Here's my take on Mass Effect x Kantai Collection.
In the early 21st century, the war against the Abyssals is still ongoing. The shipgirls are mostly holding the Abyssals back, but are having little luck in recapturing territory. Enter an Asari exploration vessel stumbling upon the system while mapping Mass Relays. First contact is made, and the allied nations, seeing the benefit of having an interstellar polity backing them up in the war effort, immediately grasp the opportunity and send a diplomatic mission into Citadel space.
But mostly this is to justify shipgirls on the Citadel, for either PR tours to convince extraterrestrial politicians to provide reinforcements or relief supplies, or for more casual shipgirl tourist shenanigans.
So, I was talking with people on Discord last night about a Georgia Public Broadcasting video on General Sherman and his march through the sea. Then I ended up remembering my time at Andersonville Civil War prison in western Georgia. To purge my mind so I could sleep last night, I ended up doing a world-building stream of consciousness and fight snippet.
So, I hope you all enjoy "The Emergence of Burning Fortress Princess."
The scene was thus set: in the Georgia Governor's Mansion where an impromptu meeting is occurring. The time was the midst of the Abyssal War. Humanity has struggled against this threat for four agonizing years to keep the vital sealanes open.
Millions have died. Millions more could die at any moment. The Emergence of an Abyssal Stronghold Princess in Miami, Florida had devastated and scattered the populace. Miami had not been a strongly-natured place, but the Abyssals had managed to use rising sea levels to infiltrate and establish centers of corruption that taken the city by storm.
Now, the Georgia Governor was meeting with his staff, other public officials, and military and community leaders to address a horrifying event: an Abyssal stronghold is set to Emerge in Atlanta this very weekend: Labor Day Weekend. With the multitude of events including several prime-time college football games, a professional football game, and DragonCon, this is a period of peak tourism ordinarily for Atlanta even despite these hard times.
Means of detecting Abyssal corruption has been a rapidly-advancing field in the two years since Miami, and it was these sensors near Savannagh, Georgia, emplaced rapidly and upgraded constantly in the eventuality of the Abyss trying to claim the rogue nuclear weapon nearby, that gave Atlanta its vital early warning. Unfortunately, due to their distance, there are no means of stopping this Emergence. It had corssed several thresholds of growth where the lands could have been placated and the Emergence disrupted in time.
But now, Atlanta has found a peril unlike any in over one hundred and fifty years. Once more, it was destined to become a battlefield, and its landscape forever changed.
The President and other key federal officials were otherwise occupied with prior work and crises. The Vice President was currently in Venice along with many top American military leaders and their global counterparts to formalize the Azure Lanes Alliance that kept the sealanes open.
The discussions and debates in the Governor's Mansion have gone on for several hours. The press and media have wondered why the Governor has not attended any of his planned events for the weekend. The press and Atlanta have not been informed of the recent crippling of any shipgirls stationed in Georgia or whose namesakes were affected by General Sherman's march through Georgia.
The Emergence was slowly corrupting those shipgirls so affected as destructive impulses and corruption seep into their spiritual namesakes. Already, every shipgirl who was still mobile has been removed from the state and slowly-corrupting counterparts locked down and secured, further fragmenting their fragile mental states.
And yet, the shipgirl light cruiser Atlanta struggled in agony in the passenger seat of a sedan zooming north of Interstate 85, AWOL from where she had been stationed previously in neighboring Alabama. Her body spasmed as she coughed up blackened ichor onto the roof of the car while an middle-aged man maintains a white-knuckled grip on the steering.
He took a moment in the evening darkness to glance at the shipgirl after her latest fit that has left her pitifully curled up and shivering. "How are we doing?"
She coughed again while centering on the sense of oncoming corruption within her soul. "T-the p-p-pain is getting worse now. E-e-every.. thing hurts." Her eyes suddenly flashed with the malevolence of golden Abyssal light. Snarling, she attempted to disembowel the driver heedless of the possible outcomes. "T̡H̭͖͟E̻̫̻ ̺̜̪P̥͈̳A̸̞̟I̸̟͖N҉͕ ̜͉͞M͓̗̯A͓͎͝KE̦̼̹Ś ̜͇͟M̗̻̗E̡ ̺͖̖W͖̰̮A͍͎̝N̵̹͎T͉̣̬ ̤T̻ͅO̤͎͙ ҉͎͍͇Ḍ͡E͖͢ͅS͚̰̣T̵R̼͕̹Ó̞̣Y̱͠ ͔̩ͅEͅV̝̪͜E̙̹͘R̬̘Ỵ̸̯Ṯ̣͘H̢̝̮I̲̰̪N҉͇͍͕G̵̜ͅ ̜T͈̭̖HA̹̦͚T̩̜ ͙C҉Ó̙̹U͖̱̙L̰̱̤D͈̥͠ ̠̭̤H͇͠ͅU̸̟͍R̪̥̣T̞̹͉ ́ME! THEN I'LL NEVER HURT AGAIN AS I RULE ATOP OF THRONE OF ASHEN BONES!"
Her attempt was foiled by the multitude of belts strapping her safely and securely to the seat. This was not her first outburst after over twelve hours in the car with the man. The man smiled sadly at the struggling and frothing young woman before the golden light subsided and her natural coloration returned. She coughed again. "S-sorry. I j-just can't control it as easily as I had before."
The man sighed and ran a calloused hand through Atlanta's white-streaked red hair. "I understand, little one. The sensation of madness and wanton cruelty as forces beyond your control twist everything you hold dear..." He trailed off as the young woman began rubbing back against his hand in concern. His smile now was warmer, lighter even. "..But taking myself back was a victory sweeter than any other."
She mumbled softly as they passed Atlanta's international airport. "Downtown. It's downtown."
He gazed in wonder they approached the bright lights of the downtown city, for he had never been to such a population center before. Like most other drivers, he ignored the speed limits inside the Interstate-285 Atlanta Bypass. Unlike many of those other drivers, he also ignored human reason as Abyssal paleness slipped underneath her clothing from where it had taken root in her extremities. The Abyss was pushing the corruption of the geomantic pathways and Emergence along faster than they had for Miami. He adjusted his blue cap as he pushed down on the accelerator.
A police siren now began to scream for his attention, but it was ignored as Atlanta mumurred "The Marriott or Hyatt. It's coming there. Can't...tell which. Hurts too much." She turned her pain-stricken eyes at him, one now completely golden. "Don't l-l-let me hurt my people. Sleep please?"
The man nodded as the car roared off the merged Interstates, ignoring traffic lights in precision timing while also preparing and then injecting a sedative into the young woman's arm. As he pulled into the check-in parking and valet drop-off area, the ground was already rumbling with malevolence. There were only minutes. Quickly, he pulled on his thick, blue wool overcoat and a fetched an aging rifled musket from the trunk while ignoring the police.
After all, he had only broken the traffic laws to have first responders on site faster.
Screams and parting crowds greeted him as he pushed aside security and safety personnel wanting to stop them he headed towards the central core of elevator banks for the hotel. He briefly closed his eyes to attune his senses to the flows. Here and now, so close to the epicenter, he didn't need the shipgirl's spiritual resonance to direct his decisions. He scoffed to himself, "But why would something called The Abyss want anything to do with height or the skies? Of course, it's downstairs. So good of them to keep to stereotypes."
He hurdled the glass railing to fall two stories and land in a pool of water, startling a group of several cosplayers and those taking their photos. One photographer, a young boy looked at him for a moment before snapping a photo with his phone and immediately uploading the photo of the 'AWESOME-COOL UNION SOLDIER COSPLAYER WHO FELL FROM SKY!'
Water dripped from his soaked pants as he jogged past the group with the musket in a ready posture.
A moment, the power grid throughout the entire Atlanta metropolitan area died, just as it had done in the first stage of the Miami Emergence.
Black Misama spewed from a room as one attendee staggered out of the doorway looking older than humanly-possible before collapsing and dying. In only moments, the Unionist had presented his rifled musket into the room and fired. There were no survivors left in the room after all. The darkness recoiled from the flash and smoke of the round fired, prompting screaming evacuations to begin for the buildings nearby at the escalated situation.
The moment, he found himself in a fight for his life in the darkness. He steadily retreated, giving ground to allow him to parry and block otherwise-lethal strikes with his firearm's sturdy construction while the monster from the room steadily followed him. He found it surprisingly wary for a newborn monster, but then again this monster had been birthed from the resentment and hatred grown up over many decades. He knew all too well how potent such patient hatred could be.
It was why he was fighting for humanity today after all. He hated all that the Abyss stood and hated himself even more for his inability to affect the war any meaningful way. Kidnapping his willing accomplice from her dorm after he had felt the pre-tremors of the corruption happening and read in the news about sudden illnesses were all parts of his first strike.
He could not afford to let the Emerging stronghold consume the inhabitants of Atlanta to fuel its growing soul in Phase Three. Phase One had been the consumption of power. Phase Two would have 'normally' been a quiet state creating its armaments for up to twelve hours before commencing the feast. Phase Four would be Expansion.
Already, he could see the beginnings of her stronghold fortification rigging taking form.
He had two options at the current juncture. He could either try taking the fight out of the city somehow or try to find a safe place within it to combat this monster. How fortunate he was that Georgia Tech had play a noon game, thus freeing up their stadium. Ordinarily, dragging an unwilling foe to a place of your choosing would be a difficult prospect.
The Unionist was anything but ordinary as he parried several slashing shadows before lunging forward to headbutt his foe into the concrete base floor beneath. Then, he grabbed his foe's forming outfit and began to spin. A full minute of spinning followed as he steadily built up speed while performing complex calculations. After all, he didn't want to throw the Abyssal into student housing.
Then came the shockwave following his release of the Abyssal and reverberating crash through the hotel's walls at supersonic speeds. He almost pitied the team of SWAT officers who arrived a moment later to open fire upon him. Fortunately, he was already leaping out through the hole formed from his foe's passage. Then, he finally pushed himself and became one with the wind while thunder belatedly announced his passing.
In leaps and bounds he covered the darkened distance, navigating only by memorized maps and the sense of utter wrongness from his target. At last he landed atop the dormant stadium lights of Bobby Dodd Stadium on the Georgia Institute of Technology's campus stared down at the trench that began on one endzone and stretched the entire length of the field before ending right before far goalpost. From his vantage point, he reloaded his musket with its customary Minie ball while watching the trench for the inevitable appearance of his foe.
An arsenal of muskets emerged from the depths of the trench and trained their aim upon the Unionist. He looked down at them. "This is your only chance. Surrender Atlanta to humanity and never attempt this again. Do so, and I will guarantee your safety"
An echoing voice assaulted his ears, causing them to clog with blood as surface blood vessels ruptured from the monster's refusal.
He nodded. "Very well, negotiations have concluded. The hard way it is." A savage grin erupted across his face as the erupted in precision musket fire. With unerring skill and supernatural speed, he parried shots that should have torn great, barbaric holes through his body and weapon. And yet, not a single Minie ball so much as touched his clothing or hat. Then it was his turn, and the trench once more erupted in fire-or rather plasma to be more correct as his return shot burned away the arsenal that had defiantly refused his kind offer.
As the trench burned in purifying fires, he affixed his bayonet to his musket. From beneath the near endzone his foe finally emerged into moonlit brilliance with her pale reflecting the light of the moon skyward. The thing about moonlight was that it could never equal the brilliant light of the sun. Light so great it could burn away one's ability to see. His foe unleashed a furious salvo of cannon fire, blowing apart the bases of the stadium lights to force him down to fight. Thus, did he descend down from the heavens with the golden image of the twilight sun igniting on his forehead.
When he stabbed his bayonet forward, it was parried and blocked ten of thousands more bayonets. However, shadows tend to retreat when faced with enough light, and so the city of Atlanta was lit up once more by the golden totem of an eagle diving to shatter the Abyssal's guard and cut her arm. The cut was followed without hesitation by the butt of the musket arcing into the Abyssal's sternum and sending her flying through rows of stadium benches. Then the field was engulfed in rapid-firing shells as the Abyssal called upon the aspects from the shipgirl Atlanta. A mix of radar-guided and impact-fused shells erupted about him shredded his Union uniform and finally, truly drew blood from him.
Beneath the scraps of blue cloth, silver close-fitting clothes were revealed. The Abyssal snarled at him. "WHO ARE YOU TO PRESUME YOURSELF EQUAL TO ME? YOU ARE NOBODY! NO NATION RECOGNIZES THAT WHICH YOU WEAR NOW!"
He smirked as he pulled on a well-worn grey and silver-trimmed armored jacket. "I am Borealis, the first of those forged for humanity and the Engineer of the Northern Winds." He tossed aside the ruined musket and pulled on golden gauntlets that immediately began to glow yellow from heat. "And I have come to build a world where humanity need not fear your kind any more. Now, IT IS TIME FOR FISTICUFFS!"
Any reports of my dormancy have been greatly exaggerated.
Um, Hi, sorry for interrupting normal thread stuff, a couple things, one( How'd you do spoiler tags? I feel like I remember seeing them explained somewhere, but can't find it....two(I have something to add to the thread if I may....
Um, Hi, sorry for interrupting normal thread stuff, a couple things, one( How'd you do spoiler tags? I feel like I remember seeing them explained somewhere, but can't find it....two(I have something to add to the thread if I may....
In the header of the text box is a button called "Insert" (right next to the floppy disk looking one) which will open a small dropdown menu. Then you simply select "Spoiler", which opens a pop-up that prompts you to enter a title for the spoiler (but you can simpely leave it empty and hit continue). You will get something like this, but in [] brackets:
(SPOILER)Text written here will then be hidden by the spoiler. (/SPOILER)
In the header of the text box is a button called "Insert" (right next to the floppy disk looking one) which will open a small dropdown menu. Then you simply select "Spoiler", which opens a pop-up that prompts you to enter a title for the spoiler (but you can simpely leave it empty and hit continue). You will get something like this, but in [] brackets:
(SPOILER)Text written here will then be hidden by the spoiler. (/SPOILER)
August 8th, 2002, that was the day that everything changed, The first attack was swift, however, as the saying goes, an eye for an eye. Due to this, the enemy decided to pull back to lick their wounds, regroup and attack at a later date.
August 9th 2002
the Japanese made first contact with girls that they claimed were the spirits of warships of years past, they called them "Kanmusu" Fleet daughters, or fleet maidens, each navy soon began their own programs, the most successful being the US Navy, Royal Navy and Deutsche Marine, and despite their early successes, Japan slowly dropped to of the weakest Fleet maiden fleet districts, able to protect the home islands, but not able to project their fleet acrossed the Pacific Ocean, while the American's gain a shingle ship, in the Grandmother of the USN, Constitution, and recomonmissioning the Iowa Sisters, Placing the younger on patrol around Mo's old mooring of Pearl Harbour
Rise, Proud American!
The day of the Attack
"Sir I have weird sounds coming off the surface..." A sonarman aboard the USS Louisiana says to his CO "What's it sound like sailor?" The Captain asks "Whale noises...the humming of engines, ok that's normal we're being overpassed by an Carrier unit, the humming of....OK, you've gotta be kidding me.." the sonarman says "What is it?" "I dunno sir, but it sounds like an old ship or boat..." the sonarman starts before Louisiana shakes violently "What was that!?" Demands The Commander "An explosion on the surface sir!" The sonarman shouts quietly and quickly
August 12 2002, Pearl Harbor, Iowa, War patrol
"Lieutenant, report," Iowa's Captain asks "We're almost to Pearl, sir, I can see the Missouri from here" his subordinate answers "Alright, we're entering port-" The Captain is cut off by a loud explosion "What was that?!" He demands "...Two Torpedo hits sir! Hit us in Engineering, still getting the numbers, but it looks like everyone in the radius was killed, sir..." Another explosion "'Nother Hit!" Another sailor reports, no kidding, Sherlock, "Waters pouring into Iowa's hull sir! She won't stay afloat for long!" Yet another sailor "Alright, give the order." The Captain orders "Aye Sir!" "Abandon ship, she's going down!" "Sorry, old girl,"
August 13th, 2002, New Jersey, War Patrol, 2200 hrs
The sounds of air sirens, AA guns and air craft screaming into the sea brings attention to the mighty behemoth that is the second Iowa sister, as her Sister before her, the Big J's spirit stands next to her Captain as he barks out orders on her bridge,watching enemy battleships creep across the sea surface their Eldritch magic screwing with even her gun control systems, just long enough for them to get into their own effective ranges, and begin firing at her "Fire!" Echoes Both Captain and ship. As her mighty guns recoil, release, and reload, Turrets one and two are forced to focus on enemies to the port side, and her aft turret stands alone in its fight against those on her starboard
August 14th, 2002, 1000hrs USS New Jersey
She feels the warm Pacific waters fill her starboard corridors, tainted with oil and blood, the bodies of her crew, swaying along in the current of her corridors but the Black Dragon curses, her Damage control systems are down, her DamCon crew is spread thin just trying to keep the water out! A-At least there's only two more enemies, and a few hours to port! Her crew can make it! Her cannons Fire another salvo, SHE can make it!
Another barrage of shells pounds her again, filling her with more water,
Same day, 1400 hours
Out of ammo, leaking fuel, Little to no command staff, USS New Jersey is effectively, mission killed, another salvo rackets her hull, and she slips beneath the waves, taking with her the lives and bodies of 1,921 good men and boys
August 16, 2002
San Diego naval base
"Are you sure about this, Ichiro?" Admiral J Mitchell asks his Japanese friend as the tans in the docks that has ebecome an summoning warf for fleet girls
"Yes Jake, if your ships feel like it, they should answer the call to arms,"Doctor Ichiro Misaki says completely confidant
"If you say so...you may begin the process when ready, engineer" Jake says
"Yes sir" The engineer replies
After that, a light begins to shine, but dims out,
"Well?" "Just wait"
Suddenly several girls appear in the middle of the warf eight of them range from around 6' 1" at the shortest to 7'3" at the tallest, and several, shorter girls, the smallest being around 4' 6" tall and the tallest 5' 4"
"USS Yorktown, CV-5 reporting for Duty, Commander!" Says one of the two blonde girls with a flat top rigging, wearing clothes that would make one think she was from an Revolutionary war reenactment group
"Yorktown Class Aircraft Carrier, Hornet, CV-8 ready to buzz some enemies into extinction" says the other blond girl with a cap, which has a pair of black strings standing up, and a flattop, with an giggle
Samuel B. Roberts , DE-413 ready to kick heavy cruiser and submarine butts and take names!" Shouts a small girl wearing an Dress, Bandanna and A Cowgirl hat, as if she's going to the stock show
"USS Harder SS-257, reporting" says a small girl wearing a blue two piece
"USS San Francisco, CA-38, though just call me San Fran or Frisco, California rules be darned" a Cheerokee-Californian wearing a slightly torn shirt, and skirt, and a Coat, says
"USS Alaska, CB-1, I promise to serve really well!" An, not Iowa tall, but still about the size of the Yorktowns, obviously Alaskan/New Yorker, girl says
"USS Wisconsin, BB-64, I'll be sitting in the corner..."
"Pennsylvania-Class Battleship, USS Arizona BB-39, reporting" (You know what Ari looks like), says, before promptly freaking out, dropping to the ground and rocking back and forth holding her head muttering "NO! Not the Planes! Please no planes!" As a Tall busty Blonde woman walks over her to her and pulls her into a hug, rubbing her back and whispering to her
"USS Missouri, BB-63, don't threaten my sisters or My cousin, or else..." The other tall blonde says, wearing a blue dress shirt buttoned up to th bottom of her bust, and a grey blouse with 'SIXTY THREE' emblazoned on it, says, before going back to to softly rubbing the standards back and whispering to her
It was at that moment, that Jake knew, life was just starting to get more interesting...
First off, this comes off as extremely dull. There are numerous grammar errors, multiple red flags of potential problems, and you're jumping all over the place. Secondly, New Jersey isn't going on patrol five days into the Abyssal war, it's a museum ship at the time. Missouri is too, and Iowa and Wisconsin have been decommissioned for years.
Secondly, I don't think you realize just how tall a 7'3" woman is. That's hit your head on doorways tall. That is two inches taller than Shaquille O'Neal tall.
Unless you're referencing some obscure fact or crewmember, what the hell? There are probably some Cherokee in California, but when I think of the Cherokee, I do not think of California.
First off, this comes off as extremely dull. There are numerous grammar errors, multiple red flags of potential problems, and you're jumping all over the place. Secondly, New Jersey isn't going on patrol five days into the Abyssal war, it's a museum ship at the time. Missouri is too, and Iowa and Wisconsin have been decommissioned for years.
Eh I know that... it's an AU, and weren't Iowa and Wisconsin kept ready for reactivation till '06? Also, kinda a work in progress...
[/QUOTE="MarkAren, Post: 11970530, member 4627"] Secondly, I don't think you realize just how tall a 7'3" woman is. That's hit your head on doorways tall. That is two inches taller than Shaquille O'Neal tall.[/QUOTE] and a full head taller then me, so? I know it's ridiculously tall, heck a buddy of mine pointed it out....
Unless you're referencing some obscure fact or crewmember, what the hell? There are probably some Cherokee in California, but when I think of the Cherokee, I do not think of California.
Old draft, forgot to fix it, its USS San Francisco CA-38, just decided today I'd actually use the Pacfic version of her instead, and forgot to change it, derp
Since I can't figure out how to quote myself
"USS San Francisco, CA-38, though just call me San Fran or Frisco, California rules be darned" A Cheerokee-Californian, wearing a slightly torn shirt, and skirt, and a Coat, says,
Will be changed in later drafts, thank you for your insight!
Theoretically, but you would have needed about a year or so of work to get them seaworthy. I'll look for it later, but there are posts in the BelaBatt thread and IIRC in Changing Destiny that spell out why reactivating them was never gonna ever happen - the poster who made those posts btw works on the Iowa museum.
Militarily there are a lot of reasons why not to activate the Iowas but I'm utterly tired of repeating them. tl;dr, not gonna happen, most importantly because there's no more ammo for the guns and spare barrels dont exist, and an Iowa uses 5 Burkes worth of crew.
Eh I know that... it's an AU, and weren't Iowa and Wisconsin kept ready for reactivation till '06? Also, kinda a work in progress...
[/QUOTE="MarkAren, Post: 11970530, member 4627"] Secondly, I don't think you realize just how tall a 7'3" woman is. That's hit your head on doorways tall. That is two inches taller than Shaquille O'Neal tall.
and a full head taller then me, so? I know it's ridiculously tall, heck a buddy of mine pointed it out....
Old draft, forgot to fix it, its USS San Francisco CA-38, just decided today I'd actually use the Pacfic version of her instead, and forgot to change it, derp
Since I can't figure out how to quote myself
"USS San Francisco, CA-38, though just call me San Fran or Frisco, California rules be darned" A Cheerokee-Californian, wearing a slightly torn shirt, and skirt, and a Coat, says,
Will be changed in later drafts, thank you for your insight![/QUOTE]
You might just do what BelaBatt did and have Frisco be Nissei, or possibly half Chinese based on population and history
Theoretically, but you would have needed about a year or so of work to get them seaworthy. I'll look for it later, but there are posts in the BelaBatt thread and IIRC in Changing Destiny that spell out why reactivating them was never gonna ever happen - the poster who made those posts btw works on the Iowa museum.
Militarily there are a lot of reasons why not to activate the Iowas but I'm utterly tired of repeating them. tl;dr, not gonna happen, most importantly because there's no more ammo for the guns and spare barrels dont exist, and an Iowa uses 5 Burkes worth of crew.
and a full head taller then me, so? I know it's ridiculously tall, heck a buddy of mine pointed it out....
Old draft, forgot to fix it, its USS San Francisco CA-38, just decided today I'd actually use the Pacfic version of her instead, and forgot to change it, derp
Since I can't figure out how to quote myself
"USS San Francisco, CA-38, though just call me San Fran or Frisco, California rules be darned" A Cheerokee-Californian, wearing a slightly torn shirt, and skirt, and a Coat, says,
Will be changed in later drafts, thank you for your insight!
You might just do what BelaBatt did and have Frisco be Nissei, or possibly half Chinese based on population and history[/QUOTE]
Eh, I'm still working on it(heck I might change it completely, not use this at all...), thought another few sets of eyes other then me and my buddy would help
Aquila might have an upgrade come from a teased release. Could it change her characterization too?
I wonder if her voice lines might change to make her more confident. As she currently is, her stats are a joke and her cost is high too relative to what she can do. So she's not suitable for a budget fleet or a usable combat fleet, even with her special gear she's a bit of a joke character still. At least from those somewhat serious about gameplay.
If they do change her character, she might get some push from different fan creator and creator communities. She has her niche due to her personality, look, and stats as is, but its a small niche. Though if the upgrade Kai Ni doesn't go over well, she might lose even her small niche among some creators, and shrink further in popularity, or might change what niche of people like her. Unlikely to have broad appeal imo, but it could have surprising results.
I'm also a little surprised a lot of fanart pairs her with Graf Zep. Aquila and Graf Zep are both the only real nearly complete European Axis carriers, so I think that might be the main reason why some pair them often. Though Aquila was technically with the Allies for a bit too considering what happened IRL with WW2 Italy.
New snippet unrelated to anything but was started by me typing in bed, trying to sleep, last night on Discord:
Goodyear DrakeYesterday at 11:20 PM
Random idea: Abyssal gets hired as a secretary at a company and decides to use it to spy on humans. Her job does not go as expected.
And now I return to trying to sleep
So, now that the context has been (somewhat!) established, MORE WORDS!
The Ergonomics assessor stared up at the taller woman whose head was only beneath the ceiling because her crouching. "Now, uh, Miss....Seaah-porrrtt-hiiiiiii-meeeeh. It would appear that your supervisor was warranted in calling for an assessment of your workspace."
The woman flushed slightly as she fiddled with the straining buttons of her custom-made blouse "...didn't want to be a bother...."
The Assessor frowned in a fury. "Ma'am, I will have you know that your working conditions are a VITAL part of this company. OSHA would be furious at us if you called in sick due to work-related injuries."
The man clasped his hands in front of his face. "Look. I understand that you don't want to be a bother by asking for help, but this is our actual job: to help everyone else work better and safer!" He stared into her eyes. "Do. You. Understand?"
She shrank in on herself as others were looking at the slight outburst of the Assessor over their cubicles before going back to work. She trembled slightly before nodding. "...Yes."
The Assessor smiled broadly. "Excellent! Then let us start by you taking a seat in your chair please as if you were working please? No need for looking special. If you want, take care of e-mails while I take notes."
Seaport Hime carefully sat down in her chair, pressing her knees into her chest before delicately grasping her mouse in her right-hand claws and opening up her email system.
She didn't notice how the Assessor put his hands over his face and slowly dragged them down in horror. She didn't notice him taking up his clipboard and checklists in a fury while she carefully tapped out a response to supervisor to inform her that she was getting her ergonomic assessment right now. She didn't notice him making rough measurements while roughly sketching out her skeletal alignment under current conditions. She didn't notice him tapping out messages furiously on his phone to his own supervisor and their following exchange while Seaport Hime began the slow typing out of a report hunched over and squinting at the screen.
She did notice when a large pair of sunglasses were slipped over her eyes and allowed her to actually not need to squint to reduce the light overload for her eyes.
She looked over the frowning Assessor who had apparently been joined by his supervisor, her own supervisor, and several other members of the Ergonomics team. "Miss, Hiimeh, we're going to need to custom-build a workspace for you."
She slouched down into her too-small chair while the Assessor frowned again.
Her supervisor pointed triumphantly at her horrific posture. "You see that? That's what I've been telling her about this whole time! She just says she doesn't want to be a bother. Dearie, you are causing actual harm to yourself by working like this. On top of that, you're one of my best workers Despite the time you take just to operate your basic tools!"
The Assessor glanced at his clipboard. "Agreed. At a bare minimum, she's going to need a completely new desk. We'll need to talk to Facilities about raising the ceiling, because it'd be unreasonable to separate her from her team as well as separating the team from the other related departments...."
He heaved a long and deep sigh before resuming, "Miss Hiimeh will also need a custom mouse and keyboard, both of which will need to be reinforced for hands to not be crushed during basic operation-which is another thing we'll need to test- and also need to conform to her muscular-skeletal system such that everything is flowing naturally and comfortably. Also, she needs a bigger chair. Quite possibly the biggest chair I'll have ever seen with proper back and elbow supports."
He looked to his grimacing supervisor. "So, Kris, what's the call?"
The Assessor Supervisor gave a confused look at younger Assessor. "What do you mean 'what's the call?' _Of course we're going to do this! OSHA will have our heads if we don't on top of someone probably suing us for discrimination! Furthermore! It's the right thing to do AND OUR JOB! "
The Assessor Supervisor then turned and bowed deeply to the awkwardly-slouching Seaport Hime. "Miss Hime, please allow me to extend my deepest apologies for not having your workplace properly prepared for you when you joined the company, much less in the months since your start date. You can expect a new desk by Monday."
"...but it's Friday."
The Assessor Supervisor lifted a multicolored eyebrow up.
"Did I stutter? You can expect a new desk by Monday. The other parts might take some time, but I will push our suppliers and contractors to provide everything by the end of the month. Facilities will take longer though. Not sure there."
Kris looked at the Assessor who then bowed deeply to Seaport Hime. "Miss hiiimeeeh, your ergonomic assessment has now been completed. Please rate your satisfaction wi-"
The poor Assessor was cut off by deeply-blushing Seaport Hime wrapping all of them up in a tight hug. "...Thank you."
Her supervisor patted Seaport Hime on the end. "It's a supervisor's responsibilities to look out for their subordinates. I'd be a sorry supervisor and could expect to be fired if I didn't." The older woman then smiled. "You're always welcome, Dearie."
Aires Drake: Okay! Now what should happen if Seaport Hime becomes a secretary?
*Various people bring up ideas*
theJMPer: I want to see seaport in an office setting
trying to use a keyboard when one talon is the size of her mouse.
*Gets a unhappy look from Aires Drake*
theJMPer: Also, I'm taking full credit for this.
*Cut to outside of office building where theJMPer is thrown out a window along with his chair*
Aires Drake: Okay! Now what should happen if Seaport Hime becomes a secretary?
*Various people bring up ideas*
theJMPer: I want to see seaport in an office setting
trying to use a keyboard when one talon is the size of her mouse.
*Gets a unhappy look from Aires Drake*
theJMPer: Also, I'm taking full credit for this.
*Cut to outside of office building where theJMPer is thrown out a window along with his chair*
Handled that topic. See the line about discrimination. Also, I'm pretty sure that most employers generally need to have cause or risk lawsuits for termination without cause.
