It also makes nuclear energy extremely attractive which is going to have enormous effects later on.
Abyssal Stays Home [KC SI]
- Thread starter Naron
- Start date
- Novel
Well we'll have a repeat of the Drunk Spyder incident again huh?
Political parties taking sides, the UN having to give a statement, shipgirls having to contemplate on the new movements and of course
Dagon x Akatsuki NSFW doujinshi
Political parties taking sides, the UN having to give a statement, shipgirls having to contemplate on the new movements and of course
Dagon x Akatsuki NSFW doujinshi
Mechasaurian
Big Bossu
- Location
- Lost among fields of history
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Surprised no one has taken Dagon to task for her responsibility for the attack on Haven.
19. The Council of Three
- Location
- Earth
Day 292
Japan is slowly getting back to her feet. I am under no illusions that it will take less than years, maybe decades, for them to fully work through what happened. But the radiation is fought back day after day and people can turn to rebuilding.
War with China is also ongoing and actively encouraged by Akatsuki. I am still not looking closer into it and told my girls to not apprise me of anything that can not turn into a threat for us. All Ariel and Hannah told me is that the Chinese are trying to justify their actions as Reaper having forced their hand; that the monster had to be stopped before it could attack another realm. Read, before she could attack China.
They also tried to vilify Akatsuki for being in cahoots with the Abyss. It did not quite work. That the Japanese do not give a damn was expected, sure. But it seems people across the world are appalled at the attempted victim blaming, even many of those who are absolutely certain that I am up to no good. I would not say it backfired, but it definitely shifted the lines people have drawn.
Reaper was just laughing when someone told her the details of what her actions caused. Appropriate, I guess?
That aside, Frostbite and I were talking to Briar some more. Turns out she has seniority in terms of lifespan, at least if we do not count my previous life. But where Frostbite loves forming her force into a hammer that smashes through any obstacles, Briar is an ambusher and fond of laying traps. She favours carriers and submarines to facilitate that; her girls were interested in Sapphire when I brought her, even more so when Sapphire brought cake.
Food continues to be my go-to in terms of improving relations. It worked just as well on Briar and her fleet as it did on Frostbite. The Airstrip Princess is still a little wary, but mellowed out a decent amount over the last weeks. I am honestly glad for it because I never liked walking on eggshells around other people.
Day 295
Getting to know Briar a little better, she is not exactly a battle-hardened veteran, though that is more due to her nature as an Airstrip Princess. An installation rather than a warship, similar to me. That is not to say she does not know her stuff, she is just more detached from it than Frostbite. Both are far better strategists than me, not that they had any need to use their abilities recently. From what she tells me, her territory has been left alone for a surprising amount of time.
So far she expected the Americans to mount some sort of major offensive. It surprised her when I explained the ongoing war and where all the shipgirls are probably funnelled. She was dumbfounded by the concept of humans fighting humans.
"I should have guessed, really. Abyssals fight Abyssals on occasion, too. It just never occurred to me that our enemies would be the same as us."
I do not know for certain why I remember those words of hers so clearly. Rethinking them, maybe it is the outline of understanding in there; to find commonalities with others lets us relate to them. I explained the concept of closing ranks to her, relating right back to the fact all Abyssals will stop infighting if confronted with human forces.
From what I surmise and what the Abyss tells me, Abyssals fight each other mostly over resources. If they do not like each other, they just stay out of their territory. The knowledge of their enemy keeps them from needlessly attacking each other. There is no such thing as personal feuds, outside of the occasional scraps between princesses. Maybe the lack of commen knowledge works to their advantage here. Maybe they will develop this kind of thing in the future.
Either way, Briar holds herself and her fleet to a high standard. They run drills at least once a week, oftentimes more. She also has a number of her girls maintain the active traps and mines on the regular. Hawaii is a real death trap, which explains how the US still did not get it back.
I managed to surprise Briar by asking if my Demons could join her drills; they have precious little practical experience, so any extra helps. We worked out a little trade where I funnel some new techs to her in exchange for the training. Sounds perfectly fair to me. Frostbite had no issues with that, either. She offered her own holdings to hold those drills, which is free of mines and shallows that need to be minded.
The first one will be tomorrow. I think I will go just to see how it goes.
Day 296
That was certainly interesting. I could not really add much to the exercise itself, but I think I learned a bit. Frostbite and Briar quickly worked out a hammer and anvil sort of strategy, similar to what I did with Frostbite before but on a much larger scale. There is a big difference to one submarine coming from behind and twenty of them doing the same. Even a submarine Demon can not make up for these numbers.
The work seems to have relaxed Briar some, too. We had tea afterward. I recommended the Mi-Class blueprints for her first payment; a dedicated ship type to maintain her traps should work better than having her warships do so. Some of them got quite good at it, but they all remain skittish about doing that sort of work. Briar agreed after meeting Orion and some of Frostbite's engineers.
Frostbite's expansion also continues apace. She now works to fill up the area surrounding our bridge toward Hawaii, mainly to not get blindsided. Briar offered her nautical charts to make the process go more smoothly.
It may be a little early to say, but I think the three of us will get along well. Though my fellow Princesses seem to rub each other the wrong way on occasion; Frostbite gets a little agitated by Briar's bluster, Briar in turn gets offended by Frostbite's lack of reaction to her grandstanding. This thankfully just leads to some bickering.
The girls were pretty happy about the drills, too. They told me that they felt a little tense of late; this helped them work out the stress.
Day 300
That is another big number I reached. Most of a year has passed since I woke up here. I am honestly happy with my life at the moment, excepting the thing with Japan. Akatsuki is still going strong there; the fact nothing bad has happened with my devices over months is convincing more and more people that I am genuine about helping, too.
I went to visit Briar a few more times, too. We have a different dynamic than I have with Frostbite, but I like her. Yes, she grandstands, but I honestly do not care too much; little of it is about belittling us and most about putting herself up. Considering how her fleet almost worships the ground she walks on, I imagine she earned the right to have some pride.
Talking to her fleet was interesting, though a number of Briar's ships needed some time to get over their wariness when confronted with another Princess. I coaxed them out of their shells with sweets. Sue me.
Speaking of the sweets, balancing diets around other foodstuffs seems to have done the trick. No deep dependencies I can see, though destroyers and submarines seem to love sweet foods in general.
Briar seems to have gotten used to me by now. It is just as well we get along, considering that we are effectively neighbours by extension. Maybe we can even be friends in the future, I would like that.
But first I need to see how bloodthirsty she actually is; an ally who attacks humans at the first opportunity may sabotage this new opportunity slowly opening up. Akatsuki continues to remind people of my goodwill every once in a while and seems to have convinced even some of the remaining shipgirls of my character. Hannah confirmed my read of the situation: the wind blows toward opening communications, though the Japanese interim government is still debating about that. They are busy with the rebuilding, so that might still take a while.
Maybe, just maybe, we can interact peacefully after all. I can not really do much about that beside waiting, though. So I spend my days in a pleasant routine; some interaction with my fleet, visits to Frostbite and Briar, games, movies. It is not that different to how it used to be, just with more people involved.
Day 306
Well, that was unexpected. I think I mentioned that Briar is getting around to Frostbite and I? Today she suggested a proper alliance. Us three Princesses working together, pooling fleets and territory into a greater whole. The Abyss seemed to like it, though it has been fairly quiet of late in terms of prodding.
She sprung that on both of us over tea. It was half a request and half a proposal, with charts and plans drawn up, yet a certain fervour to her words as well. Briar definitely surprised me with this, especially so soon. It has only been one and a half months since the first time we spoke. Maybe that is my old sensitivities, considering how fast Abyssals can form connections? I asked if some other force was putting pressure on Briar, but that was not it.
At the end of the day, she does not need a proper alliance; she just wants it. I do not want to speculate too much because I really do not know, but maybe I underestimated the impact Frostbite and I had? Briar may have been lonely, with only her fleet and no peers that do not care for her grandstanding.
Either way, we agreed to think it over.
Day 307
I tested something and gave Briar a big hug today. She basically melted into it, so she just might have been lonely after all. Mind, she also complained all the way about the indignity, but I have some practice at tuning these things out.
Anyway, Frostbite and I agreed to her offer after talking it over between us. Now there are three Abyssal Princesses that rule the Pacific; maybe we will find more in time, but I feel three makes for a good core. A triumvirate, so to speak. Not that that ended so well for anyone but Caesar, but we are not in Rome either. I can not call it a triumvirate, though; that specifically talks about men. Checking the internet for a female version gave me 'triumfeminatus', which sounds like shit. So I dropped the attempt to be cute with latin.
From now on we form the Council of Three. Short and concise, if not all that creative. I honestly do not care much for it. Briar is our main tactician, she and Frostbite provide the bulk of our combat strength, and I support them from the back. Not with money, but with technology and resources as needed. I guess that makes me the Crassus in that comparison. Considering how the story ended for all three of them, I should probably stop here.
Either way, I gave each of them a few new toys to celebrate the formation of our alliance. Some nifty upgrades for Briar's planes and submarines, as well as the big gun for Frostbite. I really need to give it a proper name, so I guess Colossus Cannon will be it. That thing is not actually the size of Reaper, but definitely bigger than any other weapon in our arsenals.
Frostbite already decided to build three of them around her main base, turning the place into an inassailable fortress. Briar was curious, but decided against building any because emplacements do not play well with her hit and run strategies.
We have a lot of prep work to do now, though. Thus far it is only us Princesses who know, so word has to be spread. Frostbite is planning to use her large influx of resources and start expanding in Japan's direction, too. Our self-set goal is to secure the entire Pacific and unify the Abyssals here.
I faintly remember writing something about this being an unattainable goal some time ago. Goes to show how much I know. Then again, that was about me doing it; in this case it is mainly the other two doing the unifying while I sit in the background. That feels a lot more doable, not that they seem to mind taking center stage.
Day 309
Today we gathered our fleets to announce our alliance. It was all formal-like when Briar started, being the oldest. Then Frostbite took over with her matter-of-fact summary of what this meant for the shipgirls. They did not seem to mind occasional rotations into other territories or cross-training, neither that they would take orders from each of us. Frostbite was sure to make it clear that the orders of another Princess can be refused if they contradict their own Princess's orders. We had to hammer that out when I suggested pooling our fleets, mainly because I worry about someone making my Demons commit war crimes.
When it was my turn to speak, I kept it short. Most of the girls present were not mine, though most of them knew me by now. I was never that good with names and forgot most of theirs, but I remember their faces well enough. I am also not much of a public speaker, if perhaps only for a lack of practice. I actually made some notes for this and practiced in my room a few times. It felt incredibly weird, but it helped.
While Briar spoke of glory and Frostbite of changes, I went over opportunities; goals we could reach for. Unity among the Abyssals, expansion and improvement. And peace.
I debated with myself for a while whether I should bring that up, but in the end I decided to be up-front about it. After checking my theory with Frostbite and Briar, they found it odd but agreeable. So I told our combined fleets as well.
Suffice it to say, there was an uproar when I said the words "peace with humanity".
Briar and Frostbite helped me calm the girls down; my own fleet helped too, they may have suspected something like this already. Then I laid out the idea: if us Abyssals control the seas across the globe, then humans are no longer able to build ships, much less sink or scuttle them. What fleets remain afloat can be retired and no more souls will be lost at sea. These are the 'crimes' that the Abyss originally manifested to punish. The dishonourable end of warships, the many sailours lost to the merciless waves.
But if humanity can no longer commit these sins, need we really eradicate them? Why not coexist so that we can partake in the many marvels they created and will continue to create? I made sure to explain that all the nice things I shared with everyone were human inventions, from food to games. That gave most of them pause, much like it did their Princesses. It also neatly solves the question of what happens if we win and there are no more humans left; there will always be humans, thus the Abyssals will forever retain their purpose.
I think I at least got them to consider the matter with this reasoning. The Abyss itself did not contradict me yet, else I would have felt some sort of instinctual revulsion to the idea. Mind, I did at first. But it vanished once I thought through my reasoning. Does that count as a sort of divine mandate?
I should not think too much about this, lest I turn megalomaniacal. Maybe it will be possible to get out of this war after all, with my friends and fleet by my side.
Day 310
My own girls wanted to talk more about this supposed peace. They did not say anything yesterday because they did not want to undermine my speech and needed to think it through as well. Today we sat down and had a long conversation about what we each want.
Hannah already figured me out before, she just thanked me for finally putting the goal into words.
Orion and Ionia were both partial to the new paradigm; they are the closest we can get to civilians and can do their job regardless.
Sapphire was a little miffed, but she kind of guessed where the wind was blowing. She told me in no uncertain terms that she did not trust humanity to keep up such a peace. She is wary even with Akatsuki still fresh in mind; only time can cure that, assuming things go well.
The twins seem to have formed a united front; Jeanne spoke for both, explaining that they do not agree, but will follow my lead on the matter. They also wanted to know if I can not reverse engineer all human achievements, which would invalidate my strongest argument. I told them yes, but that it would take ages because I am only one person. Not to mention that I rely on whatever the Abyss did to give me access to these tech trees. It did not say. Ariel finished their part, saying that she grew fond of all the human things we have now, even if she still dislikes that they are human things.
Then there was Reaper. I thought she might take it the worst, but was pleasantly surprised. She relayed only a few succint words: "They will cower for fear of consequences as long as I stand. I shall follow the Princess's lead."
She did not even seem angry or upset. Maybe she started to like lying around and dozing in the sun, though; being in repairs does not really give her much chance to move around after all.
Either way, that is that. The Council of Three will keep expanding for now. All we need to do is figure out how to get that peace we want.
Japan is slowly getting back to her feet. I am under no illusions that it will take less than years, maybe decades, for them to fully work through what happened. But the radiation is fought back day after day and people can turn to rebuilding.
War with China is also ongoing and actively encouraged by Akatsuki. I am still not looking closer into it and told my girls to not apprise me of anything that can not turn into a threat for us. All Ariel and Hannah told me is that the Chinese are trying to justify their actions as Reaper having forced their hand; that the monster had to be stopped before it could attack another realm. Read, before she could attack China.
They also tried to vilify Akatsuki for being in cahoots with the Abyss. It did not quite work. That the Japanese do not give a damn was expected, sure. But it seems people across the world are appalled at the attempted victim blaming, even many of those who are absolutely certain that I am up to no good. I would not say it backfired, but it definitely shifted the lines people have drawn.
Reaper was just laughing when someone told her the details of what her actions caused. Appropriate, I guess?
That aside, Frostbite and I were talking to Briar some more. Turns out she has seniority in terms of lifespan, at least if we do not count my previous life. But where Frostbite loves forming her force into a hammer that smashes through any obstacles, Briar is an ambusher and fond of laying traps. She favours carriers and submarines to facilitate that; her girls were interested in Sapphire when I brought her, even more so when Sapphire brought cake.
Food continues to be my go-to in terms of improving relations. It worked just as well on Briar and her fleet as it did on Frostbite. The Airstrip Princess is still a little wary, but mellowed out a decent amount over the last weeks. I am honestly glad for it because I never liked walking on eggshells around other people.
Day 295
Getting to know Briar a little better, she is not exactly a battle-hardened veteran, though that is more due to her nature as an Airstrip Princess. An installation rather than a warship, similar to me. That is not to say she does not know her stuff, she is just more detached from it than Frostbite. Both are far better strategists than me, not that they had any need to use their abilities recently. From what she tells me, her territory has been left alone for a surprising amount of time.
So far she expected the Americans to mount some sort of major offensive. It surprised her when I explained the ongoing war and where all the shipgirls are probably funnelled. She was dumbfounded by the concept of humans fighting humans.
"I should have guessed, really. Abyssals fight Abyssals on occasion, too. It just never occurred to me that our enemies would be the same as us."
I do not know for certain why I remember those words of hers so clearly. Rethinking them, maybe it is the outline of understanding in there; to find commonalities with others lets us relate to them. I explained the concept of closing ranks to her, relating right back to the fact all Abyssals will stop infighting if confronted with human forces.
From what I surmise and what the Abyss tells me, Abyssals fight each other mostly over resources. If they do not like each other, they just stay out of their territory. The knowledge of their enemy keeps them from needlessly attacking each other. There is no such thing as personal feuds, outside of the occasional scraps between princesses. Maybe the lack of commen knowledge works to their advantage here. Maybe they will develop this kind of thing in the future.
Either way, Briar holds herself and her fleet to a high standard. They run drills at least once a week, oftentimes more. She also has a number of her girls maintain the active traps and mines on the regular. Hawaii is a real death trap, which explains how the US still did not get it back.
I managed to surprise Briar by asking if my Demons could join her drills; they have precious little practical experience, so any extra helps. We worked out a little trade where I funnel some new techs to her in exchange for the training. Sounds perfectly fair to me. Frostbite had no issues with that, either. She offered her own holdings to hold those drills, which is free of mines and shallows that need to be minded.
The first one will be tomorrow. I think I will go just to see how it goes.
Day 296
That was certainly interesting. I could not really add much to the exercise itself, but I think I learned a bit. Frostbite and Briar quickly worked out a hammer and anvil sort of strategy, similar to what I did with Frostbite before but on a much larger scale. There is a big difference to one submarine coming from behind and twenty of them doing the same. Even a submarine Demon can not make up for these numbers.
The work seems to have relaxed Briar some, too. We had tea afterward. I recommended the Mi-Class blueprints for her first payment; a dedicated ship type to maintain her traps should work better than having her warships do so. Some of them got quite good at it, but they all remain skittish about doing that sort of work. Briar agreed after meeting Orion and some of Frostbite's engineers.
Frostbite's expansion also continues apace. She now works to fill up the area surrounding our bridge toward Hawaii, mainly to not get blindsided. Briar offered her nautical charts to make the process go more smoothly.
It may be a little early to say, but I think the three of us will get along well. Though my fellow Princesses seem to rub each other the wrong way on occasion; Frostbite gets a little agitated by Briar's bluster, Briar in turn gets offended by Frostbite's lack of reaction to her grandstanding. This thankfully just leads to some bickering.
The girls were pretty happy about the drills, too. They told me that they felt a little tense of late; this helped them work out the stress.
Day 300
That is another big number I reached. Most of a year has passed since I woke up here. I am honestly happy with my life at the moment, excepting the thing with Japan. Akatsuki is still going strong there; the fact nothing bad has happened with my devices over months is convincing more and more people that I am genuine about helping, too.
I went to visit Briar a few more times, too. We have a different dynamic than I have with Frostbite, but I like her. Yes, she grandstands, but I honestly do not care too much; little of it is about belittling us and most about putting herself up. Considering how her fleet almost worships the ground she walks on, I imagine she earned the right to have some pride.
Talking to her fleet was interesting, though a number of Briar's ships needed some time to get over their wariness when confronted with another Princess. I coaxed them out of their shells with sweets. Sue me.
Speaking of the sweets, balancing diets around other foodstuffs seems to have done the trick. No deep dependencies I can see, though destroyers and submarines seem to love sweet foods in general.
Briar seems to have gotten used to me by now. It is just as well we get along, considering that we are effectively neighbours by extension. Maybe we can even be friends in the future, I would like that.
But first I need to see how bloodthirsty she actually is; an ally who attacks humans at the first opportunity may sabotage this new opportunity slowly opening up. Akatsuki continues to remind people of my goodwill every once in a while and seems to have convinced even some of the remaining shipgirls of my character. Hannah confirmed my read of the situation: the wind blows toward opening communications, though the Japanese interim government is still debating about that. They are busy with the rebuilding, so that might still take a while.
Maybe, just maybe, we can interact peacefully after all. I can not really do much about that beside waiting, though. So I spend my days in a pleasant routine; some interaction with my fleet, visits to Frostbite and Briar, games, movies. It is not that different to how it used to be, just with more people involved.
Day 306
Well, that was unexpected. I think I mentioned that Briar is getting around to Frostbite and I? Today she suggested a proper alliance. Us three Princesses working together, pooling fleets and territory into a greater whole. The Abyss seemed to like it, though it has been fairly quiet of late in terms of prodding.
She sprung that on both of us over tea. It was half a request and half a proposal, with charts and plans drawn up, yet a certain fervour to her words as well. Briar definitely surprised me with this, especially so soon. It has only been one and a half months since the first time we spoke. Maybe that is my old sensitivities, considering how fast Abyssals can form connections? I asked if some other force was putting pressure on Briar, but that was not it.
At the end of the day, she does not need a proper alliance; she just wants it. I do not want to speculate too much because I really do not know, but maybe I underestimated the impact Frostbite and I had? Briar may have been lonely, with only her fleet and no peers that do not care for her grandstanding.
Either way, we agreed to think it over.
Day 307
I tested something and gave Briar a big hug today. She basically melted into it, so she just might have been lonely after all. Mind, she also complained all the way about the indignity, but I have some practice at tuning these things out.
Anyway, Frostbite and I agreed to her offer after talking it over between us. Now there are three Abyssal Princesses that rule the Pacific; maybe we will find more in time, but I feel three makes for a good core. A triumvirate, so to speak. Not that that ended so well for anyone but Caesar, but we are not in Rome either. I can not call it a triumvirate, though; that specifically talks about men. Checking the internet for a female version gave me 'triumfeminatus', which sounds like shit. So I dropped the attempt to be cute with latin.
From now on we form the Council of Three. Short and concise, if not all that creative. I honestly do not care much for it. Briar is our main tactician, she and Frostbite provide the bulk of our combat strength, and I support them from the back. Not with money, but with technology and resources as needed. I guess that makes me the Crassus in that comparison. Considering how the story ended for all three of them, I should probably stop here.
Either way, I gave each of them a few new toys to celebrate the formation of our alliance. Some nifty upgrades for Briar's planes and submarines, as well as the big gun for Frostbite. I really need to give it a proper name, so I guess Colossus Cannon will be it. That thing is not actually the size of Reaper, but definitely bigger than any other weapon in our arsenals.
Frostbite already decided to build three of them around her main base, turning the place into an inassailable fortress. Briar was curious, but decided against building any because emplacements do not play well with her hit and run strategies.
We have a lot of prep work to do now, though. Thus far it is only us Princesses who know, so word has to be spread. Frostbite is planning to use her large influx of resources and start expanding in Japan's direction, too. Our self-set goal is to secure the entire Pacific and unify the Abyssals here.
I faintly remember writing something about this being an unattainable goal some time ago. Goes to show how much I know. Then again, that was about me doing it; in this case it is mainly the other two doing the unifying while I sit in the background. That feels a lot more doable, not that they seem to mind taking center stage.
Day 309
Today we gathered our fleets to announce our alliance. It was all formal-like when Briar started, being the oldest. Then Frostbite took over with her matter-of-fact summary of what this meant for the shipgirls. They did not seem to mind occasional rotations into other territories or cross-training, neither that they would take orders from each of us. Frostbite was sure to make it clear that the orders of another Princess can be refused if they contradict their own Princess's orders. We had to hammer that out when I suggested pooling our fleets, mainly because I worry about someone making my Demons commit war crimes.
When it was my turn to speak, I kept it short. Most of the girls present were not mine, though most of them knew me by now. I was never that good with names and forgot most of theirs, but I remember their faces well enough. I am also not much of a public speaker, if perhaps only for a lack of practice. I actually made some notes for this and practiced in my room a few times. It felt incredibly weird, but it helped.
While Briar spoke of glory and Frostbite of changes, I went over opportunities; goals we could reach for. Unity among the Abyssals, expansion and improvement. And peace.
I debated with myself for a while whether I should bring that up, but in the end I decided to be up-front about it. After checking my theory with Frostbite and Briar, they found it odd but agreeable. So I told our combined fleets as well.
Suffice it to say, there was an uproar when I said the words "peace with humanity".
Briar and Frostbite helped me calm the girls down; my own fleet helped too, they may have suspected something like this already. Then I laid out the idea: if us Abyssals control the seas across the globe, then humans are no longer able to build ships, much less sink or scuttle them. What fleets remain afloat can be retired and no more souls will be lost at sea. These are the 'crimes' that the Abyss originally manifested to punish. The dishonourable end of warships, the many sailours lost to the merciless waves.
But if humanity can no longer commit these sins, need we really eradicate them? Why not coexist so that we can partake in the many marvels they created and will continue to create? I made sure to explain that all the nice things I shared with everyone were human inventions, from food to games. That gave most of them pause, much like it did their Princesses. It also neatly solves the question of what happens if we win and there are no more humans left; there will always be humans, thus the Abyssals will forever retain their purpose.
I think I at least got them to consider the matter with this reasoning. The Abyss itself did not contradict me yet, else I would have felt some sort of instinctual revulsion to the idea. Mind, I did at first. But it vanished once I thought through my reasoning. Does that count as a sort of divine mandate?
I should not think too much about this, lest I turn megalomaniacal. Maybe it will be possible to get out of this war after all, with my friends and fleet by my side.
Day 310
My own girls wanted to talk more about this supposed peace. They did not say anything yesterday because they did not want to undermine my speech and needed to think it through as well. Today we sat down and had a long conversation about what we each want.
Hannah already figured me out before, she just thanked me for finally putting the goal into words.
Orion and Ionia were both partial to the new paradigm; they are the closest we can get to civilians and can do their job regardless.
Sapphire was a little miffed, but she kind of guessed where the wind was blowing. She told me in no uncertain terms that she did not trust humanity to keep up such a peace. She is wary even with Akatsuki still fresh in mind; only time can cure that, assuming things go well.
The twins seem to have formed a united front; Jeanne spoke for both, explaining that they do not agree, but will follow my lead on the matter. They also wanted to know if I can not reverse engineer all human achievements, which would invalidate my strongest argument. I told them yes, but that it would take ages because I am only one person. Not to mention that I rely on whatever the Abyss did to give me access to these tech trees. It did not say. Ariel finished their part, saying that she grew fond of all the human things we have now, even if she still dislikes that they are human things.
Then there was Reaper. I thought she might take it the worst, but was pleasantly surprised. She relayed only a few succint words: "They will cower for fear of consequences as long as I stand. I shall follow the Princess's lead."
She did not even seem angry or upset. Maybe she started to like lying around and dozing in the sun, though; being in repairs does not really give her much chance to move around after all.
Either way, that is that. The Council of Three will keep expanding for now. All we need to do is figure out how to get that peace we want.
- Location
- Somewhere in the world
That's a really nice way to sidestep the war issues. If the humans don't go out at sea unless if it's by abyssal transports and the like, then the entire purpose of the abyssal war is completed, and they can be at peace. I would not be surprised if this makes them enemies in other princesses however.
Finally, what about the Kanmusu. I suppose they will still exist, and so need a commanding officer (who isn't a flawed human), so I suggest our very own princess who will have no problem to work with them (and that will give her more firepower).
Thanks for the story, and have a nice day !
Finally, what about the Kanmusu. I suppose they will still exist, and so need a commanding officer (who isn't a flawed human), so I suggest our very own princess who will have no problem to work with them (and that will give her more firepower).
Thanks for the story, and have a nice day !
Which I hope everyone is taking as the load of bullshit it is.
They could've waited till she was past Tokyo for that, at the very least.
At no point were their hands forced.
A reminder of how young they are, and how much knowledge they lack.
*Same as us* hey?
A good sign, I think.
Here's hoping.
Hmmm....
Is the Abyss learning things about being diplomatic?
Or is it working on reigniting the war?
Next step: find a fourth member, call yourself *the protectorate* and create an organization together.
Call it *the protectorate*.
Wonder why people are confused.
(This is a worm reference, because it happened in the backstory, without the confusion because I am not sure the author had thought out about the logical consequences of having the team that is at the head of an organization have the same name as this organization)
Then again, the first step to check if it is at all possible is to germinate the idea and see if it takes.
The Abyss: "Oh, I never thought about it this way."
Seems like the other princess agree to it. Let's hope the human doesn't fuck it up. Then again, any gov that sees a goddamn Abyss triumvirate will panic. A princess focusing on hit and run, a princess focusing on defense and a princess focusing on R&D when there's barely any R&D prior to that?
- Location
- England
That's interesting, because it implies there is quite a strong conceptual link between the Abyss and the cold depths of the ocean. It's not just "Fuck humanity" it's "Fuck humanity, because". The fact that it's apparently ready to go "Eh, whatever" as long as people stay out the damp salty stuff shows that its motives aren't just superficial excuses.
Talking of, are we going to end up with 'car girls' when the conceptual entity linked to land travel gets fed up with all the vehicles left to rot, totalled or scrapped instead of being maintained properly?
Que, the Formation of the Abyssal Court and the start of the Abyssal Civil War.
Because there are going to be plenty of princesses who will not like others even appearing to have the ability to tell them what to do.
Because there are going to be plenty of princesses who will not like others even appearing to have the ability to tell them what to do.
- Location
- Canada
Well, I can think of at least one place where an installation may want some emplacements.
Pulling out a Tribunal of the Brine sounds like a good idea
AldariSiradla
Knight of the Fountain Pen
I like this chapter.
A Council of Three Princesses.
Three Daughters of the Abyss.
May glory be reaped through their combined efforts.
May change benefit their constituents and their plans.
May peace be true as the sky and sun.
May this union be everlasting.
A Council of Three Princesses.
Three Daughters of the Abyss.
May glory be reaped through their combined efforts.
May change benefit their constituents and their plans.
May peace be true as the sky and sun.
May this union be everlasting.
CaramelTheMoo
Rat and Cow combined
- Pronouns
- She/Her
So
How long till the three narry each other to solidify the alliance (Im only half joking)
How long till the three narry each other to solidify the alliance (Im only half joking)
ya know that isn't a bad idea. Historically romans did have their council members marry other council members family to solidify stuff.
Besides we might get Missile ships, aviation submarines, and mobile air support bases
- Location
- Australia
Never knew there was a female version of triumvirate. Which makes sense, because like you said it sounds shit. Only ever heard the 'male' version be used, even with women.
20. A New Paradigm
- Location
- Earth
Day 317
The last week was calm, at least for me. Frostbite and Briar told me that they had to wrangle unrest among their fleets. There was no violence, but a lot of heated discussions about whether to support or reject my stance on humanity. Even the Princesses themselves still needed this long to make a proper decision.
Thankfully, Frostbite came around after our past experiences. Briar is still sceptical, but willing to give it a shot. They both think this is going to end up a catastrophe, but I have their support. All they want is to see success of some sort. Which is why I told them about the situation with Akatsuki today. It completely slipped my mind that neither of them knew it just yet.
Frostbite was not happy that I kept everything from her and I got a stern talking-to about safety precautions. It felt kind of odd because I am a head taller than her, not that she cared.
That aside, hearing about current events in Japan at least intrigued the pair. They let me speak until I told them everything I know. Them being smart was a double-edged sword today, though; they both wanted to know how I got so much information about an area so far away. Considering that we were already sharing so much today, I also let them know that I am using the Internet. It took some explaining to convey the idea. Then I showed them the computers my scientists put together.
I think they are staying the night. Just went to check and yes, they make their best nerd impression glued to the screens. Makes sense, I guess; having so much information at your fingertips can be intoxicating for someone who just got introduced to the concept. It was a little different for my fleet, but I put that on them not being in charge of formulating strategies, or being unused to constant battle.
Either way, I guess we are having a sleepover. Need to go fetch some snacks and pry my guests away from the computers.
Day 322
Things went more smoothly with my fellow Princesses after I introduced them to the Internet. They do come over every day to do research, though. I have one of my girls with them at all times, to answer questions or fetch me to do it if she can not. They have become more open to the prospect of peace.
At the same time, Akatsuki continues to work herself to the bone in Japan. At this point some worry that she may die from overwork. As ironically fitting as that may be with Japanese culture, nobody wants that. Really, nobody. Not even her opponents on the political stage want the lone shipgirl harmed. From what Ariel and Hannah could put together for me, she has risen to be some sort of national heroine. Not so much for undoing the radiation, but for braving the uncertainty of facing an Abyssal and 'convincing' her to lend aid.
I guess she is the little destroyer that could.
Either way, Japan seems in favour of opening talks. The 'war' in China seems to be stalling out for some reason, I am still not looking at the details. Threats of nuclear warfare fly this way and that, mutually assured destruction and the like. I am already researching if there is a way to stop nukes, but there is no real way beyond shooting them down before they can deliver their payload. Or to prevent them from being launched. My scientists are unlikely to come up with another solution and China is too big to just search for the launch sites.
What a downer to end this entry on.
Day 328
Look at that, humanity can solve some of its own problems. Pissing off the entire world eventually comes back to bite you; in this case, even Russia turned against their nominal ally China and joined the US forces. This really is the weirdest timeline imaginable.
Moreover, that is really all I needed to know about the conflict, now I will go back to ignoring it.
After talking it over with Frostbite and Briar, we decided to be a little proactive in case Japan does seek to talk with us. Well, me, but we are a council now. Where I go, my friends follow. So Frostbite's expansion will focus on extending a teleportation relay all the way to Japan. It may be dangerous to extend ourselves so far without securing the territory, but our combined fleets are strong enough and humanity is busy elsewhere. The IJN is in shambles anyway.
Not to mention that this means Akatsuki does not have to reveal Haven's exact location to the general public. Maybe it is a bit of a futile consideration at this point, considering there will be paperwork about where her previous assignments took place.
Actually, thinking about it that way, it only takes one other idiot with a nuke to kill me. Haven is so far out to sea that this will not hurt any humans. Considering that I was just berated about safety, I better be careful.
Day 332
Relocation complete. Technically. I had Orion dig deeper and reinforce the citadel with an alloy of the same steel we have on living Abyssals. Reaper fired a volley from her five remaining Colossus Cannons and could not penetrate it. I brought over our entire combined fleet to do much of the same, to a similar result.
I had to pour a ton of resources into this, but it paid off. Then I did something similar for Frostbite on Wake Island, considering that is her base and known as an Abyssal stronghold. Also close enough that a nuke to Haven would still hit the island.
So yes, we now have structures that are about as durable as Reaper's armour belt, if not more so. They do not really help if someone walks in the door, but that is not their purpose. Briar wants one too, but we are out of resources to spare for that. Not to mention that Hawaii is far less likely to get nuked. Nobody knows she is part of our alliance, nor where she lives. Even if I introduce her. If she was not nuked yet, then it will not happen unless people get desperate.
The other reason is that she prefers to stay mobile; she has no real main base we could reinforce. An early warning system would help her more, so she can just up and leave through the teleporter with her fleet. I can build that kind of thing by now and will hand it to her tomorrow.
Day 333
Installed the system for Briar and explained what it does, she is happy again. She also told me that she is considering to go and build a proper bunker around the teleporter, just to keep it safe. We do not have the resources for that right now.
Day 339
Things are moving on humanity's end. Akatsuki finished clearing away the radiation around Tokyo; toward the end they even started ferrying her and the other shipgirls around in helicopters, to get at the nuclear fallout in the higher atmosphere. Nobody really believes they caught all of it, but people are hopeful.
More than that, Akatsuki held another speech about cooperating with me. That she wants to introduce me to her people so they can see for themselves what sort of person I am.
I am a little scared of that. Like I noted before, it only takes one idiot with a big red launch button to kill me if they know where I am. At the same time, just sending Frostbite in my place does not feel right either. Akatsuki wants me there. If it is an honest attempt to establish contact from others, sending a substitute would send the wrong message. If someone uses the chance of an Abyssal Princess being in the open to strike, then I sent my friend to die.
So no, I will have to go there myself. I guess this will be humanity's true test; if they refuse to give this a chance to blossom and kill me, then every Abyssal across the planet will gain access to the entire tech base I built. It is nowhere near complete, but the upgrades to weaponry, engines, and armour alone will change the game. Add to this that Briar and Frostbite will be furious and yeah. If I do die, I am taking all of humanity with me.
That is spiteful enough of a consequence. I am still shaking, but I can do this. There is still time, too.
Right now Akatsuki is arguing her case before a committee of not just Japanese leaders, but also some UN representatives. She has a solid base of supporters by now, but not everyone is comfortable with the prospect of meeting an Abyssal face to face. Even her sister Hibiki remains skeptical, though interviews I read tell me she has not spoken out against Akatsuki's plan. She mostly just wants everyone to be careful. Other shipgirls seem to be more on the fence than against it, too.
I should figure out some plans for if I do have to go visit them. The teleporters are still being built, but we make steady progress. No way I guzzle down all my stockpiled oil just to make my way to Japan and back.
But who do I take along? Too many warships will make me look more like a conqueror, rather than a potential ally. No warships is stupid, even I can tell that much. Maybe Orion? Ionia? They are civilian ships, though I am not sure humans can tell the difference. I doubt they even saw a Mi-Class before.
I need to think this over.
Day 340
I spent today talking to my fleet and allies. Right now my job for the council is to find more Internet cables and connect the other Princesses. So while I am using their submarines to scour the ocean floor, I talked over the situation with them. Just as I thought, neither Frostbite nor Briar like the situation. It makes sense not to trust humans to be sensible when considering recent events in Asia. They do not know us and fought a war of annihilation with the Abyss for about ten years.
Talking my friends around to the fact I have to go took a while. They took my agreement that if something bad does happen, coexistence becomes impossible. I did not like it, but neither of them would budge on the matter. Though they are willing to let me go now.
Then we talked over who could accompany me. I told them my considerations about too much and too little firepower, which both agreed with after some additional explanations. Turns out Abyssals have issues comprehending the concept of 'too much firepower'. Especially a Battleship Princess. I guess that was to be expected, considering that she is the superior firepower.
Either way, we settled on Hannah as my escort. My being a shipgirl makes any lone actors non-issues. If such an actor is also a shipgirl, then a destroyer Demon should suffice in taking them down. If it is an organised effort that does not kill me immediately, the Council warfleet will stand ready to interfere.
I am also taking Orion to help rebuild Tokyo some as a gesture of good faith, as well as Ionia with partly filled storage. A humble gift of resources, as is appropriate when visiting another. I just thought of that last one, it really has been a while since I had to think of manners in human terms.
Now to start preparing.
Day 349
Everything continues apace. My girls were not enthused when I told them the plan, but they agreed well enough. Orion insisted on taking a dozen of her drones along, which I agreed to after some thinking. I am just going to have them and Orion hang back to announce them, so they do not scare people too much.
Sapphire insisted that I promise to stay safe. She also sat down to carve me some jewelry from the gold and silver she has left over, something to impress the humans with. It was a sweet gesture, but I do not feel well wearing so much bling. I settled on a golden ring as well as a silver bracelet and tiara. It still feels weird to wear them, but a few accessories should be fine for a Princess.
Thinking of it that way, I should ask Sapphire to make matching tiaras for Briar and Frostbite. It does not feel right if only one in the Council of Three gets to wear something like a crown.
Now I feel weird. I never wanted to be some sort of king. But at the same time there is really no way around leading by now. Life works in weird ways. At least I get a shot at actually helping people.
Day 354
Akatsuki's fervour bore fruit. She convinced enough people to invite me onto Japanese shores for a meeting with the interim government and the UN, who will be hosted there. The girl herself was tasked with delivering the invitation.
I sent Hannah to intercept her a few hours from shore. My acceptance should have reached Japan by now. The date of my arrival is set ten days from now, for the sake of both sides. We need to finish the teleporter relay, they need to actually prepare to receive what amounts to a foreign dignitary.
This will be interesting. I have never been to Japan before. I doubt I get the chance to do much sightseeing, but it would be nice.
Day 363
Preparations complete, just in time. I am slated to arrive tomorrow. Hannah is ready, Ionia loaded up with resources and some consumer goods like food. Orion already selected which drones she will take.
My hands are shaking, but the nerves will pass. They always do when the time comes.
Day 364
This was interesting, if a little terrifying. I do not think I have social anxiety, but I am no extrovert and met a lot of people today. Hannah took some of it off me, but that only went so far.
At least people were suitably surprised when the two of us surfaced near Tokyo Bay. There were not many civilians present, but a decent number of JSDF personnel and all nine IJN shipgirls. The seven survivors and the two that were since re-summoned. Akatsuki shook hands with me first, then the rest took formation around us to guide me to the coast. There were a lot of cameras pointed our way.
The language barrier was a bit of an issue, but we managed with Akatsuki translating for me. They said I will have a trained translator assigned to me by tomorrow, so I am not too worried there.
Overall, there was a strong sense of wariness; I did not see many civilians for a while, and the Japanese were not particularly happy when I asked them about bringing a few more girls and some building drones. They relaxed some with the gifts Ionia had on her, but I imagine those are still getting screened right now.
Then again, nobody attacked or even insulted me yet. I heard the occasional whisper, but nothing bad.
Hannah is fine as well. I have her cuddled up to me and fast asleep right now. They apologised a bunch of times for not having better accomodations, but most of the big hotels were destroyed with Tokyo. I do not mind this one much, this is the first time I ever had a futon, too. A lot of new things today.
Anyway, today was mostly introductions to various people whose names I ought to remember but forgot. Hannah probably does recall, so I will have to rely on her. Some preliminary talks with various people and ignoring a whole lot of reporters trying to get so much as a word from me. A full honour guard of shipgirls deterred them from pressing the issue, at least. For now.
Orion vanished at some point during the day. There was a bit of hubbub around it, but I got through to the Japanese to just direct her to where they were currently building; they remained on edge even afterward. Akatsuki had to argue for a while to get them to accept this; I doubt it was hard to find Orion, considering she had a dozen drones trailing her. They sent two shipgirls in her direction as well, one of them Hibiki.
I think it is good enough that they are willing to extend some trust. We just have to show them that there are no hidden agendas in play here. Maybe I went a bit too fast with Orion, but she is getting antsy after months spent building the same base layout time and again. This is more of a vacation for her, building infrastructure instead of outposts. I think she is still at work, actually.
I am meeting more people tomorrow. Time for bed.
Day 365
Well, nobody tried to kill me yet? I am not sure if the heavy security is to protect the people or me, maybe it is both. Either way, today was a lot more relaxed. I guess me and mine not attacking anyone gave Akatsuki's side a bit more credence.
I answered a few questions by journalists today, too. There was no real time for any in-depth explanations, but I think they got something interesting; particularly when one asked me why I as an Abyssal suddenly seek peace. I just asked him the same I asked Akatsuki back then: "Is there something wrong with wanting peace?"
I have an idea what sort of headlines there will be soon, but oh well. Just got to keep going. Things are looking good so far.
The last week was calm, at least for me. Frostbite and Briar told me that they had to wrangle unrest among their fleets. There was no violence, but a lot of heated discussions about whether to support or reject my stance on humanity. Even the Princesses themselves still needed this long to make a proper decision.
Thankfully, Frostbite came around after our past experiences. Briar is still sceptical, but willing to give it a shot. They both think this is going to end up a catastrophe, but I have their support. All they want is to see success of some sort. Which is why I told them about the situation with Akatsuki today. It completely slipped my mind that neither of them knew it just yet.
Frostbite was not happy that I kept everything from her and I got a stern talking-to about safety precautions. It felt kind of odd because I am a head taller than her, not that she cared.
That aside, hearing about current events in Japan at least intrigued the pair. They let me speak until I told them everything I know. Them being smart was a double-edged sword today, though; they both wanted to know how I got so much information about an area so far away. Considering that we were already sharing so much today, I also let them know that I am using the Internet. It took some explaining to convey the idea. Then I showed them the computers my scientists put together.
I think they are staying the night. Just went to check and yes, they make their best nerd impression glued to the screens. Makes sense, I guess; having so much information at your fingertips can be intoxicating for someone who just got introduced to the concept. It was a little different for my fleet, but I put that on them not being in charge of formulating strategies, or being unused to constant battle.
Either way, I guess we are having a sleepover. Need to go fetch some snacks and pry my guests away from the computers.
Day 322
Things went more smoothly with my fellow Princesses after I introduced them to the Internet. They do come over every day to do research, though. I have one of my girls with them at all times, to answer questions or fetch me to do it if she can not. They have become more open to the prospect of peace.
At the same time, Akatsuki continues to work herself to the bone in Japan. At this point some worry that she may die from overwork. As ironically fitting as that may be with Japanese culture, nobody wants that. Really, nobody. Not even her opponents on the political stage want the lone shipgirl harmed. From what Ariel and Hannah could put together for me, she has risen to be some sort of national heroine. Not so much for undoing the radiation, but for braving the uncertainty of facing an Abyssal and 'convincing' her to lend aid.
I guess she is the little destroyer that could.
Either way, Japan seems in favour of opening talks. The 'war' in China seems to be stalling out for some reason, I am still not looking at the details. Threats of nuclear warfare fly this way and that, mutually assured destruction and the like. I am already researching if there is a way to stop nukes, but there is no real way beyond shooting them down before they can deliver their payload. Or to prevent them from being launched. My scientists are unlikely to come up with another solution and China is too big to just search for the launch sites.
What a downer to end this entry on.
Day 328
Look at that, humanity can solve some of its own problems. Pissing off the entire world eventually comes back to bite you; in this case, even Russia turned against their nominal ally China and joined the US forces. This really is the weirdest timeline imaginable.
Moreover, that is really all I needed to know about the conflict, now I will go back to ignoring it.
After talking it over with Frostbite and Briar, we decided to be a little proactive in case Japan does seek to talk with us. Well, me, but we are a council now. Where I go, my friends follow. So Frostbite's expansion will focus on extending a teleportation relay all the way to Japan. It may be dangerous to extend ourselves so far without securing the territory, but our combined fleets are strong enough and humanity is busy elsewhere. The IJN is in shambles anyway.
Not to mention that this means Akatsuki does not have to reveal Haven's exact location to the general public. Maybe it is a bit of a futile consideration at this point, considering there will be paperwork about where her previous assignments took place.
Actually, thinking about it that way, it only takes one other idiot with a nuke to kill me. Haven is so far out to sea that this will not hurt any humans. Considering that I was just berated about safety, I better be careful.
Day 332
Relocation complete. Technically. I had Orion dig deeper and reinforce the citadel with an alloy of the same steel we have on living Abyssals. Reaper fired a volley from her five remaining Colossus Cannons and could not penetrate it. I brought over our entire combined fleet to do much of the same, to a similar result.
I had to pour a ton of resources into this, but it paid off. Then I did something similar for Frostbite on Wake Island, considering that is her base and known as an Abyssal stronghold. Also close enough that a nuke to Haven would still hit the island.
So yes, we now have structures that are about as durable as Reaper's armour belt, if not more so. They do not really help if someone walks in the door, but that is not their purpose. Briar wants one too, but we are out of resources to spare for that. Not to mention that Hawaii is far less likely to get nuked. Nobody knows she is part of our alliance, nor where she lives. Even if I introduce her. If she was not nuked yet, then it will not happen unless people get desperate.
The other reason is that she prefers to stay mobile; she has no real main base we could reinforce. An early warning system would help her more, so she can just up and leave through the teleporter with her fleet. I can build that kind of thing by now and will hand it to her tomorrow.
Day 333
Installed the system for Briar and explained what it does, she is happy again. She also told me that she is considering to go and build a proper bunker around the teleporter, just to keep it safe. We do not have the resources for that right now.
Day 339
Things are moving on humanity's end. Akatsuki finished clearing away the radiation around Tokyo; toward the end they even started ferrying her and the other shipgirls around in helicopters, to get at the nuclear fallout in the higher atmosphere. Nobody really believes they caught all of it, but people are hopeful.
More than that, Akatsuki held another speech about cooperating with me. That she wants to introduce me to her people so they can see for themselves what sort of person I am.
I am a little scared of that. Like I noted before, it only takes one idiot with a big red launch button to kill me if they know where I am. At the same time, just sending Frostbite in my place does not feel right either. Akatsuki wants me there. If it is an honest attempt to establish contact from others, sending a substitute would send the wrong message. If someone uses the chance of an Abyssal Princess being in the open to strike, then I sent my friend to die.
So no, I will have to go there myself. I guess this will be humanity's true test; if they refuse to give this a chance to blossom and kill me, then every Abyssal across the planet will gain access to the entire tech base I built. It is nowhere near complete, but the upgrades to weaponry, engines, and armour alone will change the game. Add to this that Briar and Frostbite will be furious and yeah. If I do die, I am taking all of humanity with me.
That is spiteful enough of a consequence. I am still shaking, but I can do this. There is still time, too.
Right now Akatsuki is arguing her case before a committee of not just Japanese leaders, but also some UN representatives. She has a solid base of supporters by now, but not everyone is comfortable with the prospect of meeting an Abyssal face to face. Even her sister Hibiki remains skeptical, though interviews I read tell me she has not spoken out against Akatsuki's plan. She mostly just wants everyone to be careful. Other shipgirls seem to be more on the fence than against it, too.
I should figure out some plans for if I do have to go visit them. The teleporters are still being built, but we make steady progress. No way I guzzle down all my stockpiled oil just to make my way to Japan and back.
But who do I take along? Too many warships will make me look more like a conqueror, rather than a potential ally. No warships is stupid, even I can tell that much. Maybe Orion? Ionia? They are civilian ships, though I am not sure humans can tell the difference. I doubt they even saw a Mi-Class before.
I need to think this over.
Day 340
I spent today talking to my fleet and allies. Right now my job for the council is to find more Internet cables and connect the other Princesses. So while I am using their submarines to scour the ocean floor, I talked over the situation with them. Just as I thought, neither Frostbite nor Briar like the situation. It makes sense not to trust humans to be sensible when considering recent events in Asia. They do not know us and fought a war of annihilation with the Abyss for about ten years.
Talking my friends around to the fact I have to go took a while. They took my agreement that if something bad does happen, coexistence becomes impossible. I did not like it, but neither of them would budge on the matter. Though they are willing to let me go now.
Then we talked over who could accompany me. I told them my considerations about too much and too little firepower, which both agreed with after some additional explanations. Turns out Abyssals have issues comprehending the concept of 'too much firepower'. Especially a Battleship Princess. I guess that was to be expected, considering that she is the superior firepower.
Either way, we settled on Hannah as my escort. My being a shipgirl makes any lone actors non-issues. If such an actor is also a shipgirl, then a destroyer Demon should suffice in taking them down. If it is an organised effort that does not kill me immediately, the Council warfleet will stand ready to interfere.
I am also taking Orion to help rebuild Tokyo some as a gesture of good faith, as well as Ionia with partly filled storage. A humble gift of resources, as is appropriate when visiting another. I just thought of that last one, it really has been a while since I had to think of manners in human terms.
Now to start preparing.
Day 349
Everything continues apace. My girls were not enthused when I told them the plan, but they agreed well enough. Orion insisted on taking a dozen of her drones along, which I agreed to after some thinking. I am just going to have them and Orion hang back to announce them, so they do not scare people too much.
Sapphire insisted that I promise to stay safe. She also sat down to carve me some jewelry from the gold and silver she has left over, something to impress the humans with. It was a sweet gesture, but I do not feel well wearing so much bling. I settled on a golden ring as well as a silver bracelet and tiara. It still feels weird to wear them, but a few accessories should be fine for a Princess.
Thinking of it that way, I should ask Sapphire to make matching tiaras for Briar and Frostbite. It does not feel right if only one in the Council of Three gets to wear something like a crown.
Now I feel weird. I never wanted to be some sort of king. But at the same time there is really no way around leading by now. Life works in weird ways. At least I get a shot at actually helping people.
Day 354
Akatsuki's fervour bore fruit. She convinced enough people to invite me onto Japanese shores for a meeting with the interim government and the UN, who will be hosted there. The girl herself was tasked with delivering the invitation.
I sent Hannah to intercept her a few hours from shore. My acceptance should have reached Japan by now. The date of my arrival is set ten days from now, for the sake of both sides. We need to finish the teleporter relay, they need to actually prepare to receive what amounts to a foreign dignitary.
This will be interesting. I have never been to Japan before. I doubt I get the chance to do much sightseeing, but it would be nice.
Day 363
Preparations complete, just in time. I am slated to arrive tomorrow. Hannah is ready, Ionia loaded up with resources and some consumer goods like food. Orion already selected which drones she will take.
My hands are shaking, but the nerves will pass. They always do when the time comes.
Day 364
This was interesting, if a little terrifying. I do not think I have social anxiety, but I am no extrovert and met a lot of people today. Hannah took some of it off me, but that only went so far.
At least people were suitably surprised when the two of us surfaced near Tokyo Bay. There were not many civilians present, but a decent number of JSDF personnel and all nine IJN shipgirls. The seven survivors and the two that were since re-summoned. Akatsuki shook hands with me first, then the rest took formation around us to guide me to the coast. There were a lot of cameras pointed our way.
The language barrier was a bit of an issue, but we managed with Akatsuki translating for me. They said I will have a trained translator assigned to me by tomorrow, so I am not too worried there.
Overall, there was a strong sense of wariness; I did not see many civilians for a while, and the Japanese were not particularly happy when I asked them about bringing a few more girls and some building drones. They relaxed some with the gifts Ionia had on her, but I imagine those are still getting screened right now.
Then again, nobody attacked or even insulted me yet. I heard the occasional whisper, but nothing bad.
Hannah is fine as well. I have her cuddled up to me and fast asleep right now. They apologised a bunch of times for not having better accomodations, but most of the big hotels were destroyed with Tokyo. I do not mind this one much, this is the first time I ever had a futon, too. A lot of new things today.
Anyway, today was mostly introductions to various people whose names I ought to remember but forgot. Hannah probably does recall, so I will have to rely on her. Some preliminary talks with various people and ignoring a whole lot of reporters trying to get so much as a word from me. A full honour guard of shipgirls deterred them from pressing the issue, at least. For now.
Orion vanished at some point during the day. There was a bit of hubbub around it, but I got through to the Japanese to just direct her to where they were currently building; they remained on edge even afterward. Akatsuki had to argue for a while to get them to accept this; I doubt it was hard to find Orion, considering she had a dozen drones trailing her. They sent two shipgirls in her direction as well, one of them Hibiki.
I think it is good enough that they are willing to extend some trust. We just have to show them that there are no hidden agendas in play here. Maybe I went a bit too fast with Orion, but she is getting antsy after months spent building the same base layout time and again. This is more of a vacation for her, building infrastructure instead of outposts. I think she is still at work, actually.
I am meeting more people tomorrow. Time for bed.
Day 365
Well, nobody tried to kill me yet? I am not sure if the heavy security is to protect the people or me, maybe it is both. Either way, today was a lot more relaxed. I guess me and mine not attacking anyone gave Akatsuki's side a bit more credence.
I answered a few questions by journalists today, too. There was no real time for any in-depth explanations, but I think they got something interesting; particularly when one asked me why I as an Abyssal suddenly seek peace. I just asked him the same I asked Akatsuki back then: "Is there something wrong with wanting peace?"
I have an idea what sort of headlines there will be soon, but oh well. Just got to keep going. Things are looking good so far.
Thanks for the chapter!
...with how things are going, I wonder when will the other shoe drop?
...with how things are going, I wonder when will the other shoe drop?
That is if she really wanted to
*You meant you had evidence peace was possible and didn't say it when presenting your case???!!!!??? AHPEHRPHZEPIFHRSF!!!!*
Information, totally what is keeping them here, yes.
Yeah, this is part of the horror of MAD:
It truly is assured.
It gets worse when you learn that, contrary to what you could think at first glance, one of the best indicator that a nuke is really being launched (instead of it being a false positive) it that there would be hundreds of launches at once.
No way to stop all of them, it's just not possible.
Nukes' hitting radiuses are no jokes.
Heh, it could be far, far worse.
I know a fic where just watching an Abyssal for too long is liable to kill you (also the Abyssals are less than ten years old and it can show).
At least here there are no shenanigans like that stopping the negotiations here.
I know this is the reasonable solution and all but... Reaper as her escort.
Nough said.
I hope it is a proper Princess tiara.
Know the sentiment.
I know I already said it but:
Big advantage of it being a journal here, most fics would've spent several chapter on the first day in japan alone, nevermind the night and beginning of next day.