Commander's Rounds

Entry 50: Maximum

The commander received a message from Yuubari- her latest work was awake.

This had been a long-term project for both of them, but after the massive battles they'd had with the Sirens and Purifier specifically, they'd managed to accumulate enough data and resources to being another might-have-been into the real world. The commander quickly rearranged his appointments- ships like these tended to have quirks that needed understanding, and had to be assessed as soon as possible to see how well they might be integrated with the rest of the fleet.

This wasn't to say that the rest of the fleet didn't have their own idiosyncracies that needed to be accounted for, but for these kinds of vessels, they could be more... Pronounced.

And it was in this frame of mind that he arrived at Yuubari's lab to ask for what she knew.

The fox met him as soon as he came in. "Good timing, master."

The commander made sure he was presentable. "So, what's going on?"

Yuubari gestured to the door of the development chamber. "She's almost ready, all that's really left is to wake her up- after that, everything is up to you."

"No pressure, right?" He straightened his tie. "Anything you want to tell me before I go in there?"

"Just some other news." One of her ears flicked in excitement. "The capture of the Siren computer has resulted in some interesting developments- we should be able to cut off Purifier from the Siren Network if we can get our hands on her."

"That's a pretty big if."

Yuubari checked a few things on her computer. "Yes- which is why I leave the matters of danger and daring to you, master. They seem to be your areas of expertise."

"Maybe, but I also don't want to create more work for Vestal and the others than necessary."

"Fair enough. Also, Marblehead has discovered something about Helena-Meta."

This was a surprise. "Tell me more."

Yuubari figured out how to say it. "Master, Marblehead now believes that using Marduk's technology to create ships is far more dangerous than we initially conceived."

The commander stopped. "It already seemed pretty dangerous."

Yuubari's tail swished a bit- she was excited by a new discovery, no matter how perilous. "She seems to believe that the temperament of ships created by technology from Marduk's universe is informed by a magnification of their worst memories. For example, Helena was sunk due to poor intelligence of an enemy fleet's strength and movements, so she is obsessed with seeing and knowing everything. And hers is a mild case of what we might have found."

The commander closed his eyes. Even aside from those ships that died agonizing deaths in the old days, there were those who lost all of their comrades- All of their sisters were destroyed, or they took part in some great disaster. Even regular ships were affected by these memories- He couldn't begin to imagine what an Enterprise or a Tirpitz or an Atlanta or a Houshou-Meta might entail.

Yuubari spoke up again. "And master?"

"Yes?"

Yuubari paused. "We never recovered all of the pieces of Marduk's suit, and the Sirens were still at the site when you arrived."

The commander made the next leap. "Are you saying the Sirens may perform a similar experiment?"

Yuubari looked over at him. "The question, master, is whether or not they have already done so."

The commander sighed. They hadn't yet figured out a way to pierce the Sirens' veil of secrecy. "The fact of the matter is that we won't really know until they show up. So, for now, I'd like to deal with the matter at hand."