Chapter 5: A New Threat

Today, HQ has issued an order for us to search and destroy an Abyssal Princess who had made the Northern Area her home. Another oddity. If it was a Northern Princess, it would have made sense but the enemy this time was Southern War Princess. What the hell? The ships on this mission will be flagship Yahagi, Destroyers Murasame and Arashio, Carriers Hiryuu and Souryuu, and Aviation Battleship Fusou

"All ships are to remain in contact with command and with each other at all times. Retreat as soon as one of you is heavily damaged. If retreat is impossible, take cover and wait for the escort fleet. That's all. Any questions?" (Zuihou)

"No!" (All)

"Good. I will be providing instructions on the fly. Once you spot something, notify me and everyone else immediately in case I miss it. The target is a Princess class so keep our wits about you."

Another oddity. This is the third time this month.

Last week, a Battleship Re-class with entourage of Light Cruiser To-class and Destroyer Ha-class was spotted near one of our Expedition Resource nodes. A Subjugation fleet, consisting of Noshiro, Yamashiro, Hiyruu, Souryuu, Murasame and Kagerou, was sortied to get rid of them. According to them, the enemy fleet was already injured severely and didn't put up much of a fight. Lucky, but weird.

Two days ago, we encountered a lone, injured Wo-class occupying our Coastal Refinery Zones. It's wounds were not done by one of our own. It had holes in its non-vital parts and it was missing an arm. Abyssals bleed, but this one wasn't. It was as if its wounds had been cauterized. But by what? I got Shiratsyu and Tenryuu, who discovered and reported it, put the damn thing out of its misery.

I watched on the monitor as Yahagi's fleet entered the mission zone. Ooyodo is manning the comms, helping me fine-tune the connection between us and them. She also decrypts any communication sent via the encrypted channels.

"This is Yahagi, do you copy?" (Yahagi)

"We read you five by five. Visuals are clear as well. Take extreme precaution while advancing. Who knows what could pop up."

"It's cold here." (Murasame)

"We are in the north. It can't be helped." (Hiryuu)

The fleet moved at 3 battle speed and watched their surroundings. It was quiet.

"It's too quiet. The Abyssals should have popped out by now." (Souryuu)

"Maybe they moved elsewhere?" (Zuihou)

"Possibly but I don't think that's the case. Once a Princess occupies an area, they won't simply get up and leave. Especially when it's barely a day since they were spotted. Something big must happen in order to force them to move. Souryuu, Hiryuu, launch three squadrons of scouts and fan them out. Cover all immediate bases."

"Roger!" (Hiryuu and Souryuu)

The two dragons drew their bows and let fly their arrows. The arrows burst into flames, transmuting into 3 Saiuns. They repeated the same motion two more times. The Saiuns spread out, doing what they do best and searched the area for our enemy.

"Nothing within range for me. Hiryuu?" (Souryuu)

"Same. I got- Wait. Found them! 3 kilometers in the north-east. And what is that?" (Hiryuu)

"What else do you see?" (Ooyodo)

"Some black ship. It's huge! It's being torn apart by the Abyssals. What is it doing in Abyssal infested waters?" (Hiryuu)

"Is it civilian or military?"

"Looks like military. It's fighting back with... lasers? Is there such a thing now?" (Hiryuu)

The only countries I can think of that can create this type of technology are Russia and America. But the Russians have isolated themselves from the rest of the world and switched to more passive tactics. The Americans are more aggressive. Have the Americans developed a new type of weapon against the Abyssals? But that is something straight out of science fiction. Whatever the case,

"We need to go in and help them! What is the enemy composition?"

"Apart from the princess, 2 Battleship Ru-class, Heavy Cruiser Ri-class and 2 Destroyer Ha-class." (Hiryuu)

That's it? Pretty weak for a Princess escort.

"That's not normal..." (Zuihou)

"Yeah. The strong ones might be hiding nearby." (Yahagi)

"Hiryuu?"

"I have nothing else on visual. No other Abyssal ships in the immediate vicinity." (Hiryuu)

Ah, jeez! I don't feel safe rushing in like that but I have a moral obligation to keep,

"Line ahead formation! Eliminate the Abyssals! Defend the black ship and ensure the safety of its crew!"

"Roger!" (All)

The fleet increased to max battle speed and charged forward. Hiryuu and Souryuu slowed down for a bit to let their planes land, but they caught up with the rest of the fleet shortly after.

Once the enemy is within bombing range, Hiryuu and Souryuu sent on their bombers.

"Should we play a game? The one that deals the most damage gets treated to Mamiya's." (Hiryuu)

"That's boring. Loser buys a set of new clothes for the winner." (Souryuu)

"I will make you regret saying that. Second Carrier Division attack forces, commence launch!" (Hiryuu)

The planes caught the Abyssals by surprise and made short work of the 2 Ru-class and 2 Ha-class. Yahagi and the 2 Destroyers dealt with the Ri-class while Fusou focused on the Princess. She missed her shots.

"Tch. How unfortunate. Reloading!" (Fusou)

"It's okay! We are still in the game!" (Yahagi)

"I won't... be defeated... again" (Southern War Princess)

"Ufufu~ How pitiable." (Arashio)

Arashio and Murasame launched a slavo of torpedoes at the enraged Southern War Princess. It screamed as the torpedoes made contact and exploded. The bombers dropped their load onto the Abyssal, enveloping it in a large fireball. Fusou readjusted her aim and fired a salvo of shells.

"Will I... Will I... be resurrected again... someday..." (Southern War Princess)

Once the smoke dissipated, the Abyssal was nowhere to be found. A lock of white hair floated on the surface before sinking shortly. It was the only evidence that the enemy had been defeated.

"Enemy fleet eliminated!" (Ooyodo)

"Good work. Now, check on the vessel."

"It's huge." (Murasame)

The black ship was heavily damaged. There were small fires scattered about the ship. It's hull was covered on holes. One of its guns was blown. Black smoke emitted from it's back. It must be tough to withstand such punishment.

"<Hello? Wi... are... furiandoly...>" (Hiryuu)

"Hahaha! What was that? That was horrible." (Arashio)

"Shut up! You can't speak English either!" (Hiryuu)

One of the guns from the vessel turned and aimed down at Hiryuu. Oi!

"Hiryuu, get out of the way now!"

"Huh?" (Hiryuu)

A red light emits from the gun barrel, as if charging up a shot. Murasame and Arashio tackled the Carrier out of the way, right before it fired. What are they doing?! The ship continued firing its guns at my girls. Are the crew insane? If one of them gets hit, it will turn into an international diplomatic issue.

"Hold out for a a bit! Keep evading. Connect me to the open channel and put me on speaker!"

"Done. You are free to engage." (Ooyodo)

"Yahagi!"

Yahagi took out a megaphone from the compartment under her riggings,

"Connection is stable. Volume is at the max." (Yahagi)

I hope I can still remember my English lessons.

"<This is the Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy! Cease your needless attack once and for all. Otherwise we will be authorized to use deadly force! You have 5 seconds to stop and respond!>"

The black ship continued its attack even after 5 seconds, with no sign of stopping. There is no response either. Fine, you asked for it!

"All units, disable its main guns and cripple it! I will take full responsibility for any issues."

"Roger!"

The six girls circled around the ship, dodging the lasers while firing at its weapons and destroying the rudder. Within minutes, the ship was disarmed and crippled.

"Any torpedo launchers?"

"I don't see any." (Yahagi)

"Okay. Remain on high alert. Put me on speaker once again. <You are completely surrounded. May the captain and the entire crew step out onto the main deck with your hands in the air!>"

As soon as I finish, the red lines along the ships hill and bow begin flashing rapidly. Small explosions from the hull scattered pieces of metal all over the place. The small explosions became bigger.

"Uh..." (Arashio)

"Get out of there now!"

The six girls retreated to a safe distance, right before the ship exploded and disappeared under the surface. Ah crap. This is definitely going to be a diplomatic issue.

"A delayed chain reaction?" (Zuihou)

"None of you shot the magazine or the boiler, right?"

"We don't even know where the boiler is. We only shot at the barrel and the mount. There is no way a delayed ignition could occur in the ship's magazine." (Yahagi)

"What do we do now? We have killed people." (Murasame)

"Calm down. We don't know if it's manned or not. Return back to base. Don't worry. I will handle the issue. We have video proof that they attacked first."

And there is no way the international committee and all those involved is unaware of the existence of Shipgirls by now, especially when there are American Shipgirls like Saratoga and Gambier Bay stationed in Brunei Anchorage.

"Come back home. Don't worry too much about today's events. None of you are to be blamed."

"But... We are supposed to protect humanity, not kill them." (Murasame)

Even the usually cheerful Murasame is heavily affected. Anyone would be in this situation.

"I was the one who gave the order. I will take full responsibility for the crews deaths. Besides, it was self defense. They attacked first despite our warnings. They should know the consequences of an unprovoked attack. Come home. Don't worry about it."

"Understood. Returning to base." (Yahagi)

"Admiral out."

I shut off the comms and the monitor. Goddamn it!

"Admiral..." (Zuihou)

I pet the worried girls head,

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine. I will protect all of you."

"That's not-" (Zuihou)

"Ooyodo, send the recording to HQ and inform them a full report will be submitted soon. Send me the recording too."

"You think it will be fine?" (Ooyodo)

"If everything goes well, the worst that could happen is Court Martial for me. But like I said, they attacked first. It was self-defense. The explosions were an accident. As long as I'm careful with my words and clear in my reports, I should be able to minimize the punishment."

The only problem will be the sailors on that vessel. I would be lying if I say I'm not affected by theri deaths. Even though I was directly involved, I still technically ordered their deaths. I guess killing others is part and parcel of this job. I wonder how those poor souls must have felt. My chest hurts...

"I will be in my office doing up the report."

"I will help." (Zuihou)

"Thanks but I want you to stay with the others. They need the help more than I do."

Also, I need some time alone.

I went back to my office to write an incident report. The format is simple. Describe what happened, what actions I took, the reason behind it, followed by supporting arguments how I believe it was the correct action to take. Writing under the weight of the guilt is the hard part.

I spent the whole day writing and reviewing the footage, trying to find anything that could help ease the situation. My main goal is to make sure my girls don't get incarcerated for this incident. They have suffered enough, they don't need to go through all this. Of course, I will find a way to get myself out of this mess but my girls take priority. Zuihou and Ooyodo came in a few times to serve me tea and accompany me for a while but I dismissed them once the clock hit 10.

"I think this should be enough. All the information is in here. It matches the recording as well. Alright."

I put the pen back on its stand and arranged the report. I could do this on a laptop but the one I had broke after Samidare spilled tea on it. I have yet to buy a new one.

My pen started shining brightly. What the hell? Is this some kind of special magical pen? Yeah, right.

Wait a minute. I turned around to see a bright blue light shining into my face. It came from the ocean. It quickly disappeared after lighting up the whole damn sky. I stood at the window for a while, observing whether there were any further developments.

Nothing.

Was that from a star shell? Nope, it can't be. A star shell will stay in the sky for a while. Maybe someone accidentally turned on their searchlight. If so, who does it belong to? A civilian boat? Or a Shipgirl? Somehow, I've got a bad feeling about this...