Roy decided it was time for a deeper ocean trek, a notion that felt equal parts epic and nauseating—because nothing says "wise life choice" like steering your prized unstoppable battleship straight into uncharted waters filled with who-knows-what. But hey, he'd left the settlement mostly secure, classmates enjoying their newly built walls and drones on guard, so off he went.
Late afternoon sun made the waves sparkle. Roy paused on the deck to wave at a handful of random beach-goers who raised what looked like homemade flags. Possibly new fans? Or they just liked flapping cloth in the wind. Hard to say.
He grinned a little, then turned to face his floating mini-city of steel, patting a metal railing that squeaked in protest. "Take us deeper, Serenity," he announced. "Crank up the engines, keep scanners maxed, and let's go find weird stuff."
Serenity's voice purred through the nearest console. "Yes, Captain Gunn. Deeper waters await."
With a thunderous hum, the battleship pulled away from the shoreline. Roy cast a final glance at the silhouette of the settlement's half-started 2nd wall, dwarves probably stuffing their faces with infinite pantry goodies, nothing like the sugar packed delights of his world. At least they'd be safe… which was more than he could say for himself.
About an hour into open water, Roy stood at the edge of the main deck, one hand busy cradling half a sandwich, the other struggling with a beat-up pair of binoculars he dropped no less than 12 times. Gulls screeched overhead like they were mocking him: "Ha-ha, first time going deeper, huh? Good luck not dying!" Roy tried to ignore them.
At a corner of the deck, two Presidroids—FDR and Teddy—fiddled with a jammed missile hatch, looking oddly dignified in their old-timey attire. Roy might've chuckled if he wasn't so tense.
A screen flickered behind him, revealing the soft lavender bloom of Serenity's main flower. Her avatar floated above the petals, vine-hair swaying. "Captain Gunn," she cooed, "sonar is detecting unusual activity far below us."
Roy glanced over, stuffing more sandwich into his mouth faster. "Unusual, like fish? Or mermaid singles night?"
"I'm 92.8% certain it's a large aquatic predator. Possibly around three hundred feet long. Rising fast." She paused in that annoyingly dramatic way only an AI with a big flower body could. "Could this be like that cartoon you were watching? Have we encountered a... 'Wiggly Doom-Squid' situation?"
Roy almost threw his soda can at the screen. "I was not watching that! ...I just clicked over to it and got busy doing something else, yeah..."
"By something else do you mean nostalgically smiling?," Serenity said, not missing a beat. "Captain Cannon's Maritime Adventure! Episode 4: The 'Wiggly Doom-Squid'! What a fun episode that was..."
"If you tell anyone about this..." Roy said, voice calm despite the random surge of adrenaline.
"No promises," Serenity replied. "It's rising rapidly. Depth sensors show we might be in its path. I suggest a shift in course or preparing weapons."
Before Roy could bark an actual order, the entire battleship jerked hard, like a giant foot had kicked it from below. He staggered, fumbled his sandwich, and watched in horror as it tumbled overboard. "NOOO! My sandwich!" he wailed, equal parts shock and rage. "All right, that's it, kill him!"
A monstrous form broke the surface, launching water into the sky like a living geyser. Ropes of shimmering tentacles waggled in the air—each one wide as a train car, slapped with polka dots and weird swirling runes. The rest of its bulk was still underwater. Roy felt his spine tingle.
"Uh," he said, heart pounding.
"Direct contact with the Wiggly Doom-Squid," Serenity reported calmly, as if reading off a grocery list.
"Yeah, I can kinda see that. And stop calling it that!" Roy hissed. "Presidroids—battle stations!"
Presidroids dashed across the deck, their antique hats flopping. One tentacle slammed the water so hard it sent a tidal wave washing over the bow. Roy coughed as briny spray smacked him full in the face.
"All right, big guy, you just cost me a sandwich, you've been marked for death!" Roy growled, shaking his head like a wet dog. "Serenity, the main guns—something that won't blow us to kingdom come at close range."
A monstrous limb crashed against the hull with a gut-wrenching thud. Roy nearly ate deck plating. "Hurry," he gasped. "Just—use something a little smaller than a nuke, I'm too young to die."
Serenity's voice carried over the loudspeakers. "Understood, Captain. CIWS Guns or small CWIS missiles recommended. But do note, at close range, there is risk—"
"Yeah, yeah, risk of ricochet or hull damage, I got it," Roy snapped. Another wave slammed the battleship, tilting him at a ridiculous angle. Half the deck was now ankle-deep in frothy water. A base-model Presidroid took aim with an RPG, only for the tentacle to thrash midair, causing the rocket to explode prematurely. Shrapnel and shards of runic flesh rained across the deck.
"Oops, Captain," said the Presidroid in a dull monotone, tipping its hat. "A thousand pardons."
"Oops!? I am but flesh! Be careful!" Roy yelled, stumbling away from the chunk of fleshy debris that nearly skewered his leg. "Serenity, do something! Move us or shoot something or—both!"
As if in response, more water gushed onto the bow. The Wiggly Doom-Squid hammered the prow, nearly sending a couple of Presidroids flying. Roy's vision blurred with saltwater and panic. He forced himself to stay upright, cursing everything from krakens to gulls.
Serenity's calm hum drifted through the overhead speakers. "Minigun drones deployed. Engaging tentacles now."
A cluster of sleek drones zipped overhead, unleashing a torrent of bullets into one of the thrashing limbs. Dark-blue ichor spurted out, painting the ocean in nightmarish tie-dye. The creature let out a deep, trumpet-like roar that vibrated Roy's fillings.
He turned, flinching as another tentacle slammed the deck rails, ripping them clean off. One Super Elite Presidroid, Truman, got scooped up and tossed overboard. It soared in a high arc. In midair it snapped a crisp salute and maintained it before splashing somewhere behind the ship.
Roy felt an irrational pang of guilt. "Truman!" he hollered.
FDR and Teddy tried to wrestle a smaller limb with their bare metal hands, ripping chunks of flesh of with each swing. The thrashing knocked them aside like rag dolls. Roy's stomach lurched. "Fire a missile, I don't care if it's risky!" he roared.
"As you command," Serenity answered. Seconds later, the missile erupted from auxillary silo and launched in an arc to hit the creature's tentacle near the surface of the water. The missile managed to blow most of the tentacle into a shower of meaty confetti. The entire ship rattled from the recoil.
"Time to bleach the deck," Roy muttered. The sea churned with gore, and the monstrous squid bellowed in aquatic agony. "Gross. But maybe it'll— oh come on, more tentacles?!"
Sure enough, half a dozen fresh limbs erupted on the starboard side, suction cups latching onto the hull. The battleship buckled. A groan reverberated through the steel beneath Roy's feet.
"Serenity, engines full reverse!" he shouted, half sliding across the slick deck. "We can't let it tip us over!"
Engines howled. The battleship fought against the creature's vice-grip. Roy tried not to imagine how many thousands of tons this squid weighed.
Another wave poured onto the deck, nearly bowling him over. A battered Presidroid flailed up to him with something that resembled bread in a ziplock bag. "Captain, a new sandwich!"
"What the..." Roy said before he slightly smirked and snatched the sandwich. The entire ship keened as the monster squeezed. "Serenity, okay, new plan—torpedoes and depth charges, aim for the main body. Maybe we can scare it off if we blow a chunk out of it!"
"Yes, Captain. Launching.," Serenity chimed.
Somewhere beneath the deck, a battered hangar door hissed open. Roy forced himself to focus on a side monitor, which displayed a feed from several drone cameras.
Through swirling foam, the monstrous shape coiled around the lower hull. The torpedo swooped in and detonated in a deep, muffled thoom. Roy clenched his teeth, bracing for the outcome.
The deck lurched, rattling supply crates that skittered wildly across the floor.
Somewhere in that tumbling chaos below deck, a big wooden box with ornate patterns and writing on its surface slid across the floor.
Crash. The box slammed into a beam, its top popping open. Within, a sealed, container rattled free, hinges snapping under the violent tilt. Inside that container lay the shape of a woman—eyes closed, electrical lines etched around the edges. As the jolt pitched the ship further, the container tumbled again, popping the final latch.
A young woman emerged. Her armor, a futuristic masterpiece of both form and function, clung to her frame like a second skin—overlapping plates of dark metal shaped into angular, scale-like segments that caught the fading light. Each piece was subtly etched with veins of blue light, as if a storm itself had left its mark upon her. A short, practical cloak lined with metallic thread shifted as, echoing the quiet crackle of energy that danced along the faintly glowing sigils traced into her forearms.
Her face bore the sharpness of youth, storm-gray eyes flickering with restless energy, their depths betraying both wisdom and the fire of untested ambition. Her hair was a pale platinum that shimmered as it moved. It looked as if she stood between two worlds, belonging to both yet bound by neither.
"Direct hit," Serenity reported over the ships PA. "Minor effect. The tentacle is withdrawing slightly but regripping. This creature is exceptionally stubborn."
"Oh, fantastic," Roy muttered. "Let's tilt the ship or something. Thrusters, spin, do a barrel roll, doggy paddle—I don't care!"
"Yes, Captain." The engine pitch rose to a screech. The battleship jerked sideways, forcing the tentacle's suction cups to slip. Roy tumbled half a yard, nearly braining himself on a stack of crates.
"Presidroids! Keep those limbs off us or we're octo-pies!" Roy ordered. The deck shook again, and from the corner of his eye, Roy saw a figure crawl out of a side door—some woman with odd blue lines across her body. "Wait, what?" Roy said, blinking as if that would make it go away.
"Captain!" Serenity's voice spiked. "Another wave approaching from the port side. Brace!"
Roy turned just in time to see a monstrous tentacle slam the hull, tilting the entire battleship. He went airborne with a strangled yelp, arms flailing. Salt-spray stung his face as he hurtled over the railing.
"Crap, crap, crap. I am so dead."
A blur streaked by. The newly emerged woman vaulted off the deck, caught Roy mid-plummet, and used a thrashing tentacle as a springboard to fling them both back onto the battleship.
They soared back onto the deck, Roy cradled in her arms like a baby. "Hrk," he managed, face flaming in embarrassment, and relief.
She set him down gently, then turned to face the giant beast. The entire deck shook, water sloshing knee-high.
Roy coughed and rolled onto his knees, heart thundering. "What—who—? You just—?"
The woman stepped near Roy, scanning him with cool eyes. "You are my… owner?" she asked softly, voice melodic and slightly perplexed.
Roy's cheeks heated. "I… oh, sweet sanity, can we not do this right now?"
Another tentacle hammered the far side. Shots echoed as the presidroids hammered it with assault rifles. The woman stoically stepped forward, posture radiating readiness for combat, but Roy grabbed her arm.
"Hold that thought. Serenity, full retreat now! We can't keep tangling with this—this purple polka-dot psycho!"
Engines roared. The battleship shuddered, inching free of the writhing limbs. The woman watched the swirling foam as though calculating the best angle to suplex the giant squid. Meanwhile, Roy's insides churned. Bullets and artillery blasts had drawn enough blood and gore to turn the sea into a horror show. If the monster's still fighting, it's time to run.
"Captain," Serenity called, "the beast appears to be withdrawing. I believe we can escape if we maintain maximum thrust."
"Then do it," Roy ordered. Another wave battered them, but the battleship lurched forward, bit by bit. The suction cups peeled away. The monstrous bellow receded. Roy exhaled shakily, half-laughing in relief. "Oh, thank every deity. Keep scanning behind us, though. If it rears up, just keep going."
"Understood," Serenity said, her avatar flickering. "We are clear for now."
Roy wiped brine off his face, noticing fresh rips in his jacket and a smear of dark-blue ichor in his hair. "Seriously? I just washed my hair." Then he turned to the mysterious woman. "Uh, hi. Sorry about the… monstrous nightmare. So you're from that box?"
She dipped her head politely. "Yes. I woke when the box broke. I heard an incredibly high pitched scream and, well, leapt to assist my owner."
"...yeah, appreciated. But I'm not your owner." He shoved a shaky hand through his messy hair.
She frowned slightly, glancing at the battered deck. Broken rails, limbless presidroids, and lumps of giant-squid flesh told quite a story of chaos. "If you are not my rightful master, shall I depart right here?"
Roy felt a stab of guilt. "No, no—uh, look, let's not decide anything in the middle of the sea. We can figure that out once we're not a giant sushi target."
She nodded, calm as ever. Roy tried not to dwell on how easy she'd saved him, as if she had unreal reflexes. Instead, he signaled the drenched presidroids to gather for damage control, leaving the battered remains of the "Wiggly Doom-Squid" behind them.
Hours later, with the battleship chugging steadily through calmer waters, Roy slumped into a metal chair near the battered flight deck. A few presidroids cleaned away tentacle scraps and replaced torn railings. The new woman stood close by, never more than 10 feet from Roy. She scanned the open sea with an unreadable expression. Serenity's gentle hum filled the background, reporting no sign of pursuit.
Roy let out a long breath. "Okay, so. That could've gone better. Let's note that we do not engage random mega-squids without backup. Or a better plan than 'just blow it up.'" He shot a small glare at Serenity's overhead monitor.
Her avatar raised vine-like brows. "I recommended adjusting course from the start, Captain. But you wanted to see new stuff."
Roy groaned. "Yeah, yeah. My stupidity. Take a victory lap, Lady Lily Petals." He turned to the newly freed "wife," chest fluttering with awkwardness. "So… sorry you got dragged into that. You sure you're okay?"
She lifted a chunk of rail with one hand and set it aside, as if it weighed nothing. "I appear undamaged. My directive is to protect, so I protected. You were about to become an ocean snack."
Roy grimaced at the memory. "You have my thanks."
A quiet settled. Presidroids clanked by with repair tools and spare parts. One of them presented Roy with a fresh sandwich. He gave it a resigned smile. "At least some things are replaceable."
She watched him for a moment. "You do not command me, correct? Yet I feel compelled to guard you. Is that… normal here?"
He snorted. "Normal? Hardly. But let's figure it out later. For now, you can help if you want, or just… do your own thing. I'm not big on forced servitude."
She offered a cautious nod, as if still unraveling her own existence. "Understood, Captain Roy Gunn…?"
"Uh, yeah," Roy said, "Captain Gunn, if you want. Or just Roy. Actually, we'll talk about the name situation later."
She glanced over the railing, eyes focused on the dark waves. "That monstrous creature was truly formidable. Had I awakened a moment later, you'd be gone."
Roy exhaled. "Yeah. Lucky me. Then again, with my luck, that doom-squid's probably telling all its buddies about the jerk-snack who shot at its tentacles. Let's hope it doesn't want revenge."
He shut his eyes briefly, soaking in the relative peace. Despite the battleship being battered, it was still afloat, the horizon mercifully free of swirling lumps of polka-dotted evil. Serenity beeped from the console, scanning for any sign of monstrous silhouettes.
One of the super-limping Presidroids—Teddy—raised a battered hat in salute. "Captain, hull integrity remains stable at 92%. Shall we continue course or return to the settlement?"
Roy rubbed the back of his neck. "Set a course for a wide loop around these waters. I'd prefer not to run into that again. Let's just take the scenic route."
Roy mustered a shaky laugh as he shoved the new sandwich in his mouth. The sweet taste of victory? More like the tang of near-death paired with far too many pickles. But it beat drowning.
The newly awakened woman gazed at him, seeming both concerned and gently amused. "You laugh in the face of that near-catastrophe?"
Roy swallowed. "Yep. Because I'm an idiot. So… welcome aboard?"
She gave a slight bow, as if uncertain how to respond. "Thank you for having me… Roy."
He made a noncommittal grunt and leaned back against the chair, letting the wind whip through his damp hair.
Serenity's voice drifted over the deck speakers, mild as could be. "Captain, you appear fatigued. Shall I schedule a rest period?"
Roy snorted. "Yeah, sure, schedule me for a nice nap in a monster-free dimension. Thanks."