Aleph: Oh, yes, question I've been meaning to ask. So, the scale of "fleet" is kinda variable. Zamar of the Raraan Ge has only two cutters, and the Padua Family's pride and joy is eight vessels and a four-mast flagship.
Aleph: Keris, in total, had nine 15m single-mast junks and seven 20m double-mast junks, plus a 50m four-master and a 65-metre five-master that was split in two down the hull. That was enough to put her hypothetically equal to or even slightly above the strongest of the blue sea masters.
Aleph: So, hmm, can I get a number on how many of her little ships she gave to Lucky Wolf to bring him "back up to par", and therefore how many she has left?
EarthScorpion: So, my thought broadly is that as a core thing, ships here are expensive. They're a big capital investment, and get more so when they're a) built for speed, and b) the more masts they have. Also, with the blue sea masters, remember - they have people reporting to them. So what they basically have is a few small squadrons for doing their personal things, and then subordinates who have their own fleets reporting to them.
EarthScorpion: So an operational squadron is usually 3 or so ships - so the war ship part of a BSM fleet is probably only ten or so ships, mostly 1 and 2 masters with maybe a three master flagship
Aleph: Cool. About what I'd expected.
Aleph: Hence why Keris skipped the expensive "build ships" stage and just stole a bunch from the Realm.
EarthScorpion: Yep.
EarthScorpion: Let's say she gave up 5 1-masters and 3 2-masters
Aleph: Cool.
Aleph: Four left of each, then. Still a pretty respectable fleet, especially with the 50-metre four-master.
Aleph: And if she can get the Mercy of Hesiesh repaired, she's in business.
Aleph: Hmm. That's got a split hull, and has been in the Domain with child-keruby for long enough that it's basically going to need to be completely rebuilt using the old hull as a frame. I'll have to dump it on an out-of-the-way island with a bunch of demon shipbuilders.
EarthScorpion: Honestly, it may be ruined as anything less than scrap and some of the fittings
Aleph: Tch. Pity.
Aleph: Still, the four-master is a very nice official flagship. And Neride will have finished sounding out the region on that scouting trip Keris gave her and be expecting some search-and-destroy orders, which Keris will happily give her by pointing at the Zu Tak and going "kill".
...
EarthScorpion: keris's kerisgenes come from her family
Aleph: both sides of it, it would seem : P
EarthScorpion:
EarthScorpion: So, how was that?
Aleph: I'm really liking the strategic play, mwaa haa
EarthScorpion:
EarthScorpion: Oh, Keris
EarthScorpion: The whole Firisutu thing was because yeah, she is picking up a bunch of kerub sidekicks, and most of them, apart from Saji, are super useful.
Aleph: Yes. Hee.
Aleph: Hmm. Once I'm more secure I might summon him into a private part of the estate.
EarthScorpion: Hmm. Saji has probably gone home. Haneyl, sigh, is still a bit irked with her
EarthScorpion: Also, hee, you seem to like Elly.
Aleph: Yes. Hee.
Aleph: Where Rounen speaks to Keris's hun traits, Elly is very good at stroking her po.
Keris's Id
really likes being treated with absolute respect as an apex predator who doesn't get argued with at all.
Aleph: ... or, to put it another way
Aleph: part of her actually quite likes being Unquestionable : V
EarthScorpion: Keris's Id likes being queen bitch.
EarthScorpion: And yes, the Haneyl bit was tutorialising that in strategic play, Haneyl and the other souls are not going to always be around for Trivial actions.
EarthScorpion: In the case of Haneyl, sometimes she's just on her period and also in a low fuel moment and so wants to be hugged and fed by Elly.
EarthScorpion: Heh. Elly is fun, because she just... does what Keris says. And thus while Rounen will argue, and while remaining polite still give the impression that he thinks Keris is being silly, Elly will just do whatever plan Keris thinks of, especially if it's immediately profitable or gets her food
Aleph: : D
Aleph: She very much likes this kind of job for her queen.
Aleph: And appreciates that if Keris finds an easy and fairly risk-free way to make money that requires some set-up or business acumen or time she just doesn't have, she'll generally just summon Elly and point her at it.
EarthScorpion: Also, heh, Keris now realises why Rounen showed up to her place to "have a strategic meeting with her".
EarthScorpion: He just was escaping Haneyl by pretending he had to cover his duties with Keris, and left Elly to handle a PMSing, burned out Haneyl
Aleph: hahahaha, lol
EarthScorpion: This is, indeed, one of the downsides of Haneyl as a strategic asset. Just like Rounen, she gets erratic if she doesn't feel appreciated
EarthScorpion: (then she makes everyone else's life miserable until she feels better)
EarthScorpion: Heh. Keris doesn't make people miserable like Haneyl does because she's too scared of making them hate her.
Aleph: ...
Aleph: *glances at Taym Matah*
Aleph: maybe not like Haneyl does
Aleph: but she still makes people feel pretty damn miserable when she's grumpy and annoyed and feels like a pick-me-up
Aleph: generally by stealing all of their valuables and gloating
...
Aleph: Ney:
"Hi Kiss."
Keris: <flat stare>
Keris: "No. Bullshit. I refuse to acknowledge this. Get out of my city and breach the walls again, this time in a way that
makes some fucking sense goddammit!"
EarthScorpion: Ney: "Actually, we were in your city all along. They were a distraction by a troupe of mimes I hired."
Aleph: Keris: "WHO SHOULD STILL ALL HAVE DIED."
...
EarthScorpion: Hee. It really is amusing how Keris is a hot mess when viewed from her PoV, but a terrifying corrupter and assassin when you can't see her trying to stop Kali getting food in her brother's tails.
Aleph: It's one of my favourite parts of it, yes : D
Aleph: And it's helped a lot by how catlike she is.
Aleph: So a lot of times the scary impossible saboteur shit she pulls like "virtually singlehandedly toppled Nexus for unclear goals that may have been linked to the demon prince Jacinct" is actually explained by "shit went completely fucked and Keris managed by dint of Reaction 5 and personal lethality to come out of it intact and on her feet, then played it all off as if she'd meant for that to happen."
EarthScorpion: Ney says she's a really hot mess
Aleph: *eyeroll*
EarthScorpion: And then there's her thing with Ney, where she corrupted the head of counter Intel, then stole huge amounts of wealth and information and several priceless irreplaceable artifacts.
Aleph:
EarthScorpion: Sigh. And Ney knows she didn't plan it.
Aleph: She basically did do it mostly by accident.
EarthScorpion: But can't convince anyone else of it because he's compromised.
Aleph: lol
Aleph: God. It's one of the reasons he likes her.
Aleph: I mean, he's probably kind of mad about it, but he also privately thinks it's hilarious that she so perfectly managed to compromise him largely by accident, and basically just stumbled blindly through one of the most effective and successful attacks there's ever been on Malra, and which could have been worse still.
EarthScorpion: An assassin who's as good as he is, and two demon lords.
