Abyssal forward operating base, Quang Nam Province, Vietnam.
With Mae's expedition:
"I don't like this... we were supposed to just say our piece and go, right?" Rokku said, casting a glance at the Tsu in front of her, leading the way.
Roga cast a sideways glance, idly scratching at a rough weld, "Aye, but Hime-Jersey wasn't at port in Saigon, and these shitheads," A tentacle gestured towards their guide, "don't seem too keen on being the ones to let her know. So here we are," she shrugged, as the quartet of ships continued down the path in silence.
Silence that was broken by Agame, the Ru-class raising them over their shared radio frequency, "You sure that Cruiser of yours can handle the PT boats?"
Shirene, the Ri-class that had accompanied them, had broken off with what escorts remained, ostensibly, it was to head back to Mai to let her know what had occurred, 'bravely risking' a second attack by the mysterious force that had attacked them outside the delta.
In actuality, she was linking up with the PT boats, in the Northern portion of the Paracel archipelago, where they would lurk in the shallows until the time was right.
Roga nodded silently, "She may be an irresponsible drunk, but she knows how to run a raiding party, even if we don't link up later, whenever the Kanmusu show up, she'll be ready to crash the afterparty."
Agame didn't seem completely convinced, "If you say so..."
...
Eventually, the small procession reached the base New Jersey was coordinating from.
"I thought the Battleship Hime hated humans," Rokku said confusedly, as they neared the small sea of tents, "why does she have them manning her gates?" she finished, looking at the armed men in front of them.
The fact they were armed was even more surprising; even though she allowed them to work for their lives within her territory, Hime-Mae Crizzette enforced a stringent weapons ban on the humans living there. The fact New Jersey of all vessels would employ them as fighters was surprising, to say the least.
"She does, and it's... complicated," the Tsu muttered back, as the group got close enough to see them clearly...
With New Jersey:
New Jersey stood hunched over the map laid out on the table in the center of the command tent, as the thing next to her crossed off another small village with a red X, she nodded, before pausing at the sound of the pair of Ru outside opening fire again in support of the ground forces, located some twenty-three kilometers away.
The past few days had been a whirlwind of activity. With Caleuche's addition to her forces, Jersey had been able to prosecute the war properly. Even now, enclaves of humans, having gone unnoticed in her territory for years, were being discovered and rooted out, due to the larger net she could now throw. As well, she had begun her main thrust North, and contact with the regular PAVN forces had proven exceptionally one-sided, with her Abyssals interspersed within the revenant forces, it was now exceptionally difficult to ambush her Constructs, letting them properly leverage their superior firepower.
The 'men' had performed better than she had imagined, as while numerically outnumbered by the living, most bullets would find no purchase on their withered hides, and their very nature meant that her aircraft could pursue chemical warfare without fear of friendly fire. Their very presence sparked panic amongst the human forces, already, she had received reports of several routs.
Of course, this is where the problems began.
Her forces had been exceptionally leery themselves of working alongside these revenants, and while Jersey had quickly convinced the warships to integrate, they were still tense. This wasn't helped by the fact the apparitions almost slavishly followed their orders to obey their Abyssal superiors, it was not uncommon for a Cruiser to wake up to find their entire screening unit simply standing outside their cot, watching silently and waiting for orders.
This wasn't even mentioning Kitty Hawk, who had isolated herself fully after the meeting, running close-air-support when needed but otherwise refusing to interact with anyone not of her own fleet. This was not a particularly large change from her normal behavior, but it was still slightly worrisome.
In addition to this, they had taken losses, as immunity to most bullets certainly wasn't all. Casualties had been mostly sustained fighting the militia forces, who fought with outdated, hand-me-down weapons. A threat Calueche had pointed out earlier. The sheer unpredictability of the human weapons' effectiveness had forced her to assume most enemy formations had some way to combat her forces in some manner, altering her plans somewhat.
Altogether, however, this new great series of offensives had been proving to be a resounding success.
Whatever Jersey's internal musings were, they were interrupted, as a Tsu-class barged into the tent, she didn't salute, nor did Jersey expect her to, her hand Rigging would have taken out a tentpole if she'd tried, "Jersey-Hime, news from Saigon." The Cruiser said, straight to the point, something the horned Battleship appreciated.
"The fuck is it now?" The black-haired Battleship mumbled, straightening to her full imposing height as she turned to face the Cruiser fully, "I suppose the shipment from Mae finally arrived?" She asked.
The Cruiser's Pokerface was admirable, mostly due to the fact she wore a full-faced helmet as part of her Rigging, "They had difficulties, some of them are here now. Should I let them in?" She asked.
Jersey narrowed her ruby-red eyes, moving around the table to stand squarely in front of the entrance, "Yes."
...
The Abyssal warships that entered her tent looked spooked, faces far paler than was the norm for Abyssals. There were two Carriers and a Ru-class Battleship, and for a second, Jersey thought one of her girls had come into the tent as well, before noting the lack of silvery scar-tissue.
One of Mae's, then.
The Carrier in front was a Shoukaku-class, not particularly common, but not unheard of. The one in the back, holding hands fearfully with the Battleship next to her, was one of the more common Essex-variants, much like her remaining Wo-class. It was unsurprising, she'd bought them from Hime-Crizzette in the first place, after all.
The trio of Capital ships seemed to be at a loss for words for a moment, no doubt intimidated. Though whether that was due to her appearance, the surroundings, or her reputation, she didn't know nor particularly care.
Jersey snapped the silence over her knee, crossing her arms as she spoke, "Well? What excuse does Crizzette have this time?" She asked, seeming to almost draw amusement from the flustered reactions the casual disrespect roused in the Abyssal vessels opposite of her.
The Japanese Wo-class, the most unaffected of the three, stepped forward, "New Jersey-Hime, I am Roga, flagship of this convoy, we were intercepted while making the final leg of our journey, our bulk freighter was lost, and the blank hulls went down with the ship," she finished.
* _ ̴ ̷ ̸ ̵ ̶ ̴ ̷ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̴ ̴ ̸ ̶ ̸ ̸ ̵ ̸ ̸ ̶ ̵ ̸ ̷ ̶ ̷ ̶ ̵ ̵ ̸ ̷ ̵ ̷*
The sound came distantly, a low grumble that's vibration could be felt in the back of your eyes. Jersey's face remained impassive, staring at the lead ship evenly as she asked a question.
"So nothing was saved? Where did the attack take place?" She asked for clarification, taking a step closer.
The Wo-class ignored the tingle of fear as she stared into the Iowa's smoldering eyes, " The NHA Be River delta, they caught us as we were entering shallow water, they damaged most of the ships present, though they only managed to sink a handful of our escort-craft before we escaped upriver.
The Battleship behind Roga seemed to frown at that, something Jersey noticed but made no comment on, "I was made aware that Crizette had cleared the Spratly islands, am I to assume this information was a load of shit?!" She snapped the last, before taking a deep breath through her nostrils, letting it out slowly.
* ̶ ̶ ̴ ̴ ̷ ̷ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̸ ̴ ̷ ̸ ̵ ̶ ̴ ̷ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̴ ̴ ̸ ̶ ̸ ̸ ̵ ̸ ̸ ̶ ̵ ̸ ̷ ̶ ̷ ̶ ̵ ̵ ̸ ̷ ̵ ̷ ̷̢̃ ̷͍̐ ̸̰͆ ̶̡͒ ̶͔͑ ̷̋͜ ̶̙͗ ̵̮̄ ̸̮̓ ̶͉̈́ ̸̣̊ ̵̟̂ ̴̩̐ ̴̯͋ ̵͇̉ ̸̨͗ ̷ ̶ ̵ ̶ ̶*
The growl was louder this time, closer.
Roga blinked rapidly, swallowing, "This was a different group, mostly Imps, we figure they waited for us to be in shallow waters before jumping us, where we'd be at a disadvantage," Roga let in a breath, suddenly not too sure of what she was about to say next, "There's... more," She forced out, after a moment.
One of the revenant officers passed by the two vessels, marking another red X on the map, after silently staring at the radio operator in the corner of the room.
No words had been exchanged.
Jersey took another step towards the Wo-class, close enough now that she had to look down to meet the woman's gaze, face once more inscrutable after it's brief lapse in composure, "Please, co̴̼̓ntinue," the words may have, on paper, sounded like a polite request.
It was not.
"Mae Crizzette-Hime received word from... reliable sources, that a large Kanmusu fleet is currently steaming through the South China Sea, sinking anyone in their way, s-she has reason to believe you are their current objective," Roga took a moment to look at Jersey, who's face had frozen in a calm expression.
Roga sucked in a breath.
"There's reports an Iowa-class is leading them, from eye-witness descriptions, it's very likely the nameship of the class."
* ̵ ̶ ̶ ̸ ̸ ̷ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̴ ̴ ̷ ̷ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̸ ̴ ̷ ̸ ̵ ̶ ̴ ̷ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̴ ̴ ̸ ̶ ̸ ̸ ̵ ̸ ̸ ̶ ̵ ̸ ̷ ̶ ̷ ̶ ̵ ̵ ̸ ̷ ̵ ̷ ̸͙̀ ̶̩̅ ̸̖̈ ̸̧͗ ̷͍͆ ̴̝̾ ̷̢̃ ̷͍̐ ̸̰͆ ̶̡͒ ̶͔͑ ̷̋͜ ̶̙͗ ̵̮̄ ̸̮̓ ̶͉̈́ ̸̣̊ ̵̟̂ ̴̩̐ ̴̯͋ ̵͇̉ ̸̨͗ ̸̢̨̲̦͍͈͍͖͕̤͋ ̶̦̦̺͔̔̽͜ͅ ̸̛̜̹̙̻͌̋̂̌̿̂̏͜ ̴̰͚͌͂̒̓ ̴͎͍̻̱͍̌́͌͊͒̔͝͠͝ͅͅ ̵̢̪̙̖̥̪̤̮͇̭̩͍̓̔̓̀̇ͅ ̴͉̻̬̠͖͓̦͎̻̤̒͆ ̶̭͖͙͙̝͎̠̼̝̭̹͑̒́̉͒͒̈́̈́̿̉̊͜͜ͅ ̵͕̦͈͍̟̇̒̔̊̀́̂I ̵̢̨̛̗̦̥̘͍̙̺͕͓͚̳́̎͌̍͗̀̂̋̎̏͌͘͝ͅ ̶̪̰̙͎̲͈̘̓͗͌̒̈́̈́͋̚͜͝ ̵͖̮̭͈̺̟̰̾ ̴̨͌̓̋ ̴̛̹̳̦̝̻̮̖̱̬͙͙̃̈́̏̍̏ ̴̜͍͔͇̦͇̆͐́̓̍̇̒̓͛͊͑̍̕͠͝ ̴̳͊̀̀̚ ̵̡̢̧̠̤̘̙͕̟̺͙̽̿̈͗̽̀͊̀̽͑͛̒͛̉́O ̶̛̝̲͓̫̏̀̓̕ ̸̩̮̦̩̪̺͙̤̱͔͛̄̒̅̌͛́͜͝͝ͅ ̵̛̬̻̣͛̑̈́̐̿ ̷̢̲̝̝͕͙͉̹͍̹̘͂̔̃͗̒̂͌͋͜ ̷͔͖̓̾̽͗̈̉̓͠ ̶̢̥̩͎͈̰̥̥̑͗̓́͋̃͠ ̸̫͉͇͚̤̳̟̪̺̞̐̄̈́͆̂̚͠͠ͅ ̷̨̛̖̣̝̼́͊͐͗̍̊̌̍̽̈̕ ̷̧̨̡̪͔͇̣͎̦̮̅́̔͆͐͂̌̆̓͜͝ ̷͚͚̣̠̀̽̏̌͠ ̸̛̣͇̲̟͚̤̟͒W ̵̥̟̝̙̮̽̆̏̆̄ ̷̡͎̪̋̈́̓͊̓́̐̈̌͝ ̶̞̞̰̺̮̪͉̯̳̰̲͗͂̇́̄́͛͒͠͝͝ ̸̨̡̤̦͖̯͓̤̼̻̫̒̽͒́̏͘̚ͅ ̸̢̩̪͍͓͔̻̣̥̘̪̖̭͛̅̽̍͜ͅ ̴̨͎̯̖̞̖̬̦̻̋́͊́̄͜ ̷͕̗͉̒̓̐̂͑̅̚͝ ̷̛̟͉͍͇͌̈́̃̈́̀̆̈́ ̶̰̤͖̲̊͆̂̅̓̀͐̉̀͝ ̶͉́͒͗̅ ̷̛̛͇̳̩̯̻̪̗̠͎͍̌͋͒̂̈́̄̓̈́͝͝ ̷̡̯̠͍̬̯͇̱̝̪̦̙͇͆A ̸̰̗̘̼̗̱̯͑̎̽͋̂̔̈̂̈́̋̑̕͘ ̴̝̼̮̩̪̪̗̼͔̟̦̬͊̍̾̈̆͌͊̆̇̇̾͜͝ ̴̨̨̖̜͙̫̙̼̃̋̆͐̐̋̋̏͗͊̅͠ͅ ̸̧̢̻͉̗͎̳̼̄̈͋͛̐͋͊͑̔̍̇͠͝ͅ ̶̡̡̧̡͇͖̟̜͓͆͊̌͒̅͆̆̇̈́̽̊͒͝ ̵̛̞̣͛̓̇͊͌͑̾͂̈̊͊̽͜͠ͅͅ ̶̘̜̎̀̇͊͐̌̊͌͠ ̵̨̧̙̱͈̫̜̒̍̓͂̆̕͘͜ͅ ̴̧̡̛̳̹̻̱̾͊ ̴̛̜̥̑̓̉̿̋͌͋͑̑̆̔̀̈́ ̶͓̗̪̭̟̱̮̥͋͑̑͋̚͜ ̸̧͓̘̰̙̖̩̤̋͛ ̶!*
The pair of capital ships next to the door hugged each other in fear as whatever it was outside let out a full-on roar. Jersey's eyes, having been a smoldering red before, seemed to brighten immeasurably.
Then, she began to laugh, a full-bellied, hysterical laugh, brought straight from the bottom of the pit that stood in for her soul.
Roga made to step back, but Jersey's arm shot out, grabbing her left fore-tentacle by the base. Like a mother dragging her disobedient child by the earlobe, the still laughing warship brought the Wo-class close to her, so that the Carrier, herself not a small ship, was brought up to her tiptoes, face-to-terrifying-face with the Battleship-Princess.
New Jersey's laughter tapered off, "And so the IJN come, as I had hoped they would. And with friends, no less, oh, dear sister..."
She lowered her head, so that her mouth brushed against the Wo-class's ear.
"Tell me, everything."