Enna Tan, USS
Enterprise
Airbase, Iwo Jima
Morning
Debriefing time
UN Iwo Jima Naval Base, Rear Admiral Jackson
Late Morning
Debrief
<Negative Enterprise, no subs were detected by SONAR, both modern and WWII Era. We suspect this was a hastily thrown together fleet. Over>
<This is Rear Admiral Jackson to all UN forces. Land Based RADAR has lost contact with the Abyssal Fleet! We pushed em back lads and lasses!>
Your radiomen are almost overwhelmed by status reports. The results look grim:
The UN forces have lost too many land based units. More than half of the coastal batteries lie in ruins, and they aren't easy to replace. The airfield is cratered, and won't be operational for some time. You also realize that the Land Based Bombers committed to the last attack on the Abyssal Fleet had nowhere to land. Some of them could land on the Ronald Reagan But not the B-29s. They wouldn't be able to manage. They'll have to crash land.... I hope they'll be alright.
UN Naval Forces have also suffered some significant casualties. While Johnston and Cleveland's charge into the enemy fleet saved the last of DesDiv 1, more than two thirds of them are slowly sinking below the waves. Your only consolation is that the crew had time to abandon ship.
<Enterprise copies,> I reply, then notice the large strategic bombers up there, recreations of the same things that flew air raids and the two atomic bombs. Where would they go? <Can the Superfortresses make it to Okinawa or the Home Islands? I believe they have the range, over,> I say.
We... did what we could, but it feels... enough, but not enough at the same time. Things could have been worse, and we did what we could, but I can't help but feel we could have done more, saved more... even if I'm sure they were doing all they could to get us here in time...
I feel a pat on my shoulder. "What's got you down, Gray Ghost?" That's Zuikaku's voice, right beside me!
I stiffen for a moment, before relaxing and turning to her. "The losses we took..."
"Why so tense? We're not enemies anymore, remember?" She say, to which I nod. "And we did all we could. It's not perfect, but the crew did manage to evacuate, and all our pilots are still around."
"Yeah..."
"Try to cheer up a bit! We did rout the Abyssals here."
I give a small smile at that, though I have one more concern. "But how about you? There was that Princess..."
"Aw, but like I said, don't worry about me! She's just an enemy like the others." Why do I have a feeling that it might be bothering her a bit more than she lets on...
As you walk onto land, you stumble as your rigging disappears, though you can still feel it's phantom presence. You can summon it at any point, as long as you are on the water.
As you make your way to the obvious command building, you are greeted by a extremely tired looking USN Rear Admiral.
"Hello. I'm glad the summoning was a success. It's good that Hope wasn't lying about your actual capabilities. Before we begin your debrief, I'm going to request that New Jersey take Johnston to our repair facilities. We'll figure out something to repair her with, or our resident science team will."
It's nice to walk on land again... though part of me feels more at home on the water. Well, my other life was at sea, after all...
What the admiral said was interesting... they really were in contact with Hope. It wasn't as subtle as I thought. She did mention helping them... she must have given them the idea of going back to the WW2 paradigm.
Anyway, out of respect and protocol, I give a salute to the flag officer. On another note, it's one thing to see Johnston's grievous injuries from the plane, but seeing her now... I want to pay her a visit when I can. I hope she'll be fine...
New Jersey snapped into attention as the American admiral entered her field of vision. Well, she tried to but Johnston in her arms made it slightly difficult. She had managed to hold Johnston to her chest with one arm and use the other to salute the admiral before holding Johnston in the previous princess carry rather than a baby carry with one arm.
"Sir!" she acknowledged as she took in a sprint toward the facilities pointed out by the admiral. Hopefully, the science team wasn't made of Japs. New Jersey reconsidered. Even if they weren't Japs, she'll stay by Johnston side until she is fully operational again.
Richelieu meanwhile waved goodbye to New Jersey who didn't even notice in her hurry. She smiled; she really did care deeply about others despite her distrust of the Japanese. Richelieu will try to beat it out of her. Although, Richelieu, herself is distrusting of the Krauts. Each their own enemy haunting them from the past, it seems.
Meanwhile, Midway blinked as she saw someone she didn't think she'll see at all.
"Hey, Enterprise?" she nudged the aforementioned ship. "Was that New Jersey? Heh. She is just like I imagined her, cool, badass and a stick up her ass. It rhymes with ass!" Midway laughed loudly. "Wait, maybe not. We just saw her in front of the Rear Admiral. Even I wouldn't dare act like I usually do in front of a superior, you know?" she nudged Enterprise yet again as if they're sharing something in common. They were both warships and that came with it, the military discipline.
"Mhm." I nod at that. There's a time and a place for things, and right now, it's kind of formal with the admiral being present. Might as well act the part.
Oddly enough, my IFF tells me that that's New Jersey, a comrade from back then, but the Iowa-class battleship looks like someone else. White uniform, blonde hair, the lack of pants... AL's version of Tennessee? Wait, her skin is lighter, her hair shorter... California?
...She really could use pants, shorts, or a skirt. On that note, it'd be nicer if Midway zips up her jacket, but oh well, whatever they like.
USS Cleveland
Southern Iwo Jima Waters
Daytime
I instinctively salute the Read Admiral on approach with my free hand. That felt...weird. More of that dual-life-not-matching-up thing. Still, there's something important here that he seems to be ignoring.
"Sir, what should we do with this Abyssal?" I say as I gesture to the Ri-class Richelieu and I are carrying.
That's AL's Cleveland, and the IFF matches, too. There's also a French with us, the battleship Richelieu, wearing white and red, complete with beret and long platinum-blonde hair. The only thing that comes to mind... is that I hope she has firing delay coils. I remember those quad main guns being inaccurate, otherwise.
And with them... is that heavy cruiser Abyssal who looks better-off on a beach, a reminder of those who killed so many, and nearly killed Johnston... my eyes narrow at seeing the captive. I wonder if it will be considered a prisoner of war or not... on one hand, we're not barbaric; we follow the conventions of war, but on the other hand, well...
@Terran Imperium
@Miho_Chan
