Yesterday the Public Servants of Pennsylvania got to enjoy their holiday while roughly 500,000 of us stressed about which bills to not pay this month. I will break down in simple, round, numbers how Pennsylvania is not paying half a million tax payers the nearly $1B they are entitled to collect to survive. First I will use 500,000 as the number of people who, pennsylvania says, are not receiving their benefits. I will use 3 as the number of weeks that are payable as per the recent covid relief Bill. Next I will use $300 as a rounded average payment of weekly regular benefits. And finally I will use $300 as the amount of extended benefits we are to receive beginning with claim week ending 1/2. Using a simple formula of how many people are not receiving benefits multiplied by the amount of money they would receive if the state was responsible I will show you what the state is withholding while we suffer. 500,000(3 x $300 + 3 x $300) simplified is 500,000($1,800)= $900,000,000 Nine-Hundred Million Dollars at a glance. Roughly $1B. That's $900,000,000 sitting in a government bank account while we grow depressed and anxious about the threat of homelessness and starvation. The working class people of this state are facing increasingly hostile landlords and bill collectors while feeding our families rice & beans or noodles..again. All of us have a civic duty to each other to reach out and call, text, email, and tweet every working news source in this broken state and tell them our story. Public pressure in a safe and responsible fashion is our best chance at producing real results on this issue. Remember to be kind to each other and the workers answering phones. And remember The State took away our right to "the Pursuit of Happiness" or our right to earn a living by shutting down entire Industries. I can't speak for all of you but I did not ask to be without a job. But as long as the government dictates who can work and who can't they need to work around the clock to correct this massive injustice and take care of its people. The good, honest, tax-paying people of Pennsylvania. Please share your thoughts and as always thanks for attending another one of my Soapbox Speeches. Growing Tired - U.S. Citizen
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“I think I preferred the driving rain,” Thorson muttered to himself. He was a cramping, sweating mess by the time he reached the shrine atop the hill behind his base. Flickering flames within lanterns of stone greeted him and lit his path to the final set of stairs, flanked by the bold, red pillars of the Torii gate that, as Yamashiro had explained to him one day, separated the realm of the living from the realm of the gods. “No disrespect, but I have no time to stand on ceremony.”
The man took the stone steps two at a time until he reached the apex, the yellow and orange light of flame replaced by a calming, blue glow, its brightness a sad reminder of how many had been lost already after only half a year of war. It was easy enough to spot the cubes that belonged to Hornet, though they were not the bright yellow that Enterprise described at dinner. Instead they had faded significantly, looking more like dim sunlight. As Thorson drew closer he could swear that he felt something from them, but the nature of wisdom cubes never seemed to settle on one given explanation or mode of operation. He brushed against Yorktown’s first, bowing respectfully. As his fingertips glided over the smooth surface, a certain peace descended upon him. “I see. To fight at both Coral Sea and Midway like that and care for them both for so long? Rest easy then, Yorktown. Hammann will miss you, but I think she will understand in the end. We’ll take care of Enterprise. As for you-”
Thorson almost jumped as he laid his hands on Hornet’s last vestiges in the mortal world. His heart pounded and breathing quickened as Midway flashed before his eyes again, the sky utterly black and reaching out for him, or perhaps for her. So much remained obscure. As a mere human, shrouded in the fog of war, he called out anyway as he’d done for Arizona.
You aren’t forgotten. I’m here, and so is Enterprise. Hold your ground. We’re coming. A small part of him expected Hornet to reply, in spite of everything that shouldn’t have been so. The maelstrom didn’t die down, but there was enough. She was there. She was fighting… something. “Good. I need another carrier and Enterprise can’t lose both her sisters in one day.”
-----
By the time Thorson arrived back at the docks, hundreds of men of all rank had assembled outside the labs. His fleet was keeping them at bay, but after his disruption there was no way everyone was about to go back to fighting, eating, and drinking. “Shift your sorry asses!” Tennessee demanded, striding forward and clearing a path for him. They stood nose to nose. “Andrew?”
“It’s bad, Tenn. Something’s trying to take her.”
“You’re sure?” she growled ominously. He shook his head.
“About as sure as I can be about a nightmare the morning after… just dust and echoes,” Thorson admitted. Tennessee looked the cubes over. She was no expert either, but they weren’t normal. That much was plain to see.
“Then let’s get her out of there. Penny, the cat, and Enterprise are inside. We kept everyone else out, including the Fleet Admiral,” she reported proudly, adjusting her leather gloves as though challenging him to tell her she’d done wrong. Thorson wasted no time, taking in her vibrant eyes and nodding approvingly. She stood aside and allowed him to pass through a group of sailors who were all from the Hornet. As he passed they all removed their caps and bowed solemnly, a move that left many in Thorson’s fleet, especially those from the Union, scratching their heads. He recognized a few of them as willing participants in the boxing ring.
“I’ll do what I can, thank you,” he said simply, calling out to Arizona before disappearing inside. “Arizona, come with me.”
“Yes sir,” she replied immediately, placing a hand on Yukikaze’s shoulder. “Wait here, sweetie.”
“None shall pass, nanoda!” the neko insisted as the battleship and commander headed inside the eerily silent and cavernous labs, made unsettling by the lack of occupants save Enterprise, Akashi, and Pennsylvania, who awaited them at the matrix.
“Everything is prepared, sir,” Penny assured him, gesturing to a fully loaded hopper full of wisdom cubes. Thorson nodded and turned to Enterprise.
“She is fighting something or someone in there. Get in there and pull her out. Tell her to imagine her ship as she always wanted, not as it was,” he ordered. Enterprise looked hesitantly at the machine. Pennsylvania shook her head impatiently.
“Act now or lose her forever. Go, flattop!”
Enterprise found no comfort in Thorson either, whose stoic expression beckoned her to act. Arizona smiled faintly in support but said nothing. “I… alright.” With a deep, shuddering breath, Enterprise stepped into one of the two chambers, with Thorson placing Hornet’s cubes in the other and immediately beginning the fill cycle with Akashi’s help. The minty kitty scampered off to oversee the dry dock outside while Thorson and the two Pennsylvania class sisters remained. The moment the matrix activated was evident, the water stabilizing unnaturally as the question of Hornet’s life hung solely on her older sister.
“Can I ask you something, Arizona?” Thorson whispered, taking her by the hand. Pennsylvania turned her head their way, allowing him to grasp hers as well. He was shaking.
“Of course, Andrew,” the battleship replied in her gentle voice.
“In the time it took us to come for you, I know you said you don’t recall much but… do you remember anything distinct?”
“What do you mean?”
“Anything alive, anything acting with intent, anything other than Penny or myself calling out to you?”
“I hate it when you start talking about this occult, mumbo jumbo shit,” Pennsylvania groused. He looked an apology her way.
“Sorry, Penny.”
“You don’t need to be, just keep it between us,” she replied as Arizona smiled at them. Hornet’s cubes had begun floating lazily in the matrix, though the pained look of exertion on Enterprise’s face was not comforting.
“I’m sorry, Andrew, I simply don’t know,” Arizona replied. “I didn’t even know how long I was out.”
“No, it’s my fault for asking you to explain purgatory,” Thorson muttered bitterly before returning his attention to the matrix. “She’s having trouble.”
The Pennsylvania class sisters couldn’t help but agree with Thorson’s evaluation. Enterprise was twisting and thrashing within her ‘cell’, and the ominous feeling he’d received from Hornet’s cubes atop the shrine was practically visible. But for whatever trials the Yorktown class sisters were facing, something had to have been going right as Akashi burst in through the side door along with her bulin crew. Shiranui floated in tow, ever peaceful and seemingly uninterested.
“Shikikan, the keel is here!” Akashi announced excitedly, heralding an absolute cacophony of noise as Hornet’s surviving crew, almost three thousand men strong, began shouting and cheering. If anything, it answered the question of why it had taken so long to feed everyone. Were he not absorbed with an operation that defied the known laws of science and even mortality, Thorson would have made a mental note to send Admiral Nimitz a bill.
“Well, I guess she always was a bit of a favorite,” Pennsylvania said, her tone a mixture of regret, aloofness, and maybe even a bit of jealousy. Outside, the chant of Maru! Maru! Grew only louder as the wisdom cubes placed into the conductive matrix slowly faded out of existence one by one and a new Union carrier willed itself into existence in a gory but resplendent process. Thorson breathed a sigh of relief, watching as Enterprise’s difficulties seemed to subside and Hornet’s new body took shape before them in concurrence with her hull outside. Pennsylvania rendered her judgment on the effort as Hornet’s long, blonde hair formed itself into twintails that draped forward over her breasts as she floated serenely within the matrix. Her crew had not shut up the entire time. “I don’t think she could have done it alone, Commander.”
“It’s a good thing she wasn’t alone then,” Thorson agreed as the machine finally finished its work and began draining at the behest of Enterprise, Hornet, or both. To his surprise, it was the naked, reborn Hornet who cradled her sister’s exhausted body as they stepped out of the matrix, not the other way around.
“Enty, Enty! We’re out. We’re back. Oh man, Enty, why did you face it down alone?!” Hornet demanded. Her sister smiled through tears as Pennsylvania clapped Thorson on the shoulder and headed for the exits.
“I’ll keep them at bay, but don’t keep them waiting,” she advised, speaking of Hornet’s crew as Thorson knelt beside the two carriers with Arizona.
“Who are you, Commander?” Hornet demanded, ignoring clothing herself in favor of supporting Enterprise.
“Commander Thorson, head of the fleet that defeated the Sakura battlegroup at Midway and the one who spoke to you recently, before your sister. What the hell happened in there?” he demanded gently.
“That idiot decided to face down cosmic darkness with her bare fists because she doesn’t even have rigging and she’s an idiot!” Hornet explained without explaining anything, holding Enterprise tightly to her new body and ensuring the two of them were alive and well. Satisfied as the older sister nodded silently against Hornet’s shoulder, Thorson helped the two of them to their feet where she turned her back and focused, finally, on an outfit to cover her body. Instead of her usual swim top and high cut shorts, she fashioned herself a black dress with yellow trim and thin straps around the shoulders, showing off her upper back, shoulders, and arms before deciding on elbow length black gloves and matching thigh high stockings to round out the look. A large, vicious looking hornet glowed at the base of her neck, confirming to Thorson that she’d picked up rigging in the process. “Ah, perfect! Now if you’ll excuse me Commander, allow me to do you a favor and shut those idiots up,” she giggled, placing a kiss on Enterprise’s cheek before entrusting her sister to Thorson and Arizona. The moment she stepped outside it sounded like a bomb went off. When Thorson rejoined the rest of his fleet soon after, he couldn’t help but wonder exactly when the ‘shutting up’ was supposed to occur.
“Burnside, you look like shit! Who gave you that black eye? Tennessee did? What the hell did you do? Oh whatever, get over here!” Hornet shouted, placing a kiss on the sailor’s cheek before moving onto the next and next after that. Her crew was positively elated to have their ‘Horny Maru’ back, and she was drinking it all in, a literal savior returned from the dead. Each crewman, after greeting her, hustled on board the new ship, excited to acquaint themselves with the new and upgraded war machine that Hornet herself had branded CV-12. Only when Hornet came face to face with her captain did the gaggle of sailors finally fall silent.
“I don’t care how nice it is watching you go. You’d best not leave again,” he insisted, embracing her like a daughter as she finally allowed the waterworks to flow.
“Cap, not in front of the boys.”
“Sod the boys, Hornet. We all thought we’d lost you forever,” he said quietly.
“I’m glad to say that’s apparently not how shipgirls like me work,” she responded, squeezing him tight before taking a step back and looking him up and down as he did the same. “Do you think they’re going to reassign me?”
“Let’s talk about that another time, Hornet. You’ll always be welcome at our home.”
“You sap. Say hello to the missus for me then if you take off without me. I can’t imagine not having you on the boat.”
“It’s your boat now, I’d say,” Mitscher replied, turning his gaze to her mint condition hull and gleaming AA guns. Several B-25s and other aircraft already lined the decks. “I’ll ask the Commander and his frankly adorable wait staff if they have more coffee. Something tells me it’s going to be a long night.”
“Damn right it is!” Hornet announced, turning to the remainder of her crew with a brilliant smile. “Now who else needs a kiss? If you try for the lips I’ll end you!”
Thorson turned to Enterprise, who he and Arizona were collectively supporting as all watching the raucous reunion. “You did what you needed to do,” he assured her. She shook her head.
“No, sir. The things I need to do have only just begun.”
-----
“Nnnh, huh? Five more minutes, sis,” Hornet requested, her long, blonde hair an absolute rat’s nest as she struggled to wake up. Unfamiliar surroundings and a sinfully soft bed tried to keep her where she was, courtesy of the Union dormitory on base. Enterprise chuckled quietly but refused to leave.
“You wouldn’t be like this if you hadn’t stayed up all night with your crew, Hornet.”
“Look, I just came back from the dead, ok? They deserved it,” she insisted, sitting up and letting the sheets fall from her body. “Hey Enty, do you think there’s a chance we could get Yorktown back too?”
“I already asked,” the silver-haired elder replied. “Commander Thorson believes she’s already gone to rest, and not whatever it was that happened to you and that awful thing. He meant a peaceful rest. After everything that happened to her at Coral Sea and Midway… I’m not sure.”
The two women remained silent for a moment, eventually interrupted by a polite tapping at the second floor window that overlooked the Sakura dormitories, just several yards away. Grim, Yorktown’s constant companion, could be seen waiting politely to be allowed in. Enterprise did so as Hornet shook off her sleepiness and hopped out of bed, searching around for her clothes. When she only found a form-fitting party dress, she sighed and did her best to bring her old outfit into existence. When that failed, she checked her drawers and found they were already there. With a relieved sigh she slipped on the short shorts and tied her top together behind her neck. She was just in time, as Cleveland bust into the room in her usual chipper mood.
“Hey, good to see you two are up. Big E, the Commander asked to see you at the radio tower. That’s where his office is. Hornet, you wanna tag along for breakfast?”
“Let me just get my hair under control,” the carrier laughed, brandishing a brush before looking at the mirror on top of her dresser. “Damn, you guys did a bang up job furnishing this place. You want it second? Your hair is looking a bit frazzled too. Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?”
“More like the wrong side of Thorson’s bed,” Cleveland replied confidently, causing Enterprise to straighten her spine like a telephone pole and Hornet to gasp open mouthed. The light cruiser giggled. “What? You thought he only sleeps with the Sakura boats? Uses his mighty manhood to subjugate the enemy and turn them into his willing servants? Thorson’s just a young man is all. Besides, I was his first so there’s no way I’m giving up that title. Oh my god, I love screwing with you guys so much. Yorktown-class needs to learn to loosen up. Hurry so we can go eat, Hornet!”
“I’ll be leaving to find the Commander then,” Enterprise said stiffly, reaching up a finger to stroke Grim’s head as the eagle leered at Cleveland and Hornet. The younger carrier leaned close and whispered to Cleveland as her sister left.
“That was all a joke to get at Enty, right? You don’t actually-”
“Oh I never said it was a joke, just that I was screwing with you two. Thanks!” Cleveland said, snatching the brush and quickly taming her strawberry blonde hair. “Not that I have anything against Ark Royal, but it’ll be damn good to have some Union airpower around here. Ready to go?”
Hornet watched her for a long moment, utterly dumbfounded. “So you… have sex with Commander Thorson?”
“I’d say half the base does, yeah,” Cleveland replied. “Oddly enough I don’t think Portland’s jumped on it yet. Maybe she’s worried their kids wouldn’t look like Indy!”
“Is he good?” Hornet had to ask, now that it was just the two of them and her rather prim and important elder sister was out of the room. Cleveland winked at her, pleased with her hair as she flicked it about.
“Why do you think half the base is sleeping with him?”
-----
“Good morning, Enterprise. How are you?” Thorson asked. The kansen saluted and he returned it professionally, showing no signs of weariness after a midnight romp or two with Cleveland.
“I’m well, sir. I believe my sister will be joining your fleet for breakfast,” she replied, meeting Ark Royal’s eyes. The Royal carrier had been asked for by Thorson that morning as well.
“I don’t want to keep either of you from breakfast for very long, but I figured you might wish to do this in private,” Thorson explained, opening a desk drawer and withdrawing a handful of wisdom shards, which he placed on the rough wooden surface. “Your rigging, Enterprise. Choose whichever you think suits you best.”
“I’ll be like Hornet?” she asked for clarity. During her raging all-nighter with her crew, Hornet had, of course, busted out her new rigging to show off to her crew. Two had been sent to the infirmary with bruising as her large flight deck knocked them to the ground and another handful had mild concussions from when she’d begun launching replica B-25s indoors. They’d all considered it a hell of a good time. Thorson exhaled patiently.
“With all appropriate consideration for a girl just come back from the beyond, I hope you’re a bit more careful with it than Hornet,” he said. She smiled at that.
“I think I can do that, sir. Let’s see then.” Enterprise quieted and furrowed her brow as she contemplated the shining, faintly glowing pieces before her. “Will they compel me to serve you?”
Thorson looked at Ark Royal, who shrugged silently. “I’ve never had anyone ask me that. I don’t think so, Enterprise. I can certainly think of more than a handful of kansen on this base who would slug me if I asked them to do any number of things. I consider the effects more subtle. Perhaps an alignment of desires or interests? I’m not sure. I don’t even know what a wisdom cube is made of.”
“I suppose that’s fair,” Enterprise agreed, taking two shards for herself and inhaling sharply as her body responded to them. Her flight deck, even larger than Hornet’s rested on her left hip as opposed to the right. In an interesting turn of events that Thorson likened to Laffey’s main battery pistols, the carrier also saw fit to arm herself, a mighty compound bow appearing in her right hand that featured a replica of her command tower as an arrow rest and grip. She shook her head and looked around her, taking the new additions in with a mixture of wonder and scientific intent. “This is… unexpected.”
“How so?” Thorson wondered.
“I can’t quite say. My apologies,” Enterprise responded, realizing she’d essentially waved off his question. “I just feel different… fundamentally. If I am someday able to place the sensation I’ll let you know, sir.”
“That’s all I ask. We have larger considerations than the nature of wisdom cubes unfortunately, as we always seem to. Ark Royal, I cannot sing your praises loudly enough. You’re the reason the Union even has a chance to obtain victory in the Pacific and the reason we suffered no significant casualties at Midway. However, I have no doubt that upon hearing of your exploits Queen Elizabeth and Warspite will summon you to defend the home front.”
“So you want me to train my replacements,” she deduced easily enough. Thorson grinned at her.
“I want you to beat them into the ground until they can stand against you on their own. The entirety of the base’s facilities will be open to you, Hornet, and Enterprise to conduct exercises as you see fit this week. That time period is subject to change depending on the whims of Union high command, but Fleet Admiral Nimitz seems content to give us at least that much time. Enterprise, you and your sister are to learn to fight like Ark Royal as you see fit. Every one of my ships has chosen to abandon her crew in favor of full control over her vessel; however I feel that is partially due to the questionable relationship between many Union kansen and their crews before Pearl Harbor. In one of our first engagements I helped Laffey reload one of her torpedo tubes while she re-armed the rest. There is precedent for human and kansen crews working together on a single vessel, but you must be capable of operating your hull completely independently by week end. That includes all elements of navigation, arming and launching aircraft, barrier projection, and so on.”
“Barrier projection?” Enterprise asked in confusion. Instead of replying, Thorson grabbed the unused ashtray on his desk and flung it at her. Grim squawked indignantly and made to take flight, but the woman flinched and conjured a shimmering blue barrier around her at the last moment, sending the ceramic tray clattering to the ground. Ark Royal chuckled at the scene while Thorson pre-empted Enterprise’s reply.
“Indianapolis and South Dakota have the strongest defensive abilities in my fleet. Seek them out if you need guidance. I don’t want to give you or Hornet orders that are too precise because I’ve never had to deal with kansen that actually have constructive relationships with their crew before. My only requirement, as I said, is your developing the skills necessary to tangle with Akagi and Kaga on their own terms… and perhaps Zuikaku and Shoukaku. They remain a wildcard in this game.”
“It will be done, sir. Was there anything else?” Enterprise wondered. Thorson shook his head.
“No, only to ask Hatsuharu if you prefer your tea or coffee prepared lightly. Yuugure tends to brew it stronger. I think it matches their personalities. I eagerly await whatever systems you and Hornet are able to develop. Please convey my orders to her. I’ll check in with you both each evening. There are private rooms within the Sakura dormitories for such purposes.”
“Understood. With your permission?”
“Of course. I’ve kept you both here long enough. Let’s go grab ourselves something to eat, shall we?” Thorson proposed, leading the way out and allowing Enterprise to strike up conversation with Ark Royal.
“What was it like, fighting them directly? I was rearming when they attacked us and my pilots were in the main attacking force,” Enterprise asked of the combat veteran. The Royal rested a hand against the handle of her pistol that she kept strapped to her hip at all times.
“Their pride and confidence are matched only by their power,” Ark replied with the typical gravitas of her countrymen. “But they lost.”
“That is certainly one way of looking at it,” Enterprise agreed, allowing Grim to fly off to stretch his wings and search out his own breakfast in the early morning skies and sea. “Anything else I should know?”
“I don’t want to be a downer, Enterprise, but I am a third party to all of this so I feel comfortable saying so. On this base the battleships are in charge because they’ve earned it in blood. They allowed themselves to be beaten to hell and back in exchange for getting the whole fleet close enough to strike the deathblow. They don’t trust you and they don’t like you. Keep your head down and prove yourself if you ever wish to command them,” Ark advised. The silver-haired kansen frowned and mulled over her words for some time as they walked down to the docks. Hornet’s new hull had already been moved from dry dock to the bay, and Akashi could be seen milling around with her crew of bulins. They all waved and smiled at her, a sharp contrast from the battleships Ark had been referring to.
“Is that what you did, Ark Royal?”
The Royal carrier reflected on her journey from biplanes and scout aircraft to fleets of ground based aircraft capable of crushing entire squadrons of enemy Zeros. “No. I didn’t lead anyone to greatness. I was dragged into it by the Knight Commander and the others.”
“Which reminds me,” Thorson cut in from ahead of them, having remained within earshot all the while. “If the Union refuses, I intend to see the Queen herself shower you with medals. I’m thinking toast and eggs today. Best decide for yourself, Enterprise. It’s not polite to keep Shiratsuyu and the others waiting.”
And so Enterprise abandoned complicated thoughts of her past and future, conflict and leadership, with what she would request for breakfast from a handful of cute, animal-eared, Sakura kansen. It was easier and far more comfortable than dealing with the perception that with Yorktown gone she was the figurehead of the Union fleets, especially since in the world she’d been thrust into no one seemed to want her as such. As they stepped through the doors to the mess hall, Hornet called out to her from where she was seated with California and Cleveland, along with many of the other Union kansen. “Sis, you gotta try the French toast!”
“Go on then, it starts now,” Ark encouraged in a motherly tone. Enterprise nodded.
“You aren’t joining us?”
“I have others who require my attention,” she replied as Kisaragi got up from her seat and stumbled clumsily over to them.
“Auntie Ark, come eat with Kisaragi?”
“Mmh, right away sweetie. What are you having today?”
“Rice!”
“And?”
“Kisaragi likes rice for breakfast!”
“Alright, but you’re going to try one new thing today for me, ok? Maybe some eggs,” the carrier insisted, picking up the tiny neko destroyer, giving her a kiss on the cheek, and walking over to the Sakura table where Shiranui and the elder shrine maidens were watching over the burgeoning fleet of pre-teen and child kansen that now included many of Yukikaze’s sisters. If anything, the scene served to demonstrate for Enterprise that there was quite a bit about her new home that she did not understand in the slightest.
-----
“This is… this is bullshit! I watched her die! I watched Akagi-sama kill her with a torpedo!” Hiryuu exclaimed in frustration and disbelief. Holding onto the side railing of the
Akashi to support her still weakened body, the younger member of the second carrier division watched helplessly as Hornet began her first day of combat drills with her rigging alongside Enterprise and the rest of her crew. The first B-25 she produced and launched via catapult tore apart before reaching the end of the runway, and the second simply careened off the flight deck and into the ocean. That didn’t change the fact that the spunky, twin-tailed blonde was alive and kicking, not to mention improving as she circled up with her surviving pilots and mechanics on deck. Soryuu watched from just behind her sister, arms folded across her chest as she remained well aware of South Dakota and Minneapolis’ eyes on them.
“Your language is unbecoming of your status as a member of the second carrier division, Hiryuu,” she scolded, taking one of Hiryuu’s ears and tugging on it just hard enough to cause her gross discomfort.
“Ow ow ow, hey! What’s that for?” Hiryuu protested.
“First, for your foul mouth. Second, to confirm for myself that we are not dead or in some sort of dream. To think that we did battle with a man who can command the dead… under certain circumstances at least.”
“She looks pretty lively to me,” Hiryuu groused as Hornet tried her fighters instead. The first Hellcat spluttered out after gliding for several dozen yards. The second, however, managed to launch and fly under its own power. It exploded when it attempted to fire on Ark Royal’s aircraft, of course, but progress was progress and the cheering of Hornet’s crew could be heard easily from the docks. “How the hell are we supposed to fight that?”
“An excellent question, sister, one that many of our comrades apparently decided to skirt altogether in favor of joining him,” Soryuu pointed out. Hiryuu whipped her head around to glare at her in horror.
“You can’t possibly be considering-”
“I am considering everything, Hiryuu, as should you; including the possibility that Akagi-sama and Kaga-sama may have led us astray,” Soryuu admitted with great sadness, a soft salt breeze ruffling her long, cobalt hair. “I do not think they would do so purposefully, but even the strong can be blinded by love.”
Hiryuu blinked and looked at the deck, unable to come up with any sort of reply to her sister’s lamentations. She could barely appreciate the fact that they were still prisoners, much less what came after that. But such things had always been Soryuu’s forte. Hiryuu just hoped she would be able to fight again. “So what do we do, nee-san?” she asked.
“I don’t know, Hiryuu. I don’t know.”
-----
"I see the life of a prisoner suits you to an extent."
Soryuu cursed herself for letting the warm water and secluded area get to her. It was possible to forget the fact that Colorado was watching her, looking for any excuse to start blasting, but Commander Thorson's towel-clad form was more difficult. She adjusted the towel that she'd wrapped around her body, well aware that in exchange for concealing her breasts, she was exposing much of her lower body. At least it was underwater and evening.
"Do you have need of me, Union Commander?" She asked neutrally. "I suppose I don't technically have a choice, but I don't wish to join Yamashiro or Fusou as one of your consorts."
"I thought we'd been over this, Soryuu,” he replied with little emotion, sitting next to her.
“And yet here you are,” she shot back without hesitation. He nodded.
“True, but you strike me as the sort of person who should only be dealt with when they’re most vulnerable. Naked, alone, and watched over by a Colorado class battleship counts as far as I’m concerned. Now, what’s the status of the other prisoners?”
“What’s to stop me from lying to you?” she riddled. He smirked right back at her.
“The fact that I’ll always believe my own kansen over you. Tell it true or tell me to leave.”
“You first,” she insisted, lifting her hands from the water to tend to her voluminous bun that was keeping her hair out of the water. Lantern light and natural starlight glinted off the droplets running down her limbs as Thorson reaffirmed his belief that the kansen had to have been partially created by the will of man himself. Normal women did not possess sexually attractive armpits, but there she was showing off just that. “What is it you want from me other than to leer at my body like a wolf?”
“In short, I want four carriers when I move to finish this war. But I have doubts you’ll ever join me. Until then, I want to ensure that the prisoners are being kept accordance with common decency. I have a vested interest in not having any revolts or other incidents.”
“That is reasonable,” Soryuu admitted. “None of the humans have been aboard. Akashi and the others under your command have seen to that. We have been given the same food as your soldiers. We have been kept under constant guard. We have not been attacked. Jintsuu remains more defiant than even I, but the rest… Suzuya and Kongou are in mourning. Nagara is confused and afraid. My sister is constantly testing the limits of her cage-”
“She’ll be best friends with Downes and Tennessee if you decide to join us, I’m sure of that,” Thorson agreed.
“You say it as though it is so easy,” Soryuu accused.
“In my experience it has been,” he shrugged. The lapine carrier sighed heavily.
“They all look to me for answers I cannot provide, guidance I don’t have.” Thorson’s expression softened as Soryuu finally vented to someone who really didn’t have to care.
“That sounds difficult,” he remarked, looking over at her. He watched as her eyes examined his torso critically and then easily moved elsewhere.
“It does not help that I now know the truth of Akagi and Kaga’s failing,” Soryuu said, quieter still. “All that they have sacrificed to bring back Amagi-sama, and you raise the dead with a snap of your fingers.”
“Only the dead who wish to return and I can somehow reach… or in Hornet’s case, her sister reached out to her. I’m not whatever it is you think I am.”
“No, certainly not. But whatever you are is enough to make me question everything, up to including whether or not I should sacrifice the rest of my honor, bed you, and kill you.”
“Those are some tough questions!” Thorson laughed with little concern, finally breaking through Soryuu’s analytical shell and eliciting true surprise from the rabbit morph. “What’s with that look? I’m already on borrowed time near as I can tell. I could have easily died at Pearl Harbor or in any of the battles since. Making love with you as my final act in this world wouldn’t be the worst way to go.”
“You disgust me,” she spat.
“I probably do. If something changes with the condition of the prisoners, please inform me or one of the guards. We’ll keep doing what we can for Hiei. I hear she’s able to eat again.”
“Rice porridge for now, but yes. Good evening, enemy commander.”
Thorson stood and nodded his head, figuring progress was progress. Even if she only ever called him that, he had an avenue to ensure his imprisoned kansen didn’t disrupt his entire operation. “Yes, good evening to you as well, Sakura.”
-----
“Mein Kommandant?” Zed requested, knocking on Thorson’s door before sliding it slowly open. He still resided in the Sakura dormitories, more out of a need to keep a closer tab on them than anything else. He beckoned her inside.
“I was just reviewing Rear Admiral Spruance’s after-action report for Midway. I suspect Hornet might be the first kansen ever awarded the Medal of Honor. What can I do for you?”
“I have a report here from Frau Brooklyn regarding our most pressing supply needs. We’ve been assured that Captain Stevens is on his way, but there are longer term considerations like parts for power generators and cooking equipment,” she explained. He extended his hand and she offered him the papers which were promptly placed on his desk. He offered and took her hand next.
“And you, Zed? Things have been a bit hectic around here and I’m sorry for neglecting you,” he apologized as she blushed crimson. Nevertheless she slowly walked forward and sat in his lap.
“I believe Laffey and Javelin would not approve, Kommandant,” she whispered. “But I am well. Maryland has taken me under her wing, so to speak. Much of my time not spent with Laffey or Javelin is with her and her sisters. They are experts at ballistics and I feel I’ve learned quite a bit from them.”
“I’m glad, Zed. And it looks like you made a little change,” he remarked, noticing a stud in her left ear in the shape of the Iron Cross. “Our proud resident Ironblood.”
“Please Kommandant!” she gasped, turning away as electricity might as well have arced between them. There was no turning back when he cupped her cheek and brushed the new piercing with his finger.
“You’ve come so far,” he remarked proudly, quietly, as her eyes closed and she collapsed forward against his lips. The scrawny, frightened, malnourished girl he’d pulled from the ocean was no more. A young woman’s pert body filled out her skin tight undergarments instead. Feeling her new curves made his blood race. It was clear she felt the same.
“Mein Kommandant… I would like to go farther still.”
Thorson met her eyes as they pulled apart after their kiss, lips crackling with anticipation. “I’m not going to stop you, Zed.”
Under the protection of night and the blanket of his futon, Thorson and Zed clasped their hands together, kissing and tugging and pulling and pressing until every awful memory of the war was forced away, replaced by breathy moans, inscrutable pleasure, and the most carnal and irrevocable proof that even kansen who once flew the dreaded banner of Ironblood had a place in Azur Lane and, if they chose, at his side.
“Andrew, Ich liebe dich…”
-----
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Next submitted by Our constitution is under attack.
Let’s go through the many violations...
✔️On Feb 8. Congress will hold an “impeachment trial” of a private citizen.
No matter how you feel about the former President or the events of January 6th, The Constitution states:
✔️Article II, Section 4: The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
✔️A Private citizen is NOT a civil officer. The Federalist Papers emphasized that the power of impeachment serves as a check on the executive and judicial branches. A private citizen is not in any branch of government. They are not in office so they cannot be removed from office, Which is the sole purpose of impeachment.
🛑 In the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, the Constitution specifies that an individual cannot be “deprived of life, liberty, or property” without “due process of law.”
🛑The impeachment was executed in less than 50 hours, with no lawyer present for the defense and no witnesses called, no review of the “evidence” or the right to confront their accusers, meaning due process was not given.
🛑While those determined to proceed with this action claim that due process does not apply to impeachment, they would be right, as Impeachment is reserved for elected officials and is not a criminal trial, as the only repercussion is being removed from office.
🛑 Because the former President is now a private citizen, holding no elected position, he would require due process as his personal rights are being encroached upon by being put through an unconstitutional trial in front of the entire world.
⁉️Article I, Section 3, Clause 6 states: When THE President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice SHALL preside.
⁉️ It states that when THE president, not A president is tried, the Supreme Court Chief Justice has declined to preside over this trial, which is constitutionally required in an impeachment trial.
⁉️This means any trial that happens won’t be legitimate, and if presented as such, will be a fraud on the American people.
💰This is paid for with taxpayer dollars during a pandemic that has cost trillions and had put millions below the poverty line. Based on polling, The vast majority of Americans are against holding this trial, yet they are spending OUR money on it.
If that wasn’t enough, we’ve seen over the last several months:
❌Pennsylvania’s Governor and partisan Supreme Court violated their state constitution and changed election law, when the state LEGISLATURE is the only branch that can make or change election law.
❌They were ordered by the Supreme Court to segregate all mail in ballots which came in after Election Day, as it’s still an active Supreme Court case. This was not done. No repercussions thus far.
❌Georgia Governor and Secretary of State made a legal settlement with A non-elected democratic representative to remove signature verification from mail in ballots among other changes, which also bypassed state legislature and is therefore unconstitutional. No repercussions thus far.
❌The Supreme Court declined to even hear an Original Jurisdiction case, meaning they are the only court who can hear it. This violates their responsibility Under Article III, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution.
⚠️Religious freedom under the first amendment has been threatened many times recently, but I’ll use an example from my own state by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, in which he attempted to forcibly shut down drive in Easter services where people stayed in their cars, and had officers take their license plate numbers, give them notices of forced quarantine for 14 days, and attempt to issue fines. Zero scientific data supported this. Many other states have had many other challenges such as NY, CA and others.
〽️Due process (5th and 14th amendment) states again that life, liberty or property cannot be deprived without our legal process hundreds of thousands of businesses were forced to close their doors, lose their businesses and their property based on pandemic restrictions that did not go through state legislative process. Those that resisted these regulations have been harassed, threatened, fined and even jailed.
♻️42 executive orders were issued in the first 10 days of the new administration, some of them directly violating existing federal law, and bypassed the legislative process that legislation of this magnitude requires. Due process was violated for the tens of thousands who lost their jobs without anything more than the stroke of a pen.
🟥 The House of Representatives has introduced its first piece of legislation under the new administration, HR1. This bill is a takeover of elections by the federal government which is a violation of the constitution. Each state’s legislature is responsible for the time, place and manor in which elections are conducted in their state. Our American House of Representatives are actively pushing unconstitutional laws. This would allow people to print off their ballots at home, among many other horribly insecure processes.
🔷 States are attempting to ban a parents right to homeschool, violating the 4th amendment. The bills – AB 2756 in California and HB 1798 in Maryland – would create new rules, regulations and home inspections that allow the state to come into your home and investigate you without any just cause whatsoever. Amendment IV states that The government cannot come into your home unless it has legal permission from a judge.
☑️ A New York State Congressional race from NOVEMBER is still undecided, separated right now by only 122 votes. It’s been 3 months. This was caused by Mail-in voting. Complete audits are now beginning to occur in several contested election states. This violates their states residents of due process, as this is depriving them of their liberty to cast their vote to elect their representatives. Congress is already sworn in and they are not represented.
📵Deplatforming, censorship, anti-trust laws and financial corruption/manipulation continue to occur at record rates without consequence. This violates equal protection as the justice system is not treating all parties equally under the law. The corrupt elite NEVER have indictments, convictions or jail time, Despite the verifiable criminal behavior of many, many people in office.
Honestly, the list goes on.
Maybe it’s just me, but the blatant violation and disregard for the constitution without any repercussion or intervention breaks my heart, and makes me sick.
The dominos are falling. If you haven’t yet been personally impacted by one of these violations, it won’t be long before you are. It’s only a matter of time.
Before it does, get out from behind your screen and do something about it before the constitution is a thing of the past.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
submitted by I’m not sure how to start this, but I’ll try make it short (it probably won’t be, I’m sorry). This is my first time posting, and I’ll probably post more about my situation some other time. If my dad is in and out of this it’s because he still works in Pennsylvania and comes to see us sometimes.
This whole thing started when I was in 3rd grade in a town in Pennsylvania (I should be a freshman this year I think?). My grades were actually good, I had friends, I wasn’t scared to speak my mind, and I was mostly confident. Well, in the middle of it my parents dropped me out. I’m not totally sure why, it could’ve been the terrible school system? Family stuff going on across the country? Well, when they dropped us out it was about a year of nothing. My mom wouldn’t get us a tutor because I guess those sucked too.
They decided to have us pack our bags and drive to Oregon. This would be the beginning of the whole mess (It could be six years now, I don’t know anymore). My mom being my mom, didn’t even look for houses or apartments. No, she decided she was going to have us live like this: My grandpa owns a piece of property on this mountain. Wanna know how we cleaned our selves? We didn’t. Not until we got a camping shower months later. If we had to use a bathroom we had to shit in buckets. We didn’t have beds of our own to sleep on so we camped or slept in the car with 2 dogs. And guess what else? Zero schoolwork. Once my mom decided she was done with what she probably saw as a vacation, we moved again to Alaska.
And once again, getting her family an actual safe, normal, and livable home wasn’t her top priority. My grandma offered her an unfinished quonset. Just search up “Unfinished house interior” and find the shadiest looking one. That’s what it looked like. We had no showers so we had to wash our hair in buckets. We had to climb a dangerously long ladder to be able to get to an air mattress. Being Alaska, it got freezing cold. The house didn’t have enough heat so it wasn’t safe to be in there. I started noticing how bad my moms drinking was while living there. She’d always get beer and have a little too much, go out with her family and drink, leave us alone past midnight because she’s at a bar with my dad, show up drunk, etc. It got pretty rough. But not even my grandma telling my mom she’s not doing the right things for us was enough. She had far more important things going on (drinking and working on the house) so we didn’t do much schoolwork.
What infuriated me the most is that we lived right across the street from a school. At the time we were only behind about a year, but you know what my parents did? My dad tried convincing my mom that we were too far behind and she listened. I WAS ONE YEAR BEHIND. The challenges I would’ve faced would have been WAY more easier than the challenges I’ll have to face now. And my mom brought another dog home unannounced because she couldn’t say no to a friend who was asking her to take her. This dog has diet and skin allergies. The poor girls skin flakes off from her constant itching, and our home right now is coated in it. All of the dogs aren’t trained well at all. My dad constantly blames us for their behavior and all the messes they make and I can’t take it anymore. We moved back to Oregon a little after.
And guess what happened, my mom getting a safe home for us was an actual priority. Of course, the drinking still continued, and I feel like this is when I started noticing how horrible things were. Everyday I felt like I had less and less of a mom. And there still wasn’t much schoolwork besides the occasional sheet of paper we’d get every 4 months. But hey, I at least got to feel what an actual house was like for at least a year or two. During this time my parents were looking at different types of schools, like charter schools or public schools. It’s a little bit foggy so I can’t remember much. But my mom will use my lack of school against me because when we lived there we checked out a Christian private school, and she told me I got anxious about the idea of moving up to a huge private school that was apart of a religion we were never apart of. And I was anxious about the charter school too, like any person who’s parents had them out of school for 2+ years who’d be moving up to a completely different setting. So my mom just dropped it because I got scared and that was enough for her. I beat myself up everyday for it, I was a scared ass 11-12 year old who was confused, scared, and anxious about all the change. And I beat myself up for not trying to get my parents to stay in that house. But we moved into a different house.
My parents decided they wanted to fulfill their dreams of remodeling their own home (part fucking two). And once again, us having a safe living environment wasn’t an option anymore. The place is a wreck. The progress is very slow and there’s constant construction. Our bathroom looks like a construction unit, there’s dust, dog hair, and dog skin flakes everywhere. And like I said they aren’t properly trained so there’s dog shit and pee very often. And to top it all off, my grandpas property has stray cats all over the place. So he came knocking on our door with a box of kittens. So now we’re stuck with extra cats, my parents finally got rid of two a couple of months ago. But there’s always cat shit and litter everywhere. I can’t ever cook or bake anything without finding a dog hair in it somewhere. We’re practically feces empire. It got really bad this one time. My mom had a habit of hoarding dirty dishes in the oven, I kept warning her saying that something bad could happen if nobody knew there was dishes in there and somebody preheats the oven. One night I was going to make some food for everyone, and I let the oven preheat. Well, few minutes later, smoke everywhere. She left dishes and plastic in the oven. After the whole thing I was just shaken up by everything and I’m constantly checking the oven now.
5-6 years later after they dropped us out, my education is still shitty. I don’t know any math further than basic ass multiplication. Furthest I can go is like what, 10 x any small number? Every few months my mom tries acting serious about schoolwork and tries putting together a schedule, we go by that schedule for one day and she drops it until a few months later. I’ve been very vocal to her about how much my future means to me last year. Everything has just been a huge lie. She’s admitted to me that she’s lied to people who work in the whole homeschool law type of thing, and told them a bunch of lies about how we’re all completely okay. I’m tired of people praising her because we’re “homeschooled”. Everybody assumes my mom is some sort of “super mom” who’s top priority is our schoolwork. I just wished more people realized the actual harm and complete bullshit homeschooling can be, and how neglectful too. I honestly don’t know how the laws are so loose that parents can screw their kids over so much that there’s a subreddit for it.
And for my moms drinking, she’s been going to a therapy group for addicts. I’m always asking myself if she ever brings her family up there. I wonder if she ever talks about how she feels like she’s failed us, or if she actually wants to do better for us. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to hear from her. A genuine “I’m sorry that I’ve let you down, I want to try to be better for you, let’s have a fresh start”. But every so often she comes back with alcohol and tries to hide it from us. I can’t tell you how many “I promise I’ll stop’s” have been broken. We planned a family camping trip this one time, and the night before she just drank, and we weren’t able to go. And it’s a constant reminder to me that it’s always alcohol over family.
I’m sure my parents would hate me for even thinking this is neglect. Just the other night something happened that had to do with my dad and schoolwork stuff. I told my mom I felt stressed about it and I’m scared that my dad thinks I just want to slack off when it’s actually important to me, and that I feel like he thinks it’s me and my siblings fault. Well, she got sort of upset by it and told me “It’s nobody’s fault here”. The worst thing you could do in this house is think negatively of something in their parenting. So I kept my mouth shut. I don’t know what I feel about it, but I just feel rage. They did all of this shit to us, and act like it was SO uncontrollable and unintentional that it couldn’t have been anybody’s fault? I don’t know if they actually know they’ve messed up and they’re doing something wrong. And my mom will get kind of angry with me if I insinuate that. It’s really hard to talk with her so I mostly avoid talking to her as much as I can. I feel that if I show any kind of emotion I have about her that she doesn’t view as logical, she’ll twist it and put words into my mouth, or try to blame me or something and it just stresses everyone out.
I just want things to be normal. That’s all I ever wish for in the world. And I keep hoping and HOPING everyday, that I’m going to get out of this and it’s all going to be okay. That everything’s going to be great for me in the future, and that I’ll be happy. But I’m just so scared. I’m scared that my future is going to be a living hell because my mom didn’t give a shit about it. I have one life to live and I already wasted a chunk of it because my mom didn’t care much for it. I’m scared that I’m going to be in my 20’s and still not know basic math, or how to care for myself, all of that important adulthood shit. I’m scared that I’ll be flipping burgers at Burger King to survive. I’m scared that this isolation and constant moving has sucked all of the social confidence out of me and that I’ll just live the rest of my life a loner with no social skills. I just want them to drop this whole house, the animals, and move out into an actual house or apartment. I don’t care as long as it’s safe and we can get a fresh start. I’m just scared, I just want to make it out in life, but apparently that doesn’t fucking matter to my mom enough because my worries are less important than how she feels like I’m just saying all of this to attack her.
And who knows, I’m not sure if I’m going to go no contact once I move out. But knowing my total lack of any knowledge of the world that might be hard. I’m hoping I can escape all of this and move out at 18. I’m turning 15 in June, I’m just getting dumber by the day.
But for my sake, I’m going to believe in myself that things are going to be alright. And I’ll work hard if it means I can better myself. I’m really scared about posting this. To anybody who read all of this, thank you.
submitted by Meanwhile, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court gave local judges the ability to shut down county courthouses as needed and the Pennsylvania Turnpike interchanges will no longer take cash or credit cards. Gyms and fitness facilities are shut down for indoor operations, and all in-person businesses can only operate at 50% of max capacity. RELATED: Coronavirus In Pennsylvania: Wolf Administration ... COVID-19 In Pennsylvania: New State Restrictions Could Be Announced This Week, Allegheny Co. Executive Rich Fitzgerald Says While nothing is set in stone, Fitzgerald says decisive action is needed ... If cases continue to rise — Pennsylvania is projected to run out of intensive-care hospital beds next month — the state will have no choice. Other states already are clamping down. Pennsylvania is “at the start of the fall resurgence” of COVID-19, the state's health secretary said Wednesday, but does not plan to reimpose a stay-at-home order or shut down businesses again ... Philadelphia, PA - As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, Governor Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine today implored Pennsylvanians to take the next three weeks and stand united again Pennsylvania Shutting Down Again Until January 2021 Philly Bite Magazine Pennsylvania has announced that it is again going to temporarily close down its casino industry in light of the spiking COVID-19 cases Pennsylvania Closes Casinos On Thursday, the US State of Pennsylvania announced its decision to once again close down all casinos and a number of other businesses until January 4 in light of the […] HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, seeking to slow out-of-control spread of the coronavirus, on Thursday announced sweeping new orders that will again shut down large swaths of society ... The official website of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Find information and services from Pennsylvania state government agencies. Pennsylvania man Jeffrey Spaide told neighbors ‘you should’ve kept your mouth shut’ before ‘executing’ them over snow. ... where Spaide fires at her twice again.
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