The End of the Beginning

With USS Arizona . . .

"How about parley?" Georgia countered, calming down. "That and maybe we can speak with Either Admiral Saratoga or Admiral Zuikaku."

"I know of shipgirls by that name . . .but last I hear they were hardly admirals," Arizona allowed, still holding the Abyssal Princess under the cover of her guns (despite knowing the submarine is way too close to avoid incurring damage to herself AND the submarine). Let us not mention the humans still present on the platform behind her.

"Whatever!" muttered the submarine princess, not wanting to argue about such things. She knew what she knew and d*mn did NOT want to argue over stupid things like the actual RANK of the people who rescued her and her sisters. "I guess there was some kind of . . .i don't know? A field promotion?!! Look, I do NOT want to go around killing anyone here but I DO want to get in contact with those two aircraft carrier shipgirls so I can get back with my sisters. From there, I'd kinda like to get some kind of life that doesn't involve going 'kill all humans' and shit like that. All I am asking for is to talk with them? By radio or telephone if you gotta?"

"Is that too much to ask?' the submarine (an Ohio-class, a post-War submarine Arizona noted with some trepidation) asked plaintively.

"I can . . .get with my superiors to see what we can arrange," Arizona allowed, which was good enough for the submarine.

And while Arizona--who's identity the female reporter provided--contacted her superiors with her cellphone, Georgia gives an impromptu interview while the now thoroughly confused tourist watch on ("Aren't Abyssals supposed to be hostile?" they ask themselves).

And while not as humorous as she could have been (what with her still in some pain from having fired her torpedo on land . . . remember the "physics problem" combat could be for shipgirls for USS Trinitite's world), it still is a very interesting interview! "Interesting" in the vein of being completely confusing to the reporter and the tourists.

Frankly, with dates and events mentioned happening that have not happened (yet) everyone seems to think the submarine is insane. But that insanity? Well, it seems to be playing in humanity's favor since the poor dear is NOT attacking everyone as a proper Abyssal should. But insanity or not, some people who learn that Georgia says that she's an Ohio-class submarine (aka a boomer) to be an alarming idea. Is this insane submarine princess a sign that Abyssals gaining nuclear bombs? Some who see the interview groan, knowing that the submarine's been spreading information which those in the Navy would rather not get out yet (the idea of another parallel world is out there and such).

. . .

However! Some out there in power saw this as an opportunity to . . .capitalise on a growing problem another submarine named Georgia had been causing them with her . . . antics. Oh, for the most part, the native Abyssal Submarine Princess.

Oh, those in the high towers of responsibility are . . . appreciative of the services that the submarine abyssal have done them and humanity as a whole. Truly, they are! But the headaches that she and the rest of the sub's family have been inadvertently causing them! The BS that had to be spread by that one youtube video alone where the native USS Georgia was drunkenly singing in that bar about one-eyed hookers and big squid monsters; it had been one thing after another for the intel community to cover up! Even IF the antics were of a (mostly) positive nature, people were talking. Rumors were going around and theories were being made; not yet by the mainstream but it was only a matter of time!

Maybe it was time to kill two birds with one stone! And it wasn't like they could put the genie back into the bottle with this doppelganger USS Georgia's existence! Her image and very existence upon US soil had gone nationwide before anything could have been DONE about it! But the d*mnable thing was, it turned out that . . .despite initial panic the public seemed to be . . . warming towards the submarine princess since she'd basically screamed at USS Arizona for endangering the civilian tourist with her Rigging. The submarine had almost BEGGED for her armaments to be removed, not wanting such destructive munitions within her hull. Regular tomahawks were dangerous. Torpedoes were made to be deadly, but nuclear types were a whole different level and this Georgia wanted no part of it (and that played VERY much against all prior views humanity had of Abyssals). The fact that this Georgia had mentioned things like "torture" and "brainwashing" from the Abyss (an entity leader that no humans until now had any real clues about) before having escaped from prison (her and her sisters). . .

Well, it put a whole new twist on things which . . .could be useful. . . .

But yep, as what had been said? Georgia and her antics back at the Arizona Memorial? Enough to make the evening news in every city of the USA! And that is pretty much what brought the head site researcher running to tell where the other Georgia is, right before a phonecall looking for Admiral Saratoga. Of course, that call is being made over ultra-secure ones. Of course, the submarine princess is still being under heavy "escort" ever since surfacing back at Pearl. Of Course, this conversation was being monitored and recorded....

Of course, Georgia knew of all of that (and Saratoga did as well). Par for the course...

"Hi, Saratoga!" Georgia said over the phone. "I . . .think there is something wrong here. Everyone here in Pearl Harbor seems to think I'm insane, telling me that the year I said everything happened in is in the future."

"It is not . . . quite like that," the voice of one of her escorts coughed slightly in embarrassment, too low to be overheard except for Georgia. At first, she--USS Arizona--had thought as much. Now? Well, the Abyssal Princess HAD that head injury when they had first met.

That and as it turned out not all of what the sub had said had been totally out there. Hey, turned out that her chain of command had even said that USS Saratoga had been an admiral. Something about it had made the officer sound a bit put off about that but what that was about had to wait until maybe after this call.

Georgia smiled and mouthed thanks towards the battleship.

Meanwhile, both Firestorm looked at her fellow Essex-class sisters and just shook her head slightly over the "insane" part. Having the initial meeting with her back in the Marshal islands had been a touch jarring, but the odd behavior had ultimately been due to finding allies after a harrowing escape more or less. That Georgia had been a bit eccentric. But with having met the atomic submarine named Georgia of this parallel world? Yeah, the sisters could see how the mistake could happen!

Saratoga--Lexington aircraft carrier and admiral--smiled slightly. She well knew the old saw about the thin margin between genius and madness. Georgia (hers and the native one) were more the former than latter. But d*MN if the sub shipgirl could be a touch quirky at times.

"Saying that . . .what's going on?" the Submarine Princess asked. "I mean what I did back there seemed to transport me and everyone else all over the world, but don't tell me we did time travel!"

"Not . . .so much as what you did with your torpedo sending all of us to an earlier time as in 'time travel, Are you familiar with M-theory?" Saratoga began, fiddling with the controls on her end of the communication. "Rather it was more like you accidentally sent us 'sideways' in time, as one British science fiction TV show I've come to like put it. As into a parallel world who happens to have been in only into the second year of the Abyssal War, my dear."

The screen flickered, finally showing an image of a bandaged Georgia staring out at Saratoga and her guests. Georgia looked at . . .Georgia and Georgia's family (including Chitose).

"You've been . . .making friend?" USS Georgia--a friend of Admiral Saratoga--blinks, giving some of the more Frankenstein-ish shipgirls of her counterpart's Fleet an odd look before grimacing at the poor word choice. "I mean! Uh, I guess you've got a story to tell!"

"I could say the same thing of you sister?" the native USS Georgia smirks, giving her analog a once over and noting the damage still present. "Any particular reason they have not fixed you up yet before plunkin' ya down to meet us?!"

"Heh, I wanted each and every instance of 'instant sunrise' and 'Openhiemer's light' OUT of me before anything else thanks!," the twin Georgia snarked back. "That Abyss b*tch can go fuck herself and all that and I don't want ANY reminder of that wacko's plans for ME and my sisters back HOME in MY hull, thank YOU!"

The nuclear reactor inside her for power was okay but beyond that? No, no, and H*LL no! That was a sentiment that her "hosts" were in agreement about and were glad to oblige her requests for removing every last atomic device for . . .safekeeping.

The fact that this communication call had happened before she could get fixed up afterward had been an unfortunate and unexpected event.

"Okay . . .I can see that," the native submarine princess said to the visitor. "Still, you gotta admit you scared the Hell out of everyone rising up unannounced at Pearl."

"Like she was expecting to be at Pearl Harbor instead of back at the Bikini Atoll short stack?" Firestorm laughed, shaking her head. "Between getting blasted to another world and getting BLASTED through all the way outside after that torpedo stunt she pulled on the Abyss that had to have been the last thing she'd expected."

"That and having been OUT like a light for more than a bit from being a FLYING submarine," muttered the doppelganger Georgia, wishing that aspirin would actually DO something for her lingering headache.

"Wait . . .what do you mean you went flying from using your Rigging to fire torpedoes?" native Georgia blinked. "What has being on land have anything to do with it sending a shipgirl flying?"

"Unlike you folks we shipgirls back from where we're from cannot use our rigging without it becoming a physics problem," USS Trinitite explained, remembering all too well tales from others who'd conducted land battles. "Give us enough water under us? We are fine, but that said it is why we have our 'land loadout: Directed Energy weapons."

Basically, they were plasma ejectors which were powered by cabling plugging directly into their muon-fusion reactors. While not without some recoil and of MUCH shorter range than their naval guns, the ejectors would hit as hard if not harder than their "more traditional" artillery. That and easily usable in the occasional land confrontation between themselves and Abyssal remainders....

"But conversely we don't have Abyssals who give off fields that make targeting them beyond iron sites impossible," Hypocenter added. "That is, at least until recently due to Shortstack here!"

"Stop calling me Shortstack!" native Georgia muttered, having already gotten tired of the nickname Saratoga's Fleet kept insisting on using, much to Chitose's amusement."

So it goes, old and new friends discuss where to go from here at least until if/when a way back to the visitor's homeworld could be found.

Meanwhile, Back at the Bikini Atoll . . .

Two shipgirls help a somewhat dazed Installation (installation-girl?) out from the Summoning Pool they'd used to secure this side of the Rift from anyone who'd . . .object.

Abyssals had been known to be rather annoying neighbors, and after having gone through the trouble of quelling/purifying any and all Abyssals which got captured one had to take steps to avoid a repeat of the Abyssal War back home.

The fact that the Abyssals were a going concern (and a dire one) on this world from what satellite and radio communications they could intercept was a worrisome thing!

Heck, Lt. Pacific Lily had been in a hurry to get the Kanmusu Installation up to speed so the Abyssals didn't think to give her world a visit through the Rift (and start Abyssal War 2)! This special Summoning ritual had been a hard-won thing that had VERY useful in helping END the first one. That and finding ways to make sure the fairies of Kanmusu-ized shipgirls retain their knowledge after being re-summoned . . .

Anyway, after this and a few other things then she and her team would be able to start in the next phase: searching for and rescuing the Fleets of both Admiral Saratoga and Rear Admiral Zuikaku. Pacific Lily, despite being more inclined to Support and Admin, had jumped at the chance to find her now dear friend: Trinitite!

To think, at one time she'd considered that Essex-class shipgirl a monster that she'd begged the Navy to get off of her. While she'd finally been brought around to trusting the Navy again through Trinitite (irony there), she'd was glad that the B*TCH who'd been roped into helping with this Summoning was going to bugger off on patrol here soon and AWAY from her!

Lily had not forgotten or forgiven the part that Nashville had played in that action which had not only endangered Trinitite's efforts to find her lost mother but her human crew as well!

Yeah, the fishing boat still held a grudge from that day. Thanks for asking!

"Wha? . . .Who?" the Installation--a young woman of one of the former native inhabitants of this now radioactive place--blinked, looking at her hands like they were alien things and then at herself. "How?!"

"Yes, about that?" Pacific Lilly begins, smiling gently at the still confused Installation Girl. "How about I tell you all about that here real quick. But mind if you're up to the idea of laying down some pain of some Abyssal SOBs?"

The young Installation-girl blinked, suddenly having stars in her eyes over the very idea. On one hand, the Firebringers (which the Navy had been allied with) had been the SOBs who'd used nuclear devices on her landmass. On those poor steel hulls! But . . .then on the other hand while the Bikini Atoll Installation had a soft spot for the Jellyfish Princess (before being redeemed as Saratoga), she'd had rather low opinions of other Abyssal Princesses who'd barged in like they were owed a life!

" I don't know, CAN I?!" she asked excitedly, almost vibrating in excitement.

Nodding to herself at the signs of a proper and GOOD summoning (not rebellious and prone to going Abyssal but well adjusted like a proper Kanmusu), Pacific Lilly began her story. After this, there were millions of things still to do before meeting the native people of this Earth. Oh, others were right now setting up to make radio contact to let friendly forces know they were here and not invaders, but that was THEIR job.

This was hers and she was going to do right by Bikini if she had anything to say on the matter!

1. And alas, this is where we'll end on this tale. But don't fret. Just consider it the end of the beginning and not the beginning of the end...

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