A Certain Lady Part 20

Parkson wanted to fall down in one of the shallower edges of the dock and just let her tired muscles relax for a few moments, but she didn't want to keep everyone waiting. She didn't enjoy the experience and she certainly didn't want to make anyone else sit through it either. Especially with the outcome they had reached.

It had been touch and go for a while. Particularly with some of the shrapnel Tatsuta had been forced to leave behind during the bout of field surgery. And she was pretty sure there were more hands moving things about than belonged to her and her team. But she was far too focused on making sure the wounded battleship was put back together as nice and neat as possible to really question it. Probably better to ask the Major regardless.

He knew a lot more about dealing with shipgirls than she did. But she as doing a pretty good job of it if she said so herself! It still made her nervous as all could be though.

She looked over the sleeping Hiei, bandaged up and looking a little less like the mummy she had been when she'd been brought in, and let loose a sigh of relief. It could have been a lot worse if she were perfectly honest about it. But it hadn't. And even if it had, she wasn't about to let it slow her down. When the going gets tough, the tough get going after all.

Even if that meant pulling chunks and shards of creepy spooky metal that might be some kind of evil made manifest out of a woman who was also a warship.

Still...

She really would have liked to have saved Hiei's arm.

But there was genuinely nothing anyone could do about it. Mostly because there was not enough left to save.

Much as she wished she could say otherwise, without a lot of time, effort, and precious resources, Hiei's war on the front lines was all but over. Almost everything fore of her conning tower would need to be replaced or rebuilt from scratch. And what had been salvageable had gone into making sure what had survived was on its way to recovery.

Parkson considered it both a miracle and testament to the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal that Hiei's keel hadn't been warped in some way by all of the trauma placed on it. She'd have to give credit to there. They'd built a sturdy ship. Severe lack of good armor and damage control procedures, true. But the second Kongou had taken one hell of a beating. To the point even a true blue standard would have to be impressed.

Parkson paused as she parsed out her latest string of thought bubbles. Fore of the conning tower? But that didn't make sense. It was an arm. Fore would be... But then the... And keel was...

She groaned and kneaded her temples. It was probably better to just let it slide and attribute it to stress for now. The Major probably did the same. And anyone else who dealt with shipgirls on a regular basis.

If there was a plus side however, she was certain to have already found it. As she tried to work the kinks out of her shoulders, the bright eyed young woman cast off the spooky headache growing and grinned a tired and assured grin. It would just be a matter of making sure Hiei was well enough to take advantage of that silver lining. And convincing Rear Admiral Richardson of it. But that shouldn't be too hard if her impressions of the man were accurate.

Second of the Kongou-Class of fast battleships: Hiei.

Parkson had never met the warship before now, but there was plenty of a story to be told written on the savaged body she had just finished pulling back from the brink.

And that story was a long one. Sure, her older sister might have been the very first shipgirl to step forward and take the fight to the Abyssals. But Kongou had every possible responsibility and duty placed upon her shoulders from the very beginning. If there was a duty that required a shipgirl, Battleship Kongou had probably had a hand in the execution of that station.

On the other hand, Hiei had charged headfirst into battle almost from the moment she had taken her first steps as a human being.

Before the ranks had filled out to the point where a rest was even a possibility, one was almost certain to see Hiei's battle standard flying high amongst smoke and flame in any engagement.

The Emperor's Ship-

A rustling of the curtains surrounding the dry-dock drew Parkson's attention to the land facing side of the combined operating and recovery room. There stood a shadowed figure on the other side, its presence only visible owing to the bright lighting.

"Lieutenant Junior Grade Parkson?" A weary, but still quite commanding voice called out her. "Permission to enter the dry-dock? It's Admiral Richardson."

Parkson looked over the sleeping Hiei, weighing her thoughts before replying. Hiei was stable but still in terrible condition. There wouldn't be any danger in letting Richardson in to check on someone so important to him. Perhaps even more than important if one of the many rumor mills was to be believed. You heard a lot of scuttlebutt in her line of work. Most was garbage, but it was still fun to fantasize about the more lighthearted tales.

But at the same time... Bah. Hiei was down, but not out. She'd made extra certain of that. And she'd be right nearby if anything went pear-shaped. The battleship could use a friendly face if she came to. And she'd bet money that the Admiral needed to see Hiei as much for his own sake as for hers.

"Come on in, sir. She's still out, so don't make too much no-" She let loose a rather impressive yawn before stretching and popping her back in a rather satisfying manner. The surface of the pool rippled slightly as she extricated herself from the salty waters. "-noise. She needs all the rest she can get. And Admiral or not, I'll kick you out if you cause any trouble."

"Right."

Richardson pulled aside the curtain just enough to allow himself entry. His eyes held the flinty sort of resolve normally reserved for someone who had prepared themselves for the worst. An already worn and wrinkled uniform looked even more disheveled in his current state. Sure, it was part and parcel of his station to look every part an Admiral of the United States Navy. But right now he had thrown the reigns over to someone else to manage.

Delegation was also part of being an officer.

And Yamashiro needed the practice regardless.

Parkson stood at attention despite her near palpable exhaustion and tried to put forth the best salute she could. She had been about to greet Richardson when he held up his hand. Not sharply, but firmly enough to pass along the fact that formality was not high on his list of priorities.

"At ease, Parkson." Richardson's voice betrayed nearly every emotion he was suffering at the moment. His hand dropped as he turned to fully face the woman who had worked tirelessly with her team to save what remained of Hiei. "We're both exhausted and I'm not in any mood to deal with rank."

"If that's what you want, I won't complain." Her shoulders sagged as she let out a deep breath. It was never immediate. It was always the first moment you had to actually calm down and relax just a bit that the tiredness really hit. Not always the most convenient thing to deal with. And the temptation to just give in was terrible. "Do you want me to step out? She's in stable condition and I can be right outside if you need me."

"Your call. I won't care one way or the other." The crinkling of a report being drawn from a pocket filled the mostly silent room. He held it out in all it's crumpled glory for Parkson to take, which she did without any sort of fanfare. "Just tell me if what your team's report says is accurate. About her injuries."

"Let's see..." She remained mostly silent as she ran through the offered report. Speed reading was a good skill to have. Especially if you had a flag officer right in front of you who'd had his fill of waiting. "...Sir, I'm sorry. This is accurate to the letter. I'd only add a few more details about Tatsuta's field work, but there's nothing else missing or anything wrong."

"I was afraid of that." Richardson took a deep breath as he collected himself, letting the cogs and plans turn and work themselves out in the back of his mind. He ground his teeth together before releasing that breath in a manner just short of shuddering. "You did good work. You saved her. And for that I cannot thank you enough. As a member of the armed forces and as myself."

"Thank you, sir. I'll... leave you two alone." Parkson began turning to take her leave before pausing. Whatever she had been about to say died on her lips as she saw Richardson set into the pool and begin wading towards Hiei. He hadn't even bothered to take his shoes off.

Parkson pushed aside the curtains with one final glance back at the duo before finally exiting.

Only to come face to face with the steeliest set of grey eyes she had ever seen.

"What is the status of Lieutenant Hiei?" demanded Battleship Arizona.

Parkson nearly took a step back reflexively as the overwhelming presence of the redheaded Pennsylvania-Class was swiftly joined by a battleship, three cruisers, four destroyers, and one of Japan's precious few fleet carriers.

None seemed to care about their various states of bandaging or damage, much less dress or undress.

Arizona repeated herself to the gobsmacked woman.

"How is Hiei?"