The Five Stories Of Standard Carrier Shoukaku
Chapter One: The Introduction Part 3
.-.
The handsome officer strolled confidently up the steps of the stage and shook hands with Admiral Miyamoto. All around her, Shoukaku heard whispers from her fellow shipgirls. Besides the usual oohs and ahhs, Shoukaku thought she heard a snicker from Kongou. If nothing else, she did agree that this new admiral was a bit on the shorter end of the scale. "Is this the new Chief of Navy?" she wondered aloud? "He looks rather... smallish."
"I think so too!" Yuudachi, seated next to Shoukaku, piped up to her surprise, "He kinda doesn't look like Admiral-ish material! Oh sorry, you weren't talking to me? Oh- Hey, where's Zuikaku?"
"She, ah, took the day off today," Shoukaku said, "She got too drunk last night, so I had to fill in her duties for today."
"Ah, that like, makes sense then," Yuudachi made a show of nodding thoughtfully before returning to gossip with her clique. Shoukaku just sighed, only embarrassed that she had forgotten Zuikaku wasn't besides her as she always had. Returning her attention back to the stage, the new Admiral Teiichi. He had begun his speech, and the little diversion with Yuudachi had caused Shoukaku to miss the initial pleasantries.
"...The advancement of the Japanese Navy has been proceeding smoothly over the past few years," Admiral Teiichi spoke confidently and smoothly. "We have continued to capitalise on the changing nature of the battleground, conceptualised and implemented new tactics, sparing no effort to push back the global blockade that the so-called Abyssal Fleet continues to maintain over humanity."
'BATTLE GROUP LAZARUS' - The next slide on-screen read. A photograph occupied the rest of the slide, which Shoukaku was very familiar with. In the middle, Zuikaku and she was seated with Admiral Seiji in the middle. In the back row, five shipgirls stood with folded arms and proud poses: Kagerou, Shiranui, Yukikaze, Amatsukaze,and Akashi. As strange and dysfunctional their group appeared to be, there was a reason they were all smiling widely - this photo had been taken shortly after the victory on Boxing Day. Their victory.
"We have devised new and more imaginative operational concepts, recognised the value of adopting naval tactics on the fly to complement standard battle doctrine," Admiral Teiichi said proudly. "Weaknesses in the Abyssal Fleet have been identified and exploited. We stand before the results of these tactics: the Abyssal Fleet is on the brink of collapse, and breaking the blockade they hold over us is now not merely a dream, but a real possibility!"
Whoops and cheers filled the theatre as a slideshow of victorious scenes flashed on screen. Shipgirls sinking Abyssals. Carriers launching squadrons in volleys. Shiranui and Tenryuu collectively chasing out seven Abyssal destroyers while long-range fire support tossed the waters about. In the slow, long war, Admiral Teiichi's speech was a refreshing moral booster.
"And," Admiral Teiichi's voice filled the ears and hearts of everyone present, "And I will make this dream real."
Thunderous applause followed his proclamation. Admiral Teiichi, obviously reveling in the show of approval, had to be reminded by Admiral Nakjima that the ceremony was still ongoing. "Thank you, Admiral Teiichi for that inspiring speech!" he said. "The Navy is in the hands of a good man."
Photographers gathered as the old and new Chiefs of the Navy shook hands onstage and saluted. As the two men handed over the symbol of command - a gold and silver-plated telescope - the cameras never stopped clicking. This was an important part in history, Shoukaku could tell. Or rather, she could feel it. She recalled Admiral Seiji's drunken outburst, the apparent reason for his moment of madness. As far as she could tell, there was nothing to fear from this man, and Shoukaku believed herself to be a good judge of character.
"There's nothing to worry about," she murmured to herself.
.-.
Shoukaku's pager rang after the end of the ceremony. "Office, 5 minutes." it read. More things to do at the end of the day? She sighed, but there was no helping it if he wanted to see her. Shoukaku waved goodbye to Yuudachi and proceeded to the main offices. The sun was setting and it cast wonderfully warm rays of red-gold light over the building, soothing Shoukaku but not doing anything for the tension in her step. But with all the officers and shipgirls having left the building earlier for the ceremony, there was no one she met along the way - and not even Admiral Seiji, as it turned out. She opened his office door to reveal no familiar presence behind the wooden desk. The smell of whiskey still hung in the air, fainter and mixed with the sterile scent of cleaning agents.
Footsteps in the corridor outside her made her flinch. She turned around just in time to see the knob turn and in walked Seiji, wiping a layer of sweat off his forehead. "Ah, you're here." he said matter-of-factly and strolled to his desk. "I have to give you one last update for tomorrow, it's about the division line-up."
Seiji opened a brown file on his desk and picked up a piece of paper off the top, handing it to Shoukaku. "Transfer orders," he explained, "Battle Group Lazarus is having some of its members swapped. A new group is being made for... For Admiral Teiichi, consisting of two destroyers, three cruisers, two battleships, two carriers, and a few supply ships." Seiji rattled off.
Shoukaku scanned the list slowly. Several names were familiar, several were not. But the last column caught her eye: the two names written next to 'Carriers' were Akagi's and her own.
"You won't be reporting here tomorrow," Seiji said, "Instead, you'll be assigned to Admiral Teiichi, and by then we'll know who's his flagship as well. As for Lazarus... Well, I'll be given a few destroyers to manage." Seiji chuckled nervously and scratched his head. Tell Zuikaku for me, will you? I think I will have to come to depend on her very much in the coming days..."
"I... I see," Shoukaku said finally. "I'll be sure to pass on the news, then."
An awkward silence settled upon the two of them. Seiji shuffled his papers and looked nervously at Shoukaku, who coughed and touched her hair absentmindedly. "So..."
"Shoukaku, I..." Seiji began. "I want to, I mean, I need..." He trailed off into silence. Bowing his head, unwilling to look her in the eyes. Unsure of what to do or react, Shoukaku could only stare at her commander. "Yes?" She said.
"...Um, I need... To wish you well in your assignment." He finished. "Living up to Admiral Teiichi's expectations will not be easy, and after today's speech, well..."
Seiji forced a smile and clapped Shoukaku on her shoulder. "Good luck then! I- I guess you'll need it." And he left, leaving her stunned and incredulous. She didn't know whether to feel angry, happy, or sad - the only thing swirling in her chest with unadulterated bewilderment. What had she been expecting?
"...I guess this is it, then," She murmured aloud to the empty office. "Goodbye."
Naturally, the furniture didn't answer, and neither did it stop her as she took her papers and left the office. But as Shoukaku left the building, there was no mistakening the ache in her belly. She had come, she saw. She expected and was left wanting more.
.-.
As expected, Zuikaku did not take the news well when she returned to the dorm that evening.
"Whaaat!"
Shoukaku winced as Zuikaku's hungover brain finally absorbed the implication of having to work with Admiral Seiji. In their dorm, the sleeping forms of Kaga and Akagi rustled and shifted as Shoukaku made 'hush' motions to her sister ship.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Zuikaku said, shaking her fists in indignation. "You'll be with Akagi and I will be stuck with that bastard shitty admiral? Ugh. If he so much as glances at my backside, I will put his eye out!"
"You don't have to avenge me like that, Zuikaku," Shoukaku said, "I mean, besides that, he's a decent worker. You could throw away his whiskey or something, I think, and he'd never get a chance to do stupid things while drunk."
Zuikaku grinned. "Eh. That's true. So, how do you think things will go with the new Chief of Navy?"
Shoukaku slipped under the covers and yawned. "Admiral Teiichi? Uh, I don't know. He could be nice. It was a very rousing speech earlier. I don't know what to expect, honestly."
"That's what you said when you first graduated too." Zuikaku said. "Think he'll be like Seiji too? Boring and dull except for the one time he doesn't think?"
"Zuikaku!" She admonished, but thought for a moment. "Maybe, I guess. He is supposed to be from a respectable family after all. At least he might treat me well."
"I hope so too. Goodnight, sis." Zuikaku said and pulled the covers over. "Goodnight, Zuikaku." Shoukaku replied.
tbc.
It's been a very tough week. Last Wednesday night, my laptop was struck by a virus and forced me to reinstall Windows from scratch. I didn't lose any of my work, but time and energy was what I've lost. I will persevere with these weekly updates though, even if they are a bit short. I regret not being able to write more. Still, thank you for your reviews, follows, and favourites! It's really encouraging to receive these with every update I push.
-Destination