In another time and another world, a self-summoned, never-built Worcester-class light cruiser would name herself Singapore.
In yet another time and world, and in the early days of the scourge of the abyssal tide, His Majesty's Naval Base Singapore asserts herself. A beacon of light and hope in a sea of darkness and black tide.
Will she be a bulwark against the dark tide or will she fall like the city was meant to?
As it had happened with many similar tales, it all began when a cargo ship went missing under mysterious circumstances in the South China Sea. Its short and barely comprehensible distress call and the massive search mission in its wake garnered much media attention and speculation.
Its wreck, though found in relatively short order, only added more fuel to the speculation and media frenzy. Showing signs of being riddled by large caliber gunfire and even one hit suspected of being from a torpedo. Accusations would fly amongst nations with interests in the area, in particular towards a certain large nation to the north as the missing ship was flagged to an archipelagic nation on the eastern border of the sea, a participant of the disputes and long maritime rival to the northern nation.
However, ultimately no one would admit any form of culpability.
Perhaps this was the start of a major regional conflict between the two nations, long that they have been in quarrel over the rights to the group of islets and islands in the middle of the South China Sea and the activity of the large, northern nation causing much tension in the region. The world watched with bated breath as their navies stood off in the high seas.
Then it quickly fell on the wayside when more and more ships disappeared under similar circumstances, clearly not involving any of the participants of the standoff. Happening mostly at night—with one highly publicized instance in broad daylight showing figures moving impossibly over water and summarily dismissed as 'fake'—it was soon clear that these unknown terrorists targeted civilian vessels without regards to any particular nation.
Like an encroaching tide, the attacks began spreading beyond the South China Sea, with reports of attacks popping up in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, then the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and even the North Sea. Global maritime trade fell, fearful of these unknown, nigh-undetectable attacks that stymied the best efforts of the regional navies.
Talks of organizing convoys on a global basis quickly mired in geopolitics and the acute lack of adequate steel hulls needed for the admittedly massive job. Regional navies did their best, and while some regions cooperated better than others, civilian losses mounted. Inevitable against this seemingly indestructible black tide.
Then came more attacks. Innumerable black and white spheres that seemingly defied physics appeared from the seas, coming from those strange figures that were previously dismissed as impossible and fake. Nowhere along the coasts were safe, as these apparent aircraft bombed cities and strafed any hapless civilians caught in the open. Massive naval cannons, not seen since the Second World War joined the bombs in raining down shells on the cities.
While the attacks were sporadic at first, the situation soon turned untenable as the world's navies struggled to keep up with a seemingly unrelentless and untiring foe. All forms of communications and entreaties were met with silence. They seemed no care for talk, only for the driving of humanity from the seas and its destruction.
Worst hit were the nations bordering the sea where it all began. The eastern archipelagic nation, the Philippines, turned into a mire of land invasions and sea blockade. The nations on the western border of the South China Sea fared no better, with Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia losing the majority of their coasts to the strange aggressors.
Indonesia, another archipelagic nation along the southern border of the sea, with its overburdened navy, fell in most parts, with its government and remaining free population forced into corners of their major islands.
And then, there were more disturbing reports. Of strange women appearing in the ruins of certain important cities in a flash of towering dark energy. Unlike the previous ones attacking from the seas, these women talked, ranging from declaring the end of the tyranny of humanity to barely coherent ramblings. However, they all shared one thing in common—the expansion of the territory of the entities now dubbed the Abyssals and serving as bases of operations where more of them would be produced.
With numerous dark lights bursting all over the various nations, the region seemed doomed.
But, on an island city at the tip of a peninsula, the burst of dark light was interrupted by white…
Where am I? … The last thing I remembered was the sight of a white colored van barreling towards me. And maybe some disjointed bits and pieces of images where I drifted in and out of consciousness. It seemed that even sitting in a public bus doesn't stop Truck-kun from ruining your day. Well, in this case, a van running a red light and right into the side of the bus where I was seated.
…
… I had died. Yet, I am alive now. Somehow. Though obviously in a different body, which I had noticed almost immediately when I sat up from the concrete pavement. And the dress. Yellow with a pair of white bodice or maybe a corset and a double-layered skirt. The skirt looks more than a little flouncy and the hem has more lace than it ought to have.
It's a nice dress.
When I push myself onto my feet, I can feel the leather of the thigh-high boots stretching and wrapping around my slender legs. Thank goodness it isn't heels, or else I don't know how long I would have to spend to get used to them. A weight then settles on the small of my back almost as soon as I am done giving myself a twirl on my feet.
I guess… I am a shipgirl?
I don't recognize the twin… battleship caliber turrets… I think? They looked almost like the British fifteen-inch guns but quite a bit smaller. Maybe the Vickers fourteen-inch guns? A feeling inside says it isn't. … Twelve-inch then?
I'm not the best with British large caliber weapons but twelve-inch guns would've been pre-World War I vintage, wouldn't it? On top of that, my rigging looks… incomplete. A few spots looking obviously empty and armatures that had nothing attached to them… Something feels missing, alright.
… Staring at them doesn't give me any answers, though. My surroundings, however, do ring me a bell. Utilitarian concrete buildings lay crumbled or entire walls blown clean off or scorched. Sun darkened pavement littered with craters and burn marks. Giant yellow cranes lay crumpled near or barely visible in the water. The sunny, balmy weather.
The style of the buildings, although barely recognizable, was unmistakable. I am still in Singapore. As if I hadn't needed more confirmation, I spy a Port of Singapore Authority logo on one of the partially sunken cranes.
I couldn't help but feel a pang of pain at the destruction. This is home and it has been hit, and heavily beaten. Normally, my thoughts would be of our neighbor to our north, unlikely as it is. They have pulled annoying stunts due to border disputes several years back but war had never been a thing in our minds.
Though seeing that I am a shipgirl now, I know it had something to do with Abyssals.
… I think I should take a look around the naval bas— uh, port.
***
"The whole place certainly looks thrashed…"
The concrete building—offices probably—looked too much like what I had been seeing on the internet or news nowadays, before I had met my demise. The warehouses that lay beyond it were cracked open, their corrugated roofs bent upwards in jagged edges. As though a giant had burst out of the building and then left, I thought. It was more likely just bomb blast damage.
A snort left my mouth at that thought. 'Just', huh?
There seemed to be nobody around. That was to be expected. Especially if the place had become a warzone. Thankfully, I didn't see any… bodies.
…
That certainly hit differently when it wasn't some unknown stranger in a faraway place.
Sure, it would be sad and emotional and while I didn't know personally anyone working at Sembawang Port, it could very well be one of the many people I had seen on my daily commute to work and back each morning and evening. It could also be any one of the nice Uncles or Aunties[1] that I had interacted with before elsewhere. … I would loathe to see someone I actually recognized in one of them.
Maybe I shouldn't dwell on that…
Anyway, with myself standing on the side of the road, it was just the port all around me. It just struck me with the scale of the place. I have never been to Sembawang Port, being all the way up north and having no business to visit the place. But if I have never been here, how did I know this was Sembawang Port?
Simple. Looking directly north was land across a narrow strait that was no more than a couple kilometers, and beyond that, land. That could only mean Sembawang Port, a civilian port repurposed from the old British Singapore Naval Base right across from Johor, Malaysia. If this was Tanjong Pagar or the new Tuas Megaport, looking south would make me face open sea, not buildings and more land. Not to mention the complete lack of shipping containers, a common sight in those two places.
Also, having a personal compass onboard was pretty nifty, to be honest.
And now the question was, 'What do I do now?'. Walking around aimlessly seemed like a poor idea and as I had mentioned earlier, the port was, by no means, small. Exploring it would take hours, at minimum. Getting out of here and heading down to either Tuas or Changi Naval Base would be a better opt—
I stopped, feeling like I had just slammed into a brick wall.
Feeling… Why shouldn't I leave this place again? I looked around. Then at my rigging. There wasn't exactly a noticeable ship smokestack on it. I was a ship… girl. Right…?
I turned, facing the calm waters of the Johor Strait. My boot clicked on the asphalt. Again. Once more. The collapsed crane grew larger, towering over me even when it was half-sunken in the water as I moved over the road towards the wharf.
I felt it before I saw the shimmering air. My hand reached out, touching something solid, like some kind of nearly invisible forcefield. Somehow, I knew it stretched and ran all around the edges of the wharves, around the squarish port. I wouldn't be able to get past it.
I-I can't leave?! A pang of panic rose in my belly. What is going on?!
I… Finding out where I am turned out to be relatively simple. With Johor, Malaysia to the north, it was clear that I am on the northern shore of Singapore. The only major civilian shipment port in Singapore is the Sembawang Port.
Knowing is nice and all, but finding out that I can't leave is a kick in my now non-existent nuts. No less painful, I'd hazard a guess, and no, I don't want to find out.
I don't know why but there is a forcefield or wall of some kind that prevents me from going onto the water.
I am a shipgirl. I think. I should be able to go onto the water. But I can't.
Well, more accurately, I am not allowed to. This whole 'wall' thing smacks me of those invisible walls in video games to mark inaccessible areas. Maybe more like those map boundaries in Real-Time Strategy games.
But why? This is a civilian port, there is nothing of importance here. Sure, the place has been bombed a bit because it's a sizeable port, but I don't see why I am being confined to it. There are also the British and American supply 'bases' in the port itself but those are probably a few buildings and wharves both countries rented for their operations, nothing large in scale.
The place is just a former British… naval base…
…
Let's review this again.
Firstly, I appear to be a British shipgirl. Secondly, this place used to be Her Majesty's Naval Base Singapore. Well, His Majesty now but that's beside the point. Thirdly, shipgirls are tied heavily to their history. Their history shapes who they are and how they act. For KanColle, anyway. Fourthly, I appear to be 'tied' to this location, if the walls are any indication…
Putting all these points together…
That… That can't be right. Installation girls aren't a thing. Well, Abyssal installations are a thing but that could not be said for the shipgirl side, except for fanfiction. I'm not an installation. Yet, it makes sense. There are several empty spots on my rigging. Gaping spots seemingly waiting to be filled by some facilities…
…
Well… If I am really an installation…
There's only one way to find out.
***
Turning away from the invisible wall, I faced the ruined buildings once again. This didn't make any sense. The port, well, looked like a bombed-out port. It looked nothing like an installation.
Then again, abyssal installations have the abyssal in question standing on a field of what looked like solidified lava. Not exactly some bustling small city of industry that a naval base actually was.
There was a reason why I wasn't allowed to leave.
My head cast around. Maybe there is something similar lurking around in here. My expression then turned rather dry. Like this is some video game thing…
Something caught my eye. Beyond the broken concrete buildings. Beyond the warehouses. There was a pillar of shimmering air reaching into the sky.
Well, that's a sign. I took a step. Then another. My eyes kept the pillar in sight as I made my way past the concrete buildings, past the warehouses. With each step, I could sense an energy of some sort emanating from the pillar growing stronger. It was hard to describe—the best I could put it to words was the pleasant sensation of a mild sunny day mixed in with the heat of a fire that didn't burn wavering to the shimmers.
I came to a stop in front of some sort of fenced-in, open-air storage facility or yard. A pile of burnt out and mangled car littered the far end of the yard—victims of the bombing, no doubt. Beyond the chain-link fence and in the middle of the open space was the pillar. The energy flowing from it was unmistakable now—an almost constant pressure that pushed against me as I ducked through an opening in the fence and moving towards it.
There was no roar, but the energy certainly felt that way. It was almost like a reverse waterfall, rising into the sky. I shouldn't be this close. But yet, I felt no danger. A warm, pleasant sensation. Almost like staying by a fireplace in a cozy home, even though I have never actually experienced that. Surely, it can't be radiation? My Inner Self 'helpfully' supplied.
I rolled my eyes at the sarcastic quip. Ignoring the voice, I reached a hesitant hand out towards the pillar, half because of curiosity, half because it felt right. My hand brushed something distinct but soft, which gave way a heartbeat later.
White light filled my vision, washing out everything.
Raising my arm did nothing. I squeezed my eyes shut. Warmth suffused my very being. A brief sensation of weightlessness.
And then it was over.
Opening my eyes, I glanced down at my hands, now clad in a pair of white, elegantly laced gloves and—after a brief check—a cloth fan. I blinked, then flicked it open for a few moments before flicking it closed once again. Befitting of a noblewoman.
My expression turned dry again. Hopefully I don't start going 'hohoho' when I talk to someone…
Anyway, my rigging felt more complete now. I could feel the same energy— well, power now emanating from it, albeit much softer than before. Looking at the rigging didn't show much of a difference, however.
Turning my attention to my surroundings, I found myself standing in the foyer of an old-timey building, like something out of the 30s or 40s. The exterior was white painted concrete, colonial style with familiar cross-shaped railings ran along the second floor[2]. Its interior was full of wooden walls and floors, from what I could see from where I stood.
Definitely a relic from that era.
Or perhaps it was the most modern thing to grace the place now, since it was literally brand new. I could even smell the lingering varnish on the wooden walls. I took a step into the building.
[Naval Office]
For a moment, an image of the bird eye's view of the entire por— naval base, centered on the building flashed in my mind.
Shaking my head and frowning, I moved on deeper into the building— my office.
***
Log #3
Date: ??/??/2024? Location:Sembawang Port HMNB Singapore, Sembawang, Singapore
So… I really am an installation. His Majesty's Naval Base Singapore. Singapore Naval Base. And many other names that I can't remember off the top of my head at the moment.
There was a spot near the center of the base where when I had touched it, it spawned a building. Some sort of headquarters building. Though the name that got flashed into my head was simply 'Naval Office'.
The building seems to be or would be the nerve center of the naval base. There is a large chart room on the first floor—or ground floor if you're British—and also a Research and Development Department. There are several empty offices in between, which I'm guessing are future expansions.
Second floor seems to be my own quarters, with an attached toilet and shower and a bathtub. The bed is rather opulent—a queen sized, four poster that looks like it can swallow me if I dive into it. Of course, to go with the general theme, the rich décor is 1940s vintage. Which means lots of—admittedly nice—wood and soft lighting. Actually, what's with the westerners' obsession with 'soft' lighting anyway? I can barely see anything even with those lights on. Are you guys allergic to white light?[3]
A-Anyway, other than my own quarters, there are more empty rooms that looked like it is supposed to be more offices. I can figure out what to do with these later on. Having this place means that at least when the sun sets, I don't have to hide in one of those bombed out buildings.
Silver linings…
Well, back to main business.
Touching the chart table brings out an overhead view of the base. In my mind, at least, like whenever I daydream. Or like when I picture things in my mind. Only now, it is much more substantial and persistent. Maybe a better description is like a display projected directly into my eyes? Something like VR but it's actually in your mind instead of just right in front of you?
Hopefully, that's good enough visualization.
From the overview, there are a number of things, divided into two broad categories. First is the overview of the base. Currently, there isn't much, just the Naval Office available and everything else—the landscape and bombed out buildings—grayed out. And it looks like something right out of a real-time strategy game.
On the 'screen', I could see that I have four units of… infantry? Crew? Most likely fairies of some sort. When I put my attention on one of them, a label pops out, like it would in an RTS game. Turns out, I have two units—battalions—of Royal Engineers and two units of garrison troops, also battalion-sized. Looks like these are my 'starting units' for my base.
From the screen, I should be able to order the units around. The Royal Engineers look to correspond to a 'Worker' unit, as they allow the demolition and construction of buildings for the naval base. The garrison troops are simply bog standard infantry that I can use to defend or occupy an area.
… This is really like an RTS game.
Second is a 'research screen', complete with multiple 'pages' of tech trees. Broadly, they are grouped into three categories: ships, ship and base technology and new base infrastructure and upgrades. There is even 'research points' that I can spend to unlock new tech or ships. It seems that my R&D department is the one that generates said research points. Somehow. I blame Magical Sparkly Shipgirl Bullshit.
There's so much to go on…
I-I need to gather my thoughts first.
[1] It's the local Singaporean custom to address unfamiliar men and women above a certain age as "Uncle" or "Auntie". Basically from how the Chinese addresses unfamiliar, older persons, which translates as "Uncle" and "Auntie", which was adopted by the average Singaporean. It is a form of polite address.
[2] While the British would call it the "first floor", modern Singapore doesn't use that system, so I would call it "second floor" as well.
[3] Seriously. When I was over in the SeaTac region, Washington for my university overseas exchange, I literally could not find a single white fluorescent light or light bulb in the Ikea catalogue. My roommates and I eventually settled for a pair of orange standing lamps. Maybe I didn't look hard enough. At least I'll give the people in the 1940s that since they don't have the luxury of fluorescent lights.
A/N: Original posted on SB.
This sort of came up while I was just daydreaming about alternate scenarios for my Singapore SI. Technically, this is a spinoff of the Worcester-class Singapore, a what if instead of being an American cruiser, what is the most "Singapore" thing in KanColle? Why, being Singapore Naval Base, of course. Can't get more Singapore in a shipgirl universe.
Shipgirl installation girl SI stories are quite rare, as far I can tell. Most installation girls I noticed were 1) abyssal and 2) lean rather hard on "shipgirl" side of things. Exploring the actual installation side would be interesting.
One, I need to restore functionality to various facilities. Most of the base, as I have noted before, has been heavily damaged, if not destroyed. The rubble would have to be cleared, and infrastructure rebuilt.
To that end, I have tasked one of the Royal Engineer battalions to start clearing the rubble and to build a [Barracks] to train up more troops. It's not the original barracks of the naval base, but I want to keep important facilities closer to the wharves for now.
I faintly recall that the historical barracks of the naval base is a Singapore Armed Forces military base now and on the far western end of the naval base. Not exactly accessible when the scale of the base is still small.
After that, I'm looking at constructing a [Steel Foundry] and a [Power Plant] for steel and electricity to power them. From the [Build] menu, there is a [Vehicle Factory] that apparently could manufacture tanks and military vehicles.
… Red Alert, are you eating your heart out?
I could 'produce' steel, aluminium and oil on my rigging—more MSSB—but having a foundry would speed up the generation of the metals. Not sure about oil though. There doesn't seem to be an oil refinery available.
What if I can take over the refineries on Jurong Island and the tank farms on Pulau Bukom…? Those aren't part of the original base or around during the 30s and 40s, if I remember correctly, so I'm not sure if they're useable once taken over…
Two, ships and ship construction. Other than myself, I currently have a grand total of zero ships. That, obviously, has to be rectified.
Historically, Singapore Naval Base had a graving dock. The King George VI Graving Dock. One of the largest in the world at the time and capable of servicing ships all the way up to aircraft carriers and battleships. It still exists, though it services modern tankers and container ships nowadays. At some point, another graving dock had been constructed as well, giving me two dry docks to potentially use.
There was also a floating dry dock, the Admiralty Number IX floating dry dock, but that had been scrapped in the intervening years. I remember there are newer floating docks around the port but those are currently at the bottom of the strait. The historical floating dry dock could be reconstructed, from the [Build] menu, however.
Both of the locks on the dry docks have been blown open, most likely by abyssal aircraft, so those have to be repaired, and the water pumped out. Though none of these have produced any ships in the past, this will be their first time constructing anything, to my knowledge.
Once the dry docks are repaired, I'll start off with some destroyers, so I can scout out the area and check out Changi and Tuas naval bases, located at either end of the island. From there, I'll probably start working my way up to cruisers, then to battleships and aircraft carriers.
Three, aircraft. This seems to be one of the gnawing holes in my rigging. Historically, there were five Royal Air Force airbases in Singapore: Tengah, Sembawang, Seletar, Changi and Kallang. The last, Kallang, was actually not related to the civilian Kallang Airport, but a seaplane station on the Kallang River. At least, that's what I found out from my research in my previous life.
Seletar is a civilian airport nowadays, and probably very bombed out right now.
The two nearest airfields are Sembawang—you can tell by the name—and Seletar. However, Seletar airfield is over about two waterways or rivers away in the north-northeast corner of the island. Tengah is in a similar situation as Seletar but on the opposite end and further away. Changi airfield is all the way on the eastern end of Singapore, right beside the world famous Changi Airport, so I'm not even going to bother.
So, that leaves Sembawang airfield. It's currently a SAF military airbase but mainly for rotary winged aircraft. I'm not sure if the runway still exists but that's something for one of my garrison battalions to find out when they scout it.
Not sure what they would find, maybe the air base is still occupied by the SAF. Unlikely, given how the enemy has had seemingly uncontested skies. … I'll ask the scouts to be cautious approaching it.
Once I take over one of the airfields, I should… be able to start producing aircrafts, it seems? I'll feel safer with some air patrols going around in the air.
… I grew up listening to A-4 Skyhawks taking off and landing at Tengah airfield, after all.
Four and the last, defenses. Other than myself and my twelve-inch guns, the base is completely undefended. There used to several artillery batteries in the southern part of the island, with the oft-repeated 'oh, they're all pointed out to sea'. They absolutely could be aimed north and had fired on advancing Japanese troops back in the day, the Achilles's heel was that they had very little high explosive shells.
The problem is, nowadays none of those artillery batteries still exist or are operational. Two of them are currently parks, two and a half of them tourist traps, at least one of them a housing estate and the rest I have no idea, but they don't exist anymore.
Which means I would have to construct new ones. Well, three of the fifteen-inch guns at Changi are still there but disabled. I think. I last checked the place on Google Maps a couple of years ago during COVID… Maybe if I can get an engineering team to check them out…
Also, from the [Build] menu, I could see a few interesting items that might be useful, such a certain radar transmitter and receiver tower pair. Chain Home! The information center they had for it was a horrible, overly complicated mess, however. Not sure if I could change the scope into one giant Plan Position Indicator screen instead of a bunch of A-scopes… But that will be later, I guess.
There's also anti-aircraft defenses… For that, I could have the 20mm Oerlikons, 40mm Bofors, Vicker 2-pdrs and heavier anti-aircraft cannons. I could sprinkle them around when I have enough teams to go around.
… I think that's most of the things covered. For now.
Well, let's get to work.
***
The dry docks have certainly seen better days. Craters littered the concrete ground near either of them, and I was sure the bottom of the docks likely looked the same if it weren't covered under a deluge of seawater from the destroyed locks.
I wasn't sure how the engineers were going to fix them, but I would suspect that there was some video game logic mixed in there. Though I could just blame it on MSSB. 'How does a bunch of tiny army engineers repair the dry dock lock without specialized, heavy equipment?' MSSB. 'How do they repair it in just several hours?' MSSB.
Or maybe it was the 'five minutes repair' thing in RTS games.
Nevertheless, the Royal Engineers seemed determined and had already fixed up one of the lifting cranes and were already in the process of trying to reset the locks or trying to drag them into the dock and build a temporary wall to pump out the water. The tiny fairies scampered past me as they went about their work.
Leaving the engineers to their own devices, I turned towards the main area. Giving a wide berth to the buildings as crumbling concrete and falling metals hit the ground. Fairies wearing the uniform of the Army arrived, picking up the debris in wheelbarrows and carting them away, some dancing between the falling sparks from cutting torches.
Other similarly uniformed fairies entered buildings yet untouched by the engineers, soon appearing with items in their hands and moved off in the direction of the Naval Office. Finally, there were the fairies with red cross armbands exiting carrying stretchers and covered bodies.
…
I heaved a sigh. An attack like this, on an unsuspecting port… there were bound to be casualties. They would be taken to the most intact building that the engineers have deemed stable enough, where they were catalogued and identified. Hopefully, I would have the appropriate fairies for the last rites, otherwise I could only offer some simple Buddhist prayers.
Then the bodies would be interred in what little grass patches inside the naval base. Unless I could access the decently sized grove of trees on a strip of land just outside the fence south of the base. I couldn't leave but my fairies certainly could, as this was only one of the two infantry battalions that I had in base currently.
I walked past a pair of guards standing at attention at a doorway to a white concrete building and orange corrugated iron roof which had, by some miracle, survived virtually unscathed, unlike the warehouses and machine shops surrounding it. Or perhaps not by a miracle given that it was a mosque, and I suspected that there was probably more than a little divine intervention involved.
A few of the garrison troops were inside, giving the walls a new coat of paint, mainly to cover the black spots and pockmarks caused by bomb or shell fragments. I had given the order that under no certain terms that the mosque be touched or worse, looted. I would personally toss any looters straight to the South China Sea if I caught them. Nodding at the guards, I turned, moving on towards my headquarters.
The other battalion was sent on their way a couple hours ago to scout out Sembawang Airbase. I was hoping there would be good news on that front. According to the map in my what I now dubbed the 'War Room', it was only just over a couple kilometers or maybe a mile and a half away. Only a thirty minutes' walk for me, maybe forty-five minutes to navigate the streets for the first time. But for fairies and their little feetsies, they were probably going to take a while longer.
The Naval Office loomed as I made for the foyer.
They were in radio contact with the radio room in the office, checking in every hour. Right now, they should be due for another check in soon—
Motes of white light appeared, gathering at one of the empty armatures. It started out small, then it grew, flattening out into a rectangular structure. When the light faded out, what was left was a battered and cratered runway.
I blinked. This… This meant that I have taken Sembawang Airfield, then? A radio call came in right at the moment, confirming the capture. From the following short report, the place was, obviously, trashed like the naval base and deserted except for several wrecked helicopters and bodies. The single runway in the airfield was as what my rigging was showing.
There was a sense of relief, as my air power woes might be over. But the condition of the runway meant that I probably needed to get an engineering team over to fix up the place before I could start churning out planes. Somehow. Video game logic reallydoes hurt my brain when it comes to real life…
So, I should get that barracks up as soon as possible, so I could train another unit of engineers to be sent over to the airfield to fix it. My current two battalions were up in their eyeballs with work just getting the naval base back into working condition.
I sighed as I entered the threshold. There was just endless work.
Good news. The graving docks are finally repaired! In record time too!
Video game repair times can be useful in real life, surprisingly.
Even then, it had taken a good portion of the day. It looks to be around four in the afternoon now, when the engineers finish up with their job, judging by the color of the sky. Currently, they are in the midst of constructing the barracks—a boxy colonial style multi-story affair similar to the Naval Office. After some mandated rest. And the rubble cleared.
The next order of business is, of course, ships.
With my current available research points, I could either unlock one interwar light cruiser and one destroyer or two destroyers. Heavy cruisers, battlecruisers, battleships and aircraft carriers were sadly out of my reach while I slowly accumulated points. But thank goodness I didn't have to grind out a tech tree because I would punch out a wall, and I can actually do that now.
I am favoring going all out on destroyers. With two enormous dry docks meant for repairing giant capital ships, I can build two destroyers per dock, giving me four ships on the outset. A nice start for a small destroyer flotilla. While a light cruiser has respectable firepower—the interwar designs aren't actually that bad—what I need now is more manpower, that means more hulls.
With the outside world unknown and I myself unable to leave the base to actually put my eyeballs onto things, I'm left with having to delegate the eyeballing to other people. And that means ships. Destroyers, being speedy little buggers, are a good balance between firepower and speed and can get away quickly if they encounter any hostile forces. Also, the cruiser needs about two days of construction. I don't know if I can afford two days.
After studying the ships' build page, I have chosen to unlock the J-class and E-class. The J-class, while 'expensive' in terms of research points required, was chosen because of its balance of heavy firepower and anti-aircraft armaments. And of course, Jervis, Janus and Javelin are adorable little buggers and deserve all the head pats. Meanwhile, the E-class has a little special place in my heart as Encounter and Electra operated out of the naval base all those years ago.
…
Now that I think of it, I don't know if my building of these ships will take away shipgirls from the Royal Navy's summoning pool…
But I have to build them regardless. Not doing so leaves me completely defenseless. And whichever abyssal who had previously bombed up the place will come back sooner or later. I would be screwed in that case. Fixed defenses can only help so much.
At least I do have one airfield with which I can produce and send out aircraft from. My own Henderson field, so to speak. But currently it is still out of commission as both of my engineering battalions are still busy with demolition and construction.
Anyway, my choice is made.
From my vantage point on the second floor, I could see both dry docks lit in a sudden well of light, reaching into the late afternoon sky, signaling the start of construction. Judging from the mental user interface, the construction will be done by tomorrow morning. I wonder how the girls will turn out…
…
I'm starting to feel a little peckish. Come to think of it, I haven't been eating since this… morning?
…
… Crap! I forgot the [Cook House]!
***
I sank into the delightfully warm waters of the bath, relaxing as I did so. While I normally didn't soak in a bath, the last time having been several years ago and there had been a little too much worrying about me flooding the toilet and worrying about wasting too much soap to enjoy it. But the novelty—more than a little curiosity—of doing so as a female got me interested to try it once again.
…
It wasn't so bad this time. Though there was more weight over my chest this time round, for obvious reasons. And the definitely novel sensation of wet long hair. While it was only barely reaching my waist, it was the first time for me to handle hair of such length. Drying it would be nightmare when I had to get up later…
Muffled loud clangs and hammering could be heard all around the office, even secluded as I was in the toilet. I let out a sigh. After realizing that I had forgotten to put down a place where I could get food, I had hastily modified the build queue. The foundry would have to wait a bit. Both the barracks and the cook house were now well into their construction and would probably be done late morning tomorrow.
That would end my hunger situation. Somehow. I just knew, for some reason. Hopefully it really would. But in the meantime, my garrison troops did salvage a small pile of foodstuff, from the bombed out US Navy Exchange[1], even. It was mostly snacks and instant noodles, however, as most perishable foods have already rotted from the lack of air-conditioning and the heat.
Munching the snacks had taken the edge of hunger away for a while. And judging from the amount I ate, I seemed to eat roughly average human portions, if more than what I used to eat.[2] The rest were distributed to the troops, though they seemed to have a bit of food on hand. I have seen them chowing down on some World War II era ration during their breaks. A single twenty-four hour ration per fairy, I guess?
Anyway, things should settle down a little once the cook house was up and running.
… The bath water was getting cold. It wasn't long before the water got too cold. And to my suspicion, my hair got water everywhere before I managed to dry it with a profuse amount of thick, fluffy towels. What I would give for a hair dryer… Though I wasn't sure if a hair dryer would even dry that much wet hair in a reasonable amount of time. My elder sister used to complain about it enough.
Slipping on a night dress, I headed back into the toilet to brush my teeth and prepare for bed. When that was done, I caught sight of myself in the mirror. … My face had changed, features softer and a little cuter. There were still recognizable features but with Caucasian features mixed in, I looked more like a very pretty, mixed blood Eurasian.
My very pale steely blue hair was straight and when in 'uniform', was kept in a half ponytail with a sizeable navy blue ribbon. It completed a rather demure look that was my preference in my previous life. Well, enough fantasizing about myself…
The queen-sized mattress that awaited me sank alarmingly low when I climbed on, and definitely not dove on. … This bed was decadent. Too decadent. In fact, the whole place was like a luxury five-star hotel room. With all the amenities and everything I needed. What did I do to deserve this?
You died and are now a spirit running a World War II naval base, Inner Me 'helpfully' supplied.
I sighed. My hand reached for the nightstand, not for the nightlight but for a flat rectangular piece of polished glass set in a navy blue plastic cover. Snacks and emergency food weren't the only things my fairies found. Turning the tablet over, the white blocky words 'PROPERTY OF US NAVY' prominently stenciled on the protective cover.
I haven't tried unlocking it yet. Probably should wait till tomorrow to try slowly, lest I permanently lock myself out by rushing. While I have several more tablets to try with, I would do myself no favors if they were all locked out too. For once, I hoped someone had decided to use a weak passcode. At least I knew the current date now.
Other than the tablets, there were also a couple of soot covered but intact-looking familiar satellite dishes. … Maybe Internet was not a myth for me.
Would it be a little too much if my fairies turned up some intact computers?
Anyway, I should sleep. There were more important things tomorrow and the bed was… wonderful…
The sounds of demolition continued unabated when I stirred and opened my eyes. The light through the windows was bright, looking around eight in the morning, from my reckoning. I actually slept rather decently for once. There were way too many memories of myself waking up at six in the morning and my body refusing to go back to sleep ruining my sleep quality.
Twenty minutes later, I was downstairs in the War Room, poking a finger at the snacks. Potato chips and other assorted snacks were not what I looked forward to for breakfast though. But with the cook house still under construction, there was no other food to eat. My eyes glanced towards the cup noodles beside the junk food. Well, no other food that did not require hot water or preparation…
"Your tea, Mistress."
I nearly jumped out of my skin. Since when did I have a personal maid? I thought when my eyes fell upon a… fairy, who was full-sized and dressed in a prim and proper maid dress, her very pale blue, almost white hair held up in a similarly tight, proper bun.
"Ah…" Slowly, I took the proffered cup of tea—which by the smell, was English Breakfast—fancy saucer and all. "Thank you."
"Your breakfast will be arriving soon, Mistress," the maid said, turned and left.
… Somehow, we have food? Guess I shouldn't complain… I took a sip of the tea. It was how brewed it: a little strong, with a single cube of sugar. Probably left the teabag in longer than usual—I usually left the teabag in while I drank, which in the English tea-drinking scene, was blasphemy. I could almost hear Kongou gasping, her non-existent monocle popping off in shock, wherever she was.
The maid returned a few minutes later with a plate of English muffins, sausage—the flat kind—watercress, and sunny side up egg. A proper English breakfast, I guess? I wasn't actually English, so I wasn't really sure, looking at it.
Well, I guess I was English, well, British now…?
It was a hearty breakfast for me in the morning. In my previous life, I simply went for a bread bun and a cup of hot chocolate—my routine for the past nearly three decades. The maid stood just off the corner of my eyes as I ate. A little slower than my usual eating speed because of the grease. I wasn't a big fan of so much oil in the morning.
"Was the food to your liking, Mistress?"
The maid had spoken up soon as I put down the knife and fork, eyeing the watercress that I had left mostly untouched.
"It's fine," I said. "Though I prefer plain bread and hot chocolate in the mornings." I paused. "Ah, I'm sorry… I never got your name."
"I am Sharon, my Mistress," she said, giving me a small curtsy. "I am your yeoman and personal assistant."
"And why does my yeoman wear a maid uniform?" came my immediate, wry reply.
The now named Sharon gave another curtsy. "I am also your personal maid, my Mistress."
Okay, so she's basically those anime Ninja Robot Maid types. She probably had a whole bunch of knives hidden all around her body. Somehow. "I see…" I said.
I then shot Sharon a questioning look. "Also, where are you getting all this food?" I said. "Our cook house is not even done yet."
Sharon seemed to have a knowing smile on her lips. "We have a fully stocked pantry and kitchen."
I glanced around the room, frowning. I don't think it's on the first level… "Up… stairs?"
Sharon shook her head. "It's in the far corner of the first floor, next to the private mess for the officers working here."
Well, that made sense. The officers and other staff in the building have to eat, after all… "Wait, we have a private kitchen?"
"That is correct, Mistress."
I wonder how big is that kitchen… It couldn't have been that big though. Just enough to feed a couple hundred of people… tops? I shot Sharon a considering look. "Say… would the kitchen be up to the task of making refreshments and some hot food for three battalion of personnel?"
Sharon considered for a moment. "That should be no problem, Mistress," she said.
Okay, that's good. "Please do," I said, nodding. "The girls have been working hard day and night."
"Very well, Mistress. Please excuse me." Sharon bowed, turned around and left.
… Maybe I should go hunt down the Majors running the battalions.
Lights flashed into the late morning sky as I stood watching from the wharf. The almost complete shape of twin steel hulled silhouettes disappeared into the lights and reconstituted themselves into a couple of girls on the opposite side of the opening lock of the dry dock.
The girls looked around in confusion before one caught sight of me and tapped the other on her shoulder. They both turned and powered in my general direction, making a beeline towards a steel ladder that still had its red paint barely dry.
One by one, they appeared over the edge, scrambling to a stop in front of me. Their uniforms were reminiscent of the J-class from a certain shipgirl browser game, except it was a one-piece sailor navy blue double breasted coat-dress with white collar, black neckerchief and navy blue accents, topped with white ribboned navy blue caps. They looked to be on the cusp of fifteen years of age, slender and lanky as teenagers at that age were. Which somehow came off as 'cute' instead of awkward as anime girls wont to do.
They drew themselves to an excited approximation of 'at attention' and gave a snappy salute.
"His Majesty's Ship Esther, reporting for duty!"
"His Majesty's Ship Endeavour, ready to fight!"
Despite the rising nerves in the pit of my stomach, the corners of my lips couldn't help but twitch at their enthusiasm as my own hand raised to return the salute.
"Please be at ease," I said, managing to keep the nervous wobble out of my voice. "I am His Majesty's Naval Base Singapore. I bid you two welcome."
… It just dawned on me that I now have people to manage, so they wouldn't get into trouble or worse, get themselves hurt or… killed. I gave an internal sigh at their expectant faces. The base was still in the process of being built up, so there wasn't much infrastructure to support the two new destroyers just yet.
I would need to send them out to scout and I already have a few locations in mind but not yet.
"You talk weird," Esther spoke up after a brief moment.
She was the one with messy warm pastel pink hair that ran past her shoulders and very pronounced English accent.
"Yeah," Endeavour chimed in, nodding.
Her sister was a blonde of about shoulder length and spoke with a softer English accent.
I raised an eyebrow at Esther, who gave me a cheeky grin. "This is how the locals here speak," I said.
And I hadn't even actually hit them with an actual Singlish accent. If I actually did, I'd probably be as understandable to them as Cockney was to an American.
"Still sounds weird to me," Endeavour joined in once again.
This time I sighed out loud, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of my nose. "Alright, you two," I said. "You girls hungry?"
The girls shook their heads. They were alert and focused. Well, as focused as a pair of active teenagers could.
I nodded. "Follow me, girls."
Turning in the direction of the Naval Office, I moved off. They scrambled after me, heads turning every which way at the simultaneous construction and demolition around us whenever I glanced over my shoulders to check on them.
"Um…" Esther's voice piped up behind me. "Where are the other ships?"
As we were entering the threshold into the Naval Office, I opted to wave them into the War Room before speaking:
"You two are it at the moment."
Esther and Endeavour looked at each other, their faces unsure.
I sighed. "And as you can see, the naval base is still under construction," I continued, waving to the large windows behind them, admitting the vista of unfinished buildings covered in scaffoldings. "Everything here is barely a day old."
"So, who are we fighting?" Endeavour said. "The Japs?"
Endeavour then flinched when I fired a hard glare at the destroyer. "It's unlikely that we are fighting the Japanese, Endeavour," I said. "They might even be on our side this time."
"Really?" Esther spoke up, her face still unsure.
I nodded. "I don't know what's out there at the moment," I said. "But I have a feeling that it isn't the Japanese or even the Americans. I think it's something else."
Of course, I couldn't just blurt out 'Abyssals' and that other shipgirls would be running around soon. That would be very suspicious. "As I am unable to leave the base— I just can't," I said when both girls turned their questioning looks at me. "In any case, once the other two J-class destroyers join us, you girls will go on a scouting mission."
Esther raised a hand. "Um, so where are we going to?"
"I will brief you girls again once J-class destroyers are completed." I spared a brief mental glance at the construction progress on the [Dry Dock] page. "Shouldn't be longer than two more hours."
"And in the meantime," I leaned slightly forward, "I think a shakedown is in order."
Esther and Endeavour's riggings have been dismissed when they got onto land, but I had caught a bit of them during their short cruise to the wharf.
They were similar to the canon J-class—a single thin smokestack on their backs that hung off their waists on a pair of clamps and two halves of their hulls with a set of quadruple torpedo launcher and assorted anti-aircraft armaments arrayed on each half. Previously held in their hands was a handgun in the angular shape of a single 4.7-inch mount.
Now it was out in all its glory once again as Esther and Endeavour cruised out into the strait. I watched from the north facing wharf as they went through a standard battery of maneuvers—forward at various speeds, crash stops and reverse. Then came the turns—left, right and several circles.
The half-sunken tankers have been cleared over the night. Well, at least the visible portions above water. That left the water decluttered enough for me to observe the girls. Also, being shipgirls meant that the kilometer wide strait was more than sufficient for them to maneuver.
Engine trials, however, were tricky though as I all but lost sight of the girls as they raced down the strait towards Pulau Ubin, and then back. Gunnery was even trickier as there wasn't any large area of water for them to safely fire their guns, not to mention their torpedoes. Ideally, all these should have been done in the South China Sea. However, with zero idea what was out there, it wasn't safe for them to venture out just yet.
I settled for them firing basically point blank at barrels that the Royal Engineers ginned up from… somewhere. Firing north risked hitting 'friendly' country. I doubted it was that friendly at the moment, what with abyssals running about. In fact, I was a little surprised that no one had showed up with all the light and noise we have been making.
They would show up, eventually. We just have to prepare in the meantime and hope that they didn't show up early.
But who was I kidding? Of course, the enemy would show up before I was ready.
I only hoped that I would be ready enough.
The other dry dock flashed not very long after I sent the two E-class for some food in the private mess. The two figures dressed in the familiar white double-breasted coat and navy blue mini-sailor top were looking around when I reached the same place where I met Esther and Endeavour.
Like the E-class destroyers, one of the duo spotted me first. However, this time, the wheat color haired one took her blonde-haired sister in her hand and led her in my direction. Soon, the two of them stopped in front of me, came to attention and gave the same enthusiastic, snappy salute. Though the younger looking blonde seemed to deflate somewhat soon thereafter.
"J-class destroyer, His Majesty's Ship Jenkins reporting!"
"His Majesty's Ship Joyous, I-I'm here…"
My eyes flicked to the still grinning wheat color haired destroyer, a wry smile playing on my lips. "I hope you're not going to start charging the enemy willy nilly now, Jenkins?"
Jenkins tilted her head in question, confusion on her face.
The destroyers are completed, and cheeky little buggers they are. And judging by the names they self-reported, it seems like they are completely new ships. Which is a relief.
I am pretty sure there hadn't been a J-class destroyer named Jenkins. Or a Joyous, for that matter. The E-class destroyers are the same as well, as far as I can tell. I should be able to verify that once I get some Internet running again.
The two J-class are currently running a brief shakedown like the E-class had done to make sure everything about them is working. Once they're up and ready and fed, I'll be sending them out to take a look at Changi Naval Base.
The operation is a little hastily thrown together and the girls didn't have any time to get to know each other but I don't have the luxury of time. I probably wouldn't like what they find down at the naval base, but we need to know the state of the rest of the island. And we needed to know yesterday.
… Actually, maybe I should have them scout out the Causeway first.
The bridge link to Johor is closer, only about several kilometers or so west from the base, judging from the War Room map. Being that it is nestled between Singapore and Johor, the strait is relatively safe. The short distance would be a good chance for them to figure out how to work together. And I probably should make sure that there isn't someone lurking in my own backyard, so-to-speak.
Frankly speaking, as I have next-to-nothing nautical experience, I couldn't even teach them any form of station or formation keeping. So this is a good opportunity for them to work together and figure it out.
Once they're done with the Causeway, they can take a rest and then head down to Changi Naval Base for a look around. Hopefully that place isn't already infested with abyssals. Of course, I'm having them lay low and scram the moment they see any big guys they see while I continue to build up the fleet.
Which brings me to the next point. Now that I have ships running around, I should probably look at repair baths. If the girls get hurt, I'm not really sure if I can fix them, or rather know how. I know in some stories, installations instinctively 'know' how to do that or know how to modify and refit ships. But unfortunately for me, I don't seem to have that magical knowledge crammed into my head with my rebirth and transformation.
Maybe a repair ship might know?
Or perhaps I could chuck them into a [Dry Dock] and see if that'll kick off some automated function. A little rude but I'm kind of out of options here.
… I think I should just gun for the repair baths.
…
Why do I need a repair ship to unlock the [Repair Baths]?!
I… I don't have enough research points to unlock one. Well, if I didn't want to wait a couple more hours. I could unlock the Arethusa-class now and get started on building one to lead the destroyers and a couple more destroyers. Or I could wait a couple hours to unlock the repair ship and then build it with a couple of destroyers.
Decisions… Decisions…
Also, there is the matter with the airfield. So far, the garrison battalion had been holding it, and nobody had showed up to object their occupation or checked on the airfield. While I now formally 'own' the airfield, I can't produce anything there yet as it is currently 'destroyed'.
I don't know if it is my game developer past influencing all this but I am able to zoom out and see the location of the naval base and the airfield as icons on a stylized, vectorized map of Singapore in my mind's eye. Like some kind of world map interface. The flashing wrench graphic over the airfield is a big indicator that I need to fix the place before I can use it.
The [Barracks] is almost done, after which I'll train another unit of Royal Engineers to head down there to repair the runway. From what I could spy on the currently greyed out [Aircraft] tab, there's a decent variety of aircraft that I would be able to build once the airfield is repaired. Which also probably require more research to unlock.
… I'd really feel much safer with some air patrols going on.
Sigh… There's just so many things to do. So many things to worry about…
[1] Yes, the US Navy has a presence in the port as part of a logistics unit for the Southeast Asia region. The Brits also have one that suddenly sprang up (and claimed to have always been there) for HMS Queen Elizabeth's visit to the Pacific.
[2] I'm not a big eater, that's for sure.
A/N: There is always one thing that I would miss whenever I do things. The cook house was the same. Story of my life.
The weight of administration and the lack of personnel is starting to dawn my SI. Well, it's one step at a time. And hopefully, the enemy doesn't suddenly come knocking at your door while your pants are down…
Maybe my SI is starting to appreciate why the hair of national leaders rapidly turn grey...
Also, something that might or might not happen in the future from me brainstorming stuff:
"His Majesty's Ship Lynx!" I roared as I took in the state of the young woman in front of me. "I swear to Heaven, if you charged another battleship again, you'll be on coastal defense duty for the rest of your life![1]"
And what a state she was in. The skirt of her dress was in tatters, with a rip that ran up one leg all the way to her waist. Not that the dress itself was any better, what with a multitude of small rips that it was by miracle that she still had her modesty intact. Honestly, she looked like she went a dozen rounds with a honey badger.
The now named Lynx flinched, her auburn hair swishing as she moved. "B-But Mu— Ma'am!" she said. "I-I didn't!"
"Then explain to me that sixteen-inch hole in your smokestack."
And judging from the entry angle and exit hole, I was very certain it had come frontally. In fore of the funnel, out aft of it. She wasn't bluffing anyone.
Lynx flinched once again, this time harder. "I-I-I can explain!" Her eyes looked everywhere but at me. "It must have hit while I was retreating with Ferret!"
My mouth curled into smile, but it wasn't a nice smile. "Lynx, dear," I said, my voice dripping in sickening sweetness. "If that was the case, that shell would have smacked you right in the back of your head. Try harder."
"I have a thick conning tower!" she pleaded, desperation in her eyes. "T-The shell didn't stand a chance!"
I sent her a dry look. I knew exactly how thick her conning tower armor was.
Beside Lynx, the silver haired woman snickered. I turned my glare in her direction. "Riiight," she said. "It was a super heavy shell too."
"Ferret! Don't rat me out!"
I turned my glare back towards Lynx, who flinched yet again. Ferret snickered once again, only for it to die when my glare cut her off. "And Ferret, dear. Why didn't rein in your sister?"
"Pssheesh… Once Lynx gets going, she's like 'vroom'!" she said, gesturing and rolling her eyes. "No way I could have caught her."
I felt the beginning throbs of a headache. "And now Lynx, dear. Explain to me why you insist on charging up close like a trireme going out of style? You have fifteen-inch guns, for goodness' sake."
There was a pregnant pause.
"… I couldn't hit them at range."
I let out a sigh, shaking my head. Favoring Lynx with a sad but fond smile, I said:
Both the [Cook House] and [Barracks] are finally done, so my fairy units have been rotating through the former to get their food. My yeoman and personal maid, Sharon, had also been organizing food runs down to Sembawang Airfield to resupply the mostly bored soldiers garrisoning the place.
A fresh battalion of Royal Engineers is currently undergoing training and should be ready come tomorrow morning. Once they head over to fix up the place, I can start deciding what planes to start producing so I can get a decent patrol up and running.
Something long range maybe?
And of course, a metric crap ton of fighters. I think I'll take even squadrons of Gloster Gladiators at this point. Heck, I'll take even Nimrods! Uh, whoever that made them…
… The [Build] menu says it's Hawker.
Anyway! The girls are back from their scouting mission or recce in British and Singaporean parlance. The Causeway is down. No idea if it was blown up by a retreating SAF or by the abyssals to keep the populace in but an entire twenty-meter span was gone. If that's the case, then Tuas Second Link is likely in a similar state.
This is some serious demolition. Unlike the Causeway of the British had blown up in 1942, the modern Causeway is a six-lane road set on solid bedrock, if I'm nor mistaken. It's not a bridge suspended over the strait. Blowing up a large chunk of it requires a good amount of explosives, so I have reasons to believe it had been done by combat engineers rather than aircraft bombs.
The girls had also reported that they were fired upon by unidentified infantry machine guns and some kind of spigot rockets and they had returned fire with their own machine guns and cannons. Which were the noises I heard not long after I had sent them out for that scouting mission. They weren't hurt but the experience had rattled them a little. They weren't used to getting shot at by infantry, I guess.
Also, judging by their stated reaction to seeing them, I am pretty sure they had been abyssal troops. I think they might have been stationed there to keep an eye on things. Which means that my girls had just alerted the enemy. Not unexpected, but it makes me worry what the girls will find at Changi Naval Base. Or whether anyone will come over to check what is going on at the naval base. My naval base.
… We are not ready.
I have a cruiser and two more destroyers queued up in the [Dry Docks]. A Danae-class and one each of E-class and J-class. It turns out that the Arethusa-class is quite a bit newer and costs a lot more points than I had expected. I'm… not sure if I should just gun for the repair ship and the repair baths after this. To set up the support infrastructure.
They'll be ready tomorrow, in any case, which is a little too late if the enemy comes knocking at our doorstep later today. After a short rest, I'll have the girls head over to Changi Naval Base. That should pre-empt the enemy.
Not that they aren't frustratingly hard to suss out.
I had finally remembered and gotten around to use the radios in the half-manned attached room to the War Room. There isn't a peep of transmissions, at least in the area covering the entire Singapore area and Johor. From the radio operators, I had been told that the receivers had to be upgraded or a new listening post constructed to receive at longer ranges.
…
We can build a [Listening Post]?
… Dammit. Why did I miss it until now?
Anyway, that's another thing to work on when I need to monitor and direct long range operations—ala Admiral Nimitz and all the US fleets halfway around the world—in the future.
Now, I have an army to build and an operation to plan.
Sigh…
***
"Your next recce objective is here."
I pointed to a squarish outline attached to the southeastern corner of the enormous Changi Airport. The four destroyers crowded around me as they studied the map, no doubt figuring out the route and timing for the trip.
The map itself was rather up to date, surprisingly. Other than the Tuas Megaport which was mostly missing, the outline and topography were all correct as of the current year, as far as I could tell.
"The location is a naval base operated by the Singapore Navy," I continued. "I want you girls to take a look, see if those enemies you met at the Causeway are there too."
"Wait, a naval base?" Esther spoke up. "Since when?"
"Since just two decades ago," I said.
This produced four confused and contemplative expressions. "But, what about here?" Esther said.
She pointed to the floor, evidently meaning Singapore Naval Base. Me.
I let out a sigh. "It became a civilian port at some point after the seventies."
"You mean you?" Jenkins chimed in.
That brought me up short for a moment before my mind caught up. Jenkins was, of course, correct. "Yes," I finally said. "After Singapore took over naval duties, Singapore Naval Base, I, was the naval base for the Royal Malaysian Navy, not the Singapore Navy."
The confusion on the four destroyers grew more pronounced. I let out another sigh. They were missing some history lessons.
"Okay, a bit of history here," I continued. "Basically, Singapore and Malaya were granted independence in 1963 along with Sabah and Sarawak in a new union called Malaysia."
I paused for them to digest the information.
"Due to ideological and political differences, Singapore was voted out of the union two years later in 1965, becoming its own country," I said. "This meant a split navy, which presented a problem. As I had mentioned earlier, the Royal Malaysian Navy still occupies and operates out of myself by agreement."
I rested a hand over my chest.
"As I was occupied by the Royal Malaysian Navy, the nascent Singapore Navy had to find another place for their own base, which they did on Pulau Brani on the south end of Singapore." I smiled at the memories of a certain Japanese minelayer becoming the headquarters for a short while. "Eventually, they expanded to Tuas Naval Base in the west end of Singapore in the nineties and Changi Naval Base in 2004."
"And you were abandoned…?"
Joyous flinched when my gaze fell upon her.
"Not exactly," I said, smiling gently. "I was still in use, just not with the military."
"And now you're back!" Esther said, beaming. "Ready to show the world who's boss!"
My smile grew a little wider at her declaration. "Right," I said, ending the short, impromptu history lesson. "Now, back to the main topic. I want you girls to check out the place."
The four destroyer shipgirls nodded.
"Keep a low profile and take note of the status of the naval base," I said. "If you make contact with the enemy, do not engage and return to me immediately. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Ma'am!" the destroyers chorused.
I nodded. "Good," I said. "Do well, and there'll be ice cream waiting for you girls when you return."
The destroyers cheered, filing out as quickly as they could without outright sprinting—they weren't American destroyers, thank you very much—jostling each other as they left the War Room.
Worry crept in in the wake of the sudden quietness. Please come back safe…
Changi Naval Base is… surprise, trashed. Like myself and Sembawang Air Base have been, it has also been heavily bombed. The base is empty and looks like it had been evacuated. There are no ships in the berths and piers, sunken or otherwise. Which I hope that means they have managed to successfully pull back to somewhere.
… I have some hope that the SAF have managed to evacuate the citizens and retreat north into Malaysia.
I don't have much evidence, but it seems that there has been a seaborne invasion from the south, which pushed the SAF north along with the Malaysian Army. And… I'm not sure, but I might have been supposed to be an Abyssal Princess.
It makes sense. Push the enemy far away from the port, then spawn in a logistic and naval base to provide support and a base for the next push northwards. I don't know why the abyssals got me instead but maybe the heavens are throwing the humans a bone instead of just letting the region go to uh… let the region go.
All these bases seemingly unoccupied is for whoever that filled the void here to occupy, if I am to guess. But would that mean there isn't any infantry in Singapore's interior?
I… don't know. It could be that whichever abyssal ships happened to be out when the girls have come checking. I had zero ships in port when the destroyers left for the scouting missions, after all. In any case, I hope the airfield gets repaired tomorrow and I can start putting up patrols the day after.
I'll know from how much fire that my patrol aircraft takes taking off. Hopefully that number will be zero.
I think I'm starting to sound like a broken record with how many times I have mentioned 'getting an air patrol up'.
The girls have settled back in the Naval Office, enjoying their nice, cold ice cream.
It's April around four in the afternoon in Singapore, I know how hot it gets with the angry sun beating down on you.
Maybe I should check on them, and see if I can organize transfer of infantry units down to Changi Naval Base.
Letting the enemy hold onto such a foothold is unwise.
***
It was surreal to see the Johor side of the strait darkened and without power. High rises and luxury houses lay on the opposite shore, visible during daylight from the now unobstructed view in the naval base. The gentle waters lapped the concrete walls of the wharf I stood upon. Those houses right across from me were barely visible blue blobs.
The scene was oddly peaceful. After the brief skirmish at the Causeway, there hadn't been any other fights for the rest of the day. Changi Naval Base was indeed empty when the girls returned to drop off a unit of infantry. We set up a patrol schedule—a daily run down to deliver food and ammo for the stationed troops.
A little exposed for those little fellas but I didn't want the abyssals to reoccupy the place if I could help it. They would also act as an advanced picket station of sorts as well.
I turned back to the calm scene in front of me. The abyssals were a little too quiet. I had expected them to be a little more aggressive in checking out just what happened to their supposed logistics and staging base. If I were fighting up in the north in Malaysia and if supplies and reinforcements were not forthcoming, I would've sent a party down to find out what happened.
But alas, I wasn't a master strategic General. I was an army clerk Corporal and a so-so software developer, so what did I know? But I guess I now am…
I snorted. A great way to remind myself a certain Austrian Corporal was a supposed grand strategist as well. I would rather do without.
There was barely any moonlight tonight, with the moon a bare silver. I wasn't sure if it was a waxing or a waning crescent, but I'll probably know in the next couple of nights. Not that it was important but such a night would be a nice night to attack…
I focused my gaze on the beach in front of the luxury houses, dimly fluorescent white in the dark. Dark blobs were seemingly moving, congregating—
Angry red tracers arced towards me.
I ducked, sprawling myself in a series of awkward movements as the large bullets impacted the walls of my newly constructed barracks. The deep bass reports of a heavy machine gun reached my ears a few seconds later.
That seemed like the cue for the entire beach to light up, as more machine guns joined in. I pressed myself flatter against the concrete ground, one hand over my head and the other over my neck. A chill ran up my spine when I heard a very familiar whistle.
The waters near the northern wharf erupted in a geyser.
Motherfu— Another geyser erupted, sounding like it hit the waters somewhere along the western wharf.
Belatedly, a bell in the barracks rang. Soon, chittering shouts joined the din as my garrison force turned out for the sudden fight.
Pressing my face to the rough concrete, it just hit me that I had spoken too soon yet again. Story of my freaking life.
"Mistress!"
A pair of hands grabbed me by the shoulders and flipped me over to the sight of Sharon, her eyes wide on her frantic face.
"Are you hurt?!"
I took her arms into my hands and pulled. "Get down!" I yelled. "You want to get shot?!"
"You can't stay here!"
Without waiting for my reply, she brushed away my hands and started dragging me away from the wharf, and towards one of the giant yellow fitting cranes.
"They're putting out boats!" I heard a fairy infantry shout.
Slow staccato of my newly installed twin 40mm Bofors opened up, the tracers I could see when Sharon finally let me go behind the base of the crane.
Another whistle came in, and this time I saw an angry orange flame rise from the [Cook House]. You bastard, I just built this!
The faster staccato of the Oerlikon 20mm autocannons joined in, lighting up the strait as it raked the beachfront. Even amongst the puffs of shell impacts, I could see the shapes trying to push more boats onto the water. One took a forty-millimeter shell square to its side, exploding into a shower of timbers and splinters.
"Don't let them get across!" Another fairy infantry, or maybe the same one, shouted.
There were several angular shapes, which the tracers revealed as infantry paddling furiously towards the naval base. Towards me.
"Mistress," I heard Sharon say. "You should fall back."
I didn't answer, instead staring at the stocky, shrouded barrel bolt-action carbine now held in the maid's hand. A De Lisle, my mind helpfully supplied. Inner Me also 'helpfully' threw in the image of a certain G36 toting maid. Not that I minded but the timing…
"Singapore, Ma'am!"
I looked from Sharon to a fairy officer walking determinedly[1] towards us. It was the Major of one of the garrison units, who drew to an attention and threw a parade perfect Army salute.
"What's the situation?" I said.
"The enemy is in the middle of a frontal assault on the naval base," the Major said without missing a beat. "They have taken heavy casualties, and the attack is petering out."
I nodded. "Have some of your girls check the east and west perimeters, make sure they haven't landed troops further away."
"Yes, Ma'am!" the Major saluted, turned and walked away, tracers soon pinging around her.
I shook my head. Crazy British…
"M-Ma'am!"
I looked up once again, this time to a frantic-looking Joyous. "Where are your sister and the others?"
"They're out on the water!" she pointed out in the direction of the strait. "Trying to get to the other side!"
I swear, Jenkins better not be rushing into some crazy melee… "Tell your sister to proceed slowly," I said, fixing Joyous with a look. "You girls outweigh the entire enemy formation, and I don't want you girls to get hurt blindly rushing into that artillery."
"Y-Yes, Ma'am!"
Joyous saluted and left, leaving me a little guilty at being a little overly harsh on the innocent destroyer.
The sudden roar of several salvoes silenced the few remaining, persistent machine guns. I peeked out of the cover to see the destroyers advancing slowly in a line, their combined guns lighting up the entire beachfront and block of houses.
The destroyers' own machine guns added to the din, suppressing whoever was still alive through that maelstrom of shrapnel.
And then the girls were on land, disappearing into the night as the chatter of their Vickers echoed throughout the strait.
Stay safe…
***
I stared in surprise as the smell hit my nose. My eyes flicked to a gently smirking Sharon as she set a plate of baguette on the table.
"Is that… Milo?"
Sharon's smirk grew wider. "Indeed, it is, my Mistress."
Where did she get that from? Seemingly out of nowhere, but if I had to really guess, it was probably a few good bags salvaged from the US Navy Exchange. I took a sip.
My tired eyes brightened momentarily at the familiar taste. It was even the plain version and not the three-in-one that had creamer or milk mixed in. It tasted just like it had in my previous life…
I sighed as the tiredness crept back in again. "What a crazy night…"
"Indeed, it is, my Mistress."
I shot the maid a look, though it was probably ruined by the fact that my eyes wanted to close instead of just narrowing. "Someone is certainly chipper in the morning…"
Not that I wasn't a morning person. I used to wake up super early each morning to prepare to go to work. But I haven't caught much of a wink of sleep after last night, worrying about more attacks.
The artillery turned out to be 90mm mortars, probably something light infantry could bring in such short notice. The destroyers took them out pretty easily and then patrolled up and down the coast on our side to make sure no one had landed further east or west.
Neither the girls nor the garrison found any signs that they did, which was the good news. The not so good news was that we need to watch the north more closely now. To that end, I would be training more infantry units and dumping at least a regiment on the opposite shore, so the enemy couldn't pull the same stunt from last night again.
"Perhaps you should try resting again, my Mistress."
I shot Sharon another look. "I'll take a nap later…"
It wasn't like I hadn't pulled little sleep before. Took me back to my university days where I pulled a thirty-two hour day at least once and days that I had lost count with a couple hours of sleep at most.
… I think I need more tea.
Or better yet, more Coca-Cola or Pepsi. I really needed that caffeine…
The airfield was finally fixed a short while ago, the battered strip turning into its pristine self in emanating motes and a final flash of light.
Now, it was time to decide what aircraft to build.
Light infantry with heavy machine gun and mortar support in a frontal boat assault. Not the brightest of moves going up against a base guarded by light and medium autocannons and four destroyers. Either the commander had thought my base was lightly defended or they weren't the smartest officer around but hey, their stupidity was our advantage.
In any case, my girls had taken them out with relative ease.
Also, my maid Sharon turns out to be more G36 from Girls Frontline than purely Ninja Robot Maid. That is, a not-so-robot maid with a gun. A suppressed bolt-action carbine, in her case.
Damage to the base had been light. Mainly the [Barracks] gaining a bunch of pockmarks, the [Cook House] gaining a hole on the roof and the base grounds gaining a bunch of craters. The Royal Engineers had spent no time fixing them up.
The construction for the [Steel Foundry] and [Power Plant] have been coming along nicely. The [Power Plant] should be done soon by midday and the [Steel Foundry] by the end of the day.
After which, I can start on the [Vehicle Factory]. … It seems a little weird for a naval base to be churning out Army vehicles as well. Because apparently, I have to wage a freaking land war as well to secure the island and parts of Malaysia if I want to keep my naval base, myself, safe. The irony.
What is my world turning into…
Anyway, the Sembawang Airfield is finally fixed! I have decided on four Bristol Blenheims for long range patrols and two squadrons of Hawker Hurricanes. I just barely had enough points for both of them after saving up for the past day.
The Hurricanes should do okay against the Zeroes and Ki-43s if they show up.
I'll probably need more Blenheims to keep up a round-the-clock patrol. Maybe sixteen? I need two per patrol for enough coverage and then six more for other shifts. The eight extra is for reserve and a light bomber wing for targets of opportunities.
However, Sembawang Airfield isn't that big though, I think. I'm not sure if I could fit all those Blenheims and all the Hurricane squadrons that I want to squeeze into the base. Trying to fit all those into a single base might mean that I can't put them all in protective bunkers, meaning they will be vulnerable.
I will definitely need more airfields to increase my aircraft capacity.
Of course, that means I need to expand the army to be able to capture them. But first, I need to expand the perimeter of my defense zone northwards and southwards. As demonstrated by last night's attack, my current security arrangement is… insufficient. Not to mention, I need more personnel to expand my perimeter south as well. And I have to replenish the losses taken by the fairies from the attack last night.
On the topic of defense, I think I should start looking into the Chain Home antennas for early warning against aircraft. Though not having secured the island fully, the coverage won't be ideal.
Oh right, and I keep forgetting. I should build the [Listening Post], as the radios in the [Naval Office] only had range to cover the entirety of Singapore and a small portion of Johor Bahru.
So, I'll need to upgrade the radios and the transmitter and receiver, on top of getting the [Listening Post], for long range communications and Signal Intelligence.
On top of that, the personnel at Sembawang Airfield is now requesting for air defense vehicles, in case of air attacks. But for now, it's fixed emplacements of QF 3.7" anti-aircraft guns, 40mm Bofors and Oerlikon 20mm autocannons.
Also, the personnel at the now occupied Changi Naval Base require supply drops of rations and ammo, which my girls have to fulfill daily.
…
Why don't the installations in other stories I have read have all these nitty gritty issues they have to handle? It feels like they have it easy with all the automation in that one rigging!
I kind of envy them right now…
[1] British officers do not rush in the throes of combat. To do so is ungentlemanly. And as I said, crazy British.
A/N: At long last, my SI finally gets to drink her Milo!
And being a leader is suffering. So many things to do, and everyone asks you for resources and help. When things turn bad, everyone looks at you for orders or you to fix the problem.
Really, the other installation fics did have it eas[ier], so many of the issues my SI encountered are glossed over or automated away. They didn't need to worry about getting assaulted by an army. They didn't need to capture facilities in order to actually unlock and use them. They didn't have to plan the defense for the facilities they captured.
In some cases, they could even freely sail the seas with a multitude of weapons they didn't need to painstakingly build.
