Interlude: Maizuru
PyrrhicSteel
Look natural.
- Location
- Idaho
The guard clearly recognized the occupants of the government van, but still asked for the Admiral's identification before waving them through the gate. It would make sense if they were feeling paranoid, considering the… situation developing in the American Northwest, but as far as Saratoga knew no one in the JMSDF had been briefed on Trinitite.
It was probably just the Defense Force's standard professionalism, which spoke well for her temporary masters. Her briefers had made it clear Japan had been a free and prosperous society for decades now, a notion reinforced by the towering buildings, flashy roadside advertisements, and cluttered highways she'd passed on the drive here, but Saratoga hadn't set her expectations particularly high when it came to a second IJN. She didn't know how much of her knowledge of the former enemy's work culture was propaganda or bad intel, but the sooner she could confirm she could speak truth to power, the better.
Saratoga had already resolved to be brutally honest in her reports about the training process. However, while Admiral Hirano seemed like someone who'd take her advice to heart, Admiral James Richardson also learned the correct lessons from Saratoga's fleet problems against Pearl Harbor, and all The Navy got from his honesty was one less admiral. Saratoga sighed, remembering it wasn't just the JMSDF she might have to worry about. Crossroads had only happened a year after the war, and who knew how much or little the US Navy's current leaders cared about political results, instead of military ones.
Nothing I can control, though. At least we all want the same thing.
Parking in front of the JMSDF Maizuru District Headquarters, Katori brought the van to a smooth stop, shifting it into neutral and engaging the parking break with a practiced ease as Saratoga watched in envy. The American Carrier didn't know what she'd do with a driver's licence, but now that she was partially human, she felt like she needed one. Drivers licences were something humans just had, at least in her time. She wouldn't have time to get one in the immediate future, but when she returned to the states, who knew?
The Admiral got out first, walking to the starboard side of the van and sliding the door open. The division of destroyers in the back filed out, their excited conversation holding as they poured into the parking lot. Saratoga had learned their names, but had failed to keep them matched to their faces, and the fact that they talked to each other so quickly The American's rudimentary japanese knowledge couldn't keep up didn't help. It wasn't too bad, the destroyers behind her were having a good time after all, and it had served as white noise that kept her mind active during the hours-long drive.
Not that that was necessarily a good thing. For the first part of the journey, Saratoga had been wrapped up in the sights, enjoying the view of distant cities and scenic mountains while occasionally questioning Taiho about her homeland, but soon enough her thoughts drifted back home, and the crisis unfolding there.
When talking about the hostage situation, Zuikaku had been fairly certain that the abyssal that had hijacked the fishing trawler had been some kind of cruiser princess. That had been partially due to faulty intelligence, but to her it had seemed the most likely, especially with her... former state. The former Abyssal Crane Princess had considered 'fodder' Abyssals as little more than weapons platforms and shell sponges, meant only to further her goals. There was no chance that an Abyssal Princess would trust a lone cruiser to do… whatever they had been planning by hijacking the civilian vessel, and they might be right to do so. Without a veteran Princess around as a flagship, abyssal fodder typically didn't have the experience to fight toe-to-toe with human forces.
Saratoga hadn't been convinced, then, although she hadn't been sure why until Murray's call identified the abyssal fugitive as one of her old minions. The Abyssal Crane Princess had been focused on destroying the nation that had sunk her and the one that had left her as bait, and to that end she hadn't seen her abyssal minions as anything but pawns, resources to be developed, utilized, and sacrificed for her ultimate goal. That had carried over, somewhat, when she'd returned to her senses.
Zuikaku, and by extension the rest of the intelligence community, were focused on dealing with and 'rescuing' the numerous Princesses and Demons that commanded the Abyssal Fleets. It was a sensible strategy, in a way, but Saratoga couldn't be the only one that thought recent events proved that humanity was missing something.
Unlike the majority of abyssal princesses, she suspected, Jellyfish had a somewhat different view of her fleet. Instead of expendable pieces in some grand game, The Princess had viewed her ships more as dolls, stand-ins for relationships she didn't have anymore. She'd ignored slight imperfections in their designs, willing to pretend they were Essex-class Carriers, now that she was no longer able to mentor the real deal, and thought 'The Fire' had consigned her unofficial daughters to an early doom.
It still wasn't a good way to look at someone, but at least she could see them as people, now that she was thinking clearly. A particular memory had returned during the drive back, of Trinitite crying, towing her badly-damaged sister into harbor. Jellyfish had initially been concerned, but once it was clear the torpedo damage her sister- Hypocenter, she'd suddenly remembered- was repairable, she'd soon lost interest. The Princess spent a few moments pretending to comfort Hypocenter in the drydock- she'd said something, but Saratoga couldn't remember what- before leaving her with ice cream and returning to the clearly nervous Trinitite.
Jellyfish had hugged the Wo-class, allowing her to get her feelings out and explain the situation, but again, Saratoga couldn't remember anything Trinitite had said. Only with belated horror had Saratoga determined the reason: Jellyfish hadn't cared to listen. The Abyssal had been pouring her heart out, she assumed, but the thing that Saratoga had once been only been glad to see that her minions relied on her. Besides a hug, which the Wo-class could have gotten from one of her sisters that actually cared about her, besides a reassurance that Hypocenter was going to be alright, which she could have gotten from any observer, and besides the gallon of ice cream, Trinitite might as well have been confiding in a rock or tree.
The fact that it had taken this long for Saratoga to remember the incident at all was also telling. Jellyfish hadn't gone out of her way to kill anyone (although Trinitite and the rest of her escort fleet probably had, over the two years of war they'd been in), but she certainly wasn't any less selfish or kind than other Princesses. Unfortunately, that didn't bode well for what kind of intel she'd be able to recall to help track down the renegade Wo-class.
It was kind of creepy, actually, how much Jellyfish had glided through her life, going through the motions of having a family while only really thinking about her brief encounter with nuclear weapons. If there was a silver lining, Saratoga guessed it was a good thing that The Abyss had corrupted her on false pretences. Now that she knew that those tests had proved Nukes to be good ship-killers, like many other weapons, but poor fleet-killers, and that most of her successors had gone on to live exiting, unique, and long lives, Saratoga was fairly certain she wouldn't be able to fall back into that pit of despair again.
Probably. Who knew what The Abyss was capable of? Transmissions from some Abyssal Princesses, like the one that used to be Pearl Harbor, implied they had been corrupted so thoroughly that their perception of reality was irreconcilably warped. How much of their time after world war 2 did installations actually know?
This was an unhealthy train of thought. Best to focus on the present, for now.
Unbuckling herself from the seat, Saratoga swung the door open, allowing for a moment to feel the wind against her skin before taking in her surroundings. She hadn't taken the car trip as well as the flight over, but that had mostly been because the air conditioning hadn't quite been able to keep up with all the shipgirls in a tight space. In the crowded van, it had started to smell like paint, exhaust, hydraulic fluid and sweat, so the sea breeze was a welcome change.
"Welcome to Maizuru, Saratoga."
At Admiral Hirano's announcement, the American Carrier returned her attention to her commander.
"Thank you, Admiral." Saratoga replied, surveying the area around her. Besides the entrance facing the sea, a forested hill enveloped the base, providing the JMSDF with a natural barrier that dulled the sounds of the city. "This is pretty scenic, for a military base."
"The guards get plenty of exercise patrolling the perimeter, that's for sure." The Admiral replied. "Your quarters will be in our shipgirl dormitories. 305 is open, but you might be asked to share your room with someone if another ship is assigned to base. Taiho, give her a tour and help her get situated." The admiral checked her watch, before turning her attention back to the American. "Saratoga, Katori? Meet me at my office at 1600. We'll discuss some initial training plans after Sara's had a chance to meet everyone. Understood?"
The three shipgirls replied with a chorus of "Hai," and Admiral Hirano acknowledged it with a small nod.
"Good. I need to get back to work before the accumulating paperwork crushes my desk. You're dismissed."
As the Admiral left for the headquarters building, Katori addressed the two.
"Half of the carriers are on leave, today. I'll throw together a briefing on the state of their training while you two get situated."
"Thank you." Saratoga acknowledged. "Uh- good driving, by the way."
The training cruiser gave a short thank you and a thin smile, before dismissing herself as well. That left the fidgeting Taiho with Saratoga, an uncomfortable silence settling in between the two. Internally, the American Carrier frowned. They didn't have any bad history she was forgetting, right?
"Well- I guess you should follow me, then." Taiho finally piped up, brushing her bangs out of her face.
"I'll be in your care, Taiho." Saratoga echoed.
- - -
"Am I allowed to be in here?"
Taiho looked away from an old ship's bell, giving the American Carrier a curious look. It was an odd question, but her teacher seemed… nervous, strangely enough, so it must have been genuine.
"You should be." Taiho replied, suddenly unsure of herself. "The compound isn't stocked right now, but forigen shipgirls have triggered summonings before. There isn't any rule against it, as far as I know."
"Oh." Saratoga replied, her face showing that she didn't understand at all. "That's odd. I was told to steer clear of the summoning chamber in San Diego."
"Huh." That was odd. The Americans must have had some reason, but one wasn't immediately obvious to her. It could be serious, like them not fully trusting the former princess, or it could just be their scientists not wanting any extra variables as they tried to learn the process. Taiho thought relying on scientists instead of priests was the American's first mistake, but they had achieved some success. As far as she knew, the US was still struggling to perfect their summoning technique, and Japanese advisors hadn't been as helpful as everyone had hoped they'd be.
"Maybe we just do things differently?" Taiho suggested, looking back at the open summoning compound. The newest addition to the base, the recently-erected collection of structures wouldn't qualify as a traditional shrine, but the casual observer might mistake it for one. Where the traditional honden would sit, a wooden structure shielded a pool from the elements, it's interior lined with several symbols of shinto and Japan, glass-cased artifacts from the nearby Imperial Navy Memorial Hall, and steel shelves where a forklift could unload pallets of resources to aid the summoning.
Of course, the bored-looking MP dressed in camouflage and modern body armor was certainly not a shrine maiden, so Taiho guessed most casual observers would be able to make the distinction, eventually.
At Kure, where she'd been summoned, the layout had been significantly different, although the general principles had been the same. Each district's summoning area had similar differences, which was probably why some nations had only managed successful summonings in a handful of their ports.
"I'll have to ask." Saratoga replied, studying an image of the current Emperor.
Taiho considered asking if The American could let her know once she found out, but thought better of it.
"Uh, shall we move on, then?"
"Of course." Saratoga replied, in english. "Lead the way."
On the surface, the tour was going great. Saratoga seemed interested in her new home, asking questions and giving the occasional complement or judgement, but between areas of interest the American would seem to lose focus, sometimes taking time to respond to Taiho's questions and seeming to occasionally lose track of her.
Was she alright? She wasn't upset by something, was she? As the carriers walked in silence, Taiho's mind raced through the possibilities. She'd just been converted from an abyssal. Had that been a traumatic process? The Carrier had spoken with Zuikaku before, but never long enough to get a good read on her character. Maybe the purification hadn't been as complete as they'd thought, and she was in a battle with her less noble side? That wasn't possible, was it?
Maybe she'd been reading too much manga, because that was a bit of a convoluted answer. She'd just moved to a new area, after all, with practically no time to get acquainted with her friends and home back in the US. The idea of stationing some of the inexperienced carriers in the US to train them had been floating around for a while, and Taiho had spent a lot of time contemplating the thought of spending over a year in an alien location like Norfolk or San Diego. The idea of trying to get used to another culture entirely, with few familiar faces to help you through it, kept Taiho up at night sometimes. She'd only barely figured out modern Japan, after all.
Still, that was relying on her own experiences, perhaps a little too much. Would a hardened veteran, who'd been all around the world in her old life, be as anxious as her? Probably not.
That left a disturbing possibility. She hadn't insulted the American somehow, right? The question gnawed at her boilers as they walked, making her wonder about her future. Was Saratoga the type to hold in a grudge? If so, she needed to correct this, and fast!
Hesitantly, JS Taiho stopped, gathering courage to speak up.
"Uh… Saratoga?"
The American stopped as well, giving Taiho a questioning look.
"Yes, Taiho?"
Taiho took a deep breath, wondering if she was about to make the problem much worse.
"Is- Is everything okay?" Taiho ventured, checking around them. Between buildings, they seemed to be relatively alone. The occasional human sailor that passed them seemed focused on their own duties, at least. "Something seems to be bothering you. If I did anything wrong, I'd like to apologize-"
An abrupt laugh interrupted Taiho's offer, Saratoga shaking her head as the chuckle died off. When she looked back at Taiho, she bore a melancholy expression Taiho seen before, in intelligence reports about the Jellyfish Princess.
"I'm the one that should be apologizing, Taiho." She started, straightening and bowing to the younger carrier. "The details are classified, but there's a situation back home, related to my… old self. I can't do anything about it now, so I should stop fretting over it, but it's been distracting me. You've done great."
"I'm glad." The Japanese carrier smiled back at Saratoga, but it was forced. What kind of problem would have a veteran like Saratoga so distracted?
"Let's continue, then."
The Jellyfish Princess had mostly been pacifist, right? What kind of scheme could she have hatched that would have been so diabolical that it would continue after her 'death?'
...No, the abyssals didn't have a nuke, did they? Asking her really had been a mistake. Now, she was worrying, too, and she didn't even know what was happening!
It was probably just the Defense Force's standard professionalism, which spoke well for her temporary masters. Her briefers had made it clear Japan had been a free and prosperous society for decades now, a notion reinforced by the towering buildings, flashy roadside advertisements, and cluttered highways she'd passed on the drive here, but Saratoga hadn't set her expectations particularly high when it came to a second IJN. She didn't know how much of her knowledge of the former enemy's work culture was propaganda or bad intel, but the sooner she could confirm she could speak truth to power, the better.
Saratoga had already resolved to be brutally honest in her reports about the training process. However, while Admiral Hirano seemed like someone who'd take her advice to heart, Admiral James Richardson also learned the correct lessons from Saratoga's fleet problems against Pearl Harbor, and all The Navy got from his honesty was one less admiral. Saratoga sighed, remembering it wasn't just the JMSDF she might have to worry about. Crossroads had only happened a year after the war, and who knew how much or little the US Navy's current leaders cared about political results, instead of military ones.
Nothing I can control, though. At least we all want the same thing.
Parking in front of the JMSDF Maizuru District Headquarters, Katori brought the van to a smooth stop, shifting it into neutral and engaging the parking break with a practiced ease as Saratoga watched in envy. The American Carrier didn't know what she'd do with a driver's licence, but now that she was partially human, she felt like she needed one. Drivers licences were something humans just had, at least in her time. She wouldn't have time to get one in the immediate future, but when she returned to the states, who knew?
The Admiral got out first, walking to the starboard side of the van and sliding the door open. The division of destroyers in the back filed out, their excited conversation holding as they poured into the parking lot. Saratoga had learned their names, but had failed to keep them matched to their faces, and the fact that they talked to each other so quickly The American's rudimentary japanese knowledge couldn't keep up didn't help. It wasn't too bad, the destroyers behind her were having a good time after all, and it had served as white noise that kept her mind active during the hours-long drive.
Not that that was necessarily a good thing. For the first part of the journey, Saratoga had been wrapped up in the sights, enjoying the view of distant cities and scenic mountains while occasionally questioning Taiho about her homeland, but soon enough her thoughts drifted back home, and the crisis unfolding there.
When talking about the hostage situation, Zuikaku had been fairly certain that the abyssal that had hijacked the fishing trawler had been some kind of cruiser princess. That had been partially due to faulty intelligence, but to her it had seemed the most likely, especially with her... former state. The former Abyssal Crane Princess had considered 'fodder' Abyssals as little more than weapons platforms and shell sponges, meant only to further her goals. There was no chance that an Abyssal Princess would trust a lone cruiser to do… whatever they had been planning by hijacking the civilian vessel, and they might be right to do so. Without a veteran Princess around as a flagship, abyssal fodder typically didn't have the experience to fight toe-to-toe with human forces.
Saratoga hadn't been convinced, then, although she hadn't been sure why until Murray's call identified the abyssal fugitive as one of her old minions. The Abyssal Crane Princess had been focused on destroying the nation that had sunk her and the one that had left her as bait, and to that end she hadn't seen her abyssal minions as anything but pawns, resources to be developed, utilized, and sacrificed for her ultimate goal. That had carried over, somewhat, when she'd returned to her senses.
Zuikaku, and by extension the rest of the intelligence community, were focused on dealing with and 'rescuing' the numerous Princesses and Demons that commanded the Abyssal Fleets. It was a sensible strategy, in a way, but Saratoga couldn't be the only one that thought recent events proved that humanity was missing something.
Unlike the majority of abyssal princesses, she suspected, Jellyfish had a somewhat different view of her fleet. Instead of expendable pieces in some grand game, The Princess had viewed her ships more as dolls, stand-ins for relationships she didn't have anymore. She'd ignored slight imperfections in their designs, willing to pretend they were Essex-class Carriers, now that she was no longer able to mentor the real deal, and thought 'The Fire' had consigned her unofficial daughters to an early doom.
It still wasn't a good way to look at someone, but at least she could see them as people, now that she was thinking clearly. A particular memory had returned during the drive back, of Trinitite crying, towing her badly-damaged sister into harbor. Jellyfish had initially been concerned, but once it was clear the torpedo damage her sister- Hypocenter, she'd suddenly remembered- was repairable, she'd soon lost interest. The Princess spent a few moments pretending to comfort Hypocenter in the drydock- she'd said something, but Saratoga couldn't remember what- before leaving her with ice cream and returning to the clearly nervous Trinitite.
Jellyfish had hugged the Wo-class, allowing her to get her feelings out and explain the situation, but again, Saratoga couldn't remember anything Trinitite had said. Only with belated horror had Saratoga determined the reason: Jellyfish hadn't cared to listen. The Abyssal had been pouring her heart out, she assumed, but the thing that Saratoga had once been only been glad to see that her minions relied on her. Besides a hug, which the Wo-class could have gotten from one of her sisters that actually cared about her, besides a reassurance that Hypocenter was going to be alright, which she could have gotten from any observer, and besides the gallon of ice cream, Trinitite might as well have been confiding in a rock or tree.
The fact that it had taken this long for Saratoga to remember the incident at all was also telling. Jellyfish hadn't gone out of her way to kill anyone (although Trinitite and the rest of her escort fleet probably had, over the two years of war they'd been in), but she certainly wasn't any less selfish or kind than other Princesses. Unfortunately, that didn't bode well for what kind of intel she'd be able to recall to help track down the renegade Wo-class.
It was kind of creepy, actually, how much Jellyfish had glided through her life, going through the motions of having a family while only really thinking about her brief encounter with nuclear weapons. If there was a silver lining, Saratoga guessed it was a good thing that The Abyss had corrupted her on false pretences. Now that she knew that those tests had proved Nukes to be good ship-killers, like many other weapons, but poor fleet-killers, and that most of her successors had gone on to live exiting, unique, and long lives, Saratoga was fairly certain she wouldn't be able to fall back into that pit of despair again.
Probably. Who knew what The Abyss was capable of? Transmissions from some Abyssal Princesses, like the one that used to be Pearl Harbor, implied they had been corrupted so thoroughly that their perception of reality was irreconcilably warped. How much of their time after world war 2 did installations actually know?
This was an unhealthy train of thought. Best to focus on the present, for now.
Unbuckling herself from the seat, Saratoga swung the door open, allowing for a moment to feel the wind against her skin before taking in her surroundings. She hadn't taken the car trip as well as the flight over, but that had mostly been because the air conditioning hadn't quite been able to keep up with all the shipgirls in a tight space. In the crowded van, it had started to smell like paint, exhaust, hydraulic fluid and sweat, so the sea breeze was a welcome change.
"Welcome to Maizuru, Saratoga."
At Admiral Hirano's announcement, the American Carrier returned her attention to her commander.
"Thank you, Admiral." Saratoga replied, surveying the area around her. Besides the entrance facing the sea, a forested hill enveloped the base, providing the JMSDF with a natural barrier that dulled the sounds of the city. "This is pretty scenic, for a military base."
"The guards get plenty of exercise patrolling the perimeter, that's for sure." The Admiral replied. "Your quarters will be in our shipgirl dormitories. 305 is open, but you might be asked to share your room with someone if another ship is assigned to base. Taiho, give her a tour and help her get situated." The admiral checked her watch, before turning her attention back to the American. "Saratoga, Katori? Meet me at my office at 1600. We'll discuss some initial training plans after Sara's had a chance to meet everyone. Understood?"
The three shipgirls replied with a chorus of "Hai," and Admiral Hirano acknowledged it with a small nod.
"Good. I need to get back to work before the accumulating paperwork crushes my desk. You're dismissed."
As the Admiral left for the headquarters building, Katori addressed the two.
"Half of the carriers are on leave, today. I'll throw together a briefing on the state of their training while you two get situated."
"Thank you." Saratoga acknowledged. "Uh- good driving, by the way."
The training cruiser gave a short thank you and a thin smile, before dismissing herself as well. That left the fidgeting Taiho with Saratoga, an uncomfortable silence settling in between the two. Internally, the American Carrier frowned. They didn't have any bad history she was forgetting, right?
"Well- I guess you should follow me, then." Taiho finally piped up, brushing her bangs out of her face.
"I'll be in your care, Taiho." Saratoga echoed.
- - -
"Am I allowed to be in here?"
Taiho looked away from an old ship's bell, giving the American Carrier a curious look. It was an odd question, but her teacher seemed… nervous, strangely enough, so it must have been genuine.
"You should be." Taiho replied, suddenly unsure of herself. "The compound isn't stocked right now, but forigen shipgirls have triggered summonings before. There isn't any rule against it, as far as I know."
"Oh." Saratoga replied, her face showing that she didn't understand at all. "That's odd. I was told to steer clear of the summoning chamber in San Diego."
"Huh." That was odd. The Americans must have had some reason, but one wasn't immediately obvious to her. It could be serious, like them not fully trusting the former princess, or it could just be their scientists not wanting any extra variables as they tried to learn the process. Taiho thought relying on scientists instead of priests was the American's first mistake, but they had achieved some success. As far as she knew, the US was still struggling to perfect their summoning technique, and Japanese advisors hadn't been as helpful as everyone had hoped they'd be.
"Maybe we just do things differently?" Taiho suggested, looking back at the open summoning compound. The newest addition to the base, the recently-erected collection of structures wouldn't qualify as a traditional shrine, but the casual observer might mistake it for one. Where the traditional honden would sit, a wooden structure shielded a pool from the elements, it's interior lined with several symbols of shinto and Japan, glass-cased artifacts from the nearby Imperial Navy Memorial Hall, and steel shelves where a forklift could unload pallets of resources to aid the summoning.
Of course, the bored-looking MP dressed in camouflage and modern body armor was certainly not a shrine maiden, so Taiho guessed most casual observers would be able to make the distinction, eventually.
At Kure, where she'd been summoned, the layout had been significantly different, although the general principles had been the same. Each district's summoning area had similar differences, which was probably why some nations had only managed successful summonings in a handful of their ports.
"I'll have to ask." Saratoga replied, studying an image of the current Emperor.
Taiho considered asking if The American could let her know once she found out, but thought better of it.
"Uh, shall we move on, then?"
"Of course." Saratoga replied, in english. "Lead the way."
On the surface, the tour was going great. Saratoga seemed interested in her new home, asking questions and giving the occasional complement or judgement, but between areas of interest the American would seem to lose focus, sometimes taking time to respond to Taiho's questions and seeming to occasionally lose track of her.
Was she alright? She wasn't upset by something, was she? As the carriers walked in silence, Taiho's mind raced through the possibilities. She'd just been converted from an abyssal. Had that been a traumatic process? The Carrier had spoken with Zuikaku before, but never long enough to get a good read on her character. Maybe the purification hadn't been as complete as they'd thought, and she was in a battle with her less noble side? That wasn't possible, was it?
Maybe she'd been reading too much manga, because that was a bit of a convoluted answer. She'd just moved to a new area, after all, with practically no time to get acquainted with her friends and home back in the US. The idea of stationing some of the inexperienced carriers in the US to train them had been floating around for a while, and Taiho had spent a lot of time contemplating the thought of spending over a year in an alien location like Norfolk or San Diego. The idea of trying to get used to another culture entirely, with few familiar faces to help you through it, kept Taiho up at night sometimes. She'd only barely figured out modern Japan, after all.
Still, that was relying on her own experiences, perhaps a little too much. Would a hardened veteran, who'd been all around the world in her old life, be as anxious as her? Probably not.
That left a disturbing possibility. She hadn't insulted the American somehow, right? The question gnawed at her boilers as they walked, making her wonder about her future. Was Saratoga the type to hold in a grudge? If so, she needed to correct this, and fast!
Hesitantly, JS Taiho stopped, gathering courage to speak up.
"Uh… Saratoga?"
The American stopped as well, giving Taiho a questioning look.
"Yes, Taiho?"
Taiho took a deep breath, wondering if she was about to make the problem much worse.
"Is- Is everything okay?" Taiho ventured, checking around them. Between buildings, they seemed to be relatively alone. The occasional human sailor that passed them seemed focused on their own duties, at least. "Something seems to be bothering you. If I did anything wrong, I'd like to apologize-"
An abrupt laugh interrupted Taiho's offer, Saratoga shaking her head as the chuckle died off. When she looked back at Taiho, she bore a melancholy expression Taiho seen before, in intelligence reports about the Jellyfish Princess.
"I'm the one that should be apologizing, Taiho." She started, straightening and bowing to the younger carrier. "The details are classified, but there's a situation back home, related to my… old self. I can't do anything about it now, so I should stop fretting over it, but it's been distracting me. You've done great."
"I'm glad." The Japanese carrier smiled back at Saratoga, but it was forced. What kind of problem would have a veteran like Saratoga so distracted?
"Let's continue, then."
The Jellyfish Princess had mostly been pacifist, right? What kind of scheme could she have hatched that would have been so diabolical that it would continue after her 'death?'
...No, the abyssals didn't have a nuke, did they? Asking her really had been a mistake. Now, she was worrying, too, and she didn't even know what was happening!
Alright, so after writing about half of the next chapter, some feedback helped me realize I should probably break up Trinitite's weekend with another interlude. I know there was some good criticism about the last Taiho/Saratoga interlude, so I tried to take those into account while writing this one. A bit more links to Trinitite, and the like. Didn't manage to introduce Saratoga's gaggle of students, but I'm not sure that's a bad thing. I don't need to, after all, and it might be better from a writing perspective to only bring them in when the can contribute to this subplot, two or three at a time, linking them to characters that are more established along the way.
Also, this should be about the deepest look we're going to get into the summoning process that I've set up for this fic. There's a lot of kancolle fics that dedicate a scene to a new ship getting summoned, so I don't feel the need to retread ground in that aspect. I generally go by the philosophy of trying to allow this fic to be somewhat approachable to someone who doesn't know kancolle, but this should give them enough clues as to what it's like.
Also, this should be about the deepest look we're going to get into the summoning process that I've set up for this fic. There's a lot of kancolle fics that dedicate a scene to a new ship getting summoned, so I don't feel the need to retread ground in that aspect. I generally go by the philosophy of trying to allow this fic to be somewhat approachable to someone who doesn't know kancolle, but this should give them enough clues as to what it's like.
