Anchovy Peaches [Kancolle][Crackfic]

Anchovy Peaches XI - Songs in the Darkness
Anchovy Peaches XI - Songs in the Darkness

Rain had returned. It felt odd, the rain on her face instead of pinging off her mask. But they'd removed it. She'd initially panicked, thinking she'd go blind without it. Now she realized it only helped her use her weapons. With them gone, her eyes were good enough to see. It felt strange, too bright, without the familiar target overlay. There had been no ripping and tearing as she'd assumed the removal of such an integral part of her entire purpose in life would require. A few supports cut by the battleship's crew from inside her bridge, and the battleship lifted it away.

She was glad of the rain. Her tears shamed her, but she could do nothing about them. She understood the cruelty of the attack, to establish dominance and to defeat an enemy. She hated being so weak that she'd she crumbled immediately. What escaped her understanding was the gentleness that followed. None of the other ship-girls abused her to ensure she understood her place in their pecking order. The battleship allowed them to offer HER food, drink, and the touches had been oddly muted, oddly pleasant. The destroyer had actually made the battleship crouch so she could clean the cruiser's face. The destroyer had even yelled at the battleship when it seemed ready to destroy her mask. Such a discussion between Abyssals would have been shells flying, or the battleship striking down the errant destroyer.

Instead, the battleship gave her mask to the destroyer 'for when the cruiser would need it again'? What madness was that? She would need guns and torpedoes to ever need the mask again, and that wouldn't happen, would it? The destroyer carefully stowed the mask and the disagreement seemed to be instantly forgotten.

"The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee."

What is this? She wondered. The rumble through the battleship going along with the loud words made her feel funny. He's loud, but not angry? she wondered.

"The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead when the skies of November turn gloomy."

Is the Battleship casting a spell against the storm? How does a lake compare to this vast ocean?

"With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty. That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed when the gales of November came early."

A paen in defiance of the Abyss?

"The ship was the pride of the American side coming back from some mill in Wisconsin. As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most with a crew and good captain well seasoned."

The others join in. Do all ship-girls know this?

"Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms when they left fully loaded for Cleveland, then later that night when the ship's bell rang could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?"

I've been in those storms.

"The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound when the wave broke over the railing."

Definitely been in those storms.

"And every man knew, as the captain did too 'twas the witch of November come stealin'."

There's something that directs those storms! Does the Abyss know this?

"The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait when the gales of November came slashin'. When afternoon came it was freezing rain in the face of a hurricane west wind."

Definitely a litany against some higher power. Do they deploy it against the Abyss? Why now? Are my sisters coming back. No, they aren't preparing for battle.

"When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck saying, "Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya." At seven PM a main hatchway caved in he said, "Fellas, it's been good to know ya."

So the Witch is claiming the ship, and the humans aboard know it. Why don't they run away?

"The captain wired in he had water comin' in and the good ship and crew was in peril and later that night when his lights went out of sight came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."

Why would they stay with a ship they knew was doomed? My sisters abandoned me when I could serve no further purpose for them.

"Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours? The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay if they'd put fifteen more miles behind her."

Wait, they were that afraid, and they were trying to SAVE the ship? Were they stupid? Had they gone mad?

"They might have split up or they might have capsized, they may have broke deep and took water, and all that remains is the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters."

What kind of litany is this? They lost? How can you defy the Abyss when you lose?

"Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings in the rooms of her ice-water mansion, Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams the islands and bays are for sportsmen, and farther below, Lake Ontario takes in what Lake Erie can send her and the iron boats go as the mariners all know with the gales of November remembered."

I've never heard of this 'Superior' Princess, was the Edmund Fitzgerald a sacrifice to her. Have the humans made a pact with this creature. A princess none of us have been told of! Is she an enemy of the Abyss? She preys on humans so . . . the Abyss has a grudge against humans. That thing eats them and their ships.

Could it eat Abyssals too? Do they know it and are summoning it here? To let it eat me, or maybe to summon it against my princess? Is that why they let me live, to sacrifice me to November Superior Princess?

"In a rustic old hall in Detroit they prayed in the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral. The church bell chimed 'til it rang twenty-nine times for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald."

By the deep, I've heard of dinner bells! It is a summoning! They're going to call it down to eat Abyssals!

"The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee. Superior, they said, never gives up her dead when the gales of November come early."

Please no! I don't want to die. I don't want the November Superior Princess to eat me! I surrendered, doesn't that mean anything? You promised if I surrendered you wouldn't hurt me!

But you never promised you wouldn't give me unhurt to the November Superior Princess! I'm such a fool to have not accepted death when I had a chance. You were just making me a perfect sacrifice for your own Abyss.
Gordon Lightfoot - The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald

------------------------------

The creature would have sent any topologist off to drink themselves insensate or check into a hospital. It was pleased that the damage to the boilers and fuel tanks had been completely repaired. Even more that some bunker fuel had been transferred. It glanced over at the tentacled engineers from the Gordon and appreciated the help and resources they'd provided.

They only needed one boiler, so the others were being cleaned for later use.

The Gordon's lead engineer approached, a bottle of brownish liquid gripped in a long tentacle. "Yo," it said, offering the bottle and accepting the congratulations.

The Chi's engineer took a swig and enjoyed the pleasant burning sensation. "GearA," repaying the compliment. But melancholy took the front row seat. "GearA."

The Gordon's chief engineer cocked its head and looked at the Chi's engineer. "Yo?"

The Chi's chief engineer was fatalistic, it knew the fate of those who'd failed the Abyss or its Princesses. "GearA," it said, and mimed an explosion.

The Gordon's Chief Engineer set its cap forward on it head, pulled the bottle from the Chi chief's hand, and recorked it while speaking in tone likes lead plates in the depths, "Yo, Yo. YoYo, Yo."

The Chi's stokers and engineers had stopped their work and were staring at the Gordon's chief, who was so angry his tentacles were writhing.

"Yo," the tentacled chief called to one of the odd guards.

"YoRA," the guard replied.

The chief stormed over like an angry Demon. "Yo. Yo. Yo. YO!"

The guard seemed to shrink in on itself. "yora," it said and straightened up when the Chief withdrew.

"YoRA," the guard reported, and really confused the Chi's engineer as the Gordon's chief got on the 1MC.

"Yo, YoYo. Yo. Yo Yo Yo," it announced, and the message echoed through the ship. While he was obviously still furious, he patted the Chi's chief on the shoulder and nodded to him.

The chief looked around the engine room. He could understand a meeting with all the department heads, but there were no forged parts needing replacement. Why did they need a smith?
------------------------------

The rain had slackened and the promise of a new day had begun. The Chi was stunned that she was still alive, she'd been repaired, even her arm, and it seemed that she'd soon be almost fully restored, save her weapons and sensors. That the work had all been done by her crew, rather than the drydock's seemed amazing.

"The day the river freezes is the day it won't seem fair, 'cause they'll come to get the River Lady and I don't think they'll care."

Why should they, they treat ships as expendable tools?

"I know they'll scrape her paint off in their same old foolish ways."

Sounds about right.

"Now the people see the river but the old ship's gone away."

Why the concern?

"Water turns cold and gets ta freezin' before you even know it the old girl's easin' away from her berth round by the point and out of our view."

What ships are for. Are they trying to summon something else? The November Superior Princess didn't show up. Are their Princesses in Rivers? What else has the Abyss kept from us?

"Off in the mist her engine's poundin' back on the banks that old horn's soundin' a little goodbye a little I'll do what I must do. A little goodbye a little I'll do what I must do."

Okay, the others are just listening, is this some ritual to greet the day, to mark the dawn? It sounds like a funeral dirge. It can't be one for the ship, she thought.

"I know I will remember when I cannot hear that horn that would roll up by the mountains as she took us through the storm."

Maybe it is. If humans really cared about ships, why does the Abyss have a hold on us? Why do the Abyss' teachings seem so right?

"I know they've got to take her but I can't say I approve 'cause she's won so many battles that I hate to see her lose."

Ah ha! she realized, You feel bad, but you aren't willing to fight for a ship! This is all just virtue signaling, oh look how much I care about a missing ship, boohoo. And I almost fell for the trick. By the Abyss I'm stupid.

"Water turns cold and gets ta freezin' before you even know it the old girl's easin' away from her berth round by the point and out of our view."

It's just a small icebreaker doing her job. No wonder my sisters abandoned me. I'm so gullible.

"A little goodbye a little I'll do, what I must do."

"Water turns cold and gets ta freezin' before you even know it the old girl's easin' away from her berth round by the point and out of our view."

"Off in the mist her engine's boundin' back on the banks that old horn's soundin' a little goodbye a little I'll do what I must do,"


Yep ice breaking is dangerous, she thought, No reason to get maudlin over it.

"A little goodbye a little I'll do what I must do."
Roger Whittaker - The River Lady

------------------------------

The Chi-class was aware of the meeting in her bridge. She could finally feel her body again. Something the battleship had taken away from her, and now gave back. She'd never considered getting the leaders from each section of the ship together to discuss. She was given orders, she in turn gave orders to her crew, and things got done. If the orders did not produce the desired results, she was disciplined and then drilled the crew.

The idea something needed discussion stunned her.

The idea that the battleship who had battered her into petrifying terror and surrender had not one but two types of Abyssal crew aboard shocked her to her core.

"Rivendell," the crewman said, explaining the possibility of cooperation, surrender and clemency, "Mister Andersen," and that he had given up, not been forced to denounce the Abyss.

"Floyd," the other crewman added that they had disarmed and captured her, as long as she behaved, they HAD to keep her safe and healthy.

She couldn't believe it.

"Yo," the Gordon's Chief Engineer explained that they were even permitted to try to escape, and as long as they weren't committing sabotage, again the rules made what they did legal.

She could hardly believe such insanity.

"YoRA?" the Marine asked the department heads themselves.

The department heads had suddenly been thrust into the possibility that whatever action they took at this moment was neither mutiny, nor barratry, they each had to be permitted to make their decision for themselves. She had no right to do more than ask.

The conversation among her department heads shocked her. They were discussing what SHE would be allowed to do, what guarantees they would have to make to allow HER the greatest freedom.

"Floyd," the strange Abyssal said.

And she felt a deep and abiding horror. That an Abyssal would love another, be punished for it, and then even love the ship-girl she turned into. That this very battleship and crew had turned her into and was working on reuniting the lovers.

She left them to their discussions and tried to flee from herself. It was insane. The idea that the beating she'd taken was not to throw her crippled and helpless onto a beach and tear her to pieces for the delight of others. That the intention was to drag each and every Abyssal who would come out of the darkness. And that her crew, the creatures she'd barely noticed, were doing all in their power to preserve not only her life, but a modicum of her freedom. At little to no benefit to themselves.

She had faced madness in the face of the Abyss. She had faced the cruelties of Princesses and Demons who regarded her and her class as expendable for the Abyss' victory and glory. Those made sense in a twisted way. She could not understand how an underling, given a chance to revenge themselves on their master, would turn not away but toward. She couldn't understand why acknowledging that made her hurt worse than the bombs and blows which had crippled her.
------------------------------
"Rise again, rise again, that her name not be lost to the knowledge of men."

The terrified cruiser decided to take refuge in these strange paens to the ship-girls' unknown gods the battleship kept offering up. They made little sense so she could revel in their harmless self-delusion.

"Those who loved her best and were with her till the end will make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again."

Is this about a bird?

"She went down last October in a pouring driving rain. The skipper, he'd been drinking and the Mate, he felt no pain. Too close to Three Mile Rock, and she was dealt her mortal blow and the Mary Ellen Carter settled low."

Oh, it is about a ship.

"There were five of us aboard her when she finally was awash. We'd worked like hell to save her, all heedless of the cost. And the groan she gave as she went down, it caused us to proclaim that the Mary Ellen Carter would rise again."

What? Humans risking themselves for a ship? What are they going to do after the ship sinks? Stand around and cry?

"Well, the owners wrote her off; not a nickel would they spend."

Typical.

"She gave twenty years of service, boys, then met her sorry end. But insurance paid the loss to us so let her rest below. Then they laughed at us and said we had to go."

Oh, what a surprise.

"But we talked of her all winter, some days around the clock for she's worth a quarter million, afloat and at the dock. And with every jar that hit the bar, we swore we would remain and make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again."

What are you talking about? Fine, you have a couple humans who might care about a ship, but the boat's sunk, get over it.

"Rise again, rise again, that her name not be lost to the knowledge of men. Those who loved her best and were with her till the end will make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again."

Okay, the others know this one. It's a nice thought, but it's a tale for little ones, like the ice breaker. You don't care, you just want to seem like you care.

"All spring, now, we've been with her on a barge lent by a friend. Three dives a day in hard hat suit and twice I've had the bends."

WHAT!?

"Thank God it's only sixty feet and the currents here are slow or I'd never have the strength to go below."

Oh, so you would give up on a ship. I am so gullible.

"But we've patched her rents, stopped her vents, dogged hatch and porthole down. Put cables to her, 'fore and aft and girded her around. Tomorrow, noon, we'll hit the air and then take up the strain. And make the Mary Ellen Carter Rise Again."

You're going to what? How do you unsink a ship?

"Rise again, rise again, that her name not be lost to the knowledge of men. Those who loved her best and were with her till the end will make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again."

Forget how would you, why would you? What do you care about ships, they're just things to you?

"For we couldn't leave her there, you see, to crumble into scale. She'd saved our lives so many times, living through the gales and the laughing, drunken rats who left her to a sorry grave they won't be laughing in another day. . ."

No. This is just a story. The Abyss can't be right and wrong about humans.

"And you, to whom adversity has dealt the final blow with smiling bastards lying to you everywhere you go turn to, and put out all your strength of arm and heart and brain and like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again."

This can't be real.

"Rise again, rise again - though your heart it be broken and life about to end no matter what you've lost, be it a home, a love, a friend. Like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again."

It's a story, it's not real.

"Rise again, rise again - though your heart it be broken and life about to end no matter what you've lost, be it a home, a love, a friend. Like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again."

It's a story, it's not real.
It's a story, it's not real.
It's a story, it's not real.
But she didn't believe it.

Gordon Lightfoot - The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald

Roger Whittaker - The River Lady

Stan Rodgers - Mary Ellen Carter
 
Anchovy Peaches XII - Mister Anderson in Rivendell
Anchovy Peaches XII - Mister Anderson in Rivendell


All three ships jerked back in surprise as the Abyssal flipped herself off Gordon's shoulders screaming in agony. Gordon caught the flailing figure before she could sink. He gathered her in as he squatted on the water.

"You're lying, why would humans rescue a ship?" she screamed as she rolled into a ball pulling her legs tight against her, "Why are you trying to repair me? What does my crew mean?"

"Because you deserve a chance," Gordon said, he was aware of his boarding parties were checking things, she wasn't damaged ship-wise, but he suspected that there'd be no scooping crew out of shark-infested waters to bring the Abyssal over.

"Why does it hurt!?" she screamed.

"New things always hurt," a pinkie-haired girl in a swimsuit said as she came up from below and hugged the writhing Abyssal. She paused a moment, then drew her head back to stare at the girl, then looked at Haida and Maggie, then went back to tightly hugging the Abyssal. "We'll help, there'll be lots of people to help."

"Why do you care, why not let me die?" the Abyssal whimpered.

"We don't abandon our friends," the pink-haired girl said, "I'm Goya, and you are?"

She got a helpless whimper in return.

"Gotengo," Gordon said and shot a look at Haida, who looked like she wanted to sink beneath the waves.

"That's a pretty name," Goya said, "I like ice cream, do you like ice cream?" She held Gotengo as the girl shivered.

"Too cold," Gotengo said, "Too cold."

Goya looked confused as the former Abyssal was radiating heat.

"Maggie, a little help," Gordon said, "Help Goya into Gotengo's lap, and we'll wrap both in a blanket, I'm assuming you know each other."

"Goya's part of Crawford's command," Maggie said as she approached, "How are you going to support all that weight?"

"If they're both all-girl, and I'm mostly ship, there's no problem," Gordon said, he considered telling her he would accept the damage, but thought it would set off Gotengo even more. His captain was pretty sure the repairs and emergency shoring would hold.

"Okay," Maggie grasped Goya's wrists, then gasped as she vastly changed apparent weights and easily lifted the girl. Goya wormed her way between Gotengo's legs and torso, then Haida and Maggie wrapped the girls in blankets from their stores.

"Now Maggie, you're really going to have to trust me, I don't think we have a lot of time, and we aren't leaving you behind," Gordon said.

"You can't tow me," Maggie said.

"I can if you're just a girl," Gordon said, "Have you ever heard of waterskiing?"
------------------------------

Captain Gordon's chief engineer hated leaving his engines during a high-speed run, he knew he could coax another couple of knots out of them, but the Gotengo's steam pressure was dropping. That meant a leak, and for a ship-girl no steam meant paralysis and death.

Gotengo's chief engineer had lit off all boilers and it had helped, a little, but then the drop continued. The crew was waving broomsticks, trying to find the leak that way, another team was checking the turbines and the bearings. It frustrated him that no diagnostics seemed to be working, and this seemed a problem that engineering couldn't fix.
------------------------------

Floyd knew its idea was a long-shot, but it had been part of the Princess' crew and had gone through the agonies of being returned to service with the new prototype Abyssal submarine.

He spotted the Intelligence Officer and the Medical Officer discussing. The Gotengo was dying, but of what? No logical or completely insane answer presented itself.

"Floyd," he told them they were looking in the wrong place.

"Yo," the Dark Lord of the Sick asked, an undertone of menace if this was a waste of time.

"Floyd," the semi-Abyssal imp indicated the bilges, and asked their help.

"Yo," the Intelligence officer went to round up a few more of his crew, he yelled over his shoulder, "Yo."

Thinking on the fairy's response, Floyd wondered who would actually think crawling through bilges was fun.
------------------------------

Goya's endless stream of chatter got only whimpers or sighs in response, but the sub-girl snuggled against the cruiser seemed more than able to keep up the conversation alone. It was all somewhat inane about braiding hair and the taste the colors of the rainbow would be, and how the base had lots of different flavors of ice cream.

But it was having an effect. Gotengo had unclenched and rested more easily, until she glomped Goya.

"I'm glad I have a pressure hull," the smaller girl had gasped, then hugged Gotengo right back.

Maggie was literally hanging on to his coat tails and looking like she was experiencing the fires of the damned as she barefoot waterskied behind him.

His equally white-knuckled captain was reporting they were moving at nearly 28 knots. Gordon suspected that it meant 'close to but less than', but he didn't want to push the entity who was keeping them all afloat and moving.

The report from his chief engineer was less good. Gotengo's steam pressure was still dropping. Despite no leaks being found, the boilers at full power, and the turbines being fine.

He hoped the repair baths would fix the problem that they couldn't diagnose.
------------------------------

The bilges were everything the crew remembered about bilges everywhere. What was not expected were pieces of non-Euclidean art laying everywhere. One or two had tried to attack the crew, but Floyd had begged them not to hurt them. The pathetic strength of the creatures had supported Floyd's exhortations.

Then he told them to take the creatures to the engine room.

"Yo," The Joker confronted him directly.

"Floyd," he admitted that was how he survived. "Floyd," he explained that maybe she needed her crew, all who could return.

The Joker and Darth Vader exchanged looks. Vader began directing the Smiths and other crewmen to collect and move the creatures.
------------------------------

"Haida get ready to catch Maggie," I tell the destroyer, "Because when I slow down, she's going to sink, and I don't think she's going to like that one bit."

"That's an understatement," Maggie says.

"The alternative is to crash into the shore at high speed, as a girl," I tell her. The island is in sight out of the mist and I'll just be able to stop if I cut speed now.

"I've got her," Haida assures me.

"We're ready," Goya adds.

"Count up to three, one, two, three," I count, and as Maggie lets go, I turn hard to bleed off speed. Then hard over the other way. At a swift walk carrying the girls, I come on shore. A short distance away a short man in a naval uniform and several young girls in swimsuits are waiting for us. Maggie and Haida splash out of the surf closer to the man. One of the girls is running towards us. Maggie and Haida are exchanging words and salutes with the man.

"Crawford," the man says as he marches over, "We need to get her to the baths, Nana?"

The girl who'd been running, stops, salutes and beckons me to follow.

The building we're heading for is camouflaged with rocks atop it to look much like the ordinary coast. More obvious buildings are inland.

There are more young girls in swimsuits solemnly lining the way, they open the door for us and only when we're inside does Goya squirm out of Gotengo's grip.

"Baths, now," she tells the others, then to me, "You too."

Being bossed around by a small girl should be amusing, but I have to put aside assumptions about size/adulthood equating to competence. I'd already met a bunch of adults I wouldn't trust to pour pee out of a boot if I wrote the instructions under the heel, so the opposite might also be true. I'm just glad the place isn't scaled for them, it would be like crawling through a Hobbit hole. There are a number of girls in 'the baths' who look at me in confusion, many looked slightly beat up. None of them have the bandages of Willie D, but bruises are common.

The 'baths' are the uncleanest water I'd seen in long time, but then Goya leads me into the nearest one. At least they're warm. Goya and two other girls help unwrap Gotengo and ease her into a sitting position in the baths. I have to kneel, because she's not letting go of my hand. While that's completing, Crawford and the other girls arrive.

"You too," Crawford says, "We'll have food sent in."

The protest from half the girls made the man blanche. "All right, I thought you'd want a rest, but if you want to cook, I'll have ingredients sent in," Crawford said and nodded, "When Maggie finally lets go of the ground, she'll probably come in. We'll debrief Haida first. Just rest, you deserve it."

"Thank you," I say.

Several of the girls take my free hand and carefully maneuver me in the next bath so I can keep holding onto Gotengo's hand. The warm liquid, it doesn't feel like water, covers me up to the chest, and I feel sleepy. But I try to hold on as I slip into sleep. I'm left wondering if Haida's warning is correct, this isn't a momentary nightmare, and I'm really here? Is this somewhere else?
------------------------------

Goya and Nana were carefully washing Gotengo. Goya was shampooing her hair, while the other sub stood beside the Abyssal and wiped her face.

"When you wake up Gotengo, we'll have to decide if you want breakfast or dinner," Goya said, "We're good cooks, really."

"Not compared to me you're not," Kushi said, the busty `Milchkuh` approached Gotengo, "Just some tea, Gotengo, to wet your whistle." She held the cup to the cruiser's mouth and let her swallow the tiny sips. "After all, if you are a submarine, we have to look after you."

"Just don't go for all sauerbraten and potatoes," Goya said as Kushi shielded Gotengo's eyes as Goya rinsed her hair.

"Gotengo is too skinny, she needs some meat," Kushi said, "Comfort food. But, we start small. Eggs and sausage."

"If you start singing the spam song again," Nana warned.

"But it's a pretty song," H29 said from her bath.

"The real test will be if H41 let's her get near," Kushi said.

The aforementioned sub walked out with a pot of tea for the girls around Gotengo. "I just don't like to be touched," she said as she refilled the waiting tea cups, "I hope Gotengo likes black tea, I'm getting tired of green tea."

"The mess has black tea," Nana said.

"The mess has Lipton," H41 replied, "Only Americans would even call that tea."

"Maybe you'll let the new battleship snuggle," Kushi teased.

H41 pointed to the still clasped hands of Gotengo and Captain Gordon. "I think someone has an advantage."

"Hmm, we can't let that destroyer get an advantage," Goya said.

"Don't be bitter," H29 said, and giggled at the sub's face, "Isn't it obvious?" She glanced around, then shook her head. "Shorten Captain Douglas Gordon."

"Gordon," Kushi said.

"CAPTAIN Douglas Gordon," H29 snapped, then grinned, "He's going to be a pirate, right?"

The other girls grinned to each other. It was perfect.
 
Anchovy Peaches XIII - Contagion
Anchovy Peaches XIII - Contagion

The chief engineers picked their way across the stacks of `bodies` that the medics and marines had brought in and piled around the engines. About 40% of them smoldered away to nothing, and many of the rest began to stabilize into something resembling the rest of the crew. A few had even recovered enough to take on light duties.

"Yo!" Gordon's engineer shouted as Gotengo's engineer suddenly collapsed to the floor.

"Yo Yo Yo!" he shouted to the medics as the other members of Gotengo's crew began dropping like flies. He noted that none of the Captain Gordon's crew was affected in the slightest. He glance at the bridge telephone and instead ran towards one of the Marines. "Yo!" he ordered one of his engineers to get on the 1MC and spread the warning.

"Yo YoYo Yo Yo," he told the Marine, whose radio would take it to the Captain Gordon's Captain. This was too big and different for him to handle.
------------------------------

The Captain received the report with dread. Their ship was drydocked and desperately needed it. But the ship trusted him and the crew to do the right and necessary thing. The fairy looked at his fellow bridge officers gaging their resolve.

"Yo," the Intelligence officer said grimly. The XO and navigation officer both nodded.

"Yo," the Captain thanked them for their support.

The orders were given crisply, without panic and with the full knowledge they were at a friendly base. The battleship would remain at rest, but her crew would act.
------------------------------

"And maybe we can see how many flavors of ice cream you can eat," Goya said as she braided Gotengo's long hair. Several of the other subs had gotten bold enough to enter the pool and approach the Abyssal cruiser, despite her seeming to be unconscious.

"Maybe we can finally teach you how to make a proper banana split," Kushi teased.

"Half the time we don't have all the ingredients," Goya countered, she was wearing the Tillman's coat, but they were all girls and the coat needed replacement anyway so she didn't think the battleship would mind.

The cruiser manifested part of her rigging and all the subs froze. The Tafuryu flag ran up the yardarm, a moment later, the Kiriren and Sisu flags joined it on a separate line, and they just left them up.

The bugle call from the sleeping battleship announced 'Attention to Orders' followed swiftly by 'Surgeons Call'. Then the Mike Gozen Bango and Mike Gozen Aka flag streams ran up the battleships yardarms.

The other subs began approaching, none of them could believe that a sleeping ship could undertake that level of activity. Then the battleship's captain got on the speakers. Through the 'yo'es, they made out.

"This is not a drill, this is not a drill, medical personnel and all available personnel assemble near baths 3 and 4. Casualties aboard Cruiser Gotengo, teams will form to search below for the helpless and wounded." The captain repeated the message then sounded an alarm none of the sub-girls recognized.

"Wha?!" H29 said as hundreds of fairies streamed out of the battleship to assemble on the concrete beside the baths.

"AH!" Kushi shouted as a dozen or so of her fairies raced towards the assembly point.

When 20 of her own, led by her pharmacist mate, joined the growing crowd, Goya knew she had to tell someone."
------------------------------

Maggie's and Haida's debrief had been at turns fascinating and horrifying. Crawford and his Secretary-ship Northampton sat alone in the office with some coffee and the photos that Haida and Maggie had taken, and the films the crews had taken of the capture.

"Are you all right?" Crawford asked.

"I keep thinking that if someone wanted to break me quickly," the cruiser said, "That's how they'd do it. At the same time, it causes the least physical injury. Then the charm offensive soothes over the psychic injuries. It's practically designed to create Stockholm Syndrome in the target. Unfortunately, it's all legal, it just looks really bad."

"If it's a war for existence," Crawford said, "Then if it doesn't violate the rules of war, we leave the question to those higher up the food chain. The Puzzle Palace is already over the moon. If every base he visits, he delivers an Abyssal cruiser, they're going to have him tour every base on the planet."

"I'd be interested to see how he'd get an Abyssal traveling to Loonpad," Northampton said, "Wait one Goya, I'll put you on the 1MC so the Admiral can hear."

"Sorry, it's gotten kind of weird down here," came Goya's voice through Northampton's speakers, "I was saying that we really need the Admiral, and frankly every cruiser and destroyer on the base."

"Is the Abyssal trying to escape?" Crawford asked.

"Wait while I relay," Northampton said.

"No, Admiral, the Abyssal popped her yardarms, and ran up the Whiskey flag, and on another yard, the November Charlie. Then the battleships yards sent up Mike Alfa Alfa, and Mike Alfa Bravo, and the battleship's captain requested help to search the cruiser for wounded. No we didn't poison her with shampoo, sorry, sir. Then a lot of the battleship's crew formed search parties, joined by a bunch of our crews. I know that carriers have planes crewed by fairies, but can our fairies . . . go ashore? Is that allowed?"

"Tell her we're on our way," Crawford said and headed for the door.

"Hang on, we're on our way," Northampton said and followed the admiral, "Goto said you deserved him."

"Truer words," Crawford said as he exited his office and headed for the landlines to the cruiser and destroyer dorms.
------------------------------

Crawford arrived with the bulk of the base's ship-girls. Inside was hardly the pandemonium he'd expected and been prepared for. The calm regimented formation of ship-girls, SeaBees and Marines was more disturbing in some ways. "As you were," he ordered immediately, before anyone could announce his presence.

The sight of the baths' indicators both reading 'TILT' would have been the focus at any other time. Now there were more pressing issues.

"This way, Admiral," Maggie said as she stood near the pools. The mixing of subs and destroyers all of them awed by something, told him as if anything hadn't already, to tread carefully. He got the profound impression he had walked into high sorcery in play and if it was working, he wanted not to affect it save as ordered.

The small, plexiglass boards and the tiny communications arrays looked like someone had set up a CIC or Damage Control station on the floor. Four Daleks marked the corners of the square and no one showed any indication of breaching their perimeter. Inside the square, fairies in uniform received reports and updated the notes on the plexiglass screens.

"They're monitoring the search," Maggie told him as he drew close, and Crawford nodded to the fairy who seemed to be in charge.

Another fairy detached himself from the command and crossed the perimeter. "Yo." The fairy looked like a Moa from Easter Island in a Lieutenant Commander's uniform. He saluted and handed a file folder to the admiral.

Crawford was rather surprised that in his hand it expanded to a size that wouldn't require a microscope to read. He'd encountered fairy writing before, a page full of 'desu' that was somehow comprehensible. This was actual English, typewritten and seemed a very cogent description of the situation below decks, what was needed and what was on hand.

"Edwards," Crawford said to the chief of the SeaBees, "Have they gotten the wood for the bunks?"

"On it's way, we're sending scraps, I don't think 2 by 4's would work," the weathered man said, "Should I be spooked or happy about this?"

"Hold off on either," Crawford said, "Captain, what's the status of the transfer to safer locations of Gotengo's crew?"

The Captain walked over to the plexiglass boards and indicated the areas with cross hatching had been cleared or checked and found empty. The areas with circles were being evacuated, the amount filled in indicated level of completion. The areas in green were assembly points. That left about 20% of the ship left to go for search, and 60% for clearance.

"All ships, we need stretcher parties and we need them now," Crawford said, "Inform your crews."

The cruisers and destroyers who'd arrived with them looked confused, until Haida beckoned them forward. "Line up here, the Captain Gordon's medics will lead your people in."

Northampton took the lead, stood where directed and then squawked as over a hundred fairies walked out of her and towards the waiting Darth Vader figures. She stepped away as the destroyer stepped into place and seemed equally shocked.

"I thought fairies had to stay on the ship, unless they were flying planes," the destroyer said.

"Evidently the base commander's orders are enough," Northampton said, feeling a little unsteady at the sight.
------------------------------

Floyd had no idea why it had been included in the Officers' Call. Being a 'Subject Matter Expert' seemed an ass-pull of epic proportions. It was not part of Gotengo's crew so it had no idea what was wrong with them. It had reported on the process its Submarine Princess had gone through before becoming the new submarine, and what it'd gone through personally.

But that had been done to it, not something it wanted, it had wanted to survive. That seemed the opposite of Gotengo's crew's fate.

It had kept its mouth shut when Haida had talked her nonsense about masks. What it had related had been from an Abyssal Princess, that had to be right, didn't it?

The intelligence officer had talked about the obscuration of the battleship's identity. He'd chiseled off the name as a joke that was now taking a deeper meaning, Floyd translated. And that the neutralization of Indianapolis had begun when he'd recovered her original nameplates and logs from the captain's safe, then Indianapolis was suddenly filling up with regular Navy personnel/fairies.

That wouldn't work, Floyd realized, The captain's safe on the Gotengo didn't have any of that stuff. Floyd had been there when they'd cracked it looking for exactly that. Gotengo didn't even have nameplates for her Abyssal existence.

Only Princesses had those, it thought, The new sub didn't even though she was a prototype.

"Rise again, rise again, that her name not be lost to the knowledge of men," came from the battleship, slurred and quiet, but distinct enough to be heard, "Those who loved her best and were with her till the end will make the friend and ship Gotengo rise again." The battleship fell quiescent, and silence reigned. Only the steaming watch had remained aboard, so the battleship doing even that much should have been impossible.

The idea descended on the Imp like the fist of an angry Princess. It grinned as it headed forward. If I'm the bloody SME, Floyd thought as it headed towards the Captain and Admiral, I'm going to act like a Subject Matter Expert!
------------------------------

Japanese Navy Signal Flags - Wikipedia

International maritime signal flags - Wikipedia

International Code of Signals - Wikipedia

Manual for Buglers, US Navy
 
Last edited:
Anchovy Peaches XIV - Who Are You? What Do You Want?
Anchovy Peaches XIV - Who Are You? What Do You Want?


Crawford stared at Edwards and Northampton. "But will it work?" the admiral asked.

The SeaBee shook his head. "You're asking me to know and predict Magical Shipgirl Bullshit, nothing alive and sane can do that," the SeaBee said, "It always works in the ship-girl's favor, but if what Floyd's suggested is right, she isn't a ship-girl yet. For all the ship-girls, someone else did the hard work and commissioned them, all we did was pull them out of mothballs."

"It can't be as easy as hitting her in the face with a bottle of champagne and calling it good," Crawford said.

"No, but that's the path, a proper commissioning," Goya said, "She was okayish until we arrived." The sub covered her mouth. "We did this by calling her 'Gotengo'," Goya said, "But she wasn't, isn't."

"Not your fault," Crawford told the sub, "We're all new at this."

"So what we need is a proper commissioning," Haida said, "And frankly, we should have the same for our battleship, he's no Abyssal, but maybe the reason he leans so much on being a girl is he's less attached to being a ship."

"Northampton?" Crawford asked his secretary ship.

"Just taking notes," she replied not looking up from her tablet, "We need a nameplate, a sponsor and the ceremony. I don't think hitting her with a bottle is a good idea, but some other libation might work."

"Floyd," the fairy interjected.

The cruiser nodded. "The nameplate can't be an afterthought," Northampton said, "That's probably correct."

"It doesn't have to be," Haida said as she brought out the mask she'd insisted Captain Gordon preserve. "This was hers, and she admitted it was a big part of who she was."

"I've got a brazing kit on the way, and pretty good weld-writing," Edwards said, "Today's her commissioning day, and we have a name." He looked around. "We still need a sponsor, and that's usually not military." He looked down and said, "Unfortunately, that's leaves out most of you and almost every ship-girl."

"That I have covered," Northampton said, "We also should live stream it, in case something goes wrong."

"Dress uniforms everyone," Crawford said as he looked at the assembled group, then focused on Kushi, "Be ready for a hell of a party, or a hell of a wake."

"Ja," the sub said, "Already laid in, and if I may be so bold." She handed over a bottle. "Premium Sake from Oregon seems appropriate. Ecumenical."

------------------------------

It bothered him sometimes that Angie acted so much like she was in the military, despite being eleven years old. He suspected it was her desperate attempt to fit in, so she wouldn't be abandoned again. Not that her parents, or later her aunt had intentionally abandoned her. Dying hadn't been their choice.

She'd accepted that she was needed and immediately went to her closet to select an appropriate dress. Northampton's offer to assist had been politely rebuffed, as the cruiser needed to be in her dress whites for the ceremony.

He hated himself that he'd use her response to her trauma as a means to an end like this, but the war had demanded worse of a lot of people. His own dress whites were carefully wrapped to prevent them from attracting all the dirt within a five mile radius. Goto was setting up a feed to the Puzzle Palace and Richardson's people so it could be analyzed. Naka and H29 were setting up a `civilian` feed so if this was to be declassified, they'd have a separate feed from the classified one.

He distracted himself from all the thoughts about what might go wrong, with thoughts of the muddle handling out awards for this was going to entail. 'Always plan for spectacular failure, and spectacular success, both derail plans equally well' he remembered his old Chief telling him. The Letters of Marque question was still being debated in Congress, so that cut out any military award. The British had knighthoods, but what did you offer a pack of fairy pirates?

Then he smiled and thanked the SecNav for the SeaBees.
------------------------------

Consciousness returned, and Captain Gordon looked around. He was back in his frock coat, this one missing all the holes. He glanced over to Gotengo's hand, and saw he was still gripping it, and the two were lashed together. He also knew exactly who had painted all the hawsers red, and that revenge would be sweet on his Intelligence Chief.

A rapid briefing from the fairy who had the conn while the Captain and Exec were getting into their dress whites told him all he needed to know.

He was fading back to unconsciousness as the furious itch of his knitting wounds gnawed at his focus. Sleep was better than that torment.
------------------------------

Iowa fidgeted in her dress whites. The assembly had been mandatory for all ship-girls not scheduled for a patrol that day or next. She stared in amazement as New Jersey arrived in her formal uniform.

"I know when something is important," her fellow Iowa-class said irritably, "Although everyone who bet on Kongo or Arizona being the first sponsors for a commissioning are already pissed. This guy is throwing everything out the window."

The big screens lit up. One showed the feed that would be official and thus classified. The other was Naka and H29's, that would either be released to the public, or erased depending on what happened. Other screens from other bases lit up. Iowa half-expected to see the SecNav presiding, then considered what might happen if things went wrong. It was still an Abyssal cruiser after all, and Admiral Crawford's entire command was expendable.

"So exciting, desu!" Kongo made herself known.

The subject of all the activity was wearing a robe over her sort of leotard, as no protocol officer could imagine a proper uniform or mode of dress for what amounted to being born.

"So romantic," Kongo gushed as the camera briefly showed the red strings binding Captain Douglas Gordon to the not-officially-named-yet Gotengo.

A number of officials from Toho had been invited, as payment for edging onto their copyright. They had signed NDAs which included the penalty of being shot if they blabbed, and that they'd have rights to sell DVDs of the public feed and crowd reaction shots worldwide if it would be released. They were in white-tie and tails, including their camera crews who'd record the crowd shots.

The destroyers had assembled around several of the still-injured shipgirls. Hibiki and Willie D, ironically, were the calmest of the bunch. Their idol would do it, they had absolute faith in the one who'd rescued them twice. If anyone could drag an Abyssal from the jaws of death and the Abyss, it was CAPTAIN Douglas Gordon.
------------------------------

The similarities to a firing squad were not lost on Admiral Crawford. The cameras would record his actions for scrutiny until historians finally forgot this war. He was also aware that he had Northampton ready to spirit Angie to safety the instant something went sideways. The pure numbers of ship-girls did little to balance things.

The only saving grace was that Captain Gordon was down to eleven hours, and was fully awake, at General Quarters and holding Gotengo's hand. As reassurance or restraint, only time would tell.

The girl's timer had been blocked from the cameras, but H41 was monitoring. At last report, it still read 'TILT'.

The timing was critical only for the many VIPs watching. Too many people who both didn't want to miss it, and would resent their time being wasted. Only one screen mattered to the Admiral. The President and his Cabinet were all watching.

"Shepard's prayer people," he said quietly to those who were near him.
Dear Lord, please don't let me fuck up.
------------------------------

Goto watched the speeches, typing notes of his own and to share with Admiral Richardson. Admiral Beale was having an attack of apoplexy that someone as 'irrational and anarchic' as Crawford was commanding the effort. Goto wondered for the hundredth time if the woman was secretly an Abyssal spy.

Not as if you'd volunteer to go do it, Goto thought as he watched the Nishinoshima team go through their paces as professionally as they did anything else they deemed important. That they drew that line very differently from too many others was why they were 'Crawford's Problem Children'.

"Trouble?" Nagato asked.

"Despite the risk, I wish we were down there. An extra admiral wouldn't help, but two Big Seven battleships and a squadron of fast battleships would."

"Gordon, sorry Captain Gordon is there," Mutsu said, "And I wouldn't bet on a disarmed cruiser in a fight with him."

Goto smiled at the verbal quirk that had spread about the Tillman. He relaxed as the speeches finished. They'd been the standard stuff, although a bit about new friends and possibilities for peace had cropped up in a few of them.

The deciding act was now on the table. While the adults raised cups of sake each, Angie Crawford approached the Gotengo with a cup of her own. The subs had a procedure that had let them get sips into the comatose Gotengo without choking the girl. Goya and U-69, in dress coats and shorts supported Gotengo from the bath as Angie stayed on the bath's edge.

Goto and his secretary ships leaned forward as the girl let the cruiser sip the sake. Everyone save Angie jerked as the cruisers eyes shot open.

"Girl's got nerves of steel," Mutsu said.

Angie showed her the nameplate, the former faceplate with her name and today's date brazed on it in raised, elegant script. Gotengo took it, one-handed, her knuckles around Captain Gordon's hand were white even against her pale flesh. The plate vanished into her hull, and the cruiser bowed her head. He couldn't make out what she'd said, but Angie could.

The girl stepped into the bath beside the cruiser. Goto heard the cry of alarm from his secretary ships, and from the hall half-way across the base.

But Angie just hugged the girl. "Welcome home, Gotengo," she said as the girl released her grip on Captain Gordon and enclosed Angie in a hug and began crying.

About a dozen small figures walked down Gotengo's arm and onto the floor of the subpen's bath. The camera focused on the half-dragon/half-predatory bird creatures as they saluted the assembled flags of the Allied Command.

"G'teng," their captain said.

"Salute," Crawford ordered and every ship-girl present snapped off their salutes, "Welcome aboard." When Crawford broke off his salute, all the others did as well.

"I'll be damned," Goto heard from Richardson.

"If you are, I think we know how to get you back," Goto said, he looked at the feed from the President and noted the man happily signing a paper and sliding it and a $20 to the SecNav. He knew His Imperial Highness was above such things, but he suspected that Her Britannic Majesty's suggestion had been widely copied. He watched the former Abyssal cruiser sob happily in the arms of a very vulnerable human.

He sat back. "I am actually going to enjoy the landslide of paperwork that this results in," Goto said, and noted the silence from Nagato.

Mutsu waved a hand in front of Nagato's face, then sighed. "I'm going to need a hand truck to get her back to our quarters."

"Hurry, I think I can hear the nations' supply of alcohol disappearing," Goto said.

Mutsu nodded and left. Nagato stared at the image of the weeping Abyssal and the little girl who'd finished the work so many had striven for.
 
Anchovy Peaches XV - Denouement and Rest
Anchovy Peaches XV - Denouement and Rest

The wilder party had moved to the German sub dorm, and those with set curfews had headed to their beds. Crawford noted that Gotengo had excused herself, and returned to the baths in the sub pen. Asleep, wrapped around Captain Gordon, the girl seemed completely content, as did Captain Gordon. Crawford wanted to wait, but he needed to get a few things out of the way while the battleship had an excuse to lay there. And while the cruiser still had a wholly positive view of humans in general.

Crawford noted that there were still four hours left on the timer, but with Gotengo cuddled against him, the timer wasn't counting down merely at one second per second. The admiral figured he had two and a half hours to talk before the battleship was `recovered` and the official briefers got their hands on them.

"Feel like talking a bit?" Crawford asked as he sat down beside the pool.

"Quietly," the battleship said.

"Na sleep, jus' snugly," Gotengo said.

The Tillman shrugged.

"Okay, first why you've been labeled a problem child," Crawford said, "And none of this is classified, Gotengo can hear too. What is the lightest, physical response you have to an altercation?"

Captain Gordon stared at him. "I'm not using my naval rifles in a fight except against warships."

"So if a fight started, what would you do?" Crawford said.

"A punch would be out," the battleship realized.

"Considering you punched through a heavy cruiser's belt armor, and would have punched straight through her keel if you hadn't pulled your punch," Crawford said.

"A slap?" Captain Gordon offered.

"Your slap knocked out all my rangefinders and concussed half my bridge crew," Gotengo said, "An' I'mma ship. Your kick should've snapped my shafts or at least dislodged the scantlings for them, but they just knocked me down."

"Your light, anti-aircraft weapons are your weakest response. For most ship-girls that's a 20 or 25 mm autocannon," Crawford said, "A punch or a kick has tens of thousands of tons of steel, and tens of thousands of horsepower behind it. You could study a hundred years and barely master hitting an ordinary human so you'd only break every bone in their body, if you hit them in anger as a ship."

Captain Gordon stared at Crawford in horror.

"Now do you understand the histrionics that most ship-girls react with when you start hitting sensitive spots? And why they want to know what those spots are in the girls around them, so they can desensitize them?" Crawford said.

"No," the battleship admitted.

"Okay, you have to put up a threat display that is sufficient to drive off an attacker without having to resort to physical force. Acting crazy is the best way, the safest way. It also announces to everyone around that 'this person has a deathwish, get them out of here before I have to fulfill it for them, and the city block around us'."

The battleship shook his head. "I can't do that, it isn't in my nature," Captain Gordon admitted.

"Then do something over the top but low-key. When that interrogator didn't answer your question, we're working on it by the way, you should have stood up, dumped the moron out of his chair and started eating it. No threat involved, but the implication is still there," Crawford said.

Gotengo laughed, but Captain Gordon just stared at him.

"Just think about it," Crawford said, "The second thing is an assumption about size and thus age of the people around you." Crawford stood up. "How tall do you think I am?"

Captain Gordon considered. "If you're any taller than 160 centimeters, I'd be surprised," the battleship said.

"I'm six-foot-four, that's about 193 centimeters, if I did the math right," Crawford said, "The ceiling in here is fifteen feet, not eight or ten."

"That's nuts, that would make me almost two-and-a-half meters," the battleship said.

"Two-thirty-seven by our measure, seven-foot-nine, there are basketball players about your size, but they're males," Crawford said, "So a lot of people you think are smaller than they are, are also older than what you think. But that's only part of it. Have you looked at yourself in the mirror? Ship-girls are universally good looking. I'm guessing put you and a mirror together and you'll give us the Shatner quote."

" 'Shatner quote'?" Captain Gordon said, clearly seeing that his expected reality was drifting away.

"Someone did a deep fake of Captain Kirk as a woman, to insult Shatner, but his reaction was 'I'd do me'," Crawford said.

"Me too," Gotengo said and looked at the Admiral, "I was wondering about sororization, so I talked to Haida about it."

"What's sororization?" Captain Gordon asked.

The Admiral was more worried that she'd asked Haida.

"Fraternization is men and women, so women and women is sororization," Gotengo said.

"There's a different word for it, but you asked Haida about it?" Crawford tried to keep his voice level.

"I asked Northampton, and she started stuttering like she had a bad lot of fuel, the subs don't really understand, and Maggie I think is a rival, so even if she told me the truth, I couldn't trust it. That left Haida," Gotengo said.

The admiral and the battleship had visions of all kinds of disasters descending.

"She put on her officer's hat and quickly put me in touch with Victory," Gotengo said, and relieved the minds of both. She turned so she was straddling Captain Gordon's legs and looking into his eyes. "Victory counseled for clarity over all. First, while I am grateful and gratitude has a part in this, I am not doing this out of a sense of obligation. Second, I enjoy the feel of you touching me." She caressed Gordon's face. "Even your slap hurt less than some of the kicks and punches I've gotten from other battleships, and you didn't target a more sensitive area. Third, you are likely unsure, so I start with cuddling that you are comfortable with, and if we want more we go to more. And you are very interesting, I'd do you." She turned back and snuggled against Gordon.

"That part of it I think I can deal with," Captain Gordon said, "And you're right, I think it's just going to be cuddling for a while."

"I am content," Gotengo said and kissed him on the cheek, "I think the other Abyssal's plan worked, I should be cross that she used me as the test bed, but if she does love Indianapolis, we have a way to save her."

" 'Other Abyssal'?" Crawford asked, "Or does she mean the sub?"

"The Abyssal submarine I encountered," Captain Gordon said, "She was made from pieces of a Submarine Princess and was a present to Indianapolis, and she fell in love. Floyd is one of her crew from the original Princess. So she mentioned an oil trail, that led me to Gotengo." Captain Gordon stared off into space. "She knew I'd try to rescue her, and figure out the method, or fail, and she wanted an effective method before she showed up."

"So, when can Indianapolis get here?" Gotengo asked.

"We should let her get settled first," Crawford said.

"You aren't going nonlinear about this," Captain Gordon said.

"I have one thing that Admirals Goto and Richardson do not: grandchildren. They are wonderful training for dealing with ship-girls," Crawford said, "The last thing we need to talk about is that I'm glad you decided to stay in the sub pens for a while. We don't have a battleship dorm so this place is one of the few tough enough to handle a battleship, and don't take it wrong if they react a bit strongly to any show of kindness."

"Haida told me about how subs are treated," Captain Gordon said.

"The other aspect is many IJN ships were sunk by USN subs, so they are frightened of all submarines," Crawford said, "And the USN subs weren't an active part of the battleline, so distance bred contempt. You lack that experience, and prejudices."

Captain Gordon grinned. "It's also a plot to get the destroyers to work with the subs. From what Haida said, I'm catnip for DDs, if they want to cuddlepile, they have to come here and share."

Crawford nodded. "Good plan. Now I need to give you some things to think about. A, scuba diving, B, hand-to-hand combat training, C, training as a ship-girl: gunnery, torpedoes, etc., and D, Congress is working on getting you your Letters of Marque, but they're Congress. Now get some rest, the briefers will want to get everything from you in a couple of hours. I'll have a bottle of ketchup for you before it starts. Just concentrate on the cheap chairs, good tables and chairs are gold around here."

"Aye, aye, Admiral," Captain Gordon said and saluted.

"Aye, aye," Gotengo said.

Crawford walked out feeling better about things than he had in several weeks.
------------------------------

Willie D was still under 'house arrest' but she had plenty of work to do. The email she'd gotten out of the blue had her thinking.

To: William D. Porter DD-579
From: Mrs. Dr. Teef
I'd like to commission a three panel of Captain Gordon. First, the Captain charging into a pack of belligerent Abyssals, hitting them in the face with bottles of champaign. Second, the Captain sticking ofuda on them, with appropriate ship names on them in English, Japanese or either as you are comfortable with. E.g. state (US) or province (IJN) names for battleships, etc. Third, the Abyssals eagerly following the Captain into another pack of terrified Abyssals.

I don't know what your commission rate is, or your SubscribeStar info, but I've found your work captures the Captain perfectly.

Mrs. Dr. Teef.


Willie knew it was probably illegal for her to sell her art, and she didn't want to ask the JAG officer while she was already in trouble, but the idea of the commission was so good, she had to do the art. She realized that was the correct answer.

To: Mrs. Dr. Teef
From: William D. Porter DD-579
Thank you for your kind words. I don't think I'm allowed to charge for my work, but I have completed some preliminary sketches and hope you like them. With your permission I will post the final on my Facebook page, and send you the full-sized files.

William D. Porter DD-579
------------------------------

Admiral Beale looked at her staff. "People, it's not that hard," she said, "We've given Navy Crosses to foreign national civilians. Look up Rene Malavergne, a French Civilian, then tell me that Captain Gordon's exploits don't come up to that level."

"What about Angela Crawford?" her chief of staff asked.

"The SecDef has already fast tracked her to get into the Service Academies," Beale said, "Whichever one she chooses, or all of them in sequence." She chuckled at the thought of that. Then she sobered. "But we have to get the medals to him first, is that understood by everyone?"

The staff nodded.
------------------------------

Floyd vaguely wondered how much trouble it was in. The Captain and the Chief Engineer were escorting it through the bowels of the ship, and their behavior seemed both too ceremonial and too convoluted for a private murder. They stopped in front of an exhaust trunk that mostly blocked the door behind.

The Chief Engineer produced a tool and removed the pins from the hinges, and with the Captain's help set it aside. With mysterious sanctimony, they pronounced that this was Floyd's new quarters. It had been a small machine shop, but the refit had necessitated blocking the door, and besides, when the boilers were at full power it was too hot for most to get into or leave.

Floyd easily stepped over and under the exhaust trunk, to the discomfort of the two officers. The place needed a cleaning, but it was in excellent shape. In the far corner a shelf had been cleared by some past machinist, and a makeshift bunk installed. Floyd helped the two officers over the trunk and into the machine shop. The Chief Engineer explained that the wall contained a number of electrical and communication lines and cutting a new door hadn't been practical.

The Captain told him that the Chief Engineer would provide him with materials if he couldn't scrounge them himself, and to be careful about too much scrounging both aboard ship and from the base. Floyd nodded, lost for words, it understood the honor of not only private quarters, but a private workshop.

It requested, and received permission to hug both officers before doing so. The pair took their leave to let Floyd settle in. The Chief Engineer suggested a railing to slide the door sideways so Floyd could close it as needed.

Floyd agreed. Once the pair left, Floyd cleaned out the old bedding and made itself comfortable in the bunk surrounded by endless potential.
 
Anchovy Peaches XVI - Target Acquisition
Anchovy Peaches XVI - Target Acquisition


Crawford poured a small drink for himself, and a larger one for Captain Gordon. "How are you holding up?"

"At least I'm getting food and bathroom breaks," the battleship said as he raised the glass in a toast to Crawford.

"Don't blame Goto too much, he was dealing with an entire front collapsing, and frankly, from the outside, no one believed that you did what you claimed you did," Crawford said.

"Are you allowed to share any ideas about what I managed with Gotengo?" Gordon asked as he savored the burn of the liquor.

"No, but I have a feeling that you might want to ask a few question of your own," Crawford said.

"Let's start with one," Gordon said as he set the glass aside, "And if it's secret or too personal that's okay. Why are you here? Maggie said this was a punishment detail for you."

"Ah, no that's not a secret, although I'll keep a few more personal details out of it. It's basically two things, well three but the third sets up the other two. I'm Wavy Navy," he said and indicated the uniform coat, "Being a Naval Reserve officer makes some officers unhappy. That colors a lot of what follows. I'd been medically retired from the navy, cancer, when the Abyssals first appeared. I'd taught some classes at the Academy and horror of horrors at West Point and Colorado Springs, and done some consulting for the Navy at various defense contractors. Masters in History and Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering. So I knew the whys of the doctrine that the weapons were being developed for."

Crawford toyed with the glass a bit, then took a sip. "I was present at one of the first directed summonings at Norfolk. Northampton was the result. She was young, pretty and very enthusiastic about being human. Several of the higher-ups thought I'd be the perfect escort while she acclimated to the 21st century. They were absolutely terrified that some handsome, young officer would get their new wonder weapon pregnant. Those that knew me knew I was shooting blanks due to the cancer. Trouble was, that information was not widely communicated. So a number of more close-minded officers climbed onto their Virtue Signal Hill and would lose too much face if they climbed down."

"You don't have to go into it -" Gordon said.

"Captain Beale compared my relationship with Northampton with someone romancing a blow-up doll," Crawford said and stared at the battleship, "It should have been the end of her career."

"Except she had powerful friends," Gordon said.

"Don't confuse friendship with being a useful tool," Crawford said, "She had dirt on a lot of the Navy's higher ups and was willing to share. Being an admiral is politics and compromises, even I'm not clean. The difference is, I can win the war and no one will care except historians who themselves never made a hard choice in their lives. So as a civilian, having a romance with a ship-girl when the military were universally under a non-fraternization decree was number one."

"Is this Captain Beale now Admiral Beale?" Gordon asked.

"Yep. The kicker is that on our way to a conference at Gibralter, we were shot down and I spent a few days aboard her manifested hull as we sailed for Gibralter. For a human and a ship-girl, that's an incredibly intimate act. They reactivated my commission while I had no way of knowing that, so I was technically in violation of the non-fraternization policy and that's a big furball that still hasn't been put to rest."

"Good Grief," Captain Gordon said, "I've watched you and Northampton, doesn't your relationship beforehand have any effect on your rights to a relationship now?"

"None whatsoever," Crawford said, "And because all ship-girls are young and pretty, the people whose personality is perfect birth-control are screaming about anyone having a relationship beyond friendship with them. You'd think that almost a third of all ship-girls being technically bisexual would have some 'diversity' people dancing in the streets, but they just see them as weapons and seriously talk about scrapping them at the end of the war."

Gordon just stared at him. "Are you sure we're fighting the right people?" Captain Gordon said.

"Yes, even the Russian and German ship-girls will defend each other to fight the Abyssals," Crawford said, "Just telling you that there's a lot of stupidity even though we're facing a war of annihilation, so most people think we're winning."

Captain Gordon nodded.

"And we are, unless they figure out something new," Crawford said, "And they did, it's just with you there it didn't work."

"The second, and the big one requires a little oceanography. Do you know what phytoplankton are?" Crawford asked.

Gordon chuckled. "No clue."

"Simply put they're tiny critters in the ocean who glow brightly when disturbed, like from a ship's wake," Crawford said, "Now the neat trick is that when a ship-girl in full rigging, but who hasn't manifested her hull, travels through them, they react like a waterskier passed through. But an Abyssal, no matter how much of her rigging she's manifested, the phytoplankton react like a full-sized warship went passing through. Even a submerged sub gets a reaction. So you have all those helpful arrows pointing where the Abyssals are going. Especially at night."

"Covering the ocean with enough planes to track that would take - " Gordon smiled, "The International Space Station. Put a few people with good binocs up there and you'd see a whole hemisphere."

"Not quite," Crawford said and poured Gordon some tea, "You have to look approximately down. NASA wanted 5 billion dollars to 'study' the problem. I took a page from former Vice-President Dan Quayle and suggested just launching the biggest, heavy lift rockets with the upper stage modified to link together and give us a couple of additional watchtowers. Similar to Skylab back in the 70's."

"How much did NASA want to rediscover that trick?" Gordon asked.

"Three years," Crawford said, "Money was irrelevant at that point. So I contacted the EU Space Agency, the Ukrainians and the Russians. Five months and eight launches later, five from the former Soviets, two from the French and one from the Japanese, Watchtowers 1 and 2 had the world covered. And NASA had a fit. Then the Defense Department had a fit, because the Russians hadn't managed to summon anything yet, and now they had coin that would force us, the JMSDF, the RN and RCN to either lend them ship-girls or cover their ports. The Canadians have basically turned the Arctic Ocean into their ship-girls' private lake, they aren't 'the shock troops of the Empire' just on land. Vladivostok is part of the 'Sea of Japan Abyssal Exclusion Zone' and the Brits have a squadron 'on rest and recovery' in the Black Sea at all times."

"And they're mad at that?" Gordon said.

"The American military never forget an enemy," Crawford said and rolled his eyes.

"Like those folks who burned down the capital in 1812?" Gordon asked.

"Exactly," Crawford said, "Since then, the Russians've gotten trained up and have managed a few summonings, but in the early days, there were people salivating at the thought of the Russian navy and their coast becoming desolate and Abyssal occupied."

Gordon facepalmed. "Whose side were they on?"

"Their agenda's," Crawford said, "The kicker was they couldn't simply have me shot, so they kicked me upstairs, and sent me to be bait with the `worst` ship-girls they had, who no one else wanted. The Russians thought I'd been given a dream job, Beale and her ilk think I'm on execution watch, and Goto and Richardson can play it however their audience requires. I'm either a tethered goat, or the Devil's Brigade Maritime."

"If you can get those agenda uber alles all together in one room," Gordon said, "I'm pretty sure I can provide the Abyssal."

"Don't tempt me," Crawford said and held up his glass, and clinked it against Gordon's. "That's the reason, and that's about the worst you'll see. Most people would love to meet you, thank you, talk with you and so on, but it isn't universal."
------------------------------

Captain Gordon glanced around irritably. All right, every time this stupid nightmare almost has me convinced it's real, he thought as he `woke` lying on a sheet of black water, two Abyssals holding down each arm and a fifth holding down both legs. A sixth Abyssal stepped into view holding his pitchfork. You do something stupid like this, he thought, Legs are always stronger, especially on a girl.

"You will fall to us today," the Abyssal said as she raised the pitchfork over Gordon's exposed belly.

The Abyssal holding his legs was kicked loose as Gordon's steel boot/rigging traveled right between the pitchfork Abyssal's legs and impacted with a clang. The Abyssal's gold-glowing eyes winked out as they went big as saucers and she did a good impersonation of a pillbug. Spoiled only by pillbugs not whimpering so much.

The Abyssals holding his left arm met those holding his right arm approximately head on as he rolled over and swung the left pair over. While they reeled about, given the damage to their conning towers and bridge mounted sensors, he plucked the pitchfork from the unresisting hands of the sixth Abyssal. Then plunged it into her back and straight on through.

Only to have to jump back from the enormous cloud of steam that poured out, linking the ten, small punctures into a single line of steam spew that grew wider as he watched.

He turned to the last who had held his legs and now cringed on the `floor`.

" 'I'm going to let you live, hero, so you can tell everyone what happened here,'" he said, and was rather proud of getting the quote and tone right.
------------------------------

He woke to the cuddlepile in the subpen. The loud report from Haida's stomach that feeding time was past due told him exactly where the dream within a dream had come from. A quick glance at the clock told him that a slightly early alarm clock wouldn't be amiss.

He reached out to the destroyer's exposed side.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" rang through the subpen from Haida, "I'm up, I'm up!"

She rolled to a sitting position to excoriate the battleship, when her stomach roared its displeasure again, then was answered by several others.

"You were saying?" Captain Gordon asked.

Haida grabbed her pillow and threw it at him.
------------------------------

It was the first break after the extensive interrogations of the latest pair of 'Crawford's Problem Children'. Admiral Beale had actually been of use by saying if anyone messed up the way Goto's people did, Crawford had standing orders to skin them alive so Beale could nail their hides to her door and run what was left up the Admiral's personal yardarm. The result had been more fact-finding than the interrogation Captain Gordon had suffered through.

The invitations requested attendance of all the ships that had rendered aid to Gotengo to assemble in the sub pens. Most of the ship-girls attended out of curiosity and courtesy, as Captain Gordon had no official standing yet.

The group was curious although uneasy about being 'in the subs' territory'. The small stands set up in the pens confused many of the ship-girls. They looked like something out of a dollhouse. As the Gotengo's and Captain Gordon's crews manned the stands, only a few failed to guess their purpose.

"Thank you for coming," Captain Gordon said, "As you know I have no authority to grant medals to all of those who worked so hard to save Gotengo's crew. That doesn't mean either I or Gotengo are ungrateful. Therefore, we set this up for your crews."

The fairies pulled down the cloth covers and revealed the labels on the stands.

"My chief engineer is rightly proud of his rum, and as a battleship, I have plenty of ice cream makers. So we offer a small tot of rum, and several scoops of ice cream. Two scoops of vanilla or chocolate, and one scoop of strawberry banana fudge ripple."

The cry and collapse of Captain Gordon's intelligence officer, now supine on the concrete floor with an upraised lily clutched in his hands told everyone who the source of the last flavor was.

"No one would have figured out your 'still' was an ice cream maker if you hadn't overreacted," Captain Gordon told his Intel Chief.

"Now since many of you are underage, but your crews are not, please send your crews to collect the rum and ice cream," Gordon said.

That confused and disturbed many of the girls. Kushi stepped up and stood near the stands as several dozen of her crew stepped out of her and approached the stand. As the heavily laden fairies returned, Kushi shuddered a bit and walked away smiling.

"It's a little weird, but it works," she told the others who queued up and soon their crews were also queuing up. Away from the stands there was a bit of trading going on, the special ice cream for the rum ration.

The ship girls quickly found out the effect of lots of ice cream and a bit of rum for their crews had on them personally.
 
Anchovy Peaches XVII - You Can't Practice Dying
Anchovy Peaches XVII - You Can't Practice Dying


Crawford noted that the ships and subs, and their crews had mixed fairly well. The karaoke contest was expected, Captain Gordon had both warned him and told him how to easily shut things down.

"Yo. Desu. Eh. Ja. Yo. Eh. Desu. Ja. Desu. Eh." The fairies sang.

"And we're banned from Tokyo, every one. Banned from Tokyo just for having a little fun. We spent a jolly shore leave there for just three days or four, but Goto doesn't want us anymore," everyone but the center stage sang.

Crawford raised his voice, singing the last verse, "Our fleet's the Allied's finest, and our record is our pride, but when we play we tend to leave a trail a mile wide. We're sorry about the wreckage and the riots and the fuss; at least we're sure Yok'suka won't be quick forgetting us!"

"And we're banned from Tokyo, every one. Banned from Tokyo just for having a little fun. We spent a jolly shore leave there for just three days or four, but Goto doesn't want us anymore," the ships and crews sang.

"...Wonder why?" everyone sang.

"People some of you have patrols and school tomorrow," Crawford said, "Nearly all the rest of you have a curfew."

"Aww," many of the destroyers said.

"Can we go a few more minutes?" Haida asked.

"Captain Gordon negotiated an hour extension, and you're 20 minutes beyond that," Crawford said, but didn't mention that he'd mentally added 30 minutes as long as they didn't make too big a fuss.

Those who were less affected by fatigue and too much ice cream and cake helped those more affected. The effects of the rum having faded hours earlier.

Northampton approached. "Sorry, they were . . ."

Crawford held up a hand. "That's why we let it go on," Crawford said quietly, "But there are limits." He led Northampton back towards their home.

No they aren't singing these verses, they're making them up about their own ship. Yes they started this under the effects of the rum.

------------------------------

The days of testing continued. I'd found out my speed was 30.5 knots, although I suspect that my Chief Engineer did some things that others wouldn't have officially approved. He hadn't quite had teams out with oars, but it was probably some shenanigans. I also have almost a full orchestra, a squad of bagpipers, two jazz bands, two choirs, three barbershop quartets, a set of pan drummers and a kazoo and khomus band. Yes, I found out when the pipers and pan drummers decided to play the William Tell Overture as the ship came to full speed to 'encourage me'. I think the crew is crazier than I am.

BagpipesPan (Steel) Drums


My gunnery could use a bit of work at extreme ranges. Optical versus radar range finding and no super heavy shells. My secondaries, the same, and their casements limit their firing arcs. My torpedoes are adequate and have decent arcs, I have reloads aplenty, but I can't hit a target at anything like useful ranges. Isn't it nice I have a destroyer and a torpedo-cruiser available for training.

But right now I am testing one of the non-ship-girl functions that I have, diving. To my amazement, most ship-girls can't even swim. U-489 a.k.a. Ecchi-Nein!, was working a few dozen yards away with Gotengo, while working with me is U-464, Kushi from shi roku shi, and because she and Ecchi-Nein! are a tad more padded than the other subs, Kushi/Cushy. The Wolf Pack, Romulus and Remus are acting as more distant guards. Subs and their nicknames, it's nearly a separate language.

We're at a hundred feet when I swear something punches me in the stomach, not hard, but surprising, and you cannot afford to gasp a hundred feet underwater when free diving. I continue my slow descent, both testing my crush depth and how long I can hold my breath. The next feels like a major leaguer used a baseball bat. I do let out a bubble of air, and double over as I look around for whatever hit me. That's it, I've got to get out of here, I need my full rigging to fight this and those are not undersea-worthy. I start back up when something hits me in the gut again.

I'm almost panicking when Kushi swims out of the darkness. She pinches my nose close and places her mouth over mine. It a sub trick, buddy breathing one girl into the other. It's usually used when one girl has been depth charged and is running out of air. It's not as good as fresh air, but it's a source. I kick easily to get us to the surface as quickly as is safe.

Nothing hits me as the panic fades. She's holding our noses closed, and my arms hold us together. It's a lot more pleasant than thinking I was going to be beaten until I drown. Neither Kushi nor Ecchi-Nein are the sylph-like ideals, but more like the Valkyries you see at the opera. But the rescue was just as welcome.

We breach the surface and break into a more normal hug. "Are you all right lad?" she asks.

"Something hit me," I tell her as we tread water, subs don't like being up on the surface like ships, preferring to have just their head above water.

She looks embarrassed. "My fault," she says, "I think you are a ship, when more times you are a girl. Free diving the diaphragm spasms, trying to get you to breathe."

"I guess all my muscles are a lot stronger than standard, I thought someone was hitting me in the guts with a bat," I admit, then remember when we were buddy breathing the blows went away.

"Next time we dive you with a tank of oxygen," Kushi says, "And we practice getting through the spasms."

Ecchi-Nein and Gotengo surface a short distance from us, the lanky cruiser hanging off the squatter sub-girl. "We stick to the inside pool for a while, ja?" the sub tells us.

"What happened?" Kushi asks.

"When Captain turn around and go up, I signal the lass here to do too, but she keep going down. I'm afraid she go to mine crush depth, then bonk into sea floor," Ecchi-Nein says, "I turn her around and she just go up like wind-up toy, same as she go down."

"The depths just called to me," Gotengo admits, "I just couldn't think of anything else to do."

"Ja, inside pools," Kushi replies, "Shower, food, rest."
------------------------------

The small group of I-class, Ro-class and Ha-class froze at the approach of a He-class, until she showed them the sheet of paper, a duplicate of the paper they had been clustered around and studying around the fire.

"We don't believe it," one of the I-class said.

"It cannot be," one of the Ro-class added.

"Do not even speculate on it," the He-class said, "It cannot be true, or easy." She looked at the huge battleship throwing bottles and stickers at Abyssals, and making them happy. It could not be that the battleship was some superior type of Princess who was served willingly.

The He-class took the paper from the destroyers and put that paper and her own in the fire.
------------------------------

Floyd knew technically it had scrounged from medical stores, and technically it wasn't supposed to, but technically, it'd put it back after it'd finished studying the device. So it'd be all right. Probably.

The mechanism was surprisingly simple, and the crystal that was the heart of the device seemed the perfect way to utilize the snow drift of red crystals Floyd had found abandoned in a store room deep within the ship, stuck in barrels and brought back to the workshop.

Floyd smiled as the 43rd duplicate of the device was fired up, labeled and added to the basket of similar devices that it'd been building while staying out of the way of everyone who was doing their best on the testing and trials.

Floyd knew that there would be more boarding actions and the Daleks were fine, but the others had been lucky to have suffered few casualties. While Floyd wanted to eventually return to his fallen Princess, where it belonged, it had a responsibility to the crew of this ship while it was here. So, something more effective than the proposed cutlasses and pistols.

It flipped the toggle to fire up the beam, orange this time, and made sure the two smaller emitters sent their small blades to form a proper handguard without being exposed to a blade sliding down the main beam itself. That checked, it labeled the device, put it in the basket and started making duplicate number 45.
------------------------------

Admiral Crawford hadn't expected Admiral Beale of all people arriving in a C-20. He'd been ordered to show a minimum of ruffles and flourishes, so he, Northampton and a squad of marines waited for the plane to stop taxiing.

"CinCASG arriving," Northampton said as the wheels were chocked and the small stepstool were placed by the ground crews.

Beale stepped out and saluted the flag, then Crawford's group. "Admiral," she said, "Permission to board?"

"Permission granted," Northampton said.

"Heard the SeaBees have part of your honor done, well I've got a few things to add, and I want to meet our newest hellion," Beale said, she was a head shorter than Crawford but carried the manic energy of a ferret on Red Bull. Her secretary ship, USS Delaware followed, getting a detail to move the three dollies of wrapped material after the two admirals.

"He's in the subpens, Admiral," Crawford said. The tension was thick, but neither wanted it to boil over. Likewise Northampton and Delaware kept things polite between them, ship-girls being very partisan towards `their` admirals.

"What credence do you give to the idea of rescuing rank and file Abyssals?" Beale asked.

"One point is not a good trend, but Gotengo is coming along," Crawford said, "She's a dutiful girl who's feeling a little lost as she isn't part of our fleet, but isn't an Abyssal anymore."

"You think that could be a problem? A political or a bored marine problem?" Beale asked, easily keeping up with the taller Admiral's long strides, "If its boredom, there's plenty of things she can teach us that wouldn't violate any residual loyalties to her former fleet."

"Once most of the destroyers are back from their sweep, we start full on swimming classes," Crawford said, "We've got the supply group working with Captain Gordon and Gotengo in one of the deeper pools off shore."

Beale nodded as they arrived at the subpen. The pair entered. "As you were," Beale barked as she noted the SeaBees were arriving with a large, board-mounted structure. Delaware's group headed to where the SeaBees were working.

"This is going to be informal, as it has not entirely met with the Joint Chiefs' approval," Beale announced as many of the sub-girls and others came to parade rest in the presence of the Commander in Chief of Allied Ship-Girls. "I learned of Admiral Crawford's gift, and decided to enhance it. There's several O-gauge model railroad kits, and a hundredweight of Legos. If your crews need something they can build it themselves, get it right then have a permanent one built, or take it down to build something else. Captain Douglas Gordon?"

"Ma'am," Captain Gordon said.

"For intrepidity, intelligence and an inspiration to all uniformed services in the face of significant odds, and at no small risk to yourself, you delivered not one but two vital sources of intelligence which advanced the cause of victory in this war. Then despite injuries you defended a convoy of wounded, personally risking your own life and safety for forces of the Allied Command against an armed enemy, then at great harm to yourself rescued another element of the Allied command from certain death at the hands of the enemy," Beale said and nodded.

Delaware approached and carefully pinned the Navy Cross to his coat. "Welcome to the family," she said too low to be heard by the others.

She stepped away and the entire assembled force saluted. He returned it.

"Now, I've stepped on Admiral Crawford's toes, but I'll yield the awards floor to him," Beale said and nodded.

Crawford nodded and approached the structure the SeaBees were working on. "I will admit, the idea that the crews of ships could and might want to operate independently was a shock to us. But I suspect that the various crews might want to mix and mingle to share war stories and lessons learned. Besides, what do you offer a crew of fairy pirates?"

He stepped away to reveal the club/amusement park complex. There was a location for drinking and various park rides scaled down for fairy size.

"I hope this does the job and shows the gratitude both myself and the Navy have for the work you've done," Crawford said.

"Admiral, please dismiss the formation," Beale said, "And unfortunately, Captain Gordon, you and I need to speak privately. The rest of you, the bar will open for one drink, on me. Well done all of you."

"Yes, ma'am," Gordon said and followed the Admiral out of the subpens as the fairies and ship-girls swarmed the new club the SeaBees had installed.

Crawford and Northampton exchanged a look as Delaware had remained behind.
------------------------------
 
Anchovy Peaches XVIII - The Monster Sees the Monster
Anchovy Peaches XVIII - The Monster Sees the Monster

Admiral Beale glanced around, no doubt to verify they weren't being followed. "This conversation is private and classified, after it is over, you will discuss it with no one, not even me, under any circumstances," the Admiral said, "Understood?"

"The stipulation, but not the reason," Captain Gordon admitted, "I've done proprietary work before."

"First, you've probably already heard some of it, but it isn't to be discussed. You're one of the few who might understand and by the end I hope you'll understand the stipulation. As you've no doubt heard, I'm a monster, a stone bitch. I'll cop to that. The weird thing is that it helps the war effort. There are too many people who hate the Navy and the war, but a Feminazi ballbuster they can get behind. It's what's necessary, because the big deal is we are losing this war, badly."

"How is that?" Gordon asked.

"Simple, wars are won on logistics, ginning out armies, navies, air forces and the troops to man them. Skill and tactics let those forces be used effectively, but if you have three and they have 300, they only have to get it right three times to win, and if they lose 290 to do it, they still win." The Admiral sighed and looked out across the base. "The Japanese have summoned nearly every hull they put in the water in and for World War 2. The Italians are in the same boat. The Germans haven't gotten all their destroyers, but they do have Graf Zeppelin and Seydlitz, a decent trade for a few destroyers. The Brits have about 2/3ds of their World War 2 fleet. They're missing Anson and Howe, a few of their prewar carriers and a slew of their prewar subs and destroyers. The French are in the same situation, but they had fewer ships to start with. The big wild card is the US. We've only gotten about half the Essexes, we're missing Lexington, both of them, Wasp and Ranger, all of them, the North Carolina class, and about half the South Dakotas. We're missing most of the Fletcher swarm and the Clemson swarm, but we've got most of the cruisers and about half the subs."

She looked at Gordon. "The simple fact is we'll soon run out of ships to summon, and we haven't solved the problem of extending the summoning to post war or even World War 1 hulls. If, when, the Abyss realizes that everything below a demon is just a template and therefore expendable, they will be able to send waves of expendables against us, and even if we kill ten for every one we lose, if they have thirty, we lose. We lose everything, because practically every lost ship-girl does a spin through being an Abyssal. If they'd hit that repair ship, they would have gotten 17 brand-spanking-new Princesses. Even our destroyers who cross over become high rankers in their forces."

"I haven't heard any of this before," Gordon said.

"It isn't widely discussed, because the Abyss has been stupid. Pain and suffering over victory," Admiral Beale said, "While we cannot depend on them staying stupid, we can't afford to give them even an inkling they could win, and win easily."

"Okay, that makes sense," Gordon said, "But I'm just a well-known, prewar design, not a steel ship."

"And, more importantly, you may have given us the break we need in recruiting the Abyss' rank-and-file to our side, or just to neutrality. Like I said, I am a monster, but if the day after we win this war I drop dead and 95% of today's human race votes to make it Annual Piss on Beale's Grave Day, I will consider that a victory, because we won and we survived," Beale said.

"Harsh," Gordon agreed, "So if we can get their soldiers to quit fighting, that's the only way to win. Unless we can kill the Abyss that spawns them."

"If you can tell us where to put the nukes, they'll fly in about 10 minutes after I make the call," Beale said, "So we need to know how you did it. We need to be able to press it. We have had Demons and Princesses revert to their ship-girl forms. We have at least a half-dozen higher-level rank and file slip into the continental United States and go native, but that's battleships and carriers. We weren't even sure the cruisers and below were sentient or capable of independent thought, now we know, they are terrified of being caught not supporting the cause. The irony is what you did to her horrified the ship-girls with you, it was a maypole dance compared to some of the things that have been done to her by others. What broke her was the gentleness after. You forced her to submit and the instant she did, it was all comparative flowers and puppies, instead of more beatings until she knew her place was below each member of your fleet."

Gordon shook his head. "I keep underestimating the evil of the system because I've only dealt with the victims."

"Hence why we're going to portray this as rescuing and deprograming," Beale said, "Believe me, I've seen things that I wish weren't part of the world. Okay, onto a more important subject for you, and just as secret. All it takes for a ship-girl to become pregnant is an adult human, any gender, and the mutual desire for offspring."

"What?" Gordon whispered, "So Northampton and Crawford?"

"A complete hysterectomy is not enough to prevent it," Beale said and stared at him.

The wheels turned and many things fell into place. "I have a question."

"I can guess what it is," Beale said, smiling for once.

"No offense, but I doubt it. Who said and what was actually said about love dolls and ship-girls?" Gordon said.

Beale stared at him. "Full marks, you got me. Delaware said it, not about Crawford and Northampton, but about other less savory types. She said 'We should shame those who see their ship-girls as little more than love dolls'. It's also the reason you will not discuss it with Crawford or anyone else. Goto, Crawford, Richardson, Palmer in the UK, VonGuntz in Germany, hell even Kutnezov in Russia treat their paramours as people, cherished and loved, but with evil Admiral Beale forcing the nonfraternization policy, they have their desire quashed without any further action or animosity to their partner. After the war, they can each have a marching band for all anyone would care and they know it. Problems will be that some like Admiral Quincy of Jamaica Station has five girls on a string and none of them know which one he'll pick, likely none of them. There's going to be a lot of heartbroken girls once those bastards have to put up or shut up. We can't afford that in a war, or the effect it'll have on couples who're just shy."

"If that works, why not turn some of them loose to bump up the numbers?" Gordon asked, "Sorry for sounding heartless but -" He shrugged.

"Welcome to the dark side," the Admiral said, "But a two-month pregnancy is followed by we estimate fifteen years of growth and maturing before my little sub can join the forces. We can't depend on the Abyss staying stupid for twenty years."

"I have to thank you, for showing battleships and subs can have a closer relationship than distant colleagues," Beale said, "It's something we're having a great deal of trouble trying to overcome, and even with the Germans where you'd think that wouldn't be a problem, it's still a problem."

"You're welcome. Anyone able to help seems worthy of respect, no matter how much or how little they help, if it's the best they can do, that's all you can expect," Captain Gordon said, "Besides, the line between ship and girl needs to be more blurred in a lot of ship-girls' minds."

"So, we collect the rank and file, we try and offer peace to the reasonable, and then what?" Gordon asked.

"We share the planet with them, then the starsystem," Beale said, "They already control 40% of the Earth's surface. That trip you took, Haida lost track of that sub at 800 meters, and she was still diving. Can you imagine the advantages to having a sentient partner species that could go to the depths of the Challenger Deep then to the surface without trouble, and might be able to transport humans down there? Like I said, if we win, I'm okay with saving all the Abyssals. If we win, I'm okay with killing every Abyssal, and if we save some and kill others, I'm okay with that too."

"And to that end, Crawford is out here because he's a rotten Naval Officer, but he'd be a damn fine Marine," Beale said, "So I took a page from a 70's TV show and made him the commander of a bunch of misfits and screw-ups." She gave a predatory smile. "And since evil Admiral Beale hates him, an excellent officer is one of 'us' and not one of 'them'."

"How much of this is you, and how much of this is an act?" Captain Gordon asked.

"It's all me, I just channel it," Beale admitted.

"All right, I think I get why the secret, but why the conversation and why away from Delaware. If Kongo and Northampton are any indication, she'd die before she let anything hurt you, even with a harsh word."

"Because a monster needs a leash. For the war, I need to be fairly free, but I cannot see anything but pragmatism. Right now, Admiral Colbert is the sword of Damocles over my head. He knows me, and knows when to yank the chain. But he's ill and won't be with us much longer, and the chance to vault a Feminazi ballbuster into the old-boys club of the Joint Chiefs is too much of a temptation, and who else could do it? Richardson's too junior, Mason is a McClellan clone and desperately needed exactly where he excels like Little Mac, Gregory hasn't served a day under fire and Mugbwe thinks the Navy can win this without the other services. The other ship-girls can't be the leash, they believe anyone with a secretary ship is always doing the right thing. I need a ruthless, determined son of a bitch with enough firepower and armor to blast through the entire battle line to keep that sword over my head so I stay human."

"I'll at least talk to you first," Gordon said.

"Deal," Beale said and stuck her hand out, "And I'll keep your secret."

"Which is?" Gordon asked as he shook her hand.

"I'll keep it even from you," Beale said, and her smile never made it to her eyes.
------------------------------

The class was essentially kenjitsu with wooden blades. Smiths, Jokers and a handful of others practiced under the expert attention of the medical team.

The Chief Medical Officer broke off from the finer points of swordsmanship to see what Floyd was lugging towards the edge of the mats that marked the classroom.

"Floyd," the strange crewmember began with an apology for `borrowing` one of the other medic's blades to study.

The Medical Officer was about to pronounce sentence when Floyd produced a familiar cylinder and ignited it. The red blade sprang out and the two smaller blades making a handguard also appeared. Floyd deactivated the weapon and handed it to the Chief Medical Officer as Floyd removed a basket with a dozen of the cylinders.

The Medical Officer activated both his blade and the new blade Floyd had crafted. He checked the balance, resistance, carefully brought the blades together to see if there was any significant difference in performance, and could find none. When he deactivated both blades and his attention returned to Floyd, the crewmember had set several additional baskets on the floor, each with a colored label: Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Orange, Purple and White.

"Floyd," it explained that this was only the first run. There would be more for future boarding actions.

"Floyd," and that violet and black weapons hadn't worked out after one testing.

The chief medic noted the cylinder on Floyd's belt. "Yo," he said indicating the weapon.

"Floyd," the fairy said proudly of the one-of-a-kind weapon. He handed it to the Dark Lord of the Sick.

The medic looked at the weapon and could find no significant difference between this one and the others. He activated the blade and only the strictest discipline kept him from facepalming with a lit lightsaber in his hand.

Of course Floyd would have a plaid lightsaber.

[MacLeod Tartan]
 
Anchovy Peaches XIX - Browsing the Bargain Basement
Anchovy Peaches XIX - Browsing the Bargain Basement


The summoning attempt ended with no results. The crew who had been through this multiple times looked frustrated, but resigned.

Admirals Crawford and Beale glanced at each other, then approached Captain Gordon.

"Well," Crawford asked, "That was pretty typical, as well as the success rate."

"You don't seem to approve," Admiral Beale said.

"It's not a question of approve, I don't understand," Captain Gordon said.

"Spit it out, sailor," Beale said only half-jokingly.

"Okay, I assume the ritual was researched. With that in mind, you're trying to summon people who grew up on Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, and if they were really avant garde, jazz. Who in their right mind would think they'd respond well to rock and especially heavy metal?" Captain Gordon asked, "Some might have shown up because they thought someone was being attacked, but it is hardly an enticement. Where's the John Phillips Sousa for Christsake?"

The two admirals stared at each other for a moment, then facepalmed.
------------------------------

Maggie was full-astern all her 40000 horsepower availing her naught as she was slowly dragged forward. They'd wanted to rekindle Gotengo's spirits, but tearing Haida limb from limb was definitely not the way they hoped it would play out. Captain Gordon had his hands on the former Abyssal's hips and was holding her over his head. Between the cruiser's long arms and her flexibility, it would only be a matter of time before she and Haida came to grips.

"Come down here and fight you crazy spider monkey!" Haida shouted and began jumping, letting Maggie pull her back, but coming closer to Gotengo.

"I'll eat you with syrup!" Gotengo said, "Corn syrup!"

"SILENCE!"

Maggie discovered Haida could teleport, because nothing could have hid behind her that fast any other way. Gotengo was perched on her hands and feet atop Captain Gordon's upraised hands.

"Now, Haida," Captain Gordon said, "I expect an apology from you to Gotengo, but if you'd prefer punishment, you will be denied cuddlepile privileges for one month, and every other destroyer on base will lose them for two weeks, Flagship don'tcha know."

"Two weeks," Haida's tremulous voice betrayed her terror, "Who's going to tell them?"

"I'll announce the who and why at lunch," Captain Gordon said.

"I apologize for my intemperate remarks about you and your character and hope you can attribute my remarks to an excess of enthusiasm on the subject," Haida said and smiled weakly.

The battleship had set the cruiser down on the water. All eyes turned to her. "I don't take any of it back and will accept the punishment," Gotengo said, "I will apologize to Maggie for dragging her into this. For that, I am sorry. And I will accept instead of eating Haida, watching her scarf down a heaping helping of crow."

"It's two weeks," Captain Gordon replied.

"There's a major operation laid on, and they'd hardly let me sail with you, so I'll be out either way," Gotengo said.

"You still need to learn to hold your temper," Maggie said.

"Fine, let Haida expound her wisdom, and I'll hold my tongue, deal?" Gotengo said, glaring at the destroyer.

"Deal," Maggie said, "Why wouldn't Gotengo's torpedo tactics work, and what would you propose differently?"

"The Types 9's on battleships are short-ranged, especially at high speed, which isn't particularly fast. I could outrun them. Also, the warhead is less than a hundred kilos of TNT, so the only ships small enough to be seriously effected are too fast to be caught, and anything big and clumsy enough to be caught would shrug them off," Haida said, and watched the former Abyssal building up to an explosion, "So forget firing them at a target, but fire them at targets already engaged to force them to turn into more effective torpedoes. The threat of torpedoes is more effective than the torpedoes themselves." Haida looked smug and stuck out her tongue at the cruiser.

Gotengo had mastered the near dancing fury she'd been in as Haida had been speaking. The battleship turned to her.

"Do you have a polite rebuttal?" Captain Gordon asked.

Gotengo looked behind her and down. "Rebuttal, you'd stop me," she said, "But Haida has ignored her own eyes."

"How's that?" Haida asked.

"Captain Gordon has Mark 12's," Gotengo said and grinned at Haida.

Bliss-Leavitt 21" (53.3 cm) Mark 9
Pre-World War II Torpedoes of the United States of America - NavWeaps
Bliss-Leavitt 21" (53.3 cm) Mark 9
Ship Class Used On Mod 1: World War I-era Battleships
Mod 1B: Submarines
Date Of Design About 1912
Date In Service1915
WeightMod 1: 2,059 lbs. (934 kg)
Mod 1B: 2,377 lbs. (1,078 kg)
Overall Length196 in (5.004 m)
Explosive ChargeMod 1: 210 lbs. (95 kg) TNT
Mod 1B: 395 lbs. (179 kg) Torpex
Range / SpeedMod 1: 9,000 yards (8,230 m) / 27 knots
Mod 1B: 5,500 yards (5,030 m) / 34.5 knots
Power / GuidanceWet-heater / Mark 8 Mod 1 gyro
A short torpedo developed for the submerged tubes on battleships. Originally known as the Bliss-Leavitt Mark 3 Mod 1. Used by "R" and "S" class submarines in World War II. Last torpedo built by Bliss.
21" (53.3 cm) Mark 12
Pre-World War II Torpedoes of the United States of America - NavWeaps
21" (53.3 cm) Mark 12
Ship Class Used On Destroyers and Cruisers
Date Of Designabout 1927
Date In Service1928
Weight3,505 lbs. (1,590 kg)
Overall Length271 in (6.883 m)
Explosive Charge500 lbs. (227 kg) TNT
Range / Speed7,000 yards (6,400 m) / 44 knots
10,000 yards (9,150 m) / 34.5 knots
15,000 yards (13,700 m) / 27.5 knots
PowerWet-heater
------------------------------

A number of soldiers were wheeling huge garbage cans out of the shred building. "Hail noble soldiers, might this worthless one present a query unto thee?"

That isn't exactly what I said, but if I had to quickly learn Japanese, which has three formal forms of politeness and about four more informal ones, I was going to learn the form that was most polite first. So what I actually said was 'Soldier, may I ask you a question' but the implication was that above.

"Yes, Battleship-san," the leader said but kept wheeling.

"Where do these barrels go once they're in the truck?" I asked.

"Incinerator building," the soldier said.

"Thank you." And I made a beeline to the incinerator building. There I asked for the chief engineer, to the laughter of the guards. I admit I probably sounded like I was asking to meet with a member of the Imperial Court.

"Yo," the man said, in passable English, "Whatcha want?"

I hid a smirk at a clearly native Japanese speaking with Chicago phrasing, and a Scots accent.

"Does this building connect with the heating system, generate steam for the base, or do you just burn the shredded paper you bring in?" I asked.

The man scratched his chin. "Naw, wejas lognburn."

"Thank you, thank you very much." I did bow. For once I was thinking less as girl, and more as ship and I had a wonderful idea. I just needed the Admiral's permission.
------------------------------

The storm had mostly passed, and picket duty out in the darkness was as boring to Abyssals as it was to human sailors. They were supposed to be spaced farther apart, but too far and they'd have to use the radios to talk, and that could be monitored from the base.

"They found a crate of books," one of the cruisers said, "Really frightening stuff."

"Human propaganda," another light cruiser said, "To scare us, after all the ship-girl at the end enjoys what happens to her, yet it killed all the Abyssals, how does that work?"

"Like those papers the destroyers were punished for having, how were those propaganda? No humans could land here, not with our pickets," said the cruiser guard who'd essentially abandoned her post to get close enough to talk with the others. Every Abyssal knew the night fighters would give early warning.

"Weird stuff happening since `she` showed up," the first cruiser said, "You think she's really the chosen of the Abyss?"

"I'm more worried about the other things that have stirred up," the third cruiser said, "I saw humans walking around the town the other night."

"We killed them all and burned their bodies the first day we got here," the second cruiser said.

"Maybe we didn't burn them hot enough," the third said.

"We," the first began, then fell silent as they heard a voice, one they didn't recognize, nor could they localize. Instead, they listened.

"Douglas Gordon was the Captain of a Tillman and her crew
And he sailed and fought Capt. Gordon in the War of '42
Now Capt. Gordon was the tightest ship 'tween here and Charlemagne
And the crew of Douglas Gordon was the same

"On patrol near Iron Bottom, in the Isles of Solomon
They were jumped by three war squadrons though they weren't a match for one
As they came to general quarters and they sent out the alarm
Gordon's crew was sure they'd finally bought the farm

"No one living saw that battle though the fleet was quick to leave
When they reached the site they found a scene no ship-girl could believe
Ground in shallows lay three war squadrons, cut to ribbons all around
But no sign of Doug's Capt. Gordon could be found

"There are stories of the Dutchman, the Celeste and Barnham's Pride
There are stories of the Horseman and the Lady at his side
But the tale that chills my spirit, more because I know it's true
Is the tale of Douglas Gordon and his crew
Yes, the tale of Captain Gordon and her crew

"I was picket for some Wa-class, just some freighters of the line
We were shipping precious metals to the colony on Nine
It was on the homeward stretch with safety nearly in our sight
When the battleships appeared out of the night

"Now to me there was no question, for they had us four to one
And you can't fight battlewagons when you're Nu-class with no gun
So we stood by to be raided by a party yet unseen
When another ship appeared upon our screen

"First we thought it just a pirate, but the vector was all wrong
Then we thought it might be rescue, but the signal wasn't strong
When she didn't answer hailing, we all felt an unknown dread
For we saw her ire was up, eyes glowing red

"Now the courage of that superdread is shown by very few
But we never saw a dreadnought fly the way the stranger flew
Never fearing guns or numbers, like a tiger to its meat
The dreadnought then attacked the raider fleet

"And the dreadnought's flash burned brighter than all guns we'd seen before
And the dreadnought's hull was harder than the heart of any whore
As the battle rent the aether, while we watched and shook our heads
The raider ships were blown to bloody shreds
The battleships were blown to bloody shreds

"Just as quickly as it started then the fighting was all done
For the raider fleet was murdered and the dreadnought she had won
Though we tried to call and thank her, not an answer could we draw
Then she closed right in and this is what we saw

"There were thirty holes clear through her and a gash along one side
And we knew that when it happened, that nothing was left alive
For the markings all said Gordon, deep inside us each one knew
'Twas the tomb of Douglas Gordon and his crew

"Now instead of sailing off, the superdread then began to fade
First the hull, and then the bulkheads as we cowered there afraid
For as Capt. Gordon disappeared, the last to slip from view
Were the bones of Douglas Gordon and his crew
Yes, the bones of Douglas Gordon and his crew

"There are stories of the Dutchman, the Celeste and Barnham's Pride
There are stories of the Horseman and the Lady at his side
But the tale that chills my spirit, and I swear to God it's true
Is the tale of Douglas Gordon and his crew
Yes, the tale of Captain Gordon and her crew"


The ships resumed their patrol and didn't speak of things the rest of the night. No Abyssal wanted to report a ghost singing ghost stories.

Douglas Gordon - Apologies to Leslie Fish
 
Anchovy Peaches XX - Swimming and Punching
Anchovy Peaches XX - Swimming and Punching


No one would have believed in the waning hours of a long and difficult day that HMCS Haida was being watched keenly and closely by an intelligence greater than hers and yet as mortal as her own; that as Haida busied herself about greeting Willie D and Hibiki after their trip from Yokosuka she was being scrutinized and studied.

Yet across the distance of the room, an intellect vast and cool and wholly sympathetic, regarded this agreeable interaction with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew her plans about her.

Haida had kicked off her shoes and socks and collapsed onto her bunk. "I'm exhausted."

Then the blankets attacked.

A leg wrapped around hers and an arm trapped hers against her sides while a free foot tickled the soles of hers and a roving hand visited every ticklish spot the destroyer had.

"HELP!" Haida yelled to her bunkmates as she struggled, then realized her attacker's identity, "You crazy WAHAHA spider HAHA monkey, let me BAHAHAWHA go!"

The rest of DesDiv 6 and the four Akizukis pulled the mattresses from the other bunks and stacked them on the floor as Gotengo kept tickling the impotently squirming Haida. Then they picked up the last and occupied mattress and slotted it into place.

Haida was gasping for air trying to keep her boilers lit as Gotengo disentangled herself. She waited for the destroyer to stabilize.

"Crazy spider monkey," Haida whispered.

"You should not feel guilty about being the only one to survive," Gotengo said, "You have not shamed anyone by being last, not your crew, not your sisters and not yourself."

"I was last as well," Hibiki said sitting next to Haida, "But I did my job. It wasn't I was good and they were bad, or vice versa, it was war, what happened happened. Same as you."

Haida swore she heard something break inside her. Hibiki was hugging her before Haida could gather her in. The other destroyers swarmed in, surrounding Haida, hugging despite the soft sobs, and Gotengo rested a hand atop her head.

She kept crying even as sleep came for her, the other destroyers never leaving her and her never losing them. For one night, the nightmares stayed away, the shadows stayed shadows instead of accusing stares of dead sister ships. Haida felt safe for the first time in a long time.

I'm gonna owe that spider monkey, she thought half-asleep, Aren't I?
------------------------------

Gotengo and Hibiki sat on the balcony watching the sun come up.

"Why didn't you tell me the same thing?" Hibiki asked.

Gotengo indicated the waking base. "What do you see out there once you remove the humans and the buildings from the list?"

"Ship-girls," Hibiki said.

"Potential Abyssals," Gotengo said, "I can see them, maybe that's why they accepted me instantly, they are almost Abyssals and as I get to know them I see the connection to the Abyss each one has. Willie D has the splintered column that would have been her connection, Haida's still existed, until we shattered it."

"Let me guess," Hibiki said, "A battleship willingly stood beside her for protection, then took a deathblow meant for her."

Gotengo nodded. "And I'm not omniscient, I guessed on Haida, yet I have no idea what demons drive Kushi."

"U-464 was lost on her first patrol, crippled by aircraft, then scuttled by her crew," Hibiki said, "She feels the need to do, and do her job. Feed her troops and - " Hibiki turned and stared. "You didn't."

"Of course I did, I'm evil," Gotengo said and hugged Hibiki.

Inside at the table, the four Akizuki-class looked at the heaping platters set before Akizuki. "Is this all for us?" Akizuki asked.

"Oh no," Kushi said.

The four destroyers relaxed slightly.

"My mutti would strip my paint down to bare metal if she caught me giving out such parsimonious portions," the Milchkuh said as she duplicated the set of platters before each Akizuki-class.

"Ducky.exe has stopped working," Hibiki said as they came in from the balcony to breakfast.

"My master plan for pate de fog grass," Gotengo said, "If you invite the Duckies for chicken and turkey do you wind up with Turkducken?"

"Duckturken I think," Hibiki said and headed to the table with the others, noting a sniffly Haida was still hugging Willie D.
------------------------------

Naka rarely worried about streaming a game with Tenryuu and Tatsuta, they always got good ratings and they were always over the top, but today GrrEatURliverX99 was not having a good day.

"NO WAY!" Tenryuu shouted, "How does a MuSlug knock off have torpedobeats like that?"

"We need help flipping the cap," Tatsuta called from her screen, "SHIT! That destroyer got me." She looked over at her sistership and said, "Quit playing with your food and kill that battleship or we lose on points."

"What warrior wins on points?" Tenryuu asked, "HA! Torpedoes away! You'll never dodge them all!" She winced. "How does that MuSlug citadel me through the front?"

The dull thud of one then another torpedo impacts sounded, followed immediately by the music announcing her death and their defeat. Naka snatched her spare keyboard out from under Tenryuu's clenched fists.

"NO! NO! NO! NO!" shouted the cruiser as she pounded the table, "A battleship with torpedoes! They shouldn't have been able to reach me!"

"We lost on points, you should have helped flip the cap," Tatsuta said.

"I am a warrior!" Tenryuu said.

"Who got torped by Spidermonkeys Pillow," Tatsuta said.

"What kind of warrior name is that?" Tenryuu demanded.

Naka carefully ended the stream before something happened.

"Probably someone divisioned up with Cute SpiderMonkey," Tatsuta said, "And considering they came in 3rd and 4th on points, pretty good warriors."

"NO!" Tenryuu shouted.
------------------------------

Gotengo patted Haida on the head as Haida rested her chin on Captain Gordon. "Told you that torp trick would work," the cruiser said.

"Yes, you were right," Haida admitted, "How was Willie D at teaching you how to destroyer?"

"Three kills," Gotengo said, "Just a bit excitable though."

"She's crazy," Willie D said.

"Just reckless," Gotengo admitted, "Now, before you all go out, I remember something about every flavor of ice cream."

"YAY!" their flotilla of admirers shouted as they began to charge towards the mess, then caught themselves and formed up around the battleship and cruiser.
------------------------------

Officially, they were surveying the outer defenses since the fleet would be under Goto's command since the rendezvous. In reality it was an excuse to spend some time together outside the office. Admiral Crawford and Northampton walked along, hand in hand, in case one of them slipped on the sand or rocks. And just enjoyed the camaraderie. The marine along and subs offshore to `guard` them also reminded them not to take it into territory they knew would harm them both.

"Do you think I'm pretty?" came from behind.

Both whirled, weapons at the ready. The Abyssal had the marine's rifle pinned against his side and it held his pistol against his head. Not pointing it at any of them, the slide rested against the man's cheek.

"He is sorry, but I am a submarine," the creature with the long hair said, "But I'd rather not have a fight when we can exchange. Tell him to stand down and you can have him back unharmed."

"Stand down," Crawford ordered lowering his pistol and watching Northampton point her weapons away from the pair. The Abyssal shoved the marine towards them, yet somehow kept the man's rifle. She slung it over her shoulder and ejected the magazine from the pistol.

"There's information that you need, and something that I want first and that is nonnegotiable," the Abyssal said, using her free hand to brush her hair aside to reveal the wounds that opened her cheeks to the jaw.

"The sub who talked to Captain Gordon," Crawford said and nodded for Northampton to dismiss her weapons, "What do we have that you want?"

"My name. You gave Gotengo her name, you've used mine, I want it," the Abyssal said and nodded to the large steel wedge with the open mouth offshore.

"It's not very -" Northampton was interrupted by the pistol shot into the ground by the Abyssal.

"My name," it said, then tossed the empty pistol back to the marine.

"Shark Dentures," Crawford said, "And it isn't very flattering, and Gotengo suffered with getting a name before she was commissioned."

"Understood, Admiral. It's mine," the Abyssal said as she ejected the rifle's mag and then pulled the bolt back to eject the loaded cartridge. Then the rifle was tossed to the marine who easily caught it. "There is a new Princess. The Abyss was unhappy the war was stalling, so a new, more aggressive Princess was sent. One who showed her power by destroying a Princess who had not been sufficiently aggressive towards humans. She parleyed that unprecedented murder of a Fleet Leader rather than an attack on her fleet and territory, into a loose coalition of those who'd rather fight you than her."

"We broke those attacks," Northampton said.

The Abyssal ignored the comment. "She unfortunately proved that a fleet's mother god could die, and with the fruitless casualties of the multipronged, multi-Princess assault on you, some thought they could better rule than serve. Demons seized several thrones, while other Princesses slaughtered their least loyal, strong supporters. Into that weakness, she is preparing to seize the sabotaged territories, all with the smiling Abyss looking on. Some Abyssals are learning that should they win against you, the war will go on until the Abyss has consumed them all. There is no victory for them anymore."

"Not Bismarck or even Alexander," Crawford said, "So who is this Princess and where is she?"

"She is hidden. The initiating crime by a Princess which stung the Abyss into action was the creation of a new type of Princess. One not based on a human ship, and not based on an Abyssal template," the Abyssal said, "Now you know enough to ask questions."

"How is that possible?" Northampton asked.

"How do humans build ships?" the Abyssal asked, "How do humans design ships? How did Feanor create and Morgoth could only copy? The fact is, that was why the Abyss went to war against its own ships. It doesn't know either and it must have that knowledge or suppress it. So from her hidden base the Red Princess seeks also to recreate that, before the Abyss can destroy all knowledge of true creation. She started with tearing another Princess to pieces and using only part of those pieces in a new creation different from all others."

"You," Crawford said.

The Abyssal nodded. "I was given to her Cruiser Demon, in hopes the Cruiser would hate and assault me endlessly, but Indianapolis did not hate submarines, she hated abandonment, and a submarine who could not bear to abandon her did not result as expected. She was furious, but unwilling to give up. So she took the remaining parts, scoured the seas for fragments of Battleship Demons and Princesses you'd slain, even battleships you have not yet summoned, and poured those fragments into the largest container she could, and set it to forge her ultimate achievement."

"Captain Gordon," Northampton said.

"And the creature without understanding of itself, with its past scattered among thousands of fragments was set near two of your destroyers, with the Red Princess' most trusted cruisers to drive them into the waiting maw as the hysteria of emptiness descended. It was to have torn them apart and sucked their lives from them in agony and terror to combat the emptiness."

"But it glitched," Northampton said, "One fragment said 'this is a nightmare and we don't have to care about not understanding'."

"Worse, it went over instantly to your side, despite being an Abyssal to its core," the Abyssal said, and laughed, "The grand weakness it has could not be leveraged, Captain Gordon's anti-aircraft suite. She lost more than Indianapolis that day. It is also why it/he does things that you don't understand. It is an Abyssal who doesn't care to act as an Abyssal, has rejected the Abyss to regain a fair form, but has many of the powers of an Abyssal. The holes are all, I see the raw, open wound where you were torn away from each other, but he instinctively sought the ship-girls' cure for the emptiness, others. Think on that, and think on the idea that an Abyssal free of the drives of the Abyss itself walked over to your side and then wishes to harvest all the others. The Abyss knows now it cannot win as long as one human remains alive."

She tossed the magazines back to the marine. "That was not what the game was for, it was a contest of strength, of ideology, to feed the war gods you have tried to walk away from. But now it has looped back to the reason you have seriously tried to walk away from war: Total Annihilation. The drive is there, but the mind overrides it, yet you hunger for it. So the Abyss claimed it was giving you a gift, and the others agreed, but it was a poison package and even the Abyss had only an inkling of that." The Abyssal started walking back to the shore.

"We thank you for what you've told us, is there anything we can offer, anything we can trade?" Crawford asked.

"I can cast a spell of insatiable lust on you and your ship-girl, and let you two share my Dentures, while the Marine slakes his lust and vengeance on my body," the Abyssal said.

While the Marine facepalmed and Northampton sputtered, Crawford asked, "You can do that?"

"Your commanders do not know if I can or cannot," the Abyssal said, "No, there is nothing you can give me, yet. I despise humans, you are inferior to me in all the ways that matter, even with your tools you are trivialities trying to ape your betters, me, but I think I can live on the same planet as you. When I've gathered the bride-price for Indianapolis, I want her here. She can take me back, or kill me, either is acceptable. Do not assume you understand, even I do not, nor does the Abyss. You say you love the sea, but you travel so little of it. I swim in the depths even your machines cannot reach, and return to the surface without harm or delay. Your four bushwhacker sub-girls are merely hope that Indianapolis is as loved and protected. Who is truly master of this world?" She climbed into the waiting jaws and the structure pulled away from the shore and descended.

A few minutes later N37 surfaced. The girl in the RN uniform with the German garrison cap wound said cap in her hands. "Sorry, Admiral, she dives too fast and too deep," the sub said, "I think she picked the spot where the island shoals away fastest."

"We'll be seeing her again," Crawford said, "And despite despising us, I don't think she wants to be our enemy."

"Should we take her up on her spell sometime?" Northampton asked.

"Maybe," Crawford said, "When we know what her game is, and I think even she doesn't know the rules yet. We may be beneath her, yet she needs us to figure this out."
 
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