Kongou

Kongou is a member of "The Fleet of the Fog", a force of mysterious naval vessels identical to World War II-era warships that first appeared around 2012. Specifically, Kongou's "ship body" is based on that of a Japanese battleship Kongou. Kongou also, however, has a humanoid "mental model", an artificial intelligence designed to counter the only advantage humans had over the Fog- tactics. Like all mental models, Kongou appears to be female, based on the fact that ships are traditionally referred to as female. Kongou's mental model is that of a woman with blonde hair and red eyes, wearing a long purple dress, as well as black stockings and high high heels. The Fleet of the Fog proved themselves to be hostile and heavily armed with futuristic weapons such as laser cannons and disintegration missiles, and protected by energy shields referred to as Klein Fields or Wave Force Armor. By 2035, humanity was driven from the world's oceans and all communications between continents was severed, the Fog destroying underwater cables, sinking any ships or shooting down aircraft that tried to cross the oceans, and even proving capable of shooting down satellites. During this period, there was only one human victory, the capture of a submarine identical to I-401 (except for its blue paintjob) by JSDF captain Shouzou Chihaya, shortly followed by Shozou's mysterious disappearance. Several years later, the AI controlling the I-401, revealing itself with to have the appearance of a girl calling herself Iona, infiltrates the Japanese Naval Academy and leads Shouzou's son, Gunzou Chihaya to her "ship body", stating that she has no memories other than a directive to follow his orders. Chihaya, along with a few of his friends from the academy, desert and join the crew of the I-401. Together, they launch attacks on the Fog, sinking the Fog battleship Hyuuga, followed by a Nagara-class light cruiser, and the battleships Kirishima and Haruna. These losses attract the attention of Kongou, the flagship of the East Asian Fog Fleet. Kongou is further worried by the fact that the artificial intelligences or "mental models" of the Kirishima, Haruna, and Hyuuga all survived the loss of their "ship body" and defected to humanity- or at least formed attachments to individual humans, as well as other emotions. The heavy cruiser Takao also defected after a battle with Gunzou and the I-401, though her "ship body" survived. Kongou believes Chihaya is a threat to the Fleet of the Fog, both because of his ability to cause Fog ships to go rogue, and because I-401 is transporting an experimental warhead that could change the course of the war to America, the only country still possessing the industrial capacity to mass produce it. Kongou places all her resources towards killing him and destroying the rogue Mental Models. Eventually, however, Kongou herself gains a single minded obsession with killing Chihaya, as well as an attachment to her subordinate, the heavy cruiser Maya, to the point where the Fog decide she is rogue and attempt to lock her down, revealing that the Maya's mental model was not a true AI but an observation program. Kongou escapes lockdown and fuse with Maya into a hovering spherical airship with devastating firepower. This form annihilates a Fog fleet made up of "reincarnations" of American WWII-era warships, before engaging the I-401. The I-401's weapons prove insufficient, so Iona literally fires herself out of the I-401's vertical launch system and engages in personal combat with Kongou on the deck of her ship. Eventually, Iona manages to come into contact with Kongou and, in so doing, modify her behavior, causing her to defect from the Fog and side with Iona, if not humanity as a whole, though she still refuses to Chihaya's fleet, instead roaming the oceans by herself, but promising to "invite Iona over for tea sometime". Chihaya and I-401 then sail to San Diego and deliver the experimental weapon, which is presumed to be a first step towards an end to the war.