As a quick note, the OC ships of this story can be blamed on playing a mobile game called Naval Front-Line (Disclaimer: which isn't mine). It lets you name ships and refit them as you see fit, so that's the cause of the unusual naming conventions for the girls of Carter's fleet, and the strange load-outs.

Kantai Collection isn't mine in any way shape or form. Hell, I don't even get to play it.

I also apologize for the nature of this chapter, but I feel it would be best to get character introductions like this out of the way right from the start.

Reviews and feedback appreciated.


Admiral Jacob Carter considered himself lucky. His posting was a rather quiet one, Rotuma, a little outpost among the multitude of islands in the South Pacific, with only six vessels to worry about. The only major quirks concerning his posting were the skewed number of large ships compared to smaller ones like destroyers, and the fact that none of his ships technically should never have even been summoned. Hell, they never even existed in the first place. None of the girls on Carter's base had names which matched any known US Naval vessel of World War Two or earlier, or even the years immediately after. Most didn't even follow normal naming convention. Of course, this all relied upon the assumption they weren't lying about who they are, but there didn't seem to be any signs pointing to that being the case. They all belonged to a real class though, and their rigging and fighting abilities were real enough for the Navy to decide even their strange problem children of unknown origin were worth posting somewhere, preferably somewhere without real shipgirls who usually had looks of disgust or confusion when seeing them.

In no particular order, the girls of Carter's base are as follows:

Midlothian, aka Midi

Midi is apparently a Pensacola-class cruiser who had somehow ended up with a massive remodel neither real Pensacola was ever even considered for receiving, a remodel which was never applied to any ship ever, and was never planned. Carter had even mistaken her for a Portland or New Orleans-class cruiser upon first meeting her, on account of her three 3-gun turrets, rather than two 3-gun and two 2-gun turrets, and her armor layout, but her superstructure was unmistakably that of a Pensacola. Differences in the arrangement of her 5-inch 25-caliber dual-purpose guns also pointed to her true class origin. Needless to say, she still throws most everyone for a loop by appearance alone. If one looks closely enough, they'll even notice her turrets are of the type mounted on cruisers from New Orleans onward. She had sacrificed some of her speed in the remodel, but was still capable of breaking 31 knots.

Midi is quite businesslike in her manner and dealings, preferring to get straight to the point, perhaps to a degree which some would stereotypically American, but still somehow manages to sound rather professional, is not polite. Carter prefers to see it as her "cutting through the crap", and while he hasn't ever officially announced who his secretary ship is, everyone on base knows Midi is a forgone conclusion. Perhaps the only reason Carter doesn't make Midi his secretary officially is that she's too damn good in a fight to take her off the line.

Autumn

A standard Baltimore-class cruiser as far as anyone can tell, Autumn is a bit out of the loop in a way which can better be called air-headed rather than anything else. Her performance in battles is most often dependent upon how well someone else can point her in the right direction at what needs to die. Fortunately, once she has her directions, she performs quite spectacularly. Some even joke her air-headed nature is connected to the manner in which she seems to float around the dangers of the battlefield, quite unlike most ships of her size. Maybe the idea that danger is only dangerous when perceived has some sort of real effect for her. Whatever the cause, some of the girls on base are tempted to treat Autumn a bit like a fire and forget missile, both on and off the battlefield, which occasionally results in all sorts of trouble. Not that Autumn seems to mind. As far as Carter can tell, she's just happy so long she thinks she's being helpful. This does make him worry that one day an Abyssal princess will ask Autumn a favor and she'll end up obliging.

Cole

Cole is an active little firebrand, a Gearing-class destroyer who wants everyone to be aware of just how awesome the Gearing-class was, even if she does make the mistake of mixing in Allen M Sumner-class achievements to the Gearing-class repertoire. Despite her ,"live fast, die young, take many with you", nature, which can reasonably be blamed on being an American tin can, Cole isn't stupid. As the only destroyer on Carter's post, she's had to learn how to fight smart, at pain of death if she screws up. Fortunately, she at least has Mark 15 torpedoes, with all problems corrected from the get go, unlike some of the US Navy's destroyer girls who arrived with unreliable Mark 15s of the early war period. It has to be said, that smart Cole may be, but intelligence and maturity do not come hand-in-hand. She still has the youthful energy and personality, with all the ups and downs which come with it, of most destroyers, no matter their navy of origin.

Her name did lead to the most head-scratching of all the ships who ended up assigned to Carter, as the USS Cole was a Wickes-class destroyer, as well as an Arleigh Burke certain infamy, and a destroyer escort by the name of William C Cole. Despite following the naming convention of US destroyers, Cole clearly was neither of those vessels, and as far as the navy could tell, was of the same category as the other ships of Carter's fleet. Hopefully there wasn't some kind of paperwork screw up.

Horizon

All signs point to Horizon being an Alaska-class large cruiser/battlecruiser (that's a debate we'll leave for another day). According to reports available to Carter, the two known Alaska-class ships, Alaska and Guam, share a common trait of being rather awkward and unsure of themselves, something Horizon has herself. Supposedly the trait is based upon how little action the capital ships ever saw before being decommissioned and scrapped. Horizon performs well in combat with the proper encouragement from her admiral, living up to her class's nature of being the ultimate cruiser-killers, but reigning her in to remain cautious when encountering battleships is a necessity which Carter has taken note of, as she can become quite aggressive. Her aggression on the battlefield tends to extend into most other things she applies herself to, and she can be surprisingly competitive about rather petty things from time to time.

Everest

Most likely a North Carolina-class battleship, Everest isn't shy about showing off her strength. It would be best to keep her away from any of the Kongou-class ships if they ever pass through Carter's base during an operation, as she's likely to try to assert her dominance in some manner which isn't socially acceptable outside of the bedroom. Midi has indicated that Everest is quite the pervert when the Admiral isn't around, and in a manner directed towards other shipgirls, rather the admiral as some are prone to being. With Horizon being one of the only ships on base capable of remotely similar displays of strength, her attention is often directed towards trying to figure out some way to get the large cruiser/battlecruiser into bed with her. She does occasional try for Midi at times as well, but the smaller cruiser seems to somehow be capable of suitably disciplining Everest when she tries.

Endeavor

Where Midi is mature in a professional manner, Endeavor is mature in motherly, or at least parental manner. She is believed to be of the Nevada-class, making her the "oldest" of the shipgirls present at Admiral Carter's base. She prefers to live life at a moderate pace, in line with her being part of the Standard-class battleships. The low maximum speed she possess precludes her from the operations Carter's fleet does engage in most of the time, and she has taken to managing the domestic and logistical side of keeping the base running, similar to the manner in which Midi assists with administrative paperwork. In the cases when even Midi's "tender ministrations" cannot enforce discipline, the threat of incurring Endeavor's motherly wrath generally serves to end the problem.

USS Ajax

Last, but certainly not least, is Ajax, second ship of the Vulcan-class repair ships, and the only shipgirl on Carter's base with a historical predecessor. She's a tinkerer and inventor at heart, so just being around shipgirls who aren't bound by strange limitations regarding their potential in remodeling, as Midi has already shown, is something she considers to be an honor and a privilege. Like most repair vessels assigned to a base, she performs the usual roles of assisting with equipment upgrades, repairs, remodeling, and day to day maintenance. While rather unlikely to occur, she holds a dream that one day Vestal, Akashi, or Yuubari will pass through the tiny backwater she's been assigned to.


A slight creak of the hinges on the door of Admiral Carter's office and quiet footsteps bring the officer's attention away from his paperwork, and to his de facto secretary ship. She wears her usual ensemble of a blue uniform jacket with a black sailor collar, a navy blue pleated skirt reaching her mid thighs, opaque black tights, black fingerless gloves, and a pair of low-heeled boots rising just over her ankles. Her chestnut hair is pulled back into a low ponytail angled slightly to her right, reaching just under armpit level.

"Admiral, sir, CINCP- er, USPACOM just delivered the latest report regarding the upcoming arrival of the JMSDF task force."

Yes, there was the most pressing matter to attend to. A small force of kanmusu from the JMSDF was scheduled to arrive in the coming days to set up shop at Rotuma. It was apparently going to be a force of destroyers and light cruisers, to compensate for the lack of ships in those classes present at the base. While normally there was a degree of tension between American shipgirls and Japanese kanmusu, it was hoped the peculiar nature of Carter's girls would partially mitigate that problem.

"What's the news, Midi?"

"Two vessels have been confirmed to be on their way as part of the escort group for a convoy which will delivering supplies here while passing through," Midi relays in her usual businesslike manner. "Destroyers Fubuki and Akebono, both of the Fubu- correction, one of the Fubuki class, the other of the Ayanami class." She pauses. "It seems future selection of vessels will take into account the desire to increase the torpedo capabilities of the forces stationed here."

Carter steeples his hands, resting his elbows on the desk. "That will certainly provide a boost to night battle capabilities, especially if we can figure out a way to link the fire control radars into creating a firing solution for torpedoes," he muses.

"I'll see if I can arrange practice and experimentation sessions to get a working system together with Cole," Midlothian says, scribbling down a quick note. "The convoy and our arriving destroyers are expected to arrive within the next forty-eight hours."

"Good, right on schedule."

The rest of the meeting consists of more mundane matters, such as food, housing, baths, and resources. Housing is simple enough, with only a single building needed to house everyone, even with the addition of up to a matching number of kanmusu. Food is of slightly more concern, but can easily enough be solved with a fortification of the staff allotted to the mess hall. Baths will be able to continue operating as usual, so long as the number of damaged ships does not rise above fifty percent of ships on base. An expansion of the bath house may be a worthwhile investment in the future though. Resources will have to kept more carefully monitored. Without a dedicated expedition fleet, Rotuma has always relied on periodic resupply from passing convoys, allocated by the US Navy. Hopefully, the vessels being sent by the JMSDF will have low resource consumption.

"Make sure the girls are squared away before our new arrivals get here. I want to make a good first impression."

"Of course, Admiral, I'll get right on it." She straightens her stance, preparing to excuse herself to perform her duties, but is interrupted by a final few words from Admiral Carter.

"And Midi?"

"Yes, Admiral?"

Carter removes his glasses and rubs the bridge of his nose, speaking with a suddenly tired voice. "Please, try to keep Everest from trying to 'assert her dominance' over any of new arrivals."

Midi is silent for several seconds, her expression betraying little emotion. "... I'll do what I can, sir, as will Endeavor."

"Thank you."