous looking woman who was having a conversation with another girl. The guy looked like he was on his last legs,....poor dude.
I shuffled over, staring at the injured guy.
"You okay, man?"
Walking away whilst yawing the tired French/Irish/American I was.
I paced forward, tugging my jacket to keep the collar near my face when I noticed a peculiar sight....a man, with some bloodied bandages here and there, leaning on a rather gorgeous looking woman who was having a conversation with another girl. The guy looked like he was on his last legs,....poor dude.
I shuffled over, staring at the injured guy.
"You okay, man?"
Icywinter
50% ice, 50% winter
- Location
- ?
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Alphonse nodded. "Yessir. Let's head off to the mess and get some food in us. I imagine everyone is quite famished after this little adventure," he said, looking at everyone. "Shall we?"
Breakaway25
All hail the Mighty Tomcat
- Location
- Stuck on the Quarterdeck
"Lead on, after last night's adventures, I could eat just about anything at this point."
Skywalker_T-65
Writer with too many ideas.
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- Plural/They/He/Her
I blinked slowly, as a new girl walked up and started talking to Sara. I was confused at first, not immediately recognizing the girl with a reddish-brown ponytail hanging over her shoulder. On the other hand, the girl by my side most certainly did recognize her, if her reaction was anything to go by. Sara's green eyes lit up, as she smiled widely at the other girl. Of course, this just served to further confuse me- and apparently Walker too -considering that type of reaction from Sara was...well...
Odd.
"Jack! It's good to see you too," Sara's smile didn't dim in the slightest, as she looked between the new girl and me, "Admiral, have I told you about Jack?"
"...no?"
She shook her head fondly, before gesturing at 'Jack', which I will note was a totally unassuming name that gave me no idea who the girl in question was. At least with Walker she used that as her last name, which made for 'Ensign Walker' instead of 'Jane'. Then again, clearly Sara knew her well, so...
Maybe a carrier? Didn't look much like a cruiser and was certainly too old to be a destroyer.
"Jacqueline Buckmaster," Sara continued, "Jack, or otherwise known as USS Yorktown."
There was silence as my brain processed that, before it reset upon what Sara had just told me.
Wait...Yorktown...of all carriers? I mean, I haven't seen Enterprise around, but her sister is here? Unless it's the Essex one, but I doubt Sara would be so friendly with her. York on the other hand...they did spend time together during the war, right? I think?
My momentary failing of history knowledge aside, at least I knew who this was now. Better that than someone totally random. At least Yorkt...Jack...was a famous ship. Could have been worse. I had more idea how to act around carriers, than any other ship girl out there. At least, I liked to think I did anyway. I hadn't been slapped by one yet!
"Are you going to say hi or not?" Walker elbowed me in the side, jarring me out of my random thoughts.
I coughed slightly at that, "Right...it's nice to meet you. Commander Derek Jones, Sara's...Admiral. As she never ceases to call me, despite the fact I'll probably never get that high up."
"And a greeaaatttt friend," Walker submitted as well, putting a lot of emphasis on that word.
Damn it Walker.
I looked over the other tired guy and gave him a thumbs-up with my left hand. "I..I'm okay. Honestly, I'm," I drew out the 'm' sound plenty in an unintentional slurring, "'m just a bit tired. Could use a nap. Not gonna get one with it being daylight now. Dun sleep well in...in...daylight. Any light really though."
As I turned back to Cal to hear his response, I saw an oddly-familiar bearded man wearing a ushanka creep along the wall of the mess hall in perhaps the least-stealthy manner ever. In fact, when he noticed my attention and waved vigorously in an indication to not tell anyone. I gave him an idle thumbs-up too which then drew Cole's attention away from...something? She was talking from above me, which was weird. "What are you doing, Self? Are you going crazy on us?"
"Ummm," I slurred my words again this time, although I interrupted it by grabbing a glass of water to quench my thirst slightly. I couldn't think of any plausible story, so I just told her the truth instead. "I'm just giving a thumbs-up to one of my delusions. I thought I just saw one of my favorite Exalted characters ever sneaking in here with a big old backpack on him in probably the worst way possible."
I felt the stares of the others on me at that moment. Atlanta spoke up next, actual concern in her voice. "Boss, are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm...I'm just fine!" I almost spat the last word out. Why was everyone asking me that?
I drowsily caught Cal's words, but they were confusing to me in my sleepy state. It was also annoying reminder of why I could not and would not fall asleep here. My ears and hearing were still as keen and aware as ever, and I was very sensitive to sounds and such. I was resting on and hugging Jack, wasn't I? I looked to my side above me -words were hard when I was this tired- realized that it was not Jack's hair above me. Instead, I saw the silver hair of Cole, and my mind surged in an effort to regain full awareness once more. Meanwhile, I distantly heard Cole introducing herself. "USS Pensacola, lead ship of the same cruiser class, so tough that it took a world war, two nuclear blasts, and sustained shelling to sink me and Salt Lake City. You don't get much tougher than us despite being treaty cruisers.. Apparent caretaker of this division right now too." More than a bit of bitterness shaded her words, but there was an underlying sense of pride too. Pride in her sister ships, in her toughness, and in being trusted to take care of the division -and me?- by Jack with her not-here and me struggling to wake up really.
And yet, I struggled to summon up the energy to be active which was strange to say the least. Normally, I would only act like this when it was late evening or I had over-exerted myself. I suddenly recalled what I had done so impulsively earlier when dealing with that scumbag officer on top of what had happened to me yesterday. I unwrapped my arm from Cole's waist and attempted to sit upright and drink more fluids. My whole body felt oddly heavily and in a way that felt unnatural. It was not the encumberance of thick bandages or clothing, but rather it was the slowness of a body lacking the resources to move quickly.
Which is why my attempt to sit upright while mumbling about fluids incoherently instead resulted in me lifting my head off of Cole's shoulder by a few inches. After that, I lost the war with gravity and slumped down entirely into Cole's lap, briefly colliding with both portions of her chest. It was then that I mumbled loudly. "'M not okay. Not okay at all."
Pensacola looked down into her lap -at me- in disbelief. "Self, the Hell is wrong with you?" I tried to say something in response, but my tongue felt like it was made of lead and likewise to my other limbs. Still, I kept my left arm on top of the table in repeated attempts to pull myself back up. After two more failed attempts, Cole's disbelief and confusion shifted into worry. "Hey," she said while tapping me on my shoulder, "are you okay?" I slowly turned and lifted my head out of her lap twice in the use of most of my body's remaining strength in a not-okay-gesture.
Shifting my gaze to the admittedly nice view of legs under the table, I surprised to see a very bearded face of a man wearing a ushanka. And when he spoke, I felt a part of me inside jump with joy as another part died in despair. "Ah! Greetings Comrade-Captain-Creator!" He paused for a moment of contemplation with a gloved hand rubbing his chin that was somewhere underneath his beard. "Or is Comrade-Creator-Captain? I do not know which! All that matter is that it is good to see you!"
His exuberance was palpable as was my horrified and amazed expression at one of my fictional characters showing up in front. "Now, I am here to give you medicine. I cannot fight like Great Frozen Badass that am because of boring rules, but they control you, so they control me. Now, you were very naughty and did not have blood or nutrient drips after battle yesterday." He pointed and waved a very admonishing index finger at me. "Your...'waifu's doctor, is right word yes?" He looked to me for clarification.
"Uhhh, girlfriend is the word you want. Not married."
He shrugged at me. "Not matter much in long run, yes?" My deeply-blushing face told him everything he needed to know and thus he grinned very broadly. "Good! You not lying to yourself. Very funny, yessss?"
"I cannot believe I am talking to a delusion." I looked up at Cole's face to see her very confused expression and staring at me. Looking back under the table, I could see Juneau, Atlanta, and Aurora all staring in stupefaction as well with Aurora actually smiling at the limited Solar Exalt. A look of horror dawned over my face. "Oh God, you're not a delusion."
Borealis smiled back at me with the pride of a father. "Very good! Now..." He came out from underneath the table, pulling his massive -FROST-COVERED? How is that even possible?- pack out with him and began pulling out various things from like a hospital room or something like that. Even several IV bags....
My brain began to catch up on what he said, and how I knew he functioned. "You're...yerrr gonna put me to sleep, aren't you?"
He smiled broadly again. "I would never lie to you about anything like that. Now, please say 'Ahhhhh.' "
Thrown off by him suddenly going into full-professionalism mode, I could only sputter before saying, "You, you didn't even answer my question! What's up with that suspiciousness, Huuu-"
As I slurred the last word, he chose that moment to carefully, accurately, and swiftly jab me with a needle cleared of air bubbles a moment before. "Close enough."
I could only sigh as I waited for the effects to kick in while He set up the stands for the IV and blood bags. The entire table was struck quiet and dumb by the whirlwind of a man. "The Hell are you trying do? He's my Division's leader, and I'll be damned if I let you do something to him without my approval!" Well, except for Cole, unfortunately for her, this protest got her two jabs of needles.
Borealis waved his admonishing finger at her too. "You have been very bad too. Was going to be nice Marshall, but you force hand! You get treatment now too." He looked over at Atlanta, with one of her arms still in a sling. "Will you be problem too?"
She shook her head frantically. "Nope! I'll be good! I'll watch Boss and Cole if you want!"
He smiled again. "Good to have at least one good patient. Must come from all of hospitals in namesake city?" Atlanta shrugged as my vision blurred. "Ah, comrades are going under now! Excellent! Now, time to stab very carefully..." his voice trailed off as I passed out and felt Cole above me do likewise. I vaguely sensed pinpricks in my arms, presumably him making the entry points for the IV and blood transfusion bags. I hoped I didn't have trippy dreams from Abyssals again, despite how nicely or well things with Aurora had gone.
Meanwhile, Jack saluted the somewhat-scrawny officer before barely restraining her impulse to launch herself into a flying hug at her good friend Sara. Instead, she held the salute before swiftly walking over to wrap up her old friend in a hug. "It's so good to see you, Sara!" She then pulled back out of the hug after a few moments and actually gave an assessing gaze to man seated beside Sara.
Unlike Sara, Jack had not needed to go hunting or handpicking her commanding officer during the Abyssal War. Instead, Jack had been kept with the little group of ships she had come back with for the duration of the war and often shifted about from place to place, easily shifting from offensive to defensive operations, but typically smaller-scale aside from hyper-important engagements that had called for every ship to participate, like the final operations of the war. Usually, she was commanded by the higher-ups in a theater and employed in those raids and stopgap defensive actions as those higher-ups' riot response. With this reminder of her war service, she wondered how her other friends had been doing and whether they too had been swept up in this new war. She sincerely hoped not as this war already had the signs of being much worse than the last time.
Mentally placing those thoughts back into their places, her eyes swept up and down over the commander twice before assessing Sara's other companion the same way. Mulling over the shorter girl's words, her eyes narrowed and darted from Sara to her commander. Offhandedly, she noticed Tiger slurring his words in the way he only did while utterly exhausted. Tiger was in good care though, and Cole was too rough-tough-rumble-and-tumble to fall for Tiger. At least, she was fairly confident of that. Jack cast her focus upon the body language of Sara and her commander, wondering if Sara had fallen for her commander like the smaller girl was implying. If so, Jack judged this Derek Jones worthy enough of taking care of her good friend. She smiled broadly at the trio, all traces of assessing suspicion dropping away in the cheerful approval that her friend had finally found someone worthy. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Commander Jones." Her smile then mischievous. "Should you require my approval to court Sara, "She paused for dramatic amusement. Times like these reminded her how much Tiger had obliviously worn down her stalwart professionalism and somehow secured a place in her heart. With Jones and Sara, Jack wondered which one was wearing down the walls of professionalism for the other. Perhaps it was a mutual thing with the other girl serving as a reaction catalyst to enable further and faster wearing away without being affected by it? "...Then you have my approval." She looked back to Sara. "Did you know that Hornet is on-base as well? We need to find her again and have a get-together when war isn't constantly knocking on this base's doorstep."
Around this time, Jack became aware of a very boisterous and accented voice followed by Cole shouting back at the voice. As soon as she saw the tall, bearded, and hat-wearing man towering over Tiger and putting away two syringes he had just used to inject something into Cole, she felt an eruption of fury and rage begin to rumble from within her chest. This man had dared harm Cole and possibly Tiger as well? There were some things she could forgive, but this was not something she would ever forgive. Then, she began to notice the little things: the silver color of his padded and armored jacket, the ushanka, the beard, the fact his accent could and would shift every word at times, and the complete lack of malice directed to anyone. "Oh no. This...this is not happening." She shook her head in disbelief. "There is no way that an Exalted character of my boyfriend is actually hooking him and the personification of the USS Pensacola up to IV and blood bags."
The man finished his tasks as Cole slumped back onto a chair with several blankets folded onto it to serve as a cushion. Once he was done, he whirled about and grinned broadly at Jack. It was a grin that somehow inspired both great joy and great terror within the shipgirl. This duality was only magnified when he opened his mouth and spoke boisteriously, "Ah! Comrade-Captain-Creator's Comrade-Commander-waifu-girlfriend! Good to see you!" Jack buried her face in her hands. There was no way that those words would not come back to haunt her somehow.
She looked up, rubbed her eyes, and looked again. He was still there. "Ah, hello there. Marshall Borealis, correct? I have heard your many stories from Tiger." Her voice was soft and defeated as he came over to sweep her up in a hug.
"That is so good to hearrrr. Now, come with me and remind me to have words with your chief doctor. I need lecturing of him sternly." His face dropped momentarily into granite expression that promised destruction before the cheerful smile covered over it once more. "Now, I need your help." He carried her over by Atlanta and sat her down next to the worried light cruiser. He pointed at Atlanta. "Now, you say you be good patient, yes?" At her fierce nodding, he patted the cruiser on the head. "Very good. Now, rest in lap pillow of Comrade-Commander." Atlanta slumped slowly over into the lap of the confused and blushing carrier. The man followed up by attaching IV and blood line into the cruiser's arms and then bowing respectfully to Jack. "Work here is done. If you need of me, I be on Tallahassee in its sickbay waiting call to fix dumbness again." He then picked up his gargantuan pack and strode out of the mess hall, completely ignorant of any unanticipated results of his actions, such as Aurora cowering underneath the table at the man's sheer strength of personality or how Juneau had somehow gone back to eating as if nothing had ever happened.
She looked at the two full mugs of coffee in front of her from Cole earlier and downed them in an instant. No amount of coffee would make her ready to handle any more insanity like this today, but it beat not having enough coffee at all.
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hfdt123
Hi there. Bye.
- Location
- Tonking in a stop-gap tonk.
Eventually I got bored of waiting for Alphonse and took a look around the room. Then I noticed the the people I hit during the meeting and that the guy had some IV bags sticking out of him. Curious I walked up to see another person with IVs in them, a girl hiding under the table, what I think is the guy's girlfriend in shock, and another girl eating. Then I also noticed that all of them except the girl under the table has an IV bag.
"So what happened to have 4 people get IV bags with one blanked out and have someone hiding under the table? " I said dumbfounded.
"So what happened to have 4 people get IV bags with one blanked out and have someone hiding under the table? " I said dumbfounded.
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- Location
- United States, EST
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I'd been about to respond to Cole - Pensacola, I suppose - when Self collapsed. I immediately stood, grabbing my cane, to limp around the table and try to help. I didn't know anything about medicine - or if I did I couldn't remember - but he was my friend. I had to at least try to do something. Akatsuki got up and dashed over at about the same time, with Tenryū doing the same barely a moment later and Harder a few seconds after that.
Then the guy with the beard turned up.
T̸̶̢̩̪̤͔̪̻̙̻̀h̷̢̟̺̟͎̹̠̺͛́͌E̜̠̝̩ͯ̐̿̒ͣ͡ͅ-̬͎͇̥͇ͧͪ̿͛̉ḧ̻͔̲̙͂̽̀ͨę̵̠͕͈̞͐̃͐̅́̈́̀L̝͇͇̞̠̺̦̖̠͐ͤ̍̄͑͋ͩ̉͟͟l̴̨̤̤̹̯͕̟̏̈́̊̔̋̑ͭͣ̕?̻̤̤̗̹̖̭̮ͪ͆ͩ̏̉̈́̿
I just watched in pure befuddlement as the guy knocked Self and Pensacola unconscious with syringes, before setting both of them and Atlanta up with IVs while saying something or other about blood loss. It never occurred to me to think it might be some sort of assassination or attack going on. You just don't try to do something like that dressed like that so blatantly in the middle of a crowded mess hall like this. The whole division just sort of watched the bizzare event unfold.After the... Borealis character, I think Jack called him, had said his piece and gotten the trio set up with IVs, he strode right out of the mess. I watched him go, then turned to face the rest of my division. "Is that normal?" I asked, everything from my expression to my tone of voice conveying my desperate desire for the answer to be "no."
Harder had the expression of a man who had unexpectedly discovered the last, singular fuck he had to give. He seemed to metaphorically examine it, committing it to his memory, before setting it free as one would a dove. Then he returned to his seat and went back to eating. Akatsuki looked worried and more than a little confused, but she slowly returned to her bowl of milk and
The question - asked by the guy who'd decided he was a pinball at the meeting the other day - broke the mutual stare, with the both of us slumping forwards out of sheer disbelief. "Blood loss and a crazy doctor, apparently," I answered, kneading my forehead with a sigh. "I wonder if there's any alcohol in the kitchen..." I turned to start walking towards the back of the mess.
"I'm coming with," Tenryū chimed in as she moved to walk beside me.
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CompassJimbo
Where’s Your North?
- Location
- The former Rubber Capital of the World
Kongou and I watched as someone collapsed and several people rushed over to help. Someone stuck a number of IV bags into the poor bastard. Even though I wasn't even an LPN, never mind a proper RN or physician, I was pretty sure that wasn't how you treated... whatever happened. Someone with a beard we had never seen stood up and did... stuff...
I wasn't quite sure what happened. The two of us promptly found a seat after he sat back down and began eating, and hopefully without interruptions.
Still, I couldn't help but get an odd feeling about something. I clamped down on it as I dug into my plate of bacon and French toast.
I wasn't quite sure what happened. The two of us promptly found a seat after he sat back down and began eating, and hopefully without interruptions.
Still, I couldn't help but get an odd feeling about something. I clamped down on it as I dug into my plate of bacon and French toast.
Skywalker_T-65
Writer with too many ideas.
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- Plural/They/He/Her
I wasn't sure if my face or Sara's went redder at that string of statements. Walker laughing her ass off in the background hardly helped matters. I mean, on the one hand, at least Yorkt...Jack, remember that...wasn't angry. I had seen the way she had looked at me once Walker's words had registered with her, and I had been ready to defend myself. It wasn't the first, and certainly wouldn't be the last, time that I had to do so with a kanmusu. Lexington had, oddly for her considering her usually easygoing nature, torn me a metaphorical new one when she found out Sara picked me as her Admiral.
Compared to that, while Jack's appraising look hadn't exactly been comfortable, it wasn't as bad. I mean, it still sucked being judged like that, but at least I'd had worse.
...until she had opened her mouth, anyway.
"Court..." I sputtered, face probably bright enough to function as a searchlight, if my actual searchlight probably hadn't gone off too, "I have no idea what you're..."
Sara poked me in the side, shaking her own red face, "We aren't...we aren't together, Jack. Walker is just being her usual self!"
"Suuuuurreeee I am."
If I wasn't professional, I would be glaring at the destroyer right about now. She knew exactly what she was doing, and it bugged the hell out of me. I knew this was payback for earlier, and it would stop eventually. But it was the principle of the thing! I didn't need to add fuel to that fire, since I wasn't sure if Jack was even joking or not.
And for her part, the carrier didn't even stick around long enough to find out. She mentioned Hornet being on the base as well, and something about a get together, before moving off to one of the tables. A table with a man and a girl, probably a ship girl, out cold and connected to IVs. In the middle of the mess hall. I wonder if I should be happy I hadn't seen what happened there...
It didn't help that a monster of a man who looked like a stereotypical BURLY RUSSIAN SAILOR was jabbering at Jack so fast and accented I could barely follow it, considering how far away I was. The fact that the man was familiar to her and left as soon as I noticed him hardly helped matters.
And here I thought my time in Yokosuka had been confusing enough. Hah!
"I need a drink, and I don't even drink," I sighed, as I finally plopped down on a bench, hardly caring if I was by someone or not.
"Amen to that," Walker agreed.
"It is strange," Sara was still flushed, but she agreed as fairies brought us some food.
This is going to be fun I can already tell. I hope Admiral Smith gets back here soon, I could use some orders to make sense of this mess. At least it would be something to work with.
Sighing softly, I dug into my food once more, determined to do my utmost to avoid thinking about what had just happened until I had to. Things were getting too freaky for my mind, operating as it was on no food or coffee.
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Icywinter
50% ice, 50% winter
- Location
- ?
- Pronouns
- She/Her
The first thought that grazed Alphonse's mind as he took in the chaos that was the mess hall was, 'Oh, good. I was thinking that the base was getting too normal.'
The next thought was how to explain this entire mess to the Admiral walking behind him. Erika, being the smooth talker that she was, neatly sidestepped the entourage and explained that everyone, herself and Alphonse included, was still hurting from the battles yesterday. Al could see Drake passed out completely in Cole's lap, and the silver-haired treaty cruiser was also asleep as well with blankets covering her shoulders.
If it wasn't so damn absurd, Al would've cracked a sad smile at that. Still, he had bigger things to worry about, like what the heck had happened while he was busy filling in the new arrivals on the situation. Thankfully, Elizabeth came to his rescue. The pink-haired German bounded up to him with a smile on her face, and handed him a mug of steaming-hot coffee. "Hey Al," she said, taking a sip of her own coffee. "How's it going?"
"It could be better," he admitted. "So, what happened here?"
"Well..."
She then filled in the doctor on the truly bizarre chain of events that lead to Drake ending up in Cole's lap, a burly Russian doctor that apparently belonged to Drake's crew, and Jack trying to hook up Sara and Jones, whom she pointed out in the crowd of shipgirls and men.
Alphonse chuckled. "Ah, shipgirls, never change."
"Yup." She downed the rest of her coffee, before placing it onto one of the tables. "So, who are the new guys?" she asks.
"Admiral Smith and Fletcher."
"Oh," her eyes sparkled, "Those two. Yeah, I know them," she says. "So, where's Erika?"
"Dealing with them at the moment. Do you think everything looks presentable?"
She takes a long look at the group of people surrounding Drake and his division. "I've seen worse. Al, you're going to be fine," she says, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Trust me. I've seen way worse, and they were experienced flag officers."
"Alright..." he mumbled. "Stay with me?" he asked.
She nodded. "Until you need me somewhere else."
Satisfied with that answer, Alphonse beckoned for her to join him in walking back to Admiral Smith, and to lend some help to his wife.
The next thought was how to explain this entire mess to the Admiral walking behind him. Erika, being the smooth talker that she was, neatly sidestepped the entourage and explained that everyone, herself and Alphonse included, was still hurting from the battles yesterday. Al could see Drake passed out completely in Cole's lap, and the silver-haired treaty cruiser was also asleep as well with blankets covering her shoulders.
If it wasn't so damn absurd, Al would've cracked a sad smile at that. Still, he had bigger things to worry about, like what the heck had happened while he was busy filling in the new arrivals on the situation. Thankfully, Elizabeth came to his rescue. The pink-haired German bounded up to him with a smile on her face, and handed him a mug of steaming-hot coffee. "Hey Al," she said, taking a sip of her own coffee. "How's it going?"
"It could be better," he admitted. "So, what happened here?"
"Well..."
She then filled in the doctor on the truly bizarre chain of events that lead to Drake ending up in Cole's lap, a burly Russian doctor that apparently belonged to Drake's crew, and Jack trying to hook up Sara and Jones, whom she pointed out in the crowd of shipgirls and men.
Alphonse chuckled. "Ah, shipgirls, never change."
"Yup." She downed the rest of her coffee, before placing it onto one of the tables. "So, who are the new guys?" she asks.
"Admiral Smith and Fletcher."
"Oh," her eyes sparkled, "Those two. Yeah, I know them," she says. "So, where's Erika?"
"Dealing with them at the moment. Do you think everything looks presentable?"
She takes a long look at the group of people surrounding Drake and his division. "I've seen worse. Al, you're going to be fine," she says, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Trust me. I've seen way worse, and they were experienced flag officers."
"Alright..." he mumbled. "Stay with me?" he asked.
She nodded. "Until you need me somewhere else."
Satisfied with that answer, Alphonse beckoned for her to join him in walking back to Admiral Smith, and to lend some help to his wife.
NuclearNickel
smug.jpg
- Location
- Bootes Void
I sighed.
I...really didn't know what to do with myself right now.
...Huh.
I turned around, my eyes scanning the room for anything of note that I could occupy myself with. In all honesty, I was looking for Haruna, but I couldn't quite seem to pin her in this room. I seemed to be in the Mess....ahhh, I didn't care I had other things to take care of. Such as finding a man by the name of Alphonse.
I cleared my throat, and braced for the inevitable attention I would gain.
But damnit, I needed to let someone else know about this amnesia shit. Preferably, someone who might know about it.
"Hey, Alphonse? You in here?"
I...really didn't know what to do with myself right now.
...Huh.
I turned around, my eyes scanning the room for anything of note that I could occupy myself with. In all honesty, I was looking for Haruna, but I couldn't quite seem to pin her in this room. I seemed to be in the Mess....ahhh, I didn't care I had other things to take care of. Such as finding a man by the name of Alphonse.
I cleared my throat, and braced for the inevitable attention I would gain.
But damnit, I needed to let someone else know about this amnesia shit. Preferably, someone who might know about it.
"Hey, Alphonse? You in here?"
Icywinter
50% ice, 50% winter
- Location
- ?
- Pronouns
- She/Her
He stopped and turned toward the sound. It was Thomas, and it took Al all of a second to realize that something was quite wrong. He turned back toward Elizabeth, who had a knowing look on her face.
"I should go," he said, looking significantly at Thomas. "He looks like he needs something."
Elizabeth nodded and smiled. "First day and you're already acting like an Admiral," she giggled. "Go," she said seriously, "I'll tell him that you're minding your fleet. He'd understand. Besides, you filled him in, right?"
He nodded.
"Good, which means that he probably wouldn't have any other questions until he's full. And whatever Thomas' problem is, you should have it fixed by then, right?"
Another nod. "Hopefully."
"Then that settles it. Go, and I'll handle the rest."
He gave her an appreciative smile. "Thanks Tirpz, you're a life-saver."
"Just doing my job..." she said, turning away and looking in the other direction. "Ahem," she cleared her throat, "You best be moving along now. I think it's something urgent."
"Alright. Go help Erika for me."
"I will!"
He quickly made his way toward the brown-haired man. "Hey Thomas," he said, "What seems to be the matter?"
NuclearNickel
smug.jpg
- Location
- Bootes Void
"Look...err...ahhh....you know how I died, right? And, how I came back?...well..."
I leaned in to whisper. I didn't think this information was common knowledge, and I didn't want to cause a panic.
"I can't remember who I was...before I came here. I-I know I was a student...but I can't remember anything after that, like what my job was, or...."
I shook my head.
"It's like...someone just reached into my mind and pulled them all out...I can't even remember what happened to my brother after he left for his new job....d-do you know what this is?"
Icywinter
50% ice, 50% winter
- Location
- ?
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Alphonse's face fell, though he did his best to hide it. "No," he said, "But I'm working on it. Can you remember anything at all from your past life? Anything? Is it clear, or is it faint? And are there gaps in your memory, like you know something should be there and isn't, or can you not recall them at all and nothing seems amiss?"
NuclearNickel
smug.jpg
- Location
- Bootes Void
"N-no, it isn't faint or anything like that, it's non-existent...but, I know there was supposed to be something there....but, it's like..."
I cleared my throat and took a breath.
"It's like a computer deleting files of it's own volition, and then telling you they were never there in the first place. You know you had them....but they're just gone. I remember everything up to the age of about....16...but everything past that is blank. Like...it wasn't even there..."
I shook a little.
"W-what is this.....why is it happening..."