AN: This took a couple of re-writes to get right.
AN2: Heat continues to cause delays and one writing session got nuked due to a 75k word update from a certain Bull.
AN3: Today I learned that wearing a mask while working outside all day turns you into a raccoon. These are not the tan lines I was looking for out of this summer. Stay as safe as you can, everyone.

Chapter 10: Entry

"Who in the frozen Abyss is messing with my operation?" The submarine quietly muttered to herself.

The local Anchorage Princess disdained this kind of work, but even she should have known better than to do something like this. She'd felt that eruption of power and so would anyone else with any sensitivity. Her Patrons were going to be pissed. She dove further down the hidden tunnel, wishing the carved path was wider.

The So-Class submarine Flagship made it to the end of the hidden tunnel, learning her ear against the concealed door. Hearing nothing but the ocean, she slipped out of the opening, sealing it behind her. She navigated through the corrals careful not to disturb the camouflage concealing her port's entry point on the Undersea Railway. Tiny fish scattered from the undergrowth at her passage, before she found a good spot to slip out of the maze of growths carefully shaped from the undersea rock-life. Regular maintenance was a chore, but freighters couldn't be trusted with work like this. Or to work underwater.

There was a damn iceberg near her shores. A beacon for everyone to "look over here". So the pulse she'd felt had been someone unleashing quite a bit of power. She thought the Anchorage would instruct any of the ships visiting to stay away from the living parts of the island.
"So what is anyone with any real Weight doing around here?"

A quick check with the local Fleet had her freezing in place. No one in Midway's Fleets was here. The only Princess on the list in a hundred miles was the Anchorage, and she was up north inspecting the quarters.
"Inspecting her bed, more like it." She swallowed the snort with the ease of long habit, for sound was death in the deep. It was possible they had guests, but far more likely she was dealing with Outcasts.

"This far north? How did they get up here? The patrols are supposed to catch them long before they get this far north."

Slowly, the So-Class reached periscope depth and readied the alarm. The moment her periscope breached the surface, she knew where to look. A massive, noisy ship was beached on the island, not even trying to hide. It was big enough for a Carrier or a Battleship, and thankfully, named. The sub had no idea what an Uwi-Class was, or why it was partially scratched out. But her latest updates had included details of a Panamax Princess. She just wasn't at all sure what to do about said Princess suddenly being here, having a slap fight with the sea.

Thankfully the oddness passed and left her with merely a possible incident that could draw in Midway, The Seer, Refuge and Raven. If it spiraled into a violation of the treaty.

"Just another day in paradise. Shows me not to ask for a break from dealing with the cult."

She considered her options. It was best not to waste Midway's time. Contacting her over petty concerns would not end well. This was well past those. There was a newborn Princess on the shores of a living island. A neutral island under treaty. For a moment, she dithered between who to reach out to.

The Anchorage was closest, but her job was the exact opposite. She was to keep Abyssals away from the humans, not work with human servants and spy on the rest. Telling the Anchorage about the operation was not within her rights, nor was the Flagship under her command.

Technically, she was a direct subordinate of Midway. Technically, for the Intel reports. But Midway did not at all care about the Railway, which was her main job. It was more that she was operating in her territory. The Undersea Railway was one of the only things Refuge and Raven agreed on, so the So-Class first tried discreetly pinging Refuge. She was a frequent visitor to Hawaii, visiting the Seer and the subs usual contact. Unfortunately Refuge wasn't around by all signs and she wasn't about to blow one of the emergency summons on something that wasn't an emergency. Yet.

So the Flagship reached out to Midway, hoping not to jostle her mid experiment. Oddly enough, there was no waiting time. No being put on hold. Her request blazed a path through half-a-dozen layers of delay and protection to arrive directly before The Mountain of Industry. She could almost see ripples where other petitioners had been kicked out upon her call. Midway didn't even glance her way, deep in the guts of multiple ships.

"The Panamax Princess?" She briskly asked.

"Was She expected, Your Profound Benevolence?" The submarine responded on reflex, hiding her wince. Midway didn't care for formality and ceremony, as much as being brief and to the point.

The Mountain didn't so much as twitch, but a tiny echo of her displeasure still blew over the Flagship, rocking her in place. "No. But the possibility was foreseen. Assist her." Midway ordered briskly, her voice the usual cold, flat and that was that.

The link snapped, leaving her with a Princess that was looking right at her periscope.
"How quick did she spot me?"

The Flagship swallowed her objections and put aside her reservations. Orders were orders.
"Assist her with what?"

• • •

The So-Class Submarine introduced herself as "Submarine So-Class Flagship, Yōko. But while we are on the island call me Sakura, Miss. Truly, Miss, I prefer Sakura or Submarine, if Flagship is not to Your liking. It helps me keep my covers apart. I haven't used Yōko in a long time, Young Miss." It just went on. A verbal flood that was essentially trying to carry her away.

She was not happy to be here. As far as Taylor could read her, the sub was not used to dealing with Princesses. There was an honesty to near every shipgirl that spoke to a Princess, face to face. Honest fear, respect, awe, honest effort to at least appease them. It depended on the girl.

Except subs so far. This was turning into a pattern. This one was saying all the right words, but it was like an actor reading a script at an audition that their agent forced them to go to. She didn't believe them.
"Technically alright acting, but put upon."

While she was good at controlling her expression, much better than most other girls Taylor had met, she was still an open book to her. Times like these, Taylor wondered how much of that was her actual skill at reading people and how much it was that she could perceive every errant twitch the other girl made.
"I can almost hear her boiler beating."

Except there was no almost about it. Taylor kept the surprise off her face as she continued to focus not of the deluge of false curtsies, simpering and pretend polite ways to get her to leave and bother someone else, but on what the other girl wasn't saying. And what she wasn't saying, was no.

"Perhaps if the Grand Miss would like an escort back to quarters, I'd be glad to direct you, Miss. Hawaii has some of the finest beds, foods and entertainment in the whole Pacific Ocean. We have war games, skip ball, freshwater pools, some of the finest cooks in Court, whatever Miss wishes. How can I help Our Beloved Miss today?" The verbal artillery park kept firing.

Taylor would bet that all of those were either off, or away from the human parts of the island, as the sub was doing everything in her power to shoo her away from the warm sands. Without making it appear as if she was being directed. Fortunately, Taylor had two separate blades to cut through the bullshit.

For one, she refused to move. The sub was not so far gone from Abyssal kind that she'd start actually trying to push or pull her along. Taylor felt a tiny piece of guilty joy at being on the other side of dealing with a nonsensical Princess that had her own ideas on what everyone should be doing and how. For another, she'd glimpsed that call. Not enough to listen in, but enough the smell Midway's touch. And her mood. Whatever the request had been, she'd been dismissed, quickly.

"Why don't you drop the act and get on with it sweetie? I'm not going to take your head off for not worshiping the sea I sail on. So how about you lend me some aid?" Taylor asked her in her kindest voice. This one wasn't Fleet, so she put in the effort to pretend.

"I'd have preferred to ask Linolina about it first, but I don't want to bother the dear again since she's so busy. Could you help me clear up what the protocol is for visiting?" Taylor gently asked.

The sub-girl's expression blanked for a moment, before her eyes filled with veiled exasperation. Taylor had the feeling she was fighting back a scoff.
"That's right. I'm just a kind Tender Princess. Nothing to worry about."

So why were her heartbeats slowly accelerating?

• • •

"Oh Abyss, she's one of those."
The Submarine Flagship was screwed. Probably. Maybe.

"Are you sure I couldn't go fetch whatever it is you need for your ships Good Miss?"

A tender. A tender with ships that likely had a sweet tooth, or wanted blankets, fluffy pillows or some other banal thing her quarters had failed to deliver. Which should be impossible as this was about as good as it got, but tenders could spoil their girls badly.

They were the best and worst Princess to deal with. Best in that most of the time the worse you got was a harsh lecture and a stern talking to for not pretending they were living objects of worship. Bad in that once they got into their heads their girls needed something, nothing would turn them aside. Which probably meant fresh fruit, maybe even plucked by Her own hand from the tree, and she couldn't deliver that.

The Princess shook her head, regret mixed with amusement all over her face. "I really must insist on visiting. Now is there an official way to do this, or can we do it quiet?" She asked.

Sakura glimpsed a hint of hope that wouldn't involve talking to the outsiders. No matter what the Court said, or how helpful she might be on occasion, the Seer was not one of them and was one of the greatest informational threats to every sneak on the planet. She just had to sneak a Princess into the Railway and teach her how to pretend to be human.
"Oh who am I kidding, she probably can't even dive, let alone fit in the tunnel and we'll have to do this loud."

• • •

Taylor had made yet another discovery during her trip into the lightless cave she was currently occupying. One that had surprised even her, not that she'd shown it. Her guide was already on edge with all the surprises she was showing. Of course, sinking herself, showing she could swim and dive, as well as keep track of the sub underwater and in the dark, and navigate by sound was likely too much to throw at her, all at once. Taylor hadn't known about some of those herself. She hadn't been able to slip through the corrals without leaving a trail of destruction behind her, but the submarine seemed more resigned to it, than anything.

The Submarine, as her guide kept reminding her to call her as long as they were acting like ships, was off digging in lockers and drawers built into the walls of the low ceilinged room. And it was a room, carved from stone, not a natural cave. Taylor couldn't even stand up without her head hitting the flat ceiling above, but this submarine walked upright without issue. It was a half-way point between the sea and some kind of covert base the Abyss had on the island. The sub had refused to speak of it in the open.

But what Taylor had learned was that there was more to her sinking then just getting a good night's sleep. Stealth wasn't a formal Skill. It was a trick, the Sub claimed. There were Skills for it, like [Silent Running], as she'd shown, but stealth itself wasn't one. It was a trick, which was yet. Another. Thing.

Something Wakumi had failed to mention. But their talk had been long and winding, and was interrupted by the whole scrying business, so Taylor didn't blame her. "Much."

The So-Class had asked Taylor to leave as little as she could above water. So Taylor had pumped water into herself until her keel hit bottom. Closed up all her bulkheads with papers, documents, maps and the library. Then tried to sink further, not really expecting it to work. It hadn't. At first.

Taylor had found out that she could sink herself deeper than just her deck, until her whole bridge was under and she was firmly buried in the mud and silt of her inner sea by boiling her silt soft.

How that worked she wasn't sure, but the submarine was pleasantly surprised. Somehow the tunnel wasn't too small for her ship self, when it really should have been. Taylor could fit in it, but her shipself would have struggled to even start. It was built for submarines, not something her size.

The oddest part was that the whole process of sinking further into the softened seafloor reminded her of running. Or more accurately, of the slippery feel of snow beneath her feet when she ran. That same feeling had filled her seafloor and made it soft while it bubbled, like slush, letting her sink further. She felt like there was something there, just at the edge of awareness. It bore more research. Later.

Talking to the sub in what was obviously a covert tunnel wasn't in the cards but now that they were in an underground room, Taylor had plenty of questions. One foremost. "How safe is this place against scrying and its like?"

Because there was a feeling to the room. One that reminded her of the room they'd held their Court session in. One she thought might be the Silent hug of active defenses.
"And if this place is covert and defended, what else would they defend from?"

"We're less than a day's sail from the greatest Seer on the planet. Midway crafted these wards herself, then we shipped them in and Refuge empowered them. We're safe." The sub responded, still digging through drawers. "As long as the Good Miss follows instructions and doesn't unleash more than a stream of uncontrolled power, we're as safe as can be. Now where are those shorts?" She muttered into her chin.

The room really wasn't big. Two pools, walls covered in drawers and storage, barely big enough to not feel crowded with two of them in here. Taylor could stretch out along the floor and almost reach one wall with her feet while reaching the other with her fingers. Her hand clamped onto the subs shoulder as she pulled her into a nice, warm hug. That it also left her perfectly positioned to simply keep squeezing to show her displeasure was a happy coincidence that in no way contributed to the sub freezing in place.

"You wouldn't mind if I invited some of my girls over while we're in Hawaii, do you?" Taylor asked, in her sweetest drawl. It wasn't a question. Her guide shook her head as Taylor rotated her in her lap. Subs really were all tiny, if this was the biggest Class there was.

• • •

It was only after she absentmindedly told the Princess that no one could see or hear them in here that it occurred to her that it was maybe not the best idea. The sharp toothed tentacles wrapping around her and pulling her to the much larger and stronger ship with ease were the second clue she might be in trouble. Now she was stuck at point blank range with a Princess that she didn't actually know, except from rumors.

The honey sweet voice was the third red flag and the Flagship was shaking her head before the question was even fully out. "Of course she could bring unknown other girls into this secure room. I'll promise her whatever it takes that lets me out of here without a mad tender tenderizing my insides and scattering the remains across a bottomless Abyss."

"There's no need to be afraid." The mad thing whispered, trapping her against its flat surface. The other hand lifted her chin, forcing her to look into the endless depths of her eyes, where some hidden things moved in the dark depths.

"Right. No-othing a-at all," she said. Or stuttered, the submarine wasn't really sure with how close the True Abyss seemed in those orbs. Close enough to touch. She really didn't want to touch it. Yōko was no-where nearly ready for that trial, and unsure if she really wanted to take it anyway. Being Sakura was fun. "While it lasted."

"Now, I'd like to know exactly what it is you've been up to here. But first, what's this about tricks?"

Still stammering, warily watching the hooks swaying above her, Yōko laid out what she knew. At least this was fundamental and widely known. Not some secret that would get her killed or hunted down. Though it was odd for a Princess to ask about…

• • •

Piece by piece, a picture was forming before her. Yōko had been afraid she wouldn't see the sun again. That was hours ago. Sakura had different worries.

For one, she was embarrassed in reading the situation that wrong. She'd seen some of the other tenders before. Heard of it. But Yōko had never been part of one of the hyped cuddle piles. Submarine Princesses didn't like them. Submarine Tenders couldn't really do them, since they were mostly freighters. They couldn't dive and it wasn't the same on land. Submarine Tender Princesses were nearly extinct, but their cuddle piles were the stuff of stories.

It was the warmth that clued her in. The fact that while the honey in her voice was faked, the warmth wasn't. That while she'd been drawn in and surrounded by nasty teeth, not a scratch was on her. Not when she laughed the first time a shorts exploded to ribbons when the Princess tried taking a step in it. Not when she started teaching and correcting her. This Princess was a better student than most submarines, and they all craved secrets. This one just drank them like they were fresh, warm oil. With hardly a flutter, and barely any effort.

Sakura watched Charlotte trying to walk. She was on her sixth pair of shorts. That was the thing. She was only on her sixth pair of shorts. This one was showing minor tearing, after over a minute of practice in it.
"No way. No way in all the Abyss this is the first time she's wearing purely human clothes."

Putting ordinary cotton and synthetic clothes on an Abyssal meant tearing. Hundreds of tears and hours of effort before even the first sign of progress. The Gradient was merciless to anything not shielded by power, tricks, or extreme care and attention. Hundreds and thousands of tons of Abyssal steel moving against flimsy cloth and flesh only ended one way without something interceding. Skill, not of the Abyss variety, but of the girl. Of being a girl. Something most Abyssals were terrible at, and it got worse the higher up their tonnage went.

The idea they were just girls, instead of shipgirls, was utterly unintuitive. Swimwear skipped the difficulties by technically falling under minor equipment tricks, like changing their paint job, or taking a new name. It was Bullshit at work. Minor Bullshit, as it was for tricks, but still bullshit through its link with the sea. Or no ship would fit in a pair of swim bottoms.

Regular clothing didn't tolerate any bullshit. It frayed and decayed in contact with power. Which included underwear. But Sakura hadn't needed to explain any of it. Charlotte had turned away on her own when changing. She wasn't shy in the Abyyssal sense, no. Not afraid her frame would be mocked, no. She was modest. And Sakura hadn't needed to say a thing. There was a whole slew of things like that. Money? No need to explain. Laws, police, traffic, just… everything. Sakura only had to explain any of it once, and it felt like she was confirming stuff Charlotte already knew, not teaching her something new.

Charlotte was almost as versed at humans as Sakura was. She just needed to be told which of the human rules applied on this island.
"Hell, she came up with her own cover in no time, complete with ready history."

Her learning to wear regular clothing was like watching someone remembering how to do it in a body that didn't fit right. A body that was too large. Not someone learning for the first time.

"That really only left one option. She used to be submarine spy. Or another member of the Railway. Charlotte was an old, or unused cover of hers. Somehow she'd found, bargained for or bought an imperfect Ritual to Ascend. She wasn't there yet, that's why she was still a freighter! The Ritual worked, but not all the way. But after the refit, she'd be a Submarine Tender Princess!"

It was obvious in hindsight. "And where else would you find such a fantastical thing but at Midway, the foremost location for Ritual research? Why else would a ship that big know how to sink herself? That's a purely submarine trait."

The diving only supported the point. Only submarines liked diving. A Princess could practice it, but not like it. Sakura had carefully probed Charlotte over the point, but the other girl was more than ready, spinning some long tale about diving for fish to cook.
"A likely story, she probably even had paid witnesses to testify to it."

No, news had spread that somehow a Princess had managed a botched self-summoning right under Midway's nose, without her noticing.

"Which is obviously bullshit. No, one of those three helper Ra-s figured out a submarine Ascension Ritual and sold it to this Panamax. Or Midway did it, and it just isn't done yet. She wouldn't put up with side-effects like there. Because it isn't finished, and the price is at least some memory loss, going by the holes she's showing. But by the Abyss, this is a juicy secret. Who else would know how to bypass and evade all of Midway's measures to perform a Ritual right under her nose but one of her assistants? Botching a self-summon is damn near a myth, but botched Rituals happen. Especially if the work is done in secret by an assistant and not the Princess."

And just by coincidence, a repair ship had accompanied the Panamax Princess to Hawaii. Or this could even be the prototype, Midway disallowing it after the side effects appeared.
"Well, Midway wouldn't do that. Or fail. But once the Ritual secret is out, girls will gossip."

Really, Sakura was feeling much better about this whole thing and the chances of it working out. What had seemed like stupid carelessness in creating all that ice, now she saw clearly: the Princess had been dumping power to reduce her footprint and better fit in for her infiltration.

"Really, how did I ever fall for the idea that she just happened to arrive to the Big Island barely a few kilometers from the tunnel exit and the cult temple? Obviously she knew where it was and the rest of this is just a cover."

With how Midway had been primed and ready, it was apparent this was an official-unofficial mission. But for what? If Sakura could figure that out, she'd be a very rich submarine girl. They valued secrets far more than material things. Hard to lug all that around, but secrets were a form of wealth that was as light as thoughts and memories.

"And I have a very rich vein right in front of me, ready to be mined." That was what worried her. That this roving mass of secrets would escape before she could plumb its depths.

Submarines that knew things before everyone else got into the best inner news circles. Maybe this would finally silence that smug Brazilian bitch. She couldn't wait to rub it in her face once the secret broke.

• • •

Taylor wasn't sure at what point she'd relaxed and decided to extend a bit of trust to Sakura. It was probably after the sub offered an Oath on her own blood that she'd keep her secrets if only she could be in on them. Or it was accepting the inevitability that at some point, she'd have to notice that Taylor was off.

She was rushing this, Taylor knew she was rushing this, but she couldn't find it in herself to care. Not when she was so close to reaching something missing from all these months. The warmth at the beach had given her a taste, but only a taste. There was more than bauxite and ship food. Taylor needed some… something. Some sanity.

Something had clicked behind those yellow eyes, but Taylor didn't go out of her way to pry out what. Even asking questions would only reveal more about her, and she was loath to give up any clues she didn't have to.
"Now what's this about a Cult of the Abyss?"

Finding out that yes, some people were that stupid, wasn't surprising. That they were allowed to operate in the open was. So was the idea that most people exposed to Abyssal power had horrible nightmares and died. Wearing clothes that hid their features from view and being in ship stealth helped, but if anyone got a clear look at her, they'd suffer for it. Her nature and power could be hidden, if not well, but it wasn't gone. Longer exposure would be fatal. Lighter ships, especially those without large tonnage like submarines, could get away with more, but she'd have to be bundled up. Anyone with real Weight would.

This would make her a standout if not for two things: for the lucky few women, and it was always women, usually young adults or teens, who did survive being touched by the Abyss? They could look forward to lifelong consequences. Being marked by the power, pale of flesh and with ashen hair. Outcasts from civilized society and left with a cursed gift for their troubles: a bundle of superpowers that often included night vision and shining eyes.

This was an uncomfortably familiar story for Taylor, one that sent chills down her spine. She needed to know more about these Witches. Taylor wasn't sure she wanted to keep living after the first one, a second repeat of Scion's rampage starring the Abyss would be too much. Oh, she'd put it down. But she'd make sure she actually died in the doing. Nothing was worth going through this again.

The second thing was less surprising, once she knew the first. The US had decided it hated Witches and made Hawaii its dumping grounds for them. They were a "danger to public safety".

"So what, they ship them over here?" Taylor had asked.

"The lucky ones that get captured or turn themselves over to federal authorities. They come in with the supplies or just get dumped off-shore. It's guess how they'll be treated if the locals get them. Most of those we hear about just disappear. Gone to some unmarked grave, breeding cell, or hidden refuge for the fortunate. Some make it to shore and just start swimming. If they make it to the sea, they'll make it to a safe place. The Underwater Railway advertises and it keeps its promises." Sakura said, somewhat proudly.

"That can't be simple." Taylor had noted.

"It's not. It's a lot of work, and sometimes Refuge has to step in. The Seer helps, hands in locations, names, times and dates. Some of the time, anyway. We make it work." Sakura claimed. "They've taken a bit of Abyss in themselves. It's worth preserving." She spoke like the Witches were puppies, or pets.

So while Abyssals would stand out like a beacon anywhere in the continental US, she'd fit right in on the island. Though how the locals would treat her was yet to be seen. Taylor really didn't want this outing to end in blood and tears, but she wasn't holding out hope for it.
"Now that would be foolish, with all I've seen. I'll settle for simmering resentment and impotent hate."

Someone would have to be exceptionally dumb to try something in the open, if this was an official destination for US Witches, with at least one Abyssal arm watching for it.

"But how close can they watch an island with tens of thousands of people on it, when just looking too closely might hurt the very people they're watching?"

• • •

The Tsu-Class Light Cruiser was having a good day. One of many to come, hopefully. Her investigator had done her job, but setback after setback had delayed her payback. First the fat freighter was off to Acapulco, then Midway was remaking her supply lines for the front around the damn thing. Then she got called out for actual combat patrols, which was a major source of her unhappiness with Midway. Keeping the port well protected and running wasn't good enough for the Princess. Then when she finally nailed down the submarine working with her, the damn thing went out on patrol and didn't come back.

Then things really went to shit. Surprise, turns out the thief robbing her and suborning parts of the Market is a freaking Princess in hiding.
"You can't make up this shit. At least she revealed herself before I did something I couldn't take back."

Leaving a debt unpaid left a bad taste in her mouth, but she swallowed it. No point wailing against an actual Young Miss, soon to be Princess. If this was another Installation, she would have complained, but Midway was more likely to chew on her, if she brought up her losses. Her unapproved and unsanctioned Black Market loses, that Midway was known to frown upon. It was humiliating, being reminded how little of a fish she was, in a massive ocean. A Princess could just take her things, and she could do nothing. It burned.

But she let it go. Nothing she could do about, except look for an exit ticket. If Midway was going to start deploying her in support of the Battleship Princesses offensives, while letting others rob her, she wanted out. Combat postings were for idiots without her skills. She trained others for fighting and made sure they had a little extra to keep them going. She was too valuable to waste out there, dying to some Enemy shell. And her clients were not happy with their purchases disappearing.
"Telling them "But A Princess did it!" doesn't help, either."

But then, things turned for the better. Not only was one of her feelers answered, Taiwan knew more than she had every right to. "Who knew she had spies this deep in Midway's operation?"

The Harbor Water Princess of Taiwan knew entirely too much for her piece of mind, but this time it was working out in her favor. The Princess had believed her about being stolen from, even had an exact description for one of the items taken. Claimed she had proof of it, proof the Court would have to accept.

The Tsu-Class had jumped on the chance to sell herself to someone who'd take her on a non-combat posting. She could train PT boats all day, every day. Taiwan wasn't Midway, but it was just as safe, without the chance of death. That her debts had become Taiwan's debts at the sale, meant the Princess was probably using them to pressure the newcomer. So the Tsu-Class would be getting front seats to seeing her debt get reclaimed in person, as Taiwan had sent a Champion to ensure she had all the leverage she needed to bleed the newborn dry.

Oh, she doubted she'd actually let her take the submarine itself. Not after the Princess dived into the True Abyss to fetch her in person. But she'd settle for a cut of the vaults of a Princess.
"It should make a nice little nest egg. Now if only these weaklings would pick up the pace."

The Light Cruiser wasn't sure what about the stolen necklace had filled the Princess of Taiwan with such holy zeal, but she was happy to take advantage of it.

• • •

Riptide was not impressed. With the world in general, but this mission in particular. She was not so oblivious to miss that Montana was worried about her, but she was fine. Still, this was an actual mission, even if it was a glorified oversight and escort job. Midway had done her part in raising everyone, but not every girl could be as tough as Riptide. Some of them needed a break from the fighting, and Riptide wasn't against some fun in Hawaii.

The Ta-Class Battleship was less happy about the add-ons. Some of them were polite, to be fair. They'd formally introduced themselves to her as convoy Lead, given some minor gifts to show respect and kept to themselves. Professionals. Then there were the silly fuckers who thought she couldn't see right threw their fake fucking pretense. Pretending war weariness to carry out Court plot shit wasn't new, but it was low. It was the kind of asshole move she'd expect from a submarine, except in a sub she could respect it, carrying out plots was part of their jobs.

This shit was just pathetic. "Couldn't they have at least gotten better actors? It's like these three don't know what war weariness is even like."

Or they just didn't care. "Without introductions, who knows what Patron they have?"

With any of the three, Riptide couldn't tell. Was it stupidity and arrogance, or were they actually untouchable and flaunting it? What she could do, was inconvenience the little fuckers and make sure they did nothing to slow down the recovery of any of her girls.
"And I guess I could look at for the rest of them too."

It was a chore, but a mission is a mission. Riptide shrugged as their convoy of whole ships with broken girls arrived into the lee between the islands. This would be the part where she was supposed to let them have their head, relax, enjoy themselves. Not.

"Change of plans everyone!" Riptide shouted, filled with satisfaction. She wasn't sure what the Panamax had done, but the Anchorage had issued orders to get them redeployed to the other side of Maui. As far away as was possible from the usual anchorage for resting ships.

"Agents, Emissaries," Riptide intoned, her eyes watching a repair ship being all but sat on by the destroyer and several PT boats, "there's your target fleet. The rest of you, change of plans. We're docking on the other side! Move it!"

No way was Riptide getting involved in whatever that was on the beach. Nope. She'd learned better.

She got to enjoy watching the three she'd picked out squirm, trying to come up with an excuse for why they needed to quit the fleet before time. Without one, they could face her discipline, or the displeasure of their Patrons as those that had moved openly got the first shot off in the battle for the unaligned Princess. The poor fools shied away from her brilliant smile, which was a real shame. She'd lined up such creative punishments for insulting her competence, Montana's trust in her, and her Princess, by thinking they could sneak past Riptide.

Nothing compared to what their Patrons would do to them for failing, but failure was a distant thought and Riptide was right here.

She was going to enjoy dragging her feet to port, watching them stew. Thought something about the rest of the crowd told her she'd missed something. Somebody in that gaggle of girls hadn't acted quite right, but she'd lost who with the distraction presented by the blatant distress of the three.

"Maybe there's a competent one among the sneaks, after all. This will be a fun game to pass the time. Guess which one isn't actually nearly broken. I'd rather face the Abyss again."

No, Riptide would do her bit. But if whatever cold-hearted bitch was pulling off pretense did it well?

Well, more power to her. She'd earned a chance. No way was she going to go stomping around this lot. Riptide knew her talents. She had decent instincts and good eyes, but gentle, soft and subtle weren't in her arsenal.

"At least Susie isn't here, that would have been awkward."

Riptide could really use a nice drink. Something to make her throat burn. Maybe it would make the itching stop.

• • •

Kaede found herself in a bad place. She wasn't even part of this fleet, she was just an auxiliary. And Itchy wouldn't let her up! So she had to formally greet representatives of multiple Princesses from the sands. With a destroyer on top of her.

She'd only tried to run away once! "In the last hour."

They were not impressed to be told they had to wait because the Young Miss had gone for an enthusiastic walk and disappeared off the face of the ocean. But she knew just the girl to lob them at.
"Oh Wakumi!" she sang, "I've got some girls here to see you!"

"That would show her. Leaving me trapped here." Kaede glowered, as they left for their new target.
"Why don't you go fetch your Mistress? Don't you see she has important guests?" Kaede tried.

Itchy chuffed in place, but didn't bother opening his eyes.
"This is so unfair. I didn't do anything! I'm innocent!"

The destroyer was not moved by her pleas. "Oh come on! This is ridiculous!"
A single eye opened and looked her right in the face. It clearly said: "You're ridiculous. Now stay."

Kaede sputtered in place. "Don't you tell me to stay, you ancient pile of scrap!"
Itchy turned and grinned, showing all his teeth. They were close enough to touch.
"You're a lovely ancient pile of scrap?" Kaede backtracked.

The Destroyer huffed all over her, then went back to sleep.
The next time she opened her mouth a wet fin slapped her in the face. Maybe she could grab some more sleep. "How long could the Young Miss be away for, anyway?"

AN: Art. There is art of this story now. This is now a thing. I don't know what is going on anymore, but I'm done worrying about it. Art is great. This art makes me happy, warts and all. That's how we learn and get better. The world should have more art and beauty in it. Thank you everyone.