-17MAR, Bay of Bengal-
'Despite our raid into the Java Sea, the Sakurans have managed to successfully push the Royals back to the port of Rangoon. We have been providing surface gunfire support but the 39th and 17th Indian divisions and the 7th armored and 63rd brigades have been pushed back to Rangoon. Our orders are to support the evacuation of the troops to Calcutta where they will be moved to the India border and begin a new defensive line there. Due to the nature of the terrain and the rapidity of the Sakuran advance, we have managed to get in a few airstrikes from the carriers which have destroyed several river crossings. We have seen a major increase in Sakuran air power over the past few days and Sommerville has withdrawn the carriers and a major portion of the Eastern Fleet to Trincomalee, with the battlecruisers Renown and Repulse and the Eagle ships that are part of my task force remaining behind to support the evacuation. Langley has been providing air support for the convoys and the destroyers have done their best to keep the Sakuran subs off us for the time being. We don't have many options right now. Without our air cover it will only be a matter of time before the Sakurans start targeting the ships in the harbor and even with my air defense suite there is only so much I can do.' Arthur typed in his daily ships log. He had started keeping a log back in the 1950's when they had encountered Sirens for the first time, using it to keep track of the lessons learned and how the Sirens fought. When he had been transported to this world he originally didn't think much about the log. That was until Operation Domino, where he compiled all his findings and recommendations about the raid and put it in his ships log, since then he had been updating it with his daily entries figuring that at some point it might come in handy, if for nothing else then to provide insight as to what he saw and thought. Once he had finished his entry he looked out at the Burmese coast where he could see smoke off in the distance. 'Probably the Royals.' he concluded noting that Wavell had adopted a scorched earth policy to slow the Sakurans down and prevent them from getting any resources. 'Speak of the devil and he shall appear.' he mused as he saw a small yacht pull up alongside his port side to which he lowered the boarding stairs and made his way down to the main deck to meet the General.
Between Strider and Wavell there was an amicable relationship due to the shared circumstances they served under as well as prior hesitation between the two working together. For Strider it was complicated by the fact that currently he was supporting the administration in charge of India which in the future would be looked down upon and heavily and rightly scrutinized for their actions in his World War 2 and, during the Great Pacific Wars against Communist China, the Indians were a major partner and ally which Arthur remembered very fondly and were one of the few who would actively support American operations against the Sirens in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. He reminded himself however that the current enemy was the Sakuran Empire and that while he may not agree with the administration in India, they were still better than the Sakurans by a long shot.
Wavell initially was hesitant at working with Strider due to his limited knowledge on Kansen and further having read reports from both his own side and intelligence on the Sakuran, Ironblood, and Sardegnan fleets found those Kansen to be distasteful and undisciplined, not to mention unprofessional in both their appearance and attitude. However, upon meeting with the Rear Admiral, to which Arthur had been promoted to after Operation Domino, found himself to be suitably surprised at the level of professionalism and willingness to support the land operations, and decided that he could work with Strider. Together they had realized that without sufficient air cover the land campaign would become a rout should the Sakuran advance not be slowed. After 2 weeks of supporting fire from the coast and acting as naval artillery pieces and air controllers, Strider and Wavell eventually concluded that an evacuation was necessary due to the Sakuran moving too far inland to be hit by naval gunfire, and due to the destruction of the bridge at Sittang thus cutting the Burma Road at Mandalay and negating the entire reason for the defense of Burma. Arthur directed his task force to begin convoy operations for the evacuating troops and began the thorough setting of charges for the destruction of the dock space and fuel tanks in Rangoon once the evacuation had been completed.
After saluting Wavell as he boarded and ushering him and his party into the stateroom one of Wavell's party pulled out a map of Burma and ushered the surrounding officers around it. Wavell introduced the man as Brigadier General Smyth. Smyth traced the lines where the Royal forces were falling back to and stated that it would take 3 more days till the evacuation was complete.
'Three more days? Do we even have that time? We have a rendezvous with Somerville in 2 days, but we may be able to stretch that a bit. The Kido Butai has had enough time to displace to the Java Sea. It will only be a matter of time before they arrive here, especially since we have been continually active in giving gunfire support to the land forces. Nevertheless, if we were to leave the land forces here without our support, I doubt they would be able to evacuate in good order and with their equipment that they will need. We don't need another Dunkerque here.' "We can give you the escort, but we have a rendezvous with Admiral Sommerville in 2 days. I can stretch that schedule by a few days but the quicker you can evacuate with your equipment the batter. The Sakurans have been using more of their airpower recently and we are sitting ducks here the longer we stay."
Wavell acknowledged this and stated that they would look to streamline the evacuation process and make as quick and efficient an evacuation as possible. With this said, they began working timetables for the remaining forces and escorts and left that day with a degree of satisfaction with themselves, except for Strider who called Renown, Repulse, Houston and Pheonix to his bridge. When they arrived, he described the situation and informed them on his thoughts about the possible Sakuran counterattack. They were initially skeptical but eventually came to understand Strider's line of thinking regarding the evacuation and promised to keep a further watch for Sakuran aircraft and were to be ready to move out as soon as the last transport was loaded and at full steam. As soon as they left Strider immediately informed Sommerville of the evacuation status and of his decision to remain with the transports until loading could be complete before setting out to rejoin the carriers. Sommerville was against this but couldn't deny that his reasoning was sound. After Sommerville radioed Wavell and asked that the capital ships be moved but was denied. He informed Strider that for the time being until the fleet could be reformed that the carriers would remain in the Maldives anchorage. Strider advised that the Sakurans would be looking for the carriers and that Sommerville should be cautious since he would be without his advanced air warning radar. Sommerville acknowledged his response and wished him well.
-2 days later-
Through some innovative ideas the Indians and Royals managed to get their gear loaded and evacuated ahead of schedule using some of the escorts' crew helping in disassembling their equipment and paddling what they could on smaller civilian boats to the warships. This led to some of the warships having issues with storing the equipment but as far as Strider was concerned it was a better alternative than staying for another day. On the evening of 19 March, the last of the escorts and transport ships left Rangoon harbor and no less than 20 minutes later the entire port facility was lit up in a massive explosion. The locals had received the message about the scheduled demolition and had thankfully left the area void of all population. The Iowa led the evacuation flotilla with Repulse and Renown having led earlier convoys to Calcutta. The Pheonix was the rearguard against any potential Sakuran attacks and by 1500 the next day, the flotilla had entered Calcutta harbor without incident.
'Thank the Lord for small mercies.' Arthur thought as he watched the transports get offloaded along with the escorts that had any of the disassembled equipment on it. He then looked across the harbor at the Renown and Repulse for a while, marveling at the rate in which they were growing as leaders. 'An evacuation like that is always prone to chaos but these girls held up and led their convoys well.' He smiled for a moment, before turning his attention to a small yacht that approached his ship. 'I wonder who this could be?' he mused as he descended to the main deck to meet with the oncoming party. When he arrived, he saw Captain Gray, the head of the port Authority for Calcutta and several of his aides all looking shocked and tense.
"Welcome aboard gentlemen, I trust you have something to bring to my attention?" Arthur asked as they saluted him to which he returned.
"Yes sir. We need to speak to you urgently in your stateroom if you wouldn't mind." Gray stated with an air of anxiousness.
"Of course, if you all would follow me." Arthur answered, now suspicious of the party as he led them to the stateroom. Once they arrived around the main table Gray threw down his cap and his folder with papers in them.
"Eastern Fleet has been attacked." Gray stated bluntly.
Arthur stared at him for a moment. "How bad?" he asked.
"All 3 fleet carriers severely damaged, with Indomitable ran aground. Hermes was sunk, 3 of the 5 Revenges were also, as was Cornwall, Exeter, and 3 other cruisers and 6 destroyers. Dorsetshire and Warspite were heavily damaged and will need towing to safer harbors. Intelligence and reconnaissance reports have an incoming surface bombardment group 3 days out with the likely objective of sinking what's left." Gray reported.
"Very well. I'll sail with what I have, we should be filled up anyway at this point, and will meet up with the Eastern Fleet. Should take us about 2 days but we will get there in time. Any reports on the strength of the enemy fleet?" Arthur inquired as he signaled with his lights and radio for all captains and Kansen in his task force to meet up on his ship in the next 30 minutes and to have all ships at full steam with the next 2 hours.
"Very little. We have identified 2 of their ships, the Hyuga and Ise but there are 2 other capital ships we still haven't identified yet along with an assortment of cruisers and destroyers. Up to 15 ships total from what we can tell." Gray answered.
"Admiral Sommerville?" Arthur asked.
"Wounded but alive. From the initial reports they managed to spot the incoming Sakuran aircraft in time to sortie their fighters, but the Zeroes just tore them to pieces. The Sakurans didn't leave without getting badly mauled though. Our fighters managed to shoot down quite a few of their strike aircraft. We don't have the number yet, but preliminary reports are that most of the force was shot down in the attack." Gray noted.
"Is this all you have on the attack?" Arthur asked motioning toward the papers.
"Yes, like I said it's all preliminary but should give you some idea of what occurred. You have our full support and will have all refueling resources prioritized to your ships." Gray emphasized.
"Thank you, Captain. If that is all?" Strider asked.
Gray and his party all got up and with Strider as an escort were guided to their launch where they saluted and left. Arthur stared at them for a while, shocked by the news before heading back into his stateroom turned war-room. He immediately began bringing the Iowa up to steam, having recently been refueled, and began planning his approach and battle plan as well as making notes to call the various port facilities he knew to gather what little recovery shipping he knew there was in this theatre. He was disturbed from his thoughts when Renownplaced her hand on his shoulder, and he noticed that his captains and Kansen were in the room. He thanked her before turning to the assembled group.
"We just received word of the Eastern Fleet. They are inoperable for the immediate future. The Kido Butai managed to catch up to them and maul them badly. Details are still scant but from what we can tell friendly naval airpower is out of the question for the immediate future. There is a Sakuran surface warfare force on its way to hit what's left of them. Due to the Fleets status the Sakurans believe that this will be an easy fight. They are wrong, we are to raise steam and intercept them. They have a total of 4 battleships with an assortment of cruiser, destroyers, and auxiliary vessels for a total of around 20. They are 3 days and nights out from the Maldives. We are going to get there first and make them pay." he stated as he saw the shocked and angry looks on the captains and especially on the Royal Kansen.
He then layed out his battle plan and with some revisions from his Kansen gave out the orders for the fleet which quickly began picking up steam and moving through the refueling facilities if they needed it. By 1900, the fleet was moving south, guided by the harbor vessels which flashed "Godspeed" until they were clear of the harbor before picking up speed to 28 knots. While some ships had issues with this speed, none fell out. They all wanted revenge since they all knew someone in the Eastern fleet that had been at anchorage. Some destroyers even began burning some of their crew's footwear to keep up the steam and speed. Eventually they reached the anchorage within a stunning 52 hours with all the ships that were originally sent out. Arthur didn't wait long in port, he got the spotting report refueled and immediately maneuvered his fleet around to the latest sighting of the enemy fleet.
The updated spot report had the 2 Nagatos and the 2 Ises, along with 4 heavy cruisers, and 8 destroyers with 2 auxiliary ships, heading toward the Maldives, with no carrier support. Strider's force had Iowa, Renown, Repulse, 3 heavy cruisers, 4 light cruisers and 10 destroyers. Strider decided to wait for a slightly before dawn engagement where he could use radar and the sun to his advantage. He would have the destroyers' approach from the sides while his cruisers would primarily keep the enemy destroyers and cruiser at bay while he pounded away at the Nagatos with his 16in guns, and the Renown and Repulse worked over the Ise and Hyuga. He had to ensure that he beat the Nagatos quickly so he could lend fire support to the Royals.
Arthur spotted the enemy formation at 0200 on his radar screen. 'They are approaching in an anti-aircraft formation. 'We will need to engage them far enough away to use our superior range but close enough to prevent them from using their 'Long Lances.' Since they will take a while to get online, we may have an opportunity.' He mused. He quickly ordered his destroyers to pick up speed and to spread even further out relying on their new night vision optical devices he had given them for the battle to distinguish themselves using IR which they would pick up, but the Sakurans would not. 'Use the destroyers as flankers and quickly get around them and torpedo them while the main fleet engages and holds them long enough for the destroyers to get off another volley and engage. A naval Cannae.' HE thought as he relayed his orders via radio while simultaneously jamming the Sakurans radio with his own electronic countermeasures' suite. 'Not that they would actually know that since they are probably under radio silence.' Arthur concluded after not seeing any change to the Sakurans' formation. By the time they were beginning to get into effective range of his 16in guns it was 0415 and Strider began relaying firing information to Repulse and Renown and his cruisers. By 0430 the Sakurans were now in range of his destroyers and the Royals guns and Strider gave the order for torpedoes to fire followed five minutes later by the first salvo from the battleship and battlecruisers. His immediate salvo was slightly to the rear of one of the Nagatos while Renown's and Repulse's were off by 300 to 500 meters to the left and right of their targets, respectively. At this point the Sakurans started to maneuver but within 2 minutes several of their ships stopped as if they had lost power.
'The destroyers are earning their keep tonight.' Strider thought as he ordered them to release another volley of torpedoes and launched his 5th salvo which again hit the lead Nagato which had been hit by his last 3 salvos and was drifting out of line while most of the remaining Sakuran formation appeared to go into a general attack formation with each ship seeking out its own target of opportunity. 'Or more likely to figure out what is going on.'
Renown and Repulse were now getting in accurate salvoes on their targets while the Sakurans drew to within gun range of the heavy cruisers which began opening on them. By 0500 the sun was starting to rise, and Iowa was now engaging what Strider identified as Mutsu. Nagato was now floundering and on fire, Hyuga was down by the stern and Ise was getting pounded by Renown and Repulse who were also getting hit by Ise and some of the now identified Myoko and Atago class cruisers.
'Time to wrap this up.' Arthur thought as he switched his guns to rapid fire and within 2 more salvoes an explosion went up from Mutsu's forward magazine which crippled the ship and she started by the bow. Iowa then focused fire on Ise and helped finished her off before the Allied battleship and battlecruisers worked over the remainder of the Sakuran cruisers. The Pheonix was having a field day with her 15 6in guns, looking like she was constantly ablaze as she pounded any incoming Sakuran destroyers to flaming hulks. By 0600, the remainder of the Sakuran fleet was either sinking or being hunted down by vengeful allied light cruisers.
After allowing for an hour of pursuit and S and R for survivors Arthur looked over the status reports of his fleet. '6 destroyers and 3 cruisers sunk, the rest of the destroyer force damaged with most of those in need of major repair, Houston, Renown, and Repulse were pretty mauled and Repulse looks like it's going to have to get some major rebuilding especially with her B turret destroyed. Pheonix, Enterprise, and Perth are only lightly damaged but will need to be brought in for repairs. Arthur sighed as he looked at the report. He knew that this battle would be costly, 'But this is at best a pyrrhic victory. Iowa was not hit that badly, at least not badly enough to require repairs, but we won't be able to go on the offensive for a long time.' he thought. They had managed to recover 2 Kansen and 7 cubes along with 150 prisoners, which they separated and kept on different ships, as the fleet headed back to port.
When they arrived back at port the mood itself was somber. The previous raid had done quite a hit to base morale and now with the strike force back in port but with many ships in need of major repairs it now made the mood far more serious. Strider met up with Sommerville after he turned over the captured Kansen who were identified by Renown as Nagato and Mutsu. Sommerville was in the hospital, although he continued to give orders from his bed, and Arthur explained to him the situation and results from the Battle of the Bengal Bay as the sailors called it. Sommerville although unhappy with the losses understood the necessity of the battle and confided in Arthur that in this instance there was little else, he could have done to get a better result. Arthur hypothesized that the Sakurans would be far more cautious in the Indian Ocean theatre due to their losses both in the raid and the subsequent battle and that this would buy the Royals time to reinforce themselves should they wish to.
Sommerville stated that recent orders had come down from the Admiralty instructing him to bring his fleet over to the African coast to rest and repair itself, abandoning the Eastern half of the Indian Ocean. He also explained that as he saw it there was little both sides could do now to change the situation. More Royal submarines and troops were being diverted to cover India and defend it from any Sakuran attack. Furthermore, by looking more into the recent raids and action reports, he concluded that in the past few months they had managed to sink enough shipping to make any seaborne operations in this theatre if not impossible then extremely unlikely and that to fix this the Sakurans would have to draw their shipping from other theatres which looked again extremely unlikely. Due to this the Admiralty had given Sommerville permission to detach the 'American squadron' as it was called to Australia to meet up with Australian forces there. The squadron was also to cover to convoy carrying the bulk of 2 Australian divisions going from India to reinforce Australia.
Strider thanked the Admiral for the orders and asked if he could bring Renown and Perth with him since Renown was not too badly shot up and Perth was an Australian ship, while the Royals could keep Langley to help patrol the convoy lanes. Sommerville agreed handily since the Royals needed some form of naval airpower to help them patrol the sea-lanes and Perth was already being asked for by the Australian government.
After being given permission and the authority to draw what supplies he needed and to head out at the soonest opportunity, Arthur headed down to the drydocks to inspect the ships and see what he would take with him. Houston was badly battered but could make the journey since most of the damage seemed to be to her upperworks and aft 8in gun turret. Renown could make the trip as she was not too damaged and what damage she had could be repaired once in Darwin or Port Moresby. Pheonix was still operational and just needed to be reloaded with ammo and fuel. 4 destroyers could be spared but that was all that was worth bringing with him as the other ships were either too slow or too badly shot up to be of any use. Once he had made his arrangements with resupplying the ships, he called the captains and Kansen in to brief them of their route. Simply put they were to meet up with the convoy around Trincomalee and skirt along the edges of the Dutch East Indies and eventually land in Darwin where they would be resupplied before heading to Port Moresby where the Australian troops would disembark, and the squadron would meet up with HMAS Canberra and HMAS Australia operating under Rear Admiral Crace and begin operating against Sakuran forces in New Guinea. The trip itself would take 3 weeks to complete and baring any opposition they were to arrive in Port Moresby in mid-April.
Once he briefed them of his plan, he had them wargame their route and over the course of several simulations which went into the night, managed to come up with some solutions to possible Sakuran air attack, including having the surface warfare group as a covering entity and acting as bait for any Sakuran air attack which would leave the convoy unscathed. After he gave them the embarking time, he dismissed them. At around 0900 the next day the squadron started heading out of port with Pheonix in the lead. Admiral Sommerville was on the dock and wished them luck as they departed. Arthur saluted the man who he looked at as a good colleague before turning his attention to guiding his ship out of port. Once they had cleared the port and minefields surrounding it, Arthur increased his speed to 25 knots and adopted an anti-aircraft formation for the voyage.
-3 weeks later-
Sure, enough the voyage did encounter some Sakuran aircraft, but these were either avoided or destroyed by the squadron's anti-aircraft fire. They had met up with the convoy 2 days out of port and after explaining to them the route and details, the convoy followed Arthur. By the second week in April the task force had reached Darwin. They resupplied there but made sure to be extremely fast in doing so since the harbor had been recently hit by air attacks and even now there were sunken hulks of American destroyers sitting in port. While in port Arthur allowed the ships to give their crews limited shore leave, noticing that for many, they had been in continuous operations for the past 4 months without any break. The crews were thankful for this especially the Kansen who were able to walk around and enjoy the town for 2 days. Arthur remained on the Iowa, ensuring that the Sakurans did not catch them off guard in an air raid and make sure that the resupply was accomplished in a quick and orderly manner. His insistence on remaining on duty began to worry some of the ship captains and Kansen but they did not have time to dwell on this as after the 48 hours were up, Arthur immediately began moving the task force to Port Moresby. They arrived there on 16th of April to the port under air attack, which they quickly brushed off. They began landing the troops while Arthur got into contact with Rear Admiral Crace and the Australian Admiralty. They told him that recent Sakuran landings had started increasing pressure on the forces in and around Port Moresby and that the main mission of his task force would be to disrupt these landings' supply and shipping which would buy time for the recently arrived ground forces to set up defensive positions in the mountain ranges surrounding Port Moresby.
"What about Eagle Forces in the region?" Arthur asked.
"The Eagle Admiralty told us a Task Force is on its way to support us, however we don't necessarily have any indication as to when they will arrive and there isn't any the time to waste. Rabaul fell over a month ago and from intelligence reports the Sakurans have made that a bastion and major supply hub for their operations in this sector. With that port they have an excellent stepping off point for an occupation of the Solomons and a major logistical base with which they can invade New Guinea from." Crace reported. "Based on your experience and naval force we are giving you overall command of the forces present. The Admiralty still expects you to follow their directions when they need you to operate with the rest of the forces in the region, however tactical command is yours." Crace stated.
"So they are giving me free reign so long as I cooperate." Arthur answered.
"You'll be acting as our naval force commander in the region yes, they will support you and give you supplies and intelligence when able." Crace clarified.
"Very well. We need provisions and supplies, and I will need to look over local intelligence to pick out the targets for the raids. Will it be possible for you to restock us completely in 48 hours or have the damages been too severe?" Arthur inquired.
"We have the supplies and can restock you within that time." Crace responded. "If you follow me, I will show you to the intelligence building we have here."
Crace led Arthur to a two storied government building and took him to the intelligence section before being needed elsewhere. Arthur began going over recent reports and reconnaissance photos and deduced that with the main Sakuran invasions at Lae and Salamaua, that there would be the supporting force of supply ships nearby in the Huon gulf. He deduced that those landing locations were picked primarily due to their proximity to the airfields in Rabaul which would be quick to support them and hit any approaching fleet on the approach and departure with both naval and air forces. 'Could use the Tomahawks. They have the range; the only problem would be guidance. I guess we could go for a V1 or V2 style attack, granted it won't do much, but it might hit something important. The drone doesn't have the range to get over the landing zones and paint targets and we can't use the radar to direct them. Aircraft might be more effective, if we were to get some carriers or long-range land-based fighter escort.' Arthur continued to go over courses of action on a recently made map of the New Guinea coast until he was disturbed by an orderly who informed him of the late hours and that he had already been there for over 12 hours. Realizing the time and receiving the authorization he took the reports, maps, and photos back to the Iowa and then retired for the night.
The next morning, Renown walked onto his bridge to find him looking over the reports and maps again. She began pestering him to come down with the rest of the Kansen and Captains to get some breakfast. He agreed to but only after Renown made a point of telling him that were he to work himself down to the bone, that the fleet would be down their commander and that the Sakurans might take advantage of that.
After meeting up with his commanders and Kansen for breakfast at the mess hall in the Naval Offices in Port Moresby, and locking the doors after everyone had eaten, he laid out a tentative plan for their upcoming strikes. After detailing the forces in the region as well as the position of the landing sights and the known airfields, he asked for their opinion. They agreed with his assessment of the Sakuran air response to any type of surface attack. They also agreed that a direct raid on Rabaul would be impossible at the time due to the defenses in place there. Pheonix spoke up and stated that they might have some success with surface raiding the convoys. Renown then picked up on this line of thought and pushed it further saying that they could use it as a distraction and cause most of the Sakuran air power in the region to be used on reconnaissance operations trying to find them, while the main task force could slip in and potentially hit one of the two landing sites.
Arthur pondered on this thought before stating that the idea had merit but that the more air power in the region would make it so the Sakurans would notice the threat to their landing force, the only question would then be who would be tasked with guarding the landing forces and how many assets they would be given. He explained that the strained relationship between the Sakuran Army and Navy meant that the two services often were at odds with each other and refused to support each other's operations.
"With this in mind, if many of the planes in and around Rabaul and the landing sites are Army, then they are far more likely to defend the landing sites and spend more aircraft on intercept missions. The Sakuran Navy are likely to spend less and instead focus their efforts on sightings of Allied ships. We need a way to draw the majority of the Sakuran aircraft away from the Operational Area or at least our avenues of approach." Arthur stated.
"What about the Australian and Eagle Army aircraft? Can we use those to if not hit the airbases, then at least distract them?" Perth asked.
"I have considered that option. The problem would be the time needed to assemble enough long-range aircraft to hit the bases and the supplies needed to sustain that aerial offensive for a suitable enough time. Not only that but it would have to be timed perfectly with our approach into the Bay of Huon, and even then, we would have to deal with the Sakuran aircraft from Rabaul on the route out." Arthur explained.
"What about using the air offensive against all 3 targets?" Pheonix asked.
"The problem would be striking power and range. B-17s can hit Rabaul however they would be without escort and the damage they would do, would not be able to wipe out all the airbases at least with the amount of B-17s we currently have. We would have to focus on destroying one set of targets, either the landing sites or the airfields on Rabaul, and even then, we probably wouldn't hit enough of them to make an appreciable difference to the threat on the task force. It is the best option so far, but I want your opinions on the matter." Arthur said.
There were mutterings of discussion around the table for a while until it quieted down, and Renown spoke. "We are of the opinion that it is probably the best option so far. When the Eagle carriers arrive, we will have to include them in the plan as well. You have led us this far sir, we won't doubt you now."
Arthur smiled. "Very well, I will contact the Australian Admiralty and submit our plan to them as well as our recommendations for support. In the meantime, get some rest and continue resupplying the ships. We may have to move out quickly. Dismissed."
The group stood and saluted him before exiting the room and proceeding to their ships, all except Renown who remained behind as Arthur remained seated with a thoughtful expression on his face as he looked through a window that was nearby.
"Admiral?" she asked.
He didn't respond and continued looking out the window lost in thought.
"Admiral." Renown again stated as she tried to get his attention, but he continued to look out the window seemingly lost to the world.
"Admiral!" Renown again stated forcefully and louder this time. Arthur turned to look at her.
"Yes Renown, what can I do for you?" he said in an even tone.
"Sir, you have been rather strange as of late." Renown said. "Are you alright?"
Arthur sighed deeply as he rubbed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "I am functional if that is what you mean Renown. Am I alright, no probably not." he admitted.
"What is troubling you sir?" Renown asked as she sat down next to him a concerned look on her face.
He looked at her and gave a slight chuckle after a moment. "This war... What do you think of it?"
"Sir?" Renown asked confused.
"The war. Doesn't it seem odd?" Arthur asked.
"Odd Sir? In what way?" she inquired.
"This war seems too scripted." Arthur explained. "What do you remember of your personal history?"
"Sir?"
"Before you became a Kansen. What do you remember about your crew?" Arthur prodded.
"I don't understand sir." Renown answered.
"Just try. What do you remember?"
"I remember certain emotions, intentions perhaps?" She answered as she closed her eyes and laid back in her chair. "A sense of urgency followed by action. Not combat but day to day activity and some movement. Nothing big comes to mind until a sudden sense of growth and then a burning sensation for a bit followed by another sense of growth, then excitement perhaps and more activity, pain, several bouts of it and a sense of loss, deep loss, and then more action. I finally remember the sense of forlornness and then nothing." she finished as she opened her eyes. "What does that have to do with anything?"
Arthur looked at her for a while. "Everything. Tell me what your date of commissioning was?"
"20 September 1916." She answered.
"Date of sinking?"
"April of 1935."
"And what was the date that you became a Kansen?" he asked.
"June of 1941." she stated.
"If I may, what did your sinking feel like?" Arthur inquired leaning forward.
"Sir, that is a very personal question." she answered now feeling uncomfortable.
"My apologies but I need you to think of that feeling for a second. I have a theory that I need to test." Arthur said looking somewhat ashamed but determined. "What I am about to do is a little ability we learned back in the US Navy involving our cubes. They can connect to another cube to share information and can under some instances look into a history of a shipmaster. I need to have you remember your sinking. I need to see what you saw and feel what you felt."
Renown looked at him for a few seconds before nodding her head and closed her eyes for a bit before she stared shivering. "It feels cold."
Arthur then took her hands in his and touch his forehead to hers as he breathed in and out calming himself and her before concentrating on and being drawn to her thoughts.
The method he mentioned was one conceived by the Shipmasters after finding that the Sirens would destroy most of the ships and black boxes, they encountered but would leave the cubes. These cubes the shipmasters found would contain knowledge from the Kansen who used them and would provide them with the thoughts, feelings, and actions of the Kansen in question when they were sunk. Over time this was refined, and the shipmasters were able to look further into an object's history up to its creation. Some Shipmasters were better able to do this than others with Arthur having a particular knack for it.
He noted inconsistencies from time to time with the cubes. Actions that had occurred in memories occurred multiple times or in completely different situations and places. These didn't make sense at first, that was until the Sirens told the Shipmasters they were testing them. When Arthur heard this, he started drawing the pieces together, but a firm picture was still a long way off since the memories viewed were often inconsistent and vague; conversations, feelings, and images which could be faked or made up. He started noting consistencies and more data from the cubes that he took from the battlefields as he arrived and fought across this Earth and the data seemed to be pointing to a certain conclusion, albeit one that had dire consequences if proven true.
As he dived through Renown's memory of her sinking, he could feel echoes, more feelings as if it were still occurring but more importantly, he noted, that it was occurring multiple times. He began focusing on those feelings choosing to bring up what caused them as he inadvertently brought Renown to also focus on them as well. The feelings led to more memories. Memories of Renown sinking but instead of Sirens it was Ironblood, then Sardegnan, then Sakuran and even Eagle. These memories quickly flashed before him, and he was almost overwhelmed, but he continued looking through them. Many sinkings he saw were caused by Sirens. Eventually he got to the point where he saw his version of Renown, who looked older than the current version and a bit more developed. He followed these memories and eventually saw...
'I knew it.' he thought as he pulled himself out of Renown's mindscape and ack into his conscious body. He shook his head and compartmentalized his thoughts before he looked back at Renown. She was shaking furiously with her hands breaking the arm rests as she was mumbling incoherently. He quickly moved toward her.
'Shit! Her reaction shouldn't be this bad.'
"Renown, hey Renown. Renown!" he called out to her as he began trying to restrain her shaking. He quickly dove back into her head and started sending out his feelings of calm and protectiveness to her subconscious before finding her conscious mind in the middle of her mindscape kneeling and crying at the same time seemingly broken. His mental avatar approached her.
"Renown, hey its Arthur. Hey, your fine now." he said as he approached her and held both of her shoulders as she embraced him, her head in his chest. "Shh... Its ok, what you saw was merely a memory." he said soothingly.
She kept whimpering and crying as she remained nestled in his chest. He rubbed her back trying to help sooth her more and give her words of comfort as he summoned another mental avatar to help him fix the damage done to her mindscape.
'Her mind wasn't ready for this. These emotions were too raw for her, and it must have overloaded her mind. I'll have to compartmentalize them and make her forget them or at least bury them until she can handle them.' he realized as his copy began the work as Renown's mind started settling down as she went into unconsciousness. After a few minutes he had finished reorganizing the emotions, feelings, and memories from his mental investigation. He made sure she would remember nothing and made a new memory for her, with his attempt having seemingly failed and rather put her to sleep.
After his work was completed, he exited her mind and slipped back into his mindscape as his body started to slip back into consciousness. He then looked at Renown who was now asleep in the chair peacefully. He smiled a relieved smile to himself before moving back to his chair and going over the memories he uncovered and stored in his mindscape. He continued to look out the window as he contemplated his new discovery until Renown began waking up.
As she began stretching and yawning, Arthur noticed that the sun had begun dipping below the western horizon and was thankful that the staff had kept people away from the dining room.
"How was your nap Renown?" he asked her.
Renown froze for a second before a slight blush appeared. "It... It was g-good sir. Do you have anything for me?" she asked as she immediately stood up.
"No, your free to go. I'm sorry to have wasted your time." Arthur said maintaining an embarrassed look.
"N-No its fine Sir! I needed the nap anyway. Have a good night, sir!" she said as she quickly moved out of the dining room.
"You as well, Renown." he said softly as he turned back to the window, a grave expression on his face as a storm started rolling in and rain began hitting the window.