Sensha-do is said to help young women prepare for the world, to become better people. It could never have prepared them for this. Now Tally Evans and Louise Tuckerman are right in harm's way, and though they may never be the same again, this new conflict won't stop a tank, and it most certainly won't stop them. Written in collaboration with Salocin.
Yet Still We Sail (Girls und Panzer/Kantai Collection Crossover)
- Thread starter Lady Darkhound
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Part One
Lady Darkhound
Haha, tanks!
- Location
- My very own personal hell
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yet Still We Sail
Part 1
++++++++++
"Okay everyone, listen up!" Tally Evans began, addressing the seven other TCs on her team. Despite the air of confidence she was projecting, she was nervous. She never liked leading teams, and there was something about this match that made that nervousness worse. Tally was a scout, not a team captain. "We've got an uphill battle ahead of us, but that doesn't mean it's unwinnable.
"I want the team divided into a platoon of three, and a platoon of four, while I will stay detached as a scout. Haruna and Louise, you have control of the two platoons, Haru on the four, Lou on the three. After I determine which way their team is going, Haruna, you bring your platoon in to be the anvil to Louise's hammer. If I'm still mobile, I will be joining Louise for the flanking action."
"Yes ma'am!" All seven TCs said, in an imperfect unison. It was a far cry from what Tally was used to with the leadership team, but it was also just strange to be called ma'am in the first place. That was usually Kay's role. Or Alisa's.
"Get to your tanks then! We've got a match to win, and a winning streak to break! Let's do Saunders proud!" Tally ordered, and the TCs all cheered before splitting off to their own tanks. Once they'd all left, Tally took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and followed them out of the briefing room, zeroing in on her own tank.
Izumi was one of two unique tanks on her team, the other being Louise's Ace, but while Ace was an Easy Eight, the best model of Sherman created, Tally was commanding from her much more mobile M5 Stuart. 'Zumi, as Jane liked calling her, had never felt cramped to Tally, and she felt a lot like a second home away from home.
"We all loaded up?" Tally asked her gunner as she approached the light tank.
"Loaded and ready. I even recalibrated the stabilizer," April answered, and Tally smiled at her.
"Good! Knowing me, we'll need it," Tally laughed at her self-depreciating humor, and climbed up the light tank's flank, before dropping into her TC's slot. April clambered in next to her, and judging by the rumbling of the twin Cadillac V8s, Jane was already in the driver's hull.
Tally keyed her radio as Jane brought them out of the garage. "All tanks, this is Izumi. You know the plan, you know our opponents. Don't let them get the best of us again."
The weather outside was rapidly worsening. It had been clear before Tally started her briefing, but as Tally looked up at the storm brewing over the ocean to their east, she knew it was going to be a bad one. This wasn't just going to be your ordinary autumn storm, there was something more to it... Just looking at it made her fidget uncomfortably. The rolling thunder only made it worse.
Despite her discomfort with the storm, Tally put it out of her mind as the teams took the field. Six basic M4s, an Easy Eight, and a Stuart. That was what she had to play with here, and her opponent was on a similar footing, except with even more firepower on their side. If all went well, that extra firepower would be meaningless as her team pincered the others.
That was a big if. Tally knew more than most that no plan survives contact with the enemy. Especially an enemy as skilled as this one.
"This is Wildcard. All tanks, report in," Tally announced into her radio.
"Ace of Spades, ready to roll," Louise responded, followed by the rest of her platoon, Two and Three of Spades, respectively.
"Jack of Clubs, status green," Haruna came next, with Clubs' platoon sounding off after her.
Tally fiddled with her radio for a moment, switching channels to let the judges know she was ready. "This is Black Team, all tanks ready and accounted for."
"Red team, all tanks ready," Her opponent announced moments later.
"Very good!" The head judge said cheerfully, and Tally imagined her giving the two teams a big thumbs up. "Three, two, one, begin!" A green flare shot up from the judge's tower, signalling the start of the match.
"Driver, advance," Tally ordered, rapidly switching over to her intercom. Izumi surged forward, and Tally moved to an unbuttoned position to keep an eye on her surroundings. There was a hill to the east that would give a wonderful view of the entire field, but it was also a risky position, exposed for all the world to see.
"Tally, I have a bad feeling about this," Jane said into her own intercom.
"The hill?" Tally asked her driver. While Jane was still definitely a bit weird, Tally had come to trust her driver's instincts. They were almost supernaturally good, and she knew where tanks were located even if Tally didn't. "I mean, we can go somewhere else to spot, but nowhere has as good sightlines."
"Not the hill. There's just..." Jane paused, and Tally felt a chill run down her spine. Her driver was scared. She could hear it in Jane's voice. And if Jane was scared…
"Something about today makes you feel like everything is about to go sideways?" Tally asked.
"Yeah," Jane agreed, her voice very quiet.
"Do your best to focus on the match. We can worry about things later."
"Aye ma'am."
Tally shook her head and kept scanning. The storm in the distance was closing fast, and Tally noticed a rapid fire chain of lightning bolts down low. This was… No, it wasn't important. It was just another early winter storm. She'd told Jane to worry later, and she could do the same.
Right now, the important thing was the match. As Izumi reached the crest of the hill, Tally pulled up her ever-present binoculars and set to scanning the field for their opponents. Louise in Ace was leading her platoon up the dried riverbed, while Haruna held back, waiting to react to wherever the other team was coming from…
There! Tally zeroed in on a flash of olive green moving through the brush. The red markings on the side of the M4 Sherman's turret confirmed Tally's suspicions, as well as the two tanks following it. Neither of the heavy hitters had shown their face yet, but Tally had a gut feeling she knew where they were.
"Driver, reverse, get us on the backslope. Hull down," Tally ordered, dropping her binoculars back onto their neck strap. She switched back to her radio and began issuing orders. "Clubs, we've got three M4s moving through the far western valley. Intercept them please. Spades, stay in reserve for the moment, we don't know where the rest of their team is."
"Moving to engage. Clubs, on me." Haruna announced.
"Got it, holding position," Louise said, once Haruna was off the radio. "Fighting at long range's out of the question now, it's too windy. We've got to get in close."
"Well, at least it'll even the playing field a little more," Tally mused. Louise had been right, the wind was picking up, enough to try and blow her usual over-the-shoulder braid away. So long as the pinkish-red braid didn't come around and smack her in the face, Tally didn't care right now.
Instead, Tally brought her binoculars back up and began searching again. She needn't have bothered, because a hypervelocity round streaked past her, sailing off into the air.
"Wildcard, all callsigns. I'm being engaged by 17-pdr fire!" Tally nearly shouted into her radio. She dropped down, all the way into her turret. "Driver, reverse. Get us off of the hill!"
"Got it!"
As Izumi rushed down the back of the hill, Tally took the opportunity to check her map and issue more orders. There was only one place the 17-pdr could have been to engage her like that. Only one place to get an accurate bead on her from long range, even with the wind screwing with accuracy.
"Ace, Wildcard," Tally began.
"Ace here," Louise responded a moment later.
"Take the Spades down the riverbed. She's almost certainly repositioning now, but she had to be at Hill 49. See if you can catch her before she's escaped. She'll have someone watching her back."
"Got it, we'll take 'em out. Ace out."
Tally switched back to her intercom. "Driver, take us across the field, fast as we can. Gunner, keep an eye out, but I don't think you'll be able to hit anything."
"Of course." April nodded, and Tally turned her attention to her momentarily unresponsive driver as Izumi came to an unexpected halt.
"Jane?"
"Ohno…" Jane's whisper was barely picked up by the intercom, but it was enough to cause Tally's concern for her driver and friend to spike. Whatever had Jane spooked was only getting worse, even if Tally had no idea what it was.
"Jane?" Tally asked again, more insistently.
"They're here…"
"Jane, I need you to get us moving across the field!" Tally ordered, and Jane finally seemed to snap out of her fugue.
"R-right!" Jane stuttered. Izumi lurched forward before accelerating rapidly across the open field. Tally stuck her head out of the turret and once more began to scan the area. The storm was approaching rapidly, and it was almost upon them. Once that happened… well, they just needed to clean out the whole enemy team before that hit.
"Jack of Clubs, engaging Red platoon," Haruna called. "Three M4s, no sign of Alisa or Naomi."
"Naomi's over trying to snipe me. Don't know where Alisa is… and if you're listening in on us Alisa, please stop. It's not exactly fair if you know all of our moves!" Tally replied. As expected, Alisa didn't reply. Whether or not she could actually hear them was anyone's guess, but Tally wouldn't put it past Alisa.
"Ace here. We've got Naomi, but Alisa's on our west flank. We'd like some backup, preferably soon," Louise added.
"Good work. I'm moving to engage now," Tally answered. She once again switched to intercom. "Driver, get us across the bridge, ASAP!"
Jane didn't respond, but followed her orders. The Stuart went across the sturdy wooden bridge spanning the dried up riverbed, and came up in the rear of Alisa's firing line.
"Gunner, send it!" Tally ordered.
"On the way!" April did as she did best, and fired into the nearest M4's rear at point blank. The tank shut down, and the white flag popped out of its turret waving merrily in the high winds.
Tally did her best to keep an eye out while she slammed another round of AP into the 37mm gun's breach. Alisa's M4A1 was at the end of the line, and turning to engage. "Gunner, target M4A1, end of the line!"
It was going to be a battle of reflexes, and that was something Tally was certain her gunner could win. If they both managed to miss, Tally knew she could beat Yuko's reload time. Yuko may have been the best loader at Saunders, but Izumi's 37mm was just so much easier to load.
"On the way!" April called, but Izumi jerked to a stop right before she pulled the trigger, jerking the tank downward and sending the round into the dirt in front of Alisa's tank. Thankfully, the sudden maneuver also made Alisa's shot miss.
"We need to leave, now!" Jane suddenly shouted, and Izumi accelerated like Tally had never seen before. She tried to load the next round, but the tank bounced as Jane maneuvered wildly, and Tally fumbled the shell.
It was raining now. The first few droplets landed squarely on Tally's face before the torrential downpour engulfed the whole field. As soon as Tally had a secure grip on the 37mm round, she closed the hatch above her head.
"Everyone, get inside!" Jane shouted, as if anybody outside the tank could hear her desperate cries.
Tally was about to shove the 37mm round into the gun when a sense of wrongness washed over her. She froze as panic welled up in her throat.
"Nonononono not again!" Tally cried out as she fought against her body, trying to move, trying to force the round into the gun.
Even through the protective armor of the Stuart, and the Sensha-do modifications meant to protect the crews from this sort of impact, Tally felt the whistle of a number of massive shells before they slammed into the field. Three of the M4s that had been on the firing line shooting down into Ace, including the knocked out tank, went flying. Despite being well away from the impact, Izumi still threatened to roll before Jane got control again.
Something had just sent three 30-ton tanks flying.
Something wrong.
More shells were incoming, too.
Tally dropped the round into her lap. It was suddenly the least of her problems as she scrambled for her radio. "All tanks, get inside! Now! Cancel the match!"
She didn't have an opportunity to see the results of the call. Jane was driving like she'd never driven before, deftly dodging between the rounds of incoming artillery. How they managed to get out unscathed while it seemed like everyone else was getting thrown about, Tally wasn't certain, but they made it back to the garage faster than anyone else.
There was something wrong going on here. Tally felt it in the storm that threatened to engulf all of Saunders, in the shells that were still raining down, and in the very air. Something had changed, and while a part of Tally felt like she already knew what it was, she needed to find out for certain. No half-guessed assessments this time.
"Kay, I need your Jeep," Tally said firmly as she jumped down from Izumi's turret. She'd never been that forward with her girlfriend, but this sort of situation had never happened before.
"Tally? You can't be thinking of going back out there!" Kay tried to object, but she stumbled when she caught sight of Tally rounding the tank.
"I need to know what's going on. It's something big, east of us, and wrong," Tally snarled the last word, a far cry from her usual cheerfully serious demeanor. "I'll take a radio and let you know what's going on."
Kay pulled Tally into a tight hug. "Stay safe. Please. You know where the keys are."
"Stay in your tank! Don't come out!"
Heeding the commander of the Easy-Eight, the girl of an overturned M4 gave a quick thumbs-up and quickly receded into the disabled tank, shutting the emergency escape hatch.
"Sayuri, get us outta here!" Louise Tuckerman practically shouted into her handset as she retreated into her turret, shutting the commander's hatch above her. She was already drenched by the rain, but that doesn't matter now.
"Got it!" was the panicked reply from the driver as she threw the tank into gear.
Ace lurched forward, the mighty Ford GAA roaring as the Easy-Eight turned and hastily proceeded up the river bank.
Lou heard the whistling again. Barely a moment passed before huge explosions rocked the area again, one of them landing close to where Ace had stopped at on the riverbed.
"Holy shit!" Maiko yelled as Ace rocked violently from the shockwave. "What the fuck is going on?!"
"We'll worry 'bout that later!" Lou shouted back at her gunner as the Easy-Eight finally reached the top of the river's side. Making a turn, Sayuri pointed the M4 towards the general direction of the Saunders garage and floored it.
Ace charged ahead as shells continued raining down from the sky, whistling just before they impacted the ground and blew up. Combined with evasive maneuvers, Ace was able to avoid being hit by any of them.
"This is like a warzone!" Yuki shouted just before another shell landed a bit closer to Ace than before. With a loud boom, Ace rocked violently, and her crew struggled not to stumble and fall off their seats.
"Shit!" Sayuri hissed as she barely managed to keep the Easy-Eight under control.
"Come on, come on…" Lou muttered to her tank as she continued barreling down, surely getting closer to safety.
The tank commander felt like her heart was in her mouth. And she doesn't know why.
Yes, the fact that the shells were raining down on them in the first place was already extremely worrying. But something else felt off about them. Something Louise couldn't quite put her finger on for some reason.
Why was she so frightened?
After what felt like hours charging on with the booms of explosions audible from inside, the familiar garage was now visible to Ace.
"Oh, thank god…" the driver sighed in relief.
As Ace pulled into the safety of the garage a short while later, Lou immediately noticed that Tally's Stuart had arrived way before them, apparently having been hastily stopped just a short distance ahead. The light tank was completely unmanned; the open hatches indicated that the crew of three had already dispersed. The other participating M4s, on the other hand, had not arrived yet.
The storm and explosions from outside echoed through the garage as girls scrambled around, rushing to prepare a rescue attempt for the stranded crews.
Tuckerman hoped they would be fine.
Pulling the Easy-Eight over to the side, Sayuri stopped the tank more abruptly than usual.
"You guys, help the others!" Louise instructed as she hooked her headset and handset aside, her driver shutting off the engine at the same time. "I need to find out what's going on!" she continued, turning the tank's SCR-508 radio set off.
"Wait, you're not going back, are you?" Maiko asked, concerned.
Lou paused for a moment and shrugged. "Maybe."
"I'm sorry, what?! Are you out of your goddamn mind?!" was the incredulous response as she climbed out of her hatch. "Shells are falling and exploding all over! You'll die!"
"I'll try not to!" Tuckerman responded as she hopped off Ace, landing on her feet on the concrete ground.
"No offense Boss, but you're being really damn stupid right now!" Maiko protested, scrambling out of the Easy-Eight's commander's hatch and jumping off the tank in pursuit of her commander. "Just stay here! Don't go asking for death!"
"No, there's something really wrong about this," Lou replied, stopping and turning around to look at her gunner. "I can't tell you why, but I've been feeling this sense of… dread since just before everything went to shit. And I'll be damned if I don't find out what exactly's going on."
Maiko raised an eyebrow. "We're being shelled. Of course you're going to feel some goddamn dread, everyone's feeling it right now!"
"No, this is different. It's… not that at all…" Lou's voice quietened down into a soft ponder. Though, she quickly stopped and put her hands on Maiko's shoulders.
"Trust me, Maiko, I'll be fine," she reassured. "All the things we've been through so far we came out alright; this won't be any different. You're in charge when I'm gone, so go try to help as much as you can while I go get us some news. And of course, look after Ace for me. Sounds good to you?"
The gunner remained silent for a few moments, looking at her commander concernedly. Soon enough, though, she relented, frowning and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Consider it done."
"Thanks. I won't take long, I promise."
With that, Lou turned around, starting to walk briskly away.
"Watch yourself!" the gunner shouted.
In response, the young Tuckerman stopped and turned around. Smirking, she gave a big thumbs-up, before turning back to head towards where she wanted to go.
And that place happened to be the Jeeps' parking area.
Louise intended to find one of those Jeeps that did not use a key. She expected the search to take a short while, as the team does not separate the ones with keys away from the ones that don't.
What she was not expecting, however, was finding Tally loading an SCR-300-A into the back of a Jeep.
"Tally?" she greeted in English. "You're going out to investigate?"
"Yeah," Tally said with a nod, replying in English as well. "There's just something about all this rubbing me the wrong way."
"I feel the same as well," Lou replied. "Great minds think alike, eh?"
Tally smirked. "That they do."
Tuckerman returned the smirk. "Well, where are you headed?" she continued, walking over to the passenger side of the Jeep. "Also, need any help?"
"This is just recon, but an extra set of eyes never hurts. I'm heading east, probably over to the edge of the deck," Tally said, climbing into the driver's seat.
"That I can do," the French-American girl nodded, hopping into the front passenger seat. "Shit, I should've brought my binoculars along then. Oh, whoops, forgot you dislike swearing." she realized, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry."
Tally's brow furrowed at the curse, but didn't say anything as she started the Jeep and maneuvered it out of the garage.
The rain immediately came down on the Jeep.
"Jesus fu- I mean, watch it!" Lou shouted as the redheaded girl nearly collided with another student, who had fortunately quickly jumped out of the way.
With a roar, the Willys MB barreled onto the road and, its tires slipping and skidding, turned towards the correct direction, Tally putting the pedal down to the metal.
As they barreled down the straight, empty road, the explosions continued. Being outside of the main Saunders campus now, Louise watched in horror as she realized that the other parts of the schoolship were being hit as well.
"Oh my god…"
"This is…" Tally whispered, trailing off.
"What's going on exactly?" Lou stared out at another explosion in the distance. "Why is this happening?"
"I don't know! That's why we're going to try and find out!" Tally snapped, drawing her attention away from the road.
"Right. Sorry."
Right at that moment, a shell landed in front of the Willys MB, going off with a boom.
Alarmed, Tally slammed on the brakes.
"OH, SHIIIIIIIIT!" Lou hollered as she braced herself against the dashboard.
The Jeep's tires screeched, aquaplaning across the wet road surface.
It felt like it wasn't slowing down fast enough.
The car barreled down the road…
… before stopping just right in front of a newly-formed crater.
A few moments passed, the incessant rain pouring down over the Jeep and her two occupants as they held still, still bracing for an impact.
Noticing that nothing was going on, Lou raised her head, slowly sitting up.
When the fact that they were fine finally hit the two girls, both of them sighed at the same time, extremely relieved to have avoided an explosive heap of trouble. Literally.
"W-we're alive…" Lou muttered quietly as she panted, slumping back in her seat. "You alright?"
"Y-yeah…" was the equally-relieved reply from the redhead.
The two of them sat in silence for a while more, the silence only being disrupted by the rain. The tension that had just arisen when Tally snapped was now no longer present, completely superseded by the fact that the both of them may have very well just avoided their own deaths.
"Anyway…" Lou finally broke the relative silence, sitting up. "Shall we…"
"Right, yeah…" Tally put the Jeep back into gear and carefully maneuvered around the crater.
A mere few minutes later, the Jeep finally arrived at the starboard side of the carrier. Thankfully as well; Lou felt like she was about to be sick.
"Y-you're a maniac…" she commented as she sat there, pale-faced and breathing heavily.
"I'm glad you noticed," Tally deadpanned.
"No, really, you actually suck at driving," Lou retorted, slowly recovering. "We could've legitimately died more than ten times back there."
"But we didn't. And I don't suck, you just aren't used to my particular style of driving. Most people aren't."
"If throwing paint buckets at a canvas is called art…" Tuckerman muttered under her breath as she took one last deep breath. "Alright, I'm fine now."
"Good. Now, let's have a little look-see, shall we?" Tally asked, hopping out of the Jeep and readying her binoculars.
Getting out of the Willys MB as well, Lou was muttering something about how "well" Tally would do in Lou's own Caterham Super Seven down in the Automotive Racing Club's garage. Not that she was keen to find out now, of course. Looking back down at the right side mirror, the French-American girl took the time to roughly touch up on her wet hair, specifically her fringe. Not that it was usually extremely neat in the first place, but she just wanted it to at least be close enough to her normal-ish looks. Especially how abnormal the past minutes have been.
And that was when she noticed something.
"Hey… the shelling's stopped."
Tally looked around, as if expecting another shell to land any moment. When it didn't come, she breathed a sigh of relief. "It did. I wonder what caused that…" The scout carefully approached the edge of the ship's deck and held her binoculars up to her face. A few moments later she lowered them, trembling slightly. "What the…?"
"What is it?" Lou asked as she squinted out into the distance. Of course, she could see nothing in particular, especially not in this weather.
She really was starting to regret not bringing her own pair from Ace here.
"What is it? What?" she asked again, noticing how Tally had not responded to her. The scout in question merely responded by passing Lou her binoculars.
"Thanks," was the quiet acknowledgement as Louise peered into the binoculars.
A few seconds passed.
Lou brought the binoculars down. "I'm really sorry, but I'm afraid I can't help you today," she began to apologize. "It's been a particularly stressful day and I think I'm hallucinating as a result. I just saw four World War Two-era destroyers with girls… inside them? Yeah, I'm drunk, that obviously can't be right, soo..." she muttered, shaking her head as she passed the binoculars back to the redhead.
"I see the same thing. And look beyond them," Tally said softly, not accepting the binoculars.
Raising an eyebrow, Lou brought the binoculars back up and watched beyond the four apparent destroyers.
"... What the…"
Beyond the four destroyers lay a fleet of ships. But these… these don't look like ordinary ships at all.
"What are those?" Lou pondered out loud in both awe and, for some reason, fear. "I mean, obviously, that's a Kongo-class right there, original configuration. And two Nagara-class cruisers. No, make that three. And six destroyers, all Minekazes. But they… they're not right. Like, they're pitch black. And pale white as well. But what's… what's with that aura?"
"It's all wrong…" Tally muttered. "Those… those things aren't meant to be. They can't be. I… something inside me is screaming, just because those things exist."
"It's the same with me," Louise agreed. "Those aren't ships. They're… monsters. And what the hell are those four idiots thinking?" she continued, looking back down at the four destroyer-girls. "Three Fletchers and one Allen M Sumner. And they're going to take on a Kongo, what? I mean," she shrugged, "in fairness, maybe they do stand a chance, since that Kongo's outdated. What do you think, Evans?" the French-American girl asked, slipping into a last name basis with her companion.
Before the redhead could reply, both girls heard a voice practically screaming in their heads. "Mayday, mayday, mayday! This is the USS Fletcher, engaging Abyssal forces attacking the Saunders school ship! Requesting any and all available assistance!"
Author's Note:
Hello everyone, and welcome to my newest adventure into the worlds of girls with tanks and girls that are also ships! This story is being written in collaboration with @Salocin. If you have not read their Girls und Panzer fic Ace, I highly recommend it, and that is where Louise is originally from. The same goes for Hell on Tracks, my other GuP fic, which is Tally's origin. Though a lot of the world may be familiar, this is not the same world as Ace or Hell on Tracks.
Part 1
++++++++++
"Okay everyone, listen up!" Tally Evans began, addressing the seven other TCs on her team. Despite the air of confidence she was projecting, she was nervous. She never liked leading teams, and there was something about this match that made that nervousness worse. Tally was a scout, not a team captain. "We've got an uphill battle ahead of us, but that doesn't mean it's unwinnable.
"I want the team divided into a platoon of three, and a platoon of four, while I will stay detached as a scout. Haruna and Louise, you have control of the two platoons, Haru on the four, Lou on the three. After I determine which way their team is going, Haruna, you bring your platoon in to be the anvil to Louise's hammer. If I'm still mobile, I will be joining Louise for the flanking action."
"Yes ma'am!" All seven TCs said, in an imperfect unison. It was a far cry from what Tally was used to with the leadership team, but it was also just strange to be called ma'am in the first place. That was usually Kay's role. Or Alisa's.
"Get to your tanks then! We've got a match to win, and a winning streak to break! Let's do Saunders proud!" Tally ordered, and the TCs all cheered before splitting off to their own tanks. Once they'd all left, Tally took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and followed them out of the briefing room, zeroing in on her own tank.
Izumi was one of two unique tanks on her team, the other being Louise's Ace, but while Ace was an Easy Eight, the best model of Sherman created, Tally was commanding from her much more mobile M5 Stuart. 'Zumi, as Jane liked calling her, had never felt cramped to Tally, and she felt a lot like a second home away from home.
"We all loaded up?" Tally asked her gunner as she approached the light tank.
"Loaded and ready. I even recalibrated the stabilizer," April answered, and Tally smiled at her.
"Good! Knowing me, we'll need it," Tally laughed at her self-depreciating humor, and climbed up the light tank's flank, before dropping into her TC's slot. April clambered in next to her, and judging by the rumbling of the twin Cadillac V8s, Jane was already in the driver's hull.
Tally keyed her radio as Jane brought them out of the garage. "All tanks, this is Izumi. You know the plan, you know our opponents. Don't let them get the best of us again."
The weather outside was rapidly worsening. It had been clear before Tally started her briefing, but as Tally looked up at the storm brewing over the ocean to their east, she knew it was going to be a bad one. This wasn't just going to be your ordinary autumn storm, there was something more to it... Just looking at it made her fidget uncomfortably. The rolling thunder only made it worse.
Despite her discomfort with the storm, Tally put it out of her mind as the teams took the field. Six basic M4s, an Easy Eight, and a Stuart. That was what she had to play with here, and her opponent was on a similar footing, except with even more firepower on their side. If all went well, that extra firepower would be meaningless as her team pincered the others.
That was a big if. Tally knew more than most that no plan survives contact with the enemy. Especially an enemy as skilled as this one.
"This is Wildcard. All tanks, report in," Tally announced into her radio.
"Ace of Spades, ready to roll," Louise responded, followed by the rest of her platoon, Two and Three of Spades, respectively.
"Jack of Clubs, status green," Haruna came next, with Clubs' platoon sounding off after her.
Tally fiddled with her radio for a moment, switching channels to let the judges know she was ready. "This is Black Team, all tanks ready and accounted for."
"Red team, all tanks ready," Her opponent announced moments later.
"Very good!" The head judge said cheerfully, and Tally imagined her giving the two teams a big thumbs up. "Three, two, one, begin!" A green flare shot up from the judge's tower, signalling the start of the match.
"Driver, advance," Tally ordered, rapidly switching over to her intercom. Izumi surged forward, and Tally moved to an unbuttoned position to keep an eye on her surroundings. There was a hill to the east that would give a wonderful view of the entire field, but it was also a risky position, exposed for all the world to see.
"Tally, I have a bad feeling about this," Jane said into her own intercom.
"The hill?" Tally asked her driver. While Jane was still definitely a bit weird, Tally had come to trust her driver's instincts. They were almost supernaturally good, and she knew where tanks were located even if Tally didn't. "I mean, we can go somewhere else to spot, but nowhere has as good sightlines."
"Not the hill. There's just..." Jane paused, and Tally felt a chill run down her spine. Her driver was scared. She could hear it in Jane's voice. And if Jane was scared…
"Something about today makes you feel like everything is about to go sideways?" Tally asked.
"Yeah," Jane agreed, her voice very quiet.
"Do your best to focus on the match. We can worry about things later."
"Aye ma'am."
Tally shook her head and kept scanning. The storm in the distance was closing fast, and Tally noticed a rapid fire chain of lightning bolts down low. This was… No, it wasn't important. It was just another early winter storm. She'd told Jane to worry later, and she could do the same.
Right now, the important thing was the match. As Izumi reached the crest of the hill, Tally pulled up her ever-present binoculars and set to scanning the field for their opponents. Louise in Ace was leading her platoon up the dried riverbed, while Haruna held back, waiting to react to wherever the other team was coming from…
There! Tally zeroed in on a flash of olive green moving through the brush. The red markings on the side of the M4 Sherman's turret confirmed Tally's suspicions, as well as the two tanks following it. Neither of the heavy hitters had shown their face yet, but Tally had a gut feeling she knew where they were.
"Driver, reverse, get us on the backslope. Hull down," Tally ordered, dropping her binoculars back onto their neck strap. She switched back to her radio and began issuing orders. "Clubs, we've got three M4s moving through the far western valley. Intercept them please. Spades, stay in reserve for the moment, we don't know where the rest of their team is."
"Moving to engage. Clubs, on me." Haruna announced.
"Got it, holding position," Louise said, once Haruna was off the radio. "Fighting at long range's out of the question now, it's too windy. We've got to get in close."
"Well, at least it'll even the playing field a little more," Tally mused. Louise had been right, the wind was picking up, enough to try and blow her usual over-the-shoulder braid away. So long as the pinkish-red braid didn't come around and smack her in the face, Tally didn't care right now.
Instead, Tally brought her binoculars back up and began searching again. She needn't have bothered, because a hypervelocity round streaked past her, sailing off into the air.
"Wildcard, all callsigns. I'm being engaged by 17-pdr fire!" Tally nearly shouted into her radio. She dropped down, all the way into her turret. "Driver, reverse. Get us off of the hill!"
"Got it!"
As Izumi rushed down the back of the hill, Tally took the opportunity to check her map and issue more orders. There was only one place the 17-pdr could have been to engage her like that. Only one place to get an accurate bead on her from long range, even with the wind screwing with accuracy.
"Ace, Wildcard," Tally began.
"Ace here," Louise responded a moment later.
"Take the Spades down the riverbed. She's almost certainly repositioning now, but she had to be at Hill 49. See if you can catch her before she's escaped. She'll have someone watching her back."
"Got it, we'll take 'em out. Ace out."
Tally switched back to her intercom. "Driver, take us across the field, fast as we can. Gunner, keep an eye out, but I don't think you'll be able to hit anything."
"Of course." April nodded, and Tally turned her attention to her momentarily unresponsive driver as Izumi came to an unexpected halt.
"Jane?"
"Ohno…" Jane's whisper was barely picked up by the intercom, but it was enough to cause Tally's concern for her driver and friend to spike. Whatever had Jane spooked was only getting worse, even if Tally had no idea what it was.
"Jane?" Tally asked again, more insistently.
"They're here…"
"Jane, I need you to get us moving across the field!" Tally ordered, and Jane finally seemed to snap out of her fugue.
"R-right!" Jane stuttered. Izumi lurched forward before accelerating rapidly across the open field. Tally stuck her head out of the turret and once more began to scan the area. The storm was approaching rapidly, and it was almost upon them. Once that happened… well, they just needed to clean out the whole enemy team before that hit.
"Jack of Clubs, engaging Red platoon," Haruna called. "Three M4s, no sign of Alisa or Naomi."
"Naomi's over trying to snipe me. Don't know where Alisa is… and if you're listening in on us Alisa, please stop. It's not exactly fair if you know all of our moves!" Tally replied. As expected, Alisa didn't reply. Whether or not she could actually hear them was anyone's guess, but Tally wouldn't put it past Alisa.
"Ace here. We've got Naomi, but Alisa's on our west flank. We'd like some backup, preferably soon," Louise added.
"Good work. I'm moving to engage now," Tally answered. She once again switched to intercom. "Driver, get us across the bridge, ASAP!"
Jane didn't respond, but followed her orders. The Stuart went across the sturdy wooden bridge spanning the dried up riverbed, and came up in the rear of Alisa's firing line.
"Gunner, send it!" Tally ordered.
"On the way!" April did as she did best, and fired into the nearest M4's rear at point blank. The tank shut down, and the white flag popped out of its turret waving merrily in the high winds.
Tally did her best to keep an eye out while she slammed another round of AP into the 37mm gun's breach. Alisa's M4A1 was at the end of the line, and turning to engage. "Gunner, target M4A1, end of the line!"
It was going to be a battle of reflexes, and that was something Tally was certain her gunner could win. If they both managed to miss, Tally knew she could beat Yuko's reload time. Yuko may have been the best loader at Saunders, but Izumi's 37mm was just so much easier to load.
"On the way!" April called, but Izumi jerked to a stop right before she pulled the trigger, jerking the tank downward and sending the round into the dirt in front of Alisa's tank. Thankfully, the sudden maneuver also made Alisa's shot miss.
"We need to leave, now!" Jane suddenly shouted, and Izumi accelerated like Tally had never seen before. She tried to load the next round, but the tank bounced as Jane maneuvered wildly, and Tally fumbled the shell.
It was raining now. The first few droplets landed squarely on Tally's face before the torrential downpour engulfed the whole field. As soon as Tally had a secure grip on the 37mm round, she closed the hatch above her head.
"Everyone, get inside!" Jane shouted, as if anybody outside the tank could hear her desperate cries.
Tally was about to shove the 37mm round into the gun when a sense of wrongness washed over her. She froze as panic welled up in her throat.
"Nonononono not again!" Tally cried out as she fought against her body, trying to move, trying to force the round into the gun.
Even through the protective armor of the Stuart, and the Sensha-do modifications meant to protect the crews from this sort of impact, Tally felt the whistle of a number of massive shells before they slammed into the field. Three of the M4s that had been on the firing line shooting down into Ace, including the knocked out tank, went flying. Despite being well away from the impact, Izumi still threatened to roll before Jane got control again.
Something had just sent three 30-ton tanks flying.
Something wrong.
More shells were incoming, too.
Tally dropped the round into her lap. It was suddenly the least of her problems as she scrambled for her radio. "All tanks, get inside! Now! Cancel the match!"
She didn't have an opportunity to see the results of the call. Jane was driving like she'd never driven before, deftly dodging between the rounds of incoming artillery. How they managed to get out unscathed while it seemed like everyone else was getting thrown about, Tally wasn't certain, but they made it back to the garage faster than anyone else.
There was something wrong going on here. Tally felt it in the storm that threatened to engulf all of Saunders, in the shells that were still raining down, and in the very air. Something had changed, and while a part of Tally felt like she already knew what it was, she needed to find out for certain. No half-guessed assessments this time.
"Kay, I need your Jeep," Tally said firmly as she jumped down from Izumi's turret. She'd never been that forward with her girlfriend, but this sort of situation had never happened before.
"Tally? You can't be thinking of going back out there!" Kay tried to object, but she stumbled when she caught sight of Tally rounding the tank.
"I need to know what's going on. It's something big, east of us, and wrong," Tally snarled the last word, a far cry from her usual cheerfully serious demeanor. "I'll take a radio and let you know what's going on."
Kay pulled Tally into a tight hug. "Stay safe. Please. You know where the keys are."
++++++++++
"Stay in your tank! Don't come out!"
Heeding the commander of the Easy-Eight, the girl of an overturned M4 gave a quick thumbs-up and quickly receded into the disabled tank, shutting the emergency escape hatch.
"Sayuri, get us outta here!" Louise Tuckerman practically shouted into her handset as she retreated into her turret, shutting the commander's hatch above her. She was already drenched by the rain, but that doesn't matter now.
"Got it!" was the panicked reply from the driver as she threw the tank into gear.
Ace lurched forward, the mighty Ford GAA roaring as the Easy-Eight turned and hastily proceeded up the river bank.
Lou heard the whistling again. Barely a moment passed before huge explosions rocked the area again, one of them landing close to where Ace had stopped at on the riverbed.
"Holy shit!" Maiko yelled as Ace rocked violently from the shockwave. "What the fuck is going on?!"
"We'll worry 'bout that later!" Lou shouted back at her gunner as the Easy-Eight finally reached the top of the river's side. Making a turn, Sayuri pointed the M4 towards the general direction of the Saunders garage and floored it.
Ace charged ahead as shells continued raining down from the sky, whistling just before they impacted the ground and blew up. Combined with evasive maneuvers, Ace was able to avoid being hit by any of them.
"This is like a warzone!" Yuki shouted just before another shell landed a bit closer to Ace than before. With a loud boom, Ace rocked violently, and her crew struggled not to stumble and fall off their seats.
"Shit!" Sayuri hissed as she barely managed to keep the Easy-Eight under control.
"Come on, come on…" Lou muttered to her tank as she continued barreling down, surely getting closer to safety.
The tank commander felt like her heart was in her mouth. And she doesn't know why.
Yes, the fact that the shells were raining down on them in the first place was already extremely worrying. But something else felt off about them. Something Louise couldn't quite put her finger on for some reason.
Why was she so frightened?
After what felt like hours charging on with the booms of explosions audible from inside, the familiar garage was now visible to Ace.
"Oh, thank god…" the driver sighed in relief.
As Ace pulled into the safety of the garage a short while later, Lou immediately noticed that Tally's Stuart had arrived way before them, apparently having been hastily stopped just a short distance ahead. The light tank was completely unmanned; the open hatches indicated that the crew of three had already dispersed. The other participating M4s, on the other hand, had not arrived yet.
The storm and explosions from outside echoed through the garage as girls scrambled around, rushing to prepare a rescue attempt for the stranded crews.
Tuckerman hoped they would be fine.
Pulling the Easy-Eight over to the side, Sayuri stopped the tank more abruptly than usual.
"You guys, help the others!" Louise instructed as she hooked her headset and handset aside, her driver shutting off the engine at the same time. "I need to find out what's going on!" she continued, turning the tank's SCR-508 radio set off.
"Wait, you're not going back, are you?" Maiko asked, concerned.
Lou paused for a moment and shrugged. "Maybe."
"I'm sorry, what?! Are you out of your goddamn mind?!" was the incredulous response as she climbed out of her hatch. "Shells are falling and exploding all over! You'll die!"
"I'll try not to!" Tuckerman responded as she hopped off Ace, landing on her feet on the concrete ground.
"No offense Boss, but you're being really damn stupid right now!" Maiko protested, scrambling out of the Easy-Eight's commander's hatch and jumping off the tank in pursuit of her commander. "Just stay here! Don't go asking for death!"
"No, there's something really wrong about this," Lou replied, stopping and turning around to look at her gunner. "I can't tell you why, but I've been feeling this sense of… dread since just before everything went to shit. And I'll be damned if I don't find out what exactly's going on."
Maiko raised an eyebrow. "We're being shelled. Of course you're going to feel some goddamn dread, everyone's feeling it right now!"
"No, this is different. It's… not that at all…" Lou's voice quietened down into a soft ponder. Though, she quickly stopped and put her hands on Maiko's shoulders.
"Trust me, Maiko, I'll be fine," she reassured. "All the things we've been through so far we came out alright; this won't be any different. You're in charge when I'm gone, so go try to help as much as you can while I go get us some news. And of course, look after Ace for me. Sounds good to you?"
The gunner remained silent for a few moments, looking at her commander concernedly. Soon enough, though, she relented, frowning and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Consider it done."
"Thanks. I won't take long, I promise."
With that, Lou turned around, starting to walk briskly away.
"Watch yourself!" the gunner shouted.
In response, the young Tuckerman stopped and turned around. Smirking, she gave a big thumbs-up, before turning back to head towards where she wanted to go.
And that place happened to be the Jeeps' parking area.
Louise intended to find one of those Jeeps that did not use a key. She expected the search to take a short while, as the team does not separate the ones with keys away from the ones that don't.
What she was not expecting, however, was finding Tally loading an SCR-300-A into the back of a Jeep.
"Tally?" she greeted in English. "You're going out to investigate?"
"Yeah," Tally said with a nod, replying in English as well. "There's just something about all this rubbing me the wrong way."
"I feel the same as well," Lou replied. "Great minds think alike, eh?"
Tally smirked. "That they do."
Tuckerman returned the smirk. "Well, where are you headed?" she continued, walking over to the passenger side of the Jeep. "Also, need any help?"
"This is just recon, but an extra set of eyes never hurts. I'm heading east, probably over to the edge of the deck," Tally said, climbing into the driver's seat.
"That I can do," the French-American girl nodded, hopping into the front passenger seat. "Shit, I should've brought my binoculars along then. Oh, whoops, forgot you dislike swearing." she realized, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry."
Tally's brow furrowed at the curse, but didn't say anything as she started the Jeep and maneuvered it out of the garage.
The rain immediately came down on the Jeep.
"Jesus fu- I mean, watch it!" Lou shouted as the redheaded girl nearly collided with another student, who had fortunately quickly jumped out of the way.
With a roar, the Willys MB barreled onto the road and, its tires slipping and skidding, turned towards the correct direction, Tally putting the pedal down to the metal.
As they barreled down the straight, empty road, the explosions continued. Being outside of the main Saunders campus now, Louise watched in horror as she realized that the other parts of the schoolship were being hit as well.
"Oh my god…"
"This is…" Tally whispered, trailing off.
"What's going on exactly?" Lou stared out at another explosion in the distance. "Why is this happening?"
"I don't know! That's why we're going to try and find out!" Tally snapped, drawing her attention away from the road.
"Right. Sorry."
Right at that moment, a shell landed in front of the Willys MB, going off with a boom.
Alarmed, Tally slammed on the brakes.
"OH, SHIIIIIIIIT!" Lou hollered as she braced herself against the dashboard.
The Jeep's tires screeched, aquaplaning across the wet road surface.
It felt like it wasn't slowing down fast enough.
The car barreled down the road…
… before stopping just right in front of a newly-formed crater.
A few moments passed, the incessant rain pouring down over the Jeep and her two occupants as they held still, still bracing for an impact.
Noticing that nothing was going on, Lou raised her head, slowly sitting up.
When the fact that they were fine finally hit the two girls, both of them sighed at the same time, extremely relieved to have avoided an explosive heap of trouble. Literally.
"W-we're alive…" Lou muttered quietly as she panted, slumping back in her seat. "You alright?"
"Y-yeah…" was the equally-relieved reply from the redhead.
The two of them sat in silence for a while more, the silence only being disrupted by the rain. The tension that had just arisen when Tally snapped was now no longer present, completely superseded by the fact that the both of them may have very well just avoided their own deaths.
"Anyway…" Lou finally broke the relative silence, sitting up. "Shall we…"
"Right, yeah…" Tally put the Jeep back into gear and carefully maneuvered around the crater.
A mere few minutes later, the Jeep finally arrived at the starboard side of the carrier. Thankfully as well; Lou felt like she was about to be sick.
"Y-you're a maniac…" she commented as she sat there, pale-faced and breathing heavily.
"I'm glad you noticed," Tally deadpanned.
"No, really, you actually suck at driving," Lou retorted, slowly recovering. "We could've legitimately died more than ten times back there."
"But we didn't. And I don't suck, you just aren't used to my particular style of driving. Most people aren't."
"If throwing paint buckets at a canvas is called art…" Tuckerman muttered under her breath as she took one last deep breath. "Alright, I'm fine now."
"Good. Now, let's have a little look-see, shall we?" Tally asked, hopping out of the Jeep and readying her binoculars.
Getting out of the Willys MB as well, Lou was muttering something about how "well" Tally would do in Lou's own Caterham Super Seven down in the Automotive Racing Club's garage. Not that she was keen to find out now, of course. Looking back down at the right side mirror, the French-American girl took the time to roughly touch up on her wet hair, specifically her fringe. Not that it was usually extremely neat in the first place, but she just wanted it to at least be close enough to her normal-ish looks. Especially how abnormal the past minutes have been.
And that was when she noticed something.
"Hey… the shelling's stopped."
Tally looked around, as if expecting another shell to land any moment. When it didn't come, she breathed a sigh of relief. "It did. I wonder what caused that…" The scout carefully approached the edge of the ship's deck and held her binoculars up to her face. A few moments later she lowered them, trembling slightly. "What the…?"
"What is it?" Lou asked as she squinted out into the distance. Of course, she could see nothing in particular, especially not in this weather.
She really was starting to regret not bringing her own pair from Ace here.
"What is it? What?" she asked again, noticing how Tally had not responded to her. The scout in question merely responded by passing Lou her binoculars.
"Thanks," was the quiet acknowledgement as Louise peered into the binoculars.
A few seconds passed.
Lou brought the binoculars down. "I'm really sorry, but I'm afraid I can't help you today," she began to apologize. "It's been a particularly stressful day and I think I'm hallucinating as a result. I just saw four World War Two-era destroyers with girls… inside them? Yeah, I'm drunk, that obviously can't be right, soo..." she muttered, shaking her head as she passed the binoculars back to the redhead.
"I see the same thing. And look beyond them," Tally said softly, not accepting the binoculars.
Raising an eyebrow, Lou brought the binoculars back up and watched beyond the four apparent destroyers.
"... What the…"
Beyond the four destroyers lay a fleet of ships. But these… these don't look like ordinary ships at all.
"What are those?" Lou pondered out loud in both awe and, for some reason, fear. "I mean, obviously, that's a Kongo-class right there, original configuration. And two Nagara-class cruisers. No, make that three. And six destroyers, all Minekazes. But they… they're not right. Like, they're pitch black. And pale white as well. But what's… what's with that aura?"
"It's all wrong…" Tally muttered. "Those… those things aren't meant to be. They can't be. I… something inside me is screaming, just because those things exist."
"It's the same with me," Louise agreed. "Those aren't ships. They're… monsters. And what the hell are those four idiots thinking?" she continued, looking back down at the four destroyer-girls. "Three Fletchers and one Allen M Sumner. And they're going to take on a Kongo, what? I mean," she shrugged, "in fairness, maybe they do stand a chance, since that Kongo's outdated. What do you think, Evans?" the French-American girl asked, slipping into a last name basis with her companion.
Before the redhead could reply, both girls heard a voice practically screaming in their heads. "Mayday, mayday, mayday! This is the USS Fletcher, engaging Abyssal forces attacking the Saunders school ship! Requesting any and all available assistance!"
Author's Note:
Hello everyone, and welcome to my newest adventure into the worlds of girls with tanks and girls that are also ships! This story is being written in collaboration with @Salocin. If you have not read their Girls und Panzer fic Ace, I highly recommend it, and that is where Louise is originally from. The same goes for Hell on Tracks, my other GuP fic, which is Tally's origin. Though a lot of the world may be familiar, this is not the same world as Ace or Hell on Tracks.
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Part Two
Lady Darkhound
Haha, tanks!
- Location
- My very own personal hell
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yet Still We Sail
Part 2
++++++++++
"They need us," Louise stated matter-of-factly, lowering the binoculars and staring out at the distant fight. "They will not make it otherwise."
If Lou's other friends were around, they would be able to tell that something was going on with her. Something about her current tone, the stare in her eyes… That did not feel like Louise at all.
"Don't worry Fletcher… We're coming," Tally said softly. "But how do we get down there?"
"A simple problem," was the reply from the French-American girl as she walked over to the railing, looking right down at the surface of the Pacific Ocean a good height down below. "Unless you're chicken."
The redhead looked at her companion, and her gaping mouth slowly turned into a manic grin. "But first things first, can I have my binoculars back?"
Quietly, Lou passed the binoculars back to Tally before stepping over the railing, hanging onto it as she waited for the other girl on the ledge. She was calm; too calm, in fact, given what the two girls were about to do.
"Our hulls will survive the impact," she commented nonchalantly.
"Of course they will," Tally replied, taking her binoculars and running them back to the Jeep. She took a moment to fiddle with the radio backpack. "Kay, Evans. The bombardment has ceased, but we can't be certain for how long. Lou and I have found some girls who need our help, and we're moving to assist. … of course. … we'll stay as safe as we can with all this going on. … You too. Evans out."
"Where is, repeat, where is Evans?" Lou snarked out loud meanwhile, getting impatient. "The world wonders."
"Reporting in, so that someone knows what happened when we get ourselves killed, dumbass," Evans snarked right back. The redhead set her binoculars down next to the radio, and took a moment to check her surroundings before she took off at a run, heading straight for the deck edge. She vaulted the chain railing with ease and tumbled down to the surf below.
Seeing the destroyer launch herself off the schoolship with ease and ahead of her, Lou frowned. "Tch. I wanted to go first."
With that, Tuckerman leapt off the edge as hard as she could, plummeting down towards the stormy Pacific waves.
Arriving at the ocean surface, Lou slammed onto the surface as if it were solid ground, the girl landing on her left foot, right knee and right fist with an impact that made her look like she was far heavier than a girl of her age. Or any human, for that matter. A large ripple on the surface caused by her spreaded out around her, the rear sides of it lapping onto the side of the Saunders schoolship while the rest spread out towards the open sea.
"Come on, slowpoke, hurry up!" a familiar redhead shouted from ahead, where she too was floating on the water without a care in the world. A metal contraption wrapped protectively around the girl's Sensha-do uniform, bristling with guns. Most prominent were four 5-inch guns, with a fifth held in her hands on a platform resembling a Thompson SMG.
"Wait," was the short, curt reply as the brown-haired girl slowly stood up, strangely completely unharmed by the landing, her eyes closed. Lou was now also carrying her own metal contraption, but this was bigger than Tally's, with different weapons mounted on hers. Paramount of these were the triple six-inch gun turrets that consisted her main armaments, two of them mounted on each side of the metal… equipment, supported by two twin gun five-inch turrets that made up half of the secondary weapons, one of them on each side.
Now properly standing up, Louise reached for her back, pulling out and revealing a fifth six-inch turret, mounted on a rifle body similar to a Browning Auto-5.
Holding it on her right hand, the girl finally opened her eyes, a cold, steely stare straight at the ongoing fight.
"I'm ready. All engines ahead flank."
"God… have you always been this slow?" Tally complained as she dutifully took vanguard position in front of Lou.
The light cruiser stared coldly at the destroyer, unamused.
"Hurry up, hurry up!" Tally insisted. "They need our help!"
"I cannot break the laws of physics," Lou growled. "Either you slow down and stay under my cover, or you can go right ahead yourself. Juvenile…" she hissed the last part quietly to herself. It seemed to do the trick, as Tally kept her position in front of Louise, quieting her complaints.
The sounds of gunfire continued to echo from the battle area, getting increasingly louder as the two girls approached.
"Your sisters and their friend are slipping up," Lou commented, pointing at the friendly ships ahead. "They're getting split up by the sheer number of those things. If they actually do get separated they're finished, and they don't even know they're about to be screwed over. But I don't blame them; they're destroyers. And this," she continued, targeting her main guns as a proud smirk grew on her face, "is precisely why you guys need me."
Tally gaped at the light cruiser. Then, with seemingly no way to respond to the jab, she keyed her radio. "USS Evans to USS Fletcher. I heard you could use a hand or two!"
"Evans?" Fletcher's voice filtered through the radio, occasionally punctuated by the firing of guns. "Thank god. Henley's badly wounded, and the rest of us aren't looking too hot either. Any assistance you can provide would be greatly appreciated!"
"It won't be much," Lou mused off-radio as she finely adjusted the four six-inch turrets mounted on her equipment, checking their targets both visually and on radar. "'Any assistance you can provide will be greatly appreciated!' said the struggling destroyer to her similarly-armed sister, expecting her to be able to do something to save her three sisters and their buddy," she snarked, mocking what Fletcher had said to Evans. "But fortunately for you all…", she continued, a slasher grin growing on her face as she finally raised her rifle-turret, targeting it at a Nagara-class light cruiser firing incessantly upon a struggling Fletcher-class.
"... I'm a Brooklyn. Opening fire."
The light cruiser's 6-inches went off, three of the five turrets targeted at the Abyssal Nagara. The shells from the handheld turret streaked towards their target, the monster-esque light cruiser completely unaware of what was about to happen. Five of the shells missed, only proceeding to throw water up around their intended target, but the remaining four found their mark, the back mass losing focus on the friendly destroyer as a result. At the same time, the other six rounds had been targeted at an Abyssal destroyer a bit too close to one of the Fletchers, most of the shells missing as well. However, two of these shells managed to strike the black target, beginning to look like it was beginning to list heavily a few seconds later.
"I've gotten sloppy," Louise frowned, unsatisfied with the results. But now was not the time to analyze her shooting; instead, she finally decided to get on the radio.
"All vessels, this is the USS St. Louis. Come with me if you want to live."
"God, when did you become such a bitch? I liked you better when you were nice, and commanded Ace…" Evans muttered quietly. She finally broke formation and dashed ahead, bringing her much smaller guns to bear as soon as they had the range.
It was a poor showing, even compared to St. Louis's own sloppy gunnery. Shells landed all around her target, nowhere close to landing even a single hit. At least the other destroyers had managed to do some damage before they ended up in their current sorry state, laying smoke as they fled the battlefield towards the new arrivals.
"Sound the carillon! Church is in session!" St. Louis shouted out in what was starting to sound like her mainstay mocking tone as the four destroyers came steaming at best possible speed to her. "Report."
"Fletcher and Capps, moderate damage. John Henley is badly damaged and battling flooding. Hugh Hadley is minorly damaged and fully combat effective," Fletcher reported dutifully. "Hadley and I still have all of our torpedoes."
"Henley!" Evans cried, and she rushed over to help her sister. The wounded destroyer definitely looked like she needed the assistance, with one of her arms blown off at the elbow, her uniform torn to shreds, and a noticeable limp.
"Henley, stay back!" St. Louis ordered. "You're in no shape to go back in again. Capps, stay behind and look after her. Think you can do that?"
"Yes ma'am!" Capps said, snapping a salute. She maneuvered to take Henley from Evans' care. The redhead gave her sister ship a betrayed look as Capps pulled away with her twin, and then she shifted her attention, looking over at Fletcher and St. Louis. Awaiting for orders.
"The rest of you; listen close, listen hard," the Brooklyn-class light cruiser instructed. "Here's what I'm thinking; right now, that Kongo is our biggest threat. It also happens to be the most powerful ship of that fleet by a massive shot. So, if we can smack it with our torpedoes, we can severely damage or even sink it, and that will definitely force the rest to retreat. 'Cos let's be real, the only one able to actually harm me is that goddamn battlecruiser," she smirked confidently. "Now this is the plan; I'll deliberately draw fire from the Kongo while you guys get close enough. And if that goes well," she grinned, resting her rifle-turret on her shoulder, "I'll take out the rest. All of them. Any objections?"
Fletcher raised an eyebrow at St. Louis. "I wouldn't be too confident about that. They may only be Minekazes, but they can still hurt you plenty, and neither of those Nagaras are out for the count yet either. Guadalcanal showed me that much."
"I'll be fiiine," the light cruiser waved off. "I'm tougher and I know what I'm doing. But the main thing's still that Kongo. Screw her up bad and we've basically won. Is that clear enough?"
"Yes ma'am!" The three destroyers said in unison. Hadley even saluted.
St. Louis grinned. She loves it when people actually listen to her. "Alright, let's do it! Stay here, I've got a battlecruiser to catch first."
Her four turbines cranked to full power, the light cruiser charged forward and steamed out of the smokescreen, looking at the battlecruiser in question.
"HEY, ASSHOLE!" she hollered, waving at the Abyssal capital ship while blasting her horns and rapidly flashing her spotlights at the same time, moving on a tangent course closer towards it.
That did the trick. The light cruiser could see the enemy turn, as if to stare at her.
As St. Louis took aim, she could see the huge 14-inch turrets turn towards her. The cold, hard stare of the beast was still directed right at her. There were no eyes. Just… nothing. But she could feel the attention of the Kongo on her.
If she said she wasn't afraid, she would be lying. Right now her instinct was screaming at her to turn around and run. But she won't show weakness. She can't show weakness.
Not after everything.
"I CAST YOU OUT!" she yelled, making sure all of that attention was on her. "VILE! DEMOOOOOOOOON!"
All at once, her main batteries opened fire. The battlecruiser's attention was definitely on her now.
Precisely what she was waiting for.
"Destroyers! Go!" she practically yelled into her radio.
As cues went, it wasn't exactly subtle. Not that subtle meant anything while staring down the 14-inch rifles of a battlecruiser. The destroyers charged, all in a neat line, their small guns blazing for all they were worth. It wasn't much. They'd need more time to get into torpedo range, time she had to buy them.
"Yeah come on big girl, I know you want me!" St. Louis grinned maniacally as she continued to throw salvo after salvo of 6-inch fire at the battlecruiser.
At that moment, the 14-inch guns opened fire, their flashes clearly visible for everyone to see.
Lou's stomach dropped, and for a moment the overconfident look on her face broke, a tinge of dread coming through and breaking out to the surface.
But only for a moment. St. Louis quickly pulled herself together and changed course, beginning evasive maneuvers as she continued to blast at the Kongo. She could see her first salvo land around the capital ship, only one of those high-explosive shells actually finding its mark, to no real effect. But as long as it was focusing on her, everything would be fine.
And then came down the eight 14-inch shells.
Lou winced as they landed all around her, massive sprays of water surrounding her as she ceased fire out of fear.
When they cleared a few seconds later, however, the light cruiser found herself unharmed. Miraculously.
That face of shock was immediately replaced with relief, then cockiness.
"That's all you've got?" she mused to herself before blowing a raspberry at the Abyssal, promptly re-commencing her barrage.
A small stray shot barely flew past her out of the blue, striking the water beside her.
"Oh. Right. Forgot 'bout you asswipes," she muttered as she saw a substantial portion of the enemy cruisers and destroyers steaming straight towards her. "Fuck."
Diverting her attention away from the Kongo, St. Louis turned away more and targeted two destroyers, evading the increasing amount of fire that was coming down on her. The secondary and tertiary batteries came to life, the 5 inch guns doing the damage while the anti-aircraft armaments sprayed and harassed the targets.
Both targets were visibly taking damage from the 5 inches. Now all that had to happen was-
"Perfect," Lou grinned, feeling her main batteries having just finished reloading.
The light cruiser targeted two of her turrets mounted on her equipment and her rifle-turret at the closest destroyer.
She fired.
The dark ship immediately slowed down as most of the shipgirl's shells found their mark.
Turning to the next destroyer, St. Louis fired the other two main turrets, garnering a similar response.
"You think you can challenge me?! A Brooklyn-class cruiser?!" the light cruiser laughed mockingly as she turned her attention to the other ships.
A shell flew over and hit her face.
"Ugh!" she winced, reeling a bit before recovering, a black burn spot visible on her cheek.
Despite receiving no significant damage, Lou slowly and quietly turned to face the Abyssal Nagara-class responsible for the hit, her eyes radiating pure, unadulterated rage at the transgression it had just committed.
She turned all her guns to the one ship.
"You're dead."
But before she could pull her triggers, something else happened.
Amidst her anger and fixation on the Abyssal vessel that had managed to hit her, she had completely forgotten that a Kongo-class battlecruiser was still very interested in her.
She did not even hear the telltale whistling of the 14-inch shells.
BOOM!
To say Evans was starting to dislike her cruiser companion was like saying the ocean was a tad bit wet. A massive understatement. In the span of a half hour, she'd gone from being pleasant to interact with to being a bitch. But if she wanted to get herself killed doing a battleship's job, well, that was St. Louis's prerogative.
"Destroyers! Go!" came the order from St. Louis, and being the speed freak that she was, Evans led the way out of the rapidly dissipating smoke screen. Fletcher was right behind her, two of her turrets out of action, and Hadley was taking up the rear. Three destroyers, fourteen 5-inch guns between them, and thirty torpedoes. All aimed at one old battlecruiser.
"Minekaze, closing on our starboard side! Three-thousand yards!" Evans called out, shifting her attention over to the enemy destroyer. It was close, well within gun and torpedo range. That was the sort of range the Minekazes needed to be effective against the line of much more modern destroyers. Hell, it was close enough that even some of Evans' 40mm Bofors AA guns opened fire!
"Don't let her dump torps!" Hadley cried, her guns roaring. The Minekaze was turning to get a good line on their expected course.
Evans wasn't sure who got the killing blow, but an explosion ripped the Minekaze apart as her torpedoes detonated in their tubes.
"One down, far too many more to go," Evans muttered to herself. Even with St. Louis drawing most of the fire, three more of the Minekazes were moving to intercept the torpedo run, and the Kongo's secondary battery was opening fire as well.
Evans pulled a hard turn to starboard as shells began splashing around her, with Fletcher and Hadley following as best they could. A tower of water appeared directly in front of Evans, and she charged through it, getting soaked in the process. Not that she wasn't already soaked what with this incessant rain, but she felt that she needed to care for her clothes just a little bit. The olive drab jacket and blue skirt weren't exactly hers.
"They're gonna cut us off!" Fletcher warned, firing at the division of destroyers closing on their position. "We can't just blow past them, this isn't Sensha-do!"
"I know!" was Evans' only reply. Her attention was split between adjusting their course towards torpedo range, firing on the Minekazes, and arguably most important, not dying while she accomplished both of the previous objectives.
Shells landed all around her, and Evans suppressed the urge to duck, instead keeping her stance upright and her guns on target. Even her unfortunately inaccurate guns were getting close to the enemy destroyers. It was only a matter of time now, until someone scored the first blow against the other destroyer force.
Her luck didn't hold this time.
A 120mm shell crashed into Evan's bow and detonated, showering the girl with shrapnel. In these heavy seas, a hole right there, even above the waterline, was going to flood if she didn't slow down. The tough leather of her jacket was only partially able to resist the shrapnel, and Evans felt her torso become covered in small bleeding cuts.
Her guns finally found the target in return, and rapid fire, radar-directed 5-inch guns began systematically ripping the much smaller destroyer to shreds. Sure, she took a few more hits from the Minekaze line, but a few holes in her superstructure and some wrecked AA guns wasn't much to worry about in this fight. It didn't affect her ability to fight, to protect the schoolship and everyone aboard it.
And that was what mattered right now.
Evans' target was burning merrily, its superstructure blasted to bits, and it was finally going down. Fletcher and Hadley had ganged up on the second Abyssal in the line, and Evans watched as its stern was ripped clean off by an explosion. It rapidly began dipping below the waves.
"How far til torpedo range?" Evans asked, having to shout above the din of battle and the hammering of guns.
"Thousand yards til optimal!" came Fletcher's shouted reply. "We can dump them any time though!"
A scream of pain echoed over the radio.
Evans' first thought was to check on Fletcher and Hadley, but the scream was further away. Then, she saw it. Her eyes tracked the tumbling, limp body of St. Louis. Her hull was holed, and the Abyssal cruisers were closing in on her.
"Column, hard to port, dump your torps at that battlewagon!" Evans ordered, pulling into the turn. Ten metal fish left the launchers on Evans' middle, and she started a timer even as she began racing away, her sister and friend in pursuit.
An early detonation reached Evans' ears, and she turned back for a moment to see the splashes from two torpedo hits drench the Minekaze before it broke in two.
"Well shit. Now they know they've got fish incoming," Hadley commented. Evans glanced upwards and confirmed that the battlecruiser which had badly wounded the light cruiser… no, her friend. The battlecruiser that had hurt Lou was turning away from the battle.
But that still left two destroyers and two light cruisers closing in on the unconscious cruiser. Evans could almost feel the malice and murderous intent coming off of the cruisers.
She wasn't going to let that happen on her watch.
As soon as her Mk.37 fire directors were on target, Evans opened fire with her bow guns. The Thompson SMG kicked into her shoulder as the 5-inch mounted to it roared away. Evans quickly narrowed her bracket on the nearest cruiser, drawing its attention.
'Good,' Evans thought violently as she put on as much speed as she could muster. Despite the battle damage she had sustained, she was still the fastest of all the girls still in the fight, and she surged away from Fletcher and Hadley.
The cruiser turned to bring its broadside to bear against the charging destroyer, but that just gave her an even easier target. A hail of 5-inch gunfire came from behind her, bracketing the cruiser as well. A lookout informed Evans that Fletcher and Hadley had peeled off and were engaging with their full broadsides.
The firing of guns punctuated every thought as Evans continued to close the range. A 14cm round found Gun 53, and blew the turret clear off of its ring. Evans merely grit her teeth and continued charging.
With her four remaining 5-inch guns, Evans ravaged the light cruiser in a way that only radar directed fire could. She blew past it at point blank, opening fire with every single gun onboard as she passed. But that point blank pass was a double edged sword, and the Nagara's remaining guns managed to put some significant holes into her before they were silenced.
Tally screamed in pain. There was a sudden dip in speed as she slowed to a near halt, nearly dropping as two of her boilers were ruined.
Ahead of her, St. Louis was struggling to move, raising her guns towards the crippled Nagara as it rounded on Evans. The triple turrets fired in sequence, one… two… the third turret, the one mounted to St. Louis' rifle, failed to fire. Instead, it exploded in her hands. The fires it spread only lasted moments under the incessant rain, but moments were all that were needed to seriously burn the cruiser.
Thankfully, St. Louis' efforts were enough. The Nagara didn't have nearly enough armor to resist the Brooklyn's guns, and it began listing rapidly. Evans watched dumbfounded as the cruiser rolled and began sinking.
The thunder of guns lessened, and then ended entirely. The few remaining Abyssals were fleeing, their tails between their legs.
"That's right! Run you fuckers!" Capps cheered. The peace only lasted a moment before Fletcher pulled up alongside Evans. The redhead looked over to her sister, and was met with a disappointed stare.
"Evans you idiot!" Fletcher reprimanded. "That has got to be one of the most reckless, idiotic, suicidal things I have ever seen you do, and I watch you play Sensha-do! Now, gimme a damage report. Let's see just how fucked up you and St. Louis are."
She waited a moment for her crew to give the full report before she relayed it to her sister. "Gun 51 is disabled, 53 is just gone, and 54 is jammed. Lots of splinter damage. Buckling plates below the waterline from near misses. Boilers 1 and 2 are gone, and I've got contained flooding midships. I can maybe make 15 knots."
Fletcher looked over Evans. "You look as bad as you sound. You'll need a new jacket for sure. I'll give you a hand back to the ship. Hadley, can you hook up a tow for St. Louis?"
"You got it boss!" Hadley snapped a salute at Fletcher before moving over to the crippled cruiser.
The Brooklyn-class ship was barely conscious, taking shallow breaths as she lay on the water, listing rather dangerously to one side while her crew desperately tried to pump out as much water as they could. Smoke was still blowing out from inside her superstructure, coming from the embers of fires that were only just recently put out. Around her, the hissing of steam being ejected out of her boilers was unavoidable, done just in case the worst happened.
Evans looked over at the cruiser's eyes, observing how they were completely disoriented, simply stared towards and beyond the surface of the water. Her view was obstructed moments later as Hadley took out her towing ropes and got right beside the larger vessel.
Quietly, Hadley moved on to attach the ropes to St. Louis.
"What was that?" Hadley asked, out of the blue.
Lou's eyes were moving again, now staring at the destroyer. As Fletcher began helping her away, Evans noted how they looked different from the cruiser's usual steel-cold, serious, angry tone; this time, they were forlorn, complimented with regret.
This was the first time Evans had seen something like that.
"What's the matter?" Hadley bent down, taking the girl's hand and clasping it in her own.
There were a few seconds of silence.
But then, tears rolled down from St. Louis' eyes.
"... H-Helena… I'm… s-so… sorry…"
And just like that, the cruiser fell unconscious, the damage she received proving too much for her to remain up.
"Hadley, you okay?" Fletcher asked. To Evans, it was obvious. Her dark haired friend didn't look fine. She was shaking, even as she began towing the limp cruiser back to the ship. Evans let her gaze linger on the two before she looked over at their destination.
The schoolship was steaming away from them, but it was slowing down to let the injured shipgirls catch up. That was polite of them, since Evans doubted any of them fancied steaming back to Japan while this damaged.
The sun was setting by the time they'd reached the ship. There was a well deck open in the massive carrier's flank, and Capps was waving them all towards it. Hadley led the way, helping St. Louis up out of the water. Evans went next, with both Hadley and Fletcher helping her up. Sailing with a broken leg and climbing with a broken arm were most certainly not fun.
Pain embraced Tally as she set foot on the steel deck. Even with Hadley's support, she collapsed, crying out in pain. Tears streaked her face, and she very carefully crawled over to the edge of the deck and lost her lunch.
Salo's Note:
Yo, Salo here! Weren't expecting me to pop up, aren't ya? Anyway, here we go, Part 2! I'll like to state my thanks to Darkhound for agreeing to this project, we've been having a blast writing everything! We're gonna keep going, that's for sure! And I hope you guys are loving it as well!
Just in case it has to be stated, we don't own Girls und Panzer or Kantai Collection. This work is non-profit and purely for our own interests. And of course, do drop us reviews so that we can further improve. That's it from me for now!
Part 2
++++++++++
"They need us," Louise stated matter-of-factly, lowering the binoculars and staring out at the distant fight. "They will not make it otherwise."
If Lou's other friends were around, they would be able to tell that something was going on with her. Something about her current tone, the stare in her eyes… That did not feel like Louise at all.
"Don't worry Fletcher… We're coming," Tally said softly. "But how do we get down there?"
"A simple problem," was the reply from the French-American girl as she walked over to the railing, looking right down at the surface of the Pacific Ocean a good height down below. "Unless you're chicken."
The redhead looked at her companion, and her gaping mouth slowly turned into a manic grin. "But first things first, can I have my binoculars back?"
Quietly, Lou passed the binoculars back to Tally before stepping over the railing, hanging onto it as she waited for the other girl on the ledge. She was calm; too calm, in fact, given what the two girls were about to do.
"Our hulls will survive the impact," she commented nonchalantly.
"Of course they will," Tally replied, taking her binoculars and running them back to the Jeep. She took a moment to fiddle with the radio backpack. "Kay, Evans. The bombardment has ceased, but we can't be certain for how long. Lou and I have found some girls who need our help, and we're moving to assist. … of course. … we'll stay as safe as we can with all this going on. … You too. Evans out."
"Where is, repeat, where is Evans?" Lou snarked out loud meanwhile, getting impatient. "The world wonders."
"Reporting in, so that someone knows what happened when we get ourselves killed, dumbass," Evans snarked right back. The redhead set her binoculars down next to the radio, and took a moment to check her surroundings before she took off at a run, heading straight for the deck edge. She vaulted the chain railing with ease and tumbled down to the surf below.
Seeing the destroyer launch herself off the schoolship with ease and ahead of her, Lou frowned. "Tch. I wanted to go first."
With that, Tuckerman leapt off the edge as hard as she could, plummeting down towards the stormy Pacific waves.
Arriving at the ocean surface, Lou slammed onto the surface as if it were solid ground, the girl landing on her left foot, right knee and right fist with an impact that made her look like she was far heavier than a girl of her age. Or any human, for that matter. A large ripple on the surface caused by her spreaded out around her, the rear sides of it lapping onto the side of the Saunders schoolship while the rest spread out towards the open sea.
"Come on, slowpoke, hurry up!" a familiar redhead shouted from ahead, where she too was floating on the water without a care in the world. A metal contraption wrapped protectively around the girl's Sensha-do uniform, bristling with guns. Most prominent were four 5-inch guns, with a fifth held in her hands on a platform resembling a Thompson SMG.
"Wait," was the short, curt reply as the brown-haired girl slowly stood up, strangely completely unharmed by the landing, her eyes closed. Lou was now also carrying her own metal contraption, but this was bigger than Tally's, with different weapons mounted on hers. Paramount of these were the triple six-inch gun turrets that consisted her main armaments, two of them mounted on each side of the metal… equipment, supported by two twin gun five-inch turrets that made up half of the secondary weapons, one of them on each side.
Now properly standing up, Louise reached for her back, pulling out and revealing a fifth six-inch turret, mounted on a rifle body similar to a Browning Auto-5.
Holding it on her right hand, the girl finally opened her eyes, a cold, steely stare straight at the ongoing fight.
"I'm ready. All engines ahead flank."
"God… have you always been this slow?" Tally complained as she dutifully took vanguard position in front of Lou.
The light cruiser stared coldly at the destroyer, unamused.
"Hurry up, hurry up!" Tally insisted. "They need our help!"
"I cannot break the laws of physics," Lou growled. "Either you slow down and stay under my cover, or you can go right ahead yourself. Juvenile…" she hissed the last part quietly to herself. It seemed to do the trick, as Tally kept her position in front of Louise, quieting her complaints.
The sounds of gunfire continued to echo from the battle area, getting increasingly louder as the two girls approached.
"Your sisters and their friend are slipping up," Lou commented, pointing at the friendly ships ahead. "They're getting split up by the sheer number of those things. If they actually do get separated they're finished, and they don't even know they're about to be screwed over. But I don't blame them; they're destroyers. And this," she continued, targeting her main guns as a proud smirk grew on her face, "is precisely why you guys need me."
Tally gaped at the light cruiser. Then, with seemingly no way to respond to the jab, she keyed her radio. "USS Evans to USS Fletcher. I heard you could use a hand or two!"
"Evans?" Fletcher's voice filtered through the radio, occasionally punctuated by the firing of guns. "Thank god. Henley's badly wounded, and the rest of us aren't looking too hot either. Any assistance you can provide would be greatly appreciated!"
"It won't be much," Lou mused off-radio as she finely adjusted the four six-inch turrets mounted on her equipment, checking their targets both visually and on radar. "'Any assistance you can provide will be greatly appreciated!' said the struggling destroyer to her similarly-armed sister, expecting her to be able to do something to save her three sisters and their buddy," she snarked, mocking what Fletcher had said to Evans. "But fortunately for you all…", she continued, a slasher grin growing on her face as she finally raised her rifle-turret, targeting it at a Nagara-class light cruiser firing incessantly upon a struggling Fletcher-class.
"... I'm a Brooklyn. Opening fire."
The light cruiser's 6-inches went off, three of the five turrets targeted at the Abyssal Nagara. The shells from the handheld turret streaked towards their target, the monster-esque light cruiser completely unaware of what was about to happen. Five of the shells missed, only proceeding to throw water up around their intended target, but the remaining four found their mark, the back mass losing focus on the friendly destroyer as a result. At the same time, the other six rounds had been targeted at an Abyssal destroyer a bit too close to one of the Fletchers, most of the shells missing as well. However, two of these shells managed to strike the black target, beginning to look like it was beginning to list heavily a few seconds later.
"I've gotten sloppy," Louise frowned, unsatisfied with the results. But now was not the time to analyze her shooting; instead, she finally decided to get on the radio.
"All vessels, this is the USS St. Louis. Come with me if you want to live."
"God, when did you become such a bitch? I liked you better when you were nice, and commanded Ace…" Evans muttered quietly. She finally broke formation and dashed ahead, bringing her much smaller guns to bear as soon as they had the range.
It was a poor showing, even compared to St. Louis's own sloppy gunnery. Shells landed all around her target, nowhere close to landing even a single hit. At least the other destroyers had managed to do some damage before they ended up in their current sorry state, laying smoke as they fled the battlefield towards the new arrivals.
"Sound the carillon! Church is in session!" St. Louis shouted out in what was starting to sound like her mainstay mocking tone as the four destroyers came steaming at best possible speed to her. "Report."
"Fletcher and Capps, moderate damage. John Henley is badly damaged and battling flooding. Hugh Hadley is minorly damaged and fully combat effective," Fletcher reported dutifully. "Hadley and I still have all of our torpedoes."
"Henley!" Evans cried, and she rushed over to help her sister. The wounded destroyer definitely looked like she needed the assistance, with one of her arms blown off at the elbow, her uniform torn to shreds, and a noticeable limp.
"Henley, stay back!" St. Louis ordered. "You're in no shape to go back in again. Capps, stay behind and look after her. Think you can do that?"
"Yes ma'am!" Capps said, snapping a salute. She maneuvered to take Henley from Evans' care. The redhead gave her sister ship a betrayed look as Capps pulled away with her twin, and then she shifted her attention, looking over at Fletcher and St. Louis. Awaiting for orders.
"The rest of you; listen close, listen hard," the Brooklyn-class light cruiser instructed. "Here's what I'm thinking; right now, that Kongo is our biggest threat. It also happens to be the most powerful ship of that fleet by a massive shot. So, if we can smack it with our torpedoes, we can severely damage or even sink it, and that will definitely force the rest to retreat. 'Cos let's be real, the only one able to actually harm me is that goddamn battlecruiser," she smirked confidently. "Now this is the plan; I'll deliberately draw fire from the Kongo while you guys get close enough. And if that goes well," she grinned, resting her rifle-turret on her shoulder, "I'll take out the rest. All of them. Any objections?"
Fletcher raised an eyebrow at St. Louis. "I wouldn't be too confident about that. They may only be Minekazes, but they can still hurt you plenty, and neither of those Nagaras are out for the count yet either. Guadalcanal showed me that much."
"I'll be fiiine," the light cruiser waved off. "I'm tougher and I know what I'm doing. But the main thing's still that Kongo. Screw her up bad and we've basically won. Is that clear enough?"
"Yes ma'am!" The three destroyers said in unison. Hadley even saluted.
St. Louis grinned. She loves it when people actually listen to her. "Alright, let's do it! Stay here, I've got a battlecruiser to catch first."
Her four turbines cranked to full power, the light cruiser charged forward and steamed out of the smokescreen, looking at the battlecruiser in question.
"HEY, ASSHOLE!" she hollered, waving at the Abyssal capital ship while blasting her horns and rapidly flashing her spotlights at the same time, moving on a tangent course closer towards it.
That did the trick. The light cruiser could see the enemy turn, as if to stare at her.
As St. Louis took aim, she could see the huge 14-inch turrets turn towards her. The cold, hard stare of the beast was still directed right at her. There were no eyes. Just… nothing. But she could feel the attention of the Kongo on her.
If she said she wasn't afraid, she would be lying. Right now her instinct was screaming at her to turn around and run. But she won't show weakness. She can't show weakness.
Not after everything.
"I CAST YOU OUT!" she yelled, making sure all of that attention was on her. "VILE! DEMOOOOOOOOON!"
All at once, her main batteries opened fire. The battlecruiser's attention was definitely on her now.
Precisely what she was waiting for.
"Destroyers! Go!" she practically yelled into her radio.
As cues went, it wasn't exactly subtle. Not that subtle meant anything while staring down the 14-inch rifles of a battlecruiser. The destroyers charged, all in a neat line, their small guns blazing for all they were worth. It wasn't much. They'd need more time to get into torpedo range, time she had to buy them.
"Yeah come on big girl, I know you want me!" St. Louis grinned maniacally as she continued to throw salvo after salvo of 6-inch fire at the battlecruiser.
At that moment, the 14-inch guns opened fire, their flashes clearly visible for everyone to see.
Lou's stomach dropped, and for a moment the overconfident look on her face broke, a tinge of dread coming through and breaking out to the surface.
But only for a moment. St. Louis quickly pulled herself together and changed course, beginning evasive maneuvers as she continued to blast at the Kongo. She could see her first salvo land around the capital ship, only one of those high-explosive shells actually finding its mark, to no real effect. But as long as it was focusing on her, everything would be fine.
And then came down the eight 14-inch shells.
Lou winced as they landed all around her, massive sprays of water surrounding her as she ceased fire out of fear.
When they cleared a few seconds later, however, the light cruiser found herself unharmed. Miraculously.
That face of shock was immediately replaced with relief, then cockiness.
"That's all you've got?" she mused to herself before blowing a raspberry at the Abyssal, promptly re-commencing her barrage.
A small stray shot barely flew past her out of the blue, striking the water beside her.
"Oh. Right. Forgot 'bout you asswipes," she muttered as she saw a substantial portion of the enemy cruisers and destroyers steaming straight towards her. "Fuck."
Diverting her attention away from the Kongo, St. Louis turned away more and targeted two destroyers, evading the increasing amount of fire that was coming down on her. The secondary and tertiary batteries came to life, the 5 inch guns doing the damage while the anti-aircraft armaments sprayed and harassed the targets.
Both targets were visibly taking damage from the 5 inches. Now all that had to happen was-
"Perfect," Lou grinned, feeling her main batteries having just finished reloading.
The light cruiser targeted two of her turrets mounted on her equipment and her rifle-turret at the closest destroyer.
She fired.
The dark ship immediately slowed down as most of the shipgirl's shells found their mark.
Turning to the next destroyer, St. Louis fired the other two main turrets, garnering a similar response.
"You think you can challenge me?! A Brooklyn-class cruiser?!" the light cruiser laughed mockingly as she turned her attention to the other ships.
A shell flew over and hit her face.
"Ugh!" she winced, reeling a bit before recovering, a black burn spot visible on her cheek.
Despite receiving no significant damage, Lou slowly and quietly turned to face the Abyssal Nagara-class responsible for the hit, her eyes radiating pure, unadulterated rage at the transgression it had just committed.
She turned all her guns to the one ship.
"You're dead."
But before she could pull her triggers, something else happened.
Amidst her anger and fixation on the Abyssal vessel that had managed to hit her, she had completely forgotten that a Kongo-class battlecruiser was still very interested in her.
She did not even hear the telltale whistling of the 14-inch shells.
BOOM!
++++++++++
To say Evans was starting to dislike her cruiser companion was like saying the ocean was a tad bit wet. A massive understatement. In the span of a half hour, she'd gone from being pleasant to interact with to being a bitch. But if she wanted to get herself killed doing a battleship's job, well, that was St. Louis's prerogative.
"Destroyers! Go!" came the order from St. Louis, and being the speed freak that she was, Evans led the way out of the rapidly dissipating smoke screen. Fletcher was right behind her, two of her turrets out of action, and Hadley was taking up the rear. Three destroyers, fourteen 5-inch guns between them, and thirty torpedoes. All aimed at one old battlecruiser.
"Minekaze, closing on our starboard side! Three-thousand yards!" Evans called out, shifting her attention over to the enemy destroyer. It was close, well within gun and torpedo range. That was the sort of range the Minekazes needed to be effective against the line of much more modern destroyers. Hell, it was close enough that even some of Evans' 40mm Bofors AA guns opened fire!
"Don't let her dump torps!" Hadley cried, her guns roaring. The Minekaze was turning to get a good line on their expected course.
Evans wasn't sure who got the killing blow, but an explosion ripped the Minekaze apart as her torpedoes detonated in their tubes.
"One down, far too many more to go," Evans muttered to herself. Even with St. Louis drawing most of the fire, three more of the Minekazes were moving to intercept the torpedo run, and the Kongo's secondary battery was opening fire as well.
Evans pulled a hard turn to starboard as shells began splashing around her, with Fletcher and Hadley following as best they could. A tower of water appeared directly in front of Evans, and she charged through it, getting soaked in the process. Not that she wasn't already soaked what with this incessant rain, but she felt that she needed to care for her clothes just a little bit. The olive drab jacket and blue skirt weren't exactly hers.
"They're gonna cut us off!" Fletcher warned, firing at the division of destroyers closing on their position. "We can't just blow past them, this isn't Sensha-do!"
"I know!" was Evans' only reply. Her attention was split between adjusting their course towards torpedo range, firing on the Minekazes, and arguably most important, not dying while she accomplished both of the previous objectives.
Shells landed all around her, and Evans suppressed the urge to duck, instead keeping her stance upright and her guns on target. Even her unfortunately inaccurate guns were getting close to the enemy destroyers. It was only a matter of time now, until someone scored the first blow against the other destroyer force.
Her luck didn't hold this time.
A 120mm shell crashed into Evan's bow and detonated, showering the girl with shrapnel. In these heavy seas, a hole right there, even above the waterline, was going to flood if she didn't slow down. The tough leather of her jacket was only partially able to resist the shrapnel, and Evans felt her torso become covered in small bleeding cuts.
Her guns finally found the target in return, and rapid fire, radar-directed 5-inch guns began systematically ripping the much smaller destroyer to shreds. Sure, she took a few more hits from the Minekaze line, but a few holes in her superstructure and some wrecked AA guns wasn't much to worry about in this fight. It didn't affect her ability to fight, to protect the schoolship and everyone aboard it.
And that was what mattered right now.
Evans' target was burning merrily, its superstructure blasted to bits, and it was finally going down. Fletcher and Hadley had ganged up on the second Abyssal in the line, and Evans watched as its stern was ripped clean off by an explosion. It rapidly began dipping below the waves.
"How far til torpedo range?" Evans asked, having to shout above the din of battle and the hammering of guns.
"Thousand yards til optimal!" came Fletcher's shouted reply. "We can dump them any time though!"
A scream of pain echoed over the radio.
Evans' first thought was to check on Fletcher and Hadley, but the scream was further away. Then, she saw it. Her eyes tracked the tumbling, limp body of St. Louis. Her hull was holed, and the Abyssal cruisers were closing in on her.
"Column, hard to port, dump your torps at that battlewagon!" Evans ordered, pulling into the turn. Ten metal fish left the launchers on Evans' middle, and she started a timer even as she began racing away, her sister and friend in pursuit.
An early detonation reached Evans' ears, and she turned back for a moment to see the splashes from two torpedo hits drench the Minekaze before it broke in two.
"Well shit. Now they know they've got fish incoming," Hadley commented. Evans glanced upwards and confirmed that the battlecruiser which had badly wounded the light cruiser… no, her friend. The battlecruiser that had hurt Lou was turning away from the battle.
But that still left two destroyers and two light cruisers closing in on the unconscious cruiser. Evans could almost feel the malice and murderous intent coming off of the cruisers.
She wasn't going to let that happen on her watch.
As soon as her Mk.37 fire directors were on target, Evans opened fire with her bow guns. The Thompson SMG kicked into her shoulder as the 5-inch mounted to it roared away. Evans quickly narrowed her bracket on the nearest cruiser, drawing its attention.
'Good,' Evans thought violently as she put on as much speed as she could muster. Despite the battle damage she had sustained, she was still the fastest of all the girls still in the fight, and she surged away from Fletcher and Hadley.
The cruiser turned to bring its broadside to bear against the charging destroyer, but that just gave her an even easier target. A hail of 5-inch gunfire came from behind her, bracketing the cruiser as well. A lookout informed Evans that Fletcher and Hadley had peeled off and were engaging with their full broadsides.
The firing of guns punctuated every thought as Evans continued to close the range. A 14cm round found Gun 53, and blew the turret clear off of its ring. Evans merely grit her teeth and continued charging.
With her four remaining 5-inch guns, Evans ravaged the light cruiser in a way that only radar directed fire could. She blew past it at point blank, opening fire with every single gun onboard as she passed. But that point blank pass was a double edged sword, and the Nagara's remaining guns managed to put some significant holes into her before they were silenced.
Tally screamed in pain. There was a sudden dip in speed as she slowed to a near halt, nearly dropping as two of her boilers were ruined.
Ahead of her, St. Louis was struggling to move, raising her guns towards the crippled Nagara as it rounded on Evans. The triple turrets fired in sequence, one… two… the third turret, the one mounted to St. Louis' rifle, failed to fire. Instead, it exploded in her hands. The fires it spread only lasted moments under the incessant rain, but moments were all that were needed to seriously burn the cruiser.
Thankfully, St. Louis' efforts were enough. The Nagara didn't have nearly enough armor to resist the Brooklyn's guns, and it began listing rapidly. Evans watched dumbfounded as the cruiser rolled and began sinking.
The thunder of guns lessened, and then ended entirely. The few remaining Abyssals were fleeing, their tails between their legs.
"That's right! Run you fuckers!" Capps cheered. The peace only lasted a moment before Fletcher pulled up alongside Evans. The redhead looked over to her sister, and was met with a disappointed stare.
"Evans you idiot!" Fletcher reprimanded. "That has got to be one of the most reckless, idiotic, suicidal things I have ever seen you do, and I watch you play Sensha-do! Now, gimme a damage report. Let's see just how fucked up you and St. Louis are."
She waited a moment for her crew to give the full report before she relayed it to her sister. "Gun 51 is disabled, 53 is just gone, and 54 is jammed. Lots of splinter damage. Buckling plates below the waterline from near misses. Boilers 1 and 2 are gone, and I've got contained flooding midships. I can maybe make 15 knots."
Fletcher looked over Evans. "You look as bad as you sound. You'll need a new jacket for sure. I'll give you a hand back to the ship. Hadley, can you hook up a tow for St. Louis?"
"You got it boss!" Hadley snapped a salute at Fletcher before moving over to the crippled cruiser.
The Brooklyn-class ship was barely conscious, taking shallow breaths as she lay on the water, listing rather dangerously to one side while her crew desperately tried to pump out as much water as they could. Smoke was still blowing out from inside her superstructure, coming from the embers of fires that were only just recently put out. Around her, the hissing of steam being ejected out of her boilers was unavoidable, done just in case the worst happened.
Evans looked over at the cruiser's eyes, observing how they were completely disoriented, simply stared towards and beyond the surface of the water. Her view was obstructed moments later as Hadley took out her towing ropes and got right beside the larger vessel.
Quietly, Hadley moved on to attach the ropes to St. Louis.
"What was that?" Hadley asked, out of the blue.
Lou's eyes were moving again, now staring at the destroyer. As Fletcher began helping her away, Evans noted how they looked different from the cruiser's usual steel-cold, serious, angry tone; this time, they were forlorn, complimented with regret.
This was the first time Evans had seen something like that.
"What's the matter?" Hadley bent down, taking the girl's hand and clasping it in her own.
There were a few seconds of silence.
But then, tears rolled down from St. Louis' eyes.
"... H-Helena… I'm… s-so… sorry…"
And just like that, the cruiser fell unconscious, the damage she received proving too much for her to remain up.
"Hadley, you okay?" Fletcher asked. To Evans, it was obvious. Her dark haired friend didn't look fine. She was shaking, even as she began towing the limp cruiser back to the ship. Evans let her gaze linger on the two before she looked over at their destination.
The schoolship was steaming away from them, but it was slowing down to let the injured shipgirls catch up. That was polite of them, since Evans doubted any of them fancied steaming back to Japan while this damaged.
The sun was setting by the time they'd reached the ship. There was a well deck open in the massive carrier's flank, and Capps was waving them all towards it. Hadley led the way, helping St. Louis up out of the water. Evans went next, with both Hadley and Fletcher helping her up. Sailing with a broken leg and climbing with a broken arm were most certainly not fun.
Pain embraced Tally as she set foot on the steel deck. Even with Hadley's support, she collapsed, crying out in pain. Tears streaked her face, and she very carefully crawled over to the edge of the deck and lost her lunch.
Salo's Note:
Yo, Salo here! Weren't expecting me to pop up, aren't ya? Anyway, here we go, Part 2! I'll like to state my thanks to Darkhound for agreeing to this project, we've been having a blast writing everything! We're gonna keep going, that's for sure! And I hope you guys are loving it as well!
Just in case it has to be stated, we don't own Girls und Panzer or Kantai Collection. This work is non-profit and purely for our own interests. And of course, do drop us reviews so that we can further improve. That's it from me for now!
Part Three
Lady Darkhound
Haha, tanks!
- Location
- My very own personal hell
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yet Still We Sail
Part 3
++++++++++
Pain embraced Tally as she woke up. Her everything hurt. A headache seemed like it was trying to break out of her skull with a jackhammer, a thousand individual cuts on her torso screamed as if salt had been rubbed into all of them at once, her right leg screamed if she put the slightest bit of pressure on it, and her left arm floated limply at her side, completely numb.
Floated.
Yup. Tally was in a pool, though it felt more like a hot tub. She'd been changed into a well-fitting, if revealing, bikini at some point, and was resting in a hot tub.
"What?" Tally wondered to the world, not expecting a response. The fog in her head cleared up a little bit, and she took in a bit more of her surroundings. Louise was resting next to her, also having been changed into more fitting swimwear. She looked about as bad as Tally felt.
Also in the pool, sitting across from Tally and Louise, was Tally's Evil Twin: Jane Henley. About the only difference between the two was their hair, since Henley wore hers shorter and loose, while Tally preferred her over the shoulder braid. The other girl didn't seem to notice Tally had awakened, she was face first in a book, and humming along with some march or another. Tally didn't recognize it, though a part of her felt like she should.
"Henley!" Tally shouted, grabbing the other redhead's attention. Louise also seemed to stir at the shout.
"Hey you!" Henley responded, putting her book down on the shore. "You're finally awake! You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Abyssal ambush same as us and that cruiser over there," Henley gestured over to where Louise was slowly waking up.
Tally pinched the bridge of her nose with her good hand. "What are you talking about? Where are we?"
"What do you mean where are we? We're in the repair baths," Henley answered, as if that answered everything. Tally gave Henley a look, and the slightly younger girl grimaced. "You two were awesome out there, but you also got shot to shit, so we brought you back here for repairs. Though, it doesn't seem like it actually did anything. You okay, Evans?"
Tally glared at her near mirror image, and Henley had the good sense to shut her mouth. "What. Happened? The last thing I remember is looking out at the ocean from the deck, trying to figure out what was going on."
"You… you don't remember all that?" Henley asked, stuttering slightly.
"All what?"
"Oh. Oh shit. Shitshitshit," Henley swore rapidly. Tally glared at her again, but the redhead sitting across from her had withdrawn into her own little world as she hurriedly talked to herself in a voice low enough that Tally struggled to hear. Then she raised a hand to her ear. Pain stabbed through Tally's head. "Fletcher? It's Henley. Evans is awake, and St. Louis is waking up, and Evans at least doesn't know what happened. Can you get down here ASAP? Thanks."
Next to Tally, Louise blinked her eyes open. "U… ugh…" she groaned softly, still facing the ceiling. "W… what…"
"No idea, Lou. I think we crashed the Jeep." Tally said with a grimace. She turned her attention towards Henley, her grimace intensifying as she looked at her Evil Twin. "Since somebody won't say what's actually going on."
"Tally…?" Lou muttered as she tried to turn her head slowly towards the injured redhead. "Ah!" she yelped in pain before managing to move enough to see the girl. "What is this place…" she asked, only just noticing now that they were in the hot bath.
Attempting to get up, Tuckerman yelped in pain again, immediately relaxing back to where she was. "Aahh…"
"Welcome back to the land of the living, St. Lou. We were worried about you there for a bit," Henley said. "Still are, since neither of you are getting repaired properly."
"Jane Henley..." Lou noticed, greeting with a soft gasp. "The hell are you talking about…?"
"Do either of you remember what happened on Monday?" Henley asked, nodding at Lou.
"Monday…? I-isn't… oh, oh yeah, the shelling…" Lou recalled. "What was that all abou- wait. Why the specific day mention? What's today?"
"It's Wednesday evening. You've both been out for two days," A new voice said, entering the room. Tally craned her head towards the door to see Faye Faith Fletcher step inside. The blonde looked exhausted.
"Trips?" Tally asked. "Do you have answers for us?"
"Maybe. What do you want to know?"
"Oh, shit! My crew!" Lou suddenly shouted in realization, immediately attempting to jump out of the bath before collapsing back in pain. "AAAH! AAAAOOOOOOOW!"
"Easy there, Lou!" Faye Faith said, rushing over to the fallen brunette. "I don't know why the baths aren't working, you should both be able to at least get up by now."
"Faye Faith?" Lou gasped. "You're here too?"
"Take it easy there Lou. We don't need you hurting yourself even worse than you already are," Faye Faith said, helping Lou slide back into the water. "How much do either of you remember?"
"We hit the edge of the deck and were starting to look out over the water, nothing after that til I woke up here," Tally answered.
"I know you saw something," Lou recalled. "You were trembling a bit and you didn't respond when I first asked you about it. I asked a second time, you just gave me your binoculars, I began to take a look, and…" she grimaced. "... That's it."
Faye Faith swore violently. "Tally, how much do you know about the USS Evans? Lou, USS St. Louis."
Tally just stared blankly at her friend.
"Vaguely…" Louise replied, pondering over it. "I know a ship like that existed during World War 2 'cos she's named after my family's hometown. The main branch, that is. I went there earlier this year to bury my Gramps. Right next to Mom and Grandma..." she noted sadly. "But yeah… yeah, that's all I know. I didn't dig up too much about ships, with tanks around and all."
Faye Faith facepalmed gently. "Oh god dammit. What you saw out on the ocean was a fleet of Abyssal ships that had come to try and destroy the school ship. We don't know much about them, beyond that they take the appearances of World War-era ships, and give off an aura of Wrongness to people like us. Shipgirls. Judging by timing, you also saw myself, Capps, Henley, and Hadley rushing to engage said Abyssals, because the two of you joined us not long after that."
"Shipgirl?" Tally asked.
"Abyssal…?" Lou asked in confusion, simultaneous with Tally.
"It's probably easier to show you than try to explain it." Faye Faith said, a hint of defeat in her voice. "Henley, can you get the wheelchairs?"
"Yes ma'am!" Henley snapped a salute and quickly pulled herself out of the hot tub. She pulled a towel from somewhere and proceeded to dry herself before rushing out of the room.
"Where did she…" Lou gaped.
"Oh my god, this is Jane all over again…" Tally muttered to herself.
"Henley pulled the towel from her hold. She stowed her book there when you were looking at me, too," Faye Faith explained. She then pulled a photo album out from somewhere. There was no way she could have hidden it behind her back, especially since she had been gesticulating with both arms.
Tuckerman blinked. "... What."
"I'm a ship. I also happen to be a girl, but I'm a ship first and foremost. Thus, I have access to my hold and can store things in it. It's incredibly useful for hauling stuff to and from classes," Faye Faith explained, showing off the album some more.
"..."
"Pull the other one, it's got bells on it," Tally snarked.
"Okay," Faye Faith shrugged, right as Henley entered the room with two wheelchairs. "Alrighty then. Let's get you into the chairs and dried off so we can show you two the real magic!"
"Okay, Copperfield," Louise replied sarcastically.
"Nah, that's Nikki. USS Nicholas, rather. She uses this for magic tricks and cheating at poker." Faye Faith said casually as she moved to help Tally into one of the wheelchairs. Henley took the cue, and moved to help Lou into the other one.
Lou winced in pain as she was slowly pulled out. "Why are we in this bathhouse instead of the hospital? I don't think even a jacuzzi can heal… ugh, whatever I have everywhere…" she groaned in pain.
"Yeah, what's up with that?" Tally added. "I mean, it was kind of nice for what is probably a broken arm, but this is just weird."
Henley smirked, and Faye Faith had the good sense to look embarrassed. "Well, you see, we thought you were both shipgirls like us. So, we thought that the repair baths would have you fixed up in no time flat. Clearly, somehow, we were wrong, despite you being right out there with us. We literally hauled you from the well deck to the repair baths."
"Doctor obviously got the bath formula wrong," Tuckerman snarked.
"It worked for me!" Henley said. With both injured girls securely seated in the wheelchairs, Faye Faith led the way out of the room. They were in a section of the schoolship that neither Tally nor Lou had ever seen before. It was only a short walk to where Faye Faith wanted to go, and she pushed Tally into a room that smelled distinctly of salt water. About a foot below the edge of the deck was seawater, flowing in from somewhere.
"Welcome to Well Deck 3," the blonde said grandiosely. "The door there opens to the ship's starboard quarter."
"And what exactly are we here to see?" Tally asked.
"This!" Faye Faith said, jumping off of the deck and into the water. Except she didn't fall into the water, she landed atop it. Her gray blazer and red skirt had been replaced by a blue and white seifuku and skirt combo, and a metal contraption that was vaguely ship-shaped had appeared out of nowhere, wrapping around her.
Tally's jaw dropped.
Lou's eyes widened.
"B-b-but… that's impossible!" Tally exclaimed, stumbling over her words. "You were… and then… what?!?"
"I-I'm seeing things…" Lou shook her head, managing to bear with the pain of moving her right arm up so that she could pinch the bridge of her nose.
"USS Fletcher, DD-445 reporting! Flagship of DesRon 73 and the defense squadron for Saunders!" Fletcher said, waving with her free hand. Her other hand was occupied with rifling through her skirt's pockets for something "And now I can finally get those damn photos out…"
"U-uhh…" Lou could only mutter in shock, finally acknowledging that what she saw was not a hallucination.
"I... you… but… ship… how?" Tally stammered.
Fletcher merely sighed. "Well, surprisingly, you're taking this better than Kay did. She just straight up fainted after checking in on you two and then seeing this."
"Trips, I'm friends with Jane Richardson. It takes a lot more than a bit of weirdness and some magic metal to faze me," Tally deadpanned.
"I'm the commander of Ace of Spades, the Easy-Eight of Saunders," Lou added on to Tally's statement, a more-than-slight tinge of pride in her voice when she said that. "You can surprise me, sure, but don't expect me to get knocked over like that."
"Well, then these shouldn't do anything to you," Fletcher said, finally pulling a small stack of photos from her pocket. She passed them to Henley before hopping out of the water, the rigging around her disappearing as soon as her feet met the metal deck. Her clothing also changed back to the standard Saunders student uniform. "I present to you, the shipgirls USS Evans and USS St. Louis."
Henley passed the photos around, and sure enough, there were two very familiar, very prominent figures in the images. A short brunette with her hair held up in a ponytail, dressed in her Sensha-do gear, surrounded by a rigging that looked vastly different than Fletcher's, and a taller redhead, her hair in a braid, also in slightly shredded Sensha-do gear, with a rigging very similar to Fletcher's.
They were very obviously Lou and Tally. As ships.
Tally looked up from the photo she was holding in shaking hands, and locked eyes with a similarly shaken Louise. Then, through some unspoken agreement, both fell slack into their wheelchairs, fainting dead away.
… ep… eep...Beep... Beep...
"Nnnh…"
Louise initially didn't pay much attention to whatever that was beeping away, her eyes still shut as she was comfortably tucked in bed. Too tired to care.
Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep...
As it went on, however, the beeps got clearer, more prominent. So did the light coming down from outside, over her shut eyelids.
Lou was still dazed, but she was woken up enough to slowly open her eyes, allowing the white light to come flooding in.
As it turned out, the source of that was a fluorescent ceiling lamp shining down at her.
An unfamiliar fluorescent ceiling lamp. This wasn't her room at all.
Turning her eyes, Lou checked her surroundings. It seemed like she was in a hospital, with the beepings from the vital signs monitor hooked up to her soft, yet unavoidable and unmistakable.
Why am I… ah, that's right.
The more she woke up, the more the memories came flowing back to her. She must've gotten injured during the shelling, which was why she was currently here.
That conclusion checked out.
Slowly, the girl attempted to get up, wincing as her body continued to ache. But within a minute, she was finally up and sitting, now able to have a good look on herself and her surroundings.
Feeling her arms, she realized both of them were bandaged beneath the long-sleeved hospital pyjamas she was currently wearing, her right arm more so, wrapped up all the way to her right hand. Moving around a bit more, she could feel even more bandages around her body, and there was one pasted over her right cheek. On the other hand, though, her legs felt fine. At least for now, she hadn't had the chance to move it yet.
The stale white hospital room she was in was fortunately air-conditioned, and even more fortunately was the fact that there were only two beds in it, Lou's own and… Tally's.
The unconscious redhead looked worse off than the brunette, her left arm in a cast and secured in position by a sling. She also had a cast over her entire right leg too, held in place over the bed by its own ceiling-hung sling. Her left foot, on the other hand, probably suffered a broken ankle, the cast on it only covering that area.
Tally looked like she was sleeping peacefully, so that was good.
As more memories came back to her, Tuckerman sat there looking down at her legs, pondering about how odd everything seemed.
What's all the shelling about?
Did we see something?
Why am I even in a hospital?
… What's with that weird dream?
That dream, yes, that dream. It was vague but she could piece it together a bit. Waking up in a hot bath. Meeting Jane and Faye Faith at that unfamiliar place, seeing the latter…
… A shipgirl?
Lou frowned. No, that definitely can't be right. Doesn't make sense at all.
She vaguely knew what the USS Fletcher was; as someone who did study the history of the Second World War, she had definitely ran into information about the naval side of things, albeit not paying too much attention to them as she had been more focused on tanks. But she did know that the Fletcher-class was the most-produced destroyer of the United States Navy, with hundreds or so of them built. Or was it?
Either way, she knew they built a whole lot of them. That was it.
Somehow, her mind had apparently linked Faye Faith Fletcher, currently just an acquaintance to Lou, to that destroyer, and all because of a last name. Why that happened she still did not know, but at least there was a correlation. A correlation that her mind might've decided to randomly pick up on and perpetuate that strange, elaborate dream.
And if her memory was correct, Tally and her were shipgirls too. It was very vague, but Louise did remember. She thought. Odd.
But that can wait. How did-
Hearing Tally suddenly cough, Lou immediately turned to look at her friend.
"Hey, you up? How do you feel?"
"Like the morning after shore leave…" Tally groaned.
The young Tuckerman briefly raised an eyebrow. "Yeah… you're beat up. Very beat up. What happened?"
She frowned. "We crashed the Jeep, didn't we?"
"I… think so? It's all sorta blurry right as we reached the edge of the deck," Tally answered uncertainly.
"Likewise, it's a bit convenient we forgot what we apparently saw, isn't it?" Lou frowned. "... I do remember seeing you see something, though," she suddenly recalled. "Don't know what that is."
"I did?" Tally asked. "Everything after we got there feels like a dream, if I can remember it at all. Something about ships? No, it's probably just a dream from being high on pain meds."
Lou blinked in mild surprise. "Huh. Funny, I dreamt about something 'bout ships as well. Maybe it was because the shelling of the schoolship reminded us about naval battles?"
Tally shook her head, as much as her bandages would allow. "But I don't know all that much about ships! Artillery is what I thought about, like that siege mortar at the Battle for Ooarai. All I know about them is from what Faye Faith and her crew have told me."
"Huh. Strange…" Lou muttered, back to pondering again. "If you thought that and had a similar dream to mine… Well, we don't actually know if they align," she shrugged before looking up at the redhead again. "... Do they?"
"I doubt it. There was some nonsense about Faye Faith being a-" whatever Tally was about to say, with air quotes, was cut off when the door to the room suddenly opened with substantial force.
"Where have you been, asshole?!" the familiar voice of Hoga Maiko was unmistakable as she entered the room, followed by the other two members of Team Ace.
"Guys!" Lou's face immediately lit up.
"Oh hey Tally!" Yuki greeted the redhead politely.
"Heyo," Tally said, but her enthusiasm had been wiped out. She slumped back into her bed.
"Oh, Miss Stuart's here too," Lou's gunner noticed. "'Sup. Anyway," she turned back to Lou, "What did you say, 'I won't take long'?! Your 'won't take long' turned out to be three days! We couldn't find you! You didn't even call! We were worried sick!"
"Calm down now, she was unconscious," Yuki calmed her close friend down.
"Yeah, I told her to be careful!"
"Shit, it's Thursday?" Lou blinked in surprise.
"Hello, how are you feeling?" Sayuri asked Tally as she sat down at the side of the redhead's bed, away from the loud conversation at the other bed. "That was quite the nasty hit, wasn't it?"
Tally nodded at the driver. "We don't even know what hit us."
"Yeah, you guys got hit by the shockwave of a shell!" Sayuri nodded. "At least that was what the report said."
"That would make sense. Those fourteen-inch shells have quite the punch."
"They sure do," Ace's driver nodded, not quite noticing something. "Everyone knows it's an attack, that much is obvious to even an ant. But for some reason nobody has made a statement on it yet. Everyone was focused on getting you injured guys off and into hospitals."
"Wait, we're not on the schoolship?" Lou asked, breaking away from her own conversation with her gunner and loader.
"Yep!" was the reply. "We're back in Nagasaki. Docked just last night."
"Huh… I've never been to any of the hospitals on board," the Easy-Eight commander commented. "Oh yeah, Tally," she suddenly asked, "do you have your phone with you?"
"Uh… it was in my jacket when we got hit. I've got no idea if it survived," Tally answered.
"I'll check for you," Sayuri offered as she walked over to the small cabinet beside the redhead's bed. "Can I?"
"Go for it," Tally said with a nod.
Nodding, Ace's driver opened the drawers. "Oh look, you've got mail!" she smiled, bringing it up for the redhead to see. "I'll put them aside first, you should read 'em yourself once you can."
"Who are they from?" Tally asked.
"Well, let's see…" Sayuri checked. "There's the Command Trio here, one from April, one from Jane, a different Jane, Faye Faith, some random names, probably your fans… Yeah, that's that. Hey, Jane chose a really nice combo of blue and white for her card."
"Which Jane? Richardson or Henley?"
"Uhh… Henley. Yeah, Henley."
"Hey, ain't that your twin?" Maiko asked. "The one that looks scarily just like you."
"Yeah," Tally sighed, "she's my Evil Twin. No relation whatsoever."
The gunner of Ace raised an eyebrow.
"Well, want to take a look now?" the driver asked.
"Open it up and pass it over? I've only got the one arm right now," Tally requested. Sayuri nodded and opened it up neatly, passing the contents over to the redhead. As soon as she had it, Tally scanned the card before reading aloud, "Hey Evans! All the best, twin sister! Hope you'll be well enough to come home soon! We'll be waiting for you! Love, J. D. Henley."
"Well, I think that's sweet!" Yuki smiled. "She does treat you like you really are her sister!"
Tally collapsed back onto her bed, letting her arm fall. "If only I knew why…"
"You've got your own stash too, Boss," Maiko noted, checking through Lou's drawer. "The Three, Kay's younger sister, a rose-emblemed letter from... St Gloriana, yeah, you know who that is, Alisa's crew did a collective one, Jane Henley and Faye Faith… Hey, I didn't know you knew the last two."
"I do, I frequent their food truck," Louise replied, a bit confused. "Why would they send it, though?"
"Cos they're nice, silly!" Sayuri laughed. "Alright, Tally opened up Jane's, you do the same too!"
"Yeah!" Maiko nodded, passing the letter over to Lou. Noticing the glare the commander was giving her, she noticed the bandages on the bedridden girl's arms. "... Right. I'll get to it," she nodded nonchalantly as she opened the letter much more messily than the driver.
She passed its contents over to Lou, who held it with her free left hand.
"Dear Louise, get well soon, you absolute saint!" Tuckerman read it out loud. "May the heavens bless you with even more good luck! Love, J. D. Henley."
"... That was a bit cheesy," the gunner commented.
"Yeah… and she drew a cross down here too," Lou noticed. "She spelt my name wrong as well, forgot the E at the back. I'm not a guy…"
Tally's eyes went wide, and she rolled slightly to stare at Lou in shock.
"But of course, all that matters is the heart put into this," Tuckerman smiled appreciatively. "So I thank her for that."
There was a knock at the door.
"Get in," Maiko called out.
Stepping in was Faye Faith, followed by none other than Jane Henley herself. Trailing behind her was Tally's own crew, Jane Richardson and April.
"Hey girls!" Tally said cheerfully. The cheer was a little forced, but she still seemed genuinely happy to see her friends and crew.
April immediately rushed over to her TC's side. "Oh my gosh, Tally! We were so worried about you!"
"Faye Faith and Henley let us know what happened," Jane added.
"Those shells really did a number on the two of you," Henley observed. "You're both lucky it wasn't worse."
"Well, the important thing is that they're here and they're healing properly." Faye Faith nodded at the two injured girls. However, her smile didn't quite reach her eyes, and there was a hint of guilt to it.
"Well, thanks for the cards too!" Louise smiled, waving Henley's letter in the air. "Read Henley's already, it's sweet! Though, you did misspell my name."
Tally's Evil Twin froze. "D-did I?"
"Yeah, you forgot the E at the back!" Lou grinned.
"Can I see the card?" Faye Faith asked, approaching Lou's bed.
"Sure thing."
Faye Faith took the card from Lou's hand and scanned it quickly. Her smile turned into an ice cold frown as she moved over to Tally's bed, where the redhead offered up her own card to be read. Finally, the blonde rounded on her friend, gripping her shoulder hard enough that Henley winced. "When we get back to the apartment, you and I are going to have a nice, long talk," she smiled. Though, it was not a pleasant one, but one that would be, by all accounts, described as "dangerously sinister".
"Eep!" Henley eep'd.
"Nah, it's cool!" Louise reassured the two girls. "She doesn't need to be scolded for that."
"Oh, don't worry, that's not what she's in trouble for," Faye Faith said, her smile returning to normal.
"Hmm?" Lou cocked her head to one side, curious.
"It's nothing you need to worry about. Right now, you and Tally should just focus on resting and getting healed."
Tuckerman tried to snap her fingers in response, but quickly realized that her right hand wouldn't be able to do that. So, she switched over to her left hand, frowning in disappointment as the click was nowhere near as loud as it was on her dominant hand. "On it," she replied, giving a small smile.
"Yeah, get back to Ace, damn it!" Maiko agreed vehemently. "I've taken over your spot while you're gone and got a replacement gunner, she's shit!"
"Would you like me to try instead?" April offered.
"Oh?" the gunner raised an eyebrow.
"With Tally injured, we can't run the Stuart, but as a crew of two and a crew of three, we could fill Ace together while our commanders recover," April suggested.
Lou pondered over it while the rest of her team looked at each other in surprise. "Sounds like a plan," she nodded. "April, how familiar are you with the 76 mm M1?"
"I've fired it a few times. I'm more used to the 37mm on Izumi, but I know enough about the 76mm to be able to hit targets," April replied.
"Good enough for me," the commander nodded. "Maiko, teach her the same way I taught you," she instructed, using her bandaged right hand to attempt to point like usual. "Treat her well. I don't want to hear anything about her being intimidated."
"You know me," Ace's main gunner grinned, folding her arms. "You got it."
"Wait, where does that put me?" Jane asked, looking around the room.
"You're going to be the bow machinegunner," Tuckerman replied. "In other words, you'll be testing out the 'second pair of eyes' idea I had been talking to my girls about. They'll fill you in more on the details later."
"But… but that's Ace's seat!" Jane objected.
Part 3
++++++++++
Pain embraced Tally as she woke up. Her everything hurt. A headache seemed like it was trying to break out of her skull with a jackhammer, a thousand individual cuts on her torso screamed as if salt had been rubbed into all of them at once, her right leg screamed if she put the slightest bit of pressure on it, and her left arm floated limply at her side, completely numb.
Floated.
Yup. Tally was in a pool, though it felt more like a hot tub. She'd been changed into a well-fitting, if revealing, bikini at some point, and was resting in a hot tub.
"What?" Tally wondered to the world, not expecting a response. The fog in her head cleared up a little bit, and she took in a bit more of her surroundings. Louise was resting next to her, also having been changed into more fitting swimwear. She looked about as bad as Tally felt.
Also in the pool, sitting across from Tally and Louise, was Tally's Evil Twin: Jane Henley. About the only difference between the two was their hair, since Henley wore hers shorter and loose, while Tally preferred her over the shoulder braid. The other girl didn't seem to notice Tally had awakened, she was face first in a book, and humming along with some march or another. Tally didn't recognize it, though a part of her felt like she should.
"Henley!" Tally shouted, grabbing the other redhead's attention. Louise also seemed to stir at the shout.
"Hey you!" Henley responded, putting her book down on the shore. "You're finally awake! You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Abyssal ambush same as us and that cruiser over there," Henley gestured over to where Louise was slowly waking up.
Tally pinched the bridge of her nose with her good hand. "What are you talking about? Where are we?"
"What do you mean where are we? We're in the repair baths," Henley answered, as if that answered everything. Tally gave Henley a look, and the slightly younger girl grimaced. "You two were awesome out there, but you also got shot to shit, so we brought you back here for repairs. Though, it doesn't seem like it actually did anything. You okay, Evans?"
Tally glared at her near mirror image, and Henley had the good sense to shut her mouth. "What. Happened? The last thing I remember is looking out at the ocean from the deck, trying to figure out what was going on."
"You… you don't remember all that?" Henley asked, stuttering slightly.
"All what?"
"Oh. Oh shit. Shitshitshit," Henley swore rapidly. Tally glared at her again, but the redhead sitting across from her had withdrawn into her own little world as she hurriedly talked to herself in a voice low enough that Tally struggled to hear. Then she raised a hand to her ear. Pain stabbed through Tally's head. "Fletcher? It's Henley. Evans is awake, and St. Louis is waking up, and Evans at least doesn't know what happened. Can you get down here ASAP? Thanks."
Next to Tally, Louise blinked her eyes open. "U… ugh…" she groaned softly, still facing the ceiling. "W… what…"
"No idea, Lou. I think we crashed the Jeep." Tally said with a grimace. She turned her attention towards Henley, her grimace intensifying as she looked at her Evil Twin. "Since somebody won't say what's actually going on."
"Tally…?" Lou muttered as she tried to turn her head slowly towards the injured redhead. "Ah!" she yelped in pain before managing to move enough to see the girl. "What is this place…" she asked, only just noticing now that they were in the hot bath.
Attempting to get up, Tuckerman yelped in pain again, immediately relaxing back to where she was. "Aahh…"
"Welcome back to the land of the living, St. Lou. We were worried about you there for a bit," Henley said. "Still are, since neither of you are getting repaired properly."
"Jane Henley..." Lou noticed, greeting with a soft gasp. "The hell are you talking about…?"
"Do either of you remember what happened on Monday?" Henley asked, nodding at Lou.
"Monday…? I-isn't… oh, oh yeah, the shelling…" Lou recalled. "What was that all abou- wait. Why the specific day mention? What's today?"
"It's Wednesday evening. You've both been out for two days," A new voice said, entering the room. Tally craned her head towards the door to see Faye Faith Fletcher step inside. The blonde looked exhausted.
"Trips?" Tally asked. "Do you have answers for us?"
"Maybe. What do you want to know?"
"Oh, shit! My crew!" Lou suddenly shouted in realization, immediately attempting to jump out of the bath before collapsing back in pain. "AAAH! AAAAOOOOOOOW!"
"Easy there, Lou!" Faye Faith said, rushing over to the fallen brunette. "I don't know why the baths aren't working, you should both be able to at least get up by now."
"Faye Faith?" Lou gasped. "You're here too?"
"Take it easy there Lou. We don't need you hurting yourself even worse than you already are," Faye Faith said, helping Lou slide back into the water. "How much do either of you remember?"
"We hit the edge of the deck and were starting to look out over the water, nothing after that til I woke up here," Tally answered.
"I know you saw something," Lou recalled. "You were trembling a bit and you didn't respond when I first asked you about it. I asked a second time, you just gave me your binoculars, I began to take a look, and…" she grimaced. "... That's it."
Faye Faith swore violently. "Tally, how much do you know about the USS Evans? Lou, USS St. Louis."
Tally just stared blankly at her friend.
"Vaguely…" Louise replied, pondering over it. "I know a ship like that existed during World War 2 'cos she's named after my family's hometown. The main branch, that is. I went there earlier this year to bury my Gramps. Right next to Mom and Grandma..." she noted sadly. "But yeah… yeah, that's all I know. I didn't dig up too much about ships, with tanks around and all."
Faye Faith facepalmed gently. "Oh god dammit. What you saw out on the ocean was a fleet of Abyssal ships that had come to try and destroy the school ship. We don't know much about them, beyond that they take the appearances of World War-era ships, and give off an aura of Wrongness to people like us. Shipgirls. Judging by timing, you also saw myself, Capps, Henley, and Hadley rushing to engage said Abyssals, because the two of you joined us not long after that."
"Shipgirl?" Tally asked.
"Abyssal…?" Lou asked in confusion, simultaneous with Tally.
"It's probably easier to show you than try to explain it." Faye Faith said, a hint of defeat in her voice. "Henley, can you get the wheelchairs?"
"Yes ma'am!" Henley snapped a salute and quickly pulled herself out of the hot tub. She pulled a towel from somewhere and proceeded to dry herself before rushing out of the room.
"Where did she…" Lou gaped.
"Oh my god, this is Jane all over again…" Tally muttered to herself.
"Henley pulled the towel from her hold. She stowed her book there when you were looking at me, too," Faye Faith explained. She then pulled a photo album out from somewhere. There was no way she could have hidden it behind her back, especially since she had been gesticulating with both arms.
Tuckerman blinked. "... What."
"I'm a ship. I also happen to be a girl, but I'm a ship first and foremost. Thus, I have access to my hold and can store things in it. It's incredibly useful for hauling stuff to and from classes," Faye Faith explained, showing off the album some more.
"..."
"Pull the other one, it's got bells on it," Tally snarked.
"Okay," Faye Faith shrugged, right as Henley entered the room with two wheelchairs. "Alrighty then. Let's get you into the chairs and dried off so we can show you two the real magic!"
"Okay, Copperfield," Louise replied sarcastically.
"Nah, that's Nikki. USS Nicholas, rather. She uses this for magic tricks and cheating at poker." Faye Faith said casually as she moved to help Tally into one of the wheelchairs. Henley took the cue, and moved to help Lou into the other one.
Lou winced in pain as she was slowly pulled out. "Why are we in this bathhouse instead of the hospital? I don't think even a jacuzzi can heal… ugh, whatever I have everywhere…" she groaned in pain.
"Yeah, what's up with that?" Tally added. "I mean, it was kind of nice for what is probably a broken arm, but this is just weird."
Henley smirked, and Faye Faith had the good sense to look embarrassed. "Well, you see, we thought you were both shipgirls like us. So, we thought that the repair baths would have you fixed up in no time flat. Clearly, somehow, we were wrong, despite you being right out there with us. We literally hauled you from the well deck to the repair baths."
"Doctor obviously got the bath formula wrong," Tuckerman snarked.
"It worked for me!" Henley said. With both injured girls securely seated in the wheelchairs, Faye Faith led the way out of the room. They were in a section of the schoolship that neither Tally nor Lou had ever seen before. It was only a short walk to where Faye Faith wanted to go, and she pushed Tally into a room that smelled distinctly of salt water. About a foot below the edge of the deck was seawater, flowing in from somewhere.
"Welcome to Well Deck 3," the blonde said grandiosely. "The door there opens to the ship's starboard quarter."
"And what exactly are we here to see?" Tally asked.
"This!" Faye Faith said, jumping off of the deck and into the water. Except she didn't fall into the water, she landed atop it. Her gray blazer and red skirt had been replaced by a blue and white seifuku and skirt combo, and a metal contraption that was vaguely ship-shaped had appeared out of nowhere, wrapping around her.
Tally's jaw dropped.
Lou's eyes widened.
"B-b-but… that's impossible!" Tally exclaimed, stumbling over her words. "You were… and then… what?!?"
"I-I'm seeing things…" Lou shook her head, managing to bear with the pain of moving her right arm up so that she could pinch the bridge of her nose.
"USS Fletcher, DD-445 reporting! Flagship of DesRon 73 and the defense squadron for Saunders!" Fletcher said, waving with her free hand. Her other hand was occupied with rifling through her skirt's pockets for something "And now I can finally get those damn photos out…"
"U-uhh…" Lou could only mutter in shock, finally acknowledging that what she saw was not a hallucination.
"I... you… but… ship… how?" Tally stammered.
Fletcher merely sighed. "Well, surprisingly, you're taking this better than Kay did. She just straight up fainted after checking in on you two and then seeing this."
"Trips, I'm friends with Jane Richardson. It takes a lot more than a bit of weirdness and some magic metal to faze me," Tally deadpanned.
"I'm the commander of Ace of Spades, the Easy-Eight of Saunders," Lou added on to Tally's statement, a more-than-slight tinge of pride in her voice when she said that. "You can surprise me, sure, but don't expect me to get knocked over like that."
"Well, then these shouldn't do anything to you," Fletcher said, finally pulling a small stack of photos from her pocket. She passed them to Henley before hopping out of the water, the rigging around her disappearing as soon as her feet met the metal deck. Her clothing also changed back to the standard Saunders student uniform. "I present to you, the shipgirls USS Evans and USS St. Louis."
Henley passed the photos around, and sure enough, there were two very familiar, very prominent figures in the images. A short brunette with her hair held up in a ponytail, dressed in her Sensha-do gear, surrounded by a rigging that looked vastly different than Fletcher's, and a taller redhead, her hair in a braid, also in slightly shredded Sensha-do gear, with a rigging very similar to Fletcher's.
They were very obviously Lou and Tally. As ships.
Tally looked up from the photo she was holding in shaking hands, and locked eyes with a similarly shaken Louise. Then, through some unspoken agreement, both fell slack into their wheelchairs, fainting dead away.
++++++++++
… ep… eep...Beep... Beep...
"Nnnh…"
Louise initially didn't pay much attention to whatever that was beeping away, her eyes still shut as she was comfortably tucked in bed. Too tired to care.
Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep...
As it went on, however, the beeps got clearer, more prominent. So did the light coming down from outside, over her shut eyelids.
Lou was still dazed, but she was woken up enough to slowly open her eyes, allowing the white light to come flooding in.
As it turned out, the source of that was a fluorescent ceiling lamp shining down at her.
An unfamiliar fluorescent ceiling lamp. This wasn't her room at all.
Turning her eyes, Lou checked her surroundings. It seemed like she was in a hospital, with the beepings from the vital signs monitor hooked up to her soft, yet unavoidable and unmistakable.
Why am I… ah, that's right.
The more she woke up, the more the memories came flowing back to her. She must've gotten injured during the shelling, which was why she was currently here.
That conclusion checked out.
Slowly, the girl attempted to get up, wincing as her body continued to ache. But within a minute, she was finally up and sitting, now able to have a good look on herself and her surroundings.
Feeling her arms, she realized both of them were bandaged beneath the long-sleeved hospital pyjamas she was currently wearing, her right arm more so, wrapped up all the way to her right hand. Moving around a bit more, she could feel even more bandages around her body, and there was one pasted over her right cheek. On the other hand, though, her legs felt fine. At least for now, she hadn't had the chance to move it yet.
The stale white hospital room she was in was fortunately air-conditioned, and even more fortunately was the fact that there were only two beds in it, Lou's own and… Tally's.
The unconscious redhead looked worse off than the brunette, her left arm in a cast and secured in position by a sling. She also had a cast over her entire right leg too, held in place over the bed by its own ceiling-hung sling. Her left foot, on the other hand, probably suffered a broken ankle, the cast on it only covering that area.
Tally looked like she was sleeping peacefully, so that was good.
As more memories came back to her, Tuckerman sat there looking down at her legs, pondering about how odd everything seemed.
What's all the shelling about?
Did we see something?
Why am I even in a hospital?
… What's with that weird dream?
That dream, yes, that dream. It was vague but she could piece it together a bit. Waking up in a hot bath. Meeting Jane and Faye Faith at that unfamiliar place, seeing the latter…
… A shipgirl?
Lou frowned. No, that definitely can't be right. Doesn't make sense at all.
She vaguely knew what the USS Fletcher was; as someone who did study the history of the Second World War, she had definitely ran into information about the naval side of things, albeit not paying too much attention to them as she had been more focused on tanks. But she did know that the Fletcher-class was the most-produced destroyer of the United States Navy, with hundreds or so of them built. Or was it?
Either way, she knew they built a whole lot of them. That was it.
Somehow, her mind had apparently linked Faye Faith Fletcher, currently just an acquaintance to Lou, to that destroyer, and all because of a last name. Why that happened she still did not know, but at least there was a correlation. A correlation that her mind might've decided to randomly pick up on and perpetuate that strange, elaborate dream.
And if her memory was correct, Tally and her were shipgirls too. It was very vague, but Louise did remember. She thought. Odd.
But that can wait. How did-
Hearing Tally suddenly cough, Lou immediately turned to look at her friend.
"Hey, you up? How do you feel?"
"Like the morning after shore leave…" Tally groaned.
The young Tuckerman briefly raised an eyebrow. "Yeah… you're beat up. Very beat up. What happened?"
She frowned. "We crashed the Jeep, didn't we?"
"I… think so? It's all sorta blurry right as we reached the edge of the deck," Tally answered uncertainly.
"Likewise, it's a bit convenient we forgot what we apparently saw, isn't it?" Lou frowned. "... I do remember seeing you see something, though," she suddenly recalled. "Don't know what that is."
"I did?" Tally asked. "Everything after we got there feels like a dream, if I can remember it at all. Something about ships? No, it's probably just a dream from being high on pain meds."
Lou blinked in mild surprise. "Huh. Funny, I dreamt about something 'bout ships as well. Maybe it was because the shelling of the schoolship reminded us about naval battles?"
Tally shook her head, as much as her bandages would allow. "But I don't know all that much about ships! Artillery is what I thought about, like that siege mortar at the Battle for Ooarai. All I know about them is from what Faye Faith and her crew have told me."
"Huh. Strange…" Lou muttered, back to pondering again. "If you thought that and had a similar dream to mine… Well, we don't actually know if they align," she shrugged before looking up at the redhead again. "... Do they?"
"I doubt it. There was some nonsense about Faye Faith being a-" whatever Tally was about to say, with air quotes, was cut off when the door to the room suddenly opened with substantial force.
"Where have you been, asshole?!" the familiar voice of Hoga Maiko was unmistakable as she entered the room, followed by the other two members of Team Ace.
"Guys!" Lou's face immediately lit up.
"Oh hey Tally!" Yuki greeted the redhead politely.
"Heyo," Tally said, but her enthusiasm had been wiped out. She slumped back into her bed.
"Oh, Miss Stuart's here too," Lou's gunner noticed. "'Sup. Anyway," she turned back to Lou, "What did you say, 'I won't take long'?! Your 'won't take long' turned out to be three days! We couldn't find you! You didn't even call! We were worried sick!"
"Calm down now, she was unconscious," Yuki calmed her close friend down.
"Yeah, I told her to be careful!"
"Shit, it's Thursday?" Lou blinked in surprise.
"Hello, how are you feeling?" Sayuri asked Tally as she sat down at the side of the redhead's bed, away from the loud conversation at the other bed. "That was quite the nasty hit, wasn't it?"
Tally nodded at the driver. "We don't even know what hit us."
"Yeah, you guys got hit by the shockwave of a shell!" Sayuri nodded. "At least that was what the report said."
"That would make sense. Those fourteen-inch shells have quite the punch."
"They sure do," Ace's driver nodded, not quite noticing something. "Everyone knows it's an attack, that much is obvious to even an ant. But for some reason nobody has made a statement on it yet. Everyone was focused on getting you injured guys off and into hospitals."
"Wait, we're not on the schoolship?" Lou asked, breaking away from her own conversation with her gunner and loader.
"Yep!" was the reply. "We're back in Nagasaki. Docked just last night."
"Huh… I've never been to any of the hospitals on board," the Easy-Eight commander commented. "Oh yeah, Tally," she suddenly asked, "do you have your phone with you?"
"Uh… it was in my jacket when we got hit. I've got no idea if it survived," Tally answered.
"I'll check for you," Sayuri offered as she walked over to the small cabinet beside the redhead's bed. "Can I?"
"Go for it," Tally said with a nod.
Nodding, Ace's driver opened the drawers. "Oh look, you've got mail!" she smiled, bringing it up for the redhead to see. "I'll put them aside first, you should read 'em yourself once you can."
"Who are they from?" Tally asked.
"Well, let's see…" Sayuri checked. "There's the Command Trio here, one from April, one from Jane, a different Jane, Faye Faith, some random names, probably your fans… Yeah, that's that. Hey, Jane chose a really nice combo of blue and white for her card."
"Which Jane? Richardson or Henley?"
"Uhh… Henley. Yeah, Henley."
"Hey, ain't that your twin?" Maiko asked. "The one that looks scarily just like you."
"Yeah," Tally sighed, "she's my Evil Twin. No relation whatsoever."
The gunner of Ace raised an eyebrow.
"Well, want to take a look now?" the driver asked.
"Open it up and pass it over? I've only got the one arm right now," Tally requested. Sayuri nodded and opened it up neatly, passing the contents over to the redhead. As soon as she had it, Tally scanned the card before reading aloud, "Hey Evans! All the best, twin sister! Hope you'll be well enough to come home soon! We'll be waiting for you! Love, J. D. Henley."
"Well, I think that's sweet!" Yuki smiled. "She does treat you like you really are her sister!"
Tally collapsed back onto her bed, letting her arm fall. "If only I knew why…"
"You've got your own stash too, Boss," Maiko noted, checking through Lou's drawer. "The Three, Kay's younger sister, a rose-emblemed letter from... St Gloriana, yeah, you know who that is, Alisa's crew did a collective one, Jane Henley and Faye Faith… Hey, I didn't know you knew the last two."
"I do, I frequent their food truck," Louise replied, a bit confused. "Why would they send it, though?"
"Cos they're nice, silly!" Sayuri laughed. "Alright, Tally opened up Jane's, you do the same too!"
"Yeah!" Maiko nodded, passing the letter over to Lou. Noticing the glare the commander was giving her, she noticed the bandages on the bedridden girl's arms. "... Right. I'll get to it," she nodded nonchalantly as she opened the letter much more messily than the driver.
She passed its contents over to Lou, who held it with her free left hand.
"Dear Louise, get well soon, you absolute saint!" Tuckerman read it out loud. "May the heavens bless you with even more good luck! Love, J. D. Henley."
"... That was a bit cheesy," the gunner commented.
"Yeah… and she drew a cross down here too," Lou noticed. "She spelt my name wrong as well, forgot the E at the back. I'm not a guy…"
Tally's eyes went wide, and she rolled slightly to stare at Lou in shock.
"But of course, all that matters is the heart put into this," Tuckerman smiled appreciatively. "So I thank her for that."
There was a knock at the door.
"Get in," Maiko called out.
Stepping in was Faye Faith, followed by none other than Jane Henley herself. Trailing behind her was Tally's own crew, Jane Richardson and April.
"Hey girls!" Tally said cheerfully. The cheer was a little forced, but she still seemed genuinely happy to see her friends and crew.
April immediately rushed over to her TC's side. "Oh my gosh, Tally! We were so worried about you!"
"Faye Faith and Henley let us know what happened," Jane added.
"Those shells really did a number on the two of you," Henley observed. "You're both lucky it wasn't worse."
"Well, the important thing is that they're here and they're healing properly." Faye Faith nodded at the two injured girls. However, her smile didn't quite reach her eyes, and there was a hint of guilt to it.
"Well, thanks for the cards too!" Louise smiled, waving Henley's letter in the air. "Read Henley's already, it's sweet! Though, you did misspell my name."
Tally's Evil Twin froze. "D-did I?"
"Yeah, you forgot the E at the back!" Lou grinned.
"Can I see the card?" Faye Faith asked, approaching Lou's bed.
"Sure thing."
Faye Faith took the card from Lou's hand and scanned it quickly. Her smile turned into an ice cold frown as she moved over to Tally's bed, where the redhead offered up her own card to be read. Finally, the blonde rounded on her friend, gripping her shoulder hard enough that Henley winced. "When we get back to the apartment, you and I are going to have a nice, long talk," she smiled. Though, it was not a pleasant one, but one that would be, by all accounts, described as "dangerously sinister".
"Eep!" Henley eep'd.
"Nah, it's cool!" Louise reassured the two girls. "She doesn't need to be scolded for that."
"Oh, don't worry, that's not what she's in trouble for," Faye Faith said, her smile returning to normal.
"Hmm?" Lou cocked her head to one side, curious.
"It's nothing you need to worry about. Right now, you and Tally should just focus on resting and getting healed."
Tuckerman tried to snap her fingers in response, but quickly realized that her right hand wouldn't be able to do that. So, she switched over to her left hand, frowning in disappointment as the click was nowhere near as loud as it was on her dominant hand. "On it," she replied, giving a small smile.
"Yeah, get back to Ace, damn it!" Maiko agreed vehemently. "I've taken over your spot while you're gone and got a replacement gunner, she's shit!"
"Would you like me to try instead?" April offered.
"Oh?" the gunner raised an eyebrow.
"With Tally injured, we can't run the Stuart, but as a crew of two and a crew of three, we could fill Ace together while our commanders recover," April suggested.
Lou pondered over it while the rest of her team looked at each other in surprise. "Sounds like a plan," she nodded. "April, how familiar are you with the 76 mm M1?"
"I've fired it a few times. I'm more used to the 37mm on Izumi, but I know enough about the 76mm to be able to hit targets," April replied.
"Good enough for me," the commander nodded. "Maiko, teach her the same way I taught you," she instructed, using her bandaged right hand to attempt to point like usual. "Treat her well. I don't want to hear anything about her being intimidated."
"You know me," Ace's main gunner grinned, folding her arms. "You got it."
"Wait, where does that put me?" Jane asked, looking around the room.
"You're going to be the bow machinegunner," Tuckerman replied. "In other words, you'll be testing out the 'second pair of eyes' idea I had been talking to my girls about. They'll fill you in more on the details later."
"But… but that's Ace's seat!" Jane objected.
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Part Four
Lady Darkhound
Haha, tanks!
- Location
- My very own personal hell
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yet Still We Sail
Part 4
++++++++++
The sun was just a while away from starting to sink in the west, the girls having been with their two hospitalized friends for quite some time already. The crew of Ace continued chatting with the crew of Izumi, and it seemed like the two clicked with each other. Maiko was busy giving April pointers on how to control the gun and turret of the Easy-Eight, Lou was talking to Jane Richardson about Ace and Yuki and Sayuri were getting to know Tally more. Faye Faith and Jane Henley, on the other hand, went outside to have a, well, little break. Lou was not sure of what they were doing, but she could tell for a fact that it was probably regarding the earlier incident. Whatever that was.
"Alright Boss, April's ready," Maiko reported to Louise. "She can get in Ace and know how to work stuff. But of course," she grinned, folding her arms, "I'm the gunner. Always."
"I'm sure that standing will remain intact for a long, long time," Tuckerman chuckled. "Please don't bully her."
"I won't. And now, time for me to rest!" the main gunner of Ace declared, sitting down on the floor despite there being chairs around.
A whole ten seconds passed.
"Oh fucking damn it, is there anything to do here?" she grumbled. "Is that TV working? Where's the goddamn remote?"
"Language!" Tally admonished.
"Oh yeah, you don't like the tough stuff," Maiko remembered, grinning evilly. "But still, it would be nice to watch something. Is it the news now? Oh, yeah," she nodded, checking the clock on her phone, "it's just a minute away."
"I've got the remote!" Jane announced, pulling it from one of the drawers. She turned on the TV, and found herself a chair to watch the news programming from.
The familiar visuals of the evening news showed up on the screen, the familiar tune playing from its speakers.
Louise grabbed her cup of water to take a sip.
"Welcome to Nagasaki News Network, News at Five. This evening: Shipgirls, our Saviors from the Sea?"
Tuckerman nearly spit her drink out.
"Oh you have got to be shitting me!" Tally swore violently.
"Language!" Maiko retorted smugly.
"W-what…" Lou caught her breath.
"'Shipgirls'?" Yuki puzzled. "What's that?"
"Well, it's exactly what it says on the tin, is what I'd guess," Jane explained. "A ship that is also a girl."
"All vehicles are female," Lou commented quietly before realizing the report was about to start. "Right guys, shut up! It's starting!"
"Over the past week, the world has been ravaged by attacks from a previously unknown entity, simply known as Abyssals. As of this reporting, we still do not know anything about them, beyond their constant attacking of coastal and naval communities. Despite these brutal attacks, the world's navies are standing stalwart in defense of their homes, countering the Abyssal attacks on every front," the reporter said. Behind her, the green screen showed grainy, unstable footage of what was probably a US Navy destroyer firing its gun against an Abyssal cruiser at close range.
Even dampened through the recording and TV screen, Lou could feel something distinctly wrong about the black, sinister vessel in the distance. Why was she feeling this way?
"What are we supposed to be looking at?" April asked quietly.
"The shit video quality, of course," Maiko snarked. The expected admonishment from Tally never came. The redhead was staring at the screen, frozen in shock.
"Wait a sec," Lou blinked, noticing something concerning. "You… don't see it?"
"Of course not!" Maiko grumbled, oblivious to her commander's increasing confusion. "That ship is shooting at nothing! They're probably just fearmongering for more views."
"B-but-"
"And yet, the navies are not facing this threat alone. Almost everywhere that these Abyssals have appeared, so too have the shipgirls; a group of young women hailing from around the globe, claiming to be the reincarnated spirits of Second World War warships," the reporter continued, oblivious to the comments being made on the other side of the screen. This time, the footage was much more amateur, showing the figures of four girls standing atop the water in the distance. Despite the sarcastic gripes from her crew, Louise could tell that this was genuine footage.
The footage only remained on the shipgirls for a moment before it transitioned to being aerial shots of the various damaged cities and ships. It finally settled on a view of a familiar skyline: Nagasaki. While the city had been damaged in the attack, the real eye catcher was the schoolship docked in the harbor.
"Hey, that's Saunders!" Sayuri pointed out, pointing at the ship on the screen.
"I didn't realize it was that bad…" Jane whispered, just loud enough for Lou to hear.
"Nowhere is more thankful for the appearance of the shipgirls than Nagasaki, and our very own schoolship, Saunders University High School. Abyssals reportedly attacked the schoolship on Monday evening, and were driven back by a concerted effort by a squadron of shipgirls, allowing the schoolship to escape with minimal damage. However, none of the shipgirls present for that battle have since made a reappearance."
The news went on to interview various staff and students of Saunders, who all gave their perspective on the attack. After three interviews, a familiar face appeared on the screen.
"Hey, it's Kay!" Yuki exclaimed.
"Yes, we can all tell it's my girlfriend, thanks for pointing that out," Tally deadpanned.
"It was like nothing I've ever seen," Kay said to the interviewer. "We were running a Sensha-do practice match when it began. Everyone just thought it was a normal, if intense storm before it hit. The shells came down as if they were lightning, and they practically blasted our practice field to bits. Some of our tanks were thrown around like they were ragdolls, and we had a couple of our members were injured. It's a miracle that nobody is in critical condition."
Kay paused for a moment as the interviewer asked her another question. "Did I see any of the shipgirls? No, I didn't. I was too busy making sure my team was safe, and coordinating the rescue of the girls who were trapped inside flipped tanks."
There were a few more interviews before the news network cut back to the news anchor. "And now, we have a message to the People of Japan, sent by the apparent leader of the Japanese shipgirls."
The screen was suddenly filled by an enthusiastic looking brunette in a rather revealing take on a shrine maiden uniform. "Hello, everyone!" She waved gaily. "I'm the English-born returnee, battleship Kongou, dess! Flagship of the JMSDF's shipgirl fleet!
"I know that the current attacks are scary. But there's no need to fear-" Kongou gestured at her chest. "-because we shipgirls are here! We are tirelessly patrolling the coastlines and protecting schoolships from further attack. Leave the hard work to us and our American friends!
"You also have a part to play!" Her forefinger jabbed at the camera while a smile as bright as a naval searchlight beamed. "Yes, you! You can help us by keeping a cool head and working with whoever's in charge to keep things running smoothly! Sure, it's not exciting as seeing action against the Abyssals, but we shipgirls can fight much better if we know you're safe while we're away. So let's work together and bring peace back to our seas, okay?" Again she flailed her arm at the camera. "Take care, everyone!"
The room was filled by a commotion as soon as the self-proclaimed battleship finished talking.
"That's it?" Maiko demanded of the screen. "You tell us that there's a worldwide war going on, and that all we should do is keep calm and carry on? While these mysterious 'saviors' do all of the heavy lifting?"
"They've already saved our lives once!" Jane objected. She looked at Lou meaningfully for a moment before turning back to Maiko and the others. "We would probably all be at the bottom of the ocean if not for their help, so we should at least give them the benefit of the doubt until they prove otherwise!"
"Well I'm sorry if this is sounding a tad bit too far-fetched for me, because it is," the main gunner of Ace retorted. "Ships that are also girls, what?"
"The news wouldn't mention them if they're hoaxes, though," Yuki commented.
"It does seem rather far-fetched," April agreed demurely.
"I think I'll have to agree with Yuki on the other hand," Sayuri joined in. "We're in Japan; things on the news are more likely than not to be factual."
"Yeah, 'cos girls with reincarnated souls of old warships being the only hope of humanity against a massive alien threat is a completely believable premise," Maiko snarked. "This isn't an anime!"
"All vehicles have spirits, it's just that they're now visible to everyone and actively helping instead of observing," Jane explained. "Miss Saunders wishes she could help more, and Izumi just wants to give Tally a hug half of the time."
"I'm not that sorry of a girl, am I?" Tally asked.
"No, Izumi just likes hugs, and thinks you'd be a good hugger!"
"Well, if you can talk to these souls that much, what's stopping you from telling Ace to sit on your lap?" Ace's usual gunner retorted, unconvinced. "That spot exists for a crew member for a reason."
"A reason that's more or less useless-" Tally tried to interject, but she was cut off by Jane gasping in horror at Maiko's suggestion.
"I could never! She's not my tank, I can't just order her around like that!" Jane argued.
"Yeah, well, you just gotta ask," Maiko shrugged. "I mean, she had probably sat on the lap of Baby before and that's a guy."
"P-please don't drag my Gramps' crew into this…" Louise sighed exasperatedly.
"Next she's gonna say she can see all five of them squeezing with us," Maiko muttered loudly to herself.
"Maiko!"
"Yeah, yeah, I getcha."
"When did we start talking about Ace's old crew?" April asked. "I thought we were talking about shipgirls…"
"Oh, yeah," Maiko replied, returning to the topic at hand. "I still don't understand why you guys are believing something like that!"
"Because they're real and saved our lives?" Jane retorted.
"Give me a video editor and I bet my ass I can put together a more convincing video than that!"
"HEY!" Tally roared, clearly fed up with the arguing. "Language! If you're going to argue about this, take it outside. Heck, I don't know about Louise, but I could certainly use some quiet time right about now. So either be quiet, or please leave."
"You guys still have school tomorrow I think," Lou commented quietly, looking at a wall clock. "I think it'll be best if you guys went back to rest too. Especially after looking after us for practically half the day."
"But-" the usual gunner of Ace tried to protest.
"Maiko, relax. We'll be fine. I promise."
Lou turned to look at Tally. "We will, right?"
"Of course we will. What are we gonna do, run off with broken legs?"
"Weell," Lou reminded, "mine are fine and I'm starting to get sick of this bed, soo…"
Three girls immediately stared at her, prepared to restrain her at a moment's notice.
"I'm kidding!" the Easy-Eight commander sweatdropped.
"And yet I could still probably outrun you right now!" Tally said with a teasing laugh.
The remaining two girls stared at the redhead, alerted.
The room was silent and tense for a moment before Yuki burst out laughing. The rest of the room quickly followed her.
"Oh, man, look at us, arguing and then laughing together," Ace's loader giggled, wiping a tear off her eye. "Still, Commander, you're not actually going to climb out, are you?"
The young Tuckerman laid back into her bed in response. "Maybe later. After I'm feeling better. But for now, no; I'm tired and aching."
"Hear hear!" Tally exclaimed with a tired groan.
"Yeah, we've got to go back to the schoolship anyway," Sayuri nodded. "We are quite a distance away, mind you, the closer hospitals were occupied before you two."
"Not sure when we're gonna sail again, either," Maiko continued.
"Sooner, rather than later," Jane said with a shrug. "The ship is still seaworthy, it's just her deck and the school that were damaged. Both of those are relatively easy to repair."
"Well, we shall see the two of you another day," April said, leading the way towards the door. She bowed slightly. "Rest well, and may your injuries be healed soon."
"Yeah, thanks," Lou smiled. "Hopefully soon."
"Yeah, Ace needs you," Maiko nodded as she got up from the floor, stretching. "Funny… when we started out with 8-Ball and all I felt you didn't deserve being the commander, disobeyed your orders and even tried to usurp you in our first practice match. You remember that, obviously."
"Of course."
"Now, though…" the gunner pondered. "I can't imagine you not being around. I got the commander's spot now, albeit temporarily, but… it doesn't feel right. It's your place."
Hearing this, Louise Tuckerman gave a comforting smile. "I thought you'd be a problem when we first started, but that scolding I gave you worked wonders apparently. Now I don't want anyone else as my gunner."
The main gunner of Ace grinned. "Told you I listened."
"Okay, now shoo!" Tally said, waving the crews out of the room.
"Yeah yeah Miss Stuart," Maiko rolled her eyes playfully. "Catch ya around, Boss. You, with me," she called out to the redhead's usual gunner. "More things to talk about. Over food. Hey, maybe all of us can get some chow together?"
"Food does sound divine right now. And I'll make some cookies for us all once we get back to the ship," April agreed.
"You bake?"
"I do!"
"See ya!" Sayuri waved along with Yuki as they exited the room.
As soon as everyone had left the room, Tally slumped down onto her bed. "Oh god, that was exhausting. I like people, but there's such a thing as too much social interaction!"
"On the other hand, seeing them has been wholly comforting to me," Lou replied happily.
However, that kept bugging her.
"... What do you think of the shipgirl thing?"
"Well…" Tally drew the word out. "I'm starting to suspect I had a dream that wasn't really a dream."
Lou looked up, her interest very piqued. "Oh?"
"Well, I woke up in a bath. It was more like a pool than a bath, really, but Henley was there, and she called it… I want to say she called it the repair bath? Said it was supposed to fix me up after some fight, or something. You were there, too, as was Fletche- no, Faye Faith. It was something about-"
"- why the baths weren't working…" Lou interrupted and continued for the redhead, staring in shock as the details of her own "dream" suddenly became much clearer. "She asked us how much we remembered, how much we knew about the USS Evans and USS St. Louis."
"And then she showed us that she was a shipgirl," Tally concluded, staring at Lou with wide, blue eyes.
"And the pictures…" the brunette muttered. "The pictures of us…"
"The world's going sideways, and we're right in the middle of it…"
Lou was shaking. "I… w-what…"
Before any of them could say anything else, the door to the room swung open.
In came strolling Faye Faith Fletcher with Jane Henley right behind her, both of them looking uncharacteristically serious.
"Right," the blonde girl started, moving her arms akimbo, "now do you two believe us?"
Tally stared at the girl who was claiming both that Tally was a ship, and that she was Tally's big sister, as a ship. If not for the sheer amount of evidence, Tally wouldn't believe her at all. As it was… "Trips, I hate you so much right now."
"That's not a no~" Faye Faith teased.
"Fine," Tally huffed, "for whatever reason, yes I am."
"W-what am I s-supposed to m-make of this…?" Lou stammered. "M-me, a ship…?"
"Well, I imagine it's not every day someone comes up to you and says," Faye Faith put on an awful fake accent, "'yer a shipgal, Talleh!' Or Lou, as the case may be."
Despite the serious situation, Tally couldn't help but give an amused snort at the impersonation, and Louise was right there with her. The absurdity of the situation in which Faye Faith was making the joke only made it funnier!
"But yes, the both of you are shipgirls. Sorry for the way we revealed that to you. You both joined us in the battle to protect Saunders, and we thought - incorrectly - that you'd fully manifested as shipgirls," Faye Faith continued, once the laughter died down.
"Fully manifested?" Tally asked. This was totally one of those situations where she would have leaned back and crossed her arms if she weren't confined to bed with three immobile limbs.
"Yeah. Basically, as far as we can tell, Evans and St. Louis awakened temporarily because of the Abyssal attack, and then disappeared once the battle was over and you'd stepped back on land. Reports have said this isn't the only place we've seen this kind of behavior. It also means that if you want to, we can fully manifest you as shipgirls, which has both perks and downsides. And we don't know if Evans or St. Louis will awaken again without your input if another Abyssal attack happens before you've manifested."
"That didn't quite answer the question…" Lou interjected softly.
"We can wake up your ship half, basically," Faye Faith said. "If what Hornet went through is any indication of how things will go, you'll still be you, there will just be a bit of Evans or St. Louis in there as well. That side of you will be a bit more prominent while you've got your rigging out and are doing shipgirl stuff, but it shouldn't be dominant. At the same time, there's a lot about this that we just don't know about yet. It's been less than a week since the attacks started, less than a week since you manifestees made yourselves known to us, there hasn't been enough time to figure everything out."
"That doesn't inspire much confidence in the whole idea…" Tally muttered, looking between Faye Faith, Henley, and Louise.
"My ship half…" Lou pondered to herself quietly.
"St. Louis," Henley provided helpfully. "Brooklyn-class light cruiser, St. Louis subclass. Lots of guns."
"Yeah, I'll look her up later, but… Hey, wait a minute," Louise must have realized something. She partially sat up and pointed an accusatory finger at Henley. "Your card, you were hinting that to me!"
Henley laughed nervously. "Yeah, that was me!"
"It was a dumb move, but it happened and now it's done," Fletcher said with a groan. "But we were supposed to keep things on the down-low until Kongou's message was released. Not give vague hints that will just freak our friends out more and more!"
"Sorry…"
"Nah, I was just a little confused is all," Lou reassured.
"Speak for yourself, Louise!" Tally said, finally adding to the conversation again. "The whole calling you St. Louis in the card had me very freaked out. I just thought it had all been a dream!"
"I had completely forgotten about the mentions of the ship names when we were looking through the cards, heh," Lou scratched her cheek with her left hand sheepishly.
"At least the cards I sent were just a basic well wishing from myself and the rest of food truck 445," Fletcher said. The blonde shook her head. "So, you're both pre-manifestation shipgirls. Or maybe just regular girls who also happen to be ship spirits. Is there anything you want to know?"
Tally considered the question. "The 'war' started on Monday, yet you shipgirls have all been around for years. Kay said that all of you but Hadley were here last year, Trips, and with an established food truck, too!"
"That's correct," Fletcher confirmed with a nod. "Capps, Henley and I have all been here for three years. Hadley is a relatively new arrival. The three of us are 'second wave' shipgirls. The first wave appeared about four years ago."
"I… what? You've been appearing for four years, and this is the first the world has seen of you?" Louise asked. Tally glanced over at her friend, since she shared similar sentiments.
"Kongou could explain this much better than we could. She's always the one who seems to know what's going on…" Henley groused.
"Well, she's not here, we are," Fletcher shook her head. "Shipgirls started appearing in response to the Abyssals appearing. Four years of building up their forces before this attack. We knew it was coming, we just didn't know when they were going to hit."
"So, you knew this attack was coming, and didn't do anything about it? The schoolships could have been shut down, kept to the coasts so that they're less vulnerable!" Tally demanded. "We could have died!"
"You don't think we tried? Nobody would have believed us, which is why there's a shipgirl squadron aboard each school!" Fletcher retorted. "Hell, Hornet didn't fully believe us until Monday when she experienced it firsthand!"
"Wait, Hornet?" Lou spoke up softly. "What- no, who's she?"
"Hornet… she was the Admiral's yeoman, and… well, there's no easy way to say this. Hornet is Kay's mom. When Sasebo was attacked, she did the same thing as you two, except she's a Yorktown-class carrier. Abby got slaughtered. She's pretty much how we know all of this, since she was the first to volunteer for manifestation. From what I've heard, she feels different, as a ship, but at the same time her personality hasn't shifted much," Fletcher explained.
"I'm sorry, did you just say 'Kay's mom'?" Tally asked, once again hearing and not believing. That was feeling like a bit of a trend today...
"Yep," Fletcher confirmed with a nod. "Harriet Yorktown is the Yorktown-class carrier USS Hornet, CV-8."
"Well, this is certainly awkward… I really need to not get in trouble with Kay, now…" Tally said, gulping dramatically.
"Does Kay herself know?" Louise asked.
"She does. She also knows about you two, and has promised to support whatever decisions you make," Fletcher once again confirmed. "Sachi and El have also been informed about Hornet, but not the two of you."
"Your girlfriend is good people, Tally," Henley added. "If I could take your place, I'd do it in a heartbeat… actually, if I did my hair up in a braid like you do, could I- Ah!"
Henley was cut off by the impact of Fletcher's open palm with the back of her skull. The redheaded shipgirl rocked forward with the impact, but shook it off.
The youngest girl in the room chuckled at the scene, but Tally ignored her. She was too busy trying to glare a hole through Henley.
"Henley, be aware that if you try that, there will be nowhere you can hide from me," Tally said darkly. "I'm a scout, it's my job to find problems, and then direct the big guns to where they need to go. And Kay's mom is now the big guns."
"Eep!" Henley squealed and rushed to hide behind Fletcher, but it was just for show. It would take a lot for Tally to actually do that to her friend, even if said friend was very annoying and her Evil Twin.
"Aww, that's cute!" Lou grinned. "Hiding behind the big sister!"
"I'm not hiding! I'm merely using her as a shield!" Henley insisted. Fletcher rolled her eyes and stepped aside, leaving Henley to her fate. Tally took the opportunity and grabbed the nearest thing to her hand, a paper cup, and gently lobbed it at Henley. It bounced off the shipgirl's head and fell to the floor, but the message was clear.
"Bounce," Lou snickered, clearly enjoying the show. "Load high-velocity!"
"We're outta ammo!" Tally replied with a laugh. "That was my last round!"
"Perhaps today is a good day to die!" Ace's TC grinned. "Prepare for ramming speed! Well, maybe not, you're… yeah, heheh."
Fletcher and Henley exchanged looks. The blonde stepped forward with a smile. "Will hugs work in place of a proper ram?"
"Eh, sure. Why not?" Tally shrugged as best she could. Henley grinned and darted towards her bed, scooping her up into a gentle, but still bone crushing hug.
"Ack! Ribs!" Tally cried out. "I don't need any more broken bones!"
"Aw, I'm jealous…" even being smothered by her Evil Twin, Tally could hear the smile in Lou's voice.
"Offer's open to you too, Lou," Fletcher said, laughing quietly at her sister's antics.
"Aww, Faye Faith, I'll take it!"
"Good, because I wasn't really asking!" Faye Faith grinned, and pulled Louise into a hug as well. And judging by the lack of strangled cries of pain, Fletcher was giving a reasonable strength hug, not Henley's life-threatening version of a bearhug.
"T-this feels nice…" the young Tuckerman blushed.
"I've been told I give the best hugs."
"So you do. I guess that's what happens when you've got a sibling count of, uh… a hundred and eighty or so?" Lou asked, clearly guessing the value. It was too high, but only barely.
"One-seventy-four little sisters. And I love them all dearly," Fletcher stated. "Even if they are little shits half the time."
"Language!" Tally tried to interject, but it was muffled by Henley's hug.
"Case in point."
Wait, was that aimed at her or at Henley?
"I see what you mean!" Louise laughed. "Even the one that, hmm… torpedoed President Roosevelt?"
"Dee tries her best, even if she is a little clumsy. And she did right by her crew in the end. When she went down, not a soul went down with her," Fletcher stated proudly.
"Wasn't she sunk by a Kamikaze plane that was already shot down…?"
"A shot down Kamikaze isn't a failed Kamikaze!" Tally interrupted as Henley finally released her. Realization struck her a moment later, and she grimaced. "And, uh, don't ask how I know that, because I don't know."
"I suck at naval stuff, but I did read a bit about the Willie Dee," Lou replied.
"Her name is Dee," Faye Faith corrected. "And while that did happen, yes, she tries her hardest, harder than a lot of her sisters, and that's all I can ever ask for."
"You really are a good big sister!" the young Tuckerman grinned, before blinking and staring off into space. "... Have we met before? Beyond Saunders and all."
Fletcher released the hug and shook her head. "I can't say I've ever met you before you came to Saunders, Louise. Though, I did sail with St. Louis during the Guadalcanal campaign. That might be how you're recognizing me."
"Hmm…"
Tally looked between the two for a moment, doing her best to sit up after Henley's attack hug. "Wait… so, are Lou and I both remembering things we should, by all rights, not know? I've never seen a Kamikaze before, but I knew that just shooting them down isn't enough."
Lou pondered for a moment. "I just feel like I've seen Faye Faith even before Ace was even discovered by the Gendarmerie... I don't remember anything particular, though. There's also something else I don't seem to be getting, either… a person or so…?"
She scratched her hair. "... Nope. I don't know what that was about."
"St. Louis mentioned Helena right before she passed out after the battle. That might be it," Fletcher suggested.
"Helena…?"
"St. Louis' younger sister. They were close, before Helena was sunk."
"Jesus…"
"Pretty much, yeah."
"Well, I'll have to go read up on St. Louis soon then," Lou commented. "Funny how the name aligns with a lot of things..."
"Huh," Tally huh'd. "That is weird."
"My name, the home of my family's main branch, how the city itself was named after a French king…"
"Lots of weird coincidences in life," Fletcher said with a shrug. "We generally just blame MSSB and move along."
Lou slowly cocked her head to the side in confusion. "MSSB…?"
"Magical Sparkly Shipgirl Bullshit!" Henley answered cheerfully.
"Language!" Tally once again interjected, to everyone else's amusement. Louise even went so far as to chuckle!
Fletcher smiled, and then looked out the window at the setting sun. "Well, we should probably get back to the ship as well. Capps and Hadley will probably stop by to say hello tomorrow. It was nice to talk to the two of you!"
"Is it already that late?" Tally asked, letting her disappointment ring through.
"Yeah, it didn't even feel like an hour had passed…" Lou agreed.
"Time flies when you're having fun," Fletcher said with a shrug. "Oh, and before I forget, sorry about your phones. As far as we can tell, yours is at the bottom of the Pacific, Louise, and yours got shredded with your tanker jacket, Tally. We're working on getting you replacement ones."
Tuckerman blinked, remembering the mystery of her phone's whereabouts. "I'm sorry, what?!"
"We tried to call it, but the line was dead," Henley explained. "And since nobody else knows where it is, our best guess is it was either lost or destroyed during the battle."
"I see…" Lou replied dejectedly. "My phone…"
"Sorry."
"And my phone is just… gone?" Tally asked.
"Yeah, we found roughly half of it in the ruins of your jacket, which we also have a replacement for. It'll be waiting for you back at Sensha-do, once you're up and moving," Fletcher said. She waved at the two bedridden girls as she shoved Henley out of the room with her other hand. "But we really should be going now. I'll see you around!"
"Later, sis!" Tally returned the wave.
"See ya," Lou waved as well, briefly glancing at Tally.
"Finally, some peace and quiet!" Tally exclaimed as she fell back in her bed, again.
"Uh-huh…" Lou agreed as she lay down as well. "You're calling Faye Faith your sister already?"
"What?" Tally asked. "No! I said 'laters!' I'm not calling her my sister. We're friends, not… we're just friends."
The denial rang hollow in Tally's head. She knew that Faye Faith was still just a friend, if a weird one who was determined to break her understanding of the world. To call her a sister was far too forward for their relationship, and yet… and yet the denial still rang hollow. Was she just friends with the shipgirl, or was there an actual familial relationship?
"I guess we're both still trying to take it in," Louise commented.
"It's hard to believe. Between hard and impossible, really. I mean, come on! Shipgirls?" Tally exclaimed, once again really missing her ability to gesticulate with more than one limb. "If I hadn't seen Faye Faith jump onto the water with my own two eyes, I'd never have believed it."
"Same," Lou nodded. "... I hope we'll wake up tomorrow and this madness turns out to be an elaborate joke put together by everyone. Better yet, an elaborate dream; it's entirely possible. But considering our previous fainting, I don't think this is one… Should I slap myself to check?"
"Nah, checking all five senses should do the trick," Tally suggested. "I can see the details in the ceiling tiles, hear the buzzing of the medical equipment, feel the coarseness of my casts, smell the antiseptic stuff that hospitals are known for, and taste… saltwater?" the scout blinked and double checked the taste. Yup, that was saltwater.
"Saltwater?"
"Yeah, like ocean spray. It's weird."
"... So do I."
"I miss the days when the world made sense, and the strangest thing I had to deal with was Jane talking to my tank," Tally complained.
"I missed the most important thing being the Winter Cup…" Lou sighed sadly. "Both of us training together, going through strategies, arguing about getting new tanks…"
"New tanks that we still don't need, no matter how much I want a Hellcat!"
"And I'm telling you, we'd benefit greatly from an upgrade!" Lou retorted.
"An upgrade that only makes us stomp the other teams in the league even harder? Look at Maginot or Waffle! They can't even stand up to us now, and you want to make our team even more powerful?" Tally asked.
"On the other hand, look at Kuromorimine and Pravda! And Saunders can be far better than merely the all-money-no-skill Sherman-spamming stereotype people think that we've been lowkey perpetrating!" Lou defended herself. "Even Alisa agrees with me!"
"All money no skill Sherman spam? And getting better tanks to stomp even more would fix that stereotype how?" Tally countered. "Look at Kuromorimine. They don't win because they're consistently good, they win because they bring Königstigers and other heavy tanks against Chi-Ha-Tan!"
"That's why we need a substantial counter against said King Tigers, IS-2s and any other heavyweight, overpowered likes! It's not by our choice, it's by pure necessit-" Lou suddenly stopped for a few moments before laughing wholeheartedly. "Look at us, arguing like things are back to usual now!"
Tally sighed heavily. "It's like Faye Faith said: just blame MSSB and move along."
"Uh-huh," Louise made an unconvinced noise before shrugging. "Anyway, yeah, you can see I'm in Eagle Company for a reason after all, heh."
"Yeah, you freaking tryhard. Not everyone wants to win harder like you do. Can you imagine how boring Sensha-do would be if we just brought a fleet of Pershings and rolled over everything in our way without challenge except against KMM or Pravda? Because that's certainly not what I signed up to play Sensha-do for!"
"I'll never replace Ace, mind you! And I didn't sign up to face Tiger after Tiger after Panther after King Tiger after Jadgtiger after Jadgpanther after Tiger in Ace either!"
"You've got it easy! At least Ace has a gun that can hurt those tanks! Izumi has 37 millimeters and a dream."
"That's true, but still… Well, at least we Eagles do flanking and assault, so we usually do hit their sides or rear. But if they turn and angle… yeah, it's over."
"Okay, but you know what? We shouldn't build our team just to counter Kuromorimine. Nobody likes fighting them anyways. Pravda we can face on an even footing, St Glo's is probably better than us skill-wise, but our tanks make up the difference. Ooarai is Ooarai. Everyone else, we already beat handily enough."
"Yeah, but I call my idea 'insurance'. Look, it's just, like, what, five Pershings for Yankee, a nice lot of GMCs for Eagle and you guys in Turkey are getting cute Chaffees! Most of our M4s will still be active, it's not like we're going to get a Pershing-spamming team like All-Stars!"
"Of course not. We'd need a siege mortar, too," Tally joked.
The door slammed open, startling both girls. Faye Faith Fletcher poked her head into the room, and glared at one then the other. "It's late, go to sleep you goobers. And Yankee Company is best, just as it is."
Just as suddenly as she had appeared, Faye Faith disappeared, closing the door behind her.
Silence.
"She's out of line, but she's right," Tally stated simply. "And we really should shelve this for another day."
"Yeah, but we're not done with this discussion," the annoyingly stubborn Tuckerman nodded with a slight frown on her face. It soon broke into a smile, though. "Business as usual, huh…"
"Business as usual. Good night, Louise."
"Night. I'll still be up though; still too early for me… Right, no phone..."
Part 4
++++++++++
The sun was just a while away from starting to sink in the west, the girls having been with their two hospitalized friends for quite some time already. The crew of Ace continued chatting with the crew of Izumi, and it seemed like the two clicked with each other. Maiko was busy giving April pointers on how to control the gun and turret of the Easy-Eight, Lou was talking to Jane Richardson about Ace and Yuki and Sayuri were getting to know Tally more. Faye Faith and Jane Henley, on the other hand, went outside to have a, well, little break. Lou was not sure of what they were doing, but she could tell for a fact that it was probably regarding the earlier incident. Whatever that was.
"Alright Boss, April's ready," Maiko reported to Louise. "She can get in Ace and know how to work stuff. But of course," she grinned, folding her arms, "I'm the gunner. Always."
"I'm sure that standing will remain intact for a long, long time," Tuckerman chuckled. "Please don't bully her."
"I won't. And now, time for me to rest!" the main gunner of Ace declared, sitting down on the floor despite there being chairs around.
A whole ten seconds passed.
"Oh fucking damn it, is there anything to do here?" she grumbled. "Is that TV working? Where's the goddamn remote?"
"Language!" Tally admonished.
"Oh yeah, you don't like the tough stuff," Maiko remembered, grinning evilly. "But still, it would be nice to watch something. Is it the news now? Oh, yeah," she nodded, checking the clock on her phone, "it's just a minute away."
"I've got the remote!" Jane announced, pulling it from one of the drawers. She turned on the TV, and found herself a chair to watch the news programming from.
The familiar visuals of the evening news showed up on the screen, the familiar tune playing from its speakers.
Louise grabbed her cup of water to take a sip.
"Welcome to Nagasaki News Network, News at Five. This evening: Shipgirls, our Saviors from the Sea?"
Tuckerman nearly spit her drink out.
"Oh you have got to be shitting me!" Tally swore violently.
"Language!" Maiko retorted smugly.
"W-what…" Lou caught her breath.
"'Shipgirls'?" Yuki puzzled. "What's that?"
"Well, it's exactly what it says on the tin, is what I'd guess," Jane explained. "A ship that is also a girl."
"All vehicles are female," Lou commented quietly before realizing the report was about to start. "Right guys, shut up! It's starting!"
"Over the past week, the world has been ravaged by attacks from a previously unknown entity, simply known as Abyssals. As of this reporting, we still do not know anything about them, beyond their constant attacking of coastal and naval communities. Despite these brutal attacks, the world's navies are standing stalwart in defense of their homes, countering the Abyssal attacks on every front," the reporter said. Behind her, the green screen showed grainy, unstable footage of what was probably a US Navy destroyer firing its gun against an Abyssal cruiser at close range.
Even dampened through the recording and TV screen, Lou could feel something distinctly wrong about the black, sinister vessel in the distance. Why was she feeling this way?
"What are we supposed to be looking at?" April asked quietly.
"The shit video quality, of course," Maiko snarked. The expected admonishment from Tally never came. The redhead was staring at the screen, frozen in shock.
"Wait a sec," Lou blinked, noticing something concerning. "You… don't see it?"
"Of course not!" Maiko grumbled, oblivious to her commander's increasing confusion. "That ship is shooting at nothing! They're probably just fearmongering for more views."
"B-but-"
"And yet, the navies are not facing this threat alone. Almost everywhere that these Abyssals have appeared, so too have the shipgirls; a group of young women hailing from around the globe, claiming to be the reincarnated spirits of Second World War warships," the reporter continued, oblivious to the comments being made on the other side of the screen. This time, the footage was much more amateur, showing the figures of four girls standing atop the water in the distance. Despite the sarcastic gripes from her crew, Louise could tell that this was genuine footage.
The footage only remained on the shipgirls for a moment before it transitioned to being aerial shots of the various damaged cities and ships. It finally settled on a view of a familiar skyline: Nagasaki. While the city had been damaged in the attack, the real eye catcher was the schoolship docked in the harbor.
"Hey, that's Saunders!" Sayuri pointed out, pointing at the ship on the screen.
"I didn't realize it was that bad…" Jane whispered, just loud enough for Lou to hear.
"Nowhere is more thankful for the appearance of the shipgirls than Nagasaki, and our very own schoolship, Saunders University High School. Abyssals reportedly attacked the schoolship on Monday evening, and were driven back by a concerted effort by a squadron of shipgirls, allowing the schoolship to escape with minimal damage. However, none of the shipgirls present for that battle have since made a reappearance."
The news went on to interview various staff and students of Saunders, who all gave their perspective on the attack. After three interviews, a familiar face appeared on the screen.
"Hey, it's Kay!" Yuki exclaimed.
"Yes, we can all tell it's my girlfriend, thanks for pointing that out," Tally deadpanned.
"It was like nothing I've ever seen," Kay said to the interviewer. "We were running a Sensha-do practice match when it began. Everyone just thought it was a normal, if intense storm before it hit. The shells came down as if they were lightning, and they practically blasted our practice field to bits. Some of our tanks were thrown around like they were ragdolls, and we had a couple of our members were injured. It's a miracle that nobody is in critical condition."
Kay paused for a moment as the interviewer asked her another question. "Did I see any of the shipgirls? No, I didn't. I was too busy making sure my team was safe, and coordinating the rescue of the girls who were trapped inside flipped tanks."
There were a few more interviews before the news network cut back to the news anchor. "And now, we have a message to the People of Japan, sent by the apparent leader of the Japanese shipgirls."
The screen was suddenly filled by an enthusiastic looking brunette in a rather revealing take on a shrine maiden uniform. "Hello, everyone!" She waved gaily. "I'm the English-born returnee, battleship Kongou, dess! Flagship of the JMSDF's shipgirl fleet!
"I know that the current attacks are scary. But there's no need to fear-" Kongou gestured at her chest. "-because we shipgirls are here! We are tirelessly patrolling the coastlines and protecting schoolships from further attack. Leave the hard work to us and our American friends!
"You also have a part to play!" Her forefinger jabbed at the camera while a smile as bright as a naval searchlight beamed. "Yes, you! You can help us by keeping a cool head and working with whoever's in charge to keep things running smoothly! Sure, it's not exciting as seeing action against the Abyssals, but we shipgirls can fight much better if we know you're safe while we're away. So let's work together and bring peace back to our seas, okay?" Again she flailed her arm at the camera. "Take care, everyone!"
The room was filled by a commotion as soon as the self-proclaimed battleship finished talking.
"That's it?" Maiko demanded of the screen. "You tell us that there's a worldwide war going on, and that all we should do is keep calm and carry on? While these mysterious 'saviors' do all of the heavy lifting?"
"They've already saved our lives once!" Jane objected. She looked at Lou meaningfully for a moment before turning back to Maiko and the others. "We would probably all be at the bottom of the ocean if not for their help, so we should at least give them the benefit of the doubt until they prove otherwise!"
"Well I'm sorry if this is sounding a tad bit too far-fetched for me, because it is," the main gunner of Ace retorted. "Ships that are also girls, what?"
"The news wouldn't mention them if they're hoaxes, though," Yuki commented.
"It does seem rather far-fetched," April agreed demurely.
"I think I'll have to agree with Yuki on the other hand," Sayuri joined in. "We're in Japan; things on the news are more likely than not to be factual."
"Yeah, 'cos girls with reincarnated souls of old warships being the only hope of humanity against a massive alien threat is a completely believable premise," Maiko snarked. "This isn't an anime!"
"All vehicles have spirits, it's just that they're now visible to everyone and actively helping instead of observing," Jane explained. "Miss Saunders wishes she could help more, and Izumi just wants to give Tally a hug half of the time."
"I'm not that sorry of a girl, am I?" Tally asked.
"No, Izumi just likes hugs, and thinks you'd be a good hugger!"
"Well, if you can talk to these souls that much, what's stopping you from telling Ace to sit on your lap?" Ace's usual gunner retorted, unconvinced. "That spot exists for a crew member for a reason."
"A reason that's more or less useless-" Tally tried to interject, but she was cut off by Jane gasping in horror at Maiko's suggestion.
"I could never! She's not my tank, I can't just order her around like that!" Jane argued.
"Yeah, well, you just gotta ask," Maiko shrugged. "I mean, she had probably sat on the lap of Baby before and that's a guy."
"P-please don't drag my Gramps' crew into this…" Louise sighed exasperatedly.
"Next she's gonna say she can see all five of them squeezing with us," Maiko muttered loudly to herself.
"Maiko!"
"Yeah, yeah, I getcha."
"When did we start talking about Ace's old crew?" April asked. "I thought we were talking about shipgirls…"
"Oh, yeah," Maiko replied, returning to the topic at hand. "I still don't understand why you guys are believing something like that!"
"Because they're real and saved our lives?" Jane retorted.
"Give me a video editor and I bet my ass I can put together a more convincing video than that!"
"HEY!" Tally roared, clearly fed up with the arguing. "Language! If you're going to argue about this, take it outside. Heck, I don't know about Louise, but I could certainly use some quiet time right about now. So either be quiet, or please leave."
"You guys still have school tomorrow I think," Lou commented quietly, looking at a wall clock. "I think it'll be best if you guys went back to rest too. Especially after looking after us for practically half the day."
"But-" the usual gunner of Ace tried to protest.
"Maiko, relax. We'll be fine. I promise."
Lou turned to look at Tally. "We will, right?"
"Of course we will. What are we gonna do, run off with broken legs?"
"Weell," Lou reminded, "mine are fine and I'm starting to get sick of this bed, soo…"
Three girls immediately stared at her, prepared to restrain her at a moment's notice.
"I'm kidding!" the Easy-Eight commander sweatdropped.
"And yet I could still probably outrun you right now!" Tally said with a teasing laugh.
The remaining two girls stared at the redhead, alerted.
The room was silent and tense for a moment before Yuki burst out laughing. The rest of the room quickly followed her.
"Oh, man, look at us, arguing and then laughing together," Ace's loader giggled, wiping a tear off her eye. "Still, Commander, you're not actually going to climb out, are you?"
The young Tuckerman laid back into her bed in response. "Maybe later. After I'm feeling better. But for now, no; I'm tired and aching."
"Hear hear!" Tally exclaimed with a tired groan.
"Yeah, we've got to go back to the schoolship anyway," Sayuri nodded. "We are quite a distance away, mind you, the closer hospitals were occupied before you two."
"Not sure when we're gonna sail again, either," Maiko continued.
"Sooner, rather than later," Jane said with a shrug. "The ship is still seaworthy, it's just her deck and the school that were damaged. Both of those are relatively easy to repair."
"Well, we shall see the two of you another day," April said, leading the way towards the door. She bowed slightly. "Rest well, and may your injuries be healed soon."
"Yeah, thanks," Lou smiled. "Hopefully soon."
"Yeah, Ace needs you," Maiko nodded as she got up from the floor, stretching. "Funny… when we started out with 8-Ball and all I felt you didn't deserve being the commander, disobeyed your orders and even tried to usurp you in our first practice match. You remember that, obviously."
"Of course."
"Now, though…" the gunner pondered. "I can't imagine you not being around. I got the commander's spot now, albeit temporarily, but… it doesn't feel right. It's your place."
Hearing this, Louise Tuckerman gave a comforting smile. "I thought you'd be a problem when we first started, but that scolding I gave you worked wonders apparently. Now I don't want anyone else as my gunner."
The main gunner of Ace grinned. "Told you I listened."
"Okay, now shoo!" Tally said, waving the crews out of the room.
"Yeah yeah Miss Stuart," Maiko rolled her eyes playfully. "Catch ya around, Boss. You, with me," she called out to the redhead's usual gunner. "More things to talk about. Over food. Hey, maybe all of us can get some chow together?"
"Food does sound divine right now. And I'll make some cookies for us all once we get back to the ship," April agreed.
"You bake?"
"I do!"
"See ya!" Sayuri waved along with Yuki as they exited the room.
As soon as everyone had left the room, Tally slumped down onto her bed. "Oh god, that was exhausting. I like people, but there's such a thing as too much social interaction!"
"On the other hand, seeing them has been wholly comforting to me," Lou replied happily.
However, that kept bugging her.
"... What do you think of the shipgirl thing?"
"Well…" Tally drew the word out. "I'm starting to suspect I had a dream that wasn't really a dream."
Lou looked up, her interest very piqued. "Oh?"
"Well, I woke up in a bath. It was more like a pool than a bath, really, but Henley was there, and she called it… I want to say she called it the repair bath? Said it was supposed to fix me up after some fight, or something. You were there, too, as was Fletche- no, Faye Faith. It was something about-"
"- why the baths weren't working…" Lou interrupted and continued for the redhead, staring in shock as the details of her own "dream" suddenly became much clearer. "She asked us how much we remembered, how much we knew about the USS Evans and USS St. Louis."
"And then she showed us that she was a shipgirl," Tally concluded, staring at Lou with wide, blue eyes.
"And the pictures…" the brunette muttered. "The pictures of us…"
"The world's going sideways, and we're right in the middle of it…"
Lou was shaking. "I… w-what…"
Before any of them could say anything else, the door to the room swung open.
In came strolling Faye Faith Fletcher with Jane Henley right behind her, both of them looking uncharacteristically serious.
"Right," the blonde girl started, moving her arms akimbo, "now do you two believe us?"
++++++++++
Tally stared at the girl who was claiming both that Tally was a ship, and that she was Tally's big sister, as a ship. If not for the sheer amount of evidence, Tally wouldn't believe her at all. As it was… "Trips, I hate you so much right now."
"That's not a no~" Faye Faith teased.
"Fine," Tally huffed, "for whatever reason, yes I am."
"W-what am I s-supposed to m-make of this…?" Lou stammered. "M-me, a ship…?"
"Well, I imagine it's not every day someone comes up to you and says," Faye Faith put on an awful fake accent, "'yer a shipgal, Talleh!' Or Lou, as the case may be."
Despite the serious situation, Tally couldn't help but give an amused snort at the impersonation, and Louise was right there with her. The absurdity of the situation in which Faye Faith was making the joke only made it funnier!
"But yes, the both of you are shipgirls. Sorry for the way we revealed that to you. You both joined us in the battle to protect Saunders, and we thought - incorrectly - that you'd fully manifested as shipgirls," Faye Faith continued, once the laughter died down.
"Fully manifested?" Tally asked. This was totally one of those situations where she would have leaned back and crossed her arms if she weren't confined to bed with three immobile limbs.
"Yeah. Basically, as far as we can tell, Evans and St. Louis awakened temporarily because of the Abyssal attack, and then disappeared once the battle was over and you'd stepped back on land. Reports have said this isn't the only place we've seen this kind of behavior. It also means that if you want to, we can fully manifest you as shipgirls, which has both perks and downsides. And we don't know if Evans or St. Louis will awaken again without your input if another Abyssal attack happens before you've manifested."
"That didn't quite answer the question…" Lou interjected softly.
"We can wake up your ship half, basically," Faye Faith said. "If what Hornet went through is any indication of how things will go, you'll still be you, there will just be a bit of Evans or St. Louis in there as well. That side of you will be a bit more prominent while you've got your rigging out and are doing shipgirl stuff, but it shouldn't be dominant. At the same time, there's a lot about this that we just don't know about yet. It's been less than a week since the attacks started, less than a week since you manifestees made yourselves known to us, there hasn't been enough time to figure everything out."
"That doesn't inspire much confidence in the whole idea…" Tally muttered, looking between Faye Faith, Henley, and Louise.
"My ship half…" Lou pondered to herself quietly.
"St. Louis," Henley provided helpfully. "Brooklyn-class light cruiser, St. Louis subclass. Lots of guns."
"Yeah, I'll look her up later, but… Hey, wait a minute," Louise must have realized something. She partially sat up and pointed an accusatory finger at Henley. "Your card, you were hinting that to me!"
Henley laughed nervously. "Yeah, that was me!"
"It was a dumb move, but it happened and now it's done," Fletcher said with a groan. "But we were supposed to keep things on the down-low until Kongou's message was released. Not give vague hints that will just freak our friends out more and more!"
"Sorry…"
"Nah, I was just a little confused is all," Lou reassured.
"Speak for yourself, Louise!" Tally said, finally adding to the conversation again. "The whole calling you St. Louis in the card had me very freaked out. I just thought it had all been a dream!"
"I had completely forgotten about the mentions of the ship names when we were looking through the cards, heh," Lou scratched her cheek with her left hand sheepishly.
"At least the cards I sent were just a basic well wishing from myself and the rest of food truck 445," Fletcher said. The blonde shook her head. "So, you're both pre-manifestation shipgirls. Or maybe just regular girls who also happen to be ship spirits. Is there anything you want to know?"
Tally considered the question. "The 'war' started on Monday, yet you shipgirls have all been around for years. Kay said that all of you but Hadley were here last year, Trips, and with an established food truck, too!"
"That's correct," Fletcher confirmed with a nod. "Capps, Henley and I have all been here for three years. Hadley is a relatively new arrival. The three of us are 'second wave' shipgirls. The first wave appeared about four years ago."
"I… what? You've been appearing for four years, and this is the first the world has seen of you?" Louise asked. Tally glanced over at her friend, since she shared similar sentiments.
"Kongou could explain this much better than we could. She's always the one who seems to know what's going on…" Henley groused.
"Well, she's not here, we are," Fletcher shook her head. "Shipgirls started appearing in response to the Abyssals appearing. Four years of building up their forces before this attack. We knew it was coming, we just didn't know when they were going to hit."
"So, you knew this attack was coming, and didn't do anything about it? The schoolships could have been shut down, kept to the coasts so that they're less vulnerable!" Tally demanded. "We could have died!"
"You don't think we tried? Nobody would have believed us, which is why there's a shipgirl squadron aboard each school!" Fletcher retorted. "Hell, Hornet didn't fully believe us until Monday when she experienced it firsthand!"
"Wait, Hornet?" Lou spoke up softly. "What- no, who's she?"
"Hornet… she was the Admiral's yeoman, and… well, there's no easy way to say this. Hornet is Kay's mom. When Sasebo was attacked, she did the same thing as you two, except she's a Yorktown-class carrier. Abby got slaughtered. She's pretty much how we know all of this, since she was the first to volunteer for manifestation. From what I've heard, she feels different, as a ship, but at the same time her personality hasn't shifted much," Fletcher explained.
"I'm sorry, did you just say 'Kay's mom'?" Tally asked, once again hearing and not believing. That was feeling like a bit of a trend today...
"Yep," Fletcher confirmed with a nod. "Harriet Yorktown is the Yorktown-class carrier USS Hornet, CV-8."
"Well, this is certainly awkward… I really need to not get in trouble with Kay, now…" Tally said, gulping dramatically.
"Does Kay herself know?" Louise asked.
"She does. She also knows about you two, and has promised to support whatever decisions you make," Fletcher once again confirmed. "Sachi and El have also been informed about Hornet, but not the two of you."
"Your girlfriend is good people, Tally," Henley added. "If I could take your place, I'd do it in a heartbeat… actually, if I did my hair up in a braid like you do, could I- Ah!"
Henley was cut off by the impact of Fletcher's open palm with the back of her skull. The redheaded shipgirl rocked forward with the impact, but shook it off.
The youngest girl in the room chuckled at the scene, but Tally ignored her. She was too busy trying to glare a hole through Henley.
"Henley, be aware that if you try that, there will be nowhere you can hide from me," Tally said darkly. "I'm a scout, it's my job to find problems, and then direct the big guns to where they need to go. And Kay's mom is now the big guns."
"Eep!" Henley squealed and rushed to hide behind Fletcher, but it was just for show. It would take a lot for Tally to actually do that to her friend, even if said friend was very annoying and her Evil Twin.
"Aww, that's cute!" Lou grinned. "Hiding behind the big sister!"
"I'm not hiding! I'm merely using her as a shield!" Henley insisted. Fletcher rolled her eyes and stepped aside, leaving Henley to her fate. Tally took the opportunity and grabbed the nearest thing to her hand, a paper cup, and gently lobbed it at Henley. It bounced off the shipgirl's head and fell to the floor, but the message was clear.
"Bounce," Lou snickered, clearly enjoying the show. "Load high-velocity!"
"We're outta ammo!" Tally replied with a laugh. "That was my last round!"
"Perhaps today is a good day to die!" Ace's TC grinned. "Prepare for ramming speed! Well, maybe not, you're… yeah, heheh."
Fletcher and Henley exchanged looks. The blonde stepped forward with a smile. "Will hugs work in place of a proper ram?"
"Eh, sure. Why not?" Tally shrugged as best she could. Henley grinned and darted towards her bed, scooping her up into a gentle, but still bone crushing hug.
"Ack! Ribs!" Tally cried out. "I don't need any more broken bones!"
"Aw, I'm jealous…" even being smothered by her Evil Twin, Tally could hear the smile in Lou's voice.
"Offer's open to you too, Lou," Fletcher said, laughing quietly at her sister's antics.
"Aww, Faye Faith, I'll take it!"
"Good, because I wasn't really asking!" Faye Faith grinned, and pulled Louise into a hug as well. And judging by the lack of strangled cries of pain, Fletcher was giving a reasonable strength hug, not Henley's life-threatening version of a bearhug.
"T-this feels nice…" the young Tuckerman blushed.
"I've been told I give the best hugs."
"So you do. I guess that's what happens when you've got a sibling count of, uh… a hundred and eighty or so?" Lou asked, clearly guessing the value. It was too high, but only barely.
"One-seventy-four little sisters. And I love them all dearly," Fletcher stated. "Even if they are little shits half the time."
"Language!" Tally tried to interject, but it was muffled by Henley's hug.
"Case in point."
Wait, was that aimed at her or at Henley?
"I see what you mean!" Louise laughed. "Even the one that, hmm… torpedoed President Roosevelt?"
"Dee tries her best, even if she is a little clumsy. And she did right by her crew in the end. When she went down, not a soul went down with her," Fletcher stated proudly.
"Wasn't she sunk by a Kamikaze plane that was already shot down…?"
"A shot down Kamikaze isn't a failed Kamikaze!" Tally interrupted as Henley finally released her. Realization struck her a moment later, and she grimaced. "And, uh, don't ask how I know that, because I don't know."
"I suck at naval stuff, but I did read a bit about the Willie Dee," Lou replied.
"Her name is Dee," Faye Faith corrected. "And while that did happen, yes, she tries her hardest, harder than a lot of her sisters, and that's all I can ever ask for."
"You really are a good big sister!" the young Tuckerman grinned, before blinking and staring off into space. "... Have we met before? Beyond Saunders and all."
Fletcher released the hug and shook her head. "I can't say I've ever met you before you came to Saunders, Louise. Though, I did sail with St. Louis during the Guadalcanal campaign. That might be how you're recognizing me."
"Hmm…"
Tally looked between the two for a moment, doing her best to sit up after Henley's attack hug. "Wait… so, are Lou and I both remembering things we should, by all rights, not know? I've never seen a Kamikaze before, but I knew that just shooting them down isn't enough."
Lou pondered for a moment. "I just feel like I've seen Faye Faith even before Ace was even discovered by the Gendarmerie... I don't remember anything particular, though. There's also something else I don't seem to be getting, either… a person or so…?"
She scratched her hair. "... Nope. I don't know what that was about."
"St. Louis mentioned Helena right before she passed out after the battle. That might be it," Fletcher suggested.
"Helena…?"
"St. Louis' younger sister. They were close, before Helena was sunk."
"Jesus…"
"Pretty much, yeah."
"Well, I'll have to go read up on St. Louis soon then," Lou commented. "Funny how the name aligns with a lot of things..."
"Huh," Tally huh'd. "That is weird."
"My name, the home of my family's main branch, how the city itself was named after a French king…"
"Lots of weird coincidences in life," Fletcher said with a shrug. "We generally just blame MSSB and move along."
Lou slowly cocked her head to the side in confusion. "MSSB…?"
"Magical Sparkly Shipgirl Bullshit!" Henley answered cheerfully.
"Language!" Tally once again interjected, to everyone else's amusement. Louise even went so far as to chuckle!
Fletcher smiled, and then looked out the window at the setting sun. "Well, we should probably get back to the ship as well. Capps and Hadley will probably stop by to say hello tomorrow. It was nice to talk to the two of you!"
"Is it already that late?" Tally asked, letting her disappointment ring through.
"Yeah, it didn't even feel like an hour had passed…" Lou agreed.
"Time flies when you're having fun," Fletcher said with a shrug. "Oh, and before I forget, sorry about your phones. As far as we can tell, yours is at the bottom of the Pacific, Louise, and yours got shredded with your tanker jacket, Tally. We're working on getting you replacement ones."
Tuckerman blinked, remembering the mystery of her phone's whereabouts. "I'm sorry, what?!"
"We tried to call it, but the line was dead," Henley explained. "And since nobody else knows where it is, our best guess is it was either lost or destroyed during the battle."
"I see…" Lou replied dejectedly. "My phone…"
"Sorry."
"And my phone is just… gone?" Tally asked.
"Yeah, we found roughly half of it in the ruins of your jacket, which we also have a replacement for. It'll be waiting for you back at Sensha-do, once you're up and moving," Fletcher said. She waved at the two bedridden girls as she shoved Henley out of the room with her other hand. "But we really should be going now. I'll see you around!"
"Later, sis!" Tally returned the wave.
"See ya," Lou waved as well, briefly glancing at Tally.
"Finally, some peace and quiet!" Tally exclaimed as she fell back in her bed, again.
"Uh-huh…" Lou agreed as she lay down as well. "You're calling Faye Faith your sister already?"
"What?" Tally asked. "No! I said 'laters!' I'm not calling her my sister. We're friends, not… we're just friends."
The denial rang hollow in Tally's head. She knew that Faye Faith was still just a friend, if a weird one who was determined to break her understanding of the world. To call her a sister was far too forward for their relationship, and yet… and yet the denial still rang hollow. Was she just friends with the shipgirl, or was there an actual familial relationship?
"I guess we're both still trying to take it in," Louise commented.
"It's hard to believe. Between hard and impossible, really. I mean, come on! Shipgirls?" Tally exclaimed, once again really missing her ability to gesticulate with more than one limb. "If I hadn't seen Faye Faith jump onto the water with my own two eyes, I'd never have believed it."
"Same," Lou nodded. "... I hope we'll wake up tomorrow and this madness turns out to be an elaborate joke put together by everyone. Better yet, an elaborate dream; it's entirely possible. But considering our previous fainting, I don't think this is one… Should I slap myself to check?"
"Nah, checking all five senses should do the trick," Tally suggested. "I can see the details in the ceiling tiles, hear the buzzing of the medical equipment, feel the coarseness of my casts, smell the antiseptic stuff that hospitals are known for, and taste… saltwater?" the scout blinked and double checked the taste. Yup, that was saltwater.
"Saltwater?"
"Yeah, like ocean spray. It's weird."
"... So do I."
"I miss the days when the world made sense, and the strangest thing I had to deal with was Jane talking to my tank," Tally complained.
"I missed the most important thing being the Winter Cup…" Lou sighed sadly. "Both of us training together, going through strategies, arguing about getting new tanks…"
"New tanks that we still don't need, no matter how much I want a Hellcat!"
"And I'm telling you, we'd benefit greatly from an upgrade!" Lou retorted.
"An upgrade that only makes us stomp the other teams in the league even harder? Look at Maginot or Waffle! They can't even stand up to us now, and you want to make our team even more powerful?" Tally asked.
"On the other hand, look at Kuromorimine and Pravda! And Saunders can be far better than merely the all-money-no-skill Sherman-spamming stereotype people think that we've been lowkey perpetrating!" Lou defended herself. "Even Alisa agrees with me!"
"All money no skill Sherman spam? And getting better tanks to stomp even more would fix that stereotype how?" Tally countered. "Look at Kuromorimine. They don't win because they're consistently good, they win because they bring Königstigers and other heavy tanks against Chi-Ha-Tan!"
"That's why we need a substantial counter against said King Tigers, IS-2s and any other heavyweight, overpowered likes! It's not by our choice, it's by pure necessit-" Lou suddenly stopped for a few moments before laughing wholeheartedly. "Look at us, arguing like things are back to usual now!"
Tally sighed heavily. "It's like Faye Faith said: just blame MSSB and move along."
"Uh-huh," Louise made an unconvinced noise before shrugging. "Anyway, yeah, you can see I'm in Eagle Company for a reason after all, heh."
"Yeah, you freaking tryhard. Not everyone wants to win harder like you do. Can you imagine how boring Sensha-do would be if we just brought a fleet of Pershings and rolled over everything in our way without challenge except against KMM or Pravda? Because that's certainly not what I signed up to play Sensha-do for!"
"I'll never replace Ace, mind you! And I didn't sign up to face Tiger after Tiger after Panther after King Tiger after Jadgtiger after Jadgpanther after Tiger in Ace either!"
"You've got it easy! At least Ace has a gun that can hurt those tanks! Izumi has 37 millimeters and a dream."
"That's true, but still… Well, at least we Eagles do flanking and assault, so we usually do hit their sides or rear. But if they turn and angle… yeah, it's over."
"Okay, but you know what? We shouldn't build our team just to counter Kuromorimine. Nobody likes fighting them anyways. Pravda we can face on an even footing, St Glo's is probably better than us skill-wise, but our tanks make up the difference. Ooarai is Ooarai. Everyone else, we already beat handily enough."
"Yeah, but I call my idea 'insurance'. Look, it's just, like, what, five Pershings for Yankee, a nice lot of GMCs for Eagle and you guys in Turkey are getting cute Chaffees! Most of our M4s will still be active, it's not like we're going to get a Pershing-spamming team like All-Stars!"
"Of course not. We'd need a siege mortar, too," Tally joked.
The door slammed open, startling both girls. Faye Faith Fletcher poked her head into the room, and glared at one then the other. "It's late, go to sleep you goobers. And Yankee Company is best, just as it is."
Just as suddenly as she had appeared, Faye Faith disappeared, closing the door behind her.
Silence.
"She's out of line, but she's right," Tally stated simply. "And we really should shelve this for another day."
"Yeah, but we're not done with this discussion," the annoyingly stubborn Tuckerman nodded with a slight frown on her face. It soon broke into a smile, though. "Business as usual, huh…"
"Business as usual. Good night, Louise."
"Night. I'll still be up though; still too early for me… Right, no phone..."
Part Five
Lady Darkhound
Haha, tanks!
- Location
- My very own personal hell
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yet Still We Sail
Part 5
++++++++++
It was a beautiful day. In Tally's eyes, it was probably the first beautiful day since the Abyssal attack, if only because it was the first one she'd been outside since that day. They'd finally been released, but with the dorms still under repair aboard the schoolship, Kay had offered to let Tally and Lou stay at her place for a few days, just over the weekend until classes resumed. Though, said home being in Sasebo was rather unexpected.
What wasn't unexpected, however, was the argument that almost immediately brewed up in the back seat of the M3A1 scout car that Kay's mom was driving.
"I get it, you think our tanks suck," Tally's tone was bitingly sarcastic. "With teams running around with Panzer IIs and 38(t)s, the Stuarts and Locusts of Turkey Company are totally outmatched. Nevermind that I've managed to outfight most of those during this last Tankathlon season. Do you know how many other teams there are where the 37mm is completely ineffective? Two. Kuromorimine and Pravda. So, you know what we do against Kuromorimine and Pravda? We bring Izumi, we bring a Locust, and we use them as passive spotters and active recon. Not as flankers. We don't need Chaffees!"
"Is it really that hard for you to allow a more potent tank in?" Louise retorted exasperatedly. "I'm not saying you Turkeys fight badly, which you guys obviously don't, mind you, and neither am I asking you to completely take out your tanks and replace them with Chaffees. I'm just suggesting that maybe getting a few examples of a more powerful tank that's meant for and actually excels in the exact same job the Stuarts and Locusts are meant for will prove significantly beneficial for the team, and will allow us to fight back against not only said Panzer IIs, Panzer IIIs, 38(t)s and whatever other opponent light tanks, but also heavier tanks as well. I'm sure you guys do run into them at times, so what do you want to do in Stuarts and Locusts, keel over and die?"
"Since when is Turkey Company 'keeling over and dying' when we run into enemy tanks?" Tally asked, rhetorically. "What people always seem to forget is that while the 37mm is less than effective against medium to heavy armor, it's still perfectly capable of knocking most of them out. Need I remind you that I've knocked out a Panther with Izumi?
"And you know what? Most of the teams around here are made up of that lighter armor that we can properly engage!" Tally continued. "We really don't need this sort of upgrade, nor do we want it. I've asked; If anything, we want more Locusts!"
"So, this is the girlfriend and the girl you've practically adopted as your little sister," the elder blonde in the vehicle asked, keeping her eyes on the road. Tally held up a finger to Lou, indicating a need for silence while she listened in on Kay's mom. "Not what I expected at all."
"Moooooom!" Kay whined. "They're normally not this bad. I don't know what's gotten into them!"
"Little sister…?" Lou blinked, a look of surprise on her face.
"I'm not too surprised," Tally said, shrugging. "You do have that dynamic at times, just without much of the arguing."
"H-huh, I didn't think of it like that…" Tuckerman blushed before smiling happily. "B-but I love it!"
"I bet that'll make things a little awkward with Sachi~" the scout teased with a grin.
Lou's cheeks turned red. "H-hey, I haven't d-decided yet…" she stammered.
Tally laughed at her friend's reaction. "That's good to hear. I've got good money on you and Elle hooking up before I graduate!"
"L-like I said, I s-still haven't decided y-yet!" the younger girl's face flushed redder. "Both of 'em a-are really good, so…"
"Word of advice, don't keep them waiting too long. I nearly lost my chance with Kay because I delayed and delayed."
"Damn, that gives it so much pressure now…"
"Language!" Tally's grin reformed as she scolded Lou.
"Oh, yeah, whoops!" Lou returned the grin. "Which reminds me, why exactly are you against swearing this much?"
"I'm against casual swearing. It's a habit that was drilled into me when I was young, mostly, and it's one of the ones that actually stuck," Tally explained.
"Sounds like you should undrill it sometime," the younger girl suggested. "You're missing out so much on colorful vocabulary! Never was a problem to me."
Tally just stared at Louise for a moment, her grin fading. Then, in Russian, she spoke. "I'll do whatever I damn well please, you moron. I never require that you actually listen to me calling out your fucking cursing."
"Uh… huh?"
"I just cussed you out in Russian. I've got plenty of colorful vocabulary," Tally explained, swapping back to English.
"Oh," Lou nodded, interested. "Russian doesn't sound better than French though," she grinned, speaking in French.
"I don't speak a lick of French." Despite Tally's deadpan, she returned the grin.
"I know," was the cheeky English reply. "Good luck figuring that out."
"Well, Russe probably means Russian, and I think Français means French. So you were probably comparing the two languages."
"Tch, you move fast…" Lou feigned a grumble. "But yeah, I was. Basically said French sounded better."
"Makes sense," Tally nodded. "I called you a moron and said that I never actually require you listen to me calling you out, with a few extra curses thrown in for good measure."
"Meanie…" Lou teased. "This is persecution, what did I ever do to you?"
"You mean beyond trying to take Izumi away and replace her with a Chaffee?"
"... Apart from that," Lou scratched her cheek in embarrassment and guilt. "I really didn't know…"
"You said my vocabulary was lacking because I don't swear and don't like swearing. I proved you wrong," Tally said. "And I don't blame you too much for that. I've forgiven you; I'll just never forget it."
"Sounds good to me," the French-American girl nodded. "Thanks."
"Just be mindful that just because you want everyone else to get better tanks doesn't mean we do."
"Yeah. Oh!" Lou suddenly realized. "So you do admit the Chaffee's better than the Stuart and Locust!"
"I've never claimed it wasn't. I just don't want one, and neither does anyone else on Turkey."
"Back to this already?" Kay complained from the front seat.
"Well, we are concerned about the wellbeing of the team," Lou replied. "Why aren't you, Commander?" she snickered cheekily.
"Because it's not fair to all of the rest of the teams! We have answers in our lineup for KMM and Pravda's heavies, and everyone else just has to deal with basic M4s, which are overwhelming enough as is, without adding 76mm guns or Hellcats in support!"
"Well, if the team commander says so, who am I to argue?" Louise shrugged. "I still feel my idea's safer overall," she commented, leaning back before whistling the tune of The Invincible Eagle.
"Safer for securing wins, maybe. But if we continually beat the smaller teams, they might stop enjoying playing against us. And if we can't get any matches outside of the tournaments and ourselves…" Kay countered. "Everyone should be having fun, not just us!"
"You're a good team captain, Kay," Kay's mom said, though Tally only glanced her way for a moment. She wasn't trying to avoid any of the shipgirls, but at the same time, she wasn't looking forward to interacting with them. "But you'd make an awful soldier, and I'm very happy for that fact. Tally, Lou, our home is on the base at Naval Activities Sasebo, so there will be shipgirls around if you have any questions about what's going on. We're not going to force anybody into anything, and if you so much as think someone is trying to pressure you into it, call me, and I will personally come and kick their asses."
Well… there went that plan…
"Got it," Lou acknowledged. "Thanks, Miss Yorktown!"
"Don't worry about it," Kay's mom said, "and please, call me Hornet. Yorktown is my sister."
"Sure thing!" Lou smiled, but a moment later her eyes furrowed. "Yorktown… Well," she sprung up again, brushing it aside, "don't carriers suck at close range, though?" an amused grin spread on her face.
"Who said anything about close range?" Hornet asked with a laugh.
"Ah, sucks to be whoever that is then," Tuckerman chuckled. "... I need my new phone soon."
"If Fletcher was correct, they'll be in Nagasaki in the next few days, and she'll bring them to the base once they arrive," Kay said.
"This is killing me..." Louise grumbled.
"I know exactly how you feel," Tally commiserated. "At least you can walk around with the assistance of crutches. I can't even do that!"
"We'll just blame the Evans and St. Louis for our injuries," Lou replied, a hint of sarcasm and doubt audible to the redhead. "How the hell did we end up like this?"
"I mean, they probably ended up like that Jumbo during that one practice match against St Gloriana. Shot to bits but somehow still combat effective," Tally guessed with a shrug.
"Eh, Faye Faith mentioned that St. Louis fainted," the brunette recalled. "If anything, Evans seemed like the one that was more alive and kicking between the two."
"Well, if our injuries are roughly analogous to the hits we take-"
Tally was cut off by Hornet's confirmation. "They are."
"-Thank you. Then you and St. Louis were still the lucky one. You got off fairly lightly, except for your chest. I've only got one working limb." Tally waved with said still functional limb.
"Yeah, doc says I can take off my bandages later and stop using crutches tomorrow if I can," Lou agreed. "I still feel like shi-... iiirious internal damage happened," she quickly stopped herself in Tally's presence. "The hell happened to her?"
"Good catch, Sean Connery," Tally smiled. "Which her?"
"St. Louis, of course!"
"Sounds like you took a couple big rounds to your citadel," Hornet commented. "Northampton had something similar happen to her at Sasebo, and I had to tow her back."
"Citadel…?"
"Basically, all the important stuff is hidden behind your thickest armor," Kay explained, turning in her seat to face the two in the back. "Stuff like your magazines and engine spaces. A few hits there that punch through will make any warship hurt, no matter how big she is. As a destroyer, Evans just lacks armor, and therefore also lacks a citadel."
"So, business as usual for me?" Tally asked. Kay smiled and nodded.
"Chaffees have more armor ya know," Lou whispered loudly cheekily.
"Not enough to make a difference in most situations!"
"For fuck's sake you two, knock it off!" Kay exclaimed. "Lou, you're in the guest bedroom tonight, Tally, you get the downstairs couch just so I don't have to listen to you bicker all night!"
"But Tally needs a bed," Lou raised the problem. "Her limbs!"
"It's a hide-a-bed."
"Ah."
"Plus, we don't have an easy way to get Tally upstairs. We don't exactly have wheelchair ramps," Kay added.
Tally shrugged. "Yeah, that's fair."
"Speaking of which, i-is Sachi home today?" Tuckerman asked, a light blush on her face.
"She should be. A couple of the destroyers might have grabbed her while we were out picking you up," Hornet answered.
"Oh, that's nice! She's gonna hug me the moment I step in for sure," Lou giggled shyly.
"I see it runs in the family…" Tally observed. More than one occasion of being glomped by Kay immediately sprung to mind.
"Seems like it," Tuckerman nodded. "For Elle, that'll be a tackle."
Tally laughed a little before she looked up and out of the scout car. They were pulling into the base at Sasebo now, and it was shockingly different from the schoolship and Nagasaki. For one, there were girls her age running around, playing what looked like basketball. They paused in their game as one side scored a 2-point shot, and waved at her. They were mostly Benson and Gleaves-class, if she had to guess, but there was a Fletcher in there.
She would have loved to join their game, but it just wasn't to be. Not with two busted legs. Instead, she did all she could, which was smile and wave.
After a while, the M3A1 arrived at its exact destination, pulling into a parking spot.
"Alright, we're here!" Kay announced cheerfully as her mother engaged the parking brake and shut the engine off. "Stay there, we'll help you out!"
The brunette and redhead nodded as the mother-daughter pair tended to the two injured girls at the back. While Kay went over to Tally, Harriet- or rather, Hornet went over to tend to Louise.
"Easy there," the older woman said as she noticed the young Tuckerman wince in pain, getting the brunette to use her as support.
"T-thanks…" Lou nodded, limping forward.
"Kay had been telling me a lot about you, Miss Tuckerman. You enrolled in Saunders under quite remarkable circumstances, didn't you?"
"Yes I did," Louise smiled. "I was very lucky to have met your daughter and everyone else."
The blonde woman chuckled in response. "Just like your ship half. You know, you're known as the Lucky Lou around us."
"Am I?" Louise raised a curious eyebrow. "Wow, so many parallels… Well, I like to think it's not just luck that got me this far."
"Of course it's not," was the warm answer as Hornet sat Lou down at the open door, reaching over and passing the younger girl her crutches. "Luck can only get you so far. You've definitely got the personal merit to boot as well."
"T-thanks!" Lou blushed proudly as she stood up. In front of her, Kay had already pushed Tally ahead on her wheelchair, going at a concerningly high speed.
"Not to worry, they'll have to wait for us anyway," the Yorktown-class carrier reassured. "All at our own pace."
"Yeah!" Lou grinned as they walked ahead, Hornet walking right beside her.
"So, Miss Yorktown?"
"Hornet, Louise."
"Right, Hornet," Tuckerman corrected. "Um, can Miss Hornet do?"
"Of course."
"Nice! So Miss Hornet, how does it feel being a shipgirl?"
"It's…" Hornet paused, considering her words. "A lot of the time, it feels as if I had been blind until I manifested, and only now can I see. There was a whole other life I had lived that I never knew about until that moment. But it also feels as if the world is resting on your shoulders, though that could just be because I'm the flagship here at Sasebo until one of the other carriers relieves me. The sense of community with the other shipgirls is also amazing, but it is most certainly a double edged sword. Shipgirls are much more social than humans, from what I've discovered, much more comfortable in a fleet, but also much lonelier when you're on your own."
"I see…" Lou muttered, thinking about her words. "Sorry if that was out of the blue, I just want to know more. 'Cos…"
"Yeah, that is perfectly and completely understandable," the Yorktown-class carrier smiled warmly. "On the other hand I'd be worried if you never asked. You need to know what you're stepping into."
"Yeah…"
"Is there anything else?"
"Well…" Tuckerman pondered for a few moments. "Why was… she called the Lucky Lou?"
"That's because she was the first major ship to clear Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941," the older woman explained. "At least you know what happened that day, I suppose?"
"Yeah, fully awar-"
RATATATATATA-
Lou froze, utterly shocked. Just as it had appeared, it disappeared into nothing, and she was back at where she was.
"What's wrong?" Hornet asked concernedly.
"I… don't know…" Lou muttered, clutching her crutches tightly, confusion and fear written all over her face. "I… I saw Japanese planes. They weren't supposed to be there. My crew was already at general quarters, my anti-aircraft guns were busy blasting away… Wait," she blinked, turning to look at the carrier, "what am I saying?"
"Looks like St. Louis was showing herself," Hornet observed. "Maybe she got fed up with you trying to shove her all the way down to the depths of your mind."
"W-what do you mean?"
"Well, I've noticed that you refer to your ship half as a separate entity rather than being an innate part of yourself," Hornet elaborated as the two of them resumed walking.
"That's because she's not," Lou defended herself.
"See what I mean?"
"But…"
In response, the blonde woman ruffled the brunette's hair. "You'll get past it, no worries."
"I don't know…" was the sulky reply. "But enough of me. What is your nickname, Miss Hornet?"
"I go by the nickname of Fighting Lady, for one," Hornet smiled proudly. "There's also Happy Hornet, too! And there's…"
The blonde woman trailed off, a blush appearing on her cheeks.
Lou raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"Nothing."
"You sure…?"
"Yeah, I'll tell you only when you get older," was the cryptic reply.
"Come on now, I know you were about to say something," Tuckerman pushed on curiously. "And I'm old enough for things!"
"Mmm… No you're not."
"Oh come on!"
And for the rest of the walk, Hornet's answer remained out of reach, despite Lou's repeated prodding.
"Hey Lou!" Tally waved from her wheelchair. "This is Nicholas! She said she was stopping by to help make sure we were settled in."
The girl Tally was chatting with was slightly taller than Kay, with a shock of white hair that was barely contained in a short ponytail. Her uniform closely resembled the one Fletcher had worn, a blue seifuku with white skirt, though the collar of her shirt had stars sewn into it. Lots of stars.
"Louise? USS Nicholas, Fletcher-class destroyer. It's nice to meet you," Nicholas said, casting her gaze over the brunette. She stepped forward and offered a hand for Lou to shake. "You're shorter than I expected."
Louise's expression immediately darkened.
"Ohno…" Tally muttered, just loud enough to be heard.
Several painful moments of silence passed.
"... Never call me short. Ever. Again," Lou finally broke the silence, her expression immediately lightening before she shook the destroyer's hand. "Louise Tuckerman, nice to meet you."
"Noted and logged," Nicholas said, ever the professional. "I'll pass word around, and you shouldn't have any trouble with the destroyers about that. Please, call me Nikki when I'm off duty."
"Sure thing, Nikki," Lou smiled, feeling strangely fond of the Fletcher-class ship, as if they were old friends. "You seem like the very helpful type."
"I've been around the block a few times," Nikki said with a half shrug. "I've seen more battles than Enterprise has, over the course of a few more wars."
"I see. Well, if you're around, I'm sure all's well!" Tuckerman smiled warmly. "Glad to see you're still running about."
"You okay, Lou?" Tally asked from the sidelines.
"Huh? Of course I am. Why'd you ask?"
"You're crying." It was a simple statement, but Tally managed to put weight behind those two words. Worry and concern, mostly.
"... Huh?"
Finally feeling it on her face, Tuckerman moved her hand up to her cheek and wiped it.
She stared at her damp fingers.
"Oh. That's… weird."
Nikki straightened her posture. "I think I know why. I picked up survivors from Helena when she sank at Kula Gulf. I might be reminding you of that with my presence."
"Helena? Isn't that the younger sister of St. Louis?" the brunette asked, remembering what Faye Faith had told her a few days ago, back at the hospital.
"Yeah," Nikki nodded. "The two of you were close, and you didn't handle her sinking well."
"Huh," was the reply from Lou. "Losing a close sister… yeah, if I was her, I wouldn't be able to take it either," she agreed sadly.
Nikki raised an eyebrow, but refrained from further comment.
"Anyway," Hornet interjected, bringing life back to the conversation, pointing at her front door, "shall we?"
"Sure!" Lou smiled eagerly, wiping off her tears. "You think there's a computer for me to borrow or something? The lack of Net's killing me!"
"Ask Kay or Sachi," Hornet suggested. "One of them should have a computer you can borrow if you really need it."
"Perfect! Fucking finally!"
"Language!"
"Ah, yeah, whoops!"
Hornet led the way into the condo. The first thing that caught Lou's eye was the decorations. While sensible people might have wallpaper or doilies to decorate, Hornet had books. Lots of books.
"That's quite the library you have there," Lou commented. "All yours?"
Hornet shook her head. "Most of it is, with my husband having most of the rest, but Kay, El, and Sachi all have a bookshelf of their own."
"Lou Lou!" a familiar voice called out from above a flight of stairs. The girl who came flying down a moment later really looked a lot like Kay, only if Kay was two years younger and had her hair done in a ponytail.
Louise's eyes immediately lit up. "Sachi!"
"Lou Lou!" Kay's younger sister beamed as she rushed over and gave the young Tuckerman a bone-crushing hug.
"Oof! S-Sachi-"
"Sooo nice to see you again, Lou Lou!" Sachi beamed happily, not letting up at all. "I was so worried about you when Kay said you were hospitalized! So sorry for not being able to visit you!"
"Y-yeah, it's- S-Sac- t-too tig-"
Despite seeing her friend's face turn increasingly pale, Tally remained quiet, amused at the unfolding scene.
"Sachi, you might want to loosen up a bit," Hornet commented, looking concernedly at the struggling brunette.
"Oh! Sorry Mama!" the youngest sibling of the family finally noticed, releasing a very-relieved Louise from her vice grip. "I'm so happy you came~"
"Yeah, r-really nice to see you too!" Lou stammered in embarrassment, her cheeks flushed red.
"Oh, hey Tally!"
"Hello Sachi!" Tally waved at the blonde.
"Is everyone else going to come today?!" Sachi asked her mother excitedly.
"Fletcher and Henley will be coming tomorrow," Hornet answered.
"What 'bout Capps and Hadley?"
"They're staying at Saunders to stand guard."
"Aw…" Sachi pouted. "I wanna invite them for a sleepover! But Lou Lou is here, so it's all great! Come Lou Lou," she grinned, helping Lou along to the stairs, "I'll show you my room! You can sleep on my bed with me!"
"Sachi!" Hornet scolded.
"Aw, but Mama…"
"Sachi, we've talked about this already," the mother of three stood firm.
"Okay…" the youngest daughter sulked. "So, who's sleeping in the guest room?"
"That'll be me," Lou raised her hand.
"Oh, good! Follow me anyway!" Sachi's smile returned and the two of them went up the stairs. Slowly, of course, with the blondie helping the brunette. "Then we'll stop by my room-"
"Sachi!"
The next morning, Tally found herself restless. She hadn't slept well, dreaming of fire and smoke. With Hornet out doing her job, and Kay having been called away for something, she was left alone with little to do. The normally energetic girl cursed her injured limbs keeping her stuck in the wheelchair, watching a group of destroyers and cruisers playing on a makeshift softball field instead of being able to join them.
"Morning," a voice called from on top of the stairs. Louise slowly limped down the stairs, revealing that she had removed her bandages. Well, at least the ones that others could see. The cast over her ankle was removed as well, but she still kept one crutch around.
"Mornin'," Tally replied, looking up from her seat near the window. "There's coffee in the kitchen if you want it. Word of caution, it's that sludge that Kay drinks by the gallon but nobody else can stand. Well, nobody except her mother, apparently."
"Ah, that," Lou noted. "Well, at least it isn't that viscous 'better-than-coffee substitute' I saw a few years ago. Ew…" she grimaced, the memory of that abomination still painful.
"Do I want to…? No, I don't want to know. I don't need to hear of any crimes against humanity that are worse than Navy Coffee," Tally said, shaking her head. "How are you doing this morning?"
"Pretty alright!" the girl smiled as per her usual mood. "And you?"
"Tired," Tally admitted, "and I've been thinking about, well, that."
"Mmhmm…" Tuckerman nodded as she reached into her pocket, bringing out a small, red rubber ball. "Well, I bought this at the hospital before we left! It's a stress ball, and it's very bouncy! Wanna try?" she offered.
Tally gave Lou an aside glance before shrugging. "Sure, why not?"
The brunette tossed the ball to the redhead, who caught it with ease. Tally considered the red ball for a moment. Then she raised her good arm and bounced the ball off of the wall, catching it in that same hand.
"Nice, isn't it?" Lou grinned, taking a seat on the couch beside her friend. "Let's see who can catch it after the other bounces it off the wall."
"... I had a dream last night," Tally said, almost absentmindedly as she continued to bounce the ball. No matter how hard Lou tried to snatch the ball away on the bounces, Tally managed to keep it away from her.
"Tch," Lou grumbled as she missed yet again. "What's it about?"
"Okinawa, May 1945," Tally answered. She fumbled her catch, letting Lou finally snatch the ball. "There were just so many planes overhead, so many hits taken… I took four kamikazes that day."
"Gotcha!" the brunette grinned as she finally caught the ball. Now her turn, she bounced it off the wall, but Tally didn't even bother to try to catch it.
Again.
Again.
But Louise continued. "It's quite a specific dream, isn't it?"
"Feels more like a memory or nightmare…" Tally hesitated, snapping out of her fugue for a moment. "I'm scared, Lou."
Lou's throwing frequency slowed down. "Of what?"
"Of all of this. The attack, the dreams, apparently being a shipgirl. It's hard to keep a brave face on," Tally admitted. "What do you think of this? Of everything?"
The ball bounced off the wall and came flying back to Louise, who caught it. However, it was not thrown again.
Lou looked down, a look of uncertainty and worry on her face. "... I don't know," she finally muttered, breaking the silence. "I genuinely do not know."
"I don't blame you…" Tally said softly. "These dreams, these visions we've been having… I fear they're only the start of things."
Lou remained silent.
"Even without going through with the manifestation, I know Evans is down there," Tally continued after a moment of silence. "I remember things I've never been through, know knowledge that I've never studied in my life, recognize places I've never been to. If she's affecting my memories like this, why… who's to say she can't mess with other stuff in my head? Will there come a day where I look in the mirror and realize that I don't recognize the woman that I'm staring at?"
"If you can even wonder about that, that is," Tuckerman muttered softly. "If what makes us us doesn't actually all vanish in a flash. And if we're never going to be ourselves ever again after this, not even in the least bit, in a way we don't even know something's wrong… then we're effectively dead. Our minds long gone, completely replaced by strangers."
She gripped her stress ball tightly. "I don't wanna lose you, Tally. Not ever. And…" she looked up, pure, unadulterated fear in her eyes, "... I really don't wanna die…"
I…" Tally stuttered, her inability to speak betraying the fear she wasn't letting show. "I don't want to die either. And you're a good friend who I would hate to lose… But… but I feel like we're screwed either way. J-just look at what happened when the Abyssals attacked. Evans and St. Louis took charge, and got us beaten up badly enough that I can't even walk right now!"
"We didn't even know they came…" Lou agreed. "They can literally kill us right now and we won't even see it coming. Or even feel it."
"I talked about this stuff with Hornet and Nicholas after you and Sachi disappeared upstairs last night, and…" Tally said, "I think manifestation might be the best call. Beyond some basic training so that we don't hurt ourselves or others, we don't have to participate in the war. And if we're manifested, we control it, not Evans or St. Louis."
"No…" Louise shook her head. "That's being irresponsible. We're unlocking our warship selves, selves equipped with massive power to fight against a global threat; we can't just say 'no' and waste everyone's time and effort. They're going to be so disappointed, and the fight gets tougher for them too."
"Not unlocking them would be just as irresponsible! Are you saying you want to go to war?" Tally asked. "We can't just walk away from this, not when we don't know when St. Louis or Evans will pop up next!"
"Of course not!" Lou defended herself. "I'm the last person to want to fight in a war!"
She took a deep breath. "And that leads to another point; we still don't know if we'll still be ourselves after being manifested, either. I think there's a fair chance our ship selves can be more than willing to jump right into combat, and if we go in thinking we can just abstain from fighting we could be going to be in for a disappointment. Our normal selves, that is; Tally Evans and Louise Tuckerman."
"I can live with disappointment," Tally stated firmly. "We can absolutely waste everyone's time and effort, because it's a hell of a lot safer to have someone who knows what they're doing with this than a spirit who randomly takes control of my body and makes me do whatever the hell she wants!"
"Yeah, but they need us!" Lou refuted, her voice shaking. "I don't want St. Louis to eradicate me, but what if she could've won a battle that the others ended up losing? I'll never be able to live it down knowing I can make a difference! If all it takes for the world to have a future is for St. Louis to live and me to die, I…" she swallowed, "... I-I don't know…"
"Hey!" Tally said, trying to force a commanding tone through her voice. Already, she was settling on a course of action. "Don't talk like that! You are not going to die because of St. Louis!"
"But I could!"
"But you won't!" Tally insisted.
"I-I'll be stupid if I don't recognize the possibility, and if that day was any indication of things to come…"
"Do you know why you won't die to St. Louis, Lou?" Tally asked.
"Why?"
"Because I'm going first." It wasn't a question, it wasn't an offer, it was a statement. "My mom is former US Army, and she always told me and my sisters stories about her time in the service. One story that stuck with me was about the bravest man she ever knew, Major Xander Vance. Major Vance, he had this saying… 'We do what we must, because we must.' He ended up sacrificing himself to allow the rest of his team escape a trap in some small village, and that line… it became one of his unit's mottos. We do what we must, because we must." Tally paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "As a scout, it is my duty to see that the path is clear for everyone else, and to warn them of any dangers ahead. Whether it's in Sensha-do, or for anyone I consider my younger sister, or just because I'm always the girl in the front, I'm the one who goes first… A-and… I'm going first. If I don't come back... if… if Evans is some completely different person, or if I'm so radically changed that I'm me but not really me… you run. Find a way to… to escape this war. You take Ace and you get out of here, go back to France, or join your family in the States, or just go somewhere inland where you can escape the A-Abyssals."
Lou stared at her friend, shocked and horrified. "No. Nononononono, not this time! Don't do this to me!" she pleaded. "If we're leaving, we leave together! If you're staying, I'll stay! If someone has to stay, I'll do it!"
Tally locked eyes with Lou, and gently put her hand on the brunette's shoulder. She could feel the tears gathering in her eyes, and she fought hard to keep them down, to keep putting on a brave face for the younger girl. "Louise, please. I'm not asking your permission. I want to do this. Let me do what I do best."
"At your expense?! No!" Lou replied defiantly, tears starting to well up in her eyes. "I can't live like that knowing you took the hit for me…"
"We do what we must…" Tally started.
"Then you mustn't die for me!"
"... because we must. And I damn well can't let you go in blind!"
"P-please, Tally…" Lou's tears were now flowing down her cheeks. "Don't leave me alone… We can leave together, so don't just throw your life away like that…"
"I… I've got to…" Tally choked on her own words, the tears she'd been suppressing running free. "As your friend, as...as your scout, as a convoy escort and radar picket, and as one of your COs in Tankery, i-it's my duty to know what you're going into, what's ahead of us."
"N-no, not like this!" Lou sobbed. "Y-you can't just g-go like t-that…"
"Then why not?" Tally asked. "Why… why are you so willing to make that sacrifice while not being willing to go to war?"
"B-because you're worth it y-you idiot! I-if you will n-never experience the- the pain, t-then i-it'll all be a-alright!"
"I've already lived through that hell once!" Tally exclaimed. "The Pacific War haunts my dreams every night, and both of my parents have deployed to the middle east during my lifetime. Sure, I've never seen it directly, at least in this life, but I know how war is hell just as much as the next military family." Tally looked down at her hands, both the loose one and the one still confined to a sling. They were shaking.
"T-then don't do it again!" Lou countered defiantly, not changing her stance. "J-Just don't put yourself t-through it again for me! W-what am I gonna do k-knowing I only m-made it out because o-of you?!"
"You'll… you'll do what tankers always do," Tally said, a sad smile forming on her face. "K-keep moving f-forward. Be always a-advancing…"
"N-not like this…" Lou continued sobbing. Suddenly moving closer, the brunette threw her arms around the redhead and pulled her into a hug. "P-please…"
Tally returned the hug with all the force she was able - which wasn't much with only one good arm, but she did her best - trying to convey through her actions, not her words, that everything would be alright. She gently patted Lou's back as the brunette let it all out.
The crying went on for minutes, until Louise's tears were all cried out. She did not feel any better in the slightest, though, still keeping her grasp on Tally as she continued resting on her damp shoulder.
"Lou…" Tally let the word fall for a minute. "I've been thinking about this since last night. I… I want to do this. I… I kept Nikki and Hornet up half the night just asking them questions. If you're scared, let me take the risk that I was going to take anyways."
"... I should've… came down I guess…" Lou muttered, still hugging the redhead. "B-but since you've put it that way… I… I guess I've got no reason to say no."
"I probably could have headed this whole discussion off if I'd just led with that…" Tally mused. "But it's good to get some of that off my chest."
"Yeah, you could," the brunette grumbled a bit before finally breaking the hug. She wiped her tear-stained face. "... I still don't know. What is the right thing to do…?"
"I don't know," Tally admitted. "That's why I want you to wait til I go."
"... Sure."
"Knock knock!" someone announced from the other room. Tally glanced up just before Lou did, shocked to hear and see Faye Faith just waiting in the kitchen.
"Faye Faith?" Lou sat up.
"T-Trips! How much of that did you hear without letting us know you were here?" Tally asked.
"Enough. What you're doing right now is really brave, Tally," the shipgirl said, as she approached. She sat down on the couch next to them, and pulled a pair of boxes out from… somewhere. "But I brought cell phones!"
The brunette's eyes lit up! "About fucking time! Which one's mine?"
"Language!" Tally reprimanded. Not that it mattered, because Faye Faith dropped a cellphone in her lap, and passed the other over to Lou.
"Wait a minute…" Tuckerman noticed as she picked hers up. "... No way. You're kidding," she gasped in awe, turning to look at the blonde girl. "Is this for real?!"
"Only the best for you girls," Faye Faith said with a bright smile. "Even if you don't manifest, Lou, consider it a thank you for what happened that day. I doubt we would have made it without your assistance."
"U-uh…" Lou stammered, looking at her brand-new top-end phone in her hand. "I… I don't know what to say other than 'thank you'..."
"You're very welcome!" Faye Faith had only barely gotten the words out before Tally pulled her into a tight hug.
"You're the best, sis!" Tally cheered.
Author's Note:
Kay's little sister Sachi does not belong to Salo or myself. We would like to give a big thanks to Miho Nishizumi (yes, that is their username) for allowing us to use her! We would also like to give a shout out to Rosy the PIAT-teer for letting us use their character Roselle, who has only been mentioned so far, but will be appearing at a later date. Go check out their story Speedster and Spymaster: An Unlikely Love Story!
Part 5
++++++++++
It was a beautiful day. In Tally's eyes, it was probably the first beautiful day since the Abyssal attack, if only because it was the first one she'd been outside since that day. They'd finally been released, but with the dorms still under repair aboard the schoolship, Kay had offered to let Tally and Lou stay at her place for a few days, just over the weekend until classes resumed. Though, said home being in Sasebo was rather unexpected.
What wasn't unexpected, however, was the argument that almost immediately brewed up in the back seat of the M3A1 scout car that Kay's mom was driving.
"I get it, you think our tanks suck," Tally's tone was bitingly sarcastic. "With teams running around with Panzer IIs and 38(t)s, the Stuarts and Locusts of Turkey Company are totally outmatched. Nevermind that I've managed to outfight most of those during this last Tankathlon season. Do you know how many other teams there are where the 37mm is completely ineffective? Two. Kuromorimine and Pravda. So, you know what we do against Kuromorimine and Pravda? We bring Izumi, we bring a Locust, and we use them as passive spotters and active recon. Not as flankers. We don't need Chaffees!"
"Is it really that hard for you to allow a more potent tank in?" Louise retorted exasperatedly. "I'm not saying you Turkeys fight badly, which you guys obviously don't, mind you, and neither am I asking you to completely take out your tanks and replace them with Chaffees. I'm just suggesting that maybe getting a few examples of a more powerful tank that's meant for and actually excels in the exact same job the Stuarts and Locusts are meant for will prove significantly beneficial for the team, and will allow us to fight back against not only said Panzer IIs, Panzer IIIs, 38(t)s and whatever other opponent light tanks, but also heavier tanks as well. I'm sure you guys do run into them at times, so what do you want to do in Stuarts and Locusts, keel over and die?"
"Since when is Turkey Company 'keeling over and dying' when we run into enemy tanks?" Tally asked, rhetorically. "What people always seem to forget is that while the 37mm is less than effective against medium to heavy armor, it's still perfectly capable of knocking most of them out. Need I remind you that I've knocked out a Panther with Izumi?
"And you know what? Most of the teams around here are made up of that lighter armor that we can properly engage!" Tally continued. "We really don't need this sort of upgrade, nor do we want it. I've asked; If anything, we want more Locusts!"
"So, this is the girlfriend and the girl you've practically adopted as your little sister," the elder blonde in the vehicle asked, keeping her eyes on the road. Tally held up a finger to Lou, indicating a need for silence while she listened in on Kay's mom. "Not what I expected at all."
"Moooooom!" Kay whined. "They're normally not this bad. I don't know what's gotten into them!"
"Little sister…?" Lou blinked, a look of surprise on her face.
"I'm not too surprised," Tally said, shrugging. "You do have that dynamic at times, just without much of the arguing."
"H-huh, I didn't think of it like that…" Tuckerman blushed before smiling happily. "B-but I love it!"
"I bet that'll make things a little awkward with Sachi~" the scout teased with a grin.
Lou's cheeks turned red. "H-hey, I haven't d-decided yet…" she stammered.
Tally laughed at her friend's reaction. "That's good to hear. I've got good money on you and Elle hooking up before I graduate!"
"L-like I said, I s-still haven't decided y-yet!" the younger girl's face flushed redder. "Both of 'em a-are really good, so…"
"Word of advice, don't keep them waiting too long. I nearly lost my chance with Kay because I delayed and delayed."
"Damn, that gives it so much pressure now…"
"Language!" Tally's grin reformed as she scolded Lou.
"Oh, yeah, whoops!" Lou returned the grin. "Which reminds me, why exactly are you against swearing this much?"
"I'm against casual swearing. It's a habit that was drilled into me when I was young, mostly, and it's one of the ones that actually stuck," Tally explained.
"Sounds like you should undrill it sometime," the younger girl suggested. "You're missing out so much on colorful vocabulary! Never was a problem to me."
Tally just stared at Louise for a moment, her grin fading. Then, in Russian, she spoke. "I'll do whatever I damn well please, you moron. I never require that you actually listen to me calling out your fucking cursing."
"Uh… huh?"
"I just cussed you out in Russian. I've got plenty of colorful vocabulary," Tally explained, swapping back to English.
"Oh," Lou nodded, interested. "Russian doesn't sound better than French though," she grinned, speaking in French.
"I don't speak a lick of French." Despite Tally's deadpan, she returned the grin.
"I know," was the cheeky English reply. "Good luck figuring that out."
"Well, Russe probably means Russian, and I think Français means French. So you were probably comparing the two languages."
"Tch, you move fast…" Lou feigned a grumble. "But yeah, I was. Basically said French sounded better."
"Makes sense," Tally nodded. "I called you a moron and said that I never actually require you listen to me calling you out, with a few extra curses thrown in for good measure."
"Meanie…" Lou teased. "This is persecution, what did I ever do to you?"
"You mean beyond trying to take Izumi away and replace her with a Chaffee?"
"... Apart from that," Lou scratched her cheek in embarrassment and guilt. "I really didn't know…"
"You said my vocabulary was lacking because I don't swear and don't like swearing. I proved you wrong," Tally said. "And I don't blame you too much for that. I've forgiven you; I'll just never forget it."
"Sounds good to me," the French-American girl nodded. "Thanks."
"Just be mindful that just because you want everyone else to get better tanks doesn't mean we do."
"Yeah. Oh!" Lou suddenly realized. "So you do admit the Chaffee's better than the Stuart and Locust!"
"I've never claimed it wasn't. I just don't want one, and neither does anyone else on Turkey."
"Back to this already?" Kay complained from the front seat.
"Well, we are concerned about the wellbeing of the team," Lou replied. "Why aren't you, Commander?" she snickered cheekily.
"Because it's not fair to all of the rest of the teams! We have answers in our lineup for KMM and Pravda's heavies, and everyone else just has to deal with basic M4s, which are overwhelming enough as is, without adding 76mm guns or Hellcats in support!"
"Well, if the team commander says so, who am I to argue?" Louise shrugged. "I still feel my idea's safer overall," she commented, leaning back before whistling the tune of The Invincible Eagle.
"Safer for securing wins, maybe. But if we continually beat the smaller teams, they might stop enjoying playing against us. And if we can't get any matches outside of the tournaments and ourselves…" Kay countered. "Everyone should be having fun, not just us!"
"You're a good team captain, Kay," Kay's mom said, though Tally only glanced her way for a moment. She wasn't trying to avoid any of the shipgirls, but at the same time, she wasn't looking forward to interacting with them. "But you'd make an awful soldier, and I'm very happy for that fact. Tally, Lou, our home is on the base at Naval Activities Sasebo, so there will be shipgirls around if you have any questions about what's going on. We're not going to force anybody into anything, and if you so much as think someone is trying to pressure you into it, call me, and I will personally come and kick their asses."
Well… there went that plan…
"Got it," Lou acknowledged. "Thanks, Miss Yorktown!"
"Don't worry about it," Kay's mom said, "and please, call me Hornet. Yorktown is my sister."
"Sure thing!" Lou smiled, but a moment later her eyes furrowed. "Yorktown… Well," she sprung up again, brushing it aside, "don't carriers suck at close range, though?" an amused grin spread on her face.
"Who said anything about close range?" Hornet asked with a laugh.
"Ah, sucks to be whoever that is then," Tuckerman chuckled. "... I need my new phone soon."
"If Fletcher was correct, they'll be in Nagasaki in the next few days, and she'll bring them to the base once they arrive," Kay said.
"This is killing me..." Louise grumbled.
"I know exactly how you feel," Tally commiserated. "At least you can walk around with the assistance of crutches. I can't even do that!"
"We'll just blame the Evans and St. Louis for our injuries," Lou replied, a hint of sarcasm and doubt audible to the redhead. "How the hell did we end up like this?"
"I mean, they probably ended up like that Jumbo during that one practice match against St Gloriana. Shot to bits but somehow still combat effective," Tally guessed with a shrug.
"Eh, Faye Faith mentioned that St. Louis fainted," the brunette recalled. "If anything, Evans seemed like the one that was more alive and kicking between the two."
"Well, if our injuries are roughly analogous to the hits we take-"
Tally was cut off by Hornet's confirmation. "They are."
"-Thank you. Then you and St. Louis were still the lucky one. You got off fairly lightly, except for your chest. I've only got one working limb." Tally waved with said still functional limb.
"Yeah, doc says I can take off my bandages later and stop using crutches tomorrow if I can," Lou agreed. "I still feel like shi-... iiirious internal damage happened," she quickly stopped herself in Tally's presence. "The hell happened to her?"
"Good catch, Sean Connery," Tally smiled. "Which her?"
"St. Louis, of course!"
"Sounds like you took a couple big rounds to your citadel," Hornet commented. "Northampton had something similar happen to her at Sasebo, and I had to tow her back."
"Citadel…?"
"Basically, all the important stuff is hidden behind your thickest armor," Kay explained, turning in her seat to face the two in the back. "Stuff like your magazines and engine spaces. A few hits there that punch through will make any warship hurt, no matter how big she is. As a destroyer, Evans just lacks armor, and therefore also lacks a citadel."
"So, business as usual for me?" Tally asked. Kay smiled and nodded.
"Chaffees have more armor ya know," Lou whispered loudly cheekily.
"Not enough to make a difference in most situations!"
"For fuck's sake you two, knock it off!" Kay exclaimed. "Lou, you're in the guest bedroom tonight, Tally, you get the downstairs couch just so I don't have to listen to you bicker all night!"
"But Tally needs a bed," Lou raised the problem. "Her limbs!"
"It's a hide-a-bed."
"Ah."
"Plus, we don't have an easy way to get Tally upstairs. We don't exactly have wheelchair ramps," Kay added.
Tally shrugged. "Yeah, that's fair."
"Speaking of which, i-is Sachi home today?" Tuckerman asked, a light blush on her face.
"She should be. A couple of the destroyers might have grabbed her while we were out picking you up," Hornet answered.
"Oh, that's nice! She's gonna hug me the moment I step in for sure," Lou giggled shyly.
"I see it runs in the family…" Tally observed. More than one occasion of being glomped by Kay immediately sprung to mind.
"Seems like it," Tuckerman nodded. "For Elle, that'll be a tackle."
Tally laughed a little before she looked up and out of the scout car. They were pulling into the base at Sasebo now, and it was shockingly different from the schoolship and Nagasaki. For one, there were girls her age running around, playing what looked like basketball. They paused in their game as one side scored a 2-point shot, and waved at her. They were mostly Benson and Gleaves-class, if she had to guess, but there was a Fletcher in there.
She would have loved to join their game, but it just wasn't to be. Not with two busted legs. Instead, she did all she could, which was smile and wave.
++++++++++
After a while, the M3A1 arrived at its exact destination, pulling into a parking spot.
"Alright, we're here!" Kay announced cheerfully as her mother engaged the parking brake and shut the engine off. "Stay there, we'll help you out!"
The brunette and redhead nodded as the mother-daughter pair tended to the two injured girls at the back. While Kay went over to Tally, Harriet- or rather, Hornet went over to tend to Louise.
"Easy there," the older woman said as she noticed the young Tuckerman wince in pain, getting the brunette to use her as support.
"T-thanks…" Lou nodded, limping forward.
"Kay had been telling me a lot about you, Miss Tuckerman. You enrolled in Saunders under quite remarkable circumstances, didn't you?"
"Yes I did," Louise smiled. "I was very lucky to have met your daughter and everyone else."
The blonde woman chuckled in response. "Just like your ship half. You know, you're known as the Lucky Lou around us."
"Am I?" Louise raised a curious eyebrow. "Wow, so many parallels… Well, I like to think it's not just luck that got me this far."
"Of course it's not," was the warm answer as Hornet sat Lou down at the open door, reaching over and passing the younger girl her crutches. "Luck can only get you so far. You've definitely got the personal merit to boot as well."
"T-thanks!" Lou blushed proudly as she stood up. In front of her, Kay had already pushed Tally ahead on her wheelchair, going at a concerningly high speed.
"Not to worry, they'll have to wait for us anyway," the Yorktown-class carrier reassured. "All at our own pace."
"Yeah!" Lou grinned as they walked ahead, Hornet walking right beside her.
"So, Miss Yorktown?"
"Hornet, Louise."
"Right, Hornet," Tuckerman corrected. "Um, can Miss Hornet do?"
"Of course."
"Nice! So Miss Hornet, how does it feel being a shipgirl?"
"It's…" Hornet paused, considering her words. "A lot of the time, it feels as if I had been blind until I manifested, and only now can I see. There was a whole other life I had lived that I never knew about until that moment. But it also feels as if the world is resting on your shoulders, though that could just be because I'm the flagship here at Sasebo until one of the other carriers relieves me. The sense of community with the other shipgirls is also amazing, but it is most certainly a double edged sword. Shipgirls are much more social than humans, from what I've discovered, much more comfortable in a fleet, but also much lonelier when you're on your own."
"I see…" Lou muttered, thinking about her words. "Sorry if that was out of the blue, I just want to know more. 'Cos…"
"Yeah, that is perfectly and completely understandable," the Yorktown-class carrier smiled warmly. "On the other hand I'd be worried if you never asked. You need to know what you're stepping into."
"Yeah…"
"Is there anything else?"
"Well…" Tuckerman pondered for a few moments. "Why was… she called the Lucky Lou?"
"That's because she was the first major ship to clear Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941," the older woman explained. "At least you know what happened that day, I suppose?"
"Yeah, fully awar-"
RATATATATATA-
Lou froze, utterly shocked. Just as it had appeared, it disappeared into nothing, and she was back at where she was.
"What's wrong?" Hornet asked concernedly.
"I… don't know…" Lou muttered, clutching her crutches tightly, confusion and fear written all over her face. "I… I saw Japanese planes. They weren't supposed to be there. My crew was already at general quarters, my anti-aircraft guns were busy blasting away… Wait," she blinked, turning to look at the carrier, "what am I saying?"
"Looks like St. Louis was showing herself," Hornet observed. "Maybe she got fed up with you trying to shove her all the way down to the depths of your mind."
"W-what do you mean?"
"Well, I've noticed that you refer to your ship half as a separate entity rather than being an innate part of yourself," Hornet elaborated as the two of them resumed walking.
"That's because she's not," Lou defended herself.
"See what I mean?"
"But…"
In response, the blonde woman ruffled the brunette's hair. "You'll get past it, no worries."
"I don't know…" was the sulky reply. "But enough of me. What is your nickname, Miss Hornet?"
"I go by the nickname of Fighting Lady, for one," Hornet smiled proudly. "There's also Happy Hornet, too! And there's…"
The blonde woman trailed off, a blush appearing on her cheeks.
Lou raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"Nothing."
"You sure…?"
"Yeah, I'll tell you only when you get older," was the cryptic reply.
"Come on now, I know you were about to say something," Tuckerman pushed on curiously. "And I'm old enough for things!"
"Mmm… No you're not."
"Oh come on!"
And for the rest of the walk, Hornet's answer remained out of reach, despite Lou's repeated prodding.
"Hey Lou!" Tally waved from her wheelchair. "This is Nicholas! She said she was stopping by to help make sure we were settled in."
The girl Tally was chatting with was slightly taller than Kay, with a shock of white hair that was barely contained in a short ponytail. Her uniform closely resembled the one Fletcher had worn, a blue seifuku with white skirt, though the collar of her shirt had stars sewn into it. Lots of stars.
"Louise? USS Nicholas, Fletcher-class destroyer. It's nice to meet you," Nicholas said, casting her gaze over the brunette. She stepped forward and offered a hand for Lou to shake. "You're shorter than I expected."
Louise's expression immediately darkened.
"Ohno…" Tally muttered, just loud enough to be heard.
Several painful moments of silence passed.
"... Never call me short. Ever. Again," Lou finally broke the silence, her expression immediately lightening before she shook the destroyer's hand. "Louise Tuckerman, nice to meet you."
"Noted and logged," Nicholas said, ever the professional. "I'll pass word around, and you shouldn't have any trouble with the destroyers about that. Please, call me Nikki when I'm off duty."
"Sure thing, Nikki," Lou smiled, feeling strangely fond of the Fletcher-class ship, as if they were old friends. "You seem like the very helpful type."
"I've been around the block a few times," Nikki said with a half shrug. "I've seen more battles than Enterprise has, over the course of a few more wars."
"I see. Well, if you're around, I'm sure all's well!" Tuckerman smiled warmly. "Glad to see you're still running about."
"You okay, Lou?" Tally asked from the sidelines.
"Huh? Of course I am. Why'd you ask?"
"You're crying." It was a simple statement, but Tally managed to put weight behind those two words. Worry and concern, mostly.
"... Huh?"
Finally feeling it on her face, Tuckerman moved her hand up to her cheek and wiped it.
She stared at her damp fingers.
"Oh. That's… weird."
Nikki straightened her posture. "I think I know why. I picked up survivors from Helena when she sank at Kula Gulf. I might be reminding you of that with my presence."
"Helena? Isn't that the younger sister of St. Louis?" the brunette asked, remembering what Faye Faith had told her a few days ago, back at the hospital.
"Yeah," Nikki nodded. "The two of you were close, and you didn't handle her sinking well."
"Huh," was the reply from Lou. "Losing a close sister… yeah, if I was her, I wouldn't be able to take it either," she agreed sadly.
Nikki raised an eyebrow, but refrained from further comment.
"Anyway," Hornet interjected, bringing life back to the conversation, pointing at her front door, "shall we?"
"Sure!" Lou smiled eagerly, wiping off her tears. "You think there's a computer for me to borrow or something? The lack of Net's killing me!"
"Ask Kay or Sachi," Hornet suggested. "One of them should have a computer you can borrow if you really need it."
"Perfect! Fucking finally!"
"Language!"
"Ah, yeah, whoops!"
Hornet led the way into the condo. The first thing that caught Lou's eye was the decorations. While sensible people might have wallpaper or doilies to decorate, Hornet had books. Lots of books.
"That's quite the library you have there," Lou commented. "All yours?"
Hornet shook her head. "Most of it is, with my husband having most of the rest, but Kay, El, and Sachi all have a bookshelf of their own."
"Lou Lou!" a familiar voice called out from above a flight of stairs. The girl who came flying down a moment later really looked a lot like Kay, only if Kay was two years younger and had her hair done in a ponytail.
Louise's eyes immediately lit up. "Sachi!"
"Lou Lou!" Kay's younger sister beamed as she rushed over and gave the young Tuckerman a bone-crushing hug.
"Oof! S-Sachi-"
"Sooo nice to see you again, Lou Lou!" Sachi beamed happily, not letting up at all. "I was so worried about you when Kay said you were hospitalized! So sorry for not being able to visit you!"
"Y-yeah, it's- S-Sac- t-too tig-"
Despite seeing her friend's face turn increasingly pale, Tally remained quiet, amused at the unfolding scene.
"Sachi, you might want to loosen up a bit," Hornet commented, looking concernedly at the struggling brunette.
"Oh! Sorry Mama!" the youngest sibling of the family finally noticed, releasing a very-relieved Louise from her vice grip. "I'm so happy you came~"
"Yeah, r-really nice to see you too!" Lou stammered in embarrassment, her cheeks flushed red.
"Oh, hey Tally!"
"Hello Sachi!" Tally waved at the blonde.
"Is everyone else going to come today?!" Sachi asked her mother excitedly.
"Fletcher and Henley will be coming tomorrow," Hornet answered.
"What 'bout Capps and Hadley?"
"They're staying at Saunders to stand guard."
"Aw…" Sachi pouted. "I wanna invite them for a sleepover! But Lou Lou is here, so it's all great! Come Lou Lou," she grinned, helping Lou along to the stairs, "I'll show you my room! You can sleep on my bed with me!"
"Sachi!" Hornet scolded.
"Aw, but Mama…"
"Sachi, we've talked about this already," the mother of three stood firm.
"Okay…" the youngest daughter sulked. "So, who's sleeping in the guest room?"
"That'll be me," Lou raised her hand.
"Oh, good! Follow me anyway!" Sachi's smile returned and the two of them went up the stairs. Slowly, of course, with the blondie helping the brunette. "Then we'll stop by my room-"
"Sachi!"
++++++++++
The next morning, Tally found herself restless. She hadn't slept well, dreaming of fire and smoke. With Hornet out doing her job, and Kay having been called away for something, she was left alone with little to do. The normally energetic girl cursed her injured limbs keeping her stuck in the wheelchair, watching a group of destroyers and cruisers playing on a makeshift softball field instead of being able to join them.
"Morning," a voice called from on top of the stairs. Louise slowly limped down the stairs, revealing that she had removed her bandages. Well, at least the ones that others could see. The cast over her ankle was removed as well, but she still kept one crutch around.
"Mornin'," Tally replied, looking up from her seat near the window. "There's coffee in the kitchen if you want it. Word of caution, it's that sludge that Kay drinks by the gallon but nobody else can stand. Well, nobody except her mother, apparently."
"Ah, that," Lou noted. "Well, at least it isn't that viscous 'better-than-coffee substitute' I saw a few years ago. Ew…" she grimaced, the memory of that abomination still painful.
"Do I want to…? No, I don't want to know. I don't need to hear of any crimes against humanity that are worse than Navy Coffee," Tally said, shaking her head. "How are you doing this morning?"
"Pretty alright!" the girl smiled as per her usual mood. "And you?"
"Tired," Tally admitted, "and I've been thinking about, well, that."
"Mmhmm…" Tuckerman nodded as she reached into her pocket, bringing out a small, red rubber ball. "Well, I bought this at the hospital before we left! It's a stress ball, and it's very bouncy! Wanna try?" she offered.
Tally gave Lou an aside glance before shrugging. "Sure, why not?"
The brunette tossed the ball to the redhead, who caught it with ease. Tally considered the red ball for a moment. Then she raised her good arm and bounced the ball off of the wall, catching it in that same hand.
"Nice, isn't it?" Lou grinned, taking a seat on the couch beside her friend. "Let's see who can catch it after the other bounces it off the wall."
"... I had a dream last night," Tally said, almost absentmindedly as she continued to bounce the ball. No matter how hard Lou tried to snatch the ball away on the bounces, Tally managed to keep it away from her.
"Tch," Lou grumbled as she missed yet again. "What's it about?"
"Okinawa, May 1945," Tally answered. She fumbled her catch, letting Lou finally snatch the ball. "There were just so many planes overhead, so many hits taken… I took four kamikazes that day."
"Gotcha!" the brunette grinned as she finally caught the ball. Now her turn, she bounced it off the wall, but Tally didn't even bother to try to catch it.
Again.
Again.
But Louise continued. "It's quite a specific dream, isn't it?"
"Feels more like a memory or nightmare…" Tally hesitated, snapping out of her fugue for a moment. "I'm scared, Lou."
Lou's throwing frequency slowed down. "Of what?"
"Of all of this. The attack, the dreams, apparently being a shipgirl. It's hard to keep a brave face on," Tally admitted. "What do you think of this? Of everything?"
The ball bounced off the wall and came flying back to Louise, who caught it. However, it was not thrown again.
Lou looked down, a look of uncertainty and worry on her face. "... I don't know," she finally muttered, breaking the silence. "I genuinely do not know."
"I don't blame you…" Tally said softly. "These dreams, these visions we've been having… I fear they're only the start of things."
Lou remained silent.
"Even without going through with the manifestation, I know Evans is down there," Tally continued after a moment of silence. "I remember things I've never been through, know knowledge that I've never studied in my life, recognize places I've never been to. If she's affecting my memories like this, why… who's to say she can't mess with other stuff in my head? Will there come a day where I look in the mirror and realize that I don't recognize the woman that I'm staring at?"
"If you can even wonder about that, that is," Tuckerman muttered softly. "If what makes us us doesn't actually all vanish in a flash. And if we're never going to be ourselves ever again after this, not even in the least bit, in a way we don't even know something's wrong… then we're effectively dead. Our minds long gone, completely replaced by strangers."
She gripped her stress ball tightly. "I don't wanna lose you, Tally. Not ever. And…" she looked up, pure, unadulterated fear in her eyes, "... I really don't wanna die…"
I…" Tally stuttered, her inability to speak betraying the fear she wasn't letting show. "I don't want to die either. And you're a good friend who I would hate to lose… But… but I feel like we're screwed either way. J-just look at what happened when the Abyssals attacked. Evans and St. Louis took charge, and got us beaten up badly enough that I can't even walk right now!"
"We didn't even know they came…" Lou agreed. "They can literally kill us right now and we won't even see it coming. Or even feel it."
"I talked about this stuff with Hornet and Nicholas after you and Sachi disappeared upstairs last night, and…" Tally said, "I think manifestation might be the best call. Beyond some basic training so that we don't hurt ourselves or others, we don't have to participate in the war. And if we're manifested, we control it, not Evans or St. Louis."
"No…" Louise shook her head. "That's being irresponsible. We're unlocking our warship selves, selves equipped with massive power to fight against a global threat; we can't just say 'no' and waste everyone's time and effort. They're going to be so disappointed, and the fight gets tougher for them too."
"Not unlocking them would be just as irresponsible! Are you saying you want to go to war?" Tally asked. "We can't just walk away from this, not when we don't know when St. Louis or Evans will pop up next!"
"Of course not!" Lou defended herself. "I'm the last person to want to fight in a war!"
She took a deep breath. "And that leads to another point; we still don't know if we'll still be ourselves after being manifested, either. I think there's a fair chance our ship selves can be more than willing to jump right into combat, and if we go in thinking we can just abstain from fighting we could be going to be in for a disappointment. Our normal selves, that is; Tally Evans and Louise Tuckerman."
"I can live with disappointment," Tally stated firmly. "We can absolutely waste everyone's time and effort, because it's a hell of a lot safer to have someone who knows what they're doing with this than a spirit who randomly takes control of my body and makes me do whatever the hell she wants!"
"Yeah, but they need us!" Lou refuted, her voice shaking. "I don't want St. Louis to eradicate me, but what if she could've won a battle that the others ended up losing? I'll never be able to live it down knowing I can make a difference! If all it takes for the world to have a future is for St. Louis to live and me to die, I…" she swallowed, "... I-I don't know…"
"Hey!" Tally said, trying to force a commanding tone through her voice. Already, she was settling on a course of action. "Don't talk like that! You are not going to die because of St. Louis!"
"But I could!"
"But you won't!" Tally insisted.
"I-I'll be stupid if I don't recognize the possibility, and if that day was any indication of things to come…"
"Do you know why you won't die to St. Louis, Lou?" Tally asked.
"Why?"
"Because I'm going first." It wasn't a question, it wasn't an offer, it was a statement. "My mom is former US Army, and she always told me and my sisters stories about her time in the service. One story that stuck with me was about the bravest man she ever knew, Major Xander Vance. Major Vance, he had this saying… 'We do what we must, because we must.' He ended up sacrificing himself to allow the rest of his team escape a trap in some small village, and that line… it became one of his unit's mottos. We do what we must, because we must." Tally paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "As a scout, it is my duty to see that the path is clear for everyone else, and to warn them of any dangers ahead. Whether it's in Sensha-do, or for anyone I consider my younger sister, or just because I'm always the girl in the front, I'm the one who goes first… A-and… I'm going first. If I don't come back... if… if Evans is some completely different person, or if I'm so radically changed that I'm me but not really me… you run. Find a way to… to escape this war. You take Ace and you get out of here, go back to France, or join your family in the States, or just go somewhere inland where you can escape the A-Abyssals."
Lou stared at her friend, shocked and horrified. "No. Nononononono, not this time! Don't do this to me!" she pleaded. "If we're leaving, we leave together! If you're staying, I'll stay! If someone has to stay, I'll do it!"
Tally locked eyes with Lou, and gently put her hand on the brunette's shoulder. She could feel the tears gathering in her eyes, and she fought hard to keep them down, to keep putting on a brave face for the younger girl. "Louise, please. I'm not asking your permission. I want to do this. Let me do what I do best."
"At your expense?! No!" Lou replied defiantly, tears starting to well up in her eyes. "I can't live like that knowing you took the hit for me…"
"We do what we must…" Tally started.
"Then you mustn't die for me!"
"... because we must. And I damn well can't let you go in blind!"
"P-please, Tally…" Lou's tears were now flowing down her cheeks. "Don't leave me alone… We can leave together, so don't just throw your life away like that…"
"I… I've got to…" Tally choked on her own words, the tears she'd been suppressing running free. "As your friend, as...as your scout, as a convoy escort and radar picket, and as one of your COs in Tankery, i-it's my duty to know what you're going into, what's ahead of us."
"N-no, not like this!" Lou sobbed. "Y-you can't just g-go like t-that…"
"Then why not?" Tally asked. "Why… why are you so willing to make that sacrifice while not being willing to go to war?"
"B-because you're worth it y-you idiot! I-if you will n-never experience the- the pain, t-then i-it'll all be a-alright!"
"I've already lived through that hell once!" Tally exclaimed. "The Pacific War haunts my dreams every night, and both of my parents have deployed to the middle east during my lifetime. Sure, I've never seen it directly, at least in this life, but I know how war is hell just as much as the next military family." Tally looked down at her hands, both the loose one and the one still confined to a sling. They were shaking.
"T-then don't do it again!" Lou countered defiantly, not changing her stance. "J-Just don't put yourself t-through it again for me! W-what am I gonna do k-knowing I only m-made it out because o-of you?!"
"You'll… you'll do what tankers always do," Tally said, a sad smile forming on her face. "K-keep moving f-forward. Be always a-advancing…"
"N-not like this…" Lou continued sobbing. Suddenly moving closer, the brunette threw her arms around the redhead and pulled her into a hug. "P-please…"
Tally returned the hug with all the force she was able - which wasn't much with only one good arm, but she did her best - trying to convey through her actions, not her words, that everything would be alright. She gently patted Lou's back as the brunette let it all out.
The crying went on for minutes, until Louise's tears were all cried out. She did not feel any better in the slightest, though, still keeping her grasp on Tally as she continued resting on her damp shoulder.
"Lou…" Tally let the word fall for a minute. "I've been thinking about this since last night. I… I want to do this. I… I kept Nikki and Hornet up half the night just asking them questions. If you're scared, let me take the risk that I was going to take anyways."
"... I should've… came down I guess…" Lou muttered, still hugging the redhead. "B-but since you've put it that way… I… I guess I've got no reason to say no."
"I probably could have headed this whole discussion off if I'd just led with that…" Tally mused. "But it's good to get some of that off my chest."
"Yeah, you could," the brunette grumbled a bit before finally breaking the hug. She wiped her tear-stained face. "... I still don't know. What is the right thing to do…?"
"I don't know," Tally admitted. "That's why I want you to wait til I go."
"... Sure."
"Knock knock!" someone announced from the other room. Tally glanced up just before Lou did, shocked to hear and see Faye Faith just waiting in the kitchen.
"Faye Faith?" Lou sat up.
"T-Trips! How much of that did you hear without letting us know you were here?" Tally asked.
"Enough. What you're doing right now is really brave, Tally," the shipgirl said, as she approached. She sat down on the couch next to them, and pulled a pair of boxes out from… somewhere. "But I brought cell phones!"
The brunette's eyes lit up! "About fucking time! Which one's mine?"
"Language!" Tally reprimanded. Not that it mattered, because Faye Faith dropped a cellphone in her lap, and passed the other over to Lou.
"Wait a minute…" Tuckerman noticed as she picked hers up. "... No way. You're kidding," she gasped in awe, turning to look at the blonde girl. "Is this for real?!"
"Only the best for you girls," Faye Faith said with a bright smile. "Even if you don't manifest, Lou, consider it a thank you for what happened that day. I doubt we would have made it without your assistance."
"U-uh…" Lou stammered, looking at her brand-new top-end phone in her hand. "I… I don't know what to say other than 'thank you'..."
"You're very welcome!" Faye Faith had only barely gotten the words out before Tally pulled her into a tight hug.
"You're the best, sis!" Tally cheered.
Author's Note:
Kay's little sister Sachi does not belong to Salo or myself. We would like to give a big thanks to Miho Nishizumi (yes, that is their username) for allowing us to use her! We would also like to give a shout out to Rosy the PIAT-teer for letting us use their character Roselle, who has only been mentioned so far, but will be appearing at a later date. Go check out their story Speedster and Spymaster: An Unlikely Love Story!
Part Six
Lady Darkhound
Haha, tanks!
- Location
- My very own personal hell
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yet Still We Sail
Part 6
++++++++++
Leaning heavily on her soon-to-be sister ship, Tally limped into the summoning chamber. It was thankfully fairly quiet, but there were familiar faces scattered around the room. Kay, Louise, and Sachi had gathered on the bleachers and were chatting merrily, Nicholas was discussing something with a violently Irish girl, and Hornet was chatting with a blonde cruiser of some description. Her Evil Twin was here somewhere too, but she didn't know where. That was usually a bad sign.
The chamber itself… well, "summoning chamber" was a bit of a misnomer. It was a moderately sized room in the shipgirl quarter of the base, with a pool in the middle and bleachers scattered around. Supposedly, to get a successful summon, there had to be two important things present, at least for the Americans: people, and music. Sasebo hadn't tested that theory yet, but had designed the room to specifications that had been hammered out in the 'States.
"So, what, all I have to do is go float on that wooden pallet, let the Admiral say a few words, play some music, and the magic will happen?" Tally asked.
"Yes and no," Faye Faith answered. "There's a whole lot more going on, like the offering of materials and a few other steps that the support crew are handling in the background. All you have to do is float on the wooden pallet and be ready. Hornet said it was quite the experience, but I have no idea what she meant."
"Well, she was Harriet Yorktown long before she was Hornet, so that may have something to do with it," Tally did her best to shrug without falling off of Fletcher's careful support. "Us manifestees have a whole human life behind us, while you just have your lives as ships."
"Makes sense," Fletcher agreed. "Come on, let's get you off your legs until the manifestation."
With the destroyer's help, Tally made her way down to the bench right on the pool's edge. The base doctors had given her some splints to help stand on the broken leg, but every step still felt like her leg wanted to strangle her. At least they'd declared her sprained ankle safe enough to walk on.
"Nervous?" Fletcher asked as Tally sat down.
"How could I not be? Even with the reasons I explained earlier, I'm still ultimately going into something that will undoubtedly change me in unexpected ways," the redhead spoke softly. "When we talked, earlier, Lou and I were both concerned about coming back as completely different people. If… if Evans isn't Tally, I… please, help Louise. I don't want her to lose who she is."
Fletcher smiled and patted Tally's head. It was a good feeling. "Of course. You're a good big sister, Tally. I'd love to meet your actual sisters someday."
"And I'm sure my family would love to meet you. All of the girls who have become my adopted family. Maybe not all at once…"
The blonde laughed. "Meeting all 175 of us at once would be rather awkward. God, I can already imagine the food bill!"
"Even Auntie Nat would balk at that, I think," Tally said with a smile.
"What's she like?"
"She's great. Probably the greatest aunt I could ask for," Tally's smile only grew as she started talking. "She runs a small bakery back home, and would always bring freshly baked goodies for Marie, Sasha, and I whenever she stopped by. She's also the one who got me into manga and anime, and therefore inadvertently is the reason why I met all of you. She's kind and generous, but more than willing to put someone in their place if she thinks they deserve it."
"Sounds like she was an inspiration to you, judging by how you're acting in support of Lou and the others."
"Funnily enough, she's actually the youngest of all my aunts. Sophie and Yvonne are both older than her."
Tally let the time get away from her as she talked with Fletcher about her family. There was an almost bittersweet smile on the destroyer's face as they talked, but she was more than willing to keep talking despite that.
More and more people crowded into the room as the hour drew nearer, and for a moment Tally swore she watched Jane Richardson enter the room with a red-haired battleship. However, the two disappeared into the crowd before Tally could do much more than notice them.
"We're almost there, aren't we?" Tally asked, looking over the crowd.
"Almost. You should probably chat with Kay and the others one last time before it all goes down," Fletcher suggested.
"That's probably a good idea," Tally agreed. She scanned the crowd and zeroed in on where Kay, Lou, Sachi, and Jane were all chatting, and waved her friends over.
Lou, already facing the general direction of Tally, was the first to notice the waving girl. Alerting the other three to that, the group of four walked over to the blonde destroyer and her redheaded soon-to-be-sister ship.
"So, ready for the big moment, are we?" Kay greeted in her usual energetic tone.
Tally looked around the chamber at the sheer amount of unfamiliar faces who would be concentrating all directly on her. "Gonna be honest, I'm terrified right now. I've always hated crowds and being the center of attention."
In response, the blonde Saunders team commander gave her girlfriend a big, comforting hug. "Don't you worry, Tally. We're all here. Always."
"Hadley couldn't make it because of patrol duty, but she wanted me to tell you something," Jane added. She cleared her throat, and started a passable impression of the Sumner, "And I quote; 'That day off Okinawa, at Radar Picket 15, we made a promise to each other. We've always got each other's backs, no matter the storm. Whatever you choose, I'll be there, in spirit if I can't make it in person because of this freaking patrol duty!' End quote."
Tally returned Kay's hug. "Thank you. Thank you all so much, just for being here."
A wave of "No problem" and its variations were given in response by everyone. Or, almost everyone. A certain brunette didn't say anything.
"Louise?" Tally asked. "You okay?"
As the other girls stepped aside, the young Tuckerman stepped forward, looking at the redhead with a look of nervousness, sadness, anxiousness yet pride in her eyes.
"So…" she began, looking around the summoning chamber, "this is it?"
"This is it," Tally confirmed with a nod.
Looking around for just a bit more, the brunette's eyes finally returned to look into the redhead's.
A few seconds passed.
Then, Louise stepped forward, gently and quietly embracing Tally. Once again, the shipgirl-to-be returned the hug, this time patting the younger girl on the back as she did so.
After a comfortable amount of time, Lou gently broke off the hug. "That was just in case. See you on the other side, or I will never forgive you," she smiled.
"I'll see you all on the other side," Tally agreed.
"I… Yeah, no, this is not goodbye," Lou commented defiantly, her smile growing into a confident, determined grin. "All the best!"
And with that, she finally let go of her friend. "I'll look forward to the good news."
"Alright, it's time," Fletcher stated. She stood up, and with a little help from Kay, got Tally back onto her feet. The wooden pallet was floating right in front of them, and the shipgirl helped Tally down onto it before hopping into the water and towing it to the center of the pool.
The lights faded until the only illumination was the ones centered on her. The small band began playing their first piece, an old Saunders favorite: The Battle Hymn of the Republic. As the Admiral began speaking, the world faded…
She was a Proud Ship. As she watched the men file aboard for what might be their final voyage, she knew how proud they were of her. Of their ship. A part of her longed to join them, but the young tanker knew her place was somewhere else… or so she thought.
Something called her to join them before the ship cast off, and she rushed forward, barely managing to get across the gangplank in time. Though the men almost instinctively walked around her, not a one of them seemed to notice her. And yet… she knew that they would all lay their lives on the line for her and the ship.
As they sailed, she explored the decks for a short while. She'd ended up at the ship's bow before she realized with sudden clarity that she knew where they were. That island was Okinawa… they were sailing into harm's way.
Ahead of her lay a familiar ship, and she suppressed a shiver when she realized how right she was. Not just into harm's way, but one of the most active, most dangerous stations at Okinawa. The crew was scared, she was scared. But she could not rely on their bravery alone. Bravery was not an external feature.
It came from within. She would be brave for them. And she knew the ship would be, too.
For a moment, the scene blurred. The sky was afire now, planes as far as the eye could see. The proud ship and her crew were fighting as hard as they could, but she merely shivered and hid within the ship's bridge as terror struck her. Kamikaze planes struck the ship in rapid succession, and despite her fears, she sprung into action, helping the men with damage control. They battled, not with the planes above, but with the ship's damage, and with the ever consuming seas.
A sailor regarded her with a salute and a "Ma'am," before getting to work next to her, everyone fighting to save the ship. More joined the first, and a sense of dread overtook her even as the battle was won. The fires were doused, the flooding contained. Above, the ship's guns went silent. Yet, as she emerged back onto the ship's deck, she could only cry. They'd saved the ship, but 32 good men were lost before it was done. All 32 stood before her and saluted.
She cried because she knew that even though they'd saved the ship, it hadn't been enough. Even as they were towed to safety, she knew the war was over for her and her crew. She could feel it into the deck beneath her feet, that much like the crew, the ship was battered and worn.
Not just that, it felt like. She could see torn metal everywhere, from the long gone kamikazes and the damage they had inflicted. It even felt as if the ship's metaphorical back had broken as they arrived in safe harbor. She wouldn't sink here, but she would sail no more.
She was proud of her crew, and they were proud of her, but even as hasty repairs were conducted, everybody knew, deep down, that there was no repairing her. Not after this much damage.
She was only good as scrap for the heap. A sailor comforted her as she watched herself get scrapped, regaling her of stories of his time aboard her as well as other ships he had served upon. Finally, as the ship's scrapping was finished, she too faded.
Years went by as if a dream, and more crewmembers fell. Every time, a young man would find her and salute her, and give her a warm hug, as if they'd known each other their entire lives.
One by one, more rejoined her crew, til only a few remained to carry on her memory. She made sure that when each man finally joined her, they were welcomed with open arms. There was a Proud Ship waiting for them, eager to cruise to new heights.
A young woman regarded her curiously. This was not any young woman, but herself. The one whose life and death she had just lived through. She knew those blue eyes, that same pinkish-red hair, that nervous tapping of her foot, though the uniform was all off.
"Evans," she greeted, offering a hand to the spirit of the destroyer.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Tally," Evans said, shaking her hand. "They need our help?"
"They do," Tally confirmed with a nod.
"Together, then," Evans said, and side by side they marched towards where the Admiral was waiting. Two slowly became one until they emerged onto the water once more.
The music faded, and the lights brightened. She smiled confidently at her friends and sister over on the pier before she took a quick moment to inspect herself and her new uniform. She was wearing a black Navy peacoat that hid a navy blue seifuku and the darker gray skirt that matched it. Brand new armored boots came up to her knees, her screws acting as spurs. A small headset rested in her head, the microphone just poking into the edge of her vision, and an ornament shaped like her Mk. 37 held down the end of her braid.
In her hands was a Thompson SMG, with one of her main battery guns mounted to its top. Resting on her back, however, was the most curious new change. It felt a lot like a backpack, except it was seemingly weightless, though it most certainly had weight to it. Her other four guns were arrayed all around the rigging that wrapped protectively around her waist, as well as her two sets of torpedo tubes and arrays of AA weaponry. There was a holster for her Tommy Gun on the interior of her portside rigging, and when she set the weapon down into it, she was pleasantly surprised to find that the gun mounted to the SMG was emerging out of her deck like the other four turrets, ready to fire if need be.
With her hands free and her inspection done, Tally looked up at the Admiral and snapped a salute. "USS Evans, DD-552, reporting for duty!"
"At ease, Evans," the Admiral said with a nod. "And welcome back."
"Thank you sir, it feels wonderful," Tally broke off the salute and after a moment of confusion on how sailing as a shipgirl actually worked, she drifted over to the edge of the pool and climbed out.
As soon as her feet found dry land, the shipgirl's rigging disappeared, though her new uniform stayed present. The most weird part of it was the boots, which stuck around, but also now had a weight to them that hadn't been present while her rigging was out. Her radio headset also disappeared, but the charm hanging on the end of her braid was still there when she glanced down.
Tally's smile only grew into a grin as she approached her friends… friends and family, now. She stepped forward, and a familiar blonde mimicked her. That was all the encouragement Tally needed, and she darted forward the last couple of feet to pull her girlfriend into a tight hug.
"Tally?" Kay asked, her normal cheer mixed with a healthy dose of caution.
"It's still me, Kay. I just feel… amazing!" Tally cheered. "I… don't have the words to describe it. I still feel like me, but just… more. I really just don't know how to describe it."
"Destroyer pile!" a familiar voice called, and Tally managed to look up in time to see her Evil Twin lead the charge in pulling both herself and Kay into a pile of hugs. Henley was the first, but Fletcher, Nicholas, and a dozen more destroyer girls all piled on.
Being on the receiving end of a destroyer hug pile was one of the best experiences Tally had ever had, and she'd gotten to test drive a Hellcat once! There was just such a warmth and familiarity, even with girls she'd never met before today. But the most important person in the hug was still Kay, her ever present girlfriend, being her rock in times of trial, and lifting her up in times of triumph. Kay being here was a greater gift than even the horde of sisterships and the various classes of predecessors.
"U-um…" a soft, familiar voice called out amidst the laughing and cheering. It almost went unheard, nearly drowned out by everything else, but it still shone through nonetheless.
"Alright everyone, give her some space!" Fletcher called, and the hug pile lessened until it was just Henley, Kay, and Tally herself. Henley gave the two one last squeeze before she too let go. Most of the destroyer girls took this as their cue to go back to their own business, while Tally's close friends and family stuck around.
"Hey Lou," Tally said, moving through the crowd to find her friend. That didn't take long at all, and very quickly the redhead found the brunette just a short distance in front of her.
Lou had a look of awe, confusion and worry written on her face, remaining silent for a few seconds. "T… Tally?" she asked concernedly, sounding as if she was ready to duck and run at the answer. As if the girl was trying to find hints of her friend in the newly-manifested shipgirl, treating the redhead in front of her as a completely different person. A stranger.
"It's still me, Lou," Tally answered. "At least, I think it is. It's only been a couple minutes."
Louise gave a small, worried frown. "That doesn't help at all…"
"Well, at least I still think your attempts to upgrade our team are misguided at best," Tally joked.
"..."
"I mean seriously, we don't need a T29 heavy tank," Tally pushed onwards. "It's complete overkill against any team that isn't KMM, and getting it just to fight KMM is going to be a waste of time because we'll need weeks of training time before each match!"
There were a few more seconds of silence.
"... And as I've said, I call that 'insurance'," a wide smile of relief and joy came to the brunette's face as the younger girl lunged forward and threw a hug over her friend.
"Insurance my ass!" Tally laughed as she embraced Lou.
"Language!" Henley shouted cheekily.
"Oh thank god it's still you!" Louise laughed in relief. "It really is you!"
"I never doubted for a second," Fletcher said proudly.
"Only because I was the only version of, well, me that you've ever known!" Tally retorted.
"Man, when all that was happening just now when you were out there I thought that was it," the brunette sighed as she broke off the hug, opting to look the redhead in the eye. "I'm so glad… Waaait…" she muttered before a blush grew on her face. "S-so, earlier today… all my crying…"
"It was still good to get everything off of your chest," Tally said, smiling at Lou. "And off of my chest, too."
"Yeah, that's true," the brunette nodded softly. The redhead reached forward and gently patted her friend's head.
Lou blushed happily in response. "Ehehe…"
"You made it through just fine, Tally," Fletcher said, interrupting the moment. "How about you, Lou? You don't exactly need to run for the hills anymore."
"Well, things did turn out alright after all," Lou shrugged, a relaxed smile on her face, "I'm hardly in a position to disagree!"
"So what, we just put Lou on the pallet and do it all over again?" Tally asked, looking at her sister.
It was weird to think of Fletcher that way, even if it also felt right. She'd met the destroyer at the beginning of the school year, and while they'd hit it off right away, they'd only really ever been friends. And now, Fletcher was her big sister.
As one, the group turned back to the summoning pool, where the shards of the wooden pallet floated.
"Uh… we'll need a new pallet," Lou commented. "Is there anything else that has to be, well, reset?"
"Shit, you're right. There is," Fletcher said.
"Language!" Tally called, half-heartedly. Such a little thing just didn't feel as important anymore.
Fletcher gave the newly-minted destroyer a curious look before shaking her head. "We'll reconvene here in 3 hours. Word of Hornet."
"That's… that's a really nice uniform," Lou commented shyly.
"Thanks!" Evans said cheerfully, pausing to admire the uniform for a moment. "I quite like it myself!"
While the summoning chamber was being reset for Lou, most of the crowd had proceeded over to the mess, Lou and Evans included. The two girls, along with their friends, were currently seated at a table, everyone chatting, laughing and all in all having a good time with each other.
"I-it definitely is cute!" the brunette smiled sweetly before blushing. "... T-that sounds weird out loud, sorry…"
"There's a lot of weirdness going around right now," Fletcher commented, "so a bit of awkwardness can be forgiven."
"Yush!" Evans agreed with a thumbs up. She quickly chewed and swallowed her bite of salad. "It would probably feel weird if we just carried on as normal after all this. I mean look at me! I'm a shipgirl now, and I didn't even know they existed until last week!"
"Me neither," Lou smiled sweetly as she took another bite of her burger.
Speaking of which…
The brunette stared at the plates of the other shipgirls, save from Tally's. "... Uhh…"
Her eyes glanced between the shipgirls and their… substantial portions. Each of them had six full-sized burgers, counting the one they were currently eating. There was one plate that had ten, though that one…
Lou stared deadpan at the owner of that plate, who was happily munching away at her current burger. Kay paused when she noticed Lou's stare, and smiled at the brunette. "What? I'm hungry!"
"Really, Commander, ten…?"
"As I said, I'm hungry!" Kay's smile turned into a grin.
"Psst! Hey, Fletcher!" Tally said in a loud whisper, loud enough for everyone to hear. "What kind of ship do you think Kay is?"
"Heavy cruiser for certain," Fletcher commented with a shrug. "New Orleans-class is my first guess."
"Please," Henley interrupted, "she's totally an Alaska!"
"Did you just call me fat?" Kay asked, holding a hand against her heart with mock offense.
A shadow loomed over the table, and the snickering from various destroyers went silent. Well, most of them. Henley was still giggling to herself.
The shadow's source moved over to stand right behind Evans' unsuspecting Evil Twin.
"Is there something you'd like to share with us, Miss John D. Henley?" Miss Hornet smiled. Though, of course, that smile could only be described, by all accounts, as "dangerously sinister".
"Uh…" Henley stammered, jumping in her seat when the carrier spoke. "We were just theorizing what class of ship your daughter might be, ma'am!"
"Oh? Well, if I may," Hornet continued smiling, putting a hand on Henley's shoulder, "would you mind running me through the various choices you girls have narrowed it down to?"
"Well, uh, Fletcher said she's definitely a heavy cruiser, and guessed New Orleans-class," Henley said, clearly trying to throw some of the attention away from herself. The blonde in question merely rolled her eyes and went back to her lunch.
"And what other choices are there?" the looming Yorktown-class carrier pressed on, her grip on the redheaded Fletcher-class destroyer tightening just a tad bit.
"I… uh, well… um…" Henley stammered, clearly looking for a non-existent way out. "I suggested an Alaska -"
The grip on her shoulder suddenly tightened significantly, enough to get Henley to wince.
"- s-since she's got a similar appetite to t-them and gives great hugs!"
There were a few seconds of silence.
Then, Hornet chuckled, releasing her grip on the destroyer. "Well, fortunately, none of my daughters are shipgirls," she clarified, walking over to Kay and Sachi and putting her hands on their shoulders. "And I'd like them to be just as they are now, away from danger."
"Oh, Mom…" Kay beamed as the mother and two daughters shared an embrace.
"Which is why I'm now more determined than ever to fight against the Abyssals," the mother continued, her face darkening in anger. "They shelled my daughters' schoolships. They all turned out fine now, yes, but that is a transgression that cannot be forgiven."
"Never incite a mother's wrath…" Lou commented quietly to herself.
"You're like the momboat we all wish we had, ma'am!" Fletcher commented with a grin.
"Thank you, Fletcher," was the warm smile from the carrier before her eyes moved over to a certain destroyer's plate. "Are you sure that's enough, Evans?"
"Huh?" Evans asked, looking up from her salad. "This is more or less what I usually have for lunch."
"Well, that won't do anymore," Hornet replied. "As a shipgirl your intake needs are drastically increased compared to before. That is why your sisters have stuffed their plates full of burgers," the blonde woman explained.
"Huh," Tally huh'd. "I thought they just had weird eating habits, like Kay does."
"Nah, I only got it from Mom," was the reply from the blonde Saunders team commander. "You should see her portions!"
"That much is expected of a capital ship," the carrier nodded, a little proudly. "But Kay, you've always been eating this much, even before I manifested."
"Moooooom!" Kay groaned as Sachi laughed. "Don't call me out like that…"
"You're just weird, Kay!" Tally teased, elbowing her girlfriend good naturedly.
"That much is true, yes," the Yorktown-class carrier chuckled. "I remember one time when she was five, she-"
"Mom!"
"Alright, alright, I'll not talk about it," Hornet chuckled. "Well, I'll leave you girls alone then. Enjoy your lunch! We've got another newcomer to welcome later," she winked at Louise before she walked off.
"So, how much do I have to eat, exactly?" Evans asked the table, looking down at her comparatively tiny salad.
"A lot," Fletcher intoned. "It's worse after your summoning or after battles when you need to repair or resupply, but you'll either need to greatly increase the size of your meals, or be snacking literally all day. I recommend the former, rather than the latter. Capps learned that one the hard way. Six burgers is a good lunch for a casual day, we'd be eating Kay-sized portions if we'd been fighting."
"What happened to Capps?" Lou asked curiously.
"We ran out of snacks halfway through the afternoon."
"Oh. Yeah, that's not good…" Lou mused. "Wait… so, if you guys eat this amount, and if Miss Hornet's portions are substantially larger, then would St. Louis' be larger than what you guys take…?"
The experienced shipgirls at the table looked between themselves for a moment before the quiet Irish girl, O'Bannon, spoke up. "Light cruisers usually eat meals that are roughly 50% larger than destroyers. Could be more, could be less, depending on the specifics."
"... Oh, crap, my allowance…" Lou sighed, resting her head on her hand.
"We can always increase it for you, though!" Kay smiled reassuringly. "Especially for reasons like this!"
"R-really?" the brunette looked up.
"Plus, my food truck is free for shipgirls!" Fletcher added.
"It is?"
"Of course!" Fletcher confirmed with a cheerful nod. "We may ask you to help man it every now and then as payment, but there's a reason we always have so much food ready and on hand. Shipgirls need food, and we make enough money off the non-shipgirls - and Kay - that we don't need to worry about it."
"I see. Well, glad I wouldn't need to worry 'bout that then," Lou lightened up.
Still…
"What will Gramps say…?" she muttered to herself. A bit too loud if she wanted to keep it within herself, though.
"What was that, Lou?" Tally asked, looking over at her friend.
"Oh?" Lou looked up. "Well… I was just wondering if I really should fight… I mean," she quickly clarified, "yeah, of course I should! But… I feel like I might be disappointing someone…"
The redhead smiled softly, and put a gentle hand on Lou's shoulder. "There's nothing saying you have to fight."
"I know, but like I've mentioned, responsibility," Louise returned the smile. "Then again… well, actually, Gramps might jump in if he's in my shoes. In fact, he already had."
"Oh?" Tally asked.
"Yeah, you know, World War Two."
The brunette noted the curiosity on everyone's faces, except for Kay's.
"Yep, they don't know," the blonde team commander waved as she held her burger up. "Wanna tell 'em?"
"Of course," Louise nodded. "Well, yeah, my grandfather was a tanker, fought in the European Theater. When he landed at Normandy he was a gunner, but after that M4 was knocked out and most of the crew was injured enough to not be able to return, he was promoted and given command of his own tank, along with his own crew. That tank was soon named 'Ace of Spades'," the young Tuckerman shared proudly.
"So that's where Ace's name came from…" Tally observed.
"Yep, it was a bit of a mouthful, so they just practically rolled with Ace. Ace returned to the frontlines just in time for Operation Lüttich, and once that was done she raced across France along with the rest of her platoon. Somewhere fairly near Paris they were told to break off from the rest of the division and investigate something near my hometown, which they did. That 'something' turned out to be a King Tiger waiting in ambush. Only my grandfather walked out of that encounter alive."
"Yikes," Henley winced. "No wonder Kuromorimine chews you guys up and spits you out."
"Nah, they're getting their asses kicked this time," Lou grinned confidently, ignoring Tally's interruption of "Language!" "Ace is now here to turn the tide, after all! But yeah. My grandfather had been drilling this into my head up until he died earlier this year: war is hell. And I've learnt that lesson well. I'm constantly reminded of that when I'm with Ace, too; not just because she's my Gramps' tank as well, but also because his crew actually died in her. Thankfully, though," she relaxed, "sensha-do is not war."
Tally raised a finger, confusion written all over her face. She brought it back, clearly pondering something.
Naturally, that did not go unnoticed to the Easy-Eight commander. "Look, I admit I'm serious about sensha-do, but seriousness in the sport's nowhere near the same as treating it like war!" Lou giggled. "Massive difference right there, Tally!"
"Be that as it may, we still don't need to win harder against most of the teams we face," Evans said, her hand now moving to fiddle with her braid.
"Like I've mentioned, it's-" Lou nearly went back to the same argument she had been dueling with Tally in for a good while, but she stopped herself. "We're missing the point, there's something far more important. Yes, Sensha-do is not the same as war. But this, the battle against the Abyssals, is. And with that drilled into me, I don't know if I'm making Gramps proud or disappointed," she sighed, putting her hands together and pressing her lips over them.
"I'm sure he would be proud of you no matter which direction you go," Tally said.
"I like to think he'll be, yeah," the young Tuckerman smiled.
Evans' belly rumbled, and she looked sheepishly at her empty plate. "I… am gonna get more food."
"Oh boy, we're about to be real fun at buffets," Louise chuckled.
"Yuko took me to an all-you-can-eat breakfast once, when we did our brief stint in the M6. I'm pretty sure the both of us have since been banned from there," Tally said, laughing softly. "But anyways, food."
"Food, magical food, wonderful food, marvelous food~" Lou sang cheekily. With that, the redhead grinned as she stood up from her seat and walked back to the buffet line.
"So, uh…" Lou began to ask as she looked at the floating pallet in front of her. "All I have to do is stand on this?"
"That's all you have to do," Hornet confirmed with a nod.
"What does it feel like? Other than the obvious physical floating."
Hornet shrugged. "It's different for everybody. But it will be like a vision, or a dream."
"Oh," the brunette nodded. She turned back to the pallet. "... Almost time now, huh…"
"You'll do great," Hornet said encouragingly, gently patting Lou's shoulder.
The younger girl gave a smile back. "I hope so."
At that moment, a question popped up in her mind. "Say, Miss Hornet, the music they played during Tally's- I mean, Evans' manifestation… is it decided for us?"
"Mostly," Hornet said. "Though the band is willing to take requests if you have a particular song you'd like to start with. They played Colonel Bogey for me, and Evans asked for the Battle Hymn of the Republic."
"Oh, so that was a request…" Tuckerman nodded. "Does the choice matter?"
"Not as far as I know, no," Hornet shook her head. "But, we have only had two manifestations here at Sasebo, so far."
"Got it… Well, nonetheless…" Lou looked up, something in her mind. Moving closer to the carrier, she whispered something into the blonde woman's ear.
She stepped back. "If there's one I can pick, it has to be this."
"Of course. I'll relay the request to the band. Give me one moment," Hornet smiled. She then raised a hand to her ear. "Northampton, Hornet. Louise has a request for the band, please relay it to them," Hornet said, presumably into her radio, before she passed on the actual request. "Thank you, Nora."
"Thanks," Lou smiled. "That one means a lot to me."
"It's no problem, dear."
The brunette turned back to look at the pallet for a few seconds. Though, feeling something, she turned back to look at the crowd that had regathered.
So many faces she didn't know amongst those she recognized. And then amongst them are those that she actually knew.
Sachi was waving happily at her.
Tally gave a thumbs-up and an encouraging smile.
Kay pumped her fist in the air.
The destroyers she had met over the past days were giving her various positive reactions.
Encouraged and emboldened by everyone, Lou turned back to Hornet. "Alright. I'm ready."
"Step onto the pallet, then. I'll tow you to the center of the pool when you're stable," Hornet said.
Nodding, the girl gingerly stepped onto the floating piece of wood. The pallet wobbled a bit under her weight after her first foot went on, and Louise hesitated. But only for a few moments; her other foot soon left the safety of the platform and onto the pallet.
"This thing is stable, right…? What if I accidentally fall off?"
Hornet considered it for a moment as she hopped onto the water next to Lou. Her usual uniform was replaced by her shipgirl uniform, and the minimalistic rigging of a Yorktown-class carrier appeared around her. "If you fall, I'm sure everyone will have a short laugh as I help you back onto the pallet. A little embarrassment, nothing more."
"Guess that'll work…" the brunette nodded gingerly as she readied herself. Just in case.
With that, just like Fletcher did with Tally, Hornet dragged the pallet out to the center of the pool. Giving one last look to the young Tuckerman, the blonde woman gave the brunette an encouraging thumbs-up before she moved back to ground.
Man, I can see everyone from here… Lou thought to herself as she looked around.
There was the Admiral, whoever he was, standing at that pedestal behind that stand.
Everything still felt so surreal.
The lights around her began to dim, though the ones shining on her remained just as bright.
Oh my god, is this really happening?
As the last of the outside lights dimmed to nothing, she could no longer see anyone in the darkness, the only lights now shining right down on her brightly, almost blindingly.
Still out there were her friends, watching her.
What's waiting for me?
She heard the band begin to play that familiar tune. The one she went through so much with.
She heard the Admiral begin to speak.
She tried to follow what he was saying. She really tried.
But way too quickly, at the moment he began to speak, everything faded to nothing.
The sun was red.
No, really, it was red. Sitting just above the horizon, the crimson rays shone over the blue ocean surface.
An ocean surface littered with debris.
A sinking Japanese destroyer floated past, burning and abandoned. Plumes of black smoke rose to the air as the wreck leaked oil into the blue Pacific water.
Blood-red oil.
Then more came. Destroyers. Cruisers. Aircraft. There were so many of them on the Pacific waves, dying the normally-blue waters the bloodlike color of their oil.
But amidst the wreckage, slipping quietly through the mangled remains of the enemy, the black silhouette of a ship stood above them all.
Unlike the twisted remains of those ex-ships around her, she was American. Fifteen Mark 16 six-inch guns in five triple turrets, three at the bow and two at the stern. Eight Mark 12 5-inch guns in four twin gun turrets made up her secondary armament, while various small turrets carrying differing models of light anti-aircraft guns complimented them.
She grew up and stopped playing around at Pearl Harbor.
Thin wisps of steam and smoke from her two smokestacks were blown away into the air by the wind as the light cruiser continued to sail ahead, her eight boilers pumping high-pressure steam into her four turbines.
The horrors that she had experienced continued to plague her mind. Torturing her. Warping her.
The vessel made a gentle turn, avoiding the wreck of a Japanese cruiser.
For a time, she handled it well. She told herself the problems will pass. She told herself she was far stronger than she thought she was.
Another wreck passed by her port side bow.
Then it happened.
Nothing could prepare her for that.
Through the pitch darkness of the night, illuminated by her own searchlights, there she was.
Her sister. Her poor little sister. Sweet, innocent, determined, hopeful despite everything.
That was her bow pointing towards the night sky.
Honolulu restrained her, dragging her away from the wreckage of her sister. Their sister. Telling her that they had to withdraw or the Japs will find them, amidst the hysterical screaming as she desperately tried to free herself from her grasp.
Radford and Nicholas would handle it, she said.
But that was no consolation at all.
Helena is gone.
That night, something broke in her.
Her radar beeped.
In the distance, underneath the red sky, a massive fleet of dark ships were approaching. Blanketing them from the skies were planes. So many planes.
Brace yourselves, for even the heavens will tremble when a saint goes to war.
The light cruiser's guns rotated and trained on the incoming enemy.
They took everything from her.
Even her.
She was done being nice.
They.
Will.
PAY.
As everything died down around her, darkness returned.
She felt the spotlights shine over her shut eyelids.
Slowly, she opened her eyes, a steely gaze staring out at the crowd in front of her.
They moved slowly from one end to another, observing every single one present in the room.
Awe. Surprise. Shock. Confusion. She saw them all.
Her gaze went down to her own body.
She was dressed in her old uniform now. A sleeveless white half-coat rested loosely over her more tightly fitting star spangled black, white, and blue shirt. Eleven stars, in fact - each one well earned - were spread around the sides and middle of her shirt. A metal waistband held white coattails in place, flaring out over her blue with red skirt. Black garters held up her black and white stockings.
Attached to her waist was her rigging; the center piece included two smokestacks mounted side by side. The rest of the rigging branched out like the limbs of a great tree: two metal bow-like structures flanked her side, each with two six-inch turrets mounted on the decks, supported by her 5-inch secondaries and smaller AA weaponry. In her arms was a 6-inch turret mounted to the body of a Browning Automatic Rifle. Noticing a mount on the right side of the rigging, she inserted the rifle-turret sideways into it. Thus did Turret C emerge from the right side of that part of her rigging, fully capable of rotating and firing if the light cruiser decided that she didn't want to use it in BAR mode.
On her head was a large headband shaped like her bridge structure, complete with windows and all. Down at her feet were her metallic footwear; a large bow-like section covered up her ankle areas and lower half of her shin and calves. Attached to each high heel was a rudder, and to the sides of each footwear were two four-bladed brass propellers, one closer to the rudders than the other.
Placed in a mount of the metal band of her left stocking was her "fishing" priest, which was something that could be described as a metal pole 12 inches long, complete with a grip covering the bottom third of the "stick" and expanding thicker on the top third part. This would come in handy in certain situations, but as a melee weapon it was only going to be effective during more critical times.
Despite everything feeling right, something still felt wrong. Her hair didn't change. Her breathing was normal; the soft hissing of steam coming from inside her as she breathed was not out of the ordinary. Her hull was still the same.
Then she finally noticed.
Her hull was still the same.
"... This is a mistake."
Silence.
"Sailor, report!" The Admiral called from his podium.
Those cold eyes shot up to him. "My hull dimensions are all incorrect. Hydrodynamic efficiency and structural strength are not satisfactory. I require an immediate refit to correct these problems."
"Did she just call herself short?" Evans whispered from the sidelines.
A cold, angry stare from the newly-manifested ship was what she received in return.
"Oh my god, she did!" Evans continued, refusing to wilt under the cruiser's glare.
A few moments passed.
The new shipgirl closed her eyes, breaking off her gaze. "I will deal with you later," was the soft, cold tone of the light cruiser as she opened her eyes again, looking at the Admiral. "Light cruiser St. Louis, reporting."
She didn't even salute, instead putting her right arm on her hips, leaning her body in the same direction at the same time. "Well, you've certainly taken your time, haven't you?"
"Welcome back, St. Louis. Get yourself over to the mess hall and stocked," The Admiral said with a nod.
"And my refit?"
Hornet stepped forward, off to the Admiral's side. "We currently lack the facilities and manpower to conduct any refit, let alone one as significant as the one you are requesting."
St. Louis' glare was one of dissatisfaction. And for a tiny bit, it almost looked like it was laced with resentment.
But a few seconds later, the light cruiser relented. She rolled her neck backwards, cracking it. "My time, my pace," was the curt reply as she moved herself to the edge of the pool, stepping out. The moment she left the water, her rigging disappeared, but her new uniform remained. Parts of her footwear, namely her propellers and rudders, also disappeared, leaving behind simply the boot-like high heels. Her headwear remained as well, while the soft sounds of steam from her breathing stopped as well, leaving behind the normal sounds of breathing.
Metallic clicking came from her heels as she walked ahead. Not that she ever minded, of course.
"Lou?" Kay ventured as the cruiser approached.
The brunette stopped. "Yes, that is me."
"You okay?" Kay asked. "You're acting kind of strange…"
"I'm alright," was the simple reply. "Thanks for asking."
"Ooookay then…" one of the redheaded destroyers commented, stepping out in front of Lou. "Alright, prove to me that you're you, then. I did it for you."
The light cruiser sighed, almost sounding annoyed. "Not running a few more potent tanks is a mistake that will bite Saunders in the ass in future. Just because we get new tanks doesn't mean we need to use them every single time. Is that good enough?"
Evans didn't respond with her usual reprimand, instead fidgeting uncomfortably under the cruiser's gaze. She refused to falter, though. "That sounds right, but you're not acting like you..."
"Oh I assure you, Evans, it's still me. Thanks for the concern though, but now if you'll excuse me, I've got somewhere to be," Lou dismissed the destroyer, resuming her walk out of the room, headed for the mess.
As Lou left the room, she overheard one of the two redheaded Fletchers make a comment. "Is it just me, or is she turning into a massive bitch?"
"Language!"
The light cruiser immediately stopped in her tracks.
She turned around, a death glare emanating from her eyes.
Slowly, she advanced, staring Henley straight in the eye. The destroyer returned the stare, unflinching.
Both shipgirls were right in front of each other now, their gazes locked.
A few tense seconds passed.
Then, St. Louis raised her hand…
… and proceeded to gently dust off the destroyer's uniform.
"Look out for yourself more," Lou commented, a smile forming on her face. Though, that smile was, quite badly, hiding something.
And then it was immediately dropped. "You'll need to."
She hit her fist on the redhead's chest. Not hard enough to cause any real damage, but hard enough to get her message across.
"Ah!" The redhead exclaimed softly as she rocked back slightly under the blow of the cruiser's fist.
"Shitter."
"Hey!" Evans interjected, moving between her twin and St. Louis. There was a clear look of betrayal on her face.
Seeing this, St. Louis rolled her eyes. "Pff. Destroyers. Always thinking they mean something."
And just like that, the brunette turned around and left.
As soon as Lou was out of earshot, Henley turned to her sister and friends. "See what I mean?"
Author's Note:
Hey all, I just wanted to take a moment to point out and share the poem I used for inspiration for the Tally/Evans manifestation dream. It was written about the USS Evans by the son of one of her crewmembers.
Salo's Note:
Part 6
++++++++++
Leaning heavily on her soon-to-be sister ship, Tally limped into the summoning chamber. It was thankfully fairly quiet, but there were familiar faces scattered around the room. Kay, Louise, and Sachi had gathered on the bleachers and were chatting merrily, Nicholas was discussing something with a violently Irish girl, and Hornet was chatting with a blonde cruiser of some description. Her Evil Twin was here somewhere too, but she didn't know where. That was usually a bad sign.
The chamber itself… well, "summoning chamber" was a bit of a misnomer. It was a moderately sized room in the shipgirl quarter of the base, with a pool in the middle and bleachers scattered around. Supposedly, to get a successful summon, there had to be two important things present, at least for the Americans: people, and music. Sasebo hadn't tested that theory yet, but had designed the room to specifications that had been hammered out in the 'States.
"So, what, all I have to do is go float on that wooden pallet, let the Admiral say a few words, play some music, and the magic will happen?" Tally asked.
"Yes and no," Faye Faith answered. "There's a whole lot more going on, like the offering of materials and a few other steps that the support crew are handling in the background. All you have to do is float on the wooden pallet and be ready. Hornet said it was quite the experience, but I have no idea what she meant."
"Well, she was Harriet Yorktown long before she was Hornet, so that may have something to do with it," Tally did her best to shrug without falling off of Fletcher's careful support. "Us manifestees have a whole human life behind us, while you just have your lives as ships."
"Makes sense," Fletcher agreed. "Come on, let's get you off your legs until the manifestation."
With the destroyer's help, Tally made her way down to the bench right on the pool's edge. The base doctors had given her some splints to help stand on the broken leg, but every step still felt like her leg wanted to strangle her. At least they'd declared her sprained ankle safe enough to walk on.
"Nervous?" Fletcher asked as Tally sat down.
"How could I not be? Even with the reasons I explained earlier, I'm still ultimately going into something that will undoubtedly change me in unexpected ways," the redhead spoke softly. "When we talked, earlier, Lou and I were both concerned about coming back as completely different people. If… if Evans isn't Tally, I… please, help Louise. I don't want her to lose who she is."
Fletcher smiled and patted Tally's head. It was a good feeling. "Of course. You're a good big sister, Tally. I'd love to meet your actual sisters someday."
"And I'm sure my family would love to meet you. All of the girls who have become my adopted family. Maybe not all at once…"
The blonde laughed. "Meeting all 175 of us at once would be rather awkward. God, I can already imagine the food bill!"
"Even Auntie Nat would balk at that, I think," Tally said with a smile.
"What's she like?"
"She's great. Probably the greatest aunt I could ask for," Tally's smile only grew as she started talking. "She runs a small bakery back home, and would always bring freshly baked goodies for Marie, Sasha, and I whenever she stopped by. She's also the one who got me into manga and anime, and therefore inadvertently is the reason why I met all of you. She's kind and generous, but more than willing to put someone in their place if she thinks they deserve it."
"Sounds like she was an inspiration to you, judging by how you're acting in support of Lou and the others."
"Funnily enough, she's actually the youngest of all my aunts. Sophie and Yvonne are both older than her."
Tally let the time get away from her as she talked with Fletcher about her family. There was an almost bittersweet smile on the destroyer's face as they talked, but she was more than willing to keep talking despite that.
More and more people crowded into the room as the hour drew nearer, and for a moment Tally swore she watched Jane Richardson enter the room with a red-haired battleship. However, the two disappeared into the crowd before Tally could do much more than notice them.
"We're almost there, aren't we?" Tally asked, looking over the crowd.
"Almost. You should probably chat with Kay and the others one last time before it all goes down," Fletcher suggested.
"That's probably a good idea," Tally agreed. She scanned the crowd and zeroed in on where Kay, Lou, Sachi, and Jane were all chatting, and waved her friends over.
Lou, already facing the general direction of Tally, was the first to notice the waving girl. Alerting the other three to that, the group of four walked over to the blonde destroyer and her redheaded soon-to-be-sister ship.
"So, ready for the big moment, are we?" Kay greeted in her usual energetic tone.
Tally looked around the chamber at the sheer amount of unfamiliar faces who would be concentrating all directly on her. "Gonna be honest, I'm terrified right now. I've always hated crowds and being the center of attention."
In response, the blonde Saunders team commander gave her girlfriend a big, comforting hug. "Don't you worry, Tally. We're all here. Always."
"Hadley couldn't make it because of patrol duty, but she wanted me to tell you something," Jane added. She cleared her throat, and started a passable impression of the Sumner, "And I quote; 'That day off Okinawa, at Radar Picket 15, we made a promise to each other. We've always got each other's backs, no matter the storm. Whatever you choose, I'll be there, in spirit if I can't make it in person because of this freaking patrol duty!' End quote."
Tally returned Kay's hug. "Thank you. Thank you all so much, just for being here."
A wave of "No problem" and its variations were given in response by everyone. Or, almost everyone. A certain brunette didn't say anything.
"Louise?" Tally asked. "You okay?"
As the other girls stepped aside, the young Tuckerman stepped forward, looking at the redhead with a look of nervousness, sadness, anxiousness yet pride in her eyes.
"So…" she began, looking around the summoning chamber, "this is it?"
"This is it," Tally confirmed with a nod.
Looking around for just a bit more, the brunette's eyes finally returned to look into the redhead's.
A few seconds passed.
Then, Louise stepped forward, gently and quietly embracing Tally. Once again, the shipgirl-to-be returned the hug, this time patting the younger girl on the back as she did so.
After a comfortable amount of time, Lou gently broke off the hug. "That was just in case. See you on the other side, or I will never forgive you," she smiled.
"I'll see you all on the other side," Tally agreed.
"I… Yeah, no, this is not goodbye," Lou commented defiantly, her smile growing into a confident, determined grin. "All the best!"
And with that, she finally let go of her friend. "I'll look forward to the good news."
"Alright, it's time," Fletcher stated. She stood up, and with a little help from Kay, got Tally back onto her feet. The wooden pallet was floating right in front of them, and the shipgirl helped Tally down onto it before hopping into the water and towing it to the center of the pool.
The lights faded until the only illumination was the ones centered on her. The small band began playing their first piece, an old Saunders favorite: The Battle Hymn of the Republic. As the Admiral began speaking, the world faded…
She was a Proud Ship. As she watched the men file aboard for what might be their final voyage, she knew how proud they were of her. Of their ship. A part of her longed to join them, but the young tanker knew her place was somewhere else… or so she thought.
Something called her to join them before the ship cast off, and she rushed forward, barely managing to get across the gangplank in time. Though the men almost instinctively walked around her, not a one of them seemed to notice her. And yet… she knew that they would all lay their lives on the line for her and the ship.
As they sailed, she explored the decks for a short while. She'd ended up at the ship's bow before she realized with sudden clarity that she knew where they were. That island was Okinawa… they were sailing into harm's way.
Ahead of her lay a familiar ship, and she suppressed a shiver when she realized how right she was. Not just into harm's way, but one of the most active, most dangerous stations at Okinawa. The crew was scared, she was scared. But she could not rely on their bravery alone. Bravery was not an external feature.
It came from within. She would be brave for them. And she knew the ship would be, too.
For a moment, the scene blurred. The sky was afire now, planes as far as the eye could see. The proud ship and her crew were fighting as hard as they could, but she merely shivered and hid within the ship's bridge as terror struck her. Kamikaze planes struck the ship in rapid succession, and despite her fears, she sprung into action, helping the men with damage control. They battled, not with the planes above, but with the ship's damage, and with the ever consuming seas.
A sailor regarded her with a salute and a "Ma'am," before getting to work next to her, everyone fighting to save the ship. More joined the first, and a sense of dread overtook her even as the battle was won. The fires were doused, the flooding contained. Above, the ship's guns went silent. Yet, as she emerged back onto the ship's deck, she could only cry. They'd saved the ship, but 32 good men were lost before it was done. All 32 stood before her and saluted.
She cried because she knew that even though they'd saved the ship, it hadn't been enough. Even as they were towed to safety, she knew the war was over for her and her crew. She could feel it into the deck beneath her feet, that much like the crew, the ship was battered and worn.
Not just that, it felt like. She could see torn metal everywhere, from the long gone kamikazes and the damage they had inflicted. It even felt as if the ship's metaphorical back had broken as they arrived in safe harbor. She wouldn't sink here, but she would sail no more.
She was proud of her crew, and they were proud of her, but even as hasty repairs were conducted, everybody knew, deep down, that there was no repairing her. Not after this much damage.
She was only good as scrap for the heap. A sailor comforted her as she watched herself get scrapped, regaling her of stories of his time aboard her as well as other ships he had served upon. Finally, as the ship's scrapping was finished, she too faded.
Years went by as if a dream, and more crewmembers fell. Every time, a young man would find her and salute her, and give her a warm hug, as if they'd known each other their entire lives.
One by one, more rejoined her crew, til only a few remained to carry on her memory. She made sure that when each man finally joined her, they were welcomed with open arms. There was a Proud Ship waiting for them, eager to cruise to new heights.
A young woman regarded her curiously. This was not any young woman, but herself. The one whose life and death she had just lived through. She knew those blue eyes, that same pinkish-red hair, that nervous tapping of her foot, though the uniform was all off.
"Evans," she greeted, offering a hand to the spirit of the destroyer.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Tally," Evans said, shaking her hand. "They need our help?"
"They do," Tally confirmed with a nod.
"Together, then," Evans said, and side by side they marched towards where the Admiral was waiting. Two slowly became one until they emerged onto the water once more.
The music faded, and the lights brightened. She smiled confidently at her friends and sister over on the pier before she took a quick moment to inspect herself and her new uniform. She was wearing a black Navy peacoat that hid a navy blue seifuku and the darker gray skirt that matched it. Brand new armored boots came up to her knees, her screws acting as spurs. A small headset rested in her head, the microphone just poking into the edge of her vision, and an ornament shaped like her Mk. 37 held down the end of her braid.
In her hands was a Thompson SMG, with one of her main battery guns mounted to its top. Resting on her back, however, was the most curious new change. It felt a lot like a backpack, except it was seemingly weightless, though it most certainly had weight to it. Her other four guns were arrayed all around the rigging that wrapped protectively around her waist, as well as her two sets of torpedo tubes and arrays of AA weaponry. There was a holster for her Tommy Gun on the interior of her portside rigging, and when she set the weapon down into it, she was pleasantly surprised to find that the gun mounted to the SMG was emerging out of her deck like the other four turrets, ready to fire if need be.
With her hands free and her inspection done, Tally looked up at the Admiral and snapped a salute. "USS Evans, DD-552, reporting for duty!"
"At ease, Evans," the Admiral said with a nod. "And welcome back."
"Thank you sir, it feels wonderful," Tally broke off the salute and after a moment of confusion on how sailing as a shipgirl actually worked, she drifted over to the edge of the pool and climbed out.
As soon as her feet found dry land, the shipgirl's rigging disappeared, though her new uniform stayed present. The most weird part of it was the boots, which stuck around, but also now had a weight to them that hadn't been present while her rigging was out. Her radio headset also disappeared, but the charm hanging on the end of her braid was still there when she glanced down.
Tally's smile only grew into a grin as she approached her friends… friends and family, now. She stepped forward, and a familiar blonde mimicked her. That was all the encouragement Tally needed, and she darted forward the last couple of feet to pull her girlfriend into a tight hug.
"Tally?" Kay asked, her normal cheer mixed with a healthy dose of caution.
"It's still me, Kay. I just feel… amazing!" Tally cheered. "I… don't have the words to describe it. I still feel like me, but just… more. I really just don't know how to describe it."
"Destroyer pile!" a familiar voice called, and Tally managed to look up in time to see her Evil Twin lead the charge in pulling both herself and Kay into a pile of hugs. Henley was the first, but Fletcher, Nicholas, and a dozen more destroyer girls all piled on.
Being on the receiving end of a destroyer hug pile was one of the best experiences Tally had ever had, and she'd gotten to test drive a Hellcat once! There was just such a warmth and familiarity, even with girls she'd never met before today. But the most important person in the hug was still Kay, her ever present girlfriend, being her rock in times of trial, and lifting her up in times of triumph. Kay being here was a greater gift than even the horde of sisterships and the various classes of predecessors.
"U-um…" a soft, familiar voice called out amidst the laughing and cheering. It almost went unheard, nearly drowned out by everything else, but it still shone through nonetheless.
"Alright everyone, give her some space!" Fletcher called, and the hug pile lessened until it was just Henley, Kay, and Tally herself. Henley gave the two one last squeeze before she too let go. Most of the destroyer girls took this as their cue to go back to their own business, while Tally's close friends and family stuck around.
"Hey Lou," Tally said, moving through the crowd to find her friend. That didn't take long at all, and very quickly the redhead found the brunette just a short distance in front of her.
Lou had a look of awe, confusion and worry written on her face, remaining silent for a few seconds. "T… Tally?" she asked concernedly, sounding as if she was ready to duck and run at the answer. As if the girl was trying to find hints of her friend in the newly-manifested shipgirl, treating the redhead in front of her as a completely different person. A stranger.
"It's still me, Lou," Tally answered. "At least, I think it is. It's only been a couple minutes."
Louise gave a small, worried frown. "That doesn't help at all…"
"Well, at least I still think your attempts to upgrade our team are misguided at best," Tally joked.
"..."
"I mean seriously, we don't need a T29 heavy tank," Tally pushed onwards. "It's complete overkill against any team that isn't KMM, and getting it just to fight KMM is going to be a waste of time because we'll need weeks of training time before each match!"
There were a few more seconds of silence.
"... And as I've said, I call that 'insurance'," a wide smile of relief and joy came to the brunette's face as the younger girl lunged forward and threw a hug over her friend.
"Insurance my ass!" Tally laughed as she embraced Lou.
"Language!" Henley shouted cheekily.
"Oh thank god it's still you!" Louise laughed in relief. "It really is you!"
"I never doubted for a second," Fletcher said proudly.
"Only because I was the only version of, well, me that you've ever known!" Tally retorted.
"Man, when all that was happening just now when you were out there I thought that was it," the brunette sighed as she broke off the hug, opting to look the redhead in the eye. "I'm so glad… Waaait…" she muttered before a blush grew on her face. "S-so, earlier today… all my crying…"
"It was still good to get everything off of your chest," Tally said, smiling at Lou. "And off of my chest, too."
"Yeah, that's true," the brunette nodded softly. The redhead reached forward and gently patted her friend's head.
Lou blushed happily in response. "Ehehe…"
"You made it through just fine, Tally," Fletcher said, interrupting the moment. "How about you, Lou? You don't exactly need to run for the hills anymore."
"Well, things did turn out alright after all," Lou shrugged, a relaxed smile on her face, "I'm hardly in a position to disagree!"
"So what, we just put Lou on the pallet and do it all over again?" Tally asked, looking at her sister.
It was weird to think of Fletcher that way, even if it also felt right. She'd met the destroyer at the beginning of the school year, and while they'd hit it off right away, they'd only really ever been friends. And now, Fletcher was her big sister.
As one, the group turned back to the summoning pool, where the shards of the wooden pallet floated.
"Uh… we'll need a new pallet," Lou commented. "Is there anything else that has to be, well, reset?"
"Shit, you're right. There is," Fletcher said.
"Language!" Tally called, half-heartedly. Such a little thing just didn't feel as important anymore.
Fletcher gave the newly-minted destroyer a curious look before shaking her head. "We'll reconvene here in 3 hours. Word of Hornet."
++++++++++
"That's… that's a really nice uniform," Lou commented shyly.
"Thanks!" Evans said cheerfully, pausing to admire the uniform for a moment. "I quite like it myself!"
While the summoning chamber was being reset for Lou, most of the crowd had proceeded over to the mess, Lou and Evans included. The two girls, along with their friends, were currently seated at a table, everyone chatting, laughing and all in all having a good time with each other.
"I-it definitely is cute!" the brunette smiled sweetly before blushing. "... T-that sounds weird out loud, sorry…"
"There's a lot of weirdness going around right now," Fletcher commented, "so a bit of awkwardness can be forgiven."
"Yush!" Evans agreed with a thumbs up. She quickly chewed and swallowed her bite of salad. "It would probably feel weird if we just carried on as normal after all this. I mean look at me! I'm a shipgirl now, and I didn't even know they existed until last week!"
"Me neither," Lou smiled sweetly as she took another bite of her burger.
Speaking of which…
The brunette stared at the plates of the other shipgirls, save from Tally's. "... Uhh…"
Her eyes glanced between the shipgirls and their… substantial portions. Each of them had six full-sized burgers, counting the one they were currently eating. There was one plate that had ten, though that one…
Lou stared deadpan at the owner of that plate, who was happily munching away at her current burger. Kay paused when she noticed Lou's stare, and smiled at the brunette. "What? I'm hungry!"
"Really, Commander, ten…?"
"As I said, I'm hungry!" Kay's smile turned into a grin.
"Psst! Hey, Fletcher!" Tally said in a loud whisper, loud enough for everyone to hear. "What kind of ship do you think Kay is?"
"Heavy cruiser for certain," Fletcher commented with a shrug. "New Orleans-class is my first guess."
"Please," Henley interrupted, "she's totally an Alaska!"
"Did you just call me fat?" Kay asked, holding a hand against her heart with mock offense.
A shadow loomed over the table, and the snickering from various destroyers went silent. Well, most of them. Henley was still giggling to herself.
The shadow's source moved over to stand right behind Evans' unsuspecting Evil Twin.
"Is there something you'd like to share with us, Miss John D. Henley?" Miss Hornet smiled. Though, of course, that smile could only be described, by all accounts, as "dangerously sinister".
"Uh…" Henley stammered, jumping in her seat when the carrier spoke. "We were just theorizing what class of ship your daughter might be, ma'am!"
"Oh? Well, if I may," Hornet continued smiling, putting a hand on Henley's shoulder, "would you mind running me through the various choices you girls have narrowed it down to?"
"Well, uh, Fletcher said she's definitely a heavy cruiser, and guessed New Orleans-class," Henley said, clearly trying to throw some of the attention away from herself. The blonde in question merely rolled her eyes and went back to her lunch.
"And what other choices are there?" the looming Yorktown-class carrier pressed on, her grip on the redheaded Fletcher-class destroyer tightening just a tad bit.
"I… uh, well… um…" Henley stammered, clearly looking for a non-existent way out. "I suggested an Alaska -"
The grip on her shoulder suddenly tightened significantly, enough to get Henley to wince.
"- s-since she's got a similar appetite to t-them and gives great hugs!"
There were a few seconds of silence.
Then, Hornet chuckled, releasing her grip on the destroyer. "Well, fortunately, none of my daughters are shipgirls," she clarified, walking over to Kay and Sachi and putting her hands on their shoulders. "And I'd like them to be just as they are now, away from danger."
"Oh, Mom…" Kay beamed as the mother and two daughters shared an embrace.
"Which is why I'm now more determined than ever to fight against the Abyssals," the mother continued, her face darkening in anger. "They shelled my daughters' schoolships. They all turned out fine now, yes, but that is a transgression that cannot be forgiven."
"Never incite a mother's wrath…" Lou commented quietly to herself.
"You're like the momboat we all wish we had, ma'am!" Fletcher commented with a grin.
"Thank you, Fletcher," was the warm smile from the carrier before her eyes moved over to a certain destroyer's plate. "Are you sure that's enough, Evans?"
"Huh?" Evans asked, looking up from her salad. "This is more or less what I usually have for lunch."
"Well, that won't do anymore," Hornet replied. "As a shipgirl your intake needs are drastically increased compared to before. That is why your sisters have stuffed their plates full of burgers," the blonde woman explained.
"Huh," Tally huh'd. "I thought they just had weird eating habits, like Kay does."
"Nah, I only got it from Mom," was the reply from the blonde Saunders team commander. "You should see her portions!"
"That much is expected of a capital ship," the carrier nodded, a little proudly. "But Kay, you've always been eating this much, even before I manifested."
"Moooooom!" Kay groaned as Sachi laughed. "Don't call me out like that…"
"You're just weird, Kay!" Tally teased, elbowing her girlfriend good naturedly.
"That much is true, yes," the Yorktown-class carrier chuckled. "I remember one time when she was five, she-"
"Mom!"
"Alright, alright, I'll not talk about it," Hornet chuckled. "Well, I'll leave you girls alone then. Enjoy your lunch! We've got another newcomer to welcome later," she winked at Louise before she walked off.
"So, how much do I have to eat, exactly?" Evans asked the table, looking down at her comparatively tiny salad.
"A lot," Fletcher intoned. "It's worse after your summoning or after battles when you need to repair or resupply, but you'll either need to greatly increase the size of your meals, or be snacking literally all day. I recommend the former, rather than the latter. Capps learned that one the hard way. Six burgers is a good lunch for a casual day, we'd be eating Kay-sized portions if we'd been fighting."
"What happened to Capps?" Lou asked curiously.
"We ran out of snacks halfway through the afternoon."
"Oh. Yeah, that's not good…" Lou mused. "Wait… so, if you guys eat this amount, and if Miss Hornet's portions are substantially larger, then would St. Louis' be larger than what you guys take…?"
The experienced shipgirls at the table looked between themselves for a moment before the quiet Irish girl, O'Bannon, spoke up. "Light cruisers usually eat meals that are roughly 50% larger than destroyers. Could be more, could be less, depending on the specifics."
"... Oh, crap, my allowance…" Lou sighed, resting her head on her hand.
"We can always increase it for you, though!" Kay smiled reassuringly. "Especially for reasons like this!"
"R-really?" the brunette looked up.
"Plus, my food truck is free for shipgirls!" Fletcher added.
"It is?"
"Of course!" Fletcher confirmed with a cheerful nod. "We may ask you to help man it every now and then as payment, but there's a reason we always have so much food ready and on hand. Shipgirls need food, and we make enough money off the non-shipgirls - and Kay - that we don't need to worry about it."
"I see. Well, glad I wouldn't need to worry 'bout that then," Lou lightened up.
Still…
"What will Gramps say…?" she muttered to herself. A bit too loud if she wanted to keep it within herself, though.
"What was that, Lou?" Tally asked, looking over at her friend.
"Oh?" Lou looked up. "Well… I was just wondering if I really should fight… I mean," she quickly clarified, "yeah, of course I should! But… I feel like I might be disappointing someone…"
The redhead smiled softly, and put a gentle hand on Lou's shoulder. "There's nothing saying you have to fight."
"I know, but like I've mentioned, responsibility," Louise returned the smile. "Then again… well, actually, Gramps might jump in if he's in my shoes. In fact, he already had."
"Oh?" Tally asked.
"Yeah, you know, World War Two."
The brunette noted the curiosity on everyone's faces, except for Kay's.
"Yep, they don't know," the blonde team commander waved as she held her burger up. "Wanna tell 'em?"
"Of course," Louise nodded. "Well, yeah, my grandfather was a tanker, fought in the European Theater. When he landed at Normandy he was a gunner, but after that M4 was knocked out and most of the crew was injured enough to not be able to return, he was promoted and given command of his own tank, along with his own crew. That tank was soon named 'Ace of Spades'," the young Tuckerman shared proudly.
"So that's where Ace's name came from…" Tally observed.
"Yep, it was a bit of a mouthful, so they just practically rolled with Ace. Ace returned to the frontlines just in time for Operation Lüttich, and once that was done she raced across France along with the rest of her platoon. Somewhere fairly near Paris they were told to break off from the rest of the division and investigate something near my hometown, which they did. That 'something' turned out to be a King Tiger waiting in ambush. Only my grandfather walked out of that encounter alive."
"Yikes," Henley winced. "No wonder Kuromorimine chews you guys up and spits you out."
"Nah, they're getting their asses kicked this time," Lou grinned confidently, ignoring Tally's interruption of "Language!" "Ace is now here to turn the tide, after all! But yeah. My grandfather had been drilling this into my head up until he died earlier this year: war is hell. And I've learnt that lesson well. I'm constantly reminded of that when I'm with Ace, too; not just because she's my Gramps' tank as well, but also because his crew actually died in her. Thankfully, though," she relaxed, "sensha-do is not war."
Tally raised a finger, confusion written all over her face. She brought it back, clearly pondering something.
Naturally, that did not go unnoticed to the Easy-Eight commander. "Look, I admit I'm serious about sensha-do, but seriousness in the sport's nowhere near the same as treating it like war!" Lou giggled. "Massive difference right there, Tally!"
"Be that as it may, we still don't need to win harder against most of the teams we face," Evans said, her hand now moving to fiddle with her braid.
"Like I've mentioned, it's-" Lou nearly went back to the same argument she had been dueling with Tally in for a good while, but she stopped herself. "We're missing the point, there's something far more important. Yes, Sensha-do is not the same as war. But this, the battle against the Abyssals, is. And with that drilled into me, I don't know if I'm making Gramps proud or disappointed," she sighed, putting her hands together and pressing her lips over them.
"I'm sure he would be proud of you no matter which direction you go," Tally said.
"I like to think he'll be, yeah," the young Tuckerman smiled.
Evans' belly rumbled, and she looked sheepishly at her empty plate. "I… am gonna get more food."
"Oh boy, we're about to be real fun at buffets," Louise chuckled.
"Yuko took me to an all-you-can-eat breakfast once, when we did our brief stint in the M6. I'm pretty sure the both of us have since been banned from there," Tally said, laughing softly. "But anyways, food."
"Food, magical food, wonderful food, marvelous food~" Lou sang cheekily. With that, the redhead grinned as she stood up from her seat and walked back to the buffet line.
++++++++++
"So, uh…" Lou began to ask as she looked at the floating pallet in front of her. "All I have to do is stand on this?"
"That's all you have to do," Hornet confirmed with a nod.
"What does it feel like? Other than the obvious physical floating."
Hornet shrugged. "It's different for everybody. But it will be like a vision, or a dream."
"Oh," the brunette nodded. She turned back to the pallet. "... Almost time now, huh…"
"You'll do great," Hornet said encouragingly, gently patting Lou's shoulder.
The younger girl gave a smile back. "I hope so."
At that moment, a question popped up in her mind. "Say, Miss Hornet, the music they played during Tally's- I mean, Evans' manifestation… is it decided for us?"
"Mostly," Hornet said. "Though the band is willing to take requests if you have a particular song you'd like to start with. They played Colonel Bogey for me, and Evans asked for the Battle Hymn of the Republic."
"Oh, so that was a request…" Tuckerman nodded. "Does the choice matter?"
"Not as far as I know, no," Hornet shook her head. "But, we have only had two manifestations here at Sasebo, so far."
"Got it… Well, nonetheless…" Lou looked up, something in her mind. Moving closer to the carrier, she whispered something into the blonde woman's ear.
She stepped back. "If there's one I can pick, it has to be this."
"Of course. I'll relay the request to the band. Give me one moment," Hornet smiled. She then raised a hand to her ear. "Northampton, Hornet. Louise has a request for the band, please relay it to them," Hornet said, presumably into her radio, before she passed on the actual request. "Thank you, Nora."
"Thanks," Lou smiled. "That one means a lot to me."
"It's no problem, dear."
The brunette turned back to look at the pallet for a few seconds. Though, feeling something, she turned back to look at the crowd that had regathered.
So many faces she didn't know amongst those she recognized. And then amongst them are those that she actually knew.
Sachi was waving happily at her.
Tally gave a thumbs-up and an encouraging smile.
Kay pumped her fist in the air.
The destroyers she had met over the past days were giving her various positive reactions.
Encouraged and emboldened by everyone, Lou turned back to Hornet. "Alright. I'm ready."
"Step onto the pallet, then. I'll tow you to the center of the pool when you're stable," Hornet said.
Nodding, the girl gingerly stepped onto the floating piece of wood. The pallet wobbled a bit under her weight after her first foot went on, and Louise hesitated. But only for a few moments; her other foot soon left the safety of the platform and onto the pallet.
"This thing is stable, right…? What if I accidentally fall off?"
Hornet considered it for a moment as she hopped onto the water next to Lou. Her usual uniform was replaced by her shipgirl uniform, and the minimalistic rigging of a Yorktown-class carrier appeared around her. "If you fall, I'm sure everyone will have a short laugh as I help you back onto the pallet. A little embarrassment, nothing more."
"Guess that'll work…" the brunette nodded gingerly as she readied herself. Just in case.
With that, just like Fletcher did with Tally, Hornet dragged the pallet out to the center of the pool. Giving one last look to the young Tuckerman, the blonde woman gave the brunette an encouraging thumbs-up before she moved back to ground.
Man, I can see everyone from here… Lou thought to herself as she looked around.
There was the Admiral, whoever he was, standing at that pedestal behind that stand.
Everything still felt so surreal.
The lights around her began to dim, though the ones shining on her remained just as bright.
Oh my god, is this really happening?
As the last of the outside lights dimmed to nothing, she could no longer see anyone in the darkness, the only lights now shining right down on her brightly, almost blindingly.
Still out there were her friends, watching her.
What's waiting for me?
She heard the band begin to play that familiar tune. The one she went through so much with.
She heard the Admiral begin to speak.
She tried to follow what he was saying. She really tried.
But way too quickly, at the moment he began to speak, everything faded to nothing.
++++++++++
The sun was red.
No, really, it was red. Sitting just above the horizon, the crimson rays shone over the blue ocean surface.
An ocean surface littered with debris.
A sinking Japanese destroyer floated past, burning and abandoned. Plumes of black smoke rose to the air as the wreck leaked oil into the blue Pacific water.
Blood-red oil.
Then more came. Destroyers. Cruisers. Aircraft. There were so many of them on the Pacific waves, dying the normally-blue waters the bloodlike color of their oil.
But amidst the wreckage, slipping quietly through the mangled remains of the enemy, the black silhouette of a ship stood above them all.
Unlike the twisted remains of those ex-ships around her, she was American. Fifteen Mark 16 six-inch guns in five triple turrets, three at the bow and two at the stern. Eight Mark 12 5-inch guns in four twin gun turrets made up her secondary armament, while various small turrets carrying differing models of light anti-aircraft guns complimented them.
She grew up and stopped playing around at Pearl Harbor.
Thin wisps of steam and smoke from her two smokestacks were blown away into the air by the wind as the light cruiser continued to sail ahead, her eight boilers pumping high-pressure steam into her four turbines.
The horrors that she had experienced continued to plague her mind. Torturing her. Warping her.
The vessel made a gentle turn, avoiding the wreck of a Japanese cruiser.
For a time, she handled it well. She told herself the problems will pass. She told herself she was far stronger than she thought she was.
Another wreck passed by her port side bow.
Then it happened.
Nothing could prepare her for that.
Through the pitch darkness of the night, illuminated by her own searchlights, there she was.
Her sister. Her poor little sister. Sweet, innocent, determined, hopeful despite everything.
That was her bow pointing towards the night sky.
Honolulu restrained her, dragging her away from the wreckage of her sister. Their sister. Telling her that they had to withdraw or the Japs will find them, amidst the hysterical screaming as she desperately tried to free herself from her grasp.
Radford and Nicholas would handle it, she said.
But that was no consolation at all.
Helena is gone.
That night, something broke in her.
Her radar beeped.
In the distance, underneath the red sky, a massive fleet of dark ships were approaching. Blanketing them from the skies were planes. So many planes.
Brace yourselves, for even the heavens will tremble when a saint goes to war.
The light cruiser's guns rotated and trained on the incoming enemy.
They took everything from her.
Even her.
She was done being nice.
They.
Will.
PAY.
++++++++++
As everything died down around her, darkness returned.
She felt the spotlights shine over her shut eyelids.
Slowly, she opened her eyes, a steely gaze staring out at the crowd in front of her.
They moved slowly from one end to another, observing every single one present in the room.
Awe. Surprise. Shock. Confusion. She saw them all.
Her gaze went down to her own body.
She was dressed in her old uniform now. A sleeveless white half-coat rested loosely over her more tightly fitting star spangled black, white, and blue shirt. Eleven stars, in fact - each one well earned - were spread around the sides and middle of her shirt. A metal waistband held white coattails in place, flaring out over her blue with red skirt. Black garters held up her black and white stockings.
Attached to her waist was her rigging; the center piece included two smokestacks mounted side by side. The rest of the rigging branched out like the limbs of a great tree: two metal bow-like structures flanked her side, each with two six-inch turrets mounted on the decks, supported by her 5-inch secondaries and smaller AA weaponry. In her arms was a 6-inch turret mounted to the body of a Browning Automatic Rifle. Noticing a mount on the right side of the rigging, she inserted the rifle-turret sideways into it. Thus did Turret C emerge from the right side of that part of her rigging, fully capable of rotating and firing if the light cruiser decided that she didn't want to use it in BAR mode.
On her head was a large headband shaped like her bridge structure, complete with windows and all. Down at her feet were her metallic footwear; a large bow-like section covered up her ankle areas and lower half of her shin and calves. Attached to each high heel was a rudder, and to the sides of each footwear were two four-bladed brass propellers, one closer to the rudders than the other.
Placed in a mount of the metal band of her left stocking was her "fishing" priest, which was something that could be described as a metal pole 12 inches long, complete with a grip covering the bottom third of the "stick" and expanding thicker on the top third part. This would come in handy in certain situations, but as a melee weapon it was only going to be effective during more critical times.
Despite everything feeling right, something still felt wrong. Her hair didn't change. Her breathing was normal; the soft hissing of steam coming from inside her as she breathed was not out of the ordinary. Her hull was still the same.
Then she finally noticed.
Her hull was still the same.
"... This is a mistake."
Silence.
"Sailor, report!" The Admiral called from his podium.
Those cold eyes shot up to him. "My hull dimensions are all incorrect. Hydrodynamic efficiency and structural strength are not satisfactory. I require an immediate refit to correct these problems."
"Did she just call herself short?" Evans whispered from the sidelines.
A cold, angry stare from the newly-manifested ship was what she received in return.
"Oh my god, she did!" Evans continued, refusing to wilt under the cruiser's glare.
A few moments passed.
The new shipgirl closed her eyes, breaking off her gaze. "I will deal with you later," was the soft, cold tone of the light cruiser as she opened her eyes again, looking at the Admiral. "Light cruiser St. Louis, reporting."
She didn't even salute, instead putting her right arm on her hips, leaning her body in the same direction at the same time. "Well, you've certainly taken your time, haven't you?"
"Welcome back, St. Louis. Get yourself over to the mess hall and stocked," The Admiral said with a nod.
"And my refit?"
Hornet stepped forward, off to the Admiral's side. "We currently lack the facilities and manpower to conduct any refit, let alone one as significant as the one you are requesting."
St. Louis' glare was one of dissatisfaction. And for a tiny bit, it almost looked like it was laced with resentment.
But a few seconds later, the light cruiser relented. She rolled her neck backwards, cracking it. "My time, my pace," was the curt reply as she moved herself to the edge of the pool, stepping out. The moment she left the water, her rigging disappeared, but her new uniform remained. Parts of her footwear, namely her propellers and rudders, also disappeared, leaving behind simply the boot-like high heels. Her headwear remained as well, while the soft sounds of steam from her breathing stopped as well, leaving behind the normal sounds of breathing.
Metallic clicking came from her heels as she walked ahead. Not that she ever minded, of course.
"Lou?" Kay ventured as the cruiser approached.
The brunette stopped. "Yes, that is me."
"You okay?" Kay asked. "You're acting kind of strange…"
"I'm alright," was the simple reply. "Thanks for asking."
"Ooookay then…" one of the redheaded destroyers commented, stepping out in front of Lou. "Alright, prove to me that you're you, then. I did it for you."
The light cruiser sighed, almost sounding annoyed. "Not running a few more potent tanks is a mistake that will bite Saunders in the ass in future. Just because we get new tanks doesn't mean we need to use them every single time. Is that good enough?"
Evans didn't respond with her usual reprimand, instead fidgeting uncomfortably under the cruiser's gaze. She refused to falter, though. "That sounds right, but you're not acting like you..."
"Oh I assure you, Evans, it's still me. Thanks for the concern though, but now if you'll excuse me, I've got somewhere to be," Lou dismissed the destroyer, resuming her walk out of the room, headed for the mess.
As Lou left the room, she overheard one of the two redheaded Fletchers make a comment. "Is it just me, or is she turning into a massive bitch?"
"Language!"
The light cruiser immediately stopped in her tracks.
She turned around, a death glare emanating from her eyes.
Slowly, she advanced, staring Henley straight in the eye. The destroyer returned the stare, unflinching.
Both shipgirls were right in front of each other now, their gazes locked.
A few tense seconds passed.
Then, St. Louis raised her hand…
… and proceeded to gently dust off the destroyer's uniform.
"Look out for yourself more," Lou commented, a smile forming on her face. Though, that smile was, quite badly, hiding something.
And then it was immediately dropped. "You'll need to."
She hit her fist on the redhead's chest. Not hard enough to cause any real damage, but hard enough to get her message across.
"Ah!" The redhead exclaimed softly as she rocked back slightly under the blow of the cruiser's fist.
"Shitter."
"Hey!" Evans interjected, moving between her twin and St. Louis. There was a clear look of betrayal on her face.
Seeing this, St. Louis rolled her eyes. "Pff. Destroyers. Always thinking they mean something."
And just like that, the brunette turned around and left.
As soon as Lou was out of earshot, Henley turned to her sister and friends. "See what I mean?"
Author's Note:
Hey all, I just wanted to take a moment to point out and share the poem I used for inspiration for the Tally/Evans manifestation dream. It was written about the USS Evans by the son of one of her crewmembers.
Proud Ship
Men lay their lives on the line,
A ship sails in harm's way.
Bravery is not an external feature,
It comes from within one might say.
The battle is fought, the battle is won,
Though good men are lost before it's done.
The ship, too, is bent and worn,
Her back is now broken, her metal torn.
Though her pride her crew does keep,
She winds up just scrap for the heap.
As the years go by, more crewmembers fall,
Till there are but a few to remember them all.
But when the last man passes and the crew reunites,
A proud ship will be waiting to cruise to new heights.
They will be remembered by those left behind,
When we think of their sacrifices in our minds.
(by Michael Staton)
Men lay their lives on the line,
A ship sails in harm's way.
Bravery is not an external feature,
It comes from within one might say.
The battle is fought, the battle is won,
Though good men are lost before it's done.
The ship, too, is bent and worn,
Her back is now broken, her metal torn.
Though her pride her crew does keep,
She winds up just scrap for the heap.
As the years go by, more crewmembers fall,
Till there are but a few to remember them all.
But when the last man passes and the crew reunites,
A proud ship will be waiting to cruise to new heights.
They will be remembered by those left behind,
When we think of their sacrifices in our minds.
(by Michael Staton)
Oh Shenandoah,
I hear you calling.
Hi-oh, you rolling river!
Oh Shenandoah,
I long to hear you,
Hi-oh, I'm bound away,
'Cross the wide Missouri.
I hear you calling.
Hi-oh, you rolling river!
Oh Shenandoah,
I long to hear you,
Hi-oh, I'm bound away,
'Cross the wide Missouri.
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Part Seven
Lady Darkhound
Haha, tanks!
- Location
- My very own personal hell
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yet Still We Sail
Part 7
++++++++++
The mess was quiet now, lunchtime having been over for a while already. There were a few girls here and there catching a late meal, though; most of them were friends and were seated together, talking happily while they chowed on.
The exception to that was the newly-manifested St Louis, who was sitting alone at a table. Not that she minded, of course; she was far too occupied with eating her plateful of burgers than to care about her lack of company.
Though, as she munched, looking around with her usual serious glare, she began to ponder about what had happened a few minutes ago.
Why was she so hostile?
Even she couldn't answer that. She had no reason to be so rude to her friends. She had no reason to hit Henley. She had no reason to demean Tally- or rather, Evans- like that.
And yet she did.
And what was scary was that she felt powerful doing it. As if she really wasn't in the wrong.
Now that things have managed to settle down, at least for her, in hindsight Lou was really being a bitch. And this was completely uncharacteristic of Louise. Hell, Louise never even had any inner thoughts like that.
It almost felt like she wasn't herself anymore.
And yet, it felt like she'd been herself all along.
While feeling wrong.
Lou munched on her mouthful of burger harder in frustration. It was only now that she noticed she had already gone through four of them.
"Afternoon, St. Louis," a familiar voice said conversationally.
The light cruiser looked up. "It's you."
"It's me," Nicholas confirmed with a nod, sitting down across the table from St. Louis. She had a small tray of food with her, only a pair of burgers and some small sides.
Lou just quietly went back to her own burgers.
There were a few moments of silence.
"How are you feeling? Manifestation can't be an easy experience," Nicholas asked, carefully digging into her own meal.
"It's okay I suppose," was the simple, strangely non-aggressive reply. "I'm alright, after all."
The white-haired destroyer merely raised an eyebrow. "Your friends were pretty distraught after your exit from the summoning chamber. Evans was blaming herself for something."
Lou looked up for a brief moment. "Well, you should tell them I'm sorry for scaring them like that. I'm fine now."
"You should tell them yourself."
Lou remained silent, still munching on her burgers. Nicholas imitated her, quietly focusing on her food.
A few more moments of silence passed.
"... That night…"
"Kula Gulf," the destroyer stated, as if she knew exactly what the light cruiser was thinking about.
"You and Radford did well," St Lou continued, having stopped eating. "That's more that I can ever ask for."
"We should have done more…" Nicholas trailed off, her brown eyes looking anywhere but the cruiser.
"You did what you could," the light cruiser replied, a fair tinge of sadness in her words. "That's what matters."
"Yeah…" Nicholas had a sad smile on her face. "We did what we could."
And just like that, the two of them fell silent again.
"I heard training will begin soon," St Louis broke the silence again.
"It will," the destroyer confirmed. "I heard you and Evans will be working up back at Saunders, mainly with help from Fletcher's crew. Northampton volunteered to go along and help you out."
"Makes perfect sense that we'll go back to Saunders. Was not expecting Northampton to come though. That said, help won't exactly be necessary," St Lou waved off. "I can figure things out myself."
The destroyer merely raised an eyebrow. "Orders from the Admiral. All recently summoned and manifested shipgirls are to receive basic training from another shipgirl to ensure that everything is up to snuff and that you actually know what you're doing."
Lou shrugged. "Fair enough."
"Everything will be fine," Nicholas assured the cruiser. "From what I heard about that battle out protecting the schoolship, you and Evans should already have everything down pat."
"That was sloppy of me," the light cruiser frowned, recalling the fight. "Perhaps I do need a refresher after all. Especially with my rigging being, well, redesigned. It feels far better than the previous one."
"Refits will do that to you. Though, the one I got in '59 was nothing of the sort. Never liked that one…" Nicholas said, trailing off as she descended into thought.
"At least you weren't kicked aside and later sent off somewhere else…" St Lou grumbled, a hint of resentment in her voice.
"Didn't like… what was it, Brazil?" Nicholas asked. Lou's eyes furrowed in response. "I'll take that as a no, got it."
The light cruiser went back to her burgers. "I put in everything for the Navy during the war. And what was the reward? Mothballed for five years and then discarded. Like a used toy."
Once again, the destroyer merely raised an eyebrow, this time refraining from commenting.
"... But I love the Navy nonetheless. It's good to be back."
"And it's good to have you back."
To that, St Louis nodded in response.
"Alisa and Naomi are gonna need a bigger Jeep," Tally commented, as the M3A1 scout car pulled to a stop. Miss Hornet had been gracious enough to drive everyone who needed it back to Saunders, which meant Fletcher, Henley, St. Louis, Kay, Sachi, and Tally were all crammed into the M3's rear, while Hornet and Northampton had the front seats.
"Yeah, they are," Kay agreed, looking out across the parking lot to find her two vice-commanders. It only took her a moment, and she waved at them. Tally spun in her seat to face the way her girlfriend was looking, and joined in the waving at her friends.
"Actually," Fletcher interjected, "Henley and I have one last thing we need to take care of with Hornet and Northampton. We'll catch up with you later."
"Huh," Tally huh'd. "Well, we'll see you later then!"
With that, the redhead vaulted over the side of the scout car and landed on her feet with ease. She'd only been a shipgirl over the weekend, but the feeling of just being able to stand up and walk about was nice after being stuck in a medical bed. Kay followed her out, while Sachi and St. Louis took the more conventional route out the back door.
"Well, you seem fine to me," Naomi smiled as Tally walked up to the sharpshooter. "How was your stay at Kay's place?"
"It was great!" Tally replied with a grin. "Learned a lot of new stuff this weekend, too!"
"And a lot cheerier too!" Alisa smirked. "The hell happened?"
"Language," Tally interjected. "I'm just happy to be moving around under my own power! Thankfully, the damage wasn't quite as bad as they thought."
"That's fortunate indeed," Naomi nodded. "Welcome home!"
"It's good to be back!"
"Speaking of mood…" a grin grew on the pigtailed vice-commander's face as she looked at someone in particular. "Lou! You look like someone owes you money! What's wrong?"
Blinking, St. Louis looked at Alisa. "Nothing in particular," she replied in a very neutral tone. "Why'd you ask?"
"Yeah, Lou does seem a bit off," the eagle-eyed sharpshooter commented, putting her fingers on her chin. "Kay, did she hit her head or something?"
"Or something," Kay agreed. "She's just been sorta grumpy since Friday."
"Ah, she must be worried about Ace and all," Alisa concluded. "Well, you'll be glad to know that Ace is safe and sound! You can go check on her later!"
Tally noticed Louise briefly break eye contact from the pigtailed vice-commander. Though, a moment later, a seemingly familiar smile appeared on the younger girl's face. There was just something off about the smile. "Sounds great!" Tuckerman grinned, as if nothing ever happened. "Glad she's alright!"
"That's the spirit!" Alisa returned the smile as she patted the younger girl on the shoulder. "Everything's back to normal while you guys are gone! Well, almost. Tally?"
"What's up?" Tally asked.
"Please don't get upset at what I'm gonna say," the pigtailed vice-commander braced herself a bit.
"What did you do?" Tally asked, her smile fading as she crossed her arms.
"Oh, don't get the wrong idea, I did literally nothing!" Alisa quickly and immediately clarified. "Rather, it's what wasn't done that's the problem. You see, our dorm was hit during that attack… aaand it hasn't been repaired."
"Oh, for f-!" Tally exclaimed, cutting off the curse with a facepalm. The redhead let out a heavy sigh. "So, what are our living arrangements, if our dorm is damaged?"
"Mmm…" the pigtailed vice-commander's eyes looked around, jumping from one person to another before coming back to Tally. "... I'll tell you later."
"For an intel officer, you're really bad at sharing intel when it could be important," Tally deadpanned. Her voice took on a honey-sweet tone that promised pain if she didn't get a straight answer. "I would really rather like to know where I'm going to be sleeping tonight."
"Weeell…"
"Psst, that's because she hasn't figured that out yet," Naomi quickly whispered into the redhead's ear.
"Naomi!"
"It's been a week since the attack. Have you just been sleeping in your tank or something?" Tally asked.
"... Actually, yeah…" was the sheepish reply. "It was pretty nice, all things considered."
"Yuko would disagree," the eagle-eyed Saunders sharpshooter interjected cheekily. "She said you kept kicking her in your sleep."
"Naomi!"
Tally's gaze flickered between the two before she let out a heavy sigh. "Fuck it, I'll see if Trips has a couch or something I can crash on. I love Izumi, but she is not going to be comfortable to sleep in."
"Language!"
"Naomi!"
"My place is available," Louise raised her hand. "If anyone wants to…"
Tally glanced over at the cruiser, and raised a finger which she quickly pointed at Lou. "You'll be Plan B if staying with Faye Faith doesn't work out."
"On the other hand, I'll take it!" Alisa eagerly agreed.
"Abandoning your loader to her fate in the tank?" Naomi snarked.
"Oh yeah. Can Yuko come as well?"
Lou simply nodded.
"Sweet!" the pigtailed vice-commander beamed with happiness and relief. "You're the best, Lou!"
Smiling softly, Tuckerman shrugged. That smile… was genuine.
"Beyond Alisa sleeping in her tank for a week, how have you two been holding up?" Kay asked.
"Well, it's back to the usual now," was the reply from Naomi. "Other than the unlucky dorm, everything's just as it was before those 'Abyssals', or whatever they are, attacked us."
"Yeah, have you seen the news?" Alisa continued. "I honestly don't buy it."
"The world's gone crazy," Tally said with a shrug. "Something attacked us. Saw it with my own two eyes before Lou and I got nailed."
"Yeah, saw your report, that was nasty," the pigtailed vice-commander nodded before raising an eyebrow. "How the hell did you heal this quickly?"
"Language," Tally interjected, again. "The injuries weren't nearly as bad as initially thought. Though Lou and I are still supposed to refrain from strenuous activities for a few days."
"Looks like we've got to bar you two from Sensha-do then," Naomi commented half-seriously.
"No, please don't," was the sudden, immediate reply from Lou. Evans shifted and peered carefully at the cruiser. Was that a hint of desperation in her voice?
When the cruiser's face gave her no hints, the destroyer turned back to the team commanders. "We can still help with stuff like maintenance, right? So long as we don't actually try to man Izumi and Ace we should be fine."
"No, I do want to stick to Ace," Tuckerman replied. "It won't be the same without me in the commander's seat."
"The combined Team Acezumi has been handling themselves quite well in your absence," Alisa reported. "Though Jane did run off over the weekend."
"Yeah, those guys do make a decent team," Naomi nodded. "Lou definitely rubbed off Maiko the right way, I'll say."
Hearing this, Lou nodded. "Glad to hear I helped."
"Practice should be starting soon," Kay said, checking her phone. "We should head over to the garage."
"Can I drive the Jeep?" Tally asked, bouncing on her heels.
"I thought you said you were supposed to avoid strenuous activities?" Naomi asked.
"Driving isn't strenuous!"
"It is for everyone else in the car!"
"Naomi!"
"I'll do it," Lou quickly volunteered.
"No you're not!" Alisa quickly refuted. "I still remember!"
"That's a you problem though," Tuckerman grinned genuinely. "What, can't take a bit of my driving?"
"I vetoed Tally, I'm vetoing you too, Lou," Naomi deadpanned. "I'd prefer to survive the trip back to the garage, thank you very much."
"B-but I'm skilled!" Lou protested. "I'm good in the car club!"
Tally took a step back and just took the scene in. Sachi was just sort of lurking in the background, unused to this much brass in one area, but Lou was acting like normal again. It was weird, like a switch had flipped in the girl's mind. She had stopped acting like a bitch, and started behaving like a normal person again!
"Have you even seen me drive my Caterham before?" Lou continued to plead. "Just trust me!"
"Nope!" Alisa shook her head enthusiastically. "Not happening, no way! Once was more than enough!"
"I'm driving!" Kay stated, shutting down the argument hard. Tally just shrugged. Her girlfriend was a quite capable driver, and nobody was going to complain about her driving.
Lou sighed. "Alright then."
"Yeah, that'll work," Naomi said with a shrug.
That settled it, and everyone piled into the Jeep. Tally barely managed to snag shotgun ahead of Naomi, and she grinned at the sniper. Naomi fake pouted for a moment, before patting Tally on the head as she climbed into the back.
The destroyer preened at that. They weren't as good as Fletcher headpats, but headpats were headpats.
Once everyone had piled in, Kay smiled at her girlfriend before setting off towards the Sensha-do field.
"This reminds me of all those evenings where we'd just drive around after Sensha-do!" Kay said cheerfully as she drove. "Just you and me, Tally. You, me, and the open road."
"Don't those evenings always get interrupted by someone?" Evans asked.
"Only when we stopped to have meaningful discussions!"
"Oh, don't start…" Alisa grumbled, knowing very well where this was about to go.
"See?" Kay exclaimed. "Interruptions exactly like that!"
"Would you rather I get into another argument with Lou?" Evans asked, shifting to face the girls in the back.
"Oh, now you really shouldn't start," Naomi pinched the bridge of her nose. "You two have been going on for ages!"
"That's because we both have good arguments with valid points!" the destroyer objected.
"I'm still with Lou on this one," Alisa commented. "We've got to be able to deal with the heavyweights or we'll never win any tournaments."
"And we have those answers for the heavyweights!" Evans countered. "We have more than one Firefly, we have more than one A1(76), and we have Ace! And there's not much that the 76mm can't hurt that the 90mm can!"
"Until the German wannabes bring out their Tiger IIs…" the pigtailed vice-commander grumbled. "If we don't do something we'll fight so hard only to lose in the finals."
"Spending more money on tanks won't help us there. We need to fight smarter, not buy better tanks," the redhead said. "I would hate for this team to just become another KMM because we thought that money and bigger tanks were the answer to every problem."
Tally blinked. This was the sort of argument she had all the time with Louise, not with Alisa! And yet, the short cruiser was just sitting there with a frown on her face as she stared off into the distance.
"Uh… Lou?" Evans asked. "You alright? You're usually always into these arguments…"
Those eyes returned and looked at the redhead. "I'm fine. I'm just done trying to convince you."
She returned to her gaze outside.
"Oh…" Tally said softly. She quietly turned back to face forward in the Jeep, the fires in her boilers completely extinguished.
"Well, ouch…" Alisa commented quietly as she looked at the indifferent ponytailed brunette. "That was a bit blunt."
No response.
The rest of the trip was spent in an uncomfortable silence. Tally kept stealing the occasional glance back at the girl who used to be her friend, but nothing came from it, and when Kay parked the Jeep in the parking lot at the Sensha-do field, the destroyer fled towards the garage.
She weaved her way through the rows of tanks, swiftly moving towards her little corner of happiness. Turkey Company was by far the smallest of Saunders' three divisions, since most people didn't care about Tankathlon or the particular skills involved with scouting. To make things even more quiet, the Flying Tankers, one of two Saunders-based Tankathlon teams, was all off at a match, having taken their Locusts with. Only the two Stuarts remained.
That was perfectly fine with the Fletcher-class destroyer. She needed some peace and quiet right now.
Izumi looked to be in pretty bad shape. She was still covered in dirt and shrapnel from the Abyssal bombardment, and Tally could see damage to her right-side track and bogeys. For some reason, it was always Izumi's right track that got damaged, never the left.
Fixing the damage could wait until Evans was ready to deal with people again. Instead, she quickly retrieved a bucket of water and some brushes, and set to work cleaning her tank. It was a relaxing job, just simple motions with a very clear positive result.
"Oh, that's nice…" an unfamiliar voice said happily. Evans paused in her work and looked around. Turkey Company's corner was empty except for her, and the only tank with open hatches was Izumi herself. And nobody but April or Jane would be daring enough to actually go into her tank. That just wasn't a thing you did without permission unless you were working on repairs.
"Huh…" Evans huh'd, before getting back to work. As she scrubbed away at a particularly stubborn spot of dirt and shrapnel, she noticed an unfamiliar girl climb out of Izumi in the corner of her eye.
"Wait, Boss? What are you doing here?" the unfamiliar girl exclaimed. Evans ignored the comment, but continued watching the girl out of the corner of her eye as she scrambled down the Stuart's front glacis. "Wait, no, you aren't the Boss," this time, the girl sounded confused, and she peered at Evans closely. Too closely. "You look like her, but something is off… and you aren't Henley, either…"
"Do you mind?" Evans asked grumpily, pausing in her work to face the newcomer. "I'm trying to work here!"
The other girl jumped back a few paces, stabilizing herself against Izumi's hull, and stared at Evans with clear shock in her eyes. The destroyer took a moment to get a good look at the girl who had been in her tank. She was wearing the usual tanker jacket and skirt of the team, so she had to be part of it. Evans noted that down. She'd have to talk to Kay about her later. Beyond that, the girl was short, roughly on par with Louise and Alisa, with vaguely Japanese-American features, black hair, and hazel eyes.
"You… you can see me?" Those hazel eyes blinked slowly a few times.
"Am I not supposed to?" Evans asked, setting her brush in the bucket and crossing her arms.
"Ohmygosh, uhh…" the girl looked around for a moment before snapping a sharp salute. "M5A1 Stuart light tank Izumi, command tank of Turkey Company, reporting for duty, ma'am!"
This time it was Evans' turn to stare in shock. It only lasted for a few seconds, because the girl quickly dropped her salute and glomped her. The hug was on par with one of Kay's backbreakers, but it merely felt tight to the destroyer as she awkwardly returned the hug.
"I was right, you do give great hugs!" Izumi exclaimed happily. "Ohmygosh! I can't believe you can actually see me! I mean, Jane is great and all, and a good friend, but you're my TC! You're the Boss! What changed? Just… how can you see me? There's something different about you! There's some sort of… I dunno, presence around you that wasn't there this time last week."
Evans carefully pried herself out of Izumi's vice-like grip, and looked around. Nobody was in sight but Izumi. And it was Izumi. Still, it was probably better to keep her voice low. "Well, I'm a shipgirl now. Fletcher-class destroyer, USS Evans."
"Wait… so Jane wasn't making that up?" Izumi asked, bouncing on her heels. "I mean… Miss Saunders stops by from time to time, but that's different! You're… you're a person, not just another spirit, and you can see me! First Jane, now you? This is an amazing year!"
"Well, I'm graduating in a few months, so it won't last," Evans said with a shrug.
"Future Izumi can worry about that! Right now, I can talk to my TC!" Izumi cheered loudly. "Actually, can you see the others?"
"Others?"
"Fair enough," Izumi shrugged, and turned to the other Stuart. "Hey, get down here!"
Nothing happened, but Izumi winced at whatever reply she got. Whatever it was, Evans couldn't hear or see it.
"I'll take that as a no, then."
"Huh. That's weird, Jane can see all of us…" Izumi said, pondering it for a moment, before she turned back to Evans with a bright smile on her face. "But you can see me! Who cares if you can't see Ace, Miss Saunders, or any of the others, you can see me! You can talk to me! Haha, communication!"
"Can you actually do anything?" Evans asked. It came off a bit more harshly than intended, even if Izumi's chatter did bring a smile to her face.
"Nope! Well, I can do a little bit! That match against Maginot in the desert? The one where we fought in the dust cloud? I, uh, helped Jane find the other team's light tanks, and helped push as much power through the spotlight as possible. I can do small stuff like that, but mostly I'm just sorta here," Izumi answered. "Actually, I can also feel my hull as well as my body, and I can tell you what's damaged, or is in need of maintenance. Both of the volute springs in my right track rear bogey are busted, and my left track needs tensioning. It's loose."
"Huh," Evans huh'd. "That sounds like it could be useful."
Izumi's grin was as bright as her spotlight, and she bounced up and down. "I can make you a full list if you want! Or would you rather just work on the cleaning for now?"
"I'll just work on the cleaning for now," Evans said with a nod. "Though, tell me about yourself. If I can talk to my tank, I want to learn about her…"
On this bright and sunny day, the Saunders Sensha-do team was back to business, picking up well after what had happened merely a week ago. A practice match was currently taking place, and both teams were doing well.
On one side, the Easy-Eight of Saunders was advancing alone, having spread out from the rest of the platoon to try to hunt down a few opponent M4s that were allegedly in the area.
As the E8 rolled through the forested area, a young woman smiled happily, pleased with the performance of her crew and herself.
This was, of course, the spirit of Ace herself, manifested as a young woman with short, blonde hair. She wore the Saunders Sensha-do jacket and top underneath, but below that were her tight slacks, stuffed into her white-and-brown boots. While she had clearly not forgotten anything about her past, she had considerably lightened up after her refit into a Sensha-do tank, now being her natural cheerful self, more than she had been for decades. Plus, the Saunders twist to her uniform felt good.
At this time, she was interested in performing well in this match; just like Lou, she had a competitive streak a mile wide. It may only be a practice match, but practice makes perfect, and Ace wanted to sharpen herself up even more while having fun. Yes, fun; shooting other tanks was actually a harmless, fun thing to do now!
But the practice match was one thing. Right now, there's something else that she's having fun with.
Well, rather, someone else. Someone whose lap she's been sitting on at the bow machine-gunner's seat.
"So, how's Day 1 of being my second pair of eyes?" Ace asked cheekily to a very flustered Jane. "Well, third to be exact, since there's me and all, but usually I won't be able to talk to any of 'em."
"It's, um, it's nice being in a new tank and getting to meet you, Miss Ace, but, well, I… uh, I can't really do my job with you on my lap," the girl replied, fidgeting uncomfortably.
"Bah, it'll be fine," was the reply from the Easy-Eight. "Just wait till Maiko tells you to get your head out and look, and then I'll hop out. Speaking of which…"
She turned to the direction of the commander's seat. "Hey, Maiko! Aren't you gonna get Jane to do something?!"
Naturally, there was no response.
"Something's telling me she's forgetting you being here," the M4 shrugged. "Which is understandable to be honest; this Sensha-do thing doesn't need bow gunners, so the seat's been empty since '44."
"That's why we run Izumi with three," Jane said. She keyed the intercom in her helmet that had been off while she chatted with the tank spirit. "Hey, TC? Do you need me for anything? Miss Ace wants to know."
"Oh, right," was the reply from up there. "Uh, there's nothing much right now, so you just sit back for a while. You can shoot the Browning if you see something suspicious though, but I'm not sure if we've brought ammo for the damn thing. Oi, Yuki, did we?"
"Uh…" the loader's voice came through clearly, despite Ace not being hooked into her intercom system. "I brought the usual amount for the coaxial, but that's it."
"Gotcha. Yeah, you can if you want," the acting commander replied. "Just gotta pass it down to you or something."
Jane frowned and looked at the spirit that was still sitting quite comfortably in her lap. "Do we have any caliber .30 ammo in the hull?"
"Nope, they're all in the turret!" was the reply.
"Okay," Jane said, nodding at Ace. "Can you pass me down two ammo boxes?"
"Hold on," Yuki acknowledged. "Well, do you want it from Sayuri's direction or April's?"
"April!" Jane answered. "Unless we can turn the turret so you can pass it directly to me?"
"April it is then," the loader acknowledged. A short while later, two ammo boxes were passed down to the "tank whisperer" from the gunner's position.
"I used to have a third Browning on my loader's hatch, you know!" the blonde girl commented cheerfully. "They took it out during my Sensha-do refit and kept it somewhere."
"Makes sense," Jane commented, shifting in her seat again. The embarrassed blush on her face was just too cute! "We don't exactly want to hurt people anymore."
"Yeah, this sport is nothing like my early days," the Easy-Eight nodded. "Thankfully, of course."
"If only the rest of the world was like that too…" Jane muttered softly, looking away from the tank spirit.
"I've heard what's going on," Ace commented. "Those Abyssals really aren't playing around, are they?"
"You don't know the half of it…"
"Yep, I'm meant to be on the ground after all!" the M4 replied with a smile. "Well, I'm sure we'll be able to stand up against them. We always do. The new generation's great, I heard!"
"So I've heard," Jane said distractedly. "Miss Ace? There's something I need to talk to you, after the match… Back at the garage."
"Sure thing!" was the cheerful reply before a shot flew by the Easy-Eight.
"Oh, fuck!" Maiko cursed. "Two M4s, 400 meters, 2 o' clock!" she barked. "In those trees!"
"Engaging," April stated calmly, despite the incoming fire.
"No, don't fire until I tell you to!" the acting commander shouted down. The turret stopped traversing towards the opposing tanks.
"Look who's talking," Ace snickered.
"Sayuri, back us up!"
"Got it!" the driver nodded as the Easy-Eight began to back up as quickly as it could, Maiko switching over to the radio and informing the rest of the team.
"We should be pushing forward," Izumi's usual driver said quietly to herself.
"Oh, no, I think Maiko's got something in mind," Ace grinned as she backed into the cover of the trees, overhearing Jane. "Which is weird, 'cos it's Maiko. You know, the aggressive as fuck gunner that'd make Archer proud."
"I'd much rather be a fast-moving target than pinned behind cover," Jane countered, trying to look through her periscope.
"Situational, situational," was the cheery reply she got. "I'm usually always on the move, too! Oh, there we go, those two are coming out!" the tank spirit snickered. "Precisely why we've backed up."
Sure enough, the two opponent Shermans had been goaded into breaking their cover, now coming out to the open. One of them was an M4A1(76)W.
"Sweet!" Maiko's determined voice came through the intercom. "April, take out that 76 millimeter! Fire at will!"
"On the way!" April announced, followed shortly by the roar of Ace's own 76mm M1A2. The shot went high, a clean miss.
"How did you- goddamn, load AP!"
"Got it!" Yuki shouted as she ejected the spent casing from Ace's turret.
A couple of shells came flying towards Ace. The 75 mm round bounced off the Easy-Eight's front armor plate harmlessly while the 76 mm struck a nearby tree instead.
"Hahah, must be a Yankee!" Maiko laughed.
"Up!" Yuki shouted.
"On the way!"
This time, April didn't miss. The AP round found the front of the M4A1, and the advancing tank ground to a sudden halt, its white flag waving merrily in the wind.
"Nice shot!" Maiko's grin could be heard from the intercom. "Right, ahead 3rd gear, max RPM!"
"You got it!" Sayuri acknowledged confidently as she threw the tank into gear, the Ford GAA roaring as Ace broke out of cover.
"Up!"
"Finish that one!" the acting commander shouted.
There was a long moment of relative silence. April was taking her time to aim despite the jostling of the Easy-Eight at high speed. Finally, she once again calmly announced "On the way!"
For someone inexperienced in firing the M1A2, even with Ace's stabilizer, this was going to be a difficult shot. But while April may have been a newbie with Ace's gun, she was a veteran of firing on the move with Izumi's much smaller 37mm M6.
The shot seemed to float for a second as it crossed the distance before it slammed into the M4's turret. The tank stopped moving a moment later, the white flag popping.
"Yes!" Maiko's cheer was audible even off the intercom. "Right, Sayuri, let's stop! Hahah, we got 'em!"
"No, no," April said quietly, her voice audible only to the tank spirit. She shook her head as she spoke. "It's 'Haha, tanks!'"
Ace raised an eyebrow in response. "What's that supposed to mean?" she puzzled audibly to Jane.
"What is what supposed to mean?" the Richardson girl asked.
"That 'Haha, tanks!' thing April just said," the blonde tank spirit replied as the other M4s of the team finally arrived, the acting commander busy telling them they came too late and were unnecessary anyway.
"Oh, that's just an Evansism," Jane said with a shrug. "She says it when she's in a good mood and something cool happens with tanks."
"Huh," Ace huh'd. "That's an odd thing to say."
"That's Evans for ya!"
"Indeed. Though, I've never heard you refer to her via her last name before," Ace commented as she rolled ahead, the tanks moving off to look for the remaining opponent M4s. "New thing?"
"Sort of…" Jane admitted. "It's related to that thing I wanted to talk to you about later."
"Oh? You can talk about it now if you don't mind."
"No, it should really wait til we're in a little more private environment."
"That's cool with me!" the blonde tank spirit grinned. "Oh, I think I see someone in the bushes ahead!" she suddenly noticed. "That's her alright. But why aren't we slowing down?"
Sure enough, Ace, leading the two other M4s, was still rolling ahead inside the forested area, Maiko evidently not being as cautious as Louise would usually be in this situation as she yawned and stared at the top of the E8's turret.
"You think I should go help her out?" Ace asked the "tank whisperer." "I don't mind taking a few hits I guess, but still…"
"She probably could use a bit of advice."
"Yeah, she can," the tank spirit nodded as she opened and hopped out of the bow machine gunner's hatch. Hopping onto her turret, she sat right behind the commander's hatch. "Hey, Maiko, the bushes ahead look pretty dense, dontcha think?"
Naturally, no response.
"Well, what would Louise do in a situation like this? You've seen it before, don't tell me you forgot this quickly~"
Nothing.
"Well come on now, it's common sense! You don't know what's ahead, so what do you do?"
The acting commander yawned.
Ace pinched the bridge of her nose. "Alright. Don't you think I should slow down about now?"
The Easy-Eight continued to forge ahead.
"Uh, yeah, I think we should stop," the tank spirit commented as she began to get a bit too close to the hiding M4. "Yeah, that's enough. Yeah, we're close enough. Come on now, just stop, stop already, please just stop OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE MY SISTER'S RIGHT AHEAD IN THOSE FUCKING BUSHES! FUCKING STOP!"
Out of the blue, Maiko seemed to have noticed something. "All tanks stop," she ordered down the radio before switching over to the intercom. "Sayuri, stop."
"Wait, that worked?!" Jane asked, astonished.
"Surprisingly," Ace commented in awe as well. She watched as the acting commander scanned the surroundings.
Suddenly, she stopped, staring at a particular bush. "Oh, shit! 50 meters, 1 o' cloc-"
Before she could finish, the hiding M4 opened fire, scoring a penetrating hit on the E8. The white flag popped up a second later, but quickly after that the other two tanks retaliated, taking out the last opponent tank.
A slew of angry curses came straight from Maiko as the tank spirit headed back towards the bow machine gunner's hatch. "Well, at least she tried," Ace commented down to Jane. "A bit too late though."
"But you managed to get through to her!" Jane cheered quietly. "Haha, tanks!"
"Yeah, that was surprising!" the tank spirit grinned.
"Funny, it felt like Boss herself told me to stop," the two heard Maiko say to Yuki. "She really is the commander, huh..."
"Well, that's the Commander for you!" Yuki giggled. "Lou's always here, even when she isn't!"
"..."
Jane keyed her intercom. "Uh, Maiko? That was Miss Ace, not Louise."
"'Miss Ace' again?" the acting commander asked curiously.
"Yeah," Jane said, nodding despite the fact that only Ace and Sayuri could actually see her. "She was yelling at you to slow down and pay more attention to your surroundings. You don't exactly have the excuse of your whole world just being the gunner's sights now."
"Gimme a damn break, I just got promoted! Well, temporarily promoted. I wonder how Boss is doing now, haven't seen her since that day."
"Yeah, the little squirt got beaten up pretty badly I heard," the blonde tank spirit commented, dropping the annoyance she had with Maiko's incorrect crediting. "I hope she's fine."
"Well, she and Evans should be coming back today. They might even already be back," Jane said.
"Oh? That's cool!" Ace immediately perked up. "I can't wait to see her again! Which would be a lot sooner had someone paid attention!" she frowned, staring at Maiko's direction.
"How bad is the damage, Miss Ace?" Jane asked.
"Just one penetrating hit and a few scrapes from earlier. But now I've got to wait for the recovery team to come," she grumbled.
"Tracks and engine all fine?" Jane asked. "And can you move so I can climb out of the hatch?"
"Yeah, everything's all good otherwise," Ace nodded as she stepped aside. "Goddamn Maiko…"
Jane climbed out of the hatch and circled around to the tank's engine. With a bit of effort, the girl hauled open the covers on the engine deck.
"Yeah, everything's just disabled by the knockout systems," the tank spirit reaffirmed as she looked down at her Ford GAA.
"Knockout systems that I am now resetting," Jane replied, her voice nearly a whisper as she went to one particular box in the engine compartment. "Though, never use this during an actual match, for obvious reasons."
"Of course not," Ace nodded. "Wait, you know how to reset it?"
"Shhhh…" Jane shushed the tank. "Don't spread this around. But Izumi and Tally let me know after a particularly bad match where we needed to extract Izumi right away, and the ARVs were being slow."
"Interesting. I thought Brooke and Holly kept it a secret, seeing how only the girls in the Workshop know how to do it," the blonde spirit commented.
"Tally helps out in the Workshop on a regular basis."
"Ooh, she does?"
"Yup!" Jane said cheerfully, as she finished up what she was doing. She quickly extracted herself from the engine and closed the covers. "Sayuri, start her up!"
"Got it!" was the reply that was shouted back.
A few seconds later, the Ford GAA cranked and roared back to life.
"That settles it!" Ace beamed happily.
"How the hell did you do that?" Maiko asked in disbelief. "The white flag's still up, so how's the engine running?"
"I'm the Tank Whisperer!" Jane said, grinning as brightly as a high intensity searchlight on a dark night.
"... Fair enough. Nice work there, now hop back in," the usual gunner of Ace gestured.
"You got it!" Jane gave a smart salute, before following Maiko's orders and moving back to her seat.
"Don't salute me…" Maiko grumbled as she sat back down in the commander's chair. "Right, let's go home."
And with that, Ace set off, headed back towards the garage.
It was a short drive, and once Ace was parked in her usual spot, the crew dismounted and headed for the post-skirmish debrief. Jane, however, lingered behind.
"Do help me remind the others to send me for repairs," Ace commented as she sat down on the side of her hull. "Anyway, what do you want to talk about?"
"She's right over there," Jane said, sitting down next to Ace and pointing over towards a familiar short brunette.
"Wait, is that-" the tank spirit immediately perked up excitedly. "Oh, it really is her! You're back! Wait, why does she feel… different?"
Jane smiled enigmatically as she waved Louise over. "Feels like there's more to her than there was before, right?"
"Yeah, there is," the tank spirit squinted as Lou approached. "What's up with her?"
"Hey," the brunette greeted Jane. "Who's that?" she pointed at the blonde girl.
"... WAIT, WHAT?!"
"Lou, meet Ace!" Jane said cheerfully, gesturing over to the stunned tank spirit. "Ace, meet Lou!"
"Ace?" Louise raised an eyebrow.
"Yup!" Jane grinned.
"Ace as in…"
"Ace of Spades, silly! She's your tank!" If anything, Jane's grin only grew brighter.
"My tank?" Lou pointed at the tank spirit.
"Yeah!" Ace grinned. "I'm Ace! How are you able to see me now?!"
"You're Ace?" Lou's eyes brightened.
"Yes!"
"W-wait, really?! You actually have a human form?!"
"Well, a human spirit form to be exact, but yep!" the Easy-Eight beamed.
"Don't be so surprised, Lou!" Jane interjected. "If a ship can have a spirit, why can't a tank?"
"Yeah, that makes sense…" the brunette muttered. "Why am I still surprised… W-wait, so all those times I talked to you, you were actually listening?!"
"Every single word!" Ace grinned.
"Wow… I…" Tuckerman stammered, not sure of how to reply. "I… T-this is great," she smiled. "I can actually talk to you…"
"And yet nobody ever actually believes me when I say I can talk to the spirits of vehicles and all that," Jane grumbled cheerfully. "I mean, I'm talking to two of them right now!"
"Two?" Ace looked around in puzzlement. "The others are busy."
"What others?" Louise raised an eyebrow.
"She means the other tank spirits, which aren't here right now," Jane explained. "It's just the three of us."
"Ah," the commander of the Easy-Eight nodded.
"But what do you mean 'two'?" the Easy-Eight pressed on. "Like you said, there's only the three of us here!"
"You know how I mentioned Lou having an extra bit of something, like there's more to her?" Jane asked, a hint of exasperation in her voice.
"Yeah? She's clearly not a vehicle!" the tank spirit pointed at the girl.
Lou looked back at her tank. "Uhh…"
"You may want to look at her a little closer, Ace." Jane suggested. "Because while she wasn't a spirit…"
Ace hopped off her hull and walked up to her commander, taking a good look at her. Lou, amused, allowed the tank she had known all her life to walk around and inspect her.
"... I don't know what this is…" the Easy-Eight muttered. "She's… bigger on the inside…?"
"Lou?" Jane asked. "Do you want to reintroduce yourself to Ace?"
"Well, it was gonna happen soon anyway," Lou shrugged. "USS St Louis, CL-49, Brooklyn-class light cruiser. I was awakened just a short while ago."
"... What."
"Tally manifested a few hours before Lou, so she's now the USS Evans, DD-552, Fletcher-class destroyer," Jane added. "That's why I've been calling her Evans."
"... What."
Jane hopped off of the tank's flank and walked up to her spirit, gently poking her in the cheek.
"Hey, you alright?" Lou asked her dear tank, concerned.
"You… you're a ship?" the tank spirit looked at her commander, her jaw on the floor.
Louise shrugged in response. "I didn't know until after the attack myself. But yes, I'm a shipgirl."
The white flag on Ace's turret popped out again.
"... Uh, you alright?"
"I think we broke her…"
"Yeah… let's give her a while."
Part 7
++++++++++
The mess was quiet now, lunchtime having been over for a while already. There were a few girls here and there catching a late meal, though; most of them were friends and were seated together, talking happily while they chowed on.
The exception to that was the newly-manifested St Louis, who was sitting alone at a table. Not that she minded, of course; she was far too occupied with eating her plateful of burgers than to care about her lack of company.
Though, as she munched, looking around with her usual serious glare, she began to ponder about what had happened a few minutes ago.
Why was she so hostile?
Even she couldn't answer that. She had no reason to be so rude to her friends. She had no reason to hit Henley. She had no reason to demean Tally- or rather, Evans- like that.
And yet she did.
And what was scary was that she felt powerful doing it. As if she really wasn't in the wrong.
Now that things have managed to settle down, at least for her, in hindsight Lou was really being a bitch. And this was completely uncharacteristic of Louise. Hell, Louise never even had any inner thoughts like that.
It almost felt like she wasn't herself anymore.
And yet, it felt like she'd been herself all along.
While feeling wrong.
Lou munched on her mouthful of burger harder in frustration. It was only now that she noticed she had already gone through four of them.
"Afternoon, St. Louis," a familiar voice said conversationally.
The light cruiser looked up. "It's you."
"It's me," Nicholas confirmed with a nod, sitting down across the table from St. Louis. She had a small tray of food with her, only a pair of burgers and some small sides.
Lou just quietly went back to her own burgers.
There were a few moments of silence.
"How are you feeling? Manifestation can't be an easy experience," Nicholas asked, carefully digging into her own meal.
"It's okay I suppose," was the simple, strangely non-aggressive reply. "I'm alright, after all."
The white-haired destroyer merely raised an eyebrow. "Your friends were pretty distraught after your exit from the summoning chamber. Evans was blaming herself for something."
Lou looked up for a brief moment. "Well, you should tell them I'm sorry for scaring them like that. I'm fine now."
"You should tell them yourself."
Lou remained silent, still munching on her burgers. Nicholas imitated her, quietly focusing on her food.
A few more moments of silence passed.
"... That night…"
"Kula Gulf," the destroyer stated, as if she knew exactly what the light cruiser was thinking about.
"You and Radford did well," St Lou continued, having stopped eating. "That's more that I can ever ask for."
"We should have done more…" Nicholas trailed off, her brown eyes looking anywhere but the cruiser.
"You did what you could," the light cruiser replied, a fair tinge of sadness in her words. "That's what matters."
"Yeah…" Nicholas had a sad smile on her face. "We did what we could."
And just like that, the two of them fell silent again.
"I heard training will begin soon," St Louis broke the silence again.
"It will," the destroyer confirmed. "I heard you and Evans will be working up back at Saunders, mainly with help from Fletcher's crew. Northampton volunteered to go along and help you out."
"Makes perfect sense that we'll go back to Saunders. Was not expecting Northampton to come though. That said, help won't exactly be necessary," St Lou waved off. "I can figure things out myself."
The destroyer merely raised an eyebrow. "Orders from the Admiral. All recently summoned and manifested shipgirls are to receive basic training from another shipgirl to ensure that everything is up to snuff and that you actually know what you're doing."
Lou shrugged. "Fair enough."
"Everything will be fine," Nicholas assured the cruiser. "From what I heard about that battle out protecting the schoolship, you and Evans should already have everything down pat."
"That was sloppy of me," the light cruiser frowned, recalling the fight. "Perhaps I do need a refresher after all. Especially with my rigging being, well, redesigned. It feels far better than the previous one."
"Refits will do that to you. Though, the one I got in '59 was nothing of the sort. Never liked that one…" Nicholas said, trailing off as she descended into thought.
"At least you weren't kicked aside and later sent off somewhere else…" St Lou grumbled, a hint of resentment in her voice.
"Didn't like… what was it, Brazil?" Nicholas asked. Lou's eyes furrowed in response. "I'll take that as a no, got it."
The light cruiser went back to her burgers. "I put in everything for the Navy during the war. And what was the reward? Mothballed for five years and then discarded. Like a used toy."
Once again, the destroyer merely raised an eyebrow, this time refraining from commenting.
"... But I love the Navy nonetheless. It's good to be back."
"And it's good to have you back."
To that, St Louis nodded in response.
++++++++++
"Alisa and Naomi are gonna need a bigger Jeep," Tally commented, as the M3A1 scout car pulled to a stop. Miss Hornet had been gracious enough to drive everyone who needed it back to Saunders, which meant Fletcher, Henley, St. Louis, Kay, Sachi, and Tally were all crammed into the M3's rear, while Hornet and Northampton had the front seats.
"Yeah, they are," Kay agreed, looking out across the parking lot to find her two vice-commanders. It only took her a moment, and she waved at them. Tally spun in her seat to face the way her girlfriend was looking, and joined in the waving at her friends.
"Actually," Fletcher interjected, "Henley and I have one last thing we need to take care of with Hornet and Northampton. We'll catch up with you later."
"Huh," Tally huh'd. "Well, we'll see you later then!"
With that, the redhead vaulted over the side of the scout car and landed on her feet with ease. She'd only been a shipgirl over the weekend, but the feeling of just being able to stand up and walk about was nice after being stuck in a medical bed. Kay followed her out, while Sachi and St. Louis took the more conventional route out the back door.
"Well, you seem fine to me," Naomi smiled as Tally walked up to the sharpshooter. "How was your stay at Kay's place?"
"It was great!" Tally replied with a grin. "Learned a lot of new stuff this weekend, too!"
"And a lot cheerier too!" Alisa smirked. "The hell happened?"
"Language," Tally interjected. "I'm just happy to be moving around under my own power! Thankfully, the damage wasn't quite as bad as they thought."
"That's fortunate indeed," Naomi nodded. "Welcome home!"
"It's good to be back!"
"Speaking of mood…" a grin grew on the pigtailed vice-commander's face as she looked at someone in particular. "Lou! You look like someone owes you money! What's wrong?"
Blinking, St. Louis looked at Alisa. "Nothing in particular," she replied in a very neutral tone. "Why'd you ask?"
"Yeah, Lou does seem a bit off," the eagle-eyed sharpshooter commented, putting her fingers on her chin. "Kay, did she hit her head or something?"
"Or something," Kay agreed. "She's just been sorta grumpy since Friday."
"Ah, she must be worried about Ace and all," Alisa concluded. "Well, you'll be glad to know that Ace is safe and sound! You can go check on her later!"
Tally noticed Louise briefly break eye contact from the pigtailed vice-commander. Though, a moment later, a seemingly familiar smile appeared on the younger girl's face. There was just something off about the smile. "Sounds great!" Tuckerman grinned, as if nothing ever happened. "Glad she's alright!"
"That's the spirit!" Alisa returned the smile as she patted the younger girl on the shoulder. "Everything's back to normal while you guys are gone! Well, almost. Tally?"
"What's up?" Tally asked.
"Please don't get upset at what I'm gonna say," the pigtailed vice-commander braced herself a bit.
"What did you do?" Tally asked, her smile fading as she crossed her arms.
"Oh, don't get the wrong idea, I did literally nothing!" Alisa quickly and immediately clarified. "Rather, it's what wasn't done that's the problem. You see, our dorm was hit during that attack… aaand it hasn't been repaired."
"Oh, for f-!" Tally exclaimed, cutting off the curse with a facepalm. The redhead let out a heavy sigh. "So, what are our living arrangements, if our dorm is damaged?"
"Mmm…" the pigtailed vice-commander's eyes looked around, jumping from one person to another before coming back to Tally. "... I'll tell you later."
"For an intel officer, you're really bad at sharing intel when it could be important," Tally deadpanned. Her voice took on a honey-sweet tone that promised pain if she didn't get a straight answer. "I would really rather like to know where I'm going to be sleeping tonight."
"Weeell…"
"Psst, that's because she hasn't figured that out yet," Naomi quickly whispered into the redhead's ear.
"Naomi!"
"It's been a week since the attack. Have you just been sleeping in your tank or something?" Tally asked.
"... Actually, yeah…" was the sheepish reply. "It was pretty nice, all things considered."
"Yuko would disagree," the eagle-eyed Saunders sharpshooter interjected cheekily. "She said you kept kicking her in your sleep."
"Naomi!"
Tally's gaze flickered between the two before she let out a heavy sigh. "Fuck it, I'll see if Trips has a couch or something I can crash on. I love Izumi, but she is not going to be comfortable to sleep in."
"Language!"
"Naomi!"
"My place is available," Louise raised her hand. "If anyone wants to…"
Tally glanced over at the cruiser, and raised a finger which she quickly pointed at Lou. "You'll be Plan B if staying with Faye Faith doesn't work out."
"On the other hand, I'll take it!" Alisa eagerly agreed.
"Abandoning your loader to her fate in the tank?" Naomi snarked.
"Oh yeah. Can Yuko come as well?"
Lou simply nodded.
"Sweet!" the pigtailed vice-commander beamed with happiness and relief. "You're the best, Lou!"
Smiling softly, Tuckerman shrugged. That smile… was genuine.
"Beyond Alisa sleeping in her tank for a week, how have you two been holding up?" Kay asked.
"Well, it's back to the usual now," was the reply from Naomi. "Other than the unlucky dorm, everything's just as it was before those 'Abyssals', or whatever they are, attacked us."
"Yeah, have you seen the news?" Alisa continued. "I honestly don't buy it."
"The world's gone crazy," Tally said with a shrug. "Something attacked us. Saw it with my own two eyes before Lou and I got nailed."
"Yeah, saw your report, that was nasty," the pigtailed vice-commander nodded before raising an eyebrow. "How the hell did you heal this quickly?"
"Language," Tally interjected, again. "The injuries weren't nearly as bad as initially thought. Though Lou and I are still supposed to refrain from strenuous activities for a few days."
"Looks like we've got to bar you two from Sensha-do then," Naomi commented half-seriously.
"No, please don't," was the sudden, immediate reply from Lou. Evans shifted and peered carefully at the cruiser. Was that a hint of desperation in her voice?
When the cruiser's face gave her no hints, the destroyer turned back to the team commanders. "We can still help with stuff like maintenance, right? So long as we don't actually try to man Izumi and Ace we should be fine."
"No, I do want to stick to Ace," Tuckerman replied. "It won't be the same without me in the commander's seat."
"The combined Team Acezumi has been handling themselves quite well in your absence," Alisa reported. "Though Jane did run off over the weekend."
"Yeah, those guys do make a decent team," Naomi nodded. "Lou definitely rubbed off Maiko the right way, I'll say."
Hearing this, Lou nodded. "Glad to hear I helped."
"Practice should be starting soon," Kay said, checking her phone. "We should head over to the garage."
"Can I drive the Jeep?" Tally asked, bouncing on her heels.
"I thought you said you were supposed to avoid strenuous activities?" Naomi asked.
"Driving isn't strenuous!"
"It is for everyone else in the car!"
"Naomi!"
"I'll do it," Lou quickly volunteered.
"No you're not!" Alisa quickly refuted. "I still remember!"
"That's a you problem though," Tuckerman grinned genuinely. "What, can't take a bit of my driving?"
"I vetoed Tally, I'm vetoing you too, Lou," Naomi deadpanned. "I'd prefer to survive the trip back to the garage, thank you very much."
"B-but I'm skilled!" Lou protested. "I'm good in the car club!"
Tally took a step back and just took the scene in. Sachi was just sort of lurking in the background, unused to this much brass in one area, but Lou was acting like normal again. It was weird, like a switch had flipped in the girl's mind. She had stopped acting like a bitch, and started behaving like a normal person again!
"Have you even seen me drive my Caterham before?" Lou continued to plead. "Just trust me!"
"Nope!" Alisa shook her head enthusiastically. "Not happening, no way! Once was more than enough!"
"I'm driving!" Kay stated, shutting down the argument hard. Tally just shrugged. Her girlfriend was a quite capable driver, and nobody was going to complain about her driving.
Lou sighed. "Alright then."
"Yeah, that'll work," Naomi said with a shrug.
That settled it, and everyone piled into the Jeep. Tally barely managed to snag shotgun ahead of Naomi, and she grinned at the sniper. Naomi fake pouted for a moment, before patting Tally on the head as she climbed into the back.
The destroyer preened at that. They weren't as good as Fletcher headpats, but headpats were headpats.
Once everyone had piled in, Kay smiled at her girlfriend before setting off towards the Sensha-do field.
"This reminds me of all those evenings where we'd just drive around after Sensha-do!" Kay said cheerfully as she drove. "Just you and me, Tally. You, me, and the open road."
"Don't those evenings always get interrupted by someone?" Evans asked.
"Only when we stopped to have meaningful discussions!"
"Oh, don't start…" Alisa grumbled, knowing very well where this was about to go.
"See?" Kay exclaimed. "Interruptions exactly like that!"
"Would you rather I get into another argument with Lou?" Evans asked, shifting to face the girls in the back.
"Oh, now you really shouldn't start," Naomi pinched the bridge of her nose. "You two have been going on for ages!"
"That's because we both have good arguments with valid points!" the destroyer objected.
"I'm still with Lou on this one," Alisa commented. "We've got to be able to deal with the heavyweights or we'll never win any tournaments."
"And we have those answers for the heavyweights!" Evans countered. "We have more than one Firefly, we have more than one A1(76), and we have Ace! And there's not much that the 76mm can't hurt that the 90mm can!"
"Until the German wannabes bring out their Tiger IIs…" the pigtailed vice-commander grumbled. "If we don't do something we'll fight so hard only to lose in the finals."
"Spending more money on tanks won't help us there. We need to fight smarter, not buy better tanks," the redhead said. "I would hate for this team to just become another KMM because we thought that money and bigger tanks were the answer to every problem."
Tally blinked. This was the sort of argument she had all the time with Louise, not with Alisa! And yet, the short cruiser was just sitting there with a frown on her face as she stared off into the distance.
"Uh… Lou?" Evans asked. "You alright? You're usually always into these arguments…"
Those eyes returned and looked at the redhead. "I'm fine. I'm just done trying to convince you."
She returned to her gaze outside.
"Oh…" Tally said softly. She quietly turned back to face forward in the Jeep, the fires in her boilers completely extinguished.
"Well, ouch…" Alisa commented quietly as she looked at the indifferent ponytailed brunette. "That was a bit blunt."
No response.
The rest of the trip was spent in an uncomfortable silence. Tally kept stealing the occasional glance back at the girl who used to be her friend, but nothing came from it, and when Kay parked the Jeep in the parking lot at the Sensha-do field, the destroyer fled towards the garage.
She weaved her way through the rows of tanks, swiftly moving towards her little corner of happiness. Turkey Company was by far the smallest of Saunders' three divisions, since most people didn't care about Tankathlon or the particular skills involved with scouting. To make things even more quiet, the Flying Tankers, one of two Saunders-based Tankathlon teams, was all off at a match, having taken their Locusts with. Only the two Stuarts remained.
That was perfectly fine with the Fletcher-class destroyer. She needed some peace and quiet right now.
Izumi looked to be in pretty bad shape. She was still covered in dirt and shrapnel from the Abyssal bombardment, and Tally could see damage to her right-side track and bogeys. For some reason, it was always Izumi's right track that got damaged, never the left.
Fixing the damage could wait until Evans was ready to deal with people again. Instead, she quickly retrieved a bucket of water and some brushes, and set to work cleaning her tank. It was a relaxing job, just simple motions with a very clear positive result.
"Oh, that's nice…" an unfamiliar voice said happily. Evans paused in her work and looked around. Turkey Company's corner was empty except for her, and the only tank with open hatches was Izumi herself. And nobody but April or Jane would be daring enough to actually go into her tank. That just wasn't a thing you did without permission unless you were working on repairs.
"Huh…" Evans huh'd, before getting back to work. As she scrubbed away at a particularly stubborn spot of dirt and shrapnel, she noticed an unfamiliar girl climb out of Izumi in the corner of her eye.
"Wait, Boss? What are you doing here?" the unfamiliar girl exclaimed. Evans ignored the comment, but continued watching the girl out of the corner of her eye as she scrambled down the Stuart's front glacis. "Wait, no, you aren't the Boss," this time, the girl sounded confused, and she peered at Evans closely. Too closely. "You look like her, but something is off… and you aren't Henley, either…"
"Do you mind?" Evans asked grumpily, pausing in her work to face the newcomer. "I'm trying to work here!"
The other girl jumped back a few paces, stabilizing herself against Izumi's hull, and stared at Evans with clear shock in her eyes. The destroyer took a moment to get a good look at the girl who had been in her tank. She was wearing the usual tanker jacket and skirt of the team, so she had to be part of it. Evans noted that down. She'd have to talk to Kay about her later. Beyond that, the girl was short, roughly on par with Louise and Alisa, with vaguely Japanese-American features, black hair, and hazel eyes.
"You… you can see me?" Those hazel eyes blinked slowly a few times.
"Am I not supposed to?" Evans asked, setting her brush in the bucket and crossing her arms.
"Ohmygosh, uhh…" the girl looked around for a moment before snapping a sharp salute. "M5A1 Stuart light tank Izumi, command tank of Turkey Company, reporting for duty, ma'am!"
This time it was Evans' turn to stare in shock. It only lasted for a few seconds, because the girl quickly dropped her salute and glomped her. The hug was on par with one of Kay's backbreakers, but it merely felt tight to the destroyer as she awkwardly returned the hug.
"I was right, you do give great hugs!" Izumi exclaimed happily. "Ohmygosh! I can't believe you can actually see me! I mean, Jane is great and all, and a good friend, but you're my TC! You're the Boss! What changed? Just… how can you see me? There's something different about you! There's some sort of… I dunno, presence around you that wasn't there this time last week."
Evans carefully pried herself out of Izumi's vice-like grip, and looked around. Nobody was in sight but Izumi. And it was Izumi. Still, it was probably better to keep her voice low. "Well, I'm a shipgirl now. Fletcher-class destroyer, USS Evans."
"Wait… so Jane wasn't making that up?" Izumi asked, bouncing on her heels. "I mean… Miss Saunders stops by from time to time, but that's different! You're… you're a person, not just another spirit, and you can see me! First Jane, now you? This is an amazing year!"
"Well, I'm graduating in a few months, so it won't last," Evans said with a shrug.
"Future Izumi can worry about that! Right now, I can talk to my TC!" Izumi cheered loudly. "Actually, can you see the others?"
"Others?"
"Fair enough," Izumi shrugged, and turned to the other Stuart. "Hey, get down here!"
Nothing happened, but Izumi winced at whatever reply she got. Whatever it was, Evans couldn't hear or see it.
"I'll take that as a no, then."
"Huh. That's weird, Jane can see all of us…" Izumi said, pondering it for a moment, before she turned back to Evans with a bright smile on her face. "But you can see me! Who cares if you can't see Ace, Miss Saunders, or any of the others, you can see me! You can talk to me! Haha, communication!"
"Can you actually do anything?" Evans asked. It came off a bit more harshly than intended, even if Izumi's chatter did bring a smile to her face.
"Nope! Well, I can do a little bit! That match against Maginot in the desert? The one where we fought in the dust cloud? I, uh, helped Jane find the other team's light tanks, and helped push as much power through the spotlight as possible. I can do small stuff like that, but mostly I'm just sorta here," Izumi answered. "Actually, I can also feel my hull as well as my body, and I can tell you what's damaged, or is in need of maintenance. Both of the volute springs in my right track rear bogey are busted, and my left track needs tensioning. It's loose."
"Huh," Evans huh'd. "That sounds like it could be useful."
Izumi's grin was as bright as her spotlight, and she bounced up and down. "I can make you a full list if you want! Or would you rather just work on the cleaning for now?"
"I'll just work on the cleaning for now," Evans said with a nod. "Though, tell me about yourself. If I can talk to my tank, I want to learn about her…"
++++++++++
On this bright and sunny day, the Saunders Sensha-do team was back to business, picking up well after what had happened merely a week ago. A practice match was currently taking place, and both teams were doing well.
On one side, the Easy-Eight of Saunders was advancing alone, having spread out from the rest of the platoon to try to hunt down a few opponent M4s that were allegedly in the area.
As the E8 rolled through the forested area, a young woman smiled happily, pleased with the performance of her crew and herself.
This was, of course, the spirit of Ace herself, manifested as a young woman with short, blonde hair. She wore the Saunders Sensha-do jacket and top underneath, but below that were her tight slacks, stuffed into her white-and-brown boots. While she had clearly not forgotten anything about her past, she had considerably lightened up after her refit into a Sensha-do tank, now being her natural cheerful self, more than she had been for decades. Plus, the Saunders twist to her uniform felt good.
At this time, she was interested in performing well in this match; just like Lou, she had a competitive streak a mile wide. It may only be a practice match, but practice makes perfect, and Ace wanted to sharpen herself up even more while having fun. Yes, fun; shooting other tanks was actually a harmless, fun thing to do now!
But the practice match was one thing. Right now, there's something else that she's having fun with.
Well, rather, someone else. Someone whose lap she's been sitting on at the bow machine-gunner's seat.
"So, how's Day 1 of being my second pair of eyes?" Ace asked cheekily to a very flustered Jane. "Well, third to be exact, since there's me and all, but usually I won't be able to talk to any of 'em."
"It's, um, it's nice being in a new tank and getting to meet you, Miss Ace, but, well, I… uh, I can't really do my job with you on my lap," the girl replied, fidgeting uncomfortably.
"Bah, it'll be fine," was the reply from the Easy-Eight. "Just wait till Maiko tells you to get your head out and look, and then I'll hop out. Speaking of which…"
She turned to the direction of the commander's seat. "Hey, Maiko! Aren't you gonna get Jane to do something?!"
Naturally, there was no response.
"Something's telling me she's forgetting you being here," the M4 shrugged. "Which is understandable to be honest; this Sensha-do thing doesn't need bow gunners, so the seat's been empty since '44."
"That's why we run Izumi with three," Jane said. She keyed the intercom in her helmet that had been off while she chatted with the tank spirit. "Hey, TC? Do you need me for anything? Miss Ace wants to know."
"Oh, right," was the reply from up there. "Uh, there's nothing much right now, so you just sit back for a while. You can shoot the Browning if you see something suspicious though, but I'm not sure if we've brought ammo for the damn thing. Oi, Yuki, did we?"
"Uh…" the loader's voice came through clearly, despite Ace not being hooked into her intercom system. "I brought the usual amount for the coaxial, but that's it."
"Gotcha. Yeah, you can if you want," the acting commander replied. "Just gotta pass it down to you or something."
Jane frowned and looked at the spirit that was still sitting quite comfortably in her lap. "Do we have any caliber .30 ammo in the hull?"
"Nope, they're all in the turret!" was the reply.
"Okay," Jane said, nodding at Ace. "Can you pass me down two ammo boxes?"
"Hold on," Yuki acknowledged. "Well, do you want it from Sayuri's direction or April's?"
"April!" Jane answered. "Unless we can turn the turret so you can pass it directly to me?"
"April it is then," the loader acknowledged. A short while later, two ammo boxes were passed down to the "tank whisperer" from the gunner's position.
"I used to have a third Browning on my loader's hatch, you know!" the blonde girl commented cheerfully. "They took it out during my Sensha-do refit and kept it somewhere."
"Makes sense," Jane commented, shifting in her seat again. The embarrassed blush on her face was just too cute! "We don't exactly want to hurt people anymore."
"Yeah, this sport is nothing like my early days," the Easy-Eight nodded. "Thankfully, of course."
"If only the rest of the world was like that too…" Jane muttered softly, looking away from the tank spirit.
"I've heard what's going on," Ace commented. "Those Abyssals really aren't playing around, are they?"
"You don't know the half of it…"
"Yep, I'm meant to be on the ground after all!" the M4 replied with a smile. "Well, I'm sure we'll be able to stand up against them. We always do. The new generation's great, I heard!"
"So I've heard," Jane said distractedly. "Miss Ace? There's something I need to talk to you, after the match… Back at the garage."
"Sure thing!" was the cheerful reply before a shot flew by the Easy-Eight.
"Oh, fuck!" Maiko cursed. "Two M4s, 400 meters, 2 o' clock!" she barked. "In those trees!"
"Engaging," April stated calmly, despite the incoming fire.
"No, don't fire until I tell you to!" the acting commander shouted down. The turret stopped traversing towards the opposing tanks.
"Look who's talking," Ace snickered.
"Sayuri, back us up!"
"Got it!" the driver nodded as the Easy-Eight began to back up as quickly as it could, Maiko switching over to the radio and informing the rest of the team.
"We should be pushing forward," Izumi's usual driver said quietly to herself.
"Oh, no, I think Maiko's got something in mind," Ace grinned as she backed into the cover of the trees, overhearing Jane. "Which is weird, 'cos it's Maiko. You know, the aggressive as fuck gunner that'd make Archer proud."
"I'd much rather be a fast-moving target than pinned behind cover," Jane countered, trying to look through her periscope.
"Situational, situational," was the cheery reply she got. "I'm usually always on the move, too! Oh, there we go, those two are coming out!" the tank spirit snickered. "Precisely why we've backed up."
Sure enough, the two opponent Shermans had been goaded into breaking their cover, now coming out to the open. One of them was an M4A1(76)W.
"Sweet!" Maiko's determined voice came through the intercom. "April, take out that 76 millimeter! Fire at will!"
"On the way!" April announced, followed shortly by the roar of Ace's own 76mm M1A2. The shot went high, a clean miss.
"How did you- goddamn, load AP!"
"Got it!" Yuki shouted as she ejected the spent casing from Ace's turret.
A couple of shells came flying towards Ace. The 75 mm round bounced off the Easy-Eight's front armor plate harmlessly while the 76 mm struck a nearby tree instead.
"Hahah, must be a Yankee!" Maiko laughed.
"Up!" Yuki shouted.
"On the way!"
This time, April didn't miss. The AP round found the front of the M4A1, and the advancing tank ground to a sudden halt, its white flag waving merrily in the wind.
"Nice shot!" Maiko's grin could be heard from the intercom. "Right, ahead 3rd gear, max RPM!"
"You got it!" Sayuri acknowledged confidently as she threw the tank into gear, the Ford GAA roaring as Ace broke out of cover.
"Up!"
"Finish that one!" the acting commander shouted.
There was a long moment of relative silence. April was taking her time to aim despite the jostling of the Easy-Eight at high speed. Finally, she once again calmly announced "On the way!"
For someone inexperienced in firing the M1A2, even with Ace's stabilizer, this was going to be a difficult shot. But while April may have been a newbie with Ace's gun, she was a veteran of firing on the move with Izumi's much smaller 37mm M6.
The shot seemed to float for a second as it crossed the distance before it slammed into the M4's turret. The tank stopped moving a moment later, the white flag popping.
"Yes!" Maiko's cheer was audible even off the intercom. "Right, Sayuri, let's stop! Hahah, we got 'em!"
"No, no," April said quietly, her voice audible only to the tank spirit. She shook her head as she spoke. "It's 'Haha, tanks!'"
Ace raised an eyebrow in response. "What's that supposed to mean?" she puzzled audibly to Jane.
"What is what supposed to mean?" the Richardson girl asked.
"That 'Haha, tanks!' thing April just said," the blonde tank spirit replied as the other M4s of the team finally arrived, the acting commander busy telling them they came too late and were unnecessary anyway.
"Oh, that's just an Evansism," Jane said with a shrug. "She says it when she's in a good mood and something cool happens with tanks."
"Huh," Ace huh'd. "That's an odd thing to say."
"That's Evans for ya!"
"Indeed. Though, I've never heard you refer to her via her last name before," Ace commented as she rolled ahead, the tanks moving off to look for the remaining opponent M4s. "New thing?"
"Sort of…" Jane admitted. "It's related to that thing I wanted to talk to you about later."
"Oh? You can talk about it now if you don't mind."
"No, it should really wait til we're in a little more private environment."
"That's cool with me!" the blonde tank spirit grinned. "Oh, I think I see someone in the bushes ahead!" she suddenly noticed. "That's her alright. But why aren't we slowing down?"
Sure enough, Ace, leading the two other M4s, was still rolling ahead inside the forested area, Maiko evidently not being as cautious as Louise would usually be in this situation as she yawned and stared at the top of the E8's turret.
"You think I should go help her out?" Ace asked the "tank whisperer." "I don't mind taking a few hits I guess, but still…"
"She probably could use a bit of advice."
"Yeah, she can," the tank spirit nodded as she opened and hopped out of the bow machine gunner's hatch. Hopping onto her turret, she sat right behind the commander's hatch. "Hey, Maiko, the bushes ahead look pretty dense, dontcha think?"
Naturally, no response.
"Well, what would Louise do in a situation like this? You've seen it before, don't tell me you forgot this quickly~"
Nothing.
"Well come on now, it's common sense! You don't know what's ahead, so what do you do?"
The acting commander yawned.
Ace pinched the bridge of her nose. "Alright. Don't you think I should slow down about now?"
The Easy-Eight continued to forge ahead.
"Uh, yeah, I think we should stop," the tank spirit commented as she began to get a bit too close to the hiding M4. "Yeah, that's enough. Yeah, we're close enough. Come on now, just stop, stop already, please just stop OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE MY SISTER'S RIGHT AHEAD IN THOSE FUCKING BUSHES! FUCKING STOP!"
Out of the blue, Maiko seemed to have noticed something. "All tanks stop," she ordered down the radio before switching over to the intercom. "Sayuri, stop."
"Wait, that worked?!" Jane asked, astonished.
"Surprisingly," Ace commented in awe as well. She watched as the acting commander scanned the surroundings.
Suddenly, she stopped, staring at a particular bush. "Oh, shit! 50 meters, 1 o' cloc-"
Before she could finish, the hiding M4 opened fire, scoring a penetrating hit on the E8. The white flag popped up a second later, but quickly after that the other two tanks retaliated, taking out the last opponent tank.
A slew of angry curses came straight from Maiko as the tank spirit headed back towards the bow machine gunner's hatch. "Well, at least she tried," Ace commented down to Jane. "A bit too late though."
"But you managed to get through to her!" Jane cheered quietly. "Haha, tanks!"
"Yeah, that was surprising!" the tank spirit grinned.
"Funny, it felt like Boss herself told me to stop," the two heard Maiko say to Yuki. "She really is the commander, huh..."
"Well, that's the Commander for you!" Yuki giggled. "Lou's always here, even when she isn't!"
"..."
Jane keyed her intercom. "Uh, Maiko? That was Miss Ace, not Louise."
"'Miss Ace' again?" the acting commander asked curiously.
"Yeah," Jane said, nodding despite the fact that only Ace and Sayuri could actually see her. "She was yelling at you to slow down and pay more attention to your surroundings. You don't exactly have the excuse of your whole world just being the gunner's sights now."
"Gimme a damn break, I just got promoted! Well, temporarily promoted. I wonder how Boss is doing now, haven't seen her since that day."
"Yeah, the little squirt got beaten up pretty badly I heard," the blonde tank spirit commented, dropping the annoyance she had with Maiko's incorrect crediting. "I hope she's fine."
"Well, she and Evans should be coming back today. They might even already be back," Jane said.
"Oh? That's cool!" Ace immediately perked up. "I can't wait to see her again! Which would be a lot sooner had someone paid attention!" she frowned, staring at Maiko's direction.
"How bad is the damage, Miss Ace?" Jane asked.
"Just one penetrating hit and a few scrapes from earlier. But now I've got to wait for the recovery team to come," she grumbled.
"Tracks and engine all fine?" Jane asked. "And can you move so I can climb out of the hatch?"
"Yeah, everything's all good otherwise," Ace nodded as she stepped aside. "Goddamn Maiko…"
Jane climbed out of the hatch and circled around to the tank's engine. With a bit of effort, the girl hauled open the covers on the engine deck.
"Yeah, everything's just disabled by the knockout systems," the tank spirit reaffirmed as she looked down at her Ford GAA.
"Knockout systems that I am now resetting," Jane replied, her voice nearly a whisper as she went to one particular box in the engine compartment. "Though, never use this during an actual match, for obvious reasons."
"Of course not," Ace nodded. "Wait, you know how to reset it?"
"Shhhh…" Jane shushed the tank. "Don't spread this around. But Izumi and Tally let me know after a particularly bad match where we needed to extract Izumi right away, and the ARVs were being slow."
"Interesting. I thought Brooke and Holly kept it a secret, seeing how only the girls in the Workshop know how to do it," the blonde spirit commented.
"Tally helps out in the Workshop on a regular basis."
"Ooh, she does?"
"Yup!" Jane said cheerfully, as she finished up what she was doing. She quickly extracted herself from the engine and closed the covers. "Sayuri, start her up!"
"Got it!" was the reply that was shouted back.
A few seconds later, the Ford GAA cranked and roared back to life.
"That settles it!" Ace beamed happily.
"How the hell did you do that?" Maiko asked in disbelief. "The white flag's still up, so how's the engine running?"
"I'm the Tank Whisperer!" Jane said, grinning as brightly as a high intensity searchlight on a dark night.
"... Fair enough. Nice work there, now hop back in," the usual gunner of Ace gestured.
"You got it!" Jane gave a smart salute, before following Maiko's orders and moving back to her seat.
"Don't salute me…" Maiko grumbled as she sat back down in the commander's chair. "Right, let's go home."
And with that, Ace set off, headed back towards the garage.
It was a short drive, and once Ace was parked in her usual spot, the crew dismounted and headed for the post-skirmish debrief. Jane, however, lingered behind.
"Do help me remind the others to send me for repairs," Ace commented as she sat down on the side of her hull. "Anyway, what do you want to talk about?"
"She's right over there," Jane said, sitting down next to Ace and pointing over towards a familiar short brunette.
"Wait, is that-" the tank spirit immediately perked up excitedly. "Oh, it really is her! You're back! Wait, why does she feel… different?"
Jane smiled enigmatically as she waved Louise over. "Feels like there's more to her than there was before, right?"
"Yeah, there is," the tank spirit squinted as Lou approached. "What's up with her?"
"Hey," the brunette greeted Jane. "Who's that?" she pointed at the blonde girl.
"... WAIT, WHAT?!"
"Lou, meet Ace!" Jane said cheerfully, gesturing over to the stunned tank spirit. "Ace, meet Lou!"
"Ace?" Louise raised an eyebrow.
"Yup!" Jane grinned.
"Ace as in…"
"Ace of Spades, silly! She's your tank!" If anything, Jane's grin only grew brighter.
"My tank?" Lou pointed at the tank spirit.
"Yeah!" Ace grinned. "I'm Ace! How are you able to see me now?!"
"You're Ace?" Lou's eyes brightened.
"Yes!"
"W-wait, really?! You actually have a human form?!"
"Well, a human spirit form to be exact, but yep!" the Easy-Eight beamed.
"Don't be so surprised, Lou!" Jane interjected. "If a ship can have a spirit, why can't a tank?"
"Yeah, that makes sense…" the brunette muttered. "Why am I still surprised… W-wait, so all those times I talked to you, you were actually listening?!"
"Every single word!" Ace grinned.
"Wow… I…" Tuckerman stammered, not sure of how to reply. "I… T-this is great," she smiled. "I can actually talk to you…"
"And yet nobody ever actually believes me when I say I can talk to the spirits of vehicles and all that," Jane grumbled cheerfully. "I mean, I'm talking to two of them right now!"
"Two?" Ace looked around in puzzlement. "The others are busy."
"What others?" Louise raised an eyebrow.
"She means the other tank spirits, which aren't here right now," Jane explained. "It's just the three of us."
"Ah," the commander of the Easy-Eight nodded.
"But what do you mean 'two'?" the Easy-Eight pressed on. "Like you said, there's only the three of us here!"
"You know how I mentioned Lou having an extra bit of something, like there's more to her?" Jane asked, a hint of exasperation in her voice.
"Yeah? She's clearly not a vehicle!" the tank spirit pointed at the girl.
Lou looked back at her tank. "Uhh…"
"You may want to look at her a little closer, Ace." Jane suggested. "Because while she wasn't a spirit…"
Ace hopped off her hull and walked up to her commander, taking a good look at her. Lou, amused, allowed the tank she had known all her life to walk around and inspect her.
"... I don't know what this is…" the Easy-Eight muttered. "She's… bigger on the inside…?"
"Lou?" Jane asked. "Do you want to reintroduce yourself to Ace?"
"Well, it was gonna happen soon anyway," Lou shrugged. "USS St Louis, CL-49, Brooklyn-class light cruiser. I was awakened just a short while ago."
"... What."
"Tally manifested a few hours before Lou, so she's now the USS Evans, DD-552, Fletcher-class destroyer," Jane added. "That's why I've been calling her Evans."
"... What."
Jane hopped off of the tank's flank and walked up to her spirit, gently poking her in the cheek.
"Hey, you alright?" Lou asked her dear tank, concerned.
"You… you're a ship?" the tank spirit looked at her commander, her jaw on the floor.
Louise shrugged in response. "I didn't know until after the attack myself. But yes, I'm a shipgirl."
The white flag on Ace's turret popped out again.
"... Uh, you alright?"
"I think we broke her…"
"Yeah… let's give her a while."
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Part Eight
Lady Darkhound
Haha, tanks!
- Location
- My very own personal hell
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yet Still We Sail
Part 8
++++++++++
"Welcome to the casa de Fletcher!" Faye Faith said grandly as she led Tally into her apartment. Compared to the only other shipgirl residence Tally had been into, Faye Faith's home was much more barren, except in the kitchen. There was a TV and small entertainment center in the living room area, along with a few posters on the walls, and a very comfortable looking couch. But it was all very normal for an apartment like this.
All in all, not what Tally was expecting for a shipgirl's home, especially one that was home to four of them, now five.
"Tally? Er, Evans?" Faye Faith asked, looking concernedly at the redhead.
"Tally is fine," Tally said, smiling and waving her friend's - no, her sister's worries away. "I think I'd prefer it when we aren't directly doing shipgirl stuff. Calling me Evans all the time is just gonna make me feel like more changed than actually did, like I'm a stranger in my own body."
"Got it!" Faye Faith smiled, and pulled Tally into a quick, but tight hug. "Anyways, while we're technically split between three rooms right now, with Henley and Capps sharing one, most of the time the four of us just sleep all cuddled up on the big bed in the master bedroom. Helps drive off the nightmares. But if you don't want that, you can either take the couch, or a spare cot we've got stowed away somewhere."
Tally considered the offer for a moment. "The couch will do for now. I don't exactly know how long it'll be until I move back into my dorm room, so I don't want to get too settled in if it ends up only being a little while."
"Of course, makes perfect sense!" Faye Faith nodded. "So this is the living room. The kitchen is over that a way, and feel free to try and make something for yourself if you need to. We always keep the kitchen and pantry stocked. The bathrooms and three bedrooms are over here. I've got the master on the left, Capps and Henley share the far room on the right, while Hadley has the near one on the right. Bathroom is the first door on the left."
"Pretty simple tour," Tally noted.
"It's not a big apartment.," Faye Faith shrugged. "We aren't even really supposed to have four people sharing it, but the Navy's footing the bill. Need anything to help you get settled in?"
Tally shook her head. "Nah, I'm good for the moment. Though, is there somewhere private? I need to make a phone call."
"Master bedroom," the blonde offered. "I'll make sure the others don't bother you when they get back."
"Thanks, sis," Tally inclined her head towards the elder shipgirl in a half-nod sort of motion. With that, Tally slipped away from Faye Faith and made her way over to the indicated room. The blonde hadn't been exaggerating the size of the bed, which practically took up the entirety of the room, with barely enough room for a desk, dresser, and chair.
Tally sighed, and sat down on the bed. She'd been dreading this phone call, having put it off over the weekend. But… it was something that needed doing. She pulled her brand new cell phone out of her hold and considered it for a moment. It would be so easy to just… play a few games of Solitaire first, maybe do a sudoku puzzle.
No. As scared as she was, it needed doing.
She dialed a long-since memorized number, and held the device up to her ear. It rang once… twice… halfway through the third ring, someone answered the phone.
"Evans household, Monika speaking," a drowsy voice answered, and Tally cringed despite herself. Freaking time zones…
"Hey Mom," Tally ventured. "Sorry I didn't contact you sooner."
"Tally? Oh thank god you're safe! Do you know how worried we all were when we got the news?" Tally's mom said quietly.
"A friend and I got hurt during the attack, and we were pretty much out of sorts until Thursday," Tally explained. "We're both feeling better now, but we both lost our phones. Mine got shredded, and Faye Faith found half of it in my ruined jacket."
"Are you okay?" her mom asked, the worry in her voice coming through clear.
"Yeah, we're okay," Tally answered. "We both stayed with Kay for a few days over the weekend, and we're both up and moving now. I was hurt worse than Lou was. The shell's concussion knocked me out, lots of splinter damage in my up- my torso, I dislocated my left arm, and sprained both ankles in the fall."
"Poor baby…"
"I'm all patched up now. Modern medicine is a wonderful thing."
"Still," her mom insisted, "don't scare me or your father like this ever again, please. You're very fortunate those shipgirls appeared to drive off the Abyssal attack."
"Agreed," Tally agreed. "Also, my dorm building got damaged in the attack and hasn't been repaired yet, so I'm staying with a friend. I think I've mentioned Faye Faith before?"
"Once or twice. She's the one who runs a food truck, right?"
"Yup, that's her," Tally confirmed, nodding despite the fact that her mom was on the other side of the Pacific right now. "I'm staying at her apartment for the time being."
"It's good that you have a place to stay. I'm very sorry you had to go through all of that," her mom said. "We are very fortunate that we live far enough inland that we didn't get attacked."
Tally sighed in relief. "Thank god… But enough about the attacks and the insanity engulfing the world. How are things back home?"
"Well, school is going well," Tally's mom began. "I don't seem to have any troublemakers in my classes, and the students even seem to enjoy being taught English for once."
"I don't know how…" Tally muttered.
"Tally…" her mom scolded gently. "I know for a fact you enjoyed my class."
"That's just because you let Rach and I work ahead and let us do our own thing! All three of my essays were only tangentially related to the assigned topic!" Tally insisted. "I was bored out of my skull during the actual lessons."
"Well, my students this trimester seem to enjoy it," her mom stated, and that was the end of that. "Sasha scored two goals in this weekend's soccer game."
"Nice!"
"And Marie has been inspired by the appearance of the shipgirls. She's decided to dye her hair blue, and is working on a special project in her CAD class that revolves around ships."
Tally blinked. Her little sister was inspired by the shipgirls? That… that was going to be interesting, especially if she started researching the ones who had saved her big sister's schoolship. That would certainly be an awkward way for her family to learn she was one of them…
"Huh," Tally huh'd. "Not the path I would expect her to be inspired by."
"It does seem a little outside her fantasy ballpark," her mom agreed. "But who am I to argue about where inspiration comes from? So long as the pen flows, the source of inspiration matters not."
"And dad?"
"Your father has moved out to the coast to help the damaged communities rebuild. A carpenter is very useful for that sort of thing. He's even met a shipgirl stationed out of Astoria, a USS Washington."
"Washington helping out in Washington, huh?" Tally asked, the grin on her face carrying through her voice.
"So it would seem," her mom agreed. The older woman let out a yawn. "Well, it's nearly 3 AM, and I do have class to teach in the morning. We all love you, and we worry about you Tally, especially in these trying times."
"I love you too, Mom. Good night."
"Good night, Tally," her mom said, before the line went dead.
Tally let her hand hang down, the phone still firmly in her grip.
The one thing she'd wanted to talk about… the one massive change in her life… if anyone would have advice on how to handle all that, it would be her parents. And she didn't have the courage to bring it up.
"Fuckin'... god dammit!" Tally cursed as she stowed her phone back into her hold. "Come on, Tally, you're better than this!"
Someone knocked at the door. "You okay in there Evans? That was some pretty violent cursing!"
It was Hadley. Tally hadn't seen much of the brunette since everything kicked off last week, but they'd been friends since well before everything. It didn't hurt that the first year… the Sumner often needed homework help, and coincidentally asked Tally for help.
She was also a right pain in the ass who refused to call her anything but Evans, and constantly threw things at people to make sure they were on their toes. At least Tally had never had much issue with the thrown objects.
"I'm fine!" Tally responded, opening the door.
"So there's nothing to worry about?" Hadley asked, cocking her head to the side.
"Absolutely nothing to worry about!" Tally concurred. "I just got off the phone with my mom is all. Family business, letting them know I'm alive, all that."
"Ohhh…" Hadley said, nodding in understanding. "I have no idea what that's like. At least, not with a regular human family. Not very many Sumners have shown up yet, either."
A memory popped into Tally's mind, one of a very similar conversation she'd had with Hadley nearly 70 years ago. It very clearly wasn't her own memory, and yet it was. It was just one of Evans' memories instead of one of Tally's.
"Gah…" Tally groaned, shaking her head. "I miss when everything was sane. None of this shipgirl nonsense or Abyssal War, just… I was worrying about doing stuff with my friends, dating Kay, busy with schoolwork, and doing Sensha-do. And that was pretty much it."
"Well, if you want a little dose of normalcy…" Hadley smiled softly.
"You need homework help?"
"I need homework help," Hadley confirmed with a nod. "English class."
Tally sighed dramatically, but smiled nonetheless. "Let's go clear some space at the kitchen table. Maybe we can ask Fletcher to make us a snack of some sort while we work."
"Haha, homework and food!" Hadley cheered, pumping a fist into the air.
The only thing that betrayed the silence was the roaring of an inline-4 engine that echoed out and around the area, followed by the squealing of tires from the car they belonged to.
The red Caterham Super Seven 1700 barreled down a straight, clearly breaking every single traffic law that existed on the schoolship. Not that they were ever enforced here, though; that's why Louise loved coming here to have her spirited drive. A very spirited drive.
Before a right turn, the girl braked hard and heel-toe-downshifted, the Caterham's brakes just barely away from locking up. Having slowed down enough, Lou trailing the brakes off as she turned the wheel and aimed for the corner's apex. She held her throttle down as much as she could, feeling the lateral Gs and the slight roll of her car as she cleared the apex, but one of her fine throttle adjustments turned out to be a little too excessive. Countersteering for just a split second, the minor oversteer was quickly corrected just as the car cleared the corner, and with a straightaway right ahead, the brunette floored it.
After several more minutes of that kind of driving, Tuckerman pulled into a carpark overlooking the sea, a carpark that was her frequent stop every time she drove here. Stopping in her usual lot, she pulled the handbrake up, grabbed her water bottle and stepped out of the Super Seven, happily looking at the scenery in front of her.
It had been a while since she's driven like this, and she was glad that she finally got the chance this night.
Taking in a few gulps of water, the brunette wiped the sweat away from her forehead. Her driving was admittedly still a bit unrefined, but she had been making much progress since she joined the club.
Though, as Lou looked ahead and into the distance, the 1701 cc Cosworth Crossflow BDR engine of her car grumbling just behind her as the wind blew around her, she had the chance to reflect on everything once again.
Especially on herself.
St Louis…
Her memories were so painful.
She had so much anger. So much hatred.
She was so rude and hostile to everyone she cared about, and Louise was extremely upset about it. She was never like this, and she never wanted to be like this.
But St Louis simply doesn't care. She kept pushing her to be so unpleasant. And whenever she did, Louise couldn't stop it.
This terrified her.
She didn't want every word out of her mouth to be so self-righteous, full of scorn, disdain, and belittlement.
She never felt that Henley was actually annoying, and neither did she ever feel upset by her, from what little interaction she had with her prior to the cruiser's manifestation. But that day, she punched her.
She never wanted to stop arguing with Tally, even if she does get puzzled by the redhead's insistence on refusing her plans for the team; it was fun. But just earlier today, she shot her down.
Louise felt like she was losing control. Turning into someone she clearly wasn't.
She took another gulp from her bottle, a look of determination in her eyes.
This stops. Now.
Lou didn't care how much it'll take, how hard she had to consistently keep herself in check. She was not going to submit to the darkness of the cruiser that she was.
She was staying as herself. Nothing would change. Nothing would ever change.
No matter how hard she had to fight.
With her newfound determination, Lou smiled and turned back to her Super Seven, having had her fill of resting.
And a short while later, now behind the wheel of her car again, she backed out of the parking lot, the inline-4 engine roaring as the red roadster left the carpark and headed back to the garage.
If this was what insomnia felt like, Tally pitied everyone who suffered from it.
It was midnight now. She'd been tossing and turning for nearly two hours, and had only managed to fray her nerves with the haunting memories. Something needed to change.
Fletcher had mentioned something about the other destroyers generally all just sleeping in one large cuddle pile, but they had all turned in earlier as well. Tally didn't want to disturb them by joining the pile. Instead, another idea sprang to mind. She usually ran to clear her head, and this was one of those situations where running was about perfect.
"And it's a better idea than anything else I've got…" Tally muttered to herself as she sat up, throwing what few covers she had every which way. She carefully gathered and folded all of the loose sheets and stuffed them into her hold, before changing out of her pajamas and doing the same with them.
Quite unintentionally, the shoes and coat that she pulled on were from her shipgirl uniform. The heavy armored boots were somehow more comfortable than any other pair of shoes she owned, and the black peacoat was surprisingly comfortable for how stiff it was.
The destroyer made sure she had a key before setting out. Right now, she didn't have a route or a destination in mind, she was just going to run. It didn't take long for her to fall into a consistent rhythm.
One, two, one, two, one, two, one, two…
As she ran, her mind wandered. Her life had changed dramatically in a week, much more so than almost everyone else at Saunders. Sure, the schoolship had been attacked, and would remain in dock til at least the end of the month to ensure everything was repaired, but with a few minor exceptions, most everyone had just gone back to business as usual. School, friends, homework, extra-curriculars, the whole shebang.
Even the shipgirls seemed like this was more of the same, just on a slightly more active footing. They had known this was coming, and now that it had started, they could do something about it without having to work almost entirely in the shadows.
But for herself and Louise… not only had their whole world been turned upside down, it had practically been turned inside out as well! She was a destroyer, a warship that had been scrapped in 1947 following irreparable damage, with a whole extra set of memories, and a whole new family to get to know and bond with.
And Lou… Tally was worried for her friend. She was taking the adjustment period a lot harder, and half of the time, Tally didn't even know if she was talking to Louise anymore. Lou was stubborn as a tank and stalwart in her ideas, but she'd just… she'd given up earlier, refusing to get involved! That was nothing like Lou!
Tally paused for a moment, and took in her surroundings. She'd unintentionally routed over to her old dorm. Most of the damage had at least been cleaned up, but the building was still noticeably worse off than it should be. She could even see her dorm room, right on the edge of where the 14-inch shell had slammed into the building. All of her stuff had probably been ruined by the blast or shrapnel.
Dammit…
She shook her head and turned back towards the road she had been following. As she walked, the echo of a loud engine revving reached her ears. It was something she hadn't heard before, which was weird, since she'd heard just about every car and tank engine on the damn ship at one point or another.
The sounds grew louder as the redhead continued her run; whatever car that was, it was getting closer.
It was still out of sight, but it was practically right ahead of her, just around the corner at the intersection. Though, it didn't stay there for long, and a red roadster drove into view as it took a left turn, towards Tally.
As the car approached the redhead, it slowed down before pulling over to the side of the road, right next to Tally.
"What are you doing here this late?" Louise greeted her friend from the driver's seat.
Tally stared at the car and its driver for a moment. "Lou? What are… nevermind. I couldn't sleep, so I'm out for a run right now."
"I see," the brunette nodded. "What's bothering you?"
"Oh, you know… couldn't get comfortable on my bed, every time I closed my eyes I saw Okinawa, worrying about my math test in two days. The usual," Tally said casually, shrugging.
"Ah. Well… can't say I'm any better off I guess," Lou shrugged back.
"Feeling better after earlier?" Tally asked. "You were acting weird on the drive back from Sasebo."
"Yeah, I was," the brunette nodded sadly. "Sorry about what I said then, I really didn't mean it."
"It's fine," Tally waved off her friend's concern. "You're having a much rougher time adjusting to all this than I am, so it's understandable you're a little off kilter… and, speaking of, how are you doing with all that?"
"Well…" Lou began, but stopped. "Before that, aren't ya gonna ask me about my car?" she grinned proudly. "Think it's your first time seeing her!"
Tally shrugged. "I mean, it's a car. You were clearly going fast in it, so it's a good car, but it's still just a car."
"No, don't say that!" the brunette groaned. "Cars aren't 'just cars', the same way our tanks aren't 'just tanks'. Either way, wanna hop on?" she offered.
"Sure, why the heck not?" Tally said, before clambering into the car. "Well, I'm certain that my tank is more than 'just a tank', but cars I'm still not sold on. Jane's never claimed to be able to talk to them."
"Well, I've not seen this one's spirit like I've seen Ace yet, and if she doesn't have one like that it'll be a bummer," Lou commented as she put the Super Seven into gear, but kept her left foot down on the clutch. "But it's also just as meaningful if it turns out her spirit's me; cars are the extension of one's self after all. Either way, cars are more than what most people see them as."
"Wait, you've seen Ace's spirit?" the destroyer asked suddenly.
"Yeah, Jane was there," Louise smiled. "She was shocked to learn about me being a shipgirl, so we sorta left her alone to take it in."
"Huh," Tally huh'd. "That is so weird. I bumped into Izumi earlier, too."
"Woah, you have?"
"Yeah. Came completely out of the blue while I was scrubbing her. She's adorable."
"Heh, figured she would," Tuckerman smiled. "Anyway, where do you wanna go?"
"I don't have anywhere in mind; I was just running to run. You're the one who offered me a ride."
"Alright then, let's go," Lou grinned as she released the clutch while simultaneously hitting the gas.
The Super Seven launched forward, its rear tires screeching as it rocketed down the street.
Tally cheered wildly.
Over the course of the next few minutes, the brunette brought the redhead over to the schoolship's own racing circuit, situated just next to the automotive club's garage. There, she proceeded to demonstrate a few laps flat-out to Tally, hoping that this was something her friend would be interested in. Perhaps the girl would like to join the club sometime later.
"Can't this thing go any faster?" Tally asked, having to shout over the wind whipping past them.
Louise took another corner, driving the Caterham over the limit as she barely managed to stay on the track. "What?! This isn't fast enough for you?!"
"That would imply there is such a thing as 'too fast!'"
"You need to try out one of the single-seaters then!" was the reply shouted back at her. "This is perfect for me! It's fun driving flat-out!"
The red roadster took another corner, but this time Lou gave the car too much throttle. Countersteering too much, she spun off the circuit, coming to a stop on the grass harmlessly a few seconds later.
"Goddamn, too much gas…" Lou muttered as she rested back in her seat.
"That was fun! Haha, speed!" Tally cheered, grinning like the maniac she was.
Seeing how happy her friend was, the brunette chuckled loudly. "Yep, it's great! This is the best thing ever! Except for Sensha-do, of course."
"I dunno, sliced bread is pretty spectacular if you ask me!" Tally joked, her grin refusing to fade.
"Join the car club someday!" Louise urged eagerly. "You'll get to do this every day if you want! There are also so many people around to be with, too!"
"I would, but I just don't have the time," Tally shook her head. "Between Sensha-do, Tankathlon, being Turkey Company's CO, helping out in the Workshop, and all my regular school stuff, plus now shipgirl training, I've barely got enough time for myself as is!"
"Yeah, that's quite the schedule," Louise nodded. "Nonetheless, if you want to do this again, we'll do it! Whenever you want!"
"I'll definitely take you up on that at some point!" Tally agreed. If she had to guess, her grin was about as bright as a star shell on a moonless night.
"Sweet! Damn, I'm thirsty," the brunette finally noticed. "Hey, do you know about the 24/7 milkshake shack nearby?"
"I've been once or twice, but I've got some water bottles in my hold if you need one," the destroyer suggested. "Also, language."
"Nah, my treat!" Louise grinned as she put her Super Seven into gear, the roadster leaving the grass patch and back onto the circuit. "Food's about to get a lot cheaper for us anyway."
A few minutes later, the two of them were seated inside the shop, having gotten their milkshakes already; while Louise went with French vanilla, Tally went for an old classic: butterscotch. Despite it being past midnight, there were quite a number of students around. Seemed like getting milkshakes in the middle of the night was a favorite amongst many people.
Outside, the red Caterham Super Seven was visible through the large glass windows, and quite a few people had stopped to look at the car, some of them even taking photos. Indeed, the red roadster was quite a sight.
"Oh, fuck yeah, that did the trick," Lou sighed in relief as she finished her entire glass.
"Language."
In response, Tuckerman chuckled heartily. "Back to the good ol' days, eh?"
"That is the plan, yes. Try to get some sense of normalcy back into our lives," Tally said with a nod.
"Yep," Lou agreed as she looked out of the window.
"Hey, do you mind if we head back to the car and just drive around for a bit?" Tally asked, looking up from her similarly finished shake. "There's something I wanted to check in with you about."
"So do I," was the short, quiet reply as she raised her car's keys. "Now?"
"Yeah," the redhead confirmed with a nod.
Getting up, the two girls headed back to the Caterham, and a short few minutes later the roadster was simply cruising around, the brunette having no particular destination in mind.
"How are you doing, Lou?" Tally asked after a long few minutes of relative silence. "In relation to St Louis and all, well, this," the destroyer gestured to herself, and the parts of her shipgirl uniform that she was still wearing. Thankfully, at least, the armored boots fit beneath her sweatpants, so most of their oddness was hidden.
Lou looked down at her boots. "You've been wearing those?"
"They're comfortable!" Evans insisted. She shook her head slightly, smiling.
"That's fair," Tuckerman nodded. "Truth be told, I find myself being more comfortable in my cruiser garb than anything else as well."
She gripped the steering wheel tighter. "... That's what worries me."
"Still getting used to being St Louis?" Tally asked.
"No; I'm trying not to get used to this," was the serious reply. "You can probably see this, but I… I've not been myself these days."
"That's kind of why I'm checking in on you now," the redhead said. "I'm worried about you."
Louise sighed. "... Thanks."
"What am I not seeing here?" Tally asked. "I went first, and everything turned out fine, great even! But you're…" she trailed off, unsure of how to word her thoughts.
"I'm broken," the brunette helped finish that sentence before taking a few seconds to collect her own thoughts. "St Louis is not a good person; she's so angry, spiteful, hateful. I remember everything she remembers, I feel every single bad thing she felt, far more accurately than I'm okay with. Pearl Harbor, the war, Helena's sinking, being mothballed and given to Brazil, I remember her entire life, and the bad things just grate into me. Everything that came up and whacked her in the face, it broke her. Corrupted her. Warped her. That's not me. I'm not a terrible person and I don't want to be in perpetual pain. I refuse to be that. But… she's been creeping into me, and every time she does take over, I don't even know until it's over…"
A few tears rolled down Lou's cheeks. "I really don't know what to do…"
Tally paled as the younger girl spoke. "I… Shit. I don't have a tank metaphor for this. Pull over here."
Nodding, Lou stopped the Caterham at the shoulder of the road.
Tally hopped out of the car and circled around it to Lou's side. And then, leaning over the door, she pulled the younger girl into a tight hug. "Just keep being yourself. Be that stubborn, pain in the ass tank commander who doesn't know when to stop, always finds a new way to confront problems, and won't ever let up. St Louis can't change you if you don't let her."
"Now wait a minute, 'pain in the ass', 'doesn't know when to stop'...?"
"We have been arguing the point pretty much since the day we met, with neither of us budging an inch," Tally deadpanned. "I think that qualifies for both of those statements."
"That's… fair, I guess," Lou chuckled. "Yeah, I'll not let St Louis take a hold on me. I'm the one in charge here, after all."
"You are the one and only Louise C. Tuckerman, and nobody can ever change that."
"Yeah!" Louise grinned.
"You can beat St Louis. You've got this," Tally said gently. She squeezed Louise one last time before releasing the hug. "I believe in you."
In response, Lou gave her friend a wide, confident grin. "I will. Thanks."
"If you ever need something from me, all you need to do is ask."
"I'll be sure to take you up on that offer then!"
Tally returned Louise's grin, and gently patted her head, ruffling the brunette's hair.
"Heheh…"
"We should probably get heading back. It's late, and I should have been in bed 2 hours ago," Tally suggested, suppressing a yawn.
"Yeah, I'll drive you back," Lou offered. "I can park near my dorm and bring the car back in the morning."
"Thanks, Lou!" Tally grinned.
"No prob!"
And with that, the redhead hopped back in, and the Super Seven drove ahead into the night.
Part 8
++++++++++
"Welcome to the casa de Fletcher!" Faye Faith said grandly as she led Tally into her apartment. Compared to the only other shipgirl residence Tally had been into, Faye Faith's home was much more barren, except in the kitchen. There was a TV and small entertainment center in the living room area, along with a few posters on the walls, and a very comfortable looking couch. But it was all very normal for an apartment like this.
All in all, not what Tally was expecting for a shipgirl's home, especially one that was home to four of them, now five.
"Tally? Er, Evans?" Faye Faith asked, looking concernedly at the redhead.
"Tally is fine," Tally said, smiling and waving her friend's - no, her sister's worries away. "I think I'd prefer it when we aren't directly doing shipgirl stuff. Calling me Evans all the time is just gonna make me feel like more changed than actually did, like I'm a stranger in my own body."
"Got it!" Faye Faith smiled, and pulled Tally into a quick, but tight hug. "Anyways, while we're technically split between three rooms right now, with Henley and Capps sharing one, most of the time the four of us just sleep all cuddled up on the big bed in the master bedroom. Helps drive off the nightmares. But if you don't want that, you can either take the couch, or a spare cot we've got stowed away somewhere."
Tally considered the offer for a moment. "The couch will do for now. I don't exactly know how long it'll be until I move back into my dorm room, so I don't want to get too settled in if it ends up only being a little while."
"Of course, makes perfect sense!" Faye Faith nodded. "So this is the living room. The kitchen is over that a way, and feel free to try and make something for yourself if you need to. We always keep the kitchen and pantry stocked. The bathrooms and three bedrooms are over here. I've got the master on the left, Capps and Henley share the far room on the right, while Hadley has the near one on the right. Bathroom is the first door on the left."
"Pretty simple tour," Tally noted.
"It's not a big apartment.," Faye Faith shrugged. "We aren't even really supposed to have four people sharing it, but the Navy's footing the bill. Need anything to help you get settled in?"
Tally shook her head. "Nah, I'm good for the moment. Though, is there somewhere private? I need to make a phone call."
"Master bedroom," the blonde offered. "I'll make sure the others don't bother you when they get back."
"Thanks, sis," Tally inclined her head towards the elder shipgirl in a half-nod sort of motion. With that, Tally slipped away from Faye Faith and made her way over to the indicated room. The blonde hadn't been exaggerating the size of the bed, which practically took up the entirety of the room, with barely enough room for a desk, dresser, and chair.
Tally sighed, and sat down on the bed. She'd been dreading this phone call, having put it off over the weekend. But… it was something that needed doing. She pulled her brand new cell phone out of her hold and considered it for a moment. It would be so easy to just… play a few games of Solitaire first, maybe do a sudoku puzzle.
No. As scared as she was, it needed doing.
She dialed a long-since memorized number, and held the device up to her ear. It rang once… twice… halfway through the third ring, someone answered the phone.
"Evans household, Monika speaking," a drowsy voice answered, and Tally cringed despite herself. Freaking time zones…
"Hey Mom," Tally ventured. "Sorry I didn't contact you sooner."
"Tally? Oh thank god you're safe! Do you know how worried we all were when we got the news?" Tally's mom said quietly.
"A friend and I got hurt during the attack, and we were pretty much out of sorts until Thursday," Tally explained. "We're both feeling better now, but we both lost our phones. Mine got shredded, and Faye Faith found half of it in my ruined jacket."
"Are you okay?" her mom asked, the worry in her voice coming through clear.
"Yeah, we're okay," Tally answered. "We both stayed with Kay for a few days over the weekend, and we're both up and moving now. I was hurt worse than Lou was. The shell's concussion knocked me out, lots of splinter damage in my up- my torso, I dislocated my left arm, and sprained both ankles in the fall."
"Poor baby…"
"I'm all patched up now. Modern medicine is a wonderful thing."
"Still," her mom insisted, "don't scare me or your father like this ever again, please. You're very fortunate those shipgirls appeared to drive off the Abyssal attack."
"Agreed," Tally agreed. "Also, my dorm building got damaged in the attack and hasn't been repaired yet, so I'm staying with a friend. I think I've mentioned Faye Faith before?"
"Once or twice. She's the one who runs a food truck, right?"
"Yup, that's her," Tally confirmed, nodding despite the fact that her mom was on the other side of the Pacific right now. "I'm staying at her apartment for the time being."
"It's good that you have a place to stay. I'm very sorry you had to go through all of that," her mom said. "We are very fortunate that we live far enough inland that we didn't get attacked."
Tally sighed in relief. "Thank god… But enough about the attacks and the insanity engulfing the world. How are things back home?"
"Well, school is going well," Tally's mom began. "I don't seem to have any troublemakers in my classes, and the students even seem to enjoy being taught English for once."
"I don't know how…" Tally muttered.
"Tally…" her mom scolded gently. "I know for a fact you enjoyed my class."
"That's just because you let Rach and I work ahead and let us do our own thing! All three of my essays were only tangentially related to the assigned topic!" Tally insisted. "I was bored out of my skull during the actual lessons."
"Well, my students this trimester seem to enjoy it," her mom stated, and that was the end of that. "Sasha scored two goals in this weekend's soccer game."
"Nice!"
"And Marie has been inspired by the appearance of the shipgirls. She's decided to dye her hair blue, and is working on a special project in her CAD class that revolves around ships."
Tally blinked. Her little sister was inspired by the shipgirls? That… that was going to be interesting, especially if she started researching the ones who had saved her big sister's schoolship. That would certainly be an awkward way for her family to learn she was one of them…
"Huh," Tally huh'd. "Not the path I would expect her to be inspired by."
"It does seem a little outside her fantasy ballpark," her mom agreed. "But who am I to argue about where inspiration comes from? So long as the pen flows, the source of inspiration matters not."
"And dad?"
"Your father has moved out to the coast to help the damaged communities rebuild. A carpenter is very useful for that sort of thing. He's even met a shipgirl stationed out of Astoria, a USS Washington."
"Washington helping out in Washington, huh?" Tally asked, the grin on her face carrying through her voice.
"So it would seem," her mom agreed. The older woman let out a yawn. "Well, it's nearly 3 AM, and I do have class to teach in the morning. We all love you, and we worry about you Tally, especially in these trying times."
"I love you too, Mom. Good night."
"Good night, Tally," her mom said, before the line went dead.
Tally let her hand hang down, the phone still firmly in her grip.
The one thing she'd wanted to talk about… the one massive change in her life… if anyone would have advice on how to handle all that, it would be her parents. And she didn't have the courage to bring it up.
"Fuckin'... god dammit!" Tally cursed as she stowed her phone back into her hold. "Come on, Tally, you're better than this!"
Someone knocked at the door. "You okay in there Evans? That was some pretty violent cursing!"
It was Hadley. Tally hadn't seen much of the brunette since everything kicked off last week, but they'd been friends since well before everything. It didn't hurt that the first year… the Sumner often needed homework help, and coincidentally asked Tally for help.
She was also a right pain in the ass who refused to call her anything but Evans, and constantly threw things at people to make sure they were on their toes. At least Tally had never had much issue with the thrown objects.
"I'm fine!" Tally responded, opening the door.
"So there's nothing to worry about?" Hadley asked, cocking her head to the side.
"Absolutely nothing to worry about!" Tally concurred. "I just got off the phone with my mom is all. Family business, letting them know I'm alive, all that."
"Ohhh…" Hadley said, nodding in understanding. "I have no idea what that's like. At least, not with a regular human family. Not very many Sumners have shown up yet, either."
A memory popped into Tally's mind, one of a very similar conversation she'd had with Hadley nearly 70 years ago. It very clearly wasn't her own memory, and yet it was. It was just one of Evans' memories instead of one of Tally's.
"Gah…" Tally groaned, shaking her head. "I miss when everything was sane. None of this shipgirl nonsense or Abyssal War, just… I was worrying about doing stuff with my friends, dating Kay, busy with schoolwork, and doing Sensha-do. And that was pretty much it."
"Well, if you want a little dose of normalcy…" Hadley smiled softly.
"You need homework help?"
"I need homework help," Hadley confirmed with a nod. "English class."
Tally sighed dramatically, but smiled nonetheless. "Let's go clear some space at the kitchen table. Maybe we can ask Fletcher to make us a snack of some sort while we work."
"Haha, homework and food!" Hadley cheered, pumping a fist into the air.
++++++++++
At 11 in the evening, the "coastal" winding roads of the schoolship were quiet. Well, they've always been quiet, but at this time of night they were always particularly quiet.
The only thing that betrayed the silence was the roaring of an inline-4 engine that echoed out and around the area, followed by the squealing of tires from the car they belonged to.
The red Caterham Super Seven 1700 barreled down a straight, clearly breaking every single traffic law that existed on the schoolship. Not that they were ever enforced here, though; that's why Louise loved coming here to have her spirited drive. A very spirited drive.
Before a right turn, the girl braked hard and heel-toe-downshifted, the Caterham's brakes just barely away from locking up. Having slowed down enough, Lou trailing the brakes off as she turned the wheel and aimed for the corner's apex. She held her throttle down as much as she could, feeling the lateral Gs and the slight roll of her car as she cleared the apex, but one of her fine throttle adjustments turned out to be a little too excessive. Countersteering for just a split second, the minor oversteer was quickly corrected just as the car cleared the corner, and with a straightaway right ahead, the brunette floored it.
After several more minutes of that kind of driving, Tuckerman pulled into a carpark overlooking the sea, a carpark that was her frequent stop every time she drove here. Stopping in her usual lot, she pulled the handbrake up, grabbed her water bottle and stepped out of the Super Seven, happily looking at the scenery in front of her.
It had been a while since she's driven like this, and she was glad that she finally got the chance this night.
Taking in a few gulps of water, the brunette wiped the sweat away from her forehead. Her driving was admittedly still a bit unrefined, but she had been making much progress since she joined the club.
Though, as Lou looked ahead and into the distance, the 1701 cc Cosworth Crossflow BDR engine of her car grumbling just behind her as the wind blew around her, she had the chance to reflect on everything once again.
Especially on herself.
St Louis…
Her memories were so painful.
She had so much anger. So much hatred.
She was so rude and hostile to everyone she cared about, and Louise was extremely upset about it. She was never like this, and she never wanted to be like this.
But St Louis simply doesn't care. She kept pushing her to be so unpleasant. And whenever she did, Louise couldn't stop it.
This terrified her.
She didn't want every word out of her mouth to be so self-righteous, full of scorn, disdain, and belittlement.
She never felt that Henley was actually annoying, and neither did she ever feel upset by her, from what little interaction she had with her prior to the cruiser's manifestation. But that day, she punched her.
She never wanted to stop arguing with Tally, even if she does get puzzled by the redhead's insistence on refusing her plans for the team; it was fun. But just earlier today, she shot her down.
Louise felt like she was losing control. Turning into someone she clearly wasn't.
She took another gulp from her bottle, a look of determination in her eyes.
This stops. Now.
Lou didn't care how much it'll take, how hard she had to consistently keep herself in check. She was not going to submit to the darkness of the cruiser that she was.
She was staying as herself. Nothing would change. Nothing would ever change.
No matter how hard she had to fight.
With her newfound determination, Lou smiled and turned back to her Super Seven, having had her fill of resting.
And a short while later, now behind the wheel of her car again, she backed out of the parking lot, the inline-4 engine roaring as the red roadster left the carpark and headed back to the garage.
++++++++++
Tally couldn't sleep. The couch at Fletcher's apartment was comfy, certainly comfier than the hide-a-bed at Kay's house, but she just couldn't get comfortable. There was something missing that she just didn't know what it was. To make it worse, every time she managed to find a little bit of comfort and closed her eyes, images of Okinawa assaulted her mind.
If this was what insomnia felt like, Tally pitied everyone who suffered from it.
It was midnight now. She'd been tossing and turning for nearly two hours, and had only managed to fray her nerves with the haunting memories. Something needed to change.
Fletcher had mentioned something about the other destroyers generally all just sleeping in one large cuddle pile, but they had all turned in earlier as well. Tally didn't want to disturb them by joining the pile. Instead, another idea sprang to mind. She usually ran to clear her head, and this was one of those situations where running was about perfect.
"And it's a better idea than anything else I've got…" Tally muttered to herself as she sat up, throwing what few covers she had every which way. She carefully gathered and folded all of the loose sheets and stuffed them into her hold, before changing out of her pajamas and doing the same with them.
Quite unintentionally, the shoes and coat that she pulled on were from her shipgirl uniform. The heavy armored boots were somehow more comfortable than any other pair of shoes she owned, and the black peacoat was surprisingly comfortable for how stiff it was.
The destroyer made sure she had a key before setting out. Right now, she didn't have a route or a destination in mind, she was just going to run. It didn't take long for her to fall into a consistent rhythm.
One, two, one, two, one, two, one, two…
As she ran, her mind wandered. Her life had changed dramatically in a week, much more so than almost everyone else at Saunders. Sure, the schoolship had been attacked, and would remain in dock til at least the end of the month to ensure everything was repaired, but with a few minor exceptions, most everyone had just gone back to business as usual. School, friends, homework, extra-curriculars, the whole shebang.
Even the shipgirls seemed like this was more of the same, just on a slightly more active footing. They had known this was coming, and now that it had started, they could do something about it without having to work almost entirely in the shadows.
But for herself and Louise… not only had their whole world been turned upside down, it had practically been turned inside out as well! She was a destroyer, a warship that had been scrapped in 1947 following irreparable damage, with a whole extra set of memories, and a whole new family to get to know and bond with.
And Lou… Tally was worried for her friend. She was taking the adjustment period a lot harder, and half of the time, Tally didn't even know if she was talking to Louise anymore. Lou was stubborn as a tank and stalwart in her ideas, but she'd just… she'd given up earlier, refusing to get involved! That was nothing like Lou!
Tally paused for a moment, and took in her surroundings. She'd unintentionally routed over to her old dorm. Most of the damage had at least been cleaned up, but the building was still noticeably worse off than it should be. She could even see her dorm room, right on the edge of where the 14-inch shell had slammed into the building. All of her stuff had probably been ruined by the blast or shrapnel.
Dammit…
She shook her head and turned back towards the road she had been following. As she walked, the echo of a loud engine revving reached her ears. It was something she hadn't heard before, which was weird, since she'd heard just about every car and tank engine on the damn ship at one point or another.
The sounds grew louder as the redhead continued her run; whatever car that was, it was getting closer.
It was still out of sight, but it was practically right ahead of her, just around the corner at the intersection. Though, it didn't stay there for long, and a red roadster drove into view as it took a left turn, towards Tally.
As the car approached the redhead, it slowed down before pulling over to the side of the road, right next to Tally.
"What are you doing here this late?" Louise greeted her friend from the driver's seat.
Tally stared at the car and its driver for a moment. "Lou? What are… nevermind. I couldn't sleep, so I'm out for a run right now."
"I see," the brunette nodded. "What's bothering you?"
"Oh, you know… couldn't get comfortable on my bed, every time I closed my eyes I saw Okinawa, worrying about my math test in two days. The usual," Tally said casually, shrugging.
"Ah. Well… can't say I'm any better off I guess," Lou shrugged back.
"Feeling better after earlier?" Tally asked. "You were acting weird on the drive back from Sasebo."
"Yeah, I was," the brunette nodded sadly. "Sorry about what I said then, I really didn't mean it."
"It's fine," Tally waved off her friend's concern. "You're having a much rougher time adjusting to all this than I am, so it's understandable you're a little off kilter… and, speaking of, how are you doing with all that?"
"Well…" Lou began, but stopped. "Before that, aren't ya gonna ask me about my car?" she grinned proudly. "Think it's your first time seeing her!"
Tally shrugged. "I mean, it's a car. You were clearly going fast in it, so it's a good car, but it's still just a car."
"No, don't say that!" the brunette groaned. "Cars aren't 'just cars', the same way our tanks aren't 'just tanks'. Either way, wanna hop on?" she offered.
"Sure, why the heck not?" Tally said, before clambering into the car. "Well, I'm certain that my tank is more than 'just a tank', but cars I'm still not sold on. Jane's never claimed to be able to talk to them."
"Well, I've not seen this one's spirit like I've seen Ace yet, and if she doesn't have one like that it'll be a bummer," Lou commented as she put the Super Seven into gear, but kept her left foot down on the clutch. "But it's also just as meaningful if it turns out her spirit's me; cars are the extension of one's self after all. Either way, cars are more than what most people see them as."
"Wait, you've seen Ace's spirit?" the destroyer asked suddenly.
"Yeah, Jane was there," Louise smiled. "She was shocked to learn about me being a shipgirl, so we sorta left her alone to take it in."
"Huh," Tally huh'd. "That is so weird. I bumped into Izumi earlier, too."
"Woah, you have?"
"Yeah. Came completely out of the blue while I was scrubbing her. She's adorable."
"Heh, figured she would," Tuckerman smiled. "Anyway, where do you wanna go?"
"I don't have anywhere in mind; I was just running to run. You're the one who offered me a ride."
"Alright then, let's go," Lou grinned as she released the clutch while simultaneously hitting the gas.
The Super Seven launched forward, its rear tires screeching as it rocketed down the street.
Tally cheered wildly.
Over the course of the next few minutes, the brunette brought the redhead over to the schoolship's own racing circuit, situated just next to the automotive club's garage. There, she proceeded to demonstrate a few laps flat-out to Tally, hoping that this was something her friend would be interested in. Perhaps the girl would like to join the club sometime later.
"Can't this thing go any faster?" Tally asked, having to shout over the wind whipping past them.
Louise took another corner, driving the Caterham over the limit as she barely managed to stay on the track. "What?! This isn't fast enough for you?!"
"That would imply there is such a thing as 'too fast!'"
"You need to try out one of the single-seaters then!" was the reply shouted back at her. "This is perfect for me! It's fun driving flat-out!"
The red roadster took another corner, but this time Lou gave the car too much throttle. Countersteering too much, she spun off the circuit, coming to a stop on the grass harmlessly a few seconds later.
"Goddamn, too much gas…" Lou muttered as she rested back in her seat.
"That was fun! Haha, speed!" Tally cheered, grinning like the maniac she was.
Seeing how happy her friend was, the brunette chuckled loudly. "Yep, it's great! This is the best thing ever! Except for Sensha-do, of course."
"I dunno, sliced bread is pretty spectacular if you ask me!" Tally joked, her grin refusing to fade.
"Join the car club someday!" Louise urged eagerly. "You'll get to do this every day if you want! There are also so many people around to be with, too!"
"I would, but I just don't have the time," Tally shook her head. "Between Sensha-do, Tankathlon, being Turkey Company's CO, helping out in the Workshop, and all my regular school stuff, plus now shipgirl training, I've barely got enough time for myself as is!"
"Yeah, that's quite the schedule," Louise nodded. "Nonetheless, if you want to do this again, we'll do it! Whenever you want!"
"I'll definitely take you up on that at some point!" Tally agreed. If she had to guess, her grin was about as bright as a star shell on a moonless night.
"Sweet! Damn, I'm thirsty," the brunette finally noticed. "Hey, do you know about the 24/7 milkshake shack nearby?"
"I've been once or twice, but I've got some water bottles in my hold if you need one," the destroyer suggested. "Also, language."
"Nah, my treat!" Louise grinned as she put her Super Seven into gear, the roadster leaving the grass patch and back onto the circuit. "Food's about to get a lot cheaper for us anyway."
A few minutes later, the two of them were seated inside the shop, having gotten their milkshakes already; while Louise went with French vanilla, Tally went for an old classic: butterscotch. Despite it being past midnight, there were quite a number of students around. Seemed like getting milkshakes in the middle of the night was a favorite amongst many people.
Outside, the red Caterham Super Seven was visible through the large glass windows, and quite a few people had stopped to look at the car, some of them even taking photos. Indeed, the red roadster was quite a sight.
"Oh, fuck yeah, that did the trick," Lou sighed in relief as she finished her entire glass.
"Language."
In response, Tuckerman chuckled heartily. "Back to the good ol' days, eh?"
"That is the plan, yes. Try to get some sense of normalcy back into our lives," Tally said with a nod.
"Yep," Lou agreed as she looked out of the window.
"Hey, do you mind if we head back to the car and just drive around for a bit?" Tally asked, looking up from her similarly finished shake. "There's something I wanted to check in with you about."
"So do I," was the short, quiet reply as she raised her car's keys. "Now?"
"Yeah," the redhead confirmed with a nod.
Getting up, the two girls headed back to the Caterham, and a short few minutes later the roadster was simply cruising around, the brunette having no particular destination in mind.
"How are you doing, Lou?" Tally asked after a long few minutes of relative silence. "In relation to St Louis and all, well, this," the destroyer gestured to herself, and the parts of her shipgirl uniform that she was still wearing. Thankfully, at least, the armored boots fit beneath her sweatpants, so most of their oddness was hidden.
Lou looked down at her boots. "You've been wearing those?"
"They're comfortable!" Evans insisted. She shook her head slightly, smiling.
"That's fair," Tuckerman nodded. "Truth be told, I find myself being more comfortable in my cruiser garb than anything else as well."
She gripped the steering wheel tighter. "... That's what worries me."
"Still getting used to being St Louis?" Tally asked.
"No; I'm trying not to get used to this," was the serious reply. "You can probably see this, but I… I've not been myself these days."
"That's kind of why I'm checking in on you now," the redhead said. "I'm worried about you."
Louise sighed. "... Thanks."
"What am I not seeing here?" Tally asked. "I went first, and everything turned out fine, great even! But you're…" she trailed off, unsure of how to word her thoughts.
"I'm broken," the brunette helped finish that sentence before taking a few seconds to collect her own thoughts. "St Louis is not a good person; she's so angry, spiteful, hateful. I remember everything she remembers, I feel every single bad thing she felt, far more accurately than I'm okay with. Pearl Harbor, the war, Helena's sinking, being mothballed and given to Brazil, I remember her entire life, and the bad things just grate into me. Everything that came up and whacked her in the face, it broke her. Corrupted her. Warped her. That's not me. I'm not a terrible person and I don't want to be in perpetual pain. I refuse to be that. But… she's been creeping into me, and every time she does take over, I don't even know until it's over…"
A few tears rolled down Lou's cheeks. "I really don't know what to do…"
Tally paled as the younger girl spoke. "I… Shit. I don't have a tank metaphor for this. Pull over here."
Nodding, Lou stopped the Caterham at the shoulder of the road.
Tally hopped out of the car and circled around it to Lou's side. And then, leaning over the door, she pulled the younger girl into a tight hug. "Just keep being yourself. Be that stubborn, pain in the ass tank commander who doesn't know when to stop, always finds a new way to confront problems, and won't ever let up. St Louis can't change you if you don't let her."
"Now wait a minute, 'pain in the ass', 'doesn't know when to stop'...?"
"We have been arguing the point pretty much since the day we met, with neither of us budging an inch," Tally deadpanned. "I think that qualifies for both of those statements."
"That's… fair, I guess," Lou chuckled. "Yeah, I'll not let St Louis take a hold on me. I'm the one in charge here, after all."
"You are the one and only Louise C. Tuckerman, and nobody can ever change that."
"Yeah!" Louise grinned.
"You can beat St Louis. You've got this," Tally said gently. She squeezed Louise one last time before releasing the hug. "I believe in you."
In response, Lou gave her friend a wide, confident grin. "I will. Thanks."
"If you ever need something from me, all you need to do is ask."
"I'll be sure to take you up on that offer then!"
Tally returned Louise's grin, and gently patted her head, ruffling the brunette's hair.
"Heheh…"
"We should probably get heading back. It's late, and I should have been in bed 2 hours ago," Tally suggested, suppressing a yawn.
"Yeah, I'll drive you back," Lou offered. "I can park near my dorm and bring the car back in the morning."
"Thanks, Lou!" Tally grinned.
"No prob!"
And with that, the redhead hopped back in, and the Super Seven drove ahead into the night.
Part Nine
Lady Darkhound
Haha, tanks!
- Location
- My very own personal hell
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yet Still We Sail
Part 9
++++++++++
Lou tapped on her wooden desk, bored out of her mind by all of the previous lessons as she waited for the next one to start. Around her, her classmates were busy talking with one another; it seemed like she was the only one that was quiet.
Of course, being attentive, she had been listening in to the conversations going around her. Some discussions on after-school plans, talks about club activities, shipgirls…
Great.
Of course there would be conversations about the shipgirls. The shipgirls that defended Saunders against the Abyssals that had kept the schoolship docked at Nagasaki to the present moment. Though, the ship was almost sufficiently repaired enough to head back to sea again.
The real gripe the brunette had with those conversations, though, was the fact that they reminded her of the light cruiser herself.
She didn't need to be reminded of the fact that she was fighting a war against herself.
Trying to distract herself, Louise looked at the clock in the classroom.
It was five minutes past the supposed start of history class.
Where's Miss Io?
Just then, the girl caught the teacher walking in.
She's lat-
Lou's eyes widened in surprise.
The teacher that walked in was most definitely not Miss Io. The familiar blonde woman was dressed in the usual office attire expected from teachers, complete with black glasses and a black briefbag.
But she was not fooling the light cruiser with that.
That was no teacher.
The woman set her bag on the teacher's table "Good morning, ladies," she addressed the class, gently lifting her spectacles up. "I'm afraid Miss Io has just recently transferred over to another class, and thus will be unable to continue teaching you guys."
A few groans came from a few girls.
"But I assure you, I will do my best to teach you guys to the best of my ability. Now, for introductions, my name is Harriet Yorktown, but you may call me Miss Harriet. I hope we will get along well!"
St Louis could only stare at the blonde shipgirl incredulously.
"... What."
And thus, the lesson began. As it turned out, Hornet was a great history teacher, no doubt partly because she was actually a part of it. For some reason however, nobody seemed to mind the new teacher delving into the details of certain naval things a bit deeper than required. Were they actually listening, actually?
Either way, Miss Harriet continued on for the rest of the hour, seemingly paying no special attention to the only other shipgirl in the classroom. As the bell rang and her classmates piled out for a well-anticipated lunch, Louise waited until everyone else had left before marching up to the teacher's desk.
"What are you doing?"
Hornet looked up at the light cruiser from someone's workbook. "What do you mean, Miss Tuckerman? Like I've mentioned, I'm your new history teacher from now on."
"Yeah, I got that," St Louis replied curtly. "But don't you have a fleet to lead?"
In response, the carrier took off her no-degree glasses. "Ah, shipgirl business then. As a matter of fact, that is precisely why I have been assigned as a teacher here," the blonde woman explained. "This is how I am going to be able to keep tabs with you girls."
"You're assigned here."
"That is correct. I've been stationed here at Saunders as part of the defense fleet."
"And Sasebo?"
"It'll be managed by another ship in my absence," was the relaxed reply from Hornet. "The base is in good hands."
"It seemed like unnecessary trouble to assign you here with us," St Louis commented. "They could've assigned your replacement here."
"Well, the Admiral has deemed it a necessity that I lead the defense fleet."
"Why?"
"I believe that is none of your concern, St Louis."
"... Fair enough."
The blonde woman set the workbooks and her glasses aside, turning to look at the brunette in the eye. "So, since we're currently alone, I'd like to tell you this: I had heard of things about you back during the war and I have personally been observing your behavior these few days. Many of them are good, but there are…" she pondered over the right word, "... worrying issues that I think are rather evident to even yourself. If you have any problems, please do not hesitate to approach me or any of the other girls. We can help you."
Louise briefly broke eye contact with the carrier. "I'll be sure to take you up on the offer. Thanks."
"You're welcome. My sisters have spoken well of you before; I look forward to seeing the performance they have been impressed by."
To that comment, St Louis nodded. "I will not let you down."
"Splendid! Oh, St Louis, there is somewhere I would like to take you after your classes. You haven't truly been to the base here itself, have you?"
The light cruiser recalled her short visit to the repair baths with Evans. "Only briefly."
"Then I believe a visit is in order. I shall see you at the front of the school gates at 1500."
"Don't you think I might be occupied with Sensh-"
"That's an order."
"... Got it."
"St Louis," Hornet formally introduced as the blonde woman stepped through the bulkhead after climbing down the last flight of stairs, "welcome to US Fleet Activities Saunders."
St Louis looked around her new surroundings. The open room she was in was not quite what she had expected to see when she first entered, but yet it was. Painted battleship grey, the walls contrasted with the navy blue floormat that ran throughout the entire room. On one end was a comfortable black couch, facing a large TV placed on a small entertainment center, a DVD player and even a game console placed on the lower levels.
That end of the room seemed to act as a lounge, with a few tables scattered around, along with comfortable seating, and the aforementioned TV. There was even a pool table. Seated at one of the tables was a familiar redhead, playing some sort of card game with a few faces, both familiar and unfamiliar.
"Haha, queen high flush!" Evans cheered loudly. "Read 'em and weep!"
"Ace high flush," came the confident reply from Nicholas. The redheaded destroyer visibly deflated.
"Afternoon, ladies," Hornet greeted as she brought Lou over to the table. "I hope we haven't interrupted your game."
"You aren't," Nicholas answered. "I'm just teaching Evans how a destroyer properly plays poker."
"Cheating is not teaching me how to play properly!" Evans protested. "I can tell you've got cards up your sleeve!"
"I do not!"
"Then why does Tucker also have an ace of hearts this hand?" Evans asked pointedly, gesturing over to the destroyer in question, who held up the aforementioned card.
"Maybe she was the one that cheated," the white-haired destroyer shrugged nonchalantly. "Why did you jump straight to me?"
"I definitely didn't!" came the response from the ponytailed brunette retorted against that accusation. She was dressed in a different uniform from the Fletcher-class girls; a white blouse was paired with a grey skirt. The number "374" was sewn onto the blouse in black-bordered white. "You really do cheat all the time, holy fuck!"
"Language!" Evans interrupted with a teasing tone of voice. "And to answer your question, Nikki, Fletcher mentioned your cheating literally while she was introducing Lou and I to the wonders of having a hold."
"Betrayed by my younger sister…" the white-haired destroyed faked a gasp. "It's treason then. Definitely grounds for a court martial."
"Cheaters never prosper!" Fletcher shouted from over at the TV, where she was watching a movie with a pair of cruisers.
"Baseless false accusations!" was the reply hollered back.
Watching the scene, Hornet chuckled in amusement. "Well, before you girls launch your investigation into the matter, I'd like you girls to meet one of our newest arrivals. Some of you have already met her, but for the benefit of those that haven't," she lightly pulled the brunette beside her in front, "this is the USS St Louis, CL-49. I believe her name carries quite the reputation, doesn't it?"
"Ooh, Lucky Lou?!" Tucker immediately perked up. "Hello! I was at Pearl too!"
"Hey Lou!" Tally said with similar cheer. "You've already met Nicholas and Capps, and those two across the table are Tucker and Knight," the redhead said, pointing at the girls in question.
"Hello!" Knight added with a wave. The blonde destroyer had a uniform that was similar to that of Tucker, but again had slight variations, and a grayer coloration than Tucker's white. "Gleaves-class destroyer USS Knight, DD-633."
Lou simply nodded in response.
"She's not quite the talker, huh…" Knight commented.
"I… huh," Tally commented, eyeing the light cruiser with clear concern. "I wouldn't push it."
"Roger that."
"St Louis!" the light cruiser on the couch waved. "Remember me?"
Despite never having seen her in her life before, Lou didn't need a second look to recognize the dark-haired light cruiser.
The Brooklyn-class light cruiser nodded.
"Reeeally…?" the girl raised an eyebrow. "What's my name then?"
St Louis frowned at the other light cruiser.
"Say it! Come on…"
It took a few seconds, but finally Lou was coaxed into opening her mouth for the first time since she entered the base. "Detroit."
"That's right!" Detroit beamed. "Nice to see you again!" she greeted happily before turning to the other girl beside her. "We go way back, all the way to Pearl Harbor."
"Lots of old hands around here, then," the pink haired cruiser commented. She glanced over at St Louis and smiled brightly. "Nice ta' meetcha, St Louis! I'm Bremerton!"
Well, that was a new face. The Brooklyn-class nodded, remaining silent once more.
"I'm sure we're gonna be good buds from now on, so let's get along, alright?" the Baltimore-class heavy cruiser grinned.
No response.
"Not ta' worry, quiet ones are cool too! They tend to have a lot of thoughts in their heads."
"Yeah, you have no idea…" Evans muttered quietly to herself, eyeing St Louis concernedly again.
"Hey Tally, don't you have Sensha-do starting soon?" Nicholas asked.
The redheaded destroyer's eyes went wide, and she looked at her older sister. "Crud, you're right! I gotta run! Laters!"
Lou watched as Evans got up and bolted out of the base. "Don't I need to go too?"
"No," was the immediate reply from Hornet. "You're officially excused from Sensha-do today; I've already informed Kay."
Hearing that, the light cruiser frowned in annoyance.
Eventually, the tour for St Louis progressed on, with her leaving the lounge with Hornet.
"So, how do you find everything so far?" the blonde woman asked. "Anything special you want to note?"
"They talk too much," was the curt reply from Lou. "All of them."
"Yeah, that's just a matter of opinion," Hornet answered. "Socializing can help you out, you know."
"No time to."
"Bullshit. You just don't want to. Besides, we shipgirls are more social than humans. Give it some thought."
St Louis remained silent as they continued walking.
"Oh, here we are," the carrier commented as they arrived at the office of the base. This was an air-conditioned corridor with office doors lining both sides. Passing them by, Lou noticed a couple names placed on them; there was Fletcher, then Bremerton. Finally, of course, there was one that said "Flagship" with "USS Northampton" below it, and that was the room they entered.
Noticing that the blonde woman had entered, a blonde-haired, bespectacled girl sitting at the main desk immediately stood up and saluted. "Flagship on deck!"
"At ease, Nora," Hornet smiled. "Any reports?"
"None so far!" the heavy cruiser replied diligently. "No Abyssal activity has been detected!"
"Splendid. Well, St Louis, this is Northampton, the official flagship of the base and my 2nd In Command. Nora, this is St Louis."
"The Brooklyn-class…" Nora observed. "Pleasure to meet you, St Louis. Welcome to the fleet."
Nod.
"As expected. She really is a quiet one, huh…"
"Indeed," the carrier nodded.
"Well… I hope you'll enjoy your stay."
Silence.
"... I'll take that as a positive response."
And the tour went on. Finally, they arrived at the bunks, where the non-student shipgirls would rest. Of course, the beds were all empty.
Well, all except one. A white-haired destroyer was knocked out cold on hers.
"Ah, that's Laffey," Hornet commented as she saw Lou looking at her. "DD-459. She was a hero at Guadalcanal, not that she'll ever let it go to her head. You won't find a lazier destroyer anywhere."
"I can whip her into shape if you want," the light cruiser growled. "I can whip them all into shape."
"Yeah, well, what goes around comes around."
The tour proceeded further below decks and to the repair baths. This was the only place so far that St Louis recognized; it was where she woke up with Evans after that battle neither of the two remembered. A favorite spot of all the ships for obvious reasons, this was the community pool where the mysterious green liquid mixture the girls will sit in can repair every vessel back to full strength.
And finally, concluding the tour were the bow wells, where the shipgirls would launch from when they were deployed. Lou remembers this spot as well; this was where she and Evans saw Fletcher manifest, saw a picture of their shipgirl selves and fainted as a result.
"Well, that's most of it done," Hornet finished. "How do you find everything?"
St Louis stayed silent for a few seconds. "It's typical. Other than the fact it's on board Saunders."
"'Typical', huh…" the blonde woman huh'd. "You say it as if we're all typical ships."
"We're weapons," Lou replied curtly. "Always have been, always will be. We do our job, plain and simple; nothing else matters. If there's nothing else, I'll go back up."
With that, St Louis turned and left the room.
Hornet folded her arms, a look of worry on her face. Something was definitely bothering the light cruiser, but it would take time to figure out exactly what.
She hoped it wouldn't be too late by then.
"Okay everyone, listen up!" Tally said, dropping her papers on the table that the others had been waiting for her at. Jane, April, and the "newest" addition to the Steel Knights Tankathlon team, Izumi herself were already seated and had been chatting the time away. "We've got a match against Anzio tomorrow, 5 vs 1, and judging by previous matches this season, Anchovy has once again refitted their CV-33s with the 20mm cannons. It'll be King of the Hill, so if we can just take and hold the point, we should be good."
"What if Anzio rushes the hill and gets there first?" April asked.
A fair question. The objective of the match was to take control of a "hill" and raise a colored flag, and then hold that position for an allotted amount of time. Even if all of your tanks were eliminated while your flag was up, you still had a chance to win, as the other team still needed to raise their own flag to win.
Not exactly the forte of light tanks, sure, but that was one of the prices paid when the intramural sport had teams of varying sizes. Annihilation and flag matches were always possible, but those required more or less equal team sizes. Or, at least more than one tank and a potential yojimbo.
"If Anzio beats us there, and can set an ambush for us, we still have a chance. The timer's long enough for us to circle around and come from an angle they hopefully won't be expecting, and, well, Izumi is miles better than Carro Veloce tankettes," Tally answered with a confident grin. The tank spirit beamed at the compliment. "Besides, even outnumbered five to one, we still out-mass Anzio's team."
"Hey!" Izumi objected. "I'm not fat!"
Tally grinned at the light tank's pout, and Jane laughed softly. April, being the only person at the table who couldn't see the tank spirit, merely nodded.
"Do we know what the terrain is going to be like?" Jane asked after she quieted down.
"Suburban. The officials have set up a field up near Anzio's homeport, and we'll be flying north tomorrow. We only have a C-130 available, so we can't bring Alisa's Locust as our Yojimbo," Tally answered.
"Oh! Could we ask Anzio for one of their CVs?" Izumi asked.
"Getting a CV from Anzio is our next best bet," Tally restated for April's sake, agreeing with Izumi's point. "We can have Kay and Naomi crew it, since they'll be the ones flying us there. I'll reach out to Anchovy tonight to confirm, but first we-"
Tally cut herself off as her radio lit up. There was only one thing this could be…
"Abyssal fleet detected incoming from the southwest. Repeat, Abyssal fleet detected incoming from the southwest," Detroit called calmly over the radio. The Omaha must have been the cruiser on patrol duty with Capps and Henley this afternoon.
God. Dammit.
The redhead let out a heavy sigh before she let her head fall and hit the table with a satisfying 'thunk.'
"Tally?" Jane and Izumi asked at the same time.
Evans responded by raising a finger, her head still firmly against the tabletop. "There's something that I need to take care of urgently. I need to run, I'm very sorry. Feel free to continue planning without me, and send me the details either in an email or text. The map and what little intel I managed to steal from Alisa is in the folder."
"It's okay, Tally. We understand," Izumi said, patting the destroyer's shoulder.
"Yeah, we can take care of this!" Jane agreed cheerily. "You go take care of your thing."
"If it's urgent, it's urgent. We can wait," April said.
"Thank you, really. It means a lot," Evans said, before she picked herself up, dusted off her shoulders, and sprinted out of the Sensha-do meeting room. Her route took her to the relatively small section of the garage dedicated to the team's non-tank vehicles. The M20s, the single M8 Greyhound, the fleet of Willys MBs, and Tally's favorite trio of non-tank vehicles, the three WLA "Liberator" motorcycles.
Evans grabbed the nearest motorcycles, and after checking to make sure that it was all fueled up and wouldn't die on her, she wheeled it out of the garage. The engine revved beneath her, and she couldn't help but grin as she motored off towards the shipgirl offices at the schoolship's bow.
It was a thankfully fairly short drive from Sensha-do, and Evans parked the motorcycle in the nearest parking lot before descending belowdecks. The main office was controlled chaos. The few human staff to have come along with Hornet and Northampton were rushing around on urgent business, while Northampton herself was busy coordinating the shipgirls.
"Ah, Evans. I just sent Bremerton, Fletcher, and Hadley over to the starboard well deck to reinforce Detroit. Go ahead and catch up to them," Northampton ordered. "Knight, Tucker, you two wait here until Hornet shows up. You'll sortie with her..."
Whatever other orders the official flagship of the fleet had, Evans missed as she spun in place and once again set off at a sprint, this time towards where Bremerton and the others were headed. For what wasn't even the first time today, Evans found herself thankful that Tally was such a speed demon. Without Tally's natural athleticism and speed, she probably wouldn't have been able to catch up before they hit the water.
"Wow, you got here quick!" Bremerton commented as Evans passed her.
"That's Evans for you!" Hadley said cheerfully. "She's always been a bit of a speed freak. Heck, she was one back in the war, if the story about her and Indy is accurate!"
"It is!" Evans replied, just as cheerfully, as she slowed down to match pace with the heavy cruiser and her escorts. The well deck was right ahead, now. Conversation petered down as Evans led the way onto the water and out of the schoolship.
"Hey Detroit!" Bremerton nearly shouted over the radio. Evans winced slightly at the volume of the cruiser's voice echoing around her bridge. "What are we looking at?"
"Seaplane has spotted five cruisers and a dozen destroyers. All of British make," the scout cruiser reported dutifully. Evans pondered it for a moment. They weren't nearly as out massed as they had been against that Kongou, and with Hornet's air support, this ought to be a breeze.
Ought to be.
Which meant it wouldn't be in the slightest. Tally had thought that exact same thing before enough Sensha-do matches that the lesson had managed to sink in for the both of them.
Shit.
Evans surged ahead of Bremerton and the others as they approached Detroit's position. Henley and Capps were waiting patiently off to the scout cruiser's south. While Bremerton quietly conversed with Detroit, Evans moved to join her sisters.
"Hey Evans!" Henley said with a wave.
"Hey Henley, Capps!" Tally replied. Evans took the metaphorical step back and Tally moved up at the same time. She wanted some time with her friends, even if they both knew that Evans would be back in control when the shooting started.
"Excited for your first proper battle with a fleet?" Henley asked.
Tally just stared at her in shock. "What? No! I'm scared out of my mind!"
"But aren't you used to shells flying overhead and all that, because of Sensha-do?"
The less Evil of the twins shook her head. "Sensha-do is safe. The only way I'm getting hurt is by Izumi bumping around, or if I get really unlucky while unbuttoned, and that's a risk I feel comfortable taking in my duties as a scout. A "penetrating" hit won't do much more than shake the tank, maybe throw us around if it's big enough. Here, well, if I get hit, that shit hurts!"
"Language!" Henley admonished with a grin.
Tally smiled as she shook her head and pulled the day's newspaper out of her hold. She'd stuffed it there earlier, since she didn't have a good place to recycle it at the time, and now she had a new use for it. Tally very carefully rolled up the newspaper and swatted her twin with it.
"Ah!" Henley yelped as the newspaper found her head. "What was that for?"
"For being a little shit!"
"Langua-!" Henley cut herself off as Tally brandished the newspaper like a sword. "Sorry, sorry! I'll be good!"
Behind them, Capps laughed. "It's nice ta see the two of you gettin' along like you always have. It was honestly kind of weird to see ya' as shy and reserved, Evans!"
"What do you mean?" Tally asked, pointing at Capps with the rolled up newspaper. Realization struck her a moment later, and she fumbled the newspaper, nearly dropping it into the sea before she carefully shoved it back into her hold. "Oh, gosh, Henley! I'm so sorry!"
Henley laughed. "Easy there, Tally! It's fine! I barely felt it!"
"That doesn't change the fact that I whacked you with a newspaper! I've never been one for physical violence like that, doesn't matter if it's a newspaper or something heavier!" Tally objected, shaking her head.
"Yeah, that was definitely more of an Evans thing than a Tally thing," Capps added.
"I don't want to be doing Evans things though!" Tally objected. "I want to stay me! Well, at least as much as possible."
"Well, I doubt fighting Evans will do you any good in that regard," Fletcher commented, pulling up alongside Tally. Her voice dropped as she continued. "It certainly hasn't been doing Louise any good…"
The roar of air-cooled radial engines drowned out any remaining conversation. Hornet had hit the water, and Evans watched in awe as the waves of SBD Dauntlesses, TBF Avengers, and F4F Wildcats flew overhead, aimed directly at the incoming Abyssal fleet.
"There's nothing quite like seeing the Big Blue Blanket now is there…" Fletcher said with a grin.
"No there is not…" Evans' voice was low as she watched the planes fly past. "I haven't seen such a beautiful sight since 1945."
"And really, we had more pressing issues that morning!" Hadley added cheerfully. Evans shuddered at the memory.
"Alright, quit gossiping!" Bremerton called over the radio, shutting up the destroyers. "Everyone, fall back into escort formation around Hornet!"
"Belay that order!" Hornet countered, similarly over the radio. "The Abyssal fleet is too close for me to recover and launch a second strike. Northampton, join Bremerton's surface combat group and engage whatever survives my strike. St Louis, you and Nicholas' DesDiv are covering me."
"You want me to WHAT?" a familiar voice shouted over the radio a few seconds later.
"If there's another surface group that we missed, I need a competent escort group. There's nobody I would rather have covering me," Hornet said calmly.
"IF there's another surface group," the light cruiser's voice retorted rudely. "I think Bremerton's group can use more firepower! MY firepower!"
"St Louis, you are one of the best escorts we have," Hornet said, her voice taking on an almost dangerous commanding tone. "Yorktown and Enterprise told me as much, and while I want to believe their words, I can't do that if my escort runs gallivanting off after every surface contact."
There were a few seconds of silence.
"... I'll do it," came the begrudging agreement.
"Good. Northampton?"
"On it, ma'am!"
Fletcher shook her head as the exchange wrapped up and Northampton sprinted over to join them. "I really wish we knew how much personality change to expect from manifestations like the three of you… Because that is not the St Louis I remember serving with, and that is most definitely not Louise Tuckerman in there."
"Lou is in there somewhere, but I don't think she's in control right now," Evans commented as she fell in line behind her sister. "She'll get better; she always finds a way."
"I hope you're right…"
"I am," there was a confidence in Evans' voice that even she hadn't expected. "So why don't you knock it off with them negative waves, Moriarty."
Henley laughed. "Really sis? Kelly's Heroes?"
"What?" Evans asked, looking over her shoulder to look at her Evil Twin. "It's a good movie!"
"Surely there's something more appropriate for our current situation," Henley objected.
"Kelly's Heroes is a tank movie, I'm a tanker, it fits!"
"You're a destroyer!"
"Who happens to be TC for an M5A1 Stuart!"
"Yeah, and an M5 is nowhere near the same thing as Oddball's M4s."
"Oh, so now Izumi isn't good enough for you, either? What's next, you're gonna start advocating that we get something with a 90? A 105? Or are those not good enough for you either and we need bigger?" Evans retorted.
"Aha! I see how it is! You're trying to drag me into the argument you've been having with Lou! Well, it won't work!"
"You're both doofuses," Fletcher said with a laugh. "But we need to focus."
"Yes ma'am!" Evans and Henley said in perfect unison. It was almost creepy how much their voices melded into one when they spoke like that. Well, it was to a part of her. It was also perfectly normal, since they were near identical twins, after all. Except for the whole being launched a month earlier than her twin thing.
Evans smiled at her wandering thoughts, and shook her head to clear them away.
"Spotter plane reports one heavy cruiser sinking, the other damaged, and two sunk destroyers, with 3 more damaged," Detroit reported as Hornet's planes passed overhead on their way back to the carrier. "The three light cruisers are all damaged but intact. Looks like the heavies took the brunt of it."
"Copy that, Detroit! Surface group, set course for one-eight-zero, speed 20 knots," Northampton ordered. Fletcher began speeding up, and Evans sped up to match her, pulling into the turn to follow right behind her sister.
For a moment, Evans pondered the irony of the destroyer who was admittedly terrified of battle sailing into harm's way, while the cruiser raring for a fight was stuck on escort duty. It wasn't an amusing thought, since it both confronted her own fears and her concerns over the diminutive cruiser.
Those thoughts could only linger for a moment, however. Evans needed to focus.
"This is Baltimore, engaging," the lead heavy cruiser in the column announced. The blast from the heavy cruiser's 8" guns reached Evans a moment later. She turned and looked at the heavy cruiser behind her with awe.
Northampton opened fire soon after. "Column, set course to 215, speed 30 knots."
It was an oblique approach to the incoming Abyssals, one that would let them close to accurate firing ranges while simultaneously keeping the range open enough for the heavy cruisers' armor to actually work.
Well, Baltimore's armor. If Evans remembered correctly, Northampton didn't have much in the way of armor. But it was still a lot more than her own non-existent armor scheme!
The next few minutes were nothing but the two heavy cruisers firing slow-paced ranging shots, and the lone Abyssal heavy cruiser doing the same. It didn't take long for the Abyssal light cruisers to open fire, and Detroit opened fire after them.
This was Evans' second ever surface action, and if anything, it was scarier than the first. Against that Kongo, sure, they'd been a lot more out massed, but that was a desperate battle against an enemy that was more or less distracted, first by Fletcher, then by St Louis. Here…
As Henley led the destroyers on a desperate charge, Evans distractedly reflected on the fact that there was a lot more incoming fire this time. Her guns opened up on the Abyssal destroyers, guided onto their targets by radar fire control. For once, Tally felt like she could actually hit the broadside of a barn with something bigger than a rifle!
In three volleys, Evans had bracketed her target. It was almost mechanical at this point, compared to the much faster paced, much more organic fighting of Sensha-do. She didn't have to do much more than select a target, because between her fire directors and gun crews, everything was taken care of for her. But despite its mechanical nature, the battle wasn't completely automated.
A salvo of 120mm shells soaring overhead reminded the destroyer of that fact. Shooting was only mechanical as long as she maintained a steady course. Wild maneuvers to dodge incoming fire or hard turns would completely ruin her firing solution and send her back to firing "from the hip."
The destroyer line pulled a hard turn to port, and Evans followed along naturally. In an instant, her guns went from systematically ripping the Abyssal destroyer to shreds to being unable to hit the broadside of a barn from the inside.
"Christ a'mighty, Evans!" Capps exclaimed. "Where'd you learn to shoot like that?"
"I didn't learn it from you, that's for certain!" the redhead retorted as she tried to narrow in her firing solution.
Evans lost track of the cruiser battle going on overhead as she focused entirely on the Abyssal destroyers in front of her. Five advanced American destroyers, versus ten pre-war British destroyers. While the 4.7" guns and torpedoes were certainly a threat, as were their numbers, it was incredibly one-sided in the favor of the Americans.
While the Abyssals went down or were crippled one after another by the expert gunnery of most of the shipgirl destroyers, they got their fair share of hammer blows in, too.
"Ah!" Henley cried out in pain. "Forward fireroom is out!"
"Dammit!" Fletcher swore, being the ship just behind Evans' twin. "Henley, break off. Evans, stick with her!"
"Yes ma'am!" the two redheads replied in a perfect unison. Evans pulled out of the destroyer line and towards her crippled sister. Thankfully, it seemed like both of them were still perfectly combat capable, even if Henley was moving at less than half of her maximum speed.
As Evans slowed down and moved to cover her twin, she took a moment to survey the battlefield… Only one Abyssal cruiser had survived and was burning merrily, while Detroit and Northampton had both disengaged, leaving Bremerton on her own. The Abyssal destroyers were all but gone, with three of them still in a desperate fight against the now even numbers of Fletcher, Capps, and Hadley.
Two more crippled but still-afloat Abyssal destroyers were limping their way over towards Evans and Henley, on a slow attack run.
"Henley, two destroyers! Bearing one-oh-five, eight-thousand yards!" Evans shouted out as soon as she spotted the Abyssals. Her twin reacted a moment later, and ten 5" guns rotated towards the incoming Abyssals and opened fire.
It should have been a slaughter. The Abyssals were already crippled, it wouldn't take much to get them to keel over and sink. And, to an extent, it was. Evans and Henley both took some hits, Evans lost Gun 53 again, while Henley lost her fire control to a very lucky hit, but the Abyssals did in fact roll over and sink without too much effort…
Never before had Evans been so grateful for Tally's aptitude as a scout. Otherwise, with that much smoke in the air from burning ships, and that much flotsam in the water, she'd never have seen the torpedo tracks until it was far too late.
That was a lot of torpedoes, and in such a wide spread that she and Henley would never make it out. "Shit, fish in the water!"
"How many?" Henley asked, limping along as best she could.
"Too many!" Evans replied. "We're not gonna get out in time!"
"You can! Go!"
Evans stared at her twin in shock. Was she…? She saw the serious look on Henley's face, and it really began to sink in. Henley was telling her to abandon her twin, just so that she could live…
"No!" Evans insisted. "I'm not leaving you behind!"
"You're a damn fool, sis!" the younger twin shouted, even as Evans began rigging a towline between the two of them. If they pushed it hard enough…
With Evans pulling her twin, and both of them dashing as fast as they could, they just might make it. Evans gave it her all. Every last little bit of power she had was dedicated to saving her sister.
They were going to make it!
A lookout called out a torpedo track that she had missed. Less than a kilometer, and closing fast. They didn't have the mobility to dodge it at this range. It was going to hit Henley.
Evans threw her engines into full reverse, nearly slamming into Henley with how violently she came to a halt. With barely seconds to spare, the redheaded speed freak threw herself in front of the torpedo that was going to kill her sister.
A geyser of water shot up around Evans.
She fell to the sea's surface.
As the world turned black, the last thing Tally remembered was her bow breaking off just in front of her bridge, and sinking rapidly.
Part 9
++++++++++
Lou tapped on her wooden desk, bored out of her mind by all of the previous lessons as she waited for the next one to start. Around her, her classmates were busy talking with one another; it seemed like she was the only one that was quiet.
Of course, being attentive, she had been listening in to the conversations going around her. Some discussions on after-school plans, talks about club activities, shipgirls…
Great.
Of course there would be conversations about the shipgirls. The shipgirls that defended Saunders against the Abyssals that had kept the schoolship docked at Nagasaki to the present moment. Though, the ship was almost sufficiently repaired enough to head back to sea again.
The real gripe the brunette had with those conversations, though, was the fact that they reminded her of the light cruiser herself.
She didn't need to be reminded of the fact that she was fighting a war against herself.
Trying to distract herself, Louise looked at the clock in the classroom.
It was five minutes past the supposed start of history class.
Where's Miss Io?
Just then, the girl caught the teacher walking in.
She's lat-
Lou's eyes widened in surprise.
The teacher that walked in was most definitely not Miss Io. The familiar blonde woman was dressed in the usual office attire expected from teachers, complete with black glasses and a black briefbag.
But she was not fooling the light cruiser with that.
That was no teacher.
The woman set her bag on the teacher's table "Good morning, ladies," she addressed the class, gently lifting her spectacles up. "I'm afraid Miss Io has just recently transferred over to another class, and thus will be unable to continue teaching you guys."
A few groans came from a few girls.
"But I assure you, I will do my best to teach you guys to the best of my ability. Now, for introductions, my name is Harriet Yorktown, but you may call me Miss Harriet. I hope we will get along well!"
St Louis could only stare at the blonde shipgirl incredulously.
"... What."
And thus, the lesson began. As it turned out, Hornet was a great history teacher, no doubt partly because she was actually a part of it. For some reason however, nobody seemed to mind the new teacher delving into the details of certain naval things a bit deeper than required. Were they actually listening, actually?
Either way, Miss Harriet continued on for the rest of the hour, seemingly paying no special attention to the only other shipgirl in the classroom. As the bell rang and her classmates piled out for a well-anticipated lunch, Louise waited until everyone else had left before marching up to the teacher's desk.
"What are you doing?"
Hornet looked up at the light cruiser from someone's workbook. "What do you mean, Miss Tuckerman? Like I've mentioned, I'm your new history teacher from now on."
"Yeah, I got that," St Louis replied curtly. "But don't you have a fleet to lead?"
In response, the carrier took off her no-degree glasses. "Ah, shipgirl business then. As a matter of fact, that is precisely why I have been assigned as a teacher here," the blonde woman explained. "This is how I am going to be able to keep tabs with you girls."
"You're assigned here."
"That is correct. I've been stationed here at Saunders as part of the defense fleet."
"And Sasebo?"
"It'll be managed by another ship in my absence," was the relaxed reply from Hornet. "The base is in good hands."
"It seemed like unnecessary trouble to assign you here with us," St Louis commented. "They could've assigned your replacement here."
"Well, the Admiral has deemed it a necessity that I lead the defense fleet."
"Why?"
"I believe that is none of your concern, St Louis."
"... Fair enough."
The blonde woman set the workbooks and her glasses aside, turning to look at the brunette in the eye. "So, since we're currently alone, I'd like to tell you this: I had heard of things about you back during the war and I have personally been observing your behavior these few days. Many of them are good, but there are…" she pondered over the right word, "... worrying issues that I think are rather evident to even yourself. If you have any problems, please do not hesitate to approach me or any of the other girls. We can help you."
Louise briefly broke eye contact with the carrier. "I'll be sure to take you up on the offer. Thanks."
"You're welcome. My sisters have spoken well of you before; I look forward to seeing the performance they have been impressed by."
To that comment, St Louis nodded. "I will not let you down."
"Splendid! Oh, St Louis, there is somewhere I would like to take you after your classes. You haven't truly been to the base here itself, have you?"
The light cruiser recalled her short visit to the repair baths with Evans. "Only briefly."
"Then I believe a visit is in order. I shall see you at the front of the school gates at 1500."
"Don't you think I might be occupied with Sensh-"
"That's an order."
"... Got it."
++++++++++
"St Louis," Hornet formally introduced as the blonde woman stepped through the bulkhead after climbing down the last flight of stairs, "welcome to US Fleet Activities Saunders."
St Louis looked around her new surroundings. The open room she was in was not quite what she had expected to see when she first entered, but yet it was. Painted battleship grey, the walls contrasted with the navy blue floormat that ran throughout the entire room. On one end was a comfortable black couch, facing a large TV placed on a small entertainment center, a DVD player and even a game console placed on the lower levels.
That end of the room seemed to act as a lounge, with a few tables scattered around, along with comfortable seating, and the aforementioned TV. There was even a pool table. Seated at one of the tables was a familiar redhead, playing some sort of card game with a few faces, both familiar and unfamiliar.
"Haha, queen high flush!" Evans cheered loudly. "Read 'em and weep!"
"Ace high flush," came the confident reply from Nicholas. The redheaded destroyer visibly deflated.
"Afternoon, ladies," Hornet greeted as she brought Lou over to the table. "I hope we haven't interrupted your game."
"You aren't," Nicholas answered. "I'm just teaching Evans how a destroyer properly plays poker."
"Cheating is not teaching me how to play properly!" Evans protested. "I can tell you've got cards up your sleeve!"
"I do not!"
"Then why does Tucker also have an ace of hearts this hand?" Evans asked pointedly, gesturing over to the destroyer in question, who held up the aforementioned card.
"Maybe she was the one that cheated," the white-haired destroyer shrugged nonchalantly. "Why did you jump straight to me?"
"I definitely didn't!" came the response from the ponytailed brunette retorted against that accusation. She was dressed in a different uniform from the Fletcher-class girls; a white blouse was paired with a grey skirt. The number "374" was sewn onto the blouse in black-bordered white. "You really do cheat all the time, holy fuck!"
"Language!" Evans interrupted with a teasing tone of voice. "And to answer your question, Nikki, Fletcher mentioned your cheating literally while she was introducing Lou and I to the wonders of having a hold."
"Betrayed by my younger sister…" the white-haired destroyed faked a gasp. "It's treason then. Definitely grounds for a court martial."
"Cheaters never prosper!" Fletcher shouted from over at the TV, where she was watching a movie with a pair of cruisers.
"Baseless false accusations!" was the reply hollered back.
Watching the scene, Hornet chuckled in amusement. "Well, before you girls launch your investigation into the matter, I'd like you girls to meet one of our newest arrivals. Some of you have already met her, but for the benefit of those that haven't," she lightly pulled the brunette beside her in front, "this is the USS St Louis, CL-49. I believe her name carries quite the reputation, doesn't it?"
"Ooh, Lucky Lou?!" Tucker immediately perked up. "Hello! I was at Pearl too!"
"Hey Lou!" Tally said with similar cheer. "You've already met Nicholas and Capps, and those two across the table are Tucker and Knight," the redhead said, pointing at the girls in question.
"Hello!" Knight added with a wave. The blonde destroyer had a uniform that was similar to that of Tucker, but again had slight variations, and a grayer coloration than Tucker's white. "Gleaves-class destroyer USS Knight, DD-633."
Lou simply nodded in response.
"She's not quite the talker, huh…" Knight commented.
"I… huh," Tally commented, eyeing the light cruiser with clear concern. "I wouldn't push it."
"Roger that."
"St Louis!" the light cruiser on the couch waved. "Remember me?"
Despite never having seen her in her life before, Lou didn't need a second look to recognize the dark-haired light cruiser.
The Brooklyn-class light cruiser nodded.
"Reeeally…?" the girl raised an eyebrow. "What's my name then?"
St Louis frowned at the other light cruiser.
"Say it! Come on…"
It took a few seconds, but finally Lou was coaxed into opening her mouth for the first time since she entered the base. "Detroit."
"That's right!" Detroit beamed. "Nice to see you again!" she greeted happily before turning to the other girl beside her. "We go way back, all the way to Pearl Harbor."
"Lots of old hands around here, then," the pink haired cruiser commented. She glanced over at St Louis and smiled brightly. "Nice ta' meetcha, St Louis! I'm Bremerton!"
Well, that was a new face. The Brooklyn-class nodded, remaining silent once more.
"I'm sure we're gonna be good buds from now on, so let's get along, alright?" the Baltimore-class heavy cruiser grinned.
No response.
"Not ta' worry, quiet ones are cool too! They tend to have a lot of thoughts in their heads."
"Yeah, you have no idea…" Evans muttered quietly to herself, eyeing St Louis concernedly again.
"Hey Tally, don't you have Sensha-do starting soon?" Nicholas asked.
The redheaded destroyer's eyes went wide, and she looked at her older sister. "Crud, you're right! I gotta run! Laters!"
Lou watched as Evans got up and bolted out of the base. "Don't I need to go too?"
"No," was the immediate reply from Hornet. "You're officially excused from Sensha-do today; I've already informed Kay."
Hearing that, the light cruiser frowned in annoyance.
Eventually, the tour for St Louis progressed on, with her leaving the lounge with Hornet.
"So, how do you find everything so far?" the blonde woman asked. "Anything special you want to note?"
"They talk too much," was the curt reply from Lou. "All of them."
"Yeah, that's just a matter of opinion," Hornet answered. "Socializing can help you out, you know."
"No time to."
"Bullshit. You just don't want to. Besides, we shipgirls are more social than humans. Give it some thought."
St Louis remained silent as they continued walking.
"Oh, here we are," the carrier commented as they arrived at the office of the base. This was an air-conditioned corridor with office doors lining both sides. Passing them by, Lou noticed a couple names placed on them; there was Fletcher, then Bremerton. Finally, of course, there was one that said "Flagship" with "USS Northampton" below it, and that was the room they entered.
Noticing that the blonde woman had entered, a blonde-haired, bespectacled girl sitting at the main desk immediately stood up and saluted. "Flagship on deck!"
"At ease, Nora," Hornet smiled. "Any reports?"
"None so far!" the heavy cruiser replied diligently. "No Abyssal activity has been detected!"
"Splendid. Well, St Louis, this is Northampton, the official flagship of the base and my 2nd In Command. Nora, this is St Louis."
"The Brooklyn-class…" Nora observed. "Pleasure to meet you, St Louis. Welcome to the fleet."
Nod.
"As expected. She really is a quiet one, huh…"
"Indeed," the carrier nodded.
"Well… I hope you'll enjoy your stay."
Silence.
"... I'll take that as a positive response."
And the tour went on. Finally, they arrived at the bunks, where the non-student shipgirls would rest. Of course, the beds were all empty.
Well, all except one. A white-haired destroyer was knocked out cold on hers.
"Ah, that's Laffey," Hornet commented as she saw Lou looking at her. "DD-459. She was a hero at Guadalcanal, not that she'll ever let it go to her head. You won't find a lazier destroyer anywhere."
"I can whip her into shape if you want," the light cruiser growled. "I can whip them all into shape."
"Yeah, well, what goes around comes around."
The tour proceeded further below decks and to the repair baths. This was the only place so far that St Louis recognized; it was where she woke up with Evans after that battle neither of the two remembered. A favorite spot of all the ships for obvious reasons, this was the community pool where the mysterious green liquid mixture the girls will sit in can repair every vessel back to full strength.
And finally, concluding the tour were the bow wells, where the shipgirls would launch from when they were deployed. Lou remembers this spot as well; this was where she and Evans saw Fletcher manifest, saw a picture of their shipgirl selves and fainted as a result.
"Well, that's most of it done," Hornet finished. "How do you find everything?"
St Louis stayed silent for a few seconds. "It's typical. Other than the fact it's on board Saunders."
"'Typical', huh…" the blonde woman huh'd. "You say it as if we're all typical ships."
"We're weapons," Lou replied curtly. "Always have been, always will be. We do our job, plain and simple; nothing else matters. If there's nothing else, I'll go back up."
With that, St Louis turned and left the room.
Hornet folded her arms, a look of worry on her face. Something was definitely bothering the light cruiser, but it would take time to figure out exactly what.
She hoped it wouldn't be too late by then.
++++++++++
"Okay everyone, listen up!" Tally said, dropping her papers on the table that the others had been waiting for her at. Jane, April, and the "newest" addition to the Steel Knights Tankathlon team, Izumi herself were already seated and had been chatting the time away. "We've got a match against Anzio tomorrow, 5 vs 1, and judging by previous matches this season, Anchovy has once again refitted their CV-33s with the 20mm cannons. It'll be King of the Hill, so if we can just take and hold the point, we should be good."
"What if Anzio rushes the hill and gets there first?" April asked.
A fair question. The objective of the match was to take control of a "hill" and raise a colored flag, and then hold that position for an allotted amount of time. Even if all of your tanks were eliminated while your flag was up, you still had a chance to win, as the other team still needed to raise their own flag to win.
Not exactly the forte of light tanks, sure, but that was one of the prices paid when the intramural sport had teams of varying sizes. Annihilation and flag matches were always possible, but those required more or less equal team sizes. Or, at least more than one tank and a potential yojimbo.
"If Anzio beats us there, and can set an ambush for us, we still have a chance. The timer's long enough for us to circle around and come from an angle they hopefully won't be expecting, and, well, Izumi is miles better than Carro Veloce tankettes," Tally answered with a confident grin. The tank spirit beamed at the compliment. "Besides, even outnumbered five to one, we still out-mass Anzio's team."
"Hey!" Izumi objected. "I'm not fat!"
Tally grinned at the light tank's pout, and Jane laughed softly. April, being the only person at the table who couldn't see the tank spirit, merely nodded.
"Do we know what the terrain is going to be like?" Jane asked after she quieted down.
"Suburban. The officials have set up a field up near Anzio's homeport, and we'll be flying north tomorrow. We only have a C-130 available, so we can't bring Alisa's Locust as our Yojimbo," Tally answered.
"Oh! Could we ask Anzio for one of their CVs?" Izumi asked.
"Getting a CV from Anzio is our next best bet," Tally restated for April's sake, agreeing with Izumi's point. "We can have Kay and Naomi crew it, since they'll be the ones flying us there. I'll reach out to Anchovy tonight to confirm, but first we-"
Tally cut herself off as her radio lit up. There was only one thing this could be…
"Abyssal fleet detected incoming from the southwest. Repeat, Abyssal fleet detected incoming from the southwest," Detroit called calmly over the radio. The Omaha must have been the cruiser on patrol duty with Capps and Henley this afternoon.
God. Dammit.
The redhead let out a heavy sigh before she let her head fall and hit the table with a satisfying 'thunk.'
"Tally?" Jane and Izumi asked at the same time.
Evans responded by raising a finger, her head still firmly against the tabletop. "There's something that I need to take care of urgently. I need to run, I'm very sorry. Feel free to continue planning without me, and send me the details either in an email or text. The map and what little intel I managed to steal from Alisa is in the folder."
"It's okay, Tally. We understand," Izumi said, patting the destroyer's shoulder.
"Yeah, we can take care of this!" Jane agreed cheerily. "You go take care of your thing."
"If it's urgent, it's urgent. We can wait," April said.
"Thank you, really. It means a lot," Evans said, before she picked herself up, dusted off her shoulders, and sprinted out of the Sensha-do meeting room. Her route took her to the relatively small section of the garage dedicated to the team's non-tank vehicles. The M20s, the single M8 Greyhound, the fleet of Willys MBs, and Tally's favorite trio of non-tank vehicles, the three WLA "Liberator" motorcycles.
Evans grabbed the nearest motorcycles, and after checking to make sure that it was all fueled up and wouldn't die on her, she wheeled it out of the garage. The engine revved beneath her, and she couldn't help but grin as she motored off towards the shipgirl offices at the schoolship's bow.
It was a thankfully fairly short drive from Sensha-do, and Evans parked the motorcycle in the nearest parking lot before descending belowdecks. The main office was controlled chaos. The few human staff to have come along with Hornet and Northampton were rushing around on urgent business, while Northampton herself was busy coordinating the shipgirls.
"Ah, Evans. I just sent Bremerton, Fletcher, and Hadley over to the starboard well deck to reinforce Detroit. Go ahead and catch up to them," Northampton ordered. "Knight, Tucker, you two wait here until Hornet shows up. You'll sortie with her..."
Whatever other orders the official flagship of the fleet had, Evans missed as she spun in place and once again set off at a sprint, this time towards where Bremerton and the others were headed. For what wasn't even the first time today, Evans found herself thankful that Tally was such a speed demon. Without Tally's natural athleticism and speed, she probably wouldn't have been able to catch up before they hit the water.
"Wow, you got here quick!" Bremerton commented as Evans passed her.
"That's Evans for you!" Hadley said cheerfully. "She's always been a bit of a speed freak. Heck, she was one back in the war, if the story about her and Indy is accurate!"
"It is!" Evans replied, just as cheerfully, as she slowed down to match pace with the heavy cruiser and her escorts. The well deck was right ahead, now. Conversation petered down as Evans led the way onto the water and out of the schoolship.
"Hey Detroit!" Bremerton nearly shouted over the radio. Evans winced slightly at the volume of the cruiser's voice echoing around her bridge. "What are we looking at?"
"Seaplane has spotted five cruisers and a dozen destroyers. All of British make," the scout cruiser reported dutifully. Evans pondered it for a moment. They weren't nearly as out massed as they had been against that Kongou, and with Hornet's air support, this ought to be a breeze.
Ought to be.
Which meant it wouldn't be in the slightest. Tally had thought that exact same thing before enough Sensha-do matches that the lesson had managed to sink in for the both of them.
Shit.
Evans surged ahead of Bremerton and the others as they approached Detroit's position. Henley and Capps were waiting patiently off to the scout cruiser's south. While Bremerton quietly conversed with Detroit, Evans moved to join her sisters.
"Hey Evans!" Henley said with a wave.
"Hey Henley, Capps!" Tally replied. Evans took the metaphorical step back and Tally moved up at the same time. She wanted some time with her friends, even if they both knew that Evans would be back in control when the shooting started.
"Excited for your first proper battle with a fleet?" Henley asked.
Tally just stared at her in shock. "What? No! I'm scared out of my mind!"
"But aren't you used to shells flying overhead and all that, because of Sensha-do?"
The less Evil of the twins shook her head. "Sensha-do is safe. The only way I'm getting hurt is by Izumi bumping around, or if I get really unlucky while unbuttoned, and that's a risk I feel comfortable taking in my duties as a scout. A "penetrating" hit won't do much more than shake the tank, maybe throw us around if it's big enough. Here, well, if I get hit, that shit hurts!"
"Language!" Henley admonished with a grin.
Tally smiled as she shook her head and pulled the day's newspaper out of her hold. She'd stuffed it there earlier, since she didn't have a good place to recycle it at the time, and now she had a new use for it. Tally very carefully rolled up the newspaper and swatted her twin with it.
"Ah!" Henley yelped as the newspaper found her head. "What was that for?"
"For being a little shit!"
"Langua-!" Henley cut herself off as Tally brandished the newspaper like a sword. "Sorry, sorry! I'll be good!"
Behind them, Capps laughed. "It's nice ta see the two of you gettin' along like you always have. It was honestly kind of weird to see ya' as shy and reserved, Evans!"
"What do you mean?" Tally asked, pointing at Capps with the rolled up newspaper. Realization struck her a moment later, and she fumbled the newspaper, nearly dropping it into the sea before she carefully shoved it back into her hold. "Oh, gosh, Henley! I'm so sorry!"
Henley laughed. "Easy there, Tally! It's fine! I barely felt it!"
"That doesn't change the fact that I whacked you with a newspaper! I've never been one for physical violence like that, doesn't matter if it's a newspaper or something heavier!" Tally objected, shaking her head.
"Yeah, that was definitely more of an Evans thing than a Tally thing," Capps added.
"I don't want to be doing Evans things though!" Tally objected. "I want to stay me! Well, at least as much as possible."
"Well, I doubt fighting Evans will do you any good in that regard," Fletcher commented, pulling up alongside Tally. Her voice dropped as she continued. "It certainly hasn't been doing Louise any good…"
The roar of air-cooled radial engines drowned out any remaining conversation. Hornet had hit the water, and Evans watched in awe as the waves of SBD Dauntlesses, TBF Avengers, and F4F Wildcats flew overhead, aimed directly at the incoming Abyssal fleet.
"There's nothing quite like seeing the Big Blue Blanket now is there…" Fletcher said with a grin.
"No there is not…" Evans' voice was low as she watched the planes fly past. "I haven't seen such a beautiful sight since 1945."
"And really, we had more pressing issues that morning!" Hadley added cheerfully. Evans shuddered at the memory.
"Alright, quit gossiping!" Bremerton called over the radio, shutting up the destroyers. "Everyone, fall back into escort formation around Hornet!"
"Belay that order!" Hornet countered, similarly over the radio. "The Abyssal fleet is too close for me to recover and launch a second strike. Northampton, join Bremerton's surface combat group and engage whatever survives my strike. St Louis, you and Nicholas' DesDiv are covering me."
"You want me to WHAT?" a familiar voice shouted over the radio a few seconds later.
"If there's another surface group that we missed, I need a competent escort group. There's nobody I would rather have covering me," Hornet said calmly.
"IF there's another surface group," the light cruiser's voice retorted rudely. "I think Bremerton's group can use more firepower! MY firepower!"
"St Louis, you are one of the best escorts we have," Hornet said, her voice taking on an almost dangerous commanding tone. "Yorktown and Enterprise told me as much, and while I want to believe their words, I can't do that if my escort runs gallivanting off after every surface contact."
There were a few seconds of silence.
"... I'll do it," came the begrudging agreement.
"Good. Northampton?"
"On it, ma'am!"
Fletcher shook her head as the exchange wrapped up and Northampton sprinted over to join them. "I really wish we knew how much personality change to expect from manifestations like the three of you… Because that is not the St Louis I remember serving with, and that is most definitely not Louise Tuckerman in there."
"Lou is in there somewhere, but I don't think she's in control right now," Evans commented as she fell in line behind her sister. "She'll get better; she always finds a way."
"I hope you're right…"
"I am," there was a confidence in Evans' voice that even she hadn't expected. "So why don't you knock it off with them negative waves, Moriarty."
Henley laughed. "Really sis? Kelly's Heroes?"
"What?" Evans asked, looking over her shoulder to look at her Evil Twin. "It's a good movie!"
"Surely there's something more appropriate for our current situation," Henley objected.
"Kelly's Heroes is a tank movie, I'm a tanker, it fits!"
"You're a destroyer!"
"Who happens to be TC for an M5A1 Stuart!"
"Yeah, and an M5 is nowhere near the same thing as Oddball's M4s."
"Oh, so now Izumi isn't good enough for you, either? What's next, you're gonna start advocating that we get something with a 90? A 105? Or are those not good enough for you either and we need bigger?" Evans retorted.
"Aha! I see how it is! You're trying to drag me into the argument you've been having with Lou! Well, it won't work!"
"You're both doofuses," Fletcher said with a laugh. "But we need to focus."
"Yes ma'am!" Evans and Henley said in perfect unison. It was almost creepy how much their voices melded into one when they spoke like that. Well, it was to a part of her. It was also perfectly normal, since they were near identical twins, after all. Except for the whole being launched a month earlier than her twin thing.
Evans smiled at her wandering thoughts, and shook her head to clear them away.
"Spotter plane reports one heavy cruiser sinking, the other damaged, and two sunk destroyers, with 3 more damaged," Detroit reported as Hornet's planes passed overhead on their way back to the carrier. "The three light cruisers are all damaged but intact. Looks like the heavies took the brunt of it."
"Copy that, Detroit! Surface group, set course for one-eight-zero, speed 20 knots," Northampton ordered. Fletcher began speeding up, and Evans sped up to match her, pulling into the turn to follow right behind her sister.
For a moment, Evans pondered the irony of the destroyer who was admittedly terrified of battle sailing into harm's way, while the cruiser raring for a fight was stuck on escort duty. It wasn't an amusing thought, since it both confronted her own fears and her concerns over the diminutive cruiser.
Those thoughts could only linger for a moment, however. Evans needed to focus.
"This is Baltimore, engaging," the lead heavy cruiser in the column announced. The blast from the heavy cruiser's 8" guns reached Evans a moment later. She turned and looked at the heavy cruiser behind her with awe.
Northampton opened fire soon after. "Column, set course to 215, speed 30 knots."
It was an oblique approach to the incoming Abyssals, one that would let them close to accurate firing ranges while simultaneously keeping the range open enough for the heavy cruisers' armor to actually work.
Well, Baltimore's armor. If Evans remembered correctly, Northampton didn't have much in the way of armor. But it was still a lot more than her own non-existent armor scheme!
The next few minutes were nothing but the two heavy cruisers firing slow-paced ranging shots, and the lone Abyssal heavy cruiser doing the same. It didn't take long for the Abyssal light cruisers to open fire, and Detroit opened fire after them.
This was Evans' second ever surface action, and if anything, it was scarier than the first. Against that Kongo, sure, they'd been a lot more out massed, but that was a desperate battle against an enemy that was more or less distracted, first by Fletcher, then by St Louis. Here…
As Henley led the destroyers on a desperate charge, Evans distractedly reflected on the fact that there was a lot more incoming fire this time. Her guns opened up on the Abyssal destroyers, guided onto their targets by radar fire control. For once, Tally felt like she could actually hit the broadside of a barn with something bigger than a rifle!
In three volleys, Evans had bracketed her target. It was almost mechanical at this point, compared to the much faster paced, much more organic fighting of Sensha-do. She didn't have to do much more than select a target, because between her fire directors and gun crews, everything was taken care of for her. But despite its mechanical nature, the battle wasn't completely automated.
A salvo of 120mm shells soaring overhead reminded the destroyer of that fact. Shooting was only mechanical as long as she maintained a steady course. Wild maneuvers to dodge incoming fire or hard turns would completely ruin her firing solution and send her back to firing "from the hip."
The destroyer line pulled a hard turn to port, and Evans followed along naturally. In an instant, her guns went from systematically ripping the Abyssal destroyer to shreds to being unable to hit the broadside of a barn from the inside.
"Christ a'mighty, Evans!" Capps exclaimed. "Where'd you learn to shoot like that?"
"I didn't learn it from you, that's for certain!" the redhead retorted as she tried to narrow in her firing solution.
Evans lost track of the cruiser battle going on overhead as she focused entirely on the Abyssal destroyers in front of her. Five advanced American destroyers, versus ten pre-war British destroyers. While the 4.7" guns and torpedoes were certainly a threat, as were their numbers, it was incredibly one-sided in the favor of the Americans.
While the Abyssals went down or were crippled one after another by the expert gunnery of most of the shipgirl destroyers, they got their fair share of hammer blows in, too.
"Ah!" Henley cried out in pain. "Forward fireroom is out!"
"Dammit!" Fletcher swore, being the ship just behind Evans' twin. "Henley, break off. Evans, stick with her!"
"Yes ma'am!" the two redheads replied in a perfect unison. Evans pulled out of the destroyer line and towards her crippled sister. Thankfully, it seemed like both of them were still perfectly combat capable, even if Henley was moving at less than half of her maximum speed.
As Evans slowed down and moved to cover her twin, she took a moment to survey the battlefield… Only one Abyssal cruiser had survived and was burning merrily, while Detroit and Northampton had both disengaged, leaving Bremerton on her own. The Abyssal destroyers were all but gone, with three of them still in a desperate fight against the now even numbers of Fletcher, Capps, and Hadley.
Two more crippled but still-afloat Abyssal destroyers were limping their way over towards Evans and Henley, on a slow attack run.
"Henley, two destroyers! Bearing one-oh-five, eight-thousand yards!" Evans shouted out as soon as she spotted the Abyssals. Her twin reacted a moment later, and ten 5" guns rotated towards the incoming Abyssals and opened fire.
It should have been a slaughter. The Abyssals were already crippled, it wouldn't take much to get them to keel over and sink. And, to an extent, it was. Evans and Henley both took some hits, Evans lost Gun 53 again, while Henley lost her fire control to a very lucky hit, but the Abyssals did in fact roll over and sink without too much effort…
Never before had Evans been so grateful for Tally's aptitude as a scout. Otherwise, with that much smoke in the air from burning ships, and that much flotsam in the water, she'd never have seen the torpedo tracks until it was far too late.
That was a lot of torpedoes, and in such a wide spread that she and Henley would never make it out. "Shit, fish in the water!"
"How many?" Henley asked, limping along as best she could.
"Too many!" Evans replied. "We're not gonna get out in time!"
"You can! Go!"
Evans stared at her twin in shock. Was she…? She saw the serious look on Henley's face, and it really began to sink in. Henley was telling her to abandon her twin, just so that she could live…
"No!" Evans insisted. "I'm not leaving you behind!"
"You're a damn fool, sis!" the younger twin shouted, even as Evans began rigging a towline between the two of them. If they pushed it hard enough…
With Evans pulling her twin, and both of them dashing as fast as they could, they just might make it. Evans gave it her all. Every last little bit of power she had was dedicated to saving her sister.
They were going to make it!
A lookout called out a torpedo track that she had missed. Less than a kilometer, and closing fast. They didn't have the mobility to dodge it at this range. It was going to hit Henley.
Evans threw her engines into full reverse, nearly slamming into Henley with how violently she came to a halt. With barely seconds to spare, the redheaded speed freak threw herself in front of the torpedo that was going to kill her sister.
A geyser of water shot up around Evans.
She fell to the sea's surface.
As the world turned black, the last thing Tally remembered was her bow breaking off just in front of her bridge, and sinking rapidly.
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