Chapter 69
Spectre
eternal servant to the Fire/EMS gods
- Location
- NY
Ma Dang, New Guinea
A young woman hummed to herself, brushing a lock of ghost white hair away from her face. Picking up the last platter of sandwiches she had brought to the blood soaked beach, she placed it on the picnic blanket she had set out for her children.
She waved at the first pair of figures gliding to shore. A pair of sisters, who had been sold off by their… her old masters after the war, then turned into refugees after their new home was sold out and collapsed. The girls, about the same size as the average destroyer and dressed in grey mechanics overalls, gave exhausted waves back.
"Food!" The one with long greyish-white hair cheerfully called out as she collapsed at the edge of the blanket. The other, one with a pitch black bob cut, stumbled over to the woman and collapsed in a heap. The woman smiled as she gently guided the tired girls onto her lap.
"Everything alright Cook?" She asked the girl, noticing the numerous cuts and bruises on her face and arms.
Cook nodded. "Had a run in with a nip scout force off the Bonin Islands."
"It was a pair of those weird all-forward eight-inch floatplane cruisers the Japs seem to love." Her sister replied between mouthfuls. "They probably just figured we were using the islands as our supply base and came to chase us off. It's nothing you have to worry about, mom."
Langley couldn't let the matter rest though. "What was the force composition Yakutat?"
The seaplane tender shrugged. "Two, maybe three DESRON's with light cruiser support. Hard to tell given how quickly they all scattered when our squadrons came across them. Got a few good licks in… I'm pretty sure I saw one of their destroyers dead in the water. Then the return strike found us, and Cook took a few near misses."
"I'll be fine after a couple days rest." Cook added.
Langley frown grew as she gently stroked Cooks head, making a mental note to pass the information up to her sister. "I still don't want you two sailing that close to Japan. It's only a matter of time before they start hunting you with carriers like the others." She saw the dismissive looks in her adopted daughters' eyes and sighed. "Just promise me you'll stay within range of Wake's air cover."
Both tenders nodded, digging back into their meals like ravenous animals. Yakutat was midway through her third sandwich when her mouth suddenly dropped open at the sight of someone behind Langley. She and Cook jumped to their feet and raced past her.
Turning around, Langley gasped at the sight of two girls, barely in their teens, stumbled out of the forest in torn and bloody sundresses. "Niagara, Hilo." She cried out as Cook and Yakutat carefully helped the two figures stumble over to the blanket. "What happened to you two?"
"Fucking Polack destroyers decided they were Piorun." Niagara growled. She bit back a scream as Yakutat set her down, blood pouring from a hole in her abdomen. Langley calmly ran a hand through her blood soaked hair as she pressed a bandage against the wound. "We were off Jera, getting ready to sit on the Torres Strait, when those monsters crashed the bay."
"The whole thing was over before Niagara and I could even get our guns turned around." Hilo added as Cook started bandaging her up. "PT boats are cheap, but they still smoked both my squadrons." She snapped her fingers. "Just like that, all twenty gone. We made a break for the forest as soon as we hit shore, but those bitches followed us on land. Jamestown stayed back to buy us some time…"
The fact that only the two had come back told Langley all she needed to know. "Take as much time as you two need, and then we'll come up with a plan to deal with those destroyers."
"We just need to feed them to Guadalcanal." Niagara grumbled earning a few concerned looks from the others. "What?" She asked, looking around. "Those bitches tore her apart with their bare hands Langley. Whatever that witch can cook up will be the least they deserve."
"No… They're just brainwashed, confused, just like my daughters are." Langley replied, running a hand down Niagara's cheek. "They just need to be shown the truth like we were…"
"And in the meantime, they'll gladly keep shooting us in the head the first chance they get." Niagara grumbled. "Your dear daughters included."
"I know you don't want to hear this Langley." Cook added. "But we might need to kill your daughters first in order to save them."
Langley hung her head as several more figures sailed up to the beach. "I know… I just don't want to have to resort to that unless it's absolutely necessary."
"I don't think we'll be able too, Lang." One of the newcomers, an old Clemson class destroyer wearing an aviation jacket, responded. "Your daughters are now escorting convoys in response to all the raids we've been doing, and there's more of them now."
A shudder went through Langley. "How many Belknap?"
The destroyer shrugged. "Four Essex's and Hornet. Don't worry Lang, Lex and Sara are still in the Atlantic."
Langley Breathed a sigh of relief before noticing Belknap shifting uneasily. "What is it?"
Belknap fiddled with a lock of her jet black hair. "Me and the girls were talking on the way back to base, and we think we might have an opportunity here. We each have over a dozen planes with us at full strength, and these carriers are operating solo. If we operate as a group, we might be able to sink one or two of them."
Langley paused for a second. "No, it's too risky. The last thing we need is to try and get into a large scale naval battle. Our job is to weaken and delay, not try to win the war by ourselves against overwhelming odds."
"But they're not over-" Ballard grumbled, before seeing the look on Langley's face. "Fine, but we have to come up with something." She grabbed a bottle of soda from a cooler. "A lot of our old friends are starting to come back, and I've already had to resort to suicide tactics off Hawaii because of the Atlanta now stationed there."
"I know you mean well, Mom." Cook told Langley, putting a hand on her shoulder. "But we can't keep hiding like this." She looked out onto the horizon. "If we don't do something soon, that great battle you're so worried about will be coming to us."
"I know." Langley replied, seeing a woman with long black hair waving to her from a little ways away. "Excuse me one second." She walked over to the figure and gave her a hug.
"We lost Jamestown, Cyclops." She said, a few tears running down her face. "And the humans are getting better at countering our attacks. I don't know how long I can keep the rest of them safe."
The figure pulled her in closer. "I know sister." Rubaul Princess told her, hiding a vicious smile. "I'm sure you'll figure something out. You were always the smartest of us. Just hang on for a few more weeks, and I'll have the forces to back you and your girls up."
---
Pearl Harbor
"Thank you for taking the time to meet me, Commanders." Enfield smiled as he addressed Exeter, Ajax, Heemskerck, and Atlanta. "I'm sure the four of you were looking forward to a relaxing weekend after all the work you've put into training these past few weeks."
"Think nothing of it, Sir." Ajax immediately responded with a smirk. "It'll be nice to know what the bloody hell we're gearing up for." A not so subtle smack echoed though the room as Wales's hand flew to her forehead while Nevada and Enfield chuckled.
He powered up the projector next to him. "Ladies." He said with a smirk, making a sweeping gesture with arm towards the map onscreen. "Welcome to Operation Tsunami!"
"Mien God." Heemskerck muttered under her breath as the four cruisers looked over the map of the South Pacific and accompany organizational chart. She turned towards Atlanta. "That's every carrier you have in the Pacific, isn't it?"
"No." Atlanta immediately replied, a small shudder running through her frame as she found her own name on the chart. "Lexi and Sara are supposed to be in the Atlantic. Where's Hornet and Franklin?"
"Launching an attack of their own against the Attu Princess." Enfield told her. "Sara and Lex will be assisting us in going after a much bigger prize." He moved to the next slide. "We're going to hit Rubaul."
Wales stepped forward. "Task Forces 34 out of Pearl, and 54 out of Panama will board LHA's and rendezvous off The Marshall Islands and attack Rubual from the northeast. At the same time the remainder of Task 79 still in Australia and the RAAF will do the same to Guadalcanal, while US and allied squadrons out of Singapore and Taiwan will attack the Philippines. We used similar attacks to buy ourselves breathing room in Europe and the hope is that we'll be able to do the same for Australia."
"Because of the strength defenses at Rubaul, all five air groups will be required for this strike. This means the four of you will be crucial for the defense of the carriers during launch and recovery. Exeter will have overall command of the escort force, as well as direct command of the heavy cruisers. Ajax, Heemshreck, Atlanta. You three will each oversee a DESRON of ten destroyers… Everything alright commander?"
Ajax and Heemshreck both turned to Atlanta, who was now visible shaking with her eyes clenched shut. Nevada started moving when Wales motioned her to stay back. Slowly walking over to the cruiser, she gently put a hand on her shoulder.
"Sorry ma'am." Atlanta apologized after opening her eyes to find Wales. "I just-"
A small yelp escaped the cruiser as Wales gave her a hug. "I know Atlanta." Wales replied. "I was like you once too. It's easy to fall into a hole of self-doubt after a night like that." She looked up at Exeter. "How is her training going?"
"Straight A's." Exeter replied, giving Atlanta a smile. "She knows what she's doing ma'am, even if she doesn't always trust herself until after the fact."
"See Atlanta?" Wales said with a smile. "Everyone has faith in you, you just have to have some faith in yourself too."
Atlanta nodded, her nerves finally calming down. "What can we expect for fighter coverage?"
"The LHA's will be loaded with as many F-35's as we can fit on them." Enfield assured her. "But beyond that you three will have to talk to the carriers. Anything else?" The three British cruisers all shook their heads, while Atlanta nervously rocked back and forth but didn't say anything. "Alright, you ladies have a good night and try to keep the destroyers out of trouble."
"They're destroyers sir…" Atlanta and Heemshreck both replied in unison, earning a chuckle as the group started to depart. Atlanta held back for a second, waiting for the door to close before turning back to her admiral. "Sir, what's the real goal of this operation?"
Enfield looked back at Wales and Nevada. "Don't look at me." Nevada replied between chuckles. "Told you light cruisers are too sharp to be bullshitted. What are you thinking 'Lant?"
"Just humor me sir." Atlanta said as she walked over to a map of the Pacific on a table in the office.
Enfield followed her, grabbing a chess set off his desk. "So you don't have to draw on it." He said handing it to her.
Atlanta nodded. "The five main Princesses are Guadalcanal, Rubaul, Philippines, Wake, and Attu." She began, placing a black pawn on each location.
"Six actually…" Enfield corrected her. "Manilla are twins. But continue."
"We're attacking Rubaul." Atlanta continued, putting a white rook next to the base. "Australia's going after Guadalcanal, and the Philippines is being dealt with by Singapore and Taiwan." She put the King in Australia and the Bishops in Taiwan and Singapore. "That all makes sense if the plan was just to take some pressure off Australia… but the rest of this doesn't."
She took the other rook and placed it in Australia. "There's no reason for Alaska to be going on the offensive against Attu in this plan. Even assuming the abyssal are a hive mind, it will still take weeks for any forces transferred to get anywhere useful. If anything, Yorktown and Franklin should be rotating down to cover us and Conus from a surprise attack by Wake."
"I'm not sure I get where this is going Commander?" Wales said as she leaned Atlanta's shoulder.
Atlanta just rolled her eyes. "Well, I might be seeing things, but it looks more like we're trying to pull all of Abby's attention away from Wake and isolate it." She replaced the pawn with a black king. "Which brings up the other elephant in the room… where is Japan in all this."
She put the white queen on the island nation. "The IJ… JSDFM." She quickly corrected herself. "Is the largest navy in the Pacific at the moment, so why aren't they drowning the Philippines with six carriers worth of Val's and Kates?"
Enfield looked over at the cruiser. "You figured out all that from one comment?"
"There was also part of an arrow on your first map leading well north of any of the targets." Atlanta admitted with a smirk.
Enfield nodded. "Japan asked us to tie this op in with their planned invasion of Wake. Are you alright-"
"Acting as a decoy for the navy that sank my sister, admiral, and destroyers." Atlanta finished with a smile as she started cleaning up the pieces. "Yeah, I can live with that."
"We're serious 'Lant." Nevada told her. "You don't need to put on an act if it bothers you."
"No… I'm fine." Atlanta replied, handing the chess set back to Enfield and heading towards the office door. "It's not their fault I screwed up as bad as I did."
Enfield and the two battleships could only stare at her in disbelief as the door closed. "You were really that bad?" Nevada asked Wales.
The British battleship nodded. "Hood and Georgette had to drag me away from my desk kicking and screaming, and it was a bloody kraut of all people who finally talked sense into me."
"Well, we're fresh out of those." Nevada chuckled. "And Sandy and her sisters isn't around yet either to brighten her day."
"She has cousins though." Wales reminded the two. "When Dido first came back it was Ajax and the other Leander's who looked after her."
Nevada seemed to ponder that thought for a moment. "You know, Helena's up in Washington right now." She turned to Enfield. "Want me to see if my mom can pull a few strings?"
"Worth a shot." Enfield replied, looking back at the map. "Just don't go looking for miracles. We need to save those for the next month or so…"
A young woman hummed to herself, brushing a lock of ghost white hair away from her face. Picking up the last platter of sandwiches she had brought to the blood soaked beach, she placed it on the picnic blanket she had set out for her children.
She waved at the first pair of figures gliding to shore. A pair of sisters, who had been sold off by their… her old masters after the war, then turned into refugees after their new home was sold out and collapsed. The girls, about the same size as the average destroyer and dressed in grey mechanics overalls, gave exhausted waves back.
"Food!" The one with long greyish-white hair cheerfully called out as she collapsed at the edge of the blanket. The other, one with a pitch black bob cut, stumbled over to the woman and collapsed in a heap. The woman smiled as she gently guided the tired girls onto her lap.
"Everything alright Cook?" She asked the girl, noticing the numerous cuts and bruises on her face and arms.
Cook nodded. "Had a run in with a nip scout force off the Bonin Islands."
"It was a pair of those weird all-forward eight-inch floatplane cruisers the Japs seem to love." Her sister replied between mouthfuls. "They probably just figured we were using the islands as our supply base and came to chase us off. It's nothing you have to worry about, mom."
Langley couldn't let the matter rest though. "What was the force composition Yakutat?"
The seaplane tender shrugged. "Two, maybe three DESRON's with light cruiser support. Hard to tell given how quickly they all scattered when our squadrons came across them. Got a few good licks in… I'm pretty sure I saw one of their destroyers dead in the water. Then the return strike found us, and Cook took a few near misses."
"I'll be fine after a couple days rest." Cook added.
Langley frown grew as she gently stroked Cooks head, making a mental note to pass the information up to her sister. "I still don't want you two sailing that close to Japan. It's only a matter of time before they start hunting you with carriers like the others." She saw the dismissive looks in her adopted daughters' eyes and sighed. "Just promise me you'll stay within range of Wake's air cover."
Both tenders nodded, digging back into their meals like ravenous animals. Yakutat was midway through her third sandwich when her mouth suddenly dropped open at the sight of someone behind Langley. She and Cook jumped to their feet and raced past her.
Turning around, Langley gasped at the sight of two girls, barely in their teens, stumbled out of the forest in torn and bloody sundresses. "Niagara, Hilo." She cried out as Cook and Yakutat carefully helped the two figures stumble over to the blanket. "What happened to you two?"
"Fucking Polack destroyers decided they were Piorun." Niagara growled. She bit back a scream as Yakutat set her down, blood pouring from a hole in her abdomen. Langley calmly ran a hand through her blood soaked hair as she pressed a bandage against the wound. "We were off Jera, getting ready to sit on the Torres Strait, when those monsters crashed the bay."
"The whole thing was over before Niagara and I could even get our guns turned around." Hilo added as Cook started bandaging her up. "PT boats are cheap, but they still smoked both my squadrons." She snapped her fingers. "Just like that, all twenty gone. We made a break for the forest as soon as we hit shore, but those bitches followed us on land. Jamestown stayed back to buy us some time…"
The fact that only the two had come back told Langley all she needed to know. "Take as much time as you two need, and then we'll come up with a plan to deal with those destroyers."
"We just need to feed them to Guadalcanal." Niagara grumbled earning a few concerned looks from the others. "What?" She asked, looking around. "Those bitches tore her apart with their bare hands Langley. Whatever that witch can cook up will be the least they deserve."
"No… They're just brainwashed, confused, just like my daughters are." Langley replied, running a hand down Niagara's cheek. "They just need to be shown the truth like we were…"
"And in the meantime, they'll gladly keep shooting us in the head the first chance they get." Niagara grumbled. "Your dear daughters included."
"I know you don't want to hear this Langley." Cook added. "But we might need to kill your daughters first in order to save them."
Langley hung her head as several more figures sailed up to the beach. "I know… I just don't want to have to resort to that unless it's absolutely necessary."
"I don't think we'll be able too, Lang." One of the newcomers, an old Clemson class destroyer wearing an aviation jacket, responded. "Your daughters are now escorting convoys in response to all the raids we've been doing, and there's more of them now."
A shudder went through Langley. "How many Belknap?"
The destroyer shrugged. "Four Essex's and Hornet. Don't worry Lang, Lex and Sara are still in the Atlantic."
Langley Breathed a sigh of relief before noticing Belknap shifting uneasily. "What is it?"
Belknap fiddled with a lock of her jet black hair. "Me and the girls were talking on the way back to base, and we think we might have an opportunity here. We each have over a dozen planes with us at full strength, and these carriers are operating solo. If we operate as a group, we might be able to sink one or two of them."
Langley paused for a second. "No, it's too risky. The last thing we need is to try and get into a large scale naval battle. Our job is to weaken and delay, not try to win the war by ourselves against overwhelming odds."
"But they're not over-" Ballard grumbled, before seeing the look on Langley's face. "Fine, but we have to come up with something." She grabbed a bottle of soda from a cooler. "A lot of our old friends are starting to come back, and I've already had to resort to suicide tactics off Hawaii because of the Atlanta now stationed there."
"I know you mean well, Mom." Cook told Langley, putting a hand on her shoulder. "But we can't keep hiding like this." She looked out onto the horizon. "If we don't do something soon, that great battle you're so worried about will be coming to us."
"I know." Langley replied, seeing a woman with long black hair waving to her from a little ways away. "Excuse me one second." She walked over to the figure and gave her a hug.
"We lost Jamestown, Cyclops." She said, a few tears running down her face. "And the humans are getting better at countering our attacks. I don't know how long I can keep the rest of them safe."
The figure pulled her in closer. "I know sister." Rubaul Princess told her, hiding a vicious smile. "I'm sure you'll figure something out. You were always the smartest of us. Just hang on for a few more weeks, and I'll have the forces to back you and your girls up."
---
Pearl Harbor
"Thank you for taking the time to meet me, Commanders." Enfield smiled as he addressed Exeter, Ajax, Heemskerck, and Atlanta. "I'm sure the four of you were looking forward to a relaxing weekend after all the work you've put into training these past few weeks."
"Think nothing of it, Sir." Ajax immediately responded with a smirk. "It'll be nice to know what the bloody hell we're gearing up for." A not so subtle smack echoed though the room as Wales's hand flew to her forehead while Nevada and Enfield chuckled.
He powered up the projector next to him. "Ladies." He said with a smirk, making a sweeping gesture with arm towards the map onscreen. "Welcome to Operation Tsunami!"
"Mien God." Heemskerck muttered under her breath as the four cruisers looked over the map of the South Pacific and accompany organizational chart. She turned towards Atlanta. "That's every carrier you have in the Pacific, isn't it?"
"No." Atlanta immediately replied, a small shudder running through her frame as she found her own name on the chart. "Lexi and Sara are supposed to be in the Atlantic. Where's Hornet and Franklin?"
"Launching an attack of their own against the Attu Princess." Enfield told her. "Sara and Lex will be assisting us in going after a much bigger prize." He moved to the next slide. "We're going to hit Rubaul."
Wales stepped forward. "Task Forces 34 out of Pearl, and 54 out of Panama will board LHA's and rendezvous off The Marshall Islands and attack Rubual from the northeast. At the same time the remainder of Task 79 still in Australia and the RAAF will do the same to Guadalcanal, while US and allied squadrons out of Singapore and Taiwan will attack the Philippines. We used similar attacks to buy ourselves breathing room in Europe and the hope is that we'll be able to do the same for Australia."
"Because of the strength defenses at Rubaul, all five air groups will be required for this strike. This means the four of you will be crucial for the defense of the carriers during launch and recovery. Exeter will have overall command of the escort force, as well as direct command of the heavy cruisers. Ajax, Heemshreck, Atlanta. You three will each oversee a DESRON of ten destroyers… Everything alright commander?"
Ajax and Heemshreck both turned to Atlanta, who was now visible shaking with her eyes clenched shut. Nevada started moving when Wales motioned her to stay back. Slowly walking over to the cruiser, she gently put a hand on her shoulder.
"Sorry ma'am." Atlanta apologized after opening her eyes to find Wales. "I just-"
A small yelp escaped the cruiser as Wales gave her a hug. "I know Atlanta." Wales replied. "I was like you once too. It's easy to fall into a hole of self-doubt after a night like that." She looked up at Exeter. "How is her training going?"
"Straight A's." Exeter replied, giving Atlanta a smile. "She knows what she's doing ma'am, even if she doesn't always trust herself until after the fact."
"See Atlanta?" Wales said with a smile. "Everyone has faith in you, you just have to have some faith in yourself too."
Atlanta nodded, her nerves finally calming down. "What can we expect for fighter coverage?"
"The LHA's will be loaded with as many F-35's as we can fit on them." Enfield assured her. "But beyond that you three will have to talk to the carriers. Anything else?" The three British cruisers all shook their heads, while Atlanta nervously rocked back and forth but didn't say anything. "Alright, you ladies have a good night and try to keep the destroyers out of trouble."
"They're destroyers sir…" Atlanta and Heemshreck both replied in unison, earning a chuckle as the group started to depart. Atlanta held back for a second, waiting for the door to close before turning back to her admiral. "Sir, what's the real goal of this operation?"
Enfield looked back at Wales and Nevada. "Don't look at me." Nevada replied between chuckles. "Told you light cruisers are too sharp to be bullshitted. What are you thinking 'Lant?"
"Just humor me sir." Atlanta said as she walked over to a map of the Pacific on a table in the office.
Enfield followed her, grabbing a chess set off his desk. "So you don't have to draw on it." He said handing it to her.
Atlanta nodded. "The five main Princesses are Guadalcanal, Rubaul, Philippines, Wake, and Attu." She began, placing a black pawn on each location.
"Six actually…" Enfield corrected her. "Manilla are twins. But continue."
"We're attacking Rubaul." Atlanta continued, putting a white rook next to the base. "Australia's going after Guadalcanal, and the Philippines is being dealt with by Singapore and Taiwan." She put the King in Australia and the Bishops in Taiwan and Singapore. "That all makes sense if the plan was just to take some pressure off Australia… but the rest of this doesn't."
She took the other rook and placed it in Australia. "There's no reason for Alaska to be going on the offensive against Attu in this plan. Even assuming the abyssal are a hive mind, it will still take weeks for any forces transferred to get anywhere useful. If anything, Yorktown and Franklin should be rotating down to cover us and Conus from a surprise attack by Wake."
"I'm not sure I get where this is going Commander?" Wales said as she leaned Atlanta's shoulder.
Atlanta just rolled her eyes. "Well, I might be seeing things, but it looks more like we're trying to pull all of Abby's attention away from Wake and isolate it." She replaced the pawn with a black king. "Which brings up the other elephant in the room… where is Japan in all this."
She put the white queen on the island nation. "The IJ… JSDFM." She quickly corrected herself. "Is the largest navy in the Pacific at the moment, so why aren't they drowning the Philippines with six carriers worth of Val's and Kates?"
Enfield looked over at the cruiser. "You figured out all that from one comment?"
"There was also part of an arrow on your first map leading well north of any of the targets." Atlanta admitted with a smirk.
Enfield nodded. "Japan asked us to tie this op in with their planned invasion of Wake. Are you alright-"
"Acting as a decoy for the navy that sank my sister, admiral, and destroyers." Atlanta finished with a smile as she started cleaning up the pieces. "Yeah, I can live with that."
"We're serious 'Lant." Nevada told her. "You don't need to put on an act if it bothers you."
"No… I'm fine." Atlanta replied, handing the chess set back to Enfield and heading towards the office door. "It's not their fault I screwed up as bad as I did."
Enfield and the two battleships could only stare at her in disbelief as the door closed. "You were really that bad?" Nevada asked Wales.
The British battleship nodded. "Hood and Georgette had to drag me away from my desk kicking and screaming, and it was a bloody kraut of all people who finally talked sense into me."
"Well, we're fresh out of those." Nevada chuckled. "And Sandy and her sisters isn't around yet either to brighten her day."
"She has cousins though." Wales reminded the two. "When Dido first came back it was Ajax and the other Leander's who looked after her."
Nevada seemed to ponder that thought for a moment. "You know, Helena's up in Washington right now." She turned to Enfield. "Want me to see if my mom can pull a few strings?"
"Worth a shot." Enfield replied, looking back at the map. "Just don't go looking for miracles. We need to save those for the next month or so…"
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