5864/And the Abyss

And the Abyss
Date of Scene:	27 May 2018
Location:	Hikari Sea Port
Synopsis:	A briefing and planning grouping, preparing for the endgame.
Cast of Characters:	Shigure, Reina Kinney, 1119, Leyanne Mace, 385, Kotone Yamakawa

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Shigure has posed:
    Shigure puts a call out to anyone who's interested in helping with the Jutland Water Demon incident. The coordinates point to Hikari Seaport, and responders are directed by the local personnel to one of the main buildings. Shigure is stood here, waiting in a briefing room with a projector humming idly, pointed at a large white screen.

    As people file in, she greets them, and once everyone's seated, she clicks the projector button, bringing up a picture of Jutland Water Demon.

    "I'm glad you could all come... first, an overview of our target. This is the Jutland Water Demon. She is a Demon-class Abyssal, likely in collusion with a Princess, but this is unconfirmed speculation." click. A view of the large fogbank where the Demon was originally encountered. "What we know of her capabilities is: She is submersible, able to attack with torpedoes from subsurface, and surface to fire her main battery guns." click. A picture of a bulky looking submarine with a large cannon on the foredeck. "This leads me to believe that she is at least in part, the FS Surcouf, a French submersible cruiser." click. "How this connects with Jutland is a mystery, however research points to her only using a naturally occuring fogbank, and her submersible ability to produce the sneaking we have seen, no supernatural ability or special equipment." click, the first picture, Jutland Water Demon. "With this in mind, this briefing will commence with a planning committee for the engagement and sinking of this Abyssal threat."

    The destroyer steps out of the light, and leaves the floor to those gathered.

Reina Kinney has posed:
"As you know, today was going to be a day for naval training," Reina Kinney explains to the crew of Neo Osprey. "We had plans for standard training exercises, and I will say I appreciate all of you showing up on time as I have expected." A pause. "However, I regret to inform you that the training exercises are cancelled for today due to matters beyond my control. You are all granted liberty for the remainder of the day. Any questions?" Another pause. "At ease. Dismissed!" With that, the GUARDIANS recruits who are currently acting as the crew for Neo Osprey leave quickly. As soon as they're gone, Reina presses a few buttons on her wrist device and quickly teleports back to her shuttle.

From there, Reina re-coordinates her teleporter to bring her to the Seaport, and she arrives in a flash of light. Upon her arriving, she stops to salute Shigure before taking a seat. When the projector comes on, Reina immediately pays strict attention to the Jutland Water Demon, gritting her teeth a little at the sight of the Abyssal. That expression lasts only for a moment, however, as she returns to a neutral face again. The red-head listens carefully to every word spoken by Shigure, making notes in her datapad at the same time.

When Shigure leaves, Reina does not do or say anything for the time being. Instead, she leaves the floor to the others so that they can have their chance to voice their views on this.

Josuke Higashikata (1119) has posed:
Hopefully the base personnel are accustomed to the Multiverse enough that the appearance of a teenage boy with a pompadour won't result in said teenage boy being dismissed elsewhere. Otherwise Josuke will have to resort to more ACTIVE means of getting in. Not to worry, though... he'll fix whatever he breaks! All the better if he doesn't have to break stuff to get in, though.

Either way, he'll end up in the right room, and listens while Shigure explains the Demon-class Abyssal submarine. He gets that thoughtful pout on his face as he listens. "Hmm..." He rubs his chin. "Maybe the new abilities have to do with that natural fog bank -- being based on how she did her thing in life, right?" he suggests. Stands work in somewhat similar ways, generally being based on an aspect of their users' personality, at least as far as he knows.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne saunters into the breifing room, remembering to duck for once, finding her place to sit and listens. She frowns a little, nodding when Shigure comments about the Jutland connection being a mystery. "Yeah I've been swatting up a bit on my old Earth military history... data might be useful, right? Surcouf vanished in the Carribean. That's nowhere near Jutland. She was a weird one... a submarine with a turret and some eight-inch guns. The concept... at least in the history of Earth I know of, wasn't a great success because it couldn't fire at night and couldn't fire broadside very well."

She looks thoughtful, moving over to the refreshment station and making everyone drinks. "I've got no idea how that relates to the battle of Jutland in any way..."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna was a little late getting to the briefing. Elner, on the other hand, was not - the little robo-faerie just teleported, where Yuna had to make it there on foot. Either way, the blonde girl in the Special Division Project uniform tries not to let too much light into the darkened briefing room, blurting out a quiet, "Sorry I'm late," as she seeks the nearest empty seat.

After Elner catches Yuna up on the little bit she missed, the idol-turned-magical-girl-paladin turns her thoughts to her own recollection of the first encounter with Jutland. They are not particularly pleasant memories, as one might expect.

"If the way she disappeared off our sensors is associated with the fogbank rather than Jutland herself," Yuna suggests, "then I'm not sure the *fog* was entirely natural. I mean, water vapor suspended in the air *can* block light, so it stands to reason it could block radar as well, but the fog itself was ... well, almost too dense to be natural. I guess it's not impossible, but ... there's almost definitely something else involved, I think. So if it's not Jutland herself, then who or what is she in league with?"

Yuna pauses, looking at Leyanne. "Caribbean. Bermuda Triangle?"

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne shrugs quietly to Yuna "I don't know. The data said it's believed she struck, or was struck by, an American freighter, but... what happens in one 'verse may not happen the same way everywhere, y'know?" She looks thoughtful. "Mind, if she's modernised at all, that 8-inch could be carrying similar rounds to my Bofors gun, those things are nasty. Armour piercing, timed, or prox detonation."

Josuke Higashikata (1119) has posed:
Oh, hey, Leyanne is making drinks! If one's heading in his direction, Josuke will accept, and offers in return, "Thanks." He listens to the conversation about the Water Demon herself, and pouts again, this time a in a bit of distress. "I'm afraid my European history's not that great," he admits.

Yuna's appearance draws a broad smile, though, and he raises a hand to wave in her direction. He'll soon go back to listening, though, with that thoughtful look on his face. And then he asks a question. "Would you consider them like zombies? These Abyssal ships, I mean."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa had been doing some renovations on her personal quarters, she'd been trying to give it a bit more of a lived-in feel and honestly, it was a good idea the Fleet has been very good to here and she felt very comfortable staying at the base these days. However with her work put aside for the moment as Shigure had put out a call for people top come deal with this topic. She'/ll find a spot to sit for the moment and thinks about what Shigure has said.

"Humm could they have bonded out of mutual anger towards the world and humanity? It seems every Abyssal's reasons are as diverse as they are."

Shigure has posed:
    Shigure says to Josuke, "They're not zombies, no. Think of them more of corrupted Tsukumogami. Kanmusu are noncorrupted versions. Meaning we are two sides of the same proverbial coin."

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne listens carefully and nods to Kotone "That seems to be about the long and short of it, the only thing they have in common is they hate humanity. You take away the reason to hate... well, some of 'em you can work with. Sometimes... they become Kanmasu, I don't really understand it but as far as I can tell they're not irredeemable."

She hands tea and coffee out to whoever wants it.

Reina Kinney has posed:
A slight smirk and nod to Yuna is given when she enters. Aside from that, Reina isn't really doing much, save for accessing her datapad for information on the Bermuda Triangle (she's from Gurhal, remember?) "Let's see here, Bermuda... vacations... cruises... a-ha! Bermuda Triangle!"

Reina taps her pad a couple of times and begins to read over it. The more she reads, though, the more her expression starts to change to one of that of shock and nervousness. "What in Gurhal's name?"

The woman puts her datapad down and accepts a cup of tea, fixing it to her liking, before sipping. "OK, there's gotta be a logical explanation for what goes on there..."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa says "Well there's a legend on my worlds objects that exist for so long gain their own spirit and soul. This seems to be a matter of fact here, and they seem to recall their experianc before they awoke right? "

Josuke Higashikata (1119) has posed:
Josuke nods to Shigure's explanation, still looking thoughtful, starting to bite at his lip a little. Though Reina's words in particular draw his attention, and her reaction to the BErmuda Triangle. "It's a stretch of ocean where ships and planes tend to disappear, or complain of being disoriented. I've heard some stories from pilots saying they felt like they were in tunnels made of clouds -- and all kinds of weird stuff."

To Shigure, Josuke ventures, "Well, see... the reason I asked is because I actually talked to an ancestor of mine a while back, and he's been teaching me some of his tricks. Originally I was going to ask him so I could help someone else with some... well, basically vampire problems, but I was hoping they might work here. If they're not undead, though... maybe not. But maybe I could help in trying to purge her of whatever it is that's corrupted her."

Shigure has posed:
    "Well, the only way to purge the corruption is to remove their hate... and that is a very difficult proposition, especially when Demon and Princess-classes are involved." replies Shigure to Josuke.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne blinks and peers at Reina "Yeah weird shit across multiple 'verses. Some places it's got a mundane cause. Other places... well... shit gets weird." She nods to Shigure's words "Self-reinforcing circle a lot of times. They attack somewhere out of ancestral hate from back in the war... you kick their ass, they hate you for it so they attack somewhere you care about..."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"'Undead' is a bad way to describe Abyssals, from my experience with them," Yuna states, accepting some tea from Leyanne. Shigure's better at describing Abyssals than Yuna, and she largely defers to the native kanmusu in describing the technicalities. "On the plus side, sinking an Abyssal *can* remove the corruption, resulting in them resurfacing as a cleansed Kanmusu. That's actually why I use SDP gear - more likely to sink them 'safely' than risk annihilating them."

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne blinks at Yuna "I got Leeroy 'cause I like big guns and going fast. The PT boat was a perfect fit for my style." She sips her own tea. "Didn't even think... that would help that way. I'm actually kinda pleased to hear that..."

Reina Kinney has posed:
After sipping her tea, Reina looks to Yuna. "How exactly do you sink an Abyssal 'safely?'" She asks with a raised eyebrow. The tone of her voice isn't sarcastic in the least bit, but the arched eyebrow might give Yuna a different opinion. "I mean, I've been studying what I know about Abyssals and all, but I'd think if we damage them too much, they wouldn't survive."

Shigure has posed:
    "Kanmusu equipment is based on our real life gear... multiversal weapons tend to range much more wildly in power and damage propogation. A laser, for instance, could punch through and strike a magazine, resulting in a catastrophic explosion." says Shigure to Reina. "This can be undesireable in certain cases."

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne nods "Whereas naval weaponry tends to be aimed at making holes - quite big ones - at or near the waterline, to sink the ship rather than blow it to flinders." She sniffs "Leeroy's torpedoes, for example, are designed to either strike the ship below the waterline directly, or pass just underneath it and go off under the keel of a ship. Hitting Abyssals in the same sorts of areas seems to work pretty much just as effectively as it would against a ship. If the rest of the fleet's got good radar, we get a similar return to the bigger ships for the exocets... naval weapons seem to be just, better... and safer."

Reina Kinney has posed:
Looking to Shigure, Reina nods understandingly. "That's very good to know. It's a good thing my boat is equipped properly for such a thing." A sigh escapes her lips. "If we're going to be doing something so delicate, we can't afford to take risks."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa nods in agreement to yuna "No they are more spirits than undead from what I have seen here. Or maybe something else. Ha with me Hoshi didn't let me flake out on the carrier rig testing." She thinks for a moment longer. "Humm."

Shigure has posed:
    Shigure steps forward again. "We still need to come up with a plan of attack. I do have some possibilities, but they could easily be countered by the Abyssal." She fiddles with the projector, and clicks the button, bringing up a 'top down' view of a stretch of ocean. Two sets of blue t-shaped markers the 'line' pointing towards a large 'fluffy blob' that's likely mean to be the fog bank. One set is coming in on the same vector as the last time, the other is coming in from the opposite way.

    My initial plan is for two teams to strike simultaneously. One on the vector the Demon is most likely to anticipate, drawing her attention away from the second team, who's task is to find and dissipate the fog bank if possible, or reconoitre the area and find the abyssal staging ground, or the Princess... anything. This plan is open to suggestions of course. That is why I asked you to come."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna looks at the tactical map for a moment. "I'm tempted to suggest the recon sweep come in from two directions, but then you run the risk of them crashing into each other in the fog ... also, the 'diversion' fleet should probably be assembled with a focus on survivability rather than firepower, and the recon fleet divided between the best sensors we can bring to bear and heavy enough firepower to take out whatever they find that's generating the 'cloak' effect."

She looks up at Elner. "And whether I'm part of the recon fleet or not, I want to send Elner in with them - her sensors are much better than the usual sonar and radar that the Fleet tends to depend on."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa thinks for a moment "In addtion to the Recon might we try to seed some items that could help us when we engage the Abyssals?" Perhaps we can mine the battlde side if we're careful about it?"

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne looks at the map "If we run Leeroy on the deltic engine, and keep the gas turbines off, he's near-silent with the mufflers we've got. She'll still hear the propwash, but it'll be a lot quieter, and his wood hull doesn't show up on radar. We can probably hide pretty decently..."

Shigure has posed:
    Shigure sits down, pondering the map. "The deployment pattern is not set in stone, this is just my initial mockup... splitting the second force does present multiple problems, not least of which is being ambushed by other Abyssals that might be hiding in the fog bank... Jutland is very unlikely to be alone." she says, glancing at Leyanne and Kotone. "The fog bank makes any attempts at overflight hazardous. The fog doesn't reach high altitude, but navigational systems begin to fail as our recon planes fly over the area... so there must be something in there causing the interference." she rubs the bridge of her nose. "We've lost three spotter seaplanes before I restricted overflights.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne looks thoughtful. "I can feel... sense... electromagnetic fields. I could certainly help narrow down the source of the interference. It shon pretty loudly last time, sorta coming from everwhere but... I think I got a bit of a feel for it. It's like... looking at the sun with your eyes closed. You can sorta tell where it's brightest."

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"That assumes the interference stems from an electromagnetic source," Yuna points out. "But yeah, keeping the recon fleet in one group does sound smartest ..." She pauses. "Didn't realize the airspace above the fog was that badly scrambled. Maybe we *are* dealing with a Bermuda Triangle type of thing?"

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne nods "It /felt/ electromagnetic." She sniffs. "I mean, the whole fog was lit up across most of the spectrum..."

Shigure has posed:
    "We were lighting it up with a lot of Radar as well." remarks Shigure. "I do suggests we limit radar emissions so that doesn't happen again."

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leyanne nods with a grin, sipping her tea. "Worst case is, we confirm the interference isn't electromagnetic. If it is... and the source is a static generator, let me at it. I'll make Jutland wish she'd never poked us."

Shigure has posed:
    "I suppose this is as good a plan as we'll get. I'll forward the minutes on to the Admiral and draw up battle plans and sortie supply lists." Shigure looks to Yuna. "I want you on the distraction team with me and the Fifth Fleet." to Leyanne and the others. "You, will be the recon team. Transport will be provided if you don't have your own, but it won't stand up to an Abyssal attack." blue eyes look over everyone. "Bring others if you wish, all the help we can get to quash this threat before it decides to spread will be appreciated."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa thinks for a moment "That could do some seriously bad things to me if that's true Leyanne." She tkaes a moment and thinks "I'll see what I can do for my shell on that just put me where I'm needed Shigure."