I launched myself up against the dirt wall, screaming my merry little head off, as I scrabbled to get out of the zombie pit I'd unknowingly jumped into.
Hakone, who had been closest to me, peered over the lip.
"Georgia! Are you-"
"AHHHHH!" She was interrupted, stumbling back as Scooter flew out of the grave, me hanging to its underside like a demented monkey, quickly followed by the twins. I tucked and rolled, rolling as far as I could from the pit of doom, "Z-Zombie!" I shouted, pointing shakily at the open grave.
Hakone turned to look, just as the corpse started climbing out on the opposite end, covered in dirt and generally looking like death warmed over- wait.
That bridge-thing on her head, and the turrets...
That was a Kanmusu.
Oh my god I'm re-
"AAAAAH!/AHHHH!" There was a fresh round of screaming, as Hakone and, who I assumed was Ky Hoa, saw each other. Hakone jumped back in fright, apparently having taken my word as truth, as the Admirable class turned to run, only to almost get unintentionally clotheslined by Lao, who had rushed toward the small Minesweeper as soon as she'd seen her, rushing from where she'd taken cover from the crashing helicopter.
She, consequently, got socked in the gut by the panicked Kanmusu.
"OOF!" Lao doubled over, head-butting Ky Hoa in the process, sending the girl sprawling, "S-Sentry?" she choked out.
The Minesweeper was shocked out of her panicked state by the familiar voice, and properly looked at the Kanmusu in front of her.
"A-A-Absecon!?" She cast a quick glance at me and Hakone, I waved, "Waah! Help! An Abyssal is trying to crush meeee!" She quickly lunged at Lao, twisting around the Seaplane Tender to hide fearfully behind her back.
"I *cough!* What?" Lao looked at me, even as she twisted, trying to get the minesweeper back in front of her.
"I uh, may have dove into that open grave she was hiding in, and maaaay have, accidentally mind you, landed on her," I said, slightly bashfully.
"No! She's here to kill me! J-Just like everyone e-else!" The girl said, still shrinking away, practically pressure-welding herself to Lao's backside.
"Am not!" I shouted, as Hakone started to relax next to me, though the girl still looked mighty confused.
"Are too!" The Minesweeper responded, feeling safer from behind Lao.
"Am Not!" I reiterated, much to the Kanmusu's consternation.
"ARE TOO!" The girl yelled, more angrily this time.
I opened my mouth to retort even louder-
"Stop. Yelling," Came Chitose's voice, as the Japanese Tender walked towards us through the smoke, "Georgia, what have you done?" She asked in a calm and even voi-
Oh, shit.
I'm in trouble, aren't I?
"What? What I do?" I asked, backing up a step as I held up my hands to ward off her ire.
"What did yo-" Chitose took a moment to compose herself, pinching the bridge of her nose with one hand with closed eyes. She took a deep breath, which, to my ears, sounded suspiciously like a shotgun pumping, before gesturing sharply towards the still burning helicopter nearby with one open hand. It was crumpled like an empty soda can at the end of a long trench in the soft soil, it had begun to billow black smoke as its fuel started to burn.
I doubted there had been any survivors, especially with that many large-caliber bullet holes. It was honestly a miracle it landed in as many pieces as it did, with the amount of light AA the gals had put into it.
"Hey, they shot at us first!" I said.
"There is a treelinetwenty feet from where we were standing," Chitose said, "we could have just run and it would have never caught us, we didn't have to return fire!" She said, a little panic creeping into her admonishment.
"This is because they were human, isn't it?" I said knowingly, narrowing my eyes as I leaned back.
"YES!" Chitose composed herself, looking back at the wreck with a wince-
"No!" Came Ky Hoa's response, we all looked at her, Chitose a little startled, as she hadn't seen the small vessel, situated as she was behind Lao. The attention drove the Minesweepers face back into Lao's side, as she mumbled, "N-no, they weren't," she finished fearfully.
Chitose, surprised by the new arrival, stuttered a little, "I did- I- hello?" She finished, somewhat lamely.
"Hi," Ky Hoa sniffed loudly, still looking like she was on the verge of tears, "So you're... Chitose, right?" she asked hesitantly.
The Japanese Tender nodded, posture softening at the sheer display of 'daaaaw' being put on, "Ah, Yes, and this is Georgia and Hakone," she gestured towards us.
I waved, but the Minesweeper just squeezed Lao harder, hiding her face from me.
Way to make me feel like a jerk, you little squirt.
"I was told you were coming, then, Command was to wait for you with the others, it was supposed to be just like a camping trip!" She cried out the last, taking a moment to compose herself.
"Sentry..." Lao turned, grabbing hold of an unresisting Minesweeper, before bending over to properly return the hug, "what happened?" She said eventually.
Ky Hoa seemed to gain some strength from the gesture, "We got the transmission a few hours before we were attacked; the whole front is on fire, we're being attacked all along the border of the occupied provinces. From Quang Ngai all the way to Kon Tum, the Abyssals are pushing, hard, harder than ever before, and, a-and they have help."
"What?! That wasn't in the situation update I was given at all!" Lao barked in shock. When that got a flinch out of the Minesweeper, she hugged the girl closer in apology, "You said they have help? From who?" She asked, gently stroking the flat top of Ky Hoa's bridge, I honestly didn't see how the ship could even feel it, but apparently she could, as the ship relaxed further, telling us more as the other ships began to converge on our location.
I was suddenly glad Ky Hoa had averted her eyes during her retelling, having three Abyssal Capital ships roll up on her would have likely started a fresh bout of screaming otherwise.
"They look like humans at a distance, but close up... they look like corpses, their eyes glow like an Abyssal's, a-and some of them were missing... parts," Ky Hoa started, nuzzling into Lao, "they took us by surprise, we weren't expecting anyone but you out here. They attacked at night, and struck from cover after an Abyssal airstrike hit us almost dead-on, they must have called it in, because there was no way they could have seen us through the tree cover..." She sniffed, "I was outside the blast zone when it hit, I-I'd gone to check some rabbit snares we'd set up, when I ran back, the camp was on fire, a-and there was gunfire all around us."
Lao squeezed the Minesweeper harder in sympathy, "And after?" She asked.
Ky Hoa mumbled the next, "We tried to retreat, but we couldn't break contact, the others got picked off, one after another, their own gunfire was ineffective, I don't think anyone other than me took one down before I was the only one left. I k-killed them back though, I killed them all," she looked up, "I managed to drop most of them with my two Bofors, and a few more with my 3"" She gestured to the small turret poking out of her Rigging, "I killed the last of them with my hedgehog mortars, I-I never really thought of using them like that on land, but it did the job."
She looked down again, "When it got light out again, I started setting traps in case any more showed up, to warn me they were coming, and started... s-started digging," She sniffed, causing a critical hit to my boilers.
"Well, you don't have to worry anymore, we're here!" I said, causing the Sweeper to jump a little in Lao's arms. I pointed a thumb at myself, "We'll have this zombie apocalypse settled in no time!" I said, looking around, "Ain't that right girls?"
Hakone pounded her arm-Rigging together, getting a metallic *clang* "You can count on us!" she said determinedly.
Ky Hoa squeaked like a chew toy or desert rain frog or something, as she finally looked up and realized she was in close proximity to an entire fleet of Abyssal Capital ships.
Diane was next, who was accompanied by a sheepish-looking Robin, "We are with you, as Hime-Georgia has said, you will not fight the forces of Jersey alone," the Fast Battleship nodded to herself in affirmation.
"I̸f̴ ̶G̶e̶o̴r̴g̵i̷a̵ ̶a̵n̷d̴ ̸C̸h̶i̶t̸o̶s̴e̷ ̷a̷r̴e̵ ̸w̵i̴t̴h̵ ̸y̴o̷u̴,̴ ̷w̸e̴ ̷a̴r̷e̷ ̴t̶o̶o̵." Said Anne, coming up to stand beside Chitose, before leaning down on her cane, looming over the two Vietnamese Kanmusu with a blank expression on her face.
She really needed to learn how to talk to short people properly.
I smiled, glad for all the support my fleet was giving them, I turned back to the pair, "See? Nothin' to worry about!" I spread my hands indulgently.
...
There was a pause, as everyone waited for a response, before Lao gently shook Ky Hoa, who flopped limply in her arms.
...
Lao looked up, a deadpan expression on her face, "She fainted."
I facepalmed.