Chapter 6: Operation Abyss

"What the hell is that thing?"

That was the main question being asked at the Yokosuka Naval base for the past few hours. In an isolated section of the harbor usually reserved for American Navy vessels, there was a submarine that nobody there had ever seen before. It was sleek, sleeker than the usual visiting subs, and definitely sleeker than the shipgirls' own submarines. The other odd thing was that nobody was allowed near it except for the admiral and the command staff. Said admiral was there now, speaking with a man who was presumably the captain.

Speaking of the admiral, the shipgirls had noticed that she was becoming increasingly busy as of late. There were a lot more meetings than usual, she was offbase most of the time, and she was being uncharacteristically secretive about it. The admiral was eccentric, every admiral in charge of the shipgirls was, but lately she was acting far more serious than she normally did.

A group of ships were going to uncover that secret.

"I heard it's a part of a big operation coming up," said Aoba to nobody's surprise. Aoba fashioned herself as a journalist, always trying to get the latest scoop around the base. It didn't matter how mundane it was, she'd get it.

"How'd you get that particular piece of information?" came a smooth alto from behind them, causing everybody to jump.

Dark gray uniform, overcoat, mocha skin, glasses, yep. They got caught red-handed by Musashi.

"Um, uh, I plead the fifth?" was Aoba's shaky reply.

"We're not in the States," was Musashi's unamused response. "All of you come with me. We need to have a chat about snooping around places you shouldn't be…"

"Aww man…"

The admiral, in full dress uniform, spoke to the captain of the submarine that had been docked at her base for over a week, "I don't think I need to stress to you the importance of this mission, captain. If you succeed then this entire war will be a distant memory." Both of them were standing on the isolated dock, the submarine was loaded and ready, there were just a few more words left before this very risky mission could commence.

"Don't worry admiral, we'll get it done and be home for dinner before ya know it. You can count on us." was his very confident reply. Submarine captains had two ends of a spectrum; cocky, and conservative. There was no in-between, never. It was very obvious which end this captain fell on.

The admiral smiled.

She knew she had requested the right crew. Captain Avery Graves from Savannah Georgia was the captain of the experimental nuclear attack submarine Dartfish. He had been on twelve successful war patrols, and his crew was credited with 20 confirmed sunk Abyssal vessels. He was a very controversial captain, taking risks where other captains wouldn't, and being very aggressive when most other captains would be conservative. His crew responded very well to his leadership methods, and despite American Command's reservations he got results and he got them fast.

In her opinion he was probably the perfect man for this job.

"Alright cowboy, I'll make sure Hoshou whips up something good tonight, maybe prime rib for you and your boys? Better not miss it ya hear?

"A woman after my own heart! We'll deliver this package all nice and wrapped up with a bow. See you then, admiral." He saluted with a smile, which she returned, before he turned and walked toward his ship.

"Godspeed sailor," she whispered as he disappeared below the hatch.

They were so close, if they were right about this…

"Sonar Contacts; bearing zero-eight-four heading North; designating as Sierra 1-4. They haven't seen us yet.

"Wolfpack?"

"Affirmative. Designation; Ka-Class."

"Roger, keep an eye on them, tell me the minute we have more company or if they change course."

"Aye, sir."

Captain Graves went over the mission in his head again. The U.S.S. Dartfish would make best speed towards the Challenger Deep alone with a very new and very classified torpedo that would be remotely guided towards the target; supposedly, the home of the Abyssals. It would seem like a suicide mission to anyone else, but the Dartfish was the most modern submarine the United States Navy had at its disposal. Reverse engineering what limited technology they could, it was specifically designed to combat Abyssal submarines and fulfill its traditional role against surface vessels or Abyssal controlled islands. It was definitely a challenge.

Graves grinned.

He loved challenges, and so did his crew; the finest men he had served with in his entire career. He wasn't quite sure what he would do in peacetime, but he was excited nonetheless. Everybody on the Dartfish was excited, there was a certain energy present. Everybody onboard knew the risks, but everybody also knew what they were here to do. For the next day or so it would be quiet, avoiding patrols and just making their merry way to the deepest part of the known ocean.

He didn't even want to know what that torpedo would do. All he really knew was that it was new, it was high-tech, and the explosion would be very big.

It went like that for roughly a day and a half.

Travel at best speed to their target,

Discover Abyssal contacts on sonar,

Lay low, or send out a decoy if the Abyssals got too close,

Travel at best speed,

Discover radar contacts,

Lay low,

Rinse, repeat.

Nobody faltered though, everyone did their job marvelously. And now, it was time.

"Sonar Contacts, too many to count! All Abyssal."

"So this is their home then…" Graves murmured. "Man Battlestations!" He yelled.

"Aye-aye," the comms officer responded before speaking into the PA system, "General Quarters! General Quarters! All hands man your battlestations! Repeat, General Quarters…"

He continued and all throughout the submarine the klaxons blared. The lights suddenly shut off and turned red, and the command center became a hive of activity.

"Make tube 1 ready!" He ordered.

"Make tube 1 ready in all respects!" The comms officer relayed to the front of the ship.

At the front of the ship the weapons officer heard the order. "Make tube 1 ready in all respects," he relayed to the crew.

The sailors opened the hatch, "make tube 1 ready aye," the new torpedo rotated until it was horizontal and the crew guided it into its tube before closing the hatch and locking it.

"Flood down tube one."

"Flood down tube one aye!"

There was a brief rumble as a section of the ship opened and the torpedo tube was filled with water.

"Type one ready and armed!" The crew member said, making the weapons officer relay the same into his radio.

"Tube one ready and armed!" Relayed the weapons officer in the command center.

From there it was a flurry of orders and responses.

"Bearing!?" Graves shouted.

"One-nine-eight degrees."

"Match bearing."

"Bearing matched, aye."

"Our depth?"

"One-nine-thousand"

"Set guidance depth to three-three-thousand before manual guidance is armed."

"Guidance depth set to three-three-thousand."

The tension was high, everyone was waiting for the moment.

"Mark time." Behind him he heard the click of a stopwatch and the press of a digital clock.

"Tube one, fire!"

The weapons officer punched the button to fire and the ship shuddered. The torpedo shot from its tube, sharply descending before disappearing into the void.

"Set signal receiver."

"Signal receiver set, torpedo signal captured! Two-two-thousand… Two-four-thousand…" the officer kept going until eventually a shrill ping was heard throughout the bridge.

"Signal received, manual guidance engaged. Transferring control to weapons officer."

"Copy, guide it home, son."

"Aye-aye," was the short response. It was a tense few minutes. The weapons officer reported distance and depth as the torpedo got closer and closer.

"Maximum depth reached, warhead armed. Detonation in five… four… three… two… one…"

The entire submarine shook as the pressure wave from the explosion reached them.

"Hot damn, that was beautiful! Sonar?"

"Clean, sir. We got 'em!"

"Ha! That's what I'm talking about you beautiful sons of bitches, God-knows how many Abyssals straight to the void, good work everyone!" Graves turned to the left, "helm make course for home, something tells me we're gonna have company pretty quick here! And I don't know about you but I'm hungry for dinner. Admiral's serving prime rib back home, let's get it!"

There was a resounding "aye-aye sir throughout the bridge and the captain grinned.

A war centuries in the making had just come to a screeching end.

I woke up with a scream, something was horribly, horribly wrong. For my entire life as an Abyssal Princess there was always a… presence, so to speak. A feeling, a connection, that linked every Abyssal together in some manner, and linked us to the Abyss from which we spawned from. That presence was gone, and an all-encompassing emptiness was in its place. It was wrong, cold, and painful.

I threw my door open, it was pitch black out with the moon high in the sky. My internal clock read 23:46. Usually there was a minimum night watch that patrolled the island while the main force slept. Not tonight, everybody was up and about, looks of worry and pain on their faces. Everybody felt the same thing I did, everybody wasn't a Princess. There was open weeping, cries of pain and anguish and fear. Instantly I let a wave of calm spread out from me and encompass the island, luckily it seemed to work. I still had my own connection with my fleet, it would have to suffice for now until I figured out what was happening.

I opened a channel to every ship I had on or around Wake Island, "This is the Supply Depot Princess, I want constant double patrols around Wake Island until I give the order to stop. Be ready for anything, any unidentified vessel that gets within 200 nautical miles is to be considered hostile. I will update you when I have more information. Dione, I want you in the command center ASAP, same goes for radar and communication personnel." I heard various affirmatives as I ran to my CIC. Dione was waiting, a very worried expression on her face.

"What's going on?" She nervously asked as we both entered the building. My ships were already at their stations.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." I stood at the main table as everything washed over me.

"Ma'am, it's chaos out there,"

"Clarify," I looked at my comms specialist.

"Lots of abyssal chatter, all confused. Some are saying they're under attack by other abyssals. Multiple power grabs, impromptu fleets are forming everywhere."

"Can you raise their princesses?" What kind of madness did I wake up to?

"Negative, radio's clear. It's just chaos."

"Try the Deep, there was supposed to be a meeting today between the princesses." I didn't go, I couldn't be bothered with senseless prattle and insane invasion plans anymore.

"… nothing. There's no radio signals coming from the Deep."

"Try anybody there then."

"No, you don't understand," she looked up at me, worried. "There is nothing coming from the Deep. It's totally silent."

"That… can't be right." I walked over and she handed me the radio and the headset.

"This is Wake Island, I need a sit-rep, how copy?"

Static

I tried again, "This is the Supply Depot Princess, does anybody in the Deep hear me, please respond."

Static

"What the hell is happening out there?" I muttered to myself. Never in my entire life had anything like this happened before.

"You said that you can't reach any Princess? Jellyfish? Gotou? Midway?"

She shook her head.

"To hell with this." I grabbed the mic and spoke on an open frequency, "All Abyssal Vessels, I repeat; All Abyssal Vessels, this is the Supply Depot Princess of Wake Island. I order you to halt any attacks, and to rendezvous at the nearest Abyssal Outpost or Island. The most experienced capital ships among you are the flagships until I say otherwise. Report numbers and compositions when able. Any vessels nearby Challenger Deep; go and find out what's happening, everything's silent. Report back as soon as you find something. There's something wrong, I know, but we are going to find out what. Over and out."

I gave the order for the patrols to let any Abyssals through if they were coming to Wake Island. We'd be busy pretty soon.

I looked at my friend. "Dione, I want you in the Marshals. You're my voice, take control of my ships there and make sure any approaching abyssals are made well aware that the humans are not to be harmed."

"Yes ma'am." She left as soon as I gave my order. Now I had to sort through the inevitable mess that would come my way when the reports came through.

While I waited and catalogued the impromptu fleet formations I thought about what was happening. I had no idea what on earth would be able to sever that connection, outside of some massive catastrophe. My personal field wasn't nearly big enough to cover every abyssal, only my fleet. We needed that connection up and running as soon as possible. No connection to the Abyss meant no new Abyssals either. Every loss would be irreplaceable if we fought.

"Ma'am…" my comms specialist spoke up, a tremor in her voice. "The Deep is gone."

What…

"What did you just say?" I turned an icy glare at the ship, making her flinch. "What do you mean gone?"

"The Deep is gone… nothing's there, it's been completely destroyed." Already tears were forming in her eyes. Everybody else was utterly silent, in shock.

I was too, but if I cracked then my fleet wouldn't have anybody to look to for hope. Okay… destroyed…

"How… destroyed?"

"It's as if an absolutely massive explosive went off, the entire shelf collapsed, the ocean floor is glass, most of the nearby rock formations are slag. There's nothing left within 2 miles of the supposed blast radius. Th-the Deep would've been included in that."

Another voice popped up, "that… that also means you're the highest ranking abyssal in the Pacific Ocean. If the princesses were in a meeting when whatever happened, happened…"

Nobody needed her to finish. They would all be dead, no question about it. I was the last abyssal princess in the Pacific Ocean, and the leader of my entire species… talk about a jump in rank… I couldn't focus on that yet, I needed to stabilize the disaster that was quickly developing. Damn the Battleship Princess for putting us in this mess…

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there. We need to be ready for a follow-up attack, the humans have the advantage and if they don't know about it now then they definitely will soon. If we can't get the link to the Abyss back up and running then we're doomed."

I paused for a few minutes, letting everybody carry out my orders and tallying up the reports as they came in. If a fleet was too small I had them reroute to a larger force. Right now the biggest remaining fleets were here; Wake Island, the Philippines, the Mariana Islands, and Midway. The numbers were not good. Though the number was slowly rising as more reports came in, our fleet that had once been in the thousands, was now reduced to roughly 500 combat capable ships. Japan was not the naval titan it once was, even with the majority of their World War 2 ships in the field as shipgirls. But they were all veterans. What I was terrified of was America. They still had the largest navy in the world, and their shipgirl fleet was still growing. Both nations had very close ties to this day, and if Japan called for aid to end us once and for all then there was nothing we could do. We wouldn't go quietly, but the end result would be our extinction.

I knew what I needed to do, and for once in this entire war I finally had the power and means to do it. I just despaired that the reason why happened to be the loss of nearly our entire Fleet in the Pacific. I just feared the fallout my actions would cause.

"Pompeii," I called out, "send a message to Yokosuka Japan, my exact words if you would." I could feel the stares of everybody in the room. My actions to aid Japan was common knowledge to my fleet, but I had a feeling they suspected what I was about to do.

"R-ready when you are ma'am."

-SECURE TRANSMISSION-

To: [Admiral Mato], Location: Yokosuka Naval Base

From: [Abyssal Supply-Depot Princess], Location: Wake Island, Coral Atoll

Admiral Mato,

In light of the recent terror attack on Tokyo, and the recent destruction of the Abyssal HQ in the Pacific, thousands lay dead with many more at risk from future retaliations. I propose a ceasefire between our navies for a period of one month, wherein that time we can meet at a location of your choosing to discuss an armistice, and potentially a White Peace between humanity and the Abyssal Fleet of the Pacific Ocean.

There are cries for blood on both sides of the conflict. You have enacted your vengeance, and there are calls to enact ours. If nothing is to be done, countless more will face oblivion. I implore you, let us meet to end this senseless war.

Signed: Supply Depot Princess Wake Island, Commander of the Abyssal Pacific Fleet

-END TRANSMISSION-

Admiral Mato had received the message an hour ago, and had reread it about ten times in that hour. Honestly, she was having a hard time wrapping her head around this, and all of her instincts were screaming at her not to respond and to just ignore the letter. She had literally been drafting a campaign to burn the Abyssals from the rest of their islands, to end this war once and for all. It would be bloody, and would make the American Island Hopping campaign in WWII look like a child's playdate in comparison. Large naval engagement after large naval engagement with little logistic support until they could make forward operating bases on liberated islands. All the while they would probably be hounded by retaliatory attacks from islands that didn't show up on maps or just the general bullshit Abyssals could conjure. The truth of the matter was that nobody really knew how many ships the Abyssals had left or where all of them were stationed.

The other issues were that supplying a fleet of shipgirls was very difficult and taxing on resources. The further they would push, the further they would get from mainland Japan, and from their very vulnerable supply lines. On top of that, she would also have to move around the JSDF to occupy and make facilities on liberated islands, not knowing what Abyssal land forces might be lying in wait.

She didn't even want to entertain the headache that would be the rest of the Japanese admiralty, the army, and what it would take to convince them to accept her proposals. On top of them would be HPSC wanting to be a part of it and forcing her to accommodate whatever restrictions or heroes they wanted to drop on top of her. It seemed that more often than not the Japanese Navy and the HPSC butted heads than they did help each other. All in all it was looking like the final push would be delayed indefinitely. In that time the remaining Abyssals could make any number of attacks wherever they wanted, and they would be pissed.

Then, she received the transmission.

"Nagato, be honest with me… how much stock should I put into this?" she asked, holding up the offending piece of paper. She may be the admiral, and a very good one at that, but Nagato was the first shipgirl to be summoned by Japan.

"I don't know." Nagato said with a shake of her head. She took a deep breath and released it before continuing. "I want to doubt its authenticity and its sincerity. It could be real; the Abyssals might genuinely be scared enough to stop the war, but it could also be a ploy to get you within striking distance."

"So it's a genuine attempt at peace, or it's a desperate attempt to take out a major pillar of Japanese leadership." the raven haired battleship nodded at her response. She let out a huff. "Ya know, being my secretary ship and all? I was hoping for a yes or a no."

Both of them were silent until Nagato spoke again, "The decision to respond is yours. You could hear them out, or you could continue to fight. In all the time that I've known you, you've rarely made a poor decision. I believe that whatever you choose to do, you'll make the right one now." Blood red eyes met the admiral's brown.

"No pressure, right?"

"You work well under pressure, Teitoku."

"… I can't tell if you're joking or not."

-SECURE TRANSMISSION-

To: [Abyssal Supply-Depot Princess], Location: Wake Island, Coral Atoll

From: [Admiral Mato], Location: Yokosuka Naval Base

Supply Depot Princess,

Though your transmission came as a great surprise I am more than happy to accept a ceasefire between our navies for the time of one month. I also accept your proposition of a meeting. In two week's time, we shall both meet at the Japanese island of Nabu, where you helped to broker the first peaceful meeting of our navies. You will be permitted to bring one escort of your choosing, and upon our meeting, we shall endeavor to lay out the terms for an armistice.

Peace between humanity and the Abyssals will be difficult, and will most likely be done with the civil administration as well as the military, but we can, both of us, endeavor to make peace on the waves.

-END TRANSMISSION-

Two Weeks Later

I had done it. I had finally secured a chance at peace between Humanity and Abyssals. I had my foot in the door and there was very little anyone could do to shut it out. I happily send back a transmission accepting the location and the terms.

Nabu Island? I'd be there.

One escort of my choosing? Dione.

I wasn't worried about Wake or the Marshalls. Even, as much as thinking about it pained me, even without Indiana there were capital ships that were more than competent to operate in my stead. Arcania, Hippocampus, Leviathan, all thought the same as I did. Plus, there wasn't anyone I would rather have by my side for this than Dione.

When I could just make out the shape of Nabu Island, Dione and I picked up aircraft on our radar. I nodded at my friend and the CAP we did have up quickly landed to make way for Japanese Zero's and Reppu's. Part of the agreement was our relinquishment of CAP, which would be provided by the Japanese. If it meant peace, I would endure former enemy aircraft circling overhead. The entire way there I was nervous, excited, and a myriad of other emotions I couldn't keep up with. We didn't talk much, both of us were nervous, but when we did we threw around ideas of what the armistice would entail. We traded possibilities until we saw our escort for the day.

Two battleships, or maybe battlecruisers, came out as a vanguard with about a dozen ships scattered about. We had all of the present eyes on us, some with expected and understandable hatred, some with expected curiosity, and most confusingly; one look of excitement from the two battleships meeting us. Both of them wore shrine maiden dresses with plaid skirts and stockings. I counted eight dual-barreled main batteries with two turrets on eigh side. Both ships were sisters. The one on the right had medium length grey-brown hair and glasses, and the one that was looking as us with excitement had long brown hair with two buns on the sides of her head. Dione and I stopped a respectable distance, guns cold and raised.

"Welcome to Nabu Island! You must be the Supply Depot Princess, dess." the brown haired battleship greeted, radiating positivity. "I'm Kongou, and this is Kirishima," the other battleship gave a respectful bow when introduced. "We're going to be your escorts for the day, dess!" If the battleship, Kongou, was miffed at escorting an Abyssal around for the day she didn't show it. Even Kirishima didn't look offended.

"You guessed right, I'm Wake Island, the Supply Depot Princess. This," I gestured to Dione, "is my second in command, Dione. We're glad to have you as our escorts for the day." I forced a smile on my face, and apparently it still showed how tense I was.

"You have nothing to worry about, dess! The ceasefire is still in effect so no one will hurt you here. Besides, nobody can stop the power of Kongou's burning love!" she reassured with a fist pump. Kirishima looked amused, Dione and I looked flabbergasted.

"O-okay then! Lead on then, Kongou."

The two battleships led us towards the island and onto the pier, where in flashes of light their rigging disappeared from view. Both of us leaped up and did the same. My gauntlets disappeared and Dione's helmet vanished as well. When we were ready Kongou led us up the island and towards a medium sized white building. All the while she filled the air with animated conversation that we sometimes had chances to respond to. Kirishima did a good job translating, and we answered basic questions about the war and the two political factions that had formed.

"It was split nearly 50/50. At that point in the war many of us, myself included were wondering why it was still going on." I explained. Our escort paused, taken aback.

"I thought the Abyssal's goal was to destroy humanity?" asked Kirishima.

I took a breath, "it was, but humanity... changed. All of the humans that caused us to appear are dead. The main reasons why we fought are no longer issues. The humans today are not responsible for the sins of their forefathers. Unfortunately... not everybody saw it that way."

We continued walking, Kongou was completely enraptured by our tale. Dione continued for me, "The Battleship Princess, the most powerful ship on the planet, was hellbent on continuing the old ways. She had followers, and everybody was too afraid to stand up to her. I tried to foil her where I could, but it wasn't enough."

"Tokyo," Kongou guessed, I nodded.

By that point we were at the building, our escort led us inside and into a rather large room. In the room there was a large table with two chairs on each side, in two sat a woman who I could only assume to be the admiral, and a raven haired battleship. Kongou gave me a smile and both her and Kirishima stepped out of the room. Dione and I looked at each other before taking the two seats. All of my nerves returned as the admiral gave me a hard look.

"So, you wanted to discuss an armistice. Let's talk."

I'm Baaaack~

A lot sooner than expected as well!

Poor Mariana, she just can't catch a break, can she? First her friend dies, now she's the leader of a crippled navy. And NOW, she has to negotiate peace!

Some familiar faces here, from the Kantai Collection side, but don't worry! More very familiar faces will be showing up soon. Big, big plans coming up and they're getting closer and closer.

My health is getting better as well. Not great, I still have a long recovery, but it's getting there. I got this out sooner than expected and hopefully I'll get the next one out soon as well. Unfortunately I have tests and projects for college to do as well, and they're not as fun as this. XD

I love all of you guys, and I'll see you soon~