Information:
"USS Liberator, CVN-80" = speech
"I can live with this" = thought
'Just a moment will you' = Fairy / Sam speech
"Operation Mount Hope III" = something important / emphasis
[That depends] = radio
Nagato steamed to the East, her battle group wrapped tight around her as they followed the seven planes squadron back towards their second home. Few of their number speak anything, instead keeping an eye out for any more threat that may come for them. The Abyssals might be pulling out for now, but no one can be assured that they won't try taking some potshots.
But more importantly, they kept their sight on the horizon, scanning for any sign of USS Liberator. A lonely carrier is a vulnerable carrier, even if said carrier just pulls out 4 different F/A-18E squadrons with a magnitude of various weapons as if it was the most common thing to do. Still, her action had made her indispensable in the battle. And as far as Nagato was concerned, that was enough to accept her into the fleet and bring her back to Yokosuka.
That, and any carrier that can launch four squadrons worth of Super Hornets is a massive boon to the war effort. Well, if they could convince her anyway.
Just then, the squadron of Super Hornets that they had been following for the past minutes began descending, their jet engines slowed down at the same time. Nagato knows what that means, they are close.
"Carrier spotted! Dead ahead, dess~" Kongou suddenly piped up, bringing the attention of the rest of the group.
Sure enough, steaming towards them just 4 degrees portside, was a carrier shipgirl. She was far enough that Nagato had a hard time making out any detail even with her spotters manning their binoculars. The squadron had long since left the group and was heading for the new contact. "Nagato to Liberator, I've got a carrier on sight. Is that you?" Nagato asked the radio.
[That depends, are you a group of shipgirls that I see just now?] Came the response from the other side.
Nagato allows herself a small smile of relief at making contact with the carrier. "I'll take it as a yes, Liberator" Nagato said as it earned a chuckle from the carrier.
Now however, more detail can be observed from her spotter binoculars as the now-identified Liberator approached. She was remarkably tall, surpassing both the Yamato and Iowa Class battleships. Tanned skin with scars here and there were covering parts of the body that didn't get covered by her outfit, indicating that this girl served on the field for a long time. She had back-length chocolate brown hair that is tied into a braid and an eye patch that covered her left eye leaving a single ocean-blue eye. A scar that runs diagonally on the left part of the face closed any attempt at conversation about it for the near future.
Her outfit was composed of a short-sleeved, navy blue US marine uniform with a "USS Liberator" nametag on her right breast. Placed on her shoulders were rank insignias denoting the rank of Commander. On the upper right sleeve of his shirt, there are two flags stacked on top of each other. The one above is the flag of the United States, while the one below is a black flag with a skull symbol in the middle. Same colored trousers wrapped the carrier's long legs with black calf-high combat boots anchoring down the carrier like a solid fortress. But one thing that stood out was the condition of her rigging and outfit, signs of wear and tear as well as improvised repairs can be seen all over the place, yet the thing managed to work completely fine.
Overall, this girl looks like she had fought the Devil themselves and lived to tell the tale.
"You're Nagato?" The carrier asked as she stopped in front of Nagato.
"Yes. The flagship of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, IJN Nagato. Pleased to meet you" Nagato said in English, right hand outstretched.
"USS Liberator, CVN-80(1), Flagship of the United States Navy third fleet. At your service" Liberator responded in accented Japanese as she accepted the hand before stealing a glance at the battle group. "Quite a colorful bunch you got there, Nagato"
The act spread its effect as Nagato and her group were taken aback by the language the modern carrier used. Thankfully, Nagato managed to bring back her senses after both of them finished their handshake. "I didn't think you will be a bilingual, Liberator. Will there be other surprises I should know?" the dreadnought asked in her native tongue.
"Besides the fact that I am both trilingual and suddenly able to speak Japanese? Nope" That only earned a curious eyebrow from Nagato, which Liberator take as a sign to elaborate further. "English, Spanish, and the newly added Japanese, Guess that's what happens when you listened to Spanish for a decade straight. Unfortunately, I can't explain the Japanese other than I suddenly being able to speak it"
"It's alright, I understand. There are a lot of things around us shipgirls that haven't been able to be explained. The Americans called it MSBS, which is short for-"
"Let me guess, Magical Shipgirl Bull Shit. Is that correct?"
"…Yes, you're correct"
"Good, that means I need more alcohol to help me process the bizarreness" The carrier stated, which Nagato can sympathize with. Being a shipgirl for the first time can lead to some confusion. Luckily, there's no severe case regarding that. Yet.
"Anyway, we will be regrouping with the rest of the fleet before making our way to Yokosuka. Will that be a problem with you?"
"Nope. Lead the way, señora"
[]-[]-[]-[]
"I can live with this…" Liberator thought as she sailed above the waves with her newfound allies, and so far so good. It also helped that some of them had a personality not that different from the ones she already met in her previous life. Thanks to the various small talks she had with the members of the group.
A woman like Nagato reminds her of Ford. The kind of person that can kill just by staring at their target, yet with a heart of a caring leader. Next will be Kongou, who to be honest is a little bit eccentric for her taste. But then again, she had Doris Miller as a sister. That already speaks a lot. Last but not least, the destroyers. And well…
"Are you saying that the helicopter is from a genuine Cold War era?" Fubuki asked as Liberator brought the black-colored Hind onto her flight deck, her eyes were full of curiosity. One that is answered with a nod and smile from the modern carrier, God that face was so cute.
…
Hey! Everybody has a weakness, alright… It just so happen that one of hers was destroyer, so knock it off.
"That's so cool, pooii!" Yuudachi suddenly interjects whatever reply Fubuki wants to say, probably eavesdropping on the conversation earlier. But then, the look on her face changed to one of confusion as soon as she was attached to the conversation. "But how did you get one, poi?"
Her question attracted Fubuki's gaze as they expect an answer from Liberator, who just stood there silently as she racked her memory for the explanation. Luckily, those memories came back to her like a morning breeze, and now she was ready to tell the curious destroyers the story of one of the strangest turns of events she ever experienced.
"Well, this story will be a wild one. Are you sure you wanna hear it now? Not like, later with your friends?" That earned an enthusiastic nod from both of them. They were not the only ones eager for the story though, as others in the group were also displaying a curiosity towards the carrier. So with a slow blink, she began her storytelling.
"Alright then. But to provide a base context, we will start way, way back. 32 years back to be exact." She started. "You see, in 1988 the US launched "Operation Mount Hope III" which is an operation to recover an abandoned MI-24(2) from the Chadian Government during the Toyota War. Long story short, the operation was a success, and the Hind was later brought to the States for study. After it was done, the Hind was then displayed in a Museum in Alabama before being moved into a warehouse containing other Cold War relics for safekeeping in the early 21st century. Move forward a little, a group of scouts from the Resistance managed to discover this particular warehouse and sacked its content during the early years of the Federation War." She then abruptly stopped as she saw the confusion on their face, before giving another base context.
"The war I'm participating in back home. Anyway, the Hind was then brought to the Resistance HQ before being shoved into service after a few repairs, and the outcome was impressive. So much so that they decided to devote much of their resources to it. The pylons and targeting system were jury-rigged and modded respectively to carry US-made weaponry and deliver said weaponry more efficiently. The original engines were replaced with engines they build from scratch, using parts from a downed Fulcrum and abandoned or destroyed tanks. Armored panels covered the fuselage following its newly installed engines. And for the finishing touch, they removed half of its passenger capacity to give way for a homemade jammer for extra protection.
"Thus the result was both an abomination and technological marvel, the MI-24HM. And trust me, this thing deserves its category. Of course, it isn't all fine and dandy as the Federation later learned about this particular group and decided to take a move about it. Luckily, Most of the group had already evacuated to somewhere safer while its high-ranking personnel was brought to me for their safety. In the end, I got a heavily modded Hind sitting inside my hangar as its pilots were chatting with my own. On the bright side, this thing was straight up better than the Vipers I used to have" She concluded her story, while her audiences were still processing the bizarre story. "So, any questions?"
"Ehmm… Does it have a name, Liberator-san?" Fubuki asked.
"Yup. The crew named it Roland, which is an inside joke. On the other hand, his pilots named it Tonk. Either way, both work fine for me" Liberator answered, both of their eyes locked on the flying form of the helicopter as it flew a patrol pattern around the group. Its blade chopped through the air as it soar the skies. "No matter how many times I see this sight, I will never get tired of it"
"That's… a weird name" Said Nagato as she sailed beside Fubuki, the latter startled at the sight of the former suddenly appearing beside her. The result was Fubuki tried and failed to greet the bigger ship as she instead sputtered words uncontrollably, thus earning a chuckle from the two adult ships and a head pat from Liberator.
"Well… the pilots were Marines after all, so no surprise there. Anyway, how long before we arrive?" Liberator replied when she finished head patting the smaller girl, crimson hue adorning the destroyer's cheeks as she shut her eyes in embarrassment.
"In a minute or so. However, may I ask you something?"
"Sure, shoot it"
"…How much horsepower did you produce?"
[]-[]-[]-[]
"This sucks" Musashi remarked to herself, with Mutsu nodding at it.
As it turns out, she was not the only one that had their engines damaged from the attack. It seems like the Abyssal deliberately targets either their engines or rudders, presumably so that they are easier to deal with. Currently, the shipgirls are either tending to the damage to themselves, helping others, or being helped.
Musashi found herself receiving both of them with Mutsu's engineer helping her own tending her rudders and engine. The Dreadnought herself was more or less intact with some minor damages, hence why she was helping her.
"Anyway, you're lucky your engine wasn't completely wrecked. Your rudder on the other hand…" Mutsu was subtlety implied, and it didn't take long for her to understand the meaning.
"So in short I can't move and thus need someone else to tow me. Am I right?" Mutsu nodded. Both of them knew this will be a problem. After all, you need some heavy-duty engine to move 64,000 tons worth of ships. Exactly the capability both of them did not have at the moment.
"Unfortunately, yes… Though don't worry, Nagato had informed me that she had found someone that can tow you back home" and that raised a curious eyebrow from Musashi. Unless she talked about Yamato, she doubted any other ships can tow her easily. Maybe Bismarck or Iowa can but still, it won't be easy. Then she remembered the new arrival, Liberator, who is a modern carrier so she might have the power to do it.
"It's the Liberator girl isn't it?"
"Yes she is, and she will arrive shortly with Nagato's group" Just as Mutsu's words came out of her mouth, Musashi's spotter spotted a figure flying over the horizon towards them. And by the sound of warning cries from her comrades, she could also guess that she wasn't the only one who saw it. Glancing back, she saw the shipgirls that could move start forming a defensive formation around the ones that were immobilized, AA guns of various calibers began to be alerted with their barrels pointing to the sky.
Despite that, the figure didn't stop changing its course. And it was at that moment Musashi managed to see what exactly the figure is. It was not an abyssal plane, since it was lacking the usual nightmarish looks. It was a helicopter instead, painted black and carrying enough weaponry to probably sink a battleship, but still a normal helicopter nonetheless albeit its small size. Seeing that the helicopter might be friendly, Musashi decided to loosen up on the warning yet still stay alert for any threatening action.
"Everybody stand down, friendly approaching but stay alert" She said calmly, she was sure that her order would still be carried out despite the audio. Soon the shipgirls start to loosen up as well but still keep their gaze on the now-known helicopter. The helicopter itself is starting to get close, and chopping sounds from its constantly rotating blades filled the air.
"How can you know it was friendly?" Someone said behind her, but Musashi didn't need to turn around to know who it is.
"Looks like a normal helicopter to me. Besides, if the abyssal starts utilizing helicopters, we would've known it by now"
"Fair point. Did you know what model the helicopter is?"
"Ehmm… I think it was a Hind" That earned a confused face from Mutsu instead. "You know, one of the Soviet Union helicopters the Russian ships talk a lot about. The one that looks like a flying tank" She said, and after a couple of seconds Mutsu's face finally changed into a knowing one.
"Ah… I think I know which one. Never have thought that you know about this kind of thing"
"There are some books discussing it and other Cold War vehicles back at the lounge. Good stuff too" she answered with a shrug, content on just watching the helicopter as it flew around the shipgirls formation. But even then, she couldn't shake her feeling that something is wrong, but she just can't place her finger on it. Yet before she can address her discontent. Her spotter once again spotted figures steaming towards her, and there was a lot of it. Thankfully, she knew those figures just like the back of her hand. And after a second or two, she could see them.
Nagato was at the lead of the group, striding in with confidence. She was then followed suit by Kongou, Suzuya, and Mogami in that order. Then her gaze turned to the group's new addition, a tall and frankly, a badass-looking girl who is currently being pestered by Fubuki, Yuudachi, and surprisingly enough, Hatsuyuki. To be honest, she can't help at being surprised, considering the look on the newcomer's face. She was not the only one who noticed the group's arrival, as others began to take notice of it too.
"What can I say, we use what we have on our hands" Musashi heard the girl saying something to the destroyer trio. The girl then averted her sight from the destroyers, and instead towards the gathering of shipgirls that is present. "Alright then, who's here named Musashi?" she asked towards the gathering.
"That will be me, you're Liberator?" Musashi said towards her, her right hand raised slightly. But instead of answering her, the girl only looked at Musashi for quite a while, before covering her face with her right hand and muttering something inaudible under it. Musashi could feel something was wrong, and so does Nagato as she tries to figure out what went wrong.
"Is there a problem, Liberator?" the Yokosuka fleet flagship asks. The girl, presumably Liberator let loose the hand from her face, uncovering a pretty pissed expression, which looks terrifying when paired with the eyepatch and scar that adorned her face.
"Yes, yes there is. You didn't exactly inform me that I will be towing an honest to god half-naked woman!" Liberator hissed towards the Dreadnought. Probably a tad too loud, as Musashi could hear her. While anyone else might be offended by her words, Musashi could relate to her outburst. After all, this wasn't the first time she heard such words delivered about her choice of clothing. But before Nagato could even form a reasonable reply, Liberator's right hand was lifted slightly to cut whatever the reply was. "Look, I may not know the exact rules of uniform in this world, but is there no rule against wearing clothes that looks like a fucking stripper?!"
Okay… That was going too far, and Musashi's temperament and dignity would not allow words like that to define her way of dressing.
"HEY!" Musashi barked, loud enough to make anyone cower in fear. Yet evidently it wasn't enough, as Liberator's choice of response was a sharp glance toward Musashi's general direction, with her single blue eye seeming like it was trying to pierce her soul. Although the act was downright terrifying, Musashi's metaphorical armor had thankfully managed to block some of its effects from her. "Are you implying that I am a stripper, just because of my clothing?!"
The atmosphere was tense, so tense that you can cut it with a knife. Eerily silent fall on the gathering as subjectively, two of the most powerful ships on the fleet start seeing each other with hostility. Yet despite all of that, no one dares to move, nor try to defuse the situation. The silence was then broken as the modern carrier slowly approached the World War Two relic.
"Well, maybe I won't call you that if you didn't look like one" Liberator said as she slowly moved toward Musashi, arms behind her back. Her expression turned smug and sarcastic, which didn't help at all. Musashi then heard a chopping sound, before seeing the black Hind now hovering just beside its master, and she was certain it was there not just for the show.
"I do not think that my clothing bears any resemblance to a stripper just like what you said" Came Musashi's response as Liberator was directly in front of her, smugness still placed on her face. Musashi gritted her teeth, she wants to punch that smug face off Liberator's face.
"Oh claro, por supuesto, your clothes didn't look like those women at all" Retorted the carrier as she circled the Battleship, said Battleship could only stay still as her adversary observed her outfit. "And I also bet that you also didn't resemble a proper warship too with all those bandages you called clothes"
"You-"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Came the diffuser as Nagato suddenly roared, abruptly stopping the hostility as both of them snapped their attention toward her. Musashi face was set in stone while Liberator's was, surprisingly enough, filled with guilt and remorse. Nagato observed them before turning her gaze towards Liberator, which is fascinating as the immense height gap between the two. "Liberator, I don't know what you went through in your previous life. But I did not agree with your attitude, especially with a trivial matter such as this. So I suggest you control it. Or else. Do you understand?"
"Ma'am. Yes. Ma'am!"
Content, Nagato then leaves Liberator out of her sight before coming face to face with Musashi. "Musashi, do you know what you did wrong?"
"My temperament and ego managed to get the better of me, again. Thus I did not think straight while doing it" Nagato nodded upon finishing
hearing Musashi's confession.
"That is right, but I don't blame you. Most of it was Liberator's as she was the provocateur" She said with a reassuring smile. "Still, Liberator was new to this, to becoming a human rather than a ship. It also did not help with what I can assume was her past, judging from her appearance alone. So with that, I want you to bear this, and help her instead, can you do that?"
Musashi for her part can only sigh before giving her answer. "Fine, I will help her the best I can" With that, Nagato looked satisfied and started moving to the other members to what she could guess to regroup them before heading back to Yokosuka. She then averted her gaze to the others, only to see them distracting themselves with activities of themselves or with others. As she scanned her surrounding, her sight was locked on her former adversary, who is currently muttering to herself.
"Stupid bitch" Musashi heard her muttering. At first, she thought that Liberator was talking about her and wanted to approach her for that matter. Yet she didn't, following her rational thought. "You just had to do it, didn't you?! One day, just one day and you already making yourself an enemy. A fan-fucking-tastic job right there, Liberator" which was then followed by a dark chuckle. Seeing the poor girl starts blaming herself, Musashi's heart was moved to just comfort her, which she did.
"You know, partner. You don't have to blame all of it on yourself" Musashi started as she called the modern carrier, who is then startled at the calling. Thankfully, she managed to regain control of herself as she approached the Battleship.
"Ah… hey there…" She greeted the Battleship with a somber tone. "Look, I'm sorry for earlier. For my outburst. I just-"
"Stop, I understand. It must not be easy for you to process all of this in just a day. So for that, I forgive you" Musashi gave her a reassuring smile, one just like Nagato's earlier.
"Thanks, for understanding it, I mean. All of this was just…surreal. Like, I have my own human body, fighting angry ship spirit, meeting with what can be explained as elders. All of this was too much for one day" and with that, Liberator's mood had suddenly gotten better, as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. "By the way… do you still need that towing service… or should I call someone else to do it?
"Of course I need that, I doubted anyone else here can tow me singlehandedly anyway" Musashi joked about her situation, which managed to get a chuckle from Liberator.
"Well, Liberator towing service it is…" She muttered as she moved to Musashi's side. "So… how do I do this…"
Seeing the confusion on her face, Musashi decided to take the initiative. "You do it like this" said Musashi as she wrapped her right arm around Liberator's shoulders. "And now you're officially ready to tow a ship"
Author's note:
1) CVN-80 was supposed to be Enterprise (again), but I personally want Liberator to be like a middle kid in the family
(2) I know the Hind was an MI-35 (Export variant), but let's pretend it was an MI-24 for the sake of the story
Hello, and welcome back to "Kantai Collection: Ghost". With me, 4RG4D3G4 as I bring you the fourth chapter of the series. This one is a conversation-heavy chapter as you can see, and it also serves as a practice for my writing. Grammarly also helped a lot, considering my grammar was out of place everywhere.
Got a lot on my plate for the past few days. That, and I have to wrestle with hunger, thirst, and writer's block to finish this.