Commander's Rounds

Entry 94: Treacherous Crossing

Delaware adjusted her glasses as she traveled up and down the rivers near her home. This was no mere pleasure cruise, however, as she was taking great care to inspect the defensive emplacements she had set up to make sure anything that wasn't a Kansen would never get near her settlement, and would make life very unpleasant for anything that was.

Delaware was no miracle worker. With the equipment they had available to them they couldn't actually bring new Kansen into being, but that wasn't really their aim. She and her comrades were living proof of the fact that just because you summoned a Kansen, it didn't mean their allegiance was automatically secured. However, with the materials and equipment that the others had managed to salvage from military transports, ports, and other cargo ships, she had not only been able to substantially improve the equipment of her fellows, but set up some very nasty traps.

While they couldn't create new Kansen with cubes, they could use what they had to recreate Kansen weaponry and place it in concealed positions. Delaware was proud of these- relatively tiny gun batteries that could hit with the force of a battleship's armament, miniature airfields you could hide under tree cover, and anti-aircraft installations that didn't take up much more space than an office desk.

They still required the control of rigging to act at their full potential, but she set up this dandy room inside of their fortified base that she could use to control all of these positions at once through remote connections and a specialized headset that allowed her to turn the entire area around their little piece of ground into one big game of tower defense controlled by someone who could do all of the math of naval artillery and anti-aircraft fire direction inside her own head.

It brought a smile to her face, really- she was proud of the fact that she had been able to accomplish so much with relatively little.

She tugged her dark green lab coat over her red sweater and brown pants, and slowly brushed a hand through her long, silver hair. Really, she was whistling on the inside.

The dreadnought hopped back onto the water after finishing the latest round of inspections, and she had finished ahead of time, so she was happy to just glide around on the water and enjoy the scenery. Even though Erin had chosen this place for how defensible it was, she couldn't help but appreciate how scenic these little river valleys were. They'd probably be a bit less scenic if she had to turn the place into a shooting gallery, but hey, you couldn't have everything.

Delaware found herself a rock to sit on, and soon enough she was joined, by a ship that was unmistakably Florida. those tall, alligator-skin boots combined with short shorts, baring a midriff that showed a tattoo of the old-style Eagle of the Union Navy- facing forward, talons outstretched- next to her navel. Her little camo-style top and short jacket showed that she had about as much bust as Delaware had brains, and the green-eyed blonde gave an energetic wave to her comrade. "Heyo!"

Delaware gave a lazy wave to her carefree comrade, gesturing for the busty dreadnought to take a seat beside her. "Did you come out to see me, or did you just tell someone you were going out to do a little "scouting"?"

Florida put on a big smile. "I know we usually leave that to the battlecruisers, but I just wanted to go out and get some fresh air. Not like I was going especially far or anything." She stretched. "Heh. It's nice to go into towns, though, not like the humans can tell the difference if your guns aren't out. So, how's it look?"

Delaware put away her notebook. "Looking as good as they can be made. Anyone who gets too close is going to regret it, and that's before you take all of us into account."

Florida stood up. "Hehe..." She looked around. "Good job and all, but... I kinda wish we didn't have to hide all the time."

Delaware looked up and over at her companion. "You're rather let the humans get their hands on you?"