- Location
- Detroit, Michigan
I'm guessing the "escorts adorned in bright, colorful suits" are kids dressed as Power Ranger equivalents.
All Wo-rk and No Play: An Abyssal's Trials in the Job Market (KC)
- Thread starter PyrrhicSteel
- Start date
- Pronouns
- He/Him
The last one is probably a generic steampunk type costume.
The Sandman
So Zetta Slowpoke
- Location
- Wherever I am, which isn't where I'm not
It would be funny if she went out as herself for Halloween and someone complimented her on taking the extra effort to do a battle-damaged costume variant. There's still time for her to do it before trick-or-treating ends!
- Location
- America
right so @perfect_shade posted this on SB in response to @PyrrhicSteel saying he's planning a sequel:
I'll be honest, my interpretation of what went on is that the Glowies managed to track Trin down or she realized they've almost caught her, and she skipped town to keep them from finding out she had a kid.
would make sense too, all it takes is her doing one wikiepedia search on, say, the CIA, and what she's probably going to take from it is "holy shit, I should really make sure these people don't find out I have a kid".
of which a response of note is from @Mashadarof402:
I'll be honest, my interpretation of what went on is that the Glowies managed to track Trin down or she realized they've almost caught her, and she skipped town to keep them from finding out she had a kid.
would make sense too, all it takes is her doing one wikiepedia search on, say, the CIA, and what she's probably going to take from it is "holy shit, I should really make sure these people don't find out I have a kid".
- Location
- Neptune
Oh please! Trinitite's a ship, she can't have kids.
Clearly, she had a boat.
Clearly, she had a boat.
Annoyed Catholic - Getting Shocked Over Gizmos With Letters
Annoyed Catholic
Moody fellow
Getting Shocked Over Gizmos With Letters
What could have been...
With USS Trinitite
"This is going to be a very confusing story I do not doubt," Trinitite mutters, sharing a look with her Princess and Georgia.
"Oh you have NO idea how confusing it's going to bloody get," the Essex classed former Abyssal hears the odd blue haired (AND blue winged) sighs after giving both her and her mother a ironic humored glance.
Was this Rei. . . . an actual Living SAINT was before them all?! It would fit with SOME of what is going on here, but why wasn't this Sister of Battle NOT falling down at the Emperor's feet in worship?
Whatever the actual truth?
Apparently, whatever else this female has going here is VERY good ears. That and a rather British sounding accent to her English.
Whatever! Whatever the case for at least Trinitite at the moment?
Honestly, the former Abyssal Wo-class WAS rather doubtful that anything coherent can be garnered from this young man who has the appearance and (somewhat similar) name of that movie that probably was near the top of the list of the most reviled movies that the former Crossroad Fleet had the displeasure to have seen come from Hollywood.
...
No, her Princess had no love of the Terminator franchise due to many reasons; top reason being that part of the story took place in a world burnt by the Fire. Indeed, the part in Terminator 2 where in Sarah Conner's dreams/nightmares she saw that one . . .scene where the children screamed in agony as they burned in the Fire . . . and then their blackened flesh blew off their bodies like leaves when the atonic bomb's blast wave hit them . . .
. . . like leaves in a gale . . .
No! Trinitite had NO love for Cameron and that movie franchise of his. None of the Fleet under her Princess had, point in fact. Too close to home to what happened to their Princess during Operation Crossroads, of course!!
Besides! The idea that the fate of the entire world lay in the hands of what Trinitite viewed as some snot nosed punk kid had been insulting to
Trinitite's intelligence! A sentiment that she had shared with Georgia, as it turned out over prior wargames. But that was by the by, so not
really important really.
"For the Emperor," said snot nosed muttered, while having glanced over at the young blue haired (and winged) Sister of Battle. As if he wanted to Almost ask her why did HE have to do this instead of her for some reason.
Later it would turn out that Rei happened to be the de facto party leader of the band of misfits that John had joined up with. That and it happened to be John's Turn to "Explain Things" to the crowd.
That was later.
"Okay, you already got my name . . .except for some parts like I am now married, call myself 'John Quartermain', and that sh. . .. stuff," John Quartermain (no longer Conner) continued all the while having to had to censor himself. Having remembered in time a some ears here are VERY tenderest indeed and coarse language wouldn't go over to well.
"Wait what?" the Emperor (still looking like James Bond) blinks from tentatively looking at his unexpected Lost Primarches.
Primarchesses?
"Aren't you a tad YOUNG to get married to anyone?" James Bond, Master of Mankind, blinked as John had gotten to one part of introducing himself and his crew (present or elsewhere at the moment). "I mean there are Frontier worlds within the Imperium where such things are considered normal, but not on the 20th century Earth's North America!"
"Uh father, the world that Rei's family calls home has a culture . . .where a man or woman is considered an adult in their teenage years," Horus coughed. "Terra Prime, the name of the parallel world that she came from actually considers leaving their children's ascension to adulthood to be deemed for later to be . . .needlessly coddling them. Even spoiling them in some manners."
"It has all to do more with 'emotional maturity' than 'chronological age' your Imperial Grace," Rei added.
Saratoga nodded slightly to herself, recalling how Trinitite had been actually been ABLE to be able to have a romantic relationship with her now husband even BEFORE finally getting in contact with her. Years ago.
At the time Saratoga had been VERY AGAINST it, considering how YOUNG HER DAUGHTER actually WAS but...
She herself? The Lexington admiral just had happened to have been in a relationship with a human man on the Station. Right now, who was mature enough but . . .who was only a fraction of HER chronological age!
Thus with things like that she and other Shipgirls both in America and Japan happening? That rather was one of many reasons why she finally granted Trinitite permission for her to marry that . . .man who at times seemed even NOW seemed to be even LESS of an adult than . . .
What a doofus, Saratoga thought to herself seemingly for the millionth time thinking about that husband of Trinitite. At least he was a good enough father for my grandchild, I will allow that!
Emotional maturity that had come from where ever the Abyss had pulled her Daughters from...However that Dark Entity had created her Trinitite...
Grr, Saratoga mutters something about how even NOW despite that cult who had attempted to press gang her into their ranks ('Sister Sara' indeed!), at least SOME of their beliefs had proven to have SOME basis in reality. Trinitite had been emotionally mature enough for that kind of relationship/commitment despite child like/naïve in others. Of course, her daughter (all of them) had grown and matured since then but...
ANYway! Getting sidetracked here wasn't helping her!
The Emperor looked at Horus, and then at Rei.
Yeah! Like like the Emperor had room to talk about violating "modern 20th century Western" norms, considering some of the stomach churning political arranged marriages He had come across out there before bringing the light of his Rule to the wayward human masses out there. Indeed! Old, grey bearded men marrying ten year old girls (and consummating)?!
...
Oh yes, He had great pleasure in putting THAT down and DOWN hard! And then laughing at the Signed Protests which had followed. Saying "No" had been sweat indeed for such matter! That and ending that business of out and out slavery....with rather PERMANENT means when necessary!
Declining to make further comment, He instead gestured for John to continue before gently taking the two bundles of joy from Rei's hands.
"Ah, anyway!" John nodded, glad and willing to continue and NOT having to argue over (or delving into just how awkward) this rather awkward subject.
Hell, it hadn't been like he had not been willing to wait until both had been eighteen! It was just that. . .in the end he had not been the one to propose marriage, and at such a young age. Indeed, John had been flummoxed when it was perfectly acceptable (and even EXPECTED) that the Bride proposes to the Groom from the kingdom Rei and her sisters now called home.
What a STRANGE parallel Earth must that kingdom be, some like Trinitite later thought to themselves!
As for John? The Amazons he had heard about and even role played as in AD&D, but that marriage proposal had been an unexpected wrinkle in things! His now wife had proposed. Proposed to be married NOW and not later. And as it turned out there were viable and acceptable pathways for such a marriage to work out!
...
John added "Those are really your lost Primarchs from the Scattering Mr. Bond," John added, continuing. "Just . . .like some of your kids got slightly changed here and their due to being exposed to their Chaotic kidnappers?"
"They got changed into girls," Horus put in from the side, trying to be helpful. "Father, the same happened with the mirror of you in the 40th millennium in fact. But that said? That was not EVEN the most unexpected thing I saw."
Having rolled His eyes, the Emperor then nodded. He HAD happened to have indeed NOTICED. Thank you!
He wasn't blind and his Psyker powers had told him that much.
Oh, and he wasn't going to hold such things against the infants, no matter HOW they should be developed when they grow. Orientation or otherwise if such should . . .come up. Just needed to make sure that IF such questions should come up, one way or another that it doesn't get out of hand. Certain Pervert Demom Gods be damned!!
He then looked at Horus, AS wordlessly asking just how much more this could/would this Unexpected Business get "unexpected".
Soon after that, with the others here (who were not in stockades)? What did they learn, despite having been sidelined by this business?
Trinite and her Fleet learned that Horus (this one) had indeed been tempted by the Ruinous Powers, but managed not only to resist betraying the Imperium but survive to tell the tale by getting yanked into another reality. A parallel world where Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a real thing and it was the infamous Halloween episode where cursed costumes turned their wearers into the characters they were dressed up as. In this case they learned that some child had for SOME reason dressed as Horus! Something about the kid being a fan, and having insisted that Horus had actually been a hero in Warhammer 40k.
Trinitite had real questions about this kid's intelligence, but at least she was happy to see that THIS Horus wasn't a Chaos maddened monster.
At least the Warmaster wasn't attacking them and the Emperor so that was good!
And while it had been said that Trinitite (and frankly the other shipgirls present with even a slight inkling of who Warmaster Horus was) WERE NOT upset that he failed to turn Traitor after being captured by the Ruinous Power. BUT they WERE more than surprised on the final "surprise" that Horus had brought with him from his final "parallel reality" he (and Rei's group) had visited before HERE.
Where HERE was, was up in the air but....
"Now while we REALLY should tell what happened to me first in the . . .Buffyverse where I met Rei's group," Horus tried to begin, hesitantly as if asking how to proceed before he just opted on being daring! On just plunging into it. "And going for an unexpected tour of a dark mirror of the Imperium and met the analog of the Emperor. . . ."
It worked for him in the past with some of the thornier issues he had to deal with helping his Father ultimately for the Imperium, maybe it would work for him again.
His Father had quiet a temper at times, and that wouldn't do for some of what he hoped to accomplish yet! There was much still needing to be done, even though he felt he'd REALLY had almost bungled it with the Ruinous Powers. Getting caught like that like a chump! REALLY!!
"Oh oh," Georgia muttered, not liking how that sounded. It sounded like it had been less than "pleasant" for Horus and Rei's group, giving how BAD that things could be in Warhammer 40k.
"BUT before all that I and Rei got one of those important details for everything which happened," Horus said, pulling out a device that looks like a rather clunky laptop. "Let me lead with this!"
While not something that looks especially exciting, the look that the Emperor (who's now back in his gigantic, power armored form with more gold platting than God's limo) looked like he'd been hit upside of the head with a carp (AGAIN but HARDER And ROUGHER). It was very fortunate that he had placed his wayward Primarchs in their cribs (the ones that Rei had magically created so the little ones could enjoy their naps sometime earlier here).
Honestly? The chances of the Emperor of Mankind accidentally having dropped them on their heads due to the shock he is showing WAS not zero.
"Where in the Hells did you find this Standard Template Construct kernel unit?!" the Emperor sputtered hoarsely out after inspecting it.
Gently.
Almost afraid to touch it in fear of BREAKING it.
What could have been...
With USS Trinitite
"This is going to be a very confusing story I do not doubt," Trinitite mutters, sharing a look with her Princess and Georgia.
"Oh you have NO idea how confusing it's going to bloody get," the Essex classed former Abyssal hears the odd blue haired (AND blue winged) sighs after giving both her and her mother a ironic humored glance.
Was this Rei. . . . an actual Living SAINT was before them all?! It would fit with SOME of what is going on here, but why wasn't this Sister of Battle NOT falling down at the Emperor's feet in worship?
Whatever the actual truth?
Apparently, whatever else this female has going here is VERY good ears. That and a rather British sounding accent to her English.
Whatever! Whatever the case for at least Trinitite at the moment?
Honestly, the former Abyssal Wo-class WAS rather doubtful that anything coherent can be garnered from this young man who has the appearance and (somewhat similar) name of that movie that probably was near the top of the list of the most reviled movies that the former Crossroad Fleet had the displeasure to have seen come from Hollywood.
...
No, her Princess had no love of the Terminator franchise due to many reasons; top reason being that part of the story took place in a world burnt by the Fire. Indeed, the part in Terminator 2 where in Sarah Conner's dreams/nightmares she saw that one . . .scene where the children screamed in agony as they burned in the Fire . . . and then their blackened flesh blew off their bodies like leaves when the atonic bomb's blast wave hit them . . .
. . . like leaves in a gale . . .
No! Trinitite had NO love for Cameron and that movie franchise of his. None of the Fleet under her Princess had, point in fact. Too close to home to what happened to their Princess during Operation Crossroads, of course!!
Besides! The idea that the fate of the entire world lay in the hands of what Trinitite viewed as some snot nosed punk kid had been insulting to
Trinitite's intelligence! A sentiment that she had shared with Georgia, as it turned out over prior wargames. But that was by the by, so not
really important really.
"For the Emperor," said snot nosed muttered, while having glanced over at the young blue haired (and winged) Sister of Battle. As if he wanted to Almost ask her why did HE have to do this instead of her for some reason.
Later it would turn out that Rei happened to be the de facto party leader of the band of misfits that John had joined up with. That and it happened to be John's Turn to "Explain Things" to the crowd.
That was later.
"Okay, you already got my name . . .except for some parts like I am now married, call myself 'John Quartermain', and that sh. . .. stuff," John Quartermain (no longer Conner) continued all the while having to had to censor himself. Having remembered in time a some ears here are VERY tenderest indeed and coarse language wouldn't go over to well.
"Wait what?" the Emperor (still looking like James Bond) blinks from tentatively looking at his unexpected Lost Primarches.
Primarchesses?
"Aren't you a tad YOUNG to get married to anyone?" James Bond, Master of Mankind, blinked as John had gotten to one part of introducing himself and his crew (present or elsewhere at the moment). "I mean there are Frontier worlds within the Imperium where such things are considered normal, but not on the 20th century Earth's North America!"
"Uh father, the world that Rei's family calls home has a culture . . .where a man or woman is considered an adult in their teenage years," Horus coughed. "Terra Prime, the name of the parallel world that she came from actually considers leaving their children's ascension to adulthood to be deemed for later to be . . .needlessly coddling them. Even spoiling them in some manners."
"It has all to do more with 'emotional maturity' than 'chronological age' your Imperial Grace," Rei added.
Saratoga nodded slightly to herself, recalling how Trinitite had been actually been ABLE to be able to have a romantic relationship with her now husband even BEFORE finally getting in contact with her. Years ago.
At the time Saratoga had been VERY AGAINST it, considering how YOUNG HER DAUGHTER actually WAS but...
She herself? The Lexington admiral just had happened to have been in a relationship with a human man on the Station. Right now, who was mature enough but . . .who was only a fraction of HER chronological age!
Thus with things like that she and other Shipgirls both in America and Japan happening? That rather was one of many reasons why she finally granted Trinitite permission for her to marry that . . .man who at times seemed even NOW seemed to be even LESS of an adult than . . .
What a doofus, Saratoga thought to herself seemingly for the millionth time thinking about that husband of Trinitite. At least he was a good enough father for my grandchild, I will allow that!
Emotional maturity that had come from where ever the Abyss had pulled her Daughters from...However that Dark Entity had created her Trinitite...
Grr, Saratoga mutters something about how even NOW despite that cult who had attempted to press gang her into their ranks ('Sister Sara' indeed!), at least SOME of their beliefs had proven to have SOME basis in reality. Trinitite had been emotionally mature enough for that kind of relationship/commitment despite child like/naïve in others. Of course, her daughter (all of them) had grown and matured since then but...
ANYway! Getting sidetracked here wasn't helping her!
The Emperor looked at Horus, and then at Rei.
Yeah! Like like the Emperor had room to talk about violating "modern 20th century Western" norms, considering some of the stomach churning political arranged marriages He had come across out there before bringing the light of his Rule to the wayward human masses out there. Indeed! Old, grey bearded men marrying ten year old girls (and consummating)?!
...
Oh yes, He had great pleasure in putting THAT down and DOWN hard! And then laughing at the Signed Protests which had followed. Saying "No" had been sweat indeed for such matter! That and ending that business of out and out slavery....with rather PERMANENT means when necessary!
Declining to make further comment, He instead gestured for John to continue before gently taking the two bundles of joy from Rei's hands.
"Ah, anyway!" John nodded, glad and willing to continue and NOT having to argue over (or delving into just how awkward) this rather awkward subject.
Hell, it hadn't been like he had not been willing to wait until both had been eighteen! It was just that. . .in the end he had not been the one to propose marriage, and at such a young age. Indeed, John had been flummoxed when it was perfectly acceptable (and even EXPECTED) that the Bride proposes to the Groom from the kingdom Rei and her sisters now called home.
What a STRANGE parallel Earth must that kingdom be, some like Trinitite later thought to themselves!
As for John? The Amazons he had heard about and even role played as in AD&D, but that marriage proposal had been an unexpected wrinkle in things! His now wife had proposed. Proposed to be married NOW and not later. And as it turned out there were viable and acceptable pathways for such a marriage to work out!
...
John added "Those are really your lost Primarchs from the Scattering Mr. Bond," John added, continuing. "Just . . .like some of your kids got slightly changed here and their due to being exposed to their Chaotic kidnappers?"
"They got changed into girls," Horus put in from the side, trying to be helpful. "Father, the same happened with the mirror of you in the 40th millennium in fact. But that said? That was not EVEN the most unexpected thing I saw."
Having rolled His eyes, the Emperor then nodded. He HAD happened to have indeed NOTICED. Thank you!
He wasn't blind and his Psyker powers had told him that much.
Oh, and he wasn't going to hold such things against the infants, no matter HOW they should be developed when they grow. Orientation or otherwise if such should . . .come up. Just needed to make sure that IF such questions should come up, one way or another that it doesn't get out of hand. Certain Pervert Demom Gods be damned!!
He then looked at Horus, AS wordlessly asking just how much more this could/would this Unexpected Business get "unexpected".
Soon after that, with the others here (who were not in stockades)? What did they learn, despite having been sidelined by this business?
Trinite and her Fleet learned that Horus (this one) had indeed been tempted by the Ruinous Powers, but managed not only to resist betraying the Imperium but survive to tell the tale by getting yanked into another reality. A parallel world where Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a real thing and it was the infamous Halloween episode where cursed costumes turned their wearers into the characters they were dressed up as. In this case they learned that some child had for SOME reason dressed as Horus! Something about the kid being a fan, and having insisted that Horus had actually been a hero in Warhammer 40k.
Trinitite had real questions about this kid's intelligence, but at least she was happy to see that THIS Horus wasn't a Chaos maddened monster.
At least the Warmaster wasn't attacking them and the Emperor so that was good!
And while it had been said that Trinitite (and frankly the other shipgirls present with even a slight inkling of who Warmaster Horus was) WERE NOT upset that he failed to turn Traitor after being captured by the Ruinous Power. BUT they WERE more than surprised on the final "surprise" that Horus had brought with him from his final "parallel reality" he (and Rei's group) had visited before HERE.
Where HERE was, was up in the air but....
"Now while we REALLY should tell what happened to me first in the . . .Buffyverse where I met Rei's group," Horus tried to begin, hesitantly as if asking how to proceed before he just opted on being daring! On just plunging into it. "And going for an unexpected tour of a dark mirror of the Imperium and met the analog of the Emperor. . . ."
It worked for him in the past with some of the thornier issues he had to deal with helping his Father ultimately for the Imperium, maybe it would work for him again.
His Father had quiet a temper at times, and that wouldn't do for some of what he hoped to accomplish yet! There was much still needing to be done, even though he felt he'd REALLY had almost bungled it with the Ruinous Powers. Getting caught like that like a chump! REALLY!!
"Oh oh," Georgia muttered, not liking how that sounded. It sounded like it had been less than "pleasant" for Horus and Rei's group, giving how BAD that things could be in Warhammer 40k.
"BUT before all that I and Rei got one of those important details for everything which happened," Horus said, pulling out a device that looks like a rather clunky laptop. "Let me lead with this!"
While not something that looks especially exciting, the look that the Emperor (who's now back in his gigantic, power armored form with more gold platting than God's limo) looked like he'd been hit upside of the head with a carp (AGAIN but HARDER And ROUGHER). It was very fortunate that he had placed his wayward Primarchs in their cribs (the ones that Rei had magically created so the little ones could enjoy their naps sometime earlier here).
Honestly? The chances of the Emperor of Mankind accidentally having dropped them on their heads due to the shock he is showing WAS not zero.
"Where in the Hells did you find this Standard Template Construct kernel unit?!" the Emperor sputtered hoarsely out after inspecting it.
Gently.
Almost afraid to touch it in fear of BREAKING it.
Last edited:
73: Protocols
PyrrhicSteel
Look natural.
- Location
- Idaho
It was like stepping into a different world. The lighting, comfortably low while still bathing everything in a warm glow. The reassuring scent of hundreds of books. The respectful quiet, employees and customers clearly focused on their own studies instead of her.
It had been too long since she'd visited a library.
The aircraft carrier felt a tension in her hull she hadn't noticed dissipating. This happened more often recently, but it was a sensation she experienced the most often here. It wasn't an entirely logical feeling, if she thought about it, but these libraries just seemed safe. Nobody paid her mind as she set a course for a computer, pulling aside a chair and allowing herself into it. The Wo-class relaxed there for a moment, before gathering her thoughts and signing in.
Her research list had grown quite a bit since the last time she'd been here, but some items were much more important than others. Figuring out what calories were would aid her disguise, and the battle with Dustin's modern forces had renewed her interest in researching the enemy's capabilities, but the importance of those things seemed dwarfed by the conversation she'd had with Laura yesterday. The human's knowing smirk still lingered in her thoughts, evidence that there was something very serious that Trinitite wasn't aware of. Selecting the search bar, the Wo-class checked the list of terms an officer had hastily scrawled, skipping to the first one relevant to that conversation.
Adorable
The window that appeared was as helpful as ever, defining the word as 'inspiring great affection; delightful; charming.'
That… actually seemed like a pretty useful word. Her sisters certainly inspired such feelings in Trinitite. Alex did as well, she guessed, but not quite as much, and the definition explicitly mentioned 'great' affection, so maybe it didn't fit? Laura had used 'cute' as a synonym, so she entered that term and hit enter. Instead of a definition, however, Trinitite's rangefinders were confronted by an array of photographs.
Best of Cute
What… What were these? The abyssal's rangefinders widened in surprise as they focused on rows and rows of images of… something. 'Cats,' the description said. She'd seen cats before, darting between bushes and out of her vision on some islands, and occasionally in the distance here in human territory. and the large thing that had attacked her had perhaps been one, but these? Those eyes were so large, their legs so stubby, and their fur was so… thick? Fluffy? What did it feel like? How did they move around at all? They were so small, too! One of them was clearly trying and failing to hide in the leg of a pair of jeans. Clearly they needed some kind of escort, but how did they get someone to do so for them? They didn't seem to have any obvious utility, but still the thought of something bad happening to one of them felt horrible! Why would she care? Was she missing her escort duties so much that she'd start defending just anything? No, this feeling had only really cropped up in relation to these things!
Exempt she hadn't just wanted to protect them, had she? Trinitite hadn't gotten anything out of saving Alton back at the construction site, but he hadn't found him cute at all, right? What about Alex? Trinitite had to admit that she would sacrifice her disguise to protect her fleetmate from harm, and she wasn't sure if she'd do the same for some human she didn't know. That was just because she knew him, though, not because she found him cute!
...right?
She suddenly realized that a minute had passed. The… creatures here had distracted her from her purpose! It served as a good way for her to learn the word, but how did that relate to herself and Alex, as a unit? The word had three definitions, only one of which seemed related to adorable. It was good to know she'd intuited the definition for herself, but otherwise the webpage didn't tell her anything more than the pictures did. Trinitite closed the tab, ready to enter the next entry on her list and come back later, when one of the related searches caught her attention.
Cute girl
Laura had called Trinitite and Alex together 'cute,' but what about her? Was she considered cute? The question seemed frivolous, but the Wo-class couldn't help herself from clicking the link and following the list of images. Pictures of human women filled the screen, and Trinitite found herself making comparisons. On average, their hair seemed long, falling to their waists in either straight locs or only minor curls. Her own hair didn't go far past her shoulders, but a lot of it in the front didn't even make it to her chin. The Wo-class held a lock in front of her, straightening it with a gentle pull. Perhaps it would be longer if it wasn't so naturally frizzy.
As for color, the abyssal started to regret choosing black dye for this disguise. Black-haired humans existed, but the vast majority of the humans in the images were a shade between brown, blonde, and red. She looked down, then back up to the images. Their breasts seemed smaller than hers, too, no doubt more practical for work and combat, but she couldn't say for certain because the chest wasn't the focus of any of the images. That being said, their build besides the breasts seemed fairly close to her own, and she couldn't tell any massive differences in their facial features. A shift in how she applied her makeup would make up for any deficit, but would it compensate for everything else?
She sighed, the chair squeaking slightly as she leaned back. The Wo-class just wasn't sure. Perhaps it was something to ask Alex about later.
The next term was 'Dating.' The search failed to bring a definition, the results page instead populating with a peculiar kind of title:
Online Dating in Chehalis / Hot Singles in your area
Over 40 Chehalis Dating / Totally Free Signup-No Payment
Best Dating Sites Washington / Dating Just Got Easy
Was dating something someone did online? That didn't match with what Laura had said, but perhaps this also had multiple definitions. The Wo-class didn't bother investigating the links, instead editing her search term.
dating definition
The term did have multiple definitions- most related to finding the date of an object, which was obvious in hindsight, but the last one was what felt relevant.
To be romantically involved with someone.
That was probably what she was looking for, but it wasn't particularly useful. What did 'romantically' mean? Normally, she would add the word to her research list and move on, but there was a Wikipedia link here, and instead of following an endless trail of definitions she could be more efficient with a deeper look.
As always, the website seemed as descriptive as she needed it to be. The wall of text looked like exactly what she needed! Dating is a stage in romantic relationships… there was that word, 'romantic,' again, but Trinitite merely opened the link in another tab and kept reading. She'd hopefully learn all she needed here, but it'd be there for her if she needed to dive deeper.
'The protocols and practices of dating and the terms used to describe it vary vastly between cultures, societies, and time periods?' There were protocols? As in, written procedures? Not only would it be vital to ensure that she followed them correctly, but Trinitite already knew how to work with those! If they weren't in this article, then she'd have to be finding them next.
Sadly, as she continued reading, no clear instructions on dating presented themselves. Still, there was plenty of useful information. A lot of the history section simply failed to catch her interest, but the stated link between dating and families was helpful. Forming an entirely new fleet would be an expensive task, she guessed, so long negotiations with a prospective fleetmate would be necessary to ensure every eventuality was prepared for. Apparently these negotiations used to be done by the princesses of the two families the original humans belonged to for political reasons. That had made sense to her, but it had changed for… some reason, too complicated for the Abyssal to get in her first reading, and now dating didn't necessarily lead to this… marriage, or meant that a trade in genetic material had to happen. Now, it seemed they simultaneously fulfilled the task of negotiation and reconnaissance, the humans looking to form a new fleet drawing out the negotiations to investigate their prospective partner. Feeling more confident, the Wo-class continued reading… until, as if it had struck a mine, the confidence shattered.
"The only rule is that there are no rules."
What did that mean? She kept reading, and her confusion grew even more. Again, the article asserted that there was a protocol to dating, but apparently it depended wildly on which human it was done with, where it was done, was unwritten, and constantly changed?
How did anyone do it, then?
The example the article gave didn't seem particularly useful. Use humor? Sure, she could joke with her old fleetmates effortlessly, but what did humans find funny? The abyssal sighed, forcing herself to calm down as she leaned back in her chair. At the end of the day, Trinitite didn't actually need to understand this. It was chaos, pure and simple, and chaos was what had let her escape the navy. The important thing was that Alex would have to take the initiative if he wanted to make a new fleet with her, and she would have plenty of time to figure out an operational plan when he did. That meant this research was still useful despite its vagueness, as it was always good to know what your… enemy didn't seem like the proper term for Alex, but it was good to know what kinds of tactics he might be using.
On that, the article still wasn't particularly helpful. The most emphasized guideline it gave was to ask for training from someone, instead of any solid doctrine Alex might follow. Only after reaching the section of the article dedicated to the United States specifically did any information on protocols appear. Apparently, if Alex wanted to initiate dating, he'd have to ask directly, so Trinitite should have no problem realizing that the process had begun.
That was good. She shouldn't have to worry about it until Alex proposed one.
Abruptly the image of the human returned from last night, his eyes bolted forward as he contemplated… something from his position in the driver's seat.
Sorry, I gotta think it through a bit more. I won't leave you in the dark too long, okay?
The Abyssal's eyes widened in realization. She didn't dare speculate, but there was a decent chance-
She needed a more solid plan, now. She didn't know what kind of tactics Alex could use, but that was manageable. If she played along and politely avoided anything extreme, she should be able to keep them from doing anything extreme without upsetting him. It was a rough plan, but flexible, which was one of the best qualities in a plan. It wasn't like she could narrow it down any more, considering how little actionable intelligence she'd gained from the article…
Trinitite sighed, her attention drifting to the 'romance' wikipedia page. It simultaneously felt like the abyssal hadn't learned enough about this, but still far too much for her to process in one sitting. Sure, she could look into it more via this other article, but would she really understand it. She'd need some time to consider what she'd learned, perhaps observe whatever Alex was going to do next for some much-needed context, and until then she wasn't sure getting more information on the topic would actually help.
A new tab opened, and Trinitite entered another search term. The romance definition could wait until Alex made his move. Until then, the abyssal was curious about the actual abilities of backfire bombers…
It had been too long since she'd visited a library.
The aircraft carrier felt a tension in her hull she hadn't noticed dissipating. This happened more often recently, but it was a sensation she experienced the most often here. It wasn't an entirely logical feeling, if she thought about it, but these libraries just seemed safe. Nobody paid her mind as she set a course for a computer, pulling aside a chair and allowing herself into it. The Wo-class relaxed there for a moment, before gathering her thoughts and signing in.
Her research list had grown quite a bit since the last time she'd been here, but some items were much more important than others. Figuring out what calories were would aid her disguise, and the battle with Dustin's modern forces had renewed her interest in researching the enemy's capabilities, but the importance of those things seemed dwarfed by the conversation she'd had with Laura yesterday. The human's knowing smirk still lingered in her thoughts, evidence that there was something very serious that Trinitite wasn't aware of. Selecting the search bar, the Wo-class checked the list of terms an officer had hastily scrawled, skipping to the first one relevant to that conversation.
Adorable
The window that appeared was as helpful as ever, defining the word as 'inspiring great affection; delightful; charming.'
That… actually seemed like a pretty useful word. Her sisters certainly inspired such feelings in Trinitite. Alex did as well, she guessed, but not quite as much, and the definition explicitly mentioned 'great' affection, so maybe it didn't fit? Laura had used 'cute' as a synonym, so she entered that term and hit enter. Instead of a definition, however, Trinitite's rangefinders were confronted by an array of photographs.
Best of Cute
What… What were these? The abyssal's rangefinders widened in surprise as they focused on rows and rows of images of… something. 'Cats,' the description said. She'd seen cats before, darting between bushes and out of her vision on some islands, and occasionally in the distance here in human territory. and the large thing that had attacked her had perhaps been one, but these? Those eyes were so large, their legs so stubby, and their fur was so… thick? Fluffy? What did it feel like? How did they move around at all? They were so small, too! One of them was clearly trying and failing to hide in the leg of a pair of jeans. Clearly they needed some kind of escort, but how did they get someone to do so for them? They didn't seem to have any obvious utility, but still the thought of something bad happening to one of them felt horrible! Why would she care? Was she missing her escort duties so much that she'd start defending just anything? No, this feeling had only really cropped up in relation to these things!
Exempt she hadn't just wanted to protect them, had she? Trinitite hadn't gotten anything out of saving Alton back at the construction site, but he hadn't found him cute at all, right? What about Alex? Trinitite had to admit that she would sacrifice her disguise to protect her fleetmate from harm, and she wasn't sure if she'd do the same for some human she didn't know. That was just because she knew him, though, not because she found him cute!
...right?
She suddenly realized that a minute had passed. The… creatures here had distracted her from her purpose! It served as a good way for her to learn the word, but how did that relate to herself and Alex, as a unit? The word had three definitions, only one of which seemed related to adorable. It was good to know she'd intuited the definition for herself, but otherwise the webpage didn't tell her anything more than the pictures did. Trinitite closed the tab, ready to enter the next entry on her list and come back later, when one of the related searches caught her attention.
Cute girl
Laura had called Trinitite and Alex together 'cute,' but what about her? Was she considered cute? The question seemed frivolous, but the Wo-class couldn't help herself from clicking the link and following the list of images. Pictures of human women filled the screen, and Trinitite found herself making comparisons. On average, their hair seemed long, falling to their waists in either straight locs or only minor curls. Her own hair didn't go far past her shoulders, but a lot of it in the front didn't even make it to her chin. The Wo-class held a lock in front of her, straightening it with a gentle pull. Perhaps it would be longer if it wasn't so naturally frizzy.
As for color, the abyssal started to regret choosing black dye for this disguise. Black-haired humans existed, but the vast majority of the humans in the images were a shade between brown, blonde, and red. She looked down, then back up to the images. Their breasts seemed smaller than hers, too, no doubt more practical for work and combat, but she couldn't say for certain because the chest wasn't the focus of any of the images. That being said, their build besides the breasts seemed fairly close to her own, and she couldn't tell any massive differences in their facial features. A shift in how she applied her makeup would make up for any deficit, but would it compensate for everything else?
She sighed, the chair squeaking slightly as she leaned back. The Wo-class just wasn't sure. Perhaps it was something to ask Alex about later.
The next term was 'Dating.' The search failed to bring a definition, the results page instead populating with a peculiar kind of title:
Online Dating in Chehalis / Hot Singles in your area
Over 40 Chehalis Dating / Totally Free Signup-No Payment
Best Dating Sites Washington / Dating Just Got Easy
Was dating something someone did online? That didn't match with what Laura had said, but perhaps this also had multiple definitions. The Wo-class didn't bother investigating the links, instead editing her search term.
dating definition
The term did have multiple definitions- most related to finding the date of an object, which was obvious in hindsight, but the last one was what felt relevant.
To be romantically involved with someone.
That was probably what she was looking for, but it wasn't particularly useful. What did 'romantically' mean? Normally, she would add the word to her research list and move on, but there was a Wikipedia link here, and instead of following an endless trail of definitions she could be more efficient with a deeper look.
As always, the website seemed as descriptive as she needed it to be. The wall of text looked like exactly what she needed! Dating is a stage in romantic relationships… there was that word, 'romantic,' again, but Trinitite merely opened the link in another tab and kept reading. She'd hopefully learn all she needed here, but it'd be there for her if she needed to dive deeper.
'The protocols and practices of dating and the terms used to describe it vary vastly between cultures, societies, and time periods?' There were protocols? As in, written procedures? Not only would it be vital to ensure that she followed them correctly, but Trinitite already knew how to work with those! If they weren't in this article, then she'd have to be finding them next.
Sadly, as she continued reading, no clear instructions on dating presented themselves. Still, there was plenty of useful information. A lot of the history section simply failed to catch her interest, but the stated link between dating and families was helpful. Forming an entirely new fleet would be an expensive task, she guessed, so long negotiations with a prospective fleetmate would be necessary to ensure every eventuality was prepared for. Apparently these negotiations used to be done by the princesses of the two families the original humans belonged to for political reasons. That had made sense to her, but it had changed for… some reason, too complicated for the Abyssal to get in her first reading, and now dating didn't necessarily lead to this… marriage, or meant that a trade in genetic material had to happen. Now, it seemed they simultaneously fulfilled the task of negotiation and reconnaissance, the humans looking to form a new fleet drawing out the negotiations to investigate their prospective partner. Feeling more confident, the Wo-class continued reading… until, as if it had struck a mine, the confidence shattered.
"The only rule is that there are no rules."
What did that mean? She kept reading, and her confusion grew even more. Again, the article asserted that there was a protocol to dating, but apparently it depended wildly on which human it was done with, where it was done, was unwritten, and constantly changed?
How did anyone do it, then?
The example the article gave didn't seem particularly useful. Use humor? Sure, she could joke with her old fleetmates effortlessly, but what did humans find funny? The abyssal sighed, forcing herself to calm down as she leaned back in her chair. At the end of the day, Trinitite didn't actually need to understand this. It was chaos, pure and simple, and chaos was what had let her escape the navy. The important thing was that Alex would have to take the initiative if he wanted to make a new fleet with her, and she would have plenty of time to figure out an operational plan when he did. That meant this research was still useful despite its vagueness, as it was always good to know what your… enemy didn't seem like the proper term for Alex, but it was good to know what kinds of tactics he might be using.
On that, the article still wasn't particularly helpful. The most emphasized guideline it gave was to ask for training from someone, instead of any solid doctrine Alex might follow. Only after reaching the section of the article dedicated to the United States specifically did any information on protocols appear. Apparently, if Alex wanted to initiate dating, he'd have to ask directly, so Trinitite should have no problem realizing that the process had begun.
That was good. She shouldn't have to worry about it until Alex proposed one.
Abruptly the image of the human returned from last night, his eyes bolted forward as he contemplated… something from his position in the driver's seat.
Sorry, I gotta think it through a bit more. I won't leave you in the dark too long, okay?
The Abyssal's eyes widened in realization. She didn't dare speculate, but there was a decent chance-
She needed a more solid plan, now. She didn't know what kind of tactics Alex could use, but that was manageable. If she played along and politely avoided anything extreme, she should be able to keep them from doing anything extreme without upsetting him. It was a rough plan, but flexible, which was one of the best qualities in a plan. It wasn't like she could narrow it down any more, considering how little actionable intelligence she'd gained from the article…
Trinitite sighed, her attention drifting to the 'romance' wikipedia page. It simultaneously felt like the abyssal hadn't learned enough about this, but still far too much for her to process in one sitting. Sure, she could look into it more via this other article, but would she really understand it. She'd need some time to consider what she'd learned, perhaps observe whatever Alex was going to do next for some much-needed context, and until then she wasn't sure getting more information on the topic would actually help.
A new tab opened, and Trinitite entered another search term. The romance definition could wait until Alex made his move. Until then, the abyssal was curious about the actual abilities of backfire bombers…
Pretty glad I stopped writing these types of chapters a while back, allowing me to bring the gag of Trinitite reading wikipedia back here without running it into the ground.
Pretty short chapter, but I don't think I could have added anything more without the chapter bloating a bit. Hope you enjoyed!
Now, I'm going to go back to teaching myself SEAKRIEG 5 so I can use it as a writing aid...
Pretty short chapter, but I don't think I could have added anything more without the chapter bloating a bit. Hope you enjoyed!
Now, I'm going to go back to teaching myself SEAKRIEG 5 so I can use it as a writing aid...
Crusader Jerome
Subsisting on Supplication
- Location
- My home away from Rome
Look how far Trinitite has come. Unlike the early days where new information just invited more confusion and misunderstanding, she actually learned and understood something immediately relevant and applied it directly to her life!
One small step for a Wo, one giant leap for her understanding of human relationships.
One small step for a Wo, one giant leap for her understanding of human relationships.
The Sandman
So Zetta Slowpoke
- Location
- Wherever I am, which isn't where I'm not
It's just a shame she committed the classic blunder of not actually digging down to the base level of the concept and working her way back up. I foresee a great deal of embarrassment in her near future.
OstermanA
(Unverified Penguin)
- Location
- $PWD
Isn't embarrassment basically mandatory for someone's first relationship?
I see, our feline overlords are already at work to domesticate those new suppliers of pets and treats
74: Aquisition
PyrrhicSteel
Look natural.
- Location
- Idaho
Sliding into the car's passenger seat, Trinitite had to restrain herself from tearing into the container in her hands. The cardboard box held the product of four weeks of labor and rationing, after all, and it would be terrible to damage it because she was too impatient trying to relieve it of its cardboard case!
"We're going to be late." Alex noted, the statement void of either accusation or disappointment.
"That's fine." The Wo-class commented. It was a scenario they'd reviewed before embarking on this expedition, and while they hadn't hoped for it, the delay in getting Trinitite's payment plan set up hadn't been surprising. "We'll just play each other, if no one else is available."
Alex hummed in agreement as he brought the car to life, Trinitite taking the lull in conversation to turn her attention back to the box. Using a fingernail to carefully slit the plastic seal holding the box's lid closed, the abyssal carefully slotted it open and started leveraging out the packaging.
"So, I got two armies in the back." Alex proposed. "Instead of interrupting Dustin's game, want to try one of them out?"
"Sounds good." The abyssal agreed. The conversion paused as Alex guided the vehicle out of the parking lot.
"Which one do you want to play?"
Trinitite sighed contemplatively, allowing the bundle of protective packaging to rest in her lap as she considered the question.
"Either one is fine with me." She announced, returning to the bundle of packaging in her lap. Another cardboard shell came apart in two pieces, finally revealing the plastic-wrapped device inside.
"Come on," the human chuckled, "don't you have a preference?"
"I mean-" Trinitite started, forcing herself to dwell on the question. "I am fine with either. No matter what I pick, you know both armies' strengths and weaknesses, so I guess I'll be at some disadvantage, but that's fine."
"I wouldn't be so sure." he reassured. "You've surprised me a lot already. Just pick whichever's coolest."
"Coolest?" She echoed.
Alex's laughter filled the car's interior for a brief moment, but it quickly vanished.
"Er- whichever faction is more interesting." He revised, failing to hide the smile on his face. Despite knowing the laugh had been at her expense, Trinitite felt a sliver of a smile creep onto her own features.
"I don't know much about either of them." The Wo-class admitted. "One is trying to become machines, right?"
"Yeah, the Mechanicus." He supplied, and the abyssal slowly nodded. That was the army Alex was still trying to build out. Again, she didn't really understand any of them enough to have a favorite- researching the fictional world these battles took place in wasn't a high priority of hers- but knowing which one was underdeveloped and which one was well-rounded…
"I'll go for the Sisters, then."
The sardonic tone of Alex's reply implied he understood the abyssal's intentions perfectly.
"Good choice."
"I'm not just picking them because you've got more units of them!" Trinitite lied, feigning offense. Alex didn't have any of their armored vehicles, but they were still the better-rounded force. "I just think they're... the coolest!"
"Sure, sure…" he skeptically replied. "...but I guess you can't go wrong with nuns with guns."
Trinitite allowed herself a satisfied smile, turning her attention back to the new device. The abyssal started peeling away the protective plastic.
"If it makes you feel any better, I'm probably not going to play very well." The Wo-class noted, holding up the unboxed device. "I'll be too focused on this."
"I won't need a handicap." Alex protested. As the car drifted to a halt at a red light, he reached down and presented a cable to the aircraft carrier. "You'll probably have to charge it before you can be distracted by it, though."
"Thanks." She accepted the cable, finding a port on the phone and plugging it in. The phone itself was smaller than Alex's, an older refurbished model. According to her coworker, it was extremely overpriced, but when Alex had mentioned that the salesman had merely shrugged.
You bought your phone before the war, right?
Thanks to Alex's guidance, Trinitite was fairly certain she'd gotten a decent deal despite the financial trouble her past self was causing her. Terms like '5G' and 'unlimited data' had gone over her head, but thanks to the human she was certain she hadn't been taken advantage of.
"So what's all in this, anyways?" She asked, watching her phone's screen light up for the first time.
0%
"Oh, all kinds of stuff." Alex replied. "You've got a gps, internet, of course it's a phone, so you can text and call…" Alex listed, guiding the vehicle around the corner. "...I don't think it'll be able to run too many games, but if you want to play those I'd suggest getting a PC anyways."
"That's quite a lot already." The Wo-class noted, rotating the device in her hands. It was so thin! How did it manage to do anything, let alone… everything! There were clearly a lot of lessons that could be learned from human technology, but the abyssal knew she probably wouldn't be smart enough to apply them to her own repairs. "Is there more?"
"Oh, lots more." He replied. "I don't think I know all of my phone's features."
"Wow." The abyssal commented. Trinitite prided herself on how quickly she'd been able to learn her own systems, but even now she occasionally stumbled onto a feature, piece of equipment, or manual she hadn't known about. To think such a thing could be true of this thin slab of metal and glass. "How long have you had that?"
Alex hummed, his gaze on the road seeming to soften as he recalled something.
"I think I got mine four years ago."
He'd had it for over twice as long as she'd been alive, and he still didn't know everything about it? How in The Deep was this thing made?
"I mean, I'm not that tech savvy." Alex reassured her, after glancing at the Wo-class's shocked expression. "It does what I paid for, and beyond that I'm not so sure."
"Fair enough." Trinitite acknowledged, relieved that the task of learning her phone wasn't that daunting. Human technology was good, but assuming it was that good was a bit silly. Inspecting the device again, Trinitite found a button on its side, and the car's interior filled with light.
"So…" Trinitite started, a gloved finger hovering over the sleek touchscreen. "...How does this work?"
- - -
She hadn't gotten any sleep that night. The vehicle the Martin-Campos fleet had lent to her as an anchorage had been lit by the new device's screen for hours, the abyssal entranced by this new avenue of exploration. Her research list was short, knocked down earlier this week at the library, but Trinitite still found plenty of topics to gather intelligence on.
Two hours were sunk into a Warhammer 40k wiki, the abyssal learning a bit of context behind the wars she'd been fighting every friday. Another three was dedicated to tomorrow morning, the Wo-class reading up on the histories of each ship in Alex's fleet. He'd gotten someone to take his shift for tomorrow so he could join Trinitite and Dustin in Valkyries, and the two had already talked about the battle they were going to be having at length. Before the two fleets met, however, the Wo-class wanted to know at least as much about his forces as he did. As a warship herself who'd had more than one encounter with the US Navy, she should be able to get a better understanding of the American fleet then her friend did. If Trinitite could not only defeat Alex on the seas, but outstrip his knowledge about his own fleet, Alex would have to be impressed!
As her research continued and Wikipedia's historical accounts shifted from the Second World War to the Abyssal War, the Wo-class's interest shifted. When ships from different abyssal fleets had to fill time together, discussion often shifted to news and rumors of the war around the Crossroads Fleet was aiding. Even inside her own fleet, rumors each fleetmate had gathered in their own escort duties were traded freely. It wasn't something Jellyfish approved of, but it happened all the same, and as Trinitite read up on USS Wisconsin's emergence during the Second Battle of Hampton Roads she started wondering about the human side of those rumors. The number of tabs on the phone's browser slowly but steadily grew as the focus of her searches shifted, the Wo-class scanning through recent news articles to get a better look at the other side of the war.
Apparently, the fighting over Alton's home of Hawaii was controversial, the US pouring fleets and resources into the Central Princess's domain for months without seeing any real progress. Further south, they seemed more confident, with articles on southern-pacific islands she'd recognized as targets by abyssals in certain fleets proudly proclaiming victory in the face of abyssal attack. That triumphalism seemed to evaporate as her attention turned west, towards Australia. The massive preparations the Crossroads Fleet had aided in hadn't gone unnoticed by humanity, it seemed, and the worried speculation of an attack there proved that the campaign to conquer it wouldn't be the surprise the coalition of abyssal fleets had planned for.
Hopefully, the Crossroads Fleet's demise had allowed humanity to better frustrate her 'allies' preparations. It would serve them right for failing to help her.
Deep, she hoped none of her sisters had been summoned by the fleets there. Considering how worried The Navy was about Australia, they were definitely going to be prepared for the abyssal assault, promising a terrible time for any former fleetmates who'd been resummoned.
On the northern end of abyssal reach, the Hong Kong princess fought humanity in a battle so intense that Jellyfish had forbidden the Crossroads fleet from even approaching her. It wasn't difficult for Trinitite to learn why the combat was so extreme there: The People's Republic of China. The Hong Kong Princess was picking a land battle, already not the abyssal fleets' forte, against a nation that had the largest army on the planet! Trinitite had trouble comprehending the size of America's military, but knowing that one that was even larger was also fighting them? The struggle in the South China Sea suddenly made much more sense.
The brutal slog in southern China that Trinitite imagined wasn't the focus of the stories, however, human articles instead focused on two other issues: The first, a structure far inland called the 'Three Gorges Dam,' seemed immensely important to humans and the Hong Kong Princess alike: the abyssal continued to use her limited resources to bomb the thing, and the Chinese were tied up a massive amount of their own in protecting it. As far as the Wo-class could tell, actually destroying it would knock out power generation for a good portion of the region and cause some flooding, but that didn't seem like it would be worth all the trouble that both sides were undertaking to contest it. The mystery of the Dam's real importance was forgotten, however, after reading a particular line in an article:
Experts argue that the abyssal invasion has been less catastrophic for China then the loss of singapore: A vulnerable trickle of Brazilian and American soy drifts in from the Seattle Express, and pipelines running south from Siberia remain unmolested, but they both fail to account for the lifeline of energy and agriculture products that used to feed the world's second-largest economy via the Malacca Strait…
'The Seattle Express?' As in, the city just north of her? What did that have to do with China? Even as she opened a new tab and started picking at the miniature keyboard with a finger, she started speculating. It was clearly some kind of convoy or series of regular convoys, but it seemed fundamentally different from those she was familiar with. The goods she had always protected were war materials: fuel, ammunition, industrial materials, and occasionally ground forces in the form of some other fleet's Wa's.
Why were ships fighting and sinking over soy? Food was flexible, insomuch as it could become fuel, ammunition, and spare parts, but with only so many hulls its adaptability was hampered by its relative weight, its inefficiency making loading Wa's with it inadvisable. Plenty of sweet fruits traveled around with convoys, but that had always been for individual abyssal's personal use rather than in pursuit of any strategy. Sure, humans seemed to need food more than those other materials (she saw much fewer businesses selling guns and hardware than those selling food, for example,) but humanity was fighting a war, here! Why did the article emphasize food, over everything else?
Thankfully, the phone was obliging of Trinitite's search, articles on the 'Seattle Express' filling the miniature screen.
The Seattle Express is an unofficial term for the series of convoys that protect trade from nations in The Americas and Australia to those in East Asia…
As Trinitite continued to read, incredulity warred with jealousy as she the article began to give a rough order of battle. A squadron of Battleships? Between five and twelve carriers, including one supercarrier? How did submarines even contribute to the guarding of the convoy, and what made an aircraft carrier 'super'? How did that many ships even coordinate their air wings? Trinitite could communicate with her sisters and CFS Inyokern, the escort carrier of the Crossroads Fleet, without any issues, but that was only after months of failure-ridden training together. Adding an escort carrier or seaplane tender from another fleet could throw the tight synergy they'd painstakingly forged into chaos, the idiot newcomer failing to integrate with the system of flight paths and zones of responsibility Mother had taught them for operating in crowded skies.
The fact that these convoys included warships from so many different navies, many with poor relations, as far as the abyssal understood them, only furthered her befuddlement. Imagine the difficulties in coordinating subhunting...
Clearly, the contents of this 'Seattle Express' were immensely important. Humanity had created a fleet large enough that multiple abyssal fleets would have to closely coordinate to challenge it, and judging by sentiment over Hawaii and Australia humanity wasn't in a position to spend such power frivolously. No doubt a portion of those ships were probably just making themselves useful as they crossed the pacific. Whenever she got support from another fleet's capital ships it was usually for that reason, but it couldn't account for everything. The food they transported was clearly more than merely important.
Perhaps it was because it wasn't just food. According to the article, the hundreds (hundreds!) of transports that carried material across the narrow strip of ocean were loaded with all the war materials she'd thought of, on top of electronics, 'consumer goods,' ore, and 'agricultural products,' but again the article focused most on the food. It wasn't until she read a few figures speculating on the effects of its loss when the Seattle Express's importance became clear.
Seven Million deaths, spread across five countries! The abyssal mouthed the number, doing a quick lookup in another tab, but still couldn't visualize what that could possibly look like. Come to think of it, after all the work she'd done trying to figure out a way to get food for herself, she had never really thought about the logistics of how that food got to her. It seemed like the US was the origin of the majority, so Trinitite wasn't in danger of starving because the Midway Princess managed to get her 'decisive battle,' but that food was traded for a lot of things the fleets on this side of the pacific relied on.
The tiny device suddenly seemed a lot more fragile in the abyssal's hands. It was one of the products mentioned in the article, returning from the other side of the contested ocean.
The increased price Alex had complained about suddenly made a lot more sense. Just how fragile was this complicated web of trades the humans had created? Was her Mother more correct then she'd realize, and the abyssals were really one convoy raid away from causing a cascade of effects that could lead to a… nuclear conclusion?
All of these goods, the vital trade materials that kept three continents running, rendezvoused around Puget Sound before making the dangerous trip to Japan. No wonder The Navy had been so desperate to sink her. If she'd steered the Pacific Lilly southwards, would they have been easier to deal with?
The pillow behind Trinitite's head rustled as she shook it. Their entire purpose was sinking abyssals like herself. Considering anything else was just wishful thinking, her recent experiences with humans tainting those she'd had with the enemy. There was a possibility they were less dangerous then she assumed, but that was a risk she couldn't afford to take.
She continued to read, eyes scanning over stores of humans from the fleets manning the convoys, but her thoughts failed to follow her rangefinders.
Millions… Trinitite tried to compare that to the couple thousand who were planning to live in the apartments they'd been building. That'd be… thousands of those she guessed, then seven of those thousands! How much space did that many buildings take up? How did that compare to the old population of Singapore? Manilla? Hong Kong? Had millions died already?
She needed to think about something else. Perhaps another search for Mother would reveal something? They couldn't keep her hidden forever, could they?
The name 'Saratoga' was entered into the search engine, and a results screen had just loaded when the phone's screen abruptly died, plunging the cab of the vehicle into darkness.
There was an instant of panic. Had she damaged it? The abyssal lightly tapped the screen a couple of times, before experimentally pressing the power button. No response. She turned the phone around her hand, regretting the fact that she hadn't really learned how to keep it maintained yet.
Then her thumb ran over the charging port, and a memory returned to her. It had been warning her about low power, buzzing and interrupting her reading, hadn't it? Right, it didn't have any engine to keep generating power, so like a submarine it needed to charge its battery regularly. Inconvenient, she guessed, but fair enough. How'd they get a battery with so many amp-hours into something this small, anyways?
Grunting, the Wo-class sat up, maneuvering to exit the car and make for the Martin-Campos fleet's house. They should all still be asleep right now, so sneaking in and re-energizing the battery shouldn't disturb anything.
It was a better use of her time than trying to sleep with her current thoughts…
"We're going to be late." Alex noted, the statement void of either accusation or disappointment.
"That's fine." The Wo-class commented. It was a scenario they'd reviewed before embarking on this expedition, and while they hadn't hoped for it, the delay in getting Trinitite's payment plan set up hadn't been surprising. "We'll just play each other, if no one else is available."
Alex hummed in agreement as he brought the car to life, Trinitite taking the lull in conversation to turn her attention back to the box. Using a fingernail to carefully slit the plastic seal holding the box's lid closed, the abyssal carefully slotted it open and started leveraging out the packaging.
"So, I got two armies in the back." Alex proposed. "Instead of interrupting Dustin's game, want to try one of them out?"
"Sounds good." The abyssal agreed. The conversion paused as Alex guided the vehicle out of the parking lot.
"Which one do you want to play?"
Trinitite sighed contemplatively, allowing the bundle of protective packaging to rest in her lap as she considered the question.
"Either one is fine with me." She announced, returning to the bundle of packaging in her lap. Another cardboard shell came apart in two pieces, finally revealing the plastic-wrapped device inside.
"Come on," the human chuckled, "don't you have a preference?"
"I mean-" Trinitite started, forcing herself to dwell on the question. "I am fine with either. No matter what I pick, you know both armies' strengths and weaknesses, so I guess I'll be at some disadvantage, but that's fine."
"I wouldn't be so sure." he reassured. "You've surprised me a lot already. Just pick whichever's coolest."
"Coolest?" She echoed.
Alex's laughter filled the car's interior for a brief moment, but it quickly vanished.
"Er- whichever faction is more interesting." He revised, failing to hide the smile on his face. Despite knowing the laugh had been at her expense, Trinitite felt a sliver of a smile creep onto her own features.
"I don't know much about either of them." The Wo-class admitted. "One is trying to become machines, right?"
"Yeah, the Mechanicus." He supplied, and the abyssal slowly nodded. That was the army Alex was still trying to build out. Again, she didn't really understand any of them enough to have a favorite- researching the fictional world these battles took place in wasn't a high priority of hers- but knowing which one was underdeveloped and which one was well-rounded…
"I'll go for the Sisters, then."
The sardonic tone of Alex's reply implied he understood the abyssal's intentions perfectly.
"Good choice."
"I'm not just picking them because you've got more units of them!" Trinitite lied, feigning offense. Alex didn't have any of their armored vehicles, but they were still the better-rounded force. "I just think they're... the coolest!"
"Sure, sure…" he skeptically replied. "...but I guess you can't go wrong with nuns with guns."
Trinitite allowed herself a satisfied smile, turning her attention back to the new device. The abyssal started peeling away the protective plastic.
"If it makes you feel any better, I'm probably not going to play very well." The Wo-class noted, holding up the unboxed device. "I'll be too focused on this."
"I won't need a handicap." Alex protested. As the car drifted to a halt at a red light, he reached down and presented a cable to the aircraft carrier. "You'll probably have to charge it before you can be distracted by it, though."
"Thanks." She accepted the cable, finding a port on the phone and plugging it in. The phone itself was smaller than Alex's, an older refurbished model. According to her coworker, it was extremely overpriced, but when Alex had mentioned that the salesman had merely shrugged.
You bought your phone before the war, right?
Thanks to Alex's guidance, Trinitite was fairly certain she'd gotten a decent deal despite the financial trouble her past self was causing her. Terms like '5G' and 'unlimited data' had gone over her head, but thanks to the human she was certain she hadn't been taken advantage of.
"So what's all in this, anyways?" She asked, watching her phone's screen light up for the first time.
0%
"Oh, all kinds of stuff." Alex replied. "You've got a gps, internet, of course it's a phone, so you can text and call…" Alex listed, guiding the vehicle around the corner. "...I don't think it'll be able to run too many games, but if you want to play those I'd suggest getting a PC anyways."
"That's quite a lot already." The Wo-class noted, rotating the device in her hands. It was so thin! How did it manage to do anything, let alone… everything! There were clearly a lot of lessons that could be learned from human technology, but the abyssal knew she probably wouldn't be smart enough to apply them to her own repairs. "Is there more?"
"Oh, lots more." He replied. "I don't think I know all of my phone's features."
"Wow." The abyssal commented. Trinitite prided herself on how quickly she'd been able to learn her own systems, but even now she occasionally stumbled onto a feature, piece of equipment, or manual she hadn't known about. To think such a thing could be true of this thin slab of metal and glass. "How long have you had that?"
Alex hummed, his gaze on the road seeming to soften as he recalled something.
"I think I got mine four years ago."
He'd had it for over twice as long as she'd been alive, and he still didn't know everything about it? How in The Deep was this thing made?
"I mean, I'm not that tech savvy." Alex reassured her, after glancing at the Wo-class's shocked expression. "It does what I paid for, and beyond that I'm not so sure."
"Fair enough." Trinitite acknowledged, relieved that the task of learning her phone wasn't that daunting. Human technology was good, but assuming it was that good was a bit silly. Inspecting the device again, Trinitite found a button on its side, and the car's interior filled with light.
"So…" Trinitite started, a gloved finger hovering over the sleek touchscreen. "...How does this work?"
- - -
She hadn't gotten any sleep that night. The vehicle the Martin-Campos fleet had lent to her as an anchorage had been lit by the new device's screen for hours, the abyssal entranced by this new avenue of exploration. Her research list was short, knocked down earlier this week at the library, but Trinitite still found plenty of topics to gather intelligence on.
Two hours were sunk into a Warhammer 40k wiki, the abyssal learning a bit of context behind the wars she'd been fighting every friday. Another three was dedicated to tomorrow morning, the Wo-class reading up on the histories of each ship in Alex's fleet. He'd gotten someone to take his shift for tomorrow so he could join Trinitite and Dustin in Valkyries, and the two had already talked about the battle they were going to be having at length. Before the two fleets met, however, the Wo-class wanted to know at least as much about his forces as he did. As a warship herself who'd had more than one encounter with the US Navy, she should be able to get a better understanding of the American fleet then her friend did. If Trinitite could not only defeat Alex on the seas, but outstrip his knowledge about his own fleet, Alex would have to be impressed!
As her research continued and Wikipedia's historical accounts shifted from the Second World War to the Abyssal War, the Wo-class's interest shifted. When ships from different abyssal fleets had to fill time together, discussion often shifted to news and rumors of the war around the Crossroads Fleet was aiding. Even inside her own fleet, rumors each fleetmate had gathered in their own escort duties were traded freely. It wasn't something Jellyfish approved of, but it happened all the same, and as Trinitite read up on USS Wisconsin's emergence during the Second Battle of Hampton Roads she started wondering about the human side of those rumors. The number of tabs on the phone's browser slowly but steadily grew as the focus of her searches shifted, the Wo-class scanning through recent news articles to get a better look at the other side of the war.
Apparently, the fighting over Alton's home of Hawaii was controversial, the US pouring fleets and resources into the Central Princess's domain for months without seeing any real progress. Further south, they seemed more confident, with articles on southern-pacific islands she'd recognized as targets by abyssals in certain fleets proudly proclaiming victory in the face of abyssal attack. That triumphalism seemed to evaporate as her attention turned west, towards Australia. The massive preparations the Crossroads Fleet had aided in hadn't gone unnoticed by humanity, it seemed, and the worried speculation of an attack there proved that the campaign to conquer it wouldn't be the surprise the coalition of abyssal fleets had planned for.
Hopefully, the Crossroads Fleet's demise had allowed humanity to better frustrate her 'allies' preparations. It would serve them right for failing to help her.
Deep, she hoped none of her sisters had been summoned by the fleets there. Considering how worried The Navy was about Australia, they were definitely going to be prepared for the abyssal assault, promising a terrible time for any former fleetmates who'd been resummoned.
On the northern end of abyssal reach, the Hong Kong princess fought humanity in a battle so intense that Jellyfish had forbidden the Crossroads fleet from even approaching her. It wasn't difficult for Trinitite to learn why the combat was so extreme there: The People's Republic of China. The Hong Kong Princess was picking a land battle, already not the abyssal fleets' forte, against a nation that had the largest army on the planet! Trinitite had trouble comprehending the size of America's military, but knowing that one that was even larger was also fighting them? The struggle in the South China Sea suddenly made much more sense.
The brutal slog in southern China that Trinitite imagined wasn't the focus of the stories, however, human articles instead focused on two other issues: The first, a structure far inland called the 'Three Gorges Dam,' seemed immensely important to humans and the Hong Kong Princess alike: the abyssal continued to use her limited resources to bomb the thing, and the Chinese were tied up a massive amount of their own in protecting it. As far as the Wo-class could tell, actually destroying it would knock out power generation for a good portion of the region and cause some flooding, but that didn't seem like it would be worth all the trouble that both sides were undertaking to contest it. The mystery of the Dam's real importance was forgotten, however, after reading a particular line in an article:
Experts argue that the abyssal invasion has been less catastrophic for China then the loss of singapore: A vulnerable trickle of Brazilian and American soy drifts in from the Seattle Express, and pipelines running south from Siberia remain unmolested, but they both fail to account for the lifeline of energy and agriculture products that used to feed the world's second-largest economy via the Malacca Strait…
'The Seattle Express?' As in, the city just north of her? What did that have to do with China? Even as she opened a new tab and started picking at the miniature keyboard with a finger, she started speculating. It was clearly some kind of convoy or series of regular convoys, but it seemed fundamentally different from those she was familiar with. The goods she had always protected were war materials: fuel, ammunition, industrial materials, and occasionally ground forces in the form of some other fleet's Wa's.
Why were ships fighting and sinking over soy? Food was flexible, insomuch as it could become fuel, ammunition, and spare parts, but with only so many hulls its adaptability was hampered by its relative weight, its inefficiency making loading Wa's with it inadvisable. Plenty of sweet fruits traveled around with convoys, but that had always been for individual abyssal's personal use rather than in pursuit of any strategy. Sure, humans seemed to need food more than those other materials (she saw much fewer businesses selling guns and hardware than those selling food, for example,) but humanity was fighting a war, here! Why did the article emphasize food, over everything else?
Thankfully, the phone was obliging of Trinitite's search, articles on the 'Seattle Express' filling the miniature screen.
The Seattle Express is an unofficial term for the series of convoys that protect trade from nations in The Americas and Australia to those in East Asia…
As Trinitite continued to read, incredulity warred with jealousy as she the article began to give a rough order of battle. A squadron of Battleships? Between five and twelve carriers, including one supercarrier? How did submarines even contribute to the guarding of the convoy, and what made an aircraft carrier 'super'? How did that many ships even coordinate their air wings? Trinitite could communicate with her sisters and CFS Inyokern, the escort carrier of the Crossroads Fleet, without any issues, but that was only after months of failure-ridden training together. Adding an escort carrier or seaplane tender from another fleet could throw the tight synergy they'd painstakingly forged into chaos, the idiot newcomer failing to integrate with the system of flight paths and zones of responsibility Mother had taught them for operating in crowded skies.
The fact that these convoys included warships from so many different navies, many with poor relations, as far as the abyssal understood them, only furthered her befuddlement. Imagine the difficulties in coordinating subhunting...
Clearly, the contents of this 'Seattle Express' were immensely important. Humanity had created a fleet large enough that multiple abyssal fleets would have to closely coordinate to challenge it, and judging by sentiment over Hawaii and Australia humanity wasn't in a position to spend such power frivolously. No doubt a portion of those ships were probably just making themselves useful as they crossed the pacific. Whenever she got support from another fleet's capital ships it was usually for that reason, but it couldn't account for everything. The food they transported was clearly more than merely important.
Perhaps it was because it wasn't just food. According to the article, the hundreds (hundreds!) of transports that carried material across the narrow strip of ocean were loaded with all the war materials she'd thought of, on top of electronics, 'consumer goods,' ore, and 'agricultural products,' but again the article focused most on the food. It wasn't until she read a few figures speculating on the effects of its loss when the Seattle Express's importance became clear.
Seven Million deaths, spread across five countries! The abyssal mouthed the number, doing a quick lookup in another tab, but still couldn't visualize what that could possibly look like. Come to think of it, after all the work she'd done trying to figure out a way to get food for herself, she had never really thought about the logistics of how that food got to her. It seemed like the US was the origin of the majority, so Trinitite wasn't in danger of starving because the Midway Princess managed to get her 'decisive battle,' but that food was traded for a lot of things the fleets on this side of the pacific relied on.
The tiny device suddenly seemed a lot more fragile in the abyssal's hands. It was one of the products mentioned in the article, returning from the other side of the contested ocean.
The increased price Alex had complained about suddenly made a lot more sense. Just how fragile was this complicated web of trades the humans had created? Was her Mother more correct then she'd realize, and the abyssals were really one convoy raid away from causing a cascade of effects that could lead to a… nuclear conclusion?
All of these goods, the vital trade materials that kept three continents running, rendezvoused around Puget Sound before making the dangerous trip to Japan. No wonder The Navy had been so desperate to sink her. If she'd steered the Pacific Lilly southwards, would they have been easier to deal with?
The pillow behind Trinitite's head rustled as she shook it. Their entire purpose was sinking abyssals like herself. Considering anything else was just wishful thinking, her recent experiences with humans tainting those she'd had with the enemy. There was a possibility they were less dangerous then she assumed, but that was a risk she couldn't afford to take.
She continued to read, eyes scanning over stores of humans from the fleets manning the convoys, but her thoughts failed to follow her rangefinders.
Millions… Trinitite tried to compare that to the couple thousand who were planning to live in the apartments they'd been building. That'd be… thousands of those she guessed, then seven of those thousands! How much space did that many buildings take up? How did that compare to the old population of Singapore? Manilla? Hong Kong? Had millions died already?
She needed to think about something else. Perhaps another search for Mother would reveal something? They couldn't keep her hidden forever, could they?
The name 'Saratoga' was entered into the search engine, and a results screen had just loaded when the phone's screen abruptly died, plunging the cab of the vehicle into darkness.
There was an instant of panic. Had she damaged it? The abyssal lightly tapped the screen a couple of times, before experimentally pressing the power button. No response. She turned the phone around her hand, regretting the fact that she hadn't really learned how to keep it maintained yet.
Then her thumb ran over the charging port, and a memory returned to her. It had been warning her about low power, buzzing and interrupting her reading, hadn't it? Right, it didn't have any engine to keep generating power, so like a submarine it needed to charge its battery regularly. Inconvenient, she guessed, but fair enough. How'd they get a battery with so many amp-hours into something this small, anyways?
Grunting, the Wo-class sat up, maneuvering to exit the car and make for the Martin-Campos fleet's house. They should all still be asleep right now, so sneaking in and re-energizing the battery shouldn't disturb anything.
It was a better use of her time than trying to sleep with her current thoughts…
I'm finding myself doing more and more self-reflection as I plan and write new chapters. In my process, I get a set of events I want to write, put them into an outline, then fit them into a timeline and figure out how they all slot together into chapters and a coherent plot. Then, I end up basically winging it, trying to steer the story towards those events I want to make sure happen as I write basically whatever gets the pawns into the right positions before the next story beat. Of course, along the way I end up not getting them into the proper positions in time, and the plot evolves in a way that's probably better then what I planned, but might not be.
As a very small example, a Valkyries of Ran battle was supposed to complete this chapter, ending with a plot-important event that I won't disclose because it'll be in next chapter, but Trinitite getting a phone and the consequences of that instead derailed everything. Hopefully, it was in a good way. I certainly found myself enjoying writing it, even though I was only able to get it down in short, 1-2 sentence bursts due to the disjointed nature of lunch breaks. Hope it didn't come off as too fragmented, and hopefully not too much of the Peter Zeihan audiobook I've been listening to has leaked through.
Anyways, really didn't have time to teach myself SEAKRIEG 5 while dealing with finals and the upcoming comprehensive exam, so the sidestory got placed on the backburner for a bit. I definitely want to get it done before it effects Trinitite (but in the 'Trin reacts to some international news' sort of way, and not in a way that should make people feel forced to read it), but that's been called into question. We'll see, I guess. Hope you enjoyed!
As a very small example, a Valkyries of Ran battle was supposed to complete this chapter, ending with a plot-important event that I won't disclose because it'll be in next chapter, but Trinitite getting a phone and the consequences of that instead derailed everything. Hopefully, it was in a good way. I certainly found myself enjoying writing it, even though I was only able to get it down in short, 1-2 sentence bursts due to the disjointed nature of lunch breaks. Hope it didn't come off as too fragmented, and hopefully not too much of the Peter Zeihan audiobook I've been listening to has leaked through.
Anyways, really didn't have time to teach myself SEAKRIEG 5 while dealing with finals and the upcoming comprehensive exam, so the sidestory got placed on the backburner for a bit. I definitely want to get it done before it effects Trinitite (but in the 'Trin reacts to some international news' sort of way, and not in a way that should make people feel forced to read it), but that's been called into question. We'll see, I guess. Hope you enjoyed!
- Location
- America
NOOOOOOOO!
I wanted to see Trin's reaction to her mommas backstory!
Poop.
EDIT: also, no one let her onto Tiktok or 4chan.
we don't need Trin exposed to the Internet in it's purest form, AKA a deluge of pure Stupid. Pretty sure the end result of that would be all the electronics in her CIC suite getting fried, and that's bad for obvious reasons.
...wait.
wait.
Oh god.
OH GOD.
She doesn't have Safe Search on does she?!
sweet mother of fuck she's going to end up finding SO MUCH PORN isn't she?!
Oh good gravy I feel bad for her.
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Annoyed Catholic
Moody fellow
We kind of saw that reaction back in chapter 32. It was kind of heart wrenching when she got to Operation Crossroads.
😓
But I guess you are talking about her mother after coming back as a shipgirl and where she is stationed now maybe? That would be interesting and a bit upsetting (Saratoga being over in Japan while Trin is here in the USA).
It...might not happen yet even if unofficial leaks got posted online. Only way it might happen in Trin's casual internet search would be with a Good internet search engine like Google added with say a Black Hat SEO. Which would push their internet site with their postings on Saratoga to the fore. . . Much to the Navy's dismay.
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I am failing to parse this sentence clearly. It mostly feels as though I can't figure out what the "was aiding" refers to. I assume it refers to "the war" but... *shrugs* I am not clearly parsing it, so am uncertain. One likely possibility is that one of "around" or "of" is a holdover from a previous edit, and it should be "rumours [around/of] the war the Crossroads Fleet was aiding."...
Sorry about the ramble, not at my best...
I would expect it on by default. It is much more difficult to resolve "We sold_a_telephone/provided_a_service to a minor and the got all of the porn." than the alternative.
Jim Starluck
CO, ICS Vanguard
- Location
- Cincinnati, OH
Hoo boy, wait until she reads more about World War II. Or for that matter, wiki-walks to the main article for "famine."
Not understanding why humans would care so much more about food than anything else really helps drive home how little the Abyssals understand about us squishy bags of meat.
Sidestory: USPACFLT HQ, Ford Island
PyrrhicSteel
Look natural.
- Location
- Idaho
Have a sidestory! I finished writing this a while ago, and have enough that I think I can get one out approximately every other mainline chapter, without really hindering update schedule for the main fic. This is the first part of a 3 or 4 chapter Hawaii arc that I'm halfway finished writing, and the last sidestory was supposed to be a part of, but I think that one stood well enough on its own.
If you're wondering about mainline chapters, the next one's first draft is finished, and is currently getting beta'd by some other people for revisions before I publish it in a few days. Hopefully this'll tide you over until then!
If you're wondering about mainline chapters, the next one's first draft is finished, and is currently getting beta'd by some other people for revisions before I publish it in a few days. Hopefully this'll tide you over until then!
U.S. Pacific Fleet Temporary Headquarters
San Diego, CA, 19 Oct 2022
Operations planning wasn't a part of Command Master Chief DeVries's job description, but acting as an unofficial devil's advocate for Admiral Underwood was a role she found herself filling more and more often. Her normal duty of representing the general enlisted to the CO and handling discipline didn't give her too much insight into the intricacies of naval tactics, let alone the sweeping changes required to fight the new threat, but one didn't spend twenty-six years in the Navy without picking up some insight into basic doctrine. That knowledge, a product of casual study and exposure to various sirs and ma'ams, was the foundation of the shock she was feeling right now.
"...any questions?"
The Admiral prodded her, the sheen on his clean-shaven head shifting as his forehead wrinkled. In a rare instance, the Master Chief was at a loss for words. The issue wasn't that DeVries couldn't think of any questions, but that she had far too many.
"I… don't know where to start, sir." She looked up from the packet in her hands. "With all due respect… This is the plan?"
"Yes." The admiral grimly confirmed. There was neither offense nor surprise in his confirmation.
"This seems…" she trailed off, trying to corral her thoughts. This plan had Lieutenant Murray's brand of operational theatrics all over it, despite the fact that he'd been transferred out of the Admiral's staff just over a month ago. "There's no air cover. Our battle line's screen is… sparse, the three isolated forces have to coordinate with incredible precision, considering the interference from Central, and I think you're putting far too much faith in The Spear…"
"The potential failure of Kauluāʻau's Spear shouldn't jeopardize the outcome of the operation. It's a measure to reduce casualties, that's all." He explained, as if the abyssal installation's 16-inch shore battery was merely an inconvenience. "Beyond that, you should know that ordering Hornet and Independence to antagonize the Central Princess would be counterproductive." The lines on his face deepened as he continued, sighing. "On every other objection… I agree."
DeVries had merely expected her superior to explain himself, going over his ideas as the Master Chief helped him walk through the logic. That he instead folded to her objection was both confusing and worrying.
"Sir?"
The Admiral's shoulders seemed to sink as he shuffled in his chair.
"How closely have you been following the situation in the South?"
At the mention of the region, she had to suppress a sigh herself. After corrupting Pearl Harbor, floundering in China, and failing to break through the web of fortified islands stretching across Polynesia, the loose and nebulous coalition of abyssal fleets that constituted their 'main force' shifted their attention towards Australia.
"I've heard scuttlebutt, but I haven't looked for much news after they got to Port Moresby."
She wouldn't be the only one. The loss of the Papua New Guinea port, and the subsequent opening of the Coral Sea to their influence, had been a strategic catastrophe, but there had been dozens of those in the last couple of years. News about a city most Americans couldn't find on a map falling into the abyss fell out of the news cycle in a few days.
"They severely downplayed the severity of our defeat, there." Admiral Underwood remarked, his voice bitter. "Managing the evacuation and resupplying allied armies in Papua New Guinea has become extremely difficult, especially considering all the forces Australia is pulling to reinforce the fortifications they've built along the Coral Sea."
Understanding suddenly came to DeVries.
"So, if we can flip Central…"
He nodded.
"It's clear we don't have enough ships in the area, but that means I have to free up ships- capital ships from elsewhere, to send as help. I'd rather we had another month to arrange our order of battle, but it's now or never, unfortunately."
The Admiral wasn't one for a tired phrase like that, so it burned in the Master Chief's ears.
"Or never?" She echoed. Yes, leaving unfinished business in Oahu was a bad idea, but once enough of the easier-to-convert princesses had been rescued or they managed to open another Naval station to summoning, a safer, less desperate attempt could surely be made.
Underwood seemed to age another year as he acknowledged DeVries's question, nodding slowly.
"...You've heard what some of the pundits have been saying, about Hawaii?"
The talking heads had said a lot of things about the lost state, but besides the regular updates, and recommendations for a troop surge, there was… No, he wasn't talking about that, was he?
"The ones saying we should pull out?" She asked, horror dawning as the admiral silently confirmed the question. "They have political support?"
"My… acquaintances in Washington have told me that the President has been monitoring casualty reports from Oahu very closely." The admiral reported, his voice grim. "He's started floating the idea that the islands are unrecoverable."
"He's giving up." She stated, shocked. Hadn't the voices proclaiming the state a lost cause mostly been his opponents? "But- that'll leave the whole West Coast exposed!"
"He hasn't given up yet." the admiral reassured her, his voice flat. "We just need a victory before he does, or the abyssals make their big move in the south, or… another issue emerges."
The Admiral was clearly worrying about something else, perhaps the issue that had had 3rd Fleet's intelligence officer abruptly transferred out of the command, but DeVries didn't need to know, and that was nothing new. The Command Master Chief instead focused her attention back on the plans in front of her.
"Okay…" she sighed, flipping through the anxiety-inducing packet again. "I can't think of a better battle plan."
"Don't think of it as a battle plan." Underwood asserted, his voice grim. "Ellen, we're planning a ritual."
- - -
Ford Island
Oahu, HI, 14 Nov 2022
This place used to be beautiful.
The water had once been clear and calm, now constantly churned into a dark, tumultuous boil. The once bustling city across the bay was dead and broken, the invaders leaving the metropolis to rot as they focused instead on worming their invisible grip around her. The wrecks resting alongside her piers used to be proud warships, eager to defend her from all oncomers. And now…
The Central Princess sighed, eyes drifting from the broken architecture to the line of trees that lingered just outside of her influence. They interrogated the foliage, looking for the telltale flash of a scope or shifting of branches caused by a clumsy infiltrator, but there was nothing.
Her gaze eventually trailed to the entrance of her harbor, where ruined buildings obscured her view of her airfield. When it became apparent that the Installation would never be able to keep the old airfield in a usable state, her construction crews started setting bunkers along the old runway. Now, she could feel the battery of five-inch and sixteen-inch guns that spread across the old tarmac, a fortress to keep the threat from the sea away from her precious harbor.
Closer in, on her main island, Central's last line of defense rested and repaired. The central fleet had been badly hurt in the attempt to wake her conquered neighbor, the invaders and their monster depriving her of two vital Ru-class battleships in the attempt. This loss brought her battle line down to four, leaving the installation feeling horribly vulnerable. Before, she had the strength to stop any obvious attempt by The Invaders to reinforce their positions, but now they might be able to muscle past her reduced fleet and air wing to make another landing on the island. The forces here were hard enough to deal with already…
They came to rest back out on the bay, and the two corpses that dominated it.
The closest to her was the dead hulk of The Guardian. The battleship's broken form slumped in her mooring, the wreck joining her charge in falling at the hands of the invaders. She'd watched over the tomb for… she'd been there for… The abyssal installation shook her head, dark nails brushing an errant strand of hair from her face. Had she awoken but a few moments sooner, perhaps she could have saved The Guardian, using her firepower to help rid the island of the… infestation that had brought her home to this desperate state.
Behind the guardian lay her charge: The tomb, desecrated by the invader. They hadn't thought it was good enough to sink her, dealing a killing blow in the height of betrayal, but they had to return and deface the memorial built in her honor.
She'd… tried to repair the damage. Despite The Invader's efforts to hamper her, she'd stubbornly reshored the pillars holding it over the still-bleeding corpse, cast a new roof and wall for the monument, and carved every name from memory into the new surfaces with her bladed nails. Still, no matter how much effort she'd poured into it, The Tomb didn't look right. The repaired building was a misshapen, uncanny thing, a poor imitation of what had once been a solemn but proud reminder, even to The Princess's eyes.
Perhaps it was the invisible stain, the reminder of the rape the invaders had committed, that made it look so wrong. She could do everything, reproduce the original tomb perfectly, but the memory of what they'd done would never go away.
Central growled, the ember light leaking from cracks splitting ashen, loose skin intensifying as her hands shook in righteous fury. When she had awoken, she'd been so eager to get her revenge, crush the invaders, and return peace to her home, but after almost a year of brutal fighting she could barely guarantee safety a mile from her perimeter. Why had she even been given this form, if her fate was to be hemmed in and tortured so? All of this new life, all of this new power… didn't seem like enough.
Almost idly, her hand reached into the gun emplacement next to her, wrapping around the loader's neck. The loader was an extension of herself, and had leaned into the grip to ensure the Princess's hand found purchase. The shade would be difficult to spot from a distance, its form flickering as Central lifted it into the air, but her hand had a solid purchase wrapped around its throat. Inside The Princess' zone of influence, the gun's crew were mostly transparent, their shadowy form obscuring their silhouette. Here, they could handle their M2 just fine, but if she threw them and their equipment across the bay and outside her influence, they'd become perfectly visible and reduced to a pointlessly small size. Their legs would be too short for any productive march, and that heavy weapon would become so small its bullets would be thwarted by the vegetation. Out there… they were useless.
She could feel the fairy's pain as her hands slowly crushed its throat. The shade didn't react as Central's thumb effortlessly collapsed its throat, but she could feel its sharp, grating pain. The primal, heaving, and futile attempts to resume breathing. And finally, the rising, smothering feeling of suffocation…
...then nothing. The lifeless corpse fell from Central's hand, now ignored by both the installation and the fairy's comrades. It wasn't too different from pinching oneself to wake from a nightmare, and in this case it had been equally futile.
The pain had cleared her mind, at least. Options were going to start opening up when Guardian and Protector returned and their new crews were trained back to a decent standard. Until then, she'd just have to focus on weathering the invader's next scheme...
- Location
- America
Honestly this whole chapter is making me think about what a less-fucked in the head version of Central would be like.
Tbh I'm willing to bet part of the reason why she's so fucky-wucky up there is because I'm like 70% certain she's the end result of the Abyss shoving Pearl and Arizona together in a blender.
EDIT: and because the Abyss is a total asshole, the resulting mental instability from mashing two minds together on top of whatever the fuck else it does to Princesses suits it just fine.
Tbh I'm willing to bet part of the reason why she's so fucky-wucky up there is because I'm like 70% certain she's the end result of the Abyss shoving Pearl and Arizona together in a blender.
EDIT: and because the Abyss is a total asshole, the resulting mental instability from mashing two minds together on top of whatever the fuck else it does to Princesses suits it just fine.
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- Location
- toledo, ohio, usa
Battleship Missouri?
This has to be the Arizona Memorial.
Is Central Princess Pearl Harbor itself, since she's a Installation and not a ship?
75: Tabletop Massacre
PyrrhicSteel
Look natural.
- Location
- Idaho
The two carriers of The Crossroads Fleet charted a course across the tabletop, Trinitite's sisters approaching the threat bearing down on them. The screen of ships supporting was bolstered by an additional ship: the Ha-class she'd painted, but hadn't planned on using. This game the unknown destroyer was a lease from another fleet, or something.
They were going to need the Akizuki-base's long-lance torpedoes, because bearing down on them were some of the most famous ships of the US Navy.
Alex's fleet was smaller than her own. Intrepid, Wisconsin, Little Rock, Young, Kennedy- all of these were technically impressive warships already, and thus points-heavy, but on top of their capabilities they also each had an ability separate from their sisters. This drove their point cost even higher, the value of Alex's fleet easily outstripping Trinitite's despite their identical size and similar composition.
This was why the submarine Trench wouldn't be a threat in this battle, and Trinitite had attached the Ha-class to her fleet to ensure Alex only had to drop one ship from his. Of all the ships her opponent could have left off the table, the submarine was probably the best for her- she still wasn't entirely sure how subhunting worked in these rules- but that didn't mean she was looking at an easy battle.
These abilities… She'd seen the same idea in Warhammer, used to model a hero's exceptional skills or otherworldly powers, and some of the modern units in Dustin's armada had abilities to represent the advanced human technology aboard them, but on ships technically identical to her own the special abilities seemed… strange.
The idea that the human ships had some intangible something that elevated them above their white skinned counterparts bothered her. Sure, Trinitite would admit without any shame that she would lose a one-on-one battle with Intrepid, but she found it hard to believe that any human-aligned carriers surpassed the Wos of The Crossroads Fleet in convoy defense. They didn't have to deal with the lurking, Fire-touched horrors that modern submarines had become, after all.
On top of the unique abilities The Abyssal had to keep track of, Alex's fleet felt like it posed a much greater threat to Trinitite than her last enemy. Dustin's swarm of Tu-22s could only really use one tactic, but the threat Alex's fleet posed was significantly more diverse. Intrepid's aircraft seemed like a non issue- Firestorm and Hypocenter should bully her planes out of the sky easily enough- but Wisconsin...
Nine 16-inch guns could probably sink any one of her ships in one round.
On top of it all, every ship was bristling with 5-inch/38s, meaning a direct attack with aircraft would probably spell a useless end for her sisters' air wing. Hopefully Alex was still thinking in 40k terms and spread his forces out a little to cover the battlefield, but the Wo-class knew that she could never rely on her opponent to make a mistake. She'd hoped a different game type would force Alex to split his fleet, but he wanted to keep his first game simple, so the victory condition was just a straightforward deathmatch.
She'd have to contrive a way to break up Alex's fleet herself. The weather effects Trinitite could choose from didn't seem like they'd help much either, but Trinitite still had to select one.
'Choppy seas' would hopefully do. It limited the speed of her own destroyers, but if Alex kept his fleet to the speed of his own it would buy the aircraft carrier some time, and Trinitite knew that keeping her fleet together wasn't a winning strategy anyways.
Alex took the news with an uncharacteristic stoicism, calculations playing behind his eyes as he contemplated the change of rules.
"I guess we start deploying then, huh?"
"I guess." Alex agreed, his gaze still focused on the table in front of him.
Having played before, Trinitite elected to set her fleet out first. Her plan had to look as conventional as possible, so she tightly grouped her ships in the center of her side of the table. Alex followed suit, his fleet gathered together opposite of The Abyssal's.
Alex won initiative, his lead destroyers slowing their acceleration to only two inches as the American fleet stayed in formation.
Excellent.
Ignoring her screaming instincts to keep her own fleet together, Trinitite directed her own fleet to explode outward. Firestorm heeled sharp to port, Hypocenter and Ames to starboard, while the three destroyers abandoned their escort duties and charged The American fleet.
"Oh." Alex stated as the Wo-class placed another momentum marker down, a hand reaching up to scratch the tiny hairs that sprouted from his jawline. "That complicates things…"
It was a full minute before he made another move, Trinitite's friend sorting out what he'd learned of the game from the reality playing out on the table in front of him. When he finally did make his move, Alex's destroyers shook themselves of their escorts, answering the challenge the abyssal destroyers had offered. At the same time, Intrepid, Wisconsin, and Little Rock set an intercept course for Hypocenter, leaving her sister with practically half of the table to herself. Trinitite needed to save her destroyers for the capitol ships, so she declined the engagement, running her extended destroyer screen in parallel with the American ships and hoping the Ha-Class's longer-range guns could beat them off.
That's when the first blunder of the day occurred. Hellcats from Intrepid's air wing suddenly darted across the battle lines, flying over the abyssal destroyers to eliminate a spotting aircraft CFS Ames had launched. Now, as the air combat phase rolled into the attack phase, the twenty fighters sat within range of all of her escorts.
"I guess this makes the air war a little simpler." The Wo-class commented, the handful of dice that would blot out the exposed fighter squadron rattling in her hand. "Thank you."
"Oh!" Alex blurted, covering his face as his squadron of hellcats disintegrated. "I really should have thought about that." His gaze trailed over to the forming mass of bombers Trinitite was forming behind her destroyer screen. "...really could have used those later."
"It's just a learning experience…" Trinitite reassured her friend and opponent, before trailing off as Alex scooped up his own handful of dice. "...What's that?"
"Wisconsin's attacking, uh, that one." He stated, pointing towards the Ha-class. How did the battleship get spotting… Trinitite's rangefinders snapped to the enemy spotting aircraft loitering over Alex's destroyer screen! "...that's two hits."
"Ergh." Trinitite grimaced, rolling on the damage table. "How much power?"
"14"
She looked at her roll, then to the table.
"That's a cascading failure. I'm supposed to roll two more times, but she's already dead."
"Oh." Alex's mood abruptly lifted. "That's that, then."
"For her, maybe." The abyssal joked. In a way, she was relieved. The Ha-class was arguably the most capable surface combatant in Trinitite's force, and those powerful long lances would be going down with her, but the abyssal couldn't help but be thankful those 16-inch shells weren't crashing down on Groves or Robbins.
Alex won initiative for the next round, his fleet closing further to leave Hypocenter with barely a sixth of the table to sail in. Trinitite was running out of time, and like it or not the surface engagement she was attempting to avoid had truly started. Unwilling to abandon her sister, Trinitite reasoned, Firestorm hooked north to bring her 8" guns into play, but it was clear the engagement was running away from her far too quickly. The destroyers slowed to bring the incoming capital ships, now accelerating past the reduced speed of their own hindered destroyer screen, into the range of their torpedoes. Ships didn't actually sink until the damage control phase, so there was a guarantee her fleetmates would get their torpedoes off, at least.
She'd been saving her aircraft for the enemy's capital ships, but that might have been her inexperience with pitched sea battles influencing her. Yes, Wisconsin was a threat, but those three destroyers both outnumbered and outgunned her own. Trinitite would just have to hope that enough planes would survive to pose a credible threat to the capitol ships afterwards. One of her squadrons of hellcats fell upon Alex's, while a squadron of bombers fell upon each of Alex's destroyers. Their excellent suite of anti-aircraft weapons blotted out a third of the descending abyssal bombers, but with 60 aircraft descending on them all three destroyers fell apart among the descending hail of 2000-pound bombs.
She could vividly picture the descending aircraft, weaving between tracers and malevolent dark bursts as the defenders desperately fought for survival. Trinitite had dealt with many an air attack, but never from that many aircraft with so few ships. She could imagine the terror and hopelessness those destroyers must have felt in their final moments, as they were overwhelmed. Knocking out three enemy destroyers was satisfying, yes, but seeing the concern on Alex's face as he placed a lethal number of damage markers alongside the ships in half of his fleet…
She wondered how combat ships could handle this kind of thing, in real life.
Trinitite shook her head. What a dumb thought, she knew how ships could handle such actions! She'd attempted these exact same tactics during her defense of Bikini, although to much less success. Her fleet here was fighting for their hypothetical lives, and that just became much easier.
Besides, Alex got his revenge during the combat turn. Wisconsin's guns failed to hit CFS Groves, but her secondary battery avenged USS Cassin Young by completely removing a squadron of Helldivers from the table and Intrepid and Little Rock collaborated to relieve Firestorm of her Dauntless bombers.
Winning her next turn's initiative, Trinitite guided the two destroyers away from the massive battleship. Her only hope now was smoke, and the Tiny Tim anti-ship rockets slung to her fighters. An attempted rocket attack Iowa-class cost Trinitite a squadron of Hellcats, only to light a few easily controllable fires on the battleship. The two I-class's torpedo attack jammed Wisconsin's rudder and brought flooding to both capital ships, but in the damage control phase Alex rolled well enough to counter some of the worst of the damage, while Trinitite's own roll exasperated the flooding USS Little Rock had introduced to Ames. The two cruisers continued to trade shells, fires blooming across the American cruiser's deck while her abyssal counterpart took hit after devastating hit under the waterline. Both had to be removed from the table at the same time.
"Oof, don't like that roll" Alex observed, wincing as flooding and fire spread across Wisconsin. He wordlessly scooped the damage control die and rolled again, removing a flooding marker instead of following the catastrophic results he'd just mentioned.
"You can just reroll?" Trinitite asked, confused. Alex couldn't be cheating- at least, not this poorly.
"Er- once per turn." He clarified. "It's the American special ability."
"Really?" Her fleet was good at damage control, too! The fact that she was still alive was proof of that. Why did they force her to mess with this weather stuff instead of an actual ability her fleet would have?
"Yeah, damage control's a really big thing in The Navy." A third voice abruptly chimed in. The Wo-Class jumped at the interjection, looking over to see Dustin's wiry form lounging next to the battle. "The Japanese thought they'd sunk Enterprise six times in the last war, but never did."
"Six times?" She echoed, before a more pressing question came to her. "When did you get here?"
"Just after you." Alex's friend replied, looking up from his phone. "Played a quick game with another new guy, and now I'm waiting to joust with you." The human formed a loose finger gun and waved it at Alex.
"Are you?" Trinitite asked, meeting Alex's gaze. "I hope you like missiles..."
"Don't ruin the surprise, Sarah!"
"Ah, sorry."
It was no wonder that he'd arrived later and still finished his game before they did. His one-trick fleet of aircraft lent itself to some pretty short games.
There wasn't any sincerity in her apology, but it still mollified Dustin. She considered admitting that she'd already told Alex all about the backfire swarm, but figured that intelligence advantage wasn't hers to give up.
"Huh." Alex noted, his attention diverted from the conversation. "Looks like this game has gained some traction."
She agreed, surveying the store around her. They'd been some of the first ones in, but during their game two more humans had come in and started their own battles. The numbers weren't nearly as large as the 40k nights she'd been to, but it showed the game was gaining some interest. Were these people just as new to this as she was? There was a certain appeal to knowing that not only did she have her own experience to apply to this, but all her opponents would be just as new to this system as she was.
"Alright. Initiative, then." Alex continued, looking at his two surviving, heavily-damaged ships. "I rolled a 6."
"Oh…" Trinitite rolled. "...a two." Her rangefinders shifted over to Intrepid's squadron of Dauntless dive bombers that had been slowly ambling away from the melee towards Firestorm. She'd had a squadron of hellcats angling towards them on an intercept course, but with him winning the initiative for this round…
This was her fault for splitting the fleet apart. Firestorm took eight bombs and immediately died, but the Wo-class found the situation too ridiculous to take her sister's demise seriously. Trinitite would have a lot of trouble ordering her headstrong sister to do something that stupid…
On the other side of the table, battle lines had dissolved completely and chaos reigned. Wisconsin, with a jammed rudder and several fires, was looking to accidentally sail off the table, the enemy Essex-class was engaged in a line battle with her two remaining destroyers, and Firestorm had just gotten sunk after running away from all support and spending the entire battle trying to turn around.
CFS Groves succumbed to her damage and slipped under the waves, but all of her damage had come from Intrepid! It was… kind of funny, actually. Realistically, in a gun battle at that range, Groves would defeat an Essex like herself ten times out of ten. Unlike her earlier bomb attack, Trinitite had trouble visualizing any of this chaotic mess as anything but an exaggerated fiction, like the wars in a grimdark future she'd fought on the tabletop last night.
It was two against two, now. Wisconsin continued to helplessly draw closer to the table's edge, as CFS Robbins put round after round into Intrepid's hull, only for the American carrier to turn her anti-aircraft guns on the destroyer and sink her in one round, as well.
Deep, if only being a carrier was this easy! Intrepid probably wasn't going to survive the battle, considering how many damage, flooding, and fire markers had been stacked up behind her figure, but still, taking two destroyers down with you in a gunfight was a pretty good record.
Trinitite rolled on the damage control table, trying to save her last destroyer, before sweeping Robbins off the table and returning the I-class to her container. Taking the cardboard table, Alex made another roll for Intrepid, only to grimace and roll again.
"...It's a one again."
"The fires found something important?"
"Let's see…" Alex rolled, grimacing again. "...yeah, she's dead. 8 more damage, 4 fires, 2 flooding."
"Huh." Dustin interrupted, drawing both players' attention. Trinitite thought he had something to say about Intrepid's fate, but he was still focusing on his phone.
"What happened?" Alex asked, the Essex figure hovering over the table as he focused on his friend.
"Oh, nothing too important." Dustin dismissed apologetically. "Just a picture that shows the US has more battleships than they're admitting to."
More ships than they were admitting to? How had the human discovered that? Were there other secret ships he knew about that he wasn't supposed to? Ships like, hypothetically, converted battlecruisers? Careful to hide her excitement and with the narrow game on the tabletop almost immediately forgotten, the Wo-class prodded Dustin further.
"...What do you mean?"
"Some pictures were taken of a line of eight standard battleships off of the big island in Hawaii." He clarified, flipping his phone to show Trinitite a graining photo of ships at sea. "Since we apparently still have Standards in Taiwan and Samoa, that's at least three secret battleships."
"You think Arizona's back?" Alex asked.
"That'd be huge, if true." Dustin continued, the phone's screen reflecting off of his glasses as he held it closer to himself. "It would torpedo that conspiracy about Abyssal Princesses being traitor shipgirls."
"Would it?" Trinitite asked. Given what she knew, the Wo-class should keep quiet about the topic, but she had no idea what kind of logic the human was using here.
"Sure!" Dustin replied, "If anyone would go abyssal, it would have to be her, right?"
"I'm not sure about that." Her friend disagreed, snapping his fingers. "Arizona's death was traumatic for everyone else, but just exploding like that would probably be pretty painless."
"I hope so." Trinitite agreed, for Hypocenter and many of her late fleetmates' sakes.
"Maybe." Dustin allowed, the phone absorbing more of his attention.
"What site is that?" The Wo-class asked, certain she was failing to keep her excitement out of her voice. If this fleet could track the location of every American battleship, surely they knew about any mysterious carriers! This might be exactly the kind of opportunity Trinitite had been waiting for!
"Oh, it's called OSS Forums." The human replied, seeming to miss the nervous anticipation in the Wo-class's question. "I think that acronym stands for Open Source Sailor or something. A lot of the big social media sites censor OSINT on shipgirls, so unless you want to hop on 4chan this is your best bet on the unannounced stuff."
"Open Source Sailor…" She echoed, adding it alongside 'OSINT' and 'fourchan' to her research list. "Thank you."
Those topics weren't going to wait until tonight. Trinitite was looking into this as soon as this game with Alex had wrapped up.
"No problem." Dustin replied, and the Wo-class turned her attention back to the battle.
It was one versus one now. Hypocenter, unscathed but with a scattered and depleted air wing, against a burning and slightly wounded Wisconsin, who'd just repaired her rudder.
Trinitite was feeling a lot better about her odds then she did a moment ago.
They were going to need the Akizuki-base's long-lance torpedoes, because bearing down on them were some of the most famous ships of the US Navy.
Alex's fleet was smaller than her own. Intrepid, Wisconsin, Little Rock, Young, Kennedy- all of these were technically impressive warships already, and thus points-heavy, but on top of their capabilities they also each had an ability separate from their sisters. This drove their point cost even higher, the value of Alex's fleet easily outstripping Trinitite's despite their identical size and similar composition.
This was why the submarine Trench wouldn't be a threat in this battle, and Trinitite had attached the Ha-class to her fleet to ensure Alex only had to drop one ship from his. Of all the ships her opponent could have left off the table, the submarine was probably the best for her- she still wasn't entirely sure how subhunting worked in these rules- but that didn't mean she was looking at an easy battle.
These abilities… She'd seen the same idea in Warhammer, used to model a hero's exceptional skills or otherworldly powers, and some of the modern units in Dustin's armada had abilities to represent the advanced human technology aboard them, but on ships technically identical to her own the special abilities seemed… strange.
The idea that the human ships had some intangible something that elevated them above their white skinned counterparts bothered her. Sure, Trinitite would admit without any shame that she would lose a one-on-one battle with Intrepid, but she found it hard to believe that any human-aligned carriers surpassed the Wos of The Crossroads Fleet in convoy defense. They didn't have to deal with the lurking, Fire-touched horrors that modern submarines had become, after all.
On top of the unique abilities The Abyssal had to keep track of, Alex's fleet felt like it posed a much greater threat to Trinitite than her last enemy. Dustin's swarm of Tu-22s could only really use one tactic, but the threat Alex's fleet posed was significantly more diverse. Intrepid's aircraft seemed like a non issue- Firestorm and Hypocenter should bully her planes out of the sky easily enough- but Wisconsin...
Nine 16-inch guns could probably sink any one of her ships in one round.
On top of it all, every ship was bristling with 5-inch/38s, meaning a direct attack with aircraft would probably spell a useless end for her sisters' air wing. Hopefully Alex was still thinking in 40k terms and spread his forces out a little to cover the battlefield, but the Wo-class knew that she could never rely on her opponent to make a mistake. She'd hoped a different game type would force Alex to split his fleet, but he wanted to keep his first game simple, so the victory condition was just a straightforward deathmatch.
She'd have to contrive a way to break up Alex's fleet herself. The weather effects Trinitite could choose from didn't seem like they'd help much either, but Trinitite still had to select one.
'Choppy seas' would hopefully do. It limited the speed of her own destroyers, but if Alex kept his fleet to the speed of his own it would buy the aircraft carrier some time, and Trinitite knew that keeping her fleet together wasn't a winning strategy anyways.
Alex took the news with an uncharacteristic stoicism, calculations playing behind his eyes as he contemplated the change of rules.
"I guess we start deploying then, huh?"
"I guess." Alex agreed, his gaze still focused on the table in front of him.
Having played before, Trinitite elected to set her fleet out first. Her plan had to look as conventional as possible, so she tightly grouped her ships in the center of her side of the table. Alex followed suit, his fleet gathered together opposite of The Abyssal's.
Alex won initiative, his lead destroyers slowing their acceleration to only two inches as the American fleet stayed in formation.
Excellent.
Ignoring her screaming instincts to keep her own fleet together, Trinitite directed her own fleet to explode outward. Firestorm heeled sharp to port, Hypocenter and Ames to starboard, while the three destroyers abandoned their escort duties and charged The American fleet.
"Oh." Alex stated as the Wo-class placed another momentum marker down, a hand reaching up to scratch the tiny hairs that sprouted from his jawline. "That complicates things…"
It was a full minute before he made another move, Trinitite's friend sorting out what he'd learned of the game from the reality playing out on the table in front of him. When he finally did make his move, Alex's destroyers shook themselves of their escorts, answering the challenge the abyssal destroyers had offered. At the same time, Intrepid, Wisconsin, and Little Rock set an intercept course for Hypocenter, leaving her sister with practically half of the table to herself. Trinitite needed to save her destroyers for the capitol ships, so she declined the engagement, running her extended destroyer screen in parallel with the American ships and hoping the Ha-Class's longer-range guns could beat them off.
That's when the first blunder of the day occurred. Hellcats from Intrepid's air wing suddenly darted across the battle lines, flying over the abyssal destroyers to eliminate a spotting aircraft CFS Ames had launched. Now, as the air combat phase rolled into the attack phase, the twenty fighters sat within range of all of her escorts.
"I guess this makes the air war a little simpler." The Wo-class commented, the handful of dice that would blot out the exposed fighter squadron rattling in her hand. "Thank you."
"Oh!" Alex blurted, covering his face as his squadron of hellcats disintegrated. "I really should have thought about that." His gaze trailed over to the forming mass of bombers Trinitite was forming behind her destroyer screen. "...really could have used those later."
"It's just a learning experience…" Trinitite reassured her friend and opponent, before trailing off as Alex scooped up his own handful of dice. "...What's that?"
"Wisconsin's attacking, uh, that one." He stated, pointing towards the Ha-class. How did the battleship get spotting… Trinitite's rangefinders snapped to the enemy spotting aircraft loitering over Alex's destroyer screen! "...that's two hits."
"Ergh." Trinitite grimaced, rolling on the damage table. "How much power?"
"14"
She looked at her roll, then to the table.
"That's a cascading failure. I'm supposed to roll two more times, but she's already dead."
"Oh." Alex's mood abruptly lifted. "That's that, then."
"For her, maybe." The abyssal joked. In a way, she was relieved. The Ha-class was arguably the most capable surface combatant in Trinitite's force, and those powerful long lances would be going down with her, but the abyssal couldn't help but be thankful those 16-inch shells weren't crashing down on Groves or Robbins.
Alex won initiative for the next round, his fleet closing further to leave Hypocenter with barely a sixth of the table to sail in. Trinitite was running out of time, and like it or not the surface engagement she was attempting to avoid had truly started. Unwilling to abandon her sister, Trinitite reasoned, Firestorm hooked north to bring her 8" guns into play, but it was clear the engagement was running away from her far too quickly. The destroyers slowed to bring the incoming capital ships, now accelerating past the reduced speed of their own hindered destroyer screen, into the range of their torpedoes. Ships didn't actually sink until the damage control phase, so there was a guarantee her fleetmates would get their torpedoes off, at least.
She'd been saving her aircraft for the enemy's capital ships, but that might have been her inexperience with pitched sea battles influencing her. Yes, Wisconsin was a threat, but those three destroyers both outnumbered and outgunned her own. Trinitite would just have to hope that enough planes would survive to pose a credible threat to the capitol ships afterwards. One of her squadrons of hellcats fell upon Alex's, while a squadron of bombers fell upon each of Alex's destroyers. Their excellent suite of anti-aircraft weapons blotted out a third of the descending abyssal bombers, but with 60 aircraft descending on them all three destroyers fell apart among the descending hail of 2000-pound bombs.
She could vividly picture the descending aircraft, weaving between tracers and malevolent dark bursts as the defenders desperately fought for survival. Trinitite had dealt with many an air attack, but never from that many aircraft with so few ships. She could imagine the terror and hopelessness those destroyers must have felt in their final moments, as they were overwhelmed. Knocking out three enemy destroyers was satisfying, yes, but seeing the concern on Alex's face as he placed a lethal number of damage markers alongside the ships in half of his fleet…
She wondered how combat ships could handle this kind of thing, in real life.
Trinitite shook her head. What a dumb thought, she knew how ships could handle such actions! She'd attempted these exact same tactics during her defense of Bikini, although to much less success. Her fleet here was fighting for their hypothetical lives, and that just became much easier.
Besides, Alex got his revenge during the combat turn. Wisconsin's guns failed to hit CFS Groves, but her secondary battery avenged USS Cassin Young by completely removing a squadron of Helldivers from the table and Intrepid and Little Rock collaborated to relieve Firestorm of her Dauntless bombers.
Winning her next turn's initiative, Trinitite guided the two destroyers away from the massive battleship. Her only hope now was smoke, and the Tiny Tim anti-ship rockets slung to her fighters. An attempted rocket attack Iowa-class cost Trinitite a squadron of Hellcats, only to light a few easily controllable fires on the battleship. The two I-class's torpedo attack jammed Wisconsin's rudder and brought flooding to both capital ships, but in the damage control phase Alex rolled well enough to counter some of the worst of the damage, while Trinitite's own roll exasperated the flooding USS Little Rock had introduced to Ames. The two cruisers continued to trade shells, fires blooming across the American cruiser's deck while her abyssal counterpart took hit after devastating hit under the waterline. Both had to be removed from the table at the same time.
"Oof, don't like that roll" Alex observed, wincing as flooding and fire spread across Wisconsin. He wordlessly scooped the damage control die and rolled again, removing a flooding marker instead of following the catastrophic results he'd just mentioned.
"You can just reroll?" Trinitite asked, confused. Alex couldn't be cheating- at least, not this poorly.
"Er- once per turn." He clarified. "It's the American special ability."
"Really?" Her fleet was good at damage control, too! The fact that she was still alive was proof of that. Why did they force her to mess with this weather stuff instead of an actual ability her fleet would have?
"Yeah, damage control's a really big thing in The Navy." A third voice abruptly chimed in. The Wo-Class jumped at the interjection, looking over to see Dustin's wiry form lounging next to the battle. "The Japanese thought they'd sunk Enterprise six times in the last war, but never did."
"Six times?" She echoed, before a more pressing question came to her. "When did you get here?"
"Just after you." Alex's friend replied, looking up from his phone. "Played a quick game with another new guy, and now I'm waiting to joust with you." The human formed a loose finger gun and waved it at Alex.
"Are you?" Trinitite asked, meeting Alex's gaze. "I hope you like missiles..."
"Don't ruin the surprise, Sarah!"
"Ah, sorry."
It was no wonder that he'd arrived later and still finished his game before they did. His one-trick fleet of aircraft lent itself to some pretty short games.
There wasn't any sincerity in her apology, but it still mollified Dustin. She considered admitting that she'd already told Alex all about the backfire swarm, but figured that intelligence advantage wasn't hers to give up.
"Huh." Alex noted, his attention diverted from the conversation. "Looks like this game has gained some traction."
She agreed, surveying the store around her. They'd been some of the first ones in, but during their game two more humans had come in and started their own battles. The numbers weren't nearly as large as the 40k nights she'd been to, but it showed the game was gaining some interest. Were these people just as new to this as she was? There was a certain appeal to knowing that not only did she have her own experience to apply to this, but all her opponents would be just as new to this system as she was.
"Alright. Initiative, then." Alex continued, looking at his two surviving, heavily-damaged ships. "I rolled a 6."
"Oh…" Trinitite rolled. "...a two." Her rangefinders shifted over to Intrepid's squadron of Dauntless dive bombers that had been slowly ambling away from the melee towards Firestorm. She'd had a squadron of hellcats angling towards them on an intercept course, but with him winning the initiative for this round…
This was her fault for splitting the fleet apart. Firestorm took eight bombs and immediately died, but the Wo-class found the situation too ridiculous to take her sister's demise seriously. Trinitite would have a lot of trouble ordering her headstrong sister to do something that stupid…
On the other side of the table, battle lines had dissolved completely and chaos reigned. Wisconsin, with a jammed rudder and several fires, was looking to accidentally sail off the table, the enemy Essex-class was engaged in a line battle with her two remaining destroyers, and Firestorm had just gotten sunk after running away from all support and spending the entire battle trying to turn around.
CFS Groves succumbed to her damage and slipped under the waves, but all of her damage had come from Intrepid! It was… kind of funny, actually. Realistically, in a gun battle at that range, Groves would defeat an Essex like herself ten times out of ten. Unlike her earlier bomb attack, Trinitite had trouble visualizing any of this chaotic mess as anything but an exaggerated fiction, like the wars in a grimdark future she'd fought on the tabletop last night.
It was two against two, now. Wisconsin continued to helplessly draw closer to the table's edge, as CFS Robbins put round after round into Intrepid's hull, only for the American carrier to turn her anti-aircraft guns on the destroyer and sink her in one round, as well.
Deep, if only being a carrier was this easy! Intrepid probably wasn't going to survive the battle, considering how many damage, flooding, and fire markers had been stacked up behind her figure, but still, taking two destroyers down with you in a gunfight was a pretty good record.
Trinitite rolled on the damage control table, trying to save her last destroyer, before sweeping Robbins off the table and returning the I-class to her container. Taking the cardboard table, Alex made another roll for Intrepid, only to grimace and roll again.
"...It's a one again."
"The fires found something important?"
"Let's see…" Alex rolled, grimacing again. "...yeah, she's dead. 8 more damage, 4 fires, 2 flooding."
"Huh." Dustin interrupted, drawing both players' attention. Trinitite thought he had something to say about Intrepid's fate, but he was still focusing on his phone.
"What happened?" Alex asked, the Essex figure hovering over the table as he focused on his friend.
"Oh, nothing too important." Dustin dismissed apologetically. "Just a picture that shows the US has more battleships than they're admitting to."
More ships than they were admitting to? How had the human discovered that? Were there other secret ships he knew about that he wasn't supposed to? Ships like, hypothetically, converted battlecruisers? Careful to hide her excitement and with the narrow game on the tabletop almost immediately forgotten, the Wo-class prodded Dustin further.
"...What do you mean?"
"Some pictures were taken of a line of eight standard battleships off of the big island in Hawaii." He clarified, flipping his phone to show Trinitite a graining photo of ships at sea. "Since we apparently still have Standards in Taiwan and Samoa, that's at least three secret battleships."
"You think Arizona's back?" Alex asked.
"That'd be huge, if true." Dustin continued, the phone's screen reflecting off of his glasses as he held it closer to himself. "It would torpedo that conspiracy about Abyssal Princesses being traitor shipgirls."
"Would it?" Trinitite asked. Given what she knew, the Wo-class should keep quiet about the topic, but she had no idea what kind of logic the human was using here.
"Sure!" Dustin replied, "If anyone would go abyssal, it would have to be her, right?"
"I'm not sure about that." Her friend disagreed, snapping his fingers. "Arizona's death was traumatic for everyone else, but just exploding like that would probably be pretty painless."
"I hope so." Trinitite agreed, for Hypocenter and many of her late fleetmates' sakes.
"Maybe." Dustin allowed, the phone absorbing more of his attention.
"What site is that?" The Wo-class asked, certain she was failing to keep her excitement out of her voice. If this fleet could track the location of every American battleship, surely they knew about any mysterious carriers! This might be exactly the kind of opportunity Trinitite had been waiting for!
"Oh, it's called OSS Forums." The human replied, seeming to miss the nervous anticipation in the Wo-class's question. "I think that acronym stands for Open Source Sailor or something. A lot of the big social media sites censor OSINT on shipgirls, so unless you want to hop on 4chan this is your best bet on the unannounced stuff."
"Open Source Sailor…" She echoed, adding it alongside 'OSINT' and 'fourchan' to her research list. "Thank you."
Those topics weren't going to wait until tonight. Trinitite was looking into this as soon as this game with Alex had wrapped up.
"No problem." Dustin replied, and the Wo-class turned her attention back to the battle.
It was one versus one now. Hypocenter, unscathed but with a scattered and depleted air wing, against a burning and slightly wounded Wisconsin, who'd just repaired her rudder.
Trinitite was feeling a lot better about her odds then she did a moment ago.
And there we go! I had been planning on this chapter for quite a while, especially considering the plot developments I've planned for the end, but I'm not as sure it turned out how I wanted it to. Still think it did its job well enough in the story, at least, but... eh, I'll leave final judgement up to you.
Anyways, some people were asking for a set of rules for VoR, and I will say I utilized my change-of-command leave pretty well in flushing something out, but as expected that something is a broken mess. Expect further developments in the future, and maybe even some rough rules, even though I don't think storywise the game will ever take as much of a spotlight as it did in this chapter.
Anyways, some people were asking for a set of rules for VoR, and I will say I utilized my change-of-command leave pretty well in flushing something out, but as expected that something is a broken mess. Expect further developments in the future, and maybe even some rough rules, even though I don't think storywise the game will ever take as much of a spotlight as it did in this chapter.
that can only end wellNow i wonder how many sites and group's try to crack the summon ritual or go into spirtual tomfoolery to ward themself
- Location
- America
oh.
Oh no.
I've gone on there before.
/tg/ is neat at times if you wanna talk tabletop stuff.
I haven't gone on any of the other boards much barring one though.
That one being /pol/.
It's fucking hilarious looking at those morons.
Funniest shit I've ever seen.
but yeah 4chan as a whole is a fuckin mess, dear god Trin is in for a ride if she ends up going there.
I don't know which board would be the most scarring for her to go on right off the bat.
maybe /d/.
or /pol/.
either or.
side note, do not go there unless you're willing to see some shit, some really weird porn shit in the case of /d/, and a loooooot of racism in the case of /pol. saw a dude there say that the Nazis were jewish and the whole thing was just the jewish killing jewish. pretty sure he was serious too.
fuckin hilarious, but holy shit are those guys cracked in the head.
OstermanA
(Unverified Penguin)
- Location
- $PWD
Is /b/ no longer a thing? Because that was infamous when I was in high school, too many years ago.
- Location
- America
yeah it's still there.
from what I can tell the rumors are true.
went there to double check a few minutes ago too.
mostly porn being there at the moment.
and some....assholish things being said about other people too.
- Location
- The Land of Many Bregrets
- Pronouns
- They/Them
...When she finds the 'crackpot theories about Abyssals' threads online, she's totally going to find a scarily accurate one about an Abyssal being loose on the American mainland, isn't she?