A Certain Lady Part 16
"Can I pick the music now? Jintsuu's won the last ten times in a row." Kawakaze muttered her complaint with no small amount of mock despair. "I'm tired of metal."
"Ou!? How can you be tired of metal?" Shimakaze frowned as she turned to glare questioningly at the other destroyer. Metal was amazing. It got your blood pumping. Your oil flowing. It was one perfect thing of many to invigorate the body and mind. She even managed an extra quarter knot while listening to a select few songs!
"Yeah, but she's always picking the same band over and over again. A little variety never hurt. Or even something Japanese!" The pink haired destroyer shot a despairing look at the blissful looking Jintsuu, who merely hummed jovially.
"Fufu... Maybe your should step up your game a bit? A little extra skill goes a long way." Tatsuta mild rebuke was delivered with a spine chilling smile. Not out of any real malice, but more because there were very few things in the world that would elicit any other sort of smile. "Then w-"
Hiei brought her hands together and it resounded like a thunderclap, silencing any and all idle chatter amongst the fleet. All members brought the full of their attention to her.
"Sorry everyone! No more fun and games, it's time to get down to business." Hiei trusted in each and every member of the fleet to do their part, even while having a little enjoyment at the same time. Hence the little games she allowed to choose what music they listened to while they steamed to the projected combat zone. Mutsu was the same way, but usually cut the winning streak at three songs.
They could sink in any engagement, so some music was the least she could permit to ease a bit of that tension. Especially for the younger or more... fragile members.
The roar of a flight of Zeros drew Arizona's attention to the sky as she looked away from the horizon she had been tasked with observing. Even the knowledge that those planes were allied now did not stop the slight tremble in her arm. They weren't Vals and they weren't Kates, but that distinctive engine still brought up terrible images.
It had been a testament to her control that she had only flinched when Kates were first sent up to hunt down any possible Abyssal subs.
She followed the flight back to Kaga, who recovered the planes expertly and immediately sent another squad into the air. Almost the entire time, the carrier had been cycling out her flights to keep planes in the sky. So far not a single weapon had gone hot much to her well hidden relief. Add in the air support from the JASDF they were expected to receive and the various radars in place, it was highly likely they would retain air superiority. But she refused to relax her four meagre anti-air guns.
"Commander," Takao chimed in after a few minutes, "I've got them. Steaming in formation and perfectly on schedule. Radio says nothing in the air and all three capitals accounted for."
"Good! Good. Kaga, you got that?" Hiei pumped her fist energetically while shooting a message back to base with an update.
"Yes. I'll coordinate my bombing runs with... Wardog squadron." There was the barest sliver of distaste in her words as she spoke the name of their support's name. She did not much care for many of the modern naming conventions when it came to air wings. It certainly did not help when Akagi practically begged her to name her fighter wings after some character or other ludicrous name from whatever television game she was playing at the moment. Not all names, but many. "Do we have a number on the escorts?"
"There are more destroyers than first reported, but we have the three Svetlana-class and the four Guissano-class accounted for as well. They haven't launched their planes yet either." Takao nodded as she spoke, continuing to sort through the data coming in over the radio.
Yamashiro cast her half-lidded gaze downward as Takao began spouting off more and more information. It was hard enough to hit a cruiser on a good day. Cruisers that outran destroyers? Outran every ship in her fleet save that boisterous stripperboat? Her shoulders shook in frustration. Was it too much to ask for a little less misfortune than usual?
Not even Shigure's discreet text message of reassurance helped. Of course her historical escort had been spending nearly all her time watching out for their precious carrier, so the words didn't carry much weight to begin with. It was just so... She didn't even have the motivation to come up with a term to describe her feelings. All she really wanted was to see her sister again. The one rock in her dismal new life.
But dismal or not, she would still fight for her home. She just wouldn't be cheery about it like so many others were.
Heedless of Yamashiro's depression, Kaga focused her attention on getting her wings into the air. Her flight deck was a mass of energy as her D3A Val squadrons fueled up and took on as many bombs as they could carry while a fresh wave of Zeros prepared themselves for launch. With one squad flying CAP already and a number of her Kates out hunting submarines, Kaga's hangars felt uncomfortably empty.
While in the past she might have been used to having a completely barren hangar, after training with White Plains it felt decidedly... odd. Keep the enemy reeling and be ready to react to anything. Don't dump everything into a single devastating strike.
Kaga drew back her arm and loosed an arrow from her bow with picture perfect posture. The arrow appeared to explode into a flight of Zeros as they flew from her catapult. They gained speed rapidly and climbed high into the sky, circling about to bleed distance as the Vals were prepared and hurled into the sky in a similar manner.
However before Kaga could issue further commands to her planes, one of the bombers broke off suddenly of its own volition and went into a wide, lazy arc downwards.
"Kaga, what's that plane doing?" Hiei demanded.
"Assurance." Kaga narrowed her eyes as she tracked the plane's course. "It claims it is giving assurance."
Arizona's steely eyes tracked the errant plane as well, not willing to give it the benefit of the doubt her allies were. The four AA guns on her deck followed her gaze until the aircraft dipped well below the altitude where it could pose any threat to her.
The Val swung around in another wide turn, bleeding just enough speed to buzz by Arizona's bridge without rattling her.
The Pennsylvania-Class battleship blinked in surprise as she watched the bomber climb rapidly to rejoin its wingmates. Had she just seen what she thought she saw?
"Arizona, what did...?" Kaga had an inkling of what the pilot had done, but could not be too certain. The only reply she received was one of assurance. And assurance could take on many forms. Her stoic expression was broken only by a blink when Arizona responded with a voice of some bewilderment.
"...saluted. The pilot saluted me."
It was the mostly silent Hatsuzuki who ultimately broke the awkward silence.
"I think... they want you to know that you're on the same side now." The anti-air destroyer nodded at her own hypothesis, providing Arizona with a stone-faced thumbs up.
"Ou! Come on! Let's get going!" Shimakaze broke the somber mood with her energetic declaration. She was sick and tired of all this drama. And even more tired of having to meet the enemy at such slow speeds. They could have been there by how if they weren't plodding along at what amounted to a geriatrics' pace through the mud.
Jintsuu palmed her face as Kawakaze belted out an agreement.
"I agree, we should pick up the pace." Arizona nodded after a moment's contemplation. There would be plenty of time to think on the actions of the Japanese pilot when they returned to base. But for now they had an enemy to slay. "Readjust formation and move in to finish the job."
"Alright! Everyone kick it up a notch. Let's make sure Kaga left us something!" Hiei roared jovially while said carrier returned the taunt with a mildly irate pout.
—|—|—
"Colonel, we've got Zeros inbound escorting Vals."
"I see 'em." Colonel Akira Yamamoto, acting under callsign Wardog 1, glanced out her cockpit to see the approaching aircraft. Aircraft that should have absolutely no business existing, much less keeping pace with them. The F-4 wasn't state of the art by any modern definition, but it sure should be out-flying anything that was built in the 40's. "Looks like your girlfriend sent up the good stuff. You should have brought flowers, Major."
"She's not my girlfriend. I've never even met her!" Major Titus Wolfenstien protested fruitlessly. "I made one comment about wanting to land on that deck and suddenly the whole wing is going nuts."
"Can't blame us, Handy. You haven't been on a date since the USAF tossed you onto our plate and all the spooky shit has us all but grounded until crap like this happens." The latter fact being something that irritated her to no end. She hated being bored. Hated it. "And then you make a crack about wanting to land on Kaga's deck?"
"Yuck it up, Sandbar. Yuck it up." The Major sighed and looked out his canopy window to see no fewer than two of their accompanying Vals shaking and trying to maintain some sort of stability. "Uhh... Sir?"
"What? You gonna confess to little 'ol me now?"
"No. Something's wrong with the Va-" He stopped himself when he saw the pilot of one of the Vals waving him off and shaking. There was even some sputtering coming over the radio. Wait... "Those fuckers are laughing!"
"Yeah... I might have opened the frequency while I was giving you a hard time." Akira was trying not to laugh herself. But if the most disciplined of the Imperial Japanese carrier-based aces were losing it? She was well gone.
"Eat a dick, Colonel. All of you. Yes even you, you spirit, pilot, ghost thing. Eat all the dicks." He very nearly devolved into a mass of obscenities when even some of the Zeros began shaking.
"Well, hate to break up the fun. Especially since I'm having tons of it. But I think we'd better tighten our pants. Unless I'm mistaken, Takao's scout is reporting floatplane launches from the Italians and the Global Hawk is confirming that." It still bugged her that apparently they needed eyes on from one of these shipgirls before any of their really nice modern gear would pick up on an Abyssal. Or the Abyssal just really wanted to be seen.
"I can confirm that as well. This is Wardog 2 to Green 1, you see 'em?" Titus received a short string of gibberish that he was somehow able to understand. Which he would be far more concerned about if they weren't about to tangle with a bunch of demonic floatplanes and their equally evil minders. The leading Zero wobbled its wings in an added confirmation. "They're all yours. Good hunting!"
"Wardog 2, aren't I in command?" Akira arched an eyebrow as she tossed out the amused sounding question.
"Just picking up the slack, Wardog 1."
"Ass."
"Bitch."
The pilots of the Zeros would have rolled their eyes in exasperation if the two members of Wardog hadn't fallen into formation with the Vals of Red squadron. It was good to have some fun, but at least these two knew when to get down to business.
Down below, far below their current altitude, the glints of eight CANT 25's circled about. They were pathetic mockeries of fighter craft, even accounting for their carapace covered black frames. But it was the only aircraft the Abyssal task force could muster. They would have to pray to every foul god in their pantheon to last more than a moment in their resistance.
A futile resistance against the Zero.
The six members of Green squadron turned over one by one and descended as though birds of prey.
"This is Wardog. Beginning our attack."
Exactly four seconds later, the nine members of Red squadron and the two of Wardog joined the descent.
At thirty thousand feet, there wasn't a damn thing that could touch any of them. And as the seventeen dropped from the sky, there was only vivid blue ocean marred by enemy presence. None of their number needed to worry about the Italian biplanes. They would be tissue paper before the Zero's guns.
When they cut through twenty, the world opened up and became fire.
The Orions did not have a single skyward gun between them and the myriad cruisers put up a valiant screen. The pilots only barely took notice of the destroyers' guns. In total, their threat was great. But not enough to force their hand away. Tracers and flak and steel flew by at an alarming rate, past their wings and far behind.
The pom-poms blazed and the machine guns cackled their death-song, but the members of the attack force were listening to their own tune. One which ended most poorly for anything bearing the Abyssal standard.
However there was one who would not allow her song to be ignored.
"...How cute."
Tosa's anti-air suite opened fire and what was once fire and smoke to irritate them at best, became an all encompassing storm of brimstone. Orders of evasion were barked over all channels as the seventeen did their utmost to stay on target and not be minced by Tosa's screen. Over a hundred 1 inch guns and her four dual purpose twin two's belched a malevolent field of death into the sky with such ferocity it was if a foul black cloud of smoke was reaching up to devour them.
In a flash, four Vals were ripped from the sky and two Zeros were torn to shreds. Wardog 2's right wing had the outer fifth blown away and it nearly sent him into a deadly downward spiral.
But the Phantom is a tough bitch to kill, even for the Abyssal guns.
True to their intent, the surviving planes were set upon by the CANT's, allied formation and firing solutions thrown into disarray by the sheer volume of anti-air fire. Only one of the surviving Zeros managed to cleave into the floatplanes on the initial descent and claimed two kills before being forced to take evasive action.
Colonel Yamamoto could hardly believe what she was flying through. This was a minuscule task force. And not even close to the kind of storm that could be put up by a proper group. But she had never known an era where the gun reigned. Her missile alert warning would never flash in this maelstrom.
This was the storm her great-grandfather flew through. And only now could she appreciate the hell he described.
But they would not fail. They would loose their bombs upon their foe and laugh over their burning corpses.
She and the Major would team up on one Orion while the Vals broke up the formation with attacks on the cruisers. If there was one advantage she could claim her bird had over her allies of the past, it was the sheer volume of bombs that could be strapped on.
"Hey Sandbar, you alive?"
"Somehow. This screen is something else!"
"No shit. The spooky sure as hell isn't helping." Major Wolfenstien maneuvered his wounded plane to hook up with his commander whilst doing his damnedest to keep from eating any more of the Princess' flak. "...How the Hell did they do this?"
"Got me. Stay on my ass, we've got a bitch to pump full of iron before the next wave gets here." The Colonel watched the leader of Green squadron cut another CANT in half before she poured on the speed.
The two Phantoms dove again, through fire and through flames, dead set on scoring a hit with every single piece of ordinance they had. The roar of their engines echoed over the cacophony. All weapons primed.
Were it not for the Vals and the efforts of the Zeros pulling fire while hunting floatplanes, neither Wardog would have made it to the drop point. And the very second they reached it, the trigger was pulled. Thirty-six bombs were dropped in that moment. Each carrying nearly two-hundred pounds of explosive. Overkill for one. But not a chance was being taken.
The sky above the Orion darkened with Mark-82's.
And were it not for evasive action taken by the Abyssal battleship, those bombs would have reduced it to a burning smear on the waves. The blanket of explosives coated the sea, nearly all splashes.
"We get any!?" roared Titus as they pulled up and angled away from the combat zone.
A tremendous fireball rose into the sky. And through the hellish smoke steamed the Orion. Burning and dying, its bridge and two aft turrets a blazing wreck, but still alive.
"Fuck!" Akira swore and nearly punched her console, watching Kaga's planes continue their battle. Up high she swore she saw more planes coming in, but neither she nor her wingman had the fuel or armament to continue. A single, devastating drop and back to base to rearm. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am. "It's dying, but it's not dead."
Explosions continued to litter the sky as Gold squadron began their attack.
"They'll finish it. I know they will." The Major dripped his flight controls so tightly that he would have sworn they began to creak. It could have been his imagination. He was missing a chunk of his wing and there were half a dozen or more nicks in his plane now.
"Hey, Handy?" Something was bothering Akira. Something she definitely should have noticed by now. "The big bitch isn't shooting anymore."
"What? But the only..." His eyes widened as he snapped his eyes towards the horizon.
The only reason for a battleship to silence one set of guns was to fire another. A very specific set of guns.
As one, ten sixteen inch cannons roared.
The sea cratered and the blast-wave knocked the last surviving CANT from the sky, sent tumbling into the water like a fly being swatted down for flying too close.
Tosa was speaking, and she would suffer no interruption.