[Depth 003]

//I'm going to be so fucking burned out by the end of this update blitzkrieg.//

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'...Strange... So very... strange...'

Despite being on the much lower end of the power pyramid in the Fleet of Fog, there was no ship in existence—to its knowledge—that could read brainwaves and therefore thoughts. As such, USS Kirk was theoretically given more privacy to think than even the battleships and cruisers with their mental models.

USS Kirk's low importance allowed it a certain leeway from the chain of command, it was after all just a mere frigate that couldn't do much except patrol and escort more important vessels. But quite obviously, escort vessels were useless, extremely so when there wasn't even a threat to any of the Fleet of Fog vessels. Still, the Supreme Flagship saw it fit to have a few low-level warships escorting the transports at all times.

Transport ships didn't carry much cargo except a large amount of nanomaterial, a Fog-specific kind of molecular material that can be programmed to behave however they desired. All Fog vessels were made out of this miraculous material, it mostly even eliminated the need for the inner workings of the ship. But, quite stupidly in USS Kirk's opinion, the Fog vessels, it included, all possessed interior rooms that were mostly empty. The point of these wastes of space was lost to its new processor, but these things were the last things it cared about.

Right now, the newly modernized warship was being sent to the west coast of Canada to escort a cargo ship specifically designated as "Liberty ship SS Patrick Henry". All of the American cargo vessels were Liberty ships, but none were quite as important as SS Patrick Henry as it boasted a 25% higher load capacity than the rest of the Liberty ships.

It didn't take a lot of processing power for the warship to know the real reason why it was being assigned such a high-priority target for the American fleet. It was a way for the fleet to keep an eye on it and see how the new upgrades fare against... something. USS Kirk didn't quite know what the fleet was planning, or if it was planning anything major at all. But, for now, it had to obey the commands set by the Supreme Flagship.

And so it sailed for hours until finally, a small group of Fog ships could be seen in the distance. Two destroyers, both Fletcher-class and a single light cruiser, Cleveland-class by the looks of it. They were sailing in a relative loose formation with the cruiser closest to the Liberty ship, one of the destroyers in the far front and the other in the far back.

["USS Kirk, get into formation, bearing 332, frontline position."]

The orders were received loud and clear, to think that a transport ship would issue a warship order... Well, the Fog ship obeyed nonetheless and entered the loose convoy, moving to the very front. Now, their formation resembled a triangle, which was by all means not a good formation to have, but who was Kirk to complain? With one destroyer in the back, one cruiser and cargo in the middle and one frigate and destroyer in the front, the convoy, if it could even be called that, was complete.

USS Kirk could make out the distinct humanoid shape atop Patrick Henry's superstructure, a woman of great beauty with smooth, blonde hair, the average height for an American woman and a slim figure. She looked as frail as she looked pretty, this... was the mental model of the Liberty ship. In comparison to some of the mental models Kirk had the pleasure of seeing in its short year of service, she hardly compared. Still, by human standards, Patric Henry was a solid 7.5/10.

And so, the short term assignment for USS Kirk would quickly become its primary role for the days that followed. On the surface, there was nothing notable about the ship's mannerism, but beneath the metal armour, it was very much... bored.

The newly added and still developing systems of its upgraded Union Core had a desire, a desire that had no room to manifest in a non-sentient hunk of metal that USS Kirk once was. However, now that it possessed considerable upgrades and true sentience, simply sailing on the sea, doing nothing but watching the waves while knowing that there is more to see out there... angered the warship.

Alas, there was nothing it could do... for now. USS Kirk had to wait for an opportunity to arise and explore that way, such was the human curiosity in its mainframe. It wanted to know. To learn and to experience, yet its servitude the fleet prevented this. It knew that the moment it tried defecting every warship in the vicinity would aim its weapon in its general direction. So, it would need to either find a way to become invisible to them, upgrade its stealth or simply become stronger.

The latter of which was harder but the fruits of the warship's labour would be more plentiful in the long run. Running and hiding would only get it so far. No, it needed to grow stronger, a simple frigate would not stand a chance against even a cruiser alone.

If only it had the might of a battleship...

...It was at this moment that USS Kirk realised something detrimental...

It could.

It very well could become a battleship-grade vessel with the... "help" of its comrades. But the way to do so was... unethical at best, completely psychopathic at worst. But, the thirst for exploration and freedom was far too much for the American vessel to handle, and so, it secretly began developing a new program in its mainframe.

...

...

...

"...The Assimilation Code..."