[A/N]: This is a story I've had sitting unattended for a while, but with the recent rediscovery of the USS Indianapolis I felt now was as good a time as any to upload the first chapter. Some facts aren't completely historically accurate regarding the sinking, but it makes for a good story. I intend no disrespect to the sailors who experienced the tragic ordeal.

Advanced warning, this fic will often bounce between casual and dark themes. You have been warned.

When the second torpedo hit I knew that I couldn't last. The captain did too, but nobody could've guessed that a tough ship such as myself would have sunk in only twelve minutes.

Then, for a while things seemed downright peaceful at the bottom. I laid on my back, staring up at the surface that seemed so close, yet out of reach.

And then a few hours later the sharks came.

They picked off the wounded and the dead, dragging them into the depths where I could watch them tear apart those who I had tried so hard to protect. While being forced to listen to the pained distorted screams I wanted to cry, cry for my crew, cry for their families. Cry for their futures lost.

Then three days later, when I saw the distorted image of the PV-1 Ventura fly over and drop life rafts I wanted to cheer alongside the sailors above, but the darkness at the bottom seemed to gag me and keep me from joining those I loved in celebration. I fought it as hard as I could, kicking and thrashing in a vain attempt to free myself so they could hear me one last time, but the more I fought the more the sharks attacked. I watched in muted horror as the men succumbed to sickness. Dehydration and exposure killed at least a hundred, if not more. When I saw the men clutching their stomachs I remember shaking loose every small scrap of food I could find towards the surface. I saw them rejoice at the occasional can of SPAM or C-ration that made it to the surface, and rejoiced along with them when some selflessly distributed portions of it to their brothers-in-arms, leaving none for themselves.

After the PBY touched down I watched some of them scramble towards it. The crew of that floatplane earned my undying respect when they loaded it down to capacity and then some, damaging the aircraft in order to save as many men as possible.

Mere hours later more and more destroyers showed up, eventually rescuing all of the remaining sailors before eventually sailing off towards Guam.

'Wait, don't leave me here alone!' I wanted to yell.

As I watched their props and red hulls fade into the distance I started to kick and thrash, and I continued until I saw the liberty ships and warships packed with soldiers pass overhead weeks later. Among them, Portland, the name ship of my class, and my sister ship. I watched her cut through the calm seas on her way past me, and thrashed even more intensely that before. "God damn it let me go! I want to be with her!"

It takes me a second to realize that I actually managed to yell that, and I keep thrashing until a voice comes out of the darkness.

"You still have plenty of fight left in you. You may go. Good luck little one."

The voice fades away, leaving me stunned and confused until I feel weightless, I want to swim to the surface, but I finally process what the voice said. "Hey! Who the hell are you calling little?!"

Off in the distance I hear a muted laugh, and everything goes dark all at once.

A pounding amidships and in the conning tower is what awakens me. I immediately look around for any visual contacts, listening to my radar for… wait a minute, where the hell is my radar?!

I look down at myself, expecting to see steel and paint, only to find pale skin and thin white cloth.

"I'm… human?"

{Yes, but no.}

The voice of a woman broadcasts over speakers inside the room, and I frantically look around, my… eyes, settling on a large glass window behind me. Behind the glass I can see two humans, a rather curvaceous brunette woman that any of my sailors would have drooled over, and a stocky man in an admiral's uniform who reminds me of Admiral Spruance.

"I'm sorry... could you please clarify ma'am?"

{You are a human, but you have the soul of a ship. What is your designation and ship class?}

"Erm… Portland-class heavy cruiser CA thirty-five USS Indianapolis. Reporting for duty I guess?"

I see the woman crack a smile and say something to the admiral, who nods and walks out of sight before she leans down to the small microphone. {I'll be down in a minute. Please remain calm and be patient.}

"Aye ma'am."

She turns and walks out of sight, leaving me to look over this new hull-err… body.

'This is going to take some getting used to'

I brush my slender fingers against the flesh on my stomach, relishing in the soft, warm feeling of the pale skin.

I peel the bedsheet back slightly to look at myself and find the beginning of what I believe my sailors called a 'six pack' on my stomach before reaching up and giving one of my ample breasts a squeeze, causing an involuntary squeak to escape my lips. I quickly remove my hand from the region and fold my hands in my lap, patiently waiting until the large metal door is opened.

"I should have introduced myself earlier, but I'm Arizona. I'm sure you remember me."

"Of course I remember you! I was reminded every time I visited Pearl!" I pause and realize how rude that may have sounded. "Erm… sorry if that's a sore spot…"

"Nah it's fine! I had plenty of time to come to terms with what happened. Now on your feet, take it slow and find your balance before you try to walk."

"Err… I don't have any clothing on…"

She shrugs in response to my admission. "There's no shame among us ship girls. I've seen everyone else without clothes."

"Oh… okay…" I sit up, letting the sheet fall off me before swinging my legs out and planting my feet against the cold concrete floor.

I slowly stand up, trying to find my center of balance, which is relatively easy, given that I was relatively balanced as a ship, though leaning towards being topheavy.

"Alright, I think I got it."

I take a cautious step forward, away from the metal table I was laying on, then another, and another. I soon find myself standing directly in front of Arizona, who has a big grin on her face. "Hey good job! I think you're the first person who's managed to walk and not fall over before reaching me."

"Erm… thanks?"

"You're welcome. Now if you'll follow me we'll get you some clothes and you can go meet the admiral."

"Okay."

She turns around and leads the way out the door, moving slowly so I can keep up while still getting used to walking.

"Well, on the bright side you didn't miss much of the war after you went down. They hit Japan twice with bombs made from that Uranium you delivered. Completely leveled most of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with one bomb apiece. They surrendered unconditionally not much later after that."

"I see… So why are we here? Surely there's a reason to bring back warships? Did the Japs try something again?"

"Heheh. No it's not the Japanese this time, as a matter of fact we've actually joined forces with them. We're fighting an enemy known as the Abyssals. Nobody knows exactly where they came from -rumor has it they came from the oceanic trenches- but it doesn't matter where they came from. They're trying to wipe us off the face of the earth and we've gotta kick their asses back into whatever shithole they crawled out of."

I smile, getting a little bolder with my walking. "Aye ma'am. You sure know how to rally someone to a cause."

"Well I'd sure hope so. I've been doing this for five years." She replies as she stops by a door, motioning for me to enter.

I walk into the door to find something familiar to pictures I'd seen of old ready rooms.

"I need to get your measurements for your clothes, so please stand upright, both arms out to the side with your feet together."

I do as instructed, squeaking in surprise when Arizona wraps a tape measure around my chest, then my waist, hips, and finally getting my height.

"You've got battle scars Indianapolis. There's one on your right side and one on your neck." She says while writing down my measurements.

"Damn Jap sub." I mumble, letting my arms drop to my sides.

"I see… I'm sorry if it's a sensitive topic. Let's get you dressed then." She leads the way to a series of shelves. "Pick out whatever fits your fancy."

"Erm… think you could help me? I really don't know what I would look good in."

She laughs and nods, striding up to the shelves and tapping her finger against her chin for a second before grabbing a set of black panties and a similarly colored bra. "Try these on. Let me know if you need help with the bra."

"I think I can get it. My sailors were pervs."

"And yet you were the one watching them?"

I feel my face heat up. "I-i-it's not like that!"

"I know. It's just fun messing with new ships!" Arizona teases while I slip the undergarments on, almost falling over in the process before I sit down on a nearby bench. "Oh, do you want a skirt or jeans?"

"Jeans please."

I manage to get the undergarments on correctly and Arizona passes me a long sleeve shirt with a white torso and red arms.

"I'll help you so we can get this done."

"Eep!"

After a rather embarrassing few minutes where Arizona essentially dressed me on her own we board a large elevator and ascend towards the surface.

"Heavy cruiser Indianapolis, allow me to be the first to welcome you to the San Francisco Naval District."

No sooner does Arizona clap me on the shoulder do we reach the surface. I grab the grate of the doors and stare out of San Francisco harbor.

"W-wow. It's changed so much since I last saw it…"

Arizona opens one side of the grated doors and steps out, motioning for me to follow her. "Well, it has been more than fifty years since you were last here."

"Wait really?!"

She nods and grins over her shoulder. "Yep! Now come on, the admiral is waiting."

I release the gate and step out, tripping on the small ledge, only being saved from falling by Arizona, who wheels around, catches me, and steadies me with a hand on each shoulder. "Easy now, I don't need to bring you to the admiral all scuffed up."

"O-of course. Sorry… this is difficult to get used to."

"Just take it one step at a time. It's a bit of a walk to the admiral's office, so you'll get plenty of practice."

She releases me and slows her pace, allowing us to walk side by side while we traverse the various walkways leading through the naval district.

After what seems like an eternity we reach a nondescript two-story building overlooking the harbor. Arizona leads me up the front steps and through the door, where I almost collide with two girls coming out, but thankfully they step to the side, and one offers a reassuring smile. "I recognize that look anywhere. Who's the new girl Arizona?"

I look to Arizona, who gives me a nod and a smirk, then I turn to the girl and raise my hand in a salute. "CA-35 heavy cruiser Indianapolis."

She enthusiastically returns the salute. "CL-67 light cruiser Topeka. Pleasure to meet you." She lowers her hand and looks to Arizona. "Hey… can I go tell Portland…?"

My heart skips a beat at the mention of my sister ship, and Arizona nods. "You can tell her there's a new ship, but under no circumstances are you to specify class or name. I want this to be a surprise."

Topeka nods and throws an arm over the shoulder of the girl next to her, or rather tries to, since the latter is taller than her. "Come on Guam, I think we can stay silent about this. I want to be there to see it though."

Guam starts walking towards the door after sending a salute and a smirk my way. "It'll be at supper I'm sure. See you then Indy."

The two girls leave, and Arizona guides me up a set of stairs, down the hall to a set of double doors. Without hesitation she opens the door and motions me in, whispering 'be official' as I pass her. I get in the door, continue five more steps, and snap to attention, saluting the admiral. "Heavy cruiser Indianapolis reporting for duty sir!"

He slowly stands up and returns the salute, then relaxes back into his chair. "At ease. Welcome to the San Francisco naval district, I'm admiral Chance. Please, sit down." He motions towards a chair, then looks towards the door. "Please enter, Secretary."

Arizona strides in and closes the door behind her, then walks over to lean against a desk in the corner. "She seems stable enough, though she's lacking a bit of that cruiser soul we've been looking for. With some training she'll be incredibly useful." Arizona reports, nonchalantly running her fingers through her hair.

"I see… How are you adapting to this Indianapolis?"

"I… I'm not exactly sure what to think sir. I'm glad I get a second chance at life, but something just doesn't feel right. The learning to walk was easy enough, but being on land just seems sort of absurd."

Admiral Chance grins and sticks a pipe in his mouth, looking around for a lighter before he's stopped by a glare from Arizona. He sighs and places the cob pipe on the desk. "Well, you'll get your chance to stretch your legs on the water tomorrow, for today though you are to eat, sleep, and focus on basic moving like walking and running."

"Yes sir, thank you Admiral."

"You're quite welcome. Secretary Arizona I assume you have a bunk picked out for our new arrival?"

"Of course. Carrier group two has been needing another heavy cruiser, and she just happens to fit the bill."

The admiral nods in approval and picks up his pipe, gnawing on the stem. "Very well. I'll have your assistant pick up the necessary study books and deliver them. You both are dismissed."

I ease myself out of the chair and salute the admiral before pushing the chair in and following Arizona out, closing the door gently behind me.

I safely traverse the stairs and we're outside before I bring up a question with Arizona.

"So who's your assistant?"

"Heavy cruiser Northampton. She couldn't quite keep up in any of the flotillas, so she got assigned as my assistant."

"Huh."

I remember Northampton from the war, but she never had trouble keeping up with even the carrier task forces. Her role in desperately trying to tow Hornet to safety at Santa Cruz earned her respect of the entire fleet, and her sinking at Tassafaronga struck a big hit to morale in the fleet.

"If you have any flashbacks or nightmares about your sinking you should talk to her. She's a very understanding person, and she's very comforting." Arizona lays a gentle hand on my shoulder as we walk, her voice soft.

The sound of gunfire down by the water's edge interrupts the moment, and Arizona scowls as she watches orange F4F Wildcat fighters fly overhead, then circle back over the bay. We descend a lengthy set of steps and proceed to walk along the warfs until we reach a pier that has three girls standing on it, each one of them holding a shotgun and wearing what looks like a carrier flightdeck on their left arm, with only one on a raised platform. The girl on the raised platform calmly feeds shells into the weapon before working the pump-action and raising it to her shoulder. Across the bay I hear the report of a rifle, and the girl on the platform aims at a dozen or so black specks in the sky before firing her shotgun three times in rapid succession. I'm just about to ask Arizona what is going on before the three spreads of what I can guess is birdshot turns into three flights of orange F4F's that climb up to the black specks, which I now realize are aircraft.

"So… what's going on?" I mumble to Arizona, who takes a seat on a nearby crate.

"Those are three escort carriers. They're practicing dogfighting with a fleet carrier that's across the bay. The one up on the platform is Anzio, the one to the right is Tulagi, and the last one is Tripoli."

The report of the fleet carrier across the bay sounds two more times, and Anzio responds with three more flights of Wildcats before lowering her shotgun and watching the battle. I strain to watch the high-altitude dogfight, and judging at first from the amount of planes falling out of the skies I guess that her planes are winning. I'm proven wrong when one last orange F4F plummets into the water by the end of the pier, and a flight of four orange F6F fighters make a low and slow pass overhead before turning and flying across the bay.

Anzio pouts and steps off the raised platform, grabbing a handful of shotshells from a nearby box before jamming them into a pouch on her hip. "Didn't even get one! Come on girls, we can do better than this!"

Tulagi reaches into a similar pouch on her hip before pulling out a fistful of shotshells and dropping them into the box. "Come on Anzio, let's call it a day. She's got more experience than all three of us combined and she's got better planes. It's almost dinner time too."

"But-"

"I heard they're serving ice cream tonight." Tripoli interdicts before Anzio can argue, and the latter perks up at the mention of ice cream.

"Ice cream? Okay! Let's get our stuff put up and let's go!"

Across the bay there's the single crack of the rifle again, and as the three escort carriers empty their pockets of shotshells a single SB2C Helldiver dive bomber flies low overhead, makes a single orbit, and then flies back across the bay.

"Come on, let's go." Arizona gets up and herds me along before the carriers finish what they're doing. A few minutes of walking later we stop in front of a large building that Arizona identifies as the naval district restaurant.

"All ship girls eat free. All you can eat from oh-four-hundred until twenty-one-hundred. Usually everyone meets up here at oh-seven-hundred for breakfast and nineteen-hundred for supper. Dinner is whenever you get hungry."

"I see… So what's the plan?"

"I'll be introducing you to the fleet as a whole, and then I have to go meet the Japanese secretary ship Mutsu. So you'll be left to your flotilla." Arizona explains, leading the way into the restaurant. I follow close behind as she walks up onto a small stage of sorts she motions for me to stop off stage while she approaches a podium and turns on the microphone.

"Third fleet may I have your attention please? I assure you this won't take long."

The sound of conversation quickly dies down, and Arizona smiles before continuing.

"I have a couple of announcements to make. I'll save the best for last. Firstly, the Japanese have requested that we send at least one, if not more flotillas to their aid in destroying the Abyssals. I expect You all to talk amongst yourselves tonight, and if any flotilla wants to volunteer I'll be asking at breakfast tomorrow. Secondly I would like to congratulate Fifth Flotilla on sinking two Wo-class carriers." There's a round of applause before she raises her hand for silence and continues. "Last but most certainly not least, would the heavy cruiser Portland please come up onto stage for a minute?"

I listen to the sound of boots on the tile floor as someone gets up and walks to the steps leading onto the stage. A few seconds later I see the the girl who is my sister ship. She has her back to me, and Arizona discretely waves me forward. I stride forward, out of the shadows of backstage and onto the stage itself, stopping a few feet behind Portland while Arizona talks into the microphone on the podium.

"Today at fifteen hundred hours the admiral received word that a new ship was under creation in the box. At seventeen hundred hours the admiral and myself observed the awakening of this new ship-girl, and after the ship had suffered such a tragic ending during the war it seems fitting that she was given a second chance to fight for Uncle Sam. Ladies of Third fleet, let's give a warm welcome to the Portland-class heavy cruiser, Indianapolis!" She motions towards me, and Portland wheels around, staring at me with wide eyes in complete shock.

I have no idea how I got the idea, but it just seems like the right thing to do. I stride forward and pull her into a hug, my right arm over her shoulder while my left is under her other shoulder.

The entire restaurant bursts into cheering and clapping when Portland finally breaks free of her surprise and hugs me back, squeezing me tight while tears roll down her cheeks.

"I thought I'd never see you again…"

"I know, I missed you too…" I mutter back, resting my head on her shoulder.

After a minute or so Arizona coughs into her fist, and we separate before she turns back to the microphone.

"As of today Indianapolis will be assigned to carrier group two. You will be in charge of helping her catch up on her studies as well as giving her training. That is all, carry on."

Arizona turns off the microphone and starts to walk past us. "Sorry about having to run like this. I'll check in on you tomorrow."

"Thank you Arizona. I'll see you tomorrow then." I respond, watching her walk into the shadows of backstage and out of sight.

"Well, come on Sis! Let's get you some food!" Portland chimes, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me towards the stairway off the stage.

"Wah! Slow down! I'm still trying to get used to this!"

She thankfully slows before I lose my footing, and we walk down the steps before she leads me to a table, where at least a dozen other girls sit, happily munching on some interesting looking food whilst talking amongst themselves. I can't make out what they're saying until I get closer.

"I mean, despite how much they'll probably all hate my guts I'll go."

"So that makes five. How about you Lex?"

"Wherever Big E goes I'll go. Sign me up."

"Six yes. Now where's Portland with Indy-oh there you are! Pull up a seat!"

I take a seat next to Portland while she waves over a waitress.

"Hey Maryl, could you get Indianapolis here a small dish of my usual? Just trying to figure out what she likes."

"Sure thing. Give us a few, someone just placed a big order and Bury is overworked as it is. I'll get to making it soon as we're done with this order."

"Thank you darlin'."

The waitress walks off in a hurry, and Portland grins toothily. "Alright! I believe introductions are in order! Starting from the other corner we have my old friends from Surigao. Louisville, Minneapolis, Boise, and Columbia. Then we have the new girls. Destroyers Johnston, Laffy, Compton, and Meredith. Light cruisers Oakland and Flint. Heavy cruisers Chicago, Toledo, and Salem. Battleships Missouri and Alabama. Large cruisers Guam and Alaska. And last but not least carriers Lexington, Enterprise, and Wasp."

"H-hello everyone…" I manage to squeak out, feeling the sudden urge to hide behind Portland.

"So you're our new heavy cruiser huh? You don't look so special to me." Salem regards me like any of my sailors would have regarded a new batch of replacements. "Well, aside from that scar on your neck. How'd you get that and where can I get one?"

Missouri scowls at Salem. "You post-war cruisers are idiots. Don't you pay attention in class?"

I look down at the table. "You take a pair of torpedoes and sink. That's how you get a scar like this."

"O-oh shit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Just leave her alone Salem." Portland snaps from beside me, glaring at the cruiser down the table.

"Welcome to the fleet Indianapolis! If you need anything let Missouri or I know." Enterprise breaks the tense attitude, grabbing Salem by the elbow. "C'mon Salem, let's go for a walk."

"But I'm not done eat-"

"Why sure we can practice your night combat! I've been itching to try out these new training planes!"

Salem turns pale and gets up, letting herself get pulled down the aisle and out the door.

Once the two are out the door Missouri looks at me, slumping her shoulders. "I'm sorry about her. She doesn't pay attention worth a damn and she acts all high and mighty."

"Whoop her ass hard enough and she'll learn to respect you." Alabama adds in, stretching her arms above her head.

"Or you could just tell her what happened. She seemed pretty apologetic." Portland glares at Alabama for a moment before the waitress from earlier returns with a bowl of food, placing it in front of me.

"Here you go! One small order of grilled tuna in steamed rice!"

"... Hey, there's no Teriyaki sauce on it." Portland looks at the bowl while I grab a spoon and load a bit of the bowl's contents onto it.

"The last order required a ton of Teriyaki sauce. We're out. Sorry."

I take a cautious nibble at the food, then pop the spoonful into my mouth and start chewing.

"So what do you think?" Portland asks.

I relish in the explosion of flavor inside my mouth and swallow the mouthful of food. "It's good!"

There's a collective giggle that ripples around the table as I dig in, carefully but quickly chewing each bite.

Before I know it, the bowl is empty.

"Umm… I'm still hungry…" I start to ask for seconds, but Portland is already ahead of me.

"Hey Bury! Another order of my usual! Regular size this time!"

"Coming right up!" A voice calls from the kitchen. "We're outta Teriyaki, so you want it with Soy?!"

"Yes please!"

A few relaxed moments pass before Missouri leans on the table, looking down the line at the rest of us. "So. Portland, Indy, whatd'ya say? Wanna go help the Japs?"

"I'm cool with it. How about you Sis?" Portland looks to me, as does everyone else.

"Uhhhmmm… I haven't even been back out on the water yet, but… sure… I guess."

"You'll get plenty of practice between here and Pearl. But tomorrow is when we'll take you out so you can get your feet wet and get some easy practice in."

"A-alright then. I'm in." I stutter, looking down at my hands. I open and close my fists, sampling the feeling a couple times while everyone else talks until Portland leans in to mumble in my ear. "Weird feeling isn't it?"

"Yeah… I just can't get over it…" I mutter back.

"You'll get over it in a couple days. Soon as you get your hands on your rigging everything'll feel right."

"Rigging…?"

"Yeah, your rigging is what you'll take to combat, just like those vests the boys used to throw on during General Quarters."

"Oh… that makes sense."

A large bowl heaping with food is placed in front of me, and I'm clapped on the shoulder by the pink-haired girl who was carrying it.

"Hey, just wanted to say welcome to the Naval District. I'm Bury, the cook here. If you want anything special made, feel free to ask. I'll make it no questions asked."

"I will. Thanks." I smile and give her a nod.

"Bury! We got another big order!" A familiar voice yells from the kitchen.

"I'm on break!" The girl replies.

"My ass! Get the fuck in here! I'm not making this shit by myself!"

With a roll of her eyes the cook starts towards the kitchen, throwing a wave over her shoulder before heading through the double doors and disappearing from sight.

"Maryl works her so hard. I feel sorry for her sometimes." Chicago says with a shake of her head.

"She's gonna run that poor liberty ship into the bottom if she keeps this up." Flint agrees.

"So Bury is a liberty ship? Then what's Maryl?" I ask, picking up my spoon before digging into the food in front of me.

"A regular human. She doesn't understand that even ship-girls have limits. She knows we need food, sleep, and fuel. That's it." Chicago clarifies. "I would know. When my rigging got messed up I had to work for her to pass the time. I'm a Baltimore-class heavy cruiser and I almost tapped out."

"Yeah, but you're made with one thing in mind: combat. Bury is one of the versatile types of ships out there. She excels at heavy lifting and hard work for long hours." Missouri defends. "That doesn't mean that Maryl needs to work her to her limit though."

That continues for several minutes until I finish my bowl of food, finally feeling satisfied.

"Alright. I'm done eating, I think I'll go take a walk around the district." I stand up and start walking towards the door.

"I'll go with you." Portland gets up as well and starts following me, waving goodbye to the others in the process.

We leave the restaurant and start walking down the boardwalk by the water, watching the setting sun in relative silence.

"So what did I miss? Fighting the Japs I mean." I finally ask, leaning against the railing to look out over the harbor.

"Not a hell of alot. We dropped two bombs on them and then they surrendered. Your sinking led to a lot of fingers being pointed, and Mcvay was -and still is- the only captain to be court-martialed for the sinking of his own ship."

"They court-martialed him?! He didn't do anything wrong though!"

"He was a scapegoat. Hell, the sub captain that sank you testified at the court-martial too."

"Is… is he still alive?" I ask, hopeful that I might get to meet the old goat again, maybe apologize.

"No, he shot himself back in '68."

"Oh…" I look down at the water, watching a piece of foam get pushed around in a small whirlpool.

"C'mon, let's head down to the bunkhouse and get you a bunk. Think you're confident enough to try jogging?" Portland asks, rubbing my back.

"I don't know, but it's worth a try."

"Follow my lead and you'll do fine."

Portland pushes off the wooden railing and starts jogging down the boardwalk.

I do the same, copying the size of her strides and how she bounces a little with each stride. Before I know it we're jogging side-by-side, and Portland is giving me a loving smile.

"I knew you could do it. Wanna try running?"

"Let's do it!" I cheer, thrilled at being able to progress so quickly. I take note of how Portland changes her stride and do the same, taking faster strides that are longer and have more power behind them.

Once again, I find us both side-by-side, and to my amusement I actually start to pull ahead, glancing over my shoulder often to watch the gap between us get bigger.

"Look out!"

I look back in front of me to see Arizona with a woman that I haven't met yet, practically five feet in front of me.

I successfully dodge to the side, but after the sidestep in front of them my ankles connect with each other and I fall to the ground, going 'ass over teakettle' so that I'm laying on my back looking up at the sky. "Owww."

"Good progress Indianapolis, but it looks like you got a bit ahead of yourself." Arizona giggles, looking down at me with an amused grin.

"Yes ma'am, it would appear so. Sorry for almost bowling you over." I huff back, out of breath from running so hard.

"It's quite alright! Mutsu and I were just going for a stroll after supper. You provided some welcome comic relief to break the gloomy mood we had going."

"Happy to be of assistance." I groan while sitting up.

"Are you okay? Nothing broken?" Mutsu asks, a concerned look on her face.

"Yes ma'am, I'm alright. My pride has buckled a little, but otherwise I'm fine." I joke back, getting up with some assistance from Portland.

"So long as there's nothing physical." The Japanese ship-girl giggles back.

"Run along now, I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow." Arizona pats me on the back, a smile on her face.

"Yes ma'am. See you then."

Portland and I slowly jog off, taking more caution this time.

When we reach the bunkhouse I follow close behind Portland as she leads the way in, up to the second story, where I'm told half of the floor is reserved for our group.

"Here we are!" Portland cheers as she throws open the door and walks in confidently. I'm slower on entering, and I see Salem sitting on a bunk down at the other end, almost sulking.

"There's an empty bunk next to mine, so you can take that one if you want!" Portland continues on, not having noticed the only other ship-girl in the room. I walk past her and sit down on the bed next to Salem.

"She didn't hurt you too much I hope?"

"N-no, she just told me your story… I'm sorry for what I said earlier. It was really insensitive of me…"

"Don't worry about it too much. You didn't know." I rub her on the shoulder. "You can make it up to me tomorrow by helping me train. Sound fair?"

"Y-yes ma'am! I won't let you down!"

"I know you won't, now go finish eating. Quit sulking here." I smack her on the back as she gets up and heads out of the room, leaving Portland and I alone together.

"I'm surprised you let it drop so easily. I mean, taking a blow like that and shaking it off…" Portland starts as I get up from Salem's bed and walk over to the one she was talking about earlier. "That's not really something a cruiser would normally do…"

"Well it's not exactly like I can challenge her. I've yet to be out on the water. She'd mop the deck with me."

"Floor." Portland corrects me before I flop onto my bed.

"Floor, deck, it's the same thing!"

"I know, I'm just messing with you."

I can feel every muscle relaxing as I lay on my bed, and my eyes start to feel heavier the longer I lay there.

"Whatever. 'M goin' to sleep." I grumble, turning onto my side.

"Sleep tight. I'll see you in the morning."

"!" I shoot up out of bed, my heart pounding in my chest while sweat cakes my body. Frantically I look around the dark room, then realize where I am.

'A nightmare… it's just a nightmare.'

I sigh in relief and swing my legs out of bed, moving slow as to not wake the others. I get up and slip my boots on before trodding to the door and leaving as quietly as possible.

The hall is just as dark as the bedroom, but due to the simple nature of it I easily get downstairs and out the front door, into the crisp air of the night.

I walk towards the docks, towards the ocean, keeping my hands in my jacket pocket while I think of the nightmare that transpired earlier. Before I know it I reach the boardwalk, and find a spot along the water where I can lean on a railing and look up at the stars over the water.

Some time later a voice startles me out of my thoughts. "You picked a good spot. It's good to see you Indy."

I look over my shoulder to find another ship-girl slowly walking towards me.

"I'm sorry… I probably know you, but we've all changed a lot since those days."

"True. I'm Northampton."

"Oh, hey Nora. It's been a while." I chortle.

"Indeed it has. Over seventy years in fact."

"I guess we've really gotten old then."

"In terms of how long we've been around yes, but in terms of combat effectiveness we're still in our prime."

"We are? I'd have thought that the Navy would've found something that would make us obsolete."

"They have, they're just extremely expensive compared to us. We're more cost-effective." Northampton explains, leaning against the railing beside me. "Anyway, besides staring at the stars, why are you out here? I figured you'd be sleeping."

"Nightmares. I couldn't stay asleep, so I figured I'd come out here to try and clear my head." I mumble solemnly, looking over at her. "How about you?"

"Same reason. You wanna talk about it?"

"There's not much to talk about… it's the same exact dream every time. I'm always back underwater, watching my sailors get picked off by sharks."

"That's it? No other nightmares?"

"... There's one other… instead of being underwater I'm up on the surface with them. They keep yelling at me that it's my fault, and eventually they… they throw me to a Tiger shark. It always ends when it's about to bite down." I shudder at the memory of the nightmare. "Maybe they're right… it's my fault they're dead."

"No it's not. Don't think like that. You did your best, but ultimately it was up to them to make things happen." Nora slips an arm over my shoulders and hugs me, pulling me away from the railing. "I know what might help you. Arizona did the same thing for me. We could get all the survivors together and you could meet with them."

"I-I don't know Nora… my sinking wasn't like yours, I went down like a rock."

"I know that. I know for a fact that there's still some out there. You need someone that was there to tell you what you need to hear. I'll talk to Arizona and we'll make it happen."

"But-" I try to argue, but she cuts me off.

"No buts! It's gonna happen and that's final!"

"Fine…"

I look across the bay towards the Golden Gate Bridge, watching as two figures seem to walk across the water between two of the pylons.

"Who's that?" I ask, pointing towards them.

"Probably the transports that'll be carrying your extra gear… though it looks like they may have had a run-in with the enemy."

"This close to base?"

"They're all up and down the coast. I'll send one of the destroyer squadrons out in the morning to deal with them."

As the ship-girls get closer I can see that there's four instead of two. Both figures is actually one person helping another.

"Hey Nora… can I do that? Walk on water I mean."

"Well yeah, you just need your rigging. It takes a while to get the hang of, but it's… relaxing."

"Can I start right now?"

"Wha-? You sure you don't want to wait 'till morning?"

"Yeah. I don't want to slow down the rest of the carrier group, so I want to start as soon as possible."

"...I guess that's reasonable. Follow me."