Chapter 6: On the other side
"Kaga, how do you think the rest of the fleet is doing?"
"Akagi, what do you mean? I'm sure they are having no problems with their final preparations for their sortie tomorrow," replied Kaga in her usual calm demeanor.
"Yes, that, I have full confidence in, but…" Akagi let her voice trail off with the rest of the sentence lost in thought. It wasn't normal for her chain of thought to derail so quickly, but then again it wasn't normal for her to not be in the thick of preparation for an upcoming operation. The elite carriers of the First Carrier Division were to assist only in flank screening, and as such their preparation was finished weeks in advance.
Learning that they would not be playing a major role in the liberation of the Philippines months ago was a surreal experience. It would be inaccurate to say they were disappointed to not be chosen, but they weren't relieved either. Emotions were square dancing in Akagi's mind as she weighed the decision. Natural self-preservation instincts mingled with the desire for successful campaign, while her ego wanted her to live up to the name of the First Carrier Division.
She wanted to know why High Command did not want to send their best into this operation and had been pestering Haruna for information since.
"Haruna does not know either. The Admiral had remained tight lipped about this in particular, but Haruna trusts his judgement, and you should too," was the standard answer.
A week ago, when the calm before the storm was called, she asked decided to escalate the matter and ask the Admiral himself.
"Haruna has asked me on your behalf a few times before, and as much as I want to you especially understand why the offensive was planned as such, I am under orders to keep any strategic information under wraps until it is over. However, I am free to discuss tactics if you like."
"Okay then, I was looking at the order of battle, and they mirror the Battle of Leyte Gulf down to a T. Everything does. We had Nachi, Ashigara, and Ooyodo transferred to a northern base a few weeks ago while Yamato and gang arrived just yesterday and are scheduled to push off when the operation begins. Why couldn't the task forces be assigned differently to simplify the logistics. We are scheduled to meet up off the coast of Samar anyway…"
"Akagi, let me top me cut you off right there. In most cases, OrdBat discussions are tactical in nature, but in this case I was instructed to treat this as strategic planning, and I apologize that I cannot share more. However, I know you are a smart girl, and I think what I just said should give you enough information to reach the epiphany you want."
Akagi's hands balled up into tight fists as he spoke. Her teeth clenched as her body stiffened up. His calm demeanor and vacant expression towards a topic of which lives including her own hung in the balance offended her. She had been at the base longer than he was and felt she should be privy to more information. But out of respect to the man who has been generally competent and shown more regard to the girls' wellbeing than the previous admiral, she stood silent in the room for a moment, shot him an angry glare, before storming out.
It took Kaga to entice her out of the mess hall later that day after she went on an ice-cream binge the likes of which has never seen before.
Her rage cooled of over the week, and now she and Kaga sat in their room, making light conversation after dinner. Of course, the conversation died, with Akagi too deep in thought to continue.
Kaga spoke up: "You know, after that incident last week I asked Haruna to update me with any information she happened to come across, and I received a message as we were walking back here. It came with a promise to not spread the information any further, or at least not to tell those that will be in the thick of action over the next weeks."
"Never mind that; they will have sortied by the time we wake up. Just tell me," Akagi zealously spat out.
At that, Kaga read the text message out. Akagi's eyes, once wide in anticipation, slowly narrowed as she processed the information. It was a while after Kaga finished when she finally spoke.
"Facing our inner demons is the key to peace? Sounds like some plot from an anime."
"And funnily enough we will be facing ours too. It has dawned on you hasn't it?"
"It just did. The original 1CarDiv was lost at Midway. We weren't at Leyte then, and our involvement now may compromise the operation, as contradictory as it might seem. To swallow our pride by sitting out an operation of this magnitude, however…"
"Honestly Akagi, I'm surprised you did not realize this earlier. Being named after a volcano does not mean you shouldn't cool down to think things through."
Akagi just smirked in response.
AN: I'm just sad this took too long