What does it mean to be lonely?
Now, a response you might get is that it means to feel "𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥" from everyone else or feel "𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥" from society.
You could also get the response of not "𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯" with today's standards.
There's no true definition, only a matter of perspective.
But what if true loneliness is knowing that you are the only one of your kind left in the entire world? That there is no one else like you left and no one to talk to? To have a shoulder to lean on? To feel loved and cared for?
Now that is true loneliness.
That is the loneliness Vestal feels.
What could've caused the situation she finds herself in? Could it perhaps be the sirens?
But even if the Sirens were the most probable cause of it. Did they even possess the technology capable of doing something like this? It felt like some sort of an apocalypse scenario. Vestal was unsure whether or not it was.
There was no one else besides her. No matter how far she would travel, the ocean stretched as far and wide as her brain could process. No land was in sight and it didn't do much to calm the nauseous feeling in her stomach.
475 days.
That's how many days she's been stuck in this infinite ocean abyss. 475 days of loneliness. No social contact. No engagement with any sirens. Nothing.
She was aware of how it was slowly eating away at her. Sometimes she'd write down her thoughts in journal logs, but that's beginning to become a way to vent out the stress from her situation.
There are some days she would feel something budge against the hull of her ship. It wasn't much to rock it violently, but enough to get her attention. She brushed it off as the waves went against it.
These aren't waves.
The waves don't make dents.
DAY 0
Vestal.
One of the many ships of the Eagle Union. A special case, being the only repair ship for Azur Lane beside the greedy Akashi. If there was one thing everyone on base could be thankful for, it was that they had someone like her. Positive, bright, cheerful, and even motherly, she's the one you can always look to for physical and mental help.
Vestal looked through the windows of her bridge to find a woman standing at the bow of her ship. She was gazing out into the nearby gentle waves of the blue ocean, distinct silver hair flowing gently with the wind.
Taking a deep breath, Vestal made her way over to her after a bit of walking and stood next to her, taking in the gentle wind as well.
"Doesn't it feel nice?" Vestal asked.
The woman simply took notice of her presence, shrugged, and replied:
"It's... calming. To say the least."
"Well, that's good to hear."
"Taking account our situation I might as well try to be positive. Speaking of our situation, have you established radio contact?"
Vestal frowned. "No luck still. It's all static on my end."
"Hah... we need to get in contact with the base soon. They're probably worried about us." she sighed.
"Don't worry, Enterprise," Vestal comforted. "I don't think they'll worry much about us being late."
The now named woman shared a glance with the repair ship before it fell into an awkward silence. Vestal chose to end it by standing upright and walking away from Enterprise.
"I think I should get back to fixing my radio. Can you," she paused, turning to face her back. "Can you send out a recon plane for us?"
"Sure."
Quick with no hesitation. Not even bothering to look back at her as well. Unbelievable, Vestal thought, even in a situation like this she wants to be alone.
"I have some bad news."
"Still no radio contract?" Enterprise guessed.
"Yes. But there's something else alarming," Vestal said. "Radar isn't picking up anything. What's worse is that my compass isn't working at all, it's pointing in everything direction."
Enterprise knew she was holding back something even bigger. "Is there something else you found?"
"It's... It's going to be our biggest concern."
Vestal sounded worried. She didn't like that tone.
"What is it?"
"Okay so before the storm we were two and a half hours away from the base, right?"
"Right."
"We've been sailing in the same direction to base for four hours now."
The silence was deafening in the room. Enterprise hadn't made any movement since Vestal said that, but the repair ship could see the confusion in her eyes.
"You're not joking, are you?" she slowly asked.
"I wish I wasn't, but I'm serious," said Vestal. "On a related note, has your recon plane returned?"
The carrier shook her head, lips contorting into a deep frown. "No, it's been an hour and I'm starting to think something bad happened to it. I'll send—"
"Don't send another plane," Vestal cut her off. "We should spare our resources and use them carefully. Who knows how long we'll be out here."
Vestal's words held some truth to them. Neither had any idea how long this would last, nor how much food and water they had. They would need to be smart, ration the supplies, and only use their riggings and weapons if necessary against anything. Be it friendly or foe here, they couldn't let their guard down.
The clock chimed faintly as the two girls turned to it.
9:58 PM, it tells, three hours before midnight.
"It's getting dark outside. We should get some rest." Vestal suggested.
"I agree." nodded Enterprise.
Both shipgirls looked at each other for a few seconds before uttering 'goodnights' to each other, with Vestal heading to her ship's captain's quarters and Enterprise to one of the many berths in the clustered sleeping quarters.
NIGHT 1
She wasn't a stranger to restless nights. She won't deny it's not her first time having one but this was a whole different type of thing. Even on those nights, she would eventually sleep after tossing and turning in her bed.
She couldn't sleep this time. No matter how hard she tries.
Vestal, despite the guilt, hoped Enterprise was also in her predicament. As bad as it sounds to hope that, it made her not feel alone. Unfortunately, the carrier is a heavy sleeper and could be knocked out for all she knows.
So there she lay, face up staring at the ceiling, filled with paranoia and fear. The deafening silence and darkness only amplified it as she heard it again.
Distant but shrill, a sharp stab to her ears before falling into a faint, painful whine. It made the hairs on her neck stand on end. At that moment, she had dreadful thought.
They weren't alone.
DAY 1
Enterprise's eyes fluttered open. The rays of sunshine hit her face as she sat upright on the bed. It was the first time she had slept as peacefully as this, despite their predicament.
After a usual morning routine, she flapped her black coat and exited the sleeping quarters to the canteen. Enterprise knew Vestal's ship as much as she knew hers so getting to the canteen wasn't much of a problem to her, what was is the sight of a sleep-deprived Vestal in there.
"Vestal...?" she called out.
"Huh? Oh, good morning, Enterprise," her voice was low and croaked. "How was your sleep?"
"It was good," she said. "Did you get any? You look sleep deprived now."
"I got some."
"Oh..."
"Ten minutes of it."
That was concerning. The way she said it nonchalantly didn't help it either. Enterprise wondered what had kept Vestal up all night, it could be because of what's been happening but a day hasn't passed. She knew Vestal was a strong girl and wouldn't break this easily, so what had kept her up?
"Are you okay? That's not enough sleep." she asked her.
"Yes, yes." she answered without hesitation.
"I can cover for you," Enterprise explained. "Get some sleep and I'll stay on the lookout for anything. I'll wake you up if it's an emergency."
"No, I'm fine, just..."
"I'm not asking, Vestal."
Her voice was sharp and authoritative, one which Vestal rarely hears from the carrier. As much as her mind told her to persist, and as much as she wants to run her mouth, she ultimately gave in to her requests. Orders at this point.
She walked out of the canteen and down the halls, not before sparing a tired glance at Enterprise. She didn't want to worry her, but if getting rest would get her in a better mood, then it was probably for the best.
Now back in bed, she turned to her side, gazing hard at the porthole in the room before turning around and rolling the covers over her.
With the deprivation of sleep, Vestal let herself succumb to warmth as she drifted into a much needed sleep.