Of Sinkings, Damage and Secret Help…
"The submarine has stopped" Kaede reported from her post at Sonar.
"That's good" Akeno said in relief. "Is the submarine surfacing?"
"No... It's just stopped"
"That can't be good" Mashiro said.
"With their propellers fouled up by the line, they should surface as quickly as possible" said the German girl with a look of concern on her face.
"CAPTAIN!" Kaede suddenly shouted through the voice pipe, "The submarine is going down and I can hear popping noises"
"Popping?" asked Akeno. Before Kaede or the German girl could say anything, there was a massive spray of water and a dull thud from behind them. Akeno, Mashiro and the German girl rushed out onto the port bridge wing and looked back to see the spray fall back to the surface and a puddle of blackest black showed where the surface rippled in a circle.
"Please no..." the German girl said in a groan.
"What? What has happened?"
"Captain, I think the submarine has exploded underwater and broken up"
"You mean they are dead?"
"It looks like it" said Mashiro quietly.
"Bridge, Sonar... I'm hearing scrunching noises and lots of tinkling - suspect highly probable the submarine is breaking up" Kaede's voice provided the final line on the subject.
"I CAN SEE WRECKAGE!" the starboard lookout said suddenly.
"Deputy Captain, bring us to a halt and launch a boat to search for any identifying debris" Akeno ordered. "I'm sorry, but I do not know your name - would you go with the boat and help them look for what you can? You seem to be an expert"
"Yes, Captain"
"Distress beacon heard... it's coming from somewhere behind us" came the light tone of the radio operator.
"That must be the submarines automatic distress beacon that was set off"
"It must be set off automatically when the sub goes below a certain depth" Akeno looked down.
"It's not automatic" said Mashiro. "That type of submarine only has a manually activated beacon"
"Then there could be people alive down there" Akeno suddenly felt cold. As she tried not to think about being trapped at the bottom of the sea, one of the girls shouted they could see something orange bobbing on the surface.
"There!" Mashiro pointed at a tiny orange dot that had appeared.
"Quick, get the boat launched and get that person on-board - have the Doctor be ready to treat them" Akeno ordered. She walked back onto the Bridge and clasped her hands together and bowed her head in prayer. Straightening, she stepped closer to the voice pipes and steadied her nerves. "Radio room, this is the Captain. On my direct order break radio silence. Get our position from Navigation and broadcast it to both the school and the Blue Mermaids until you get a reply. Inform them there has been an accident with the I-201 and inform them there has been a terrible accident and there are survivors under the water. When you get confirmation, break off radio communication and report to the Bridge. Mashiro, when you're told about the message being received, I want you to have Rin take us on any course you can and as fast as Maron can give us..."
"You think the school might attack us?"
"They might or they might not - I don't plan on giving them the chance though" Akeno said. "You... I'm not sure what to do with you, but you knew what to do with submarines - stay on the Bridge where Mashiro can watch over you. I am going to find out about the submarine that attacked us"
"Aye, Captain"
#
"He is still unable to wake" Minami said. "I do not know if this is because of tiredness or due to injuries" she added. "Under the circumstances, I would prefer to let him wake naturally"
"Of course" Akeno smiled. "Have you been able to find out anything about him?"
"He is an Engineering Cadet from Saudi Arabia on an exchange visit to learn a submarine's systems" Minami frowned. "Does Saudi Arabia have submarines?"
"I don't know" Akeno admitted. "Maybe he was here to learn how to be on one before his country gets them"
"Thats logical"
"Did he have any weapons on him?"
"If he did, they got loose when he was in the water. He is lucky to be alive - the water was exceptionally cold tonight"
"Okay... Make and keep him comfortable and let me know when he wakes. Don't tell him what ship he is on, though"
"Aye, Ma'am" Minami reached for a plastic wallet which contains cards and pieces of paper.
"His things?"
"Yes - it might help you somehow"
"Thank you... Why don't you go and get some rest? You have been worked very hard. If something happens, I will ring you"
"I would prefer to remain at my post"
"As you wish"
#
"Gufran Saulman" Kouko said. "According to the information all the ships got, he is here as part of an educational visit so he will be able to serve on the first of Saudi Arabia's submarines. How he survived what happened to the I-201 is strange, though... According to the plans, the number on his life suit shows it belonged to the forward torpedo room"
"Why would an engineer be in the torpedo room?" Maron mused. None of the other senior department heads gathered in the mess hall had any idea either.
"Maybe he was learning how things worked there" Rin suggested.
"Maybe" Mashiro broke in, "But we have to decide what to do with him"
"Do with him?" Kouko asked. "We will have to put him on a shopping mall somewhere out of the way so the fleet doesn't find us and sends the ship to the bottom of Davy Jones's locker"
"And we went nearly a whole day without a fantasy" Mashiro muttered.
"When he is well enough to be released" Akeno had made up her mind, "He can work with Maron in the engine room"
"But where will he sleep? We don't have any spare quarters as it stands"
"We could always have him sleep in one of the supply stores. Number Four Store is almost empty anyway" said one of the girls from supply.
"Hardly comfortable on a cold deck" Rei smirked.
"We have some hammocks, right? Well he can sleep on one of them" Akeno said. "We'll just have to be careful around him with regards to the bathing and the toilet"
"Captain, I would like to be a part of any team that talks to him" Kaede said. "I can speak Saudi Arabian a good deal, so i would be happy to help"
"Sure - speak to the Doctor about it"
"Aye, Ma'am"
"I can also speak that - may I join?" asked Mashiro.
"Very well" Akeno nodded. "German girl, what are you doing?"
"Trying to decide if i am dead and my soul is being tortured on a ship crewed by idiots and fools"
"Sorry" Rin squeaked. Akeno frowned and pushed down some rude words she knew at the way the German girl spoke.
"Whats your name?"
"Wilhelmina Braunschweig Ingenohl Friedeburg"
"Come again?" Mashiro and Akeno exchanged looks.
"Wilhelmina Braunschweig Ingenohl Friedeburg" the girl repeated and then sighed at the blank looks she got. "Mina... My name is Mina"
"Rin, how are we doing for steering?"
"Going to the rendezvous as ordered"
"Well that's something" Mashiro muttered a little too loudly.
"Shiro, be nice to Rin - you'll make her cry" and Akeno turned to look at Tama. "Do you agree with everything?"
"Aye"
"I'll take that as a yes then... Reduce speed a little so we don't wreck the engines, but keep us going towards the next meeting point - we have to put our side of the story across and find out what has happened"
"Captain, we're picking up strong sounds of propeller screws under the water"
"Can you work out where?"
"I think its heading towards where the I-201 went down"
"Okay – keep this course and speed…"
"We have a problem" one of the girls from supply rushed into the Mess Hall.
"What do you mean?" asked Akeno.
"We took a few hits to the starboard side and we've lost fuel oil – we can't make it back to the school or the meeting point"
"Why didn't the damage control sensors not indicate damage?" Maron asked.
"Because it was damaged"
"Oh"
"How much fuel do we use a day?" asked Akeno with a worried tone in her voice.
"About fifty tons" Maron said instantly. "Of course, we can reduce that by going slower, but there are other things the engines are used for such as electrical power" and she looked at the girl from supply. "Which part did it hit?"
"Bunker 4"
"Damn" Maron said. "That was one of our two biggest bunkers…Assuming that the fuel levels are okay in the rest of the tanks, I can suggest maybe another five days at cruising speed"
"And it's at least a week back to the school" Mashiro said.
"Until we broke off radio contact, did we have up to date positions for the supply ships?" asked Akeno.
"I… I think so" Rin said.
"Good – get our position and then see if we can make the nearest ship. They might not have heard about us, so we'd be able to resupply and then get back to the school as fast as possible"
"There might be a better option" said Mina. "One of your supply ships put stashes of supplies in key areas for the Spee – if I could look at your map and get your position, I might be able to get us supplies and keep us away from any ships that will try to sink us" and Akeno and Mashiro looked at each other before Mashiro shrugged.
"It's better than risking arrest" she said.
"But we still need somewhere to get repairs" Maron pointed out as she re-joined the main group, "And any shipyard or port we go to will report us"
"Can you fix the damage at sea?" asked Mashiro.
"I would have to look first, but I doubt it. Even if we could, we can't run very fast at all because the starboard screw is broken"
"Best speed?" asked Akeno.
"One shaft…? First battle speed"
"Well let's hope we don't encounter anything" Mashiro said.
"Captain! There is a ship coming near us – the Akagi" came the voice of a lookout.
"I'm so unlucky"
"Its just coincidence" Mina shrugged.
"It's the Captain – is it trying to communicate?" Akeno asked after crossing to the handset on the wall.
"They say they want us to stop so they can talk to us… They heard about what happened, but they don't believe we started a mutiny" and Akeno closed her eyes and thought hard. They needed food, oil, supplies and repairs for sure, but could she risk it on a gamble by trusting the supply ship was on their side.
"Close the distance, communicate by signal light only and await orders – I'm coming to the Bridge" and Akeno replaced the handset before turning to face her crew. "Get everybody to stations and secure all hatches"
"Captain?" Mashiro was startled by the determination in her voice.
"There is a supply ship coming towards us offering to help us. While we need the supplies it has for us, I am not going to trust them until I know stuff better"
#
To the delight of the crew, the supply vessel was indeed friendly and gave them updated charts and as much information as possible about what had happened. The crew took the opportunity to write letters home which the Akashi would deliver as her captain and Akeno had decided it would sail directly to Yokasuka with them, a copy of their log and visual evidence that backed up their claims of being fired upon first. It would also take back three members of the crew who asked to return to the school because family issues to which Akeno had agreed to. It meant that one of the firing post girls and two of the damage control parties members would make them short handed, but Mina had agreed to stay on and help them and Akeno didn't want to stand in the way of three girls worried about the health of their families when they heard the news. The crew also took the opportunity to use special equipment aboard the Akashi to scan their male passenger, though this was done in the sickbay as Minami did not want to move him as much as possible. After twelve hours and after transferring as much stuff as they could to the Harekaze, the Akashi sailed away and promising to wait twelve hours before saying they had seen the Harekaze so the ship had enough time to sail away.
Do you think I am doing the right thing?" Akeno asked Mashiro when the pair were alone in Akeno's cabin.
"Normally I would say no" Mashiro replied, "But if the fleet is on a 'Stop or Sink' order, then we have no choice but to keep moving until the Akashi gets to the school and explains everything. The main question, though, is where do we hide?"
"If we keep moving, then we'll never be trapped" Akeno reasoned, "But we could find an island somewhere which at least allow us time on shore. The question is where? I don't want to cause trouble for everybody"
"I wonder if the Blue Mermaids are going to put ships on all the islands to stop us hiding…" Mashiro frowned in thought. "Captain, I think your plan to keep moving is the best idea we have. However, there is a matter that needs attending to fairly soon"
"What's that, Shiro?" and Mashiro sighed at the nickname before explaining.
"Minami has said that she is slightly worried about the health of the crew in the Engine Room. According to her report, they have suffered extreme changes from room temperature to extreme heat to extreme cold and then back to extreme heat again. She says it isn't good for their bodies and is concerned some of them might suffer from strokes"
"That sounds serious" Akeno said. "Not sure what we can do, though"
"There is a small island chain about an hour away... We could sit there until dark, shut down the boilers and let the people down below the chance to get fresh air"
"But what if we are discovered by the fleet?"
"We keep the engines connected to the emergency diesel set"
"Okay, Shiro, lets do that... We can rest a little before we move at night for another set of islands"
"Captain?" the voice of Minami came through the voice pipe.
"Uh... Yeah?"
"The boy we rescued from the I-201 has started to wake up and I might have discovered what has happened"
A/N:
Okay, if the talking is a little out of character, it is because I thought they would sound a little better if they had had a little bit of training first. The boy picked up from the submarine is named and based on a very good friend and partner in anime crime.
As for taking this alongside canon events, most of it will be kept with only minor parts removed like the getting stuck in the mines – they should have simply gone astern and moved round. The only major difference is that the Harekaze will be on her own and get help only in dribs and drabs from supply caches on remote and unoccupied bases as well as finding the occasional wreck to scavenge from.
Well, reviews in the normal manner please…
Pixel and Stephanie