Repulse was the careful one. "And if that hat doesn't work the way you think? It's still just our best guess."
Hikaru was blunt. "Then we play it by ear. Worst case, we abandon the base and run."
He added, matter-of-fact, "At least if we choose to run, we can get away."
No one wanted to run. This was their home port.
Bismarck glanced at Missouri beside her. "In that case, the plan needs a tweak. Missouri must stay to guard the base—and you."
Missouri's greatest value was that Hikaru could swap her out the instant she hit Heavy or Critical damage, pulling in a ready ship from the inner base. One swap was practically half an Elite Damage Control. But if Missouri sprinted a hundred nautical miles north to assassinate the Airfield Princess, Hikaru couldn't monitor her state in real time; timely swaps would be impossible.
Hikaru had already thought this through. He tapped the dozing Tirpitz. "She'll go with you to kill the Airfield Princess. Question is—do you bring U-47?"
Three battleships with one destroyer was a lean spearhead. Adding U-47 meant one more chance to finish the job. And honestly, even if they doubled the headcount, punching a ten-ship team through five million Abyssals to behead an air command at the army's core was the stuff of myth.
Bismarck shook her head. "U-47 is too slow. After last time, they'll be watching for her."
"Then you'll be under even more pressure."
"We were born for pressure," Bismarck said, snapping a salute. "I'll bring you back victory. First I need to sync with Lexington and Z17, get the coordination set."
Repulse exhaled. "So this battle hinges on two 'small' girls: Vestal for the defense, Z17 for the strike. Never would've guessed. Commander, you really trust them."
Hikaru shrugged. "I can place my life in any of your hands."
From a corner, Moskva muttered something that sounded like she'd rather hand over her life than a ring. Hikaru pretended not to hear.
Missouri, Prince of Wales, Vestal and the others immediately crowded together, hashing out timing and positions down to who would stand where on the opening exchange—real war is never "swing and see;" the more you grind the details, the fewer mistakes you make.
From the couch came a squawk: "I get what Quick Repair is, but what the heck is an Elite Damage Control Fairy?" Yamato complained. "Hey, I'm on the line tomorrow too! If I die, at least let me die informed!"
They'd been dropping "Elite Damage Control" all conversation, and it had Yamato's curiosity burning. Whatever it was, it sounded way nastier than a mere Quick Repair.
Prince of Wales found a spare second to dart her a chilly look. "You'll find out."
Yamato choked on that. Alaska sidled up, rubbing her hands. "Heh heh… so what is Quick Repair?"
Behind them, on the sofa by St. George, two G-Faction girls kept their voices low.
Clutching her ship-cleaving blade, Blücher eyed the radiant Vestal and felt a jab of envy. "So nice… jumped straight to level 100. Why doesn't stuff like that happen to me?"
Deutschland hunched a little, uneasy in the command room. "She's got a good Commander. That's what you get when you have one of those… right?"
They were both free-born drifters who'd never known what a Commander truly meant.
Still… seeing the quiet happiness that naturally warmed Bismarck and Tirpitz whenever they looked at Hikaru—yeah, they felt a tiny, unwilling twinge of envy.
Next morning, 0800 sharp.
Under a storm thick enough to blot the sky, two sluggish N-class Abyssal flagships rode in on dragon-prowed gear, gliding into the core of the Abyssal horde.
The flagships came out to meet them.
Lady M spoke first. "How's the situation up north?"
That jade-green lion last night had rattled everyone; they were desperate for news from the First Island Chain.
"We don't know either," one N-class yawned, waving a hand. "You're fretting too much. There's a Type-II flagship sitting there."
With that said, it was hard to press.
The other N-class cocked her head at the storm—at the fact there were more Abyssals than raindrops. She frowned. "How big a force did you pile up here? This sea's getting sucked blue."
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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