-[]-[ Chapter 9(?) : Mission Briefing ]-[]-
Kestrel collapsed onto her bed, utterly exhausted and without bothering to change out of her uniform. She'd just spent an entire day out on the water, launching and recovering planes, putting them through their paces, testing whatever flight tactics she could come up with. She'd only ever come in to top up her aviation fuel reserves and then went right back out.
The Hubert Supercarrier let out a tired groan into her pillow, hoping that it would somehow make her less tired. She groaned again when it didn't.
She lied like that for an hour before she rolled over onto her back and quickly realised she never shut off the light before flopping onto the bed. Ow, the eyes, they burn.
On the bright side, she'd managed to figure out how to get the whole thing to work with Akagi and Zuikaku's planes hitching a ride in her hangar decks. She didn't manage to fit them all in there, but packing 150 aircraft total was a pretty good number as far as she was concerned.
The best part for her though was finding out that she could totally launched old prop fighters off her bow and angled deck at the same time with a good headwind. Which was awesome. No other word for it. In practice though she wound up launching off the bow and recovering on the angled deck. As a bonus she'd quickly found out that her jets wouldn't accidentally knock the lighter Japanese fighters off the deck. Despite being lightweight they were still heavy enough that they stayed put when buffeted by jetwash.
The hard part though had been getting Akagi's and Zuikaku's pilots to concede to flying in four ship elements. They seemed to prefer to mass into larger groups rather than spread out into smaller groups to maximize air cover and be guided to the target by radar data. It had gotten to the point where she;d had to take the squadron leaders together and straight-up gave them the "my way or the highway" speech. They shaped up pretty quick after that. Evidently they cared more about getting job done than adhering to their old tactics.
Although it was a bit comical talking to a bunch of tiny people with oversized heads as they sat on her arms.
Did I say comical? I mean friggin' weird.
She sighed. Time to get up and get changed for bed before she fell asleep. Or at the very least, get up to turn off the light so she could fall asleep. Pushing up from the bed, she headed over to the folded clothes that she was still borrowing from Kongou. First things first when she's back from deployment tomorrow, get her own clothes.
She's getting her own paycheck now, she could afford a shirt and pair of shorts!
After quickly changing and shutting off the light, she flopped back down onto the bed. A bed that was significantly bumpier and...argumentative than when she'd left it.
"OW! GET OFF! YOU'RE HEAVY!" The covers squeaked at her and she jumped up.
"What in the…?" Kestrel muttered to herself, feeling the bumpy mass she'd just collapsed on top of. Something was off here. She pulled back the covers and found herself staring at the four Akatsuki-class destroyers that had held her hostage for snuggles after her first night on base. "How'd you guys get in here?"
"The door." Hibiki replied. Kestrel glanced between the closed door and the four destroyers with a raised eyebrow. Her mind was already trying to piece together how they'd managed to sneak into her room and into her bed before she'd finished changing and without her noticing. She quickly decided to bury that somewhere in the darker depths of her brain and instead just get under the covers and sleep.
"Alright, move over." Kestrel said, easing herself under the covers before wrapping her arms around Inazuma and hugging her to her chest like a destroyer sized teddy bear. The other destroyers followed her lead and began to snuggle up to the larger carrier. "G'night kiddos."
"Good Night Kestrel-san!" They said in unison.
Kestrel was out shortly thereafter.
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Morning came far too soon for most at Yokosuka Naval base, what with everyone prepping for deployment the day prior. Very few had actually gotten the sleep they'd needed, after scurrying about the base making sure everything was in order. Goto was one of those people, and so he'd deigned to start his second cup of coffee early today, taking it with him inside the briefing room.
The shipgirls had already started filing in as he stood off to the side of the projector screen. They tended to come in small groups, mingling with other ships of their class. Destroyers with destroyers, cruisers with cruisers and so on.
Fubuki, Mutsuki and Yuudachi had parked themselves in the front row, talking animatedly in hushed tones. Aoba had apparently caught interest in what they were saying and was trying to jump into the conversation from the row behind, with mixed results.
Kaga, one of the two carriers on this mission, had been the first person to arrive and had waited outside the doors for Goto. The stoic carrier had taken one of the seats in the back corner.
Mutsu was busy teasing Nagato again in the back row if his secretary ships red face and Mutsu's grin was anything to go by. If he was reading Mutsu's gestures right, then she was talking about something that should never ever be said in front of destroyers. At least the lewdmarines could probably handle it though. He wasn't sure how he felt about that...
Kongou, the only battleship of her class that was back to combat duty, had decided to bring her breakfast into the room. There she was, wolfing down authentic British cuisine faster than a speed-eating champion while somehow maintaining a somewhat dignified air as she ate. He had to fight the urge to roll his eyes when she winked at him.
Tenryuu was in the middle row, feet up on the table in front of her and trying desperately to look laid back. Goto had worked with the light cruiser long enough to spot how her eye kept nervously darting back to the door. The fact that DesDiv 6 wasn't with her probably had something to do with that. Goto himself found that a bit odd.
Just as his mind began to drift, wondering about why Desdiv 6 wasn't with their "mama", Kestrel managed to push the door open and squeeze through while somehow carrying four destroyers in her arms. While Kestrel herself looked awake, Desdiv 6, despite being in their uniforms, were still somewhat groggy.
"Sorry I'm late, sir." Kestrel said as the door closed behind her.
"Don't be Kestrel, you're actually a bit early." Goto responded, nodding to the carrier.
Kestrel returned the nod before heading over towards Tenryuu, plopping the four destroyers into chairs on either side of the cruiser and saying, "They're all yours" before grabbing a seat next to Kaga.
Goto checked his watch. 0750 hours and everyone was here. He could begin the briefing early. The faster he could deal with that Abyssal fleet hanging out in the middle of the ocean, the faster American convoys could make the trip to Japan.
He nodded to Ooyodo, who was manning the computer hooked up to the projector. The cruiser's hands deftly navigated the keyboard and soon the projector was booting up, lighting the large screen behind him with it's maker's logo.
Goto cleared his throat to grab the shipgirls' attention. "Ladies, we're a bit strapped for time at the moment so I'd like to keep this briefing short." A satellite image of the target zone appeared behind him on the screen, punctuated by recon photos taken by a submarine. On the whole, at least thirty different enemy vessels appeared on the screen and Goto could see some faces in the room grow a bit pale.
"What you see on the screen is what remains of the force that struck at Japan recently." He said. "It appears that they've received some reinforcements and we've spotted what's believed to be supply ships moving to and from the fleet.
Unfortunately, they've also placed themselves in the middle of a prime shipping route to America." The screen changed, backing out to show a stretch of ocean covering Indochina, the northern coast of Australia, Hawaii, Japan and the southern portion of Russia's East Coast. A large red area covering almost all of the southern Philippine Sea and stretching halfway out into the South Pacific marked the territory held by the Abyssals. A red ship icon located halfway between Hawaii and Japan marked the present location of the enemy fleet.
"At present, one of our major supply routes to America is blocked." Goto said. "Unfortunately for us, that fleet is showing no signs of moving and have been steaming in circles over the past two days."
"So, our job will be to get them to move?" Tenryuu asked.
"Yes." Goto replied. "Though it won't be just us." The screen changed again, this time changing to a roster list, showing the pictures of twelve young women and girls in four columns of three. A small American flag was located in the top left corner of the screen, the words "Task Force Halberd" emblazoned at the top.
"As of right now, we are outnumbered against the Abyssals in this fight, which is why the Americans will supply additional forces to help even the odds." He announced. "In this operation, we will be forming Task Force Rapier and moving out to engage and sink the Abyssal fleet. We know the Abyssals have air cover but have not yet located their carriers. Total number of carriers is projected at four or five and are likely part of a twenty-strong fleet."
"Which puts the total number of enemy vessels at around…fifty?" Kestrel suddenly piped up from the back, pausing from scribbling in a notebook she'd gotten from somewhere.
"Correct."
"So we're still outnumbered?"
"Correct."
Kestrel smirked. "And here I thought you'd try and go easy on me."
Goto's lips quirked up in a small grin. He quickly brought the room back on track. "Moving on then, Tenryuu, Akatsuki, Hibiki, Inazuma and Ikazuchi, you will be providing escort for Kaga and Kestrel. The remaining fleetgirls will be split into three groups headed by the three battleships as follows." The screen changed to show three groups with one of the battleships at the top of each, followed by cruisers and then destroyers. Goto simply didn't have enough time to name each ship in the group. "Any questions?"
The room was silent as the various ships took down whatever information they felt was pertinent. No hands went up, no one voiced any concerns. They knew what he expected of them. "You deploy at 0900 hours. Dismissed."
A chorus of "Hai" and one "Yes sir" met him before the shipgirls filed out of the room. It would take them a full day of sailing to get to the operation zone. After that they'd bee on their own, the American battlegroup the only backup they'd have.
Someone patted him on the shoulder, and her realized he'd turned solemn after everyone else had left. Ooyodo stood there, a reassuring smile on her face. "They'll be fine." Goto gave her a smile of his own as she turned and left.
"I hope you're right Ooyodo."
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"Ho-lee shit!"
Saratoga flinched reflexively, eyes darting from side to side, looking for any sign of USS Arizona. The Old Standard had deliberately targeted the younger (in both date of commissioning and date of return) USS Iowa as the object of her rebuttals. If Sara had to guess, it was because of the busty blonde battlewagon's choice in clothing and her already legendary potty-mouth. Quite frankly, Saratoga did not want to be stuck in the middle of two's shouting matches. Not today, not when she was getting deployed.
"Could you keep it down, hun? What's got you so excited anyway?" Saratoga asked, cocking an eyebrow at the battleship.
"You mean besides the fucking fact that I'm finally getting thrown into the fight?" Iowa retorted, grinning from ear to ear. "It's that there's a fucking supercarrier that's gonna be there!"
"Uh…" Saratoga hooked her thumb out the window towards the steel-hull form of the Ford-class carrier USS John F. Kennedy CVN-79. The poor ship was tied up in port now, her flight decks and hangars almost completely empty. Sara couldn't help be feel a pang of sympathy for the poor girl, a carrier with no planes wasn't worth her steel. It must hurt to be stuck like that…
Iowa brought her hand to her forehead. "Goddammit Sara, you know what I fucking meant." Iowa grumbled. "But seriously though, how weird is it that there's a Supercarrier that isn't one of ours?"
"Great Britain has the Queen Elizabeth Class." Sara paused. "Sorry, 'had'." She recalled reading news reports over the sinking of both those ships. It had been long before she'd returned and had been a massive blow to the Royal Navy.
"Okay, okay, so I'm ignorant or whatever. But seriously, alternate world carrier? How fucking cool is that?!" Iowa said excitedly, giving a little skip as she and Saratoga walked down the hall towards the barracks. The battleship brought a finger to her lips, taking on a curious look. "I wonder what she's like? Think she's nice?"
"I suppose we'll find out, won't we?" Sara replied. "Just remember that we're there to sink Abyssals, not to socialize."
"Yes mooooom!" Iowa groaned. "Look I gotta grab something from my room, 'kay? I'll meet you at the docks in five." She added, splitting off from the fleet carrier.
"Don't be late!"
"Yeah yeah! Keep your fuckin' panties on I'll be there!" Iowa called over her shoulder before rounding the corner. Saratoga smiled and shook her head. Working with the Japs now? She wondered how that was going to go.