Chapter 10: Return

Huron came to the docks to see the fleet return. For a shipgirl, it was a special moment. Usually it was a happy reunion, where everyone came together and were happy to see each other. And of course, it was also sometimes a tragic event. Huron still remembered the first time she experienced a tragic return. It was back in Halifax, as a destroyer flotilla came back one short. Borie was sunk by an Abyssal cruiser ambush, and Huron would never forget seeing Borie's sister Bulmer breakdown on the dock. Ever since then, she viewed the return with reverence. Fortunately, this return was happy.

Boyd jumped right into a hug with her sisters, Houston hugged Astoria, and several destroyers crowded Boise. Mahan went past Huron towards Princeton. "Princeton, are you alright?" Huron noticed some scratch marks on the carrier's flightdeck.

"Oh, it's alright. An abyssal fighter strafed me. That's all. It's only superficial damage." The destroyer hugged her anyway. "Aww, little Mahi." She rubbed the destroyer's head and Mahan let go.

"How many ships did you blow up?"

"I think I got two destroyers. Belleau got a light cruiser. But I think Pennsylvania and Boise did really well. They both got three ships."

"You're all so cool!"

Boise wandered over, apparently hearing her name. "I hope I can inspire some courage in you, little Mahi."

"Boise! You're sleeve is charred!"

"It's just from firing my cannons so much."

Huron entered the conversation. "You've got a 10 rounds per minute fire rate, right? That's a lot of power."

"That's sort of an ideal rate. I think I managed about 4-6 today. Plus, I've got no torpedoes, so I've got to make up for that with firepower. Anyway, I'm going to go take a nap in bed for a while, but later today I hope you're ready for some anti-submarine exercises."

One of the Clemson sisters came up to Huron. "Hey, Houston told me to tell you that you've got a call in the Admin building. She said it was Haida."

XXX

"Hey sis, I heard you're being hit even up there."

"Yeah. I haven't been sortied yet, but I've started to get to know some of the other destroyers."

"That's nice. How are they?"

"Well, I've been talking to Boyd, she's one of the Fletcher sisters, and she's a nice lady."

"Good, good. I've been talking more with Atlanta recently. She's still adjusting, but I'm helping her break out of her shell."

"Aww. That's nice of you."

"Yeah. Anyway, it does look like we're in for a major operation soon. Sydney got bombarded by a major Abyssal raid. We were able to push them back, but the enemy is getting more daring. There are refugees everywhere here, and the loss of Sydney has made an opening for the Abyssals to reach the St. Lawrence River. Command's decided that we need to make a counterattack on Miquelon before the Abyssals reinforce or solidify their position."

"Oh, fuck. It's getting bad up there, isn't it?"

"The Americans transferred Ranger up here a week ago. Considering all of the fighting in the Caribbean, if they're transferring carriers out of there to here, then yeah. But that also means that there are going to be stronger ships here, so don't worry too much."

"It's hard not to worry in times like these."

"Don't worry so much about me. I'm a tough ship, and there's a lot of tough ships here. Ranger is a really skilled veteran, Maryland is a really tough little bastard, and we've even got the North Carolina. You've only got the Pennsylvania and two light carriers. You're the one I'm more worried about."

"Things are still pretty calm here. The Abyssals are still holding back. If we have to, we will retreat to Anchorage."

"It's nice to hear that there's at least some calm in this world. Let's hope it stays that way. All we have to do is wait for the heavy hitters like Iowa and Essex to start being constructed. Once they start coming out of the docks, the tide will turn."

XXX

After her call with Haida, Huron felt better. Halifax was a veritable fortress, having withstood many raids and even a full-scale invasion during a similarly dire time about two years ago. It was one of the most secure postings in the known world, and even with how the war is going, it's not about to fall anytime soon.

It was 17:00. Time for dinner. Hopefully she could talk some more with the other shipgirls. On the way she ran into the Admiral.

"Oh, Huron. How were you in my absence?"

"I've caught up on sleep and gotten to know some of the other shipgirls."

"Nice. Who've you been talking to?"

"I've gotten to know Boyd. She's a nice and caring destroyer. I've also talked with Mahan and Boise."

"Hmm. Have you talked with any of the bigger ships? It's important to get to know them too, you know."

"Well, they've been out on sortie today, so I haven't had the opportunity. Maybe I can speak with them more at dinner."

"Right."

XXX

It turns out, the heavier ships were more than happy to accommodate her. Since many of the ships had come back from a sortie, dining time was longer, and some of the shipgirls wanted to hear one of Huron's stories.

"So I was constructed in the Canadian shipgirl complex on Lake Onterio. It's not really far away from the American complex, just across the lake. Initially, I was very scared. I could hear the reports of the fighting and dying going on the front lines, and knew that I would end up on one someday. I got scared, and panicked, and ended up running away from the base."

"I ended up walking through the Canadian countryside first. It was very pretty, with all of the Victory Farms everywhere. But I started to get hungry, and timidly walked up to one farm house. An older man and woman opened the door. Maybe it was because I looked like a child, but they were nice and fed me. They tried to contact the police looking for my parents, but I told them that I was a war orphan to keep from being caught. I specifically remember one of my conversations with them over the four days or so I was with them."

'Wow! This cola tastes good! Thank you!'

'Oh, don't worry darling. You're a lot like are little Laurie'

'Who's that?'

'She was our eldest daughter. She was a sweet little girl, and grew up to be a very strong woman.'

'Eh? I'd like to meet her!'

The woman looked at her hands. I noticed how rough were.

'I'm afraid that she's gone now. She was on the Gerald R. Ford. She always looked up to the heroes in comic books.'

I felt so bad making them dredge up their memories of their daughter. I felt like curling up into a ball.

'After that, her little brother Johnny joined the Engineers to try to help people recover from this devastation, and our youngest became a doctor. We're too old now to help many people, but we try to do what we can by growing food here.'

It was because of that old couple that I went back to the base.