Georgia POV
It took another couple hours to get the rest of the repairs we could feasibly do today over with, we'd managed to beat the edges of my arm back into shape and weld the hull back together. I'd also managed to get sight back with my left eye, though because it still wouldn't move I'd had some of our fairies cut out an eyepatch from some of the cleaner grease cloths laying around so I wouldn't be distracted by not being able to look around with it. With that and most of the pieces of shrapnel removed, I was feeling a lot better, I'd even had Hakone scrub my front down with the wire brush and a cleaning solution, so I didn't look as much like a soot-stain, and changed into a set of oversized greasy overalls left in the shop. I made sure to do those out of view of the brothers, Hakone, the innocent little thing, didn't understand why.
With that over and done with, we spread out briefly to find a working phone, most of the houses didn't have one, the community we had come into was a small suburb that either used mobile phones that weren't there or couldn't afford them at all. Luckily, the pharmacy down the street had a working landline we could use, apparently the company offices were in Xuyen, and they hadn't been able or willing to traipse down into abyssal territory to disable the network yet.
"Alright! let's see, 010 8299 4778 +81!" I was pretty slow on the dial one-handed, we'd managed to reattach my arm, but I wasn't going to be able to do much with it for a while until the internals were re-connected. The phone went through one ring before an automated voice came over the receiver in Japanese. "Hakone do you understand this?" I held the phone out to the Cruiser, she leaned her head in, listening intently.
"It's saying we need an area code." Ah, that would explain it...
"Anyone know the area code for Tokyo?" Everyone shook their heads before Hakone perked up.
"Why not go by number? it can't be that high can it?" Well, we could certainly give it a try.
"Okay, here goes! 010 1 8299 4778 +81." Two rings, before:
"The number you have dialed is incorrect." Hakone translated, well we hadn't been expecting to get it on the first try.
"Right then! let's try... 010 2 8299 4778 +81!"The phone dialed three times, an actual call! before someone picked up.
"Moshi Moshi." I handed the phone to Hakone and dictated the call.
"This is Georgia speaking, is this the Naval office in Tokyo?" Hakone repeated what I'd said, before growing embarrassed, she spoke a little more before hanging up.
"It was a place called 'Pizza Studio Tamaki', we were calling their delivery line." I facepalmed as Hakone continued. "I did get the area code though! we're in luck! it's 03!" Wow, we'd have had it on the next try anyway!
"And 010 03 8299 4778 +81!"
"This area code is invalid, for calls outside the country, please do not include '0' in the area code" DAMMIT!
"010 3 8299 4778 +81 There!" 'click' the phone rung, two times, three... five...
"This is the Naval base of Tokyo, our office is busy right now, if you have an important call, please add the three-digit attachment of the person you wish to call now." There was a pause."If you do not have an attachment or need help, please stay on the line and an operator will be with you as soon as they can." some cheesy elevator music started to blare out of the phone as I shared a look of mild suffering with Hakone.
Houshou POV
I giggled softly as I listened in on the Admiral's continued debriefing from Chitose, it was entertaining to listen to the normally unflappable Keiko slowly lose her composure. It seemed little Chitose had quite the adventure! and to think it was the same little seaplane tender I'd watched be laid down in 1934! Though 'little' was a bit of misnomer with their comparable displacements. The Admiral had calmed down significantly once Chitose had described the use of the Abyssal submarine's "Tomah-Hawks." What the little Native American hatchets had to do with Naval Combat I'll never know, but the fact that she apparently had 'conventional' ones seemed to improve Keiko's mood immeasurably. Then Chitose described a 'You-Aye-Vee' And Keiko, from the sound of it, began gulping down her coffee again, that was odd, as I hadn't refilled her pot this evening, waiting on some new beans to grind from the American import that came in yesterday.
I looked at the clock, noting it was almost five, I hoped the twins Daichi and Daisuke were doing alright at the restaurant, dinner was always a busy time at my little establishment, and while I hated to miss evening shift's working there, being a Secretary-ship meant long hours some days. I'd had to hire the two young men on as helpers to ease the workload, and while they were excellent cooks able to follow my recipes and speedy waiters, sometimes they really couldn't keep up with the demand of a hungry Kanmusu.
It was about then that I noticed the busy line blinking on my desk phone, I finished transferring Chitose's call before pressing the button, holding up the receiver, my face reflexively giving a smile the recipient would not see. "Hello, I hope I wasn't keeping you too long, this is Secretary-Ship Houshou speaking, of the Kanmusu sector of the Tokyo Naval Base, how may I be of assistance?" The line was silent for a moment, a woman exclaiming in surprise in what sounded like English, before:
"Hello! this is Hakone speaking on behalf of the USS Georgia, Chitose gave her this number to call?" That voice, it sounded like... Oh, OH!
"She's in a call with the Admiral currently, let me put you on hold for a moment and I'll let them know you are on the line, I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience! I gave a reflexive half-bow before I could stop myself. Then, switching over to the ongoing call between the Admiral and Chitose, I waited for a lull in the conversation before leading in with a cough.
"Houshou? yes, what is it?" The Admiral said, her voice sounding rather strained.
"The submarine that Chitose gave contact to, her name was the USS Georgia, correct?" I got an affirmative from both the Admiral and Chitose before I continued. "She's on line ten, along with a woman named 'Hakone' who is acting translator, they wanted to speak to Chitose, should I keep them on the line until you are done with your debriefing?" There was a spraying noise from Keiko's line, swiftly followed by muffled noises, as though she was wiping the receiver with a cloth.
"J-just add them into the call Houshou, and thank you for bringing this to us." I smiled in thanks for the compliment, happily coming back to the other line.
"You're in luck! Chitose is currently in a call with our Admiral. I'll merge you into a conference call with them, I hope this is to your satisfaction?" The girl, Hakone, spoke quietly in English to someone, probably Georgia, before coming back to the receiver.
"That would be great! Thanks for everything Mrs. Houshou!" My what a polite young thing.
"It was no problem at all, dear, though just Ms. Houshou will do, I was never married, sadly." Though a charming older gentleman who was a regular at her restaurant had been slowly trying to change that, it was nice, to know I wasn't too old to be considered attractive, though whether he would be able to deal with Akagi and Kaga was another story, they were so protective!
I switched the line over, now seeing the lights all merged into one call I hung up the phone, leaning back with a contented sigh as I pulled out a small notebook and calligraphy set from my desk-drawer. I began to write in it with practiced strokes. I'd recently begun to write down my recipe's on the urging of the twins, they didn't practice writing like I did, and wanted me to write up a book with all my recipes in it for the restaurant, I hoped it would help them, who knew? Maybe someone would want a copy? I almost missed a stroke as I heard a muffled exclamation from the Admirals office, I finished neatly, before pausing, when no more loud noises came from the closed door, I allowed myself to continue.
"I wonder what that was all about?" I thought aloud.
Houshou was the very first purpose-built aircraft carrier, and was used through the majority of her career to train the IJN's pilots, commissioned in 1922, lessons learned on her influenced the design of Ryujo and the subsequent conversions of Akagi and Kaga into aircraft carriers. Surviving ww2 due to not being a priority target (due to being completely obsolete), she was used as a repatriation ship, bringing some 40 000 Japanese Soldiers and civilians home after the war. She was finally scrapped in 1946.
