Before the Storm
Miho Chan
One with too many ideas
- Location
- Hummelstown
- Pronouns
- She/Her
A Special Thanks to My Patreons: Adrian Tucker, J Frost, Omida, Ttw1, and Tale Swapper
I gave Suzaku an odd look as we rejoined and headed into the meeting room. She seemed fine, if in low humor, but given the circumstances… I couldn't blame her. Still, I resolved that I should spend more time with her. I wonder if we can be assigned to the same room?
Shaking off these thoughts, I moved in to meet with our temporary commanding officer for the first time. Admiral Kirk was an older man, with facial characteristics I recognized from my grandfather; weathered skin, salt-and-pepper hair, and a mess of facial hair, well-groomed but patchy. This was the face of an old sea dog, or a man of the land.
With a cough, I found myself falling into parade rest. "Commander, HMS Black Prince, reporting." I froze as I halted my action, then relaxed. "...that was instinctive, sir. I do not know about my placement in your chain of command, so I should not presume…"
"At ease," Admiral Kirk replied immediately, "You and Suzaku are, at the moment, not technically part of the US Navy, thus, outside the chain of command. To be honest, If not for the fact that shipgirls are still a legal gray area, Suzaku would not have been able to go on that training cruise."
Suzaku grimaced briefly, before she hid the expression behind a blank face, "I assume that the relevant nations have been informed of our existence?"
The grizzled veteran nodded, "More than that, actually. One of the only good things to come from the war is a more united Earth," seeing the two girl's incredulous looks, he elaborated, "Not actual unity, but we've begun moving in that direction faster than before the Abyssal War. Hard not to develop closer ties with former enemies when there's a common enemy out to literally wipe you from the face of the Earth."
"I hope you're not suggesting everyone's working in lockstep, sir." I said, letting my unfortunately natural cynicism flow outward.
Admiral Kirk snorted, "Not at all. But we are communicating. Which is always better than stealthily trying to fuck the other party over."
Suzaku's giggles filled the room briefly, before the carrier once more mastered herself, a small smile lingering on her face this time, "That would be true. Actually, did Japan repeal Article 9? I would imagine that it's a rather large problem if it still exists…"
"They're still debating, to be honest." Admiral Kirk admitted, "They did temporarily annul it, but some people in the Japanese Diet are unfortunately not exactly for using their Navy beyond securing Japanese Territorial Waters."
"So at the very least, they're going to want Suzaku." I frowned. "And the Crown? What are they saying about me?"
"Honestly, Japan and Britain want their respective ships "back". Britain and Japan are island nations that heavily rely on their navies to protect them, and Japanese and British territorial waters aren't exactly what you'd call "secure". Hell, the only reason the US West Coast is "secure" is because Hawaii stands in the way of the approach." The Admiral replied an annoyed look on his face, "I would love to keep you two, but, frankly, it's out of my hands. It's very likely that President Biden won't consider it worth the effort to keep either of you."
"...I have yet to re-enlist." I hazarded, frowning. "Is press-ganging back in fashion in these years?" I deadpanned, then held up one hand. "I'm not going to sit on my hands. However, has anyone asked the New Zealanders? They were my last owners and may have first dibs, and if not, I may need to weigh my options and begin fielding offers."
Admiral Kirk winced, "New Zealand fell in the opening months of the war. They have a Government in Exile in Australia, but they aren't in any shape to be operating a navy." I sighed as I considered that fact.
Suzaku, who had been silent, sighed harshly, "I don't actually have that many objections to returning to Japan. My only real objection is for the sake of my mental health, especially since I recall… poor things about the Japanese mental health program. And that's not exactly enough for me to… not return to a place I still consider home."
I nodded at her. "I'd also like counseling, please. Preferably, with someone with an open mind."
Admiral Kirk nodded, "While I can't exactly provide a therapist in good conscience from my own staff, due to… various factors, I will say that most, if not all of the bases that you are likely to be stationed at have stellar commanders who care for their soldiers. You likely will receive therapy if you desire it."
"Good." I pursed my lips as the crew finished their vote, the captain reading off the results. "I rescind my desire to go mercenary; my crew is determined to return to England, on the threat of mutiny." I paused. "Or rather, incessant pranking. Out of curiosity, do any of the other girls have similar problems?"
The grizzled admiral pondered on the question for a bit, before shaking his head in a negative, "That I'm aware of, not particularly. The only real incident was Hibiki flat out refusing to join the Russians, especially given how the Soviets treated her. No one complained, beyond the politicians. The Russian Navy realized that even if they got her, she would be a flight risk. Undeployable due to the fact she would not do her job while under their command."
I nodded. "I would think many girls are in a similar, if less extreme, situation." I nodded once. "More importantly, do you need a debriefing, and do you have current orders for us?"
Admiral Kirk pondered on the question for a bit, before sighing, "On the latter, not particularly. As I said, legal gray area. I can't exactly force you two to do anything. I'd love it if you responded to any major action within our waters, but with Suzaku either being flown over to Japan or helping escort one of our first major trans-pacific convoys, and you likely joining an Atlantic convoy at some point soon, neither of you will be here by the end of the month." Pausing, Kirk considered the first question again, before shaking his head, "as for the briefing, Suzaku likely won't be able to provide me with anything I can use - No Offense - and besides a more recent update on the state of Johnston Atoll, I don't think you can either Black Prince."
A muttered, "None taken," follows the Admiral's comment, Suzaku looking resigned at the information she'd received, "W-when do I leave?"
The soft look that crossed the grizzled man's face was almost jarring, and his response even more so, "Suzaku, there's a convoy leaving today-" as Suzaku made to respond, he held up his hand, "Let me finish," at the carrier's nervous nod, he continued, "Neither myself nor Fleet Admiral Misaki would ask you to go this early. In fact, we'd discourage it. You aren't nearly trained enough, especially in damage control."
The carrier sighed in relief, clearly happy to not have to depart Pearl Habor Hickam quite yet. As she moved to speak up again, I spoke, "I suppose we both have some training to look forward to. I have very little proper combat experience, and my crew will need time to understand and get used to my proposed upgrades." I frowned. "Better AA would be welcome, as would better main guns."
Suzaku coughed, "Ah, Black Prince? You won't ever be engaging targets of higher tonnage than light cruisers, your main batteries are actually really good, probably among the best European DP guns of the era, and I don't actually think you can get better AA- nevermind, Bofors would probably be better than your Pom-Poms."
I groaned. "Erg… I suppose. I may ask, have any of our people tried carrying a human-sized weapon into battle? Would an assault rifle or shotgun-"
"No." The Admiral's eyes narrowed. "Doesn't work, the taffies tried it. Move on."
"Damn." I snapped my fingers. "Actually, I do have questions about how we work…"
The Admiral sat up. "Yes, you need to eat and-"
"I knew that." I waved one hand. "You forget, Suzaku and I have a near unique heritage… as of yet. Such things are natural. No. What I'm wondering…" I leaned forward. "For example- swords." I tapped mine at my side. "If a shipgirl without a sword takes up one, does it function like my own? Does the same apply to other melee weapons, or must they be 'incorporated' into our 'self'?"
The carrier, watching the exchange with something akin to fascinated horror, coughed, "Black Prince, don't interrupt the Admiral."
Admiral Kirk, who had been looking at Black Prince with a mildly annoyed aura, shot a brief, grateful glance towards Suzaku, and raised his eyebrows, "If I may continue," he stated, letting the words hang in the air, waiting for a visible or verbal response from the light cruiser.
"...yes sir." I cut off.
Kirk nodded, "I do understand that you are at least part civilian Black Prince, and that you're excited. To carry on, while shipgirls do have similar requirements to most humans, except sleep, magnified by the fact that you're metaphysically and spiritually providing for your crew. You do not need sleep. Nor do you truly need rest of any kind, unless you do not have enough of a crew to run multiple watches." The admiral paused, mostly to ensure that both the shipgirls who were more used to being human understood what he was saying, "In addition to this, we know for a fact that, outside of rations for the crew, shipgirls don't actually need to eat, though, due to a spiritual and metaphysical quirk, can quite literally generate ammunition, fuel, and various other items they need for day to day function with a meal. The size of the meal, of course, varying based on tonnage, crew, and current stores."
"We don't need resupply at all? Or can we just take on fuel and steel to refill our bunkers?" I mused.
The response was immediate, "The answer is pretty complex, actually. There is a good reason why most of the time, it's easier to feed a shipgirl multiple meals, rather than directly give them steel, ammunition, or rations. While they can onboard them, using steel that isn't of good quality eventually weakens the armor of the ship, and the ammunition used must be one that the girls can use. We've actually experimented a bit with modern munitions for the carrier girls, to middling success. We can use more modern explosive compounds, but anything that is considered more advanced guidance wise than a bomb made in 1945 has those components stripped, and used for… who knows what. Regardless, food bypasses that issue, mostly because some of the food consumed is changed into rations, others into the specific type of steel each girl used in their construction, and munitions for their weapons."
"I think I'm going to enjoy eating, if that's the case." I smiled. "It's also a good reason to stay in the military; feeding myself on someone else's budget is probably a good idea."
Suzaku once more interjected, an awed look on her face, "That… makes so much sense!" She exclaimed, "Since, more than likely, your scientists would have tested most of the ideas I've had, I'll just have my crew jot down a few notes, and send them to…" She sent a hopeless look towards the admiral, the silent question being answered by a small, encouraging nod, "You, I suppose, if and when I get an email set up." Pausing to ponder something once more, Suzaku nodded firmly to herself, "I'm guessing that while we aren't actively using munitions and such, we generally need to consume less?"
"That would be correct," Admiral Kirk stated, "Slightly more than a normal human, generally just to refill your food supplies for your crew."
"Incidentally, do we need to drink to refill the rum ration?" I asked. "The crew haven't broken into the stock yet, but I'd rather not find that out midway through a voyage."
"Unlikely, as it wasn't reported as an issue in the first months of the war, when the civilians insisted on treating the girls who looked like minors as children. The… collective outrage from the subs, destroyers, and various other lighter craft… was not pretty, though they did tolerate it for a while." The admiral responded, before looking at something on his computer monitor, "Alright, I'm going to have to wrap this up now. You two have been assigned to separate dorms - mostly because we try to keep the escorts and capital ships in separate buildings. Whoever is running secretary duty today will hand you your keys on your way out. Additionally, you'll be given a debit card with a limit of around five thousand USD, mostly so you can set up your lives again. I would caution you against blowing those funds, since you're unlikely to get an official paycheck till you join your respective navies. Spend them on toiletries and essentials that the base won't provide. Ask any of the shipgirls for the list of provided services. Finally, requests for both of you; Suzaku, Enterprise and Saratoga would like to speak with you, and will seek you out to arrange a meeting. They'll be your informal instructors for now. You'll probably receive some paperwork from the JMSDF within the next few days as well, so keep an eye out for that. Black Prince, since no one really knows you well enough to volunteer as an instructor, I've assigned San Diego to you. She'll meet you by the training area. Ask for instructions from the secretary, once again." Pausing to gather his breath, Admiral Kirk sighed, "Alright ladies, dismissed. I'll let you know if I need to talk to you again while you're still on base."
Suzaku's soft "sir" echoed through the room as she stepped out, a purpose filling her steps that she had lacked when she had entered the room. As she left, I asked one final question,
"..erm. If I have more questions, do you have anyone you'd recommend to speak with? I know your time is limited, sir."
"As long as you don't ask questions about socio-political stuff, the other shipgirls on base won't have much of an issue answering." The Admiral stated, "Now get. I have a conference in literal minutes."
"Yessir. Thank you for your time. And the funds." I said, snapping back into a salute before turning for the door. As I headed out the door, I turned to face Suzaku. "So… how much do you want to bet the prices here are sky-high?"
Suzaku turned, a look of absolute horror on her face, and sighed harshly, "And here I was dreaming of what kind of middle end computer I could build with these funds…"
"We're in Hawaii, where everything up to and including 90% of their food has to be imported. With frequent convoy raids." I grimaced. "Not saying you can't cover it with 5k, but you might want to hold onto it until you're stationed elsewhere."
The carrier, who I noticed had stopped in place with a far off look in her eyes, snapped back to attention, sending me an apologetic look, "Sorry, can you repeat that? That was Enterprise over the radio, and it caught me off guard."
"I'm just saying that you should wait until you get to a mainland or Japan proper before making major purchases." I tilted my head. "Enterprise? She wanted to talk to us. Is this her call from the beyond?"
My friend shook her head, idly correcting me, "She wanted to speak to me, not you. I wouldn't be surprised if-"
[Hello? Is this the right channel? This is San Diego, trying to reach Black Prince] A internal crackle of my radio interrupted Suzaku mid sentence.
"Hold on, I'm getting a call." I apologized to Suzaku. [This is Black Prince, under the name Edys. Greetings, San Diego. Is this an urgent message?] Aloud, I continued as I handed off communications to a seaman at the light cruisers' negative reply. "What were you saying?"
An amused smile greeted me as my friend replied, "I was just about to say that San Diego was probably about to check in with you. Bow before my prophetic prowess."
The seaman, having finished his communications with San Diego, attempted to catch my attention, even as I responded with "I will as soon as you give me accurate lotto info." Internally, I picked up the message and read the transcription. Only for the seaman to give an amused snort, and give his report, which basically summed up to San Diego providing a location to meet me, the training area that Admiral Kirk had mentioned, and the Seaman agreeing in my place to meet her there ASAP. "And now I've committed to what might be a tutorial mission. Meet up later?"
Suzaku nods, "I was actually going to say that E and Sara wanted to meet up ASAP as well, so I'm going to have to part ways here anyway. As for meeting up later, I can't really say right now. I'll give you my private frequency so you can chat with me though." With that said, the carrier gave me a jaunty wave, before freezing as she started jogging towards the exit of the building, a furious blush on her face as she stared at the amused face of a Clemon class destroyer, "I totally didn't forget to get my things from you. Totally."
The Clemson just nodded, a snicker erupting from her mouth as she struggled to contain her mirth, "Don't worry bout it girl. I've got your keys and card here. Don't spend it all in one place~"
"I've advised her not to, worry not," I said, collecting my own card. "Incidentally, how much of a markup can we expect for being here in Hawaii, and how much of a discount can Shipgirls expect if they fail to go out incognito? And is it worth braving the press to do so?"
The Clemson's eyes sharpened as she looked at me, "There ain't many civilians left in Hawaii, to be honest. It's pretty much a military fortress. Successfully evacuated in '20, and not one man, woman, or child has been allowed to return without a reason. Too dangerous. We're really close to the front. It won't be until we've retaken Midway that President Biden will consider allowing the civs to return." Pausing to take a breath, the destroyer continued, "As for markup on products, it's pretty terrible, from what I hear. I wouldn't know most of the prior prices, to be frank. Summoned after the war started, after all. Thankfully, President Biden is taking some measures to stop war profiteering in the US, but the corporations are putting up as much red tape as possible. I wouldn't expect to be able to afford luxuries even with 5k. Just get some basic stuff, that's what all the other girls do till we were given regular pay."
"Thank you for the frank answer." I nod. "I'll have to hold off on any shopping until I get to the states, then." I paused. "Incidentally, if I end up coming back, are there any carried goods in high demand at this base? Things one can load into a hull or backpack and bring with them?"
The gleam in the Clemson's eyes was slightly terrifying, though it wasn't greed, so much as assessing, "Depends. If you're looking to profit from it? Not cool, but understandable. Most of the major shipgirl bases keep in contact with each other for that very reason though, so you may honestly be asked to carry stuff with you out of the goodness of your heart." Pausing, the destroyer took in Suzaku's wide eyed look, and continued more gently, "to be absolutely fair, it's pretty equal exchange. A base will provide goods we can't get from our base, and we'll provide them with stuff they can't get at their base. San Diego, the base, not the ship, has an ongoing deal with us for fruit in exchange for… everything, to be honest."
"I would never dream of scalping fellow shipgirls." I said, putting one hand on my breast. "...carrying low-supply good for use as bribes, on the other hand…"
Suzaku looked at me with a complicated expression, before nodding to herself, "I'm gonna let you two talk economics. I've really got to go." With her final piece said, the carrier practically sprinted out of the room, never once looking back.
"Anyway," The destroyer continued, "There's generally a list posted online or around the base. Just check those. Now, I apologize, but I have to get some paperwork done. Apologies, miss."
"Don't Miss me. Right now, you outrank me." I chuckle. "Thank you for the insights, dear. See you around." I paused. "Actually… which way to the training yards?"
"Go west once you leave the admin buildings. You'll be heading towards the water, and 'round this time, you should be able to see various girls practicing out in the harbor." The secretary stated in a practiced tone, "Just keep heading that way."
"Thank you again. What is your favorite treat, anyway? I should get started on currying favor, after all…"
"The name's Stewart, though I go by either Chelsey or Yoshiko when we're not at sea, depending on who's asking." The now named Chelsey smiled, "As for my favorite treat, I'm partial to Takoyaki, which is hard as fuck to get around these parts, given no one knows how to make the damn things."
"...carrying them is fruitless, they're nasty cold. Therefore, the only solution is to learn to make them myself." I smiled "Thank you for the new life goal. Now, I must be going, Chelsey."
The destroyer shrugged, "Honestly, I don't expect to get my hands on the treat anytime soon. Do let Suzaku know that she can stop by for a chat in her native tongue if she wants to. I could do with some practice myself, if only to get rid of the rust."
I nodded absently, reflecting silently. Is her native tongue Japanese or American English? Is mine American or British English? A riddle for the ages… "I'll pass that along. Good day."
The training grounds… weren't. I mean, there was a small strip of land along the shorefront, but the 'training area' was more a staging area that led to one of the larger bays near the base. And it was upon the water where various girls were training, swinging about in formation as I watched. I whistled as one girl, white hair flowing behind her as she jumped over small buoys in the surf, made a perfect dismount landing upon the slight chop of the waves. "Well done. Could I gain that sort of skill, I wonder?"
"...you should be able to." I heard a firm voice murmur to my left. Turning, I blinked twice as I turned, gaze fixing on a girl a half an inch taller than myself. Brown hair was held back in a ponytail, with the high collar of her navy overcoat covering her mouth, but not concealing the smart dress shirt beneath suspenders, or the noticeable bust beneath. Her eyes crinkled as she looked at me. "You're Black Prince, right? Or Edys?"
"That's right. And you're San Diego, yes?" At her small nod, I smiled at her and made a curtsey. "Pleased to meet you, my lady."
"Oh, thank you." The eye-crinkles vanished as a flustered mou sounded from beneath the shirt collar. "Please, no ceremony. We've got work to do."
"You'll be my assessor today, then?"
"Of sorts, if you're willing." San Diego straightened. "We need to assess your actual performance before we make any changes. You didn't have many historical battles aside from convoy escorts… and that's not enough." She paused. "And from what Chelsey tells me, you have questions."
"Some, yes." I turned and looked out over the water. "First; does exercise matter?"
The Light Cruiser shrugged, "Nothing we can prove one way or another, but it does feel good. Just like a human exercising would feel, from what I've heard."
I nodded once. "So all that's going on out here is just familiarization and practice. For ourselves and our crews. Second question; do human stimulants and drugs affect shipgirls?"
"Not really something they've tested outside the lab, but we're not allowed to take them due to the results, if that tells you anything." San Diego replied, "Though I wonder exactly why you're asking about drugs…"
"Caffeine, mostly. Also, knowing that it would be improper to even attempt a drinking contest." I sigh. "Final pertinent question. Besides being named fleet leader, is there any formal chain of command among us?"At her raised eyebrow, I elaborated. "We were ships, not captains or admirals. Do we hold the rank of our highest-ranked officer? Are we all in legal limbo? Or is it distinctions which determine our precedence?" I eyed the eighteen stars running up and down her overcoat's lapel.
"The way we're assigned rank depends really heavily on the CO of the base we're on. Pay is kinda weird, to be frank, given that we've only started getting back-pay last month here in the US, who were the first to actually release pay to us shipgirls."
"...ah. I assume other navies are following suit?"
"Yes." San Diego's eyes crinkled once again. "I know some girls are worried about how we'll be treated. But there's been nothing bad yet." She tilted her head slightly. "...and after Johnson, there weren't many humans who tried things."
"...tried things?"
"His leg healed eventually. His pride…"
"Say no more." I shook my head. "That settles all the questions which won't require alcohol. So, what are we starting with?"
"Maneuvers first. Then gunnery practice, anti-air practice, escort lessons, support lessons, gunnery under fire, and torpedo casting." From beneath her coat, San Diego pulled out a clipboard and tablet computer, holding both up as a group of fairies popped out of her sleeves and moved to begin taking notes. "Once we know how you're doing, we can draw up a proper lesson plan."
"...I see. I will try not to disappoint." I said, eyeing the paperwork with trepidation.
Days passed, as we worked to adjust. Suzaku settled in with the carrier girls, and I with the escorts. One thing I was glad to see, different from any fic I'd seen, was that the friction between navies and nationalities seemed to be confined to japes and gentle ridicule.
"We're all fighting a grinding war, Edys," Enterprise murmured to me from where she sat beside Suzaku. "There are idiots even among us, but no one's going to risk alienating the girl who might haul your ass out of the fire in a month." She shrugged. "If we were going to count war crimes and old scars, we'd all be washing blood from our hands."
"Not all of us have those kinds of pasts, but I understand," I said softly. "It's simply odd to see such lack of factionalism."
"It does happen. But not at Pearl. Nor at Gibraltar, Panama, Djibouti, or Busan." She frowned into her coffee. "Not where death waits on many sides, and we're the only bulwark. There's no room for error here."
"We keep the convoys running, don't we?" I murmured. "And I'll be collecting a run soon." I looked over at Suzaku. "...are you going to be okay heading to Japan? I know you've made some friends, but…"
The gentle smile on Suzaku's face brought an extremely complex feeling within me, the mixture of disappointment and relief warring with each other, then blending perfectly, "I've had some talks with the Japanese shipgirls. I've also had some frank talks with Admiral Misaki… which… really reassured me that I'd be fine. I'll still be able to talk to you all, regardless, especially given modern technology!"
"...right." I sighed. Unlike Suzaku, I'd failed to delve into the culture of the surrounding girls, and though I was no pariah, there weren't many girls who really got my interests. Heading to Britain might actually help, since I then could lean on my new cultural grounding… and meet my family.
I perked up a bit when I thought of the other Dido-class cruisers. We'd been trading emails and the occasional chat, but they, like the vast majority of Her Majesty's navy, were stationed in Europe or the east coast of the Americas. I had yet to meet any of my fellow royal shipgirls.
…or have a proper plate of fish and chips. Or a pie. Military food, yay.
I sighed as Suzaku stood, smiling despite the threads of melancholy. "Off in the morning?"
"I am." The carrier replied, her smile; be it my imagination or otherwise, looking slightly forced now, "Edys… Before I leave… I- I have to give you something." She continued, pulling a thick envelope from… somewhere, and carefully offering it to me. "Please… promise me that you won't open it unless you truly believe I am dead. It… It has some stuff I'd rather you not know unless I'm pining for the fjords." Suzaku practically begged me, the raw emotion contained within her voice striking a chord within me as I replied,
"I hope to burn this someday," taking the burden from her, I noticed the carrier stepping away, eyes glistening, though tears never fell from them. "Be safe, please," I said, watching her depart. "...until we meet again…"
"Until we meet again, Edys..." Suzaku replied, before slowly walking away. It felt... far more final than I thought it would...
