Authors forward: and here it is, my next kancolle fic, featuring Akitsu maru as the main character! this story will be much calmer in some respects now that i know more about the game itself, mainly because im playing it now. (Damn 4 in the morning lottery.) this story will be much different than the coalition fleet was, as im trying a slighlty different writing style for it that seems to be working rather well. enjoy!
Akitsu Maru sighed to herself as she rested her head on the wheel of her transport truck. From the side view mirror she could see that the maintenance fairies were still swarming over the boxes of materials, grabbing them in groups and ferrying them over to the nearby warehouse. The sight caused her to sigh again and pull out the ID card that she wore on a chain around her neck. The ID cards were only given out to army, air force and naval personnel that had to travel often, and as such it made her feel even more different than she already was from other ship girls.
Unlike other ship girls who would fight against the abyssal, she was one of the few who did not fight. Instead she worked in supplies, bringing materials and resources to all of the naval bases on the primary islands of Japan. It was a nearly thankless job, and put her at even more of a distance from other ship girls she would meet. There were, of course, other reasons she would feel anxious of being at some bases however.
"Hey, Akitsu Maru!" called a male voice.
Akitsu Maru cringed as she heard the voice; there was another reason why she was anxious about delivering supplies to some naval bases, their admirals.
"Hey, thanks for delivering these emergency supplies, things have been getting pretty hairy lately, and our carriers have been low on materials, you've really helped us here!" The admiral said as he walked up to the truck's driver side and looked through its window at Akitsu Maru.
"It's my job. I'll just need you to sign this." Akitsu Maru replied as she passed a clipboard to the admiral by her window.
The admiral took the clipboard and began writing upon it before handing it back to Akitsu Maru. "Well I'd like to thank you anyway. . . .And if you'd like I could thank you a bit in . . . private."
Akitsu Maru let out an exasperated, but silent sigh. This was the main reason why some naval bases made her anxious. Disregarding her pale skin, she was well endowed to a great extent, and it seemed that some admirals, despite being married, felt the need to try to get into bed with her because of it. It was the same reason the secretary ships at bases with such admirals always seemed to growl at her whenever they met. She had never made any advances toward any of them and never would, but it didn't change how things could look, or how some people felt. All she could do was bear with it and shut down their advances, politely. "As . . . interesting as that sounds, Admiral, I have to decline. I have other schedules to meet, and other bases to supply."
"Well yeah, but I'm sure the other bases could wait, right? You should let loose every once in a while and have fun and I could help you if you-,"
"I insist that I must decline, sir. As soon as your cargo is unloaded I must be on my way." Akitsu Maru stated her voice stern and steely, causing the admiral's look to change from one of interest, to disgust.
"Very well then. Leave when you are ready," The admiral said with a huff as he walked away, leaving Akitsu Maru alone again.
With another sigh she lifted her ID card up and looked it over, sighing again as she glanced at the statistics upon it. She was the only ship girl that had an ID card, but they were supposed to change along with the persons statistics. Age, height, weight and the like would change as the persons did for both ship girls and humans, but stats that humans didn't have like a class or level was supposed to change for ship girls. Was supposed to. Hers never did, not because she didn't level up, but because she was already level 99 and kai. Her ID card never changed, just like so many other things never changed for her. She always was on the primary islands, always going to the same bases and delivering supplies, always being hit on by the same admirals, and always getting glared at by the same secretaries. Everything was always the same.
"Hey, the fairies are done! Are you going to leave or continue to woo our admiral!" the bases secretary ship Nagato yelled as she walked up to the driver side of the van and kicked the door, surprising Akitsu Maru to look at her, and the side view mirror.
"I apologize, I was merely thinking to myself. I shall leave at once." Akitsu Maru said carefully, knowing that a single wrong word, or even a single wrong amount of weight on one word, could set off the secretary of this base.
The secretary Nagato scowled and glared at Akitsu Maru for a moment before turning and walking away. "Just hurry and get out of here, whore."
Akitsu Maru sighed to herself again as the Nagato walked away; she probably had hoped that she wouldn't hear her. She could hear her and did, but Akitsu Maru knew that saying anything about it would only make things worse. A lot of ship girls looked down on her and the others that did not fight. Pushing the ignition switch a few times the engine of her truck roared to life, and she carefully backed about and drove out of the base.
Driving along the coastline it was clear to Akitsu Maru what other people so often forgot, that the war against the abyssal was going nowhere fast. The actual islands were rarely attacked now, as they had been so often at the start of the war, but as the amounts of resources she kept delivering increased each week, it was obvious that the actual battles at sea were at a stalemate, and every admiral was trying to swell their fleet sizes and strength to gain even a fraction of an advantage. The effects of the early war were still noticeable though, both in the cities, and the shorelines. Wreckage and pieces of long lost scouting frigates and pieces of full sized ships littered some shores, and almost all trade with other countries had fallen to a near unnoticeable amount. Japan had to live without trade while it fought against the Abyss, and it showed in some cities, especially farming towns and ports that lived off of trade and the exchange of goods.
The nearest town was one such place, a small farming town near the coast that in the past lived off of its farms, rice paddies and fisheries, now without the seas to provide for them safely, it was very easy to see that the town was struggling, both economically, and physically. Many stores had closed signs on them, and the few people that were on the streets looked like they hadn't had a meal in days. Everything was like this across the entire country. It wasn't as noticeable in the cities, but it was still the same as everywhere else. The only places that constantly had large stores of foods were the naval bases to keep their ships fed and ready to keep the country safe.
Deciding that food and rest could wait a while longer Akitsu Maru drove right through the town, the city would only be another hour away.
The road to the city were nearly devoid of traffic, primarily due to the fact that fuel and gas were almost always being rationed. Only large scale transport trucks, trains and the industries got any fuel nowadays, the only time individuals could get fuel was by requesting some for transporting harvests and the like.
The city itself though, was far more alive than the country or the towns outside. People walked the streets and chatted with one another, post service men walked and continued their jobs, and people stood on the street corners and diners sharing cups of tea and conversation with each other. It was a far more calming sight than those in the countryside, but Akitsu Maru could still see that a similar fog clouded everyone in the city, dulling their happiness and their livelihoods. It was an ugly truth about the current situation in the cities compared to the country, but they were still doing far better.
After a few more minutes of driving Akitsu Maru came to the primary warehouse and storage base for all of the naval bases on the island, drove right in, and parked her truck at its usual place beside the main loading doors.
"So let's see. . . . . . . . That's all of the deliveries for today, unless more were called for while I was out. I should check my desk and see if any orders came in." Akitsu Maru muttered to herself as she stepped out of her truck, looking at her clipboard of orders while she kicked the trucks door closed.
If there weren't any more orders Akitsu Maru could take a rest for once, but with the way things had been lately, and with the way orders had been piling up, she doubted it greatly as she walked into the warehouse and toward her desk.
Unlike the city and towns, the atmosphere of the naval and military warehouses of the island's supply bases was far more lighthearted, due to both the constant stream of work the warehouse workers had, and the fact that their constant work meant that their families were well taken care of. Despite not being part of that feeling as a ship girl, it still made Akitsu Maru feel better, just the regular sounds of moving jacks and the constant work was a calming thing.
"Back already, huh, Maru? How was it out there today?" a supervisor called out to Akitsu Maru as she walked into the warehouse.
Akitsu Maru shrugged. "The same, really. Things are bad out in the country, but it hasn't changed much."
The supervisor nodded, "Fair enough. It sucks that things aren't getting better, but all we can do is hope our supplies help change that, right?"
Akitsu Maru smiled, "I guess so. Did anything come in while I was out delivering?"
The supervisor nodded, "Yeah, but it'd be better for you to take a look yourself. Hey, you! Stop that, if you tip those barrels of fuel to much they could pop open!" the supervisor yelled to a worker as he ran off down the halls of the warehouse, leaving Akitsu Maru alone again. Shaking her head with a smile on her face Akitsu Maru walked down the warehouse, dodging and slipping past other workers as she headed to her desk located at the warehouses back wall. Its placement would be less than ideal for most people, but she liked it, it was darker than the rest of the warehouse, and did not have the same smell that seeped in from the city. It allowed her to think, the smell of raw steel and wood helping to calm her nerves and mind, and despite its position, it wasn't a very loud area of the warehouse either.
Instead of a pile of papers on her desk, she found something different; a large man, broad in his shoulders and build, easily six feet tall, wearing a tailored white Naval uniform and hat, both with the appropriate markings on the hat and his shoulders. A high admiral of the Admirably Board, and even more than that, the second highest ranked admiral of the board, the second most important man in all of Japan's navy, and the head of the navy's R&D department, Leo Yomi.
Admiral Yomi was of mixed descent with his father being a man from England, and it showed in his build. He was far larger than any other admiral in all of Japan, and his strict doctrine of following the rules at all times made him well respected by other admirals and their ships.
Looking up from the large watch on his wrist Admiral Yomi smiled as he noticed Akitsu Maru standing there. "Wonderful, I was figuring you'd be here soon. I'm sure you know me, but I am Admiral Yomi, second Admiral of the Imperial Admiralty Board, and the head of Naval R&D."
Akitsu Maru pressed her feet together and stood at attention, saluting the admiral as she spoke. "A- Akitsu Maru Kai, Hei Class Amphibious Assault and Transport Ship, Sir!"
Admiral Yomi smiled and leaned against the wall behind him. "At ease, then. I'm assuming you are both confused and curious as to why I am here, so I will get straight to the point. I have a mission for you."
"Aa a mission sir? I'm primarily a supply ship, before the Abyssal I was used for military troop transport, I can't-,"
"You don't know until you try. What I need you to do isn't an assault or anything like that though. I need you to recover an experimental shell type we were testing a few days ago. The ship girls that were testing it were attacked and dropped the extra shells. We believe that they should be still in the area and we cannot have the Abyssal fleet learning of our new ammunition. So I'd like you to head to that area and retrieve them." Admiral Yomi said carefully, putting extra stress on certain words like experimental and learning.
"C-can the Abyssals learn anything from a few shells, sir? I was under the impression that they were simplistic and violent."
"As far as we can tell, they are, but that doesn't make the danger of it any less. We over at R&D believe this new shell type could possibly turn the tide of the war in our favor, or at least tilt it slightly, and any advantage is worth the risk. The area that we believe the shells are in however, has come under Abyssal control, and that's' why I would like you to go in and retrieve them. With your supply capabilities you should be able to hold onto them without them being damaged under almost any circumstance, and your black uniform along with your naturally pale skin could give you an edge in finding the experimental shells. The Abyssal should have to double check your identity before firing, giving you a greater chance of escaping without taking fire."
Akitsu Maru glanced to her desk, the admiral's words stinging like a hot iron on her heart. Her skin tone always did cause her trouble, and hearing it talked about in such a way was more than just insulting, but he was a superior officer, so she couldn't argue with him on something like that. Anything she said had to be said calmly and with the utmost respect. "Sir, I can understand where you are coming from, but I am a Ship girl, and my firepower if I get into conflict would not be sufficient to-,"
"Don't bullshit me please. I know that you are level 99. Even with your lower than average firepower, your level and skill should make up for it. This may be partially off the record as it's for R&D, but this is still an order. I expect it to be seen through, understood."
Akitsu Maru Stood at attention again and saluted Admiral Yomi. "Sir, yes, sir. When would you like me to sortie?"
"ASAP, and good luck." Admiral Yomi said as he walked up to Akitsu Maru and handed her a piece of paper before walking away.
Opening the paper Akitsu Maru's face went paler than normal, so pale that anyone could swear to be able to see through her. The paper had only two letters and a dash on it, coordinates that told where she had to go. Naval zone E-6, an area on the edge of Abyssal waters that had, until recently been under Imperial control. An area that worried her for what Abyssal could be near it.