Of Ships and Kanmusu: A Kancolle RP (Rebooted) IC

[Rustyal]

R.N.V. Moskovskaya
Messhall

The clutter of the various conversations going on would take Moskovskaya out of her own mind. She started glancing around at the other ships in the messhall, silently judging or trying to decode what was going through the minds of said ships. She wasn't going to get very far by sitting here and blending into the background of the camera instead of becoming a plot point-- No, bad Moskov. No fourth walls.

Moskov would put two scenarios in her head- she gets involved in a conversation, which, being the typically lone wolf battleship she is, would be... unideal, nonetheless. I mean, come on. Even if she manages to initiate something, she can't find a way to push that train down its tracks. The second scenario she'd go through would be to sit here and stay silent, keeping her main friends to be this mug of coffee she's holding and her phone. While she's much more comfortable with the latter, that isn't how you make friends. Sitting here and doing nothing and hoping the stars allign for you is not going to do a lot for you. As her thoughts raced around, she instinctively clenched down on one of her mugs, staring into the dark, piping hot fluid stirring around at the bottom of it.

[Fantrum]

"Yeah..." I said, without conviction, to Amaryyi, "I cant say I know anyone who actually likes the cold." I finally decided that, while I didnt have to like the battleship, she hadnt made me hate her. So I wouldnt be shooting her in the back any time soon, I wasnt going to be more than cordial with her. A deep part of my brain winced at this, the girl hadnt done anything to me, she was actually charming in a comedic relief sort of way. But I couldnt bring myself to be friends with her. Something fundamental within me forbade it, and I was bound to that simple edict, willingly or not.

I turned my attention back to Hevy, "Dont worry about it Hevy!" I confidently assured him, "Im a wiz at these things, come find me if you ever need something!" I looked around as Hevy moved off to secure his breakfast. The momentary lull in conversation had let me get my bearings and read the room around me. A fair number of people had wandered in while I was messing around with my food and cleaning up Hevy, including that duo of small girls Id nearly road killed on my way in.

A faint tinge of guilt tugged at the back of my head, I should apologize. I was a protector, thats why I had been made right? To escort and protect. And Id clearly gotten off on a bad foot with the pair. Then again, the rest of my sane mind argued, I wasnt liable for what I did before my morning coffee. They were both solid arguments, and with a sigh, I heaved myself back up, gave a light hearted farewell to Amaryyi, and dumped out my trash. They were sitting with some boys, one of whom I got the distinct air of a carrier from, and seemed to be hitting it off with them. Recalculating my good intentions, I changed course and decided Id leave them be for now, and apologize when next I saw them, instead of interrupting... whatever they were trying with the dashing young men.

My feet unconsciously took me back to the coffee machine, where I drained another cup before aimlessly leaving the chow hall in search of... something. Something to do maybe? It was too soon after eating to PT, but maybe there was some other trouble I could get into.

My rig! The idea hit me like a ton of bricks. I needed to tune my rig! After such a long voyage to the naval district, there was bound to be something needing fixing or readjusting. Mind made up, I marched to the docks, now fortified against the cold with my wonderful bean juice racing in my veins.

As I sailed out of the harbor and into the training waters nearby, I spied the Bossman going through anti air drills. I gave him a respectful distance and called up some targets. While he punished himself with air attacks, I put my rig through its paces. As a battlecrusier I needed to be maneuverable But I also needed to hit what I was aiming for. I couldnt just rely on my torpedoes or aircraft to win for me. All I had was gunnery, and Id be damned if I wasnt the best at it.

After a while of racing back and forth shooting targets, I switched to active targets, IE ones that shot back. Nothing intense, but they certainly hurt when they connected. All the more incentive to not get hit.

[Higher Japan]

Supply Convoy, South West of Naval base

Cruising through the slightly less frozen up sector of the Ark Circle in the South West, the convoy moved through generally with ease save for some of the heavier ships that would face some issues moving and maneuvering due to the large amount of floating ice sheets around the surface. Sailing forward, the convoy was expected to reach sometime in the afternoon at the rate they were going. Of course, the sky at the moment was still fully clear with no indication so far of any storm or sudden rain occurring, No clouds then were covering them and the sun had for once begun to shine albeit in a slightly warmer section.

"We're going at a steady pace, ETA Afternoon, no exact time can be given due to ice conditions." Continental reported, radioing towards the base at the admiralty office in the Ark Circle's forward northern base. It was still slightly cold despite the lack of any weather that remotely signified a storm was coming in, the sky was clear but Continental was still worried. Air convoys were needed purely because 3 submarine fleets constantly pestered their shipping lanes and unless under heavy escort or transferring ships over they would never send any supplies through sea. She knew that, she'd seen the empire pull the same trick before. Damn bastards still didn't get enough anti air to cut off aerial convoys at least.

"Something's wrong..." Continental muttered, placing her finger to her ear as she closed her eyes for a moment. 1 ping. 3 ping. 6 ping. Clustered, line ahead from both port and starboard, 1 line abreast forward with 6 more pings. "Everyone! Submarines-" Before she could respond, she heard a few blasts as pillars of water sprayed from a distance. Must've smashed into the ice as a few more either smashed into the ice or prematurely detonated around the fleet. However, their forward and 2 flanks each would have 3 torpedoes slowly speeding towards them.

"Base to continental, recon is reporting abyssal pursuit force heading straight towards you from your direct South, range 70 miles out. We'll sortie a counter force immediately, hold out and prevent them from scoring any hits." Better said than done, Continental cursed as she looked around. Curse her horrible anti-surface and anti-air design, if only she had the needed equipment, then she could-3 blasts, screams. Shit. Looking towards the 2 supply ships from the empire, she could see something was wrong. Himiko had been hit once on her bow, knocking her 76 mm out as she continued returning anti-air fire while Himito had it worse. He'd been hit twice on the bow and a fire had broken out despite his crew trying to put it out. Looking up she saw a squadron of 5 abyssal seaplane bombers leave as soon as they came, her counter-barrage coming too late.

"Continental to base, we need assistance now! Submarine fleet of 18 closing in on our location. Seaplane bombers have begun to harass us."

Abyssal fleet

"Confirmed hits, all ships. Forwards." The Aviation Cruiser Princess pointed forward as her 'ship', something that resembled a mix between a Ro and I class destroyer closed it's mouth after taking in the previous wave of seaplane bombers before sailing forward as the front ship. The princess didn't look too different from the prince, old English style attire and long flowing snow white hair with a blue strand sticking out was what most would remember of her beyond the standard abyssal white skin tone and monotonous clothes coloring. However, she was different. She was one of the few ships that didn't touch the water, rather relying on her aviation deck slash 'ship' to both launch attacks and transport her. However, her rigging was nothing to laugh at. Carrying 40 seaplanes, 10 more than the prince, her forward cannons may have been lessened but she was still armed with 3 133 mm dual barreled cannons while her 'ship' had it's sides covered with anti-air emplacements and 4 more secondary battiers.

"We'll take them out soon enough." She laughed, sitting down on her ship with her legs crossed as the fleet sped forward, light cruisers behind her followed by the torpedo cruiser and destroyers. "Second wave, make sure they don't escape." With that, the mouth of her 'ship' opened as another wave of 5 bombers was launched, this time to harass and trail the ships. "We must delay them until he can arrive. All ships, full speed ahead!"

Naval base

Throughout the base, the sortie alarm would sound before the flagship's voice came through. "All ships, this is admiral Higashikawa. At this moment our resupply convoy has been struck by abyssal forces, we can't waste anymore time. All ships wishing to take sail are authorized to sortie, you'll be assisted by land based bombers and fighters if needed. You'll be briefed en-route to the convoy, roughly 56 miles out from our currently location. Repeat, the sortie order has been issued, all ships wishing to set sail are authorized to do so. You'll be briefed en-route and will be receiving support of land based bombers and fighters."

"Send a message out to Continental, tell them help is on it's way." He said to one of his radio operators, radioing the signal to the convoy. Hopefully the base's interception fleet could arrive in time just to save them...

[The Selkie]

Supply Convoy, South West of Naval base

Cruising through the slightly less frozen up sector of the Ark Circle in the South West, the convoy moved through generally with ease save for some of the heavier ships that would face some issues moving and maneuvering due to the large amount of floating ice sheets around the surface. Sailing forward, the convoy was expected to reach sometime in the afternoon at the rate they were going. Of course, the sky at the moment was still fully clear with no indication so far of any storm or sudden rain occurring, No clouds then were covering them and the sun had for once begun to shine albeit in a slightly warmer section.

"We're going at a steady pace, ETA Afternoon, no exact time can be given due to ice conditions." Continental reported, radioing towards the base at the admiralty office in the Ark Circle's forward northern base. It was still slightly cold despite the lack of any weather that remotely signified a storm was coming in, the sky was clear but Continental was still worried. Air convoys were needed purely because 3 submarine fleets constantly pestered their shipping lanes and unless under heavy escort or transferring ships over they would never send any supplies through sea. She knew that, she'd seen the empire pull the same trick before. Damn bastards still didn't get enough anti air to cut off aerial convoys at least.

"Something's wrong..." Continental muttered, placing her finger to her ear as she closed her eyes for a moment. 1 ping. 3 ping. 6 ping. Clustered, line ahead from both port and starboard, 1 line abreast forward with 6 more pings. "Everyone! Submarines-" Before she could respond, she heard a few blasts as pillars of water sprayed from a distance. Must've smashed into the ice as a few more either smashed into the ice or prematurely detonated around the fleet. However, their forward and 2 flanks each would have 3 torpedoes slowly speeding towards them.

"Base to continental, recon is reporting abyssal pursuit force heading straight towards you from your direct South, range 70 miles out. We'll sortie a counter force immediately, hold out and prevent them from scoring any hits." Better said than done, Continental cursed as she looked around. Curse her horrible anti-surface and anti-air design, if only she had the needed equipment, then she could-3 blasts, screams. Shit. Looking towards the 2 supply ships from the empire, she could see something was wrong. Himiko had been hit once on her bow, knocking her 76 mm out as she continued returning anti-air fire while Himito had it worse. He'd been hit twice on the bow and a fire had broken out despite his crew trying to put it out. Looking up she saw a squadron of 5 abyssal seaplane bombers leave as soon as they came, her counter-barrage coming too late.

"Continental to base, we need assistance now! Submarine fleet of 18 closing in on our location. Seaplane bombers have begun to harass us."

Abyssal fleet

"Confirmed hits, all ships. Forwards." The Aviation Cruiser Princess pointed forward as her 'ship', something that resembled a mix between a Ro and I class destroyer closed it's mouth after taking in the previous wave of seaplane bombers before sailing forward as the front ship. The princess didn't look too different from the prince, old English style attire and long flowing snow white hair with a blue strand sticking out was what most would remember of her beyond the standard abyssal white skin tone and monotonous clothes coloring. However, she was different. She was one of the few ships that didn't touch the water, rather relying on her aviation deck slash 'ship' to both launch attacks and transport her. However, her rigging was nothing to laugh at. Carrying 40 seaplanes, 10 more than the prince, her forward cannons may have been lessened but she was still armed with 2 203 mm forward cannons while her 'ship' had it's sides covered with anti-air emplacements.

"We'll take them out soon enough." She laughed, sitting down on her ship with her legs crossed as the fleet sped forward, light cruisers behind her followed by the torpedo cruiser and destroyers. "Second wave, make sure they don't escape." With that, the mouth of her 'ship' opened as another wave of 5 bombers was launched, this time to harass and trail the ships. "We must delay them until he can arrive. All ships, full speed ahead!"

Naval base

Throughout the base, the sortie alarm would sound before the flagship's voice came through. "All ships, this is admiral Higashikawa. At this moment our resupply convoy has been struck by abyssal forces, we can't waste anymore time. All ships wishing to take sail are authorized to sortie, you'll be assisted by land based bombers and fighters if needed. You'll be briefed en-route to the convoy, roughly 56 miles out from our currently location. Repeat, the sortie order has been issued, all ships wishing to set sail are authorized to do so. You'll be briefed en-route and will be receiving support of land based bombers and fighters."

"Send a message out to Continental, tell them help is on it's way." He said to one of his radio operators, radioing the signal to the convoy. Hopefully the base's interception fleet could arrive in time just to save them...

RKN Kadesh. With the supply convoy.
By the Lioness' teats, it's bloody cold up north!
That was my main thought for quite a while now. Let's be honest here for a moment, Kyrenaia is a nation of very, very warm climate, desert climate, even, and while it was pretty as you wouldn't believe it (wait until my sisters hear of it!), it was also cold. It wasn't exactly helpful, that I was showing much skin.
A dark-skinned girl (at least I wouldn't be mistaken for an Abyssal any time soon), short white hair and red-brown eyes, a destroyer in a kid's frame, I would say looking around thirteen years old. I will not bore you with details describing my dress, but it came close to the iconic Altanafus min la Shay', the Breath of Nothing, the traditional dress of the Kyrenaian Handmaidens.
Oh, by the way, I indeed am a full-blooded Kyrenaian, vessel in the Navy of the Sultan.
And I had ASDIC, a relatively primitive set, I have to admit, but an effective one. Apparently only effective enough to detect the incoming torpedoes. As I was taking in air to scream about them, the first ones hit ice sheets or whatever and blew up, but I still initiiated evasive actions, my lookouts screaming about incoming planes.
Although my 20mm guns began to bark, trusty Alqatat Gunsmiths 20mm AA-Guns, my 135mm Guns remained silent for now, the former not shooing the aircraft away before they had dropped their payloads.
This was getting bad as some of our supply ships were hit.
Readying my 135mm Guns, which had the appearance of a bow with arrows, one arrow being a salvo of four shells, I was ready for the next incoming wave as my crew readied the depth charges and their thrower, a slingshot at my hip. ASDIC was working on overdrive.
I barked into my headset: "Kadesh, Continental, orders?"

SDFS Tine.
Before our conversation could go anywhere, the Abyssals had the gall to attack, if the announcement of our commander was to be believed - the sirens began to cry a few moments later.
I looked to Foxy, who was putting her breakfast utensils together with a calm haste unmatched - we would bring that before we were going to the docks to retrieve our rigs. Foxy was far too polite for such a shy girl.
Anyway, we would deploy.
As usual for smaller vessels of the SDF-Navy, our 135mm guns had the form of a handgun, a Pistol, Semi-Automatic, Model 1910, as she was called nowadays. Instead of 7.65x17mm bullets, these spewed 135mm shells, semi-automatic due to the electric-hydraulic hoist, which had brought the shells up from the magazines in times long past.
In addition to that, eight torpedoes, fifty naval mines and three 40mm AA-guns.
We would be not without defenses, but we would only be giving the Abyssals a bloody nose, if my estimation was correct: The Supply Convoy would have absolute priority. Who knew, maybe we would use them as a bait to draw something bigger out?
I didn't know.
"This is SDFS Tine and SDFS Sionnach Oighir, we're going out. Estimated time until combat readiness, five minutes.", I reported over radio and then ran towards the harbour with my friend. This would definately be interesting.
Another announcement came soon after: "This is SDFS Imeall, getting ready for deployment as reserve. Use me whereever you need!"

[Rustyal]

Moskovskaya
Mess hall -> Launch bays

Her internal perils would be suddenly interrupted by the sound of the base's sirens. She listened intently, grinning upon hearing something needed defense. Her best scenario was when an enemy was heading for her. Moskov downed both mugs of coffee- except, the untouched one was way too hot. Okay. That actually hurt quite a lot. Moskov made a mental note to not screw that up so horribly. She pocketed her phone and darted off to go put her rig on.

Moskov could be found in the launch bays, latching her rather obnoxiously large rig onto herself. As she set forth, her steam turbines roared, and her engines started bellowing smoke. Being fueled with low quality Rustyan fuel creates a lot of excess smoke, so... both a positive and a negative. She's harder to aim at, but easier to spot. Moskov would swivel her turrets around and test the elevators for said guns. "...Turrets A, B, C, and D, functional. Engines operating at 280 PSI. Rangefinders operational. Battleship Moskovskaya, ready for combat!" She grinned wide, leaning forth and attempting to catch up with the rest of the fleet.

[The Cross and Davids Star]

MNC Locust

I wasted no time as I recieved the call to sortie, rushing over to the docks and equipping my rig, a rather bulky but powerful piece of equipment that made me look like some kind of space knight, along with an orange plexiglass helmet going over my head for me to see before I dived into the water. I would stay on the surface for now where I was at my fastest, but I would sink down to the depths before I got into combat range. My torpedoes and those of my own fleet of submarines were already being loaded into our tubes, and would be ready to fire well before I got into the fight. Meanwhile, I was transmitting a signal to Higashikawa as well.

“MNC Locust deploying as submirsable support, Admrial.” I said as I went full steam ahead, although I was rather slow, since my size was comparable to that of an aircraft carrier, which that and my armament basically makes me the Cathrine of submarines, and such a massive radar return underwater will definitely scare a couple of abyssals, perhaps even a few of the convoy as well. I just to keep going and see what happens.

[Hashirajima]

Mess Hall

"Do you think-"

"- that there'll be enemy -"

"- capital ships around -"

"- Ericchi?" The little outburst of twin-speak ended in stereo, which merely made it all the more confusing.

Some days, the twins can really give Erimo a headache, however endearing they are. Still, looking at the occupants of their table, the monitor's heart sank. Considering how far north they were, the most likely vessels a sane commander would field would either be fast, maneuverable ships that can navigate the ice fields, or vessels that disregard the floating hazards altogether - submarines.

And no one in her group was remotely capable of taking on submarines OR fast vessels. Erimo herself, at least based on her past chats with others like her, would have been sortied against stationary targets. Slow-moving capital ships, at best. While the twins were also designed with shore bombardment in mind-

That was when the shipgirl reminded herself of one more asset capable of operating in this sea condition.

Aircraft.

And the three of them were - reasonably, she supposed - armed for anti-aircraft duties. Besides, AA doctrine was heavily reliant on sheer amount of rounds being thrown up half the time, anyway. Absently, she felt herself being dragged off towards the launch bays. Seems like the twins realised that too. As Matsumae chattered excitedly about sortieing for the first time here, her sister merely pulled out a radio earpiece and hooked it around her own ear.

---

Launch Bays

"Admiral, this is gunboat Goryokaku. Reporting for anti-aircraft escort duty with Matsumae and monitor Erimo, over!"

Checking the zeroing of her gun sights as she sprinted, the diminutive shipgirl in black merely dashed across the boundary between land and sea, turning back to check that her own twin ... and that shy, inexperienced monitor, caught up.

Behind her, the girl-in-white rammed HE shells into her gun breeches, grinning. "Ericchi, cover us with the Sanshiki, willya? Let's have some fun~!"

[Sleet Clans]

UCN Amaryyi
When the alarms in the base went off just as Amaryii was exiting the mess hall, she immediately rushed to the launch bays near the docks, fully intent on joining in the sortie if she could. The battleship was fully aware that her already iffy maneuverability was curbed in all the ice and snow of the north, but that didn't mean that she would just sit back and let other, lighter ships who didn't have her armor do all the work! Then again, that was IF she was needed for an operation such as protecting a convoy under attack. Capital ships like herself wouldn't necessarily be needed nor optimal for a mission like that, and she was fully aware that all ships excelled at some sort of role, no matter their size or armament. But all of that did not mean that the Sleetavian wasn't going to keep back the nearly-uncontrollable urge to kill something for much longer.

Reaching the launch bays, the fourth Iperikas quickly slipped into her wargear (Well, as fast as she could anyway), and treaded out onto the water, guns primed and loaded, all fairies at quarters, and ready to kill! Tapping into the comms, she simply said deeply:

''UCN Amaryyi to Admiral, heavy gun support online and ready to crush.''

With that said, her engines roared as she went to catch up with the rest of her comrades, spying Moskovskaya as the other battleship was also catching up.

''Don't suppose the two of us will be much use unless the Abyssal heavies show up, huh?'' She called over to Moskov as she pulled up beside her.

[The South Falls]

The Hevonston was lost in his mind again. Though he prided himself on being outgoing, and trying his very hardest to mediate conflicts, he was still thinking about everything that happened to him 70 years ago. He fell into his eggs. A dream world seemed to make itself around him. It formed itself into a square. This square was white-edged, being the only things he could see out of. They seemed to contract, thicken and thin at their own will, causing him to fall down. Except, when he hit the floor, it wasn’t the scratched wooden ground he felt, it was the deck of a ship. It was the Hakai, the second-of class ship that he knew so well. He ambled over towards her, trying his hardest to pull himself up. But he couldn’t. ”Why did you do this to me?” The Hakai’s disembodied voice rang through the air, seeming to pierce Hevonston’s ears. He backed away, but Hakai came closer, and closer. She swiveled her turret towards him, and “B-”!

He woke up, eggs flying everywhere, and getting stuck in his face and hair. “ANH ANH ANH!” Sirens were ringing, and girls and boys alike were shuffling all over their areas, trying to respond to the Abyssal attack. He hadn’t dealt with Abyssals, hardly even seeing them outside of pictures. Their white skin didn’t terrify him, but it made him more apprehensive. Fighting what was normal was much easier than fighting the abnomal. He never wanted to fight with the normal ships, but that was what he was forced to do. He nodded off towards the direction of the siren, and yelled over the radio “This is Hevonston, and I’’ll do it!”. He latched his rig to himself, noticing his older radar systems. He was an almost-british ship, so he was quite heavily armed, and had a single semi-automatic pistol in his pocket.

It was time to go.

[Fantrum]

Id only just gotten into my training session when the base alarms went off. My confused pause was rewarded with a paint round to the face before the fairies deactivated the targets. Quickly wiping the horrible stuff off my face and spitting out some that had gotten into my mouth, I radioed command, "Glorious here, I copy all, Im sortieing now." My rig's fairies quickly scrubbed off the simulation paint and restored it to its regular mismatch of blues. The rig itself was fairly simple as they went. A conning tower topped by radar on my back, and two turrets extending on platforms to my left and right with the last turret resting over my shoulder on a sort of mechanical boom. Anti air emplacements were sprinkled around the whole deal.

Having already been on the water, I forced myself to wait while the other girls and boys suited up and joined me. I wasnt nervous so to speak, well, not any more nervous than anyone got on missions. Id done service against the abyssals on other deployments before, so this was nothing new. What was new, however, was the suddenness of this sortie. There was no structure to the fleet being marshaled out, it was just, everyone grab your shit and run! No one was in charge, no one knew anything, and I had a horrible weight in my stomach. This wasnt going to end well if we didnt organize a little before we made contact.

"Glory to command," I radioed, using the encrypted command frequency, "What kind of enemy ships are we looking at?" I at least needed an idea of the shitstorm we were preparing to dive into. Lest we all sink.

The first two ships to sortie after me were the pair of small girls from before, the sight of them sent a flash of guilt through my body and I realized Id be going into combat with them possibly angry at me. Ah well. Nothing for it now. I steamed in company with them as we waited for the whole fleet to form up, keeping a carefully constructed mask of easygoing disregard on my face.

As the fleet finally got together, I sent a small prayer to the almighty that this wasnt about to be a bloodbath for us.

[The Selkie]

SDFS Tine at the assembly area.
The fleet assembled itself in no time, from massive battleships to myself and Foxy, the two of us launching a mere minute after our arrival at the Launch Bay, pistols in hand, torpedo tubes at our upper legs, what little we had as rigging was easily fixed to ourselves.
With our water tube boilers, oil-fired, were running and our two two were turning at speeds one could measure in the thousands. We were underway.
Sure, it was not a Diesel Engine, where you pressed a button and off we go, but they were quick to spin up, especially since we, as Kanmusu, were easier kept at running temperatures then when we had been vessels of steel.
Foxy and I skated through the assembled capital ships, nodding to them and inspecting their rigs - a lot of big guns. That could be good or really, really bad. As far as I currently knew, we had a lot of big guns and little in the ways of carriers.
The base would protect us as well, I was sure of that.
And I was not envious of any fuel tanks! My time will come, when I will have large fuel tanks, too, and then you will all rue the day you laughed about SDFS Tine, because I'll be sexy and you won't!
With that out of the way, I radioed: "SDFS Tine and SDFS Sionnach Oighir, ready to make some sterns hurt!"
"Tine, Imeall.", came the Ice Queen's voice out of my earpiece, "Professional."
Fine. "Sorry. SDFS Tine and SDFS Sionnach Oighir, ready for deployment. Flag, what's our task?", I repeated into my radio.
My crew reported full combat-readiness and willingness to fight. The morale was good, as it was reported.
Good.
Time to make some Abyssal-Sterns hurt!

[Higher Japan]

Naval base

"Alright, all ships are authorized to now move out. Here's the mission briefing. At a rough timing of 1000 hours today the supply convoy was struck by abyssal submarine forces and seaplane bombers. Saiuns will guide you to the convoy, land based air support can be called in if needed of course. Currently we're reporting a total of 18 abyssal submarines, classes unknown but they appear to be circling around the fleet hiding under the ice sheets. An enemy surface fleet is confirmed to be in the area. Recon reports that it is consisted of 2 Tsu class Light Cruisers, 2 Na class destroyers, 1 Chi class torpedo cruiser. Aviation Cruiser Princess sighted as well, most likely the cause of the air raids.

Your objective is to secure the fleet and the supply ships, ensure that no ship goes under. You must hurry before the interception fleet gets within range to open fire. I'll be setting sail to assist you shortly. But for now, your orders are simple. And as a fair warning you must under no conditions unless advantageous enough to engage with the princess in a direct fire fight. You must hurry, the abyssal fleet mustn't engage with the convoy otherwise we might not be able to receive the needed supplies and ships." Higashikawa quickly radioed as he ran towards the launch bay to set sail.

Supply convoy

"More torpedoes! Evade!" Continental shouted once again, more torpedoes coming. This time however they were all sporadically done and coming from the ice sheets as the previously organized fleet of submarines now began to split and circle almost like sharks, firing torpedoes at their own rate and randomly towards the fleet as they were slowly getting too close for comfort. As a torpedo detonated, metal had splintered all over Continental who braced herself before looking up. More seaplanes, they're not diving however..."High altitude bombs! Evade!" She shouted as she saw something not the seaplanes dropping down from the sky.

[Rustyal]

R.N.V. Moskovskaya
In the middle of the fleet, Open waters.

Oh boy, this was getting exciting. Her crew was getting hyped for battle, and as a result, she was too. I mean, come on! She'd get to blast things out of the water, with EIGHT 2200 KG rounds! Those were similar to small earthquakes, even. Who wouldn't love to see an abyssal blasted away with firepower of that magnitude? Her guns would glisten as a result of the sun while she raised them. In the meantime, she launched off one of her scout planes- a Khorak-class. Khoraks were the overpowered super-biplane that Rustyal has. I'll make an app for it later, from the last RP. Except...

Moskovskaya's silent cheers were interrupted by the Naval base's reports-- Eighteen submarines. EIGHTEEN. WHY DID THEY FIELD BATTLESHIPS, THIS WAS-- Shh. Moskov, calm. Please. Alright, well, she sighed. This was going to be one hell of a pain in the aft. She shook her head a bit, calming herself down. Except, internally, she was ABSOLUTELY LIVID at the moment.

[The Selkie]

Naval base

"Alright, all ships are authorized to now move out. Here's the mission briefing. At a rough timing of 1000 hours today the supply convoy was struck by abyssal submarine forces and seaplane bombers. Saiuns will guide you to the convoy, land based air support can be called in if needed of course. Currently we're reporting a total of 18 abyssal submarines, classes unknown but they appear to be circling around the fleet hiding under the ice sheets. An enemy surface fleet is confirmed to be in the area. Recon reports that it is consisted of 2 Tsu class Light Cruisers, 2 Na class destroyers, 1 Chi class torpedo cruiser. Aviation Cruiser Princess sighted as well, most likely the cause of the air raids.

Your objective is to secure the fleet and the supply ships, ensure that no ship goes under. You must hurry before the interception fleet gets within range to open fire. I'll be setting sail to assist you shortly. But for now, your orders are simple. And as a fair warning you must under no conditions unless advantageous enough to engage with the princess in a direct fire fight. You must hurry, the abyssal fleet mustn't engage with the convoy otherwise we might not be able to receive the needed supplies and ships." Higashikawa quickly radioed as he ran towards the launch bay to set sail.

Supply convoy

"More torpedoes! Evade!" Continental shouted once again, more torpedoes coming. This time however they were all sporadically done and coming from the ice sheets as the previously organized fleet of submarines now began to split and circle almost like sharks, firing torpedoes at their own rate and randomly towards the fleet as they were slowly getting too close for comfort. As a torpedo detonated, metal had splintered all over Continental who braced herself before looking up. More seaplanes, they're not diving however..."High altitude bombs! Evade!" She shouted as she saw something not the seaplanes dropping down from the sky.

SDFS Tine.
Shite. That sounded rough.
Eighteen submarines, plus six vessels, one of them a Princess. We weren't exactly defenseless against submarines, that was true, but our anti-sub capabilities were limited, heavily at that, by the pure and simple fact, that whoever set this district up shoved as many battleships and battlecruisers up here to challenge a Major Navy!
Our ASW-Assets, to my knowledge at least, were mostly aircraft.
I knew, that Foxy and I were not sub-chasers and I doubted, that some of the lassies with big fuel tanks were. We were horribly equipped in that regard, to my knowledge, at least. One or two of the Miodóg-class Sloops would be nice right about now.
But our objective was simple enough: Protect the convoy no matter what.
Easier said then done.
Getting there was a good start.
We could make nearly thirty knots, Grey Wolf class Oceangoing Torpedo Boats like me and Foxy, and we were going to use that. Our cruise speed was merely fourteen knots, but this was not the time for a pleasure cruise!
"Sionnach Oighir, Tine, Fleet, we're going forward towards the convoy at thirty knots and we would appreciate, if we could use that chance to escort a few of the taller ladies to the convoy.", Foxy's calm, chilly, yet comforting and soft voice came over the radio, "Everyone capable of thirty knots, follow us!"
And with that, she departed, accelerating as she went, towards the end of the bay.
We couldn't do much about the submarines as of now, other then waiting for them to expend all of their torpedoes, but we could do something about the surface forces and the aircraft. We would do exactly that.
With the moxie and reckless abandon, which had made vessels of the SDF-Navy so famous.
And which transferred to their shipgirls as well.

RKN Kadesh.
My AA-guns barked at the seaplane bombers above us and so did my Dual-Purpose 135mm guns. The quad especially, sitting behind my aft funnel, shot contiuously in a one-two-punch pattern upwards, both tracers and normal, armour piercing ammunition.
If this continued, I would have serious troubles with ammunition consumption. Additionally, it was light AA.
Sadly, I had not loaded VT-shells, so the effectiveness of my 135mm guns was limited as well, the mechanically fuzed shells making little black clouds in the air somewhere close to the attacking aircraft.
I myself was skirting along the surface, trying to evade the torpedoes and bombs and everything, my ASDIC working its magic - and with that many submarine, I just needed a moment to breath and I would begin chucking depth charges.
It was a well-coordinated and planned attack, that much was sure.
Yet, it seemed as if we were all a bunch of village idiots calling themselves soldiers for fun! What did the other vessels of the convoy do at the moment?! Twiddling their bloody thumbs?!
And then, there was one bomb.
It hit my starboard side, close to my aft, so basically on my right hip. Close to one of double barrel 20mm AA-guns.
A short scream escaped my lips, but I was far from dead.
"Kadesh, Continental...", I spoke into my radio through gritted teeth. Bloody fuck, that hurt! "Light hit, starboard aft, light damages. Still in fighting shape, though. Requesting orders - shall I focus on submarines or aircraft?"

[Higher Japan]

SDFS Tine.
Shite. That sounded rough.
Eighteen submarines, plus six vessels, one of them a Princess. We weren't exactly defenseless against submarines, that was true, but our anti-sub capabilities were limited, heavily at that, by the pure and simple fact, that whoever set this district up shoved as many battleships and battlecruisers up here to challenge a Major Navy!
Our ASW-Assets, to my knowledge at least, were mostly aircraft.
I knew, that Foxy and I were not sub-chasers and I doubted, that some of the lassies with big fuel tanks were. We were horribly equipped in that regard, to my knowledge, at least. One or two of the Miodóg-class Sloops would be nice right about now.
But our objective was simple enough: Protect the convoy no matter what.
Easier said then done.
Getting there was a good start.
We could make nearly thirty knots, Grey Wolf class Oceangoing Torpedo Boats like me and Foxy, and we were going to use that. Our cruise speed was merely fourteen knots, but this was not the time for a pleasure cruise!
"Sionnach Oighir, Tine, Fleet, we're going forward towards the convoy at thirty knots and we would appreciate, if we could use that chance to escort a few of the taller ladies to the convoy.", Foxy's calm, chilly, yet comforting and soft voice came over the radio, "Everyone capable of thirty knots, follow us!"
And with that, she departed, accelerating as she went, towards the end of the bay.
We couldn't do much about the submarines as of now, other then waiting for them to expend all of their torpedoes, but we could do something about the surface forces and the aircraft. We would do exactly that.
With the moxie and reckless abandon, which had made vessels of the SDF-Navy so famous.
And which transferred to their shipgirls as well.

RKN Kadesh.
My AA-guns barked at the seaplane bombers above us and so did my Dual-Purpose 135mm guns. The quad especially, sitting behind my aft funnel, shot contiuously in a one-two-punch pattern upwards, both tracers and normal, armour piercing ammunition.
If this continued, I would have serious troubles with ammunition consumption. Additionally, it was light AA.
Sadly, I had not loaded VT-shells, so the effectiveness of my 135mm guns was limited as well, the mechanically fuzed shells making little black clouds in the air somewhere close to the attacking aircraft.
I myself was skirting along the surface, trying to evade the torpedoes and bombs and everything, my ASDIC working its magic - and with that many submarine, I just needed a moment to breath and I would begin chucking depth charges.
It was a well-coordinated and planned attack, that much was sure.
Yet, it seemed as if we were all a bunch of village idiots calling themselves soldiers for fun! What did the other vessels of the convoy do at the moment?! Twiddling their bloody thumbs?!
And then, there was one bomb.
It hit my starboard side, close to my aft, so basically on my right hip. Close to one of double barrel 20mm AA-guns.
A short scream escaped my lips, but I was far from dead.
"Kadesh, Continental...", I spoke into my radio through gritted teeth. Bloody fuck, that hurt! "Light hit, starboard aft, light damages. Still in fighting shape, though. Requesting orders - shall I focus on submarines or aircraft?"

Supply convoy

"Focus on the subs, they're more of a threat." I responded, trying to fire towards the seaplanes as well that were most likely travelling at their maximum altitude. Still within the kill zone. After Kadesh's barrage, it had apparently worked. 2 trails of smoke were seen with 1 more fire ball appearing in the sky. A direct hit. As for the submarines, after the initial depth charge barrage it appeared to be working right now as 4 columns of water blasted up, 2 of which were so large there was no way the submarines didn't sink. Closing her eyes, the pings became clear. 14 pings remaining, 2 getting weaker. And then silence. 12 pings remaining. At that moment, i opened my eyes to see a torpedo. Shit. Striking my stern, I could've sworn i was about to sink. Only, i didn't, although my stern was completely wrecked. My speed was now cut, and in a submarine engagement with a pursuit force inbound that nearly spelled death. "All ships! Focus fire on the submarines, capital ships, please form a defensive ring around the supply ships and prepare to engage with a pursuit force. Everyone else that can fight, release depth charges!"

[The Selkie]

Supply convoy

"Focus on the subs, they're more of a threat." I responded, trying to fire towards the seaplanes as well that were most likely travelling at their maximum altitude. Still within the kill zone. After Kadesh's barrage, it had apparently worked. 2 trails of smoke were seen with 1 more fire ball appearing in the sky. A direct hit. As for the submarines, after the initial depth charge barrage it appeared to be working right now as 4 columns of water blasted up, 2 of which were so large there was no way the submarines didn't sink. Closing her eyes, the pings became clear. 14 pings remaining, 2 getting weaker. And then silence. 12 pings remaining. At that moment, i opened my eyes to see a torpedo. Shit. Striking my stern, I could've sworn i was about to sink. Only, i didn't, although my stern was completely wrecked. My speed was now cut, and in a submarine engagement with a pursuit force inbound that nearly spelled death. "All ships! Focus fire on the submarines, capital ships, please form a defensive ring around the supply ships and prepare to engage with a pursuit force. Everyone else that can fight, release depth charges!"

RKN Kadesh.
Well, if he was asking politely like that...
With the aircraft retreating, their ammunition spent and a few new viewing ports in them, I was able to turn my attention to fulfilling the request. ASDIC on, my AA-guns manned by fairies, who were under order to shoot at any enemy aircraft they could get their sights on (I wasn't so arrogant as to assume, that the one shot down was on me), I listened.
Destroyers and Escort Vessels of the RKN usually referred to this as 'The Zone'.
The Zone was, when an ASW-vessel listened to the sounds beneath the surface with concentration and attention, all of it focussed onto it. That was why it was so important, that my fairies were under orders to automatically fire at their own will.
12 Pings. That meant, that four were already goners.
Good.
Continental was hit in the stern with a torpedo - slowed, she would be an easier target, with the supply ships an even easier one for submarines. Not to mention the capitals... it would be an interesting confrontation.
My depth charge catapult sent out the next depth charges, towards where there were a few closer together then healthy. Then, two more for good measure.
Let's see, how they'd like that!

[The South Falls]

The Hevonston fired its weapons. Because the Abyssal ships were mostly out of sight, he thought that they were ‘stay-back’ type capital ships, and wouldn’t pose him any threat on the open sea. He could use his battlecruiser weapons to take them out, especially those 15-inch guns that he possessed. ”This is great! I can cement my reputation as a fighter in this battle, and no capital ship will mess with me!” Then he heard the Higher Japan ships over the radio. ”Submarines? Submarines?” He cringed at the thought. He was not equipped with torpedos, or even depth charges, and he was such a large, slow battleship, that he could not maneuver in the waters around the arctic circle without jamming into an ice floe. He put his thumb and index finger to his chin, and figured out what to do. ”I’ll radio in and ask.” He radioed towards the Higashikawa, asking “What are us capital ships to do in this situation?” He tried to execute a turn to starboard, when a 20mm cannon shell impacted him. Pain ripped through his left hand. He winced. “I’m hit!” undulated over the radio waves.

[The Cross and Davids Star]

As a submarine, I smiled at the fact that there were so many abyssal subs, six of which have been taken out, but I could help mop up the rest. As I got into combat range, I began to let water into my ballast tanks, causing me to sink beneath the surface and engage my electric engines. Once I got to a decent depth, my Parasites started to appear from my rig and spread out, basically making a wall of submarines.

As I approached, I let out several pings of sonar to reveal what else was hidden under the surface, and lo and behold, I found the subs that were causing trouble for the convoy. Giving my Parasites the signal, all of us together let off a barrage of the anti-submarine torpedoes that we had loaded prior, although they were designed with magnetic fuses rather than contact fuses, which benefited their purpose. As they launched, I began to dive deeper as oxygen tubes sprouted from my rig, as I planned to capture any of the subs that were incapicated instead of being killed outright.

[Jebslund]

Hornissennest, 70km out from the convoy
Today was shaping up to be a *fantastic* day.

It had started with the engine troubles. For nearly an hour, Hornissennest's fairies had worked to get the engines in serviceable condition, their efforts managing to get the ship moving with a thankfully minor, though still significant, loss of speed. The battlegroup had been scheduled to meet the supply convoy en-route, the ships being transferred intended to join the escort for the most dangerous part of the trip. Hornissennest's engine troubles had put paid to that plan, with she and her escorts under orders to go when they could and meet up if they were able.

The second thing to ruin Hornissennest's day was the ice. None of the ships in the battlegroup had been fitted with icebreaker rams, meaning they'd had to meet up with a small group of icebreakers while en route and wait for them to break the ice, a process that, despite the head start the icebreakers should have had, took juuuust long enough for Hornissennest to debate the merits of risking further damage on the bad terrain to just go to land form and walk there. Sanity won out, however, as the work of the fairies, while excellent, was temporary. There was no guarantee she'd make base without needing to be towed as it was.

The third problem was relayed over overheard radio calls. That problem was the Abyssals. The convoy had, as feared, run into an ambush, and Hornissennest began launching fighters the moment she was sure of what she'd heard, halting where she was. "All allied units: This is Hornissennest. I am launching fighters to assist. I say again, this is Hornissennest. I am sending a CAP and bombers your way. Send them where you need them. Over.". Even as she spoke, a group of Fliegendewaffels and Maschinenteufels, 20 each, were on their way to the convoy, making best possible speed, fairy pilots eager to unleash hell on the enemy Abyssals. "Mary Read Kerman, geh voran, um den Konvoi gegen Subs zu unterstützen. Kerriott, fällt zurück. Erika, Adelheid, bleiben jetzt hier. Der Feind kann einen Gegenangriff starten. Turmfalke, gehen Sie mit Mary Read Kerman, um Unterstützung zu bieten. Schieße alles auf, was auftaucht. Alle Kämpfer, die den Konvoi nicht unterstützen, bleiben in meiner Nähe. Vielleicht finden wir noch Verwendung für Sie.", she further ordered, "Turmfalke, keine Sorge über mit Mary Read Kerman Schritt zu halten. Gehe sicher durch das Eis und schließe dich dann dem Konvoi an. Du darfst auf etwas unterhalb der Prinzessin-Klasse schießen, auf die du triffst.".

Mary Read Kerman. Go on ahead to support the convoy against subs. Kerriott, fall back. Erika, Adelheid, remain here for now. The enemy may launch a counterattack. Turmfalke, go with Mary Read Kerman to provide support. Shoot anything that surfaces. All fighters not going on to support the convoy, remain near me. We may find use for you yet.

Turmfalke, don't worry about keeping up with Mary Read Kerman. Get through the ice safely, then link up with the convoy. You may fire on anything below Princess-class you encounter.

[Sleet Clans]

UCN Amaryyi
Thump, thump, thump, thump

That was all the battleship could hear in her head as she formed up in the defensive ring around the convoy, guns training on targets that she couldn't yet see.Her anti-air was already opening up at any Abyssal aircraft that got into range, but she had not yet fired her main armament, and the enemy aircraft were retreating to rearm and regroup. It was times like these that frustrated the Sleetavian to no end: A lack of targets to kill, and submarines. Oh, how she hated those undersea cowards! No offense to the Sleetavian wolfpacks (Especially a certain, shy Tyskou-class ace), but being underwater and not facing your foe head-on was, in her opinion, blasphemous.

With her growing bloodlust halted for the time being by the lack of enemy surface targets, she simply waited as Hevonston sent a message over the radio asking what the capital ships were supposed to do in this situation besides sitting in a defensive ring, which they were holding well. Just a few seconds later, Hevonston came over the radio again.

''I'm hit!''

Looking over at the battlecruiser, she didn't see any visible damage on him, simply scoffing at him receiving what appeared to be such a small hit. Although that did managed to set her on edge for any surprise attacks that may come courtesy of the Abyssals....

[Novaya Equestria]

Supply Convoy

"These guys got us in a pickle! How the hell did they know of this!?" said Shiroiyuki, who fired her guns at the Abyssals. "Have you forgotten to clean your earwax already, Shiroiyuki?! These guys like to raid convoys that carry supplies and may have reinforcements!" Shinosaki replied as she turned her guns to the Abyssal convoy interdiction force and fires at them. "We're gonna need air cover! Atlas! It's go time!" Novaya said to Atlas, who was huddling next to him. "E-Eh!? O-Okay!" Atlas replied as he and Novaya proceeds to launch aircraft, which then attacked any Abyssals and any Abyssal aircraft that might attack them.

"Atlas! Do not show fear! If these palefreaks gets within a certain range, Chrysantheme and Shiroiyuki will take care of it! So do not panic!" said Novaya to the fragile flower that is Atlas. "O-Okay!" Atlas nodded. "And do not mind the cold, everyone! The cold MAY be giving our aircraft one hell of a problem, but they are skilled, just like back in the Noyoknan War! Chrysantheme and Shiroiyuki, take out any Abyssal submarines that MAY strike the capital ships! Atlas and I will launch fighters and bombers to provide assistance, but our naval bombers are still being prepared. We continue on moving and persevere, everyone." Said Novaya to the rest of the convoy.

[Higher Japan]

Supply convoy, Continental POV

As Kadesh released more depth charges into the water, I switched back to my standard surface radar array. The interception was closing in fast and some ships were firing off at them, although most would fall short. Her stern was bleeding speed but she still had to sail on. By now the fire on the supplies ship had been extinguished and they could carry on. I radioed out one message to the relief fleet, just as a torpedo detonated early just millimeters away. That was too close.

"Continental to relief force, subs closing in faster, surface fleet on their way. Hurry up!"

Abyssal fleets

As depth charges fell into the water, the submarines began to rapidly disperse although 2 were hit to medium damage and another 4 ended up colliding with damage ranging from none to moderate. However now they'd begun moving in a new pattern, hiding under the sheets of ice as torpedoes began to come out from the sheets. However, ultimately the fleet slowly began to change position as torpedoes came from every angle save for starboard.

Closing in rapidly, the abyssal interception fleet which had now come under fire began to maneuver out of the way of the incoming shells as their formation changed to line abreast, completely going parallel to the convoy. A few shells had hit the other ships but nothing too major. "All ships, give them hell!" With a few flashes, a full abyssal broadside was fired upon the convoy, aimed at the smaller ships as one struck Continental in her forward elevated turret. All the while, flak and anti air fire began to be released from the abyssals, still heading line abreast parallel to the convoy.

Soon enough torpedoes would be sporadically launched if possible as a spread of 5 now approached from starboard steadily while their port and front would receive sporadic torpedoes from the submarines.

Fast Response Force

"All ships, these are your orders. Capital ships, provide heavy gun support. Aim for the torpedo cruiser in the middle, if needed use the Saiun as a spotter. Ships capable of moving through the ice please move in and intercept the submarines. Locust I need you to help the ships break through the front, destroy the submarines there. Ships without ASW are to follow as a rear echelon in case of abyssal air raids. Whatever you do do not engage the princess in direct combat. Now, forwards!", Higashikawa shouted, increasing his speed slightly as a Saiun squad of 3 flew over the fleet, heading towards the convoy and the abyssal interception force closing in.

Just then he heard another radio message. Carrier support. "All carriers, please help to cover the convoy. The submarines are hiding under the sheets so please try to clear it by all means. We'll also need you to distract the ships in the interception force, leave none of them floating."

[Sterkistan]

Battleship Diamantina

---

Dia was going at a comparable snails pace through the icy waters. She was no icebreaker, and the seas this far north were littered with menacing icebergs. She wrapped her parka around her tighter, more used to warm tropical weather than the cold. Dia checked her map, she was only about 15 miles from the base now, that 15 miles might end up taking longer than many would think. Dia was not a small ship by any means, and she was (for once) thankful that she had been limited to a fire support role. She would not be escorting any ships in these conditions.

She surveyed the ice as she passed it, thankfully it looked like good cover from torpedoes should they ever become an issue. She continued to plug away, the Captain basically pulling her hair out as she drifted centimetres from icebergs. She announced her presence to the base with a standard callsign.
"OSAC-N Base, this is SRN Diamantina. I am making my approach."
She switched it to the Captain to give a rundown of her condition.
'We have no battle damage and full ammunition stocks, however we have less fuel than predicted due to the nature of the icefield, we will not be able to sortie until refuelling is complete upon arrival, over."

The Captain clicked her radio and awaited a response as Dia meandered through the water, it had been a long, perilous voyage to get here, and they all knew it would be equally as perilous in the sorties to come.

[Novaya Equestria]

snip

Supply Convoy

"Verstanden! Atlas, you heard the warship! Let's sink them!" Said Novaya as he and Atlas launched bombers and fighters toward the Abyssal interception force. "Chrysantheme! Shiroiyuki and Shinosaki will destroy the sheets, then use your ASW mortars on the enemy subs! Be careful not to hit the accursed ice sheets! They do NOT move as slow as a mountain!" Novaya said to Chrysantheme. "Hai, Novaya!" Chrysantheme replied as she prepares her ASW mortars to fire ASW mortar rounds at the Abyssal subs who are engaging the supply convoy once the ice sheets are cleared. "Shiroiyuki, Shinosaki, destroy those ice sheets covering the Abyssal submarines!" Novaya barked to the two. "Roger!" Shiroiyuki and Shinosaki nodded and proceeded to fire at the ice sheets.

"Broadsword, stick to the supply convoy! Try not to get sunk by those subs!" Said Novaya to Broadsword. "I know that, Novaya! I'll try not to get sunk! Thanks for the reminder!" Replied Broadsword as she proceeds to stick with the convoy. "Novaya to whoever commands the base! We're going to need more weapons to kill the Abyssals. Maybe a good dose of the Fritz X anti-ship missiles may work." Novaya spoke to Higashikawa. "B-B-But, Novaya, none of our aircraft had those! The Novayan Naval Admiralty Staff either forgot about that or sent the Fritz X missiles to other theaters!" An anxious, nervous, shy voice, which belongs to Atlas, can be heard by Higashikawa. "Dag nabbit, Admiralty Staff! Okay, we'll have to make do without them. Atlas, do me a favor - stick close to me and you'll be fine." Novaya replied.

"Sorry about that, Admiral. Atlas is like a fragile flower that is about to break." Said Novaya to Higashikawa.

[The South Falls]

The Hevonston was still sailing. He’d thought ill of his cry of “I’m hit!”. He surveyed the damage around his ship. It was just a small hit, although the sound of it had made him think it was a larger one. He continued to sail deep into the fog, the mist blanketing the gray deck in a wave of water droplets, causing the crew to fall on their backs periodically. He heard the orders from the Higashikawa, and the crew on his deck trained their weapons towards the general direction of the abyssal ships. Training his fire in the general abyssal direction, the gray hulks of metal blew of small wisps of smoke, as the barrels began their heating, in anticipation of their fire. “BEE-BEE-BE-BEEEEEE!” The radar flashed red as the bow cut through the water. The stern of the capital ship erupted into combined jets of water and flame. Blue twirled in the air, orange joining in in a spinning dance above the deck. Small amounts of fire singed the Hevonston, a single abyssal shell from the barrage blowing a hole between the barrels of the farthest-aft weapon. He beat the fire off his white navy pants, and actively tried to aid in the putting out of fire upon his ship. The deck was singed almost black, and a few crewmen were laying on the deck floor. Instead of yelling “I’m hit!” once more, the Hevonston just uttered the same words, in a deeper voice, through the intercom.