Of Ships and Girls and Shipgirls - a KanColle-RP (IC)

[Higher Japan]

Docks

As Tokai sat in the docks, slowly content with just allowing herself to recover, she looked up to the skies of the clear blue sea. "If only i could return soon..." She muttered to herself, cursing at the fact that the lack of instant repair buckets would mean that she needed to stay in there for a good day or so before being able to finally leave for combat again. "I assume you're doing well?" Himiko asked, suddenly walking in with a box in hand as Tokai merely sighed. "As well as being stuck here can get yes." She almost felt Himiko's smile giving off warmth as she dropped off the box. "This is your lunch for today, please enjoy it." She said, solemnly this time as Tokai opened it.

"Rice...preserved vegetables...salted fish and pickled food? Guess we're going back to rationing." After quickly finishing the small rations, she soon laid back as she allowed herself to fall asleep into the night, until someone screamed that is. Upon hearing someone scream about a battleship of some sorts, she turned to see another destroyer in the docks. "Yamato san huh? That's a name I haven't heard of in a while, I wonder what she's doing now..." She muttered to herself, looking down as she lamented about the loss, no, rather the mysterious fate that now surrounded the navy's once greatest battleship. "There's no shame in worrying about the past, for to grip and hold onto the past, as painful as it may be, is still the noble act of the preservation of culture and history."

Admiralty

"Pardon the intrusion." Kaguya said in a clear voice, lacking of any of the laid back persona she had as she knocked on the door to the office before opening it. "Apologies for barging in commander, but I personally felt that i had to see you on this matter as soon as possible in an appropriate time. Concerning what i propose, it is all here." Laying it down on the table as much as possible as if in a hurry, she took out a pencil and began to circle some points down. "To prevent such an incident from happening again, i believe that the solution will be to set up a capable air defense system, as such as you can see by how it is overlapping here..." She would continue to ramble on and on again as she pointed out various advantages in the system, while also explaining as to how they can improvise due to the current supply situation.

Warehouses

"What a shame..." Higashikawa muttered to himself, looking at some of the items that was still in the warehouses as he looked around for any of his personal belongings. Aside from a few cannons and AA units, nothing had come up. "Ah what a shame, i was going to get something nice for him on his first day here. Now..." Walking off by spinning on his heel, he moved onto another section as the sound of his heel tapping on the ground could be heard through the warehouses, the distinct noise filling the somewhat quiet air.

[Sterkistan]

-SNIP-

---

Battleship Diamantina
Baths

---

Dia was caught slightly off-guard by Stilly hugging her, but she wrapped her arms around the girl's back gently, once she had shaken the slight daze.
She pulled her closer, resting her head against the Sloop's.
"It was my pleasure Stilly, I'll do it whenever you like."
She held Stilly for what felt like hours, she was warm, a nice soothing warmth that made you feel happy.

---

Battleship Whona
Baths

---

Whona had closed her eyes for a few minutes and found them opened to the sight of Dia and Stilly still hugging it out.
She sighed,
"Dia, come on. Let the poor girl go you're suffocating her."
She reached over, tapping Dia on the shoulder and breaking the trance-like state she was in.
Her eyes shot open and she released Stilly.
"Stilly I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking."

[Jebslund]

-snip-

HLFFS Heavenforetrekker / HLTS Hazel
Leaving Eastern Sector DN-15

The wings are already here,
Into the true hearmwinds,
I shalt fly forth and swift.

No moon, no star, no light.
Nor fog, or rain to cometh.
Tis' blakenight has cometh.

I am only pushed 'bout so.
Roughseas all 'round me.
So fades my hopes I awaited.

Christmas is not even here,
But tis' the most coldest 'round.
But blakehearted so too fair.

So far as of here 'round,
Home is ne'er so near.
But I'm on my way, dear.

Here

Channel Harbour Princess.

"Thank you.", Hornissennest replied. The upgrades, if approved, would go a long way toward helping the mission's odds of success. For now, though, the next hour would, in addition to the commencement of repairs, be best spent having the things she'd need gathered. Her battlegroup would be very busy for much of the rest of the day. There were plans to be made and gone over, assessments to make, stragglers in Abyssal waters to track down, and there was the matter of a certain set of dummy bomb drops during a real battle that needed to be addressed.

Hornissennest nodded and bowed as she was dismissed, making no response to the well done. She didn't feel she deserved such praise yet, as she hadn't done anything of note. For all their compassion toward other sapients, Jebslunden as a rule reserved praise for significant achievements. It was not lightly given, and Hornissennest could not for the life of her see why how she could deserve it. But that was a matter for later. For now, the first order of business was to commence with repairs and begin planning the coming strike. [Turmfalke, hol mir alles was du kannst auf der feindlichen Basis. Besonders zu erwähnen sind die genauen Standorte aller bekannten AA-Stellungen, aller Flugzeughangars und aller Start- und Landebahnen, Straßen und flachen Landstreifen, die den Start landgestützter Flugzeuge unterstützen können. Wenn Sie mich genug bekommen, um sie nur mit Instrumenten zu bombardieren, wäre das perfekt. Besser als perfekt, wenn Sie mir den Standort ihres Luftradars finden können.], she ordered over the radio, [Adelheid, koordiniert mit jedem Channel Harbour Princess setzt dieses Unterfangen ein. Erika, Patrouille Sektor DN-15. Achten Sie besonders auf das Gitter (... -...).^{(the grid containing the island of Hazel's estimated last known position, based on where Heba's floatplane flew to and from.)} Es gibt etwas, was ich gerne hätte, wenn du nach mir suchst. Wenn Sie irgendwelche Feinde finden, die Sie gefahrlos übernehmen können, ist Capture zunächst der Zerstörung vorzuziehen. Fragen Sie sie gegebenenfalls ab und entsorgen Sie sie dann, wenn sie nicht mehr nützlich sind. Wenn sie zu groß oder zu gut bewaffnet sind, können Sie nach Verstärkung rufen und sich zurückziehen. Du kannst zurückkehren und dich ausruhen, wenn du mit deiner Patrouille fertig bist. Kerriott, Sie und Mary Read Kerman haben mir einige dieser Wale geschickt, wenn es fertig ist zu kochen.], she continued. As her battlegroup acknowledged their orders, Hornissennest made for the repair docks.

Repair docks, that evening
"He-class Light Cruiser Heba.", Hornissennest stated, by way of greeting, "You seem... unsettled.". The carrier Princess paused long enough to receive an answer, or be sure none was forthcoming, before continuing, "Regardless, you are here because there is a matter I wish clarification on. Specifically, an... encounter... in sector DN-15.", she continued, arms crossed under her fuel tanks, which were mostly hidden by her hair, "I believe you encountered an enemy vessel near coordinates (...,...).", the statement, though worded as an opinion, was stated in a tone suggesting it was an immutable fact, "Yet you did not kill, capture, or immediately report it. Why?", she asked, giving the Light Cruiser a humorless smile which, if taken as intended, added a sternness to her neutral tone.

Translations:
Turmfalke, get me everything you can on the enemy base. Of particular note are the precise locations of any known AA emplacements, all aircraft hangars, and any and all runways, roads, and flat strips of land capable of supporting the launch of land-based aircraft. If you can get me enough to bomb them using only instruments, that would be perfect. Better than perfect if you can find me the location of their air radars.

Adelheid, coordinate with anyone Channel Harbor Princess puts on this venture. Erika, patrol sector DN-15. Pay special attention to grid (...-...). There's something I'd like you to check out for me. If you find any enemies you can safely take on, capture is initially preferable to destruction. Interrogate them if able, then dispose of them when they are no longer useful. If they are too big or too well-armed, you may call for reinforcement and retreat. You may return and rest up when you are finished with your patrol. Kerriott, you and Mary Read Kerman have some of that whale sent my way when it's done cooking.

Hornissennest doesn't know that Hazel is still there. She's acting on a hunch. Feel free to have Hazel have left before Erika got to the island in question on her patrol, or for the coordinates to not be correct. About the only thing that would see her leave is the recon planes Turmfalke is going to loan Erika, and those can be shot down fairly easily if encountered.

As for Heba, Hornissennest isn't as certain as she sounds that it was an enemy vessel. She's heavily playing odds here. If Heba can lie well enough, she may be able to get the lecture down to a lecture about playing games in the middle of a battle, provided Erika doesn't actually find Hazel, which would confirm Hornissennest's suspicions.

Note: Quote modified by removal of spoiler-tags.

Heba. Channel Harbour Princess.
[Milady, I was identifying the vessel.], she stated, technically true, still kneeling in front of Hornissennest, [Her designation was returned as H-L-T-S Hazel by herself. As no identification charts provided any information about a vessel of that name, neither with our side, nor with theirs, I made the decision to gleam whatever information about who or what she is so that we can successfully combat her in case of her harbouring aggressive intentions. As my planes came back time and time with no damages, I excluded aggressive intentions.]
She let a beat pass.
[She was surprisingly forthcoming with information as well.], she continued and produced the scraps of paper they had used to communicate, which held a bit of information, [As I was not permitted to leave my post, I made no attempt at capturing or killing her. As this surprisingly open source of information would get the wrong idea by a battlegroup in front of her I refrained from reporting the sighting. It would not be the first time, that a vessel scuttles herself before capture.]
Another beat passed.
[I ask you, merely, Milady, that if you find my actions to have caused you offense, that either I am solely punished or that you send me to right my wrong.], she finished.
[shnip]

[spoiler tags removed posts cut for length/relevance]

Sector DN-15
She almost didn't see it. Erika had been patrolling the sector all day, being very thorough lest she miss something to set Hornissennest-hime off again, and singing as she went. Thus far, she'd seen nothing, try as she might to find *some* trophy to sink for her Princess. Even Turmfalke's seaplanes hadn't seen any sign of enemy activity, and even the Cheerleader's perpetual cheeriness was beginning to wear thin when, past dark on that moonless and starless night, one of the Fernglases, flying near the coordinates that had been pointed out to her, saw that what she'd assumed to be a glitch in her radar was, in fact, a ship when it used its searchlight to check the area of the "glitch". A kanmusu, though this one, according to what she could see from the image it showed her, seemed to be a civilian. Interesting... Though she could see what Hornissennest had wanted her to check out. This one was a real cutie. As she brought herself about to pursue, bringing her engines up to flank speed, Erika sent a message to the ship. [Attention unidentified vessel! Drop anchor or be destroyed! Achtung nicht identifiziertes Schiff! Anker werfen oder zerstört werden!], she commanded over the radio on all known Kanmusu frequencies. At 25km, she was still too far away for accurate fire, even with her Zollstocks, so she'd have to close before she could fire any warning shots. The Fernglas, meanwhile, continued to shine its spotlight on the unidentified vessel.

Repair docks, with Heba

Hornissennest listened, looking over the slips of paper once handed them as she considered the ship's story. "You were not summoned here to grovel, Heba. I will make my decision based on what is best for the fleet, not on what you would prefer. Your request, however, is noted.", she said when Heba had finished, "According to these, it would seem you were attempting to establish a rapport.", her tone left the addition of 'or something more' unspoken, "At present, one of my battlegroup is looking for this HLTS Hazel. I will have the name forwarded to her.", she continued, a plan already forming in her mind.

Two plans, actually, but one would require approval from the Harbor Water Demon, and was risky as all get out. The more immediate one, however, one which would likely be obvious to any eavesdroppers, was to send the light cruiser to do the interrogation, and possibly attempt to turn Hazel. If she could get approval for the second plan (and she doubted she could, as its feasibility would require giving up the location of some of their forces in order to ingratiate a "defector" with the enemy), having the light cruiser "rescue" Hazel would be useful, but the plan was too risky if what Hornissennest thought was going on was going on. Heba actually turning would be bad for the fleet in general, given what she knew of the Abyssal installations and their locations. She decided not to risk it before knowing *exactly* what Heba's intentions with the vessel were. And the best way to do that...

"Heba. I've considered your request, and I will accept your request to take responsibility. You may go to gather what intel you can. Do not abuse this chance I have given you, however. You are to report back no later than dawn. Dismissed.", Hornissennest ordered. She waited for the light cruiser to leave before issuing orders over the radio.

[Turmfalke, ich habe neue Aufträge für Sie und Erika. Kontaktiere Erika und informiere sie, dass das Schiff, in dem sie sich umgesehen hat, nicht in Frage gestellt werden darf, bis Heba eintrifft. Der Name des Schiffes ist HLTS Hazel. Sie muss die Identität des Schiffes bestätigen, bevor es das Feuer eröffnet oder eine andere Anweisung erteilt, als den Anker zu werfen. Sie sollen auch zu Koordinaten (..., ...) mobilisieren. Bleiben Sie außerhalb der Radarreichweite und nutzen Sie Ihre Wasserflugzeuge, um die Situation zu überwachen. Wenn Heba versucht, zu fliehen, ohne entlassen zu werden, dann sollst du sie und Hazel beide versenken, zuerst Hazel, wenn du nicht weitere Befehle von mir erhältst. Ich empfehle Ihnen, zwischen ihnen und der feindlichen Basis zu bleiben, so dass sie an Ihnen vorbei gehen weg zu bekommen.].

As soon as the order was acknowledged and the heavy cruiser making way to her new assigned position, Hornissennest took a moment to think further on the planned airstrike, going over possible ways to not only improve upon the tactics she planned to use, but to also soften up the enemy base for further strikes.

The enemy held a few crucial advantages on the open sea. As a strike carrier, Hornissennest thought in terms of how best to apply her air power for the most part, and air power was her area of expertise. An open battle at sea would, for her, be a worst case scenario, and, to her mind, the best course of action would be to keep the enemy unable to do that. That meant a directed strike that knocked out as much of the enemy's force projection as possible would be best. Air power, logistical support, carriers, battleships. These would be the primary targets. That meant that the enemy hangars, air defense and radars, and berths needed to go first. Any ships sitting out in the open or patrolling their harbor would also be good first targets. These would be the focus of the initial night raid.

During the day, assuming the night strike went even close to as planned, her day fighters would have that much less resistance as they focused on supply and munitions stores, with any present ships again being high value targets. She doubted getting her hands on any earthquake bombs would be doable, helpful as they'd be by making strikes against the sub pens possible, due to a shortage of aircraft that could carry them with the range to do so. That meant the enemy submarines were not a viable target this time around, a fact which irritated the carrier princess, much as she knew there was nothing for it at present.

Assuming they were not found and forced to retreat or run out of aircraft, a second night strike would be a mop up of anything missed by the first two strikes, the target positions based on reports by the planes that made it back from the day strike. With any luck, there'd be little for the night shift to do, allowing general incendiary bombardment of the base, in which case there would be no follow-up. The carrier group would return to base for refueling and rearmament and to report the initial raid damage, then proceed from there on what mission to undertake. If there were still HPT's left, the day group would go back in to wipe them out, with the cycle continuing until either there were no more high-priority targets, they were ordered back, or until the strikes were no longer feasible.

Turmfalke, I have new orders for both you and Erika. Contact Erika and inform her that the vessel I had her look into is not to be questioned until Heba arrives. The vessel's name is HLTS Hazel. She is to confirm the identity of the vessel before opening fire or issuing any order other than to drop anchor. You are to mobilise toward coordinates (...,...) as well. Stay out of radar range and use your seaplanes to monitor the situation. If Heba attempts to flee without being dismissed, you are to sink her and Hazel both, Hazel first, unless given further orders by me. I recommend you stay between them and the enemy base so they have to go past you to get away.

[Sleet Clans]

-snip-

Nevlamas grinned at that, Locust's past statements forgotten. They had a chance that they could pull this off, it was looking like!

''Then it looks like this could work...although, how much do you think you can haul up on a single go? We will want to make trips up and down as little as possible, so if we could get a couple more subs with dedicated cargo holds, that'd be greeeeaaat'' She said, looking around in the hopes of spotting another sub with a cargo hold, but to no avail.

[The Selkie]

Prophet

"Well, given the circumstances, I don't see a reason for her to be against it, she somehow knows of our relationship." He replied, thinking over how she possibly could've known.Feeling her head on his arm, the vibrations of her humming passed onto him, and he decided to sing quietly, deciding upon Da Pacem Domine, something his sister would sing when she wanted peace. Then Prophet began to remember her, from her almost perpetual cheerfulness to how she wore her heart on her sleeve. Chuckling, he paused to speak. "You are too much like her." He said, beginning to tear up.

Locust

I didn't understand, I was speaking the truth. Submarines are much like the ninja of feudal Japan, incredibly stealthy, targeted those of importance, and did whatever they could to complete thier mission, and if they were discovered, there was low chance of survival. That is what we do, and that is what we essentially are, ninjas of the seas. And if we die, we die, and another sub would take our place. I would object to Miuil's comment, but my CPU recommended otherwise.
"I understand, even if I don't share your view." I replied to Nevlemas, before turning to Miuil. "As for my use, my cargo hold is fairly impressive, as I can hold my piranha teams and the armaments for both them and I, or my teams can act as an escort or lookouts if need be." I replied.

-snip-

Nevlamas grinned at that, Locust's past statements forgotten. They had a chance that they could pull this off, it was looking like!

''Then it looks like this could work...although, how much do you think you can haul up on a single go? We will want to make trips up and down as little as possible, so if we could get a couple more subs with dedicated cargo holds, that'd be greeeeaaat'' She said, looking around in the hopes of spotting another sub with a cargo hold, but to no avail.

Miuil. By the Sub Pens.
With the two other submarines agreeing to my plan, I couldn't help but grin. I could haul around up to 5,800 tons of cargo, which was plenty. With a few supply ships maybe helping, we could carry ten thousands of tons and...
I'm getting ahead of myself.
"No time to dally, then.", I told both, "We can worry about those particularities later. For now, we need to get to our flagship and get her approval and a few other things. On to the Admiralty!"
I turned and walked away, towards the building, as fast as my steam turbines could push me. 10.5 knots are maybe not as impressive as other speeds, but for me, it was sufficient.

Rhiannon. With Prophet. Heading towards the Admiralty.
I furrowed my brow for a moment, too much like whom? A sweetheart back home? Someone, who's boyfriend I was just pinching?
Possibilities ran through my head - someone, who's boyfriend I was pinching... or someone, who's replacement-girlfriend I just was... or... or... the thought made my throat tighten, looking up to Prophet... seeing the tears.
Either he missed her very much, whoever she was, or she was not amongst us anymore.
"Shhhh...", I made, reaching up to tenderly stroke his cheek - he was my boyfriend, although my head devised a plan to test how deep his love went... and although he did not know it, Lodan Lir would play an integral part in it.
I hated that part of my head.

(In response to latest Selkie post)
Empress Catherine
Docks

Catherine would listen intently to Amy's stories of her own navy. While she certainly was built on a much larger scale than anything The Selkie owned, Catherine still found it fun to see people express their backgrounds of either them or their country. She didn't quite know why this was the case, but it was. "Cutting corners is somewhat unheard of where I come from. The only corners we cut are related to the guns/armor/speed cycle, where you have to choose two or the ship gets too heavy." She giggled slightly. "I haven't heard of constraints on money blocking heavy cruiser production, either. You should see how many Fortress ships my motherland has!~"

Catherine realized she was boasting a bit about technical superiority, atleast thats what she thought. "A-Am I bragging? Uh, sorry..." Catherine would scratch the back of her head, as she took her Ushanka off while complying with Amy's requests. She would slowly strip down, a bit embarrassed at the whole ordeal. A stumble would occur here and there, but otherwise there would be no issue with the Soviet Battleship Fortress's preparations for repairs. Catherine would then take two stools to sit on. Not because she was too big, but she simply would be too heavy in displacement for one to support her. She patiently waited, watching as Amy tended to that new destroyer while covering her NSFW parts.

Catherine looked down a bit. She started up the whole self-worth train again, blushing a bit at how much she's going to end up costing to repair. Armor plates like hers don't come by easy! 5 inch plates and 12 inch plates do, but certainly not 36 inch. Luckily, no majorly thick sections of armor were damaged. The torpedo bulges would be fairly wounded, as she HAD taken flooding, so that would be more 15 inch and such... You get my point. The worst part about this, Catherine only registered those as... numbers. She's often oblivious to how costly she is to even have present, let alone run. Her fuel alone could fully load 9 Bismarck-class. Which I think is way too much already, but you know. She shook her head a bit, getting those thoughts away. She's effective, an arsenal, even! No battle is lost in her presence...! ...Yeah, that helped. A tiny bit, but all the reassurance helps.

Flashback
30 nautical miles south-south-west of Bungo inlet, 7th of April 1947

"Come on... you gigantic wreck... mooooove..." Sweat was drizzling down Natsukaze's face, intermixed with a fair bit of tears, her brand new improved high pressure Kampon boilers screaming in agony as they attempted to tow a load of nearly 60,000 tons. Her propeller speed was reading all the way up to 35 knots, near flank, but she was moving at a maximum of only 7-9 knots through the water with the immense load behind her. In desperation she keyed her long range radio again, even though it would probably invite further air attacks.
"Kure Naval Base, Kure Naval Base, this is Leader 68th Destroyer Squadron, please respond..."

48 hours earlier, First Battle Squadron, Imperial Fusō Navy had left Kure on an emergency sortie with Yamato in the lead, Musashi following, they were escorted by two Akizukis, and two of the newest Type B destroyers of the Natsukaze sub-class. Behind the antiaircraft destroyers came Shiratsuyu-class destroyer Shigure, Kagerō-class destroyers Hamakaze and Yukikaze and Asashio-class destroyer Kasumi, this group of 8 of the most advanced destroyers the Imperial Fusō Navy possessed was lead ahead of First Battle Squadron by light cruisers Yahagi and Naniwa. Their current tasking was to destroy a sizeable Neuroi landing force located approximately 170 nautical miles south of Kure Naval Base. Air resistance was expected to be heavy, enough to occupy nearly all the assets at the disposal of the entire Kyūshū Air Defence Area Command. Proceeding at 25 knots out from the Bungo Strait the first contact was initiated from the bridge mounted Type 42-2-11 radar on the Yamato, and then it started...

For a newly commissioned vessel like Natsukaze her first action was a nightmare from the beginning to the end. From first contact the Neuroi had launched well over a thousand drones at their surface action group. First hits received came as they were in the process of reforming into diamond formation, a beam came skidding past the starboard side of Naniwa, cutting a gash into the hull beneath her waterline, and from there on in they were under fierce and continuous fire from waves upon waves of Neuroi drones of all different sizes and shapes. After expending nearly all their ammunition and losing Yahagi and Yukikaze they had been forced to scatter apart, each limping their way northwards towards home in singles or two as finally help from Task Force 38, United States Navy arrived and established a CAP cordon. Natsukaze had been spared the most damaging hits but Yamato was not, the 45,000 ton fast battleship had three out of her four turrets reduced to smouldering wreckages and she had underwater damage that allowed nearly 8,000 tons of water to enter her. With the flagship low in the water it was now up to the 3,800 ton destroyer to tow the 53,000 ton battleship back home. Naniwa was still in radio contact and reportedly was making her best speeds towards Natsukaze but that hope soon disappeared as a squadron of Neuroi stragglers found and sank the light cruiser. Now Natsukaze was on her own trying to tow the pride of the Imperial Fusō Navy to safety.

It was now late in the afternoon, with dusk rapidly approaching. Natsukaze had attached her third and fourth tow cables simultaneously to Yamato, praying to the Gods that they won't break under the strain this time. Meanwhile the battleship behind her had taken on an ghastly appearance not unlike that of SMS Seydlitz at Heligoland 31 years earlier, A, B and Y turrets still smouldering despite the best efforts of Yamato's remaining complement to subdue the pyres. Gently moving ahead now at her lowest speed setting Natsukaze put strain on her last tow cables, feeling and testing the tug as she gradually increased her propeller revolutions. Soon, confident that the tow would finally hold she put on more horsepowers, and slowly, ponderously, with a fifty thousand ton essentially dead weight behind her, started moving forwards.

Ten bare minutes later, the poor destroyer was sweating by the buckets, her propellers madly churning up a torrent behind her stern, still she was unable to make more than a handful of knots and despair was slowly setting in. She keyed her radio again, with her calls increasingly desperate, "Kure Naval Base, Kure Naval Base, this is Leader 68th Destroyer Squadron, please respond..."
"Any station, any station, this is Leader 68th Destroyer Squadron, towing battleship Yamato behind me. S O S, S O S, C Q D, C Q D. Need assistance towing before Yamato goes under."
To further her despair, the only response she was getting was absolute silence. In her panic she had not performed a diagnostic on her VHF arrays, and she had no idea they had broken down from the damage she had taken. Her radio room was fully functional but some of the wires up to the antenna arrays had been cut apart by a hit, and now the remaining damaged ones had burnt out, leaving her cut off from the rest of the world. A world which was indeed looking for the battleship and her but without a functioning radio connection they were groping in the literal dark.

"Yamato-san... I think my radio is dead... is your set operational? They've been blown off the bridge along with the jury-rigged antennae? It... cannot be helped then..." Sighing in dejection, Natsukaze screamed out into the cold, moonless night in an attempt to release some pent up frustration. vainly staring into the dark skies in an attempt to see anything, a plane, a Neuroi she could shoot at, anything at all... her efforts returned nothing...
Lowering her head, she sighed again, and soldiered on with the tow.
An hour later the situation had deteriorated further, the forecastle of the pride of the Navy was now mere inches from the surface, and every swell turned the wreck of turret A into an island, the pumps were simply not keeping up... not to mention a squall had formed over the southern end of the Bungo inlet, drenching the two vessels in rain. Natsukaze was slowly realising that this was going to be a lost cause and with that came the actual flood of tears.
"I'm sorry... Yamato-san... it seems like this is going to be the end of it..." She blubbered, still staring straight ahead of her to avoid having to look back and see what she knew was the battleship going under. Just then, she saw a white beam of light ahead on the murky horizon, a beam of such strength that it pierced the rain and reached her. A bare few minutes later, it flashed in morse: "Sadamisaki Light House to unknown vessels. Are you destroyer Natsukaze and battleship Yamato?" Blinking incredulously at this message, her first bit of good luck during the entire operation Natsukaze replied with her one working signal lamp: "Destroyer Natsukaze, with battleship Yamato, we're in emergency and need assistance securing the battleship. Please relay onto Kure, we have no working radios."

Turning around with a relieved smile she was going to report to the flagship but stopped with the words in her throat. Greeting her was a battleship that was already a third of her way beneath the waves, the B turret awash and the A turret truly an island now. Whatever relief Natsukaze gained from finally making contact with shore was instantly annihilated by a bottomless pit of despair. Staring, motionless in the water, with not a shred of colour on her wet face, splashed by the rain and her tears. Swallowing, Natsukaze felt her mouth moving slowly, mouthing the same words over and over again with a whisper, a whisper that slowly increased in volume until it reached a crescendo.
"No... we were so close too... so close... please, don't sink... please don't sink on me Yamato-san... please don't sink... please don't sink Yamato-san... please for the love of the Gods... Yamato-san! YAMATO-SAN!"

---

Docks, 1930 hours

"YAMATO-SAN!" Natsukaze woke with a startle and a scream. Opening her eyes, she found the form of a brunette, somewhat older than her looking concernedly at her. Her mouth still open Natsukaze let off an awkward "Uh..." before her face adopted a deeply scarlet colour. She had not expected that her wet clothes and exhaustion would cause her to dream about her first disastrous action and was now caught entirely off guard. "I... I... I'm... so sorry for that episode..." Standing up shakily, clearly unsteady on her feet Natsukaze bowed for the second time in one evening. "I... I... apologise for disturbing you all." With her body in the direction of the other shipgirls present, bent forward at exactly forty-five degrees, she held it as she gave a quiet sniffle, "Why does this have to happen to me of all people..."

Docks

As Tokai sat in the docks, slowly content with just allowing herself to recover, she looked up to the skies of the clear blue sea. "If only i could return soon..." She muttered to herself, cursing at the fact that the lack of instant repair buckets would mean that she needed to stay in there for a good day or so before being able to finally leave for combat again. "I assume you're doing well?" Himiko asked, suddenly walking in with a box in hand as Tokai merely sighed. "As well as being stuck here can get yes." She almost felt Himiko's smile giving off warmth as she dropped off the box. "This is your lunch for today, please enjoy it." She said, solemnly this time as Tokai opened it.

"Rice...preserved vegetables...salted fish and pickled food? Guess we're going back to rationing." After quickly finishing the small rations, she soon laid back as she allowed herself to fall asleep into the night, until someone screamed that is. Upon hearing someone scream about a battleship of some sorts, she turned to see another destroyer in the docks. "Yamato san huh? That's a name I haven't heard of in a while, I wonder what she's doing now..." She muttered to herself, looking down as she lamented about the loss, no, rather the mysterious fate that now surrounded the navy's once greatest battleship. "There's no shame in worrying about the past, for to grip and hold onto the past, as painful as it may be, is still the noble act of the preservation of culture and history."

Admiralty

"Pardon the intrusion." Kaguya said in a clear voice, lacking of any of the laid back persona she had as she knocked on the door to the office before opening it. "Apologies for barging in commander, but I personally felt that i had to see you on this matter as soon as possible in an appropriate time. Concerning what i propose, it is all here." Laying it down on the table as much as possible as if in a hurry, she took out a pencil and began to circle some points down. "To prevent such an incident from happening again, i believe that the solution will be to set up a capable air defense system, as such as you can see by how it is overlapping here..." She would continue to ramble on and on again as she pointed out various advantages in the system, while also explaining as to how they can improvise due to the current supply situation.

Warehouses

"What a shame..." Higashikawa muttered to himself, looking at some of the items that was still in the warehouses as he looked around for any of his personal belongings. Aside from a few cannons and AA units, nothing had come up. "Ah what a shame, i was going to get something nice for him on his first day here. Now..." Walking off by spinning on his heel, he moved onto another section as the sound of his heel tapping on the ground could be heard through the warehouses, the distinct noise filling the somewhat quiet air.

Amy. Docks.
With Caty taking care of herself, I was a bit startled by the outburst of the destroyer. Usually, not even the sloops awoke like that out of fitful nightmares - and those little lassies had enough of them, believe me that... not from their steel-service-times, but from their times as kanmusu.
It took a moment to gather myself, Tokai trying to comfort the little destroyer... and if you ask me, failing miserably. Then again, that might have been Mommy Amy speaking, but I am sure, that Tokai meant well.
At the quiet sniffle, however, I tenderly wrapped my arms around the destroyer and pulled her into a hug, resting her head on my shoulder. She was wet from the bath, her clothes dripping with water, but if there was one advantage to wearing a jacket over a one-piece swimsuit, then it was, that I didn't have to worry about getting wet.
"It's alright... everyone has their moments.", I whispered into her ear, tenderly, softly, comfortingly... motherly. "No need to cry, lassie." My voice turned a smidgen harder. "But do cry for your friends, who you lost. For comrades and siblings in arms..."
The Gods alone knew, how much I myself needed to do exactly that.

Lodan Lir. In the warehouses.
Still in conversation with the two nice chaps from Suoji, I heard footsteps... I raised my hand to indicate to them, that they should stop and be quiet. Mumbling, then more steps.
How much did I wish for my bow right about now! Many potential thieves stopped dead in their tracks when faced with a taut bow with an arrow on the sinew, even without knowing, that the arrow was actually a salvo of 135mm HE shells... alas, I had to make do with the old measures, a dagger suddenly in my hands.
"HELLO?!", I called into the warehouses, "Who else's there?!"

-SNIP-

---

Battleship Diamantina
Baths

---

Dia was caught slightly off-guard by Stilly hugging her, but she wrapped her arms around the girl's back gently, once she had shaken the slight daze.
She pulled her closer, resting her head against the Sloop's.
"It was my pleasure Stilly, I'll do it whenever you like."
She held Stilly for what felt like hours, she was warm, a nice soothing warmth that made you feel happy.

---

Battleship Whona
Baths

---

Whona had closed her eyes for a few minutes and found them opened to the sight of Dia and Stilly still hugging it out.
She sighed,
"Dia, come on. Let the poor girl go you're suffocating her."
She reached over, tapping Dia on the shoulder and breaking the trance-like state she was in.
Her eyes shot open and she released Stilly.
"Stilly I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking."

Stilly. Baths.
I liked my position, facing Miss Dia, sitting on her lap and hugging her, her head on mine, her arms around me. It was not suffocating at all, quite on the contrary. A warmth, a big-sisterly warmth spread through me as I closed my eyes and hugged the much larger kanmusu with all my power, a happy grin on my lips.
Then Miss Whona told Miss Dia to stop for she thought, that she was suffocating me.
"Stilly I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking.", Miss Dia said as she released me.
I blushed lightly.
"I don't mind...", I whispered, averting my eyes, but trying to steal a glance at Miss Dia, a tad bit afraid... that she might find the idea revulsive, vile or perverted... that would make me sad, because hugging Miss Dia, getting hugged back... it made me feel safe. Snug and salvaged... a bit like home.
Regardless of state of dress.

Sector DN-15
She almost didn't see it. Erika had been patrolling the sector all day, being very thorough lest she miss something to set Hornissennest-hime off again, and singing as she went. Thus far, she'd seen nothing, try as she might to find *some* trophy to sink for her Princess. Even Turmfalke's seaplanes hadn't seen any sign of enemy activity, and even the Cheerleader's perpetual cheeriness was beginning to wear thin when, past dark on that moonless and starless night, one of the Fernglases, flying near the coordinates that had been pointed out to her, saw that what she'd assumed to be a glitch in her radar was, in fact, a ship when it used its searchlight to check the area of the "glitch". A kanmusu, though this one, according to what she could see from the image it showed her, seemed to be a civilian. Interesting... Though she could see what Hornissennest had wanted her to check out. This one was a real cutie. As she brought herself about to pursue, bringing her engines up to flank speed, Erika sent a message to the ship. [Attention unidentified vessel! Drop anchor or be destroyed! Achtung nicht identifiziertes Schiff! Anker werfen oder zerstört werden!], she commanded over the radio on all known Kanmusu frequencies. At 25km, she was still too far away for accurate fire, even with her Zollstocks, so she'd have to close before she could fire any warning shots. The Fernglas, meanwhile, continued to shine its spotlight on the unidentified vessel.

Repair docks, with Heba

Hornissennest listened, looking over the slips of paper once handed them as she considered the ship's story. "You were not summoned here to grovel, Heba. I will make my decision based on what is best for the fleet, not on what you would prefer. Your request, however, is noted.", she said when Heba had finished, "According to these, it would seem you were attempting to establish a rapport.", her tone left the addition of 'or something more' unspoken, "At present, one of my battlegroup is looking for this HLTS Hazel. I will have the name forwarded to her.", she continued, a plan already forming in her mind.

Two plans, actually, but one would require approval from the Harbor Water Demon, and was risky as all get out. The more immediate one, however, one which would likely be obvious to any eavesdroppers, was to send the light cruiser to do the interrogation, and possibly attempt to turn Hazel. If she could get approval for the second plan (and she doubted she could, as its feasibility would require giving up the location of some of their forces in order to ingratiate a "defector" with the enemy), having the light cruiser "rescue" Hazel would be useful, but the plan was too risky if what Hornissennest thought was going on was going on. Heba actually turning would be bad for the fleet in general, given what she knew of the Abyssal installations and their locations. She decided not to risk it before knowing *exactly* what Heba's intentions with the vessel were. And the best way to do that...

"Heba. I've considered your request, and I will accept your request to take responsibility. You may go to gather what intel you can. Do not abuse this chance I have given you, however. You are to report back no later than dawn. Dismissed.", Hornissennest ordered. She waited for the light cruiser to leave before issuing orders over the radio.

[Turmfalke, ich habe neue Aufträge für Sie und Erika. Kontaktiere Erika und informiere sie, dass das Schiff, in dem sie sich umgesehen hat, nicht in Frage gestellt werden darf, bis Heba eintrifft. Der Name des Schiffes ist HLTS Hazel. Sie muss die Identität des Schiffes bestätigen, bevor es das Feuer eröffnet oder eine andere Anweisung erteilt, als den Anker zu werfen. Sie sollen auch zu Koordinaten (..., ...) mobilisieren. Bleiben Sie außerhalb der Radarreichweite und nutzen Sie Ihre Wasserflugzeuge, um die Situation zu überwachen. Wenn Heba versucht, zu fliehen, ohne entlassen zu werden, dann sollst du sie und Hazel beide versenken, zuerst Hazel, wenn du nicht weitere Befehle von mir erhältst. Ich empfehle Ihnen, zwischen ihnen und der feindlichen Basis zu bleiben, so dass sie an Ihnen vorbei gehen weg zu bekommen.].

As soon as the order was acknowledged and the heavy cruiser making way to her new assigned position, Hornissennest took a moment to think further on the planned airstrike, going over possible ways to not only improve upon the tactics she planned to use, but to also soften up the enemy base for further strikes.

The enemy held a few crucial advantages on the open sea. As a strike carrier, Hornissennest thought in terms of how best to apply her air power for the most part, and air power was her area of expertise. An open battle at sea would, for her, be a worst case scenario, and, to her mind, the best course of action would be to keep the enemy unable to do that. That meant a directed strike that knocked out as much of the enemy's force projection as possible would be best. Air power, logistical support, carriers, battleships. These would be the primary targets. That meant that the enemy hangars, air defense and radars, and berths needed to go first. Any ships sitting out in the open or patrolling their harbor would also be good first targets. These would be the focus of the initial night raid.

During the day, assuming the night strike went even close to as planned, her day fighters would have that much less resistance as they focused on supply and munitions stores, with any present ships again being high value targets. She doubted getting her hands on any earthquake bombs would be doable, helpful as they'd be by making strikes against the sub pens possible, due to a shortage of aircraft that could carry them with the range to do so. That meant the enemy submarines were not a viable target this time around, a fact which irritated the carrier princess, much as she knew there was nothing for it at present.

Assuming they were not found and forced to retreat or run out of aircraft, a second night strike would be a mop up of anything missed by the first two strikes, the target positions based on reports by the planes that made it back from the day strike. With any luck, there'd be little for the night shift to do, allowing general incendiary bombardment of the base, in which case there would be no follow-up. The carrier group would return to base for refueling and rearmament and to report the initial raid damage, then proceed from there on what mission to undertake. If there were still HPT's left, the day group would go back in to wipe them out, with the cycle continuing until either there were no more high-priority targets, they were ordered back, or until the strikes were no longer feasible.

Translation:
Turmfalke, I have new orders for both you and Erika. Contact Erika and inform her that the vessel I had her look into is not to be questioned until Heba arrives. The vessel's name is HLTS Hazel. She is to confirm the identity of the vessel before opening fire or issuing any order other than to drop anchor. You are to mobilise toward coordinates (...,...) as well. Stay out of radar range and use your seaplanes to monitor the situation. If Heba attempts to flee without being dismissed, you are to sink her and Hazel both, Hazel first, unless given further orders by me. I recommend you stay between them and the enemy base so they have to go past you to get away.

Note: Quote modified by removal of spoiler-tags.

Heba.
[Understood, Milady.], the light cruiser Abyssal said and rose before bowing again, [It shall be done. And if she proves to be uncooperative after all, I will see to end the problem myself.]
She could make 33 knots of maximum speed, but that would not be sufficient to catch up with Hazel that easily, she knew that, so she had to make her wait, well aware of the Princess' orders given to her subordinates. Turmfalke and Erika, then, those two would be the ones she would have to cooperate with.
Scribbling a note to Hazel on a small sheet of paper, she hoped, that it was not too late yet. She attached it to one of her floatplanes, like she did before, hoping, that Hazel would remember...
[Heba to Turmfalke.], she spoke into her radio, [I respectfully request of the Lady Heavy Cruiser to allow one of my floatplanes to establish contact with Hazel. I am sending one out right... now.]
And indeed, one of her little crows was on the way just as Heba hit the water, a note slung under the fuselage. The note said, translated: Hi again, Hazel. Do you want to chat?

[The Cross and Davids Star]

Prophet

Prophet smiled, still living in the memories of him and his sister, not exactly aware of Rhiannon, until her gentle touch brought him back to reality. He wiped the tears from his eyes with one hand, and brought the other to hers, holding it with a firm yet soft grip as he got a hold of himself.

Locust

"Given the weight of my subs and armaments, I can hold over four thousand tons of cargo, far more than most submarines." Locust replied. "However, I'm afraid that my speed may be an issue, as my flank speed is only in the single digits." He added, before turning to follow Miuil, leaving rather deep footprints in the ground, indicating his unusual weight.

[Sleet Clans]

''Right, lets see if the brass will agree to this plan then...''

Nevlamas then went on her way, following Locust and Miuil to the flagship's building. Underwater, her speed was hampered by all that pressure, but on the surface she could pump out 21 knots at flank speed. Of course, she didn't need that speed right now, but if need be she could redline her engines at a moment's notice.

[Legatia]

LNS Coriolanus

---

Naval Base, Sector CN-17|Operational Sector Wide Sea- Southwest|1830 hours

With a slight sigh, the flagship leaned in her chair, listening to the suddenly appearing Kaguya go on about air defense.

"..I understand your concerns, but we're at a lack of resources at this point to construct any major air defenses beyond repairs. The air defense coordinators on duty during the raid are due a rapid replacement, and beyond personnel changes and stricter watches there's not much we can do."

She noted a slow gathering of people without her office, and she carefully leaned forward, waiting.

[Higher Japan]

Admiralty office

Stopping in her tracks, Kaguya nodded as she kept some of the blueprints into the containers she had carried along. "I understand that at the moment we lack proper man power for any proper defense system and i can see why. To be fully honest even the twins aren't sure if our remaining supplies are enough to last us until the next convoy. But if we still survive, i'd like to entrust you to hold onto these blueprints for now for future use. Either way, i shall now take my leave."

Bowing out after placing the containers down, she quickly took out a small abacus set as she moved the pieces around while muttering to herself. "With these many ships...and the supplies left...we might not have long left." Keeping the abacus set, she walked back to her workshop, the moonlight shining down on her path as she looked to the moon. "Yamato-san...could this be the very same moon that shone upon your body, even when you sunk, you still admired the moon that shined upon the enemies that once betrayed you"

Warehouse

Hearing someone shout into the warehouse, Higashikawa looked towards the pile of weapons left over that he had. Before realizing that he still had some older 127 mm dual purpose guns left over from his previous remodels and from the failures that came from producing weapons. Grabbing some extra old shells which most likely had malfunctioning fuses, many would stop at the sight of a 127 mm cannon down their face. Whipping out his gun, now loaded with some crew at the helm, he pointed it towards Lodan, hand on the trigger. "Set the bow down first, you're not going to fool me." His radar array was still on him, and he could clearly see through the deception they were most likely trying to put on.

[Sterkistan]

-SNIP-

---

Battleship Diamantina
Baths

---

Dia smiled down at the girl, petting her hair and pulling her in for one last hug.
"You're much stronger than I and those around us Stilly, never forget that."
She sat back, sighing happily.
"Well, I've been in here a while. I should vacate so the injured can use the baths, heal well. The both of you. My fairies have brought you a clean change of clothes from your rooms, please excuse the intrusion."
She stood, wrapping a towel around herself and walking to the change rooms, waving goodbye to Whona and Stilly. Drying off and changing into the clean clothes left for her.
She went outside, breathing in the tropical air. She never really liked humidity though...

---

Battleship Whona
Baths

---

Whona sighed as Dia left, lazily returning the wave and watching her until she was out of sight.
"God, how does she keep her skin so flawless. We're sisters but we're nothing alike at all."
She turned to Stilly,
"You've found yourself a fine role model there."

[Suoji]

Jokosuka and Josura, Warehouse, Base

Lodan Lir seemed like a nice companion. Well, nicer than most. Besides, this wasn’t the most important things that the Suojian pair would have to worry about. For the past few minutes, the group had been getting along and chatting, well, Josura said a couple of lines here and there, but it was more than usual.

Jokosuka took a break from the chatting to survey a shelf to the side - nothing out of the ordinary, just random clutter, old shells and what looked like a couple of life boats. He went to reach further, but was disrupted by their companion. Lodan Lir looked more alert than before; was there danger? No, that would be impossible, they were in the base; no abyssal could get in there unnoticed. He reached over to Josura and asked him about the situation.

“Oh, it’s nothing. He heard some footsteps and went... berserk.” The submarine whispered. The pair began to creep forward and stood behind Lodan, trying to offer what little protection they had. Which was pretty minimal. Josura was near-useless out of water and Jokosuka had no weapons whatsoever. It seemed that some other vessel was going rather crazy and threatening Lodan. Hopefully, it was just a misunderstanding, and no-one had gone psychotic. Well, no-one had gone psychotic for now.

[Rustyal]

Empress Catherine
Docks

The Soviet BBF was still sitting on the two stools, squirming a bit with how... exposed... she felt. It was a bit awkward. "...Uh, Amy, tovarisch? What happens now?" Catherine was getting impatient. The damage assessment was already done, and now she just had to get patched up. Sure, the destroyer's well being mattered too, but you know, she kind of cares about herself as well. Tokai was there as well. It'd be awkward to strike up a conversation. It just... She felt like she was being watched, even though no eyes were on her.

[The Selkie]

Prophet

Prophet smiled, still living in the memories of him and his sister, not exactly aware of Rhiannon, until her gentle touch brought him back to reality. He wiped the tears from his eyes with one hand, and brought the other to hers, holding it with a firm yet soft grip as he got a hold of himself.

Locust

"Given the weight of my subs and armaments, I can hold over four thousand tons of cargo, far more than most submarines." Locust replied. "However, I'm afraid that my speed may be an issue, as my flank speed is only in the single digits." He added, before turning to follow Miuil, leaving rather deep footprints in the ground, indicating his unusual weight.

''Right, lets see if the brass will agree to this plan then...''

Nevlamas then went on her way, following Locust and Miuil to the flagship's building. Underwater, her speed was hampered by all that pressure, but on the surface she could pump out 21 knots at flank speed. Of course, she didn't need that speed right now, but if need be she could redline her engines at a moment's notice.

Rhiannon. With Prophet.
"You alright there?", I asked him with a gentle smile - I knew that look. The look of a person grieving, but not able to show it openly. I hated that look. I still reached up and pecked him onto his cheek. "We'll talk after work, okay? A lot..."
I sighed.
"But still, work comes first.", I said, still holding onto his hand. "Come on, we need to get going. Otherwise you will miss your meeting and I will get scolded again."
Last thing I need today., I added in thoughts, also thinking, that it would be unbefitting of Prophet's new position to come late to an important meeting.

Miuil. On the way to the Admiralty.
"I'm not that fast either, laddie.", I replied to Locust, before I looked to Nevlamas - who, I could tell, was seemingly not even breaking into sweat while I was not only redlining my steam turbines but had them at 'Oh my fucking Gods, we can actually put as much pressure into these blasted things and they still don't blow up?!' also known as 10.9 knots.
I'm a freighter, not a torpedo boat.
I turned back to Locust. "So don't you worry, laddie."

Admiralty office

Stopping in her tracks, Kaguya nodded as she kept some of the blueprints into the containers she had carried along. "I understand that at the moment we lack proper man power for any proper defense system and i can see why. To be fully honest even the twins aren't sure if our remaining supplies are enough to last us until the next convoy. But if we still survive, i'd like to entrust you to hold onto these blueprints for now for future use. Either way, i shall now take my leave."

Bowing out after placing the containers down, she quickly took out a small abacus set as she moved the pieces around while muttering to herself. "With these many ships...and the supplies left...we might not have long left." Keeping the abacus set, she walked back to her workshop, the moonlight shining down on her path as she looked to the moon. "Yamato-san...could this be the very same moon that shone upon your body, even when you sunk, you still admired the moon that shined upon the enemies that once betrayed you"

Warehouse

Hearing someone shout into the warehouse, Higashikawa looked towards the pile of weapons left over that he had. Before realizing that he still had some older 127 mm dual purpose guns left over from his previous remodels and from the failures that came from producing weapons. Grabbing some extra old shells which most likely had malfunctioning fuses, many would stop at the sight of a 127 mm cannon down their face. Whipping out his gun, now loaded with some crew at the helm, he pointed it towards Lodan, hand on the trigger. "Set the bow down first, you're not going to fool me." His radar array was still on him, and he could clearly see through the deception they were most likely trying to put on.

Jokosuka and Josura, Warehouse, Base

Lodan Lir seemed like a nice companion. Well, nicer than most. Besides, this wasn’t the most important things that the Suojian pair would have to worry about. For the past few minutes, the group had been getting along and chatting, well, Josura said a couple of lines here and there, but it was more than usual.

Jokosuka took a break from the chatting to survey a shelf to the side - nothing out of the ordinary, just random clutter, old shells and what looked like a couple of life boats. He went to reach further, but was disrupted by their companion. Lodan Lir looked more alert than before; was there danger? No, that would be impossible, they were in the base; no abyssal could get in there unnoticed. He reached over to Josura and asked him about the situation.

“Oh, it’s nothing. He heard some footsteps and went... berserk.” The submarine whispered. The pair began to creep forward and stood behind Lodan, trying to offer what little protection they had. Which was pretty minimal. Josura was near-useless out of water and Jokosuka had no weapons whatsoever. It seemed that some other vessel was going rather crazy and threatening Lodan. Hopefully, it was just a misunderstanding, and no-one had gone psychotic. Well, no-one had gone psychotic for now.

Lodan Lir. In the warehouses.
The other two, the Suojis, appeared by my side to help me out and I really appreciated it, but even in the dim light, the cannon my 'opponent' carried seemed not to be in peak condition. Somewhere around the size of my own cannons, I would estimate. At this distance, basically point blank as far as naval guns went, he would punch through my armour with that thing... and I would, too.
My allies were rather unarmed as well, as it seemed.
So, I relaxed my bow, but did not lower it.
"Right.", I said calmly, "You're not an Abyssal and we aren't either. So, I would propose, that the four of us relax for a bit. Sounds good?" I sounded friendly as I said that, sure that the lad in front of me would appreciate that. "I'm Lodan Lir, those two chaps are Jokosuka and Josura. We're actually searching for the spots to deposit a few bits and pieces of equipment... and after that, drinks on me, chaps?"
I asked everyone, including the chap in front of me, from the size I would say heavier then me, but not by too much. Another cruiser, definately.

-SNIP-

---

Battleship Diamantina
Baths

---

Dia smiled down at the girl, petting her hair and pulling her in for one last hug.
"You're much stronger than I and those around us Stilly, never forget that."
She sat back, sighing happily.
"Well, I've been in here a while. I should vacate so the injured can use the baths, heal well. The both of you. My fairies have brought you a clean change of clothes from your rooms, please excuse the intrusion."
She stood, wrapping a towel around herself and walking to the change rooms, waving goodbye to Whona and Stilly. Drying off and changing into the clean clothes left for her.
She went outside, breathing in the tropical air. She never really liked humidity though...

---

Battleship Whona
Baths

---

Whona sighed as Dia left, lazily returning the wave and watching her until she was out of sight.
"God, how does she keep her skin so flawless. We're sisters but we're nothing alike at all."
She turned to Stilly,
"You've found yourself a fine role model there."

Stilly. In the baths.
I nodded at Miss Whona's words, a bright grin on my face.
"I think so, too.", I told her, "She's strong and pretty and has class!" I let a beat pass as I regarded Whona, my grin dimming a bit. "But don't you dare to sell yourself short, Miss Whona. You two are more alike then you would think - you, too, are strong." I went to her side, sitting by the edge of her pool, hoping she did not mind (on that topic, I did not mind Miss Dia's fairies going through my stuff to get me a change of clothing, the worst they could have seen was a rather large collection of knives and a camouflage set that made me look like an island) me joining her. "You kicked rear ends out there and you took names. There are enough people out there, who need a role model like you... Venier, for example."

[The Cross and Davids Star]

Prophet

"Yeah, I'm just letting my mind walk back to better days, as the song goes. But you're right, I figure Fyodor will be having his meeting soon, but the least I can do is walk you over to Admirality." Prophet said. "Or rather, should I carry you over?" He added, slipping his hand from Rhiannon's and onto her back, as he took his free hand and sweeped her legs from under her, lifting her up bridal style as he began to walk, wearing a large grin all the while. He figured that she could have a little fun before Coriolanus has to chew her out for her attitude, something he hoped to help with.

Locust

"I can't worry, anxiety and similar emotions are not recommended for a robot." I said, perhaps I also needed to tone down my literal responses... As I tried to get faster, the hydraulics that made up my "muscles" began to strain, hissing and creaking as they pushed me forward. Detecting a higher chance of malfunction, I had to slow down, keeping to my single digit speed, unable to really keep up with my faster allies.

[Austria-Bohemia-Hungary]

Naval Base, 1930 hours

Natsukaze gave a hiccoughing sound as she felt Amy hug her, tightly, warmly, almost motherly. It blew completely past her defences and with an audible sob the Japanese kanmusume - no, teenaged girl let it all down. Silently, her tears, coming down in a stream, wet Amy's shoulder and joined the now cooling water stuck to her clothes. It was well after a minute that she managed to bring it back down to sobs and then finally sniffles. Staring at the mess that was her uniform now, Natsukaze sighed quietly and apologised again, for the third time in a few hours.
"I'm... terribly sorry for this mess..." If she wasn't already on Amy's shoulder she would've bowed. But what came instead was a sudden shiver and a clearly audible growl from her stomach as her cold, wet clothes and lack of food finally got to her. With a slight blush on her features she looked at Amy and said: "Um... I suppose getting in the bath while wearing the uniform was a bad idea?"

[Sterkistan]

-SNIP-

---

Battleship Whona
Baths
Whona smirked, pulling herself closer to Stilly. "Well at least I know I've got one fan."
She sighed, resting her head back.
"I was just doing my job, you on the other hand, made a larger ruckus than me for your size."
She tapped the girl on the shoulder.
"You've got quite the pair on you, rushing around the way you do, when you've got to get close and a Battleship can turn you into dust from 20 miles away. I can respect that."
She smiled at the girl, one side of her mouth raised higher than the other.
"I reckon Diamantina could learn lots from you, there's a few things she needs to improve."
She set her hand on the girls shoulder, more of a hardened grip than that of Dia's, which is distinctly 'motherly'.
"Anyway, I might just need to meet this 'Vernier' guy if you think he needs a little lesson in ass kicking."

---

Battleship Diamantina
Base
Dia finished her stretch, deciding to head to the Docks and clean her rig, the crew had complained of some discrepancies that required attention also.
She entered, the docks, looking around to see if she could find anyone, before lowering her rig down to a workbench.
She, and a group of fairies from the Sterkian Engineering Corps, began going over her rig. Some of the jobs involved cleaning shrapnel, patching small holes from said shrapnel, cleaning the soot from her rig and tuning the turning mechanisms of her guns.
She let time get away, working on her rig as if it was a large model kit. Testing the devices to ensure they all work at maximum efficiency, especially after the incident involving her slow gun.

[The Selkie]

Prophet

"Yeah, I'm just letting my mind walk back to better days, as the song goes. But you're right, I figure Fyodor will be having his meeting soon, but the least I can do is walk you over to Admirality." Prophet said. "Or rather, should I carry you over?" He added, slipping his hand from Rhiannon's and onto her back, as he took his free hand and sweeped her legs from under her, lifting her up bridal style as he began to walk, wearing a large grin all the while. He figured that she could have a little fun before Coriolanus has to chew her out for her attitude, something he hoped to help with.

Locust

"I can't worry, anxiety and similar emotions are not recommended for a robot." I said, perhaps I also needed to tone down my literal responses... As I tried to get faster, the hydraulics that made up my "muscles" began to strain, hissing and creaking as they pushed me forward. Detecting a higher chance of malfunction, I had to slow down, keeping to my single digit speed, unable to really keep up with my faster allies.

Rhiannon. With Prophet, heading towards the Admiralty.
I yelped in surprise as Prophet picked me up, then giggled.
It was a nice feeling, I'll freely admit, although I did feel a bit exposed, his arm across my back and under my legs. Everyone passing us would get a good look at my panties, but I had nothing to hide in that regard (plain white, for those perverts interested), but I cared little for that as I snuggled my head into his chest.
It was a good distraction before I was chewed out by Coriolanus, who might not want to have my head on a pike, but she certainly would chew me out. I knew that.
I decided, that I would simply not ask Coriolanus about permission to share a bed with Prophet tonight - I mean, just because we were in the same bed did not mean, that we would do things and stuff... except maybe a conversation or a card game. And no, those are not euphemisms.
I closed my eyes and let him carry me the rest of the way. My crew remarked something about such escort services being needed more often, but I hushed them.

Naval Base, 1930 hours

Natsukaze gave a hiccoughing sound as she felt Amy hug her, tightly, warmly, almost motherly. It blew completely past her defences and with an audible sob the Japanese kanmusume - no, teenaged girl let it all down. Silently, her tears, coming down in a stream, wet Amy's shoulder and joined the now cooling water stuck to her clothes. It was well after a minute that she managed to bring it back down to sobs and then finally sniffles. Staring at the mess that was her uniform now, Natsukaze sighed quietly and apologised again, for the third time in a few hours.
"I'm... terribly sorry for this mess..." If she wasn't already on Amy's shoulder she would've bowed. But what came instead was a sudden shiver and a clearly audible growl from her stomach as her cold, wet clothes and lack of food finally got to her. With a slight blush on her features she looked at Amy and said: "Um... I suppose getting in the bath while wearing the uniform was a bad idea?"

Amy. Baths.
I smiled at the teenaged girl comfortingly, still holding her by her shoulder and not releasing her completely. It was no problem, there was no need to apologize. It came natural, that someone needed to cry the own heart out every now and then...
How much trouble could have been saved with Novaya, if that immature little child of an aircraft carrier could have simply cried?
Her crying into my shoulder was not a problem either, I did wear my swimsuit. "I'd say, that it was not the best idea.", I replied to her with a small smile, honest and amused by her choice of words, but also comforting. "Come, I'll help you undress and get settled... and then, I still have Scipeáil on me."
Well, it was, technically, sweets before bedtime, but... I am a destroyer tender. Sue me and suck on the muzzle of my 76mm gun!

-SNIP-

---

Battleship Whona
Baths
Whona smirked, pulling herself closer to Stilly. "Well at least I know I've got one fan."
She sighed, resting her head back.
"I was just doing my job, you on the other hand, made a larger ruckus than me for your size."
She tapped the girl on the shoulder.
"You've got quite the pair on you, rushing around the way you do, when you've got to get close and a Battleship can turn you into dust from 20 miles away. I can respect that."
She smiled at the girl, one side of her mouth raised higher than the other.
"I reckon Diamantina could learn lots from you, there's a few things she needs to improve."
She set her hand on the girls shoulder, more of a hardened grip than that of Dia's, which is distinctly 'motherly'.
"Anyway, I might just need to meet this 'Vernier' guy if you think he needs a little lesson in ass kicking."

---

Battleship Diamantina
Base
Dia finished her stretch, deciding to head to the Docks and clean her rig, the crew had complained of some discrepancies that required attention also.
She entered, the docks, looking around to see if she could find anyone, before lowering her rig down to a workbench.
She, and a group of fairies from the Sterkian Engineering Corps, began going over her rig. Some of the jobs involved cleaning shrapnel, patching small holes from said shrapnel, cleaning the soot from her rig and tuning the turning mechanisms of her guns.
She let time get away, working on her rig as if it was a large model kit. Testing the devices to ensure they all work at maximum efficiency, especially after the incident involving her slow gun.

Stilly. In the baths.
I beamed at the praise - indeed, SDF-Navy Sloops, and vessels in general, were known for being either bold, insane or simply stupid, for going up against enemies far out of our weight class, but it was usual for us. We did not have that much of a choice...
Still, Miss Whona's firm grip as very welcome. It differed much from her sister's grip, that was true, but it was nice nonetheless. Larger Navies had bigger ships and both Miss Dia and Miss Whona were certainly a testament to that. I relaxed considerably.
"She, actually.", I corrected Miss Whona with a smile, "Vernier is a Lutetiian Protected Cruiser sunk in our first life by my depth charges - I flung them at her with an improvised catapult. Long story." I shrugged. "In our second life, she's a bit of a scaredy kitty, especially around destroyers..." I showed a smile as if I was innocence personified. "...and I simply don't know why..."