Down the Rabbit Hole - A Kancolle RP (IC)

[Higher Japan]

Ne-Class, closing in fast

"We've got a report, ships are currently engaged in surface combat. Wo class appears to be damaged. The fleet is retreating, Ne you are to retrea-"

"I'm supporting their retreat at all costs."

With that, she quickly turned off her radio set as the light kept blinking, signifying that it was still receiving a signal. "Really, it's like i'm dealing with amateurs." She said to herself. "Captain Melkoth, accelerate to full battle speed. Close the distance as much as possible and bring them back home. Today may be a victory, but the war still isn't won just yet." Slowly, she began to speed up more while her smokestack released an equally proportionate amount of output. Her objective was simple at this stage. Close the distance and engage the targets where possible to cover the retreat.

"This is Ne coming in to support the retreat. Closing in fast." As she radioed the now retreating abyssal fleet, her rigging slowly opened up, cannons spreading out and arming while her secondaries came online. Her right eye changed from a cyan glow to a red one as she began to scan the area on both above and under the surface. "This many kanmusu, what were they thinking honestly." As the gap slowly closed, she aimed straight towards the kanmusu fleet and began to fire. "If you're gonna retreat hurry up and do it now."

[Sterkistan]

Battleship Diamantina LM
Open Waters
Dia looked back at Carman Fea,
"Uh y-yes, I'm fine, just lost in thought, I won't be a minu-'
That was when the Abyssal squadron began their dive, Dia's air search radar caught them just prior and the AA guns turned on the planes. They managed to shoot down one of the planes, but the bomb hit its mark off the port side. It blew a massive chunk out of Dia's port, just off one of the guns. Her starboard reinforcement creaked and failed, and she started to bend as she took on water. Her fairies began to dive from the deck, abandoning ship. Her crew was so desperate to get out some even tried to swim through the breach.

That was until one of her magazines exploded, it happened so quickly she didn't even have time to register it. And the sound was deafening, displacing the water around her, and sending a massive fireball into the air. Dia was split in half and sunk instantly, in her last moment as she plummeted below the waves, she reached for the surface, and thought of home. Before the rest of her magazines went up, causing a massive shockwave through the water that plumed from the surface. The shockwaves would wreak havoc with the submarines radar and the radar of their hunters. Even almost 17 miles away.

---

Sterkian Group
Lizbeth, Junipris, Lia, Ven
Open Waters

---

The Sterkian group continued to approach the base, They hadn't received any reply from the base and some ominous booms in the distance were worrying them. Lizbeth kept an eye on the sky and the sea, making sure any stray Abyssals would be spotted and blown to high hell. Junipris listened carefully for submarines, depth charges loaded in their launchers. Ven launched a flight of 3 Osprey fighters, which began a fleet spotting maneuver around the fleet, the spotters using mirrors to flash light toward the flight controllers in the event engagement occurred.

Ven launched a flight of two Seal recon aircraft toward the suspected combat zone. They needed to know who was fighting who, and the pilots were prepared for whatever they were about to fly into.
Lia made another call to the base,
"Base command, this is Sterkian Royal Navy Buschlet-Lia, with three other Sterkian Navy vessels, we are approaching port and have noticed signs of combat, we need to know whether you acknowledge our arrival or if you need assistance."

By this point, the group could probably be seen through binoculars from the base lookout and was why they were flying Sterkian colours, they sent out another Seal flying the Sterkian Naval Colours, sent to fly over the Admiralty building and gain the attention of those inside should their lookout be off duty.

[The Selkie]

Battleship Diamantina LM
Open Waters
Dia looked back at Carman Fea,
"Uh y-yes, I'm fine, just lost in thought, I won't be a minu-'
That was when the Abyssal squadron began their dive, Dia's air search radar caught them just prior and the AA guns turned on the planes. They managed to shoot down one of the planes, but the bomb hit its mark off the port side. It blew a massive chunk out of Dia's port, just off one of the guns. Her starboard reinforcement creaked and failed, and she started to bend as she took on water. Her fairies began to dive from the deck, abandoning ship. Her crew was so desperate to get out some even tried to swim through the breach.

That was until one of her magazines exploded, it happened so quickly she didn't even have time to register it. And the sound was deafening, displacing the water around her, and sending a massive fireball into the air. Dia was split in half and sunk instantly, in her last moment as she plummeted below the waves, she reached for the surface, and thought of home. Before the rest of her magazines went up, causing a massive shockwave through the water that plumed from the surface. The shockwaves would wreak havoc with the submarines radar and the radar of their hunters. Even almost 17 miles away.

---

Sterkian Group
Lizbeth, Junipris, Lia, Ven
Open Waters

---

The Sterkian group continued to approach the base, They hadn't received any reply from the base and some ominous booms in the distance were worrying them. Lizbeth kept an eye on the sky and the sea, making sure any stray Abyssals would be spotted and blown to high hell. Junipris listened carefully for submarines, depth charges loaded in their launchers. Ven launched a flight of 3 Osprey fighters, which began a fleet spotting maneuver around the fleet, the spotters using mirrors to flash light toward the flight controllers in the event engagement occurred.

Ven launched a flight of two Seal recon aircraft toward the suspected combat zone. They needed to know who was fighting who, and the pilots were prepared for whatever they were about to fly into.
Lia made another call to the base,
"Base command, this is Sterkian Royal Navy Buschlet-Lia, with three other Sterkian Navy vessels, we are approaching port and have noticed signs of combat, we need to know whether you acknowledge our arrival or if you need assistance."

By this point, the group could probably be seen through binoculars from the base lookout and was why they were flying Sterkian colours, they sent out another Seal flying the Sterkian Naval Colours, sent to fly over the Admiralty building and gain the attention of those inside should their lookout be off duty.

SDFS Carman Fea.
It happened so quickly.
I failed.
It happened faster then I could realize.
I still failed.
One moment, I nodded at Dia's assurances, the next, I had my AA-guns blazing into the sky, at dive bombers, and maybe even hitting one and then Dia got hit, her forward magazine exploded. I wanted to lunge forward, to assist, but then, she went up in flames.
I was thrown back, the plume of descending upon me, leaving me soaking wet.
And when I rose, my hand was at my ear, speaking calmly, but with shock in it: "Carman Fea to all allied elements, Diamantina was destroyed. I repeat, Battleship Diamantina was destroyed. Magazine explosion. Moving to assist crew in the water."
I failed.
I still had a duty to perform as I moved closer to the site of her final moments, crouching down for my own fairies to start fishing their fellow sailors out of the water. Whatever would happen in the hours and days and weeks to come, when it came to after-action reports and analysis, one thing was undeniably clear...
...I had failed.

[Offer Erapia]

Mordred, open water, docks



The tanky battleship slowed to a chug. Her engines died to to a murmur as she crept along a six knots. Although she was just outside the harbor she didn't like being alone even if safety was just behind her. Mordred slowly came up to the unconscious girl she was in critical condition she was extremely pale from blood loss and her body was blanketed by cuts and gashes.

"Oh...no you poor thing"

A small, fractured, sentence of sympathy slipped past her lips. Reaching down, Mordred picked up the so class and turned, racing back to port at full speed. The small framed girl was very cold and her wet hair covered her face. What was even worse was her rigging, it, was no where to be seen as a matter of fact the only reason this girl was still floating was the orange flotation device on her arm. After a few minutes Mordred had neared the port and slowed to a crawl. After which she stepped on the dock and ran towards the only place she knew there would be help.

Mordred zoomed down the hallway her rigging making large matalic clunks. She did not know of a infermory yet so Mordred went to the second best place. After another corner had been turned the tall elegant lady stopped in front of a large door and on the sign above was labeled.

"Admiralty"

She said a little winded from the run. Easing down Mordred dropped the so, who was wrapped in a now blood stained blanket that Mordred got from her dorm on the way to admiralty, by the door and stood and opened the door. After a quick search her eyes located the one known as glory. She remained in the doorway her hands and arms were covered in blue blood.

"Glory! Ma'am you need to see this"

She emphasized on the wordNEED with great severity hoping it would catch her attention.

[The Cross and Davids Star]

Heretic Ship Drummer Boy

By now, the command vessel had fallen asleep at the edge of a pier, casually napping with the warmth of the sun as his blanket. However, he began to stir, radio reports having reached his ears detailing the retreat of an Abyssal fleet from somewhere, he didn't know the exact origins. Drum opened his eyes, annoyed at the fact that he forgot to turn off his receivers before he fell asleep, but nonetheless wide awake. After some consideration, he decided to turn it off as the reports had nothing to do with him, nor did he want to be involved. He sat up, but instead of a smooth and silent motion, his joints creaked and stuttered. It happened to him enough times that he didn't even need to look to know what was causing it.

Regardless, he decided to do so anyways, possibly in hopes that it was just a trick of his mind, but nope, there it was, plain as day. A brownish-red color had formed over his arms and legs, a dull itching sensation falling over it. He let out a sigh of anger, questioning why this happened to him constantly.

"Oil please." He said into his radio, looking out to the infinite ocean before him, and within minutes, members of his crew came with a large bottle with a nozzle, and began to spray its contents onto him. He moved again, his joints working smoother and quieter, but the coloration remained, as he knew it was only a temporary solution. He stood up, his eyes closed as a mental channel between him and the resident Harbor Demon formed.

"Madam, I require some maintenance, I will arrive to you in but a moment." He thought, his message transmitting to the Demon as he began to walk to her, soon to be within her line of sight, and given more time, be the next object to project her ongoing obsessions.

[Offer Erapia]

Erapian carrier Caroline, 20mi from combat area



Caroline was speeding along at flank speed. She and her crew were singing the famous and lovely sea chanty 'drunken sailor.' She continued to cruise joyously through the water her head swaying back and forth to the beat at which she singed. Her crew could be seen dancing on her deck and shoulders. The young men were dressed in thier white traditional navy uniforms as they pranced around the black painted oak deck. Caroline giggled enjoying the show, but, her attention was soon divided else where as her antenna picked up a rather large series of pings.

"Hmm this is strange, could it be, that this is a patrol"

She questioned herself raising her eyebrows in curiousity. She looked down at her crew to further get a better opinion. After a few minutes of quick discussion her crew and her decided it's better to be safe than sorry. Reaching down Caroline pulled her long bow, that rested on her back, fort her grip strong and firm on the grip of it. Reaching back with her other hand, she pulled forth a black and red arrow and lined it with the string. She gripped the string with the arrow in between her index and middle finger.

Pulling back she aimed her bow towards the blue sky above. Caroline slowly released the string the long arrow was there in one second and gone the next. In the distance the carrier seen the faint dot of her long wooden shaft catch fire and from the flames four planes erupted. Putting her slender small finger to headset she contacted the planes.

"Your tasked with investigating that large radar signature we received a few minutes ago. Do not attack just scout and report back after landing."

She said while watching the big blue squad of fighters become dots in the sky. She hoped they would return safety but knowing the squad leader she knew that they would. So instead she kept her ears honed in on her headset listening carefully for any signs of contact.

[Novaya Equestria]

Naval Base

After cleaning up the whole quarters, the Novayan ships all gathered outside the dorms. "Since we got the whole place cleaned up, we should get to help our friends. Our fairy admiral said so," said Novaya. "Hmm-hmm! Hopefully we're not late to the party!" said Chrysantheme, and the six ships rushed for the launch bays. Novaya then said to the naval base's commander (whoever that is), "Hey, we'll have to deploy units from the 14th Air Expeditionary Wing so that they'll be able to protect our comrades at see. Do not worry about them, commander, our Novayan fairies piloting those planes used the Operational Integrity doctrine that Novaya sets up. Hopefully, that is enough."

[Fantrum]

Glory
The War Room

"Who-" Glory started to say, then the entire sight struck her. She had been intently listening to the radio traffic over Tumbledown's nervous shoulder for most of the battle. So far, it had seemed to be going well. The enemy were pulling out, so it wasnt a hostile takeover. Then again, news had reached her that Dia had... not made it. It deeply unsettled the secretary ship, but she could cry over her failings later. There wasnt anything she could do for anyone at this time, aside from listen and watch.

So providence decided she needed to be more involved, and delivered Mordred to her. She was a new face, but Glory recognized the ponderous battleship. "Wha-" She started yet again, looking at the bloodstained uniform, and the crumpled shape next to the door, leaking... blue? Everywhere. In an instant, Glory went through just about every emotion possible, shock, confusion, and anger chief among them. She settled on guarded anger and sprang into action.

"Why the hell did you bring someone so wounded into the Admiralty?!" Leaving Tumbledown to watch from her chair, Glory pushed past Mordred and knelt down next to the broken girl. She knew for a fact that kanmusu didnt bleed blue, but that bit of knowledge was lost to her as she tried to save the girls life. Whoever she was, she'd been beaten down pretty bad. The girl was only barely conscious, her breathing fast and heavy. Bemoaning the loss of her nice uniform, Glory tore off her right sleeve and used it to bandage the girls leg, she repeated the process until nothing remained of her painstakingly maintained dress white tunic.

Tossing the scraps aside, Glory, in just her undershirt now, picked up the So and turned to Mordred, "Come on, if we get her to the docks she should be fine." Technically she was abandoning her post, but at this point she was more useful doing this. Tumbledown would pass on anything important.

Reaching the docks, Glory kicked in the front door and reflected on how nice it felt that it wasnt hers for once. As gently as she could, she set the So class into the nearest repair bay and inspected herself. Her jaunt from the admiralty had soiled her clothes even further, deep glistening splotches of blue covered her chest and arms and splattered on her legs. If she didnt know any better, shed say shed been in a hell of a fight.

"Who are you?" She vainly directed at the helpless girl. She had her suspicions, but they probably wouldnt be answered until the subject had actually recovered enough to do more than gurgle blood at her. "Where did you find her?" She instead spoke to Mordred, "and why on earth did you think it would be a good idea to bring her straight to me?"

The Harbor Demon

It had been a wonderful day! An absolutely beautiful day! Ta was no where in sight, and she was free to dispense her tender love among her many children. The demon's morning was going so well, she was ahead of schedule on many of her projects. So much so, that she had decided to take the rest of the morning off! It was true the Base and its attendant fleet were her number one love in life, but a girl needed to get off her command platform every once in a while, lest she waste away!

She was halfway through her oil rations when someone tried to connect to her. Being the demon she was, she couldnt just ignore it! What if one of her children needed her!? No, she hurried to establish the connection and listened intently as someone asked for her ministrations. Well! Someone knew who to ask now didnt they! She felt slightly chuffed he hadnt asked in a more polite way, but a mother's job was a thankless one.

She quickly pinpointed his location and moved to intercept him. "My dear, my dear my dear!" She exclaimed as he came into view. She rushed to him and began examining him, manhandling his arms this way and that with ease thanks to her inhuman strength. "How did this happen!" There was no way rust had formed on one of her children!

What a mother she had been! Letting him fall into this sorry state! "Dont worry my dear, Ill have you fixed of this accursed rust!" She grabbed him and pulled him close while summoning two of her minions, two I class destroyers.

Gently, at least she thought it was gentle, she set him down on their backs and directed them to take him to the dry dock facilities, where a certain light cruiser stood out among the rest. It was someone who soured the Demon's mood. One of the Kanmusu that bitch Ta had brought. Not only was she still alive, but she was being repaired in an abyssal dock. The demon hadnt liked it, in fact she'd very nearly outright refused until the airfield princess stepped in and explained that she was just another child in need of her care.

While that didnt make her happy, she was able to at least fix the damaged girl. "Stay away from that girl," She said sternly to Drummer, "Shes trouble and Ill not have my pure children sullied." The poor thing was nervously looking around, trying desperately to be as small as possible behind her I class guards.

[Offer Erapia]

Mordred, repair bay




She watched as her superior worked nearly effortlessly. She wrapped the small girls wounds quickly and efficiently before picking her up and running down to the docks. Mordred followed close behind she accepted her scolding and answered back cautiously not wanting make a wrong move.

"I didn't where else to bring her! I wasn't thinking I just needed help. I had no idea we had a repair bay this base is not in the best shape."

She said between whooping breaths as they ran outside and down to the docks. After which the girl lowered her into a repair bay. With any luck the girl would survive and hopefully she would get answers as well. The girls deepest cuts were bandage and the little blood she had left was stopped from leaving her. She had countless bruises and smaller cuts all along her frail body. It was truly a horrid scene. Glory suddenly spoke and mordred stiffened the seriousness in her question was a little worrying.

"I-i.....was down by the docks....when I spotted her floating..s-so I geared up and rescued her I brought her to you cause I didn't know where else to go I only just arrived yesterday"

She spoke quickly her voice cracking and breaking with slight fear and worry. She continued to watch on in astonishment then something happened that even she herself did not see coming. A small figure dressed in black and red moved from the girls long thick hair. It looked at them in fear and shock it's face soon receded behind the locks.

"H-hey! Did you see that?"

She said to the other kamansu gripping her shoulder tightly and Pointing to where the creature was mere moments ago.

[The Cross and Davids Star]

Heretic Ship Drummer Boy

Drummer was walking his way down to where the Harbor Demon usually was, the tall pillar in the middle of the lagoon. He looked, expecting her to be there, only to find that she wasn't, leaving the abyssal to wonder where in the hell she was, until she called out to him. He turned to her call, and was quite surprised to see her running towards like she was storming the shorelines, but then remembered that taking care of her charge was her favorite of few things that she does around the base. Then she picked him up, tossing him about like a ragdoll as she inspected his unending affliction.

"Whohohoa, I forgot how strong your type can be sometimes!" Drummer said as she moved him like he was but a grain of sand in a maelstrom. As she looked at him, she asked a question pertaining to how this rust was able to form. In honesty, Drummer had no idea how the rust appears or why it refuses to stay gone. His thoughts continued until he was suddenly pulled close to her in some sort of embrace, far as he could tell. It didn't last very long as two destroyers appeared and the Demon put him on thier backs. To be fair, it was likely the gentlest action that she had done over the course of thier interaction. Drummer looked ahead at where the pair was taking him, and as he looked, he could see something, something out of all things that pissed him off most: a kanmusu. The Demon's mood may have been soured, but Drummer was beyond that. His red eyes were practically aflame with anger, and with the mental channel still connected between them, the Demon could hear all kinds of words of hatred towards the cruiser coming from him.

"No need to tell me twice." Drummer said with a scowl, practically hissing by the end of it. "Why haven't we used that whore as target practice yet? Actually, why in hell is she in the drydocks?! We should have blown that waste of steel to the depths where it belongs as soon as we had the fucking chance! She does not deserve to be here, and I am sure as the depths are black that she does not deserve your care!"

[Jebslund]

Ta
The very Cluttered ocean

It was when Ta finally breathed a sigh of relief that things once again took an unexpected turn for her. A Nu near the rear of the fleet reported torpedo avoidance and promptly exploded. Ta had all of a few seconds to react before another torpedo slammed into her. The Explosion barely phased the battleship physically, her armor was far tougher than a single torpedo could penetrate.

Mentally, however, she was beginning to panic. She had to recall every bit of training she had in her to keep from flying into a rage. It wouldnt do for someone like her to lose herself so easily. Ignoring the small bead of blood rolling down her forehead, she called up her fleet, "All ships to flank speed, we are disengaging." She wasnt especially worried about the submarine. True, she had thought that problem dealt with, but they could simply outrun the irritating bitch. What they couldnt outrun was the aircraft that would be upon them if she wasnt careful.

"Flagship! Enemy Carriers confirmed to have sortied expect a strike any time!" The Wo called. Ta didnt bother saying anything, the carrier would take care of what she could take care of, and whatever else happened was out of either of their hands. Of course, they were only just now leaving the enemy's radar range. Until that moment they would have had near perfect data on Tas fleet. Damn. She should have turned them around much sooner. "Wo, tell your pilots to do whatever it takes to disable those aircraft carriers, whoever is left that is." Ta calmly directed her subordinate. They didnt need to sink them, but they had to do enough damage to discourage pursuit.

Above, the ten flights of six abyssal fighters circled at different altitudes four flights kept station high above, four more at mid level, and two flights staying at low level. Their patrol patterns kept them several miles away from their parent ships, keeping the air clear for their own AA fire. It would likely be the Midlevel CAP fighters to spot an incoming strike, holding the best all around view.

Sterkian Group
Lizbeth, Junipris, Lia, Ven
Open Waters

---

Lizbeth yawned as she chugged through the water, looking back at her small group of ships.
"Come on everyone, you're all being a big group of downers at the moment."
Her eyes fell on Junipris, the group destroyer. Who looked like she'd pass out at any given moment.
"Okay, maybe I pushed them a bit too much. They can handle it though.

However, the reverberating cracks of explosions put them all on combat alert. Lizbeth keyed her radio, hoping they were in range of the base.
"Operational Base, this is Lizbeth-Charles of the Royal Sterkian Navy battlegroup. We are enroute to base, however we notice there's an active battlezone. We're running on fumes, but would like to assist in the engagement if necessary.

Battleship Diamantina LM
Open Waters
Dia looked back at Carman Fea,
"Uh y-yes, I'm fine, just lost in thought, I won't be a minu-'
That was when the Abyssal squadron began their dive, Dia's air search radar caught them just prior and the AA guns turned on the planes. They managed to shoot down one of the planes, but the bomb hit its mark off the port side. It blew a massive chunk out of Dia's port, just off one of the guns. Her starboard reinforcement creaked and failed, and she started to bend as she took on water. Her fairies began to dive from the deck, abandoning ship. Her crew was so desperate to get out some even tried to swim through the breach.

That was until one of her magazines exploded, it happened so quickly she didn't even have time to register it. And the sound was deafening, displacing the water around her, and sending a massive fireball into the air. Dia was split in half and sunk instantly, in her last moment as she plummeted below the waves, she reached for the surface, and thought of home. Before the rest of her magazines went up, causing a massive shockwave through the water that plumed from the surface. The shockwaves would wreak havoc with the submarines radar and the radar of their hunters. Even almost 17 miles away.

---

Sterkian Group
Lizbeth, Junipris, Lia, Ven
Open Waters

---

The Sterkian group continued to approach the base, They hadn't received any reply from the base and some ominous booms in the distance were worrying them. Lizbeth kept an eye on the sky and the sea, making sure any stray Abyssals would be spotted and blown to high hell. Junipris listened carefully for submarines, depth charges loaded in their launchers. Ven launched a flight of 3 Osprey fighters, which began a fleet spotting maneuver around the fleet, the spotters using mirrors to flash light toward the flight controllers in the event engagement occurred.

Ven launched a flight of two Seal recon aircraft toward the suspected combat zone. They needed to know who was fighting who, and the pilots were prepared for whatever they were about to fly into.
Lia made another call to the base,
"Base command, this is Sterkian Royal Navy Buschlet-Lia, with three other Sterkian Navy vessels, we are approaching port and have noticed signs of combat, we need to know whether you acknowledge our arrival or if you need assistance."

By this point, the group could probably be seen through binoculars from the base lookout and was why they were flying Sterkian colours, they sent out another Seal flying the Sterkian Naval Colours, sent to fly over the Admiralty building and gain the attention of those inside should their lookout be off duty.

Battleship Diamantina LM
Combat Zone
Dia was approaching her operational zone as ordered. Bt she did feel bad about having so many resources dedicated to her.

She looked over her Radar contacts and the SOS signals being sent. Approximating their location in the zone based on signal location.

She slowed her engines to 1/4ths and raised her guns. Her computers working to establish the range. She waited as the computers clicked over. Her drifting pace possibly even unnoticable to her escort.

She let fly a ripple-fire volley from all batteries. Set to fly over the heads of the surrendering ships and blast the fleet trying to destroy them.

She didn't realise that Abyssals had infighting. It was strange really. Even they had flaws.

Dia looked back, realising she had drifted away from her escorts. And she began turning to loop back toward them.

---

Sterkian Group
Lizbeth, Junipris, Lia, Ven
Open Waters

---

Lizbeth yawned as she chugged through the water, looking back at her small group of ships.
"Come on everyone, you're all being a big group of downers at the moment."
Her eyes fell on Junipris, the group destroyer. Who looked like she'd pass out at any given moment.
"Okay, maybe I pushed them a bit too much. They can handle it though.

However, the reverberating cracks of explosions put them all on combat alert. Lizbeth keyed her radio, hoping they were in range of the base.
"Operational Base, this is Lizbeth-Charles of the Royal Sterkian Navy battlegroup. We are enroute to base, however we notice there's an active battlezone. We're running on fumes, but would like to assist in the engagement if necessary.

Hornissennest
Hornissennest had been in the middle of wondering where the hell the Novayan carriers were that wasn't "in position and deploying fighters as ordered" when she received the second message from the incoming ships. Figuring the first had gone unanswered due to the battle at hand, she took the initiative to answer the second, "Lizbeth-Charles, Buschlet-Lia, this is Jebslunder Wasserarmee Strike Carrier Hornissennest. Your arrival is noted and your assistance is welcomed. Recommend you further encourage the retreating Abyssals to retreat, preferably to the bottom of the ocean, if deemed reasonably feasible. Pulling their CAP off of my fighters would be a huge plus. Ignore the stationary group for now, they're either going to be in custody or dead by the end of the day without your assistance, over.", she ordered. The loss of Diamantina was regrettable, but there'd be time to mourn her later. And, if all went well, court martial the Novayans for their lackadaisical response unless they had a very good reason for their late muster.

Speaking of good reasons... "Command ship, please say again. It sounded like you gave orders to let the Abyssals who have been hunting our convoys live. Please confirm your orders, over.", she stated flatly. She could see what Glory was thinking: The Wo-class might have information, and, in general, the rules of war required surrenders to be, at the very least, considered. The first was a very practical consideration, and it gave the carrier pause. While Schwert Ein was ordered to mop up the enemy fighters in Kanmusu airspace and return to her for refueling/rearmament, Speer Ein was ordered to circle out of range of the Wo's group's AA and await further orders. As disgustingly wrong as it felt, sparing the enemy, orders were orders, and the fate of the Wo and her escort were now in Glory's hands. "Front line vessels, hold fire until ordered otherwise or unless fired upon. Turmfalke, acknowledge immediately or I will sink you myself, over.", she ordered, knowing the heavy cruiser was liable to pretend she hadn't heard. The aggressive, not (completely) stupid, heavy cruiser's confirmation of her orders echoed Hornissennest's own frustration and contempt for the orders, and Hornissennest couldn't find fault with it. It was not in either of their natures to suffer an enemy who would gladly wage total war on them to live.

Speer Zwei/Drei

Low and on the enemy's East flank, Speer Zwei, a formation of 10 Fliegendewaffels, flew as fast as they could toward the enemy fleet, trusting their paint scheme, the top of which was colored to mimic the color of the water below, to help hide them from enemy patrols. The interesting part would be at the 15km line, where they would bunt above the radar horizon at an angle which would allow them to maintain speed while gaining altitude, the idea to pull what had been termed by Jebslunden pilots the Hühnchenmanöver, or Chicken Maneuver, where the craft would scream downward toward their target at top speed and pull up at the last second, dropping their bombs close to the target and relying on the toughness of the Fliegendewaffel to withstand the forces involved. The maneuver was not without its risks, chief of which was exposure to AA that was actually big enough to be dangerous to the legendarily tough fighters, and it was expected that there would be at least a few losses.

On the West flank, the mirror to that formation did the same thing, though the plan would be somewhat disrupted by the spotting of 6 enemy aircraft ahead and not much higher up than them. The formation, as a whole, switched on their jammers and moved to engage, hoping a coordinated first strike could deal with the enemy formation quickly and relatively quietly.

Schwert Zwei/Drei
The mission would not be so easy for the escort flights. Both flights had spotted 12 enemy fighters at the same altitude as them, and a further 12 below. The decision each Schwert flight made was the same: Engage the same-level aircraft, with the goal of wiping them out before the ones below could join the fight, then, if successful, boom-and-zoom the ones below. This would prevent them from being on the receiving end of an enemy boom-and-zoom while they engaged the ones below, while allowing them to, if successful, take the enemy on in waves, rather than all 24 at once.

Naval Base

After cleaning up the whole quarters, the Novayan ships all gathered outside the dorms. "Since we got the whole place cleaned up, we should get to help our friends. Our fairy admiral said so," said Novaya. "Hmm-hmm! Hopefully we're not late to the party!" said Chrysantheme, and the six ships rushed for the launch bays. Novaya then said to the naval base's commander (whoever that is), "Hey, we'll have to deploy units from the 14th Air Expeditionary Wing so that they'll be able to protect our comrades at see. Do not worry about them, commander, our Novayan fairies piloting those planes used the Operational Integrity doctrine that Novaya sets up. Hopefully, that is enough."

Hornissennest

"Novaya, this is Hornissennest. I'll remind you of radio protocol later. For now, you had better have a damned good reason for not having mobilized and launched your fighters to support the battleships as ordered when ordered, or I will see you court-martialed for negligent homicide and dereliction if I have to do it myself. Now, I don't care if they use the Krakken-scorned Tarkin Doctrine, get your fighters in the air and covering our ships immediately, over.", Hornissennest, launching her own remaining fighters to provide CAP for the carrier group, responded, her voice showing almost no trace of emotion despite her rage. A sign that heads were soon going to roll once the battle at hand was over, "Avvo, you as well. Launch the rest of your aircraft, over.".

Adelheid and Erika
The sinking of Diamantina was as good as a slap in the face to the Jebslunden light cruisers, who prided themselves on their prowess as anti-aircraft ships. Adelheid, who had been originally sortied when the call came out for the patrols and response force to muster, and Erika, who had come running when the general quarters order went out, had been busy swatting Abyssals out of the sky when the battlewagon had drifted out of formation, and the two could only hope the salvo she'd gotten off had hit something important and painful for the enemy as they continued firing at anything that even hinted at being an Abyssal aircraft. They had already lost a battleship. No way in hell were they going to lose anything else if they had anything to say about it. As good as they were, however, both ships were glad that the carriers, at least, would have their own fighters, AA, and even the base's AA to cover them.

[Offer Erapia]

10mi from battle area, Caroline




The short carrier cruised on thinking of anything that could possibly explain what this blob on her radar could be. Her mind would pick up on a few ideas, one of which, wasn't a very pleasant one. Her pondering was interrupted by a familiar growl. Caroline crained her head high to see her scouts coming back. She was glad to see them in perfect Condition she sighed in relief and held out her deck. The large planes with their slightly bent wings dipped down in single file line. The blue aircraft bouned once or twice before stopping near the end of her deck. The planes turned back into flames and an arrow appeared in her quiver. She sighed and listened to the report intently.

"Oh great a fight! already?"

She said sarcastically. Caroline debated on what to do she could send a wave in for attack but that would be suicidal. She had no idea what the battle was like or the forces that were gathered there. So she decided to flank around trying to sneak into the base without being detected by the enemy.



So class, repair bay


So was still shrouded in a black veil she couldn't see or hear anything. She looked around in the darkness trying to find anything she could. In her search for any signs of life so found a green dot in the distance. She sighed with relief and tried to move closer. As she drew in the proximity of the orb she realized that there were two. Her brain was racked with confusion and so slowed down to a stop.

The green orbs suddenly blinked and without a second thought raced toward her. So tried to move but something cold grabbed her by her shoulders. She tried to scream but the only thing that came out was pure deathly silence. The gripped tightened and the eyes were now inches from hers they burned with a intensity unknown to so. They were green like emeralds and burned like fire. A little lower a to where the lips would be the black veil suddenly vanished as white ate it away the white suddenly went up. So looked at the white and recognized them as teeth.

The teeth outlined a wicked smile and then they moved as if someone was talking.

"Don't make me regret this"

The voice was deathly calm and serious. The voice then said something else. So soon realized them as a submarines unit number. The voice smiled again and suddenly began to fade. All the while this was happening so was unable to move she tried but was unable. The eyes and smile began to fade away. So's brittle body began to sink the darkness soon consuming her and her fear.

So tensed her eyes and opened them a moment later the blurry world soon focused and she wearily looked down her body was in some sort of water. She groaned and laid her head back her body was felt like jelly. So would close her eyes feeling the darkness rise up and drag her down again.

[Novaya Equestria]

Naval Base

The group of Novayan ships finished cleaning up the dorms (or just checked them) just as the fairy Admiral yelled at them, "OI! Your comrades are in GREAT DANGER! So, GET TO IT!" The Novayan ships looked at him and then each other. "Damn, we didn't think of that!" said Novaya. "Alright, gang! We gotta move!" said Novaya as the group of Novayan ships rushed for the launch bays. Launching from the launch bays, Novaya contacted the Allied forces, "Hang tight, everyone! We're coming to help ya! And also...apologies for our tardiness; we just had to skew priorities up.

[The Selkie]

Naval Base

The group of Novayan ships finished cleaning up the dorms (or just checked them) just as the fairy Admiral yelled at them, "OI! Your comrades are in GREAT DANGER! So, GET TO IT!" The Novayan ships looked at him and then each other. "Damn, we didn't think of that!" said Novaya. "Alright, gang! We gotta move!" said Novaya as the group of Novayan ships rushed for the launch bays. Launching from the launch bays, Novaya contacted the Allied forces, "Hang tight, everyone! We're coming to help ya! And also...apologies for our tardiness; we just had to skew priorities up.

SDFS Carman Fea. Where Diamantina had been.
Those bloody idiots would be thanking all of their Gods and Goddesses and non-gendered deities one day, I was sure of it. Because of their tardiness, because of their 'skewed priorities', we had lost a battleship. A comrade was dead.
Great job, Team!
I was too occupied with rescuing survivors to speak onto the airwaves, especially as this was neither the time nor the place to do so - others would have to do that. And then that useless carrier would get his spanking! Seems like that name was a bad omen for carriers - Rhi told me about a similarly useless one she had served with, who was similarly useless in a letter of hers!
...it was comfortable, you know? Blaming my own failure onto others, I mean.
I had been tasked with providing anti-air cover for the battleship, I had failed to do so. As the remains of Diamantina's crew filled my decks, I withheld the urge to sigh in my own frustration.
Focus, girl., I told myself, Focus. Get those fairies back home safely. Focus. And let others set out the blame and carry the one assigned to you with the dignity befitting your name.
I took one last look around.
"Carman Fea, Hornissennest.", I spoke in my radio, my voice calm and controlled, "Finished rescuing surviving fairies, requesting further orders."

[Sterkistan]

Hornissennest

Hornissennest had been in the middle of wondering where the hell the Novayan carriers were that wasn't "in position and deploying fighters as ordered" when she received the second message from the incoming ships. Figuring the first had gone unanswered due to the battle at hand, she took the initiative to answer the second, "Lizbeth-Charles, Buschlet-Lia, this is Jebslunder Wasserarmee Strike Carrier Hornissennest. Your arrival is noted and your assistance is welcomed. Recommend you further encourage the retreating Abyssals to retreat, preferably to the bottom of the ocean, if deemed reasonably feasible. Pulling their CAP off of my fighters would be a huge plus. Ignore the stationary group for now, they're either going to be in custody or dead by the end of the day without your assistance, over.", she ordered. The loss of Diamantina was regrettable, but there'd be time to mourn her later. And, if all went well, court martial the Novayans for their lackadaisical response unless they had a very good reason for their late muster.

Speaking of good reasons... "Command ship, please say again. It sounded like you gave orders to let the Abyssals who have been hunting our convoys live. Please confirm your orders, over.", she stated flatly. She could see what Glory was thinking: The Wo-class might have information, and, in general, the rules of war required surrenders to be, at the very least, considered. The first was a very practical consideration, and it gave the carrier pause. While Schwert Ein was ordered to mop up the enemy fighters in Kanmusu airspace and return to her for refueling/rearmament, Speer Ein was ordered to circle out of range of the Wo's group's AA and await further orders. As disgustingly wrong as it felt, sparing the enemy, orders were orders, and the fate of the Wo and her escort were now in Glory's hands. "Front line vessels, hold fire until ordered otherwise or unless fired upon. Turmfalke, acknowledge immediately or I will sink you myself, over.", she ordered, knowing the heavy cruiser was liable to pretend she hadn't heard. The aggressive, not (completely) stupid, heavy cruiser's confirmation of her orders echoed Hornissennest's own frustration and contempt for the orders, and Hornissennest couldn't find fault with it. It was not in either of their natures to suffer an enemy who would gladly wage total war on them to live.

Speer Zwei/Drei

Low and on the enemy's East flank, Speer Zwei, a formation of 10 Fliegendewaffels, flew as fast as they could toward the enemy fleet, trusting their paint scheme, the top of which was colored to mimic the color of the water below, to help hide them from enemy patrols. The interesting part would be at the 15km line, where they would bunt above the radar horizon at an angle which would allow them to maintain speed while gaining altitude, the idea to pull what had been termed by Jebslunden pilots the Hühnchenmanöver, or Chicken Maneuver, where the craft would scream downward toward their target at top speed and pull up at the last second, dropping their bombs close to the target and relying on the toughness of the Fliegendewaffel to withstand the forces involved. The maneuver was not without its risks, chief of which was exposure to AA that was actually big enough to be dangerous to the legendarily tough fighters, and it was expected that there would be at least a few losses.

On the West flank, the mirror to that formation did the same thing, though the plan would be somewhat disrupted by the spotting of 6 enemy aircraft ahead and not much higher up than them. The formation, as a whole, switched on their jammers and moved to engage, hoping a coordinated first strike could deal with the enemy formation quickly and relatively quietly.

Schwert Zwei/Drei
The mission would not be so easy for the escort flights. Both flights had spotted 12 enemy fighters at the same altitude as them, and a further 12 below. The decision each Schwert flight made was the same: Engage the same-level aircraft, with the goal of wiping them out before the ones below could join the fight, then, if successful, boom-and-zoom the ones below. This would prevent them from being on the receiving end of an enemy boom-and-zoom while they engaged the ones below, while allowing them to, if successful, take the enemy on in waves, rather than all 24 at once.


Hornissennest

"Novaya, this is Hornissennest. I'll remind you of radio protocol later. For now, you had better have a damned good reason for not having mobilized and launched your fighters to support the battleships as ordered when ordered, or I will see you court-martialed for negligent homicide and dereliction if I have to do it myself. Now, I don't care if they use the Krakken-scorned Tarkin Doctrine, get your fighters in the air and covering our ships immediately, over.", Hornissennest, launching her own remaining fighters to provide CAP for the carrier group, responded, her voice showing almost no trace of emotion despite her rage. A sign that heads were soon going to roll once the battle at hand was over, "Avvo, you as well. Launch the rest of your aircraft, over.".

Adelheid and Erika
The sinking of Diamantina was as good as a slap in the face to the Jebslunden light cruisers, who prided themselves on their prowess as anti-aircraft ships. Adelheid, who had been originally sortied when the call came out for the patrols and response force to muster, and Erika, who had come running when the general quarters order went out, had been busy swatting Abyssals out of the sky when the battlewagon had drifted out of formation, and the two could only hope the salvo she'd gotten off had hit something important and painful for the enemy as they continued firing at anything that even hinted at being an Abyssal aircraft. They had already lost a battleship. No way in hell were they going to lose anything else if they had anything to say about it. As good as they were, however, both ships were glad that the carriers, at least, would have their own fighters, AA, and even the base's AA to cover them.

---

Sterkian Group
Lizbeth, Junipris, Lia, Ven
Open Waters

---

Lia listened to her radio, patching it through to Lizbeth,

Code: Select all

"Lizbeth-Charles, Buschlet-Lia, this is Jebslunder Wasserarmee Strike Carrier Hornissennest. Your arrival is noted and your assistance is welcomed. Recommend you further encourage the retreating Abyssals to retreat, preferably to the bottom of the ocean, if deemed reasonably feasible. Pulling their CAP off of my fighters would be a huge plus. Ignore the stationary group for now, they're either going to be in custody or dead by the end of the day without your assistance, over."

Lizbeth keyed her radio,
"Copy that operation command, we will do what we can. However, we're running low on fuel, so we'll stick to support for now."

They changed their course, turning toward the battle zone. The battle was already in the mop-up phase according to the report given by Hornissennest. Fortunately, in the event they were called to the battle, the battlegroup had taken a wider route, keeping them out of combat range, but in response range.

They approached the maximum range of Lizbeth's guns, 21 miles. As they continued to the 18-mile mark, Lizbeth raised her 2-gun and front 4-gun batteries. She let fly a ripple-fire volley, her shots lead to drop onto the heads of the retreating abyssals. Lia and Junipris watched the skies intently, their air radar giving them a full view of the sky above them. Lia noticed Junipris yawning and rubbing her eyes, the poor destroyer hadn't sailed such long distances before, and she was tired. Lia doubled her search through the sky above them, unsure whether Junipris would catch slight signs of aircraft.

Ven launched a flight of Ospreys and Swordfish, the Ospreys were going to engage any enemy fighters they found, and also draw the fire of AA, while the Swordfish flew low to drop their torpedos, the lessened weight making them more agile for their return. Ven placed her fingers to her lips, wishing the brave pilots well.

[Virshia]

"..." Wo's consciousness was starting to fade in and out. Perhaps her body was entering standby mode to try and minimize exertion. Her destroyers weren't doing much betterm though they were still operational. "Well..." Wo commented as she clsoed her eyes before sleep took her. "This sucks." The destroyers around her glanced at the approaching shipgirls, deactivating their cannons so they could reasonably say 'We Surrender, please don't shoot us.'

(Apologies, my creativity's been shot recently.)

[Fantrum]

Glory
The docks

The secretary ship was torn in many different directions at once. She couldnt really afford to keep her attention on this one specific problem. And yes, it was a problem, but it was one for later. Disregarding the obvious implications surrounding the strange girl, Glory stood up, "Keep a watch on her, if she wakes up for a meaningful amount of time let me know," She turned to leave, still spattered in blood, "Ill send Tumbledown to stand watch with you."

And then the Cruiser disappeared out the door and sprinted for the admiralty, which wasnt far. As she ran she collected her thoughts. According to all her sources, this was an internal abyssal matter that had happened to involve the kanmusu. But there was the chance that this was a prelude to something else. A full invasion? It was possible. In fact, if it where her attack, thats precisely how she would lure out the enemy carriers to their destruction. Dangle out something tantalizing, like a fleet chasing down some kind of prey, draw out the enemy air, and then destroy it with a force hanging around just outside radar range.

She had to make that call, Hornet would be too engrossed to notice a trap like that until it was too late. Regardless, Hornet wouldnt withdraw without orders. None of the boxes were ticked. The high possibility of a trap, their disabled airfield, the strained logistics, none of it lined up. They couldnt afford a large battle, hell, they couldnt afford Hornet losing any of her aircraft, not when they couldnt replace them.

Entering the command center, she relieved Tumble and sent her down to the docks with a worried look on her face. Taking up the mic she keyed up Hornet, "Hornet, Glory, disengage enemy contact, theres a large possibility of a trap set by unknown enemy elements laying beyond our detection range. Im changing your mission to defense of the base, bring in whatever is left of the runaway fleet and keep on standby in case of larger enemy attack." She knew exactly how Hornet would react. Probably with disdain and contempt of Glory and her timid approach. But goddamnit the war wouldnt be won today.

Ta class
The Open ocean
Ta didnt really understand combat in the air, it was far beyond her to comprehend the way a plane spun around and the tactics that were employed with it. To her it was all nonsense, that was why she left Wo to coordinate that while she let her faries handle the anti aircraft fire. She couldnt really see how well the air battle was going, but the appearance of several jet powered attack craft grabbed her attention. "All ships, evasive action," She calmly called out to her fleet. She hadnt been expecting the enemy strike to show up this fast, but then she wasnt expecting them to have jet aircraft either. That was probably the reason.

Regardless, that was something for her to worry about later, if she lived through the attack.

Harbor Demon
Her harbor

The small ship showing his appreciation softened her heart just a tad, and she gave him a sweet smile in return. "Your flattery is well received, my dear," She chose to ignore the vile kanmusu in her care, focusing on her charge. "How on the great oceans did you manage to accumulate this much rust?" She inspected his arms, a disgusted frown breaking her smooth features. "A ship under my care should never allow himself to fall into this state of disrepair!" Her anger was directionless, she could be mad at him, for something like this would be up to him to bring to her attention.

After all, she was only one demon and could only spread her love to so many ships at once. The squeakiest wheel always got the oil first.

Tumbledown
The Docks

Why did it have to be her? All Secretary ship Glorious had told her was to keep Morderd company at the docks until further notice. The thought of the unknown frightened the small girl. It frightened her a whole lot. The unknown was what got people sunk. Poking her head into the repair bay, she spied the battleship she was sent after, standing nearby a repair tub. The Tub was occupied by a girl, she was deathly white, seeping blue from many different holes, and looked... almost devilish! The mere sight caused Tumble to yank her head back out of the bay in a huff.

After a second of gathering up her courage, she again poked her head through and then revealed herself fully. Advancing unsteadily toward Morderd, Tumble gave her a shaky salute, "Go-good morning maam, Secretary Ship Glorious sent me to keep you company." She pointed down at the girl, "Um, is she ok?"

[Offer Erapia]

Mordred, base repair bay

Mordred was eyeing the girl and ever so often checking her vitals. Her tan finger laid rest under the unconscious girls jaw where the artery would have been. the battleship was relieved to find that she had a pulse and in fact was even more glad that the pulse was stronger. she sighed and sat back her eyes glanced down at her ruined white dress blue blotches of all shapes and sizes stained it from the waist down. Mordred then looked at her blue blood covered hands and grimaced unhappily. she tried to get it off but the blood had already dried and stuck to her porcelain like skin the same was for her dress.

"damn, this was my only one"

She whined and slightly lifting the sides of the dress to see the full extent of the damage. after accepting that it couldn't be saved she then looked back at the girl in the tub of the repair bay. Her still face was badly bruised and cut and Mordred was half surprised to find her hand raising up to brush the abyssal hair behind her ear to get a better look. Mordred guessed her to be a teen maybe even younger but she was never good with guessing ages.

"such a cruel world indeed, to cast a girl as young as you into a place so unforgiving"

she said taking sympathy on the small framed person. Mordred's thoughts of as to why fate could be so hateful to one person were interrupted by a squeak and timid voice. the tall battleship looked back from her position and looked at the girl. hearing her reason for coming she nodded and waved her over calmly.


So class, kamansu repair bay

The submarine body was racked with pain when she awoke. Her vision was still blurry but she could see enough to know what had happened. She weakly moved her head to the left where she heard voices, there, not more than a few feet away were her enemies that So had vowed to kill. but instead of hatred So teared up with happiness and a sense of new found hope. she was now relieved that she was not in dangers way anymore. she had been so scared that she wouldn't wake up but now here she was in the enemies hands and for once she was glad about it. The small sub slowly raised her arm and rested it easily on the tubs edge she was still in pain but she could feel the liquid she was submerged in healing her.

When the tall girl had looked back their eyes met temporarily. the short silence was cut by a shout of surprise as the white haired battleship fell back looking at So wide eyed. So could understand this and said one word, it was short but held a powerful message behind it, So painfully cleared her throat and said with a smile.

"t-thank....you, so m-much''

Caroline's 1st recon squadron


The blue planes surveyed the battle from up high the powerful engines giving them a height advantage over most planes. the faerie inside the lead plane watched intently circling in wide arcs above the battle area. he'd report to Caroline what he saw and then listen for instructions, upon hearing them, he nodded and flagged the two planes on his left to return to the carrier while the other two on his right remained with him. He would soon follow out his order when he spotted a group of biplanes on the horizon. they were little dots that soon grew bigger and bigger until they raced under and to the left of him.

It was another ten or fifteen minutes when he saw them returning with empty racks under their bellies. He'd roll his plane over and into a dive, trailing the planes from a few miles away. If he could get to their carrier or base he could radio that Caroline was arriving and also to get a better hold on the situation. He sat there in his vibrating compartment the loud roar in his ears from the engine was almost soothing. he looked behind him after a minute to find his squad mates with him he'd wave and get a wave back before sitting back in his seat watching the small dots up ahead.

[The Cross and Davids Star]

Heretic Ship Drummer Boy
In the Harbor Demon's Company

Drummer watched as his caretaker inspected his ailment, voicing her concern along with some criticism, which to him, hit harder than a torpedo. Truth was, he didn't know how to treat the rust himself, except for liberal usage of oil to suppress it for a time. The rust was crawling up his arm at an incredibly slow pace, but it was enough for someone as observant as the Demon to notice.

"I... I apologize. I was asleep until just recently, so I failed to see the need for maintenance." He said, a hint of disappointment in his voice. He should have contacted her sooner to prevent it from building up, and he knew that.

[Sterkistan]

(Permission to use the characters of Jebslund provided via TG)

---

Speer Zwei/Drei | Escort Flight Schwert Zwei/Drei (Jeb)
The escort fighters looped and twirled through the sky, a dance of death with the Abyssal fighters. Schwert 2 and 3 had lost 4 planes overall, and they were playing the game of 'protect the bombers', drawing the attention of the fighters so the bombers could perform their mission. As they cleared the first wave of bombers, they pulled a boom-and-zoom on the approaching abyssal fighters. The plan had worked, but the fighters wouldn't go down easily, as they raced around to engage the abyssal fighters, also arcing around after the boom-and-zoom.

The bombers were drawing close to their target, the plan would continue as intended. The crew readied themselves for the drop and the subsequent G-forces. The shapes of the Abyssal ships grew more prominent as the distance closed rapidly. This was going to be a fight-or-die run.

Hornissennest (Jeb)
Hornissennest practically turned scarlet as the Novoyans continued to break radio protocol.
"Skewed priorities? What on earth could be more important than a full mobilisation order!" Hornissennest screamed to herself. The Novoyans had basically cemented their fate with the public admission they weren't following the orders from command.

She kept her emotionless visage, however, as Base Command issued them the order to retreat to base, with prisoners.
Hornissennest grimaced, what was Glory thinking? These abyssals had shown no mercy to her fellow Kanmasu, and she expected us to treat them like people. It was a joke, but Hornet was never one to deny orders. Then again, if the whole thing was a lure, it would be smart to pull back.
"Roger that Glory, pulling back now."
It was conveniently timed, ships were looking for orders, specifically, the cruisers protecting the Diamantina.
She keyed her radio again,
"All ships, pull back to base, take up a defensive formation. We may be coming under attack."
She then opened the channel to Turmfalke,
"Turmfalke, you're to take them prisoner, get them moving toward the base. If any of them even float funny, scrap them."

She turned herself toward the base, slowly moving as she waited for her planes to return from their deadly final strike.

Turmfalke (Jeb)
Turmfalke received her orders with disdain, and she pointed toward the surrendering abyssals.
"Move! You're lucky I don't sink you right here!"
She began the trip back to base, her keen eyes watching for anything suspicious.

---

Sterkian Battle Group
Lizbeth-Charlatan, Junipris, Buschlet-Lia, Ven-Mcalistar
The group had been providing extensive support to the main fleet, launching volleys at strategic targets.
The was until they received word of an order to retreat.
Lia keyed her radio, a quick confirmation signal. Before the group turned toward the base, they'd need to refuel upon arriving at the base, their grumbling stomachs constantly notifying them of the fact.

Ven looked skyward as her planes approached, trailed in the distance by dots, more planes.
The fighters providing close recon twisted toward the unknown aircraft, and a few minuted later they shot past the group, seeing they were not abyssals was a pretty good sign, but they didn't know the allegiance.
Ven opened her flight deck to the planes, however, should they require fuel, as signified by a communications officer flashing morse code to the planes via spotlight.

The battle-group was close to home already, they might even arrive first. Which would be handy, as the crew were already passing tow-lines between the Junipris, Lizbeth and Ven as the destroyer's engines began to splutter hungrily. The two larger, more powerful ships would share the load to hasten the journey.

It didn't take the ships much time to reach the base's defensive network. They waved to the watcher and signalled their rather urgent need for fuel, as they pulled toward the dock, Ven and Lizbeth turning themselves into a defensive position just outside the dock, guarding the entrance as the two smaller ships pulled inside, Lia tugging the smaller ship inside.

[The Selkie]

(Permission to use the characters of Jebslund provided via TG)

---

Speer Zwei/Drei | Escort Flight Schwert Zwei/Drei (Jeb)
The escort fighters looped and twirled through the sky, a dance of death with the Abyssal fighters. Schwert 2 and 3 had lost 4 planes overall, and they were playing the game of 'protect the bombers', drawing the attention of the fighters so the bombers could perform their mission. As they cleared the first wave of bombers, they pulled a boom-and-zoom on the approaching abyssal fighters. The plan had worked, but the fighters wouldn't go down easily, as they raced around to engage the abyssal fighters, also arcing around after the boom-and-zoom.

The bombers were drawing close to their target, the plan would continue as intended. The crew readied themselves for the drop and the subsequent G-forces. The shapes of the Abyssal ships grew more prominent as the distance closed rapidly. This was going to be a fight-or-die run.

Hornissennest (Jeb)
Hornissennest practically turned scarlet as the Novoyans continued to break radio protocol.
"Skewed priorities? What on earth could be more important than a full mobilisation order!" Hornissennest screamed to herself. The Novoyans had basically cemented their fate with the public admission they weren't following the orders from command.

She kept her emotionless visage, however, as Base Command issued them the order to retreat to base, with prisoners.
Hornissennest grimaced, what was Glory thinking? These abyssals had shown no mercy to her fellow Kanmasu, and she expected us to treat them like people. It was a joke, but Hornet was never one to deny orders. Then again, if the whole thing was a lure, it would be smart to pull back.
"Roger that Glory, pulling back now."
It was conveniently timed, ships were looking for orders, specifically, the cruisers protecting the Diamantina.
She keyed her radio again,
"All ships, pull back to base, take up a defensive formation. We may be coming under attack."
She then opened the channel to Turmfalke,
"Turmfalke, you're to take them prisoner, get them moving toward the base. If any of them even float funny, scrap them."

She turned herself toward the base, slowly moving as she waited for her planes to return from their deadly final strike.

Turmfalke (Jeb)
Turmfalke received her orders with disdain, and she pointed toward the surrendering abyssals.
"Move! You're lucky I don't sink you right here!"
She began the trip back to base, her keen eyes watching for anything suspicious.

---

Sterkian Battle Group
Lizbeth-Charlatan, Junipris, Buschlet-Lia, Ven-Mcalistar
The group had been providing extensive support to the main fleet, launching volleys at strategic targets.
The was until they received word of an order to retreat.
Lia keyed her radio, a quick confirmation signal. Before the group turned toward the base, they'd need to refuel upon arriving at the base, their grumbling stomachs constantly notifying them of the fact.

Ven looked skyward as her planes approached, trailed in the distance by dots, more planes.
The fighters providing close recon twisted toward the unknown aircraft, and a few minuted later they shot past the group, seeing they were not abyssals was a pretty good sign, but they didn't know the allegiance.
Ven opened her flight deck to the planes, however, should they require fuel, as signified by a communications officer flashing morse code to the planes via spotlight.

The battle-group was close to home already, they might even arrive first. Which would be handy, as the crew were already passing tow-lines between the Junipris, Lizbeth and Ven as the destroyer's engines began to splutter hungrily. The two larger, more powerful ships would share the load to hasten the journey.

It didn't take the ships much time to reach the base's defensive network. They waved to the watcher and signalled their rather urgent need for fuel, as they pulled toward the dock, Ven and Lizbeth turning themselves into a defensive position just outside the dock, guarding the entrance as the two smaller ships pulled inside, Lia tugging the smaller ship inside.

SDFS Carman Fea. Where Diamantina had been.
I waited for a moment, then the order came: "All ships, pull back to base, take up a defensive formation. We may be coming under attack."
Well, I would have liked something more specific, but...
...it worked.
"Carman Fea, Hornissennest, understood.", I replied over the airwaves, the surviving fairies, which were capable of doing so, tending to their colleagues and thus freeing up my own fairies to man the AA-guns again in full strength. "AA-capabilities at full capacity again. Will take up position as rearguard."
And with that, my propellers began to move and with them, I began to move.
Soon, I would rejoin my fellow kanmusu.
Soon, I would report about the loss of Diamantina and what happened, where my faults lied.
And soon, someone would place judgement upon me.
One did not loose a battleship without consequences, after all.

[Fantrum]

Ta class
The Open ocean

Blood openly flowed from where Ta's eye had been as she watched the battered Kanmusu strike package retreating into the distance. In truth she was absolutely fuming, but her visage held only a small grimace to show her pain and anger. Under her left arm she held the near lifeless body of the Wo she'd brought with her, the carrier's blood mixing with her own as the battleship made best possible speed away.

All told she figured her little fleet had gotten off rather lightly for having brushed so close to the Kanmusu base. Out of her original fleet, half were now softly resting in the ocean's embrace, she had lost an eye herself, Wo was on death's door, and the Ri class was missing an arm. It was a miracle any of the name ships had survived at all, even if they wouldnt be seeing combat for a very long time. The harbor demon would have a... colorful... list of complaints for Ta when she arrived back in the docks, but she wasnt in the mood for it.

Even though they had supposedly taken down a battleship, no one had gotten confirmation on if their strike had managed to kill the bitch wo and her cronies. And that was nagging quite heavily on Ta's exhausted mind. Everything would have been made whole if only that one ship had been sunk! The mere thought of her made Ta's wounded eye throb in anger and excruciating pain.

Once she was repaired, she would not be making the same mistake again. Ta was no ones fool, and she'd be damned if she let jet fighters get the drop on her again. No. She'd be back, and by the oceans themselves she would set the score.

Glory
The Docks

It had been a tense half hour, but when nothing came in the way of an attack Glory had ordered all ships except the daytime patrol back to port. She now stood watching as the fleet retired, making special note that Dia would not be coming back. The loss stung, especially as the overall commander, the responsibility fell on her. Had she done everything she could to ensure the battleship's safety before sortieing? She didnt think so, after all, it had all happened so fast...

Had she chosen the right commander for the fleet? Hornet was a capable flagship, that was true, but she was stiff. Too overbearing on protocol. She didnt command with the ability she clearly had, but with a rank she believed she inherently deserved. Glory would have to keep that in mind going forward. But she couldnt shift the blame off herself. No matter what, she had made the important calls of how to sortie and who would lead the fleet, that left her with the responsibility.

Approaching Carman Fea, Glory felt her grimace soften into a concerned frown. From what the secretary ship had gathered, Fea had been Dia's escort. "Carman Fea," She started, "Whatever happened, Im positive you did your best." The line felt sour coming out of her mouth, it was such a lame thing to say. "Youve got nothing to blame yourself for." Hopefully an assurance against reprisal would lift the cruiser's spirits a bit.

She was about to continue when she noticed their primary guest had been brought ashore. A Wo class of all things. There was a great many questions Glory had for her, but as Polar rushed in, the battlecruiser knew she'd have to wait.

In the meantime, she turned to the gathering crowd of kanmusu. They'd likely be hungry and tired after the sudden battle, "Everyone, take the rest of the day off, rest, get something to eat, and be ready in case they come back."

FNS Polar
The Docks

Polar wasnt always the best under fire, nor was she all that confident in passing. But this was her element. Classed as a destroyer tender, she had filled the roll of fleet repair ship during her long career more often than not. An experience she now called upon. She started by first directing the Wo class to be laid next to, not in, the repair tub next to another strange pale girl. She calked it up as a problem for later and focused on the clearly dying girl before her. "Gently, shes been positively brutalized." As soon as it was done, she shooed away all the prying eyes but pointed at random at the first person she saw, which happened to be Carman Fea, and waved her over.

"Just do as I say," She calmly informed the cruiser, "Hello? Hello! Can you tell me your name?" redirecting her attention at the Wo she asked the basic questions of where she was from, what class she was, all the works just to make sure everything was still working upstairs. Not really listening to if the Wo actually responded, Polar worked at a mile a minute. "Hold her sideways, I need to check her back." If the ship's keel was broken there wasnt much even Polar could do. Thankfully, after removing the scraps of clothing cluttering her view, Polar could feel that her spine was intact. Good news, but they werent out of the woods yet.

"Check her other side for me, like this," She showed her impromptu nurse how to feel for a broken bone by pressing the hard surface between her fingers, "If something moves that isnt supposed to move," She nodded at the barely conscious carrier, "Tell me, or she'll tell me."

[The Selkie]

Ta class
The Open ocean

Blood openly flowed from where Ta's eye had been as she watched the battered Kanmusu strike package retreating into the distance. In truth she was absolutely fuming, but her visage held only a small grimace to show her pain and anger. Under her left arm she held the near lifeless body of the Wo she'd brought with her, the carrier's blood mixing with her own as the battleship made best possible speed away.

All told she figured her little fleet had gotten off rather lightly for having brushed so close to the Kanmusu base. Out of her original fleet, half were now softly resting in the ocean's embrace, she had lost an eye herself, Wo was on death's door, and the Ri class was missing an arm. It was a miracle any of the name ships had survived at all, even if they wouldnt be seeing combat for a very long time. The harbor demon would have a... colorful... list of complaints for Ta when she arrived back in the docks, but she wasnt in the mood for it.

Even though they had supposedly taken down a battleship, no one had gotten confirmation on if their strike had managed to kill the bitch wo and her cronies. And that was nagging quite heavily on Ta's exhausted mind. Everything would have been made whole if only that one ship had been sunk! The mere thought of her made Ta's wounded eye throb in anger and excruciating pain.

Once she was repaired, she would not be making the same mistake again. Ta was no ones fool, and she'd be damned if she let jet fighters get the drop on her again. No. She'd be back, and by the oceans themselves she would set the score.

Glory
The Docks

It had been a tense half hour, but when nothing came in the way of an attack Glory had ordered all ships except the daytime patrol back to port. She now stood watching as the fleet retired, making special note that Dia would not be coming back. The loss stung, especially as the overall commander, the responsibility fell on her. Had she done everything she could to ensure the battleship's safety before sortieing? She didnt think so, after all, it had all happened so fast...

Had she chosen the right commander for the fleet? Hornet was a capable flagship, that was true, but she was stiff. Too overbearing on protocol. She didnt command with the ability she clearly had, but with a rank she believed she inherently deserved. Glory would have to keep that in mind going forward. But she couldnt shift the blame off herself. No matter what, she had made the important calls of how to sortie and who would lead the fleet, that left her with the responsibility.

Approaching Carman Fea, Glory felt her grimace soften into a concerned frown. From what the secretary ship had gathered, Fea had been Dia's escort. "Carman Fea," She started, "Whatever happened, Im positive you did your best." The line felt sour coming out of her mouth, it was such a lame thing to say. "Youve got nothing to blame yourself for." Hopefully an assurance against reprisal would lift the cruiser's spirits a bit.

She was about to continue when she noticed their primary guest had been brought ashore. A Wo class of all things. There was a great many questions Glory had for her, but as Polar rushed in, the battlecruiser knew she'd have to wait.

In the meantime, she turned to the gathering crowd of kanmusu. They'd likely be hungry and tired after the sudden battle, "Everyone, take the rest of the day off, rest, get something to eat, and be ready in case they come back."

FNS Polar
The Docks

Polar wasnt always the best under fire, nor was she all that confident in passing. But this was her element. Classed as a destroyer tender, she had filled the roll of fleet repair ship during her long career more often than not. An experience she now called upon. She started by first directing the Wo class to be laid next to, not in, the repair tub next to another strange pale girl. She calked it up as a problem for later and focused on the clearly dying girl before her. "Gently, shes been positively brutalized." As soon as it was done, she shooed away all the prying eyes but pointed at random at the first person she saw, which happened to be Carman Fea, and waved her over.

"Just do as I say," She calmly informed the cruiser, "Hello? Hello! Can you tell me your name?" redirecting her attention at the Wo she asked the basic questions of where she was from, what class she was, all the works just to make sure everything was still working upstairs. Not really listening to if the Wo actually responded, Polar worked at a mile a minute. "Hold her sideways, I need to check her back." If the ship's keel was broken there wasnt much even Polar could do. Thankfully, after removing the scraps of clothing cluttering her view, Polar could feel that her spine was intact. Good news, but they werent out of the woods yet.

"Check her other side for me, like this," She showed her impromptu nurse how to feel for a broken bone by pressing the hard surface between her fingers, "If something moves that isnt supposed to move," She nodded at the barely conscious carrier, "Tell me, or she'll tell me."

SDFS Carman Fea, returning.
I returned... my head was not held high.
Quite on the contrary, my head was only held high by the burning desire to not let anyone of my other comrades to come to harm. It was justified, but this time, it was not necessary.
Dia's loss... it stung. It stung heavily and it burned.
After shedding my rigging, the sword on my hip felt heavy.
My blue eyes, I was quite sure of it, were dimmed.
"Carman Fea...", a voice suddenly broke me out of my thoughts, our flagship - for a moment, I felt punishment on the spot, "...whatever happened, I'm positive you did your best." Even I felt, how sour that must have felt for her and how much these words stung to me. She meant well, that was for sure, but... "You've got nothing to blame yourself for."
"Thank you, Ma'am.", I replied and Glory was already off, addressing everyone so that they got rested...
...and then someone dragged our newest guest ashore.
A Wo-class.
My hand moved to my sword - Standing Order for Kanmusu of the SDF-Navy, Number 6: Any and all Abyssals are encountered are to be killed.
But our flagship had ordered something else, apparently, and the little destroyer tender had asked me to help her. And... could I really kill her like that? Of course.
But orders from the base-commander...
A moment later, I knelt at her side, held her sideways, then checked the side, not listening to the instructions, the SDF-Navy trained everyone of their kanmusu in basic medical aid. I worked carefully down, feeling nothing out of the ordinary at first...

[Jebslund]

Ta class
The Open ocean

Blood openly flowed from where Ta's eye had been as she watched the battered Kanmusu strike package retreating into the distance. In truth she was absolutely fuming, but her visage held only a small grimace to show her pain and anger. Under her left arm she held the near lifeless body of the Wo she'd brought with her, the carrier's blood mixing with her own as the battleship made best possible speed away.

All told she figured her little fleet had gotten off rather lightly for having brushed so close to the Kanmusu base. Out of her original fleet, half were now softly resting in the ocean's embrace, she had lost an eye herself, Wo was on death's door, and the Ri class was missing an arm. It was a miracle any of the name ships had survived at all, even if they wouldnt be seeing combat for a very long time. The harbor demon would have a... colorful... list of complaints for Ta when she arrived back in the docks, but she wasnt in the mood for it.

Even though they had supposedly taken down a battleship, no one had gotten confirmation on if their strike had managed to kill the bitch wo and her cronies. And that was nagging quite heavily on Ta's exhausted mind. Everything would have been made whole if only that one ship had been sunk! The mere thought of her made Ta's wounded eye throb in anger and excruciating pain.

Once she was repaired, she would not be making the same mistake again. Ta was no ones fool, and she'd be damned if she let jet fighters get the drop on her again. No. She'd be back, and by the oceans themselves she would set the score.

Glory
The Docks

It had been a tense half hour, but when nothing came in the way of an attack Glory had ordered all ships except the daytime patrol back to port. She now stood watching as the fleet retired, making special note that Dia would not be coming back. The loss stung, especially as the overall commander, the responsibility fell on her. Had she done everything she could to ensure the battleship's safety before sortieing? She didnt think so, after all, it had all happened so fast...

Had she chosen the right commander for the fleet? Hornet was a capable flagship, that was true, but she was stiff. Too overbearing on protocol. She didnt command with the ability she clearly had, but with a rank she believed she inherently deserved. Glory would have to keep that in mind going forward. But she couldnt shift the blame off herself. No matter what, she had made the important calls of how to sortie and who would lead the fleet, that left her with the responsibility.

Approaching Carman Fea, Glory felt her grimace soften into a concerned frown. From what the secretary ship had gathered, Fea had been Dia's escort. "Carman Fea," She started, "Whatever happened, Im positive you did your best." The line felt sour coming out of her mouth, it was such a lame thing to say. "Youve got nothing to blame yourself for." Hopefully an assurance against reprisal would lift the cruiser's spirits a bit.

She was about to continue when she noticed their primary guest had been brought ashore. A Wo class of all things. There was a great many questions Glory had for her, but as Polar rushed in, the battlecruiser knew she'd have to wait.

In the meantime, she turned to the gathering crowd of kanmusu. They'd likely be hungry and tired after the sudden battle, "Everyone, take the rest of the day off, rest, get something to eat, and be ready in case they come back."

FNS Polar
The Docks

Polar wasnt always the best under fire, nor was she all that confident in passing. But this was her element. Classed as a destroyer tender, she had filled the roll of fleet repair ship during her long career more often than not. An experience she now called upon. She started by first directing the Wo class to be laid next to, not in, the repair tub next to another strange pale girl. She calked it up as a problem for later and focused on the clearly dying girl before her. "Gently, shes been positively brutalized." As soon as it was done, she shooed away all the prying eyes but pointed at random at the first person she saw, which happened to be Carman Fea, and waved her over.

"Just do as I say," She calmly informed the cruiser, "Hello? Hello! Can you tell me your name?" redirecting her attention at the Wo she asked the basic questions of where she was from, what class she was, all the works just to make sure everything was still working upstairs. Not really listening to if the Wo actually responded, Polar worked at a mile a minute. "Hold her sideways, I need to check her back." If the ship's keel was broken there wasnt much even Polar could do. Thankfully, after removing the scraps of clothing cluttering her view, Polar could feel that her spine was intact. Good news, but they werent out of the woods yet.

"Check her other side for me, like this," She showed her impromptu nurse how to feel for a broken bone by pressing the hard surface between her fingers, "If something moves that isnt supposed to move," She nodded at the barely conscious carrier, "Tell me, or she'll tell me."

Hornissennest, back at base
Hornissennest had a lot to consider after the battle. She'd lost four escorts and two bombers in the battle. Manageable losses, but not being able to replace them meant more losses were ahead of her. It had been a gamble, attacking instead of focusing solely on defense, and the carrier wasn't entirely sure it had paid off. Sure, initial BDA, as much as could be done while withdrawing, had suggested that the enemy's nose had been bloodied, but, for six aircraft, Hornissennest expected more of herself. None of the enemy capital ships should have escaped, and Hornissennest had some serious thinking to do on why they had. Glory ordering her off wasn't a good enough reason.

Her strike should have been more efficient. More effective. The loss of the fighter-bombers was attrition, and there was little to be done about that. Losing four escorts, on the other hand, was inexcusable against inferior aircraft. Her fairies clearly needed training, and upgrades, if attainable, would not be amiss, either, but there were matters to be attended to before that. Glory's order to take the rest of the day off would be ignored for the sake of getting these matters settled and her pilots up to speed as quickly as possible. Kerriott would not be getting any downtime, after all, and any Jebslunden kanmusu not on day patrol or getting sleep for night patrol would be helping her, and Hornissennest was not about to relax while her subordinates were working.

First on the list was Carman Fea. The cruiser was likely blaming herself for the loss of the battleship. The fault wasn't hers. Not entirely. Hornissennest had a feeling her own insistence on going after the enemy had contributed to the loss of Dia, by way of having that many fewer aircraft screening the capital ships. The report the carrier was preparing in her head for Glory would definitely include this detail.

The cruiser was to be found in the repair docks, assisting FNS Polar with the... new arrivals. Hornissennest kept her expression neutral as her gaze passed over the defectors, her thoughts on them best kept to herself, and focused her attention on Carman Fea. "SDFS Carman Fea, when you have a moment, I'd like to speak with you.", she stated, her tone on the soft side of neutral. No use having her think she was to be disciplined. That honor would be reserved for the Novayans. Even the thought of them pissed Hornissennest off. Had they deployed as ordered when ordered, the base might not be down a battleship. At the very least, she would see them court-martialed for dereliction. Or shot for treason. A carrier could dream.

Kerriott, Erika, and Mary Read Kerman, at the cafe
The three ships worked largely in silence, except when taking and communicating orders. A comrade had been lost. There was much to do. And there would be until everyone was fed and the café was clean. Even then, though, there would be little in the way of idle chatter. Erika knew better than to try any singing, given the mood, and even her cheerfulness was a bit subdued. She knew it wasn't entirely her fault for Dia's death. The ship had drifted out of AA coverage. There was only so much she could have done, really.

That didn't make her feel any better, though.

[Sterkistan]

Sterkian Battle Group
SRN Lizbeth-Charlatan, Junipris, Buschlet-Lia, Ven-Mcalistar
By the Docks
The tired, hungry shipgirls pulled themselves from the water. But they did not head straight for the cafeteria, they continued to wait. Surveying the water for the comrade they had unknowingly lost. They knew that age and injury had not been kind to the once-fast battleship. But this was absurd.

However, as more ships left the water, many showing at least hints of sadness or grief. Something started to tick.
Lizbeth turned to the group.
"Ven, you take Junipris to the cafeteria. Lia, walk with me."

Ven gently lifted the now-sleeping destroyer onto her back, nodding and making her way to where food awaited.

Lia matched pace with Lizbeth as they approached the ship who had earlier ordered the rest of the kanmasu to rest.

SRN Lizbeth-Charlatan, Buschlet-Lia
"Excuse me, ma'am."
Lizbeth flagged down the Secretary ship. As both she and Lia saluted, standing at attention.
"Lizbeth-Charlatan, Buschlet-Lia, Sterkian Royal Navy. With all respect, we need to ask you some questions."
Lizbeth didn't wait for her response before continuing.
"We were under the impression that the Battleship Diamantina was stationed here. Has something happened?"
The tone in Lizbeth's voice implied she had a fairly good idea of where the Diamantina currently was, but it appeared that Lia hadn't caught on.

---

SRN Junipris, Ven-Mcalistar
Café
Ven slid back the door to the cafe, closing it and placing the destroyer down softly in an empty chair, before walking over to the register.
"Excuse me, but we'd like full portions for a carrier and a destroyer. Whatever you'd recommend please."
Her voice was soft and caring, she looked over at the destroyer, dozing in the chair.
"Nothing spicy for her, please." Ven added, nodding to herself.