Admiral Mako was looking at the LED board on the large, circular table in the Miura Naval Base's control room, feeling extremely taken aback that the Abyssals would so blatantly show off their technology, which was secretly developed as part of Apocalypse, in broad daylight and in a battle where so many ship girls and even humans were present.
But perhaps it was because the Abyssals were starting to feel outgunned by the JSDF and the USAF, and the Flying Dutchman chose to even the odds by sending out various homemade fighter jets to engage the JASDF along with utilizing SAM launchers to keep them at bay.
Right now, she heard the Fighter Squadron, named 'Swallow', speak up all at once as Admiral Mako recognized some voices calling out how they were hounded by F-35 Lightning II fighters, while others were engaged in fierce dogfights with F/A-18E Super Hornets and Sukhoi Su 33 fighters, amongst other modern jet fighters which the Dutchman sent out.
She heard a panicked voice shout into the mic,
"Bank! Bank!"
While another voice commented about the amount of technical skill behind the enemy joystick,
"Shit!
I think these bad boys are more than capable of taking the JASDF and USAF's ace pilots on their best days!
Their reflexes are insane!"
And the Captain of the JDS Myoukou spoke into the mic about how attempting to cross over to the left flank of the battleship by sailing past the bow of the Dutchman while they thought it wasn't looking caused them to get shot at with some sort of weapon they hadn't encountered before.
"Shit!
That wasn't like any weapon I ever felt before in my life!
I don't think we were hit because of our destroyer's low profile, but I think the projectile was travelling at supersonic, probably even hyper-sonic speeds, and it's cracked our reinforced windows.
All hands on deck!
Evasive maneuvers!"
She leaned in to press the microphone's activation button in order to speak to the human pilots as they faced off against opponents with superior skill and likely possessed superior technology to maximize their performance, asking with a worried voice as she used her call-sign.
"Minerva to Sparrow Squadron, how much backup do you require?"
Her heart sank as she saw the signature of an allied fighter jet be extinguished, its green, triangular symbol on the map changing into a red 'X', but she swallowed the uncomfortable lump in her throat and listened silently to the pilot as he screamed into the radio in a panic.
"We're pretty much even in terms of manpower, but with their insane coordination and reflexes, it's only a matter of time before they whittle down our numbers!
Send all the planes we have, enough to pull off Pearl fucking Harbor all over again!
Send everyone!"
Admiral Mako addressed Banshee on the intercom while speaking in English, asking them if the AC-130U gunship was under attack and if it could assist the fighter pilots of Sparrow Squadron.
But their answer was met with mixed reception from her, the communications officer aboard Banshee speaking,
"Sorry, Admiral.
Even though we're aren't currently under attack because we're further away from the Flying Dutchman than they are, the ship girls look as if they need our help more than ever, since things look ugly down there.
But our spotters can see the situation of Sparrow Squadron from here, and even though we have a few things to say about Sparrow Squadron's choice of words, we agree with them.
Please, send as much backup as you can, because they certainly need it."
Biting the inside of her lip, she nodded to no one in particular as she made way for a sailor passing by her in the bustling command center, speaking tersely.
"Acknowledged.
Birdnest, you copy that?"
Before the second command center located further inland, which was coordinating the movements of the JSDF and USAF, sounded out in response as they were already trying to deploy as many readied planes as quickly as possible without being wasteful of fuel and ammunition,
"Acknowledged, Minerva.
We heard everything, and the F-22 Raptors and F-14 Tomcats should be arriving on the scene in less than two minutes.
The Japanese will be sending six more F-15 Eagles to your location after we've detected about 11 enemy aircraft in your presence.
Sparrow, confirm our readings that more are being sent out of the Flying Dutchman as we speak?"
Heavy breathing and a slight radio crackle could be heard on the other end, the pilot likely trying to get the Dutchman in its sights without being shot down, finally speaking up with some strain in his voice as though struggling against something.
"Affirmative, Birdnest.
It's sending out more birds, and we're gonna have to shoot them down while the Dutchman fires its missiles at us.
Don't worry, Birdnest, Minerva, we'll give 'em hell before the cavalry arrives, please just hurry.
Sparrow out."
Communication worked in a way such that she could speak with Banshee and Sparrow of the USAF and JASDF respectively, the carriers mainly in charge of communications called 'Birdman', the ship girls on the emergency channel if needed as well as Mallard and Anteater, the names to classify the JMSDF destroyers and submarines and the JGSDF vehicles under respectively for simplified communication purposes while she had the 'cool' call-sign, Minerva.
But only the JASDF would have a lag time between receiving orders, mobilizing their jet fighters and crossing the distance in order to reach the scene on time as the JGSDF were already in position on the shoreline and were bombarding the Abyssals as best they could, and on the ocean were the JMSDF destroyers and submarines facing off against the Flying Dutchman.
That was why they had 'Birdnest' included to help out on the human side of the battle, who listened in on the communication channels of the JSDF and USAF in real-time, coordinating their movements, improvising and providing backup to the human participants whenever necessary in order to allow her to focus on the ship girls who pulled off the arguably harder parts of the plan.
Like right now.
She then looked back down at the signatures of the 1st Strike Group, wanting a situation update from anyone as she saw certain signatures turn from green to red, or even grey, which made her right hand curl up into an even tighter fist than before, not even noticing the pain as she waited impatiently for an update.
And it was shortly before the reconnaissance planes managed to tally the number of ship girls either dead or sunk, displaying in blatant capital letters.
'ERROR: SHIP GIRL VITALS NOT FOUND
KAGEROU-CLASS DESTROYER 092
"SHIRANUI"
STATUS: DECEASED'
'ERROR: SHIP GIRL VITALS NOT FOUND
YUUGUMO-CLASS DESTROYER 133
"YUUGUMO"
STATUS: DECEASED'
'ERROR: SHIP GIRL VITALS NOT FOUND
TENRYUU-CLASS LIGHT CRUISER 028
"TENRYUU"
STATUS: DECEASED'
'ERROR: SHIP GIRL VITALS NOT FOUND
KONGOU-CLASS FAST BATTLESHIP 149
"KONGOU"
STATUS: DECEASED'
'ERROR: SHIP GIRL VITALS NOT FOUND
SHOUKAKU-CLASS CARRIER 262
"ZUIKAKU"
STATUS: DECEASED'
'ERROR: SHIP GIRL SIGNAL LOST
CHITOSE-CLASS LIGHT CARRIER 122
"CHIYODA"
STATUS: SUNK'
Her heart stopped at that, but even as her tongue began to sour at the thought of ship girls sinking, she hardened her heart as she asked stoically.
"Minerva to Birdman, can any one of you give me a situation update?
What's your status, and can you continue fighting on at the vanguard?"
She heard Itou Naval Base's Shoukaku speaking up over the radio, and as usual, it never sounded pretty in the background as payload explosions, shells whistling through the air and ship girls of all ages shouting and screaming as Shoukaku narrated.
"Admiral!
We've lost six ship girls, one of which is reportedly sunk, and several more are injured, a few gravely so!
The Abyssals seem to smell blood in the water, and they seem to be advancing without care for our bombing or shelling support!
Recommended course of action, retreating advance!"
Admiral Mako grimaced at how the situation was deteriorating so rapidly as the Abyssals demonstrated their new equipment and destructive capabilities developed as part of Apocalypse, feeling something moist fill her palms as she spoke into the microphone on the emergency channel to quickly speak to all the ship girls on the ocean.
"Then do so, and do so immediately.
Evacuate the injured and dead; those of you who aren't part of evacuation duty, hold the line for those who are with help from the other Strike Groups as well as Banshee until evacuations are done.
When medevacs are done, all ship girls are to retreat beyond the naval mine formation while utilizing the provided smoke grenades and incomplete combustion with your riggings to cover your tracks and create a smokescreen, and further instructions will be given by me later.
That includes the 11th and 13th, retreat to the West and North-East respectively so as not to get caught out!
Any more details, your flagships will give orders on the field on their own judgement.
Move!"
She was greeted with a near-synchronous,
"Yes, Ma'am!"
Before she allowed herself to slow her breathing down, a thin layer of glossy sweat coating her skin despite the fact that Miura's command center was air-conditioned, and she could feel her fighting spirit threatening to take over her mind as her concern for her ship girls seeped out upon seeing them in a pinch.
That wouldn't do.
As one of the Five Dangerous Faults of a General in the Art of War (a heavily-recommended study for aspiring Admirals), although a general should foster a close spiritual bond with his men not unlike that of father and son, to pamper and spoil them was akin to killing them softly as you sacrifice advantages and reschedule plans to prioritize comfort and safety over victory.
Her ship girls were veterans.
Although they were sometimes truly delicate as flowers, their hearts and bodies were tough as steel, and they were capable of handling themselves in battle.
All she had to do was to not make stupid mistakes and lead them to victory.
They could handle themselves.
As she controlled her breathing and slowed down the thumping drum in her rib-cage which was her heart, she unfurled her right fist to find a fistful of blood in the crevices of her palm as four crimson crescent-shaped arcs formed by her fingers digging into her right palm, blood caking underneath her fingernails.
She turned upon feeling someone place a comforting hand on her shoulder and offered a tissue with the other, looking at Ooyodo's equally worried, yet somewhat reassuring expression staring back at her behind her glasses.
She exhaled and loosened up her tense body as she had been obsessing over this large-scale battle for so long, a chill running down her spine due to the sweat cooling down her skin in a cool environment, feeling her nerves transmit slight pangs of pain as she clenched the tissue in her palm, but she sucked it up as she told herself it was nothing compared to what her ship girls were experiencing right now.
Looking back down at the LED screen of the map, which displayed the blue ocean as well as the real-time positions of all the Strike Groups in the Kanto region along with Banshee, Sparrow Squadron, Mallard, Anteater and the Flying Dutchman while the known Abyssal signatures were tracked to the best of the Fairies' abilities, and she asked Ooyodo as the light cruiser stood by her.
"Ooyodo.
What do you do in situations like this, when you've done all that you can and the rest is beyond your control?"
Ooyodo's eyes narrowed behind her glasses, and she gave a surprising yet honest answer which made Admiral Mako turn her head.
"I pray."
Silence ensued as the flurry of activity around them was mentally tuned out by her, and she asked her Coordinator a question out of genuine curiosity despite the dire situation at hand,
"You never told me you were religious, Ooyodo."
Ooyodo shrugged, suddenly looking very old all of a sudden as she spoke with a wistful voice.
"I'm not really into all that, but I think that in any situation, where you've manipulated almost every variable to your advantage while uncertainties lie beyond your area of influence, I think that praying does help to keep a positive spirit.
But while others do nothing to try and make those prayers come true, I think that it's the opposite for you, Admiral; you've done everything in your power for the sake of our victory, but some things require something greater than you or me, greater than all of us combined clicking together just the way we want it.
And I like to think that our prayer does something to tilt the balance of the cosmic scales in our favor in the grand scheme of things, even if it's ultimately just electric signals running through our mind.
After all, other than helping you coordinate and perform the logistics behind the battle as it occurs, there isn't a whole lot I can do back here."
Nodding in understanding, Admiral Mako looked back down at the LED screen as the ship girls of the 1st Strike Group had already begun their painfully slow medical evacuations of the dead or dying, and she understood the wishful logic behind Ooyodo's need to pray.
Sure, it was pragmatic to look at facts, but deep down, humans were hopeful creatures, and they'd jump at the chance to find anything to latch onto in order to fuel their fighting spirit and do what was needed in order to simply survive, be it hope or desperation.
And she found herself doing the same as she stared down at the moving enemy signatures with an intense gaze, as if mentally willing them to move even a bit slower would do any good.
She had done everything in her (and everyone else's) power to prepare for the Battle of Twelve Navies, and even though she was commanding the battle, it was from afar, and she found herself reluctantly hoping for everything to turn out alright (relatively speaking).
Although, her hopes were pinned on her capable ship girls and not some higher power.
She shook these useless thoughts from her mind as she received a sheaf of papers from a fellow sailor and leaned in close to speak with her Coordinator in a conspiratorial tone about the situation at hand, the show of strength from the Abyssals with their developed toys from Apocalypse, and how it would factor into their future endeavors and goals.
Sendai liked to think that she couldn't be surprised by the enemy any more.
She had been fighting this war for nearly three years now, and was well on her way to receiving her Kai Ni remodel.
She had known that the Abyssals were up to something in the form of Apocalypse, and although she hadn't been on Aogashima Island, she had known that they were developing a new line of vehicles and weapons for something big, like the Flying Dutchman for the ocean.
But to physically witness how far flight technology had come since World War 2 and how it felt to be on the receiving end, it was a truly fearsome sight which no amount of mental fortification could prepare her for.
A lone enemy F-35, judging by the dark steel which its entire fuselage and the various wings adorning it were made out of, went supersonic over her and started spitting out machine gun rounds at their planes and curbstomped them with its superior technological specs, she could hear Atago darkly giving them the order to retreat.
"Everyone!
Retreating advance!
Focus your fire on the Abyssals and keep them away from the injured as we retreat into the Sagami Bay!
Move!"
She did as was ordered while looking at her sister counterparts from other bases, Naka wearing a more frilly version of the Sendai-Class's orange dress as she now had white puffed sleeves.
She had a flight catapult attached to her right shoulder, and her bottom now had a white frilled dress in between the 'orange peel' flaps and the black dress which was part of her normal uniform.
Her searchlight was modeled in the form of a handheld microphone in her hands, and her firepower was increased as mechanical arms on her back held up 12.7 Cm Twin High-Angle Gun Turrets on her right and a few more Anti-Air turrets near her left shoulder, and her torpedo launchers were now more like those of heavy cruisers as they were held up by mechanical arms, the base attached to steel bands which were in turn wrapped around her thighs.
Jintsuu, in her Kai Ni form, now had an army-green headband wrapped around her forehead with a blank steel plate displayed between the parting of her hair, and her Sendai-Class dress was sleeveless with a black strip of cloth tied tightly around her waist in order to secure her uniform, and her dress was now black-and-white in vertical stripes while covered by the 'orange-peel' flaps.
The material of her stockings were thicker as they had various slung, black elastic bands tying them in place, and her searchlight was attached to her left thigh via a steel band.
Her two torpedo launchers were on her left hip, sticking outwards like the handles of katanas for quick-drawing, and there were signs that she was wearing a sarashi underneath her clothes.
She felt outclassed when compared to them, but she listened to them as she fired her cannons at the Abyssals in order to stave them off, Jintsuu ordering.
"Sendai, the three of us will fire our salvos together in order to force the Abyssals to disperse.
Naka will try to shoot down the enemy jet fighter, but other than calling in for Banshee's help, I don't have any ideas on how to take it out from the ocean, especially with its speed…"
But her American teammate from her base, Iowa, responded as she roped in Akatsuki and Hibiki to help her out with her plan.
"Yes we do!"
Iowa spoke up, looking like the most American pin-up girl she'd ever seen, with long blonde hair which reached down to her waist, and like most other battleships, was equipped with a rigging which reached out from behind her and bent around to hold her largest cannons.
Three gigantic 16 Inch Triple Gun Cannons (Mk. 7) rested on her rigging, with two on her right and one on her left, and all of the three large-caliber cannons save for one on her right had Anti-Air turrets on them, the AA turrets also lining the platforms on her rigging so that she could shoot while she shot at the enemy, in true American fashion.
And as she already had her large-caliber cannons all pointed towards the Abyssals while her Anti-Air turrets all spat out rounds in order to ward off the Abyssal planes trying to get close, turning to the Japanese ship girls as she asked of them with a concerned look on her face.
"Oh, right.
I know we all have our ear mufflers to help avoid being deafened on the battlefield, but you might want to cover your ears and prepare yourself for this."
They all did as they were told, but Sendai still reeled back from the shock-wave which radiated from the 16 Inch Triple Cannons as they fired majestically, cratering the ocean and pushing Iowa into the ocean as all nine cannon barrels coughed out flames and smoke and shook the Iowa-Class's sizable bosom about wildly, Sendai's bones reverberating within her body as her heart almost felt as if its rhythm was disrupted by Iowa's cannons.
It was comparable to Nagato or even Yamato's cannons, which, when fired, induced a similar sensation which was felt right now, feeling as if the oceans and heavens were being shaken by these supposedly outdated weapons as they unleashed their might on the enemy and roared for the world to hear, to prove to everyone that they were still fearsome in their own right.
Water columns were seen off in the extreme distance, everyone beginning their retreat as Iowa herded the two Akatsuki-Class destroyers, standing in between them and the advancing Abyssals as she spoke to them about how she planned to take down the Abyssal jet fighter, which Sendai suspected was part of Apocalypse and what was to come.
"Look, with my battleship strength, I think I can use my leg in order to kick a depth charge up into the air, like a soccer high kick!"
But Naka, looking concerned about how the impact of Iowa's foot on the depth charge might cause an unintentional detonation not unlike dropping certain firearms from great heights and causing some of them to go off, spoke up as she joined in the Anti-Air fire to help the struggling Fairy pilots.
"But aren't you afraid that the depth charge would simply explode the moment you kick it with your battleship strength?
I'm just afraid that the unintended explosion caused by your kick might take your leg off, if that's even possible with your armor…"
Iowa's face scrunched up into a thoughtful expression while the lone Abyssal F-35, likely judged to be enough to deal with the ship girls and Fairies, performed evasive maneuvers as the heat which the Fairy pilots, ship girls and Banshee the Gunship brought down on it was too much for it to handle alone, likely sent here by itself since they needed as many fighter jets as possible to engage the USAF and JASDF and protect the Flying Dutchman off in the distance.
Iowa mused,
"Well, taking off an entire leg sounds quite impossible, but even though these are upgraded weapons, they're still based off of World War 2 technology, so…"
Scratching her head while brainstorming about the situation as everyone did their best to evade while keeping the Abyssals at bay, the American battleship finally asked in fluent Japanese,
"Well then, how about a baseball throw?
With my battleship strength, which can easily give Yamato a run for her money on a good day, and I'm certain I can hit the enemy plane as I throw the depth charge with all my might."
Sendai then chipped in, predicting their role in this since this plan would require diversion tactics to draw the Abyssal destroyer pilot's attention away from her, and even if its reaction time and abilities were superior to that of Fairies and even human pilots, there were only so many things it could pay attention to in order to react on time, and dividing one's attention increased the chances for slip-ups, whoever it was at the controls.
"Let me guess.
We'll have to distract it, and as it drops its altitude in order to fire another missile at us, you'll throw the depth charge and try to bring it down."
Iowa snapped her fingers and pointed towards her, speaking up with an indefatigable spirit as she resumed her winning smile.
"That's it!
I can't do this alone, and I need you all to help draw its attention away from me."
But Sendai spoke up about how she was so tall compared to them as a battleship and as an American to the point where she was literally towering over the tallest IJN present which was Jintsuu, pointing that out.
"Well, you've found the wrong crowd to hang around with if that's your intention.
You're well over 2 meters tall, and we're all light cruisers and destroyers.
No matter how well we divert its attention, you'll still stick out like a sore thumb if you stick with us…"
But Iowa shrugged as she looked up at the jet-black Abyssal jet fighter, who was performing a wide banking turn around the fringes of the battlefield where the Anti-Air barrage was less intense, speaking grimly as her smile dimmed.
"Be that as it may, I don't want to waste any more time finding another bunch of ship girls to do the job.
Trust me, as an American, I know my baseball pitches, and I'll be putting a lot of force into my fastball.
There's a reason why ship girls, especially battleships, heavy cruisers and carriers are banned from playing a good number of high-intensity sports which can't be brought indoors, like soccer and baseball.
Our titanic strength allows a baseball batter to clear a small base with a swing, a baseball outfielder to smash through weaker walls while catching a falling ball, and we partially uproot trees with a kick of the soccer ball.
That is, if the soccer ball doesn't outright explode when our foot comes into contact with it."
Sendai shivered at the herculean strength required to accomplish all of those feats, and she took Iowa's word for it as she moved into position, looking at the alien jet fighter as it tried to re-initiate its attack, Iowa pulling them in close in order to explain her plan to them.
"I think that the destroyer pilot at the stick, although skilled, likely isn't experienced at flying the jet fighter since no enemy signatures like it were ever detected before, which likely means that the Abyssal destroyer's flying for the first time ever outside of possible simulation training under the sea.
And besides, I think that as a fast battleship, I might be a priority target, so chances are it might fly in my direction to unload its payload.
The inexperience part is what we'll bank on in order to pull off our plan.
Look, Naka, Hibiki and Akatsuki…
Jintsuu and Sendai will come in from here, and…
I'll be waiting for the F-35 to turn my way, and I'll…"
Everyone nodded upon understanding the plan well enough, splitting up into three groups to pull off their makeshift plan.
She saw Naka sailing up along with Akatsuki and Hibiki in order to lay down an intense amount of Anti-Air fire so that the fighter jet would be forced to detour around them, Naka's Anti-Air turrets barking as it fired off rounds along with Kai Ni Akatsuki and Hibiki in their attempt to scare it off.
And sure enough, it worked.
The F-35 Lightning II banked right and turned away as the hail of Anti-Air fire from three Kai Ni ship girls made it feel threatened enough to evade it while making a bombing pass on the ship girls, and approached Jintsuu and Sendai in the process of turning right.
Jintsuu sailed up and slid forward to place her back on the ocean while bringing in her knees in order to launch Sendai into the air, and having seen this move be performed by the seniors, Sendai took this as a chance to put her practice to good use as she jumped onto her sister's boat slippers while getting into a squatting position, ready for take-off.
Both their boost gauges fired off alongside the thrusts of their feet as Sendai felt the air whip around her face, feeling weightless as she fired off everything she had on hand, and although she came up short in terms of height, the surprise move genuinely took the Abyssal pilot by surprise as it turned left.
As Sendai felt the air warp from the jet fighter flying so close to her, she watched one of her medium-caliber shells glance off the dark steel and cause sparks to spray like a fountain upon impact, but since their shells were downsized compared to their real-life counterparts, it was like shooting pistol rounds at it; it wasn't going to do much good.
Which was why she flung a torpedo dud at the jet fighter.
The fact that torpedoes activated with an area sensor along with its contact sensor would scare it off since flying too close while emitting an Abyssal signature would activate the torpedo, and although it was a dud, she understood that the pilot was an Abyssal, and the torpedo would register as enough of a reason to bank even harder to the left, since they made sure to position themselves accordingly to force the F-35's hand.
And upon the jet fighter banking left as per Iowa's prediction, Sendai felt gravity start to pull her back down towards Earth as she heard a shock-wave of sorts, barely a few milliseconds before the F-35 burst into a fiery wreck while still in her vicinity and threw off her orientation while she was falling, feeling the heat radiate from the epicenter of the explosion as she let out an involuntary,
"SSHIIITTTT!"
She temporarily deactivated her ship girl mode in order to 'go limp' as all ship girls did while airborne and weren't sure how they would land on the ocean, like how a person falling off from a moving steed or vehicle shouldn't tense up before hitting the ground.
And instead of landing on the rough ocean surface head-first, she felt the chilling ocean enveloping her while her nerves all surged with the false sensation of pain when it was actually the sudden drop into cold water.
As she re-orientated herself by activating her ship girl mode in order to surface while still underwater, she was knocked senseless by an explosion occurring on the ocean a fair distance away from her, the water heavily distorting the booming noises which she was accustomed to despite being transmitted from dozens of meters away.
Her lungs were burning since she didn't get to inhale much air before she went underwater, and even though it was still daytime, the ocean beneath her was murky and she was starting to flail around a little due to panic, despite her attempts to remain calm.
The resulting shock-wave caused knocked the air from her lungs as she coughed up lungfuls of precious air and inhaled seawater, and as she saw that several arms fished around underwater to try and grab her, she followed the dissolving air bubbles up towards the surface and allowed a gloved arm to grab her by the back of her collar.
Naka appeared before her watery eyes, looking extremely concerned as she hauled a limp Sendai out of the water while she hacked and coughed in order to clear her airway, Sendai barely reacting to a large-caliber shell throwing up another column of seawater near her as Naka asked tenderly despite being shot at.
"Sendai!
Are you alright?!"
Spitting out the last remnants of seawater which clogged up her throat and airway along with some spit, she reined in a cough which was threatening to burst out from her burning lungs as she answered hoarsely.
"I'm alright…
Let's just get out of here."
Naka nodded as she easily hoisted Sendai up with her Kai Ni strength, Sendai miraculously managing to stay on her feet as they both boosted away from a dropped payload, Sendai feeling the blast wave and ambient heat pressing on her back as she scrambled away.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the crumpled, flaming wreck of the Abyssal F-35 sinking back into the ocean while ship girls gave it a wide berth for fear of being caught in a rogue explosion.
A stray thought came into her mind, that although the Abyssal didn't have to worry about drowning because of their amphibious nature, it would have to worry about reaching a depth where the mines were laid, and being unable to escape the cockpit by then would mean certain death.
Iowa was firing her large-caliber cannons as she shouted into Sendai's ear shortly after she cleared her ears and shook some of the water off of her head.
"Well, looks like the plan worked!
But the thing is that the Abyssals are trying to advance, and we have to fend off a few more Abyssals to allow those carrying the our wounded teammates to finish their evacuation!
Be prepared to retreat!"
Nodding in acknowledgement, she joined her sisters in combat, watching Naka shine her searchlight which was attached to her thigh into the face of an approaching Chi-Class torpedo cruiser.
The approaching Abyssal tried to shield herself by leaning down into the windshield of her motorcycle-esque steed, but this only allowed Naka to swipe a torpedo from her launcher in order to fling it in the Chi-Class's direction.
And since the Abyssal heavy cruiser couldn't see the incoming torpedo due to the harsh glare of the searchlight even during daytime, Sendai bore witness to a miniaturized nuclear explosion without the Uranium-235 and hence had no radioactive fallout.
Sendai shielded her face while letting out another uncontrollable,
"Shit!"
As the torpedo entered the jaw of the Chi-Class's steed and inexplicably detonated all of the torpedoes within it, the Chi-Class was instantly annihilated as the fireball consumed the Abyssal in its entirety due to the payload it was carrying, highlighting the double-edged nature of being a torpedo cruiser, because while you carried the torpedoes needed in order to devastate entire fleets by yourself, it made you a walking powder keg in that nothing would be left of you should the enemy get lucky in a worst-case scenario.
She narrowed her eyes and braced herself against the incoming blast wave, feeling the scathing heat and pressure dissipate as the rushing boom which previously resounded across the battlefield faded into a powerful, resonating echo while a thin mushroom cloud, looking to be about six meters tall and still rising, blossomed at the epicenter of the event while Naka scrambled back to her feet, her attack going horribly right and blowing her back towards Sendai, who stood further away.
The Abyssals took this as the opportunity to target them because of the noise they made, Naka looking around worriedly at the advancing Abyssals who were firing at them, everyone performing evasive maneuvers.
"Uh-oh!
Looks like we've got company after that ruckus we made with the Chi-Class!"
Watching the smoky mushroom cloud dissipate like an ephemeral apparition that was blown away by the summer wind, Sendai spoke up as she sailed erratically whilst preparing all her torpedo tubes for the crowd-control technique which she was about to execute.
"Don't worry!
I've been meaning to try this out for a while now, Naka, I need you to watch our backs while Jintsuu and I try to run interference!"
Naka could only utter a disbelieving,
"Ah, wait!"
While she heard Jintsuu speak up while keeping pace with her,
"Not even Kai Ni, and still rushing into battles…
You should know better than to think otherwise when it comes to Sendai, Naka.
This is why our Sendai is in the docks instead of being out on the ocean right now…"
Sendai understood that she was restless when it came to naval battles, and even if they occurred during the daytime, she put her best foot forward in order to try and prevent anyone from dying or sinking, although she knew that it was foolish of her to even try.
But then again, a ship girl's world was somewhat nihilistic in that they were brought back to fight and to sink, but she chose to believe that this allowed them to fight for whatever they wanted.
And although it was 'noble' of them to fight for the civilian population of the world, she couldn't really see the large-scale effects and benefits of their efforts to protect 'the world', but her 'world' right now consisted of the ship girls around her who watched her back, and this, she could see and physically affect by expanding her efforts to protect them with all her might.
She called out,
"Autumn Shower!"
And sequentially threw up all the torpedoes in her torpedo launchers as she watched two Ta-Class fast battleships, an Elite Wo-Class, three Ri-Class heavy cruisers, two To-Class and Ho-Class light cruisers each as well as four Ha-Class Abyssals advance in their direction.
The spinning torpedoes caught the attention of the Abyssals, who opened fire with their Anti-Air turrets in order to shoot them down while Sendai threw out even more, her hands blurring as she tossed up torpedoes as quickly as her launchers could replace them.
She heard Jintsuu call out,
"Shukuchi!"
And as Sendai performed evasive maneuvers while changing directions swiftly, she spotted an orange blur blitzing in like a comet, Jintsuu sailing in an arc to sail towards the Abyssals as she leaned down to her left hip where her torpedo launchers were at.
She flung her torpedoes in a practiced rapid-fire motion, nailing a Ri-Class and a Ho-Class light cruiser as the torpedo detonated when they flew true, but Jintsuu barely fired off her left boat slipper's boost gauge before she was clipped by the next Ri-Class's medium-caliber shell as it struck her squarely in the right shoulder, collapsing onto the ocean just as a Ta-Class's large-caliber shell breezed past her fringe, throwing up locks of her hair.
Sendai's heart stopped at how Jintsuu came to sinking, but she performed the second part of her Autumn Shower as the torpedoes, which had been thrown up several meters into the air, allowed her ample time to close the distance, gritting her teeth and sailing on as she grabbed a falling torpedo in order to throw it at a surprised To-Class Abyssal since it likely didn't expect to be attacked from such an angle.
The To-Class was devastated by an explosion upon kissing her torpedo as Sendai started spinning and streaked across the battlefield like a pinball being thrown around the pinball field, except that she was in control of her motions while the pinball was at the whim of outside forces.
She contained her anger and fear at how close her sister was to going back to her own base's morgue and instead used it to drive her forward and fuel her every action, picking out another dropping torpedo from the air and casually tossing it behind her, spinning counterclockwise on the spot and spotting the spinning torpedo from the corner of her left eye.
Catching it with her left hand, Sendai held the torpedo in a reverse grip as she flung the projectile at a cruising Ha-Class destroyer, boosting backwards while she spotted the resulting explosion, now getting every one of her enemies' attention as her hair and uniform clung to her sweaty skin.
She felt spots of sharp pain pop up on her right shoulder blade, feeling something crack agonizingly within her as her Kai armor barely held its own against medium-caliber shells, using her left leg to push herself out of the way as she caught another Type 93 torpedo, feeling unsafe with so many Abyssals around her to perform any aerial maneuvers right now, but she heard Hibiki's voice speaking up in the distance.
"Back Sendai-san up!"
Along with Akatsuki's simple,
"Got it!"
Sendai twirled another torpedo in her hand as she evaded a large-caliber shell fired from the barrel of a Ta-Class battleship, but her flung torpedo was blocked by a Ha-Class destroyer who body-blocked the torpedo for a superior unit who was more valuable than it was, and Sendai saw Akatsuki and Hibiki working together in sync to destroy several Abyssals, while Naka called in for aerial support on their location.
"Requesting aerial support, send in dive bombers on our location!
Relaying coordinates, we need to take out the advancing Abyssal vanguard!"
Akatsuki fired several torpedoes in the Abyssals' direction, forcing them to abandon their makeshift double-line formation, allowing Sendai more space to maneuver as she spotted Hibiki juggle a depth charge with her feet not unlike a soccer player juggling a soccer ball.
Knocking it into the air with her right knee, she brought her foot back to transition into a soccer strike, and since her Kai Ni destroyer strength wasn't able to set the depth charge off no matter how hard she kicked, the depth charge was sent flying into the face of a Ri-Class.
But despite the fact that the depth charge flew at the Abyssal's face, the heavy cruiser managed to evade the incoming depth charge and not set it off with her signature as Sendai heard an expletive come out of the Ri-Class's mouth after that near-death experience.
[Fuck!
Too close!]
But Akatsuki bravely advanced as she flung a anchor-weighed bola at a Ri-Class heavy cruiser's neck, distracting the Abyssal long enough for her to jump onto the Abyssal's knee and plant her boat slipper at the Ri-Class's kneecap, applying her body weight onto the joint and firing off her boost gauge while launching herself horizontally away from the Ri-Class as she spun around to distract the Abyssal with flashy movements, the fireworks of Anti-Air bullets flying everywhere to distract the Ri-Class as one bullet nearly hit her flaming green eye.
The Ri-Class held up her arm cannons to defend herself from the relatively harmless hail of Anti-Air bullets as her knee buckled from the Kai Ni destroyer's weight, but Sendai and Hibiki helped to provide cover fire as Naka ran in and substituted the retreating Akatsuki, all to the sound of allied dive bombers approaching them as the soft drone of their engines got louder.
Naka managed a running Shukuchi with her nimble light cruiser agility, and was able to launch herself off the ocean, adding a bit of spin into her jump to perform a spinning drop kick to send the Ri-Class Abyssal stumbling back as the Suisei dive bombers descended, the Ri-Class likely putting the wrong amount of weight on her hurt knee as she cringed in pain while falling on her butt, ruining her chance of evading the dive bombers.
Naka shouted,
"Shukuchi!"
And blurred as she got out of the blast range for the allied dive bombers to drop their payload without worrying about collateral damage, the panicking Ri-Class raising her arm cannons too late to try and shoot down the dive bomber, the Fairy pilot pulling up in time to avoid the fireball which devastated the Abyssal Ri-Class, taking her out of the equation.
Akatsuki helped Iowa to set up her move as she shined her searchlight into a Ta-Class's face, stunning her long enough for Iowa to physically walk up close to the immobile Ta-Class, who knew something was up and was blindly flailing her arms about and retreating whilst firing her cannons, some shells superficially scratching Iowa's rigging.
But Iowa, being a fast battleship who could go easily toe-to-toe with Yamato or Nagato, shrugged these off as she spun her hands around in a circular motion, her time in Japan helping her to learn various battleship techniques based off of Eastern martial arts.
The Ta-Class fast battleship didn't recover fast enough to brace herself against Iowa's next move, the American battleship shouting the move's name in Japanese as a kiai in order to focus one's will into his/her attack.
"Iron Mountain Lean!"
The Tetsuzanko, or the Iron Mountain Lean, was a fighting move which was derived from Bajiquan, utilizing her bare, yet heavily-armored right shoulder to swing clockwise, sliding her feet and twisting her body on the spot in order to land a forceful shoulder strike on the stunned Ta-Class's upper torso.
A shock wave radiated from the area of impact as the Abyssal was sent flying backwards, crashing into a Ri-Class before the cruiser could evade the knocked-back Abyssal fast battleship.
Sendai flung a torpedo at the duo in order to finish them off, but she turned around to see the Elite Wo-Class bleeding flaming oil from her left breast as she struggled with Jintsuu.
Someone likely got a lucky shot off by penetrating her breastplate armor with a shell and struck her fuel reserves, sparks flying due to steel striking steel as it ignited the fuel which spilled out from the hole that was located where her left breast was, drenching her lower half in burning fuel while her headdress had caught on fire since the flames likely worked their way up her body.
The Abyssal's face was contorted in a determined rictus of fury despite being immolated as her right cheek was starting to melt from the heat, Jintsuu looking panicked as her Kai Ni strength, after taking a shell to her right shoulder, was unable to hold the Abyssal off for long as they both held the ends of the Wo-Class's conducting cane and tried to physically overwhelm the other, with the physically superior Wo-Class starting to inch closer to victory in a one-on-one.
Sendai was already bringing up her 14 Cm Single Gun Cannons as she heard Jintsuu cry out panickedly, the licks of flame replacing the Elite Abyssal carrier's aura as they hopped onto her neckerchief and orange uniform, but that was nothing compared to the small waterfall that was being spewed out of the Wo-Class's burning-breast-slash-fuel-reserves onto Jintsuu, searing her chest and literally fueling the primal fear of being burnt alive.
"Get her off me!"
Several rounds fired from the cannons which lined both her arms served to knock the weakened Wo-Class down, although they wouldn't have had the same effect if the Wo-Class wasn't already severely burned, the life leaving the Wo-Class's limp body as she was flung onto the ocean, Sendai's wracked expression never leaving her face as she stopped performing her Autumn Shower technique and ran towards where Jintsuu collapsed onto the ocean and did the Stop, Drop and Roll maneuver in order to quash the flames that danced on her chest.
She heard Iowa call for her to start retreating, hearing the American shout,
"Sendai!
Our ship girls have finished evacuating the injured and the dead; we need to retreat!
We need to MOVE!"
And Naka desperately speaking into the radio,
"Banshee, Strike Groups, we need you to provide cover fire on our location!
We've taken a casualty in our attempt to hold back the advancing Abyssal horde, and we need the air support in order to evacuate an injured ship girl!"
But her comrades' words fell on deaf ears as she slid forward to where Jintsuu was lying prone on the floor, Jintsuu's chest and torso smoking as the burning fuel which was poured onto her sister's chest was extinguished at great cost, Sendai cringing as she gently placed her hands on her shivering sister's arm and body in order to turn her over, looking at Jintsuu's face which was wrought with sheer agony as tears streaked down her cheeks, her eyebrow knitted together as her facial muscles tensed up from the extensive burns which made her nerves flare up in pain.
Her bosom was charred beyond help save for an extensive dip in the docks as flaking skin threatened to peel off and float away with the wind, and Sendai's eyes nearly teared up at the repugnant smell of burnt fat on a frying pan at a barbecue, except that their humanoid bodies possessed chemicals and substances like iron-filled blood which, when burnt, gave off a coppery and nasally smell which stung her nose and almost made her vomit, and was a sensation which she would never forget.
The nauseating smell was part of what made Sendai feel traumatized by the half-dead sister in her hands, the swollen, painful-red flesh which plagued a large swath of flesh on Jintsuu's bare chest filled with pockmarks, bleeding pores and evaporating seawater since her burnt flesh was still piping hot, parts of her flesh darkened like charcoal while other spots were waxy to indicate third-degree burns as Jintsuu, with sweat pouring down her glossy face and out of any spot of unaffected skin on her upper torso, mumbled incoherently with half-lidded eyes due to being in shock.
"Sen… dai…
Leave me… and run…"
Sendai vehemently shook her head as she tried to drag a limp Jintsuu away from the battlefield while Banshee's hail of bullets and howitzers covered their escape, looking down at her sister's face since she found it too hard to look at Jintsuu's injuries, muttering in desperation rather than determination as she started to tear up at the mere thought of leaving her sister alone to sink.
"No…
No!
I can't leave you here, the Abyssals will sink you; I'd rather go down fighting while protecting you rather than abandon you, Jintsuu!"
She saw a shadow loom over her, her heart stopping for an instant since she thought it was an enemy, but she saw familiar locks of golden hair droop down from the corner of her eye shortly before Iowa appeared, her Anti-Air turrets all firing at once to prevent any enemy bombers from trying to make a pass on them, muttering approvingly as she tenderly lifted Jintsuu with her battleship strength.
"Well said.
Although I may disagree with allowing your sentiment to affect your decisions in the heat of battle, your loyalty and dedication to your sisters is commendable.
Jintsuu-san will be safe with me, but I need you, Naka, Akatsuki and Hibiki-chan to help me spot any torpedoes in the water and keep the Abyssals off of me; it's hard for me to evade them even when I'm a fast battleship, and I'm vulnerable when carrying an injured ship girl!"
Sendai swallowed the lump in her throat as she reluctantly nodded, watching Akatsuki and Hibiki give her Kai Ni sister worried aside glances before sailing on and running interference.
And before she could say anything, Iowa said something as her large-caliber cannons whirred while they turned on their mounts, Iowa ready to help them thin out the herd with everything she had on hand before focusing her efforts on retreating.
"And let it be known that even in a foreign land, the might of the USN's mightiest battleship will be etched into the memories of Abyssals and ship girls alike!"
Before Sendai flinched again from one of Iowa's 16 Inch Triple Gun Cannons firing, and remembering how the Re-Class aviation battleship's 16 Inch Triple Cannons almost perforated Yuudachi and turned her into Swiss cheese, she now had the dubious honor of watching the same thing happen to the Abyssals as Iowa's large-caliber shells blew a He-Class Abyssal's head into oblivion and downed it instantly, a fountain of blood being all that was left as it polluted the murky-red ocean with fuel and more blood.
Another shell punched through the middle of a Ta-Class's collarbone as it cleaved her neck and the frozen expression of shock on her face from the rest of her body, and the last shell cleanly penetrated the left arm cannon of a Tsu-Class light cruiser, the light cruiser only managing to look at the affected area a split second before the destroyed cannon exploded, the ensuing fireball engulfing the Tsu-Class as Sendai reeled back from the fierce explosion, even though it wasn't anywhere close enough or fierce enough to hurt her.
Sendai started firing all the cannons on her two arms, spotting a narrow torpedo salvo as her eyes were actively scanning the oceans for torpedoes which could easily hurt or kill Iowa, who was holding her sister, and she stopped firing the cannons on her left hand to guide Iowa as she held her free hand out backwards while speaking worriedly,
"Incoming torpedoes!
Move to the right!"
She could hear Iowa's loud boat slippers whirring with activity as the Iowa-Class battleship complied, Sendai trusting the fast battleship to follow her judgement as she continued firing while the enemy torpedo salvo passed by them harmlessly, Naka, Hibiki and Akatsuki joining them to form a diamond formation with Iowa in the middle, firing into the air with their Anti-Air turrets.
Akatsuki's Anti-Air cannons managed to shoot down an Abyssal fighter plane, but as it was shot out of the air and spiraled out of control, Sendai saw that it was erratically flying towards her, Iowa and Jintsuu, and although she could trust Iowa to tank an explosion should the Abyssal plane explode for some reason, she couldn't trust Jintsuu to come out unscathed with her critical condition, shouting at Iowa as she partially turned back to make herself heard,
"I got this!
Just keep retreating!"
As she boost-jumped, spinning in mid-air to perform a bicycle kick on the flaming Abyssal fighter plane in mid-air as it was sent flying into the water by her move, landing back on the water and looking down to find her shoe-slash-boat-slipper slightly aflame as the fighter plane's flames transferred onto her foot, chills running down her spine and freezing up her entire body upon thinking about Jintsuu's fatal injury as she desperately reached down to cup some seawater with her hand, frantically throwing it on the wavering flame to douse it before it spread any further.
Sendai heard orders come in from above, her mind still worried about her Kai Ni sister and only allowed her to make sense of the orders, and not identify who was giving them.
"Birdman to all ship girls in the 1st Strike Group, we have finished with our medevacs, and we are to initiate the second phase of the battle, which is a tactical retreat!
To all those who were issued smoke grenades, throw them into the ocean as we retreat, and use them all to create a smokescreen.
Everyone else, if possible, use your riggings to create incomplete combustion to throw up as much black smoke as possible to stop the Abyssals in their tracks and cover our escape!"
Sendai felt for the five smoke grenades on her hip, which were issued to her as well as several other ship girls to be used when the order came from Admiral Mako, pulling the pin and cooking it for a while before hurling it into the enemy ranks.
A few misinformed Abyssals dived out of the way as they probably thought it was an explosive grenade, but Sendai didn't stop as she kept tossing smoke grenades in order to shroud themselves in smoke and prevent the Abyssals from getting a lock-on on their location, watching Akatsuki and Hibiki's rigging emitting thick, wafting black smoke from their riggings in order to throw the Abyssals off, moving in zigzag formations while throwing in the occasional change in direction at random intervals so as not to make their movements too predictable.
But as the smoke around and before them thickened, Sendai saw that the Abyssals, despite feeling emboldened by the horde that was behind them, advanced very slowly in their direction since they knew that neither side could reliably bombard or lock onto each other in the smokescreen, and even though they had the numbers to pull off a human wave attack, it was possible that an ambush laid on the other side.
Taking advantage of the enemy's reluctance to press forward into the unknown, Sendai kept shouting out directions for Iowa to follow as the torpedoes kept coming in droves.
"Retreat in a five o'clock direction!
Shift from a seven o'clock retreat into a five o'clock direction on my mark!
A narrow salvo's coming, Get behind me and retreat in a six o'clock direction!"
And as the smokescreen enveloped them, Sendai felt marginally safer since the smokescreen acted as a safety blanket of sorts against a large portion of the enemy's attacks, and even though shells still flew in their direction as she looked out for any torpedoes in their immediate vicinity, the smokescreen was pervasive and nigh-omnipresent in her eyes as she retreated and joined the other Strike Groups, the first stage of the Battle coming to a close.
Dyson the Battleship Princess looked at the radar on her HUD, the Abyssals at the vanguard providing information on the enemy's whereabouts as she spoke into her radio for her comrades to hear, their powerful encryption preventing the opposing side from listening in on their conversations and orders.
[Cease fire and recall all your planes!
Those at the vanguard, get them to stop their advance and regroup with us before we take any more casualties!]
The smokescreen in the distance was only growing thicker by the minute, and even standing at the center of their sizable armada, she could see the pitch-black smoke forming a steel curtain which divided the ship girls and the Abyssals, and it was smartly placed atop the naval mine formation to form a truly impassable terrain, since they would have to sail over the mines and through the thick smokescreen in order to advance, leaving them vulnerable to a possible ambush.
But to sit on their hands while located right at the doorstep of the enemy's country wasn't a viable option either, especially when their objective was to invade the Sagami Bay in order to deal as much damage and inflict as many casualties as possible.
This was… troublesome.
She looked at her two advisers, one being the Battleship Water Demon, her alternate form which was considered more 'bestial' and hence more powerful, and the Aircraft Carrier Water Demon, who was sitting atop her Beast.
The Battleship Water Demon looked like a slightly older version of her, possessing a single horn on the left side of her forehead which was ashen-black at the tip, cockroach hair extensions running down the middle of her face and splitting apart at eye level to form antennas of sorts, along with silky black hair running down her back as her flaming-crimson eyes scanned the battlefield.
Wearing a high-collar choker necklace made from black Abyssal steel, she wore a black gown which reached down to her knees, possessing no straps to hold it up by the shoulders as they covered her generous bosom and hugged her curvaceous figure as the fringe of the dress was frilled, her shoulders and collarbone bared for the world to see while she wore shoulder gloves and spiked bracelets on her wrists, all colored black to contrast with her pale skin.
Wearing black pantyhose and steel high heels, she was guarded by her Beast as it out-sized her own Beast and was even more menacing with its two heads shielded by armored exoskeletons, its viscous drool emitting red flames as the Beast made sure not to get any on their Princess.
The broken chains on their steel collars hung down like the broken rope which led to the noose on an execution stand and swung around idly as the Beast moved, and although she was too short to see the full view, there were clearly spikes protruding from somewhere on the Beast's' back.
On its ripped, grey-colored biceps and bulky shoulders were 20 Inch Twin Gun Cannons while other smaller cannons decorated its body, and on its muscular arms whose girth could rival that of large trees, the Beast wore steel cuffs on its wrists with holes punched into them at intervals, and on its right steel cuff was a large chain which was as thick as the Water Demon's slender leg.
With a bodybuilder's build along with bestial proportions and muscle mass, the Beast's bent figure hid its pectoral muscles and guts as it was in a constant kneeling position due to its top-heavy upper half requiring the support of its arms not unlike that of an ape or gorilla (although Dyson was certain that like her Beast Izanami, it could stand on its hind legs if the situation called for it), and behind it was a bladed tail made of several steel sections joined together.
The Battleship Water Demon, having introduced herself as 'Phoebe', turned back to her as she spoke, not looking interested in the least about supplanting her role as the leader of this invasion or defy her orders despite possessing superior specs, something which Dyson appreciated.
[We've recalled the Abyssals at the vanguard of the formation.
The leaders of the other divisions have also reported receiving your order to cease fire, and they're awaiting new orders.]
Dyson nodded tersely as she looked away from Phoebe and her Beast, Janus (aptly named after a Titan and a two-headed god), having previously felt threatened as soon as Phoebe was posted under her command since she felt that it was like a parent or older sibling taking orders from you when they were supposed to be above her in the pecking order.
But Phoebe had reassured her before this battle that she would respect her role as commander and follow her orders regardless of the disparity in specs or seniority which naturally gave her the authority to do so, since Dyson didn't have the power to stop Phoebe from being insubordinate, Phoebe being one of the most level-headed Abyssals amidst their line-up.
Her Beast, Izanami (named after a vengeful Japanese goddess who was stuck in the underworld), also felt the same way, being a bit more blatant in that regard by growling softly as it tried to look tough in front of Janus, but the Battleship Water Demon's twin-headed Beast only bothered to acknowledge its presence while Izanami stayed away from Janus since her Beast knew its place, that Janus would easily put Izanami in its place should it attempt to pick a fight it couldn't win, both her and her Beast feeling some sort of complex regarding Phoebe and Janus.
In Izanami's case, it was cannon caliber and body size while she felt intimidated by Phoebe's height, superior stats and seniority which naturally made Phoebe superior to her and made her anxious about proving herself.
As for Janus, Dyson assumed that by possessing two heads, Janus's two minds probably formed a gestalt intelligence and increased its physical and mental performance, which made it even more dangerous since it likely possessed both brains and brawn.
Turning back to the Carrier Water Demon, she heard the Abyssal carrier speak about how their carriers had stopped engaging the ship girls' planes and were taking a short break as the ship girls temporarily broke contact.
[Hai, hai.
Our bird carriers are refueling and resupplying their planes for what comes next, commander.
We have one Princess knocked unconscious by the enemy, and our front-liners don't think that she's capable of fighting on anymore.]
Dyson nodded as she looked at the aloof Aircraft Carrier Water Demon, who had named herself Lorelei, and thought about how she uncannily resembled Shoukaku the ship girl, with the same snow-white hairstyle with diamond-shaped headbands and pins adorning the top of her fringe and locks of her hair respectively.
She had a black and white striped turtleneck atop a black sleeveless sweater with vertical jet-black lines running down it and a sailor-collar-esque neckerchief tied around her shoulders.
Her arm warmers were styled in the same manner as her turtleneck sweater, leaving her shoulders bare as its ends on her wrists and her upper arms were like her black and white turtleneck while the frilled ends of the arm warmers at her wrists exposed her black-gloved hands for ease of movement.
A strip of thigh skin was bared while her stockings covered the rest, the vertically-striped black and white ends hugging her thighs while the rest was black, and on her lower legs were heavily-plated, heavy-duty high heels made of steel and could knock a ship girl out cold with a well-placed kick to the head, small holes acting as exhaust vents to prevent overheating during hot seasons.
Her Beast, named Cetus, ignored the one-sided cannon-measuring contest and posturing of the other Beasts as its upper jaw acted as a seat for Lorelei, and its triangular jaw allowed for a rounded snout so as not to hurt its Princess, and a sharp chin to cut through the ocean, its teeth made of parallelogram-shaped incisors and tougher steel molars as its throat was emitting a similar blood-red light and hinted at its capability for a breath attack.
Two pincer attachments to the side of its lower jaw acted as steering mechanisms and provided forward movement with the propellers stuck to its back, and Lorelei was leaning back on the backrest of her Beast while to her sides were the black flight decks of Cetus as they could have passed for the ears of the Beast in another life, with three glowing red lines running down the middle of the flat steel pieces.
Cetus carried two Single Gun Cannons and a smaller Twin Gun Cannon as the former straddled the latter while all three cannons were located right behind Lorelei's backrest, a sentient throne built to carry its occupant over the corpses of all that it annihilated.
Dyson nodded at Lorelei's update as she turned back to the map on her HUD, updated with help of the reconnaissance planes estimating the smokescreen's size and its position above the naval mines, and according to the weather readings from Phoebe, they couldn't expect a squall or gale to get rid of this smokescreen anytime soon.
She asked Phoebe and Lorelei since they acted as her advisers,
[Can we split up the Princesses and our forces to go around the naval mines and smokescreen in a two-pronged attack?
If we're forced onto high ground by the mines and can't scout ahead to see where we're going because of the smokescreen, I fear an ambush beyond the smokescreen, and I don't want to put our forces in unnecessary danger because of this.]
But Lorelei spoke up about how that might leave their commander-in-chief's vessel exposed to a frontal assault.
[But Yuubari-sama's vessel, the Flying Dutchman, is right behind us.
It's not a bad tactic, but if we were to go with a two-pronged attack, it leave the ship girls with a clear path to her, and I'm not sure if we want that, despite the fact that her aviation battleship is more than capable of defending itself with its backup Abyssals…
Besides, the JGSDF vehicles are parked at Oshima Island and along the coast of South West Chiba, and circumventing the naval mines might expose us to serious bombardment.
But hey, I'm not in charge of the plans.
You're the commander, you tell me.]
Phoebe patted Janus, speaking about how they also wouldn't want to put all their eggs in one basket by getting the entire armada to advance into the smokescreen as a whole, speaking up in a mature voice.
[Well, it's not as if we can get our forces to march upon their doorstep in a human wave attack; your fear of an ambush is not unfounded as we're in enemy waters, and they have their own jet fighters at the ready to come in and fire their rockets at us…]
Dyson raised her right index finger upwards in a pointing gesture, looking at her older sibling as she made her point.
[Well, they're called missiles instead of rockets nowadays, due to their advanced guidance systems…]
But Phoebe casually waved her concerns aside without looking as if she were putting her down as she continued giving her opinion, respecting her role as the supreme commanding officer of this invasion but taking the time to explain herself.
[Not the point.
The point is that your fears are justified since we are playing in an area where the humans are capable of turning the tide of the battle with their modern weapons and vehicles.
But whatever your decision and plan is, we will follow them without question.]
Dyson was surprised at Phoebe expressing her dedication as a soldier, and although Lorelei tilted her head upwards and puffed out her chest arrogantly, her expression conveyed some extent of faith in her as a leader amidst the shell that was her haughty personality.
Dyson looked down as she felt the familiar sensation of Izanami's steel and flesh on her palm in order to center and calm herself down, and she finally asked the two of them about their opinions on the third possible tactic to be used.
[Fine.
We go with the three-pronged attack which was one tactic discussed in the briefing, but even though the ship girls retreating up North-East and to the West are few in number, I want to split our forces into a 3:4:3 formation as three-tenths of our fleet sails towards the West and North-East each while two-fifths of our forces sails into the smokescreen.
We'll have more carriers in the left and right wing instead of advancing into the smokescreen to allow them to send out their planes when the need arises.]
Torrenting them her plans, she explained to them as they looked at their HUD, which roughly displayed where everyone was supposed to go and how they would cover each other.
[The left and right wings, with their carriers and few battleships, will prepare their planes and watch out for incoming enemy planes while pretending to chase the supporting enemy fleets.
The second anyone, and I mean anyone, detects an enemy bird or human fighter which is headed for the middle section, I want our planes to blot out the sun within the next twenty seconds.
But even though the left and right wings are chasing the ship girls towards the West and North-East, I want you all to pretend to do so while making sure that you can come to the support of the advancing middle at the drop of a hat; we're mainly here for the ship girls from the Sagami Bay and can't be sidetracked by the small fry.]
The mini-map on her HUD displayed three arrows which pointed to the West, towards the smokescreen and to the North-East with the 3:4:3 annotation, but as the planes from the carrier-based fleets at the aft of the ship girl formation flew in along with the human jet fighters, the left and right wings turned back towards the middle section in order to back them up with everything they had as their bombers circumvented the smokescreen, Dyson speaking firmly.
[The left and right wings may be smaller than the advancing section, but combined, they can bring considerable backup to our Abyssals, and we need quick and precise communications with everyone else in order to watch each other's back.
The carriers in the left and right wings will try to intercept the bombers and jet fighters with their planes before they ambush or attack our advancing middle section so long as they're still within the smokescreen, and we'll fake them out by making them think we're splitting up our forces into three before we intercept their ambush and regroup beyond the smokescreen to focus on a three-pronged assault on the ship girls.
Everyone understand the plan?]
Phoebe nodded, her expression grim yet understanding of their duty, which was not to question, but to do or die as she summarized the plan succinctly.
[To split up as a feint to get the ship girls to pull off their ambush, to stop the ambush, whatever it is, and regroup with the advancing middle section, pulling off a three-pronged attack in the process.
No pressure.]
Nodding in response, Dyson considered the list of Abyssal Princesses and how best to split them up, eventually deciding with a line-up which best suited their plan, and how they were going to split up the troublesome Re-Class aviation battleships who weren't Princess-level boss units, but required the same amount of 'babysitting'.
[The advancing section will consist of two of the four Re-Class aviation battleships, me and other-Dyson as well as Southern War Princess.
Lorelei, you'll take the third Re-Class as well as Aircraft Carrier Princess to the North-East.
Phoebe.
You'll take the fourth Re-Class, the Armored Carrier Princess, Northern Water Princess, and Air Defense Princess to the West.
We'll prepare a medevac for the Destroyer Princess, and that's all ten Princess units accounted for as we try to split up the Demons according to our 3:4:3 ratio.
Yuubari-sama, did you get all that?]
And on the radio, Dyson could hear Yuubari speak up from the Dutchman, the familiar firing of large-caliber cannons in the background very evident as soft yet resonant thoom sounds, the Abyssalized light cruiser responding idly despite the commotion outside nearly drowning her voice out.
[We read you loud and clear, Dyson.
We will be be providing support from behind you, and our little boat's almost done with reloading our vertical-launch missile systems.
Give the word, and the Dutchman can and will bring the thunder with our missiles.]
Dyson nodded to no one in particular, turning to her two advisers as Phoebe raised an eyebrow about how Dyson was putting herself in harm's way by accompanying the advancing middle section.
[A questionable move, for the king to advance along with his pawns while entrusting his bishops, rooks and knights to come to his rescue when the time comes.
But…]
Phoebe respectfully bowed towards Dyson, restating her vows to carry out her duties and orders to the best of her ability and not question them out of respect of her position, concluding her sentence.
[As stated before, I shall choose to believe in your plans and orders.
Even if you don't.]
Phoebe met Dyson's gaze as she lifted her upper body, and Dyson had to look away as Phoebe had accurately struck a nerve with seemingly benevolent intentions, to highlight to her that she was lacking in self-confidence because she felt herself to be inferior compared to Phoebe, and Lorelei simply tucked her arm underneath her long hair before tossing it out, looking rather peeved that Dyson's self-esteem was falling apart right now, of all times.
[Oh, please.
Don't go emo on everyone right now just because your metaphorical dick can't compare to Phoebe's, and nobody expects you to be perfect in your leadership role; simply competent enough to be up to standard.
Besides, way to pawn the responsibility of watching your ass off onto me; I thought I could breeze past this invasion by sitting in the back and watching the show unfold by volunteering to be your adviser.]
Lorelei leaned down from her bestial throne in order to look Dyson in the eye, boasting about herself in order to keep Dyson's spirits uplifted.
[Besides.
Their jet fighters and plane count is impressive, no doubt about that, but you forget one thing, Dyson.
I am the Aircraft Carrier Water Demon.
When you look up at the skies and hope for a miracle, pray to me, and my planes shall deliver fire and brimstone from above on a level that will make even God envious.]
Although she cringed slightly at the blasphemous boast, Dyson was emboldened by it to try and believe in their ability to deal significant damage to the ship girls by throwing everything they had at them.
She curtly nodded at her two advisers, her expression becoming dark and solemn as she ordered,
[Split up the armada into sections.
Let's move out.]
They started sailing as they contacted the Princesses, the chief commanding units of the armada right underneath Dyson, as well as the Demons who were section commanders that were one level lower than the Princesses to tell them where they were posted, all of them unaware of the hidden surprise that was to come very soon…