It would take them at least three days to get into position if all went as planned, more than enough time to for the insects and their defenders to muster a force to counter it. In fact that was what she was planning on. This mighty fleet was nothing but pawns in the grand scheme of thing, a distraction meant to by time for the killing blow to get in place.
She smiled as she turned around, watching the two Fuso sisters gracefully slip into the water. Unlike the fleet heading south, the pair would be skirting the island chain from the north, undetected if all went to plan.
"You here to see sister and I off Midway-san?" Yamashiro cheerfully asked, noticing the princess's approach.
"Of course Yamashiro." Midway replied. "What kind of a patron would I be if I didn't bid my protegés bon voyage?"
"I would prefer the patron that would provide us with a proper destroyer screen." Fuso muttered under her breath, eliciting a glance from her sister.
"Sister…" Yamashiro cautiously warned, only for Midway to put a hand on her shoulder.
"You sister's complaints are warranted Yamashiro, and if stealth wasn't a crucial aspect of this operation I would agree to provide you with the escorts you desire. As it stands though, I don't have enough forces to protect you from the attention they would draw to you. With your small size and the American's attention being focused on the diversion to the south, they won't know you're at their gates until your shells rain fire down on them."
Fuso tried to give a smile at Midway's reassurances, but Midway could still see her nervously biting her cheek. Not wishing to waste another moment of the night, two stepped off Midway's shore and into the inky darkness.
Midway smiled as her two compatriots disappeared from view. That island fortress had been a thorn in her side for far too long, and with the help of her two lieutenants she would finally be pulling it out for good.
-
"North." A tired looking South Carolina shouted as North walked down the ramp of the C-130 that taken her back to Pearl. "How was San Diego?"
"Painful." North replied, rubbing the left side of her abdomen. "I don't think the torpedo I took in September of 42' even hurt as much. Medusa and her fairies are real miracle workers though."
South nodded in agreement. "Both her and her sister Vestal. I thought you were back a couple days ahead of schedule when I first saw the report Medusa sent us. You make any new friends there, maybe meet a nice boy?"
North let out a choked cough at her mother's words, eliciting a giggle from South. "I met a few of the Japanese destroyers." She replied choosing to ignore the last part of South's remark. "They seem like good kids."
"I am glad to hear you say that North." South responded. "Convincing the rest of the returning girls that they can trust their Japanese counterparts has not been an easy task for me."
"They'll come around." North replied putting an arm around her mother. "I took me a few years after the fighting stopped to settle down, same thing for all of us who made it past the purge… well, except for those that got loaned to Japan."
South sighed. "I hope you're right North, because unless things drastically change we're going to need their help to retake the Pacific."
"So anything happen while I was gone?" North asked as the two made their way to a waiting Humvee. "I didn't see anything on the news channels while I was stuck in dry dock at Dago."
South shook her head. "We've been using the Submarines and airstrikes from the mainland to keep the Midway Princess contained. Bowfin, Mingo, and Barb managed to sink nine ships between them on their last sortie."
"So how come you look like you just got done running a convoy to Japan and back. I can't imagine secretary duty would be that bad."
"Clearly you've never had that role." South responded after a tired giggle. "The destroyers can get rather… creative in their need to relieve boredom, and the amount of paper work can get rather tiring. I've also had some… personal issues to deal with too."
"Wee Vee?" North asked, causing South to stop in her tracks. "I was in the same car as her when you two got into that argument, and that was just about you going to Pearl. I can't imagine how insufferable she's become with you taking my spot at the base while I was being fixed up."
"She has her reasons for worrying about me North, and I can't say she isn't wrong in her concerns." South chided. "And it's more than just her. A couple weeks ago Argonaut showed me somethi- Is everything alright corporal?" She asked, both their attentions drawn to the Humvee that had just pulled in front of her.
"Sorry admiral, but you're needed back at the command center this instant." The young marine said. "I'm to take you there after we drop of the commander at the Cassin Young. The admiral just called, told me something big had come up and that he would explain on the way."
"Okay." South replied, a sudden look of dread in her eyes as they entered the back of the Humvee. As soon as they were seated the screen in front of them lit up.
"Admiral, Commander. Sorry about interrupting your reunion, but there's an Abyssal force heading straight for Pearl." The screen changed to show the video of feed from one of the drones.
Norths eyes went wide as she watched a force at least twice the sized of the one she had faced down a month ago fill the screen. "How close are they?"
"700 miles out and closing." Enfield replied, causing North to gasp.
"Pardon me for asking sir, but how the hell did we let them get that close without anyone noticing?"
"We didn't North." Enfield responded. "We've been tracking this fleet for the last day and a half, but up until thirty minutes ago it was on a heading that took them straight to Panama. We're already moving both the V-boats and the Gatos into position to slow them down, but you and the rest of the girls to stop them for good. You and rest of the girls will be deploying with the USS Cassin Young. She'll be both your ride into and out of the ambush point, and providing much needed fire support for you."
"Sounds good sir. What's the plan for dealing with the enemy fleet?"
"I'll leave the battle plan for the cruisers and destroyers to you commander, If everything goes right the enemy fleet will be entering the effective range of Young's railgun just as daylight breaks. Prior to that though, The submarines are going to set up an couple of ambushes to whittle them down."
South watched as the gears began to turn in her head. "Can I make a suggestion sir?"
"I'm all ears commander."
"Have Argonaut break off from the others get her into a spot where she can drift those mines she has into the abyssal fleet."
"Mines?"
"Yeah. She was originally a minelayer sir. Did you ever wonder why she has the SM moniker rather than the SS that all the other subs have? If she has her original hull, the girl should be packing almost 40 of the things on her."
"I swear I learn something new about you girls every day." Enfield responded. "I'll see what can do about Argo. Contact me once the Cassin Young gets into position."
"Will do sir." North replied as the Humvee rolled to a stop. "Well, it looks like this is my stop." She told South, pointing space age ship just outside the vehicle.
"Stay safe." South replied. "I'd really hate to have to see you sent back to San Diego right after you just got back from there."
"Don't worry mom." North replied. "If everything goes right I'll be back home for dinner."
"I expect you to uphold that promise."