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.
