Selonianth
Writer of Words
To be honest it wasn't even just "If it ain't broke." There was definitely a lot of the indignant rage that we know was happening around this time at the mere suggestion that Carriers might supplant battleships.
Changing Destiny (Kancolle)
- Thread starter Skywalker_T-65
- Start date
Hmm...
I wonder how history will see Thompson?
Respected but hated like Hasley?
Revere like Nimitz or Eisenhower?
Used as the bar like Spuance?
The example of getting shit done like Patton?
I wonder how history will see Thompson?
Respected but hated like Hasley?
Revere like Nimitz or Eisenhower?
Used as the bar like Spuance?
The example of getting shit done like Patton?
Skywalker_T-65
Writer with too many ideas.
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- Plural/They/He/Her
Heh.
EDIT: Joking aside, it depends on how his plans pan out. If everything goes the way he wants? Well.
If things end up backfiring in some way? Ouch.
Too early to say, really.
EDIT: Joking aside, it depends on how his plans pan out. If everything goes the way he wants? Well.
If things end up backfiring in some way? Ouch.
Too early to say, really.
Old Iron
Admiral Unfun
- Location
- The Southwestern Deadlands of America
He could end up rewriting the history books and turning The Day of Infamy into a massive no-sell that gives the Japanese Empire a tremendous black eye. That alone would change the course of the war. To say nothing of naval tactics being redone.
It might not just be the blood of thousands of sailors and some battleships on his hands...
He has until Jan 41 then their off to Puget sound for overhaul and modernization for Sara that will last until late November in OTL.
On DEC 7 in OTL she was embarking planes in San Diego when pearl was hit.
On DEC 7 in OTL she was embarking planes in San Diego when pearl was hit.
Hm. A no-sell is a bit out there imo given the constraints he has to work with, but I can see his efforts making it a (hopefully much) more costly success for the IJN instead of the overwhelming, practically loss-free slam dunk that was achieved in history.
Old Iron
Admiral Unfun
- Location
- The Southwestern Deadlands of America
True. But I'm also imagining the most overwhelmingly positive outcome wherein combat is seen.
Hope for the best and plan for the worst.
Selonianth
Writer of Words
Calling it a slam dunk is... well... inaccurate. That would intend the Japanese pulled off even half of what they wanted to.
Heh...
What will be amusing is if after the attack a couple of submarines found the force and their torps work.
Boom, Japan ability to project power just suffered a set back...
What will be amusing is if after the attack a couple of submarines found the force and their torps work.
Boom, Japan ability to project power just suffered a set back...
Selonianth
Writer of Words
They're not going to test, or correct, the sub torps, just the aerial torps.
I imagine someone will let it slide to the subs, and destroyers, about the problems with the planes torps and how they fix them..
Selonianth
Writer of Words
*maybe* but how many of the sailors would be willing to lose their job to do it?
- Location
- In the depts of despair.
The absolute worse thing that could happen is for the japanese to see enough defenses and preparation to cancel the operation and try something a little less daring like attacking the Phillipines or just conquering european colonies and ignoring the americans. Pearl gave the US the will to see the war to the end, before that they were quite unwilling to participate in a foreign war, especially for european gain. A No Sell would be almost as bad since it might allow a limited war and a negociated peace before the germans decide to declare war, once again making things harder for the rest of the world.
- Location
- United States
From Thompson's perspective, though, this might not be such a bad thing. It doesn't cleanly deal with the malignant elements of the IJN and Imperial Japan, but it does mean far fewer of the Japanese Shipgirls he knew will be sunk or otherwise traumatized.
And sentence millions more to death Hobson's choice here. Not including the Abyssals that still sleep with him having no clue as to what awoke them and sent them on their killing spree in the first place.
Selonianth
Writer of Words
Until 10 or less years later when the peace fails... again.
Nicholas
No longer teaching battlethings on a battleship
- Location
- Ashore again
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Alternatively, a no - sell Pearl Harbor attack might lead Hitler to decide against declaring war on the United States, leaving Japan to its fate (and leaving the United States no way of entering the European war).
QuietlyObserving
The Railgun That Walks Like a Bear
- Location
- Here.
Commas. Please use them.
Because my first reading of this was "the Abyssals that still sleep with him" who "have no clue..."
Seriously, that's how the sentence without commas is read.
...And now I can't help but picture him waking up one morning and a Wo-class is just sitting there next to him. Or else , during the war, one of the ships get sunk, comes back as an Abyssal, and the only thing she remembers is that Admiral Thompson will take care of her...
Old Iron
Admiral Unfun
- Location
- The Southwestern Deadlands of America
I am genuinely torn between the hilarity of that image and bittersweet notion of it as well.
Skywalker_T-65
Writer with too many ideas.
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- Plural/They/He/Her
My muse hates me.
All I remember is my Admiral. My Admiral. My Admiral.
Wo looked up at the sky, the dull anger that always permeated her being beaten down, if only for a moment. Her eyes, normally glowing an unearthly blue, were dull. Her hands gripped her staff tightly, the carrier lost in what few memories she retained. It was only when she thought of her Admiral, that the raging anger of an Abyssal was held back. Only when she thought of happier times, that she could retain anything but the desire to destroy everything in sight.
The Abyssal couldn't sigh, but the slump of her shoulders might as well have been one. Emotionless features turned to look at the water around her, and the destroyers she knew were around. Even an expendable carrier such as herself had escorts. But they kept their distance, her memory-triggered sanity more than enough to make them wary. Wo barely paid that any mind, as her helmet shook.
No. I will not forget.
D҉̘͔̞ḛ̟̲̥s̝͓̥̯̜̤t̴̗̠̱͙̞͈̣ro̱̗̫̠y͍̫̹̫̰͘.̬̬
No.
̪͝K҉̠͓̹̖̫̯̭i͡l͇̘̖͇ͅl͍.̺̰̥̱̭͈̲ ̤̰E͕n̮̞̺͇͎̻͓e̶͔͇͇̤̰̠m̦̞̤̤͈̱̥y͏͕̘.̧͚̭͕̰̣̳ ̼̗̹̭͔B̬͞ḙ͕͔̱t͇̺̫r̰̟̙̗͞a͏̞͖͖y͔̗̗̙̯̖er̹̹͞.̧͕̞͓
No!
Wo removed a hand from her staff, holding it to her cold, pale face. Her fingers dug into her skin, the Abyssal carrier centering herself with the pain. She was not like her sisters. She was not like the others. Her anger was there, or she would not have returned as she had. But it was dulled, compared to the raging feelings of the others. Dulled and quiet, save for when she was faced with enemies.
My Admiral...
The thought of the kind man who had always taken care of her, was what kept her centered. Wo looked out through the calming storm surrounding her. She knew that Pearl Harbor was in the distance. The harbor was burning, her comrades latest attack doing severe damage. She had not participated, save for providing air cover. Even in the grips of her rage, she remembered.
She remembered.
I can never harm my Admiral.
And so, she stood. Alone, save for distant destroyers. Alone, save for the anger battering at her, her helmet squeezing on her head. Wo lowered her hand, her emotionless eyes turning from the sky to the harbor. She knew her Admiral was there. She knew.
Admiral...
Wo squared her shoulders, pushing past the pain in her head. It was night, and she was at home in the dark in a way no normal carrier was. She would see her Admiral, even if it were the last thing she ever did. The man was the only thing keeping her sane and free from the grips of uncontrollable rage her sisters felt. She would not give that up.
Morning...
Admiral James Thompson sighed, as he turned over in this temporary bed. The attack on Pearl had done a number on the base, and he was staying in a hotel room for the moment. His girls were busy patrolling and using their supernatural strength to put things back together, and that left him alone. Alone with a mountain of paperwork he had fallen asleep working on, keeping busy even if he couldn't do anything else. It was important, after all. The war with the Abyssals never rested.
In that regard, it was time to get up...
"Gah!"
Thompson did not scream like a destroyer, as he fell back out of his bed. Blankets tangled around the man, as his heart beat like it would fly from his chest.
"Wo?"
For sitting in a chair by his bed, calm as could be, was an Abyssal Wo-class carrier. Her eyes were not glowing, and her helmet was damaged. But that was an Abyssal carrier. In his room!
Scrambling out of his covers, James reached blindly for his phone. His fingers tapped out the number for Arizona, the one person he trusted in a fight on lan...
"Wo."
The Abyssal was by his side faster than he could blink, her pale and cold hand on his own. The Admiral braced himself for the sound of his bones breaking and the rush of pain...that never came. Hesitantly opening his green eyes, all James saw were the blue eyes of the Abyssal. Without the otherworldly glow they normally held, the girl looked almost...human.
If one could get past the pale, unhealthy skin tone and hat filled with very sharp teeth, at least.
"You aren't killing me."
For the situation he was in, Thompson's voice was admirably calm and unruffled. The Abyssal tilted her head, her face not changing expression.
"Wo."
What was she, a Pokemon? Still, he counted himself lucky to even be alive. Abyssals killed and burned. They didn't sneak into a flag officers quarters, and just watch them sleep. Which was creepy and terrifying in its own right, mind. But...he couldn't figure out why she was here. Why he wasn't dead. By all rights, he should be. Lord knew it would have been so easy to kill him while he was asleep.
But she hadn't. Why?
Focusing on that question, if only to stay semi-calm, Thompson looked back into the dull blue eyes of the Abyssal.
"Not that I'm complaining...but you should be killing me right now. Abyssals don't just hold someone's hand."
The carrier's eyes narrowed, the first emotion he had seen. And it had been when he mentioned killing him. Understandably, James tensed again. Had he just signed his death war...
"Wo!"
Instead of breaking his neck, the Abyssal shook her head almost frantically. She looked...like one of his girls, if he suggested they had done something they regretted. Scarily like one of his girls, in fact. As an Admiral, Thompson had hardly been up close to an Abyssal. That was the job of the battleships like Ari. He stayed back and gave orders, he didn't fight. But the footage he had seen had never shown an Abyssal show this much emotion.
In fact, they never even showed emotion when being blown apart. The one exception were the highest ranked ones, or special ones. But the average Wo-class? No. Nothing like this.
And...moreover...she didn't look quite right. Her face was softer than the angular Wo he was used to. Her eyes more rounded, the blue not quite as bright even without the glow. And her hair was longer than usual. This wasn't a normal Wo.
No shit, she's in my room and hasn't killed me.
Ignoring his sarcastic inner-voice, James instead looked at the carrier more closely. The Wo was still shaking her head, like she was fighting something.
"Wo. Wo. Wo..."
What is with her?
Still unable to reach his phone, James instead focused on the carrier. There was something tugging at the back of his mind. Something...familiar. Her features were different. Her attitude was different. She had come to him. And hadn't killed him. Had looked upset at the very idea. Why? Was she familiar with him? He had never once talked with an Abyssal. Heard that they could use radio, at least a few of them.
But they had never talked with him. So how could...
Shit. Oh shiiiitttt....
He knew what he had recognized now. Squeezing the hand held in the Abyssals, James made her stop shaking her head. Dull blue eyes focused on him again.
"Wo?"
"I..." Thompson sucked in a breath, looking at the girl who was his enemy in any other situation. "I think I recognize you....Wasp."
The Abyssal's eyes actually widened. More importantly, her expressionless face developed a small- but visible -smile. She didn't say anything, merely holding that smile.
And all James could do was slump his shoulders. Wasp...she had been sunk, some time ago. He had never imagined she would come back like this. Come back as an Abyssal...but there was some of her still in there. Or she would have killed him by now.
I cannot catch a break.
Wo looked up at the sky, the dull anger that always permeated her being beaten down, if only for a moment. Her eyes, normally glowing an unearthly blue, were dull. Her hands gripped her staff tightly, the carrier lost in what few memories she retained. It was only when she thought of her Admiral, that the raging anger of an Abyssal was held back. Only when she thought of happier times, that she could retain anything but the desire to destroy everything in sight.
The Abyssal couldn't sigh, but the slump of her shoulders might as well have been one. Emotionless features turned to look at the water around her, and the destroyers she knew were around. Even an expendable carrier such as herself had escorts. But they kept their distance, her memory-triggered sanity more than enough to make them wary. Wo barely paid that any mind, as her helmet shook.
No. I will not forget.
D҉̘͔̞ḛ̟̲̥s̝͓̥̯̜̤t̴̗̠̱͙̞͈̣ro̱̗̫̠y͍̫̹̫̰͘.̬̬
No.
̪͝K҉̠͓̹̖̫̯̭i͡l͇̘̖͇ͅl͍.̺̰̥̱̭͈̲ ̤̰E͕n̮̞̺͇͎̻͓e̶͔͇͇̤̰̠m̦̞̤̤͈̱̥y͏͕̘.̧͚̭͕̰̣̳ ̼̗̹̭͔B̬͞ḙ͕͔̱t͇̺̫r̰̟̙̗͞a͏̞͖͖y͔̗̗̙̯̖er̹̹͞.̧͕̞͓
No!
Wo removed a hand from her staff, holding it to her cold, pale face. Her fingers dug into her skin, the Abyssal carrier centering herself with the pain. She was not like her sisters. She was not like the others. Her anger was there, or she would not have returned as she had. But it was dulled, compared to the raging feelings of the others. Dulled and quiet, save for when she was faced with enemies.
My Admiral...
The thought of the kind man who had always taken care of her, was what kept her centered. Wo looked out through the calming storm surrounding her. She knew that Pearl Harbor was in the distance. The harbor was burning, her comrades latest attack doing severe damage. She had not participated, save for providing air cover. Even in the grips of her rage, she remembered.
She remembered.
I can never harm my Admiral.
And so, she stood. Alone, save for distant destroyers. Alone, save for the anger battering at her, her helmet squeezing on her head. Wo lowered her hand, her emotionless eyes turning from the sky to the harbor. She knew her Admiral was there. She knew.
Admiral...
Wo squared her shoulders, pushing past the pain in her head. It was night, and she was at home in the dark in a way no normal carrier was. She would see her Admiral, even if it were the last thing she ever did. The man was the only thing keeping her sane and free from the grips of uncontrollable rage her sisters felt. She would not give that up.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Morning...
Admiral James Thompson sighed, as he turned over in this temporary bed. The attack on Pearl had done a number on the base, and he was staying in a hotel room for the moment. His girls were busy patrolling and using their supernatural strength to put things back together, and that left him alone. Alone with a mountain of paperwork he had fallen asleep working on, keeping busy even if he couldn't do anything else. It was important, after all. The war with the Abyssals never rested.
In that regard, it was time to get up...
"Gah!"
Thompson did not scream like a destroyer, as he fell back out of his bed. Blankets tangled around the man, as his heart beat like it would fly from his chest.
"Wo?"
For sitting in a chair by his bed, calm as could be, was an Abyssal Wo-class carrier. Her eyes were not glowing, and her helmet was damaged. But that was an Abyssal carrier. In his room!
Scrambling out of his covers, James reached blindly for his phone. His fingers tapped out the number for Arizona, the one person he trusted in a fight on lan...
"Wo."
The Abyssal was by his side faster than he could blink, her pale and cold hand on his own. The Admiral braced himself for the sound of his bones breaking and the rush of pain...that never came. Hesitantly opening his green eyes, all James saw were the blue eyes of the Abyssal. Without the otherworldly glow they normally held, the girl looked almost...human.
If one could get past the pale, unhealthy skin tone and hat filled with very sharp teeth, at least.
"You aren't killing me."
For the situation he was in, Thompson's voice was admirably calm and unruffled. The Abyssal tilted her head, her face not changing expression.
"Wo."
What was she, a Pokemon? Still, he counted himself lucky to even be alive. Abyssals killed and burned. They didn't sneak into a flag officers quarters, and just watch them sleep. Which was creepy and terrifying in its own right, mind. But...he couldn't figure out why she was here. Why he wasn't dead. By all rights, he should be. Lord knew it would have been so easy to kill him while he was asleep.
But she hadn't. Why?
Focusing on that question, if only to stay semi-calm, Thompson looked back into the dull blue eyes of the Abyssal.
"Not that I'm complaining...but you should be killing me right now. Abyssals don't just hold someone's hand."
The carrier's eyes narrowed, the first emotion he had seen. And it had been when he mentioned killing him. Understandably, James tensed again. Had he just signed his death war...
"Wo!"
Instead of breaking his neck, the Abyssal shook her head almost frantically. She looked...like one of his girls, if he suggested they had done something they regretted. Scarily like one of his girls, in fact. As an Admiral, Thompson had hardly been up close to an Abyssal. That was the job of the battleships like Ari. He stayed back and gave orders, he didn't fight. But the footage he had seen had never shown an Abyssal show this much emotion.
In fact, they never even showed emotion when being blown apart. The one exception were the highest ranked ones, or special ones. But the average Wo-class? No. Nothing like this.
And...moreover...she didn't look quite right. Her face was softer than the angular Wo he was used to. Her eyes more rounded, the blue not quite as bright even without the glow. And her hair was longer than usual. This wasn't a normal Wo.
No shit, she's in my room and hasn't killed me.
Ignoring his sarcastic inner-voice, James instead looked at the carrier more closely. The Wo was still shaking her head, like she was fighting something.
"Wo. Wo. Wo..."
What is with her?
Still unable to reach his phone, James instead focused on the carrier. There was something tugging at the back of his mind. Something...familiar. Her features were different. Her attitude was different. She had come to him. And hadn't killed him. Had looked upset at the very idea. Why? Was she familiar with him? He had never once talked with an Abyssal. Heard that they could use radio, at least a few of them.
But they had never talked with him. So how could...
Shit. Oh shiiiitttt....
He knew what he had recognized now. Squeezing the hand held in the Abyssals, James made her stop shaking her head. Dull blue eyes focused on him again.
"Wo?"
"I..." Thompson sucked in a breath, looking at the girl who was his enemy in any other situation. "I think I recognize you....Wasp."
The Abyssal's eyes actually widened. More importantly, her expressionless face developed a small- but visible -smile. She didn't say anything, merely holding that smile.
And all James could do was slump his shoulders. Wasp...she had been sunk, some time ago. He had never imagined she would come back like this. Come back as an Abyssal...but there was some of her still in there. Or she would have killed him by now.
I cannot catch a break.
My muse can be set off by innocuous comments, news at 11.
Skywalker_T-65
Writer with too many ideas.
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- Plural/They/He/Her
Yeaaahhh...
On the plus side, that's probably staying as a little 'my muse won't let go' thing. And I'm likely to do something more cheerful for whatever my next omake is, wherever it is.
On the plus side, that's probably staying as a little 'my muse won't let go' thing. And I'm likely to do something more cheerful for whatever my next omake is, wherever it is.