Returning back to base - 06

Another sensor tower done... That's the fourth one, I think. So, I'll just travel two kilometers back up north, then two more to go and 500 meters east to the base entry. I thought to myself, noting how the west flank border was shaping up nicely.

The eastern flank's sensor tower perimeter should be able to detect surface naval vessels sailing through, as well as surrounding deep-sea traffic—if there's even any to begin with.

I mean, nothing has pinged me yet. I'm not even sure if that's normal since cruise ship and military vessel routes seem weird in this universe.

"Ahaha! You can't catch me!" Helena's cheerful voice rang out, accompanied by the sound of rapid footsteps echoing through my rigging. She was being chased down by Alya after some squabble inside my submarine rigging.

"Noisy," I thought, sighing to myself. I'd better prepare because this was just one playful, energetic girl (Helena) who had made some comment about Alya's weight. And now? Chaos. It's a good thing most of the stuff in my submarine is bolted down. I hadn't even had time to decorate it yet. As I continued riding my submarine-rigging bike to the next sensor tower spot, my thoughts drifted back to my current obsession.

Designing my own stuff.

This time, I wanted an energy-based static defense. Missiles are great, especially with their range, but they still require resupply and resources. Energy-based defenses, on the other hand, have the potential for a +0 neutral energy drain. I wasn't sure if I could scale up a graviton cannon… Wait. Didn't the Fleet of Fog have some type of super laser on fixed positions across their ships? Do I even have that package? As far as I remember, I don't.

After some time spent checking my own submarine blueprints...

"Nope," I said with a sigh. No existing sample, no way to replicate or modify it. Even if I had the tech to make one, it'd take time, trial, and error. Really, I wanted that super-graviton laser tech from Blue Steel.

But beggars can't be choosers, I guess. My eyes landed on my Twin 100mm (Type 98) Kai, which had been upgraded with Fleet of Fog tech when I transferred over.

"I mean, it is a DD gun, used by destroyers," I mused, examining the destroyer-class weapon. I'd need to scale it up, trading fire rate for firepower. The reason I hadn't put any PD (point defense) systems on my ship was because of this gun's high fire rate and range. Checking again… Yep, 16 range for the Twin 100mm (Type 98) Kai. That's near the top for range. Combine that with graviton missiles capable of destroying other missiles or anything caught in the gravity explosion radius…

Basically, it's a standard submarine from the Arpeggio of Blue Steel verse. Now that I've brought it to the Red Alert verse, it should handle above-average fights—until chrono tech, cryo tech, Iron Curtain, or EMP tech get involved to even the playing field.

"Let's start slow and not think too far ahead," I reminded myself. They've got a head start on infrastructure and technology research. I then turn my focus to static defense design.

"I want something robust… precise," I said aloud, laughing a bit as the scene from John Wick popped into my head, the one where he's "tasting" weapons. Anyway, I really did need a robust weapon. Starting from scratch, I based my design on the graviton cannon and decided to scale it up. A triple-barrel configuration like in Battleship sounded cool, but it would consume too much energy. So, one laser cannon on a rotating mount it is.

The design included four nuclear reactors, one nanoswarm deployer for repairs (if resources were delivered), and a small storage area for self-repair and maintenance. The result? A massive turret on a rotating mount, like in Battleship, but with a single, enlarged barrel. The firepower was strong enough to break through my ship's existing shield system and pierce a hole through my titanium alloy hull.

It wasn't Fleet of Fog OP-level tech, but it was still solid.

Of course, when I started thinking about units it couldn't one-shot—like the Paradox Engine, Epsilon's giant UFO, or that Epsilon's giant floating hand…

"Okay, the more I think about things that don't die in one shot from this supposedly OP laser, the more depressing this gets. Let's stop here," I muttered, finally hitting 'Generate.'

[generating..]

[Wargirl's Graviton cannon turret]

Cost: $2000 x 10 (Wargirls)

Power: 0

Hitpoints: 1500 + 1000 (Wargirls)

Prerequisite: Wargirl's barrack

Purpose: Long range defense

Armor Class: Defensive Structure

Weapon: 1x 'unnamed' graviton cannon

Range: 45

Additional Information: Can Gain Experience. Self repairing.

"Do weapons need names? Also, that range though..." I mused. Eventually, I decided on 'Avalon.' I couldn't remember what Saber's Noble Phantasm was called exactly, but I knew it was a huge laser sword, so why not?

Just as I finished, I felt someone poking my cheek.

"Master~ You shouldn't get so absorbed in designing that you go into autopilot this hard," Helena teased. Shaking my head, I looked around. Wait. I was already back at my base? My swimsuit was still wet, so it couldn't have been that long, right? Helena and Alya had already gotten off my rigging. Embarrassed, I checked my 3D map.

The quality had improved significantly, especially in sensor-covered areas. I… had built two more sensor towers.

"Master~" Another finger poked my cheek. Helena was smiling mischievously.

"Oop..." I muttered, shyly. "Yeah, sorry about that." Helena just grabbed my hand, dragging me toward the residential area.

"It's not that huge of a deal, Master. I know you love working," Helena said. Alya followed closely behind. That line would've been completely untrue in my old life also will apply if designing units and structures weren't this fun.

"Y-yeah, it's fun," I replied, trying to convince myself not to dive straight back into another designing spree.

As we walked, I noticed Helena subtly taking a picture of me. Or was it Alya? They were definitely up to something. Joining the base's voice chat, I heard voices almost immediately.

("Reactor 4 finished") the voice which I assume Tessa said ("Starting reactor 5")

"Reactor 4 finished," a voice—probably Tessa's—reported, followed by, "Starting reactor 5."

("So, what's this about, Aqua-chan?") Pama's voice chimed in. It was always tricky to distinguish UMHUs by voice since most T-Dolls shared similar vocal tones, even with slight personality differences. Engineers weren't much different—the variations were minor at best.

("As I was saying, I got a picture of Master~. Here, let me share it!") Helena announced gleefully.

Before I could even squeeze her hand to threaten her, an image appeared in the chat. It showed me in a "deep in thought" pose, looking overly serious, while Helena posed behind me with double V-signs above my head. The angle suggested Alya had helped her.

I turned toward Alya, who whistled innocently, her expression betraying nothing. Double betrayal. Fantastic. But I sighed inwardly, deciding to let it slide. If this silliness kept them happy, it was worth enduring.

("Cute,") Amy said over the voice chat. ("I'm still outside guarding Tessa and Terra. I'll join you all at base soon.")

I sighed audibly into the chat. ("Good work, all of you.") I tightened my grip on Helena's hand just enough to make her wince slightly—a small punishment. She didn't let go, though, still holding my hand firmly as we entered the residential area.

"Home sweet home," I said, stepping into the building. My thoughts wandered to the bed I'd slept in last night. How much time had passed since then? I brought up the clock: 11 a.m. Not even halfway through the day, yet I already felt mentally exhausted. Shouldn't being an AI spare me from this?

"So, Master~," Helena began, "how about we visit the cafeteria? I'm sure I can cook something up." She still hadn't let go of my hand.

"Didn't we don't have a greenhouse or food production building yet?" I asked, trying to recall my construction priorities.

"Well, no," Helena admitted with a cheeky smile, "but I think you could make one?"

More work. Lovely. Still, it did sound like a fun project. I summoned my design interface, sketching a vertical farming system. Could I create plant seeds from scratch? Nanoswarms could already transmute materials—metal, depleted uranium for harpoons, even refined uranium—but biological structures were another matter entirely. Did I know enough about seeds to try?

("Reactor 5 finished. Returning to base,") Terra's voice reported. I nodded absently at the information and was suddenly aware of someone trying to lift me. Given my weight, it was a futile effort unless the lifter was a Kansen. Sure enough, Helena was struggling, her arms trembling as she underestimated my mass.

Alya suppressed a giggle as Helena toppled onto the floor with an exaggerated groan.

"What were you trying to accomplish by lifting me?" I asked, still distracted by trial-and-error atomic transmutation attempts for viable rice and fruit seeds. Mushroom spores might come later if this worked.

"Y-You're so small! I thought I could make you sit on my lap," Helena admitted, still groaning.

I sighed. "First, I'm too heavy for you to lift. Second, even if you succeeded, I'd crush you." My thoughts flicked to T-Doll capabilities—sure, they could lift heavy objects, but not something equivalent to a 90-meter submarine unless equipped with nanoswarm assistance. Those things cheated weight systems.

Remembering Reactor 5's completion, I commanded nanoswarms to create an elevator behind the residential building. It would lead to a new underground area. There, I initiated construction on a Wisdom Cube factory and added lighting to the excavated zone.

We finally reached the cafeteria, and I collapsed into the nearest empty chair. It was modeled after a fast-food joint but scaled up to seat around fifty people. Helena sat beside me, still recovering, while Alya took the seat across.

"How's progress, Master?" Helena asked, her hands trembling slightly but recovering quickly. Alya's expression remained innocently curious.

"Not great," I admitted. "I can't remember the seed properties." The trial-and-error process dragged on.

"It'd go faster if I had a research lab set up," I muttered, realizing I'd forgotten to design one.

I summoned a new 3D template, drafting a research facility. The first module—a compact 2x2x2-meter "Research Box"—would allow one research thread at a time. It wouldn't demand too much energy, unlike the behemoth Wisdom Cube factory, and was modular enough to place anywhere. As I finalized the design, Helena rested her head on my shoulder.

[Generating...]

[Wargirl's Research box]

Cost: $1500 x 10 (Wargirls)

Power: -300 x10 (Wargirls)

Hitpoints: 100 + 1000 (Wargirls)

Prerequisite: Wargirl's underwater shipyard + Wargirl's wisdom cube factory.

Purpose: High Tech Access

Armor Class: Super light Structure

"It's just a box" Helena remarked. I patted her head gently, noting how fragile the modules were—they'd definitely need to be built underground.

The Wisdom Cube factory's progress showed: 17%.

"So slow," I groaned, leaning back into the padded cafeteria seat.

Voices approached. Amy and Tessa entered, with Amy waving energetically and Tessa offering a shy half-wave. Amy placed her harpoon against a chair before sitting down, while Tessa quietly chose a nearby table to sit at alone.

"Aqua-chan, we're back!" Amy said cheerfully.

"Welcome back," I replied as Helena continued resting her head on my shoulder.

"What's your current plan, Aqua-chan?" Amy asked, her smile unwavering.

"Hmm, slow down until I get my first Hestia-class MCV to expand further," I began. "I also need to form a stealth task force to retrieve Chrono tech and Iron Curtain tech. Other than that, I'm focusing on designing and securing a five-kilometer safe zone around the base."

"Oh, and figure out if this world has internet. Probably does, right?" I added, though uncertainty crept into my voice.

"So, am I in that stealth task force?" Amy asked, leaning forward with interest. Helena perked up too.

"Not sure. It depends on whether the Allies Pacific Front has a Chronosphere near the coastline or if one of the Soviet faction has an accessible Iron Curtain facility from shoreline." I paused, considering. "I'll probably need either an Engineer unit or a Hestia-class MCV to scan those structures for data on site too."

"If not that easily access, I'll need to develop Strike Witches or air transports." I added, closing my eyes briefly. Mental Fatigue was catching up with me. Maybe I should rest, just for a little while...