Red Alert 2 Mental Omega: Wargirls Reincarnation

Amy's POV

I waved my hand in front of Aqua-chan's sleeping face. She didn't respond.

Helena quickly escaped from her spot as Aqua-chan's impromptu headrest. Aqua-chan shifted slightly, and Helena nearly got crushed by Aqua-chan's weight—unsurprising, considering Aqua-chan is as heavy as a submarine.

"That was quick," I muttered with a soft smile, listening to the steady sound of Aqua's light snoring.

("Terra, I'll leave the engineering squads to you. I'm guessing Aqua-chan's Wisdom Cube Factory isn't fully operational yet?") I asked through the voice chat.

("Affirmative,") Terra replied.

"Tessa-chan, would you be so kind as to carry Aqua-chan back to her room?" I asked with a smile, glancing over at another table.

Tessa nodded hesitantly. "Y-Yeah, I can do that. Don't worry," she said, her voice still carrying a faint stutter. As she stood, nanoswarms poured out from her large deployer box, effortlessly lifting Aqua-chan.

I couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. That ability would make life so much easier. I was pretty sure Helena felt the same way.

"I'll assist Terra with the building," Alya said as she bowed slightly and exited the cafeteria, a massive deployer box strapped to her back. I had wondered earlier how heavy those things must be, but seeing nanoswarms easily lift Aqua-chan answered my question.

"Oh, Helena-chan, can you send me the rest of Aqua-chan's pictures?" I asked, still smiling.

"There you go, Squad Leader," Helena teased as she swiped through her interface. A moment later, 50+ pictures were sent to my device.

"Thanks," I replied as I scanned through the photos.

"I'm heading out to retrieve Tama and Pama. They're probably still working on that last sensor tower," I said, slinging my harpoon railgun onto the passive carry rig on my front before heading for the exit.

Tessa carefully adjusted her nanoswarm deployer box, carrying Aqua-chan out of the cafeteria toward her room. I could still hear the faint hum of the nanoswarms as I left.

Outside, the residential area was still mostly empty space. In time, it would fill with greenery and infrastructure. While I had allowed Helena to present the project plans to Aqua-chan before I arrived, greenery would have to wait. Between Terra and Alya managing the builds, Tessa taking a break, and Tama finishing the sensor towers, manpower were stretched thin.

The underwater entrance was a short walk away. While it only took a few minutes to reach the nearest water, exiting the base required swimming for five minutes to clear the submarine gates.

I willed my underwater boosters and flippers to equip themselves as I approached the water's edge. Dropping in, I kicked off and activated the boosters on my ankles. The propulsion was smooth, and I adjusted my angle with careful movements of my flippered legs.

I still couldn't figure out how Aqua-chan managed to summon and unsummon her submarine rigging so effortlessly. My own attempts to replicate it only worked for basic gear like my boosters and flippers. Hopefully, once Aqua-chan reviewed the designs, she'd find a way to let us summon and unsummon weapons as well. That would dramatically improve emergency response times.

("Hey, Squad Leader~ Aqua-chan's been put to bed. Got any jobs for me?") Helena chimed into the voice chat, her usual playful tone evident.

("Go ask Engineer Squad leader, We not in combat or any kind of emergency at the moment so only protection jobs") I said in reply as I will my boosters that attach to my ankle to activate and propel me forward.. as I kick my flippers legs to control my angle.

("Negative, Wisdom Cube factory still on going, no protection needed") Terra respond almost immediately with her formal voice. ("sigh I gonna go guard master then") I heard Helena sulk as shake my head.

I shook my head with a faint smile. Helena could be relentless when it came to Aqua-chan, but I had my own priorities. As I swam past the base perimeter, I opened the voice chat again.

("Terra, any plans for an external defense layout?")

("Eight supply depots, eight missile turrets, and four Avalon turrets. I'm sending the schematics to all engineering units,") Terra replied, her tone noticeably more enthusiastic. Designing layouts clearly excited her.

("Do we even have enough resources? Aqua-chan hasn't connected our main base's resources to the new resource generators from each forward base yet,") I said, adjusting my trajectory toward where Tama and Pama were building the sensor tower.

("The initial funding from the Creator was around $2,000,000 when she doing excavation of the underwater shipyard. We gained another $1,000,000 from subsequent excavation efforts.") Terra explained.

("So, more than enough,") I concluded.

Few minutes later

I arrive at where Tama building the sensor tower.

"Hi, Pama, Tama. Aqua-chan's resting right now," I said as I waved to Pama, who was guarding Tama while she worked on the sensor tower.

"Huh, she seemed fine when I last saw her," Pama said, tilting her head.

"M-My scans didn't show anything wrong when I met her," Tama added shyly.

"Good to know. Probably just mental fatigue from designing too much," I speculated, glancing up at the newly installed PD graviton turret atop the sensor tower.

"How effective is that PD turret, anyway? I'm not an engineer," I asked with a sigh.

"O-Oh! Those can shoot down projectiles at a rate of 600 shots per second. Crea—Aqua based the design on something she called a C-RAM. I'm not sure what that is, but it's supposed to handle most projectiles, except for something like a railgun," Tama explained. Her shy demeanor melted into confidence as she spoke about her area of expertise.

Pama and I exchanged smiles as Tama's excitement grew.

"Ah, I know how to fix your shyness," Pama teased, pulling Tama into a hug, her harpoon railgun sliding to the side to avoid pinching.

"How long until this sensor tower is fully operational?" I asked, pulling up the holographic map. The screen displayed several empty zones. The eastern flank sensor line was complete, as was the shorter southwestern line. This tower was in the northeastern direction, the closest to the base on this side.

"A-About two minutes," Tama responded, still caught in Pama's hug.

I nodded as I noticed Alya exiting the base to begin constructing supply depots for the defense network on the map. Suddenly, a red ping appeared on my map.

"Enemy," I said, my tone serious. I switched the map to 3D mode and waited for the next ping. A sonar pulse confirmed it: a small submarine 1,800 meters above the eastern flank sensor towers.

"Do you recognize this sub?" I asked Tama, showing her the hologram.

"No... Wait, how long is it?" Tama asked, her shyness fading as she focused.

"Around 60 meters," I replied.

"Oh, that's a Piranha. If what Aqua's said when she designing Shark-class blueprints is correct, it belongs to Epsilon forces," Tama explained.

("I heard the alert. If its trajectory holds, it will pass within range of the northeastern base's missile turrets.") Terra reported in her usual monotone.

("Helena, wake Aqua-chan,") I ordered with a sigh. As much as I wanted Aqua to sleep longer, emergencies took priority.

Aqua's POV

I feel someone poking my cheek and shaking my body as I slowly drift back to consciousness.

"Master! Master! It's an emergency!" Helena's voice pierces through the haze of sleep as she gently shakes me.

"I'm up, I'm up," I mumble, rubbing my eyes and shaking my head to clear the grogginess. Helena is standing beside my bed, her hands still on my shoulders.

"What's the e—yawn—emergency?" I ask, my words interrupted by a wide yawn.

("Epsilon force detected. One Piranha-class mini-submarine identified,") Terra's voice echoes in my mind, crisp and precise.

("Hey, that's my—") Amy's voice chimes in but cuts herself off before finishing.

("Piranhas usually hunt in packs. Are we sure our sensors only detected one?") I ask as I bring up the 3D holographic map. The data confirms it: a single Piranha-class mini-submarine is out there. As I zoom in on the image, I can't help but admire the level of detail the Fleet of Fog's tech provides. The hologram is nearly perfect, as I pretty sure it work more closer to Lidar system and not sonar.

The design is eerily familiar. It resembles what I remember from Mental Omega and Red Alert 2 game, but this is real life now. The level of details visible on the sub make me appreciate Fog tech even more.

("Negative, Commander,") Amy responds to my earlier question. "Commander," huh? It's a bit formal, but I'm glad she's not calling me "Aqua-chan" in serious situations. If there's only one sub, it's likely a scout or patrol unit. Its small size implies that an Epsilon base must be nearby. Mini-subs don't have nuclear tech or the fuel capacity to patrol the entire Pacific, after all. I'll need to launch a scouting operation soon.

("Has the sub detected us?") I ask, already calculating our next move.

("Negative, Commander, nano coating on our building absorb sonar signals") Terra replies. She's the tech expert, and I trust her to monitor the more intricate details of our sensors.

("Then we do nothing for now. Tighten the defenses and maintain stealth protocols. We'll begin operations once I've assembled more Kansen and Strike Witches,") I instruct as I stretch and get out of bed. Helena follows me as I head toward the residential area's exit, as I look at the Wisdom Cube Factory progress.

"Twenty-eight percent," I murmur, noting the factory's current progress. Willing my nanoswarm to accelerate the construction, I continue walking toward the excavation zone to see it for the first time.

"We'll need Fog generation soon, huh? Can we even deploy that underwater? Who cares—Fleet of Fog tech can do it. I'll just design a blueprint," I mutter to myself, already pulling up the designer app. Helena suddenly grabs my hand, stopping me in my tracks. I glance at her with a pout but don't pull away.

"So cute," Helena whispers, though not quietly enough. My pout deepens as I squeeze her hand in playful retaliation.

"Ouch..." she murmurs, clearly unrepentant, as I let her lead me.

Back to the topic of Fog generation and stealth… According to what I remember from the wiki, most stealth and submerged detection ranges are around 8 to 12 units. Translating that into real-world terms should mean about 1,200 meters at most. We're outside their range for now, except for deep-diving Epsilon subs or… the giant octopus. Just thinking about that thing sends a shiver down my spine as it remind me of Certain mytho. Only Epsilon seems capable of detecting us here, 2,000 meters below the ocean's surface. Still, Allies Paradox Engine's time freeze is a wild card. I'll need Chrono tech soon.

The design I come up with is a small spire: 2x4x2 meters, equipped with four PD turrets and one Fog generator. It'll need a lot of energy to run, but our reactors—compact, stackable 1x1x1 cubes—should suffice. The spire will render this 5x5-kilometer area undetectable to sonar and sensors. Satisfied, I hit "Generate" just as the elevator dings and I look up.

Helena quickly averts her gaze as if she hadn't just been staring at me. The elevator doors open to reveal a cavernous, dimly lit space behind the residential area. The natural ceiling is still visible, outfitted with temporary lighting. I'll need to fix that once the Wisdom Cube Factory is complete… or delegate it to Terra and the engineer units.

"So, how many pictures did you take?" I ask with a sly smile, catching Helena off guard. She whistles innocently as we step into the elevator. Yeah, punishing her won't stop her from taking more.

[Generating..]

[Wargirl's Fog spire]

Cost: $1250 x 10 (Wargirls)

Power: -500 x 10 (Wargirls)

Hitpoints: 500 + 1000 (Wargirls)

Prerequisite: Wargirl's barrack

Purpose: Fog generation

Armor Class: Defensive Structure

Weapon: 4x PD graviton turrets

Range: 4

Additional Information: Reshrouds the area around it in an 10 cell radius. Halve accuracy of non wargirl's unit by half. Can Gain Experience. Self repairing.

I nod approvingly. It's like a Gap Generator but with more functionality. At the cost of a Missile Turret, I'll need a new layout for this structure. A cell is roughly 100 meters, right? Let's see… Before I can confirm, the elevator dings again, signaling our arrival.The doors slide open to reveal the Wisdom Cube Factory under construction. Terra and Tessa are waiting just beyond the entrance.

"Greetings, Commander," Terra bows gracefully.

"H-Hi, Commander," Tessa stammers, standing a bit behind.

Helena releases my hand as I step forward, surveying the site. It's about 60% complete.

"So, I assume you designed this layout while I was sleeping?" I ask Terra, pulling up the schematic. The defensive layout is efficient: overlapping missile turrets, supply depots connected via cables, and long-range Avalon Graviton Laser Turrets protected by two missile turrets each. It's a solid setup. RTS base-building principles don't fully apply when one structure houses most of our functions.

"Affirmative, Commander," Terra replies with a nod.

"Good work. After this is done, can you help design the surface area? It feels empty. Let me know if you need blueprints or specific structures," I say as we continue touring the site. Helena and Tessa follow closely.

Amy's POV

"We're back!" I cheer as I surface in the base's underwater shipyard. Pama follows me out of the water, while Tama floats herself with her nanoswarm, landing beside me.

I'm so jealous of that nanoswarm tech. I'll have to request an upgrade from Aqua-chan later. Speaking of which… she's at the Wisdom Cube Factory. Guess I'll head back to the residential area for now. Not that there's much else to do with only the barracks and residential areas active.

I feel a twinge of guilt for panicking earlier and waking Aqua-chan. Turns out we didn't need to act immediately after all. Terra's confirmation that the enemy sub can't detect us is reassuring.

"So, Squad Leader, what's the plan?" Pama asks, glancing around the barebones shipyard.

"Rest for now. Later, we'll guard Alya. Not that anything can touch her once she's finished building her first missile turret," I reply, leading the way back toward the residential area. There's still so much to do, Hopefully I see some actions soon..