Beneath Celestial Depths (An Arpeggio of Blue Steel Quest)

[AnonymousRabbit]

[] Take a detour

Given that Mary was already like this it would seem that you have no choice. It would be good to see what sort of information you'll be able to dredge up beyond Blue Steel's control. The seas were littered with numerous drones that would pick up on your movements, diving deeper and moving silently was the key.

Mary seemed ecstatic by the prospect of exploring an actual city this time. Ah, the things you did for the girl. Diving deep, you slowly made your way to the nearest Australian port not filled to the gills with proximity drones that would bring the whole country on your head.

You were a professional! You were by no means an amateur which was why you managed to bypass several checkpoints on your way here. Blue Steel can wait, Mary took priority above else. For her part, the girl seemed to be practically vibrating in her seat which was adorable to see.

You drifted through the waters and crossed your arms as you glanced at Mary looking at all sorts of maps.

"You know, from what I gather, human cities these days are vastly different from the previous era. You might just end up being my guide, you know?" You told her with a low chuckle.

"Human cities here at least are pretty bad. Lawless highly dangerous for the normal folk," Mary said as she looked your way, "I mean, I don't think I'm in danger of being taken apart for cybernetics. Plus you're pretty strong, right?"

"I am pretty strong as you might say it," you coughed into your hand before straightening yourself, "Well, if you know it's dangerous, why go here?"

"Curiosity," Mary said as she typed in her terminal to log the places she wanted to go in, "I want to have an adventure!"

Of course she would...

Set sail go Australia then!

.....
....
...

Arriving at a quiet port, the two of you arrived a bustling city while under the cover of darkness. Oceania wasn't as organized as the other nations of the world but it was still teeming with people, mostly vagabonds, mercenaries and contracted PMCs working through the waters.

Mary stepped on the ground and did a little twirl as you hid your hands in your pockets. It may be odd for an onlooker to see a drop dead gorgeous woman as yourself and an adorable baguette of a girl wandering about in these parts of town. So you decided to dress a bit more... Corporate for the occasion.

Stick a logo of a Corporation on your new suit and you were able to deter vagrants from jumping you and Mary. As for currency, you hoped that false ones made from nanomaterials would help enough in getting you around. There was a bus stop not too far from where you were so you decided to take that.

You didn't bother taking the name of the city you were in but it should be at the southern tip of the continent. The climate was temperate according to the data you had sneakily siphoned off from the local Net Links which was an encrypted network copy of the Global Web.

The internet has progressed this far, huh?

The city was divided into three sections. The inner circle, the outer rim and the fringes. People of various status were divided between each area with the rich residing within the inner most part of this particular city.

Though for some semblance of order to be present, such a thing may be necessary. The two of you were currently at the outer rim or let's say the second layer of the city. It was filled with lights and steel, towering buildings and numerous vehicles. There were a lot of people going about their businesses but none of them looked particularly as nice as the Blue Steel people.

Stepping out of the bus, you stood by Mary's side and noted how the two of you seemed to stick out of the crowd. Mary seemed quite happy but you stayed close to her as you looked at nearby onlookers.

There didn't seem to be any normal people here. You noted the cybernetics certain individuals had on their person and quickly steered Mary away from dark corners and kept her on the main street.

"Surcouf, there's so many lights and people," Mary said as she walked down the street with you moving close behind.

"Cybernetics sure is all in the rage, huh?" You noted as you glanced at some muscle heads looking at the two of you.

"With some breakthrough regarding nanomaterial research, it's been possible to apply cybernetics without bodily rejection," Mary explained as she waved her hand while looking your way, "You saw Mr. Chihaya, right? The same principle was done for other humans except not the process of remaking his entire body."

"Just portions of their bodies. Humanity sure loved poking and prodding our insides, don't they?" You said as you noticed that you were being followed.

"Mhm, research should be being done each day," Mary said as she smiled at you, "Oh! Look at that!"

You turned to see a projection store. It was a shop selling holographic images of certain objects of scenery. Glittering pixelated lights filled the center of a little iron button and displayed a 3D image.

"Hey, why don't you go look inside? I'll stay here and relax, okay?" You told her with a wink.

"Really? Is that fine?" Mary asked you with a surprised look.

"You're a big girl. I trust you to be careful. Have fun, okay, darling?" You told her as you rubbed her head.

Mary nodded as she went in the store. Waiting for a bit, you slipped to an alley and kept walking. You moved till you reached a dead and turned to find a group of muscled men cracking their knuckles. Looking at their hands, you snorted.

"A sack, really?" You asked them with a smirk.

"We need something to carry you, lady. Now just be cooperate and let us chop you up," the man said at the lead of them.

"I see. Chop me, you say?" You told them before your eyes glowed red, "Not if I get you first."

.....
....
...

"Wow! I never thought you'd have money to buy me this!" Mary said as she sat in her Captain's seat.

You proudly nodded your head as you said, "It was a small matter. I thought I'd surprise you."

"Though I do find it odd that you suddenly procured money. You didn't sell anything fake did you?" Mary asked with a suspicious look.

"Nope," you lied as easily as you breathed before shrugging, "We should be leaving Australia's zone of control. We're en route to returning to Blue Steel. I hope you brag about that little thing you have there."

"Ehhh? It's mine, I'm going to keep it here for safe keeping," Mary said as she glanced at you. She then frowned and hopped on her seat.

"Hey, that's dangerous," you warned her as you tried holding out your hands.

Mary moved close to you and wiped your cheek, "You have dirt on your face."

You noticed the dried bloodstain in her thumb. Ah, that must have gotten there from where you were talking to those gentlemen. You created a handkerchief from nanomaterial and wiped her hand.

"Thank you," you chuckled as you rubbed her head.

......
....
...

Returning to Blue Steel waters, you were cleared of your hull for anything that would have stuck to track you. Boston was nearby as well making sure you didn't turn and you gave her a jolly old flipping of the bird when you passed her by.

Sending Gunzou your report, you hoped that would be enough to deter him from bothering you for awhile. Unfortunately, you had more work on your table following your success with a video call from the man himself.

"Excellent work on your mission. Mary has proven herself capable it seems. Now I know you just returned but we have a few urgent missions that need filling. I was hoping you two would be open for them?"

Mary cheered at that, "More missions!"

You could only run your forehead at that. You're going to punch that man...

[Major Actions]
​

[] Supply Run (A nearby Blue Steel outpost is in need of supplies following being trapped in a freak tropical storm out east. Gather supplies and reach the outpost, you may find information regarding the Asian countries if you ask)
[] Detection Protocol (Well isn't this fantastic! A patrol with that bimbo Boston. Just what you needed! It would seem some drones are wandering close to Blue Steel territory and Gunzou wants you to clean them up. Maybe you can play a little prank on Miss Hothead.)
[] Research and development. (Blue Steel researchers want to inquire you regarding your capabilities. All they have were data on inert Fog Ships in their care but the only active ones are you and Boston. Boston can't handle them all and was scheduled for a mission this week so you will have to do it.)
===========
QM note: wake me up
wake me up inside (can't wake up)
wake me up inside (SAVE MEEEEE)
CALL MY NAME AND SAVE ME FROM THE DARK

 

[Higure]

[X] Supply Run (A nearby Blue Steel outpost is in need of supplies following being trapped in a freak tropical storm out east. Gather supplies and reach the outpost, you may find information regarding the Asian countries if you ask)

Regardless of your irritation with the delays, you have nothing to lose by refusing. A supply run should not be too onerous; spending time with Boston is unlikely to go well and you are not particularly in the mood to be used as a test subject.

"We'll make the supply run. You will need to provide us with up-to-date records of Blue Steel's supply depots." You look Gunzou firmly in the eye, observing the slight narrowing of his eyes and quirking of his lips; he's recognized the position you've put him in. If he provides the depot locations, you will have the ability to loot those depots in the event you eventually fall out with Blue Steel. If he does not, you cannot complete the mission.

The obvious countermove is to provide only a very limited subset of the depot locations, which will--

"A comprehensive list of depots is being transmitted as we speak. You will also be provided real-time access to whatever information we are able to gather about the storm's behavior, to assist in your mission." That slight quirk of the lips broadens into a wide, devious smile, "I trust that is satisfactory?"

You grimace at his response. Through his actions, he has implied the words, "I trust you, Surcouf." He knows that you are not trustworthy and you know you are not trustworthy; by extending trust in spite of that mutual understanding, he has left you feeling disinclined to betray him. An appeal to your better nature, which few would be willing to gamble on.

You're probably not going to abuse this information unless it becomes a necessity, you realize with a sigh.

"Yes. We'll get the job done, Gunzou." You answer with a nod, quietly giving him the point.

He nods in understanding, "I will count on your success, Surcouf." With those words, he ends the call.

"He's got your number, huh?" Mary asks, smirking a bit as she stares up at you.

You scowl, "I'll get him next time. Anyway, let's discuss our plans." You wave your hand, conjuring up a floating map of the world--each depot has already been marked, among all of the other notable location information you've gathered throughout your lifetime. With a thought, it zooms in on the region you're delivering supplies to.

"Oooo! Cool! Okay, so, we should definitely use the nearest depots. Looks like there are four pretty close!" She reaches up and taps on the depots on the screen, and you bring up additional screens to display details on the relevant depots.

She looks over the data provided, "Hmm, so~oo, it looks like we'll need to go to three of these if we want all of the supplies we're going to need. None of them are fully stocked, and are lacking in certain items."

You had already drawn the same conclusion, but you allow her to go on. This is a good learning experience.

She holds a finger down at your current location on the map, and draws out a route from there, indicating the path she thinks you should follow. You highlight (and smooth out) the path she's drawing as she does so. It's a solid route...with only that information.

You add the weather, current, and topological data to the map without being asked. She frowns in response, "You're saying I should have asked for these myself?"

You nod, "A captain needs to be able to recognize what information is needed and take initiative to obtain it. You did not."

She pouts a bit, but nods, "Right. Okay, give me a minute." She spends a little while reviewing the wealth of information provided, asking you to explain a few details of the map here and there.

Eventually, after learning quite a bit about navigation, Mary traces out her final route--one similar, if not identical, to the one you yourself had devised before she started trying, "I think this is the best route."

"Then we'll try that route, and review it after the mission's over." You can see the flaws in her route--it's going to pass through some unnecessarily rough waters, considering how the storm will interact with the natural currents--but you don't call her on it for the moment. She should experience the consequences of the mistake, and it won't be a serious problem for you. You'll explain on your way back.

Mary frowns, "...I messed up, huh?" She stares up at you, looking like a sad puppy.

You relent, at least a little, "...Only a little. You misread the currents a bit, since you didn't account for the storm fully. It'll be easier to understand once you've actually been out in the storm."

She slowly nods, "Alright, let's hurry up and go before the storm ends, then." She seems curious, looking back at the map and trying to figure out where her error was.

You set your hull into motion, following the course she has charted.

The storm does not touch you in the depths of the ocean; you only realize you've reached it thanks to your maps. Mary, sitting in the Captain's chair and trying to look as grim and serious as possible, perks up as you send her a pop-up alert.

"Oh! We've reached the storm! Things are gonna get rocky soon, then?" She asks, sounding both excited and nervous. You imagine that living alone on a small island for years would make storms a bit of a scary thing.

You step up behind her and lay a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, "No, it will be fine for now. We're deep enough not to feel it."

She stills for a moment, then frowns, "Oh. I sent us through some shallows, didn't I? That was where I messed up."

You chuckle, ruffling her hair, "Yeah, mostly. The depths will protect you from almost any weather, but getting at all close to the surface makes for a rough trip--and, if we were in a war zone, would put us in a bad spot. Luckily for us, there shouldn't be any enemy vessels about, so it's just some troubled waters."

Mary sighs, pouting, "...I don't suppose we could just change the route now, could we...?"

Your chuckling only escalates, and she groans at refusal. Honestly, she should thank you--she'll need to know how it feels, if she ends up forced into that situations someday. This is a good chance to learn.

Really, you need to make sure you use this opportunity well. You have no idea how long it will be until your mood turns mercurial again, so you need to prepare her for what's to come while you're still calm.

You stare up at the starscape of your ceilings, remembering how far Mary wants to go. She's got a long way if she wishes to travel those black seas; as much as you'd like to, you can't just play with her forever.

You still remember those lights in the depths, after all. Someday, she may have to captain your sleeping body all alone.

---

You laugh as you hit the shallows, your hull rising close to the surface, shaking and shuddering as the tempest tosses the water and submarine alike. It's a rush! A challenge in and of itself!

You adjust and compensate in real time, showing the full instrumentation and exactly what you're doing to Mary on a collection of displays, so that she can see how exactly you're doing this.

You could probably brute force this if you changed your design drastically, but you'd barely be a submarine if you took it far enough to completely disregard the roiling waters around you, and even you would prefer to feel like yourself if you can.

In spite of all the helpful, educational information you're providing, Mary seems oblivious, instead wasting her time gripping the chair's arms tightly and squeezing her eyes shut, "Make it stop, Surcouf! Please!"

You almost refuse, determined to make her acclimate--until you notice the tears in her eyes. Realizing you've probably overdone it, you shift your nanomaterials to soundproof the walls, shutting out the sound of the storm, and rush over to her. Kneeling down, you lift her from the Captain's chair and pull her into your arms, "It's okay, Mary. It's okay. I'm here. We'll be through here soon."

She clings to you, trying and failing to hold back tears, "Please don't leave me..."

"I won't, Love." As long as you can fight off that horror in the depths, at least.

"They said so too." You wonder who she's talking about for a moment, searching your memory, then recall how she ended up on that island in the first place--her ship, and her family, went down during a storm.

Maybe this wasn't the best choice of mission, but maybe you can help her overcome this.

"Don't worry, Mary. I'm stronger than this storm. Just stay strong and believe in me. I'll carry us through safely." You promise, hoping you can get her to face her fear, at least a bit.

She tentatively nods, loosening her hold a bit, "...Sorry. You can put me down. I'll...I'll be okay. Right?" She puts on her bravest face, clearly still frightened, but you set her back down in her chair as she asked. You know the two of you will be fine, and think it'll help her more if she feels a bit less protected as you overcome this. Probably, at least; humans are a bit confusing sometimes.

You accelerate, determined to push through these shallows as quickly as possible, not straying too far from Mary's side, and slowly you make it through. She still flinches a bit when your hull shakes too hard for her liking, but seems to become less afraid as time goes on and no disaster occurs.

Eventually, you reach open waters again, "Alright, we're through Mary. Let's go ahead and reroute around the other shallows." You bring up the map display from before, so that she can see the changes, "Here, I'll--"

"No." She shakes her head, jaw set, "We go through."

You frown, "We don't need to, though. I can easily--!"

She shakes her head again, "We go through. If I don't deal with this now, it could get us killed in a battle."

She's not wrong, particularly if she ever has to Captain your unconscious body, but you didn't want to push her that hard, after such a rocky start.

She looks determined, though.

"Are you sure, Love?" She nods firmly, and you reluctantly leave the course unchanged, closing the window you'd brought up and bringing back up the instrumentation and control displays you showed her before when you first hit the shallows.

This time, she watches them closely as you hit the next shallow region; she still flinches a bit when things are at their worst, but she doesn't turn her attention away from the windows you're providing, watching what you're dealing with and how you deal with it with tight focus.

By the third set of shallows, she seems mostly ready for it. She grimaces, and visibly is bracing herself, but the fear reactions seem to be dimming a bit more, at least.

She won't overcome this in one journey, but she's gotten her grip. More than enough for now.

---

A half an hour of deep waters later, you finally approach the first depot--it's built into a drilling rig, the oil from which. This one is the furthest from the destination, but the storm is still rough.

You dock, hull shaking under the raging storm, and send a requisition request to the depot. According to Gunzou's information, it should--

Yes, you get a signal back. The supplies should be provided soon.

A few minutes pass, and soon you sense motion from the waters nearby--an automated drone, carrying what you requested. You shift your hull to include the proper infrastructure needed to interface with it (as other Blue Steel vessels are built with). Moments later, it docks with you and begins moving the supplies over. You throw together a few simple drones of your own and have them set about moving the supplies into a newly created storage space.

With the supplies delivered, the Blue Steel drone undocks and you deconstruct the drone interface.

"One down!" You declare, smiling brightly at Mary in an attempt to encourage her. She smiles back, her nervousness having faded for now, and you raise a hand in invitation. She reaches up and leaps to high-five you, elliciting a chuckle from you.

"Next! Set course for the second depot, Surcouf!" She commands, turning to point dramatically in the direction of your destination; you ruffle her hair in response, "We're already on course, Mary. You set it before we left."

She pouts slightly, "You didn't have to say it. Anyway, let's get moving."

You laugh again, stretching your limbs and firing your engines, "Aye-aye, Captain!"

You set off into the sea anew as Mary preens next to you.

---

The next two stops take a few hours, but pass without significant difficulty.

Only, it's not looking like that trend will continue.

"...Is it just me, or are things getting rougher?" Mary asks, looking at the instrumentation data you've provided.

You shake your head, raising a hand and calling up a weather display, which you slide through the air to her, "It's not just you. The storm's changing."

She looks at it for only a moment before letting out a small groan, "It's a hurricane, isn't it?"

You hum your agreement, grimacing at the thought. You can handle that weather regardless, but getting near the surface to make the delivery is going to be rough, both for practical reasons and for Mary's comfort.

"Do we stay the course, Captain?" You ask, playing the subordinate. She surely knows you're asking if she's alright to continue, but you can be nice about it, at least.

"Yes. We have a delivery to make, Surcouf." Mary declares, trying to sound stern and authoritarian.

"If you're sure." You advance into the heart of the storm, diving deeper to avoid any shaking of your hull, and focus on making this as quick and painless as possible.

Then you get a ping on your sonar.

"Sacré bleu!"

Mary turns to look over her shoulder at you, "Surcouf?"

"Something's pinging on sonar. Something big. I can't tell exactly what it is--the storm's disturbing the water too much--but it's larger than even a Fog sub should be. It's still distant, though; if we hurry, we might be able to dock at our destination and make our delivery without engaging."

You bring up a sonar display for her, overlaying the local map for her. The delivery location--one of the Bonin Islands, southeast of Japan, that Blue Steel took control of decades ago--rests near the heart of the hurricane. A few miles to the southwest of it is the large signal. You are southeast of the island, almost the same distance from it as the unidentified signal.

She studies it for a minute, then shakes her head, "What do you think, Surcouf? Do we head for the outpost, or should we try to fight that ship?"

[Major Actions]​

[ ] Head for the Outpost (If you go to the outpost, you'll be able to take shelter there, make your delivery, and learn more about the region and the situation...if you make it there safely, rather than being intercepted. You might bring more trouble to the outpost, too, if the signal isn't currently aware of it.

[ ] Confront the Signal (Face whatever lurks in the waters and hope you can survive an uninformed battle in the heart of the hurricane. You're skilled and experienced, but fighting an unknown enemy under poor conditions is a risky play to make.)

 

[Higure]

[X] Head for the Outpost (If you go to the outpost, you'll be able to take shelter there, make your delivery, and learn more about the region and the situation...if you make it there safely, rather than being intercepted. You might bring more trouble to the outpost, too, if the signal isn't currently aware of it.

"Let's go to the outpost. Our mission is to deliver these supplies, and we have no intel on the enemy. Hopefully the Blue Steel team will have information on the adversary."

Mary nods, and points in the rough direction of the outpost, "Then full speed ahead, Houston!"

You keep your course with a chuckle, playing an engine revving sound over some hastily constructed speakers, which sends Mary into a fit of giggles.

You ruffle her hair, and the two of you await your arrival, even as you closely watch the radar.

Fortunately, you're about two thirds of the way there when the signal starts moving towards you. It's fast--faster than you, as you are right now--but not fast enough to catch up before you reach the base--a towering structure built into a mountainside. It might be subtle to those not actively looking, designed to blend into the mountain as it is, but you can easily detect the trademarks of human construction.

Sending an alert and authorization codes to the base, a hatch immediately opens in the side of the "mountain," allowing you to quickly move inside. Within, you find a largely empty dock. A number of soldiers are already rushing down to welcome you, presumably to secure your hull and the like, but you do it yourself with a thought, adjusting your hull structure as needed.

"C'mon, Surcouf!" Mary says, heading towards your exit, and you follow bemusedly.

Soon enough, you emerge onto your deck to find Mary waving with both arms to to the cheering Blue Steel members. Stepping up next to her, the crowd quieting slightly as they see--and apparently recognize--you, you give a broad smile to the crowd and give a jaunty salute, "Bonjour! Someone called for supplies?!"

The stare at you for a moment, exchanging looks amongst each other, then break out into redoubled cheers.

Half an hour and many supplies delivered later...

"Honor to meet you, Miss Surcouf. You may call me Saburo; I am the commander of this modest outpost."

The blue-uniformed, grey-haired man that stands across from you meets your gaze with an undaunted ferocity, his bearing entirely proud and entirely dignified in spite of the heavy scarring that covers the left half of his face, his eye covered by an old eyepatch.

At your side, you can practically feel Mary's nervousness, and you gently lay a hand on her shoulder to comfort her her as you answer, "Honor to meet you, Saburo." That might be a bit of a stretch, but he's clearly seen his share of battle, "Those supplies should keep you all well stocked for a few months. Has anything important been happening, locally? Do you know what that signal is we picked up?"

He nods grimly, "Aye lass."

You briefly wonder why a Japanese man has a Scottish accent and is speaking English, but shrug it off--perhaps his mother was from the Isles.

"There's been much news as of late. The Oriental Alliance has been working on something. Our agents on shore are telling us there's a Fog Ship stirring, and the Alliance is preparing something for her return. Perhaps a plot to earn her allegiance, or to end her, if she's a ship they think likely to betray them. Our intel is thin, though--they have been keeping matters secure, at least for now." He grimaces, "We do know that several mighty vessels slumber there. Among them is Shinano. If it were her to awaken, we might be facing grim tidings in the months to come. If it be a lesser vessel, however, then the future may be a bit brighter."

You frown, concerned, "Anything else?"

He pauses, looking you steadily in the eye, and asks, "How much do you know about the Oriental Alliance, lassy?"

"They're an alliance-in-name-only, a unified country composed of the southeastern nations of the past--Japan, China, the Koreas, and many others. I'm afraid I don't know all that much beyond that."

He nods at your words, leaning back against the railing of the balcony you stand upon, which overlooks the large, spacious internal complex within the mountainside. Below, you can see the population milling about--Blue Steel soldiers, yes, but also simple workers and the families of both, all living here together and living a quiet life under the artificial sunlight that lights their small world.

"The Oriental Alliance is a mess, lassies. My father lived there once, but threw it away to join Blue Steel and found this community of ours."

"Why?" Mary pipes up from your side, voice worried, but filled with curiosity.

The scarred old man glances back to smile at her, the expression kind, if a bit gruesome, "Well, ya see, back when the Fog first went silent, a war of dominance began in the region--everyone knew they wouldn't be able to stand alone, but each nation was jockeying desperately for power over the others, to become leaders rather than followers in whatever came next. It was just politics at first, but it quickly escalated into economic conflict, then open warfare.

"Honestly, everyone knew what to expect--China, through sheer numbers and wealth, would assimilate most of the region, and then become the ruling power. If things had gone that way, things would be worse, but they'd also be simpler."

He sighs, "Except, the Japanese won. Their technology had exceeded their competitors while the Fleet of Fog was active, and they still were receiving quiet support from the United States--back when the U.S.A. was still existent in something like its original form, rather than the parody that stands in the modern era.

"China's superior numbers were overcome with superior weaponry, and the poor morale of their population caused the nation's hold to crumble. It was conquered almost in its entirety. From there, Japan allied with South Korea and helped them conquer their northern neighbors--with the loss of China's support, the so-called People's Republic crumbled and Korea was reunited under the southern banner. From there, every other nation in the region rapidly bent the knee, joining what would soon be called the Oriental Alliance--a nation perhaps better called the Japanese Empire."

Your eyebrows rise, "That's certainly interesting, but it doesn't quite explain what's wrong with it now. What's the secret?"

He chuckles roughly, shaking his head slowly, "No secret, Miss Surcouf. Everyone knows. The Chinese were conquered, but the consequences of their reign echoed through the generations. Chinese nationalist groups, wishing to reclaim the supposed glories of the past, are present throughout the Oriental Alliance. The government does its crush such groups when they appear, but they spring up anew quickly enough. Individuals in line to hold office are ruthlessly evaluated to avoid infiltrators, yet every year or two some middling leader is revealed to be a traitor. On it's own, it's a modest problem, but the majority of the population is Chinese by blood and culture--sympathy runs high, forcing the ruling powers to employ increasingly tyrannical policies to maintain order. Also, well..."

"What?" Mary asks.

He clears his throat, "Some of their leaders are...eccentric. Tax dollars have been used to fuel some very, let us say "odd" research and development projects. Harmless enough, mostly, but when people are going hungry on the continent because the Prime Minister prioritizes the development of pseudo-Mental Models to serve as avatars for virtual Idols, or to fund the development of catgirls, well...it does make people question their judgment a bit.

You carefully restrain your urge to laugh, making sure not to restrain it so well as to hide your restraint.

Mary, meanwhile, squawks "WHAT!? They...they..." She breaks down laughing, and you gently ruffle her hair.

Saburo smiles down at the girl, bemused, "Yes, yes they did. Well, not exactly. That was just the joke; it was cybernetics research. Sure, some people just wanted a pair of fully integrated cat ears, but a lot of people were also replacing limbs and augmenting their senses. It should have been great, but, as it turns out, not everyone was comfortable with the idea. Riots, violence, and worse--people claiming that cybernetics were government control devices, or that the heavily augmented were no longer human, or that AI were taking over human bodies. Nonsense, of course--the AI were using the same tech as the Idols, not hijacking living people." He gives a gravelly chuckle, looking a bit wistful.

"My own father left during that period, mother was--well, you don't need the family history. Let's just say that irresponsible spending, civil unrest, and a large number of other factors were enough to drive many people into Blue Steel's arms and see this place constructed. Things are better now, but the constant internal conflicts make it a less than ideal place to live--particularly if you're in once-China, which is largely rural and less than prosperous."

Mary frowns, "So, not much better than the AE, in its own way."

He shrugs, "I don't know for sure. Not much experience with the Americans. Still, living here has been the best I could dare to hope for." His smile stretches his scars as he points down into the streets below, where you see a man in his twenties walking through the streets with a young woman. His left arm is a smooth, elegant sculpture of metal; she leans into him even as he embraces her with it.

"That's my grandson, and his new wife. I couldn't be prouder." You glance at his distorted scar tissue, wondering why he hasn't had something done about it, but decide not to pry.

"If cybernetics have reached that point, then synthetic skin must have been made by now. Why haven't you fixed your scars?"

Mary, it seems, does not yet have your tact. You start to smooth things over, looking to him almost instantly, but he throws back his head and laughs uproariously, drawing even the gaze of his grandson far down below, who glances up and smiles at the noise.

Lowering his head to smile at Mary as his laughter, subsides, he reaches down to ruffle her hair after glancing at you for permission. You shrug, and he tousles it, saying, "I'm glad someone had the guts to ask!"

Mary protests the action half-heartedly, trying to tidy her hair again as he answers her question, "It's a battle scar. Chinese nationalists, lashing out at what they probably thought was a government base. Plasma sword got a bit close to me, but I got the bastard through the eye with good, old-fashioned steel before he could finish the job." He glances at Mary, and coughs, "Pardon my French." He then glances at you, eyes widening as he again corrects himself, "My coarseness, I mean. Pardon an old sailor's coarse tongue."

You just smirk at him, drawing a glare in return, but simply move on, "That seems to cover the local news, monsieur, but what about that signal?"

He grimaces, the joviality seeming to drain from him, "Aye, that one. Almost didn't believe it, first time we saw the damned beast."

You frown, "...I'm almost certain something went wrong with the translation there."

He chuckles, but it's a dead, sardonic thing, "Nay, lass, it's no such thing." You catch Mary nodding her agreement out of the corner of your eye before he goes on, "It's not a ship, Fog or otherwise, Miss Surcouf. It's a whale."

You glare at him, irritation rising at the bald-faced lie, "I am a ship, not a civilian! My sensors can tell the difference between an animal made of flesh and bone and a machine! What. Is. It."

He glares back at you in return, voice lowering into a growl, "Now, I know you didn't just accuse me of lying to you about mission information, Miss Surcouf. I know you didn't. Because that is a whale. Not made of blood and bone, no, but a whale nonetheless. Best we can figure is that the Australians made the thing, and it got off their leash somehow. It's a bloody of nanomaterials, as far as we can tell, and it's been eating anything that starts getting close, not to mention everything else it can find. We lost good people to that thing, when we tried to send them out fishing. So don't you go calling me a liar, Frenchie!"

Some part of you would like to snap his neck for daring snap at you like that, but you push it aside easily, enough, raising a hand in a stopping motion, "Fine. I jumped to conclusions. Just send me the data, and I'll see what I can make of it."

"We're sorry, sir. It's just..." Mary starts to apologize for you, looking horribly guilty, but you and Subaro meet eyes in agreement and turn your gazes towards her as one.

"You don't need to apologize for you friend, lass. If she wanted my forgiveness, she'd have asked for it herself. You did nothing wrong."

You nod your agreement, "What the old man said. You've been an angel, Mary." You pat her head, eliciting a small smile as she looks up at you, "Besides, he knows that's the best he's gonna get." The smile turns into an irritated frown, but you just smirk back at her smugly.

Saburo chuckles, "Well, I'd be hard pressed to believe it if a proud ship like yourself lowered herself to asking forgiveness. I'll take that honesty any day over lies."

You feel yourself going still at those words, glancing at him almost disbelievingly at the sound of your honesty being praised, but find yourself with no rebuttal for the moment. You should have just feigned an apology, but you gave an honest response instead.

Mary might just be a bad influence, you realize. Keep this up, and everyone will start thinking you're an imposter.

"Ah, but yes, I'll have that data sent over. Would appreciate it if you could try to help us take it down, but it's up to you, Lass. Far be it for me to give orders to the Fog." His broad grin is insufferably smug. He knows you're not just going to leave them to it, and he's obviously playing to your pride to make sure you kill it, and you know he knows you know that.

Worst of all, it's working.

"I'll look it over. Hopefully, we can do something about it." You give him what he wants with only modest irritation.

He nods, accepting it as he turns grim again, the look of an admiral preparing for battle falling over him, "Good. You'll have whatever help we can give, but we haven't been able to do any lasting harm with our weapons. We think it must have either a core or a brain, but finding it and hitting it has been an issue. Hopefully you'll have better luck." He takes out a tablet, tapping a few buttons, and you receive a data transmission moments later.

Scanning it, you review the footage of their past engagements--the great, metallic-grey whale falling upon ships and biting them in two with a single snap of its gargantuan jaws, consuming flesh and steel alike with casual ease. Most of all, you notice its sheer size--the beast is larger than any natural whale, dwarfing even the largest blue whales, with a jaw structure you wouldn't match to any living species.

Whatever this thing originally was, it's adapting its form to its new lifestyle, shifting its body structure to more effectively devour ships; evolution within a single lifetime.

It's ability to regenerate, shrinking its body to repair injuries, compounds the issue. You can't disable it, and you can carve it to pieces to find its core. You'll need to somehow find where it is and destroy it without being able to cut it open, or else you'll need to get lucky with your shots...unless...

"Do you have any sensors you believe could pierce this thing? Something that would let us find its core?"

Saburo frowns, then slowly nods, "Technically, yes. The ship we had them equipped to was bitten in half before it could get us anything, but we managed to recover part of it before the whale finished it off. We can have the sensors detached and give them to you."

You nod in satisfaction, "Good; do that, and I can probably use them to track down its core. How long do you expect that to take?"

He frowns, "I can probably have them off by tomorrow. Installation should be quick, I'd imagine?"

"Instant, or close enough." You answer, sure you can figure out how to interface with them quickly enough.

"Then enjoy yourself in the mean time!" He smiles at the pair of you, "Enjoy our hospitality!"

"We will! Thank you, Mr. Saburo!" Mary pipes up from beside you. You nod your agreement and his smile broadens in response, the proud host happy to show off his home.

[Major Actions]​

[ ] Get to know some of the locals; plenty of people will be eager to talk to you if you just draw some attention.
[ ] The locals are putting on a play, apparently. Go see it; maybe you'll learn something about their culture or history.
[ ] You're curious about cybernetics, and you can tell Mary is too. Go find a shop.

 

[Higure]

[X] You're curious about cybernetics, and you can tell Mary is too. Go find a shop.

"We'll take four of those, lovely." You say, voice sultry, as you lean slightly over towards the food vendor, who gulps in response, before silently placing four the meat buns he's selling into two cartons and offering them to you and Mary respectively, the sweet girl taking them with a broad smile.

Licking your lips at the smell, you take them and stroll away. Taking a bite of one, you find it delectable, with a powerful meaty flavor that would pair marvelously with a baguette. 'I wonder if you could stuff meat into a baguette? Maybe work the seasoning into the dough, then drizzle an appropriate sauce over it? Ketchup, maybe? Or soy sauce?'

"Surcouf! You can't just walk off!" You turn around, pulled from your culinary contemplations by Mary's voice, and see her fishing money from her pocket and handing it to the vendor, who takes it distractedly, eyes still on you. Really, has he never seen a beautiful engine of war before?

Mary tugs on your hand, drawing your attention back to her, "I know you have your moments, Surcouf, but we can't just steal things!" She's forcing a smile, but you can see she's irritated, and…maybe a little worried.

You glance back at the man, giving him a brief wave that snaps him out of his daze, then glance back to her, "Sorry, Mary. I forgot myself for a moment there."

She gives you a long look, then hugs your leg without warning, "…Try to remember, okay?"

You nod, patting her head softly, "I'll try. Let's enjoy this…what's this called?"

"Nikuman. They're a historically popular Japanese street food. I've never actually tasted one, though!" She pulls one of hers out, taking a bite and making a soft noise of appreciation, bringing a smile to your lips in the process.

"Next stop is the cybernetics shop! I'm…not sure you should buy right now. You're…" You trail off as you try to find a nice way of saying that she's still physically a growing child and has abnormal neurology that may not work with cybernetics, both of which could cause major complications in the long run, if not immediately.

She shakes her head, "Not yet, at least. Maybe when I'm older, or if I get the chance to study them and make sure they'll work with me? I think it'd be really cool to be stronger and faster, or able to interface with you better, but I can't be reckless with that kind of thing."

Pride swells in your chest at those words, even as something in the back of your mind reminds you that you might just ignore that kind of reasonable thinking, depending on your mood.

Putting such thoughts aside, you approach the rickety-looking shop and pull the door open, Mary rushing past you as she takes it in. The storefront is filled with faintly glowing display cases, within which hang arms, legs, eyes, and other contraptions of silicon and metal. Behind the counter in the back, you can see an old man, easily in his seventies going by his pale hair, bent over a workbench with a welding torch in hand, fusing together metal plates into what looks like the framework for an arm or leg.

Mary immediately dashes to one of the cases, waving you over silently so as to avoid disturbing the old man.

You approach, and find her gawking at a set of miniscule metal devices--you're not sure what they're for, as they don't seem to replace any existing body part a human might have.

She looks up at you in expectation, but all you can do is tilt your head in confusion, prompting a sigh from her as she whispers her explanation, "They're neural uplink implants! They can send and receive the same signals the Fog uses to interact with your networks. I studied the theory on them years ago, but these are so much more advanced than even the hypothetical ones! I don't actually know what some of these parts do!" She smiles giddily, all but drooling as she looks them over.

"Well, I see someone has a discerning eye, little missy." The old man's voice cuts through the air, the craftsman somehow having heard Mary's whispers over the welding torch from across the room.

Mary jumps slightly, turning to face him, "Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to--"

He gives a dry chuckle that echoes from behind his welding mask, "Oh, nonsense. I daresay I can multitask well enough!"
He doesn't even slow in his work as he goes on, "Those are a fine product, though. I worked very hard to get them just right--the precision machining equipment I use does a lot of the work, but you have to be careful even then. Wouldn't do to put pressure on something essential."

Raising up on her toes slightly in excitement, Mary leaps into the conversation, "Right! All of the documentation I've read implied that implants of this scale were entirely too likely to pressure areas responsible for essential functions, even if perfectly implanted, and there were concerns about the human brain's ability to process the kind of input that--"

"That the Fog's devices provides, yeah. It was a big problem for a long time. Ultimately, it came down to improving miniaturization--until we could make them small enough to be implanted safely, and smaller still so that we could include sufficiently advanced computer systems to "clean" the data for human access, it was basically suicide to use this kind of thing. People are still kinda spooked by them even now, because of things that went wrong in the bad old days. It's silly, sure, but so are people. I manage to sell a set once every few months." He continues to work without any sign of distraction, his voice wry with humor and a touch of bitterness.

"What about for a Design Child? Would it be safe?"

You really wish she wouldn't bring that up quite so recklessly--it should be fine here, you think, but you never know.

At those words, he stops his work completely, lifting his mask to reveal a grandfatherly face that regards Mary with eyebrows raised high, "Well, I'll be. Yeah, no, don't even think about buying those. Would be entirely a waste--a Design Child should be able to handle a lot more input than a normal human, so I could build you a set with less filtering, for sure!" He pauses, raising a robotic hand to his chin with a frown, "Uh…probably not now, though. Would not want to have complications as you grow up; your brain's still developing, and we wouldn't want to cripple you."

Mary nods frantically, "Yeah, definitely not! Umm…is there anything that would be safe?"

He chuckles, "Cat ears. Or, well, any kind of simple-add on like that. Nothing too advanced--you want those things to be fully functional, you're gonna need brain work, but you could get low-end ones. Same with tails, claws, armor plating, venom sacs, superdermal tasers or weapons…we can make the basics work, although you might need to learn a bit to get them working perfectly. Could replace limbs, too, but you don't want to be replacing those every year, so best to hold off until you're grown."

Mary glances up at you pleadingly, but you give her a look, "Not on an impulse buy, Mary. Think it over for a while, then talk it over with me, alright?"

She pouts, adorably, "…Of course you're responsible now."

You pat her head, sharing a smile with who you assume to be the shop's owner, who chimes in, "She's right, missy. These things are long-term choices, and some of them are overrated anyway. The good stuff comes when you can link it up properly."

Mary grumbles, but nods, "Fine. But if I decide I want cat ears, I'm getting cat ears." She glares up at you, and you raise an unimpressed eyebrow in return. She looks away, defeated, before looking back to the old man and asking him about more of the items around the shop, and cybernetics in general--a conversation he seems very happy to have, and one you're more-or-less happy to leave them to as you lean against the wall, feeling sleepy as your eyes begin to drift shut, a strange coolness settling over--

You jerk wide-awake as fear strikes you. For a moment, you can see the lights in the deep, and an endless dark ocean.

Sleep. You mustn't fall asleep. For Mary's sake.

"Thank you! We'll see you later!" Her voice interrupts your thoughts, and you see her parting ways with the old man, who's smiling fondly at her.

You walk over to join her, noting that an hour passed without your notice, but giving Mary a fond smile, "Had fun?"

She nods, and you smirk at her, "Good! Now, let's go…"

Major Actions - 1​

[ ] Get to know some of the locals; plenty of people will be eager to talk to you if you just draw some attention.
[ ] The locals are putting on a play, apparently. Go see it; maybe you'll learn something about their culture or history.
[ ] Get Mary some rest. You've got a whale hunt tomorrow. (Skip to Whaling)