[DEVELOPMENT/PRODUCTION] In the Shadow of a Colossus
Apr 28, 2023 23:14:38 GMT -5
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Post by Sophie on Apr 28, 2023 23:14:38 GMT -5
“Greenlight.” Perhaps the only single word that could rouse this woman from her previous night’s bender. An entire night of drinking heavily, in which she lost count after a baker's dozen of shots. Azusa Aizawa’s golden hair was in a rat's nest atop her head that not even four hours of brushing could solve.
The Vice Admiral’s head snapped up at the voice; her vision was still blurry. All she could see was a grey blob. She tried to rub the pure exhaustion out of her eyes to no avail. “Wha?” The woman tried to mumble out as she peeled her face off the table she had fallen asleep on. Wiping her face removed chips of crusted drool.
As her vision became focused, the Vice Admiral became more confused. “When... did I get on my patio?” She asked as she stared out at the wind blowing through the pine trees. Her head turned back to the voice and saw Rear Admiral Saori Hayami. “S- Saori?”
“Project Titan has received a green light.” The much younger Admiral repeated, hiding her disgust.
Aizawa snapped to full alertness. “What?!”
Hayami stamped a foot forward. “Project Titan has been greenlit!” She shouted at her superior. “The Empress is en route to the academy!”
“Fuck.” The Vice Admiral could barely believe her ears; she had spent years of her life on Project Titan and pushed it several times to the office of the Empress. It was always rejected. So much so that the Empress herself had forced a different project into her lap. Titled ‘The Exploration of Alternative Armor Typing for Advanced Naval Warfare.’ The project had born little fruit; there isn’t much replacement for several inches of solid steel.
“You have two hours to get yourself together. Then we must leave to prepare for the Empress.” Hayami spoke as if she were the superior.
“Leica!” The Vice Admiral screamed for her maid.
After a quick shower and plenty of violent grooming by Leica the maid, Aizawa piled into the car with her subordinate. Leica also entered in after the golden orb weaver and continued to work on her hair as they peeled out toward the academy.
Azusa was nowhere near the state she would wish to be in for meeting the Empress, but it would have to do. Her uniform wasn’t pressed, but it was clean. Her hair wasn’t straightened, but it wasn’t a disgusting mess, and her makeup was basic at best. However, there were more important things to worry about now.
The Empress would be arriving in an hour, and the room dedicated to Project Titan had not been touched in six months. The two Admirals worked with more haste than a Michizuki Class running at ahead flank to make the room presentable.
Normally to enter the extremely classified areas of the naval academy in which Project Titan was being held, one would need to be directly identified by a high-ranking officer along with their clearance ID. However, no one would dare ID the fifteen-year-old striding through the halls with confidence. Most wouldn’t even dare look at Empress Reito. Though it was somewhat of a spectacle for some to see their new leader.
Both Admirals were at strict attention once the Empress entered the room. Even though Reito knew it was appropriate, it felt odd to have two women so many years her senior show her this level of respect. “At ease, ladies.” Reito tried to sound commanding as she strode forward. “I intend to greenlight Project Titan, but I would be remiss if I did not first inspect the project with my own eyes.”
On the back wall of the project room was a premade mockup drawing of the Titan. The drawing was massive, but it could hardly reflect the behemoth nature of what it would become. “She’s massive.” Reito stared in awe at the number that reflected the length of the planned super battleship. “Over a kilometer long...” Reito turned to the Vice Admiral. “Do we even have the steel for such a project?”
Aizawa’s response was immediate. “Of course, Your Highness! Titan would require only as much steel as about four Kii-class battleships.”
“That is nothing to sneeze at,” Reito spoke sternly. “The Kii was the pride of my mother’s fleet. An extraordinary warship and the cost to reflect it.”
Aizawa nodded in anxious agreement. “Of course, the Kii is a marvel of engineering. However, if she is the pride of our fleet, then Titan will be her pinch anchor.”
Reito squinted her left eyes at the Admiral. “What do you mean by that?”
“With such a leviathan to rely upon as the guardian of the Kumo people, our war fleet will be free to project our mighty power wherever they see fit. It would free up much of our home defense fleet, as Titan’s mere existence would ward off any assault on our home islands. She will become the spine of our people, pushing strength into our arms and allowing us to punch harder than ever before.” Aizawa had clearly rehearsed this exact speech several times.
“But Titan wouldn’t be the one doing the punching?” Reito questioned. “What is the point of building a weapons platform so large if not to shatter enemy fleets?”
Aizawa bit her lip. “Unfortunately not. While Titan is mighty, she comes with severe weaknesses.” Despite her pounding heart, she continued. “Pushing such a massive warship along will require an immense powerplant that will drink staol like a Kumo in the desert drinks water. Both Titan’s speed and range are likely to be pitiful.”
“Pitiful, how?” Reito asked harshly.
This was the reason Shiraori had continued to deny the Titan. Aizawa wouldn’t allow a second Empress to shut down her dream. “By our best estimates, Titan could make twenty knots running at full steam. If she were to do so for extended periods of time, the strain on the shafts would likely damage or even destroy them. Running at safe speeds, she’d have to limit herself to fifteen.” She took a deep breath. “As well as running the engines constantly at a speed of eleven knots, which would be her most fuel-efficient speed, she could make about seven thousand kilometers. That’s about-”
“From here to Hawaii.” Reito answered. “So she’s a defensive warship then. What of her combat capabilities?”
“Unmatched.” Rear Admiral Saori Hayami answered. “For her, we will build the largest gun ever conceived off. Eighteen of them, in fact. For her main battery, there will be no armored hull she cannot penetrate, no bunker she can’t bust. She will be additionally supplemented by several secondary batteries more powerful than the Kii’s main guns.”
“I want specifics,” Reito commanded.
“Of course.” Saori nodded. “Her main battery will consist of six triple turreted thirty-inch cannons in tri-cascading format forward and aft.” Saori pointed to the drawn schematic as she referenced the armaments. “Above the highest turret on each side will be a triple turreted secondary battery of a twenty-inch bore. Four more of these secondary turrets will rest on the port and starboard deck amidships, two on each side. Six fifteen-inch turrets will run along either side of her hull.”
“For the proper secondaries,” Aizawa picked up the torch. “There will be four triple turreted eight-inch guns, forty-six double turreted dual purpose five-inch guns-”
“Dual purpose?” Reito interrupted.
“They can function in an anti-aircraft capability in addition to anti-ship,” Aizawa explained. “Complimenting their anti-aircraft ability will be sixty-six double turreted twenty-five millimeter guns and one hundred and twenty-two thirteen point two-millimeter guns.”
“We’ve also proposed several torpedo tubes in the fore and aft of the hull. With the invention of the silk guidance, it will likely be her most accurate long-range weapon. There are twelve tubes in her fore and six in her aft.”
“And armor?” Reito questioned. “How’s her survivability?”
“Her main belt is four hundred and seventy-five millimeters thick. The fore and aft average out to two twelve. Her main deck will measure out to two eighty-seven with the fore and aft around one fifty. The superstructure will only have a hundred and eleven millimeters, but the conning tower will have one thousand meters of pure steel.”
“Spirits above.” Reito was clearly impressed. “What will she displace?”
“At a full load, she will displace over four hundred and ten thousand tons of water.” The Rear Admiral answered.
The two Admirals spent the next few hours going over the more technical details of the planned warship. Then Reito smiled. “I want to greenlight this project immediately. Tell me what you need, and you will have it. How long will it take you to build her?”
“Well, it depends on how much you’re willing to commit to this project. With a reasonable number of shipyards, we could have Titan in the ocean by nineteen-thirty-eight.”
“Five years?! Surely there’s is a way to build her faster.” Reito demanded.
“Well, of course. I believe we did the math on this, Hayami-kas. Can you find me that document?” The Rear Admiral quickly fetched the documentation for her superior. “We believe the absolute fastest the Titan could be constructed is within two years.”
“Fantastic!” Reito cheered with a smile. “Can you get that done?”
“There is an issue, however. It would take a significant industrial might to get done. We would need almost half of Kumosenkan’s entire shipyard capacity working simultaneously on different parts to be shipped to the construction site of Titan. Additionally, we would need a specialized dry dock that could handle her length, width, and draught. That dry dock would need to open to a space with a water depth of more than forty meters to handle her.”
“What about Hokkyoku?” Reito offered. “Her northern ridge drops straight off into the Arctic Eoni Strait. If we quickly survey the land, I’m sure we could find an ideal spot to build a dry dock for her.”
“And it’ll be much easier to keep her a secret there. As well as more protected should she need repairs in the future.”
“Very well.” Reito nodded. “I will begin the survey and construction of her dry dock. You will begin construction of her other modules immediately. I will assign half of our shipyards to your command to get this done.”
The Vice Admiral’s head snapped up at the voice; her vision was still blurry. All she could see was a grey blob. She tried to rub the pure exhaustion out of her eyes to no avail. “Wha?” The woman tried to mumble out as she peeled her face off the table she had fallen asleep on. Wiping her face removed chips of crusted drool.
As her vision became focused, the Vice Admiral became more confused. “When... did I get on my patio?” She asked as she stared out at the wind blowing through the pine trees. Her head turned back to the voice and saw Rear Admiral Saori Hayami. “S- Saori?”
“Project Titan has received a green light.” The much younger Admiral repeated, hiding her disgust.
Aizawa snapped to full alertness. “What?!”
Hayami stamped a foot forward. “Project Titan has been greenlit!” She shouted at her superior. “The Empress is en route to the academy!”
“Fuck.” The Vice Admiral could barely believe her ears; she had spent years of her life on Project Titan and pushed it several times to the office of the Empress. It was always rejected. So much so that the Empress herself had forced a different project into her lap. Titled ‘The Exploration of Alternative Armor Typing for Advanced Naval Warfare.’ The project had born little fruit; there isn’t much replacement for several inches of solid steel.
“You have two hours to get yourself together. Then we must leave to prepare for the Empress.” Hayami spoke as if she were the superior.
“Leica!” The Vice Admiral screamed for her maid.
After a quick shower and plenty of violent grooming by Leica the maid, Aizawa piled into the car with her subordinate. Leica also entered in after the golden orb weaver and continued to work on her hair as they peeled out toward the academy.
Azusa was nowhere near the state she would wish to be in for meeting the Empress, but it would have to do. Her uniform wasn’t pressed, but it was clean. Her hair wasn’t straightened, but it wasn’t a disgusting mess, and her makeup was basic at best. However, there were more important things to worry about now.
The Empress would be arriving in an hour, and the room dedicated to Project Titan had not been touched in six months. The two Admirals worked with more haste than a Michizuki Class running at ahead flank to make the room presentable.
Normally to enter the extremely classified areas of the naval academy in which Project Titan was being held, one would need to be directly identified by a high-ranking officer along with their clearance ID. However, no one would dare ID the fifteen-year-old striding through the halls with confidence. Most wouldn’t even dare look at Empress Reito. Though it was somewhat of a spectacle for some to see their new leader.
Both Admirals were at strict attention once the Empress entered the room. Even though Reito knew it was appropriate, it felt odd to have two women so many years her senior show her this level of respect. “At ease, ladies.” Reito tried to sound commanding as she strode forward. “I intend to greenlight Project Titan, but I would be remiss if I did not first inspect the project with my own eyes.”
On the back wall of the project room was a premade mockup drawing of the Titan. The drawing was massive, but it could hardly reflect the behemoth nature of what it would become. “She’s massive.” Reito stared in awe at the number that reflected the length of the planned super battleship. “Over a kilometer long...” Reito turned to the Vice Admiral. “Do we even have the steel for such a project?”
Aizawa’s response was immediate. “Of course, Your Highness! Titan would require only as much steel as about four Kii-class battleships.”
“That is nothing to sneeze at,” Reito spoke sternly. “The Kii was the pride of my mother’s fleet. An extraordinary warship and the cost to reflect it.”
Aizawa nodded in anxious agreement. “Of course, the Kii is a marvel of engineering. However, if she is the pride of our fleet, then Titan will be her pinch anchor.”
Reito squinted her left eyes at the Admiral. “What do you mean by that?”
“With such a leviathan to rely upon as the guardian of the Kumo people, our war fleet will be free to project our mighty power wherever they see fit. It would free up much of our home defense fleet, as Titan’s mere existence would ward off any assault on our home islands. She will become the spine of our people, pushing strength into our arms and allowing us to punch harder than ever before.” Aizawa had clearly rehearsed this exact speech several times.
“But Titan wouldn’t be the one doing the punching?” Reito questioned. “What is the point of building a weapons platform so large if not to shatter enemy fleets?”
Aizawa bit her lip. “Unfortunately not. While Titan is mighty, she comes with severe weaknesses.” Despite her pounding heart, she continued. “Pushing such a massive warship along will require an immense powerplant that will drink staol like a Kumo in the desert drinks water. Both Titan’s speed and range are likely to be pitiful.”
“Pitiful, how?” Reito asked harshly.
This was the reason Shiraori had continued to deny the Titan. Aizawa wouldn’t allow a second Empress to shut down her dream. “By our best estimates, Titan could make twenty knots running at full steam. If she were to do so for extended periods of time, the strain on the shafts would likely damage or even destroy them. Running at safe speeds, she’d have to limit herself to fifteen.” She took a deep breath. “As well as running the engines constantly at a speed of eleven knots, which would be her most fuel-efficient speed, she could make about seven thousand kilometers. That’s about-”
“From here to Hawaii.” Reito answered. “So she’s a defensive warship then. What of her combat capabilities?”
“Unmatched.” Rear Admiral Saori Hayami answered. “For her, we will build the largest gun ever conceived off. Eighteen of them, in fact. For her main battery, there will be no armored hull she cannot penetrate, no bunker she can’t bust. She will be additionally supplemented by several secondary batteries more powerful than the Kii’s main guns.”
“I want specifics,” Reito commanded.
“Of course.” Saori nodded. “Her main battery will consist of six triple turreted thirty-inch cannons in tri-cascading format forward and aft.” Saori pointed to the drawn schematic as she referenced the armaments. “Above the highest turret on each side will be a triple turreted secondary battery of a twenty-inch bore. Four more of these secondary turrets will rest on the port and starboard deck amidships, two on each side. Six fifteen-inch turrets will run along either side of her hull.”
“For the proper secondaries,” Aizawa picked up the torch. “There will be four triple turreted eight-inch guns, forty-six double turreted dual purpose five-inch guns-”
“Dual purpose?” Reito interrupted.
“They can function in an anti-aircraft capability in addition to anti-ship,” Aizawa explained. “Complimenting their anti-aircraft ability will be sixty-six double turreted twenty-five millimeter guns and one hundred and twenty-two thirteen point two-millimeter guns.”
“We’ve also proposed several torpedo tubes in the fore and aft of the hull. With the invention of the silk guidance, it will likely be her most accurate long-range weapon. There are twelve tubes in her fore and six in her aft.”
“And armor?” Reito questioned. “How’s her survivability?”
“Her main belt is four hundred and seventy-five millimeters thick. The fore and aft average out to two twelve. Her main deck will measure out to two eighty-seven with the fore and aft around one fifty. The superstructure will only have a hundred and eleven millimeters, but the conning tower will have one thousand meters of pure steel.”
“Spirits above.” Reito was clearly impressed. “What will she displace?”
“At a full load, she will displace over four hundred and ten thousand tons of water.” The Rear Admiral answered.
The two Admirals spent the next few hours going over the more technical details of the planned warship. Then Reito smiled. “I want to greenlight this project immediately. Tell me what you need, and you will have it. How long will it take you to build her?”
“Well, it depends on how much you’re willing to commit to this project. With a reasonable number of shipyards, we could have Titan in the ocean by nineteen-thirty-eight.”
“Five years?! Surely there’s is a way to build her faster.” Reito demanded.
“Well, of course. I believe we did the math on this, Hayami-kas. Can you find me that document?” The Rear Admiral quickly fetched the documentation for her superior. “We believe the absolute fastest the Titan could be constructed is within two years.”
“Fantastic!” Reito cheered with a smile. “Can you get that done?”
“There is an issue, however. It would take a significant industrial might to get done. We would need almost half of Kumosenkan’s entire shipyard capacity working simultaneously on different parts to be shipped to the construction site of Titan. Additionally, we would need a specialized dry dock that could handle her length, width, and draught. That dry dock would need to open to a space with a water depth of more than forty meters to handle her.”
“What about Hokkyoku?” Reito offered. “Her northern ridge drops straight off into the Arctic Eoni Strait. If we quickly survey the land, I’m sure we could find an ideal spot to build a dry dock for her.”
“And it’ll be much easier to keep her a secret there. As well as more protected should she need repairs in the future.”
“Very well.” Reito nodded. “I will begin the survey and construction of her dry dock. You will begin construction of her other modules immediately. I will assign half of our shipyards to your command to get this done.”
