Thalia Amara, Prince of Wales
Tokyo Harbor, Yokosuka, Japan
Time: Unknown, Midday
"We do not need assistance at this time, over." Shinano says, looking towards me. I wave at her, a part of me seeking approval of my elder sister, another part of me simply glad that she's alright.
"Roger. Moving to engage the battlewagons. Prince of Wales, over and out." The carrier had an odd accent that I couldn't quite place, and that was worrying. On the other hand, I hadn't exactly seen much of the world in either of my lives.
Some part of my mind noted that while I had been conversing with the carrier and weighing my suspicions, the shells I had fired at the battleship were going to land soon. In about 3... 2... 1... now. The shells flew long, and landed harmlessly in the water a few hundred meters past the horribly corrupt ship.
I couldn't help but be disappointed that I hadn't succeeded instantly. There was no reason for me to expect instant success, with the inaccuracies of my GFCS, my newness to this form, and the general bad luck that had permeated my life as a ship, but I was disappointed all the same.
Moments later, an adorable little creature popped out of the rigging on my back to report that all the guns were loaded except A3, and were ready to fire.
"What do you mean A3 is jammed? It's only been fired once!" I asked bewildered. The report was disappointing, but acceptable. Inexperienced loaders combined with the panic of a sudden action meant that the gun was jammed, and it would take them some time to clear it. I sympathized with the sentiment, but it was still rather annoying.
The faerie disappeared back into my rigging as I bid the nine working rifles fire on the battleship I had previously targeted.
Maybe my luck would hold this time. Something in the back of my mind told me it wouldn't.
"All forces in Yokosuka, this is IJN Kurama! I have located the enemy Carrier Task Force. Repeat, I have located the enemy Carrier Task Force. Over."
Oh, crap. Kurama had the same accent as that other carrier had had, though they were obviously different ships. But they were Japanese carriers. And this was a Japanese bay, with a Japanese base. Oh crap was an understatement, I realized, as my shipself began panicking.
The sudden lack of mental support gave me a shock to my system, and I nearly froze again. Fighting those battlewagons would be incredibly difficult, as would defending myself should those carriers turn their ire on me instead of the evil looking ships marauding the harbour.
This wasn't good at all. I needed to open the range, get as much room to maneuver as possible. To my right, I could see open ocean past the edge of the bay. I turned my rudder hard over (how odd was it to think of having screws and a rudder instead of legs? I still had legs, but on water they didn't feel like legs. Odd.) and began accelerating to flank speed, aiming for the freedom of the open ocean.
