Chapter 7: Fleet Exercise and Temporary Rivalries
Note: Don't confuse (gunshots) with those coming from handheld firearms, since each individual mount in a ship that acts as such is referred to as a 'naval gun'.
December 11, 1941 0530H UTC +11
Azur Lane Naval Station Frontier
Charles woke up early out of habit, got on his exercise outfit, and headed out for a morning warm-up just to see the span connecting the center island to the northern one starting to get poured on by concrete, as Manjuus and Bulins went to and from the construction site and the cargo ships anchored a little bit off the center island. The bulins aboard were drinking oil from pails, and so he got an idea he can use later.
'Damn… I did not know how fast they worked until this. I mean, they've laid the foundation up to the steel support structures just last night, without me hearing any noise? Sorta impossible, but who knows if similar logic works in another world... Well then, I'll have to make sure all of them are in good condition. They're too valuable for us,' Charles thought as he started running around the island for thirty minutes, before he went to do his standard exercise routine of thirty push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, squats, and two minutes of planking.
He hit the time as he heard the bugle call over the intercom. At the same time, four Manjuu unfolded a white flag, attached it to the flag pole in front of the command office, and raised the Azur Lane flag, to which he stopped and saluted for a bit.
Lauren, also on her training uniform, greeted him, "morning, commander. Was unable to sleep properly last night… I was still busy last night with sorting out tech we can possibly develop and use to enhance the base."
He stood up before replying, "no problem, and thanks for doing that. After having breakfast, call on the girls. Tell them to get on their ships, then use them as transport to the command center. As soon as they finish breakfast, assemble them on the conference hall. I'll be briefing them of our... new activities. Call me on the office when it's done."
Getting an affirmative from Lauren, Charles walked to the canteen and seeing it empty, he started to prepare for cooking.
"Hmm… since it is a Tuesday… nah, I'll just cook me rice, chicken soup, eggs, hotdogs, and probably toss fruits as dessert. Mmhm, that's good, I'll do it."
(chirp)… "Huh?"
Coming out of the pantry, he saw the birds dressed with chef outfits already cooking large servings of food. With a defeated sigh, he said, "well... better give them a large assortment of seeds and grains. I hope they like it."
He returned to the pantry and packed various nuts, seeds, and grains before mixing them inside a jar. Going out again, he saw the Manjuu done with food preparation and was already just stirring the large pots occasionally.
"Um… if you don't mind, you can have these to eat. Feel free to share them with your friends. Also, can you tell the bulins to fill three oil barrels and have them share that to themselves?"
The Manjuu chirped twice, carried the jar to the others that were finished with preparing food he'll eat later, grabbed a small bowl, and poured enough to fill it. They snacked a little, as another Manjuu grabbed a radio with Charles hearing chirps and the occasional "buli" on their conversation, the little guy giving him a thumbs up to tell him his order was relayed, before he sat on a chair on the nearest table.
Minutes later, a bell was heard from the kitchen, and the Manjuu rolled out a tray with his breakfast of omelette with bacon strips, two sandwich pieces, a cup of rice, and brown coffee.
"Well damn it all, a bird just bested me in cooking my breakfast. Nevermind the cook, this does look delicious."
Without anyone disturbing him, he finished the food under five minutes, thanking the yellow creatures before he left for his room to take a bath and get dressed for the day. The bath seemed more like a cold shower as he did it under ten minutes, despite him forgetting to turn the water heater on.
Rapidly sporting his boxer and tank top, he was about to buckle his lower battle dress uniform and get in his navy blue tee when a knock on his door made him pause for a bit.
"Who is it?"
"Laffey, sir."
"Oh… okay, what is it?"
"Can Laffey get in and talk with you?"
"Uh… umm… please wait a little bit. I'm still wearing my clothes." 'Wonder why she talks in the third person… nevermind, let's hurry up!'
No complaints from Laffey, Charles finished dressing up, then opened the door to his room to reveal the short girl that had half-open eyes and her clothes in partial disarray, but nonetheless usual for young girls, he thought as he signaled the destroyer to come in.
"First of all, Laffey, how did you find my room?"
"Laffey saw you going in and followed you… Mmm, it's better than Laffey's room. And the captain looks good as well."
"Hah… alright then, let me hear what it is you came here for. Also, I was planning to tell everyone later, but since you're here, might as well tell you I'm assigned as fleet commander now."
"Laffey... thinks she saw two huge ships on this base last night."
"Okay… wait, what?!"
"Laffey was… (yawn)… sleeping on the bench near the sea when Laffey saw… a big ship and an aircraft carrier. Laffey wasn't sure where they went, but… Laffey was tired, so Laffey did not follow them."
Charles, currently in a panic on his mind, said, "W-well, it might be your imagination, you know? Probably out of drowsiness or something..."
"Commander, Laffey may be sleepy… but Laffey is no idiot. Laffey can sense commander knows something… Hmm…" Laffey retorted with a smug face, much to Charles' anxiety, before she added, "Laffey wanna know, commander. (stare)…"
"W-wait in there, okay, I'll be calling in the executive officer to c-check. I-I'm not doing anything else, okay?" Charles said as he picked up the radio to call for Lauren, receiving only static.
"Hmmmmmm… Laffey smells lies over the air…" the destroyer said just as another knock on the door made it through the room to reveal Lauren on her standard officer uniform.
"Captain, have you seen… oh, here she is. Laffey, please get to the conference room, the commander needs to prepare, okay?"
"Okay… you're not getting away next time, commander." Laffey said with a straight face before leaving the room into the hallways, as Charles closed the door and pulled Lauren to the living room beside his office.
Catching his breath, Charles grabbed Lauren to her shoulders, and said, "Phew. Thanks for the save. I owe you one."
"H-hold it there! What happened before I entered the room?"
Charles went on to explain the events that transpired prior to Lauren's entrance, much to the latter's chagrin.
"Pfft… Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! A shipgirl pulled one off you, when not even I can get past your density?! I'm not dreaming, am I?"
"Damn it, take this seriously, please! I'm not used to ladies taking the initiative, especially not with that sort of interrogation!"
"Okay, okay, fine. If we keep on rejecting it, I bet she'll stop looking into it but I doubt it when she's this occupied about that matter. I'll try what I can to manage her suspicions."
"You better be… But man, I felt like I lost a few years' worth of my life back there. Anyways, is everything prepared?"
"Yep, podium, board and chalk, the ladies, and the only thing we need to start things up is you."
"Okay then, let's go. It's still early though, not that I'm complaining about it," Charles led the way out as they closed the case… for the time being.
Minutes later, on the base conference room
"All rise!" Lauren shouted as the shipgirls stood up to see the fleet commander.
Charles then stood at the center platform before saying, "at ease ladies, before we start, please sort yourselves by your ship classification. The left seats there are for destroyers, the middle ones for the cruisers and battleships. Vestal, you're free to choose where you'll sit. Make sure all of you can hear me properly from where you will sit."
The girls arranged themselves as he mentioned, the destroyers packed at the first two rows from him, the cruisers taking the middle section's first row, while Vestal and the battleships settled behind them. Laffey eyed the commander with doubt, much to his nervousness.
"Okay. To start this up, I am Captain Charles West, designated fleet commander of the Azur Lane naval forces and base commander of this installation. Some of you probably saw me first a few days ago back at Pearl Harbor, and I look forward with your continued cooperation. Can everyone sound off?"
As soon as he called, Lauren wrote down the names of the ones speaking out. Her list filled as follows.
DD – Dewey, Gridley, Craven, McCall, Spence, Laffey, Bush, Sims, Aylwin, Nicholas [inactive: Cassin, Downes]
CL – Omaha, Raleigh, Brooklyn, Memphis, St. Louis, Helena, Juneau, San Diego
CA – Pensacola, Salt Lake City, Chicago, Portland, Indianapolis, Northampton
BB – Pennsylvania, Tennessee [inactive: Nevada, Oklahoma, Arizona, California]
AR – Vestal
"That would be all… as of now. We can now start. After this, no one gets out without me having photos of your faces, okay?" Lauren ended.
Charles nodded in agreement, before continuing, "all right then, to start off, we're telling this a few weeks late, but... Azur Lane Atlantic Command was attacked by the Iron Blood."
Most of the girls gave him a shocked look on their faces, before he proceeded, "it was also after we investigated that someone called the fleet to bring you here on the Pacific theater without prior authorization by the admiral. Someone from central command messed with the chain of command, and we're still finding out who it was. And yes, if you think about it hard enough, you've been sent to Pearl Harbor where an attack was staged two days ago. If that person is coordinating with someone outside us, it's most likely the Crimson Axis wants you wiped out by their first attack against the Union as well."
To sum it up, no Union base is safe for us, and the base you called once home is gone, which leads us to this installation and why you're here. We have a lot on our plate for our first week at the base, so we can't hunt down Sirens yet, thus this is what I plan to do…"
He first explained the secretary system, where each shipgirl is given at least a week to learn fundamental base operations to distribute workload efficiently. The order was that the battleships would go first, then the light cruisers, heavy cruisers, then the destroyers. The two active battleships went into three rounds of rock-paper-scissors, resulting to Pennsylvania as his first secretary ship, starting Monday.
His next agenda was the commissions, but each shipgirl had zero knowledge with commissions, and because they needed to face a few clients, the shipgirls unanimously voted for Brooklyn for the commissions chief, which she tried to protest to no avail, as Lauren took her away and started explaining things regarding commissions. The ladies' excitement rose particularly when he mentioned their participation to battles, especially a few trigger-happy destroyers and one hot-blooded tan-skinned battleship.
"And so, the next four days, we'll be doing training for all of you. We are to start with combat data collection after this, which includes weapons testing, then a preliminary war game. Tomorrow will be an exercise for possible scenarios if I send you to commissions, the next day for surface combat enhancements, and the final day is dedicated for the post-assessment war games."
The whole room filled with chatter, from simple "ooh"s to a few violent reactions that called for their fellows to restrain, as Charles dismissed the fleet to have Lauren take photos of their faces through Gridley's camera, and load practice shells and training torpedoes for the first event.
Half an hour later, the fleet was assembled on the center island's southern waters. Charles stood at the beach, ready to radio instructions, as Lauren observed from the observation tower with her rigging equipped to analyze combat aspects of the fleet: accuracy, maximum firing range, highest battle speed, reverse speed, firing rate, weapons traverse speed, and other information with regards to their ship.
"Welcome to the combat data collection. For this event, we will measure and record statistics relevant to battling. We want to see what your best is like. If you want to sortie frequently, please do your best in this phase," Charles radioed all the girls, before he added, "steam from a stop to your maximum speed towards the area with buoys, then fire your weapons to the maximum range away from the base, then to that piece of metal on top of the PT boat. Your data would be sent in batches to avoid comparison. Starting with… destroyers, light cruisers, heavy cruisers, and battleships. Line up your ships by the order I'll tell you, then start when your name is called."
"Yes, commander!"
The ships lined up as Lauren radioed Charles that she's ready and that the surrounding areas are clear, before he called each ship one by one to conduct the course, with a few ships veering too far from the buoy and had to maneuver for minutes.
Some cried out of despair for missing the target and "failing" to make a good first impression with the fleet commander, which he actually didn't mind, but was forced to repeat their turn a few times more, and made them finish before lunch.
"Hah… All right, ladies, we'll start the war games fifteen minutes after lunch. Get rested before then."
Cheers from each shipgirl came out as they anchored their vessels on the docks before moving to the canteen, where a new sight came to them: exact numbers of plates pre-filled with rice, soup, eggs, and golden-brown beef cuts. As they ate, the Manjuus carried the officers' servings to his office, where they were sorting the papers and printing them with their pictures, stopping for five minutes to eat, before returning the plates to them as they resumed working.
"As expected, the Tennessee-class has better firepower than the Pennsylvania-class. From the data I got earlier, Tenn's four triple 356mm guns that can move independently gives her an advantage against Pennsylvania, but only for sequential fire. For full salvos, penetrative capacity, and accurate firing, Penn gets the prize with 45 cal 4x360mm guns."
"Lauren, that places them at a nearly equal range, no?"
"Well, not really. Penn's guns can only elevate to fifteen degrees, while Tennessee can get to plus thirty degrees."
"Serious firepower. Everyone's estimates comparative to ships on our world and probably their production counterparts?"
"From observations back at Pearl Harbor, they are way more powerful. Armament-wise and maneuverability considered."
"But very similar to survivability… No, our ships are controlled by only one personnel, they alone occupy all positions: DCP, fire control, comms, radar, engineering, gunner, plotter, AA, which is significantly harder. But from Pearl also, it seems like those tasks are on their subconscious, so no room for miscoordination."
"Hmm… I see what you're hinting at. You're saying that, since they have trained control of their ships, we need to develop their strategic thinking further before we try 'enhancing' them. I like that plan."
"Well they're our fleet. I want to prove to the other nations that we don't need more humans to die with us, nor tread a thin wire with the Sirens. Let's start with this..."
Charles and Lauren was about to get out of his office when the telephone rang. Curious as to what it is, he picked it up, then heard the familiar shipgirl crew from the west island.
(phone ringing)
"Commander! We have a good news, buli!"
"Eh? What is that?"
"Buli! The battleships are now ready, buli! We worked hard for this, buli!"
"Excellent job. Have five barrels of oil for all bulins that worked on the ships, okay?"
"Buli! Thank you, commander! Buli!"
He returned the telephone, faced Lauren, before saying, "we got good news: the California and Nevada are fixed."
"That means... it won't be long for two recommissioned battleships?" she asked with a wide grin as they closed the door to the office and walked out to the canteen.
One hour later
Central Island, Azur Lane Naval Station Frontier
After lunch, the shipgirls waited for their officers inside the conference hall as the duo continued analyzing their capabilities. Most of them are talking about random stuff involving the base and their renewed daily life, but a few led by the two active battleships grouped to analyze their base, their fellows, and their new officers.
"You know what, ladies, we're thinking too much about the commander, his decisions, and his relationship with us," Vestal told them.
"Eh, nope, I'd say he already knows we're always evaluating him and his actions to which, by the way, is still clean aside from the incident at Pearl Harbor. Damn it, if we left that fucking port immediately, we wouldn't have lost them," Tennessee retorted.
Pennsylvania added, "While that may be true, he was also the one who immediately arranged for your sister's recovery, no? Anyway, I'd say he has the aura similar to the admiral. He's calm, and I think he can keep that even when under attack, though I heard him over the radio back at Pearl with a bit of panic in his voice."
"I think it is part of him being our officer, unlike the previous ones we had. We've witnessed it firsthand before today, but he's good at keeping the destroyers under wraps. They haven't been more happy with officers more than with those two," Helena replied to the battleship.
"Laffey thinks the commander treats us more of a human than an unnecessary attachment to the ship."
"Hmm… I wonder about that. Say, Brooklyn, how did your talks with the ex-o went?" Chicago asked the light cruiser, whose attention wasn't with them.
"Ah… about that, I am not sure how to describe it, but I feel more… comfortable? You know, she pulled me out of the hall, then we're just talking to each other like we're long-time acquaintances. And yes, we're telling stories to each other already," Brooklyn smiled as she recalled their earlier conversation.
Laffey then raised her hand, before she said, "Penn, Tenn, everyone, Laffey thinks the commander is like us."
"Like us? Is he another battle-crazy human?" Tennessee asked her.
"No. Laffey slept on the bench outside the dorm yesterday, and I saw two warships appear from the west island and sailed to this island. Then, when they were here, Laffey saw blue lights fly to the sky and into somewhere here."
Pennsylvania caught on to what the destroyer is saying, "What kind of ships did you see?"
"They were large, but one is definitely an aircraft carrier, while Laffey cannot identify the other one with small guns. Laffey asked the commander earlier, while he was dressing, he was nervous and giddy when the commander denied it, Laffey thinks the commander is onto something."
"Maybe a cruiser or a battleship… wait. You say the fleet commander denied it? Heeehh… ladies, we have a situation on our hands. Investigate the origin of those two ships, then confront the commander about this. No word with the others, okay?" Tennessee ended right before Charles and Lauren entered the room.
Charles then said as the ladies stood up, "at ease, everyone. After the drill earlier, we now have your initial records, and we added notes on them. You'll have them tomorrow morning before fleet exercise starts. Now, we'll see your true combat capabilities by simulating a naval battle."
Expressions of excitement rising in the hall as they sat, Lauren continued, "we're conducting the first war game, a daytime battle simulation on the island chain south of the base. The Manjuus are posted on a forty-two by forty-two kilometer square, they'll serve as the borders of our games. You'll be split into two teams, led by our battleships. The two of us and Vestal will monitor you all. We can see if you try to cheat, so don't."
"We'll be using colored powder tracer rounds and painted training torpedoes for the games, courtesy of the bulins. Sky blue paint for Pennsylvania's team, yellow for Tennesee's. Ten hits to the hull, or three hits below the waterline puts you out of the game. Five hits to armaments and being rammed upon does the same. Winner's team gets to request something in behalf of your team or for all of you.
Also, as additional to the cheating provision, no petty tricks allowed. That includes talking to the enemy and taunting them verbally. Each team will have a separate channel for communications we'll designate for that purpose, and for us to notify you if you're out. Now, each of you will draw once, and group with your team leaders before we give you your starting coordinates," Charles ended as he brought out a fishbowl with sealed papers.
Everyone lined up in front of Charles as they drew a paper, gave the coordinates with respect to their team, then grouped by their leaders, who were looking at each other with rivalry sparking in between them.
"I'm not holding back on this one, Penn. I will give you a taste of the power of my class!"
"Bring it on! Don't piss me off with a poor battle performance now, or I'll engrave to you the might of the Pennsylvania!"
Charles wrote down the ships in each team:
Pennsylvania – Gridley, McCall, Laffey, Bush, Nicholas, Omaha, Brooklyn, Helena, Juneau, Pensacola, Chicago, Northampton
Tennessee – Dewey, Craven, Spence, Sims, Aylwin, Raleigh, Memphis, St. Louis, San Diego, Salt Lake City, Portland, Indianapolis
"All right. Lauren, Vestal, please come with me. Everyone else, head to your ships, load your guns, and sail to your starting positions!" Charles ordered the fleet.
On the way into the war room, Vestal asked, "Commander, not to interrupt the games, but what will we do if the enemy start attacking us in the middle of it?"
Charles answered confidently, "we're always ready. We can stop the games, have the bulins swap ammunition, while the defenses make their work easier."
"Wait, sir, don't we need to man those defensive mounts?"
"Not anymore. We modified them to work automatically without operators. Though we can still control them if that fails. I have the Manjuu and Bulins to thank for that. Ah wait, I forgot the AWACS. Lauren, can you ensure comms and others are working? I'm going out to set it up."
Charles, forgetting the important unit for the war games, went out of the building, changed into his rigging, and thought of what he saw was launching the said plane when he was still on his world. He fired his gun and from the bullet enlarged an AWACS unit, flying now to reach an altitude of 10.5 kilometers above the area for the game.
He returned his rigging, except the pistol, and changed into his uniform before entering the war room minutes later, where the whole of the "map" was displayed on a screen Lauren built with the bulins last night, much to Vestal's surprise.
"Whoa. We can actually see them?!"
"Yes. The observation plane is on an altitude of nearly eleven kilometers above them, so we can get a good view of what's happening. I have their names tagged with their ships, and… you can zoom to any area, the smallest zoom up to the size of the battleships' gun turret," Charles explained.
"Awesome. To think that such technology exists… Oh look, there's the bird-powered recovery teams, and the ladies! Hmm… what are they doing in Pennsylvania's ship? Same goes with Tennessee's?"
"I think they're formulating a strategy. As much as it is a friendly match, I want them to take this seriously and think on their own. Hopefully they're actually doing that," Lauren said as she walked to the radio.
"All right ladies, we'll start by two in the afternoon and finish by four. Game mode is annihilation. The team with the most ships left after the time limit is the winner! Sixty seconds before start! Assemble formations, finalize preparations, start your engines!"
"Also, Vestal, relaying good news from the repair division. The battleships we tugged all the way here are now fixed, it's all on you now to wake their owners up."
"I'll do my best to return Nevada and California to shape, commander. Anyways, let's focus on this event. Even if I'm not participating, I'm still excited!"
The map on the screen continue updating as the ships assemble into formations. Tennessee had her team assembled on a line, while Pennsylvania's team were clustered into two destroyers and two cruisers on the left and right flanking positions, while she had one destroyer and three cruisers with her.
Charles went expressionless when he saw it, before fixing himself, "I'll assign the one who thought of this formation as my tactical assistant."
"Why?" the two ladies in the room told him.
"Well, it's a good formation for surface battles, allowing the destroyer to draw the attention of the enemy, enough for the others to engage without worry. And the center formation gives them sniping advantage to whoever falls for their trap and clean up stragglers."
"Spoken like a true tactician, huh? But… yes, I'll agree with you. Pennsylvania's range covers the whole formation. If Laffey and the other destroyers get the others' attentions easily, she can wedge through the line and probably drive Tennessee into a corner as early as ten minutes," Lauren concurred.
Charles looked at the time, before he grabbed the radio and contacted both forces, "good luck, everyone. All right, here it goes, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, START!"
The signal heard, both teams started running their engines and went on with the war game.
A few minutes after the game started...
Tennessee's destroyers hid behind a few of the islands, waiting to jump the gun on Pennsylvania's teammates.
...
"Miss Penn, Bush here. No visual contact yet with enemy team. Shall we proceed?"
"Hmm… I bet the destroyers are waiting somewhere and would likely to report to Tenn where you are for her to finish you. Keep your engines silent, and as soon as you see one of their team members, eliminate them. Destroyers, lead the charge. Scout for them, but don't attack them. Drive them towards your group, then hit 'em. We'll be moving slow on this first one."
"All right, everyone, let's go!"
"Penn, this is Helena. I'm now using the SG Radar to avoid possible ambushes… We have one destroyer behind the island on the left. Gridley is now checking, we're going the other way."
"Good. Let's get first blood on this one."
…
"St. Louis to Tennessee. Radar is still clear, no signs of the enemy's center."
"Shit. All units, be on alert. Their leader's not on sight yet. Continue with the – "
"Sims to Tenn! I'm under attack! Gridley's hot on my tail! I can't shake her loose! I'm going around the… aah! They're here! (static)…"
(metal clangs)
RADIO: "Sims is shelled out of the game. Gridley takes first blood."
"Fuck this. All destroyers, regroup with the cruisers. Cruisers, fire on any enemy in range. Destroyers, make sure you're not seen, then fire torpedoes to them!"
"This is Memphis, we have visual on Omaha… wait, she's seen me! I'm engaging!"
"Units with Memphis, support her!"
…
"Omaha to allied units! Memphis is attacking me! I'm just a few hits away!"
"Laffey thinks Omaha can take Memphis with her."
"Oh… okay! I'll do that!"
…
"She's changing course… no. Towards me?"
"Hit her before she reaches you!"
"A-aaaaaaaa! (cannon shots)… Get away from me! N-nononononononooooooo!"
(metal hitting and creaking)
RADIO: "Memphis is out. Omaha is also out due to ramming damage and earlier hits."
RADIO: "That doesn't look good. Memphis, Omaha, come see me to the dry docks to fix your hulls."
"Well, Laffey told her to take Memphis with her, but not that way. Laffey did not do anything wrong."
"Nah, don't worry about it, bunny-ears. So long as we manage to take them down with us, and besides, we're still on the lead."
"Okay… Laffey will work harder. Conditions green, let's go."
…
"It's two on one. Our numbers are starting to dwindle, Sally."
"No problem. We need to continue battling. The commander is watching."
"Hmm… Indy, hold on! I've found their left flank! There's Nicholas, Juneau, McCall, and Pensacola."
"Pick out the cruisers from range, then fall back. We need to minimize their firepower."
"Roger."
"Aww, my sister's also cute when she's planning something… Hee-hee-hee!"
…
(gunshots)
"Juneau, let's split up! They're attacking us out of our range! Cheeky bastards. McCall, with me!"
"O-okay Penny… Nicholas, please accompany me! Hiiiiiii! I'm not liking this, not at all!"
(metal hits)
"Ga-aaah! I just cleaned my ship earlier!"
"Catching a full cruiser salvo, Juneau? How brave of you. Hopefully that last shell missed."
"Hngg! I'm getting them back for this! The shells came at an angle of thirty degrees, with the account of dispersion… A bit behind, to the left of the island… all guns, please fire!"
(gunshots)
…
"Indianapolis, I don't have visual to the ship that fired!"
"Shells incoming!"
"Indy, out of the way! Aah!"
(metal clinks)
(powder splashes)
RADIO: "From a tightly-packed salvo, Juneau scores complete hits against Portland! Portland, please return to port."
"Sorry, guys…"
(dust loudly scattering)
RADIO: "Juneau is out. Nicholas sustained waterline hits, equivalent to engine incapacitation, so she's also out. Double kill from Tennessee!"
"Whoa… the power difference is this much?"
"Ladies, let's turn this match around, shall we?"
"Roger that, Tenn."
…
"Helena, we have St. Louis with Craven, Spence, and Dewey five kilometers at compass bearing 129."
"Uh… yup. Three destroyer signatures… two cruisers?. Check them first before…"
"Let's gooooo!"
…
"They're here! Craven, lead the formation!"
"We win by numbers as what I can see on radar, but I'm not sure with firepower."
"Don't worry! I, San Diego, will lead us!"
"Let me guess, you want a concert stage?"
"Ehehehe... Spot on as usual. Anyways, I'm going, because… I am number ONE!"
"H-hey! Wait! Come on… why do I get to work with idiots like these?"
"Craven here. We're launching our torpedoes!"
"Hah… Fine, let's do this!"
…
"Bush, incoming, three destroyers! Loading torpedoes on mounts one and three."
"Gridley, let's launch them, now!"
(splash)
"Helena, Brooklyn, we need cover fire for our retreat!"
"Salvos on the way!"
"San Diego in sight, St. Louis is behind her."
"I guess it's time for the older ones to take charge. Helena, idiot cruiser first! San Diego is worthless without enemy planes!"
"On it! Destroyers, watch out for torps, then spam your shells to the escorts! I'd say they torpedoed us in advance, so watch the water!"
"Roger that!"
(gunshots)
…
"H-huwawawawawaaaaaa! Nooooo! My ship! My stage!"
(shell hits, underwater thuds, metal creaking)
RADIO: "San Diego is out, final hit from Helena. Oh… looks like Bush, Gridley, Craven, Spence, and Dewey are out as well! Too complicated to explain, so many things happened there!"
"How messy is this going to be? Never mind winning, it's two on one! I'll take my sisters with me!"
(underwater thuds)
"Ugh... that was painful."
RADIO: "Torpedoes from Spence and Dewey landed on Brooklyn's ship! She's out!"
"Well that makes my job easier. Let's settle this, sister."
"I can say the same to you, older sister."
""Fire!""
(metal clanging)
(powder spreads)
RADIO: "The radar cruisers are out! St. Louis got hit first with Helena's shells on her armaments, disabling her. Helena followed suit, being hit by twelve shells from all of St. Louis' guns!"
"Not bad. I'd say we can do this all day, no?"
"Yep. Never felt better before than today. I'd have to thank the commander for this… How can you shoot that accurate, Helena? I was moving at my fifth battle speed!"
"Well let's just say I radar-tracked all of your guns individually and put a good lead to my shots… Now that I thought about it, I should've brought seaplanes with me when we left Pearl… Could've used them quite well to spot you."
"Hmm… I would have you teach me that technique later."
…
"Lauren, can you bring up the list of the remaining ships?"
"Yes, sir. For Pennsylvania, she has McCall, Laffey, Pensacola, Chicago, Northampton. Tennessee's side still has her, Aylwin, Raleigh, Salt Lake City, Indianapolis."
"One destroyer extra, one light cruiser on the other. Hoh… I want to see what strategies they'll come up with. Hmm… it looks like we're on the endgame already, and it's still half an hour before the match ends."
"And look at this, the bunny is about to strike."
…
"Penn, this is Chicago. Is she inbound?"
"Yep. Take out Aylwin, then try to attack Raleigh. If anything, Laffey will mop up the mess without them realizing it."
"Don't worry, it's Sally and Indy there. Laffey can drive by and send them packing."
"That's why I am worried. They have secondary batteries, you know?"
"Those can't hurt our activated bunny girl. She'll do short work before helping us deal with that old hag…"
"W-well, we're going in."
…
"Tennessee, this is Indianapolis. I have Pensacola and McCall within striking range. Raleigh, Aylwin, and Sally is with me."
"Without St. Louis, I'm running blind here, and I can't shoot on targets I can't see clearly. You're on your own for now."
"Eyy! Launch torpedoes, Aylwin! Sally, Raleigh, let's go! Open fire!"
(gunshots)
…
"Still up, McCall?"
"Y-yes, Penny. Four more shots."
"This is Laffey, on position, please proceed with the plan."
"Alright, alright, we've got no choice, right?"
(splash)
(gunshots)
"Ah shit, here we go again…"
…
"A-a-a-ouch!"
RADIO: "Torpedo hits from McCall takes Aylwin down, but… oh! McCall is also out after getting hit by Aylwin's torps!"
"Hit her! There's Pensacola!"
"Wait, she's not aiming it to my guns nor to the hull… Raleigh, get out of there!"
(gunshots)
(shell impact)
RADIO: "Raleigh is out after getting hit at the stern with Pensacola's shells! Pensacola gets hit with shells from Salt Lake City and Indianapolis, taking her out of the battle!"
"Nice work, Pensacola, bringing our last light cruiser with you."
"Wait, Sally. I'm hearing something… Got anything?"
…
"Laffey is afraid that would be your last words. Bye-bye."
"No shit."
(thuds)
RADIO: "What a surprise from behind them! A tight torpedo barrage on the stern on Indianapolis and Salt Lake City! A double kill from Laffey!"
"Mmm... that was okay."
"Nice work, Laffey. Regroup on me, then stick to whatever side of my ship I tell you, match my speed and the direction of my travel. We're ending this match. Northampton, Chicago, move to your positions. Fire your weapons and launch torpedoes on Laffey's mark."
"Roger that!"
"For this part, Laffey, move behind me. Then when I turn portside, hide on my portside, fast."
"Laffey knows what you're planning, and Laffey likes it."
…
"Commander, can you open comms to Pennsylvania? It's not like it would make a difference if I'm the last ship of my team, no? Besides, she's steaming right towards me."
"Why is that, Tennessee?"
"A few words before the showdown."
"I'll give you a minute."
…
"So you're there, Pennsylvania."
"Let's settle this, Tennessee!"
"Approaching me, eh? Then come, get as close as you like!"
"Come, taste my fourteen-inch guns!"
"March to hell!"
(gunshots)
(splashes)
"You might need more accuracy training, Penn."
"I'd say the same to you, Tenn."
"How brave of you, facing me directly even when you know you're probably the only one capable of hitting me hard."
"Eh… I don't think so."
"Let's see. I'll crush you before I play with your little teammates!"
"Go ahead, be my guest."
"Everyone, it's time! Phase One!"
(gunshots)
RADIO: "Five hits below the waterline. Pennsylvania is out."
"This kind of battle is quite good… Huh?"
"Laffey thinks Tennessee can save the celebration if she actually wins."
"You little rat, hiding behind Penn… Don't underestimate a battleship! Secondary batteries, fire!"
"Hmm… battleship? What's that?"
"Fire! Fire! Fire!"
"Laffey thinks we need to end this here. Well, see you later."
"Freakin' mouse! Like hell I'll…"
(thuds and metal clanging)
RADIO: "Ten torpedo hits and a lot of shells from who knows where landed squarely on Tennessee's hull! Overkill, in my opinion, and that means, Pennsylvania's team wins the match!"
…
Pennsylvania held her radio, and in an attempt to piss off Tennessee one last time, she said, "tsk… winning like this is so dull."
"Well, I concede for this round. Come the final one, I'll get you back for this, Penn," Tennessee said as she sailed beside Pennsylvania's ship back to the base.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha! I miss this attitude of yours, Tenn. It's been years, and who knew the commander can bring that energy back to you through this?"
"Stop messing with me. It's not because he set this game up for us, okay? By the way, what would you request to him?"
"My senses tingled when Laffey told us that. I think, at least, that her words hold true. To what degree, I'll know later. That is why, we'll confront the commander later. I've talked about this with my teammates before, so they all know about that incident."
"I also did the same with mine just in case we won, and we came to the same consensus, even when a few of them still had doubts about it. So nothing would've changed even if I won."
"Salty as usual? Anyways, let's hurry up. I want the answer… no. I want to know him as our officer, and I think if he's hiding it that much, then that may change the course of this war, and any other future conflict that involves us."
"That I can agree with. Let's go."
That ends the games!
Crimson Echoes rerun ended good for me, pulling all SRs off the builds (yes, four Tosa, two Amagi, two Kaga (BB) after the event) and I'm looking forward with my luck in the new event. And yes, I was too focused on the event stages that I forgot to upload it until during the maintenance started.
Anyways, happy reading, enjoy your shipfus, stay safe, and see you in the next chapter!
P.S.: I don't own Azur Lane characters and elements.