April 9th 8:00. Kagerou-class Destroyer, Harekaze.
The entire bridge was silent.
After hearing that their principal, and a certain Deputy-Captain's mother, has ordered all vessels back to school - that includes the Harekaze - adding that she won't abandon any of her students.
It was uplifting new! They were going back to their school after being accused of mutiny against the Sarushima, attacked deliberately by the Graf Spee, and, most recently, the night attack from the I-201 Submarine from Toumai.
Misaki Akeno, the Harekaze's Captain, even announced it in their conference room to everyone aboard the Harekaze earlier. Including the German girl that helped them during the night battle.
All things were well until very bleak news was broadcasted in the open channel was intercepted by the ship's Sonar Operator.
"The renegade ship, Harekaze hull designation Y467, has been confirmed to have attacked the I-201 Submarine from Toumai High. The I-201 sank, the students inside the I-201 lost with all hands."
"What!?" exclaimed the Torpedo Officer Irizaki Mei, "They've attacked us first! And they've got one fact wrong, we didn't sink the sub! They've even resurfaced, right!?"
The rant was deliberately ignored when the ship's Secretary, Nosa Kokou, continued.
"Additionally, in light of this grim news, the principal from Toumai High has officially declared 'unrestricted submarine warfare' on the Harekaze. Effectively sortieing every Submarine and seaworthy vessels on that school with the order to sink the Harekaze with all hands."
Everyone, inside the Harekaze's bridge, was left speechless at the news. The principal of Toumai High has declared war on them. Akeno was too shocked to register what it all meant.
Munetani Mashiro, the Deputy-Captain of the Harekaze, could be seen as having a look of horror. Just a few hours ago they were relieved of the good news, and now, the bad news was coming in hard.
"This can't be true." remarked the German girl that came to the ship's bridge who had just heard the news, "We all saw the submarine, we all know we didn't sink it. So why? Why would they accuse us of sinking a submarine that we ran away as soon as they resurface? It doesn't make any sense."
Kokou, although being the imaginative girl she is, did not do her usual antics. She only did it to lighten the mood. This time, however, the loss of life should not be taken lightly, so she stayed silent.
The Deputy-Captain's thoughts were swirling in countless of "what-ifs" on how the sub was sunk.
Just things couldn't get any worse than this. She thought as she contemplated on what they should do.
Contact the principal, her mother, that they weren't the ones that sunk the I-201 and that they were accused of. Or, risk it all, and investigate on their own.
"Captain, I think we should-"
BOOM!
Screams reverberated throughout the Harekaze.
The explosion rocked the Destroyer, alarms blaring for the ship's DCT (Damage Control Team) to take the necessary procedures of containing further damages on the ship.
"What was that!?" Shiretoko Rin, Chief Navigation Officer and Helmswoman of the Harekaze cried. Tears threatening to spill out of her eyes at the recent explosion.
Snapping out of her thoughts due to the explosion, Akeno then heard Chief Engineer Officer, Yanagawa Maron, shouted from the tube that communicated the Engine room.
"Engine room is heavily flooding! A large 14 cm hole has opened up from starboard to port, and the engine room is heavily flooding! I repeat a large 14 cm hole has opened up from starboard to port, and the engine room is heavily flooding"
"WHAT!?" Deputy-Captain Munetani shouted, "How could this have happened!?"
First the grim news and now this. Her misfortune of luck must've affected the ship as a whole if the explosion weren't any indication.
"Submarine spotted! 60 degrees starboard, distance 3,000 meters!" the Harekaze's eyes, Noma Mayumi, reported.
Every bridge personnel, including the captain, was able to snap back to reality when the explosion rocked the ship, immediately went to the bridge's starboard.
"They've already found us!?" Rin exclaimed in fright at the sight of the submarine.
"It's an unknown submarine." Wilhelmina Braunschweig Ingelner Friedeburg, or simply known as Mina, stated, "The mass is too large, it's too heavily armed, and has a superstructure that it's impossible to know which nation it belongs to."
"I've tried searching it," Kokou adds in," it doesn't match any logs on which school the submarine belongs to. Judging by its look, it just has a standard displacement of 6,600 short tons, an armament of 14 cm. A 60-caliber cannon by the looks of it. Eight forward torpedo tubes. Three twin-mounted, and a single-mount 40 mm rapid-fire guns." she had a look of horror, "This is the largest and most heavily armed unrecorded submarine ever! Its cannon alone has a range of 20,000 m, and from this distance alone it can over-penetrate and sink the Harekaze!"
"If they were that hell-bent on sinking us, we're doomed!"
BOOM!
"Impact! 60 degrees port, distance 3,000 meters! Another Submarine spotted!"
"The second turret is destroyed!
"Fire has started to spread!"
"The rice cooker is completely broken!"
"There are more of them!?"
BOOM!
BOOM!
"Double impact! Two more submarines spotted! One at 0 degrees starboard and the other at 180 degrees in the same direction, each at the distance of 3,000 meters!"
"Forward and aft turrets are destroyed!"
"Extinguishing fire at the live ammunition room!"
"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" screamed the Navigation Officer.
"Aye." the soft-spoken Artillery Officer, Tama, replied.
Mashiro turned to the ship's captain, Akeno, "Captain, your orders?"
Akeno could not reply. Even if she did, there were no options left to use.
With all of the turrets destroyed, they could not open fire. They've run out of torpedoes. They've used their last depth charge from the recent night battle. And now, with all the engines destroyed, they could not escape.
Even if their engines were untouched by the attack, they still could not escape. Especially with the thought that there are more submarines out there if they rush ahead with more waiting for them.
They were completely trapped. With no way out.
It was a complete checkmate.
"Captain..." Mashiro called out softly, feeling hopeless at the sight of her captain with tears spilling out from her eyes with the fact that she couldn't do anything about the situation.
"I'm sorry everyone." she finally uttered, her tone was one that gave up hope as she sobbed, "I've let you all done. If only I know this beforehand, we could've gotten away safely. I'm a failure of a captain."
Everyone inside the bridge could only look at their captain with an "it's not your fault". They too had no idea that this would happen, no one could be blamed for this.
Mina kept an analytic look, trying to figure out who owned these submarines that didn't even show any shred of information that could be found on the web.
It's almost as if they didn't exist until now. The German Deputy-Captain of the Graf Spee thought.
"How could this have happened!?" Mashiro shouted, "How could they be able to sneak up on us without us knowing!? Have they been waiting for us in this spot in this entire ocean!? How could have this even be possible!?"
It both frustrated and irked her to an unbelievable degree. With 4 submarines training their cannons at them, all they could do is nothing.
That is until they heard a beeping sound from the ship's telecommunication system behind.
Wiping away her tears, Akeno quickly went and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Hmm? A young girl's voice?" the voice of a man, likely near his 30s, wondered before clearing his throat, "Tell me, is this the Harekaze? If so, are you the ship's captain?"
"Yes, this is the Harekaze!" her voice lit up, a feeling of hope rising within her, "And yes, I'm the ship's Captain, Misaki Akeno from the Yokosuka Girls' Marine High School! And we need help!"
"Misaki... Akeno..." the speaker uttered her name slowly, before answering "Very well, if you're the ship's captain, then you have either two options to follow."
"...What options...?" she asked, a dreadful feeling replacing her earlier hope.
"First, surrender to us now and you will live." what!? "Second, continue to show any sort of resistance and we will undoubtedly sink your ship with all hands."
The voice was deathly calm, like someone with a cold-heart lacking any sort of sympathy. That alone scared her.
"Who are you?" she asked, fear had already taken a hold on her heart, her body shaken to its core.
"Ah, it seems I've forgotten to introduce myself. I am Rear-Admiral Akito, Commander of the 18-Submarine Task Force, I-400, of the Combined High Seas Fleet. Now, which should you choose, live or die? You choose, Captain Misaki of the Harekaze."
Earlier.
Rear-Admiral Misaki Akito, a man near his 30s, was not the deathly calm monster the Harekaze's captain had heard between each other.
He was a relatively calm man, with an analytical perception of everything around him.
His tactics involved, by using the I-400-class Submarines Anti-Radar and Sonar Coating, to often intercept and hunt down regarding assignment's targets.
He's incredibly adept at using every submarine that has a 14 cm/60 naval gun to his advantage. As displayed earlier when he ordered four submarines (I-401, I-402, I-403, and I-404) to shoot their 14 cm guns at four specific targets.
Three of the Harekaze's Main guns, and its engine room.
His plan had gone eerily well. He was surprised that it even worked at a believable level.
However, he knew things would not go down this easily.
He ordered four more submarines of the same class to submerge and strike the Harekaze at the distance of 1,500 m with all of their torpedoes trained on the Destroyer ship.
Meanwhile, his flagship - the I-400 - and the rest of the Submarines were at a distance of 30,000 meters east away from the Harekaze to launch their M6A2 Seirans if the Destroyer has any sort of cards left in its metaphorical sleeves.
He doubts if there is anything inside that ship has a secret trump card.
The Rear-Admiral remembered from his time in the previous world they were transported to previously that possessed magic. Although reports were vague, it confirms the power of the world they were transported to before this world.
Akito remained cautious of this development. Especially with the probability that this alternate Earth has magic that was unknown to them.
But he decided to contact the Harekaze's telecommunications systems using the radio.
With the correct frequency, he should be able to contact the ship with his flagship's radio alone.
With that in mind, he decided to make the call.
"Are you sure about this, Rear-Admiral, sir?" the I-400's Radio Operator asked "I mean, what if they decided to use their trump card via some sort of secret powerful magic? Is this worth it to take the risk, sir?"
Akito nodded "I'm sure, Operator. I doubt they have even remotely had powerful magic on their side if their lack of adequate responses were any indication."
"...Very well, sir. We should be able to contact the ship with a few seconds."
After a few seconds, the call was received.
"Hello?"
"Hmm? A young girl's voice?" he wondered, honestly surprised that the one who answered him was a young girl.
"Tell me, is this the Harekaze? If so, are you the ship's captain?" he asked, wondering if he is contacting the same ship he ordered to shot down all of its main turrets and its engines.
"Yes! This is the Harekaze!" he heard her voice lit up with hope, Akito blinked his eyes at the response, "And yes, I'm the ship's captain, Misaki Akeno from the Yokosuka Girls' Marine High School! And we need help!"
"Misaki... Akeno..." he slowly uttered the name of the young girl who turned out to be the Harekaze's captain.
The Rear-Admiral regains his composure, and calmly replied, "Very well, if you're the ship's captain, then you have either two options to follow."
"...What options...?"
He wondered if he and this girl were related somehow?
"First, surrender to us now and you will live. Or second, continue to show any sort of resistance and we undoubtedly sink your ship with all hands."
His verdict was clear, his conditions were hard to choose.
If they decided to pick the first option, then he would personally come to their ship via transportation from the Seirans.
If they chose the second, then he would sink the ship regardless of the possibility that he and the girl were related by blood.
If her family name was any indication, to begin with.
"Who are you?"
He could hear the fear emanating from her voice alone.
"Ah, it seems I've forgotten to introduce myself. I am Rear-Admiral Akito, Commander of the 18-Submarine Task Force, I-400, of the Combined High Seas Fleet" he replied, "Now, which should you choose, live or die? You choose, Captain Misaki of the Harekaze."