Admiral's log. Current date: August 27, 2015.

Five days have passed and orders have come from my superior. In three days Taskforce thirty is to sortie and recon Hawaii. If Abyssal positions are spotted they are to be destroyed. Once the Abyssals are defeated Taskforce Thirty will guard Hawaii while construction or repair of the naval and air bases begins.

While Taskforce Thirty is conducting recon of Hawaii Carrier Division Six, consisting of the carriers Lexington and Saratoga, will be raiding Johnson Atoll. Reconnaissance from our submarines reports the Abyssals are using the atoll as a naval and airbase.

The codename for this operation is Silver.

"So, what's the objective of this game?"

"You kill the players of the enemy team and once your side has seventy-five kills, you win."

"That's it?"

"Yeah. It's designed to be mindless Indiana. So, you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

Dewey smiled, "Don't worry. You're a battleship who's faced down Abyssals. A fast-paced first-person shooter will be a cakewalk."

With that, she started searching for a match. Despite everything Dewey said being true, she was nervous. Which, if she was being honest with herself, was pathetic. She was Indiana! Second of the South Dakota-class battleships! She was built to defeat the enemies of the United States! She took part in the battles of Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and Kwajalein! She fought in the Marianas campaign and the battles of Okinawa and Iwo Jima! She assisted in strikes against the Japanese home islands themselves! A multiplayer match shouldn't worry her!

Dewey smiled when she saw the determined expression on Indiana's face. As the match started one thought went through her mind. 'These poor bastards don't stand a chance.'

Cue an eight-minute match in which their team won with Dewey at the top of the leader board while Indiana was in the top five.

"Wow. That's impressive for your first match."

"Thanks. I'm not sure if this type of game is for me though."

"What! Why!?"

Indiana placed the controller down. "I didn't have any fun with it. I was just, going through the motions. I didn't feel anything about how good I did or when we won."

Dewey pouted, "Aw man! I want to teach you the ways of COD!"

Indiana laughed, "You'll have to find another student."

"I don't know who I want to teach though."

"What about your sisters?"

She sighed, "Dale flat out refuses to play video games and Aylwin... She tries but... she's not good. And that's putting it mildly."

"So you just gave up on her?"

"What!? No! She said she didn't like playing anymore!"

"Did she enjoy playing before that?"

"Yeah! Even though she wasn't very good she enjoyed playing anyway. When she did good she was so... ecstatic. That's why I was so surprised when she told me she didn't want to play anymore."

"It sounds to me that she quit playing because she thought she was a burden to you."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. You'll have to ask her yourself."

Dewey didn't say anything.

"I've got a briefing to attend in ten minutes. See you later Dewey."

She was almost out the door before Dewey responded. Even then it sounded like she was in deep thought while she said, "See ya, Indiana."

She shut the door behind her and headed toward the entrance/exit of the building. She turned down the right hallway and pushed the doors open. The California sun greeted her. She raised her hand to shield her eyes.

"Indiana."

Carolina walked up beside her.

"Carolina. Beautiful day isn't it."

"Indeed it is."

"...Come on. We can enjoy the weather later."

Indiana followed Carolina to the main building. They stepped inside and Indiana made sure to memorize the path to the briefing room. It took them about a minute to reach the briefing room. They stepped inside and Indiana took a look around the room. It's a fairly small room with a large screen at the front of the room. There is nowhere for them to sit and all the flagships are standing in front of Smith. The only Kanmusu Indiana recognizes is Wasp who is talking to two carriers.

"Hey Wasp. Who's your friend?"

"Carolina! Indiana! This is Lexington and her sister, Saratoga."

Saratoga waved, "Hello!"

"Indiana. Wasp was just telling us about you."

"All good things I hope."

Lexington smirked, "Mostly."

"Mostly? Wasp..."

She put her hands up, "I haven't said anything bad! She's lying!"

"Lying!? My sister would never lie!" She turned to Lexington. "Right Lex!? You'd never lie to me!"

She laughed and rubbed her head. "Of course I wouldn't."

Saratoga batted her hands away and pouted. "How many times have I told you not to mess with my hair?"

"Far too many to count."

"So why do you keep doing it!?"

She smiled, "Because your reactions are funny."

She glared at her, "Lex..."

She raised her hands. "Alright, alright. I'll stop... for now." She whispered that last part but from how Saratoga was glaring at her that didn't help.

"Attention!"

Everyone snapped to attention as Rear Admiral Smith entered.

"At ease. Let's get down to it. Operation Tropic Thunder, our offensive into the Pacific, begins today. The first phase of this operation calls for the reconnaissance and destruction of possible Abyssal positions on Hawaii and a raid on the Abyssal bases at Johnson Atoll. Taskforce Thirty will recon Hawaii and destroy any Abyssal installations found."

He pressed a button on a controller and a projector turned on. A picture of an Abyssal naval base was on screen. He clicked a button and it switched to an aerial view showing the whole Atoll. "The targets for Carrier Division Six are the naval infrastructure and the aircraft hangers here and here. This is all a part of Operation Silver, a small part of Operation Tropic Thunder. Any questions?"

"...The operation begins tomorrow at six hundred hours. Dismissed."

The assembled Kanmusu quickly left the room to inform their respective squadrons or divisions.

"So this is our response to the Abyssal attack."

"Indeed. Good luck in your mission Lexington."

"To you as well Carolina, Indiana, Wasp."

Wasp pulled out her phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Telling everyone where to meet up. You don't have to attend."

Indiana shrugged, "Still going to."

"Well, alright. There's a briefing room specifically for our use. Follow us and we'll show you where it is."

"Sounds good."

She followed them back to their barracks/rec building/mess. They headed down the hallway and turned right down a short hallway she had never noticed. Carolina pushed the doors open and lead them inside. It was larger than the meeting room they just left. The only other main difference is that dozens of cushioned chairs have been set up.

"The fleet should be here in a few minutes."

Indiana nodded and found a spot to sit. The members of the fleet slowly trickled in for the next few minutes. When the whole fleet was in the room there weren't enough chairs for all members leaving a few standing or leaning against the walls. Indiana more or less turned out whatever Carolina and Wasp were saying.

"Any questions?"

"...Outstanding. Dismissed."

As the fleet slowly left, Indiana stood and walked over to Carolina, Wasp, and Salt Lake.

"I think we should hit them harder."

"I share that sentiment Salt Lake. But, orders are orders."

"Look at it this way: When we secure Hawaii we can use it as a jumping-off point for larger offensives into the Pacific."

"You're right... Still..."

"Here's my question: Why is HIGH COMM only now issuing orders to retake Hawaii?"

"The Atlantic. A few of my friends are stationed on the East Coast and from what they've told me it's a nightmare over there."

"I'd figure the British and French would have the Atlantic secured."

"They did for a while. With this new Abyssal offensive though, they're on the back foot."

"If you will excuse me ladies. I need to join a video call with a few friends. I've already missed two and I promised them I wouldn't miss this one."

She turned and walked off.

"Well, I'm going to see if I can train with Lexington and Saratoga. I'll catch you two later."

"Wasp. See if they can get the rest of their Taskforce together."

"Why?"

"I think a little competition between our taskforces will be good. I'll see if Rear Admiral Smith can secure us some targets."

Wasp smirked, "Hoping to even the score?"

Carolina smiled, "Maybe."

"Alright. I'll ask them."

Wasp waved and walked away.

"Even the score? There's a story there I know."

"That there is. When we have some downtime I'll tell you. Let's get to the docks."

"The docks? We don't even know if Lexington will agree."

Carolina smiled, "Oh she will."

Lexington and her Taskforce agreed five minutes later but it took an hour before they could begin the competition. Apparently, finding practice targets in short order is rather difficult.

"So, how is this going to play out?"

"It's rather simple. The destroyers will engage their specific targets with guns and torpedos. The Cruisers have specific targets for their main guns and their secondaries and it's the same for us. The carriers have their targets for both dive and torpedo bomber attacks." She pointed upward, "Once all surface contacts are sunk we can engage the air targets."

Indiana looked at the range, "There aren't many targets compared to our Taskforce's size."

Carolina sighed, "Unfortunately, Rear Admiral Smith couldn't secure many targets in such a short amount of time. Not only is this a competition against Taskforce Fifteen it's a competition against your fellow Kanmusu."

Indiana smiled and cracked her fingers, "Sounds like fun."

Carolina smiled, "Oh it will be."

"Salt Lake City, are you ready?"

"We're ready to rock and roll!"

She smiled, "Damn good to hear. Wasp?"

"My squadrons are fueled up and ready to go."

"Excellent. Lexington we're good to go."

"As are we. When you see the green flare the competition will start. Out."

"Everyone, keep your eyes open for a green flare. That's our signal to start."

Indiana drew her eyes to the sky and her spotters did the same. The air was tense as everyone scanned the sky. Eventually, Indiana left it to her spotters and looked at the targets. The rules stated that no member of the fleet could train their guns on a target before the match started. They didn't say anything about pre-ranging the targets and she planned to take full advantage of that. Since they didn't have any splashes to work with her gun crews used data from her Directors. It wouldn't be as accurate as using both Splashes and Directors together but it would give an advantage. She has a suspicion that both hers and Taskforce Fifteen are well aware of this.

"There! That's the flare!"

"Let's get to work!"

Indiana's guns rotated and trained on their targets. Her secondary guns opened fire followed by her main battery! Nine shells screamed in and landed just long of the target! While her sixteen-inch rifles were reloading her five-inch guns were hammering away at their targets! Small explosions and fireballs marked targets being destroyed. Columns of water exploded off her port as the destroyers sunk their torpedo targets.

Her main battery roared again and the target was obliterated! North Carolina followed up by destroying a second target. Her secondary guns fell silent as all of the targets designed for them were sunk. Indiana's secondaries continued to hammer away at the last few targets. Ahead of her, the cruisers scrambled to get kills as their targets were destroyed in rapid succession.

Indiana's guns thundered and the shells landed short. Carolina followed up and destroyed the target with her first salvo!

"Got to be faster Indiana."

"Pick your own target Carolina! There's only two of us!"

She fired at the next target and the shells landed long. Carolina fired and destroyed the target! Indiana growled and looked over to see Carolina aiming at the final target. Then, it clicked. Carolina's spotters were using her shell splashes as references to help vastly increase her accuracy without firing a salvo herself. Well, two can play at that game.

Indiana's Directors fed information to her gun crews but they held their fire. Carolina's rifles roared and the shells landed short. Indiana's spotters fed this information to her gun crews. With this and the information from the Directors, her rifles roared. Nine shells screamed through the air and six found their target erasing it from the ocean.

Carolina turned and glared. Indiana let a satisfied smirk cross her lips. "Two can play at that game."

With all surface targets destroyed, Indiana and Carolina engaged their Anti-Air targets. Their Five-inch guns started to hammer away creating dozens of flack bursts! Their 40mm and 20mm guns weren't far behind filling the sky with tracers! Their targets fell from the sky as flaming wrecks and disintegrated when they hit the ocean. Over the roar of gunfire, Indiana could barely hear aircraft engines.

'Must be Wasp's bombers.'

Their AA guns blazed away for three minutes and when the final target was splashed, they fell silent.

"...So... Now what?"

"We wait until the carriers sunk their targets. If we had more targets, this wouldn't be a problem."

"I feel like that last sentence was directed at Rear Admiral Smith."

"It was."

"Mm. You're a bitch."

Carolina looked surprised, "Huh."

"Why are you surprised!? You stole two of my kills!"

Carolina shook her head. "No. I'm not surprised your mad. I didn't think you'd call me a bitch."

Indiana rubbed her neck and smiled nervously. "Sorry? I guess I can be very competitive."

"I see. You figured out what I was doing."

"I did. Have you done it before?"

"Only in theory. This is the first time I've actually done it."

Indiana nodded and looked to her South. "You think Wasp can beat both Lexington and Saratoga?"

"They have a few more targets than her but, it's going to be close."

"Hey, that tactic you used, have you thought about using it on the Abyssals?"

"I have. Since it was effective here I plan on using it in the next engagement."

Their radios crackled, "All targets have been destroyed. The times are stopped and the winner is... Taskforce Thirty!"

Carolina beamed, which caused Indiana to laugh, "That's what I wanted to hear! Scores are even Lexington! Your move."

The cruisers and destroyers broke out into cheers! They hugged the closest Kanmusu to them be they sister or squadron mate.

"YEAH! THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!"

"FANTASTIC WORK LADIES!"

"YES! I HAVE REDEEMED MYSELF!"

Indiana smiled and ordered her guns to maximum elevation. Her main and secondary battery Roared! Her sixteen-inch shells landed somewhere in the ocean while twenty flack clouds exploded above the fleet!

"Indiana! You could've given us a little warning!"

She laughed, "And where would the fun in that be!?"

"Alright, alright! Let's get back to base. We can celebrate more there."