STEC Archives, Print Document Division
Curator signature: Jer
Format: Message, Personal Object
Object: Collection, Personal Correspondences of New Jersey
Location (if known): STEC Archives
Time: N/A

Scuttlebutt, noun. A cask on shipboard to contain fresh water for a day’s use; a drinking fountain on a ship or at a naval or marine installation.

Rumor; gossip; idle chatter.

During the Abyssal War, a prime objective of STEC was to bolster and maintain public morale and confidence.

In perhaps one of STEC’s less optimal attempts to achieve such task, excerpts from an unpublished document, entitled “A little bird once told me,” [Internal STEC project codename: Scuttlebutt] contained entertaining personal tidbits about the various shipgirls at STEC, submitted by the girls themselves. A question and answer section would be enclosed in each issue, with the answers revealed in the next. The intent was to first allow the general public to get to know the girls better, and secondly, to hopefully encourage greater interest in historical trivia – particularly as many of these habits or oddities are shared or inspired by the real life warship or concept in which these girls embody. 

While possibly humorous, the attempt was ultimately viewed as non-constructive towards the Abyssal War. “Scuttlebutt” was ultimately scrapped on the grounds that no one quite knew what, if any purpose, this sort of information served (even if the girls found it mostly entertaining). Additionally, the prospect of the mail-in portion was deemed to be an inappropriate use of critical wartime resources.

Nonetheless, for modern readers interested in understanding the lives of the shipgirls of STEC better – particularly during those times, we elected to display here excerpts from the collection. 

Due to the challenges of deciphering commentary and handwriting, anonymous comments on specific shipgirls will be italicized in the document below. 

It goes without saying that many of the tasks ought not be attempted by anyone other than the shipgirls themselves. 

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STEC Archives, Print Document Division
Curator signature: Tautog
Format: Special – Transcribed Record, Class [classified]
Object: Audio Transcript of Event no. [classified]
Location (if known): STEC Archives
Time (if known): [Classified – item declassification pending]

Curator’s note: While no longer encompassing solely the Pacific Ocean, the Pacific Conference was, and still is, one of STEC’s oldest diplomatic conferences. Designed to place STEC in regular contact with the other anti-Abyssal shipgirl agencies, the Pacific Conference requests that participating countries appoint one shipgirl and one officer as their representative in lieu of a diplomatic team. While the respective national authorities – civilian, military, and anti-Abyssal – are invited to observe, it is tradition for there to be no “intervention” on their part. Discussion and negotiation is relegated fully to the individuals participating, The moderately frequent instances of agreement or consensus-reaching is generally viewed by the shipgirl organization as an informal diplomatic agreement, and often provides the basis for more binding resolutions down the line. 

Naturally, STEC and other shipgirl organizations views these conferences as a prime opportunity to build leadership experience in promising candidates. For STEC specifically, it is customary for the appointees to receive a list of questions by the observing entities as a part of feedback. 

In the excerpt below, the observing entities range from STEC to various US governmental institutions/personnel. As it is customary for STEC, the identities of the questioners are scrambled using thematically appropriate codenames to minimize any undue influence on the responder’s part.

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STEC Archives, Print Document Division
Curator signature: Tautog
Format: [Item classification declassification pending]
Object: [Classified – item declassification pending]
Location (if known): STEC Archives
Time (if known): [Classified – item declassification pending]

Editor’s note: One “hallowed” tradition, odd as it may be, is STEC’s internal efforts to document, describe, and ultimately record the decisions made at the time. The intent, as always, is to allow future generations to better understand the circumstances under which these decisions were originally made. 

While the item here remains classified in its entirety, portions of it has been unredacted for your viewings and consideration. It is our hope that the reader walks away with a better understanding of the types of decision-making that came with the Abyssal War.

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Editor’s Note: Due to the highly classified nature of the [redacted], an integral component of STEC’s anti-Abyssal efforts, all relevant personal information has been redacted from this release.

STEC’s Lens of History series has always had the intent to communicate to readers in the future – near or distant – the challenges, efforts, and experiences that we collectively shared in the hopes that it informs and inspires the next generation.

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