Of Space Whales and Battleships

[Common]

A Mordai Interlude.
=============================================
March 10, 2011

07:00 Hours

PRT ENE Headquarters



James Tagg the warpig of Arizona a man universally hated by both hero and villain capes alike, if they even call him a man, marched down the halls of the RIG flanked by 4 of his loyal troopers. As the procession maneuvered towards Director Piggot's door with a folder in hand and a mad smile adorning his lips he knocks on the door with a jolly beat.

"Come in." came Piggot's voice from the other side of the door. Opening the door to the all but broken woman's office. Briefly casting an intuitive eye at the 5 men she sighed and spoke once more. "Good morning, Director Tagg, how can the ENE assist you today?"

"I have with me orders from Chief Director Brown ordering a series of joint training exercises between the ENE and the WSE. As per the rules of the joint training you Director Piggot will be 'hospitalized due to injuries sustained during the Elisburg incident' and I will be temporarily the acting director of the ENE. Any questions?" replied Tagg with a smug grin while sliding over the folder in his hand. Emily picked up the documents and read them confirming all that the warpig of Arizona said was true. Lightly putting down the folder she nodded, got up and grabbed her cane and started walking out the door. But before she opened the door to go, she turned around and looked at Tagg in the eyes.

"I will inform you this before I step down for a little bit. Brockton bay will take you and chew you up only to spit you back out, and I am not talking about the capes either." With a dark smile spreading across her scared face, "The local swat team consists of former special forces from all branches, 3 of the ambulance paramedics are former PJs, and the dockworkers are predominantly ex-military with a good portion of that being Seabee's if I remember correctly. All of them are barely holding their ground against the Empire and the ABB regulars, and not the street grunts that are grade A idiots, no these are the guys who show when a gang fight occurs. So, I would encourage you to rethink your usual policies when guiding this branch."

"I will keep that in mind." Responded Tagg with a dismissive wave.

After Familiarizing himself with the office over the next hour he hopped on the intercom, "Will Thomas Calvert report to the director's office." After waiting for 5 minutes a well-dressed man with a 'PRT Consultant' badge walked into the office.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I am in need of some additional forces for an off the books operation to arrest the rogue villain known as Georgia Beryl code name BB-70, and bring her to justice. I am aware that due to the nature of Fortress construction you have had to hire mercenaries to protect new construction sites yes."

"I do believe that I can get some contractors to do this job. It may take a while for them to get here however."

"You have 3 days."

Thomas nodded and walked out of the room before smiling to himself. "This might be the golden opportunity to get rid of that pesky woman." Meanwhile inside the office Tagg had a maniacal smile at the thought of bringing the defiant cape to heel, and daydreaming of having her as his personal attack dog.

The next day

Fortress construction meeting room

"So, this is the only mercenary group willing to do the job? This is 12 people with some FAMAS's."

"Do not worry director, we have a platoon coming in tomorrow with all ze extra gear. Zo tell us what is ze Wild Geese hunting."

Looking at the director Thomas sighed, "We had to give rough estimates on the casualties, they were the only ones to show up." Before pulling out a folder and tossing it across the table. "Gentlemen that is what we are hunting. Georgia Beryl also known as Battlewagon BB-70. Inside is the strategy that we will be using to capture her. Any questions?" As none were made, he nodded, "Good familiarize that packet and prepare for the operation."

 

[The_Bajar]

crossposted from the Spacebattles Thread
______________________________________________________________

USS Arizona, the studious battleship
To be honest, Arizona had kind of missed Georgia's entire visit, having been busy studying for her exams. The fact the professors and their TA's couldn't see her was immaterial.

Arizona had been slumbering for the first 5 years after the attack on Pearl. But afterwards, she had awoken. Well, her spirit at least, her hull was still were it had been all this time. At one point, out of curiosity, she had followed students into a university aula. Applied Anthropology was kind of interesting, but not knowing the same background as the students made it difficult to follow.

Arizona had decided to search out what she had missed. She spent 3 years invisibly in a highschool. Searching out the lessons she thought she could use. While the tests weren't something the teachers could correct, due to not seeing her own copies, or herself. Arizona did always check her own results by sitting in the same locale as the professors as they corrected the tests of the students and seeing what was correct and what wasn't. After 3 years, Arizona was satisfied she had more than earned a Highschool degree and returned to the Universities.

In the following 5 decades, Arizona earned (or in her opinion she would have had the teachers known she was there and had been able to review her work themselves), several degrees. Philosophy, English literature, several history courses. Engineering. She kept a highly eclectic variety. Arizona even managed to learn Hawaiian and Pidgin. She wished she could speak to actual Hawaiians and so actually use the languages. Above all, she kept on returning to the Applied Anthropology courses.

Then one evening, after classes had ended, she was taking a leisury stroll back to her hull when she spotted Missouri, a fully restored Missouri …

Wanting to know how the hell that had happened, Arizona headed towards the Iowa-class. "Aloha Missouri, do I have permission to come aboard?" Arizona asked standing at the gangway.

After about a minute Missouri's spirit appeared at her gangway. Never actually having met Arizona while in service, Missouri didn't actually recognize Arizona. Then again, she was dressed in a flower print summer dress, not exactly something you'd expect a Battleship to wear (but it would have made her fit in easily, if the humans could actually see her). "My hull's over there", Arizona pointed, "mostly below the water, near the monument. I'm USS Arizona, BB-39."



The next morning Georgia opened PHO

■

♦ Private message from USS Missouri:

Battlewagon BB-70 *New Message*: I was just visited by Arizona, BB-39. She wanted me to ask whether you could to for her what you did for us. Without disturbing her crewmember's graves, that is? Is there a possibility?

Turns out she's been awake since about 1947. And has been spending most of her time at the Hawai'ian Universities.

Anyway, she wanted to hand in her PHD Dissertation about Applied Anthropology I think. To be honest, I didn't really understand much of the work. She also wants to hand in all her other work for the various Bachelor and Master degrees she says she earned

 

[The_Bajar]

USS Arizona, it's not fair
Georgia apparently was quite capable of giving her a physical body while still preserving the last resting place of so many of her crew. It was a bit of a strange feeling at first, but thanks to Georgia doing her thing with the superstructure piece stored in the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, Arizona could now actually be seen. Her old hull was still part of her, she could sort of sense it. But she could now walk around and be seen.

At first, the UH had wanted to give Arizona an Honorary Doctorate. But Arizona had refused, saying she wanted a real one. And planned to do all the work. Leading to her now being an official student. At first, the UH had told students not to ask about December 7th, 1941. But after more than half a century, Arizona was quite capable of talking about it, actually, she wanted to even. On her own suggestion, she spent 2 hours one Friday evening on a Q&A with History students from UH. She also arranged an online Q&A with Naval Academy Students through the US Navy base at Pearl.

Anyway, after a day at the University, Arizona went back to the Naval Base. She had actually told the US Navy that a berth or anchorage was more than sufficient for her. But they had for some reason insisted upon her using a bed in the naval base itself. Which was kind of weird. Missouri was allowed to sleep at a proper berth, but she wasn't. It really wasn't fair. Actually, she should post that on PHO, they did start a new subgroup to discuss ships after all.

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■​

♦Topic: Unfair treatment of hull displaced ships
In: Boards ► Ships

USS Arizona (Original Poster) (Verified Battleship)
Posted on May 11, 2011:

It's really not fair how we hull displaced ships are not given the same rights as our not hull-displaced brethren.

USS Missouri is allowed to sleep with her lower hull submerged in water. USS Enterprise, I mean CV-65, too. But CV-6 and myself are forced to sleep IN A BED. It's really not fair. Why are they allowed to sleep at a berth, or at least an anchorage? But we are forced to spend our nights in a dry and uncomfortable bed.

How do you humans do it, sleeping without the comfortable embrace of the water around your lower hull?

 

[The_Bajar]

USS Arizona & Crystal
"I think it's probably best to go to your place", Arizona told Crystal. While yes, Arizona handing in all the work she had done while intangible (apart from her old hull beneath the monument that is) had ensured Arizona now had most of the work finished for her Master Degree in Applied Anthropology and Development. The University did want her to actually follow some of the classes and do the exams with her fellow students. Currently she had to do a joint work with a fellow student. A student that ended up being Crystal Pelham.

"Yeah, I don't think we're even allowed to start doing our work near the monument", Crystal agreed, "it's not too far. Let's walk."

"Oh, I'm not staying there", Arizona corrected as she walked next to Crystal, "well, not entirely that is, obviously my hull is there. But the Navy told me I couldn't simply moor myself near my old hull at night. Or on any empty berth. They gave me a bunk in the navy base. Well, I suppose having access to a desk is quite handy. And that waterbed they allowed me to bring in is at least sufficiently alike the soft movement of the waves on your hull, allowing a proper night's sleep."

Crystal sniggered, finally remembering Arizona's post about not being allowed to sleep at a berth from a few weeks back. Which several of the ships back home in Brockton Bay had replied to. "Oh yes, that PHO-post", Crystal realized, "I forgot about that." Then again, Crystal did try to treat Arizona the same as the other students. If not for the fact she didn't even try to hide anything and simply went by Arizona, Crystal would sometimes even almost forget the other student was in fact a battleship (which even with parahumans around, like herself, was kind of strange).

"Oh, you have a PHO account? Stupid question, of course you have", Arizona realized, "otherwise you wouldn't have found that post."

"I do, it's Crystal P, I suppose Laserdream too, but I'm not doing anything with that account at the moment", Crystal explained.

"Wait, two accounts, is that even allowed?" Arizona thought there was a one account per person rule.

"Laserdream is my verified Cape account, the other one is my personal one", Crystal clarified.

"You're a Cape? And you're telling me like that", Arizona thought Capes tried to keep their identities secret.

"I'm a public Cape", Crystal answered, "which is actually one of the reasons I went all the way to Honolulu for University. At least here, practically no one has ever even heard of Laserdream. Of course the PRT knows I'm here, at least I think they do. But it's actually kind of nice not to be doing any Cape things. Or nearly none. I did inform the Coast Guard that if they can use my aid for Search and Rescue, I am available. They took me up on the offer a few times."

"Does that mean you're the flying girl who found the fisherman who went overboard from the trawler Judith?" Arizona remembered.

"How do you even know that?" Crystal wondered, "the Coast Guard and the fishing crew agreed not to tell anyone a parahuman helped."

"Judith told her fellow trawlers, who passed the word to the tugboats. And tugs are even worse gossips than the trawlers, and that's saying something. Missouri somehow always finds out just about every piece of gossip spread inside the ports, both military and civilian. So she heard about it. And she told me when we were having lunch last Saturday."

"Wait, you mean the trawlers and tugboats are also alive?" Crystal hadn't known that.

"For trawlers, only the bigger ones", Arizona replied, "With some exceptions. Sometimes a smaller one does awaken a spirit, but it's rare. Some, like this Judith, who I presume is named after a loved one, have more of a chance. Probably due to the emotional connection. As far as I know, all tugs do have a spirit. I mean, I never met one without one. Yachts? In all my years, I've only seen a handful with a spirit. The cruise ships and other passenger ships all have spirits though. But they are kind of bored most of the time. Not enough people willing to go on a cruise these days, keeps them stuck in port."

Crystal suddenly stopped walking.

"Is something wrong?" Arizona asked.

"Not at all", Crystal replied, "I simply realised something. We still need a subject for our work. So what if we make it about ship spirit culture? We can interview ships. Or you can at least, but I can help think of the questions we need to ask. And of course help form conclusions out of their responses."

"Well, I can guarantee no one else will have that subject", Arizona agreed, "let's do it."

 

[Common]

Abelard Sigfried is an agent with the federal intelligence in his home country of Deutschland.
His current job had him doing a rather difficult task, he had to infiltrate what his government believed to be the remnant of the National Solialist german workers' party.

The Nazi's were still around the empire 88 in America was proof enough of that. Then that group in south america called Millennium, yet in the fatherland they went by Gesellschaft.

"Sigfried! Get over here! Our Source in the E88 has reported something rather interesting." An old man with an eyepatch says

"Sure thing Odin." Siegfried replies calmly walking to the table.

"That new cape that has America in a tizzy. Krieg says she's admitted to being jewish." Odin says

Sigfried pauses.

"She admitted that in a town full of nazi's?" Siegfried asks breaking character for a second.

"Yeah, in the seat of their power. Right inside the medhall to Kreig no less." Odin says agreeing with the dumbfoundedness.

"How go the Zeppelin plans?" Siegfried asks

"It is going rather well, though. After that thing Millennium pulled a few years ago the heroes are likely to be watching the sky." Odin says

"Well, that's what Thor is for." Siegfried.

Millennium had flown several Zeppelins full of wet tinkered vampires and dropped them all over london. Luckily the Alucard was there to prevent the catastrophe that would have come to be. That same monster later on managed to repel the Simurgh single handedly. The first parahuman to ever do so, a second parahuman to do so happened a few weeks ago.

"Are you sure you don't want to go through the Triggering program? You'll be perfectly fine and safe. We could use someone with your head in the parahuman forces of Gellenschaft." Odin says offhandedly.

"Dr. Obergruppenführer is a madman and you know it." Siegfried says

"Yes, however, if anyone is going to keep the yanks away, it will be him and his robotic dogs," Odin says
"I keep hearing about those dogs yet I haven't seen them," Siegfried says

"At this rate you will eventually Sigfried. You are one of the promising ones." Odin says

"Auf Wiedersehen Herr Odin." Sigfried says as the leader of Gellenschaft leaves the base.

"Shit shit shit," Siegfried swears under his breath running out of the room people needed to be informed.

The computer near the war table was open on a News Website.

Cape BB-70 to be given Presidential Unit Commendation