Sink With Honour

A/N:

This assumes Harekaze did not sink after the ship returned to harbour after the Battle with Musashi

"Have you heard about the Harekaze?" asked Kaede. She, along with the rest of her graduating class, were awaiting their first assignments as Blue Mermaids after graduating from their Marine High School – though some of them would be joining the Navy instead.

"They're going to turn it into a museum I thought" Akeno remarked.

"No… After the graduating ceremony this evening, they are going to sell it to a scrapyard for the parts and metal"

"But they can't… Mother promised it would be made into a museum to tell people about what we had done" Mashiro said, setting her tea on the table in front of her. "Captain, we can't let it happen"

"I agree, but we can't steal it and none of us has the money to buy it off the school"

"Why don't we steal it?" shrugged Mashiro, "I mean at least for a little while – let us give it an honourable retirement"

"She's right – if a ship like the Harekaze can't go down fighting, lets take it into deep waters and scuttle it with the flags flying" Kouko added.

"I'd rather see my girl at the bottom of the sea then cut up like nothing" Maron spoke up from the back of the room where they'd been helping Mashiro to pack away her things. Everyone in the room turned to look at Akeno as if expecting her to find a way out of the situation, but she shook her head sadly.

"If we do this, we have to go now… It also means being thrown out of the school at the last moment and not being allowed to become Blue Mermaids" Akeno cautioned her classmates.

"I have always wanted to become a Blue Mermaid, but my honour and duty to the ship comes first" Kaede spoke in her normally cultured and polite tone. "I say we take it into deep waters and leave the ensigns flying and lights on"

"Right" Akeno said, jumping to her feet, "Lets do this – no time for us to gather anyone else"

"If Kaede can help me start the engines, I can get us going" Maron said, putting on her jacket for what she guessed would be the last time.

"Captain, Shiro and I can cut loose the lines if you steer" Mikran said.

"Good… Somebody phone Rin and get her down to the docks" Akeno said as she grabbed her Captain's hat.

"Captain, we do not have the time…" Mashiro shook her head. "We have to go with the people we have now"

# # # # #

"Engine Room, Bridge"

"Maron"

"All engines ahead flank – we should get into deep water as quickly as possible. Sonar?"

"Kaede"

"Deepest part of the ocean closest to us in twenty minutes?" Akeno watched as Shiro and Mikran came running up to the Bridge.

"Samurai Abyss – bearing 143… Its about fifteen minutes away at flank speed"

"Shiro, take the wheel – steer 143. Mikran, go into every cabin and compartment – make sure every porthole is opened. Kouko, get up to the deck and prepare the Skipper for launch"

"Captain, signal coming in over the radio on the emergency channels" Shiro had picked up a radio telephone. "It is from my mother… She orders you to surrender this vessel"

"Make no reply"

"Aye"

"Maron, emergency speed on both engines – engines to maximum output"

"Mikran reporting from aft cargo room – task complete"

"Very good – get up to the deck and help get the Skipper ready for launching"

"Engine Room to Bridge – I have armed the scuttling charges"

"Right" Akeno felt the small device that Maron had given her. "Maron, can you reverse the pumps so they suck in water?"

"I'm on it"

# # # # #

"Bridge, we're coming up on the Samurai Abyss" Kaede said.

"Acknowledged – call out when we're over the deepest part"

"Steer 145"

"Shiro?"

"Steering 145" Mashiro spun the wheel a little and adjusted the heading.

"Hey, guys, there's a Blue Mermaid ship coming up from astern" Kouko said as she came onto the Bridge.

"Damn" Akeno muttered. "How far?"

"Not that long"

"Very well… Shiro, you are relieved of duty. Go with Kouko and prepare to abandon ship"

"I am relieved… Aye, Aye, Ma'am" Mashiro saluted Akeno who just nodded before heading away with Kouko.

"We're over the deepest part now" Kaede called up.

"Very good – Kaede, you are relieved of duty. Go to the deck and prepare to abandon ship"

"Aye, Aye"

"Maron, all back full"

"All back full" and the Harekaze's bow dipped heavily into the water as it was forcibly brought to a halt.

"Stop both engines"

"Stop both engines… Both engines stopped"

"Start the pumps"

"Done"

"Maron, I relieve you of duty – get to the boat deck and prepare to abandon ship"

"Aye, Aye… Hope you don't plan to go down with your ship"

"Not that much of a traditionalist… Get going" Akeno ordered. She was left alone with the humming of equipment still running. The girl thought about switching it off, but eventually decided against doing it and walked over to the forward bulkhead and switched on all of the running lights and searchlights were set to point straight upwards.

"Attention, Harekaze, this is the Blue Mermaid vessel Tojo – you are ordered to surrender and prepare to be boarded"

"That'll be the day" Akeno smirked. She palmed the small device that Maron had given her an hour before and thumbed the switch – instantly, she heard a deafening roar of multiple explosions as the scuttling charges detonated and blew the bottom out of the Harekaze. Due to the amounts of water already flooding in because of the reversed pumps, Akeno could already feel the ship start to settle. Almost instantly, the Tojo started to fire a few rounds at them – slamming their main batteries into the Harekaze's hull. "Shiro, get going…" she made her decision, "I'll use the other skipper"

"Okay" and Akeno quickly saw the port skipper lower onto the surface of the water and power away. Making peace with herself and her soul, she rushed down to the forward turret and entered it – selecting training rounds from the ammo in the ready use locker. Turning the turret and aiming for a point on the bows of the Tojo, she set the thing to fire until it could no longer do so. The Harekaze was already creaking by this point, so she quickly made her way to the starboard skipper and boarded it – zooming away to join the waiting others as the Harekaze continued to fire training rounds at the Tojo. They watched as she kept firing even as she slipped slowly beneath the waves – going down with her lights blazing, flags flying and firing at her enemies even at the point of death.

"Attention!" Mashiro found her voice as the group braced and saluted where their ship had gone to its final resting place.

#

They ignored the Tojo's demands for them to motor over and surrender, preferring to zoom off back to harbour and face punishment. As expected, Mashiro's mother was waiting for them to arrive and promptly expelled them from the school except for her daughter who she told she would try to cover up the fact she was amongst those that stole and sank the Harekaze. Mashiro's response was, unexpectedly blunt and straight to the point to her mother – somebody she had always respected and looked up to.

"I quit… When you want to scrap a ship that has served with honour and saved not just a few lives, but the lives of the nation…" Mashiro removed the chain that draped over her shoulder and threw it at her mother's feet. "I don't want to serve and train at your school"

"Mashiro, you will do as I tell you"

"No… Not any more – I stand with my Captain"