Scene #8285: Bodies in Motion

Owner	Pose
Wisconsin	FOB Bravo is tucked away inside an Ocean bay somewhere 'close' to the Dorado, as close as one can be with artificial warp gates to and from the heart of the Concord these days. Those are brand new, by the by, put into place to help the girls and staff on-site get some shore leave when they need it. But today is not for shore leave. Today is for testing and sea trials. This means lots of activity out in the harbor, where fresh sea breaks are in place to keep the girls safe from the rigors of the sea. There are about 20 ship girls out and about tonight, as the sun starts to set. Most of them are in their full attire and rigging, either doing laps out on the water or doing fire training on the 'firing range', a section of the bay devoted JUST to being pounded by marine artillery. Wisconsin, for her part, is on a raised platform next to her XO, Yorktown. Wisky's got her drones up in the air, keeping an eye on the other ships in the harbor, while Yorktown is busy recording results.
Isaac Beaufort	Isaac himself is...well for a teenager (even a late teen) quite bulky. Not so much to be gross or anything, but he's definitely a stockier build than most. In any other context than the one, you know him as he looks like a thug or the right-hand or enforcer of a gang. He's got a square jaw, a thick neck, and broad shoulders. Oddly, his body is developed by not overly developed. Tone but not ridiculous for his age and body type. He's also pretty tall. Today he's dressed in brown slacks and a light blue business casual shirt, He's got a vest the same color as his slacks that fits over that. His hair is well-kept and short. He's also got a pair of good shoes, black but not quite what one might consider dress shoes. "Hey, sorry if I'm interrupting, I just came by to watch."
Wisconsin	Issac's presence doesn't go unnoticed, one of the younger looking girls catching sight of him first. She appears to be his age, at least, but she's clad in a set of Navy workout gear over the top of a wetsuit, marked with Eagle Union livery, and a pair of heavy turrets float around her sides, along with what appear to be torpedo tubes. "Oh! Hiya! I'm Hoel. You're lookin' for the boss?" She turns in place, and in the manner that only teenagers can perform... "HEY WISKY, THERE'S SOMEONE HERE TO WATCH!" It's like a foghorn went off. The lady on the platform siiiiiighs, before turning to spot Issac. "Oh! Heya! Come on up! We're just getting going here." She smiles and taps her foot against the scissor lift, which slips down to let her off, or him up, whichever he prefers. "Issac, right? Kid with all the sports."
Isaac Beaufort	Isaac rubs the back of his head when he's intercepted by the young woman. "Isaac, and yeah. Thank-" The loudness of the call catches him by surprise, leaving his ears a bit ringing after that. He puts a finger inside one and shakes it around to try and clear out the sound. "T-thanks Hoel.." he says and walks over and steps on. He doesn't feel right interrupting Wisconsin's watching, so he can fit on...which...well, he's a big guy. "Yes! Hello, yeah I play a lot of sports, but I'm on a rest day so I'm here. To watch how you...girls do things!" Is she a boat? A robot? He's not sure what to refer to them as...so he stays safe. "So...what's on the docket?"
Wisconsin	Wisky catches the hesitation, and smiles. "Girls is fine, don't worry. We answer to a lot of things, just don't call us late for dinner!" She does finger guns at Issac. Yorktown doesn't laugh, neither do a pair of destroyers who wander past on their way to the PT field. "...Tough crowd, alright uh..." Mom jokes failing, Wisky taps the lift, and Yorktown goes back to taking notes as the Battleship leads the big kid to the dockside. "...Well... you're in school, did you take any courses on naval warfare? Hostory of ships, anything like that?"
Isaac Beaufort	Isaac nods, but unlike the others who /don't/ laugh at her joke, he chuckles at it. "Don't worry, I'm the same way," Late for dinner that is! He looks around at the others, and then back to Wisky, "Seems so...some people just don't like jokes!" he says, with an air of not understanding those people. "Well...I did take world history. So I know about a few naval battles, like uh...The Battle of Midway!"
Wisconsin	"...Battle of Midway, of course, well, that was certainly one of the battles, yeah. And it's important to remember that sort of thing, because lives were lost and saved there. BUT." Wisky holds up a finger, before looking out to the water. The trio of destroyer that had wandered past, get up and out into the water. all three of them manifest their rigging, various turrets and tubes on top of floating hulls, and start to glide in formation over the water, keeping close enough to cover each other. "...We need to keep ourselves in tip top shape, so that means every so often, we run ourselves as hard as possible for as long as possible to check for faults and failures."
Midway	>> "Like, uh... the Battle of Midway!" A small object in the sky, a sphere with stubby little wings, rocks itself from side to side and then banks away. Small enough that it might've registered as little more than a bird, especially considering its strange shape, but those familiar with it would recognize the toothy silhouette rather easily. An Abyssal Hellcat fighter. Water within the harbor turns dark and rapidly displaces. A towering figure emerges amidst the spray of sea and salt. Ghostly white, surrounded by that ethereal ever-flowing gown and impossibly long hair. The nightmarish brace of spines around the throat. The burning hatred of glowing, scarlet eyes. Three full meters of Abyssal Princess. One arm extends. Like a bird, the single Hellcat circles around and descends, landing on Midway's outstretched arm with stubby little nub-legs. Like this, she turns to view the KAN-SEN gunnery drills without a single word.
Isaac Beaufort	Isaac listens to Wisconsin explain the point of the exercises today and quickly gets it. Nodding along at the explanation. "Right...so like stress testing and such. It works a lot differently than humans you know? You want to push a body to its limits, but not break it. Finding those kinds of things can be...well...hard to recover from. Though I guess it's easier for you.." "Huh...being in the best shape by pushing yourself to that point...I guess that and regular maintenance...sort of like an actual ship." Then Midway arrives. "Wait...who's that?! I don't think she's Concord.." and is giving Isaac a really bad feeling. He looks at Whiskey, it's her show, so he'll follow her lead with this.
Wisconsin	The Hellcat gets spotted by drones, several drones, on its way into the harbor. There's a sudden blast of alarms and Wisky's head jerks around to spot... the abyssal sliding into place outside the sea breaks. Already, several destroyers and cruisers who weren't on the sea trials are moving into position to cover the rest of the group. Wisconsin swears in Ho-Chunk, and then looks to Isaac. "...hop on." She's not even bothering to peel off the PT gear as she hops to the surface of the water, floating 2 feet over the waves like it's nothing. Her massive rigs materialize, and she pats on one half of them. "...let's go see what the old woman wants."
Isaac Beaufort	"Wait...hop on you..?" Isaac says, which sounds extremely embarrassing. Moments later, he's over the water on her back. "Not how I pictured this going.." he says blushing.
Midway	The Princess seems nonplussed by the sudden activity her appearance has caused. Given her height, she hoists herself up onto the seabreak and then-- just sits on it, legs hanging down the harbor side, wreathed in the ruffles of her dress. Lifting her arm, she releases the Hellcat back into the sky where it cycles back out to sea rather than further into harbor airspace. It's only here that she seems to notice the fleet mobilizing in response to her presence. Eyes closing, the Princess lifts a hand in a dismissive gesture, "I am not one of your Sirens. Resume your drills."
Wisconsin	Despite Midway's insistence that she's not here for a fight, the vanguard isn't backing away just yet. Wisky is out and over the water, as Midway beaches herself onto the sea break, easily carrying Isaac as she scoots across the water. "Alright, ladies, break it up, if she was here to fight we'd be fighting already." She shakes her sword at the squad of cruisers and destroyers, who all move back into the harbor itself to get back to training. Isaac is let off on dry land, so to speak. The seabreak is sturdy and solid like it should be. But Wisky just points the sword up at Midway, and huffs. "...You're here for a reason. You don't just... loiter in waters without cause. What's up, Princess?" There's an edge to the Mom Tone.
Isaac Beaufort	Isaac swings up to stand on the rigging and then leaps from it to the beach ahead of Whisky. He lands with a powerful THUMP. Standing up fully he regards the much larger Midway. As Momconsin calls off the other girls, he gives a curious look to the Princess herself. "I'm Isaac by the way, nice to meet you," he says, trying to be friendly, now that she's not actively being hostile...but she's not friendly either.
Midway	"It should be obvious," Midway's resonant voice is as evenly measured as ever, though when her eyes open, the restrained rage is obvious in the glowing red of her gaze, "It is within my best interests to be aware of the capabilities and numbers of any fleet that attempts to operate within My ocean." Isaac introduces himself. The Princess' gaze drops to him. From this angle, the expression could easily be read as 'contempt', though that is just as likely a trick of the viewing angle considering she towers over him so. When she shifts her seating to view the high schooler directly, the illusion of disgust leaves her expression. Only mild disdain remains. "I am Midway," she states in that resonant voice, "The Princess of Progress." Her posture straightens. The metal bracing along the back of her hand creaks when she flexes her fingers, "Admiral of the Abyssal Black Fleet. And quite different from your Sirens."
Wisconsin	"...so now the ENTIRE ocean is your ocean? Is that how this works?" Wisconsin huffs as the puts the sword back into its sheath at her port rig, and stands there. She's eye to eye with Midway only by dint of the Princess sitting down, and herself hovering over the water. "...And I am AWARE you are not like the Sirens. You haven't tried ot take one of us apart to see how we tick or procramined that today we are going to sail in endless circles or be dragged off into the mists to a Mirror Sea or or or or." There's sass building up in the battleship's voice, which she tamps back down with a deep... cleansing breath. "...We created this Forward Operating Base to work in a place free from Siren interference, and we end up with you instead, so you can imagine my... mild frustration."
Isaac Beaufort	Isaac does not like the way he's being looked at, nor the attitude Midway is exuding. Worse, now she's declaring the oceans hers...which wrinkles him in a way. "No, it's not. The ocean is for all to use, nobody has a claim to it," he says, defiantly. Hands-on his hips, he takes a step forward. "I will ask you to politely rethink your position on this and your attitude towards the people trying very hard here to train."
Midway	"Do not misunderstand," Midway states with her eyes closed, "The ocean is not mine 'now'. It always has been." A hand lifts, touching a finger to her own forehead with her eyes closed, "Mirror seas... Defense by regional navigation hazard. Passive systems like this rarely interest me." One eye opens, "Your wisdom cubes, however. Intriguing. Only rare mentions of them in the data I extracted from Purifier's facility." Isaac stands up to her. She closes her eyes for a moment, "I have considered your proposal." When those eyes open again, they widen into perfect circles of burning crimson, "Denied." Like some ancient giant, the Princess hauls herself to her feet once more in a slow, deliberate fashion. The waves on the seaward side of the seabreak part, a glistening white sphere rolling up to stop behind here. Here, the orb floats, its surface cracking until it splits open into a maw lined with human-like teeth.
Isaac Beaufort	Isaac has a ...edge to him now that he's never shown to Whisky the entire time he's spoken on the radio, or even now. He takes another step forward, eyes square up towards Midway. "I wasn't requesting or making a proposal. It doesn't belong to you, and if you're here to cause trouble for these girls doing their best, by claiming you do..." "Then I'm going to ask you to leave. You may be unused to others treating you as a threat that can't be stopped, but I am not just anyone. So, let's continue to be friendly, and drop any pretenses of ownership. Or this will not go very well for you."
Wisconsin	The plating shivers down Wisky's spine at the mention of Wisdom Cubes being intriguing. "You know that's like being told 'I want to see how you work on the inside, right?" She crosses her arms a bit, but gives Isaac a thumbs up for trying, at least. "And you... Purifier was here already?" Over on shore, Yorktown is taking furious notes on all of this, and relays back to Wisconsin that this is the first they've heard of this one. "...I didn't know any of our... issues escaped into the Multiverse already."
Midway	"Of course," Midway's tone shifts. The menace of those perfectly circular staring eyes fades when her expression returns to normal. Her arms shift, folding loosely as she regards the boy, "You misunderstand. I am not here to /stop/ this fleet's activities." She leans forward slightly, "That would not be nearly so interesting." Leaning forward some more, an arm unfolds and extends. Her fingers flex like talons, hovering above Isaac's head, curled inward. It's clear from this angle that the black metal bracing replaced her nails with curled claws. "I do not take orders from surface-dwellers. Humans least of all." Her fingers curl inward, surrounding the boy's body from all sides with metal claws, but not piercing him-- just yet. "You have never encountered me. Nor heard of me." Her body leans down somewhat more, "I do not care how abnormal your capabilities are. You do not command me. This is the only warning you will receive." Her posture straightens, her hand recedes, re-folds. Behind her, the abyssal parasite yawns until the bonfire within its gullet extinguishes. Her attention shifts to Wisconsin as if the subject never changed, "I chanced upon a concealed facility. Little came of it. Scraps of data. Scavenged research. It has been..." Her head inclines, "Interesting."
Isaac Beaufort	Something weird happens to Midway. When she tries to pull the claws back, she finds that the hand doesn't move away. Something QUITE smaller than she is holding them, almost in place. Below, Isaac has wrapped a hand around one of the claws, treating it like a handshake. "It was not an order either, but a friendly suggestion to keep civility. However, if you are not here to ruin their fun, then let me greet you instead." He releases, eyes still focused on her, "Though you might want to work on your tone, don't want misunderstandings...or to think you want to pull people apart and look at their insides."
Wisconsin	Wisconsin huffs at Midway, but shakes her head. "...I guess it makes sense, maybe the Sirens DID come from the Multiverse. We're still trying to figure it out. And I suppose if I wanted more I'd have to share something, wouldn't I?" But Then Isaac grabs Midway's claw and /stops it/ and Wisconsin's suddenly right back on edge, a hand lowering to her sword's hilt once more.
Midway	Midway's recall of her forearm is halted. After a moment, she lifts her arm with far more strength behind it. If Isaac doesn't let go, she's going to just lift him off the ground and shake until he lets go. As one would shake off an insect. Her tone is, at least, that same resonant near-monotone she usually speaks in, "I am a scientist." As if that explains everything about the slightly offputting things she's said or been accused of. "Small amounts of data are not a hinderance. Rather, it is tantelizing." She swings out a hand, flexing her fingers upward, "I am driven to complete it. Solve the equation. Produce results. Test them and revise. Improve. And so on." "Evolution, the Warrior called it. To me, this is Progress."
Isaac Beaufort	When it's obvious she's pulling her arm back, Isaac lets go. He takes a step back, making sure to let her know he's not hostile, but it's not like someone has done with her before. It's 'respectful' not 'fearful'. "Yeah, well...one shouldn't ignore the emotions of something and focus completely on the logical." "How your subject feels is as important as what they are. They're obviously not machines, but people. People can't be so easily analyzed." "What...is the question you are looking to answer then?"
Wisconsin	Isaac calls the KAN-SEN people, and for a moment Wisconsin is about to correct him that they aren't people, but... but she stops on that one. If he wants to think that, he can. But the rest of that gets a frown from the Battleship, and she settles in. No shooting, okay. "If this is a roundabout way of askin' me for one of the girls or a Wisdom Cube, forget it." Much like Midway is relaxing on the water now, so does Wisconsin. As a show of... well. At least willingness to talk. She sits cross legged on the water, and waits.
Midway	It's not an entirely unusual situation, to be respected but not feared. Fear is not a common reaction to Midway amongst the Elite. Respect is less so. She is most accustomed to unrestrained, idiotic bravado which might explain the somewhat bored response to Isaac standing up to her at first. "I am well aware of what I said and what I do," the Princess states in an even tone, her eyes closing, "And I have no need of your wisdom cubes, Battleship." Isaac asks what her question is. Behind Midway, the parasite's mouth yawns wide open and she...reclines into it like an armchair, framed on all sides by mismatched teeth, "The battleship, there. The cruisers who sortied when I surfaced. The destroyers practicing their gunnery. What do they have in common, boy?" She doesn't wait for an answer: "History. Each KAN-SEN is a product of their history. The whims of the designer at the drafting board; the incidents and personalities involved in her construction; the men who crewed her and wrote the story of her career; the manner and casualties of her death, in many cases. This is a commonality shared by KAN-SEN, Kantai Musume, and Shinkaisei-kan." Were she not sporting the spikes about her throat, she would lean her cheek on one hand. Instead, the hand rests amidst the spines while she gestures, "It expresses in different ways, from world to world, but history remains absolute. Shipgirls are manifestations of their own past, carried into the present and future." Her gaze slides sidelong towards Wisconsin, "I assume I am close to correct regarding your KAN-SEN."
Isaac Beaufort	Isaac listens, and yes he's still a boy, being bored with him is a rather normal response for Lady Bigs. Midway is normal. He ponders the question, and then the answer. History. "So...what does that mean for your goal then? The answer to your question?"
Wisconsin	Wisconsin takes a deep breath, and looks to Midway... and to Isaac, and then back to Midway. "...something like that. But I don't... you..." The woman takes a breath again, and furrows her brow. The tactical thoughts of the girl start to overdrive, as she considers the... implications of all that. A cheek twitches, and then she finally speaks up. "...Is that the whole of the supposition, that we're products of... the history of the sea? Of those who fought and died? I figured that was... obvious. But..." The arm crossing intensfies. "...Are you goin' somewhere with this?"
Midway	Midway raises her other hand, gesturing upwards with extended fingers, "I simply wish to see what happens when a ship is created with no history at all. What sort of Shinkaisei-kan, or Kantai Musume, or KAN-SEN, would be produced by such an event." Her eyes narrow, "I glimpsed that the Sirens were investigating something similar. 'Blueprint' vessels, which never left the drawing board. I will take it one step further. Will such a being be a Princess as I am, an ordinary ship, or something altogether different?" There's a slight upturn to her eyes, amusement, "It is quite a fascinating line of thinking. That one could create something that truly never existed before. Perhaps even something thought only to be fictional."
Isaac Beaufort	Isaac thinks about this. It's a really good question...something without history. "Well, without history...it'd be like a kid, right? What it becomes will be a combination of nature and nurture...as well as its own will. I don't know if...like how it's built would influence personality, or if that'd develop independently." "It'd be creating a life."
Wisconsin	Wisconsin's eyes are locked on Midway's now, as she murmurs. "...Not quite. It'd be creating a weapons system with... with a blank slate. A thinking weapons system with a blank slate. You'd have to very carefully help it along, and not just turn it loose on people." The Mom Tone is out. "And make sure you're not just... putting it to war. I can look at a number of stories from the Multiverse where that turned out very poorly. Why do you think your-" "...Oh, of course. This is past the hypothetical stages, isn't it? Or you wouldn't be here, chatting about it."
Midway	"Nothing has been produced at this point," Midway states, her eyes closing, "And so the procedure remains an untested hypotheosis. It is, however, a matter that I find interesting to discuss." She gestures between Isaac and Wisconsin, "Responses are rarely the same, and thus they too act as useful data points. Additional perspective feeds inspiration and informs future operations." A hand lifts to her temple, framing her eye as if nursing a sudden headache, "I already have a minion that is more trouble than she is worth due to immaturity and lack of self-control. This input is an important reminder to avoid a repeat occurrence." With that same hand, she gestures, "Resume your exercises. I will observe. When your destroyers tire of static targets, maybe I will provide something for them to chase."
Isaac Beaufort	"I don't think you should do it. Creating a life like that for curiosity isn't moral, and is abusive to the creation you're making. It should be given love and attention," Isaac finishes his thoughts. Though when she says 'something to chase' he wonders if she intends on being aggressive.
Wisconsin	Wisconsin uncrosses her arms, and gets back up to her 'feet', which is still 2 feet off the water. "...Just make sure you're not... encouraging others to do so. Not that I can stop you on that one, but..." Shoulders slump a bit, and the woman sighs. "YOu're the Princess of Progress, and somehow, things don't always get better wround you, or so I've been told." A glance out at the rest of the fleet. While trials HAVE still be going, everyone's been waiting with baited breath to see if a proper fight was going to happen. It doesn't look that way, now, so everyone's relaxing. It's a Navy Port with sailors, of course people are going to lookie loo a fight, if not get involved.
Midway	"You are several generations too late to impose morality on War," Midway states flatly, "Victory often goes to those who push the boundaries of science ever forward." She seems to catch Isaac's cageyness about her wording, though, and closes her eyes, "Training aircraft. To shoot down. Your destroyers will need to practice their anti-air if they hope to stand a chance in the era of aircraft carriers."
Isaac Beaufort	"Just because something is, does not mean it can not be changed. Just because it is difficult, doesn't mean it's not a fight worth fighting. Resignation only means you truly have failed, instead of not succeeding." Isaac says, calmly. "So I will."