1 Chapter 0: Prologue
-Maizuru Naval District-
A loud crack nearly made me jumped in my chair, pen flying out of my hand. Sounds of water pounding against any surface it could find followed, as if it were trying to break in. A late night storm, and a rather fierce one.
I reached down to pick up my pen and continued my report. After that large-scale operation, which ended in a failure, the amount of resources, especially steel and bauxite, we have are in the red. Not to mention the amount of buckets left is close to none. We suffered way too much casualties back then and this was the result of continuously using the buckets on my damaged ships. For now, the plan is to focus on resource acquisition, improving our equipment and getting stronger. Well it's not me who is getting stronger, it's them. A puny human like me ain't gonna do jack against those things. My job is to become smarter so as to plan out our strategies for every potential scenario. I'm also in charge of managing their training schedules, sorties, and expeditions. Not something I would have thought I would be doing back when I joined the force. While, I was immature back then.
The pattering of the rain gives of a tranquil atmosphere in my brightly lit office,
"The sound of rain is somewhat relaxing. With this much rain, the destroyers will start frolicking around, especially the Shiratsuyu sisters."
I can't help but chuckle to myself. 3 years ago, you won't see this sort of behavior in them.
"The others are still asleep. Admiral, shouldn't you get some rest too?" (Shigure)
A rather monotonous, yet somewhat concerned voice responded to my monologue. I looked up from my papers to see a pair of blue eyes underneath unkempt black hair. Standing in the middle of the office, in her pajamas, was the second ship in the Shiratsuyu Class.
"Shigure? Why are you not asleep yet?"
"I-I could say the same to you. It's already 0220. Why are you still awake?" (Shigure)
Before I could respond , another loud crack echoed across the room, followed by a shriek. Shigure rushed around my desk and hugged my waist tightly. She was trembling like a leaf. I should have known. The sound of thunder scared her awake.
I place my hand on her soft hair,
"There there. There is nothing to be afraid of."
I begin stroking her hair, trying to calm her down. Muffled sniffing sounds can be heard and my waist is starting to feel a little wet.
Sobbing? Must be one of her usual nightmares again.
Using my other hand to pat her back, I continued my attempt to calm her down.
"Shhh~ It's alright. It's alright. We are still here. No one has disappeared. Shhhh~ Good girl, good girl. Come on, let's move to someplace more comfortable alright?"
I don't want to carry all the way back to her room while she is in this state. Her sister, Yuudachi will definitely freak out. So I decided to carry her over to my sofa and continue soothing her. Shigure didn't want to let go so I had to carry her in an awkward position. I grabbed the blanket I usually have on the sofa and I wrapped her body with it. Naturally, she brought it up to cover her face. I continue to soothe her until I can neither hear her sobbing nor feel any signs of movement. It took a while, but at least she has calmed down and fallen asleep. This sort of situations are pretty normal in this Naval District. Since the Destroyer dorm wing is close to my office and my room, some of them tend to seek my company especially when they have nightmares about their past. One prime example is this girl on my lap. Even though she is part of the main fleet, she has these "attacks" from time to time. Since I'm stuck like this for the time being, mind as well get some shut eye. I close my eyes and let the darkness consume my conscious.
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"Commander. Commander wake up. Geez, how long are you going to sleep? Wake up already!" (???)
A combination of a certain shipgirl's loud child-like voice and shaking rouse me from my slumber. I open my eyes to see what resembles a grey puppy's head.
"Morning Tokitsukaze."
I let a yawn and pat this girl's head. Tokitsukaze smiles gleefully and nuzzles me. The tenth ship of the Kagerou class, Tokitsukaze is one of the nosier and overactive girls in the naval district. Her small size and behavior totally resembles a puppy's. In fact, she is not the only shipgirl that resembles and acts like a small dog. Shigure and Yuudachi act the same sometimes, especially Yuudachi.
"Why are you here? You don't have secretarial duty this week."
"Ahh~ Zuihou told me to wake you up first while she prepares breakfast. So I did." (Tokitsukaze)
Zuihou? Oh, she is finally out of the docks. That means all of them have fully recovered.
"Tokitsukaze."
"Hmm?" (Tokitsukaze)
"Gather the entire fleet in the cafeteria by 0800. I have instructions for you all."
"Ohhh! Another operation?" (Tokitsukaze)
"Not anytime soon. Just training and expedition plans."
"Got it! I'll go gather everyone! " (Tokitsukaze)
Tokitsukaze ran out of my office as she said that. With one little doggy gone, I look down to check if the other one is still sleeping on my lap. Nope, she is gone, probably went back to her room to change. Speaking of which, I guess I should go change too.
As I reach the door leading to the hallway, a knock resounded from it, before opening slowly.
"Easy does it. Wahh! Admiral, you scared me!" (???)
A girl in a white kimono top and red pleated pants yelped with surprise as I almost knocked her over. Her brown hair is tied up into a ponytail with a red-striped white hachimaki. Her small statue makes one think that she belongs to the Destroyer class, which consists of girls resembling grade schoolers to high schoolers. This girl resembles the former. On the contrary, she is a light aircraft carrier. The second ship of the Shouhou class Light Aircraft Carriers, Zuihou. Along with Shigure, she is part of the main fleet and my secretarial ship for most of the time.
"Good morning, Zuihou."
Good morning, Admiral! I made breakfast for youđ”" (Zuihou)
"Ahh thanks. I'll go change first."
"No~ It's been a long time since we had breakfast together. I want to eat together with you, can I?" (Zuihou)
With a mixture of puppy eyes and that the way she asked me, no way I could say no to this adorable creature.
"Well, I guess I have some time before I start work. Alright, let's eat together."
"Yay!" (Zuihou)
With a cry of glee, Zuihou went ahead to set up the dishes on the coffee table. I looked at her happily doing her thing, thinking about how the way these girls would have lived their everyday lives without all the fighting.
With the ongoing war against the abyssal fleet, fighting is of course inevitable. However, what happens if the war ends? What will happened to these girls? Will they be able to live an ordinary live even after losing their purpose? These questions I ask myself from time to time give me a tinge of sadness and confusion but...
"Admiral, hurry up! Let's eat!" (Zuihou)
We will cross that bridge on it comes.
"Alright alright. I'm coming."
Designated by the codename 'Kanmus/Shipgirls, these girls are humanity's last defense and only weapons against the damn creatures of the depth known as Abyssals. Named after warships from that Great War and outfitted with weapons from their namesake ship, the shipgirls are said to appear shortly after the first Abyssal Fleet surfaced. The Abyssal fleet are grotesque beasts, with the high ranking ones taking on a more human-like appearance. They are a cancer, multiplying, destroying every ship they come across, and laying waste to cities and countries. Even the USA who supposedly has the best weapons in the world couldn't lay as much as a scratch on a Destoryer I-class, the lowest ranking and weakest Abyssal ship, with the nuclear warheads they are so proud of. The incident known as 'Liberty Down' saw the destruction of New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and several other states in the Eastern corner of the continent and the death of millions.
It was after this event that the Shipgirls started appearing and gathering in Japan. Enlisting and weaponizing them, these young girls became our only hope in ever taking back the seas and bring peace back to the world. The IJN, a name with an extremely bad rep, was established to manage these girls. Their treatment back then was regretfully not a humane one. Thankfully, that's not the case anymore. I will make sure the girls under my care no longer need to suffer like that.
