LAST EDITED ON Sep-12-15 AT 09:05 AM (EDT)
 
>Forgot to mention, when discussing Kentarō Kurita's name, that
>just after her modernization into a fast battleship, the original
>Kongō* was Takeo Kurita's last command before he was
>promoted to rear admiral in 1938. As such, it is particularly
>suspicious that Earthforce happens to have found one of his
>descendants to "coordinate" the Fog Kongō's service in
>their fleet.

Very interesting! Certainly, the text itself strongly implies they're doing something very underhanded to convince Kongo she should be helping them. Especially the part where Corwin points out their claim of authority over her is patently ludicrous and she blinks rapidly, ignoring the question entirely.

Now it seems there's an exceedingly good chance they're exerting a combination of more direct control methods (ie, psionic power) and deception, using the former to make the latter seem reasonable. Exerting natural and unnatural influence both, as Exalted would term it.

(edit) Hm, I reread and I was wrong on a couple points. If they're maintaining any direct control over Kongo, it's through technology, obviously not psionics. And Kongo is already well aware the guy seems more like a political officer than anyone related to the original Kongo's old command. Seems they've just taken advantage of -her- not having the Admiralty Code. Not sure how they'd have done that though. In the original anime (and in here) she rather stridently insisted she didn't have free will...

When Kongo is released from this, I shudder to contemplate what will happen. All you have to do is see the last couple eps of Arpeggio...

(At least the Maya thing won't happen. It was a huge gut punch IC and OOC, sure, but also one of the cheapest cop-outs I have ever seen.)

------
Fearless creatures, we all learn to fight the Reaper
Can't defeat Her, so instead I'll have to be Her