Thorson's third night, or was it day, of sleep following Pearl Harbor was just as restful as the first two, something he attributed to the fact that there was literally no space left on his cot, making it impossible to toss and turn in restless sleep. Laffey had, to Akashi's amazement and Shiranui's disgust, unceremoniously stripped herself down to panties and tank top the moment they four of them reached the USS Laffey's crew quarters. After everything that had happened that day Thorson was too tired to protest, laying down and raising his arm so that Laffey could snuggle up against his side. Thanks to her pre-dawn playtime with Akashi, Laffey was out in moments, softly breathing against him by the time Akashi made up her mind. The cat-girl deactivated her rigging and divested herself of her dress before curling up atop Thorson and purring like a cat. "Nyaa, Laffey is right. Shikikan is nice and warm. Akashi is…mmm…shiny…" With that she drifted off as well, compelling Thorson to make a mental note to return her gemstone and find a bigger mattress. Shiranui glared at him all the while, though he did notice that she eventually closed her eyes and nodded off, still floating by the bedside and casting a dim, protective glow over them. I guess after all this it's harder to be alone, even for her, Thorson reasoned as sleep took him.
After about six hours Thorson managed to rouse himself, though corralling the shipgirls was another matter. Akashi adamantly refused to give up her heater, so Thorson had to physically divest himself of her. Laffey slept through it all and only woke up after being shaken awake by the Commander. With a promise of a full night's sleep at the end of the day, Thorson led them to the galley and prepared something quick, noting curiously that even Shiranui accepted his meal. Soon after they were all on the bridge again.
"Alright, it's 1330 so we have nine hours until lights out," Thorson began, figuring that a set schedule would be necessary in the event that any more shipgirls joined them and events on the base began unfolding outside his direct control. "Much as I'd love to just play around with wisdom cubes all day and see what the three of you can do with them, we don't have that luxury. Akashi, Shiranui, are you two willing to take orders?" He asked. Akashi jumped to attention.
"Hai, Shikikan!"
"I suppose if it's for the betterment of this base, I will oblige you," Shiranui added, much to Akashi's happiness.
"Thank you both. Akashi, this belongs to you by the way." Thorson procured the gemstone from his breast pocket and offered it to the repair shipgirl. She took it gently from him and spirited it away back into the folds of her dress, looking back at him with something between affection and contentment. "Now then, to business. Quite honestly, this place is a well-supplied dump. Shiranui and I performed a rough inventory of the main lab but we don't have an accurate tally of the base's resources yet. So here's what we're going to do. Akashi?"
"Hai!"
"I want you to get power restored to the full base today. The labs, dormitories, radar dish, and the radio tower on top of the hill are your main priorities. The civilian area comes last. If you finish before the end of the day you should find Shiranui and assist her. Understood?"
"Haaaaai!"
"Very well, dismissed." Thorson couldn't help a smile as Akashi eagerly ran off the bridge and onto the gangway back to shore, waving behind her and promising Laffey more playtime in the future. The Commander turned to the ghost ship.
"Shiranui, I'd like you to take a more thorough inventory of the base. Anything you can find in the way of food that hasn't perished, ammunition, tools, fuel, anything. Can you do that?"
"Of course, Shikikan. Just make sure you're not slacking while we slave away for you." With that warning Shiranui glided off to her own tasks, leaving Laffey and Thorson alone. Laffey made a puzzled noise before throwing herself at Thorson so hard it almost knocked him over.
"Laffey! What's wrong?" He asked as she buried her face in his chest. She shook her head, her ears bobbing wildly as her rigging mark glowed happily.
"Nothing is wrong, Laffey is happy. Laffey is maybe happier than she can ever remember. Laffey is scared it will all go away."
Thorson closed his eyes for a moment and embraced her, feeling her tiny hands grip the back of his uniform. "Then we fight to protect this. You have more power now, right? How was your time with Akashi? How does the rigging help?"
"Laffey sails faster, turns easier. Radar and radio feel better, like Laffey is talking to a friend or looking through the Commander's binoculars. Laffey did not fire her guns, but Laffey thinks that will work better too," she told him. He nodded with satisfaction.
"I'm glad we took that risk then. Ready for your orders, Private Laffey?" He asked, smiling down at her as she casually saluted him, her hair waving behind her as a breeze rolled in through the open door.
"What does Commander need from Laffey?"
"I need you to stay here on the bridge. Until Akashi gets that radar dome and radio tower operational, we're blind. You have the best equipment right now. I need you to stay here and monitor both, and let me know immediately if you detect anything, friendly or hostile."
"Laffey understands. Where will Commander be?"
"Doing the grunt work," Thorson sighed heavily. "Someone's gotta clean out that building at the top of the base and make sure we have working communications."
"Commander is too powerful to do that," Laffey insisted. Thorson chuckled at her and rubbed her head affectionately.
"I've not been a commander very long. I'm used to hard work, Laffey. Don't worry; I just need a mop and a bucket. If they left oil and shells here, there's no way they took the cleaning supplies with them. Just stay at your post and keep us safe, alright? I'm counting on you." Laffey seemed to perk up at Thorson's words, shedding the sleepy, girlish demeanor he'd come to know her for.
"Laffey understands. Laffey will make sure she and the Commander can sleep together again. No one will sneak up on the base," she promised before sitting herself in the captain's chair and closing her eyes. Her rigging activated and the ship hummed beneath them, systems coming to life as Laffey opened her eyes and looked down at her radar's display. "Laffey is all green, Commander. See you for dinner!"
Thorson sighed in disbelief, wondering how someone like Laffey, a bunny girl motivated by comfortable sleep and close contact, could also act like a proper soldier when the time called for it. Figuring he should treat her as her actions demanded, not her looks, he brought his heels together and saluted her. She returned it. With a nod he turned and set off for the base.
Thorson felt his stomach grumbling as the colored light of sunset filtered into the dingy office and radio station. "I suppose a break is probably warranted," he mused, taking a step back to review his work. A flick of the wall switch bathed the room in artificial light thanks to Akashi's earlier efforts, though he noted one of the ceiling bulbs would need changing as well. A significant amount of dust had been removed from the floor and other surfaces, as well as the cracked and peeling wallpaper that had once adorned the rooms and now lay in a heap in an unoccupied corner. He was just about to turn and head for the Laffey's galley when the door opened silently. Thorson looked around to find Shiranui floating there with a broom and feather duster, as well as a bucket of water hanging from her rigging. He smiled at her.
"You saw nothing. Wipe that smile off your face, idiot Shikikan," she admonished him softly. Thorson noted a bit of a blush creeping over her pale features.
"Is that right? Cause what I think I see is Shiranui come to help clean this office. Am I wrong?"
"Of course!" She protested hotly. "I don't need to eat tonight and the faster this building becomes clean and usable the faster this base will approach full functionality, not to mention we are all running blind just relying on Laffey's equipment. These land-based installations are better than what she has access to."
"You called her Laffey," Thorson teased, giving her another earnest smile. Shiranui frowned at him. "But I guess I must have been hearing things too. Man, am I beat!" He exclaimed loudly, placing his hands on his knees for emphasis as he gazed pointedly at the ghost ship. "I guess I should head back down to the docks and get some food ready for the living shipgirls. I wonder where Shiranui is. Oh well, I guess ghosts just do ghost things and that definitely wouldn't include helping someone like me get this particular part of the base in order. Well I guess I'll just leave the door open since no one else is going to come by here!" Thorson winked at Shiranui as he walked past her, continuing to proclaim loudly to the deserted dormitories to either side of them that he was alone and definitely didn't expect there to be any further cleaning done by the time he returned. As his step and voice faded, Shiranui gripped the handle of the broom a bit tighter.
"What a hopeless human." With a lighter heart she began whistling a soft tune to herself. "Can't even clean a room correctly."
"Commander, can Laffey have a new job? Laffey is bored," the slim destroyer girl requested around one of the tables in her ship's galley. The two of them and Akashi were sitting before plates of potatoes, whatever vegetables Thorson could find that weren't bad, and something he assumed was meat. He was thankful the girls didn't complain; he knew it was nothing worth writing home about.
"I suppose I can monitor the radio, might give me a bit of time to review what we know about the Sirens, slim as that is."
"What are the Sirens, nyaa?" Akashi interjected, her ears twitching curiously as she shoveled food into her mouth with one of her tools. Thorson shrugged, figuring table manners were the lease of his concern.
"Given what happened to your former fleet I thought you might know more than I. All I've got is technologically advanced aliens that for some reason appear to take the form of smug looking school girls whose uniforms would never pass muster. I've no idea. Maybe they can change forms; decided this one would be most humiliating when they defeat us? Almost anything beyond their most basic appearance is pure speculation. Let's just stay focused on the issues before us. What's your status, Akashi?" Thorson requested. The shipgirl eagerly opened her mouth before Thorson held up a hand to forestall her report. "Finish chewing, please," he requested with a chuckle. Akashi hastily chewed and took a large gulp of water before releasing a sigh of contentment.
"For trash Union military food, Shikikan is not a bad cook, nyaa!"
"Laffey thinks so too," the bunny destroyer joined in quietly, her manners much more refined. He sighed at their smiling faces.
"I guess feeding yourself at school for a few years will do that to you. So what's the status of the base infrastructure, Akashi?" He demanded.
"Akashi has power up and running, nyaa. There were a few locations that needed new fuses, new cables, new wires. Akashi doesn't mind, fixing things is Akashi's second favorite thing!"
"And the first?" Thorson requested.
"Gems!"
"Should have guessed. Well that's good news, Akashi. Do you think you can take a look at the radio tower after dinner? I want to be sure it doesn't fail us at a critical time."
"Of course, Akashi can do that. But Akashi doesn't know if everything will work when the whole base is turned on, too many moving parts, nyaa," she offered apologetically. Thorson nodded.
"I understand. Focus on critical systems for now. Laffey, I assume you got nothing?"
"Laffey almost fell asleep. The ocean is calm out here, was lulling her to sleep." Laffey picked up another bit of food and gently took it into her mouth, compelling Thorson to give her tiny, pink lips a bit of visual attention. He nodded in acknowledgment before shaking his head to clear his thoughts.
"I understand. I just don't want to give you any labor that's too tough."
"Laffey can do whatever Commander asks!" She asserted, seeming a bit hurt that he would coddle her. Thorson gave her an apologetic look.
"Very well, Laffey. While I'm manning the ship I'd like you to move all of the provisions aboard into the canteen down the dock. Dispose of anything you find there that's gone bad."
"Laffey should use the jeep, nyaa!" Akashi suggested. Thorson froze with a bite of food halfway to his mouth.
"A jeep?" He asked.
"Yes, the jeep! Akashi notices them today when she is tinkering with the main generator for the lab, nyaa! If they don't work Akashi and Laffey will fix them. Akashi knows about engines from Sakura carriers, helps with the planes."
"What do you mean you helped with the planes?" Thorson requested, leaving aside for the moment the idea of Laffey and Akashi driving a motor vehicle, which to him sounded more deadly than Pearl Harbor. Akashi waved a hand in the air as she explained.
"Sakura carriers project their aircraft, nyaa. How they choose to is different for each. Akagi and Kaga use their spirits of fire; Hiryuu uses her cards and so on. But how can one create something that one doesn't understand, nyaa? That is why Akashi helps! Akashi takes apart a Zero or a Nakajima so the carrier girls can learn, nyaa!"
Thorson didn't bother hiding his surprise. "So you're saying that the reason they had so many planes at Pearl Harbor is because they can create them out of nothing?!"
"Of course not, nyaa! One cannot create something from nothing, but wisdom cubes are powerful, no? Give girls oil, steel, knowledge, explosives and they give you planes or shells or torpedoes!"
"How did you discover this?" Thorson continued, awestruck.
"Houshou-sama was the first carrier, nyaa. She meditates, as all Sakura do. One day she goes to the Sakura High Command and asks to see a plane, to fly one. She begins to learn. Eventually she is able to create. The rest follow her, nyaa!"
"Your ability to condense an immense amount of information into a couple of sentences is impressive," Thorson replied, placing his fingers against his temples.
"What's wrong, Commander?" Laffey asked sleepily.
"I fear our enemy may be so powerful we cannot hope to defeat it," he admitted. Akashi and Laffey looked at one another and nodded, something unspoken passing between the two of them. Thorson sighed heavily. "Laffey, take Akashi with you and figure out the transportation situation. Open up the hood and take as much time as you need if you think understanding the inner workings of a jeep will make you a better ship. Once that's done, unload all of the food on this ship and get it to the canteen. See to it that it's ready to go for breakfast tomorrow. The two of you are free until 2200 hours once that's completed. Sound fair?"
"Yes, Commander." Laffey acknowledged him with a nod of her head and ears. Akashi did the same.
"Thank you both," he said as he cleared their plates. "I have…a lot to think about."
Unfortunately for the Commander, his time alone aboard the Laffey didn't get him too far in terms of planning or understanding regarding the enigma of the shipgirl. As Laffey had described, radar and radio were both silent, not registering anything out of the ordinary. Thorson supposed that was to be expected. The Union was undoubtedly consolidating its forces and anyone who would think to look for him was either dead or in an office somewhere in Washington. He offered a silent prayer of thanks to the gods of war, figuring that if the Sakura intended to take the island they would have already. I suppose anonymity and being utterly powerless have certain perks. We aren't worth anyone's time…yet, Thorson considered as the sound of an engine rolled up to the dock outside. He could hear the happy voices of Akashi and Laffey as the two headed into the ship. A few moments later they could be heard again, carrying various supplies out of the belly of the ship. Thorson smiled as he glanced around the dim lights that provided the only illumination in the darkness of the bridge. It was good to see Laffey making new friends. He wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to reunite her with her old ones now that all sides were at war.
Thorson glanced at his watch as Shiranui floated onto the bridge. It was 2200 hours and he realized he'd been drifting off, lulled by the monotonous noise of the sea and his wandering thoughts of what a wisdom cube could possibly be, given the new and frightening information he'd learned about Sakura carriers that evening. The ghost ship addressed him quietly.
"Your office is ready, Shikikan."
"I…you didn't have to do that, Shiranui."
"But I did anyway. Don't you dare act ungrateful."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Thorson assured her, standing and smiling as the sound of an engine and screams of delight made themselves known. Akashi and Laffey had finished their task a short time ago and had taken to joyriding up and down the strip. He didn't have the heart to stop them, not when they had so much fuel relative to other resources like food and water.
"Are you ready to hear my report on the base's stores of supplies?" Shiranui asked. Thorson shook his head.
"Tomorrow morning, first thing. Maybe we can do that in my…office?" He proposed awkwardly, feeling strange describing himself as someone in possession of such a status symbol. Shiranui narrowed her eyes at him.
"You act as though you are new to command."
"I am."
"Then stop acting like it," she advised. "If you intend to sway any of the Sakura to your cause, or even any other Union ships you must be stronger than the man standing before me who's scared of a room with a desk."
"I'm not scared," he insisted.
"As you say, idiot Shikikan." After a long moment of sizing one another up, the two of them left the Laffey and flagged down their companions so they could all retire for the evening. When Thorson returned to the crew quarters from the bathroom, ready to rest for as long as he could, he was met with a most unusual sight. Akashi and Laffey had already curled up under the covers of his customary cot, hugging each other as their tired bodies began recuperating after a long day and night of work and play. Thorson was about to head for the cot next to theirs when Shiranui waved to get his attention, the ghost ship floating just a couple inches from the head of the bed.
"They will be upset if you don't join them," she insisted, though it seemed to leave a nasty flavor on her tongue to admit it. Thorson felt his shoulders drop with resignation.
"I'm going to have to stop all this at some point," he whispered.
"Maybe one day you can, when they are just girls and not weapons of war," Shiranui suggested, looking with surprising fondness at Akashi. Thorson nodded.
"Yeah…maybe." Without another word he walked over to them and slid into bed behind Akashi, holding her against his tshirt-clad chest and smiling as she immediately pressed into him. A few sleepy words escaped her lips before she slipped back into deep slumber, something about gems and shiny things. Laffey scooted closer as Thorson's hand brushed against her. She took a couple of his fingers in her grasp and leaned into the two of them, ensuring that no one would fall off the cot and onto the cold, metal floor that night. The end result was something of an Akashi sandwich; the biggest surprise, to Thorson at least, being that the tiny catgirl wore a cloth bandage over her chest instead of underwear or a shirt. What piqued his curiosity though was the opportunity to examine Akashi's rigging tattoo. Her hair was easy enough to move to the side, though he did feel a surge of adrenaline run through him as his hand brushed against her back and the shipgirl purred affectionately at the touch. Thorson smiled in the darkness as he saw it, a soft glow in the shape of a perfectly shaped, magna cut gemstone. "Hmm, of course she's a money cat." As Thorson felt sleep come for him, he swore he would do all he could to ensure that Akashi could pursue her calling and win the war against the forces that had driven her from her home.