Well then I have been gone for longer than I expected
Honestly my motivation to write had hit rock bottom really hard at some point so the lesson for me is probably that I need to learn to pace myself a bit when writting in the future ;)
Big thank you goes to Killroy122496 as usual for his great help
Anyway that is all from me I will try and update this as much as I can in the future but life is just like the ocean it can be peaceful but in an instant it can become pretty wild
Even the brightest light casts a shadow
Chapter 24: Darkness of the Dawn
Akeno had tried to stay awake through the night but the usual sounds of a ship together with the sea outside caused her to drift off to sleep eventually that is until a loud banging noise woke her up once more.
Akeno however didn't open her eyes instead she pretended to be still asleep "Seems she is still asleep just leave it and get back to your post" the voice of someone said as something like a metal shutter was opened near the door before it was closed again.
Akeno waited a bit longer until she finally heard the sound of someone walking away from her cell "Finally" mumbled Akeno as she sat up on the bed to test her restraints "Seems they used standard handcuffs shouldn't be much of a challenge" Akeno muttered to herself as she reached down to her right boot before pulling something out from the sole [Amateurs] Akeno thought as she got to work.
It took about twenty seconds for Akeno to remove the handcuffs from her wrists but she kept them nearby in case someone came to the cell [Seems they left some food for me probably a bad idea to eat it though] Akeno thought as she saw a simple meal sitting on a metal tablet near the door.
Overall the cell wasn't that bad but it also had nothing Akeno could use to help her escape [So I have to wait for them to get me] Akeno thought as she sat back down on the bed.
It was about noon which gave Akeno enough time to work a bit on the handcuffs before finally someone walked into the room next to her cell "Get her to the conference room and keep an eye on her" a voice that sounded familiar to Akeno ordered as the cell was unlocked.
Two students entered the cell with another two standing at the door but none of them were armed with a gun they did however have batons as well as a Taser on their belts "Get up already we don't have all day" one of them barked at Akeno who raised an eyebrow at them not that they could see that as Akeno was still wearing her black ski mask.
It seemed as though the students were annoyed as the two in the cell grabbed Akeno to pull her to her feet before pushing her forwards with the other two walking in front of Akeno.
Like that the group made their way deeper into the ship but even though Akeno wanted to escape she saw the armed students standing guard in pairs near any exit she could have used to do so.
It took them another few minutes until they arrived at a doubled door which was a bit uncommon for ships to have and behind those doors was a large conference room where a group of students was waiting for them however unlike the four surrounding Akeno they were wearing different uniforms.
"Thanks you four we got it from here" a rather tall blonde called to them as they simply pushed Akeno into one of the nearest chairs before turning around to walk out of the room closing the doors behind them.
Akeno took a closer look at the group of four students but only one of them got Akenos attention as the girl had onyx black hair and emerald green eyes as those eyes seemed so very familiar to her as well as another one but Akeno just couldn't remember where she might have seen the two of them before today.
Kaida kept a close eye on the red eyed girl but other than her eyes she couldn't see much due to the ski mask the girl was still wearing "Hello this isn't exactly the way I wanted to meet with you to be honest but I couldn't risk my ship and crew to get into contact with someone like you" Kaida spoke getting the girls attention.
Akeno for her part had expected the usual cursing and insults she usually got whenever someone knew she was part of the Rising sun fleet but this girl sounded actually happy that she could speak with her for whatever reason that might be.
"I can see you are questioning why I'm the one talking with you and not someone higher up of mine who would gladly imprison you for the rest of your life" Kaida had to smirk a bit as the girl was still mostly focused on what she was saying but even with that she still kept an eye on the other three girls in the room.
Kaida leaned back in her chair before she rested her chin on her folded hands "Well to answer you I want to meet the person who is in charge of the Rising sun fleet to make a deal so to speak" Kaida explained confusing Akeno quite a bit with that request.
Akeno kept her gaze on the black haired girl for several seconds before she sighed "What reason would you have to seek that person and before you get any ideas I'm just a hired gun" Akeno answered getting a simple nod from the black haired girl.
"That is more than what we could hope for seeing as you can speak with them even if you are just a hired gun you can give them my request for a meeting" the girl replied without even hesitating for a second.
Akeno started thinking quickly about reasons why this girl would want to meet with the leader of the rising sun fleet even if she was doing exactly that but Akeno couldn't allow them to know that just yet until she had found a way to escape from them in case they tried to use her as a hostage or something.
"I do have a way to communicate with that person but she won't be very happy about the fact that I got captured. If I'm very unlucky she will just kill me along with the rest of you by simply sinking this ship" Akenos voice was lanced with quite a bit of fear even if it was just a bluff it worked as it was supposed to.
Kaida looked at the girl with narrowed eyes as she tried if that fear had any foundation sadly Kaida saw that that fear was genuine making this a very precarious situation as on one part she wanted to meet with whoever was leading the Rising sun fleet but on the other she had to make sure none of her crew were injured or even worse killed.
After looking towards her friends however Kaida managed to come to a decision "We will take that risk so what is it you need to contact your employer?" Kaida asked as Akeno took a deep breath before sighing deeply.
Akeno just couldn't figure out why this girl was so adamant about meeting with the leader of the Rising sun fleet despite what Akeno just told them "You want to meet with that person so badly but just why is that?" Akeno asked as she leaned slightly forward.
To hear the mercenary ask that question was a bit of a surprise to Kaida but she recovered quick enough to not show it "I wish to speak with that person for two reasons" Kaida replied while raising her right hand showing Akeno one finger "First I wish to join the Rising sun fleet along with my ship and crew" that alone hit a lot harder than Akeno thought it would have while Kaida raised a second finger "And the second reason is that I want to confirm if an old friend of mine is part of the Rising sun fleet" Kaida added but Akeno barely understood that part as her mind was running a mile a second right now.
For several minutes it was silent in the room as Akeno tried her hardest to puzzle together the reason why an entire ship full of Blue Mermaid students wanted to betray everything and everyone they had trained most of their lives for [This makes no sense unless] Akeno thought as she took a look from one girl to the next before returning her eyes back to the black haired girl.
What she saw from all four of the girls was the same they were determined to do this whether Akeno helped them or not but she was their best option right now to accomplish what they wanted to do.
Akeno smirked a little bit before she broke out into full blown laughter she was laughing so hard that she fell off of the chair before she started rolling around on the ground laughing her head off "I think you broke her captain" Mina mumbled as she looked towards the end of the table where the girl was laughing her head off while the four students had no idea why she was doing so.
With Shirayuri onboard the Tsukuba:
She didn't hear from Akeno after last night that she had told Shirayuri to not attack the ship following them but why Akeno had done so was unknown to Shirayuri sure they didn't attack just anything and anyone due to them crossing paths with them but there must be something that Akeno wanted to find out if she ordered Shirayuri to back off for now.
Shirayuri had kept the battle fleet on course for home even with the lone ship still following the fleet the next morning but despite that the hours seemed to be crawling by at a snail's pace for Shirayuri that is until it was the middle of the day when the radio came to life.
"This is the captain of the Graf Spee Kaida Blackthorn. We have captured the mercenary you sent to infiltrate our ship. We would like to meet with you on neutral ground to speak with you about the safe return of your mercenary as well as something else if you have a meeting location in mind please tell us"
Was the simple message but it confused Shirayuri greatly until she thought about it for a moment, sure Akeno could tell them that she was the commander of the large fleet but if she had been captured as this Kaida claimed then she might have made something like this up.
"I swear that girl is a real trouble magnet sometimes" Shirayuri sighed as she took a look at the local area the fleet was moving through and only a bit later she found what she was looking for a small wild Island that was on the way so Shirayuri sent the Graf Spee the coordinates.
Later that day the Tsukuba as well as two light cruisers and two destroyers split off from the main part of the fleet to head to a small Island where they stopped and threw anchor while they waited which wasn't all that long as the sun was still high in the sky by the time the Graf Spee arrived near the Island.
A few minutes later Shirayuri saw two small crafts head towards the Island so she took a closer look with her binoculars in the first boat was a group of four officers while the second boat had three normal students as well as a fourth person that was in the rear if the small craft.
Shirayuri had changed her outfit to match her sister's appearance from the time she boarded the Agano to get Shirayuri away from the Blue Mermaids task force with the difference being in color of her mask as it was a light yellow with light brown stripes.
Shirayuri waited patiently for the two small crafts to get to the shore but even then she waited a bit longer by hiding in a few trees nearby as the seven students started looking around at the beach.
Shirayuri watched them a bit longer before she made her move and a moment later Shirayuri was standing several meters behind the group of seven students with Akeno lying on the ground near Shirayuri.
None of the students made any move however so Shirayuri spoke up "Well you are the ones who wanted this meeting what do you want?" she asked as she kept her eyes on the group even as Akeno sat up from the ground.
Kaida had been the only one who noticed the strange woman? Or Girl? grab their captive before moving several meters away, whoever that was really had some power that only confirmed Kaidas theories "Yes well to tell you the truth we wanted to speak with you seeing as my crew and I are in a difficult situation right now" Kaida started but the girl seemed to barely react to that.
Shirayuri had heard from several Blue Mermaid students that some vessels apparently had gone rogue by attacking their Instructors or something like that but no one really knew what might be the cause for it "And am I correct by thinking that you and your ship have gone rogue then?" Shirayuri asked the answer already apparent on the faces of five of the seven students.
Kaida had hoped that she could get a real conversation started with this girl but she already knew about the fact that the Graff Spee was no longer a student ship but a rogue vessel with no affiliation to any country "Yes that is part of what I want to speak with you about as well as something else that can wait for later" Kaida explained as the girl with the mask drew a simple combat knife from somewhere before she crouched down.
Shirayuri cut off the rope from Akenos ankles before she looked at the handcuffs only for Akeno to open them without any effort before they dropped them to the ground "You really have a knack for finding trouble don't you?" Shirayuri whispered to Akeno as they both stood up with Akeno standing a bit behind Shirayuri.
With Akeno now able to move again Shirayuri learned that in fact the students wanted to join up with their fleet which apparently was named the Rising sun fleet after their worldwide blockade over ten months ago "Before I decide about your request to join my fleet I have to ask. What has caused you to turn your back on the Blue Mermaids and everything you have learned so far?" Shirayuri asked noticing the scowls on their faces immediately as did Akeno.
Kaida had no idea how that girl knew so much about what her and her crew wanted to do but her question had hit a sore point "If I am to answer that question I will have to ask one of my own in return if that would be alright?" Kaida struggled with her emotions quite a bit at that point and it was obvious to everyone present.
Akeno as well as Shirayuri knew that they had struck a mine with that last question but for now there was no reason to not talk with them "Ask what you want but there is a slim chance we might be unable to answer you with the full truth" Shirayuri replied getting a relived sigh from Kaida "My question is rather simple. Is a girl by the name of Misaki Akeno part of your fleet?" Kaida asked with a neutral expression on her face.
Shirayuri was stunned by this question which was nothing compared to Akeno who stared at Kaida with a blank look not that they could really see that as Akeno was still wearing her ski mask "An interesting question and to answer you I do believe that someone with a name like that is part of my fleet however I don't remember where she is operating at the moment" Shirayuri replied causing Akeno to breathe a sigh of relive
Kaida accepted that for now after all they couldn't be sure that she was trustworthy just yet "Well thanks and to answer your question most members of my crew come from very difficult family situations as well as a few who grew up on the streets so we are not blind to the ugly side of this world but the true reason we turned our backs on the Blue Mermaids is that they are the very monsters in human skin we are supposed to destroy and protect others from" Kaida explained causing Shirayuri to slightly smile under her mask.
Akeno was however the one who still wanted to know why this girl asked for her did she know that she was part of the old clan or something like that. But if she knew then she would have not asked that question but before either side could say another word Akeno noticed a radio message was being transmitted to the Graf Spee.
And a few moments later Kaida groaned at something her deputy had told her about "I'm sorry we have to cut this chat short but it would seem another rogue ship we have staying in contact with is in need of our help" Kaida explained "I see well what do you think about lending a hand to make up for your blunder?" Shirayuri asked Akeno surprising the students.
Akeno had to sigh at that but she agreed so she headed back to the Tsukuba and cast off a few moments later while the two destroyers and light cruisers stayed where they were anchored "Now then I sent her to assist this rogue ship you talked about so for now I think it would be best if you met up with my fleet so we can talk about a few details" Shirayuri explained and Kaida agreed after a short chat with the others.
Shirayuri escorted the Graf Spee back to the rest of her fleet before Kaida as well as her deputy Mina visited Shirayuri onboard the Akagi so they could talk over some of the details they left out of their conversation earlier mainly how the ship and it students would be treated for the time being.
With Akeno onboard the Tsukuba:
Akeno was a bit mad that Shirayuri took advantage of the situation like this but then again her own curiosity might have revealed who she really was but for now Akeno concentrated on her current task.
It took her a bit before she finally found the heading of the radio signal but she had a bad feeling about this whole situation right now so she got dressed in a simple combat outfit with grey black camouflage patterns covering the entire outfit as well as her AK strapped over her back and her two pistols in their holsters.
To make the situation a bit worse Akeno found she was heading directly into a mild storm but for some reason Akeno felt as if she had to meet with this ship as soon as possible and about an hour later Akenos fears came true as her radio came to life.
"This is Destroyer Harekaze we are under attack by five modern frigates we need immediate assistance" was the yelled message of a scared girl causing Akenos blood to freeze as she could hear the distant sound of cannon fire.
Akeno walked up to the bridge of the Tsukuba before sitting down in front of the rudder closing her eyes as she took hold of Asuramaru's blade "Forgive me sister but I will not allow innocent lives to be sacrificed like this" Akeno whispered before falling into deep concentration.
The Harekaze was a simple destroyer trying its hardest to get away from the five pursuing ships but with their engine at the absolute limit they had to slow down and fight if they wanted any chance of getting away from them.
On the bridge of the ship stood the captain and the rest of the bridge crew however right now the situation looked rather grim as most of the girls onboard were exhausted from being constantly on the run for the last two weeks and so far they had not received any answer from the Graff Spee that was supposed to meet with them.
"Do we have any way to get away from them without risking the engine or ship?" asked the captain Shinju China a Caucasian Japanese female with long snowy white hair and deep purple eyes. She was wearing a black and white naval girl sailor uniform shirt with a silver locket around her neck which held a picture of her and her older sister, black skirt, black stockings on her legs and white and black tennis shoes.
"We have got no answer from the Graf Spee so far and the engine will give out on us unless we slow down to half ahead so there isn't really anything we can do right now" replied Arashi Uchika a Caucasian Japanese Male with short silver grey hair and grey-blue silver eyes. He was wearing a white officer naval shirt with a golden anchor on the side pocket, black and grey naval trousers, and grey combat boots.
Shinju cursed under her breath as the modern frigates radioed them again to give up unless they wanted to get sunk but lady luck seemed to be on their side as a light storm was just to their port side of the bow "Get us into the storm I hope we can lose them in there or at least give the Graf Spee enough time to arrive" Shinju ordered as she glared at the five modern ships chasing her destroyer.
Akeno had known she might have to use this technique at some point but so soon was a bit uncomfortable for her as it was still a huge ass power drain on her but she had to use it if she wanted to rescue the rogue student ship.
The Tsukuba was glowing with dark orange lines and symbols all over its hull and super structure but only when the symbols on the bridge glowed as well did anything happen as the Tsukuba shot forward at insane speed cutting through the ocean like a hot orange blade through butter.
It only took another ten minutes for Akeno to arrive near the destroyer who had entered the storm as well but even with that the five modern ships were doing their best to sink the lone destroyer "As if I will let you" Akeno roared as the Tsukuba turned to starboard and opened fire.
But instead of normal shells the turrets spat beams of dark orange light that cut into and right through the two modern ships that had been hit leaving massive holes of melting metal behind as the remaining three frigates turned their fire towards the Tsukuba.
Not that it would have made any difference as Akeno disabled another frigate before the remaining two started firing at her ship but instead of hitting the ship or landing in the water near it the fired shells detonated in midair never even coming close to the ship.
Akeno was not in a very merciful mood right now as she fired at the first of the two remaining frigates destroying most of the upper decks as well as half of the bridge with a massive explosion erupting on the front deck as one of the beams destroyed the turret and most of its ammo cocked off.
With that ship dealt with Akeno turned her attention towards the last remaining frigate but before she could fire over two dozen explosions erupted around the Tsukuba as missiles crashed into the energy shield.
Akeno waited until the barrage ended not that a single one of the missiles or torpedoes had caused any damage to her ship but she just wanted to deal with the last ship before escorting the destroyer to the rest of the fleet.
It took about two minutes before the last missile exploded leaving a massive smoke cloud on the ocean's surface but a moment later something cut the cloud in two and the glowing orange ship emerged with all of its turrets facing the last remaining frigate.