5335/AOH: Behind Enemy Lines

AOH: Behind Enemy Lines
Date of Scene:	25 June 2017
Location:	<AOH> Abyssal Pearl Harbor
Synopsis:	First scene for characters sent to investigate the Abyssal base at Pearl Harbor. Tactical Espionage Action.
Cast of Characters:	Midway, Shigure, 571, 215, 691, Wo, Kotone Yamakawa, 304
Tinyplot:	Abyssal Operation Hydra

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Midway has posed:
Oahu, Hawaii
Pearl Harbor

    From a distance the tropical islands of Hawaii looks no different than they ever have. A lush, tropical paradise. Approaching, it becomes easier to see the thick black clouds hovering over the main island of Oahu, casting the entire island in a dingy gray light. On closer inspection, the verdant jungles lining the iconic mountains look more run down and malevolent, perhaps due to the washed out light.

    Crossing into the area covered by the cloud is like night and day-- The blue sea cuts to an ominous dark gray, the water growing more choppy with whitecaps cresting. There appear to be no fish, the only creatures breaking the surface being the smooth, black hulls of Abyssal destroyers, fish-like in shape with great toothy maws and glowing blue eyes. These creatures break the surface much like dolphins do, breeching and then crashing back down, moving in groups of three on set patrol routes around the island. There are no birds, either. The only things in the sky would be those hideous white balls, the Abyssal Hellcat fighters, trailing streaks of red mist from their tooth-lined jaws. These, too, patrol set routes in groups-- four, in the case of the planes.

    From far enough out to sea to not be detected, there are a few points of interest:
    HONALULU - The capital city and its major port can be seen. It appears derelict, but there's also a lot of abyssal activity in the port there.
    PEARL EXTERIOR - It looks like the Black Fleet might be building something on the shoreline.
    PEARL INTERIOR - Naturally it's known that the Black Fleet seized the harbor. Find out what they're doing there.
    NAVAL BASE - The base immediately adjacent to Pearl Harbor has some abyssal activity noted on long range recon.

    Due to the heavy black cloud cover, satellites haven't been able to see what the Black Fleet is up to. Time to pick a mission objective and gather as much information as possible.

    Mood music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhMbfXTViqM

Shigure has posed:
    Yuudachi isn't exactly the best choice for a stealth mission. She's loud, obnoxious and has little forethought... but she's amazingly quiet as she sails up in Ocean Fit-out. She speaks through her internal speaker array for those aboard who took up her offer as a 'base of operations'. "We're, like, approaching the area now. Radar and Sonar are clear, but I'm like, shutting down the radar so they don't counter spike me." the mast atop her bridge stilling. "Coming about, to bearing 270, speed ahead one third..... this is as close as I can get without stirring up the hornet's nest."

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    Maaka is suited up for a night-op, that's for sure. Her suit gets ready to provide oxygen and protect from the water as she dives off the side of Yuudachi, using a UGV to carry her across the depths towards the side of a cliff after a short swim.

    Her suit's paramagnetics assist in keeping her from falling off the side of the cliff, as she ascends slowly but surely, until she reaches the top. There's a few close calls, with Hellcats passing by every 20 minutes, but the climb is better done safe than sorry.

    She's cloaked, and she doesn't make any sudden movements as she reports her status. <I'm not far from the harbor. Just outside of base limits.> She says.

    Then, she advances, heading for the naval base directly. Lotta signs of Abyssal activity there, time to take this slow and stealthy.

Iria (215) has posed:
For someone like Iria, bounty hunting requires a lot more than just hunting your target down. You have to know how to fight, how to evade, and how to infiltrate things swiftly and efficiently. Hence the reason that she's the type of girl that you could easily call upon for a stealth operations mission. Her slender body and her agility make her quite useful in things like this.

Even with that crimson cape on, her movements are unhindered as she makes her way into the area, keeping out of sight and stepping carefully to avoid making the slightest hint of noise. She eventually makes her way towards the edge of the base with little difficulty, but once she gets there, she pauses for the time being. She looks around, attempting to locate other allies and possible dangers as well.

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Yari's here on the single behest of Admiral Nagato, and by extension the rest of the Fleet. She has a few friends within it. ...But mostly enemies, if she's being realistic. Former enemies in name, the assassin has no illusions that grudges still hold.

And that might be the greatest reason that she's here. Trust has to be built after her actions in the Confederacy, and so she's dressed in a wet-suit, with her gear stowed on her person. Patting her umbrella, she dives off the side of the Good Ship Yuudachi, keying up her radio.

"Glory and honor! Come back alive everyone."

Splash. A bit of ninja-enhanced swimming, and she's making her way towards the shoreline of the Harbor. She's as quiet as you can manage, breath coming slow through her oxygen tank. She tries to stay as deep as she can without being crushed by water pressure, relying on her magitek gauntlet for some sense of direction, as well as her mental map of the island during the pre-briefing. She'll seek to find a landing spot some ways away from where it's known that something is being built.

Guns? A secondary harbor? Any knowledge of the island's defenses will benefit a full scale assault, and that's Yari's intended purpose.

Wo has posed:
At least one other figure, though humanoid at the moment, cuts through the choppy seas under her own power. Or rather, she glides atop it, though the level of swells manage to give even the most sure-footed of sea legs a perceptible, sinusoidal motion. The former-still-kinda Abyssal, Wo-class aircraft carrier, accompanies Yuudachi, perhaps to an extent allowing herself to be escorted, though the difference in sizes at the moment is misleading. "Understood. Once I'm close, I'll be able to give you eyes on the sea forces, though I'll try to keep status updates brief." Too much radio chatter on the wrong frequencies, especially with any layer of cryptographic security, could tip them off as much as anything. When the destroyer enters a holding pattern just outside of counter-detection range, Wo takes this cue to continue on her own, sailing directly toward the harbor.

    'So this is it,' she thinks. The seat of power for the Pacific Fleet in her time, though her memories of it are still vague and the feelings they conjure up mixed. But to see it with this cloud over it, and thoroughly conquered, is a sight she hadn't fully prepared herself for. Should she be lit up by the enemy's radar, she'll do her utmost to preset the most boring and unremarkable of Wo-class signatures, and similarly in her actions to any visuals as she moves to comingle between the patrols. She does have one advantage to the direct approach, should her theories be correct -- she'd had some unfriendly, face to face encounters with this brand of Abyssal before. Their kind was never the most expressive, but those...it was as if any spark of life or will had been drained from them. This is the composure she adopts.

    Launching her aircraft would likely be a bad idea, unless she sees an opening in the air cover. Her 'old model' Abyssal fighters and bombers would stand out like a sore thumb amidst the thorough modernizing that they seem to have engaged in here. Seeing those flying gumballs herself, from beneath the brim of her flight deck of a hat, is another data point for her hypothesis.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa started out one of the weakest eliete on record in this sector of the multibverse it's made her ways of doing things. She's taken to be far more sneaky and avoiding fights where othewrs might charge on in heedless to the danger tht might await them. Pearl Harbor had been taken by the Abyssals. She checks her interal hude as she got ready to head in. She would use her optica cameo as best she could to avoid being detected and oddly she had a masked faceplate on today. The visopr gave her night more powerful scanners and acted as some protection to her upper face.

She knew Maaka would be going for the naval base most likely and she trusted her with that.

<<Samsara here I'm making a go for the Interior of the habour, don't worry I'll be alike a ghost.>>

She cut the transmission after that and her cloak was on full as she moved to try and creep her way in.

Black Arachnia (304) has posed:
There's something about the Abyssals which almost appeals to Black Arachnia. If she had stayed a Predacon, she might outright *like* the ghostly ship-spirits on some level, and even as a Maximal, there's something she can't quite put her finger on that sort of appeals to her. Maybe it's their aesthetic - dark and creepy, the kind of thing a spider would fit right in among.

But none of that changes the fact that the Abyssals are preying on innocents, which is the kind of thing that Maximals can't condone - even Black Arachnia finds that impossible to overlook - so she's offered her stealthy expertise for the mission of infiltrating, spying, and getting out undetected.

Nothing is going to change the fact that she's REALLY poorly suited for aquatic operations, though. Fortunately, she's a quick study at the 'helm' of one of those launches, and the patrol patterns don't seem too complicated - she can slip through, land the boat somewhere that it shouldn't be spotted, and head into the construction zone in her spider form. She even takes a moment to flip the launch over so it looks abandoned; she can't do anything about its relatively new (or at least non-decrepit) appearance, but she can make it look LESS like it's been recently used, right?

Midway has posed:
NAVAL BASE

Alexis Maaka
    It's a harrowing climb up the cliff face, what with having to stop and blend into the rocks when aircraft pass by on patrol. However, Maaka's careful attention and experience pays off. None of the passes ever realize something's amiss, and while the climb is slow, it pays off without alerting the enemy. At the top is a cluster of palms and shrubs that provide decent cover, and the elevation gives her a good view of the naval base and the black, animal-like and humanoid shapes moving about.

    It looks like they're stripping out the buildings, though several have been left alone. Black smoke pours out of the stacks of a large structure which must be a foundry or factory of some sort. The exterior is twisted, clearly modified by the Black Fleet and still in use.

Midway has posed:
NAVAL BASE

Iria
    Closer to the sprawling military complex, Iria has a higher risk of being found out-- but also has a better look at what's going on. Abyssal heavy cruisers, the Ri class with their tooth-lined gauntlets, smash into the walls of a barracks until it collapses. The pair begins rummaging in the rubble, hauling out lengths of reinforcement, rebar, which is tossed to a cluster of jumping destroyers on tiny legs. One by one, these destroyers scuttle off, carrying chunks of metal towards the ominous smoke-spewing factory in the distance.
    There seems to be someone overseeing it. A young girl in a black, ragged sailor uniform, complete with a 'dixie cup' worn at a jaunty angle. Her hair is short, white, and she stares unblinking at the operation with glowing purple eyes. Her hands rest on her hips, such as they are, massive guantlets made out of black metal, the bulky fingers tipped with red warheads.

Midway has posed:
NAVY BASE

Kotone
    Optical camouflage is not something the Black Fleet has had to deal with, and so Kotone has a surprisingly easy time infiltrating the base. Though her goal might be the harbor itself, her route takes her through here. Destroyers scuttle to and fro on little stubby legs, some carrying chunks of rebar or other materials in their teeth.
    Kotone's route takes her near the fuel dump, huge cylendrical towers filled with fuel for ships. And here she gets a good view of a bulbous Wa class transport. Each one's head hidden by their tooth-lined helmet, groups of them are assisted away from the fuel towers towards the harbor, while others take on fuel in preparation to depart. They're clearly /taking/ it, not storing it.

Midway has posed:
HARBOR EXTERIOR

Yari Takane
    As there haven't been any submarines active in the area, the destroyers on patrol only search with their passive sonar. As such, the ninja lizard's choice of staying close to the seafloor on her approach is a wise one-- Passive sonar has a hard time telling her from the rocks and coral around her. And Abyssal destroyers can't use their sonar underwater. Only the submarines like Ka and So class pull off that party trick, and none appear to be present.
    The best place to surface is an old harbor bouy, and ascending to it near the chain keeps Yari's shape masked from sonar searches.
    From here, she has a good initial view not just of the beach, but of her surroundings, and the destroyer group currently moving away from her. A quartet of Hellcat fighters pass overhead, but the Bouy's shape keeps her out of their view until they pass. On the beach, it looks like the Abyssals are building a bunker fortification. Concrete has already been poured, and it looks as if they're preparing to mount something similar to what's usually found on a battleship's main deck.

Midway has posed:
EXTERIOR

Wo
    Approaching so brazenly on the surface like this can only work because Wo is an Abyssal herself. The trio of destroyers that just passed by Yari are headed straight for the lone carrier. They recognize her as one of their own and, as they approach, allow a bit of playful jumping and breeching. Once the trio reaches her, they circle around and then fall into an escort formation. Instinct? It's a destroyer's mission to protect capital ships, after all.
    From a different angle, Wo has an excellent view of what can only be a shore battery under construction. Near the top, a pair of light cruisers-- He and Chi class, glance her way. Once they identify an abyssal aircraft carrier, they return to welding, while their companion, a Ru class battleship, holds the weapon's massive barrel in place for them.
    Something similar, though less complete, is being assembled on the opposite shore by a similar collection of Black Fleet ships. This one is being overseen by a woman in a black uniform and peaked cap. Though her Abyssal rigging is clearly an arrangement of tails, she has them wrapped around her shoulders, the tooth-lined maws and cannons draped down her back like a stole.

Midway has posed:
EXTERIOR

Black Arachnia
    Timing the launch's use with the patrols works, and the spider gets ashore without a problem. It's not long after she's abandoned and flipped the boat over, however, that a quartet of Abyssal Hellcats descend to investigate it. They circle, chattering amongst themselves in bursts of static, until a trio of destroyers waddle ashre on their little, stubby legs. Every destroyer in the Black Fleet seems to have this adaptation! The Southern Abyssal Fleet only had this model on rare occasions.
    However, spider tracks aren't too different from those of crabs, and so the destroyers aren't certain that anyone actually came ashore. They continue to mill around the launch, inspecting it, but not furthering their investigation into the forest.
    Black Arachnia gets a third vantage on the fortification being built. From this higher vantage, with the roof not yet installed, she has clear view of the gun turret mechanisms being installed by the Abyssal trio that previously acknowledged the incoming Wo class carrier.

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    Maaka's optics begin to zoom out like binoculars, taking pictures and saving them to a SSD. She takes cover in a shrub, staring at the base and its occupants. She switches to night vision, trying to get a good look of the animal and humanoid shapes.

    The foundry looks like it's where they keep making more Abyssal. She makes a note of this.

Shigure has posed:
    Yuudachi drops out of Ocean Fitout once all her passengers are away. The blonde girl turns in, keeping slow to avoid patrols, before putting on a burst of speed to get ashore. She appears to be heading to the capital to see what all the fuss is about over there.

Midway has posed:
NAVY BASE
Alexis Maaka
    Binoculars (or similar tech) are very useful here. Zooming in, the stealth operative has plenty of opportunities to snag pictures of the fish-shaped abyssal Destroyers scurrying about, carrying things in their teeth. Following the trail back shows a handful of larger, humanoid shipgirls involved in the actual stripping of the structures. Their main target seems to be metal, at leat for this operation. And following the trail of stubby little legs shows them running the material directly to the foundry.
    All the other activity that can be observed around the base seems to be the same sort of gathering operation, as if the Black Fleet is dismantling uneeded buildings. They are, after all, leaving certain structures alone. The foundry itself being one of them.

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Finally rising up from the depths near that bouy, Yari yanks out the connection to her mouth, and breaths a slight sigh of relief. Goggles up, and she's bringing up first a set of binoculars. Her gaze widens as she notes not just the emplacement, but the massive weapon being afforded it.

Clearly the Abyssals intend to fortify Pearl Harbor not just as a temporary place, but as utterly their own. The dread of what they might be preparing elsewhere hits her like a ton of bricks.

Sucking in her breath and wiping off water and a hint of sweat from a scaley brow, she whips out a waterproof camera. First, she'll snap a few pictures of that retreating patrol, just in case it adds to patrol patterns for the base and it's surroundings. Then she's getting as much as she can of the gun defenses being installed.

Goggles down, and she's ready to dive after a few more extra pics.

Down down down into the depths, she checks her oxygen, and she's risking getting closer to the shoreline, looking for anything that she can use as another entrance point slightly closer!

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    Fish.

    Motherfucking FISH.

    Maaka blinks, before she takes a few snapshots of the fish-abyssals and their more humanoid counterparts for posterity. She'll move on, getting closer and closer along the ridgeline in order to get a closer peek.
    She'll snap some more details pictures, before she focuses more on not falling from her perch as she tries to make her way towards the foundry.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone does her best to be quiet as well, she doesn't want to presume they have had no contact with the technology. She would be on her guard as she pushed her way in. She would keep alert as she moved in and she looked at the Destoyers for a moment any thing she saw could be pulled up later to go over, after all. She howerver moved the towers got her attention fuel dumps. She took note of them and the WA class transport was also noticed the way the abyssal looked? Unsettled her, and the idea Staren had about making her a shell to mimic one had not been somethign she was happy to enterain. She shuddered inwardly. She does notice they are training the fuel getting ready to head out but where?

She would also check for wireless signals on an off chance the Abyssals were making use of any local technology maybe she could find something as she worked on ahead.

Wo has posed:
It's a side of the Abyssal fleet, or at least an Abyssal fleet, that few really get to see unless they're right in the thick of it. The industrious and inventive nature that comes from having to make do with what you can pillage and salvage. There's a corner of her mind, seeing the coastal emplacements under construction, that's close to impressed by how organized these are in particular, though. To be able to get this far in this span of time, with this apparent force strength...they either have a strong leadership, or a very demanding one, or are magic. She'll discount the latter.

    The sleek, black shapes of Abyssal Destroyers moving into formation around her, it's both unexpected and altogether ordinary. She will indeed chalk it up to instinct, since at this level, it's about all they have to go on. For her part, she plays to the role of stoic elder, hands propped atop her command cane which somehow regards the sea almost as if a solid surface, itself. Under escort, she continues her approach to the harbor's exterior, and assuming the journey continues relatively uneventfully, she stops there briefly and turns to the Destroyers, giving a black gloved hand wave to return them to their patrols.

    Had she misjudged them on earlier encounters, perhaps? Though children always did have a strange strength of spirit and resilience about them. Should they depart her company, Wo calls up under her breath, "Okay, it's your turn." From beneath the seam of where her hat meets her head, a small shape manages to squeeze out, before a tiny and bulbous head, and then arms and an upper body emerge. The button eyes of the fairy swirl for a moment, before she gives a thumbs up. It's apparently a war correspondent, judging from her press cap and notepad, which she uses to quickly jot down notes of what her fairy eyes see. She also uses a flashless film camera to take a few photos of the batteries under construction, as well as the personalities around them -- especially that latter one.

    "Back in. We're heading ashore."

Iria (215) has posed:
As soon as the cruisers move in, Iria ducks behind cover, peering out only briefly to see what they're doing. Her eyes narrow into a scowl as she sees they're attacking one of the barracks and then stealing materials from it, almost like they're trying to build a barricade or something similar based on what they're stealing. Then her eyes widen as she sees them heading towards a nearby factory. "They've definitely got something bad on their mind. I'm going to check this out!"

Using her agility and her cape to keep her covered, Iria attempts to move in behind the cruisers, trying to avoid being seen by the white-haired girl as she ducks behind nearby crates, building walls, anything to keep her out of sight while allowing her to keep an eye on what's happening all the same.

Midway has posed:
EXTERIOR

Yari Takane
    A few useful pictures. That's what recon is all about. Underwater, though, it looks like there aren't any submerged pipes or the like. The best way into the harbor from here is through the single entrance that the ships use to go in and out as well. She'd better keep low to avoid the sonar from any patrols moving in and out, such as the trio escorting Wo, who are still checking for things.

Midway has posed:
NAVY BASE

Alexis Maaka
    As Maaka circles the base on the ridge, a quartet of Abyssal Hellcats sails by overhead. They dip low, circling over the navy base and then fading out of view on their way to the harbor. That wing might be coming in to land and refuel, or their shift might have ended.
    But also as Maaka moves, it gives her different perspectives on the base itself. For instance, now she has a pretty good view of the little black-dressed girl Iria was talking about. She removes a hand from her hip, pointing and shouting something in the distance, directing the cruisers under her supervision as they work. Nothing hostile. The girl is just performing her role as a supervisor.

Black Arachnia (304) has posed:
If the destroyers were smart enough to realize the *size* of the spider (or crab) that left those tracks, the situation might be a lot worse. As it is, Black Arachnia avoids the sand as much as she can - maneuvering tree to tree when feasible, using hard footing when she can as opposed to soft, and generally paying enough attention to her surroundings and situation to avoid being easily spotted. She's been a stealth specialist ever since her protoform was programmed and activated, and changing allegiances hasn't changed her innate skillset.

So. Fortifications under construction. Defenses for their naval base, apparently; those turrets certainly look like a thing she doesn't want to mess around with from the wrong end if they're completed and put into service. The Maximal spider just captures as much image data as she can, both raw and internally processed to account for the ambient darkness. If she sees any sign of computers or other significant technology in use, she's listening for signal traffic - but she's trying to minimize her own outgoing signals, keeping radio silence whenever possible and sending queries or reports only via encrypted, compressed bursts.

Her thoughts keep coming around to those turrets. She REALLY wants to try and execute some kind of sneaky sabotage, something that'll come into play if (or when) the turrets are put to extended use ... but the mission is strictly recon and espionage, as she heard the instructions. And as Durandal mentions, the risk of getting caught is greater than zero, especially if they *do* go trying to do anything.

For now, then, Black Arachnia focuses on gathering all the intel she can. Visual images, trying to collate a map of what the fortifications will be like when completed - she can at least map the outer walls as they're being built, and the relative locations of those turrets aren't likely to change - and trying to get a ballpark of manpower in evidence. Whatever you call it when the workers aren't 'men' or even specifically human.

Midway has posed:
NAVY BASE

Kotone
    There are wireless signals, but they appear to be left over from when humans used this base. In fact, one of them goes down when a nearby pair of Ri class cruisers start demolishing one of the buildings, cutting its power in the process. None of the networks have any current traffic. She might, if she's equipped for it, pick up encrypted radio transmissions. The EM signature is huge, here, as the Black Fleet converses amongst its members. The encryption may be an old format, but it is intensely complex. Whoever set that up knows what they're doing.

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    <I see the girl you were talking about, Iria.> Maaka comments over comms. She narrows her eyes, snapping some pictures of the mystery Abyssal.

    <LOoks like she's a supervisor of some kind.> The temptation to try and take a shot is there, but right now this is observe-and-report only. No need to get greedy.

    The cyborg commando watches the Hellcats pass over, snapping pictures as she remains motionless.

Midway has posed:
EXTERIOR

Wo
    The correspondant fairy doesn't draw attention from the destroyers. All three of them, in their formation, are behind Wo and thus her body blocks them from seeing the fairy's antics. The 'children', as they might be called, regularly swap positions in their makeshift Diamond formation, trailing Wo as the point. However, the destroyers aren't the only ones who notice the arriving carrier.
    "Hmm?" The woman overseeing the second battery's construction turns just enough to glance over her shoulder. Though an arriving carrier is of no concern, at first, she still examines the willowy woman for a long moment with purple-tinted eyes.
    After a moment, she pushes off, circling around to approach. She doesn't demand a halt, but rather, falls in beside the carrier. This time it is not instinct. Her manner of speaking is curt. "We weren't expecting a new fleet carrier. If She thinks we need it, I won't question it. Report to the Princess for your assignment."

Midway has posed:
NAVAL BASE

Iria
    It's easy enough to avoid the Cruisers and their younger-looking overseer, since they aren't on alert and are fixated on their task. Staying hidden as she is, Iria can at least observe their behavior. When one of the Ri class overlooks something, the little girl reacts by pointing, "Hey! Don't forget that crap radio! Our Princess will get something useful out of it, for sure!"
    "Ah.." the admonished cruiser fixes red eyes on the device in question. Gingerly, she collects it, "...Apologies. Water Demon." This is handed off to an excited destroyer, who scampers off with it towards the foundry without hesitation.
    With a sigh, the little black-clad girl touches one enormous finger to her forehead. Eyes closed, she states, "She wants /everything/ of use. If it's not wood or concrete, give it over. It's so basic, you idiot."

Midway has posed:
HONALULU

Yuudachi
    A girl on the water is harder to spot than a ship. Staying in the baffles of the nearest destroyer patrol allows the shipgirl to approach the former Hawaiian capital with no trouble, though as she gets closer she'll probably want to make use of cover to remain undetected, especially before the hellcats circle around through this area again.
    The bulk of activity in the harbor appears to be scrapping. Sparks from torches shoot off of various container ships still at anchor, and the torn out skeletons of a few indicate previous activity. Various consumer goods litter the water, as well, floating plushies and clothes that haven't sunk yet, and no doubt lots of heavier things that had simply been thrown in the sea or consumed by the Black Fleet.

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
A few useful pictures are good, but never call Yari one to do things half way. There's nothing she can do up top closer, and so, she keeps as low as she can underwater. The pressure is almost crushing. Her body can feel it, but she resists the urge to rise higher just for more safety.

She's moving inwards, and she doesn't have any illusions about how long she can stay down here. Her swimming is slightly faster now. Plenty of oxygen, but all she can do is move forward and look for a way closer to the Exterior. Anything will do.

Her tail and spine tingles with the excitement and terror of a mission like this. A single discovery could cost her everything.

Even down here, she's snapping pictures, just in case of a route for a few submarines to infiltrait if properly distracted.

Midway has posed:
EXTERIOR

Black Arachnia
    From her vantage point, Black Arachnia can see two large turret bunkers under construction. Further up the hill, harder to see from sea level, are different emplacements. These appear to already be completed, and numerous gun barrels protrude from their open tops. These would be anti-air bunkers, their guns aimed skyward in preparation for enemy aircraft.
    Further down the beach, it looks like the small fish-like destroyers are clearing another patch of the forest-lined beach. Could a third battery be going in there?

Midway has posed:
NAVY BASE

Maaka
    Due to the forested cover, the Abyssal Hellcats don't notice Maaka's presence. They sail over harmlessly on their flight plan, descending as if landing somewhere further away.
    There doesn't seem to be much else to see from this vantage.

Wo has posed:
There is just scarcely enough time for Wo to get the fairy back inside -- she'd have shoved if she had to -- when she notices a significantly more humanoid presence has taken an interest in her approach. She also quickly cuts the carrier wave (hah) on the frequency that she'd been using to communicate with the others at the same time, though hopefully enough others will be watching to realize the reason, soon enough. There's a brief chill that runs down her spine with this unfamiliar face, somehow, but through a combination of her experience, and conjuring back her old mannerisms, she turns cold eyes toward the purple-eyed stranger. "Un-derstood," she says, in the stilted fashion that she used to use. She 'helpfully' adds, by way of explanation, remembering some of the things she'd heard that one battleship talk about, "...there will, be -- modern-ization?"

    This is an unexpected boon, and an immense risk, all at once. They likely won't get this kind of opportunity again, though, and she still has the others in and around the island to blow things open if things go really bad. The voice of Hornet inside her also compells her to take the gamble. With a deep, and unexpressed, mental breath, she gives an acknowledging lowering of her head, in either case. Then, should there be no further interruption, she makes her way the rest of the distance to the harbor itself, coming ashore. Having been directed to see the Princess, were she an RPG character, would normally be an open invitation to speak to every one in and around the naval installation to gather clues. As she is now, though, she can not afford to be seen as being too distracted. Having a sense of curiosity, especially not as an Abyssal destroyer, would be highly irregular.

    Nonetheless, in her purposeful bootsteps, still leaving prints wet with sea water, her eyes do cast about for points of interest, as she heads toward whatever she perceives to be the command structure. Hopefully these Abyssals have similar tastes in such things.

Iria (215) has posed:
Making sure that she's still out of sight, Iria attempts to get closer and closer to the cruisers. She overhears what they have to say and she scowls even more than she did before. "Princess? Water Demon?" She sneers a little. "Just who the hell are they and what do they want?" Her voice is a soft whisper, as Iria knows talking to herself out loud can give her away.

Iria attempts to move to a better vantage point, in an attempt to get a better look at the girl in black without giving herself away. There's something about her that doesn't seem right, and Iria wants to get a better look at her.

Shigure has posed:
    Yuudachi pushes into the lee of a pier, waiting for the hellcats to pass overhead, before poking back out. A short burst of radio reports in. <<They're breaking the cargo ships at anchor, poi, and tearing up the buildings.>> She ducks back into cover, should the glowing eyes of an Abyssal pan over near to her... though she wants to break out and start a fight, the proverbial blood rising. No. No no, calm down... can't go spoiling for a brawl, there's others here and they need to be sneaky.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
It's good to know they are not using the local network but maybe there's something he can get into, security systems and the like but she doubts it hopefully there's data she could recover or maybe she could plant something to spy on them but given they are leveling the local buildsing it's unlikely it will last for long. There's however a heck of a lot ofd radio bands it's old but the complexity is something on the level of something she's seen before. The analog computer systems on Danse's home world. The things she's learned about suposedly outdate tech could be pushed a lot farther than she could guess. She would try to record what she could of the radio converstions maybe they could go through it later?

Midway has posed:
CHANNEL

Yari
    It's slow going in the channel from the harbor's exterior to the interior, when one is submerged. Though the pressure shouldn't be that much-- the harbor entrance is only thirty meters or so deep, after all. Most people can dive that even without an aqualung.
    She does get some nice pictures of Wo's feet and the undersides of the destroyers around her, though. And another trio of Abyssal destroyers on their way out from the harbor itself.

Midway has posed:
CHANNEL

Wo
    "'She' isn't here," the Water Demon expresses. In those reverbrating tones, she almost sounds like she's consoling. It's almost a 'She can't hurt you now' sort of line, the way it's said. "Your current state is enough after what's already been done." Raising a hand, she gestures, "Our Princess is anchored inside. The destroyers will guide you."
    Lowering, she rests her hands on her knees, slowing enough to be in line with the trio of Late-Models escoring the Wo class, "And you troublemakers better be good. Or there will be /no/ snacks from Big Sister."
    The cacophony of objecting squeaks indicates she's gotten the response she wanted. Straightening her posture, the humanoid Abyssal leans as she turns away, returning to her post.

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    Maaka decides to get a little ballsier now. She keeps approaching, while keeping nice and low. With her cloak active she'll be hard to spot either way, but she remains where she stops before trying to get a look at the conversation between Wo and the Water Demon.

Midway has posed:
NAVY BASE

Iria
    The Water Demon's eyes snap open with a "Hmm?" Her fingers flex as she lowers her gauntlet, making a metallic creaking sound as she turns towards Iria's hiding place. Was someone talking over there? She shoots a look over her shoulder, pointing at the twin Ri class, "Keep working, you two. I'll be back in a second."
    Turning back, the young girl stalks across the street, right for that stack of crates. Either she's hearing things, or someone was muttering something over there.

Midway has posed:
NAVY BASE

Kotone
    Nobody interupts Kotone's less physical form of espionage. It's hard to tell when radio transmissions are overheard by others-- that's why the encryption is used, after all. Though the radio itself is very straightforward, anyone in the past hundred years is at least a little familiar with it, the encryption is something else. This might be a project that'll take a while to figure out. Recording samples is definitely a good idea.

Black Arachnia (304) has posed:
The urge to do some kind of sabotage to the completed turrets, or maybe try to make a weakness in the walls to be built, is VERY strong. But still - this is espionage time, not sabotage time, and the Maximal spider keeps pointedly reminding herself of that. Ugh. Since when is *she* one of the heroic types?

Maybe it's just that these incomplete fortifications look like incredibly easy prey. That must be it.

For now, Black Arachnia focuses on gathering all the data she can ... and when she's completed that task, she heads towards the actual base that the Abyssals seem to be using. She's putting a primary emphasis on stealth and sneaking - avoiding moving when anything seems like it might be looking in her direction, staying out of sight, staying out of any kind of active illumination, using whatever cover she can find so those air patrols don't stumble upon her. If she HAS to use her electro-disruptor to go completely invisible, she will, but other forms of invisibility are just as useful, and don't come with a potential time limit on their use. The 'disruptor only works for about five minutes if she uses it straight through - a time limit which she's keenly aware of - and there's no telling when she'll HAVE to fall back on it.

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
There's a limit to what she can do here. But Yari is nothing if not inventive. She snaps pictures of Wo's feet and the other out on patrol. And then she slowly floats in further. More pictures, depth and up top alike. Eventually she comes to a slow, and a stop. Waiting for her chance when patrols are out of sight, and slowly moving her way forward.

She may as well be inch worming herself in closer through the channel, but the ninja is stubborn. The way out is almost as frightening, if not moreso. But that's a problem for later. Right now?

Forward ho!

Midway has posed:
HARBOR INTERIOR

Wo
    (part 2 because i forgot it)
    The destroyers, as ordered, shift their formation to a diamond with Wo in the rear point this time, to better lead her where they need to go. They round the headland into the harbor's ominous, gray waters, and three things become immediately clear.
    Whatever American Navy ships that had been anchored in Pearl Harbor have been destroyed, and their skeletons since stripped of metal. Only the ribs of the hulls from various modern destroyers and cruisers remain, being sawed down by various Abyssal cruisers. One still burns at anchor, the sections where its engines and magazines would be, great blazing holes in the side and deck. The Black Fleet hasn't started on that one yet.
    Thing two: A pristine white building, at one time assembled over the wreckage of a battleship lost a long time ago, still stands. And it's still pristine. In fact, a ring of water the approximate diameter of the memorial and the still-sunken hull of the Arizona is still that familiar, inviting blue so easily associated with the seas around Hawaii. Sunlight filters down at an angle, from a hole in the black shroud overhead. For some reason, this place is untouched.
    Thing three: There is an intact ship at anchor, here. And Wo, of all people, will recognize what it is immediately. The enormous, flat-topped shape of an aircraft carrier. Cracked, covered in barnacles and rust, stained black with age. Blue mist seeps from the cracks. On the flight deck, right at the bow, a woman in a flowing white dress crosses from one side to the other at a slow pace.
    A quartet of Abyssal Hellcats swoop by overhead, descending until they land on that deck, and the woman follows them with her gaze. After a moment, she steps after them, disappearing from view.
    And rather than shore, it's this abyssalized full-size aircraft carrier that the destroyers are taking Wo to.

Midway has posed:
EXTERIOR

Black Arachnia
    A quartet of Abyssal Hellcats soars overhead, but the jungle provides ample cover for Black Arachnia's careful movements, and the planes have no hope of spotting her. With her information in hand from the artillery emplacements, she has little trouble passing through to the navy base on the opposite side of the ridge.
    Here, Black Arachnia gets a different perspective on the same things Kotone, Iria, and Maaka have been observing. Unused buildings like barracks and mess halls being demolished, and anything useful being ferried to the distant factory. She also has a fine view of that same little black-clad girl approaching Iria's hiding spot with slow, cautious steps.

Midway has posed:
NAVY BASE

Maak
    The channel into the Harbor is hard to see from here, but at least Maaka can see that the Water Demon and Wo's conversation ended peacefully, with the heavy cruiser turning away after a few moments. What's more concerning is what the other one is up to near Iria. That little gauntleted girl is carefully approaching something that someone might be hiding behind. Is the jig up?

Midway has posed:
CHANNEL -> INNER HARBOR
    Yari creeps her way into the harbor itself. From underwater she can see the skeletized remains of various modern warships, though it looks like the salvage operation slowed down a lot below the waterline. There are no active Abyssals under the surface here. Could the Black Fleet be lacking in submarines?
    But she can also see, from here, the sweeping black hull of something intact, and in the distance, some actually inviting sun-lit blue water barely visible through the overcast gloom.

Wo has posed:
This isn't the dynamic that Wo was expecting, from the previous encounters. However, even in her old fleet, headed by Samar, there were varying degrees of levity and business atmosphere, depending on who was currently in charge. She allows herself to relax her body, if only a little, at what was probably intended to be a reassurance. The Abyssal destroyer escorts also continue their mission, stubby little legs probably coming in handy for when moving around on base. Though she hadn't intended to wander too much, it's particularly important not to now that she's got watchful kids around. It's somewhat for their sakes, also.

    "So...she's kind to you," she breaks her quiet protocol, once 'big sister' returns to her supervision of the work, to the smaller Abyssals? This is proving enlightening in ways she hadn't fully expected, but she has to keep in mind that this is still the enemy, and those ominous sounding 'She's from the purple-eyed woman further cements the notion. It's likely that the group on this island is doing well despite, rather than because, whatever malevolence behavior comes from that 'other'. "...you're good kids." And growing up so quickly, judging by the late model form that they've adopted! 'And I'm sorry,' is the unvoiced follow-up that's on her mind.

    More importantly, there are seveal things to take in. While the sight of recently burned out, and still burning, wreckage, is always a cringe point for any ship-person, it's a bit harder to empathize with modern hardware that hasn't had time to develop a 'self'. She'd engaged in this kind of salvage operation, herself, both in this world and in several others. The relatively unscathed and untarnished building is a bit stranger to see, especially with the mire and dire pooled around it. It had been several decades since she'd visited, but she doesn't remember it from back when...and her memory is hazy, even then. The fairy pokes out to take a photograph of it, at a time when the destroyers are gauged to not be paying much mind. She didn't even have to be directed to, this just seems newsworthy!

    And then it's on to that...is that? Wo gets her stoicism broken for a moment. It's not so much a distinct profile that causes it, that may yet come to mind. Instead, it's the very nature of the condition. Somebody else has an Abyssal ocean fit-out? And presumably, it's even the same one that is walking on the deck of it at the moment. This is turning out to be a night just full of surprises, it seems like. She quickly snaps back to her focus, one she realizes her speed is suffering from the lack of it, and risks the Destroyers going too far ahead. 'I used to get confused by surface dwellers' complaints of butterflies in their stomach,' she inner monologues. 'But I understand now.'

    Nothing more to do than approach, and board, the Princess' castle.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa picks up the dat the encryption is good but she feels like it's something she's seen before? It's a bit odd but then again it likely came from something the Abyssals knew or took from humans then made it their own.There's a respect for that as she contiunes to collect the data. She keeps an eye on the nearby Abyssals to not hopefully get caught off guard by them. There were too many if it was a fight she would be overwhelemed eventually she will start to move a bit more and star tto snoop as best she can for more inforamtion and wonders do they have any human prisoners?

Midway has posed:
HARBOR INTERIOR

Wo
    When they're among themselves, the Abyssal Fleet's behavior can be radically different from when they're out on sortie. Wo, of all people, should realize that. There's a certain comradarie amongst their numbers, and open fondness. And shared fear.
    The departing Heavy Cruiser Water Demon alluded to what that might be.
    The trio of destroyers squeak, jumping amongst themselves and shuffling their formation again. Though whatever language they speak in is encrypted beyond what the Southern Abyssal Navy might have used. At least what they're trying to say is clear, as destroyers are pretty easy to read.
    As the hulking carrier is approached, a new wing of Abyssal Hellcats takes off, one after the other. They circle until all four are airborne, then depart in formation on their patrol.
    At the waterline, there's a rusted out door that the destroyer trio lead Wo to. And the bulky pale-skinned woman who stands in front of it at-a-glance resembles a Ru class. Her style of dress is black, but heavily resembles a military uniform in some disrepair. Her eyes are concealed behind a slitted visor, like a knight, and she holds two heavy shields, laden with gun turrets. Unlike the Ru class, however, this woman's guns are proper turrets, facing either up or down the length of her arm. Six in total.
    "Heavy Cruiser told me you were coming." Those eyes narrow, "Not much to look at, these old model flat-tops..."
    "You are in no position to talk about old models," a soft voice mutters behind her.
    With a surprised noise, this new Demon sidesteps, and the doorway behind her is filled with billowing dress and hair and half-lidded blue eyes. She fills the doorway completely, almost looking as if she were emerging from the hull itself. It's not derision, but closer to boredom, that she regards Wo's presence, "...Did you want orders or something?"

Midway has posed:
NAVY BASE

Kotone
    There's no sign of prisoners. The initial news report had suggested the Black Fleet let civilians leave unharassed, and likely killed any soldiers who stayed and tried to fight. Soldiers who left, likewise, must have also been allowed to leave. A very unusual moral code seems to be followed by this Fleet, though the Re-Class Battleship mentioned something about it being her idea during the previous operation. She seemed rather capricious.
    There's a few data points that Kotone might hack to provide surveillance via security cameras, but it's hard to gauge which networks will be left and which ones will be destroyed as the buildings are culled.
    Nearby, a fresh squadron of Wa class transports waddle out of the fuel dump, assisted by a trio of He class cruisers. Next to the bulbous Wa class, the mangled-looking He class don't even look human, more like twisted and disfigured fascimiles of humans unlike the more recognizable Chi or Ri classes. But they get the job done, apparently, when it comes to escorting transports.
    Nobody's yet noticed the camouflaged hacker. At least for now she's safe, unless someone has reason to turn on radar.

Iria (215) has posed:
As soon as the Water Demon's eyes snap open and then she turns towards Iria's hiding spot, Iria's eyes widen as well. "Oh damn," She mutters silently, as in mouthing the words but not saying them. She looks around for any way of getting out of here as quickly as possible. She knows if she doesn't get out of here soon, she's going to be in big trouble. She doesn't feel like taking on a Water Demon right now, especially since she's supposed to be in stealth mode.

Looking upwards, she spots a nearby building with a fairly high rooftop. She fires her grappling hook at the roof, hoping she can zip up quickly enough to avoid being seen while she pulls herself onto the roof.

Midway has posed:
HONALULU

Yuudachi
    As Yuudachi observes from her cover in the pier's pilings, a section of container ship tears free and tips forward into the sea. Abyssals scatter away from it and the wave it creates, then close in once things have settled to start hacking it apart. Much like at the Naval Base, chunks of hull are passed to a group of destroyers on the docks nearby, who carry these pieces off towards the plumes of smoke coming from the Harbor itself. Some pieces are large enough that multiple destroyers have to work together to carry them. Work is going pretty slowly, though, with several cargo ships yet to be touched. Only a handful have been attacked so far.

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Eventually, Yari conserves her pictures. She has a good amount of the lay of the underwater, and maps can supplement that. No, what interests her is both that lack of subs, and the non-wreckage before her.

She snaps up pictures of the hull of the Fit-Out Abyssal (!?) near that sunlit water, but she doesn't stay for long. No, her focus is on that undisturbed patch of water, and hopefully, a way up towards it. Swimming as swiftly as she can chance, trusting to Wo's instincts, she makes her way for it with an affirmative to the carrier she has come to respect.

And then she's trying to surface, very, very slowly with one hand on a kunai just in case.

Black Arachnia (304) has posed:
One of her allies may have been detected, but Black Arachnia seems to have escaped notice so far. Except maybe for the launch she left ...

Still, the evidence of hostiles *is* going to begin adding up at this rate. Time to start planning to vacate the premises. Before that, though, the Maximal infiltration specialist tries to get as good a look at that 'little girl' of an Abyssal as she can. Face, build, any weaponry or POSSIBLE weaponry in evidence on her person, anything that might let the Hikari folks identify her later. If Black Arachnia can get enough of a look to reconstruct a three-dimensional model of the girl, that'd be ideal, but she's not going to let any detail escape her that she can physically see with her spider form's assorted eyes.

Once she's sure she has enough data on that front, she quietly but quickly skitters away.

Wo has posed:
Make that three. However, the level of atmospheric pressure around this newest revelation is lesser, so she could be lower on the heirarchy -- like the old Isolated Island. It's a delicate balancing act for Wo, here. She has to try and appear to be your average rust garden variety Abyssal to not arouse suspicions, but also be just inquisitive enough to try and get something helpful out of the exchange.

    At least with this initial gun-shielded one, she doesn't get the shock of a friendly reception to double down on her already unsettled feeling about the ocean fitout before her. She takes the insult passively, as an Abyssal might be expected to, especially one that had already suffered far worse under 'Her'. At least, that was her intention. In the heat of the moment, Hornet's inner wounded pride fights to say something like, 'bro, do you even superfire', with that kind of gun design. It comes out as, "...my flight deck, is per-fectly operational." Laaaame, have more bite, Wo!

    The arrival of the Princess is a bit more conventional. She's used to this kind of attitude from some of her superiors in Samar's forces. Except for that unnerving ocean fit-out, she'd almost be the most conventional among all of them. "Yes...a-waiting orders," she confirms, in that almost robotic monotone that used to be her hallmark. Though, she does allow herself to cast her eyes upward at the circling Abyssal Hellcat fighters. Maybe she's trying to put forth a sense of longing or desire to use the same. See that? Acting. She also lets out a faint trace of curiosity, "...you have, your ship-form?"

    As much as she'd love to take photographs up close and personal, the fairy knows better than to make her presence known right now. Instead, she does her best to write down what muffled voices she can overhear coming from outside the hat.

Midway has posed:
NAVY BASE

Iria
    Destroyer Water Demon approaches Iria's crate stack, curling her fingers around the corner and then leaning in to peer behind them. She misses seeing Iria's rapid departure, but her eyes snap up after the sound of the grappel hook doing its thing. Iria's departure took her off in a route that kept the crates between her and the little Demon, and so she's not actually spotted even from this.
    The little girl bares her teeth, her grip tightening and breaking the edge of the crate she's holding. The tense expression becomes a shout when she brings her other hand around, smashing that same crate and scattering rifle ammunition across the street and sidewalk, "Fuck!" Whirling back to her subordinates, the little girl storms back towards them, "All ships, radar on. Active scanning, damnit."
    She didn't /see/ anyone, but now she's paranoid.

Midway has posed:
HARBOR INTERIOR

Yari
    Passing from the dingy gray harbor into the clear, inviting blue water around the Memorial is like night and day. The water is clearer. There are fish here, darting about in millions of colors. The rusting hulk of a sunken battleship is visible from bow to stern, with great gaping holes where the turrets used to be, its superstructure long stripped away. As Yari surfaces, she gets a great view of the majestic, pure-white Memorial stretching out over the wreckage from the shore. Perfectly pristine.
    That is until someone's shadow looms over her.
    There's no attack, though, and looking her way reveals the sun obscuring most of new arrival's features. Only the outline of a military uniform and a garrison cap (Those little envelope-like officer hats) on top of hair in a wild shape. Though this figure is standing on the water, she has no clear Kanmusu rigging, Abyssal or otherwise.
    "You aren't one of them." She states plainly, in a light Brooklyn accent. The woman leans down, "I don't care. Get the /fuck/ out."

Midway has posed:
NAVY BASE

    Black Arachnia
    Analysis of the 'little girl' as she enters paranoia mode is at least moderately useful. It reveals explosives in the tips of her fingers, and further down near the knuckle, propulsion systems, highly similar to the Hikari Fleet's torpedoes. There's hints of an artillery cannon in the gauntlet as well. And when she's storming away from Iria's abandoned hiding place, there's a spike of radio waves indicating a radar set. The combination of weapons and equipment suggests a cruiser or, perhaps, a destroyer of some kind.

    And given her radar just went live-- followed by radar sets of various other ships in the area, fleeing is probably a good idea.

Shigure has posed:
    Yuudachi's hairflaps stand straight up on end, an arc of static passing between them from base to tip. "Radar spike!" She shifts, and kicks away from the pier... Radar should already have her spiked, so she doesn't both trying to sneak out. She goes full Ocean Fit, and swings her aft turrets around, pumping a full four shells into the ship breakers, while angling the forward turrets to rain shells around one of those big shore batteries. "Vector 090, Speed ahead flank. Make some noise, make some chaos. Rendezvous at <Coordinates burst> at best possible speed."

    Turrets reload, and the Nightmare of Solomon starts doing what she does best.

    Make a lot of noise.

Midway has posed:
HARBOR INTERIOR

Wo
    "We'll put it to good use," the unknown Demon states coarsely. "The Nu class took a beating on the last operation."
    "Dreadnought," the Princess states, her eyes drifting sidelong, "The Destroyer found something. Investigate."
    "Yeah, yeah," the knight-themed battleship turns away, coasting across the harbor. Raising her voice, she barks orders, and various destroyers abandon their tasks to fall in around her as she makes steam for the shoreline closest to the neighboring naval base.
    "I do not know you," the Princess states, her eyes returning to Wo, "You are not... the right modernization level. Flagship type." Her head inclines, "...I do not care. She will rectify it soon enough. But it is unlike her to make a mistake like this."
    Those eyes close, "Your curiosity... will be repaired as well. She has little tolerance..for such things. But I will indulge. For now." The woman's arms emerge from the hatch and spread out across the hull to either side. Her eyes remain closed, "This is..my body. Her gift. Her modernization." Eyes opening, she adds, "Perhaps. If you are strong enough. You will ascend as I have."

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Really, the Memorial takes Yari's breath away. The purity, the sunshine, the obvious love that was given to this rotting wreckage is clear. A shadow looms.

And her hand leaves her kunai.

Her tail rises, and offers a single radio to the military-suited woman. Yari smiles, if only a fraction or so. Snap! She waist-snaps a picture.

"We're in agreement, then, Miss. Here. Secure line and my own number if you need it. Do what you want. Good luck, if you want allies or not, Ma'am."

A slow nod to the woman, and she snaps a quick salute. Then back into the water she dives. Given the chatter over the radio, she tries to make her escape as swiftly as possible. Thankfully Yuudachi is full of poi today!

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    Maaka hears the Nightmare of Solomon open fire, wincing before she switches off her Binos and begins to head for the cliffside. Right now's a good time to get out while the getting's good. She reaches the cliff before she takes her chances, diving off the edge without hesitation before hitting something on her belt.

    A flash of light, and she's back aboard her ship. Poof.

Midway has posed:
HARBOR INTERIOR

Yari
    The unknown woman seems caught off guard when a device is thrust towards her, instead of backtalk or a fight. She has little choice but to accept it with both hands, then holds it out between two fingers, "...The hell?"
    And then the lizard obliges. The mystery woman turns, following Yari's underwater retreat through the beautiful, clear waters around the wreckage. With her free hand, she reaches up and rubs the back of her head, "Jeez..." White motes begin drifting off her body as she lifts the phone-like radio to look it over, "They have any idea what shit they're getting into?"
    And just like that, she's faded away. Gone, like a ghost from the past.

Iria (215) has posed:
From up on the rooftop, Iria breathes a sigh of relief, but then scowls when she sees that Water Demon is on edge big time now. And given the weapons she's got (along with ones that Iria can't possibly see) this is a bad thing. It looks like the cover for her and the others has been blown, and it's high time to get out before the crap really hits the fan. Unfortunately, summoning her depadon might not be the wisest of ideas. So she decides to use her old fashioned method of escaping.

Leaping from one rooftop to another, moving as swiftly as she can and using her grappling hook as necessary, Iria attempts to get as far away from the area as she can without drawing any attention to her. "It's obvious we've found something really big here," She thinks to herself. "Now the question is, how do we deal with it?"

Black Arachnia (304) has posed:
How do you get off an island in a hurry when it's basically all enemy territory and your rendezvous point is on the water, and you aren't sure if you can make it back to the boat you came in on without getting spotted and squashed?

If all of Black Arachnia's eight legs were not heavily engaged in getting her back to her launch, she'd be kicking herself for not solving THAT equation before she ever got here. With the Abyssals pinging away on their radar, the Maximal is finally making use of her electro-disruptor - which should also help prevent her from actually being, well, *seen directly* if any enemies happen to look in the right place - and trusting that to keep her unnoticed as she pours on the speed, tearing through the jungle back to where she left the launch. Hopefully it's still there and relatively unmolested. And unguarded by those Hellcat thingies.

If the Abyssals ARE keeping an eye on the launch, they'll be in for a surprise when the launch flips itself over (maybe landing on one of them if she or it was too close?) and pushes itself further towards the water. Then the eight-foot-long cybernetic-looking spider, if not successfully impeded, just climbs into the launch and starts its engine, staying in spider form as she heads out to where Yuudachi said to rendezvous.

Now, if they DID try to impede Black Arachnia, she was ... let's just say 'brutally pragmatic' about trying to get past them.

Midway has posed:
HONALULU

Yuudachi
    SUDDENLY A DESTROYER
    The abyssals assigned to Breaker duty are caught completely off guard by the sudden appearance of a red-eyed destroyer right amidst their number. Shell explosions scatter destroyers and cruisers not actually ready for combat, dropping them into the water or throwing them ashore.
    The bow turret's shells strike against the reinforced concrete of the shore batteries near Pearl Harbor's entrance. That attracts the attention of everyone there, if the ship's sudden appearance on all their active radar wasn't enough. The cruisers and Ru class involved in construction have already dropped to sea level, breaking away from their building duty into a pursuit vector. Leading them is that woman in the black uniform and peaked cap. Her four tails are unfurled out to either side, her teeth bared and murder in her violet-tinged eyes.
    Overhead, a squadron of Abyssal Hellcats swoop, then double back to pursue the destroyer, though there's not much they can do to damage her.

    In the distance, however, a cloud of white orbs is starting to rise from the interior of the fortified Harbor.

Midway has posed:
SHORE

Black Arachnia
    Yuudachi's antics on the opposite side of the island have drawn all of the patrols away from where Black Arachnia had parked her launch. The Maximal has little trouble flipping it and charging off across the water. She'll show up as a tiny blip on radar, when everyone on the base is more concerned with the much larger blip on the other side that's shooting at everything.

Wo has posed:
Even Nu-class are using these things now? ...well, she shouldn't make that assumption, but judging from how she's only seeing these new type fighters on patrol, it's a safe one to make. The Princess is also the first one to notice that Wo is wo-efully underspec for their organization, or at least to make a real point of it. It seems that this one has a greater amount of 'faith' in 'Her' to correct all these defects, though. And the reason soon becomes obvious. Before that, though, Wo's glowing, amber eyes follow the departing Demon as she presumably heads out to check out this disturbance. A disturbance that Wo knows is quite real, and was probably a matter of time with the level of activity here, though she'd not let that on in present company.

    With this, she turns her full focus back on the Princess. It seems that her instinct was correct on at least some plane; the Princess is quite forthcoming with the details of her condition, at least enough to satisfy some of the Wo-class carrier's more pressing questions. She mentally maps it to some statements made by that 'FUSO' almost a year ago now, about how she was seeking perfection...and it seems that the gulf between these new Abyssals and her own 'generation' have only increased since that time, and diversified. She has so many other things she'd like to ask, of course, but as this Abyssal counterpart had already pointed out how unusual curiosity should be for her, she won't push her luck that much. "...I under-stand," she acknowledges, taking on that old tone that makes you kinda wonder if she truly does. "I'll work hard...to a-chieve the same."

    Knowing that she's going to run out of time soon, before things become really uncomfortable in how they unfold, she moves to that purposeful boredness from before, having accepted the explanation. "...your or-ders, then?" She was really hoping to have time to infiltrate a bit more deeply, but provided she can escape clean, she's already got a trove of things to report.

Midway has posed:
NAVY BASE

Iria
    Staying to the rooftops is probably a better idea than going through the streets. Sudden explosions from the direction of the city across the island has all the Abyssal ships on the base in a flurry of activity. They've abandoned their salvage operation and, almost moving as one, charge for the neighboring harbor. A good number hang out near the flustered Destroyer Water Demon, who continues to search with her radar set, but the buildings are obstructing her.

    An ominous cloud of white orbs is also rising from the direction of the harbor.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
The behaviour of these abyssals is certainly different they seem far less unfocused than some of those she's seen before it's something to think on she thinks about hacking the camer athen recalls her orders from Eryl this is a tricky situation for hwr as she htinsk on that she iobserves the fresh squadron deplpoying and makes note of the various classes of ships. How deformed some of the Abyssals seem to be. She puts in a request and will wait on the cameras for the moment as she contiunes her observations.

Yari Takane (691) has posed:
Their cover blown, and her radio delivered, Yari swims off utterly unnoticing of the ghost ship dissappearing behind her. Perhaps in time, but now? She's keeping her exit strategy in mind. She's doing everything she can to slip low and fast out of the harbor, and away from Yuudachi.

She radios in a Concord transport, just in case, and a subtle one. Hopefully a small boat. She'll try to slip away into the night if at all possible, with all of her, and that last most important of ghostly pictures.

Midway has posed:
HARBOR INTERIOR

Wo
    The Princess regards Wo quietly for a moment, as if watching the carrier work through her words. Perhaps she expected a delay in understanding, it's unlikely she's aware of the actual inner workings of this particular carrier's far more aware mind.
    However, when asked for orders again, the Princess' eyes narrow suddenly, and dangerously. There's an alarming moment where the reasoning isn't clear, until she speaks.
    "Your orders... are to seek and destroy the fleet daughter who has attacked us just now." She turns, disappearing into the impossible shadows of her ship-body, though her voice is just as clear despite her soft tone, "...Do not return until she is sunk. or you are."
    Overhead, clusters of Abyssal aircraft begin launching from the flight deck. These are not Hellcats, but bombers. The toothy Avengers and ravenous Helldivers begin ascending in spirals once they clear the deck, forming an ominous cloud of rage above the harbor.

Shigure has posed:
    Yuudachi peels away from the islands, pushing her engines to the redlines. She begins to jink, sweeping her course to dodge through any incoming fire... and then something explodes in the water nearby. She rocks hard to starboard, sparks flying out of her radio gear, cutting her line. "Tch... spoke too soon, poi." she targets her aft turrets to return fire, opening up as fast as she can to try and break the incoming formation. "Fire point procedure, tubes one through four, spread pattern eight degrees, ready weapon. Shoot torpedo spread." One of the central torpedo turrets angles outward, and a spread of four torpedoes angle out on a slow arc before straightening out, running in a wide spread pattern into the pursuing Abyssal ships.

Midway has posed:
NAVY BASE

Kotone
    Stickng around at this point is probably a bad idea. Abyssals aren't familiar with optical camouflage or cloaking systems but such systems don't work so well against a system that functions by bouncing radio waves off of physical objects. They can't see her, but they're starting to percieve her presence. One of the less mangled-looking He class cruisers snaps its head unnaturally in her direction, then turns the rest of its body (unnervingly, one section at a time) towards her. Unsteadily, it approaches, not sure what it expects to encounter.

Midway has posed:
HONALULU

Yuudachi
    The surprise attack has caught most of the base's faster ships off guard, and so everything that's pursuing Yuudachi are actually ships that are not as fast as she is. Including the Heavy Cruiser Water Demon, who opens fire at long range. Much further behind her, the Ru class has already broken off pursuit-- at a measly 21 knots, there's no way she can catch a 35 knot destroyer even on a good day.
    The Cruiser Water Demon is more persistent. As are the bombers lifting off from the harbor itself. That cloud is already starting to angle itself in pursuit of the fleeting destroyer. A cloud of angry, chattering Abyssal aircraft. Nothing but teeth and explosives and red smoke.
    Well. That's a pretty good distraction, at least.

Shigure has posed:
    Yuudachi can open range on the pursuit fleet, but those aircraft are going to run her down before too long. Guns traverse upwards, and start lobbing flak shells into the coming swarm. 25mm autocannons open as the range declines, the destroyer becoming a beehive of angry tracer fire. But she's not as good an AA platform as her big sister. "... Admiral... I'm sorry." The destroyer braces for the incoming fusillade of dive bombs and torpedoes.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone will do what she can to try and grab any of the old camera systems on her way out, if she can't get it done she'll let it go but she has gathered useful information and she does not want to press her luck as she's staring to sneak out now, it's time to go but if she has to give up on the Cameras. As getting out is way more important.

Wo has posed:
So, Yuudachi was found out, huh. Though it's not too surprising -- even if she were the stealthy sort, she was in ship form when last Wo saw her. The radar signature would be the same, but visual confirmation by the aircraft patrols would be a lot easier. As well as long range bombardment. Hopefully she made it out quickly. Despite that thought process in Wo's own mind, which thankfully remains unscrutable to this Princess, there's little trace of hesitation in her voice as she responds. "It will...be done." There's a corner of her that gets really disgusted at even acting out the droning obedience she once knew, and that many of her sisters still suffer, but there's little else she can do. Unless there's a trap awaiting her at some point, it seems that the Princess has accepted her presence.

    The swarms of Abyssal fighters are soon joined by bomber counterparts. Just how many of these things have they made? It'd have been great to get one for reverse engineering, but she'll simply have to thank her fortunes that she's (hopefully) entering and leaving without incident. Orders given, she gives a light dip of her bulbous-hatted head in the Princess' direction, before turning and leaving in the direction of the conflict. She'll wait until she's out of immediate radar range, and hopefully out of rapid aircraft intercept response, to suddenly divert and begin heading away from the operational area.

    The fairy finally leaves the hat for good, at this point, inhaling and exhaling rapidly from a combination of stress and stale air. Do they even actually need to breathe? No matter. "...you did well, but we're not quite clear yet. If they come for us, get back inside where you'll be protected. I'll get back in touch with everyone now." She'd already seen how well her aircraft fare against those new takoyaki models. It'd be better if they don't notice, or at least don't pursue.

Midway has posed:
Yuudachi
    It's kind of nightmarish, isn't it? Even the Nightmare of Solomon can meet something scarier than she is. And that something is currently this swarm of rage. Anti-air fire explodes amongst them, sending down a few of the bombers as they approach, their altitude lowering in preparation for attack. And then something curious happens.

    Confusion suddenly erupts amidst the aircraft. Rather than attack, the orb-shaped strike aircraft suddenly bank wildly to one side or the other. Many of them, stunned by something or another, drop their ordnance and turn back towards their mothership, cruising low and fast. Even the Hellcats, either patrolling or shadowing Yuudachi, react in the same way. Confusion ripples through the attack wave. As the planes scramble in response to whatever orders they're receiving, some even collide in midair.

    As the confusion sorts itself out, the attack wave-- having ditched its ordnance entirely and harmlessly into the sea-- retreats back to the harbor as fast as they can move.

ELSEWHERE
    "I gotta tell ya," a pale girl in a black hoodie comments, "You /really/ overreacted. I mean, c'mon, all that for one measly little destroyer?" As aircraft crest the ridge and dive to land on the stationary carrier's deck, the Re-Class Aviation Battleship flashes a shark-toothed grin, "Isn't this way more fair?"

    The Princess is unable to respond, her head and shoulders engulfed in the gaping, toothed maw of Re's tail. Only a furious muffled objection comes out.

    "Yeah~," Re Class responds, eyes closing, "We'll kill 'em next time. Glad you agree, this is a lot more fun."

Shigure has posed:
    Yuudachi is ready for the cold grip of the depths... and when it doesn't come, she pings her radar, and sees the retreating craft going back over the horizon. "... poi?" is all she's capable of saying in response. They had her dead to rights... she doesn't question it though, and turns back towards 'home'... her radio's out, but hopefully she can signal allied vessels to transmit a message.

Wo has posed:
As the skies and seas slowly clear to their normal colorations, there's the sound of an aircraft engine. It's thankfully conventional driven, and the Abyssal fleet doesn't have too many of those. It's an F4F Wildcat, which circles around after apparently spotting Yuudachi, shadowing her for a few moments, then a slight wing wavering to signal. After that, it pulls back off ahead, presumably satisfied that she's not in immediate danger.