Ashland City, Tennessee, 2022/08/15, 10:58 PM.
The dark skies above Ashland were star filled...
The dark skies above Ashland were star filled...
The Biggest Clusterfuck That Ever Was [KanColle X World of Warships] (Sorta kinda maybe)
- Thread starter NuclearNickel
- Start date
- Worldbuilding
- Created
- Status
- Ongoing
- Watchers
- 25
- Recent readers
- 0
- Threadmarks
- 9
-
Statistics (9 threadmarks, 7k words)
User Total Trace Coburn 1 Firefinder12-B 1 Cmmdfugal 1 Icywinter 1 NuclearNickel 1 hfdt123 1 Jaberwocky ADM 1 jwolfe_beta 1 CompassJimbo 1
It begins...and rules and stuff.
NuclearNickel
smug.jpg
- Location
- Bootes Void
Ashland City, Tennessee, 2022/08/15, 10:58 PM.
The dark skies above Ashland were star filled and twinkling on this warm August Friday night. A comfortably warm gust of wind blew down an empty suburban road, picking up and tossing around a forlorn newspaper before setting it down in the driveway of a white, two story house, leaving it to be found the next morning once the occupants left for work and various other tasks. Most people would have stayed awake for hours on end just to stare up at the beautiful night sky, taking in the romantic scene and captivating it in memory for years as something to remember when times were tough for them. Certainly, a gorgeous thing to see.
But I've lived here for years.
So I just don't give a fuck about it anymore.
Hi, I'm....well, that shouldn't matter all to much, just call me Nickel. Yes, like the currency, now stop laughing about it. It's a bloody inside Joke!.....What do you mean it doesn't make any sense? Just can it and listen for five seconds would ya?
Anyway, in this two story suburban home sat me, a young man in his late teens who happened to be playing one of the most bullshit-inducing games of the century. A product of Wargaming by the name of "World of Warships", a naval combat simulator based in the 'Big World' engine that utilizes a bunch of technical internet computer wizardry that I didn't bother paying attention too on the website. To sum it up, you basically captain a Warship from the 20th century, World War's One and Two, of varying classes. Destroyers, Cruisers, Battleships, and Aircraft Carriers, then kill other players in matches for experience and credits just like most other MMOs out there. I myself am the proud captain of an Implaceable-class Carrier, the HMS Sanctum and have currently found myself in a domination match.
Funzies.
The match droned on for what felt like forever before it finally ended with my team finishing off their last ship, the Bismarck-class Fast Battleship. I sighed as I watched the screen transition back to the docks and to the image of my Carrier. I didn't put all that much effort into the game anymore, just directing airstrikes and and steering the ship around. I yawned before directing the mouse cursor over above the random battle button again, clicking it as the scrren changed to a matchmaking queue before switching a map view an team list......wait a minute.
Why weren't there any ships on the enemy team?
I shit you not, there were a full set of ships for my team, but the right column was stark empty. Not a single shred of info was to be found there.
The view switched too a view of the stern of my ship. I panned it around for a bit, looking to see where my team were, and found them after a bit of squinting. The map was a night map, but not one I'd actually seen before, or could see at all due to the immense amounts of fog that had rolled over the water. I couldn't even see any landmass, but I could make out some ships and player names dotted around here and there. I suddenly felt...anxious as the match timer ticked down, like something really bad was going to happen whenever it reached zero.
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
....Wait a minute...that was beeping I heard just there....
3
2
1
..........
When I woke up, I felt cold hard metal underneath me. There was a sense of familiarity, however. Like I've been here before...like I knew what this was, but couldn't quite pin it down to words or coherent thought. I stood up, albeit shakily, and looked around to get some bearings on my location. Dark sky...fog everywhere....a....little tower with windows and antennas? Looked kinda like a ship's Bridge..
Wait.
No.
I looked around again....yep. Planes were sitting behind me on a long expanse of wood and metal, there was water in every direction, and as I looke over the side of the flight deck, I could see waves slapping against the side of the hull.
I was on my ship. I was on the Implacable-class Carrier, HMS Sanctum.
Shit.
----------
And there is that. This thread was born from an idea that was joked up in another thread named "World of Warships with the Kanmusus" It was an interesting thought from jwolfe_beta that centered around the idea that, due to Abyssal Bullshit, a gaggle of WoWs players would get pulled into the game and be forced to defend bases from Abyssal forces. The Kanmusu will come in later,but basically, the bases repair and respawn your ship after damage and sinking. The stations themselves are operated by fairies and...well...
No one wants to know what will happen if all the bases are lost.
Anyone can jump in if they like, but just be sure to be reasonable with your setup and ship WW2 and early post-war ONLY. This is set in the future, so ships that aren't currently in WoWs are okay, just be reasonable with your ship.
Rules 'n' stuff:
-Be nice and courteous.
-No Gary Stu'ing. That's just stupid.
-Waifuing is....well, debatable. Yes, I am making a rule about this because I know it will be a problem. It's okay...but for god's sake, no harem's.
-No bullshit. I want none of it here.
I leave the rest to you.
The dark skies above Ashland were star filled and twinkling on this warm August Friday night. A comfortably warm gust of wind blew down an empty suburban road, picking up and tossing around a forlorn newspaper before setting it down in the driveway of a white, two story house, leaving it to be found the next morning once the occupants left for work and various other tasks. Most people would have stayed awake for hours on end just to stare up at the beautiful night sky, taking in the romantic scene and captivating it in memory for years as something to remember when times were tough for them. Certainly, a gorgeous thing to see.
But I've lived here for years.
So I just don't give a fuck about it anymore.
Hi, I'm....well, that shouldn't matter all to much, just call me Nickel. Yes, like the currency, now stop laughing about it. It's a bloody inside Joke!.....What do you mean it doesn't make any sense? Just can it and listen for five seconds would ya?
Anyway, in this two story suburban home sat me, a young man in his late teens who happened to be playing one of the most bullshit-inducing games of the century. A product of Wargaming by the name of "World of Warships", a naval combat simulator based in the 'Big World' engine that utilizes a bunch of technical internet computer wizardry that I didn't bother paying attention too on the website. To sum it up, you basically captain a Warship from the 20th century, World War's One and Two, of varying classes. Destroyers, Cruisers, Battleships, and Aircraft Carriers, then kill other players in matches for experience and credits just like most other MMOs out there. I myself am the proud captain of an Implaceable-class Carrier, the HMS Sanctum and have currently found myself in a domination match.
Funzies.
The match droned on for what felt like forever before it finally ended with my team finishing off their last ship, the Bismarck-class Fast Battleship. I sighed as I watched the screen transition back to the docks and to the image of my Carrier. I didn't put all that much effort into the game anymore, just directing airstrikes and and steering the ship around. I yawned before directing the mouse cursor over above the random battle button again, clicking it as the scrren changed to a matchmaking queue before switching a map view an team list......wait a minute.
Why weren't there any ships on the enemy team?
I shit you not, there were a full set of ships for my team, but the right column was stark empty. Not a single shred of info was to be found there.
The view switched too a view of the stern of my ship. I panned it around for a bit, looking to see where my team were, and found them after a bit of squinting. The map was a night map, but not one I'd actually seen before, or could see at all due to the immense amounts of fog that had rolled over the water. I couldn't even see any landmass, but I could make out some ships and player names dotted around here and there. I suddenly felt...anxious as the match timer ticked down, like something really bad was going to happen whenever it reached zero.
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
....Wait a minute...that was beeping I heard just there....
3
2
1
..........
When I woke up, I felt cold hard metal underneath me. There was a sense of familiarity, however. Like I've been here before...like I knew what this was, but couldn't quite pin it down to words or coherent thought. I stood up, albeit shakily, and looked around to get some bearings on my location. Dark sky...fog everywhere....a....little tower with windows and antennas? Looked kinda like a ship's Bridge..
Wait.
No.
I looked around again....yep. Planes were sitting behind me on a long expanse of wood and metal, there was water in every direction, and as I looke over the side of the flight deck, I could see waves slapping against the side of the hull.
I was on my ship. I was on the Implacable-class Carrier, HMS Sanctum.
Shit.
----------
And there is that. This thread was born from an idea that was joked up in another thread named "World of Warships with the Kanmusus" It was an interesting thought from jwolfe_beta that centered around the idea that, due to Abyssal Bullshit, a gaggle of WoWs players would get pulled into the game and be forced to defend bases from Abyssal forces. The Kanmusu will come in later,but basically, the bases repair and respawn your ship after damage and sinking. The stations themselves are operated by fairies and...well...
No one wants to know what will happen if all the bases are lost.
Anyone can jump in if they like, but just be sure to be reasonable with your setup and ship WW2 and early post-war ONLY. This is set in the future, so ships that aren't currently in WoWs are okay, just be reasonable with your ship.
Rules 'n' stuff:
-Be nice and courteous.
-No Gary Stu'ing. That's just stupid.
-Waifuing is....well, debatable. Yes, I am making a rule about this because I know it will be a problem. It's okay...but for god's sake, no harem's.
-No bullshit. I want none of it here.
I leave the rest to you.
Greek Fire
One of these days, I'll actually start writing.
- Location
- The Earth Sphere
It all happened so suddenly. All I remember was sitting down at my computer desk and launching World of Warships, and then suddenly I was in the middle of nowhere, lying face first on the deck of a Montana class battleship. My name is Greek, Greek Fire. And I had just been transported straight into the game.
NuclearNickel
smug.jpg
- Location
- Bootes Void
Anyone can jump on in if they want.
Almost makes me wish I has WoWs even more, ah well.
Also...
Also...
Ahahahaahahhaahahahaha
Winter is coming
Icywinter
50% ice, 50% winter
- Location
- ?
- Pronouns
- She/Her
mai waifu is already with me for laifu. And MONO merged with my computer and became Astrid.
--
13.0.9.14.4 | 2022.08.15
2258 EST
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
It was a starless night out here in Toronto, but then again, it was always starless. The glow of the evening lights blotted out all but the most stubborn of stars glaring defiantly in the face of man-made iridescence. At least, if you weren't a technopath like me. A flick of the wrist, and suddenly, the stars came out in full force, their twinkling light like diamonds in the sky.
I grinned. Truly, sometimes the greatest pleasures were those of the natural world.
It was a cool midsummer's night. The crickets were chirping away, the barbie roared, and the crackling of the wood in the fire all added to the feeling of contentedness that had sunk into me.
"Hey, Al," my beautiful wife-to-be said, sitting next to me on the rear porch. She handed me a cold beer -- one she had ostensibly imported from Germany -- which I accepted gratefully. I thanked her, and took a sip, savouring the slight bitterness to it as I leaned back to watch the sky.
"Y'know, Erika, I never really get tired of looking at the stars," I said to the blonde.
"Thinking about going there?"
"Of course. Perhaps not in this lifetime, but in our children's lifetime."
Erika nodded, smiling and leaning back with me to watch a comet streak across the sky.
"I'll be with you, every step of the way."
"I wouldn't doubt it, hun."
We just lied there for a few more minutes, until Astrid unceremoniously broke down the door.
"Alphonse, Erika, we've gotta get out of here!" she cried, taking in deep breaths to steady herself.
"Wha-Why?" I asked her.
"Meteoroid," she said in-between gasps of air, "Inbound. Impact near us. T-Minus two minutes thirty-three seconds. Out. Now."
I looked at Erika, who nodded, surprise still etched on her features.
"Go. Let's go. Now." I grabbed the keys for my BMW parked outside. I yanked the door open to the darkened street, grabbing my wallet and my M1911 as well. Erika and Astrid followed me out, piling quickly into the coupe.
"Minimum safe zone?" I asked as I slammed the car into motion, driving quickly down the street.
"About... six hundred metres from here," the AI answered.
"Light it up on the screen."
"Will do."
"I see it...!" Erika said, turning her head to look at the falling chunk of metal tumbling down towards Earth. Its glowing tail brighter than the sky, it blocked out all of the light from the sky before crashing into the ground, emitting a thunderous explosion.
"Wait, Alphonse, that wasn't a meteorite! That was a-"
Whatever she was going to say next was drowned out by the force of the explosion sending the car flying, and then throwing it against the ground. The last thing I saw was Erika grabbing onto me tightly, before darkness.
--
Darkness.
"... Alphonse, wake up... please... Al, please, wake up!"
Am I dead? No. I'm not dead. I'm still alive.
"Please..."
Erika...
Erika, that was her. Why was she telling me to wake up?
Wait--
I opened my eyes, taking in a big gulp of salty sea air. The sun was shining, the rays of light being blocked out by the beautiful German girl shading me from the sun. "Oh, thank god, you're alive..."
"... Alive?" I asked her, accepting her hug with a grunt.
"There was an explosion, we got knocked out? And then when I woke up, here we were."
Oh. Right. I shook my head, the still fresh memories filtering into my head. "Where is here?" I asked after pushing away the torrent of information. She helped me to my feet, and I stood up, unsteady on my feet.
"I... dunno. We're near an island, and you're on a ship."
I looked around. Somehow, I felt like this was oddly familiar to me. Like I've been on this ship before.
"I woke up here?" I turned my eyes upward to the colourful maritime flags adorning the control wires and ropes.
"Yeah. I woke up on a ship as well," she said, pointing to the grey and black warship anchored just a few ways away from the one we were on.
"Wait a second." Images flashed across my vision, of an identical warship steaming alongside mine, the unmistakable camouflage of the H44-class KM Bismarck as she proceeded to dive headfirst into the enemy...
And then I felt it. A jolt, a shift, something that just changed around me. I was sure Erika had felt it as well -- her jaw hung open as she connected the dots.
"No..."
I wasn't sure if it was her or I that said that.
I looked up, at the flags fluttering in the wind. At the all-too-familiar bridge of the warship. At the two triple-203 mm cannons that were below me.
"This is..." I gripped the handrail with all my strength.
"This is the IJN Ishikari, Senjo-class Heavy Cruiser."
I was on my dream ship.
"Then that must have been the Bismarck..."
"Yeah." I dumbly nodded.
"What is this place then?" she asked.
"I don't know. I just don't know."
Is this real life?
Or is this just fantasy?
... Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality?
I opened my eyes again, and I saw the sun beating down on me, the bright blue sky and white clouds floating by.
No. This is reality, for whatever measure one would call reality.
"So," I turned to Erika von Bismarck, my fiancee, and the love of my life. "Let's figure out what we can do."
She nodded, a terse grin on her face. "Like I said, I'm with you all the way."
"Alright then, now to figure out how to move this beast..."
--
13.0.9.14.4 | 2022.08.15
2258 EST
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
It was a starless night out here in Toronto, but then again, it was always starless. The glow of the evening lights blotted out all but the most stubborn of stars glaring defiantly in the face of man-made iridescence. At least, if you weren't a technopath like me. A flick of the wrist, and suddenly, the stars came out in full force, their twinkling light like diamonds in the sky.
I grinned. Truly, sometimes the greatest pleasures were those of the natural world.
It was a cool midsummer's night. The crickets were chirping away, the barbie roared, and the crackling of the wood in the fire all added to the feeling of contentedness that had sunk into me.
"Hey, Al," my beautiful wife-to-be said, sitting next to me on the rear porch. She handed me a cold beer -- one she had ostensibly imported from Germany -- which I accepted gratefully. I thanked her, and took a sip, savouring the slight bitterness to it as I leaned back to watch the sky.
"Y'know, Erika, I never really get tired of looking at the stars," I said to the blonde.
"Thinking about going there?"
"Of course. Perhaps not in this lifetime, but in our children's lifetime."
Erika nodded, smiling and leaning back with me to watch a comet streak across the sky.
"I'll be with you, every step of the way."
"I wouldn't doubt it, hun."
We just lied there for a few more minutes, until Astrid unceremoniously broke down the door.
"Alphonse, Erika, we've gotta get out of here!" she cried, taking in deep breaths to steady herself.
"Wha-Why?" I asked her.
"Meteoroid," she said in-between gasps of air, "Inbound. Impact near us. T-Minus two minutes thirty-three seconds. Out. Now."
I looked at Erika, who nodded, surprise still etched on her features.
"Go. Let's go. Now." I grabbed the keys for my BMW parked outside. I yanked the door open to the darkened street, grabbing my wallet and my M1911 as well. Erika and Astrid followed me out, piling quickly into the coupe.
"Minimum safe zone?" I asked as I slammed the car into motion, driving quickly down the street.
"About... six hundred metres from here," the AI answered.
"Light it up on the screen."
"Will do."
"I see it...!" Erika said, turning her head to look at the falling chunk of metal tumbling down towards Earth. Its glowing tail brighter than the sky, it blocked out all of the light from the sky before crashing into the ground, emitting a thunderous explosion.
"Wait, Alphonse, that wasn't a meteorite! That was a-"
Whatever she was going to say next was drowned out by the force of the explosion sending the car flying, and then throwing it against the ground. The last thing I saw was Erika grabbing onto me tightly, before darkness.
--
Darkness.
"... Alphonse, wake up... please... Al, please, wake up!"
Am I dead? No. I'm not dead. I'm still alive.
"Please..."
Erika...
Erika, that was her. Why was she telling me to wake up?
Wait--
I opened my eyes, taking in a big gulp of salty sea air. The sun was shining, the rays of light being blocked out by the beautiful German girl shading me from the sun. "Oh, thank god, you're alive..."
"... Alive?" I asked her, accepting her hug with a grunt.
"There was an explosion, we got knocked out? And then when I woke up, here we were."
Oh. Right. I shook my head, the still fresh memories filtering into my head. "Where is here?" I asked after pushing away the torrent of information. She helped me to my feet, and I stood up, unsteady on my feet.
"I... dunno. We're near an island, and you're on a ship."
I looked around. Somehow, I felt like this was oddly familiar to me. Like I've been on this ship before.
"I woke up here?" I turned my eyes upward to the colourful maritime flags adorning the control wires and ropes.
"Yeah. I woke up on a ship as well," she said, pointing to the grey and black warship anchored just a few ways away from the one we were on.
"Wait a second." Images flashed across my vision, of an identical warship steaming alongside mine, the unmistakable camouflage of the H44-class KM Bismarck as she proceeded to dive headfirst into the enemy...
And then I felt it. A jolt, a shift, something that just changed around me. I was sure Erika had felt it as well -- her jaw hung open as she connected the dots.
"No..."
I wasn't sure if it was her or I that said that.
I looked up, at the flags fluttering in the wind. At the all-too-familiar bridge of the warship. At the two triple-203 mm cannons that were below me.
"This is..." I gripped the handrail with all my strength.
"This is the IJN Ishikari, Senjo-class Heavy Cruiser."
I was on my dream ship.
"Then that must have been the Bismarck..."
"Yeah." I dumbly nodded.
"What is this place then?" she asked.
"I don't know. I just don't know."
Is this real life?
Or is this just fantasy?
... Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality?
I opened my eyes again, and I saw the sun beating down on me, the bright blue sky and white clouds floating by.
No. This is reality, for whatever measure one would call reality.
"So," I turned to Erika von Bismarck, my fiancee, and the love of my life. "Let's figure out what we can do."
She nodded, a terse grin on her face. "Like I said, I'm with you all the way."
"Alright then, now to figure out how to move this beast..."
Cmmdfugal has arrived, bitches!
Cmmdfugal
I married female crota
- Location
- being a verified boat
At long last My first game in the North Carolina ages of destroyer killing with 14 and 16 inch guns had finally paid off. Now...ehh wait why is the enemy team list blank. eh probably nothing though now i do wish for this glitch to stop alreadddddyyyy, wow when did gaming make me so drowwwwwwwssssssssyyyyyyyyyyy.
10
come on stay focused
9
8
7
seriously why do I smell saltwater now
6
5
4
why do I hear beeping
3
2
1
as the countdown hit 1 I blacked out
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Ugghhhhhhh what hit me here" as I finally gained conciousness I took a look around me and why am I in a ship deck ok maybe i do need to cut down on the games before bed." my words died out in my moth as I touched the turret of the ship I was on and holy hell this seems way too real to be in any way a dream. maybe the bridge has a clue onto this whole situation. now If only I had a map of this ship
maybe just taking some stairs up would help out he he time to explore my new home.
10
come on stay focused
9
8
7
seriously why do I smell saltwater now
6
5
4
why do I hear beeping
3
2
1
as the countdown hit 1 I blacked out
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Ugghhhhhhh what hit me here" as I finally gained conciousness I took a look around me and why am I in a ship deck ok maybe i do need to cut down on the games before bed." my words died out in my moth as I touched the turret of the ship I was on and holy hell this seems way too real to be in any way a dream. maybe the bridge has a clue onto this whole situation. now If only I had a map of this ship
maybe just taking some stairs up would help out he he time to explore my new home.
To sober for this
I groan as I woke up. One moment I was Skypeing an old friend from the war while starting up World Of Warships to play with her and the next, I waking up on my wooding floor.
Wait, the flooring in the barracks is tile not wood.
That had me jumping up to my feet.
"SLAM!"
The very hard metal thing that I slammed my head into had me going back down.
Slowing getting back up this time, I saw that the thing was a gun barrel. A really fucking big gun barrel, a lot bigger than the 155mm M777 back in the motor pool...
On a hunch I looked to my right and yup there the other one, before looking up across the dock, I realize, over the bow into the view of the ocean.
Well that's...
Is new.
Slowly turning I took notice of the quad Bofor emplace at right, port I believe side, before looking stern. And my train of thought jump tracks and proceed to head to what the fuck-ville. For there was the turret face with the second one's twin barrels peeking out over it. Backing up only confirmed my thoughts when I saw the superstructure.
I was on a Lexington class battlecruiser. A class of ship that was turn into carriers mid build thanks to the Washington Naval Treaty. In World of Warships they are know as the Constellation class battlecruiser as so not to be confessed with their carrier step sisters in game since the Constellation hull was layed down first.
I stood there for who knows how long before my brain unscramble itself.
"Right... I'm on a ship, a ship that if it was built which it wasn't, would had probably had been scraped. Fuck, this is like those SIs I like to read and tried to write before the war."
I let that float out there until it was blow away by the sea breeze. I shot a glance to my sides wishs I had some optics on me before my view change.
It was hard to describe. The best I could do is as if I was putting on my glass for the first time ever again. IF those glass rised my point of view by nearly sixty odd meters and had a zoom option, times a thousand zoom, nice. And I can still could see out of my organic eyes.
With a sinking feeling I looked to where the main fire-control rangefinder would be and saw it turned to where I just look, still looking?
Fuck.
With a mentally command I willed the fire director to look at the other side. When it did so, I focus on the upper turret, X turret, and I had it move the other way adding another sight to my view for its in build rangefinders.
....
...
"FUCK ME! I'M THE SHIP!?!?"
"I am to sober for this."
Wait, the flooring in the barracks is tile not wood.
That had me jumping up to my feet.
"SLAM!"
The very hard metal thing that I slammed my head into had me going back down.
Slowing getting back up this time, I saw that the thing was a gun barrel. A really fucking big gun barrel, a lot bigger than the 155mm M777 back in the motor pool...
On a hunch I looked to my right and yup there the other one, before looking up across the dock, I realize, over the bow into the view of the ocean.
Well that's...
Is new.
Slowly turning I took notice of the quad Bofor emplace at right, port I believe side, before looking stern. And my train of thought jump tracks and proceed to head to what the fuck-ville. For there was the turret face with the second one's twin barrels peeking out over it. Backing up only confirmed my thoughts when I saw the superstructure.
I was on a Lexington class battlecruiser. A class of ship that was turn into carriers mid build thanks to the Washington Naval Treaty. In World of Warships they are know as the Constellation class battlecruiser as so not to be confessed with their carrier step sisters in game since the Constellation hull was layed down first.
I stood there for who knows how long before my brain unscramble itself.
"Right... I'm on a ship, a ship that if it was built which it wasn't, would had probably had been scraped. Fuck, this is like those SIs I like to read and tried to write before the war."
I let that float out there until it was blow away by the sea breeze. I shot a glance to my sides wishs I had some optics on me before my view change.
It was hard to describe. The best I could do is as if I was putting on my glass for the first time ever again. IF those glass rised my point of view by nearly sixty odd meters and had a zoom option, times a thousand zoom, nice. And I can still could see out of my organic eyes.
With a sinking feeling I looked to where the main fire-control rangefinder would be and saw it turned to where I just look, still looking?
Fuck.
With a mentally command I willed the fire director to look at the other side. When it did so, I focus on the upper turret, X turret, and I had it move the other way adding another sight to my view for its in build rangefinders.
....
...
"FUCK ME! I'M THE SHIP!?!?"
"I am to sober for this."
Last edited:
NuclearNickel
smug.jpg
- Location
- Bootes Void
Time: Unknown.
Location: Unknown. Aboard the HMS Sanctum.
I inhaled shakily as I made my way to the control tower, or bridge as it's properly called. I knew quite a bit of naval terminology due to having ancestors who served in the navy who passed down their war stories to my parents and them to me, but I didn't know a lot. However, I did know this ship....almost intimately so. I knew she had 3 inches of armor on her deck, I knew that she had two sisters of her class, and I knew she could take on the world if you treated her right. I walked up to the bridge and into the main control room, looking over various empty seats and the lack of a helmsman at the wheel of this behemoth. I didn't know how to operate a warship properly...but...wait...what was...this...
This longing feeling.
I felt empty, I felt...lacking. I felt like I was missing something, physically missing something that was crucial to my survival. I swallowed hard as I looked around the bridge, all the empty places where people should be....I could hear them. I could hear their voices all around me. Cheers about the ending conflicts, idle chit-chat about lovers back home...all the drunk shouting of sea shanty's once the war was finally over...I needed them. I needed them again...
I felt a hand on my shoulder.
I turned sharply to meet a man wearing a Royal Navy's Captain Uniform and around him were various other crew members rushing around to their stations as the faint sound of an alarm reached my ears. On a golden nametag across the Captains uniform there was the name "Mitchell".
Mitchell Reeves.
The Captain of the Sanctum who I had named in WoWs.
"You'll get us through it...you always did..."
He faded away....just like the rest. Why did I feel so...sad about it?.....No...I knew why..
I wasn't a crewman. I wasn't the Captain. And I wasn't some random kid who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I was the HMS Sanctum.....I was the ship. Me......I was....
I cleared my throat and stood back up, not even remembering when I had slid down the walls of the bridge and had sat on the floor. I walked up to the middle of the room, placing my hands behind my back in a professional stance as I stared out over the ocean toward and island out in the distance.
"Set course to the Island...ahead full."
A lurch signaled my advance.
Location: Unknown. Aboard the HMS Sanctum.
I inhaled shakily as I made my way to the control tower, or bridge as it's properly called. I knew quite a bit of naval terminology due to having ancestors who served in the navy who passed down their war stories to my parents and them to me, but I didn't know a lot. However, I did know this ship....almost intimately so. I knew she had 3 inches of armor on her deck, I knew that she had two sisters of her class, and I knew she could take on the world if you treated her right. I walked up to the bridge and into the main control room, looking over various empty seats and the lack of a helmsman at the wheel of this behemoth. I didn't know how to operate a warship properly...but...wait...what was...this...
This longing feeling.
I felt empty, I felt...lacking. I felt like I was missing something, physically missing something that was crucial to my survival. I swallowed hard as I looked around the bridge, all the empty places where people should be....I could hear them. I could hear their voices all around me. Cheers about the ending conflicts, idle chit-chat about lovers back home...all the drunk shouting of sea shanty's once the war was finally over...I needed them. I needed them again...
I felt a hand on my shoulder.
I turned sharply to meet a man wearing a Royal Navy's Captain Uniform and around him were various other crew members rushing around to their stations as the faint sound of an alarm reached my ears. On a golden nametag across the Captains uniform there was the name "Mitchell".
Mitchell Reeves.
The Captain of the Sanctum who I had named in WoWs.
"You'll get us through it...you always did..."
He faded away....just like the rest. Why did I feel so...sad about it?.....No...I knew why..
I wasn't a crewman. I wasn't the Captain. And I wasn't some random kid who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I was the HMS Sanctum.....I was the ship. Me......I was....
I cleared my throat and stood back up, not even remembering when I had slid down the walls of the bridge and had sat on the floor. I walked up to the middle of the room, placing my hands behind my back in a professional stance as I stared out over the ocean toward and island out in the distance.
"Set course to the Island...ahead full."
A lurch signaled my advance.
NuclearNickel
smug.jpg
- Location
- Bootes Void
It's something from the story of the Macho Admiral and the Ship Girls. Basically ship girls have different ways to use their rigging/powers, one was the ocean fit out. What it did was turn the girls into the ships of their namesake,lead by them in tubes like Melfina and operated by fairies. That's basically what it is.
edit:
Last edited:
NuclearNickel
smug.jpg
- Location
- Bootes Void
Yeah, i've seen a couple of those.
Icywinter
50% ice, 50% winter
- Location
- ?
- Pronouns
- She/Her
?0.0.0.0.0 | ?0000.00.00
?0900 ???
Location Detection Error
I sigh as the two of us made our way to the bridge of the Ishikari. My ComCom couldn't get a handle on the date and time, and we had to wait until nightfall until I could use the position of the stars to figure out a rough estimate of the date. We walked across the warship, the wooden panelled deck was exactly as I remembered it, only larger. The ship -- my ship -- rolled gently in the calm breeze, and the flags continued their lazy flutter in the wind. The refreshing smell of the sea had woken something inside of me -- something strange, something new, and I intended to find out. Erika -- bless her -- had her riggings out, the four turrets containing the largest ship-guns ever designed swivelling around her, and her RADAR was glowing with fairy magic.
"No life signs so far, Al," the kanmusu said, brushing a lock of strawberry-blonde hair from her face. "She's empty."
"What about your ship?" I ask.
"Empty too," she replied.
Hm. I opened the bridge, only to find it filled with people.
"Admiral on deck!" a crewman said, snapping to attention. Suddenly, the entire room stopped what they were doing, and saluted me.
"... What?" Erika and I said simultaneously.
A younger looking man, though by no means less experienced, appeared from the other side of the bridge. "Welcome, Admiral Schmitt," he said, smiling, "to the IJN Ishikari."
--
"When are we?" I asked as soon as the initial shock and excitement wore off. Erika was standing right beside me with an iron grip on my hand.
"That, I do not know," the good admiral replied. He took off his officer's cap, and ran his fingers through the unruly locks of raven-coloured hair. "Neither do I, or my crew, know where we are. Star charts have proven useless, and I have a suspicion that we are not exactly in the Pacific Ocean anymore, nor anywhere else you may know, Admiral Schmitt."
"But why us?" I press on. "I don't get it," I turned to the gathered faces of the Ishikari's crew. "Why have we been brought here?"
"Because you two are the only ones that could guide us," he said simply. He placed his peaked cap on my head, and rested his hands on my shoulders. "You have always brought us victory, swift victory, when we needed it the most. You were the one who brought great honour to this ship. We knew, from the moment that you had laid your eyes upon this ship, that you were the one that would give us a purpose again."
"How long have you been waiting?" I softly whispered.
"For many cycles. We will be counting on you, Admiral Schmitt, as we always have been." The figures on the bridge slowly faded one by one, until only the Admiral remained.
"Give 'em hell, Winter. Give 'em hell. Tell the gods that Chihaya Gunzou will be looking out for you."
And then he was gone, leaving Erika and I all alone on the bridge of the Japanese Heavy Cruiser.
She slowly turned towards me. "How do you feel?"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I saw what he did. He placed the ship's soul in your body?"
... "He what?"
"Admiral Gunzou used the same process that was used to create me, Alphonse. You're no longer just Alphonse Gunther Schmitt. You are the Ishikari, the Senjo-class heavy cruiser."
"... Huh." I felt power that I had never realized was there course through my veins. My body felt like it was suddenly reinforced with multiple layers of steel and composite armour. And I felt my vision adjust, my eyes slowly changing.
And then the HUD returned to me.
"No..." I was shocked.
"No, what?"
"I have a map, a compass, and a consumable bar in my field of vision. And," I said as I blinked, "I can summon and make it disappear at will. Though this layout is a bit disconcerting..."
After a few minutes of jiggering around with my ComCom and this new HUD that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, I managed to make all of the information, save for the ever-useful compass, which apparently had a life bar around it as well, disappear and reappear at will on physical holographic screens. Much much better.
Huh. This looks a bit like the HUD for Assassin's Creed Syndicate, actually. Maybe it's just projecting?
Anyway, after managing to get this entire HUD thing sorted out, I noticed something glowing out of the corner of my eye.
"It's a headset..." I said. I put it on, adjusting it so that it was resting right under my peaked cap.
"I have a matching one as well," she said, pulling one out of her uniform. "See?" She put hers on as well.
"So, does it work?" she asked.
"Oh, definitely. Okay, try going into another room."
"Can you still hear me?" she asked as she left the bridge.
"Yeah, crystal clear too. Fascinating," I said, taking it off.
"This'll make communication much more easy between us."
"Yup. So," I said, as she walked back into the bridge. "Let's go see your ship."
?0900 ???
Location Detection Error
I sigh as the two of us made our way to the bridge of the Ishikari. My ComCom couldn't get a handle on the date and time, and we had to wait until nightfall until I could use the position of the stars to figure out a rough estimate of the date. We walked across the warship, the wooden panelled deck was exactly as I remembered it, only larger. The ship -- my ship -- rolled gently in the calm breeze, and the flags continued their lazy flutter in the wind. The refreshing smell of the sea had woken something inside of me -- something strange, something new, and I intended to find out. Erika -- bless her -- had her riggings out, the four turrets containing the largest ship-guns ever designed swivelling around her, and her RADAR was glowing with fairy magic.
"No life signs so far, Al," the kanmusu said, brushing a lock of strawberry-blonde hair from her face. "She's empty."
"What about your ship?" I ask.
"Empty too," she replied.
Hm. I opened the bridge, only to find it filled with people.
"Admiral on deck!" a crewman said, snapping to attention. Suddenly, the entire room stopped what they were doing, and saluted me.
"... What?" Erika and I said simultaneously.
A younger looking man, though by no means less experienced, appeared from the other side of the bridge. "Welcome, Admiral Schmitt," he said, smiling, "to the IJN Ishikari."
--
"When are we?" I asked as soon as the initial shock and excitement wore off. Erika was standing right beside me with an iron grip on my hand.
"That, I do not know," the good admiral replied. He took off his officer's cap, and ran his fingers through the unruly locks of raven-coloured hair. "Neither do I, or my crew, know where we are. Star charts have proven useless, and I have a suspicion that we are not exactly in the Pacific Ocean anymore, nor anywhere else you may know, Admiral Schmitt."
"But why us?" I press on. "I don't get it," I turned to the gathered faces of the Ishikari's crew. "Why have we been brought here?"
"Because you two are the only ones that could guide us," he said simply. He placed his peaked cap on my head, and rested his hands on my shoulders. "You have always brought us victory, swift victory, when we needed it the most. You were the one who brought great honour to this ship. We knew, from the moment that you had laid your eyes upon this ship, that you were the one that would give us a purpose again."
"How long have you been waiting?" I softly whispered.
"For many cycles. We will be counting on you, Admiral Schmitt, as we always have been." The figures on the bridge slowly faded one by one, until only the Admiral remained.
"Give 'em hell, Winter. Give 'em hell. Tell the gods that Chihaya Gunzou will be looking out for you."
And then he was gone, leaving Erika and I all alone on the bridge of the Japanese Heavy Cruiser.
She slowly turned towards me. "How do you feel?"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I saw what he did. He placed the ship's soul in your body?"
... "He what?"
"Admiral Gunzou used the same process that was used to create me, Alphonse. You're no longer just Alphonse Gunther Schmitt. You are the Ishikari, the Senjo-class heavy cruiser."
"... Huh." I felt power that I had never realized was there course through my veins. My body felt like it was suddenly reinforced with multiple layers of steel and composite armour. And I felt my vision adjust, my eyes slowly changing.
And then the HUD returned to me.
"No..." I was shocked.
"No, what?"
"I have a map, a compass, and a consumable bar in my field of vision. And," I said as I blinked, "I can summon and make it disappear at will. Though this layout is a bit disconcerting..."
After a few minutes of jiggering around with my ComCom and this new HUD that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, I managed to make all of the information, save for the ever-useful compass, which apparently had a life bar around it as well, disappear and reappear at will on physical holographic screens. Much much better.
Huh. This looks a bit like the HUD for Assassin's Creed Syndicate, actually. Maybe it's just projecting?
Anyway, after managing to get this entire HUD thing sorted out, I noticed something glowing out of the corner of my eye.
"It's a headset..." I said. I put it on, adjusting it so that it was resting right under my peaked cap.
"I have a matching one as well," she said, pulling one out of her uniform. "See?" She put hers on as well.
"So, does it work?" she asked.
"Oh, definitely. Okay, try going into another room."
"Can you still hear me?" she asked as she left the bridge.
"Yeah, crystal clear too. Fascinating," I said, taking it off.
"This'll make communication much more easy between us."
"Yup. So," I said, as she walked back into the bridge. "Let's go see your ship."
Last edited:
NuclearNickel
smug.jpg
- Location
- Bootes Void
I fiddled nervously with anxiety as I looked around the ship. I had been walking throughout...myself in curiosity, even though I could count every screw, nail, and shell in the magazines I still wanted to see it with my own eyes. I saw empty crew quarters, a deserted engine room with the only sound being the boilers and the propulsion drives at work, and the flight deck covered with planes that had no pilots. I was honestly impressed with myself, I had never been on an Aircraft Carrier before...much less one that was actually me, so I was in awe of all the things the warship contained. I had actually accepted my existence as the Sanctum but it was a bit strange being....well, a ship. I had also found something a bit...strange in my peripheral vision.
It was the HUD from WoWs. Consumable bar, plane status indicator, compass, map, and a headset.
After playing with it for a bit, I turned the headset on, but got nothing but dead air from the channel. However, it wasn't static....the station was open, and there was someone else....but I couldn't contact or hear them. I turned to my planes, climbing up on the wing of a Sea Vamipre and looking into the cockpit only to find it devoid of life. I sighed...maybe I could control them?
Well, that was certainly a thought.
Well...it had merit...I was an Aircraft Carrier and planes were my primary form of attack and defense.
Well, that and the eight four-point-five inch guns with a range of eighteen kilometers.
I stepped out to the edge of my flight deck, raising a hand and pointing a single finger toward the island ahead of me. I inhaled deeply, putting on my headset and speaking into it with the most commanding tone I could.
"Launch Recon Unit one!" I shouted. I was answered almost immediately by the whine of a jet engine kicking on behind me. I turned around as I watched a single Sea Vampire rocket forward toward me, reaching mere feet in front of my person before tilting upward and shooting into the sky off toward the island. I lifted my arms up in front of my face as the back of my jacket flew out and waved, my grey t-shirt rippling from the wind force. My black cargo pants had a bit of dust and pebbles fly up onto them from the flight deck....my flight deck.
Unfortunately, I was wearing tennis shoes, so I lost my footing and nearly hit my deck face-first.
Owwwww....
It was the HUD from WoWs. Consumable bar, plane status indicator, compass, map, and a headset.
After playing with it for a bit, I turned the headset on, but got nothing but dead air from the channel. However, it wasn't static....the station was open, and there was someone else....but I couldn't contact or hear them. I turned to my planes, climbing up on the wing of a Sea Vamipre and looking into the cockpit only to find it devoid of life. I sighed...maybe I could control them?
Well, that was certainly a thought.
Well...it had merit...I was an Aircraft Carrier and planes were my primary form of attack and defense.
Well, that and the eight four-point-five inch guns with a range of eighteen kilometers.
I stepped out to the edge of my flight deck, raising a hand and pointing a single finger toward the island ahead of me. I inhaled deeply, putting on my headset and speaking into it with the most commanding tone I could.
"Launch Recon Unit one!" I shouted. I was answered almost immediately by the whine of a jet engine kicking on behind me. I turned around as I watched a single Sea Vampire rocket forward toward me, reaching mere feet in front of my person before tilting upward and shooting into the sky off toward the island. I lifted my arms up in front of my face as the back of my jacket flew out and waved, my grey t-shirt rippling from the wind force. My black cargo pants had a bit of dust and pebbles fly up onto them from the flight deck....my flight deck.
Unfortunately, I was wearing tennis shoes, so I lost my footing and nearly hit my deck face-first.
Owwwww....
Last edited:
hfdt123
Hi there. Bye.
- Location
- Tonking in a stop-gap tonk.
"Eh.... I don't want to play Shogun 2." I mutter. I scroll the mouse wheel down as I look for other games in my horrifyingly small steam library. I look at the all-too-familiar titles of my overplayed games. I eye the next few games and sigh, I was not in the mood for Fallout 3 or New Vegas. Their gameplay got too boring to fast. War Thunder lost my interest a long time ago as well, the constant killing of aircraft and tanks having made it monotone. I didn't have anyone else to play Payday 2, same thing with Coh 1, Coh 2, and Castle Crashers. It just isn't the same without Sopro. "Never back down," by Nine Lashes playing in my headset as I look over the rest of my games. Not feeling the urge to wipe out other Civs in Civ 5 as the Japanese just yet. Then I come to the end of the list, World of Tanks instant glossed over to World of Warships. I didn't really feel like playing WoWs, but I felt I had to at least play it every once in a while.
As I fired up WoWs for the obligatory match, I thought about my body and the poor state it is in. 2 months exempt from heavy exercise has left it very weak.
I mental note a small stretching session later when I see the login screen.
"Hmph, lets get this over with." I type in my info and enter the dock, I recall the times I was hyped over World of Warships and more recently the plays that I pulled off in my Omaha. That same enthusiasm gone and in its place boredom. Don't get me wrong I still like WoWs its just that it has lost its appeal like many of my games. Eventually I'll get back into the game as I also do with games like these.
I always do.
I select the Cleveland halfheartedly and press the battle button. I go and browse the webs for about 30 seconds then I revert back to World of Warships.
Then I notice something.
There ain't no enemy team.
So that's some spooky shit and I don't know what to make of it. On my team I see blank spots. More creepy stuff.
Then the load timer hits 0 without me noticing. I also don't notice myself getting knocked unconscious.
As I fired up WoWs for the obligatory match, I thought about my body and the poor state it is in. 2 months exempt from heavy exercise has left it very weak.
I mental note a small stretching session later when I see the login screen.
"Hmph, lets get this over with." I type in my info and enter the dock, I recall the times I was hyped over World of Warships and more recently the plays that I pulled off in my Omaha. That same enthusiasm gone and in its place boredom. Don't get me wrong I still like WoWs its just that it has lost its appeal like many of my games. Eventually I'll get back into the game as I also do with games like these.
I always do.
I select the Cleveland halfheartedly and press the battle button. I go and browse the webs for about 30 seconds then I revert back to World of Warships.
Then I notice something.
There ain't no enemy team.
So that's some spooky shit and I don't know what to make of it. On my team I see blank spots. More creepy stuff.
Then the load timer hits 0 without me noticing. I also don't notice myself getting knocked unconscious.
Anti Air Asskicker
Trace Coburn
BattleTech Starfighter Analyst
- Location
- NDBBM, New Zealand
"... what in the actual fuck?"
One second, I was sitting at my computer, waiting for the World of Warships matchmaker to finish finding enough people for a Tier VI match. The next, I was standing on the breakwater of what was unmistakeably a Dido-class light cruiser, staring aft, trying to get my head around what I was seeing. 'A' and 'B' superfiring twin-5.25" turrets for'ard, with... not the WWII-authentic Mark VII quad-pom-pom in 'C' position. Jesus, is that a single-barrel OTO-Breda Fast Forty? Okay, it looks like it's 'only' the locally-controlled Type-B, but still, the Eyeties didn't get those to sea until what, 1975? Looks like the waist pom-poms have been replaced with single-barrel Fast Forty mounts as well. Not that the two-pounders being beached is a bad thing; replacing them with the Bofors at least doubles the effective anti-aircraft firepower —
Holy shit, this is HMNZS Royalist, I realised, distantly surprised that I wasn't more surprised. Or gibbering in a corner somewhere. I'm on my WoWs version of Royalist, complete with improved AA refit. And some more upgrades, by the looks of it, I added, glancing at what should have been one of the six twin-Oerlikon gun-tubs she'd mounted when the RN commissioned her in 1942. Emerlec-30 cabs? The Yanks only started selling those in 1975, and Royalist was sold for scrap in '67!
"And where the hell am I anywhkkt —" the sentence died when an honest-to-God Heads-Up Display faded into existence at the edges of my field of vision, semi-transparently overlaying what my eyes were seeing. Map display in the lower right corner, abilities bar at bottom-centre, compass-rose and nav controls at the lower left corner, classic WoWs stuff. The map wasn't showing anything other than the white 'own ship' arrowhead, but at least it was something. My mental focus went to the headset icon for an instant, and a physical counterpart just fucking appeared in my hand. I'd have jumped out of my skin at that if it wasn't one of the less surreal things about this whole... experience.
"... fucking BROB," I decided, donning the headset. Gotta be some kind of fucking BROB deal. And knowing my luck, it's some kind of Sword Arts Online/WoWs crossover 'you're all a-gonna DIE!' SI scenario. C'mon, I know that being a supermarket drone ain't exactly a world-changer, but is my existence really so dull that you've got to turn it into an #FML hashtag? "Any station this net, any station this net: if there are any other World of Warships players on this channel, this is Petty_Officer_Ralston. This is really weirding me out, so if there are any friendlies out there, please respond. Over."
That done, I shrugged and headed aft, looking for the route to the bridge. The last time I'd seen a layout of the Dido-class had been in the reference front-plates of my much-loved copy of MacLean's first novel, and that had been less than fully detailed, but somehow my feet and hands knew which hatches to open and which turns to take.
When I came out onto the bridge, I stopped dead. Hell, I think my safety-shoes left skid-marks on the deck-plates. I'd seen not a single soul in any of the compartments or companionways, not on the gun-mounts or the weatherdeck, and the emptiness had been eerie... but there was someone standing there on the open bridge, waiting for me. A man in Royal Navy uniform, in his early- or mid-sixties, with a Captain's four gold stripes on his shoulder-straps. I'd never seen a picture of this man before — to my knowledge he'd never actually existed! — but the wisdom of his bearing, and the gentle smile that welcomed me aboard his(?) ship, identified him as clearly as any name-tag might have.
"Captain Richard Vallery?" I breathed.
He nodded, just a little. "It's good to finally meet you, sir."
We'd repaired to the day-cabin so he could explain things, with a dram each of Surgeon-Lieutenant Nicholls' 'Lysol' to fortify us, and when the conversation ended, Vallery shook my hand, gave me that kindly smile of his, and simply faded away. My hands were shaking when I stepped out into the open air again. How much of that was the fact that I could suddenly feel every turret on the ship's (my!?) deck, the plates of armour over her/my vitals, the murmuring beat of her/my idling boilers? How much was meeting a personal hero, and being handed his standard to bear? I had no idea.
« -y receiving World of Warships player, this is TorpedoTerror. I've cornered a hostile destroyer squadron, but they're hanging back outside spotting range; I think they're waiting for air-support. Any anti-aircraft ships out there want to join my fun?»
I blinked at hearing that faint, static-distorted voice through my headset. TorpedoTerror? I knew that name — a Japanese player, aggressive in style, one who preferred the IJN cruiser and destroyer lines. She knew her way around trash-talk and Long Lance torpedoes like few others, but she also knew how not to take losing personally. I glanced at the HUD's map-display, which now showed new icons: the green single-slash arrow of a friendly cruiser south-west of my position and running east, with the orange triangles of hostile destroyers flickering in and out of visibility off her stern. Seven kilometres back, so she can only see them when they sling shells at her. By the way they're flickering, it looks pretty sporadic, like harassing fire, but there's at least five of them. A moment of focus brought up the data-block on the friendly. Tenryū-class, about what I'd expect for her, no serious damage — yet. Looks like she's fending them off with spreads of Type 93s, but every time she manoeuvres to dump fish at them, it kills her rate-of-advance.
Bastards are trying to pin her down so the aircraft can catch and kill her, or cripple her for the surface-ships to finish with guns or torpedoes.
Not on my fucking watch.
[Sound Action Stations. Engines ahead full, right full rudder, new course 230° at thirty knots. 5.25" turrets: load SAP and stand by for target data. Secondary and AA batteries: independent fire, fire as you bear. Smoke generator and torpedo tubes: stand by.] "TorpedoTerror, this is Petty_Officer_Ralston. I'm coming in from your north-east in a Dido-class cruiser. And seriously? Starting the party without me? tut-tut What would your mother say about your manners?"
One second, I was sitting at my computer, waiting for the World of Warships matchmaker to finish finding enough people for a Tier VI match. The next, I was standing on the breakwater of what was unmistakeably a Dido-class light cruiser, staring aft, trying to get my head around what I was seeing. 'A' and 'B' superfiring twin-5.25" turrets for'ard, with... not the WWII-authentic Mark VII quad-pom-pom in 'C' position. Jesus, is that a single-barrel OTO-Breda Fast Forty? Okay, it looks like it's 'only' the locally-controlled Type-B, but still, the Eyeties didn't get those to sea until what, 1975? Looks like the waist pom-poms have been replaced with single-barrel Fast Forty mounts as well. Not that the two-pounders being beached is a bad thing; replacing them with the Bofors at least doubles the effective anti-aircraft firepower —
Holy shit, this is HMNZS Royalist, I realised, distantly surprised that I wasn't more surprised. Or gibbering in a corner somewhere. I'm on my WoWs version of Royalist, complete with improved AA refit. And some more upgrades, by the looks of it, I added, glancing at what should have been one of the six twin-Oerlikon gun-tubs she'd mounted when the RN commissioned her in 1942. Emerlec-30 cabs? The Yanks only started selling those in 1975, and Royalist was sold for scrap in '67!
"And where the hell am I anywhkkt —" the sentence died when an honest-to-God Heads-Up Display faded into existence at the edges of my field of vision, semi-transparently overlaying what my eyes were seeing. Map display in the lower right corner, abilities bar at bottom-centre, compass-rose and nav controls at the lower left corner, classic WoWs stuff. The map wasn't showing anything other than the white 'own ship' arrowhead, but at least it was something. My mental focus went to the headset icon for an instant, and a physical counterpart just fucking appeared in my hand. I'd have jumped out of my skin at that if it wasn't one of the less surreal things about this whole... experience.
"... fucking BROB," I decided, donning the headset. Gotta be some kind of fucking BROB deal. And knowing my luck, it's some kind of Sword Arts Online/WoWs crossover 'you're all a-gonna DIE!' SI scenario. C'mon, I know that being a supermarket drone ain't exactly a world-changer, but is my existence really so dull that you've got to turn it into an #FML hashtag? "Any station this net, any station this net: if there are any other World of Warships players on this channel, this is Petty_Officer_Ralston. This is really weirding me out, so if there are any friendlies out there, please respond. Over."
That done, I shrugged and headed aft, looking for the route to the bridge. The last time I'd seen a layout of the Dido-class had been in the reference front-plates of my much-loved copy of MacLean's first novel, and that had been less than fully detailed, but somehow my feet and hands knew which hatches to open and which turns to take.
When I came out onto the bridge, I stopped dead. Hell, I think my safety-shoes left skid-marks on the deck-plates. I'd seen not a single soul in any of the compartments or companionways, not on the gun-mounts or the weatherdeck, and the emptiness had been eerie... but there was someone standing there on the open bridge, waiting for me. A man in Royal Navy uniform, in his early- or mid-sixties, with a Captain's four gold stripes on his shoulder-straps. I'd never seen a picture of this man before — to my knowledge he'd never actually existed! — but the wisdom of his bearing, and the gentle smile that welcomed me aboard his(?) ship, identified him as clearly as any name-tag might have.
"Captain Richard Vallery?" I breathed.
He nodded, just a little. "It's good to finally meet you, sir."
— « — »—
We'd repaired to the day-cabin so he could explain things, with a dram each of Surgeon-Lieutenant Nicholls' 'Lysol' to fortify us, and when the conversation ended, Vallery shook my hand, gave me that kindly smile of his, and simply faded away. My hands were shaking when I stepped out into the open air again. How much of that was the fact that I could suddenly feel every turret on the ship's (my!?) deck, the plates of armour over her/my vitals, the murmuring beat of her/my idling boilers? How much was meeting a personal hero, and being handed his standard to bear? I had no idea.
« -y receiving World of Warships player, this is TorpedoTerror. I've cornered a hostile destroyer squadron, but they're hanging back outside spotting range; I think they're waiting for air-support. Any anti-aircraft ships out there want to join my fun?»
I blinked at hearing that faint, static-distorted voice through my headset. TorpedoTerror? I knew that name — a Japanese player, aggressive in style, one who preferred the IJN cruiser and destroyer lines. She knew her way around trash-talk and Long Lance torpedoes like few others, but she also knew how not to take losing personally. I glanced at the HUD's map-display, which now showed new icons: the green single-slash arrow of a friendly cruiser south-west of my position and running east, with the orange triangles of hostile destroyers flickering in and out of visibility off her stern. Seven kilometres back, so she can only see them when they sling shells at her. By the way they're flickering, it looks pretty sporadic, like harassing fire, but there's at least five of them. A moment of focus brought up the data-block on the friendly. Tenryū-class, about what I'd expect for her, no serious damage — yet. Looks like she's fending them off with spreads of Type 93s, but every time she manoeuvres to dump fish at them, it kills her rate-of-advance.
Bastards are trying to pin her down so the aircraft can catch and kill her, or cripple her for the surface-ships to finish with guns or torpedoes.
Not on my fucking watch.
[Sound Action Stations. Engines ahead full, right full rudder, new course 230° at thirty knots. 5.25" turrets: load SAP and stand by for target data. Secondary and AA batteries: independent fire, fire as you bear. Smoke generator and torpedo tubes: stand by.] "TorpedoTerror, this is Petty_Officer_Ralston. I'm coming in from your north-east in a Dido-class cruiser. And seriously? Starting the party without me? tut-tut What would your mother say about your manners?"
Last edited:
NuclearNickel
smug.jpg
- Location
- Bootes Void
I goddamn jumped
Like....holy fucking shit that fucking scared me.
I fell on my back in shock as the words came out of my headset, which was now down on the deck to my right and still transmitting a message. I quickly scooped it back up, sliding it back on to my head and fiddling with the microphone before managing to form some coherent thoughts and words and speaking said thoughts and words into the channel.
"This is the Royal Navy Carrier HMS Sanctum responding to your message. Is anyone else on this frequency?" I asked nervously, fiddling with my fingers nervously as I waited for a response form this Petty Officer fellow...I turned back to the Bridge and ran up into it, sitting down and tapping my foot. My recon plane still hadn't returned, and this message opened up a whole new can of worms.....Jesus, could this be any weirder? I sighed, turning over to the second farthest to the right window and staring out into the ocean...
Maybe...just maybe...
Maybe someone else knows what's going on here?
Like....holy fucking shit that fucking scared me.
I fell on my back in shock as the words came out of my headset, which was now down on the deck to my right and still transmitting a message. I quickly scooped it back up, sliding it back on to my head and fiddling with the microphone before managing to form some coherent thoughts and words and speaking said thoughts and words into the channel.
"This is the Royal Navy Carrier HMS Sanctum responding to your message. Is anyone else on this frequency?" I asked nervously, fiddling with my fingers nervously as I waited for a response form this Petty Officer fellow...I turned back to the Bridge and ran up into it, sitting down and tapping my foot. My recon plane still hadn't returned, and this message opened up a whole new can of worms.....Jesus, could this be any weirder? I sighed, turning over to the second farthest to the right window and staring out into the ocean...
Maybe...just maybe...
Maybe someone else knows what's going on here?
Jaberwocky ADM
HEATSINKS
- Location
- Hyden Kentucky
Also: do we need to use actual ships/designs that were conceived at some point?
Either way this is a perfect opportunity to get Lexington.
Last edited:
NuclearNickel
smug.jpg
- Location
- Bootes Void
Yes, ship concepts during WW2 and early Cold War Era. It's us in our ships along with the Kanmusu and theirs against full-sized Abyssified ships.
Jaberwocky ADM
HEATSINKS
- Location
- Hyden Kentucky
Ooooh okay so its still Abyss, awesome. Guess I'll be working on a snip then.
Thought it was Arpeggio for a minute. Is there a set time period for where everyone is?
Last edited:
NuclearNickel
smug.jpg
- Location
- Bootes Void
Have fun~
NuclearNickel
smug.jpg
- Location
- Bootes Void
Hmmmm...I'm thinking the time period is 2022, but alternate and more desolate.
Though, I'll have to consult Winter and maybe the rest of you guys to see what you prefer.