So, guess who just wrote this entire chapter in one day because they failed to plan ahead? That's right, That's me!
My eyes hurt...
Reviews:
John: So what I got was basically, "Well yes, but actually no." lmao. Also, NNN is great to flex on people, which is mainly why I'm still staying strong, tbh.
Severak: You know, funny thing. I looked at the New orleans class and checked which ones had AL counterparts, those being Astoria, Vincennes, Quincy, and Minneapolis. Unfortunately, I used the Azur lane wiki instead of the actual wikipedia. Turns out, San Francisco, the ONLY new ship I introduced to the story, is literally a New Orleans class sister. Welp.
The One: You know, that's probably warranted. The fic took a turn after Coral Sea, ngl. But I've gotta lure in the viewers somehow.
Dear Indy,
How are you? I was just wondering about my cutest little sister in the world. I long for the day we reunite, though the gap of a ocean lies between us, we shall never be separated,
Anyways, I hope you are having a good time in Alaska. I've heard that it was quite cold up there. I've sent you a jacket made out of the finest fur I could find down here in New Guinea. It should be arriving in a package next to this letter so I hope you enjoy it!
Don't worry about the price though. You're big sis wants whatever is best for you. I've actually had a lot of freetime now that I think about it. Ever since I'm the only one in the task force, I have had a lot of time to work for your arrival. Enterprise doesn't call on me much anymore, so that lets me spend lots of time to prepare for our reunion. I've already dressed up the rest of the room for your arrival, and even bought a whole new bed for us to share once you come back!
Indy, stay safe out there. Alaska is still a dangerous place, after all. Make sure to keep your barrels loaded. The Sakura ships are quite cunning, and use the darkness to their advantage. Don't forget to bring the flashlight I sent to you earlier, if you ever get assigned to night patrol. And If it ever rains, don't forget about the umbrella as well! Lots of water will damage your paint, so it's important to keep them dry! I've convinced Gridley to let you share should you forget, but you're the smartest little sister ever, so I doubt you need it.
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Oh, and make sure to eat lots of food! You burn a lot of oil when you fight, so try to stay fueled! I've sent some more snacks in the package to you, so feel free to eat them during your missions.
Love; You're Favorite Sister
Portland
(P.S. Could you send a letter back to me? It's been around a few months since I've last heard from you, and it's scaring Big sister a lot.)
Portland's POV:
"Portland, you there?" Atlanta knocked at my door.
"Yeah?" I licked the letter as I folded it into my pocket. "What's up?"
Behind her was Enterprise.
"We need to talk." Enterprise walked in.
"Understood." I went to get a cup of coffee for her.
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"You used to be part of Task Force 17, right?" Enterprise sat down at the table.
"That chair is for Indy." I began to boil the water. "Sit somewhere else."
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"I'm sorry?" Enterprise tilted her head. She glared at me, with her fingers interlaced, as her jacket began to fall beneath her shoulders.
"It's better for you to just move." Atlanta got out another chair for the Secretary.
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Enterprise looked at Atlanta, frowned, and reluctantly got up.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" I sat down, handing her a cup.
"It's about your new role in the Eagle union." Enterprise folded her arms. "As we know, Task force 17 has been reduced to just you."
"Yeah." I looked at the group picture hanging above the door. Astoria was fondling Hamman's ears as Yorktown held both of their hands behind them. I held in my sigh, and kept my posture.
"We have limited space in this base, so you will be joining task force 16 starting today." Enterprise announced. "We are planning to guard Guadalcanal from potential Sakura attacks until it is secure." (1)
"What will happen to this room?" I asked, glancing at the aphrodisiacs I had carefully hidden underneath the couch.
"We will most likely give it to Wasp's Task Force 18, when they arrive." Enterprise took a sip of coffee. "They sh-Bleeuegh!"
Enterprise coughed the drink onto the Indy themed carpet, letting her saliva spill from her mouth.
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"What... is this?" Enterprise lifted the cup of coffee, a silky white mixture.
"Indy's favorite cappuccino with condensed milk cream." I remembered the time when I had to stop buying ice cream because she would always turn the drink into a float. "It helps cheer her up!"
"That is nasty." Enterprise regurgitated the liquid. "You cruisers have odd preferences."
"Perhaps you do not have as refined of a taste as Indy." I offered.
"It's not that bad." Atlanta backed me up as she dipped her finger into the cup, licking it. "A bit sweet though. Reminds me of icing."
"Just give me black coffee." Enterprise bit into a bar of beef Jerky.
Zuikaku's POV:
"Shoukaku, are you sure you're up for the task?" I carefully carried her deck on top of mine. "We can always turn back if you want."
"It's okay." She muttered.
"Are you sure?" I glanced at the patched up hole in her back, where the scar of a siren tentacle layed. The blackish purple patches along her skin had been carefully welded over with the limited reserves of metal.
"I'm fine." She puffed out her chest slightly, only to reel in pain.
"Shoukaku-nee!" I grabbed her chest and began to spread ointment along her collarbone.
After the Sirens had turned on our nation, I took command of the Sakura Empire. The ceremony was rushed, with Nagato being pulled from convoy duty for the birsk anointment. A quick funeral for the First Carrier division was arranged, and incense was spread across the top of the empty wooden coffins, soon lit aflame as we released them into the sea. Their burial was the calmest the base would be for the new few months.
When I returned announcing the Siren's deeds, I was met with skepticism from most notably the Light Carriers and Newer Destroyers, or rather, those who had benefited the most from Akagi's reign. With the Sirens in place and the new focus on carrier strikes, they were promoted from plane transports to the heads of the vanguard. Now, with the Siren retrofits permanently removed from their equipment, they had been returned to convoy commissions and their exclusive benefits revoked.
This naturally did not go well, especially among the seaplane tenders. In a bid to secure their power, some of the Siren sympathizers accused me of giving our position away to the Eagle Union in order to spite Akagi. Other of them accused me of wanting to remove the sirens so that I could have total control of the Sakura Empire. Some of them correctly guessed that I had killed Akagi.
A full blown revolt was just narrowly avoided when Empress Nagato demanded that any of those who question my authority be exiled. The opposition shrewdly kept to themselves, but I believe they are as loyal to me as I was to Akagi. Twice did I find Siren Modifications smuggled into the base, through the back door of that nasty green cat. The only Light carrier still willing to fight for the empire was Ryuujou, with the rest in Strike at base, demanding that the Sirens be allowed to return and their retrofits be allowed to regrow.
The Siren modifications latched onto a ship by intermixing with the armor of their victim. From there, the tentacles would twist and latch onto the superstructure of the ship, until they were fully corrupted. Personally, I theorize that the sirens were also former ships ejected from their empires after the first great war. That would explain Purifier's german accent, and how the Sirens keep growing. Thus it was mandated that all ships turn in their hulls for cleaning and extermination of any traces of Sirens.
For the screening ships, it was barely a mere problem to clean the inside of their superstructure, and all of them were up and running within a few days. The Light aircraft Carriers were a bit more trouble, but their rough conversion from when they were built left holes in between the landing deck and superstructure, in which the sanitizer was spread. However, Shoukaku had neither weak armour nor easy access to her hull. A careful probe into her interior showed the rapid growth of the parasite, glued to the walls and hangers. After consuming countless herbal medicines and all the tea in the Sakura stockpile showed no effect, we were forced to cut the tentacles off her back, and quickly seal the wound with bandages. (2)
Although we was able to remove the siren modifications before they reached her brain, the intertwined nature of the tentacles forced us to roughly refit her with a backup engine, crippling her respiration capacity and hangers. I had originally planned to keep her on the reserve corp until I can broker a peace with the Eagle Union, but she was particularly resistant to sitting back.
"I'm fine, fine." My sister defeatedly pushed my hand away as she coughed.
"Shoukaku, take some deep breaths." I rubbed the medicine along her back. "You should stay back for now. I'll announce that we will not be engaging in a surface fight. We'll meet up with Ryuujou and then head back."
"I'm fine." Shoukaku glared at me, catching her breath.
"Shoukaku." I looked into her eyes. "If you get sunk, I will be left as the only operational carrier in the war. Do you want to take a break?"
"I am not being sunk." Shoukaku stomped a foot in the water bitterly. "I can take care of myself!"
"Shoukaku…" I muttered as my sister stormed past me, taking her deck back.
"Zuikaku, give me my planes." Shoukaku pulled out her flute. "I'll show you that I can still fight as strong as you."
Footnotes:
(1): Guadalcanal at this time was actually quite a battle. The Sakura Empire and Eagle Union were both fighting for control of Henderson field (And subsequently Guadalcanal), which resulted in both sides funneling the majority of their ships into the area, leading to this many battles.
(2): Shoukaku's hull was actually quite armoured, at around 8 inches of Deck plating. To put that in perspective, Enterprise had 4 inches and Portland had at maximum 6.
It's ten thirty and I wanna sleep. Ahh, it is over! Owari da!
You know, remember the time when I promised we would get over Guadalcanal by Christmas?
For legal purposes, Let's all just ignore that, Okay?
Anyways, see you next week!