Hello all, NicodemusV here with another chapter for Invictus.

Been a long time since the last chapter. Updates will be sporadic for this story. Summer is coming in less than three months though, so hopefully I'll have time to develop my stories.

Take last chapter as a prologue of sorts.

Some reviews to responses:

Guest - It's USS for now, but will be changed later when the Halifax is officially commissioned to the fleet. It's USS because the hull was based off an American design; it's named Halifax due to the large Canadian assistance in Halifax's construction in America. I will be using elements from the manga, although don't expect our guys here to be meeting Gunzou and the crew just yet.

I do not own Arpeggio of Blue steel nor any assets mentioned in this story.

2056

North America

North American Union

United States of America

Port of San Diego, California

" Candidates I "

Halifax arrived back to a quiet port. A small delegation of the US Navy and the NAU's military was waiting for them, the commander of the base standing at the forefront of the group. Aside from this, there were little other people; the old ships of the US Navy floated silently, their weapons waiting to fight in a war they had no chance fighting in.

Until now.

"A little quiet for being the second group of humans to ever sink a Fog ship," Mike noted.

"The real traffic's more inland, although the world wide blockade doesn't help."

"Don't we got the defense railguns now? They extend a few hundred miles out of shore, right?"

"Government fears, I suppose. Besides, it's faster and more efficient to use a maglev train than anything else."

"Planes?"

"More fears. The people are still too scared to use planes or ships and they like the maglevs."

Mike conceded.

With the Halifax docked in port, key systems began shutting down to conserve energy, but Mike kept them on a hot-start in case they needed to be quickly deployed. Although they didn't need to be refueled for another thirty years, it was standard training to shut off a ship's nonessential systems when in port. The ramp lowered down, allowing Darien and his crew to come down and meet the delegation in front of him.

Saluting, he greeted his superiors. They responded in kind.

The base's commander spoke up to him, the venerable Vice Admiral Matthew T. Thomas.

"Captain Elias Darien," the man acknowledged with a gleam in his eye, "that was some outstanding fighting out there son. Pulled a fast one on the damn Fog."

"Thank you, sir."

The man nodded before motioning for him and his crew to get inside the barracks, the rest of the group already dispersing or checking if the ship was secure. Nearing the sailor's quarters, Elliot was being bombarded with compliments from the Vice Admiral, his voice wild and giddy from the outcome of the battle.

"...And the way you used the lasers to carve the hull, how brilliant! I didn't think the Halifax had it in her to put out enough energy to bring those lasers to work!"

"It was our tactical officer's idea, sir, Lili Kreschov."

"Ah, well I must commend you, Miss Kreschov; that was some fine work."

She gave a "thank you, sir," but with a bluntness and unemotional tone that only a Russian could give.

Mike was muttering under his breath, "Lucky we didn't fry..."

The group was at the entrance to the sailor's barracks, the double doors waiting for their arrivals. The Vice Admiral gave his final compliments, leaving the crew to themselves. Opening the double doors, the four were immediately swarmed by hundreds of happy sailors. They gave thanks, cried tears of joy, and congratulated the four on their kill.

"Nice work out there!"

"Hope I can get on a ship like that!"

"Good job."

"So that's what the government's been working on, eh? I like it!"

They accepted their compliments with ease, it was easier to interact with people of the same rank rather than a superior officer. As the barracks were divided up into three sections, they left the greenhorn's block and passed through the veteran sailor's block - these were the sailors who were already around, who had seen combat before the unification of the three nations. The same thing occurred, although they received more respectful nods and claps on the back than verbal praise. No words were needed to describe their thanks.

Humanity had just scored a major victory, after all.

Leaving the veteran's block, the four finally entered their designated section. This was possibly the most important area in the entire base. For this part of the sailor's barracks housed all the potential candidates for Project Invictus at Naval Base San Diego. They walked in and were greeted with silence. Then, the hallway exploded.

Doors swung open, people came out and hugged them, thanking them for their efforts out at sea. The entire corridor was alight with the sounds of praise, even the veteran's selected as possible candidates were shouting. A few of them simply leaned back and nodded respectfully, but most had their spirits high. Smiles were on everyone's faces, and even the barrack's supervisors could not contain themselves.

For the first time in a long time, Naval Base San Diego felt busy again.

With the unification of Canada, the United States, and Mexico, the three nation's government and military had to be restructured. Such a drastic change in times forced them to adapt or die; if one were to look at these nation's militarys and compare them to back then, they wouldn't know what they'd be looking at.

The three nation's still held their respective governments, although the leader of each nation now represented their nation on a board where they would discuss how to proceed with things and keep their peoples happy. In order for anything to happen, decisions must be made within each individual nation's respective government before forwarding that decision to the leader, who would relay this choice up to the rest of the board. From there, the board must be in unanimous agreement, or else nothing happened until a choice could be agreed upon. As all three countries were relatively democratic, inner decision making came with the support of the people; things such as the CDRs sharing were wholeheartedly supported.

The three nation's were also allowed to keep their respective navies, but military branches such as the air force, marines, army, and coast guard were to be absorbed into the NAU's united military. The naval branch of the three countries were also meant to be absorbed, but Canada wanted to keep theirs as a secondary defense against the Fog, should the CDRs fail. Thus, all nations were allowed to keep their navies as personal defense of their country's coasts. However, they were required to assist in the development of the North American Navy (NAN). Donations were especially welcome, as the NAN would ultimately be the force to drive the Fog from the seas.

With the start of Project Invictus, it was realized that once the potential candidates were put together into crews, they needed to be able to function like a well oiled machine. Thus, the candidates were able to meet their fellow crew earlier than expected, and were put into coed rooms for the crew to share regardless of race or gender. If a group wasn't working out, they were either separated and put in with new ones or given time to work things out and come to an accord. Scientists especially liked the latter outcome, as they believed this would lead to stronger bonds between crew members.

Elias' crew was part of the latter. And he was thankful that it turned out well.

Sitting at his desk in his crew's dorm, the three other sailors under his charge were busy either watching TV, browsing the internet, or taking a shower. They, unlike him, didn't have to deal with the swarm of paperwork that came with being Captain of a ship. Luckily for him, as an Invictus candidate, he only had three other people to look after.

Leaning back from his chair, Elias rubbed his eyes from staring at the screen for so long. Despite how successful and simple the engagement with the Fog destroyer was, the eggheads in R & D and the brass wanted as much information on the battle as possible. Elias couldn't fault them. It was a turning point in the war, after all.

"Still working on the after action report?" Lili had come out of the shower, wrapped only in a towel. Her hair was still wet, Elias pushed her back in fear of water dropping on the keyboard. Not that it mattered.

"Yeah. You'd think after the debrief earlier they'd have enough information."

"Well, you know the military. Big eyes, big ears, small brain."

As Lili went back to dry her hair and get dressed for lights out, Elias went back to the report. He was already at twelve pages, going on thirteen, but he wanted to fulfill that one scientist's wish. More like demand, but the man just didn't have the tone of voice to make it seem so. Twenty pages, at the least, is what he asked. But how to fill twenty pages with a battle lasting less than an hour?

"Yo, Cap'n."

Mike called from his bunk. In his hands was an iPad Pro XXV. Although a bit dated, such luxuries were still capable of connecting to the new system of internet. He was watching a recording of one of the games from the LA Laker's glory days. Why he didn't watch the basketball games of today was beyond anyone. The war affected sports, but not to the point that it was better to reminisce in the olden days.

"Yes, Lowry?"

"We got our weekend leave tomorrow, right?"

"I am aware."

When Mike didn't reply, Elias understood immediately.

"We are not going to the city."

And with this reply, Mike retorted immediately.

"But why-y?"

"At the debrief, if you have already forgotten, the scientists mentioned needing us free on Monday. For what, I don't know, but they need us for something. And I will not have my crew show up to whatever the researchers need us for with the lingering effects of inebriation."

"I never mentioned drinking."

Katelyn injected herself into the conversation, ripping Mike a new avenue of thought.

"With you, it's always drinking."

"One time, it was one time."

"One time, Michael Lowry," Elias began in his captain's voice, "was enough to get us kicked out of the bar."

"I asked for a soda that time!"

"Followed by ten shots of tequila. You came back two hundred Ameros lighter."

Yet Mike wouldn't give up. He knew, in his mind, the importance of leave and enjoying it. After all, it was him who reminded them the value of life.

"Look," the engineer began, "we just scored one of the first victories against the Fog. Just 'cause it's a only a destroyer doesn't mean we can't celebrate about it. We're members of Project Invictus, and as members of this project we need to go out and raise morale for the people."

"And how will we do that?"

"We go into town, celebrate, and when people ask why we give 'em a vague answer. Start a rumor mill, get the people talking."

"Sounds like a Russian propaganda method."

Despite the bathroom door being closed, with the ceiling exhaust fan on and the hair dryer blowing, Lili was still able to hear such a small utterance. Opening the door and poking her head out, she gave a quick glare to Elias before popping back in the bathroom.

"Yea, but it'll get people curious. And their hopes'll rise up. 'Sunk a Fog vessel you say?' 'Halifax? I don't remember her in the registry...'"

"Won't the government release a statement soon? Why do we have to do it?"

"'Cause we're the ones who sunk it! Why else would we go, you think the people'll just listen to some old guys? Up there with their old, bored voices, trying to maintain professionalism that half the world has forgotten about?"

"The NAU sinks Fog ships all the time with the CDRs, how is this any different?"

"Kate's right, the CDRs one-shot kill most Fog destroyers, and we have over four hundred of them."

Mike almost facepalmed at his captain's ignorance. How did he become leader?

"Because with our kill, we can finally start taking the fight to the Fog, rather than the Fog taking the fight to us! With our ship, we have a standing chance of crossing over to Europe! A chance to regain Pearl Harbor!"

The gravity behind Mike's statements began to sink in to his captain and fellow crew. Lili had already left the bathroom, lying on her bunk reading a book. But the pages had long since stopped turning. Mike stopped talking, letting their thoughts collect.

Finally, Elias came to a decision.

2056

North America

North American Union

United States of America

San Diego

The sun was shining brightly on the city of San Diego.

Despite the war and the shutdown of the global economy, the skyscrapers and high-rises of San Diego continued on. Sunlight gleamed off the glass windows of the city; some remained dirty, the window cleaners not having made a full return since the union of North America. Sadly, window cleaning was not the only profession left desolate in the NAU. Although the job count was rising, many industries have not yet made a complete return.

It took less than an hour to get from the naval base to the main city. With the fall of the global economy, most people did not have the luxury to fuel their cars. Thus, most either sold their cars for scrap or kept them in store. The smarter ones, however, invested in an electric car; these investing citizens became the provisional backbone of public transportation until the government was able to restore the bus system for intra-city movement. However, these citizens remained an integral part of public transportation - companies such as Riber and Fyft saw immense revitalization in their sector.

With the highways and bridges mostly devoid of private traffic, buses and the occasional electric car was all the eye could see ahead. The Uber dropped the quartet off on a street corner just before a revitalized Starbucks, the driver zooming away as fast as an electric car could, no doubt to transport the next customer.

"If there's one thing that the shutdown of the world brought that I like, it's that Starbuck's lines are hella short now."

Katelyn was always a fan of coffee. A barista before enlisting, it brought great discomfort to her when she realized that Invictus members couldn't bring in a coffee machine. Something about troop treatment equality.

Walking into the Starbucks, the four ordered their respective drinks before sitting down and making a show of toasting. The little play had them all laughing, and soon enough their joy was genuine. It was enough to get Mike's desired effect - an overly amused citizen was amused enough to ask them why they were in such a jolly mood on this hot afternoon.

Mike gave the old man as vague an answer as possible. The elder smiled, but was unconvinced with his answer. Perhaps he was able to smell the shot of alcohol in Mike's coffee.

"So," Katelyn began, sipping her own drink all the while, "what you guys think the eggheads want us for on Monday?"

The responses were varied, but typical.

"Experiments."

"Weapon testing."

"Another 'social' experiment, to test for problems of course."

The mention of the social experiment brought the crew's eyes on Mike. Maybe there was too much liquor in his coffee.

He noticed the stares and rebuked them shortly after.

"Well I mean, why is it called Project Invictus? 'Cause it sounded cool?"

Lili put her coffee down and tried her best to recall some information on the name. As an avid reader and lover of literature, Lili was quite bookish for a Russian.

"Invictus... it's the title for this poem, written in the 1800s, during the Victorian era I think-"

"It was written by William Ernest Henley in 1875," Elias interrupted, "and is Latin for 'unconquered'. It evoked the classic traits of the Victorian era, namely stoicism and the 'stiff upper lip' of most Europeans."

The Latin definition certainly put the rest of the group into silence. It was a fitting name for the project, it was proof that humanity had not yet bowed down to the will of the Fleet of Fog. After years of defeats and death, even simple words such as "Invictus" could uplift an entire people's spirits.

"I didn't take you to be a literary in-tell-ect, Cap'n," Mike broke the silence, "but thanks for the definition."

Elias simply smirked, taking his coffee in hand, and stood up. His crew followed almost immediately. Bidding the old man goodbye, the four stepped outside onto the streets of San Diego. A walk on the streets of a post apocalyptic world.

"Where we goin' Cap'?"

The man remained silent, only sipping his coffee as they walked along the sidewalk. People passing by gave them reinforcing smiles, understanding the hard fight that the Navy was bringing to the Fog. Elias nodded back to them, but his pace did not slow down.

Traffic was light at this time of day in San Diego. A bus passed by, stopping at the light ahead. Behind lined up a few civilian vehicles along with a commercial taxi service; by indication of the sticker, it was operated by Riber. The light turned green, traffic flowing forward, but the bus pulled over at a stop on the other side of the street. Elias crossed with the flow of people, his crew close behind. A small band sung and played music on the street corner, their performance garnering attention and generous tips.

"Really Elias, where are we going?" This time Katelyn had questioned him, but he didn't turn back. A sideways glance towards Lili was all that was needed. Mike noticed instantly.

"Lils," he began, "you know something. Where's our Cap'n takin' us?"

She could only sigh in response. After a bit more walking, the crew had reached the bus and boarded it. Using their military IDs, their fare for the ride was free. Elias sat alone.

"We're going to a memorial," Lili answered after taking a seat, "I don't know which one, however. Elias knows a lot of them, even the original locations of the memorials before their destruction."

Mike was silent.

The bus continued on it's schedule, going through the many streets of San Diego. Passing by towering skyscrapers, minuscule shops, and crowds of people. People came and went, getting on and off when needed. There was once a point when the entire bus was empty save for the crew, and the driver looked at them a little bit irritated. He understood the fight that the Navy was going through, but that didn't mean they should hog space on the bus for free!

They exited the city and soon entered the suburbs. There they saw the icons of a post apocalyptic society; middle class homes with one or two families in them, children being corralled into orderly lines onto a school bus, neighboring housewives sharing a tin of lemonade or a cup of tea on the front porch. All these things and more were displayed up front to the sailors. It wasn't a sight they weren't used to, but it showed how severe mankind had been hit. San Diego was just one of many cities.

Finally, Elias stood and stepped off, crew following suit. They had gotten off on an old bridge, one of the bridges from before the Fog's arrival. It was quite a ways away from the city, even further away from the naval base. There were few other buildings around, all of them in various states of decay and ruin. One still had it's paint on it. In front of the bridge facing the sea was a small patch of ocean that was less deeper than others. Elias stood facing it.

Mike turned to Lili for answers, but she was equally as dumbfounded as him. Not one of the three knew what this place was or what significance it held.

"Captain," Mike said the rank properly this time around, "why are we here?"

Elias took a sip from his coffee, which, by some miraculous chance, was still quite full. He took another sip before taking off the lid and emptying the contents into the sea. Clearing his throat, he finally decided to enlighten his crew.

"On that patch of sea right there," he gestured to the spot that had less depth, "is the final resting place of a certain American destroyer. You may not know this, but the Fog had indeed attempted to destroy San Diego."

Elias knew his crew. None of them had ever been in San Diego during this mentioned time, but he was. Lili came from the East coast, Mike from Canada, and Katelyn from the Midwest U.S.A. The chances of them knowing this event was slim.

"On September 7th, 2036, a single Fog Heavy Cruiser was spotted off the coast of San Diego. By this time, the U.S. Navy was on it's last legs. San Diego was the last remaining naval stronghold on the West coast. Almost all of the Pacific Fleet was gathered here, along with a few surviving Coast Guard vessels. The following engagement would be known as-"

"The Battle for San Diego," Mike interrupted, "We were taught this in Academy."

Elias only nodded at Mike's finishing of his sentence. He was not, however, finished with his speech.

"The entirety of the Pacific Fleet engaged the Heavy Cruiser, which to this day is still unidentified as one of the WWII era ships that the Fog normally use, and were able to route it away from the city. That was not, however, before the destruction of the USS Enterprise, all except one of the Arleigh Burke class destroyers, all of the Ticonderoga class guided missile destroyers, and essentially the rest of the Pacific Fleet."

The new, docked ships of the U.S. Navy today floated silently in their moorings.

"This is the part you may not know," Elias grabbed his crew's attention, "The following week, a cruise ship of refugees from Hawaii was entering San Diego. Just as it was approaching this very bridge that we are standing upon right now, a Fog destroyer was spotted on radar. The only American destroyer left combat operational was the USS Theodore Edston. She was docked at Pier 12, where the USS Jackdaw currently lies."

The other Invictus candidates could only guess at what was going to happen. It was easy.

"The Theodore Edston launched herself from port, against orders from command, and engaged the Fog destroyer. It distracted the destroyer long enough for the cruise ship to enter port and be secured in a safe zone. The Edston, however, was unable to do the same. After negligible damage to the destroyer, the Theodore Edston was promptly shot at and sunk at that very spot. The destroyer then left the scene, allowing the Edston and her crew to burn in the ship's lifeblood. Even now, with the advent of the CDRs, her efforts are still not recognized. The only recognition the Theodore Edston and her crew got was a brief statement from the American government, and some apologetic remarks from the passengers aboard the cruise ship - the ones that were able to get a look at the ship before she sacrificed herself for them."

"Sir," Katelyn croaked out with hard eyes, "Sir-" but Elias wouldn't let her speak.

"We exist now; as the North American Union; as the North American Navy; as the guardians of the world we know and love. We exist in the Invictus project so that lives like those aboard the Theodore Edston and those serving in the Pacific Fleet aren't needlessly thrown away to an enemy that defies our understanding of life. We are here not only to do this and more, but to serve as a reminder that there will always be a need for us, for people like us, to protect all that we know and love - this includes the very rock we live on!"

Elias finished with a brief shout, but not enough to make him seem angry. Passionate, if anything.

"Project Invictus is humanity's last chance. We are humanity's last chance. When we walk in for whatever it is on Monday, we will do so as members of Invictus. Of unconquered. We have been given a final chance, and we will not waste this one like the last hundred years."

Elias crumpled the coffee cup before throwing it into the sea. Maybe it was a bit unruly after such a patriotic and passionate speech, but his aura of confidence was unbroken by it. He began walking in the direction of the base, crew slowly following behind.

"For a man of twenty five, he talks like he's seventy."

"That would mean he was around five years old when San Diego was attacked," Mike deduced.

The trio looked to their Captain.

For a while, it seemed as though the four were going to walk the rest of the way home.

Mike dreaded this thought. While he wasn't above walking to get from point A to point B, they had gone a good twenty miles or so away from the city, even further away from the base. Fortunately, an idle Riber employed car was sitting in an EV charging station, and they were able to be on base perimeter just as the last light of the sun sunk below the horizon.

The car ride on the way to the base, however, was silent. Elias hadn't done a speech like that since the addition of Mike to the team.

It was unnerving, hearing their captain speak like that again.

They went through the suburbs again.

Like in many cities such as San Diego, the streets and structure just had that retro atmosphere. A mix of the old, refurbished homes, ghettos, vehicles, and shops with the relatively new electric buses, sub-ways, sky-trains, maglevs, high-rises, and skyscrapers. The economy was growing again - it's effects both visible and invisible.

As the four entered the Invictus candidate section of the barracks, they noticed the slightly more tense atmosphere. It seems the other candidate teams had the same notice from the scientists - whether they planned to take the oncoming assessment seriously was up to them.

Until Monday, they supposed.

And fin.

Wow, it took a long time to get this chapter out. Apologies for that, but I wanted to be able paint the image in your reader's heads the look of a San Diego after a global collapse, total union, and subsequent reconstruction both economically and socially. That meant a lot of edits and rewrites.

Unlike my other stories, I'll be splitting this up into arcs. This chapter is the first in the Candidates arc; as such, we got to see what it means to be a candidate for the Invictus project - it's not just some cool name slapped onto a vengeful project. There are some distinctions between Invictus members and regular Navy personnel, but ultimately the plan is to have that line [REDACTED].

Hopefully some parts of it didn't seem too info-dumpy. I wanted to integrate them somehow, but then it would split the focus of the current scene. World building or plot?

Update schedule for this is still wonky, but maybe it'll stabilize soon. Summer break is coming soon!