Disclaimer: Kantai Collection (Kancolle), all of its characters, and musics belongs to their respected owner. The only things I own here is my OCs. This fanfict may or may not be canon. Besides that, I've got nothing else to say. So with that, please take a seat, grab your drink, pick your snack, and have a pleasant cruise (or read).
Chapter 8 "Reorganizing"
This is 2nd Class Petty Officer Kuma Miyazo and today is Tuesday, 11th of August 20XX. This is the eight record of my report.
The day has been kind of cold lately. Well, since it is near fall that is understandable. But since the whole base is brimming with activity, I almost forgot that it is already close to fall. With the addition of the new fleet girls, we are busier than ever. I am particularly happy since the destroyers have been well enough to go into another sortie. With them up and ready, the base is in full operational in every sense. That is a very good news for every one of us. But today there is no sortie since we need to reorganize the girls to make for the best combination possible. Well, no sortie as in no sortie was launched today. The girls from the newest batch have returned from their sortie just this morning and they have brought a good result, but nothing special. More or less they brought similar result as the base's first sortie. Still familiarizing themselves, I suppose. Well since no one is hurt, it is a good result.
Let's start with the first subject in today's report. My discussion with the fairies. And the very first thing that I found from them is that they really love their drink. And I mean really, really, really love it. I'm actually very glad to hear that since the only gift I can prepare is a pair of bottle filled to the brim with the best liquor I could get my hands on. And I can tell you this, don't ever try to compete with them for how many cup you can chug. You'll definitely lose three out of five times, if not all five of them. Trust me. Don't even try. After looking at them enjoying their drink, I have a hunch that the fairies have the condition that doesn't allow them to be intoxicated by alcohol. Impressive, yet very strange. Well, no matter. As long as it doesn't affect their work–unlike some people I know– then I'm perfectly fine with that.
The next thing that I found out is that, just as the Admiral and I expected, the amount of resource each type of girl used is indeed different from one to another. They have explained it to me in so much detail that I have submitted a proper written report to the Admiral right away first thing in the morning, complete with the number and all. To explain it here will take too long, but it can be summarized this way. The destroyer fleet girls will use the least amount of resource, followed by light cruiser, light carrier, heavy cruiser, carrier, and then the battleships fleet girls that consume a whole lot more than any of them. Although the fairies also said that each individual girl may have different consumption, the majority can follow that theory.
After learning about the girl's resource consumption, I also learn about their specialty and also the best use of their ability. The destroyers and the light cruisers, due to their low resource consumption, are very suitable for expedition for gathering resource. The heavy cruiser is an efficient type with powerful punch that doesn't use too much resource. The carrier with their ability to launch plane is a formidable force that can gain air superiority, making it possible to catch the enemies by surprise more often. And then there's the battleship, the big guns. The most powerful of them all. Packed with the heavies punch of them all but, of course, will drain our resource dry in a matter of second if not use carefully.
Oh, I almost forgot about the submarine. Yeah, there are submarine fleet girls. The fairies said that they have the same rate of consumption as the destroyers, but since they are a bit different than the usual fleet girls, they said that they will explain it to me in detail about them later on. That actually made me very curious. But since they already said that, I just have to wait patiently before hearing the explanation. Just like before, I've also included that into my report. I am quite happy to hear a lot of useful information from the fairies. I will have to stock up on some more liquor in case I need their knowledge again. Although I know that they are more than willing to discuss it without the need of alcohol, I just feel appropriate for them to receive a gift or two for their continuous good work. By the way, did we even pay them? I mean, I don't know whether the HQ gives them wages or anything. Might ask about that later with the Admiral.
So the next in my agenda is about the girls. I was chatting with Kiso today in my office right after I submitted the report. Okay, before I continue, I think I need to get something straight just in case of any dangerous misunderstanding. Kiso is the one that came into my office. And no, there is nothing suspicious about it, I assure you of it. The reason for her visit is as simple as she finds my office relaxing. And no, I don't have any strange relationship with her. I just feel that there is a need for me to say it here before some strange misunderstanding is flying around in the base and the existence of this recording is somehow –I hope not– leak into any of them. There is nothing strange going on between the two of us, okay?
Getting back to the topic, I was chatting with Kiso today. We chatted about a lot of things. From her experience in the ocean, to her impression of the newly developed weapon and its efficiency, and any other mundane stuff. If we stopped there, I don't see the need to report this with such detail. But there is one topic of our conversation that I really need to record here. And that is about Isonami. You know how Isonamu…urgh, I mean Isonami, has been acting rather strange lately. I mean about how she stalked me all of a sudden and ran away the moment I found her doing that. Uhm, I have to say that she has become one of the stranger one for me. That is very surprising for me since she started as one that stood out the least among the other girls. I…have to keep that a secret. She might cry when she heard that.
So, getting back to the topic of Isonami, since Kiso was with me, I decided to ask her about it. She then immediately said that she also have no idea about her. She also said that most of the time, Isonami acted normal. In battle, she actually performs very well and follows command without messing up any formation or plan. But Kiso did say that from time to time she acted quite strange. Of course, I didn't tell her that she stalked me the other day since it might bring trouble. Who knows how they will react to that. I'm troubled but her recent behavior, but it is not that troubling to the extent of dangerous. As long as it stays that way, I don't really mind. She also didn't see me in a hostile way anyway. So, yes…that's fine by me.
After a long and rather pleasant talk with Kiso, we decided to get some lunch. You know, talking with her is so easy and relaxing. Maybe since her default character is someone that is easy to talk to, but all I know is that we quickly become friend. Oh, maybe it is because of my name? You know, all that Kuma class stuff. Who knows? All I know is that we had lunch together in the cafeteria today.
Oh, I almost forgot. Along the way, I felt the usual presence behind me. I turned around and once again saw nothing. I then said to Kiso for her to go to the mess hall first since I forgot something in my office. I then literally dashed toward my office that time. But instead of my office, I turned into a narrow place between two buildings. I have to say, the knowledge of the whole base's layout really useful for me, hahaha! And just like before, I hid myself and waited for the one stalking me. And, yes, it is Isonami again. I saw her face very clearly as she ran pass me, clearly confused to where I was. But this time I didn't call her name out but slipped away from her and then run toward the mess hall, leaving her confused. You know, it is kind of fun to do this. Kind of like a game of hide and seek. And I have no intention of confronting her again until she decided by herself to meet me face to face and explain the reason to me. For all I know, it might just be a stage in the girl's growth period. Who knows?
In the afternoon, I went to the Admiral to ask him about his decision for the fleet combination. I am utterly impressed that he finished reading my report that quickly. He also has completed the composition list of the girls. Impressive, isn't he? So with that already in place, we call the girls into the office by the intercom. After they've arrived, the room became noisy as usual. Not that I hate it. In fact, I actually like it. It gave of a pleasant feeling that somehow made me forget that we are at war.
The Admiral then read the composition of the team. The first team's flagship will be Furutaka. She will be together with Isonami, Yayoi, and Kiso. The second team's flagship is Kako. She will be together with Uzuki, Kuma, and Tama. Although it is not as powerful as the first combination since the team is only four personnel each, we can cover more ground. And to the addition of that, the team combination will be changed again in the near future since we have been reported that we will have two more destroyers this week. That is quite a fast move from the HQ. I guess they really want to build this resource gathering base as soon as possible. It is understandable since the war has been hard for everyone and a steady supply of resource is exactly what the frontline force needs.
The Admiral did say that since the overall power of each team is reduced, they need to practice extra caution. If it is possible to avoid a battle, then by all means avoid it. The last thing we need is someone got wounded. He also said that he understands that each and every one of them really wants to proof themselves of how powerful they are on the battlefield. But at the moment, they have to avoid doing unnecessary battle to proof their might on the sea. All they need to do is to collect as many resources as possible. That is more than any of us ask from them and we will be happy to see that.
At first, I thought they will be upset when hearing that. If they are, I can understand. But they all just nodded without saying anything. In fact, I can see some of them showed a bit of relief. The ones who showed that is Isonami and Uzuki. Kiso, on the other hand, showed a bit of disappointment. But she hid that very well that I almost unable to pick that up. Kako…well…is she even awake? I mean, she looked so sleepy that I swear I saw Furutaka nudged her side from time to time. Sheesh, that girl is really something. Is it okay to put her as a flagship?
After seeing the variety of reaction, uhm…okay, the only one who showed a different reaction is Kiso since the other just nodded while I could see– well, barely see– a glint of disappointment from Kiso. After seeing that, I whispered to the Admiral whether we should ask them for their opinion since this is something very crucial. The Admiral agreed and then asked them for their opinion. To my surprise, the one that give the first opinion is Furutaka. She immediately said that splitting the base into two teams is a good idea, but splitting it into two teams right now is not a good idea since the firepower of the team is reduced. Although only reduced slightly, that is more than enough to raise the chance of them being in a dangerous situation. She said that it is better to make it into one full team while the others will rest and change the one that is damaged or tired for the next sortie. That way, we can have someone acted as a backup.
Honestly, when I heard that, I am impressed. First is by her way of thinking. That means that she is not only a capable fighter in the battlefield, but also a strategist that can also think outside of the battlefield. Secondly is by her willingness to communicate her opinion. I don't know about everyone else's opinion, but for me that is a big plus in my book. To have someone that can say what's on their mind while also giving an appropriate reason for it is always something any base should have. Of course, to have too many different opinions without any way of getting into a solid decision will destroy any base. But having no one that is willing and brave enough to give any opinion is also a bad thing.
After hearing her opinion, I waited for the Admiral to make his decision. Although she gave her opinion, the one that has to decide everything is always the highest leader, in this case, the Admiral. I am thankful to report that the Admiral is a man that is willing to hear his subordinate's opinion. In the end, we will wait for the next batch of fleet girls and then we will organize the team once more. I could swear I saw Kiso's eyes showed a satisfied expression although only for a split second. I'll ask for her opinion again next time I meet her. Maybe she is not comfortable to give opinion while being in a large group. She might opened up while we chat by the two of us.
I guess that is all for today's report. Since the whole crew is concentrating on manufacturing the appropriate equipment and ammunition, there's nothing much to report from them. Oh, the dorm is also due to be completed tomorrow. Just right in time, don't you think? Although we don't know when they will come to our base, we can rest assured that their housing will not be a problem. So I'm really relieved to hear that from the fairies. Okay…let's see. The fairies…the girls…hmm…okay, that's all. I really have to report. And since the girls are back on sortie today, I have things to report and that means my night of compiling report will once again continue. This is 2nd Class Petty Officer Kuma Miyazo signing off.
*click*-