"Commander, we've lost visual on the enemy shipgirl. Taking emergency measures," Indianapolis declared stoically, floating closer to her sister as Portland skated and jumped over the chop towards the now sinking Hatsuharu.
"Elaborate!" Thorson demanded, paying close attention to their progress as Laffey broke from the formation under his orders to scuttle the stricken destroyer left behind in the wake of the battle.
"My breasts aren't large enough," Indianapolis 'clarified' in a peeved tone of voice, leaving Thorson shell shocked by the girl he was coming to consider his most reliable heavy cruiser. Cleveland tried and failed to contain her laughter, clutching her sides as a sudden shriek from Portland came over the radio.
"Indy, what are you doing?!" She yelled as the arms of Indy's rigging hoisted her into the air and chucked her at the spot where the Sakura shipgirl had disappeared under the waves. Her rigging disappeared mid-flight and Indy called after her just before splashdown.
"Grab her and use your life preservers to float back to the surface," Indy ordered in her usual voice, continuing her journey at a leisurely pace as Portland entered the water with a massive splash. "Commander, requesting permission to board the other vessel and secure prisoners."
"That girl," Thorson whispered before replying with Cleveland's assistance. "Permission granted Indianapolis. Just makes sure Portland comes back too."
"Understood." Indy silenced her radio and began climbing the hull of the Yuugure with ease, assisted by her mechanical arms. She shivered slightly in the wind and rain but the trust that Thorson had shown in her kept her heart warm and her cube humming with satisfaction. As she clambered over the railing of the Sakura destroyer and leapt onto the deck, the operator of the ship yelped and stumbled backward, landing flat on her backside, having previously been pacing the bow in worry as she debated what to do.
"W-what are you?!" The neko girl demanded, her voice wavering with fear as she looked over Indy's impressive rigging.
"Union shipgirl Indianapolis, serving under the command of Commander Andrew Thorson. Surrender and your life will be spared on his orders," Indy spoke firmly, pointing her guns at the destroyer girl.
"My sister-"
"My own sister is fetching her," Indianapolis cut in as the heart shaped sprig of hair on her head twitched. "Ah, there she is."
Thorson watched from Cleveland's bridge as they pulled up alongside the stationary Portland and Indianapolis. The busty cruiser girl had just resurfaced, clutching the limp form of Hatsuharu to her body, the small girl's head supported by Portland's generous chest. Thorson smiled as he could practically hear the girl's pout over the radio. "Why are you so mean to your loving sister, Indy?!"
"Because you almost disobeyed the commander in the middle of a battle just to protect me. I'm not a child! Now get that girl to the commander before she dies like her ship. I have a raid to conduct."
"Portland, come to the Cleveland," Thorson ordered kindly. "She's just growing up, but she'll always be your little sister." A sniffle could be heard over the radio as the cruiser girl activated her rigging and did as bade.
"I'm sorry, Commander," Portland whispered, arriving at the Cleveland a few moments later.
"We'll discuss this when we're all warm and dry. Get her to the bridge, please."
"Yes sir."
Back on the Yuugure, Indy continued to stare down her charge. "Your sister has been taken to our flagship. Now make your choice."
The cat girl's tail and ears wilted but she raised her hands in surrender, her pink kimono hanging heavily from her skinny body as it was soaked by the storm. "You won't...kill me?"
"I already told you," Indy said impatiently. "You can die here and now or surrender your fate to Commander Thorson. Your fleet has abandoned you and you've known the shame of surrender. You're lucky he's not Sakura."
If Yuugure had any rebuttal to Indy's stereotypical description of the Sakura and their obsession with honor, she kept it to herself. The girl deactivated her rigging and looked back at her ship. That much Indy could understand.
"You may be able to get it back someday."
"I don't think you're right," Yuugure replied, moving to stand next to Indy. "How are we…"
"Come," Indy ordered, grabbing the girl with her rigging and hopping over the side as she shrieked in fear. A short trip over the waves later found them outside the door to the bridge of the Cleveland. "Commander, I'm coming in," Indy warned. She sighed as Yuugure wrenched herself from her hold and ran towards Thorson.
"Hatsuharu!" She was stopped as Indy, Portland, and Cleveland all pointed their guns at her. Thorson had drawn his Colt but kept it at his side.
"So that's her name?" He asked evenly, looking down at the unconscious girl. They'd removed her soaking kimono and draped her with Thorson's shirt and jacket, leaving him in an undershirt. "I'm Commander Thorson, leader of this fleet. Who are you?"
"Y-Yuugure, Sakura Empire destroyer," she said sadly, looking down at the floor as she realized exactly what was happening. She was surrendering to the Union not even a month into the war. The commander nodded.
"I'll make this clear now. If you don't force me to kill you, I won't kill you. My true enemy are your masters, the sirens." The Union girls furrowed their brows as Yuugure looked around in confusion.
"I…what?"
"I suppose I should have expected that reaction from a grunt. Another time then. Indy, Portland, scuttle that ship and return to your vessels," Thorson ordered. The two girls saluted and pointed their guns away from Yuugure.
"Don't worry you two; the Commander and I have more than enough guns to handle this lot!" Cleveland insisted with her customary chuckle, 'hm hm hmmm!' That seemed to mollify the two heavy cruisers, their ahoges bobbing as they turned and left. Portland threw her arms around her sister, causing them to stumble out the door.
"You were so cool Indyyyy! Do you think the Commander noticed my chest?" She crooned, seemingly unperturbed at having been slung into the drink and scolded shortly thereafter. Thorson gave the door an affectionate look.
"I'm glad we have them with us. Seems pretty hard to keep their spirits down," he told Cleveland. She nodded in agreement as they both returned their attention to Hatsuharu and Yuugure, the former finally stirring in her seated position. Thorson stood aside and allowed Yuugure to run to her, the catgirl destroyer embracing her sibling. They really did look alike to him. "Now then, what shall we do with the two of you?"
Yuugure looked fearfully at him as Hatsuharu groaned and continued to slowly come back to consciousness. He could see her shivering as Yuugure rubbed her shoulders. "Please, have mercy on my sister."
"And you?" Thorson pressed. "Cleveland, you have any handcuffs aboard?"
"No sir, I'm sorry."
"It's fine. They'll have to remain here."
"And when we sleep?" Cleveland pressed. Thorson shrugged.
"Did I ever thank you for not completely getting rid of your crew quarters? We can keep them there. The door locks."
"It's my ship, Commander. Of course it does!" Cleveland stated proudly. "What is it?" She asked, noticing Thorson had developed an interested look in his eye.
"Something that's been bugging me since we took Hatsuharu aboard," he replied, holstering his sidearm. "Yuugure, you can form rigging, correct?"
"I…yes? Yes I can," she said, clearly surprised to be addressed at all.
"Show me the back of your neck," Thorson demanded. The destroyer girl blushed furiously but loosened her kimono slightly, knowing she was in no position to protest. The Union Commander knelt behind her and she felt the shame build as he touched the base of her neck. "How curious," he mused, not finding any sort of symbol there. He was about to stand again when Yuugure yelped in pain and an angry black mass began forming where he'd thought she would have a rigging mark. It looked like veins or a spider web, and it was spreading.
"What the hell is that?!" Cleveland yelled as Yuugure collapsed next to Hatsuharu, shivering in pain. Thorson reached out but his touch seemed to make it worse.
"You think I know?!" He shot back, suddenly back in battle headspace as the girl before him suffered. "Wait...by God what is that?" He demanded, seeing an angry, red crystal forming at the center of the dark skin.
"Commander, that isn't right," Cleveland said, suddenly very nervous. "That's a shard, and something's really, really wrong with it."
"Oh really, what tipped you off? The fact that it looks like pure evil or the fact that she's in immense pain?"
"The only reason I'm not slapping you is because the link is telling me you're using sarcastic humor as a coping mechanism!" Cleveland shouted.
"Not me being your Commander?!" Thorson asked in confusion.
"You're one step from fucking Laffey, Commander!"
"And far too many from fucking Pennsylvania!" Thorson yelled futilely, the bridge falling utterly silent. It didn't last long. Hatsuharu was now cognizant enough to see the distress her sister was in.
"By my quad Bofors batteries, you do have the hots for her!" Cleveland gasped.
"Sister!" Hatsuharu shouted, tearing the two Union members away from their conversation.
"It hurts! Please…help me. Shikikan…" Yuugure reached out pitifully, her face contorted by pain. She'd called him Commander.
You aren't my ship but… Thorson reached out and placed a hand on her back, his fingers pressing down on the skin around the crimson shard. To his great surprise, Yuugure's breathing became less ragged and her eyes softened, though they were still shut in discomfort. "Cleveland, hold her steady. I'm going to try to remove it."
"Are you insane?! Wait, you want to get with Penny. Of course you are," Cleveland judged him, though her conclusion seemed to bring a smile to her face. She joined him as the sound of cannon fire heralded the sinking of the IJN Yuugure. "Go for it, Commander."
"Stay with me, Yuugure," Thorson ordered, placing two fingers at the base of the shard. It was hot, he could feel blood. "Fucking sirens!" With a yell he pulled as hard as he could, feeling something akin to flames shooting up his arm. After a split second the tension broke and the shard popped free with a spurt of blood and a final shriek from Yuugure. Thorson cast it aside immediately as Hatsuharu comforted her sister and Cleveland pointed her guns at the offending piece of a wisdom cube.
"That thing...what the hell…" she cursed softly, watching with her Commander as the shard began to disintegrate, a taunting, almost childish laughter carried out of the ship on a wind that had no business existing on the enclosed bridge. "Did that thing just...mock us?"
"I think we're about to get another chance to confirm," Thorson told her, watching with horror as Hatsuharu seemed to be succumbing to the same phenomenon.
"I s-surrender to y-you, Shikikan," Hatsuharu said timidly in an attempt to mirror her sister. It seemed to ease her pain. His touch eased it further. Thorson felt fire and blood again but removed his jacket from her and then the shard with all haste. The four of them shivered slightly as the whispers on the wind returned and then vanished along with the shard.
"Cleveland, get on the radio with Laffey immediately. Tell her to secure surrender verbally from that last ship and warn her about the shard," Thorson ordered. Cleveland closed her eyes and placed a finger on her temple as the Commander stripped his undershirt off, earning gasps from the Sakura destroyers as he took his shirt back from a mostly topless Hatsuharu. "We're even," he told her, ripping his undergarment in two and wrapping the first piece around Yuugure's neck to stem the bleeding. He repeated that with Hatsuharu, noticing with a grimace that he'd pulled the shards directly from their spines, a hint of white bone visible at the bottom of the wounds as their otherworldly bodies repaired their wounds at a prodigious rate. Cleveland demanded his attention as Thorson dressed himself and allowed Hatsuharu to wear his jacket again to keep her body temperature regulated.
"Sir, Laffey says she removed the shard from her prisoner, Shiratsuyu. She reports, and I quote, that she never wants to touch the evil fire again. It sounds like it was extraordinarily painful."
Thorson nodded, standing and directing his prisoners to follow him. They stood shakily but complied. "Understood. Tell her I'm very proud of her and to deliver her prisoner here. Downes, how's Cassin?" Thorson called over radio.
"Stable, sir. You couldn't have saved one of those ships for me?" The destroyer asked with fire in her belly.
Thorson frowned. "Next time...there will be a next time."
By the time Laffey delivered her prisoner and received a long headpat for having to deal with what Thorson colloquially referred to as a demon shard, he got used to the idea that seemingly all Sakura shipgirls had some animal traits, and the fleet reformed, all that was left to do was collect the shards and cubes left over from the battle. The process was uneventful, garnering him three cubes from the ships of the captured destroyers. That was until it came time to collect the cube that floated above Nachi's grave.
"I'll go," Cleveland volunteered grimly, leaving before Thorson had a chance to object. By the time she returned it was clear she wanted nothing more than to turn it over to him. Upon reestablishing the mental link he understood why.
"How much can you see?" He asked solemnly as his fleet turned for home after their first victory.
"Depends on the cube, probably. All I saw was her death," Cleveland said shortly, shivering next to him. Thorson tentatively reached out and put a hand across her shoulders. She turned and hugged him tightly.
"Don't let me die," she pleaded. He could feel she knew how unreasonable that request was. He encircled her with his arms and rested a hand on her head. She even smelled faintly of strawberries.
"I know you need to put on a brave face for all your sisters, but I can't promise you that," he whispered, feeling something gripping at the inside of his chest. "But I can promise that if you die, you won't die alone."
He heard a faint sniff as she dried her eyes on his shirt. "Thank you, Commander. I won't tell Penny, by the way."
"Thanks, I'd like to survive until my next battle."
"You say funny things when you're flustered."
"At least one of us got something out of it, Cleveland."
"You got three more ships."
"Somehow I doubt that."
"You don't think they'll join you like Akashi and Shiranui? I think you were quite nice to them all things considered."
Thorson frowned at the darkening horizon as the storm gave way to dusk. "That's not it. Those little girls were never meant to be on a battlefield."
"You know, I think I'm considering moving back onto your boat," Tennessee grumbled to Pennsylvania as the two were roused by Akashi's base-wide alarm. The blonde battleship threw off the covers of her futon and walked to the door of their room that faced the exterior of the partially completed Sakura dormitories. She stepped out onto the wooden flooring and looked past the overhanging roof to the skies. "What the hell is that cat thinking? It's barely light outside!"
"Not arguing the point, but I think you forget how uncomfortable Union cots are. That was the best short night of sleep I've had in ages," Pennsylvania replied sleepily, joining her and offering her a robe. "I know the commander isn't here, but you shouldn't get used to walking around like that. Coffee?"
"Yeah, that sounds good. Let's go." After dressing and making their beds the two women walked down to the docks, the earth of the island still damp following the torrential rains of the prior day. To their surprise they found Akashi and Shiranui already awake and sitting on one of the piers. The catgirl waved them over, a thermos clutched in her hand that remained obscured by her too-long sleeves.
"Good morning Pennsylvania-san, Tennessee-san! Akashi is glad you woke up so early! She has coffee for you!" The two battleships looked at one another in confusion.
"Saves us a trip to the mess, I guess?" Tennessee murmured, following Penny the rest of the length of the dock to sit next to the two Sakura ships. Soon both of them had a steaming mug in hand.
"Care to tell us why you set the base's alarm for the literal crack of dawn?" Pennsylvania demanded. "And what's up with the '-san'?"
Akashi looked nervously at the still tired and grumpy Union boats, prompting Shiranui to speak. She was floating just above the dock, her spirit fire dim and her eyes tired, though she was most unafraid of them. "San is an honorific used to refer to and elder or authority figures in our culture," she explained in monotone. "By referring to you in that way, Akashi is acknowledging that here on this base, at least, the two of you are her elders."
That news left Penny and Tennessee contemplative. The raven-haired battleship took a sip of coffee before speaking again. "I see. And why are we up so early? The commander isn't set to return for another couple days."
"Akashi was thinking everyone would like to see the sunrise after the storm," the catgirl explained, pointing to the east where the first rays of dawn were painting the sky and clouds a brilliant red. Pennsylvania nodded and looked down at Akashi.
"Next time, just knock."
"H-hai, Pennsylvania-san." With that, the four of them watched the sunrise in silence, the coffee warming their bellies and fingers. Akashi seemed to slowly grow comfortable in their presence as the day began, her thin tail eventually waving back and forth as she finished her drink. They were all about to head back to the dormitory when the base's actual alarm sounded. Akashi yelped and dropped her cup into the bay while Pennsylvania and Tennessee stood and activated their rigging, peering out over the water as the small comm arrays near Tennessee's temples began moving.
"Brooklyn, what's going on?" She demanded.
"Oh thank goodness you're awake, Tennessee. I hope Penny is with you. I have three contacts on radar; all appear to be about the same size. Unless that's Laffey and the two Mahan-class boats, it's an enemy formation. They're coming at us from the northwest."
"We'll take it from here. Thanks Brooklyn." Tennessee shut her radio down and looked at Pennsylvania. "Three Sakura destroyers from the northwest, in all likelihood.
"Shit…this could get messy," Pennsylvania swore, looking in that direction. She could barely make out the shapes on the horizon. "Tenn, we need to move now before they get close enough for a visual. Thanks for the coffee, minty kitty. Fish us out of the drink if they torpedo us, alright?"
"Akashi is not a minty kitty!" The repair ship shouted as the two battleships leaped from the docks and tore off toward their hulls resting in the bay, one of them tossing Akashi's mug back up to her.
"You are by definition a minty kitty," Shiranui added, continuing to watch the horizon as the two Union battleships activated and moved at full speed away from the base and around the eastern corner of the island. "Not a terrible plan," she acknowledged as Akashi's ears twitched nervously in anticipation. "Minimize the long range torpedo advantage, expect to take one or two hits and then destroy them with close range fire. Those two could possibly give Kongou-san and Hiei-san a run for their money."
"Akashi doesn't know what to do, nyaa!"
"You have your orders from Pennsylvania…san," Shiranui eventually said, though it seemed to leave a bad taste in her mouth. "If they are sunk we will try to save them. Although if those three are who I think they are…this will be quite the farcical comedy."
"How can Shiranui see so well, nyaa?"
"I can see their spirits, Akashi."
"Shiranui may be scarier than the Union girls, nyaa! Who is it?!"
"Mutsuki, Kisaragi, and Mikazuki." Shiranui replied after about thirty seconds, waiting for the ships to come a bit closer. Akashi began worrying the sleeves of her dress between her fingers.
"This will not be pretty, nyaa."
"You should head for your ship, Akashi. Those three will be lucky to survive this little encounter. I will make for the radio, inform the Union cruiser at the radar array, and attempt to persuade those two battleships to not grind them into dust."
"Akashi agrees, nyaa. Why do you think they're here?" Akashi asked her friend as they two of them retreated from the pier and headed towards the lab. Akashi diverted to her ship and Shiranui moved toward the stairs that led to the command office.
"They would never be allowed to sortie alone like that. Either they were lost in the storm…" Shiranui guessed, trailing off.
"Or what, nyaa?" Akashi prompted nervously.
"Or that idiot Shikikan drew first blood in this war and they are the only survivors."
Akashi looked down at the cement dock below her as she thought about other friends of hers going up against Thorson. "Akashi doesn't like this war, nyaa."
"Then blame Akagi and Kaga, and their foolish quest to become gods. Go and do your duty, Akashi. I will do mine."
"Hai, Shiranui."
"Spirits keep you." With that the two of them parted ways, Akashi scampering along the nearest wetdock to the labs and up the gangway to her own ship. Once aboard she activated the vessel and debated her next move, speaking to herself in an attempt to calm her nerves.
"What does Akashi do, nyaa? Akashi just started making friends with the big, scary Union girls! If she goes out and tries to stop them she might sink! Same if she tries to warn the children on the radio! Please turn around, don't come this way," she prayed, watching as the three little destroyers turned and headed straight for the base and its docks. She waited with bated breath as they drew closer and closer. "Oh dear, the island must have masked the battleships on radar, nyaa. They don't know!" Akashi could only imagine the panic among the young trio as the bows of the Pennsylvania and Tennessee slid into view, emerging from behind the eastern cove of the docks. "Akashi cannot look, nyaa!"