The Five Stories Of Standard Carrier Shoukaku

The Introduction, Part 4

.-.

Notice: This chapter, as well as subsequent ones, contains sexual content.

"To a successful exercise!" Admiral Teiichi said, and held the first cup of sake out.

"A successful exercise!" They cheered. Cups clinked and seven officers officers drank deeply. Shoukaku sipped her own cup, swallowing down the bitter-tasting alcohol as quickly as she could. It was good that Zuikaku was not here, or she would surely be emptying the bar by now. Well, strictly speaking, she wasn't at the bar itself, but on the other side of the ballroom seated with the junior officers.

Six months had passed since Admiral Teiichi had taken over, Shoukaku had been transferred to Battle Group Morpheus, and Zuikaku was left with Admiral Seiji as the flagship of Battle Group Lazarus. In the beginning, they had felt anxious about the shakeup, worried that Admiral Teiichi's style would conflict greatly with the trainings and tactics employed by Lazarus. As it is, Admiral Teiichi wasn't anything they could have expected - not only was he impressed by Admiral Seiji's strategy, he even improved on it. Many nights had been spent with the meticulous records Shoukaku and Zuikaku had written of their strategies - Teiichi wasn't content with knowing what worked, but building upon it, making it stronger and more reliable. Admiral Seiji had improvised a mobile base from a regular ship from which Shoukaku and Zuikaku had stayed close to for resupply, while destroyers and submarine support stayed close to fend off intruding Abyssal forces. The whole group then had advanced as one, concentrating fire on Abyssal frontlines, evading torpedoes and shells, but always taking commands from Seiji's capital ship.

Teiichi was determined to multiply the effectiveness of the strategy by making a lineup thrice as large. For the last few months, Shoukaku had been by his side as Teiichi asked her question after question while he prodded at plastic mockups and scrutinised battle records. Sortie after sortie had been carried out to test each of the three sub-groups' effectiveness, with Akagi and Shoukaku sometimes playing the roles of hostile Abyssal carriers happening to come too close to the destroyers' effective range. And finally, this week Admiral Teiichi had taken a huge gamble - with an accompanying payout of an appropriate size. If people thought it was amazing that Admiral Seiji had routed an Abyssal group without casualties, Admiral Teiichi had topped the charts - Battle Group Morpheus had succeeded in breaking the Abyssal blockade! Granted, they had attracted the attention of reinforcements and had to make a tactical withdrawal, but the beaming smiles of tired shipgirls was well worth it. Admiral Teiich had made a successful expedition against the Abyssals with no major damage to the group, and the party this evening was to celebrate the success!

"Admiral, you are a force of nature, aren't you?" Miyamoto laid the compliments on thick and heavy. "In six months, you've broken the blockade. What will you do in a year? Dare I hope that the Admiral will even bring about victory against the enemy?"

Teiichi slapped his cup down on the table and chuckled. "Who knows? When the Abyssal fleet first rose, it was the then-Chief of Navy, my uncle, who told us all to endure it. Perhaps he knew that one day, we would be able to beat them back!"

Heads nodded in agreement. "Ah, but nothing would not have been possible without the shipgirls, Admiral," Satoshi chimed in. "Remember when they first came to us in dire times, dark times, and showed that the Abyssals could be sunk? That we would no longer need to worry about our ships and cities being attacked by an enemy we can't understand? For the shipgirls, you came to us like the Goddess of Creation at the beginning of time."

Looking directly at Shoukaku, Satoshi raised a glass. "To your hard work, a toast is in order, I say!"

"..." An awkward pause followed, only broken by Admiral Teiichi raising his glass in answer. "Aye," he said, and the action spurred the rest of the officers to follow. "Aye! To the shipgirls!" They said and drank, but as Shoukaku tipped her own cup, she could feel the tension that had settled into place like an unwelcome guest.

"I hope you weren't suggesting that the Admiral's work is less important that the forces he commands, were you?" one of the other officers said in a light tone, yet his expression suggested annoyance. "No matter how strong the shipgirls are, you can't say that naval strategy is a big part of the reason we win our battles!"

"Of course not," Satoshi said, looking uncomfortable. "I'm merely reminding everyone that the shipgirls are what make our resistance possible."

"Everyone, we can discuss this later," Teiichi smiled reassuringly as he glanced at everyone. "For now, let's eat! The food prepared by the hotel must surely be delicious!"

Satoshi and the other officer immediately broke eye contact to nod and agree with Admiral Teiichi. And just like that, the pretense went back up - that everything was fine. Shoukaku herself began to eat as well, but the delicacies could not quite sooth the butterflies that had taken up residence.

As far as Admiral Satoshi had said, he was correct - the only military force capable of fighting back against the Abyssal fleet in any economical efficiency were the shipgirls. Conventional human weapons technically damaged them, but the Abyssal fleet boasted an amazing capacity to regenerate from their human-like injuries - injuries, that if made by a shipgirl, would outright put the enemy out of commission until they were sighted several days later again.

But why then did the human officers not respect them so? Again and again, Shoukaku had wondered, but an answer remained elusive. Shipgirls very rarely had time to ponder deep, philosophical questions like the meaning of their existence anyway - not when there were navies around the world in desperate need of their help every single day. With their global blockade, unreliable landlines, and little more than a primitive understanding of Abyssal defenses and shipgirl weaponry, the day a shipgirl appeared was more often than not immediately followed by their conscription. That they were human in appearance did not seem to matter insofar their rights were concerned - Shoukaku knew they were literally military property, with their own names and classifications. They had identity cards, but they were only valid in military installations. Much as Shoukaku enjoyed other aspects of human life - eating their food, enjoying their hobbies, and spending their money - she keenly shared the sentiment that most, if not all shipgirls shared: that they were not superior to the humans, despite fighting for them and looking like them.

She looked around at the other shipgirls eating. Fubuki, Isokaze, and Shimakaze (in a modest-looking kimono dress, for once) were here at the invitation of the admirals to which they were their secretaries. Shoukaku herself, while not the official secretary - that dubious honour fell to Akagi, who had opted for bed rest and resupply - was more or less Admiral Teiichi's right-hand-man, and when she heard that phrase and looked up its meaning, she understood that she had to go. Picking her best dress from her wardrobe, a soft pink kimono with a few accessories borrowed from Zuikaku, she tried her best to appear knowledgeable and receptive to the officers and their mundane alchohol contests.

And for Zuikaku? She was on the far side of the ballroom near the buffet line - surrounded by a bunch of destroyers and working with Tenryuu to keep them entertained while the junior officers laughed loudly and joked among themselves. Looking resplendent in a pale green dress that complemented her hair, which she had tied back into a bun. Admiral Seiji was seated at an adjacent, sipping a glass of water while he smiled and nodded his head at something someone was saying.

She couldn't be sure from where she was seated, but somehow Shoukaku felt that Admiral Seiji wasn't entirely enjoying himself. Since when did officers drink water at celebrations like these?

"Drink up, drink up!" Miyamoto slapped two officers on their backs while he grinned. "No need to worry about getting back tonight; we have a volunteer for designated driver!"

"Designated... Driver?" Shoukaku wondered aloud. Teiichi chewed and swallowed before nodding to Shoukaku, and said: "At times like these, someone needs to drive everyone back to the bunks, correct? So he can't drink alcohol. It's probably a little unfair to him, but it's for the good of everyone."

Nearby, a very bored Fubuki was listening in on the conversation, and decided to join in. "But Admiral, why not ask one of us to drive? There are a few shipgirls that definitely know how to operate a car, and if getting back is the priority, then following traffic rules and regulations shouldn't be that big an issue..." She trailed off.

Teiichi sniggered. "Uh-uh, you know that can't be done, Fubuki," He said, causing her to pout in annoyance. "There's a very good reason anyway and it can be explained in one word. Or a name, actually."

"Who is it?" Fubuki asked. On the other side, Shoukaku immediately remembered, and visibly cringed at the recollection.

"Kongou." Teiichi theatrically whispered. "She's the entire reason cars are no longer allowed in Port premises. She totaled the car when driving on that little straight road from dorms to Port! Have you seen that little stump of the tree at the first turn?"

Leaving Fubuki to listen to stories from Teiichi, Shoukaku excused herself and headed over to Zuikaku's table on the pretense of getting drinks. "Hey sister," she said as she neared her, "How does it feel to be the de facto destroyer mama?"

"You shut your mouth!" Zuikaku retorted teasingly. "I'm doing you a favour so that you can sit there and eat in peace!"

"Yeah, right," Yuudachi giggled, "Did you know Zuikaku has been like, staring at Admiral Seiji all day? It's so obvious she likes him!"

Zuikaku glared at the errant destroyer. "I do not!" she growled, but the effect was lost as she began to blush. "I'm merely doing my duty as his secretary ship to make sure he doesn't touch a drop of drink!"

"Shoukaku, isn't it like, really obvious?" Yuudachi danced out of reach of Zuikaku, sticking her tongue out and taunting the bigger shipgirl. "Yuudachi thinks Zuikaku should like, just get up and confess already! Nah- you- can't- catch- me!" She darted behind Shoukaku and past the buffet line as an angry Zuikaku got up and started chasing her.

"You don't need to be worried, Zuikaku," Shoukaku chuckled and smiled to herself at the sight of her sister. "I'll be alright."

.-.

She had drunk too much, and she could feel it. Her face felt too warm and the ground felt like it was spinning. Shoukaku had taken to leaning on Admiral Teiichi for support, and even he was probably too far gone to stand straight anyway. Her head was beginning to ache; where could she find water? Zuikaku had been gone a long time, ever since she had went to help Seiji carry drunken officers and shipgirls to the cars.

"Admiral Teiichi... Your turn!" Miyamoto mumbled, slurring his words. "Truth or... Dare?"

Teiichi refilled his cup with a shaking hand, spilling more than he had the last time. No one seemed to notice. "I'll go for... I'll take 'Truth' this time. Come at me!" he cried with liquid courage.

Miyamoto gazed at Shoukaku, and he grinned. "Your secretary ship. What's your honest opinion of her?"

"You know... Shoukaku's not my secretary ship," Teiichi said. Miyamoto waved his hand dismissively. "Same, same. Isn't she a beauty? Admiral, you're a lucky man."

"Well..." Teiichi turned to look at Shoukaku, her head perched on his shoulder. "She is good. Very hard worker. Valuable shipgirl of Morpheus. I don't know what I would do... What I would do without her treasured advice?"

Already ruddy in the face from drink, Shoukaku blushed harder and coughed. "Admiral... You embarrass me. Your hard work is what makes it all possible."

Teiichi chuckled and lifted his hand to squeeze her shoulder. "Don't... Be embarrassed..."

But when his hand slipped off her shoulder and landed squarely on her breast, Shoukaku couldn't help but gasp. "Admiral!" she admonished, "You're touching me!"

"Ahh, sorry." Teiichi took his hand off. "I hope you didn't mind..."

"Hey, Shoukaku," An officer Shoukaku didn't know the name of spoke up. "You're really beautiful. Have you ever... Done it?"

"Have I ever what?" Shoukaku said. "I'm sorry, I don't follow."

"Surely you've heard about it." Miyamoto said, smelling blood in the water. "Maybe when some shipgirls take some holidays, some leave of absences..." Shoukaku shook her head. "I'm sorry, I've never really had time to ask my friends about those. Admiral Teiichi keeps us working on long and hard things all the time."

Every officer stared at Shoukaku before bursting out in laughter. "Oh my, oh my! Shoukaku, you dirty girl!" Miyamoto choked. "Quite the double entrende, but you didn't realise it... Admiral! You have yourself a maiden!"

"M-Maiden?" Flustered, Shoukaku turned to Admiral Teiichi for clarification. "Admiral, what are they referring to?"

"You lot are a thirsty bunch of boys," Teiichi slapped the table and laughed. "Shoukaku... A maiden... Perhaps you are indeed. A maiden is a woman who has never had.. Has never had sex."

Shoukaku's eyes widened. "Oh," she said, "Oh."

"Do I smell a rendezvous?" Someone chimed in from the sides. Miyamoto wiped his glasses and stared at Shoukaku, evidently waiting for her to say or do something.

"W-Well, uh, this is confusing," Shoukaku laughed nervously, "I don't know anything about it, so..."

"So that's why I didn't understand what it means to be a maiden," she was going to say, but then Miyamoto interrupted her. "So you should try to find out, is that what you're saying?" he said. "Why not? After all, you know how hard Admiral Teiichi works. Why not take your mind off work for awhile, and have some... fun?"

"Wait, wait," Shoukaku began to protest, but the officers began to cheer them on in a perverse cheer. "Go for it, Admiral Teiichi!" One of them urged.

"Hang on, you guys," Teiichi raised his hands, "We should think this through at least, really. At least give us some time..."

"Yeah, we shouldn't do this in the ballroom, should we?" Miyamoto said loudly. "This is a hotel! I think we should be able to book rooms for ourselves, right?" The drunk officers murmured in assent. "Oi, Honda Seiji!"

Shoukaku's heart skipped a beat. Had he been there all this time? She turned to look in the direction Miyamoto was pointing at, and saw him seated at a table, looking tired but still drinking some water to pass the time. "Get us a big room upstairs, will ya?" the older man bellowed across the ballroom.

There was no way he hadn't been listening in. Cherry-red in embarrassment, Shoukaku turned away, and tried to block out the sounds of conversation. Mistaking her actions, Admiral Teiichi put an arm around Shoukaku's shoulders and lifted her on her feet. "Can you stand?" he said.

"Admiral, I'm not sure about this," she weakly protested, but Teiichi simply held her a little tighter. "It'll be fine, I think. Relax!" he said. "You're probably... You're too drunk to go home tonight, anyway..."

Things moved. The gaggle of men and several shipgirls were upstairs, laughing, giggling, and drunk-walking into a large, lavish suite before Shoukaku could grasp what was happening. She found herself laid down on a large, comfy bed, smelling of flowers, just as a barely-conscious Shimakaze flopped down next to her.

"You guys... You make me nervous about this..." She could hear Teiichi speaking, but he sounded distant. The bed felt warm and inviting, as if she could go to sleep anytime she wished.

"Alright, alright." Suddenly, she heard him right besides her ear. "Shoukaku? Do you mind?"

"So this is the last moment I am no longer a maiden," She thought. Teiichi's warm breath tickled her ear. He was lying on her, stroking her hair. The ache in her head was overwhelming; she just wanted to go to sleep...

"It's fine, Admiral," she mumbled, "Please... I am in your care."

A high-five was heard from somewhere in the room. Someone - Teiichi, perhaps - untied her kimono, and Shoukaku felt the cold air on her exposed front. Uncomfortable, she squirmed and turned to her side, but that allowed him to tug her panties off.

"Take her, Admiral!" she heard someone urge. And then Shoukaku felt Teiichi enter her.

It was painful at first. Nothing could hide that, no matter how gently she was held, or the warmth of his body on hers, the thrusts were rough, blunt, and scraped her raw. Holding onto the man taking her, it was all Shoukaku could do to not shriek in pain. It would not be nice to do that in front of all the officers. Elsewhere, Shimakaze was moaning, whether from pain or from pleasure, she couldn't tell. Several times, Teiichi nuzzled her neck, trying to kiss her, but something held Shoukaku back every time, and she turned away.

"It feels... It's amazing!" she heard Teiichi moan, "It feels good!"

But for Shoukaku, the only thing she felt was the pain. Slowly, slowly, it faded away, replaced by the dull in-out movements of Teiichi's penis in her. "It... It doesn't, hurt," she mumbled, and several whistles could be heard.

Before long, Teiichi grunted, and held Shoukaku close. She felt him tremble slightly - he shuddered once, twice, and then it was over. She felt her hair being stroked tenderly, before he abruptly left and the warmth of Teiichi was replaced by the sticky sensation of cold sweat.

Feeling slightly more sober, she sat up to look around. Uniforms were tossed about, together with the clothes of several shipgirls. Three men were clustered around Shimakaze, making Shoukaku blush heavily as she saw them moving in... In ways she had no words to describe. Admiral Teiichi was not there, and in another room, she could hear a shipgirl's muffled cries and moans, with the occasional lewd remark spoken by a man.

Slap! Someone smacked her bare backside from behind. "That is a lovely ass on you, I must say," Miyamoto said, still slurring his words. "Hey. Where did Admiral Teiichi go to?"

Flushed and indignant, but still feeling like her head was spinning, Shoukaku was only able to shrug. "I don't... I don't know," she mumbled. Miyamoto raised an eyebrow and smirked. "I see. Well then, let's try something else. I'll give you a taste of something different - sit on the bed and open your mouth." When Shoukaku didn't move at first, he pushed her down forcefully, and climbed onto the untidy covers, straddling her and bringing his... His organ close to her face. "Use your mouth," he commanded, "And do not do anything else." Despite the repulsive, bodily odour emanating from it, Shoukaku saw little alternative, and obeyed his instructions without complaint. Glass broke from somewhere outside as Miyamoto took hold of her head and made Shoukaku perform fellatio on him.

As the night wore on, Admiral Seiji, biting his lip and holding back tears, clenched his bleeding hand and closed the door silently. Crushing the shards of the glass he was drinking from underfoot, he hurriedly searched for a bathroom to clean up the blood from his hand.

tbc.

I'm sorry for the delays in posting. From this week onwards, I will do my best to maintain chapter lengths of around 3k words like today.

The Introduction will conclude with one more chapter next week.

-Destination