Or just this weird scenario where they are all on a small boat with clueless humans trying not to clue them in. Trin doesn't want to be exposed and the longer she goes without getting called out or attacked the less she is going to want to rock the boat. Nash not admitting anything and not exposing Trin forces Trin to make the first move, which she won't want to.
It could be hilarious. The trick will be timing it so both are on the boat before Trin realizes it so she can't run.
Solution is obvious.
Nashville stages a "woman overboard" situation, where Lady Gollerus has to pick her up, a day or more away from port.
At that point, Trinitite can either stay put, allowing Nashville to make contact, or reveal herself to be Abyssal and try to make a break for it, with Nashville within half a click - likely to fail.
Solution is obvious.
Nashville stages a "woman overboard" situation, where Lady Gollerus has to pick her up, a day or more away from port.
At that point, Trinitite can either stay put, allowing Nashville to make contact, or reveal herself to be Abyssal and try to make a break for it, with Nashville within half a click - likely to fail.
This requires Nashville to act and swim. Neither of which I am sure she is capable of.
(Also, that plan has a fairly glaring hole that it is possible that nobody on the Lady Gollerus spots her, though I am assuming she does it far enough from shore she won't be picked up by someone else... She could just get up and try again, but that means a risk of getting spotted in shipgirl form which would be less than optimal.)
The scene faded in with an aerial shot of The Pentagon, a fanfare of trumpets and kettle drums lingering after the view cut to a plain-looking conference room. The door swung open abruptly, a dark-skinned man in a dazzlingly-decorated dress uniform storming in.
"Gentlemen, we have a problem." He announced, taking a seat at the head of the table. "I'm sure you all have heard of Trinitite, but I've received credible rumors that there might be another abyssal infiltrator."
"No…" The closest officer gasped, her sharp face cast into an expression of horror.
"Another?" The second officer echoed, his exclamation tainted with a hearty Texas drawl.
"That's impossible!" The third officer shouted, eyes glowing with crimson indignation as shock played across her corpse-white features.
All four officers paused as canned laughter echoed from off-screen.
"I'm afraid it's true." The stern-looking admiral continued, once the off-screen laughter had died down. "A second abyssal has snuck into human society, seamlessly integrating herself into the general population, and I need ideas on how we're going to sniff her out!"
There was a second's pause.
"Maybe we can widen shipgirls' patrols." The first officer, her uniform the subtle khaki of the Navy, suggested.
"Thermals can't see abyssals, right?" The second officer, his uniform the olive green of the army.
"Hmm… Wait! I know!" The third officer exclaimed. "We should shoot everyone!"
The four actors paused again as off-screen laughter thundered for another handful of seconds.
"...What do you mean by 'shoot everyone?'" The first officer questioned, confusion and incredulity sharing her features.
"Well, abyssals are immune to bullets, right?" The obvious abyssal explained. "So, if we shoot someone and they don't die, they're not an abyssal!"
"That's insane!" The navy officer exclaimed.
"It is…" Her army compatriot drawled. "...but that might just be the kind of out-of-the-box thinking we need!"
"That's true." The admiral at the head of the table nodded solemnly. "It's worth looking into, at least."
"No it's not!" The first officer snapped. "Who is this person, anyways?"
"Colonel Souleater's been fighting in Hawaii for over a year." The admiral reported. "Nobody's a bigger expert on abyssals than she is!"
"An expert?" The first officer echoed, examining the Colonel before her eyes widened and she almost fell out of her chair.
"What's wrong, Captain?"
"A-abyssal!" The officer stammered. "She's an abyssal!"
"What?" The other two humans exclaimed in unison. Both of their gazes snapped to the suddenly horrified sea monster in the room.
"That's ridiculous!" The Admiral exclaimed, and the abyssal's features abruptly softened in relief. "Colonel Souleater has proven her worth in fights across the pacific!"
"...nah, I don't see it." The army officer added, staring intently at the white-skinned officer sitting next to him.
The camera focused on the navy captain's shock and disbelief as the off-screen audience laughed again.
"W-What?" She stuttered. "Her skin's white!"
"Of course it is!" The Army colonel snapped. "She hasn't had the opportunity to see the sun in a long time!"
"Hey eyes are glowing!" The captain shouted, standing.
"That's enough, captain!" The admiral shouted, and the captain stilled. "If you can't keep this… delusion under control, I'll have you removed from this meeting!"
"Delusion?" The navy officer echoed, the shock on her features intensifying.
"Think, Jane!" The admiral emphasized, gesturing to the eldritch abomination's sky-blue uniform. "What self-respecting ship would join the Air Force?"
"She's an abyssal!" The woman pointed defiantly. "We don't know if they have any self respect!"
"Alright, that's enough." The admiral grumbled. "SECURITY!"
"She's a monster!" The captain yelled defiantly, even as two uniformed guards grabbed her arms and started wrestling her out. "A SPY! SHE'S PLAYING US ALL FOR F-"
The door slammed behind her, leaving the audience's laughter to overwhelm the captain's desperate shouting.
"Sorry, Colonel." The admiral apologized. "I don't know what's gotten into her."
"It's tragic." The abyssal sighed.
"We've been putting her under too much stress." The admiral muttered, glancing at his watch. "Why don't we give her some time to calm down and reconvene after lunch?"
The army officer and the abyssal both nodded.
"Excellent." The admiral announced. "I'll see you all at thirteen."
With that, he left, followed shortly by the army colonel.
Now alone, the abyssal visibly relaxed, chuckling maliciously as she leaned back in her chair.
"Too easy…"
There was a knock, and the abyssal tensed again. Cautiously, guardedly, she raised her voice in challenge.
"Who is it?"
"Candygram." An unfamiliar voice answered.
"Candygram?" The abyssal echoed, walking to the door to open it. "What even is tha- AAAGH!"
The monster's dying screams were complemented by the audience's laughter and applause as the camera faded to the show's next sketch.
- - -
In many ways, the stateroom was an improvement over the Martin-Campos's broken-down vehicle. The thin bunk wasn't quite as comfortable as the air mattress she'd had weeks to get used to, and the other bunk sharing the compartment with the one she'd slept in carried an ominous implication, but those were her only two complaints. Perhaps others would have balked at the claustrophobic size of the room, but compared to the back of a car Trinitite couldn't complain.
Like the hotel room, a head with a toilet and shower was attached. While it was much smaller and of a cheaper construction, its real problem was the second door, which opened into an identical sleeping quarters, also harboring two bunks. It was empty for now, but Trinitite's new boss had assured her the other compartment would get an occupant today. Sharing a shower with another human… she supposed this wasn't too different from using the shower in the Martin-Campos's house, but the proximity was unnerving.
That was an issue for future Trinitite. For now, the Wo-class was busy getting ready.
Her disguise had been refreshed. A new set of clothes- same flannel, same gloves, same glasses- had been donned. A box of cereal she'd been saving in her hold had been emptied for breakfast, the air-and-sugar mixture not doing much for her hunger, but it was something. Now, she had a couple of hours before the eleven thirty meeting, and not much to do in the meantime.
She didn't want to spend those hours in the cabin, so a bit of exploring wouldn't hurt, would it?
There wasn't too much to explore. Trinitite didn't feel right venturing into the engine room without permission of one of the enginemen. The boss's office and quarters were obviously out, leaving a narrow portion of the upper decks as an area to wander.
Captain Farrelly was nowhere to be seen, which didn't bother the abyssal. He probably had shelter ashore, or was working in his office.
She found her first new crewmates in the galley. The pair of humans lounged around the same table, a cup of coffee steaming in front of both.
"Hmm?" One of the humans immediately saw her enter, his phone forgotten. "You the new girl?"
"I am…" She started, before remembering she was supposed to be upbeat and outgoing. "Good morning! Allison Holt, at your service!"
"Hmm." The human smiled slightly, so while he probably saw the act as such, Trinitite tried not to panic. "Good morning, Allison."
The human was in many ways like her boss, but slightly toned down. He wasn't as tall as the abyssal. His beard was thinner, shorter, and covered less of his face. His gaze didn't have the stern edge John Farrelly's did.
"Name's Rob." The human continued. "Rob Bartley, I'm the chief engineer here."
"Nice to meet you!" The abyssal forced a smile, shaking the human's hand. "I'm not sure what the boss wants me to do yet, but I've worked with engines before."
One of the man's eyebrows raised, but before he could ask anything, the second fisherman spoke.
"Considering how short staffed we are, I'm sure you'll have a chance to do everything." Trinitite turned her attention to the other human- Deep, she didn't know mustaches could look like that. "Welcome to the Lady. Hope you don't like free time."
Every other one of his features was forgotten as the abyssal found her rangefinders inexorably drawn to the bush on the man's upper lip. She'd seen mustaches before, but this one was massive, a growth sprouting from under his nose and protruding out almost just as far. Part of her mind refused to believe the facial hair was real, the mental image of the thing jumping off the man's face and lunging at her replaying in her imagination.
"Jack Dressler." The man introduced himself. With an embarrassing amount of will, the carrier yanked her rangefinders away from the thing on the human's lip and met his gaze. "You'll be helping me keep the AC and freezer running. And painting. And cooking…"
"We'll just figure out what you're good at, and offload the job to you." Rob reassured. "Show you can work and you'll be fine."
"Just because things are less shit here than they were in the coasties doesn't mean they aren't shitty." The mustache- Jack countered, before turning back to Trinitite. "You think the pay's this high just because of the sea monsters?"
"It has very long hours?" The abyssal ventured.
"It has more than long hours, Allison." The fisherman countered. "The sea had plenty of ways to kill you before they turned up."
"I'm… aware." Trinitite hesitantly replied. What was the mustache guy trying to get at?
"Quit trying to scare her away, Jack!" The other fisherman exclaimed, lightly hitting his compatriot's shoulder. "She's one less watch we have to stand!"
"I just want to make sure she knows what she's getting into." The mustached man deflected.
"Nobody thinks fishing's a sexy job, Jack." Rob interjected. "Allison might not know some specifics, but she's probably done some research."
"I- I have!" Trinitite forced, mustering as much false confidence as she could. "I've worked on boats before, too! Nothing this big, but…"
The abyssal's voice trailed off as the lie ran out of steam. If she understood the confrontative human's goal, here, she might have had something more to say, but the objective behind his questioning eluded her. She'd already gotten the job, and wouldn't abandon it until she'd at least done something for her new fleet. What gain was there in scaring off a fellow employee?
"...Alright." The mustached man finally nodded. "Welcome aboard, Allison."
The welcome didn't feel particularly sincere, but Trinitite would accept it. He wasn't obligated to like her, after all. As long as he was better than Clifton, she would be fine with him.
Rob walked her through the eccentricities of the galley's coffee machine, but after that conversation didn't go anywhere fast. The two men were wrapped up in their phones, and while Trinitite enjoyed the quiet atmosphere, bringing her own phone out as she sipped down a cup of coffee, she failed to summon the courage to ask either of them for a tour. After half an hour of silence, the carrier quietly stood, washed the cup of coffee, and left to explore.
The rest of the boat was abandoned. The bridge was mostly dead screens, every watch station's purpose hidden in dark glass until they went underway. Nothing seemed too different from the Lilly, but there she'd been preoccupied with other issues. Near the aft of the ship the boon that she assumed would be holding a net was empty, and examining the equipment didn't yield much information she hadn't gleamed by watching the Pacific Lilly's sailors work.
Perhaps she didn't get much new information because her rangefinders kept drifting away from the equipment, past the fleet of neglected boats, downriver, where she knew the greater ocean lay. The tide was coming in, right now. She could imagine the waves crashing against the shore, crawling up the beach with a grace that hid the power surging within…
Screw it. 1130 wasn't going to come for several more hours. Maybe a quick visit to the beach would be just what she needed to clear her head for her new boss's tour. It was too bad she couldn't step out onto the rocking surf like she used to, but enjoying the sights and sounds sounded more than good enough for her.
- - -
She was beautiful.
The Grand Lady was the biggest thing on the Newport waterfront, which wasn't saying much, but that didn't matter to Kay Farrely. She'd been on fishing trawlers before- Dad had taken her on tours of the ones he'd worked on many times- but those tours had all been years ago, back when she'd been too bratty to appreciate the grit, determination, and technical skill that went into her Father's job.
Now, however, she'd been doing plenty of research into her prospective line of work, preparing for the day she'd finally succeeded in bullying her dad into letting her go to sea. To be honest, Kay had expected the deal she'd made with her father to go nowhere: he clearly didn't want her out there with abyssals about, but he'd known Mom had already tried to forbid her, and understood that his attempts would be just as ineffective. That he'd actually hired another woman for her to share a cabin with instead of just leading her on had been a shock.
Thankfully, she'd been ready for the pleasant surprise, adopting a job in nearby Toledo she could drop in a second once she got confirmation she could join Dad's crew. They'd miss her at the docks, sure, but her now-former boss had understood she'd be leaving without much notice.
As Kay stepped past the gate and onto the pier, the sea breeze caught a lock of curled auburn hair and dragged it across her face. Damnit, how'd that get free? Hiding her momentary frustration, she tucked the lock that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear, refocusing her attention back on the Lady Gollerus.
She'd done a lot of research into her Father's new toy… although perhaps it would be more accurate to call the Lady the newest member of the Farrelly clan. Kay didn't know if the Lady had a spirit- only charlatans claimed to understand how these things worked- but from Kay's inexpert eyes it seemed like Dad was taking good care of her. She wasn't dumb enough to think a pretty paint job made a good vessel, but that was about all she could work with.
Her Father was waiting for her at the end of the gangplank. Despite the giant's grim expression, Kay couldn't suppress the goofy smile that spread across her features. They weren't the closest of family members, but absence made the heart grow fonder and since the war started she hadn't had the chance to see dad often. While the rest of the family had fled inland to Bend, John Ferrely's job 'forced' him to remain tied to the coast.
Initially, it had been a way to ensure a steady source of income for a family trying to resettle in an unfamiliar desert town. That explanation wore thinner as time went by, then disappeared when he quit his job… and bought the Lady Gollerus, instead of joining his wife in Central Oregon.
Two years ago, Kay had felt bitter about his distance, but as days turned to months she found herself understanding her father more and more. During that painful one-and-a-half semesters she'd spent at OSU, learning nothing from the half-assed, COVID-enforced 'remote learning' classes and accruing thousands of dollars in student debt, the new adult found herself longing for those simpler days at Newport, where the beach was not always welcoming, but it was there.
As seafood was slowly priced out of her diet, the tastes of home became deeper and sweeter, Kay's longing for delicacies like shrimp scampi grew more and more intense. She didn't try to tune out news from the war as much as many of her friends did, but stories of the fall of fleets and slaughter of nations still didn't seem to affect her like it did her mother. Maybe Kay was being callous, but to her it simply showed how… important the seas were. The abyssals were just a reminder of that fact.
Besides, with Hawaii back in human hands, she didn't have to worry about that stuff anyways.
"Welcome to The Lady." Her father spoke. Few people would have noticed the old sea dog's features softening behind that beard, but as she stepped onto the gangplank, Kay did.
"She's beautiful."
"She is." Her dad bluntly agreed. "Follow me."
Her dad's office was small, cozy in a sort of utilitarian, library way. There were hardly any personal effects in the cramped space, piles of papers filling plastic inboxes that flanked ancient computers. With a grunt, her father eased herself into his desk, motioning for Kay to sit as well.
"So…" Kay started, the office chair creaking under her weight as she sat. "Where do I sign?"
Silence filled the space over the desk separating the two. Despite her confidence, Kay could feel her smile embrittling, her confidence flagging. Dad had guaranteed this job for her. That had been the deal, right?
John Ferrelry's eyes abruptly closed, a heavy, rumbling sigh filling the room as he seemed to sag. When his gaze met hers again, he spoke.
"Please, Kay…" he started, his voice softer than "...why have you been pushing so hard to come out here?"
"It's… the best job I can get right now." she replied. Even though it was true, and the best explanation she could think of, an unexplainable pang of guilt shot writhed in her gut. She ignored it.
"You don't need a job right now." Her father countered. "Take a semester off, sure, but you should really finish your-"
Kay knew where this was going. It was an argument she'd had with Mom countless times, and it was better to end it immediately.
"I'm not going to become a debt slave for a communications degree, Dad." She insisted.
"Change majors." He countered. "We can help with the debt."
"I won't force you to spend money so I can do something I hate when there's a perfectly good career right here."
"Perfectly good?" Dad quoted. "You know how dangerous this is? What will it do to your Mother if the abyssals found both of us?"
"You said it was perfectly safe." Kay accused, eyebrows raising.
"I-" Her father was rubbing his forehead, now. "I lied."
"I know."
Dad seemed to deflate slightly as he leaned back in his chair.
"She probably does, as well…"
With another sigh, silence descended between the two. Kay allowed her father the luxury of stewing a bit, before finally twisting the knife.
"Well, we made a deal." She reminded him. "You gonna honor it?"
He didn't have a choice. Kay knew that, if he hadn't pleaded with her to wait until he'd hired another woman instead of signing up with another ship, she'd already be out to sea. Hell, judging by the news, a little ship by the name of Pacific Lilly probably had a few spots open, if Dad still said no.
Thus, it came as no surprise when her dad nodded.
"Yes, but there's one more thing." His gaze hardened, and he sat up, suddenly looming over Kay. "You'll have less nautical experience than anyone else aboard. I won't abide any accusations of nepotism, so I'll be making damn sure you're seaworthy by the end of this trip. If you give me any reason to think you aren't taking training or work seriously, you'll be out of a job, got it?"
Kay felt a grim smile grace her features.
"Wouldn't have it any other way, Dad."
- - -
When they stepped out of the office, another woman was waiting for them. At the sound of the door opening, her gaze shot up from her phone, revealing a youthful face framed by a set of rectangular glasses.
So, this was the woman who'd gotten Kay the job. She'd been expecting someone… older, the kind of weathered woman with experience on the sea her father couldn't say 'no' to, but her new coworker looked like she'd be more at home in downtown Portland than out at sea.
"Hello!" She called out, the phone disappearing into a pocket. "Name's Allison."
"I'm Kay." She smiled back. Seeing Allison had extended her hand, Kay reached out to take it. She had to retract the Portland idea: the blonde was far too tanned to be a native Oregonian. Was her new coworker a California girl, or just from the arid east of the state?
Her thoughts were momentarily derailed by a snap and a sharp twinge traveling down her wrist. In confusion, she looked down at the stalled handshake.
Allison was wearing a pretty set of driving gloves, the polished leather glinting in the interior lighting. They must have had some pretty comfy insulation if they had built up that much static… probably. Kay didn't pay too much attention in her science classes.
"Nice gloves." She commented, finishing the handshake. "Where'd you get them?"
"Er- Fred Meyers." Her new coworker explained, her voice evasive… embarrassed? "Nothing fancy, really."
"Allison has some experience with small boats," Dad cut in, "but will be learning the ropes alongside you."
"So you're a sailor already, huh?"
"I wouldn't go that far." Allison deflected, eyes darting away from Kay's. "Helped my Mom maintain a boat for a while, that's all."
"That's pretty cool!" Kay exclaimed. "Did she own a yacht or something?"
"It wasn't anything fancy…" Her new coworker deflected. "We just used it to get between islands."
Get between islands, did she mean… oh. Well, she'd ask about that once she knew Allison a little better.
"Both of you are going to need to know how to get around the boat." Her dad intervened, saving Kay from having to steer the conversation away from the war. "Let's get you two a quick tour."
The surge of anticipation suppressed Kay's dark speculation on Allison's past. It was time to see the ship! Kay didn't expect anything here to look particularly exciting or fun, but this place was going to be her home for weeks on end! Who wouldn't want to know what their new job- maybe new career- was going to be like?
Besides, whatever digs this place had must be better than getting gouged by a last-minute hotel reservation, and with all the stuff from her old apartment in her car it wasn't like she had the room to sleep in there…
If you don't get the reference at the end of the first segment... don't feel too bad about it. I wouldn't say SNL is terrible, but I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone. The segment is there more as a window into the ways culture is coping with Trinitite, rather than an endorsement of the show itself. Here that isn't a major point, but once some of the more political discourse surrounding Trinitite makes its way into the story, I'll want to emphasize that point a lot more.
Anyways, I'm not sure why writing this chapter took too long. Yeah, I could blame developing Valkyries of Ran as taking up time, but it didn't do anything more that regular gaming would. Just... setting up new and interesting characters is hard. I am very exited to write more Kay Farrely, though. Hope you enjoyed!
There's going to be a lot more 'buildup' before Nashville comes in with the steel chair. Hopefully not too much, but there's a lot of things I'm looking forwards to writing for this plotline.
I wonder how Trinitite Allison and Key would bond, hope to see more interactions between them !
And maybe Trinitite could be a pretty good mechanics, if her engineer imps whispers to her about engine maintenance and mechanical work.
Not gonna lie, this confused the hell out of me when I started reading it. But by the end I figured out it was a skit of some kind. SNL, eh? Yeah, laughing at shitty jokes is better than crying in terror I suppose. Plus, it lets people take a jab at the Navy for everything going FUBAR.
She had to retract the Portland idea: the blonde was far too tanned to be a native Oregonian.
The hilarious thing is that she's going to be all "Oh my God, trinitite!?!?" as soon as she guesses abyssal, because trin's famous now. Might even help her hide from her dad so the dad doesn't stop the voyage and take her job away.
The hilarious thing is that she's going to be all "Oh my God, trinitite!?!?" as soon as she guesses abyssal, because trin's famous now. Might even help her hide from her dad so the dad doesn't stop the voyage and take her job away.
Hm. Which works best "My Best Friend is an Abyssal Fleet Carrier" or "I have to help an Abyssal Fleet Carrier infiltrate the United States or my Dad will kick me off the boat".
Not gonna lie, this confused the hell out of me when I started reading it. But by the end I figured out it was a skit of some kind. SNL, eh? Yeah, laughing at shitty jokes is better than crying in terror I suppose. Plus, it lets people take a jab at the Navy for everything going FUBAR.
There is one thing funny in this....what navy ship would even join the chair force and fly planes anyway?
The comment about the one women being a Abby is a spoof from the 90s loony toons about the gaint chicken that no one else see them but just one person rants about them being a xhicken.
Hm. Which works best "My Best Friend is an Abyssal Fleet Carrier" or "I have to help an Abyssal Fleet Carrier infiltrate the United States or my Dad will kick me off the boat".
"My Best Friend is an Abyssal Fleet Carrier"
Because Trinitite was technically already in the United States and is technically leaving it
EDIT: If you want a longer title you could go: ''I cant believe my new friend and co-worker is an Abyssal Fleet Carrier running from the US government in her quest to find her mother''
There is one thing funny in this....what navy ship would even join the chair force and fly planes anyway?
The comment about the one women being a Abby is a spoof from the 90s loony toons about the giant chicken that no one else see them but just one person rants about them being a chicken.
Can you imagine if she went Army and ended up doing training in the middle of the US, followed by a rotation at the NTC? That'd probably be hell for her.
The tour had been pretty enlightening. Captain Farrelly had taken the pair of new hires around the ship, giving them a thousand-foot overview of every compartment they passed.
It was surprising how familiar a lot of it was to Trinitite- not just compared to the Pacific Lilly, but compared to herself. The passageways and compartments weren't quite as small as hers, but they were cramped compared to most buildings ashore. The ladderwells were still steep and treacherous, slick with rainwater tracked in from outside. Essentials, like the bridge, anchors, galley, and the damage control equipment scattered everywhere were comforting reminders that some things on the sea didn't change.
Of course, there were more differences than similarities. Everything was lit by clean, cool LED lighting. There were fewer watertight bulkheads than she was used to, which she guessed made sense for a fishing vessel. The intricate mix of cranes, lines, and motors that managed the fishing net was as alien to her as they'd been on the Pacific Lilly. The bridge systems made a good amount of sense to her after John Farrelly had answered some of her questions, but she'd have to stand a few watches there before she truly understood how it operated.
But the engines…
"Twenty-four thousand HP?" Trinitite gawked, after mentally calculating the Kilowatt rating the captain provided her. "From only two diesels? That's… pretty impressive."
"Is it?" Kay asked, confused.
"Er- maybe." The Wo-class hesitated. Human electronics were all the proof she needed in how advanced their technology was, but hadn't been expecting such advances in a field she was more familiar with. Sure, a massive 12-cylinder engine like this was a feat of precision engineering for her, but for humans how advanced was it? "Our boat was powered by a set of ancient aircraft engines."
This was a lie, but a well-researched one. She knew a lot more about aircraft engines than maritime diesels, so finding a model that both used engines she was familiar with and conceivably attainable for a relatively unremarkable human had felt like a massive plus.
"You had a PT boat?" her new boss questioned.
"My Mom did." Trinitite elaborated. "Never said what model it was, but from my research afterwards that seemed right."
"Oh! Like Black Lagoon?" Her new coworker chimed in, her previously neutral expression suddenly interested.
"What?"
"That's awesome!" She shouted. "I've wanted to check that show out, we should watch it!"
The human quickly moved on from the topic, never bringing up the split-second plan again.
Of course, Trinitite wasn't happy with everything revealed on the tour. Most were minor inconveniences or misaligned expectations on her part, but one revelation filled the Wo-class with dread.
It occurred when Allison had been shown her quarters, a door over from Trinitite. Captain Farrelly had let slip that Trinitite was living aboard, when Kay abruptly spoke up.
"You're living on the boat?" The human asked, looking to her boss. "Can I do that?"
"Yeah," the captain sighed. "Just- five minute showers, alright?"
Damn it! Trinitite had been hoping for a few more days to have her quarters for herself! She needed more time to get used to her living spaces before she was forced to share them with a human!
That wasn't the only oddity, either. John Farrelly's voice lost a lot of the firmness it normally had when speaking to Kay. Did they know each other before she joined their fleet? If there was some context there she was missing, then finding that out would probably be pretty important. The Wo-class didn't like worrying about internal fleet politics, but now that she was a part of this one such concerns could affect her pretty severely.
The whole tour had taken a little over an hour and a half. If both new employees hadn't filled the time with so many questions, it probably would have taken half as long, but surprisingly their boss hadn't seemed particularly bothered by the delay. Now, surprisingly, they had the rest of the day free, the captain saying he'd have tasking for the pair in the morning.
Trinitite had returned to her quarters after that, using the secluded area to privately enjoy a lunch from her dwindling stockpiles. Last night, she'd discovered that the Lady Gollerus's hull blocked any cell signal, so when her little reconnaissance run of Newport devolved into another session of watching the beach, Trinitite had downloaded several articles from Wikipedia to read.
She'd been halfway through an article on the carrier Charles de Gaulle and cracked open the plastic seal on another stack of crackers when somebody knocked on the door.
The Wo-class tensed, then forced herself to relax. There wasn't any reason for her to not be here, and anybody with suspicions about her would probably sneak through Kay's compartment and the shared head instead of politely knocking on the door. Neither her phone nor the half-eaten box of crackers were suspicious either, so when she stood to answer the door, she did so with minimal trepidation.
"Hey, Allison!" Kay chirped, her curly auburn hair bouncing as she bounced on her feet. "Do you have any plans for tonight?"
Trinitite blinked. If she said no, she knew that this stranger would drag her into something, but right now she really was just waiting until they went underway. Thus, if she said 'yes' and the human asked what those were, the Wo-class wouldn't be ready with an answer.
"Not really…" She admitted.
"I can show you around town, if you'd like." The human offered, an excited smirk playing across her features. "Unless you've been here a while- you could show me what's new!"
Wait- Damn it, 'Allison' was supposed to be into this kind of stuff! Hoping her smile didn't come off as forced, the abyssal gave her reply.
"Of course!" She replied. "I've only been here a day or two, so I'd love to have somebody show me around!"
She needed to start preparing excuses so she could avoid something like this in the future.
- - -
"What the hell?"
From someone so outwardly cheery, Kay could fly into a rage surprisingly quickly. All it took was a relatively unassuming sign, hung just behind the glass doors of the building's entrance.
THIS SPACE AVAILABLE FOR LEASE
"Candy Basket as well?" She ranted, hands mussing with her hair in frustration. "Guess we're getting back in the car, Allison."
"Alright…" The carrier acknowledged, rangefinders lingering on the blunt sign where a fleet used to be. Trinitite never really thought about what would happen when a business ran out of money, but after the third 'available' building she was starting to understand some basics. It seemed the phone number on the sign pointed towards a different fleet that took control of the building once the original fleet… ended.
They might have left, the Wo-class supposed. The traffic didn't seem much more sparse than it had been in other towns, but this was the third car she'd ever ridden in, so she wasn't a good judge of that. The desolate pier implied some people had left, but she couldn't say for sure.
"God damn it…" Her coworker sighed, her curse almost lost in the grumble of the car coming to life. "Have you ever had saltwater taffy before?"
"No, I haven't."
"Well, we'll find a place." She declared, her voice firm. "Tourism couldn't have tanked so hard that they're all closed."
"I could look some up, if you want." Trinitite's phone was already out, keying open
"No!" Kay didn't quite shout, but her voice had an abrupt firmness that stayed the abyssal's hand. "This is my town. I've only been gone for two years. I don't need google to nanny me around!"
The phone quietly disappeared back into Trinitite's hold, unused.
True to Kay's word, forty-five minutes of aimless driving yielded a small bakery advertising bread, pastries, and sweets, including some saltwater taffy. The pair had ordered a late lunch- Trinitite hadn't wanted to spend money, but Kay seemed the type to offer to pay if she didn't get anything. Thankfully, the bakery offered a surprisingly cheap meal of bread and soup to avoid accumulating any unwanted debt. She didn't have much money left, but she could still afford a five dollar meal.
Compared to the cold, dwindling scraps from the Fred Meyers raid and the occasional bird she'd downed with a thrown rock, the steaming hot soup and fresh, tender bread was… amazing. It took several minutes of enjoying the subtle taste of 'french onion' before she realized the human who she was traveling with hadn't really spoken since they'd gotten their food.
Looking up from her half-empty cup, the abyssal found Kay staring at her half-eaten sandwich, her face obscured by curls of coppery-red hair. Was she feeling well? The plan of showing Newport to the Wo-class had been consumed by the simple need for food, and nobody enjoyed seeing their plans derailed.
Maybe she'd been forcing her outgoing personality like Trinitite was.
Without any more information, further speculation was pointless. The Wo-class was fine with enjoying the quiet meal in the meantime.
"I don't get it."
The human's sudden declaration jerked Trinitite's attention away from her meal.
"Sorry?"
"It's just- how are they able to scare everyone so much?" Kay shook her head, suddenly staring at the abyssal. "We all know we're overdue for the Cascadia Quake, and that's gonna wipe this place off the map, but that never chased anyone away!"
Wait, what?
"The Cascadia Quake?" The Wo-class echoed, unable to keep the sudden panic out of her voice. She had no idea what exactly 'wiping Newport off the map' entailed, but she certainly didn't want to be here when it happened!
"Not important. The human dismissed, waving her hands plaintively. "It's a tsunami that could hit tomorrow or three hundred years from now. Don't worry about it."
That wasn't particularly comforting, but Trinitite tried to put it out of her mind. 'Tsunami' was a word familiar to Trinitite, but only as a name used for abyssals in a few fleets she'd visited. It was also mentioned when Americans brought up 'The La Palma Attacks,' which had hit the entirety of the American East Coast… This 'Cascadia Quake' urgently needed research, but that would wait until tonight.
"Point is, the Navy can't fight off an earthquake," the human continued, "but they have fought off the abyssals. Abbie got stopped at Hawaii, and hasn't even touched the West Coast!"
"What about Trinitite?"
The question slipped the Wo-class's lips without thought, the abyssal cursing her carelessness before she was even done speaking. Why did she think drawing attention to her situation was a good idea?
Of course, the answer was she was distracted by the idea of the tsunami she hadn't been thinking. Stupid Wo.
"Bah." Kay scoffed, "People care way too much about Trinitite."
"What?" People cared too much? Trinitite thought, knew, that humanity justifiably hated her kind, and herself specifically. This apathy was unexpected, to say the least.
"Yeah." The human asserted, her gaze gaining a challenging edge. "Tell me, has she even actually hurt anyone yet?"
Trinitite had to pause, taking another sip of soup while she considered the question.
"She probably killed some people before this infiltration business." The Wo-class suggested. As she spoke, the image of a fighter jet violently tumbling into the sea replayed in her memory.
"Not according to the Navy!" Kay proclaimed, hitting the table with two fingers to hammer the point home. "Convoy escort for two years. By abyssal standards, she's practically a saint!"
The abyssal's mind was reeling. How in the deep had she been forced to argue against herself?
"There's the Pacific Lilly-"
"They're fine!" Kay said, her voice raising to fill the building. "Same with the Fred Meyers she raided!"
"What?" Trinitite… hadn't been aware they'd revealed that, and she'd been following news about all this!
"Yeah, she raided a department store and stole a bunch of stuff back in September." Kay explained. "I only read a headline that came out this morning. Clerk's fine, though."
"Oh. Er… you seem to know more about it than I do."
"That's right." Kay proclaimed triumphantly. "Besides, the bitch has to know she's in the middle of the lion's den right now. If she tries anything, she'll get turned into a parking lot. It's a non-issue, we're getting distracted."
Trinitite nodded, glad to put this confusing argument behind her. The truth was, while she hadn't harmed any humans since landfall, it was more from lack of opportunity than any of the kindness Kay was trying to attribute to her. The Wo-class had meant every threat she'd made, after all, and she'd regretted not killing the human who'd stumbled upon her in Mill Creek until… now, she guessed. If any of those situations had gone differently, or even if she'd done the smart thing and let Alton die at the construction site, where would she be now?
"So, the important part is this: nobody's attacking Newport, yet everyone's running for the hills!"
"There's still a lot of people here." The Wo-class defended.
"Not enough." Kay sighed, picking up her sandwich and staring at it. "It's just- this town was much livelier two years ago, you know? You should have seen it!"
Trinitite nodded in solemn agreement. She had no idea what this town looked like before the war, but it was clear that it wasn't the town Kay had been so eager to show Trinitite. An abyssal fleet hadn't even gotten within 100 miles of Newport, yet between the time Kay had left and now, the town had still been drastically changed.
Wait-
"Why'd you leave?" The carrier asked.
"I didn't have a choice." She spat out, her words dripping with venom. "All the news got into Mom's head, and she decided to drag us into a miserable desert."
"Oh." The Wo-class sounded, unsure where to go from there. She didn't even know someone could speak of their mother with such bitterness. Trinitite understood the pain of losing your home- it wasn't as obvious here, but it had happened to Kay- but surely the relationship between them would be stronger than that, right?
"I'm sorry." Trinitite weakly added, turning her attention to her cooling soup.
"Don't be." The human muttered. "There's some cool natural features around town that they can't close. Want to check them out before we run out of daylight?"
"Sure."
"Great." Kay nodded, taking another bite of her sandwich. "You ever heard of The Devil's Punchbowl?"
I haven't been to Newport in a long while, but I've remember each family summer vacation I spent there fondly. I don't remember the name of a particular saltwater taffy place that lingers in my memory, but imagining the damage the combined threats of abyssal-induced hysteria and an economic depression from two years of war and broken have on a coastal town like that one was sobering. Disconnecting that feeling of loss from Trinitite, who has lost her own home but in a much more different manner was... interesting. I wasn't even trying to write an introspective scene like that, but it felt like it fit and was a more satisfying direction to take that chapter then what I had planned.
Also big thank you to those who tested Valkyries of Ran a few weeks ago. I've been working on making a bunch of readability adjustments to the game's manual and just started an overhaul of the abyssal faction (weather control and cheaper units wasn't enough to compensate for special unit abilities and faction abilities). Overall it seems the game still needs a lot of polish before I'm willing to release it to the you all, but I'm feeling confident I'm making progress towards something fun.
Kay might be an interesting person to read about interacting with Trin, but god are people like her exhausting to talk to IRL (for me at least). Always so aggressive... Still, I'm curious to see how things go at Trin's new posting, and all the people she's going to be working with.
John Farrelly's voice was neutral, speaking with a relaxed easiness she'd seen little in leaders before. Despite the captain's casual tone, his rumbling baritone filled the small galley effortlessly. Like fires denied oxygen, the numerous quiet conversations that had been thriving a moment before sputtered and died.
"Good to see everyone could make it." He continued, glancing down at the laptop and other electronics filling the compartment's single table. "Once the projector's working this should take five minutes, maybe ten." He looked up, eyes flitting across his crew before settling on Trinitite. "In the meantime, I'd like to welcome two new members to the crew: Allison and Kay."
The Wo-class felt herself stiffen as the gazes of seven humans turned to her, instinctively clutching the steaming cup of coffee closer at the attention. While Kay had been introducing herself to everyone in the crew, the Wo-class had quietly brewed a full carafe for everyone, donating some leftover grounds she'd taken from Fred Meyers. It was strange—- she couldn't say what, exactly, she enjoyed about coffee, but she'd caught herself longing for the dark, bitter drink multiple times while she'd been alone in the forest. As an additional bonus, it had allowed her to silently observe the rest of the crew, the task of brewing a perfect excuse to avoid conversation—-
Right, she was supposed to be outgoing, wasn't she? Her practiced customer-service smile spread across her features as she met the gazes of the seven humans: three strangers, four basically so. She needed to get to know them better, but she was happy to procrastinate on that for a little longer.
"Once they're trained up, they'll be taking some of your watches," Captain John continued, "so make sure to treat 'em right. Richard, I want you to get 'em certified in the basic stuff today. Percy, cover anything he needs to get done, I know you don't do shit."
A chorus of chuckles filled the room for a moment, a human Trinitite didn't recognize raising a middle finger above his head. When the bulkhead behind the large captain was suddenly illuminated in brilliant light, the laughter trailed off.
In the sharp square of illumination, the blandly-fronted text 'HOLIDAY FISHING TRIP' hovered behind him until he tapped the laptop in front of him. At the input, the image on the wall abruptly shifted, revealing a map of the Northeastern Pacific.
So that device was a different kind of display? The fact that something like that was possible didn't surprise the abyssal, she could think of two or three ways it might work, but once again the precision required was so far beyond Trinitite's imagining that she lost a few of the captain's words to her marveling.
"They told me installations couldn't be killed, but you've all seen the news. Now the waters around Oahu are safe, filled with nutrients from a year-long storm, and haven't been fished for just as long."
He tapped the laptop again, and a pair of long, meandering arrows revealed themselves. The first descended south from the Oregon coast, stretching across the Pacific until it reached the waters around the former abyssal stronghold. From there, it meandered around the islands for a while, before turning north to return to Oregon.
"The problem is we won't be able to get there and back before Christmas, so I'm postponing this trip until January. Who knows, maybe the delay will mean they'll be able to accept port calls by then."
While Trinitite suppressed a pang of worry, the rest of the crew gave an encouraging cheer. She didn't want to go to Hawaii! They had so many—- far too many—- shipgirls there! There was probably a human-aligned installation there, too! Why would they even want to go there? It was still probably nothing but a desolate ruin, right?
"I'm actually planning on hitting a spot just under a thousand miles north of Hawaii." The captain continued, pointing to another course extending almost directly west from Oregon. "The waters won't be as rich, but it's a good distance from the overfished coasts and abyssal presence will still be a non-issue. Plus, we'll be able to enjoy the holidays"
The holidays… Trinitite remembered Alex's excited explanation of Thanksgiving, but that had already passed, hadn't it? Finally being able to experience one honestly would be nice, but without Alex…
"Still, the journey will be five days' sailing there, if we're willing to sprint at nine knots all the way there and back." As her new boss spoke, Trinitite hid the bitter pang of missed opportunity with another sip of coffee.
"I can give you ten." The Engineer she met, Robert, stated.
"I know you can give me twelve," Captain John countered, "but I don't want to get you new engines for Christmas when we get back. You can get the first pick of the nubs for any work you need help with. Allison, don't you have experience with aircraft engines?"
"Yeah." The Wo-class acknowledged. The idea that these humans considered 12 knots dangerously fast lifted was quaintly amusing, but her delivery was still flatter than she'd wanted. "Maritime-ized Prop Engines, all analog."
"I can work with that." Robert nodded. "Let me know when you're done with them, Richard."
"Excellent." The captain nodded, raising his voice as he turned to the map behind him. "Overall, the trip should be 13 days. Pack accordingly. I don't have much more for you all, so unless anyone has questions…"
Trinitite had plenty, but in this compartment with the entire crew, didn't know how to voice them. Everyone else in the room must have also been reserving their questions as a moment of silence settled in the galley.
"Alright." The projection behind Captain Farrelly went black as he shut the laptop with a click. "You know what you need to do. Let's get The Lady ready for sea."
- - -
Few on the Lady Gollerus could compare to their massive captain, and Richard Cho was no exception. He was short—- light cruiser short, but stocky and wide. His angular features were sharp and weathered, the man carrying himself in a way that implied more power and confidence than one would expect. Maybe the way he'd squeezed Trinitite's hands when they'd shook was still lingering in her mind.
"You slept on board?" the man questioned Kay, his brow furrowing inquisitively. "I know your dad has a guest room you could use."
'Dad?' Kay's father was still here while her Mother had left? Was there a political rift between Kay's parents, or—- no, he must simply be watching over the fleet's territory here until the war ended.
"That's my old room, though!" Kay exclaimed, as if the non-sequitur defeated Richard's argument. Wouldn't free berthing you were already familiar with make it even more appealing, or was there some political reason she was missing? "Don't worry about me! I wanted to get an idea of what it was like aboard while I could still buy stuff like mattress covers and pillows."
"You'll be seeing plenty of your cabin in the future, but alright." Richard shrugged. "Got an apartment lined up?"
"Not yet!" Kay chirped, her gaze locking with Trinitite's. "I'll start looking once I've got a roommate."
Why was Kay looking at her? Yes, she also needed a place off the boat, but if she was expecting to use its facilities for much-needed repairs, sharing that space with the excitable human was the last thing she wanted!
"Well," Richard continued, "I hope you had a good night's sleep, at least."
"It was okay." Kay deflected, her gaze flicking back to the abyssal. "How about you?"
Trinitite shrugged.
Last night, the abyssal had snuck out of her new quarters, slipping into the pilothouse and worming herself between two dark consoles. From there, she was reasonably certain no one could see her, while her phone got service. Sleep had sounded nice, but the conversation she'd had with Kay continued to fester in her mind, and the Wo-class had known sleep wouldn't come easily until her fears had been addressed.
The looming threat had lingered in her mind until she'd spent hours reading about subduction zones, the Richter Scale, Tsunamis, and recent damage they'd done, like with La Palma. Now, she had an idea of exactly what kind of threat she was facing, and had a rough plan on how to mitigate it. Sailing into the ocean before the tsunami hit would break her cover, but hopefully The Navy would have bigger things to worry about.
It had cost her a night of sleep, but the piece of mind a plan provided had been worth it.
"Well, she doesn't rate five stars," Richard commented, "but Hotel Gollerus can keep a roof over your head until you find a place in town."
The Abyssal smiled, ignoring an unexpected twinge of pain as she nodded. The way the man spoke implied they didn't want her living aboard long-term. That was fine by her—- she needed a bathroom to try converting into a shipyard, after all- but the idea she might be getting some pressure to find a place was disconcerting.
"Anyways, I'm Richard, lead foreman." He stated, offering his hand. "On the main deck, my word is law. In here? I'm under Kay's dad like everyone else."
"Kay's Dad?" Trinitite echoed.
"Huh?" Oddly, the human was momentarily confused by Trinitite's question, until Kay interjected.
"Yeah," she spoke, her tone not quite flat, "my Dad's the captain."
The Wo-class's gaze flicked to her to reveal a slight smile on her new coworker's features. Was she supposed to have figured that out already? She guessed their hair had kind of similar color, but otherwise the gruff, massive captain had very little in common with the short, slender woman.
"I worked with him on our old boat. I've known her since she was…" Richard held his hand parallel to the deck, lowering it until it stood only a couple feet away from the laminated floor. "...thiiiis big!"
Huh? How could that—- oh, right! Humans started smaller than destroyers, then grew to cruiser size or larger as they aged. How long did that take, again?
Wait, that wasn't the kind of question she should be asking. The idea that she was in the same fleet as Captain John—- not only inasmuch as she now worked with him, but also because he was her father—- was… well, it shouldn't have been shocking, but it was. Kay had said she was from around here, but her mother had moved her away from the coastline.
Had the split between the mother and father been a mutual agreement between the two, or had the family been split by political infighting between the two parents? It hadn't been obvious who had ultimate authority between Paloma and Mitchell, and while the carrier hadn't noticed any issues between the two, she knew very well how an ambiguous chain of command led to catastrophe for abyssals working together.
Wait, that wasn't a relevant concern either! Speculating about the Ferrelly family dynamics was pointless. What mattered to the Wo-class was money and her disguise.
In that aspect, Trinitite… didn't know much about what fathers were like, but if they were anything like mothers Captain Farrelly would have a fondness for his daughter surpassing the rest of the crew. That would mean Kay would be getting the most favor in this crew, the advantage of family giving her an edge in promotions and preferred duties.
That might be a good thing for Trinitite, however. Getting the Princess's favor meant getting more envy, jealousy, and ire of one's fleetmates. Less attention for her.
Even in the Crossroads Fleet, this was true. Trinitite wasn't blind to the fact that Jellyfish spent more time with the carriers than the rest of the fleet. It never boiled over or even got voiced, but that feeling of unfairness had been something the Wos and Nu had to fight as they developed their relationships with the rest of the fleet.
The Wo-class didn't envy her new coworker's position… but Kay's sacrifice as a distraction for the Abyssal was appreciated.
"Hard to believe, right?" Richard prodded, and Trinitite realized she'd lost track of the conversation she'd been in.
"Huh? Yeah- You were on his old ship?"
"Of course!" Richard beamed. "Saved his life on the deck a couple of times. When he bought the Lady, I was the only one he trusted to handle her nets."
Was their old fleet okay with Captain John stealing employees like that? Perhaps. They had been getting rid of ships to reduce costs, hadn't they? Perhaps they'd been looking to cut employees too. Princesseses normally held onto their ships' jealousy, no matter how low their opinion of their underlings was, but she'd heard terrible rumors of fleets selling their members for favors or resources.
For humans, simply terminating an employment contract was probably much more common. It seemed most humans burdened the majority of the cost for their own training, after all. So while expertise was no doubt lost, a princess could always hire more people.
"So what's the training about?" Kay asked.
"Some generic OSHA stuff, first," Richard replied, "but after that it's story time."
Trinitite's frown was mirrored on her new coworker's face. Kay's echo filled the room before the Wo-class spoke.
"Story time?"
- - -
Trinitite was starting to have second thoughts.
"The line caught him in the ankle, right here. Shattered his femur instantly, flipping him over like this." The fingers in Richard's right hand snapped, before he rotated the appendage violently and slammed his hand against his left with a loud clap. "Broke his neck on the deck. Man's paralyzed for the rest of his life."
The Wo-class nodded grimly in acknowledgement, the mental image of the broken line snapping across the deck playing clearly in her head.
"That's why, when working handling lines, you don't stand in front of or directly behind them, you don't step over them, and you do everything exactly as I say."
This was the lead foreman's fourth 'story,' and the abyssal knew it wouldn't be his last. She was more than familiar with this form of training: trading anecdotes of what worked and what didn't was the primary way knowledge was transferred among abyssals, and was just as useful as the manuals filling her library when she'd been summoned. Deep, Mother's stories had often been more useful than the complicated manuals her crew had been frantically studying.
Maybe that was why Richard's… experiences had been so unnerving. She'd gotten some training like that on the construction site, but here the multitude of tales of workers disappearing after a wave slammed into the ship or equipment eating a man's hand drove home how dangerous this job was going to be. She probably wasn't under much physical threat (the threat of a shock from complicating existent damage was there, she guessed), any of these dangers would be catastrophic to her disguise!
That such dangers were so common Richard had seen all of them in his career… it wasn't combat, but the Wo-class was realizing she'd need that kind of unceasing vigilance she'd struggled with while guarding convoys. Even then, would it be enough? She'd already caused one 'lost time incident' in her first job. Would she be able to avoid one here?
However…
She needed the money. At the pay rate she was getting at her previous job, a desperately-needed refit would remain outside her means until it was too late to matter. This paid so much more than her previous jobs because of the risk.
"The handling lines on this boat aren't as heavy as the ones there, but they can still kill you." The human continued. "Same with the load-bearing lines. While we're trawling or hauling the net up, you'll keep clear of anything I tell you, alright?"
"Of course!" Kay nodded emphatically. Richard seemed like he was looking for more than a simple yes, so Trinitite added a bit of her own advice to her acknowledgement.
"No use of five percent if I don't live to collect it."
"Exactly." Richard smiled thinly. "Keep that mindset. Never lose respect for the ship and the sea, and you'll be rolling in far more dough than you ever got working at Starbucks."
The Wo-class wasn't so certain about that. The story about an abrupt wave carrying the sailor away seemed pretty unavoidable, no matter how much she 'respected' the sea. Still, she nodded along with the words of wisdom.
"Now," The human waved towards the boat's superstructure, his voice grim, "how about we get you some certifications, huh?"
The abyssal followed the human back inside, a seemingly-unphased Kay following in tow. All the while, the rolling feeling that she'd made a terrible miscalculation remained contained in secluded compartments.
She'd known this was a risk. No use getting needlessly nervous about it.
I'm not dead!
Apologies for the delay in publishing a chapter. This one has been done for a week or two, but I didn't have good enough internet access to post. The upside to that is the next chapter has a lot of stuff written for it already, so hopefully you won't have to wait too long for the next one!
Besides that... there isn't too much to talk about with the chapter, unfortunately. One of the challenges of starting a new arc like this is there's a lot of new side characters that I could introduce, but if they don't meaningfully contribute to the narrative there isn't much point in adding the bloat to do so. Still, Trinitite is on a boat with a crew of only eight, and it would be weird not to at least mention all of them, right? Right now I'm leaning towards only really naming a handful of them so you don't have to keep track of too many names, and hopefully connect with the smaller cast a little better.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Next chapter hopefully won't take long...
The looming threat had lingered in her mind until she'd spent hours reading about subduction zones, the Richter Scale, Tsunamis, and recent damage they'd done, like with La Palma. Now, she had an idea of exactly what kind of threat she was facing, and had a rough plan on how to mitigate it. Sailing into the ocean before the tsunami hit would break her cover, but hopefully The Navy would have bigger things to worry about.
The Wo-class wasn't so certain about that. The story about an abrupt wave carrying the sailor away seemed pretty unavoidable, no matter how much she 'respected' the sea. Still, she nodded along with the words of wisdom.
Calling it now, someone (Kay?) is going to get washed out to sea and Trin's going to chase after them. Might not blow her cover in the process though, if only because it seems as though shipform would not do pretty things to either the trawler or the man overboard if they got too close.
Calling it now, someone (Kay?) is going to get washed out to sea and Trin's going to chase after them. Might not blow her cover in the process though, if only because it seems as though shipform would not do pretty things to either the trawler or the man overboard if they got too close.
Trin defending them from other Abyssals (and it getting filmed), would be (a little too) perfect for endearing her more towards the public (on top of putting Karen's in their place). Rescuing from a storm, or man overboard would also work. The later being less suspicious for sceptics. Because they're being shadowed by the Navy as well, right?
