Beneath Celestial Depths (An Arpeggio of Blue Steel Quest)

[x] Shoot down the Nuke. (100% chance loss of Wave Force Armor)

Shooting down a nuke.

It was a simple task even the lowliest corvette could do. Just calculate a few quick math and have the preferred AA of one's choice and you were done. Which was exactly what you planned to do but there lay the problem.

In exchange for a simple task, you were about to pay a heavy price. One you wouldn't do without some sort of failsafe in line but desperate times called for desperate measures. Plus it would help in stringing along Blue Steel for your own ends.

It was safe enough to go out of character and eat a full corrosive torpedo for a bit right? You would have almost laughed at the thought of doing this if you were your past self but... Alas... It seemed that time and age has changed you a tiny bit. And it was amusing.

You prepared your railguns and directly aimed at the nuclear signature you detected among the missiles. It shouldn't detonate when you shoot it but it would still have a significant explosion. Which was why you had to fire right at the same moment you completed your calculations.

"Surcouf! I'm going to move to minimize the incoming blow!" Mary called out from your bridge.

"Brace yourself while you're at it! This going to be unpleasant!" You told her as your guns flashed and fired their load through the air.

You were met with consecutive explosions in the air, fiery orange breaking apart and fizzling out without the grandiose apocalypse nuclear weapons usually brought. You scanned the air under a split second as the nuclear signatures vanished. You were successful but that didn't stop the cascade of missiles from coming down on you.

"Klein Fields active!" You snapped to yourself as your hull already generated them.

You could have shot through the hailstorm and thinned them out but that would only leave you open to being damaged. In your sorry state, you couldn't afford taking hits given there wasn't a guarantee you'd be repaired. Blue Steel has changed and you don't completely trust them either but there was the chance they could help you.

Even then you had no intention of giving them all of your chips. So you'd rather minimize the risk of over relying on them while you're helpless. You still had your pride after all and if there's one thing you took away from humanity and that's one's pride.

"Thanatonium Detected, brace for impact!" You spoke out loud as you stood your ground.

Mary closed her eyes before the missiles all slammed into you. The feeling was akin to having small pebbles raining down on a glass skylight as you watched the saturation levels of your Klein field slowly increase.

However those pebbles were soon accompanied by a jackhammer that the glass barely was able to hold off against. Your eyes widened as you doubled over while your hull quaked. This was truly not pleasant at all and you hissed under your breath once you fell down on your knee.

Mary gasped from her seat, "Surcouf!"

You held a hand up as your Klein Fields finally gave way and the barrage ended. It was over and you ran a quick scan on the damage. You were unscathed but your wave force armor was overloaded by the combined assault of corrosive torpedo and standard missiles.

Smoke and debris filled your visuals but your sensors could still detect the enemy. Letting out a breath, you stepped forward and leaned on the Captain's chair where your Design Child was seated, placing a hand on her head.

She's safe...

But now your enemies weren't going to be...

"S-Surcouf! Our Waveforce-" Mary began to say in a panicked manner before you ruffled her hair. You had the targets in your sensors so you simply said one thing.

"Firing Railguns," you breathed and your main weapons crackled to life before blasting a scarlet bullet through the air.

The smoke and sea split from the force. There was a thin whistling whine that echoed through the air before the projectile smashed into the the hull of the American ship.

BOOM

The metallic surface of the ship crumpled like wet paper. Fires began to spread as smoke rose up from the battered Missile Battleship. You already had your next volley primed and released before the enemy could react. Their broadside was left exposed on their previous attack and with Mary's help you were able to punch multiple holes into their hull.

You kept firing and firing, a sort of thrill rising up in your system as Mary sailed you closer.

"Hunt. Dive down," you ordered as Mary complied to let you sink beneath the waves.

Your Design Child then said, "We're breaking 550 meters from the surface. What next?"

"Get beneath them," you told the girl with a nod.

"Wait, aren't you afraid of possible Depth Charges?" Mary wondered wide eyed at your decision.

"Well let's see. What will win? Their gentle floating sea mines or my spear?" You asked as Mary frowned and pushed on.

Gliding beneath the waves, you were most certain they could hear you. You detected their engines being shipped to work double time and you smiled at that. Mary's fears are unfounded, they weren't even going to try and defend themselves.

"They're above us!" Mary gasped as she looked at you.

"Straight up," you smiled as Mary maneuvered the controls and had your hull point straight up, right at the belly of your prey, "Now this... Is how you stop them!"

Your railguns were primed as you slotted five corrosive torpedoes through your tubes. You had them lock on your target before firing. The railguns released a brutal bang beneath the sea, a shockwave blasted through the waters as the projectiles tore through the water and gutted the American ship.

This was followed by the small swarm of torpedoes you threw which all detonated through the belly of the ship. Vicious scarlet spheres expanded and ate away at the steel juggernaut before you glided away from it. It should be a nice sight for Gunzou seeing that thing sink.

Mary steered you back to the surface as you made to contact Gunzou. You crossed your arms before your call was received.

"Excellent work out there. A testament of your skill and experience, I take?" You heard Gunzou say over the line.

"You had a full view of my work. I don't think it needs to be said that I'm the best," you huffed proudly as Mary stared at you.

Silly child, you were allowed to be haughty too. Even more so than usual upon a success.

"Right. Your assistance has been invaluable to us. You can return to port and refuel. Perhaps I can thank you in person," Gunzou said in a calm tone.

"Understood. See you then," you chuckled before you shut the connection off.

"We did it... We actually beat the enemy," Mary blinked as the truth slowly dawned on her, "I... Wow. Wow!"

You smiled and ruffled her head, "Yep. No doubt those books of yours came in handy, didn't they?"

Mary stared at you before she looked on the visual feed on your screen, "Well, no. Not really."

"Why is that, my dear?" You wondered in surprise.

"I mean. Sure it helped with calculating speed and the ocean's currents but... Ultimately, I just did as a please," Mary said as she looked down at herself, "I... I didn't do anything by the book. It was just a fun and I..."

You smiled at her and walked up to her front, crouching down so the two of you would meet each other's gaze, "I'm glad you're both safe and unhurt. But most of all, I thought that you were very brave for your first real battle. You're a genius not in just your brains, but your heart as well and I couldn't ask for a better captain."

"Did... I did good, yes?" Mary asked with a bit of hesitance.

"You did good. Perhaps we could extort Gunzou for some sweets for you," you nodded as you patted her head, "But for now... Let's return..."

.....
....
...

Arriving back on Port, you descended down your Klein platforms with Mary as you had a proud expression on your face. Gunzou was waiting nearby with his arms crossed and his eyebrow raised once you approached.

You kept your chest up and your nose high as you grinned and spoke up, "The enemy has been sunk and your little friends are safe."

"I can see that," Gunzou said as he gave you an odd look, "Like I mentioned, your assistance was invaluable and no doubt saved us on resources. Still, it does make me feel bad seeing your sorry state. And that's saying something since it's you."

"What's that supposed to mean, boy? Bah, never mind. My performance must have been worth something to you," you told him as you frowned and placed a hand on your hip.

Gunzou chuckled in amusement before he replied, "Really? I thought that you were doing that out of the goodness of your heart."

"I have no heart and whatever Good's inside of me is reserved for treating my subjects humanely once I rule the world," you told him in a flat tone and a unamused look.

"I kid, I kid... Either way, yes, you do deserve some reward if not for your initiative then for your effort. But I don't exactly know what to give out so why don't you choose?" Gunzou offered as he crossed his arms.

"Oh... Of course. Why I never had the intention of saying no to that," you told him with a nod.

"Still, Surcouf. I need to be honest, you truly were impressive out there today. It's been a long time since people have seen a Fog Ship in action before and the young ones have been excited," Gunzou told you as he gave you a small smile.

"Well it is Surcouf," Mary pointed out by your side.

"I'm no I-401 but I am pretty good," you proudly stated with a smile.

"That's why I have an offer to make. Why don't you join Blue Steel officially?" Gunzou said with a nod.

His words registered in your mind before your lips immediate formed the words 'No'. You only managed to stop yourself at the last second and pause.

But it couldn't have been more than a day since you were here. Chihaya Gunzou was a man who had agendas and you knew he wouldn't open his arms for you so easily. But he just did so now...

You tried to gauge his words and expressions before you slowly found your face turning into a frown. You could say no but... Something was stopping you.

And that was...

Mary held your hand, making blink and look at her in surprise.

"What is it dear?" You asked her.

"Are we staying here?" She asked you with her red eyes.

"We..." You began as you considered this...

"I like it here but... Wherever you go, I'll come with you!" Mary said with a determined look.

Would you tie yourself down to a faction... Or would you rather be free as you always been... Or maybe...

[] Bind yourself to Blue Steel, Mary needs people to talk to not just you. She can have friends here and you would have a secure homebase among the Blue Steel members.
[] Remain Free and Liberated. Time may have gone but you're still your own master. Besides, you had no intention of letting Mary stay in a dreary Antarctic world. The globe was huge and there was still much for her to see.
[] Strike a Deal and remain Professional. You're not cutting ties with Blue Steel all so easily but you're not letting them keep you at the same time. You'll keep them at arm's length so you're free to do business with them as you pleased.

[] Wave Force Armor Repair...
[] Weapon Suite Repair (Photon Cannon, CIWS, and missile Replenish)
[] Significant Amount of Nanomaterials...
[] You deserve more than this. Perhaps you could haggle on your rewards if you can convince Gunzou
-[] Write in hustle...