(HMS Ceylon – Philippine Sea – 11.30)
Smooth sailing was appreciated. A day had passed since the fleet left the waters where the Prince of Wales was attacked, and left for Japan.
An officer walked along the deck of the Ceylon. A boy with a medium height, wearing spectacles and holding a tablet in his hands. This was Ravindu, the Ceylon's technical officer, and his role demanded that he should check on the Ceylon's repairs and report them to the captain. A task which he was currently engaged in.
Now he stood in front of one of the ship's 4-inch secondary gun turrets, of which the Ceylon had four with two guns each. This particular turret had been hit by the Resolution in the previous battle, and while not completely destroyed had suffered considerable damage.
"How's it going?" he asked one of the mechanics who just emerged from behind the armament. The mechanic saw him and quickly saluted.
"Officer, sorry I didn't see you coming."
"That's okay." Ravindu gestured to the turret. "Did you finish working?"
"No sir, I still have a bit left to repair. I can finish this by evening. It's completely automated so it took some time to figure things up."
"Good, you can continue with the repairs."
He left the secondary guns and went towards the two main gun turrets in the front of the ship, both of which had survived the fight without a scratch. But Ravindu had to make sure everything was functioning properly.
A boy was sitting on the turret when he approached it. One of the gun crews handled the bit of work of the gun that wasn't automated. He got down when he saw him approaching, and saluted.
"Sir, both forward turrets functioning properly." He reported, once Ravindu had asked him the question. "Can we use live ammo now?"
Ravindu nodded. "We got it cleared up with the bloomers. Now if the fleet encounters an infected vessel, we can fire live ammunition."
The boy nodded rushed off hurriedly to find his friends, probably to tell them the good news. Satisfied with the status of the guns. With all parts of the ship covered he now had to report to the captain. soon he was in the bridge.
"Captain all systems functioning properly apart from the damaged secondary guns. Those will be repaired by the evening."
Kalum nodded. "Two more days like this and we'll be in Japan in one piece."
"Do we get to know if any other ships got infected?" Ravindu asked.
"They should tell us," Kalum replied.
{Captain, this is radio. We received a message from the Blue Mermaids.}
"Is it about the infection? Anything new?"
{Not anything new captain. But, the Warspite and the fleet had turned around and attacked the bloomers following them and crippled their force. The bloomers said that the ships are now on the loose. They told us to avoid combat with the ships if they come our way, unless necessary.}
"Understood," Kalum said after hearing the news. "So much for being in one piece."
"We might not encounter them at all."
"Hopefully, Ravindu do you know the characteristics of the Warspite."
"Yes captain," he replied with a smile. "It's a 33,110-ton ship, with a speed of twenty-three knots and eight fifteen-inch main guns, fourteen six inch secondary guns and four twenty one inch torpedo tubes."
"You told that from memory?"
"Yes captain, I liked to study about the most powerful ships of each school fleet."
"That'll be useful. Anyway, considering the Warspite's speed, we can outrun it easily if we're unfortunate enough to meet it again."
"Yes," Jerad agreed. "I don't like to run away, but that's all we can do. We're just a light cruiser. We don't stand a chance against the third most powerful ship in the RNSF."
"Well, that doesn't mean we can't fight. Raw power doesn't always decide things. Though what you said is true."
"Let's see how things go. If we're lucky we'll still get to Japan in one piece."
(Yokosuka – Japan – 09.00)
Mashimo Munetani landed on a jetty of the port of Yokosuka. It had been three days since she left the British Eastern fleet after receiving her call. From what she had been told the Russian Pacific Fleet, or what remained of it, had been transported to Yokosuka by the Blue Mermaids.
From the information the blue mermaids could gather it was certain that the Pacific fleet had suffered a similar fate as the British Eastern fleet. This wasn't something she wanted to hear, though it was what everyone told her. Now, after hearing everything from the Blue Mermaids who investigated the situation, she was going to find out things for herself.
From where she stood now, she could see the Russian ships that lay docked in port. In comparison to the Eastern fleet, the Russians had fared well, losing just three ships to infection out of their force of twelve. The remainder, made of the cruisers Kaganovich and Kalinin, the destroyers Tbilisi and Rastoropny, and a force of two S-class and one K-class submarines, had most of their damages repaired by the time, except for the battleship Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya which had suffered enough damage to be sent to a dry dock.
Mashimo made her way past the docks towards a hospital operated by the Blue Mermaids. Here she was to meet up with someone who would provide the answers that would strengthen her greatest fears. She entered the building and quickly made her way to the second floor and to the room where she would meet the person. Outside she was met by a blue mermaid who had just left the room.
"Is she awake?" Mashimo asked as soon as she met the blue mermaid.
"She regained consciousness a few hours ago. We didn't ask her anything yet."
"Is she alone?"
"Yes ma'am, we didn't let anyone meet her for now."
"Ok, I'll go and talk to her."
After the Blue Mermaid had opened the door for her, Mashimo entered the hospital room. The first thing she noticed as she entered the room was the girl who lay on the bed. Seeing Mashimo she started to rise, an action which was quickly prevented by the Blue Mermaid.
"Is everyone safe? What happened?"
"Don't worry, everyone's safe. I'm Mashimo Munetani, the head of the Safety Oversite Office." Mashimo said as she sat on a chair which was placed beside the bed.
"I know that ma'am. I saw you when you were in Vladivostok."
"I'm sorry I don't know you. You are the deputy captain of the Sovetski Soyuz?"
The girl nodded. "I'm Anastasia Isakova, the deputy captain of the flagship."
"What happened on board the Soyuz?" Mashimo asked. "I'm sorry if you don't like to talk about it, but we must know it to solve our problems."
"Ma'am I'll tell you what I remember. We were in the bridge during the time when the infection broke out. Our ship opened fire on the Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya, and when I went to stop it no one followed orders. Once the captain was sure it was an infection, she ordered me to leave the ship and tell the rest of the fleet to escape. But before I could reach them a secondary gun shell exploded near my skipper, and that's all I could remember."
"Yes, you were found unconscious on the skipper. Fortunately, the October Revolution picked you up.
"Then they escaped." The girl said with a note of relief in her voice. "What happened to the Soyuz?"
"It escaped, along with the Stalingrad and the Rezvy. Are you sure what happened on board the Soyuz was an infection?"
"Yes, we could deduce that much before I left the Soyuz."
Mashimo remained in thought for a moment. The X.O. of the Sovetski Soyuz had just confirmed her fears. This was indeed a large-scale outbreak of the RATt virus that had already taken over nine ships from two student fleets. The situation was not looking good with ships from several more fleets on their way to Japan in the coming days.
An incoming message in her phone caught her attention. While most messages she received at moments like this did nothing to improve her mood, this surely did though only by a degree. She read the text, which was brief, and turned towards the X.O. of the Soviet battleship.
"You'll receive a visitor soon. The Sovetskaya Rossiya is asking permission to enter port. Apparently, the captain is really anxious to see you."
The girl was clearly blushing. "She's a friend."
Her blush revealed much more than her words. Mashimo smiled and turned to leave.
"Well, I'll leave you for now. I hope you'll be better soon."
As she left the building a new weight was on her shoulders. this should be contained before it spirals out of control. At the door she turned to a Blue Mermaid who was waiting there for her.
"Let the Soveskaya Rossiya enter. Alert the foreign fleets about a possible RATt infection within their ranks, and tell captain China to remain in full alert."
(Y-118 Musashi – Iwo Jima – 09:30)
The island that was once called Iwo Jima had nearly completely disappeared when the sea levels started to rise a century ago. Now the sea around the bit of land that remained was being used by the Blue Mermaids and their student fleets for their training.
Today however, it was being used for a different occasion. With student fleets from around the world arriving at the island, the Japanese were planning to greet them. Usually this was done by sending a fleet to the rendezvous point, which was being done today too. But while the fleet that usually had the honour of greeting their guests was made up of the most senior students the country possessed, this time it was to be done by juniors. Mainly, those from the Yokosuka Girls' Marine High School.
The fleet was led by the Musashi, accompanied by the Hiei,Chōkai, Isuzu, Natori, Hamakaze, Maikaze and the famous Harekaze. These were accompanied by the German Deutschland class pocket battleship, the Admiral Graf Spee. These ships were selected considering their actions during the first RATt infection and the battle against the pirates.
Captain Moeka China stood inside the bridge of the Musashi, the flagship of Yokosuka. Having scored the highest in the entrance exam she was assigned to the Yamato class battleship. While this, along with the high skills she had performed in the High School gave her the reputation as a born commander, she saw herself as anything but that. In her first assignment she had lost control of the Musashi to the RATt virus, resulting in a disaster. No one blamed her, but she was far from feeling good about the incident.
Then there was the battle against the pirate force, where the role of the Musashi had been much simpler than what she had hoped for. It was the Harekaze, commanded by her best friend Akeno that had played the most important part in the mission. She felt good for her friend, but not for herself.
Today however, her mind was not filled with these thoughts. Today she had an important mission, to get all student fleets safely to Yokosuka. If everything would've been normal three student fleets would arrive at the island in a short while; the Russian Pacific Fleet, The British Eastern Fleet and the US Pacific Fleet. But since the Russians were already in Japan only the Americans and the British would arrive at Iwo Jima, from where they would be escorted to Yokosuka.
They should be here by now. Moeka wondered why they were late. The chance of them running into any infected ships was considered earlier, and several submarines were already in patrol within the zone.
"Did we receive any message from the fleets?" She asked her deputy captain after thinking for a while.
"No ma'am, our last contact was with the British who said they're going straight to Yokosuka without joining with us."
"They should be close by then. And the Americans?"
"We didn't get any message from them, which is strange."
"Then tell everyone to be on full alert."
"You think they're infected?"
"I don't know. But we can't take risks." She smiled seeing her X.O.'s expression. "You don't have to worry about that. Radio our fleet, and try to get in contact with the Iowa."
"Yes ma'am, radioing all ships to remain on full alert."
Once she had sent the message, she came to Moeka. "Captain, we still don't have any luck contacting the Iowa."
"What about the rest of the Pacific fleet? If there's an issue with the Iowa, the Colorado or the Maryland should tell us."
"Yes captain, which is why I'm worried. None of them are responding."
Before Moeka could think about this the radar operator spoke. {Captain, we have contacts heading from the South.}
"How many?"
"About five."
"Captain, that's less than half their fleet."
"Yes, try to contact them. If they don't reply, either they've got all their radios damaged, or they're infected, in which case we'll have to fire on them."
"Yes captain."
Moeka tried to keep her cool. "Try to contact the five ships. If they won't reply we'll open fire."
The next few minutes were spent in silence. Moeka did not want to, under any circumstances, fire on a ship filled with sailors of similar ages to her. But she had received her orders. The present spread of the RATt virus had to be contained without delay.
{Captain, none of them are replying.}
"Can we identify the ships?"
{Captain, they're in visual range. One of them is definitely the Iowa.} One of the lookouts called, answering her question.
"Send light signals if they aren't answering the radio." Moeka said. She was commanding the Musashi, a ship powerful enough to fight most of the ships any student fleet possessed and win. But the Iowa could prove to be a challenge in a fight. She was it would never come to that.
A flashlight from the Musashi was flashed towards the incoming ships, seeking confirmation on their intentions. Moeka watched it being flashed, hoping against everything for a reply.
... - .- - . -.- - ..- .-. .. -. - . -. - .. - -. ...
She waited while nothing came from the other side. Her hopes were fading.
{Captain, we've got visual confirmation of the whole fleet. They have three battleships, including the flagship, and two cruisers.}
"That's a strong force captain. Are you sure they're infected?"
"I don't know. But I think we will, soon." She went to the ship's telephone to contact the fleet.
"This is Captain China. We have three battleships and two cruisers moving in from the South that aren't responding to us. We haven't confirmed if they're hostile so prepare to engage but do not fire."
Then she went back to the intercom. "Lookouts, is there any activity from the ships?"
{Nothing to be seen captain. They're maintaining their course.}
Before Moeka could say something else one of the lookouts shouted. {The lead ship opened fire.}
"Captain, shells from the Iowa incoming." The girl at the radar spoke.
"Brace for impact, and prepare for anti-surface warfare."
(HMS Ceylon – Philippine Sea – 09:15)
On the British side the journey remained uneventful. More smooth sailing was a relief to Kalum, who was still hoping to spend the rest of the journey to Japan peacefully. Due to the uneventful days the students on the ships had loosen up, though under orders from Japan they were ready to respond to anything that might break the peace of the journey.
"One more day. Survive that, and we'll be safe in Yokosuka. Things like the RATt virus tend to ruin our days.
"None of them were ruined." Jerad said. "It was a good experience for everyone."
"Tell that to the Royal Sovereign. But yeah, we were lucky."
"There's no reason we won't get to Japan in one piece. The Warspite isn't anywhere to be seen. It's good we weren't infected."
"Speaking about that," Ravindu said as he checked something in his tablet, "Is it true the Russians got infected too."
"Yes, from what I've heard they lost three ships to the infection." Kalum answered. "They've got infected quite near Japan."
"Captain, the last time the virus spread, it was only in one area where the Japs had a damaged research sub. This time us and the Russians got it in two places. How come?"
"Since we don't know if the virus was completely culled, it might've spread after the Bloomers officially declared that it's gone."
"Yeah, that might be it." Jerad agreed, though he didn't sound convinced. "Are we meeting with the Americans soon."
"They were going to meet the Japs in Iwo Jima, though we received instructions not to."
{Captain, this is radio. You have a message from the captain of the IJN Musashi.}
"The Japanese? Put her through."
He went to the telephone and picked it up. "This is the HMS Ceylon."
{This is the captain of the Y-118 Musashi.} A girl spoke in perfect English. {Three battleships and two cruisers from the US Pacific fleet opened fire on us at Iwo Jima. We are requesting for your assistant, if you can provide it.}
"Understood, we're just thirty miles from your position, moving at thirty knots. We will come to assist."
Jerad was the first to notice his agitation once he left the telephone. "What did the Musashi want?"
"They're under attack from the Americans. We have to provide assistant."
"The Americans? They're infected too."
"It seems so. Sound general quarters. We're going to Iwo Jima." Kalum said as he went to the intercom, "Radio, I want to call the fleet."
{Yes captain, wait a moment.}
Once the correct band length was found he called the Eastern fleet. "This is the Ceylon. The Musashi called us to tell that three battleships and two cruisers from the US Pacific fleet opened fire on them at Iwo Jima. We will move in to assist them."
Once the message was sent, he turned he turned to Amina. "We're going to Iwo Jima, continue to the North at full speed."
(Iwo Jima – 09:30)
The eastern fleet led by the Ceylon was now within visual range of the fleet of Yokosuka. According what the Ceylon's lookouts could see, the Japanese ships were successfully avoiding the enemy fire, contributed by the inaccuracy of shells in long ranges. This was the first naval engagement Kalum had been to where the ships were firing at long ranges.
He could not think of any way their six-inch armament could come in useful at this situation, though he had to help the Japanese.
"Captain, our six inches can reach the Americans. but at this range against battleships they won't do much damage. and that's if we actually land a hit." Anudha confirmed his thoughts. "First battle where we can fire live and we won't fire."
Firing at infected ships with Blue Mermaid and White Dolphin trainees was not something to be exited about. But Kalum decided not to mention this to his artillery officer.
{Captain,} A voice from the radar operators caught his attention. {We have multiple contacts heading towards us from the Northeast.}
"According to the Musashi, five ships from the Pacific fleet are firing at them. So, these remaining ships might be the remainder of their fleet."
"How do we know if they're infected or not?" The question placed by Jerad was reasonable. Unfortunately, there was only one way to confirm things.
"We wait till they're in visual range and ask them using Morse code. According to the Musashi, none of the ships answered their radio messages."
"That's a risk we'll have to take then."
{Captain, we have visual confirmation of one the ships approaching. It's the USS San Diego.}
"The San Diego?"
"There's only one of them."
"I know that. How many ships can you spot?"
{There's three cruisers and three destroyers. Some of them look pretty beat up.}
"So, there's a high chance of them being the uninfected group. Flash light signals."
A flash light from the bridge was soon activated towards the San Diego. Its operator flashed a simple message.
..-. .-. .. . -. -.. -.- ..-..
Peering at that direction with his binoculars, Kalum was relieved to notice the same message being flashed by the American light cruiser.
Friendly?
"They're not infected. Ask them if their radios are broken."
This message soon got the expected reply. Radios damaged in fight. Flagship infected with RATt. A final message was flashed from the American side.
... - .-.. -.. -.- - ..- .-. ..-. .. .-. .
Hold your fire.
"Let them join us." Kalum said. "Then we can think of how to assist the Japanese."
(Y-118 Musashi – Iwo Jima – 09:40)
In the Musashi, Moeka was glad she received the radio message.
{This is the HMS Ceylon. We can help you fight the Americans if you would give us the necessary instructions.}
"Are the Americans with you friendly." She asked, aiming to verify what one of her lookouts had indicated a few minutes ago, when she had spotted the two fleets nearby.
{Yes, the fleet led by the San Diego is what's left of the Pacific Fleet. All of them are heavily damaged, except for their submarines.}
"Ok, my orders are to get you and the remaining Americans to Yokosuka safely. So, I think we should break off from this battle and get back to Japan."
{Have any of your ships received any damage.}
"Nothing serious, the Musashi was hit several times, but she can handle it."
{Ok, what are your instructions.}
"We will lay a smoke screen and escape. The Americans can't do much damage at that range, even with the Iowa's radar, but we should not push our luck."
{Understood, we have four destroyers, along with three American destroyers and your destroyers. They can lay a smoke screen if needed.}
Moeka gave permission to the British captain to begin the operation, after which she turned back to the ongoing battle. The Musashi was firing another barrage into the enemy position, though their accuracy was not much better.
"Captain, the Americans are closing the distance." One of the lookouts remarked. The lack of accuracy was causing them to abandon the long-range battle.
"Captain, we'll have to hurry up, or they might cause serious damage to the ships." Her X.O. said as a 16" shell from the Iowa impacted close by.
"Yes, radio the Hamakaze, Maikaze and Harekaze to move to the front of the fleet and set a smoke screen. Tell the British to do the same."
The Destroyers moved out to follow the orders. Soon the Musashi would be out of the sight of the American gunners, onboard the USS Iowa, USS Colorado and USS Maryland, the three infected battleships. Moeka watched from the bridge as the Harekaze led the two Japanese destroyers, setting up a smoke screen to cover the fleet, an action which was mirrored in the British side.
"Chief navigator, accelerate to our maximum speed. Bearing 90 degrees North. Gunnery officer, continue bombardment."
"Captain, with the smoke screen we can't spot the targets."
"It's okay, we just have to keep them occupied. Let's get out of here."
Once the immediate danger had passed, Moeka turned back to the condition of her ship. Despite the range, the Iowa's superior fire control had allowed it to score several hits on the Musashi.
"Damage report." She said to her X.O. who by now had gathered it from the crew.
"We suffered six hits but nothing's too serious. Three of the rapid-fire guns were destroyed when a shell hit the superstructure. The rest hit the hull and failed to do much damage. The Musashi is well armored."
"What about the everyone else?"
"None of our ships were damaged. The Americans concentrated their fire on us."
"And our British friends?"
"They weren't fired upon, so no damage. The uninfected American ships had suffered moderate to heavy damage in the previous battle and two of their ships had sunk. But their crews are safe."
"Good. Radio, what is the status of the Blue Mermaids?"
After a moment the reply came. {Several crafts have been dispatched to the direction of the Americans. Whether they'll find them is uncertain.}
"Then I guess we should go on with our instructions and take our friends to Japan. Navigator, set course to Yokosuka."
(Yokosuka – Japan – 10:00)
"What? The Americans too?"
"Yes, according to the radio message from the Musashi, the USS Iowa, USS Colorado, USS Maryland, USS Indianapolis and USS St. Louis opened fire on the USS Tennessee, USS San Diego, USS Portland, USS New Orleans, USS Mahan, USS Fletcher, USS Kidd and two Gato class submarines which weren't infected. All the ships except for the two submarines suffered damage with the Tennessee, and the Mahan sinking."
Mashimo listened to the rest of the report relayed to her by the Blue Mermaid. This has already spread out. Though how the RATt virus infected three different fleets in three different areas was a mystery. A deeply unsettling one.
"And does Instructor Callaghan know about this."
"Yes, the captain of the San Diego informed her as soon as she could."
Great. Mashimo already had an angry Russian to reason with about the outbreak of the virus. Now there would be an angry American who would want a word with her too. Things were not good.
"This is getting out of hand. We need to get in contact with all other student fleets approaching Japan immediately."
"Yes ma'am."
Once the Blue Mermaid had left Mashimo picked up her phone. After dialing a number, she kept it to her ear and waited for the response, which came in due time.
{Samuel Somerville speaking.} A middle-aged male voice answered.
"Instructor, this is Mashimo Munetani of the Maritime Safety Department. I'd like to speak with you about something important."
{Is it about Kuznetsov and Callaghan?}
"How did you know?"
{I've met both of them after the outbreak, and I think you're right in thinking they're hard to reason with.}
"Yes sir, and I need your help in the reasoning. The British are the only people who're not blaming us for this."
{Well, you're partially to be blamed, but I understand. But the problem is, Japan is the greatest maritime rival to the USA, and Russia is still sour about 1905.}
"I understand that, but do you think they will think about this in that way?"
{No, I've known both of them for a long time. They might be under shock for now, but they'll soon be in speaking terms with you. But for the time being, anyone can come to any conclusion.}
"Yes, and that's why I'll need your help in the talking."
{I'll gladly do that. You don't have to worry about it. for now, concentrate on the immediate matters.}
"Thank you, instructor. I think we should talk about this more later. And my mother, principal Munetani, would also like to speak to you."
{Tell her I can meet her anytime preferable to her. Apart from the repairs on our ships I'm mostly free.}
"Thank you!"
Once the call was over, she turned to the 'immediate matters.' Picking up the phone she called the Maritime Security Department where she operated.
"Tell the German, Italian, French, Australian and Canadian fleets to be ready for anything, and to get to Japan as fast as possible." All these fleets were too close to be turned back now, and they needed reinforcements.
A.N: Regarding the Russian fleet: The battleships Sovetski Soyuz, Sovetskaya Rossiya and the cruiser Stalingrad were never completed and launched. Though the Sovetski Soyuz had its hull completed it's construction was stopped due to the German invasion. but since WW2 never happened in this universe there is a chance for me to bring these ships into the story. Also the Pacific fleet did not have any battleships though I added them to make it more balanced in comparison to the other fleets.
For those who are disappointed at not getting a grand Musashi vs Iowa battle even when the two ships fired at each other in this chapter, the battle will happen eventually, just not as soon as chapter 3. Stay tuned for it. And leave a review if you find something in the chapter that has to be corrected.
