Chapter 6: Back Home

Boise was a little worried about her destroyers. This sortie was the first time two light aircraft carriers were spotted in the Aleutian Islands. The base only had two of its own, and had no standard aircraft carriers. If this were to keep up, it would be important for her destroyers to be able to dodge bombs and air-launched torpedoes. Fortunately for her, the Admiral also understood the heightened airpower of the enemy and encouraged the shipgirls to practice anti-aircraft defense and maneuvering. She decided to work with the carriers on an anti-aircraft competition.

As the last of the destroyers arrived at the docks, Boise announced the rules. "The goal of this exercise is to shoot down as many planes as you can, while taking the least 'damage'. Princeton and Belleau will be launching practice planes at you. They won't do any serious damage, but will hurt if they hit you." Some of the destroyers, especially Mahan, seemed slightly intimidated by this. "The winner of this exercise will receive four pounds of chocolate ice-cream." The treat was a part of Boise's private stash, saved for use as a treat for the destroyers. All of the destroyers loved candy and ice-cream. Boise could clearly see the reward begin to motivate the girls. "The carriers will fire four waves of aircraft at you, so be careful to pace yourself. Endurance is more important than pure strength. Both here and out in the Pacific, if you push yourself too hard, you'll quickly fail."

Belleau couldn't help from opening her mouth. "You guys saw me earlier! I'm a mean, lean, carrier machine!" Boise rolled her eyes. Belleau was often immature. She had much to learn from her sister.

"I wanna be first!" Kane was practically jumping for the opportunity to win delicious ice-cream.

"Alright, you can be first." Boise motioned for the destroyer to come up. She gave her a rub on the head before returning to shore.

Princeton took her flight deck, aimed it at the little destroyer, and began the first round of practice planes. The slow slug immediately turned into a wing of practice fighters. The fighters pulled up, gaining altitude. Kane, since she was a Clemson class destroyer, had little in the way of anti-aircraft armament. Her best strategy was to dodge them, and use her 3 in cannon to suppress the fighters. This was, indeed, her plan. Her sisters back ashore cheered her on, which helped her from wincing from the strafes. After what seemed a long fight, but was actually about a minute, the fighters withdrew and Belleau launched bombers. These would be somewhat easier to dodge, and were followed by another bomber wave from Princeton. For the final wave, torpedo bombers were launched from both carriers.

"These practice torpedo bombers are almost as safe and harmless as live torpedo bombers."

Princeton nudged her sister with her elbow to shut her up. "Don't be rude to the hardworking aircraft fairies."

By this point, Kane was tired. Her little anti-aircraft cannon was burning hot, and the little stings from the fighters and bombers were painful and frustrating. She tried to head into the torpedoes, but slipped and two practice torpedoes hit her. She fell into the shallow water. The torpedo bombers were called off, and Princeton went over to help her up.

Boise called out from the shore, "You did really well, girl!" Kane gave the cruiser a tired smile. Boise turned around. "Who wants to be next?"

XXX

Meanwhile, Houston and Ellen were walking around the town. Houston had told Ellen that the previous Admiral had allowed the shipgirls to wander around town, provided there were only a few, that they notified the commander, and that they kept a cell phone on them. The town was practically all military personnel and their families, so it seemed like a good way to keep up morale, especially in winter. Ellen was instantly curious about where they liked to go, and was still unfamiliar with most of the town, so she asked the cruiser to show her where she and the other ships usually went. Now they were walking around Main Street, the only paved road, on the way to the town's little library.

What sort of books do they look at? Do they read books about World War 2 and their history? The Academy had tons of courses focused on shipgirls, but few discussed their casual interests or their personal goals. Ships on the front lines in Hawaii, Bermuda, or the Lesser Antilles didn't really get the opportunity to have their own down-time like those up here in Alaska. What do they think about their history, the men who served aboard them, or the ships they fought in World War 2? The US had not yet managed to reestablish any contact with the Old World. The submarine scouting of Kamchatka was the furthest they had been able to get. Perhaps the Old World was already lost to the Abyssals, and the Americas were the last bastion of humanity on Earth? Unfortunately, the US was not in any good position to attempt another run through the Bering Strait, especially with the recent rise in highly aggressive Abyssal activity against the Caribbean and Hawaii. And now with command fearful of Abyssal activity on their bases in Kamchatka…

While Ellen was thinking, they arrived at the small library. From the outside it looked small and cramped, but from the inside it had a warm and cozy atmosphere. Cheesy reading posters were taped onto open walls, and the bookshelves were full of books. The Librarian looked up from her phone to greet the new visitors with vigor. "Oh, you're the new base commander, aren't you?" The small lady climbed over the counter right up to Ellen.

"Oh, hi." Ellen was caught a little off guard by the librarian's sudden vigor.

"Are you looking for a book, or just to relax?"

Ellen saw movement around some shelves, and saw Memphis come into view. She just remembered Houston offhandedly saying that she cleared the light cruiser to head into town.

"Oh, were you looking for that little lady?"

"No, Houston was just showing me around to the parts of town I haven't been to yet."

"Aw! How lovely of you, Houston." The heavy cruiser subtly blushed. "Anyway, Admiral, if you need a book, or a calm place to relax, the Unalaska library is here for you."

While the librarian started to return to the counter, Ellen turned to Houston. "What sorts of books do you read here?"

"I read books on US history."

Without turning around, the librarian called out, "Hou-ston! I know what you read."

Houston blushed, and said, much more quietly than usual, "D-Don't rat me out May!"

May turned around with a smile and looked at Ellen. "She's really into murder mysteries. Especially the one with a handsome boy on the cov-"

The cruiser used her superhuman strength to open the door and pull her superior officer out of the library. Ellen stumbled and fell onto her butt on the wooden patio.

"I'm sorry Admiral. I didn't mean to pull you like that." The librarian's head appeared in the window.

"It's alright. I'll just come back later to gossip with the librarian." May gave Ellen a devious smile from behind Houston.

The cruiser, defeated, offered her hand to help the Admiral back up.

"Come on, let's go to the next place." She smiled at Houston, victorious.

5