Chapter 12: Encounter

Huron was looking forward to the anti-submarine exercise. She herself was well trained, probably more so than any of the other destroyers due to her time in Halifax, but she wanted to see more of Boise. The other destroyers respected the cruiser greatly, and it's easy to see why. Boise was a symbol of humanity during a hard-fought war. The radio and government broadcasts were full of heroic, iron-willed shipgirls. Enterprise was the poster-child for this: Fighting no matter what to protect people. With Shipgirls being the only truly effective way to fight the Abyssals, and with a populous terrified of a very real existential threat, Shipgirls found themselves under a heavy pressure to act tough and heroic. But Boise showed them compassion and kindness, qualities that made them feel more human. Huron felt this too, and wanted to connect with Boise.

They set off. The exercises would take place a little way out of the Unalaska bay. Huron maneuvered closer to Boise to ask a question.

"Hey, Boise. You've been in the war for a while, right?"

"Oh, yes. I'm not as old as, say, Pennsylvania, and a little bit younger than Houston, but I've been serving for a while now."

"Some of the older ships seem to be aloof and disillusioned. But you're still so caring and optimistic."

"It's always best to think positively. Even though we don't have a lot of control over the state of the world out there, we can control how we respond to it. I choose to be optimistic because I know we will be able to pull through to a better time. Humanity has gone through many dark ages. Even though this age seems terrible and dangerous, we've survived more terrible and more dangerous times."

"You may not have been told much about this, but the Abyssals are not the first time humanity has been under a pressing, existential theat. This is not the first time that Americans, and Canadians too, have feared world-wide destruction and Armageddon. During the cold war the US and Soviets were prepared to burn this planet down through nuclear holocaust. US nuclear weapons were facing off the Soviets in Turkey, while Soviet missiles were prepared to rain death from Cuba. The world came close to death, by our own hands no less, but we survived. Those missiles never launched. Instead we entered a golden age of incredible prosperity."

"Sure, things may seem to be dim, but we're far from facing defeat. We've faced a limited Abyssal land invasion from the Hudson Bay before, and we beat them back into the sea. If we have to, we can retreat into the great lakes and the interior. But I don't think that's going to happen. I think we're about to see the light at the end of the tunnel. You're new, but I've been out fighting for a while. The Abyssals aren't rolling out new classes as much as they used to, and I think their current aggression is due more to desperation on their part than strength. We're facing the full brunt of their wrath right now, but once Essex and Iowa slip into the waters of the Great Lakes, we will be the hunters, and they the prey."

XXX

The evening sun shone softly into Ellen's office. She sipped some root-beer as she played on her phone. It was some sort of Bejeweled clone. Whatever. She could match three in her sleep, but it helped her pass the time when there was nothing else to do. Suddenly, the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Admiral. I'm afraid we have bad news. We've detected a medium-size Abyssal fleet racing towards the base."

"What's the composition!?"

"We don't know. We detected them through isotope emission. We've diverted a drone."

"Do you think the Abyssal force is light enough for Boise and her destroyers to face off against?"

"It's hard to tell, but it doesn't seem like a large fleet action. I'm not detecting the emissions characterized by battleships or aircraft carriers. But take note, we can't intercept them before dusk, so aircraft carriers won't really be usable."

XXX

Meanwhile, Houston was having a nightmare. She was walking through a snowy Unalaska, a badly injured Australian shipgirl on her back. She heard fierce fighting coming from the base, but her vision was shrouded by heavy snowfall. She struggled to walk while carrying the Australian. The snow began to lighten. Feeling emboldened, she shifted the Australian back onto her back and sped up. Then the frantic sounds of battle silenced. Houston began to feel something was wrong. The snowfall finally blew away, revealing the base.

It was thoroughly battered. Collapsed buildings littered the town, huge shell holes filled the streets. A tattered American and Canadian flag flew over the base. She saw a group of marines nearby, resting against the walls of a collapsed old barn. She hurried there, and as she neared it, she saw that all but one were dead.

"Marine! What has happened here? Are there other survivors?"

He looked up with a sad expression. "You might want to look at the lass on your shoulder."

All of a sudden, Houston was aware of how cold the girl had become. She laid her out on the ground. Unfortunately, she was already dead. She had bled out from the Abyssal torpedo strikes. This made Houston even more conscious of her own torpedo wounds. She looked up and saw that the marines had transformed. They were now the Admiral, Ellen, along with Pennsylvania, Boise, Astoria, and Princeton. The injured Ellen spoke: "They're unstoppable Houston."

"No! We will stop them! We will keep them at bay! Essex and her sisters will come and destroy them. They're weakening!"

"No." Ellen calmly said, dark red slowly creeping down her head, "They are strengthening."

"But… I've fought them. They're… becoming desperate."

"No. They're confident. They smell blood."

"But…"

"They will burn Washington, sack San Francisco. They will break through the Saint Lawrence River, and flood the great lakes with death."

"No..." Houston whispered.

"There's no use denying it anymore. Here, take my hand." Ellen smiled and held out her hand. Houston didn't even seem to notice the blood on it. She sat down next to her. All of a sudden, things felt lighter. The pain from the wound on her waist and leg numbed, and the freezing cold abated. She felt a calmness and warmth wash over her. "See?" Elllen said, "It's not so bad when you accept it."

XXX

Houston head a faint sound coming from the base. Her whole body felt numb, and her hearing seemed muted. "What was that?" She saw that she was resting on Ellen's dead body. For a moment she paused, then she stood up, suddenly alert. She now heard the base's raid siren blaring loudly. She walked around the edge of the barn, and suddenly found herself staring at her bedroom ceiling. Astoria stood over her, and she felt a sharp pain on her cheek.

"Goddamn it, Houston! What does it take to wake you up!?"

She rubbed her cheek. Evidently, Astoria had slapped her to wake her up. "What's going on?" Her voice was almost drowned out by the raid siren.

"What do you think, genius? The Abyssals are coming for the base!"

XXX

Huron looked at the quickly setting sun. Hopefully Haida was enjoying an uneventful night. She could hear Boise coordinating with the other shipgirls. While the cavalry was coming as fast as possible. Her, Boise, and the other destroyers would scout out the Abyssals and possibly engage with the smaller, lead Abyssal group. Since they were already out on the seas for their practice, they would actually get eyes on the Abyssals before the drones that were just dispatched from the base.

While Boise was busy on the radio, she moved over to Boyd.

"Hey Huron." Boyd was a bit more apprehensive than normal. Huron hadn't sortied with her before, so she couldn't tell if this was normal for Boyd or new.

"Hey. Do you think we can safely skirmish with the Abyssals while the cavalry catches up?"

The destroyer's face turned towards Huron and lit up. "Oh, we'll be fine. I'm sorry if I look a bit stern. Don't worry Huron. We'll be fine. There aren't going to be battleships or carriers, so there's nothing there that we, and Boise, can't take on." Her face then turned a bit more sly, "And even if there was, a determined destroyer can bring down even a battleship. You've heard of the battle of the Tin Can Sailors, right?"

Huron nodded. Mm hmm.

XXX

As the sky darkened, they began to have to rely more on radar. Huron was nervous, but the night was cool and calming. The stars were beautiful, and very clear. The stars were always there, whether she be in Halifax or Alaska.

Then Boise made the first radar contact with the smaller, leading group. "Radar contact! Two o'clock! Wait … there's something weird about their radar signature." Boise paused, rechecking her radar. "This is weird guys. We need to get closer."

The destroyers became a little more anxious. By this time, the group had begun radio silence, so Boise was in command of the group.

"We're going to have to get closer. I can't identify them right now."

XXX

"Ok, this is just weirder now." Boise was very perplexed. "Their radar signature. It's… It's almost like shipgirls…"

And that's when a miraculous, monotone voice came over the radio:

"American kanmusu, please help. We are low on fuel and the Abyssals are pursuing us. This is the Japanese destroyer Hatsuyuki, along with light cruisers Nagara and Kuma."

I expect this story to be nearing its conclusion. I'd estimate that, unless I want to put in one more side arc, possibly illuminating what's been going on in east Asia, the story will reach its end somewhere between chapters 14-18.

Also, thank you for the feedback and comments! I read every one of them. 3

I hope you enjoy my attempts at foreshadowing so far.