Summoning Tenryuu hadn't taken long, but night had already fallen.
Night heavily blunts carrier aviation—shipgirls find it far harder to control multiple squadrons—so after taking a major beating with no results, the Abyssal air groups pulled back.
They left a few planes to watch the waters. Everyone else in the district gathered in the mess.
Even with a million Abyssal carrier planes having just hit them, chef Yat Sen still turned out a full table of color, aroma, and taste—enough to make Hikaru, who hadn't eaten properly all day, practically see green.
As the admiral, he was the center of the room; Changchun and Helena hustled him into the seat of honor, while Lexington, Saratoga, and Yat Sen piled his plate high.
Hikaru had opened with welcome remarks for the seven newcomers, but now the room was mostly chatter and food.
Tenryuu sat with her J-Faction companion Taiho, tipped her chin toward the white-haired woman across the way who was devouring food and puffing smoke, and asked, "Who's that? She looks familiar."
"You don't know her? Ah—that's right, you never met," Taiho said around a stuffed dorayaki. "That's Yamato—the workhorse. But this one's the head of the Shipgirl Headquarters. Hands off."
Though Tenryuu had been in the inner district, she'd kept up on Hikaru's situation; she knew of Yamato. She'd just never seen this tireless "dock-block" Yamato in person—otherwise the white hair would've given it away at a glance.
She was one of the rare district veterans who'd never earned a medal—medals had to come from combat merit in Abyssal operations.
Strictly speaking, Taiho's bluntness was a little cutting, but Tenryuu wasn't thin-skinned; knowing Taiho's personality, she let it slide.
Tenryuu pointed next at the redhead showing off her golden missile, laughing loud enough to lift the ceiling. "And her?"
"Alaska. Beside her are Saint George, Deutschland, and Blücher. They're the Summit Nation's envoys, here to cozy up to the Commander."
Finally Tenryuu glanced at the big girl with braided pigtails hanging off Hikaru's neck and laughing with zero restraint. "And that ill-mannered one is the new build—California, right?"
"Right. She's actually fun—especially how she never learns. From what Glowworm told me, California's been 'corrected' several times and just won't change."
Glowworm had been the first to return to Hikaru's side; everyone went to her for what was happening around the Commander, and Taiho was no exception.
Having gotten her answers, Tenryuu lifted her glass toward Prince of Wales for a distant toast, sipped the blood-red wine, and let a thin smile curl her lips.
"Seems I've arrived as discipline officer just in time."
Later, when Hikaru was sound asleep with Lexington in his arms, a knock thudded at the door.
Lexington's eyes snapped open. She gently freed herself from his embrace, padded barefoot to the door, and cracked it.
Saratoga immediately tried to squeeze inside.
"He's still sleeping," Lexington whispered. "He's been at it all day. Don't wake him."
Saratoga pouted—brother-in-law indeed; more like brother-in-law to her. She peered through the slit at Hikaru snoring on the bed and said, serious and low, "Abyssal submarines incoming—initial estimate over five hundred—launching a mass torpedo attack on the district."
Lexington frowned. "How are Helena and the others handling it?"
"Only on the defensive," Saratoga admitted. "At least fifty separate packs, firing torpedoes from over a hundred nautical miles. We're barely keeping up with intercepting the fish, let alone chasing them down—cover one side and you leave a gap on the other."
"Looks like they want a war of attrition." Lexington was already changing. "I'm going over. Get Tirpitz to guard the Commander—Bismarck will do as well."
Carriers can antisub, of course—this afternoon the carrier girls had bombed the three hundred subs stalking Saint George and the others belly-up.
Compared to the guided, surgical ASW of light cruisers and destroyers, carriers "plow the sea" with blast power. Wasteful? Sure. But when the ASW pressure spikes, finesse can wait.
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 30+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]