Alright, listen up—you, yes you, the one staring at the character list like it’s a torpedo manual. We’re doing this because apparently the story has decided to collect people like Horizon collects broken hulls, and now everyone’s confused.
Also—no, I’m not volunteering for this. I was assigned. There’s a difference.
(glares at the others)
[Bismarck] (calm, diplomatic, the “mom friend” of battleships)
You are volunteering, Atlanta.
[Atlanta]
Shut up, Bismarck.
[Akagi] (gentle smile, shrine-calm, radiating “I brought snacks”)
Please don’t frighten the reader, Atlanta. We need them operational.
[Kaga] (deadpan, fox ears barely twitching)
If the reader cannot track us, that is a skill issue.
[Hensley] (leaning back like he owns the room; Marine calm, the “I’ve seen worse” tone)
Alright. I’ll translate:
Horizon’s been through hell since Chapter 7, and we’re not dead. That’s the update.
Now we’ll do it in order before Atlanta bites someone.
[Akagi]
After the big battles and the political mess, Horizon stopped being “that abandoned dump” and became something… functional. Not perfect. But alive.
[Bismarck]
We got repairs moving, supplies started arriving, and people who used to call us “assets” learned the hard way that you do not survive the ocean by treating living weapons like disposable hardware.
[Hensley]
Translation:
We held the line. The base earned respect. Then the Coalition tried to shove the old rules back in. It got ugly. There was sabotage. Violence. People got shot. People got mad.
[Atlanta]
And then Kade did the thing he always does: makes everyone else’s incompetence his personal problem and starts reorganizing the whole island like he’s building a civilization out of rust and spite.
[Kaga]
He is effective. Irritating. But effective.
[Bismarck]
Then we had losses. Sorties didn’t always come back clean. Two mass-produced units were lost on a refugee interception. Bodies were recovered—because Horizon does not allow the Abyss to take our dead.
[Akagi]
Fairplay was critically wounded on that interception—rigging shredded, shipform mangled. We decided to rebuild her, not scrap her.
[Atlanta]
Which is a big deal, by the way. “Rebuild” is what decent people do. Not “dispose.”
[Hensley]
Then Arizona and Wisconsin went north for a morale push and to support a fight in the Aleutians. They saw wreckfields. Old ones. New ones. One wreck hit Arizona hard—Vermont.
[Akagi]
And Arizona returned with… something important. Something we won’t spoil too much for the sake of drama.
[Kaga]
She returned with hope.
[Atlanta]
She returned with a secret that made her go quiet like someone shut off the music.
[Bismarck]
Now Amagi’s condition is worsening again. Vestal stabilized her, but the base needs materials—real ones, not scraps—to keep Amagi alive and to keep Horizon’s recovery moving.
[Hensley]
Which means: new mission request.
Head north. Secure an Aleutian island. Strip resources. Bring it home. Big enemy presence. Big fleet.
[Atlanta]
And Tōkaidō volunteered to be flagship, which—
(pauses, scowls)
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
—fine. Respect. But also: don’t die, you giant fox battleship.
(Akagi holds up a neat list; Atlanta looks relieved someone organized this.)
-
Commander Kade Bher (Human, 23) — Feral competence in a uniform. Strategic brain. Hates treating KANSEN/KANSAI like equipment. Keeps a sealed black lacquered box he refuses to explain. Fixes infrastructure personally. Frequently needs supervision.
-
USS Vestal (AR, Repair/Medic) — Base medic, repair queen, stern kindness. Stabilizes miracles and threatens sedation like it’s breathing.
-
USS Wisconsin River (Iowa-hull conversion, Auxiliary/Repair/Resupply) — Logistics backbone. Turns tonnage into supply and repair plans. Eats while working. Keeps the base from collapsing.
-
USS Iowa (Fast Battleship, wolf-girl) — Walking disaster and frontline monster. Loves “tactical relocation” of equipment. Protects the small ones.
-
USS Minnesota (Mass-produced Iowa, wolf-girl) — Golden retriever energy with battleship guns. Wants her sisters free.
-
USS Wisconsin (Original Iowa, new arrival) — Cold, quiet, calculating, and protective. Wants action. Wants to be the shield.
-
KMS Bismarck (BB) — Brave, reliable, kind; carries scars from being used and nearly scrapped. Strong anchor presence.
-
IJN Nagato (BB) — Stoic leader, sometimes naive, deeply protective.
-
IJN Tōkaidō (Yamato-class, BB) — Soft-spoken Kyoto cadence, nervous but unbreakable, caretaker energy. Knits. Climbs. Quiet storm.
-
USS Arizona (BB, wheelchair-bound) — Soft-spoken, depressed, respected. Officer-minded. Carries deep trauma. Wants to walk again.
-
IJN Akagi (CV) — Calm, motherly, charismatic. Nightmares. Faith. Baking. Keeps people from falling apart quietly.
-
IJN Shōkaku (CV) — Big sister type, moral backbone, refuses cruelty.
-
IJN Shinano (CV) — Sleepy, kind, terrifying when forced into battle. “Living pillow” with catastrophic capability.
-
USS Guam (Large Cruiser, Alaska-class CB) — Hyper “Freedom Bunny.” Morale buffs. Protective big-sister energy.
-
USS Atlanta (CLAA) — Tsundere AA queen. Good heart, sharp mouth. Keeps watch in rain and pretends she doesn’t care.
-
USS Fairplay (Atlanta-class CL) — Closeted yandere chaos gremlin with witchy tendencies. Currently critically damaged; being rebuilt as a Worcester-class.
-
IJN Asashio (DD) — Dutiful, rule-bound, night battle expert. Got scapegoated by old command. Now trying to do things “right” without being crushed for it.
-
USS Wilkinson (DD, Mitscher-class) — Older escort specialist, ASW and smoke, calm professionalism.
-
USS Reeves (Mass-produced destroyer escort) — Newer unit, protected by Marines, learning she’s allowed to be a person here.
-
USS Salmon (Submarine) — Sneaky menace, torpedo gremlin. Behaves like rules are optional. Surprisingly loyal when she respects someone.
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IJN Senko Maru (Auxiliary/Supply) — Shy, kind, but not weak. Keeps the base fed and stocked. Will slap someone into orbit if pushed too far.
-
IJN Amagi (CV, incomplete restoration / medical) — Sick, graceful, strategic mind, fragile body. Horizon’s “we will not abandon you” symbol.
-
Gunnery Sergeant Hensley (Human, Marines) — The backbone of ground discipline. Protective of mass-produced kids. Doesn’t tolerate cruelty.
-
Hensley’s core team (Humans): Morales, Finch, Carter, Doyle + others seen across arcs — dependable, stubborn, Horizon-aligned.
[Atlanta]
If you’re wondering why it feels like a found family made out of steel, trauma, and bad coping mechanisms—yeah. That’s accurate.
[Bismarck]
Horizon is no longer “the frontline,” but it is still a symbol. Symbols attract pressure—political, military, and ideological.
[Akagi]
We are rebuilding. We are healing. But the ocean doesn’t care about our progress, and neither do the people who prefer us obedient.
[Kaga]
We survive because we act. Not because anyone grants permission.
[Hensley]
And now we’ve got a mission request on deck: go north, secure an Aleutian island, strip materials, come back alive. Big fleet required. Big risk.
[Atlanta]
And before you ask—yes, Kade will try to climb something about it.
[Akagi]
He will also try to bring everyone home.
[Kaga]
He will fail at being calm.
[Bismarck]
But he will not fail to care.
[Hensley] (stands, like he’s ending a briefing)
That’s the recap. You’re caught up.
If you’re still confused, that’s fine—Horizon is confusing. It’s a base where the rules are made out of duct tape and spite, and somehow that works better than the Admiralty’s paperwork.
Now go drink water.
(glances at Atlanta)
That includes you.
[Atlanta]
Make me.