Chapter 3
Skywalker_T-65
Writer with too many ideas.
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- Plural/They/He/Her
Chapter 3:
Staring at the group of girls in front of me, I bit the back the urge to sigh. Or run away. Because feeling the collection of eyes staring right at me, and expecting some sort of command, made me exceedingly nervous to say the least. It had been one thing to work with Sara, who was standing next to me now. It was another thing entirely to have multiple girls looking at me, expecting something. Something I didn't know how to give, since the entire point of this wasn't to give commands or orders, but to get at least some idea of how the girls thought. The sooner I had a workable idea of...how to work with them...the better off I would be.
Even knowing that though, having these eyes staring at me was uncomfortable. At least none of them looked angry at being pulled aside. That was a plus, and I'd take those where I could find them, to be honest.
"What do ya need us for?" the tallest of the girls finally spoke up, pulling down her cap slightly.
"Sara may or may not have told you," I replied, "But my memory is shot. Can't remember much of anything from when I met her and on. So...New York, right?"
"Yeah," the girl nodded, bright blue eyes shining with amusement, "So you're shot sir?"
"I wouldn't say that...but yeah, I can't do much of anything until I've got everything in order. That's why you're all here, so I can get to know you...again."
A bit of laughter came from everyone but the girl I assumed to be Milwaukee. Assumed, because I got New York right, and vaguely recognized the other two cruisers present...Raleigh, long haired with an equally long skirt, slit up the side on one leg. And Marblehead, short-haired compared to both her sisters, and wearing a much more modest dress. That left the last girl, with her Russian cap atop grey hair, quite unlike the brown of her sisters. Couple both of those, with my existing knowledge, and it left it clear that she was who she was...after all, Murmansk was the other name this girl had gone by. Once upon a time.
"Okay, if I can actually remember this," I spoke up once the laughter died down, "You're Raleigh, you're Marblehead, and you're...do you prefer Milwaukee or Murmansk?"
The last girl addressed blinked slowly, before shaking her head, "Milwaukee, sir. I am proud of my service with the Red Banner Fleets, but it is not who I am."
I nodded back, "Good to know. Okay then...I guess I should start. Tell me your unique skills, and why you're the leaders of your squadrons. That gives me an idea of what I'm working with here, if nothing else."
"Easy enough," New York stepped forward first, amusement still in her blue eyes. The girl snapped her hand up, a sharp salute almost vanishing in the curly blonde hair on her head, "USS New York, though you can call me York, sir."
Electing to ignore the tone in her voice, I just nodded. York pouted, before she focused again, seriousness in her eyes. I could give her that at least...she was able to be serious when she needed to. Figures...she wouldn't have been placed in a command position, certainly not a command position of my battleships if she weren't. Though her New York- of course... -accent was something I'd need to get used to. Living in the midwest didn't exactly see many people with that particular way of speaking.
"Ok, in all seriousness, I am the commander of the Surface Combat Group, with my sister Texas, Ark and Utah as our primary hitting force. I'm armed with ten fourteen inch rifles, and I know how to use them sir. May have only used them for ground bombardment in the war, but I know how to shoot Admiral. Get any Abyssal within my range, and she's dead."
Her voice trailed off slightly at that, the girl's shoulders sagging slightly. Shaking her head, York popped back up, a weak grin on her face.
"If they're in my range. Tex and I may not be Standards, but we might as well be with our speed, if not our armor. Ark and Utah are the same in that regard...we ain't going to catch the Abyssals in a race, sir. You're better off using us in flanking maneuvers...drive them our way with the cruisers or Sara's carriers, and we can take down anything short of the really strong ones. No problem!"
I nodded, head spinning slightly, "Noted. Anything in particular you need to help that?"
"Help?" York tilted her head slightly, before shaking it, the amusement back in her eyes, "Nah, we don't need any help Admiral. North and Looavaul are enough help."
...
"Loo..." I blinked, before sighing heavily, "you mean Louisville right?"
York blinked again, "Holy hell, you can actually say it the way she does. I'm impressed!"
"It's not that hard..."
And I see some running jokes made the jump from page to reality. Good to know for future reference.
Shaking my head at the deep laugh from the battleship, I turned to the next girl in line. Which in this case, meant Milwaukee. The serious-faced girl nodded slightly, before stepping forward for her own report.
"USS Milwaukee, Cruiser Division 2 and Patrol Force 1 flagship," she spoke shortly and precisely, "Standard Omaha-class cruiser, Admiral. I'm fast and accurate, but I would not last long in pitched battle with Abyssals at close range. I would serve better firing at long range, where my guns outrange the Abyssals. If need be I have torpedoes, but they are Russian made and would not have the same characteristics as those my sisters use. As such, I would advise that you do not order me in the same manner."
Taking a breath, the girl looked at me expectantly. I just made a hand motion to continue, actually quite impressed with her. It was rare and odd to see a girl who was so...well, serious. Most had some sort of quirk, whether it was Kongou and her...love...or Akagi and her food. It was actually a bit refreshing to see a girl who seemed to lack the same quirks. Even if she had replaced it with the kind of stoicism I wouldn't place on a ship girl.
"In addition...I get along well with Hibiki and her sisters. If we perform joint operations with the Japanese, I would request to work with them."
"Because she was Verniy?"
Milwaukee raised a grey eyebrow, but nodded at the same time, "Yes. You are well-informed, or remember more than you thought."
"Nah, I just read a lot of random history books," I waved it off, glad that my historical fascination had a use for once, "Okay...Raleigh?"
"Most of what Milwaukee said applies to me as well Admiral," the girl replied softly, almost too soft to hear, "as for Marblehead and our other sisters. However, while we are not the best cruisers, we are quite determined girls. And aside from Milwaukee, we are able to fight in squadrons as well as lead them."
She's not talking about herself...
"And you?"
Raleigh flushed red, shuffling slightly, "I'm not anything special sir. I get along well with the destroyers, but...I don't have any skills my sisters don't."
Somehow I doubted that. But it was apparent even to me that she wasn't going to say anything else. Sighing softly, I elected to talk to her in private later. Man, I'm already slipping into the commander role, aren't I? Shaking my head at the thought, I turned to the last girl in line. Marblehead...arguably the most well-served of her class. And one of the few Asiatic Fleet ships I actually had in what I had coined as that fleet reborn. She had similar features to Raleigh- if not Milwaukee -but her outfit was totally different. And she held herself differently too...more confidence in her stance.
That was a good thing, if nothing else.
"Like Raleigh said," the girl began, "not a whole lot I can do that my sisters can't. I'm a bit better in a straight up fight considering my record, but it isn't anything special compared to North and her sisters. That being said, I'm looking forward to getting to know you again Admiral."
"Eh?"
A smile crossed Marblehead's face at that eloquent statement, "We have the same interests sir. We're both writers, and enjoy reading the classics as well."
"Huh. Well, I guess we can share notes later. Is there anything else any of you have to say?"
All the girls, sans Sara who had been silently watching the entire time, shook their heads. I nodded, waving them off to do...whatever it was the ship girls did in their spare time. Turning to the one girl who hadn't talked, I nodded towards the door back into the barracks. Sara nodded back, as the two of us walked back towards the building.
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"I'm glad to see you haven't changed sir," the carrier finally spoke up once we were inside, "It's...very nice, actually. Part of me was worried you would have, no matter how unlikely that was."
I smiled slightly, "Well, I'm glad I haven't. That would suck, you know?"
Sara laughed brightly at that, "Yes, it really would. I'm glad you're okay, even if you don't remember everything."
After she said that, the carrier spun on her heel, a curious look in her green eyes.
"So, what do you think of your commanders?"
"Well...York's interesting, kind of odd, but interesting," I replied, "Raleigh's clearly bothered by something, Marblehead's surprisingly average though we might get along well. I'd say the most interesting of them is Milwaukee though...she's a lot more serious than I expected a ship girl to be, no offense."
"None taken," Sara's smile widened slightly, "I'm aware of our eccentrics. That being said, shouldn't you be asking me questions?"
Feeling my cheeks heat up slightly, I laughed weakly, "Right...forgot."
"Let's not forget more, Admiral."
Mock glaring at that teasing tone, I found it odd how easily I could relax around Sara. Normally I was a lot more awkward than this...not just with strangers, but pretty much in general really. There was something about her- and the other girls to some extent -that just made it easy to be relaxed with them though. I'm not sure what it was either...but then again, shouldn't really complain. Sara seemed like she had been great friends with me, and if she wanted to rebuild that relationship, who was I to stop her?
Though the teasing was a wee bit frustrating all the same. Oh well.
"Very funny, Sara," I shot back, "I'll make sure to joke around with you if you get a knock on the head."
"Fair play, sir," the bluenette nodded back, before sobering up, "all joking aside though, you really shouldn't ignore finding out about me as well. It feels very odd to think you aren't familiar with me anymore...but we have to start somewhere, right?"
"Well," I nodded slightly, "Let's see what I remember first. CV-3, USS Saratoga...the oldest carrier to survive World War II, albeit ending the war as a training ship like Ranger. You're fast, carry a large amount of aircraft, and are probably very skilled with all the experience you have. Should be one of only...three...carriers that can do night ops too, if we count Ranger's training as being able to run combat ops."
Sara blinked slowly, before a smile crossed her face. She shook her head fondly, blue hair flowing with the movement. Forcing my eyes away from the swaying motion of her hair, I saw mirth in her green eyes.
"All true, but that's not me sir. It's my capabilities, but it isn't my personality. My likes, and things of that nature."
I sighed at that, "I know..."
"Don't worry, we can work on that," the carrier placed a hand on my shoulder, pushing me towards my room, "Though that will have to wait for now. Much as I want to talk about things...you need to read up on our orders. You should have notes on your computer, since Ranger made you keep records. Let me know if you need anything sir."
Blinking slowly, I only now noticed that we were back at...my room. Man, that felt odd...this wasn't any room I could remember living in. All the same, it was mine. Pushing those thoughts aside for the moment though, I walked inside while Sara went off to her own room...apparently right next door. Smiling at that- she really was a good friend -I shut the door, and moved to sit at my computer. The much more powerful than I was used to desktop didn't take long to boot up either.
Soon enough, I was staring hard at the screen, attempting to decide what to do first. There was always looking up Kancolle...but I wasn't sure I was ready yet, to see what there was. Likely nothing...but the odds that there was something...had me hesitating. Shaking my head fiercely, I sighed softly before moving away from the internet. I needed to save that bombshell for when I was ready.
Instead, I pulled up the documents tab and started to look through whatever notes that Other Me had made. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be much in the way of operational notes on the girls. On the other hand, I saw multiple dispatches from the Seventh Fleet, and a few from an Admiral Takeda...presumably, the one in charge of the Japanese girls.
Let's see here...orders for September 20th?
That was only a couple weeks away, and the most recent dispatch from the Seventh.
"Okay, this has to be my current orders. Save that..."
Ordinarily, I would have opened that first. But instead, I went for 'Standing Orders and Operational Protocols'. That file had been one of the few saved by Other Me...and well, better to know what I was supposed to do in general, before I looked at orders I may, or may not, have any idea how to follow.
"...the primary mission of the Special Operations Division is to support the Japanese Home Fleet in countering Abyssal raids and gathering supplies to support continued operations. The returned warships are to be organized in fleets according to their role, and in the mold the Japanese have pioneered, as they are the first to make use of the girls. As such, light cruisers and destroyers are to be placed on a rotational pattern, where at least one squadron is always at sea to gather resources.
The Carriers and Battleships are to only sortie in concert with Japanese forces, to combat Abyssal raids or make raids on their identified bases of operations. Heavy Cruisers can and should be used in similar sorties, where the Abyssal's are weak enough to not justify the use of the capital ships. Do not order either set of girls into operations they should not participate in. This is a hard order in the case of the capital ships. Japan does not have the resources to waste on pointless operations.
As such..."
Continuing to read through the large file, I felt my brain slowly turning to mush. What I had gathered was the gist of it...but there were so many things I had to follow...no wonder that Other Me hadn't taken many notes. Most of it was here, aside from the specifics of the girls themselves. Looks like I'd have to memorize this before I did anything else...
*chime*
And before I could do that, I had a new message from Admiral Takeda. Frowning slightly, I pulled the message up. My eyes skimmed over it, noting the legalese and formality of the message. But it wasn't until the end, that my eyes widened slightly.
"Destroyer Shigure requests a transfer to Special Operations."
"Wait. What?"
AN: You'll note going forward that Shigure will feature the most of the Japanese girls. Why her? Well, she's best girl to start with.
All joking aside, Shigure has been my favorite since I got into Kancolle. I'm not immune to favoritism, and as such, she's going to feature from that alone. That video above isn't just for show either...watching that, and reading fanworks where we get PTSD!Shigure, has got me in the 'this girl needs a hug' mood. Which...leads to me wanting to give her a good role here.
The Americans are still the main focus by far though, it's just needed to get the situation set up.
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