"Those Battleships are turning our fleet into Destroyer-fodder! We have to get out of here!"

The Wo barely heard the Cruiser next to her, still locked in a struggle with the enemy fighter wing she'd encountered on the Western flank, most of the planes had been dealt with, but they were giving her far more trouble than one would expect when she held a three-to-one advantage.

"Captain!"

The Carrier was rudely shaken out of her fugue by rough hands, her view of the rear of an enemy zero in her pilot's crosshair replaced by a worried-looking Ri-class.

She looked around blearily, her Light Carriers seemed to have pulled back their fighters into a protective screen, having lost the center to the enemy's craft. Now unimpeded, the enemy aircraft were hitting stragglers falling back from their broken lines, shattered by a duo of Battleships that were even now getting closer.

"Why hasn't anyone tossed a spread of torpedo's their way?" She asked accusingly.

"We wasted most of them on the enemy Destroyer screen! By the time they advanced we had too few left to guarantee hits."

"And Sonya?"

"She reported they hit the Super-Carrier with a full 4-torp spread, it should be taking on enough water to sink, but we haven't noticed any change in the aircraft's behavior. They lost three of her Ka's to a combination of depth charges and enemy torpedo attacks."

The Captain winced, experienced submarines that didn't belong to the supply-hime were hard to come across, this fight was getting too damn costly. She again looked over the battlefield, switching onto the fleet's general channel, "All ships, withdraw! We'll make for Captain Jillian's surf, any ship too slow or too damaged, continue to skirmish with the Kanmusu forces, you'll buy the rest of us time. All flights, fall back to defensive positions."

She turned to the Ri again as she began to pick up speed in a South-Westerly direction, her attending Light Carriers and Destroyer escorts following, "You said they died to torpedo attacks? from what?"

"Enemy submarines, they came out right on top of Sonya's forces."

"Destroyers! Widen ASW formation!" The Captain turned back to the Ri as the I-class obeyed, but was interrupted by one of her Light Carriers grumbling at her, she turned to where it indicated.

"Destroyers! Belay previous order! Fall into Anti-Air formation! incoming torpedo bombers!"

With Kaga:

I watched from fourteen different sets of eyes as the enemy screening vessels, I-class Destroyers, broke out of their formations to attempt to stop me, I was far too close, of course. They'd been caught out of position, and my planes had been barely flying above the waves, so low that spray occasionally splashed over their canopy, obscuring vision. I simply watched the blinded craft from the other planes cockpits and adjusted my flight accordingly.

I released my fish into the water, fourteen type-91 torpedo's diving into the water as I pulled away.

Anti-Aircraft fire raked through my retreating bombers, and I was forcibly disconnected from two as flack-rounds found their cockpits, but the majority made it away. I turned in one of my seats, looking back.

The spread hit where I had intended, torpedoes savaging a handful of the escorting Destroyers, leaving only a few intact to protect their Carriers from the Submarines I knew were circling. While this had been happening, I noticed the enemy fighters across the Battlefield were breaking off, most likely the enemy reacting to the strike against their Carrier group. I harried them briefly, but didn't wish to overextend myself in the event of some Abyssal counterattack. I reluctantly let go of my planes, coming back to the world around me briefly as I...

As I...

...

I craned my head up to look at Akagi, who had me in a princess carry, "Akagi, why are you carrying me?" I said in a deadpan.

"Enemy submarine attack, I picked you up for evasive maneuvers!" My peer and dearest friend said brightly.

"...You can put me down now."

"Hmmmm, Nope!"

"Of course," I thought, simply getting a better grip around Akagi's neck as I put my head back down into the crook of her shoulder.

With the Battleships:

Nagato finished off the Heavy Cruiser leading the forces flanking East, not a great feat, as the Abyssal was already engulfed in flames from what appeared to be a front turret-magazine detonation. As the Cruiser sank beneath the waves in several large sections, she raised Iowa and Kongou, "Kongou, how is your progress?"

There was the sound of several explosions as Kongou replied, "Oh it goes dess, we've made it to the submarines, I took I-8 and am bringing her back now. She's in bad shape Nagato, her prow is... Well, she'll need drydock after all is said and done. Iowa is-"

"Get some- 'BOOM' -You Abyssal- 'BOOM' -Bitches, yeeeeeah! 'BOOM!'" Nagato's radio operator had to take her headset off and hold it away from her as Iowa's battle cries came over Kongou's channel.

"-enjoying herself, ne." Kongou finished rather lamely.

Nagato pursed her lips, before eventually responding, "I'm finished on the East flank, most of what's left of the enemy is in full retreat. The Destroyers can handle the remainder of damaged I-class with no issue, do you need my assistance?"

"Nope! Looks like the enemy is committing to a full withdrawal, shall we pursue?"

"No, keep firing until they are out of range but don't pursue them any further. Our objectives are elsewhere, we aren't here on a seek and destroy mission. If they lay in our path, we sink them, otherwise, they are a problem for another day."

"Well ok, I'm sure Iowa will be eager to keep firing her sixteens at them regardless."

"Hell yeah I am! 'BOOM!'"

Nagato pinched the bridge of her nose as she cut the channel. "Americans..."

"Nagato? Do you read?" That was Akagi.

Nagato didn't groan, but it was a close thing. "What now?" she thought, before answering the call, "This is Nagato, what's the situation?"

"Shinano is damaged, she took four torpedo's to her keel, Gambier is helping her with her DAMCON fairy's now."

"How!? The Destroyers shouldn't have had a shot... The enemy submarines." Nagato answered her own question.

"Got it in one, the Destroyers forced one to surface with depth charges and... Well, Shinano took care of it."

"Took care of it?"

"Thoroughly, Gambier Bay was cruising next to her at the time and she's still wiping oil off of herself from being in the splash zone."

Nagato stared blankly ahead at the mental image before shaking her head and replying, "Was anyone else damaged?"

"No, Kaga had a close call but I got her out of harm's way, oh, say hello to the flagship Kaga!"

"Hello, Nagato." Came the deadpan voice of Kaga from Akagi's channel.

Nagato didn't know, didn't care, and wasn't going to ask. "Hold position, we'll regroup around you after the Abyssals get out of range and add the other two torpedo squads to the ASW formation you have, we'll assess the damage then, and give the Submarines a chance to surface and get back to us." Nagato looked at the main enemy formation, which was cruising as fast as it could to get out of range of the Battleship's guns, "Looks like they won't be able to get into shooting position with them steaming off at that pace anyway."

"Sure thing Nagato! I don't think Shinano's going to want to move for a while anyway, the poor thing was scared solid when she was told she was widening her hull-breeches by moving. That on top of the Submarine... Well, I'm just glad that O'Bannon had that potato handy! Though a 5" shell probably would have done the trick too..."

"Roger that, Nagato, out." Nagato turned off the radio without asking for clarification on what she'd heard about the American Destroyer and her apparent potato-based combat skills.

She didn't know, didn't care, and wasn't going to ask, seven years of commanding Kanmusu, first in the office and then on the battlefield, had taught her that some things just weren't worth the hassle of inquiring about.

For sanity's sake, if nothing else.