Chapter 11
Two figures sat on a bed in a dorm room. A crescent moon cloaked in clouds dawned from the room's window. The yard outside was completely dark, if you did not count some moving light sources that sporadically moved in the dark. It was possible to distinguish the outlines of the other buildings, but not much more. The bombings had destroyed the generators, so there was no electricity.
The two figures sat in silence. The atmosphere was melancholic and tired. Talking was unnecessary anyways, but just sitting in silence was not enough for one of them.
-"You have never told me about your home."
-"Yeah… I don't think I have."
-"Well?... Will you tell me or not?"
-"What do you want to know?"
The other one adjusted seating, sighed and said:
"Anything. If you don't want to talk about your family, tell me about your youth or about the area where you are from."
Sanders grunted. He leaned against his knees and stared at the flickering flame of the oil lamp:
"Where should I even begin?... Uh, in school I won a medal from a running contest."
-"Really?"
-"Yeah…"
-"…"
-"…"
-"Talking about yourself is hard for you, huh?"
-"Heh, I guess so."
-"Mm, I have noticed… Do you have any siblings?"
-"Yeah, four… Or I had. Two of them were killed in action during the two first years of this war."
-"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to- "
-"It's okay. You didn't know…" Sanders waved his hand.
Atlanta poured more brown liquid into their glasses and Sanders drank.
"I was the firstborn. I had two little brothers and sister. The second oldest was Alice. She was in the navy. Then there was Leonard who was the middle one. He died first. Maybe half a year after the war started, I don't remember… The two younger David and Anna are both under sixteen, hopefully they won't leave for the military. I doubt it. Dad won't let David go and Anna doesn't seem interested, thank god."
-"Like I said, I'm sorry."
-"Thanks."
-"What about you parents? How have they reacted you being here?"
-"Dad was against it especially after what happened to Leo and Alice… But nowadays I don't know. What about you? Do you have family?"
Atlanta chuckled and poured again. She looked at the liquid in her glass and swirled it along the edges of the glass. She lifted it to her lips. It burned her throat as it made its way down, but it was nice.
-"Yeah, I have. I have four sisters, but none of them are here right now. Maybe I should be glad that they weren't here, but I miss them. Oh, this room seems so much colder and foreign when I'm the only one here." Atlanta said and watched the three-story bunk beds.
-"Well, where are they?"
-"Juneau and Juan are in NY City and Sandy and Reno are in Liverpool. I don't know why I wasn't sent with them, so here I am."
-"Mm… Are you close?"
-"Yeah, we are."
On the other side of the door, from the hallway they heard singing and music. They didn't hear much about it, the door and the walls muffled it too much. Some words they recognized here and there.
"- - I don't… set… on fire… I just… a flame… your heart… - -"
Sanders stared at the oil lamp. It was as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. He began to hum with the song even though he didn't know the lyrics at all. Atlanta looked at him. It was clear that the whiskey was starting to take effect on him, but Atlanta felt nothing yet. After all, Ship-Girls tolerated alcohol much better than ordinary people.
"Do you listen to a lot of music?" She asked him and sipped her drink.
Sanders' head wobbled. He clearly had difficulties focusing his attention on her, but after a moment of silence he firmly said:
"I knew a man." He paused dramatically. "In dances he sang well."
-"In dances? Have you danced a lot then?"
His head wobbled again, but now he was clearly interested, and he answered:
"A few times. I used to. At least when I was young. "
-"Aren't you anymore then?" Atlanta asked him. He didn't look very old to her at least.
-"I don't know. If-if you think a man in his t-"
The room's door opened with a bang. At the door stood Phoenix, Hornet, and some Royal Navy girl.
-"Oh Sorry. Are we- Are we interrupting something?" Hornet giggled.
Atlanta blushed but managed to compose herself and said:
"Not at all. Is- is something wrong?"
-"No, no, no… Well, actu-actually yes. Come to the lounge, we have music there and let's have fun!"
They didn't have time to resist when they were dragged out of the room. They were led into the lounge and seated on a bench.
The room was dimly lit and there were no windows. Looking from the corridor two right side walls were dark green and left ones' brown. The room was in the corner of the building and had to be traversed through if you wished to go to the dorm rooms that were not close to the front door. The floor was again dark wood like the corridors and there were many sofas and padded benches along the edges of the room. In the middle, there were a few sofas, armchairs and tables. There was a bar counter on one of the green walls and empty shelf behind it. Tables and chairs had been moved in front of the counter.
"Good evening!" Someone said. "You weren't left alone either, huh?" Pennsylvania gave a laugh next to them.
-"Yeah, no we weren't." Atlanta chuckled and noticed empty bottles in Penny's feet.
-"Well, it's not boring out here, that's for sure." Penny said. Her speech slurred at bit.
More lamps were lit and now they recognized the people around them. There were the same people who had gathered with them a long time ago to drink. There were many Royal Navy girls too, probably because they all needed company and strong drinks right now. Penny offered a bottle and Sanders took it. It didn't take long before Atlanta and Phoenix excused themselves and went to look for Helena.
Someone had a record player with them. It wasn't the same as the Captain Hill's men had with them. Yorktown, Hornet, and Arizona were looking at the records and chose one.
-"Isn't that from that one film?"
-"Yeah, Follow the Fleet."
-"Well, come on, put it on!"
-"You sure?"
-"Absolutely! And start with that one."
They talked about everything. Everything you could squeeze a conversation out of sufficed. Even the worst jokes got laughs and the sense of camaraderie was high.
-"Why aren't you drinking with the other officers? They should have expensive drinks there." Pennsylvania asked Sanders.
-"There isn't this much to drink there."
-"You don't enjoy being with them, do you?"
-"Perhaps."
Many faces were already starting to turn red, and Penny asked Sanders:
"Have you been fighting for long?"
-"From the beginning… Or well, I was away for a while when they put me into the specialized training program."
-"How long were you deployed before they put you into that?"
-"About half a year."
Bottles after bottles were emptied. At times, they began to sing badly with the song, and many tried to repeat the lyrics of the songs without knowing them. When the drinks ran out and some of them were sent to pick up some more, it was agreed to drink in honor of their victory, and when the new drinks came, the victory had already been forgotten again.
-"It's strong. I'm starting to feel it."
Rocking her head from side-to-side some Royal Navy girl began to declare:
"Hahaa… Listen everyone… I am the best speaker there is. We are the defenders of the world. We haven't wanted any bad things to anyone so everyone could build their houses and live-in peace! Ha-haa! There is a happy land, far, far away! Where saints in glory stand, bright, bright as day!"
Sanders and Pennsylvania were similar. Neither of them talked much. They just looked others and drank alternately from the same bottle.
After swaying on her seat for a moment, Hornet yelled:
"Yorky, play that one song that went like: 'Nananaa, we joined the navy to see the girls and what did we seeee? We saw the seaaaa!' Play that! I'll dance."
And 'Yorkie' played, and Hornet danced. Hornet danced, strangely trying to mimic dance moves she had seen. Pennsylvania and Sanders sat side by side, leaning against each other, holding each other's shoulders and sang poorly with the song. They were already wasted. It was great to watch Hornet dance. Her coat and ponytails waved behind her as she spun. Her hat flew off her head and someone grabbed it and put it on themselves. Hornet spun faster and faster before she lost her balance and fell on Arizona who was sitting near her.
-"S-Sorry." Hornet said as she stood up with shaky legs.
-"You can't stand on your own anymore. Here, hold on to me." Arizona said. She got up and put her hand on Hornet's hips. Together they began to dance something like waltz, but faster and only spinning. Many other joined them and waltz was danced to a song that was not meant for it. Soon the room was full of hustle and bustle and dancing drunken people.
Sanders and Penny stood up too, still holding on to each other. Their singing didn't end, and they turned their hold turned into some kind of a hug while they tried to dance with the others.
So, the feast continued until the drinks ran completely out. They played recordings and sang with the songs. Sanders and Pennsylvania had sung with the song that was about the seas and the girls, but they didn't sing with many other songs. They didn't know of most of the other songs. All the more, they attentively, leaning against each other, listened to the others sing, as if there was something important in the gibberish.
-"Girls, that shoo, shoo, and seven seas."
An awful, disorganized clamor echoed through the building:
"Shoo, shoo, shoooooo, baby
Bye, bye, byeeeee, baby
Do dah do daayyyyy
Your papa's off to seven seaaass…"
Their clamor echoed through the building and mixed up with the song.
Pennsylvania looked at Sanders. His attention was entirely focused on the dancing Hornet and Arizona. Penny spoke, her hand waving in front of Sanders' face, palm up:
-"You don't keep your medal with you?"
-"Which one?" Sanders asked and turned his attention Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania giggled and waved her hand:
"That one you got for destroying the bunker."
Sanders looked at her and leaned forward and grabbed a hold of her jacket to see better:
"You did it, not me. Besides, you aren't wearing yours either."
Pennsylvania grabbed a hold of his wrist that was accidentally touching her a bit too much:
"Didn't I tell you to stop looking at me with your hungry eyes?" A smile creeped up her face.
-"Well, what can I do? You never wear your jacket fully closed… Can you even close it? It seems to be too tight around here." He said and patted her chest with his free hand.
Pennsylvania grabbed his other wrist and, but at the same time she had to let go of the edge of the bench from which she had supported herself.
Penny leaned against Sanders and they fell backwards. Sanders tried to take the impact with his hands, but because his wrists were in Penny's firm grip, he pulled her on top of himself. That is where they laid. Pennsylvania adjusted her position on top of him and let go of his wrists, clearly not in a hurry to get up.
His head spun now that he was laying down. He felt really nauseous if he closed his eyes, so looking around was his only option. However, it was prevented by Pennsylvania who was now lying on top of him. With his glossy eyes he looked at her, as she pushed her hair away from her face.
-"When did you get this scar?" Sanders asked and traced her cheek with his fingers.
-"While sortieing. Bastard bruised me. I didn't even feel it. Happened weeks ago, but the scar remains."
-"Got hit anywhere else?"
-"Not that time, but I have scars elsewhere as well. On my right upper thigh and lower stomach. How- how about you?"
-"None. I've been fortunate enough not to get any."
That's when somebody bend over them, grinned and said slurring:
-"Don't say that! Chicks dig scars, ya know?"
The light dazzled his eyes, but he recognized the speaker.
-"Yeah, that's what they say. Don't know for sure though."
Pennsylvania turned to her side to see the one who loomed over them:
-"Depends on the individual. I don't care too much. How about you, Hornet?"
Hornet giggled and sat on the floor next to them and fumbled for some almost empty bottles. After getting one in her hands and the cap open, she gulped it down in one swig:
"Ahh! Naw, I don't care either. Or well, depends on where they are… Anyways, you weren't patient enough to find a room, huh?" She giggled.
-"That's right. I was so incredibly lustful and didn't want to wait." Pennsylvania said with a smug grin.
Someone sat down on the other side of Hornet and said while being out of breath:
"Phew, that was fun! Wanna go again?"
Hornet giggled and looked at Arizona who had sat down without seeing the two laying on the ground. She watched her for a moment as if waiting for Arizona to notice the two by herself, but when that didn't happen, she leaned slightly back so Arizona could see Pennsylvania properly.
-"Oh my god, Penny! Are you okay?"
-"Yup, just fine."
-"Oh we need to get you up."
-"Just a bit longer!" Penny objected.
When Arizona and Hornet tried to help her up, she clinged to Sanders tightly, but after struggling for a bit, the two managed to separate them. Hornet helped Sanders up and Arizona scolded Penny:
"Good heavens! This if why you shouldn't drink.".
-"But it's fuun!"
Things had calmed down. Yorktown and some Royal Navy ladies were sitting and chatting around the record player as if they hadn't been affected by the drinks at all. Pennsylvania, Hornet and Arizona were checking out the recordings to keep Penny from doing anything reckless and Sanders started to wobble towards the front door.
-"Sanders, where are you heading off to?" Yorktown yelled.
-"To Jericho."
Sanders walked unsteadily, following the corridor, without his belt, his hat, and his jacket open. Someone tried to call him back, but he probably didn't hear them anymore and staggered out of the door. Wobbling, he stopped on his path and stared with his blue eyes towards the ocean and belted out:
-"We joined the navyyy to see the giirlss!"
XXX
A group of senior officers and the admiral herself had gathered in the main building, which had taken minor damage. It was the most suitable place for them to celebrate in, as there was a decent size meeting room. Another company had arrived at the base later to secure it and of course its captain and a few officers were present as well. Everyone was senselessly wasted. Everyone, expect some of the ship girls who watched the officers from the sidelines. Allen was also present. He had left his company with one of the platoon leaders and was now celebrating with the others. He had drunk a lot and spoke with the others:
"I support a bold attack. The enemy should not be given a chance to take any land for themselves. We all know what happened to that island. We must not show any weakness to them. On the outside, we must be like stone or steel. That's the only way to make some sense to this… When nothing was done, they became arrogant and attacked where they pleased. Here for an example. That cannot be allowed to happen again."
Smith tried to talk with the Ship-Girls and seemed to be sincerely interested in them. The girls talked to her eagerly, as she was the only female officers aside from the admiral herself present. She swayed on her seat as she talked with the girls.
-"Yeah and some of us have animal ears too. Mostly the Sakura Empire girls, but there are some of us that have them too."
-"Naww, you're kidding me!"
-"No, It's true."
-"Why? Do- do they work like normal ears or just for the looks?"
-"That's a good question… I've never asked about that. I guess they work."
-"Yes… Yes, you are interesting beings indeed."
She got up and started to make her way towards the door. At the other end of the room, Admiral Reed noticed this and said to Washington:
"Just- Just make sure she'll be okay, will ya?"
-"Okay."
Smith stepped out of the meeting room and into the lobby. Her intention was to go outside and get some fresh air. She walked towards the front door and sat in a chair next to it. She sat down for a moment, but when she saw Sanders making his way towards the building, she opened the door for him. She was surprised when Sanders suddenly said belligerently:
-"You don't need to open the damn door for me."
-"May- maybe, but its polite."
Sanders' behavior felt strange because he had always been so tactful when speaking. For a moment Sanders eyed her up before saying:
-"Yeah yeah…"
And he stepped past her, swaying towards the meeting room. His hair fuzzy, jacket open, and wobbling he stepped in the middle of the room and said:
"Good day!"
Others did not care about his arrival, but Allen exclaimed:
-"Hey there old chap! Where have you been? Well, you are here now. Where can we get a cup for you? Here, use my cup for now."
Sanders emptied Allen's cup and sat down on the bench next to the table. He looked at the others without saying anything and his cup was filled again.
A lieutenant of the new company hadn't stopped speaking:
"If we compare the morale of these KANSEN with that of ordinary soldiers, we see a big difference. They are much more willing to sacrifice themselves in a battle than an ordinary soldier, but they still lack military discipline, and it hurts the results. It needs to be the most important thing to whip these 'things' into a real organized part of the military so no problems arise in the future. They are being pampered too much. There is no room for that in the military."
Sanders stared at the lieutenant sitting next to him without blinking. The man continued but when he noticed Sanders' piercing gaze, his voice lost confidence in the front of that unblinking stare. In the end, he had to quit speaking altogether.
Suddenly Sanders said:
"Saddle-goose."
-"What?" The lieutenant asked in an uncertain and forced voice.
Sanders didn't reply to him and continued in that abrupt tone:
"Harecop, gnashgab, yaldson."
The man lost his confidence and got angry:
-"The fuck do you want?" The man stood up.
-"That you stop talking shit."
Allen noticed Sanders' aggression and tried to offer him a drink, but Sanders just slammed his hand aside and stood up.
-"Do you have something to say?" the lieutenant said getting more and more angry.
Sanders placed his hand on the man's shoulder, taking support from it and slowly began to sing:
"My name is Jack Jintle, the eldest but one,"
Sanders sang and the pace picked up. He hissed:
"And all the fine ladies come dancing along."
On the last syllable, his grip on the man tightened and he whacked the lieutenant. The lieutenant collapsed unconscious to the ground and a glass that was in his hand flew into the corner. The others immediately tried to restrain Sanders. Captain Hill tried to grab a hold of Sanders' left arm but he flew against the wall.
-"Come on!"
-"Sanders calm down!"
Allen tried to calm Sanders, but Sanders didn't even recognize him anymore. The lieutenant woke up and began to spit out blood. A man behind Sanders got a hold of him and so did the others.
-"He needs to be tied up." Admiral Reed said. She, too, had gotten up when she noticed the strangeness of Sanders' behavior.
They managed to knock Sanders over. Four or five men were laying on him, but he fought back like a bear. At last, they managed to tie him up with the help of the Ship-Girls and so he was helpless.
-"I won't give up god damn it… I won't give up."
Next to him, panting, Smith said:
"How fucking strong can a man be?"
She had returned to the meeting room after she heard the song and helped the others to tie Sanders up.
-"He should be taken to bed immediately. Washington and I will take him." Reed said.
No one argued against it, but Allen and Smith went along to reassure Sanders on the way. Headfirst he was carried. Washington gripped a belt with which Sanders' upper body was tied and carried him like an oversized shopping bag. The other Ship-Girl carried him holding on to a rope that was tied around his ankles.
Allen walked besides Sanders the whole way, speaking reassuringly and Sanders finally asked:
"Well, who are you?"
-"Don't you know me? I'm David Allen, your old pal."
-"Well hello to you, man… Where we going?"
-"To rest. You really are tired."
-"I never get tired!"
On the left side of Washington, Reed walked, wobbling a bit herself, and Washington said to her:
"Officers like this are on this base… What has the world come to?"
-"He is pathologically drunk. Anyone would act the same in that state." Reed tried to justify Sanders' actions, but Washington just snorted.
XXX
Brown and Helena were returning from their walk hand in hand. They had not joined the others to drink, even though they had had a bottle with them as well. They walked towards the dorms when they saw a small crowd carrying something.
-"What are they doing?" Helena asked.
-"No idea."
When they got a little closer, they saw that they were carrying someone.
-"What the hell are they doing? What are they carrying?... Oh fuck, have they killed Sanders?"
They walked towards the group and Brown yelled:
"Why are you tossing the man around? What's the matter? Have they beat you?"
-"Hello there, one man army. Who has beat who?"
They continued they journey together towards the dorm and Smith explained to them what had happened:
"He got out of control and we had to tie him up. He might have broken another lieutenant's nose."
-"God damn! I knew he behaved abruptly while drunk, but like this? Hah!"
The Eagle Union dorm also had a high loss percentage. Only a few were awake in the lounge. Pennsylvania and Atlanta sat on a bench side by side chatting about something and Hornet played some records.
-"What happened?" Atlanta asked worriedly when she saw tied up Sanders who was now humming.
-"Long story short: He hit an officer and we had to tie him up. Don't worry, he should be okay." Admiral Reed said and looked around.
Many girls laid unconscious around the room in very little clothing and some of them on top of each other. On the back of one of the armchairs there was someone's bra and another one's panties.
-"I see you have had quite a party yourselves." Reed smiled "Just make sure they don't catch a cold or worse… And it's better if you keep an eye on this one."
After the Admiral, Smith, and Washington left, they decided to all sleep in Atlanta's room because they found that Pennsylvania's room was crammed full. However, there were not enough beds in the room for everyone, so they had to share.
They dragged others who were passed out, out of the lounge and into other rooms to sleep. For themselves, they fetched a few more jugs of water for the morning and settled down. They calculated that two had to sleep in each bed and three in one. They placed Sanders in the first bunk bed's bottom bed and next to him Pennsylvania ja Atlanta laid down. Helena and Brown slept in the same bed, as did Hornet and Arizona.
The sun was already beginning to rise when they settled to sleep. They had celebrated, it could not be denied.
XXX
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A/N: Drinking again? Uh-oh. Hopefully nothing bad happened to the girls.
Real life problems haven't gone away. In fact, they have multiplied but that's life for you.
Like every time reviews are very much appreciated no matter what ya want to say.
See ya hopefully next time. Some Dood out.