"Wahhh! Yu-chan! We've been exposed!"
Sakawa was hiding underneath a table, with her knees brought up to her chest as the Flying Dutchman sailed on deep beneath the ocean, the bridge being partially illuminated by the internal lighting and the light emanating from the various LED panels which surrounded the four Abyssals on the bridge.
Yuubari was sitting on her throne-like seat while facing the large projector screen, which lit up the room for the most part, and Woxanne had a nonplussed look on her face as she stood beside the Abyssal Commander-in-Chief whilst speaking to the Secretary.
The last Abyssal in the room was a pale-skinned woman, who was as tall and well-endowed as a Nagato-Class battleship as she wore a black form-fitting nightgown which had thin straps securing the dress to her shoulders, while the hem of the dark dress ended above her thighs, barely covering her nether region and whatever she wore underneath.
She possessed long, silky black hair which reached down to her calves along with two small, black-tipped horns on her forehead, and she possessed a dark metal choker with an arrowhead extension pointing down towards her cleavage.
Being the Abyssal Battleship Princess, she had four winglike tattoos on the area of skin in between her collarbone and her breasts, and had eyes with blood-red pupils which stood in stark contrast to her dark hair and pale, beautiful face, and she wore steel bands on her wrists and thighs as fashion accessories and black steel high-heels.
She stood silently behind her superiors in order to wait for them to continue addressing the plans for the Battle of Sagami-nada Sea.
The four of them were listening to a report made by Woxanne, and upon learning that their code-names "Superstar" and "Brainiac" had been compromised, Sakawa clearly interpreted it as if she were embroiled in some great scandal.
"We can't show our faces in public anymore!"
To which Woxanne deadpanned, pointing out the flaws in her statement as she leaned down.
"But Sakawa-sama, you've never shown your face in public after your sinking and Abyssalization. And while they know who you are, it's unlikely that they know anything more than that since their intelligence gathering capabilities are beneath ours."
Sakawa sniffed as she looked up at Woxanne's stoic expression, rubbing away the tears which formed at the corner of her eyes as she asked meekly.
"Really?"
"Really really."
That was the best reassurance you could get from the normally-stoic and expressionless Abyssal carrier, and Woxanne looked back up at the large screen as the Battleship Princess coughed into her fist, asking a bemused Yuubari.
"Ma'am, the plans?"
Yuubari cocked her head while she supported her chin and cheek with her left arm on the arm rest as she scrolled through the plans on the touch-pad, her movements reflected on the large screen which was reflected on the drawn metal shutters as she remarked.
"Ahh, Dyson-chan, yes. Like what we've discussed so far, you're to lead an assault on the Kanto region, and the projected battlefield is to be the Sagami-nada Sea since it's what connects the Pacific Ocean to the Uraga Channel and both the Sagami and Tokyo Bay. Your objective in this battle is to inflict as many casualties as possible, and to do whatever you deem necessary in order to destroy their bases which protect the Tokyo Bay."
Nodding, Dyson walked forwards as her high heels clacked on the surface of the bridge and resounded throughout the room, reaching the steel shutters and touching the screen in order to point at the series of red lines which were drawn beforehand in order to highlight the position of the enemy's naval mines, inquiring.
"Well, we also have reports of naval mines being laid down in a large area in between Oshima Island and Southwest of Chiba prefecture. Not to say that we don't have the numbers in order to pull it off, far from it, but are we still going with a full-frontal assault? After all, the naval mines prevent us from submerging, and to sail above them is to enter no-man's land. We'd either have to either advance or retreat in order to safely submerge."
Yuubari considered the question as she listened to the tidbit of information which Sakawa let them in on, the Agano-Class cruiser highlighting the Shimoda and Shizuoka Naval Base on her own touch-pad and drawing an arrow leading from Shimoda towards Oshima Island as she commented.
"From what we've been able to decipher while listening in on their encrypted wireless communications, we were able to determine that the Shimoda and Shizuoka Naval Base are likely going to flank and attack us before retreating into Suruga Bay as an escape route. We're also pretty certain that for a large-scale battle like this, they'd get all the human support they can gather in order to increase their odds of winning. We estimate a 87.64% chance that the JSDF will sortie jet fighters, destroyers and submarines for this battle, and especially for us, the Flying Dutchman."
Lifting her left hand in order to gesture to the seated Abyssal secretary, Dyson lifted an eyebrow as she met Yuubari's glowing green gaze and wordlessly communicated her,
You see what I have to deal with?
Expression to her superiors.
Yuubari was silent as she sat on her throne, her cloak covering her figure and the darkness of the bridge preventing Dyson from seeing Yuubari's face despite the fact that her seat was illuminated by softly glowing neon blue wires and the two incandescent sapphire orbs which were at the end of both her arm rests.
Dyson was only able to make out Yuubari's glowing gaze lowering as she looked down at her touch-pad, a pale finger swiping on it as Dyson looked back at the projected screen while Yuubari highlighted a position on the ocean which was a fair distance from the Sagami-nada Sea and marking it out with a simple, hand drawn boat symbol, remarking coolly.
"I'll sortie the Flying Dutchman to provide cover fire, and should they retreat into the Sagami Bay or the Uraga Channel, we can still bombard them with our vertical-launch missile system, which is capable of launching Tomahawk missiles over long distances. As for the jet fighters, we can dock the Flying Dutchman at the next Abyssal port in order to arm ourselves to the teeth with Anti-Aircraft missiles in order to give the humans pilots a good workout. Sakawa-chan, what other weapons do we have which we can attach to the Dutchman?"
Sakawa looked down at her touch-pad and started searching through their inventory, and since she was the secretary, it wasn't long before she brought up a list of all available weapons which were developed as part of "Apocalypse", answering.
"Well, we have several RIM-67 Standard ER, RIM-66 Standard MR, RIM-7 Sea Sparrow and RIM-116 RAM missile launchers, and the last two missile launchers can also double as our defense against anti-ship missiles which the JSDF will no doubt fire at us. And to that end, I suggest arming this ship with more Phalanx or Goalkeeper CIWS turrets and perhaps even the experimental XN-1 LaWS in order to protect us, should our missiles fail to intercept and destroy any Anti-Ship missiles. And these weapons are, of course, developed as part of 'Apocalypse' in order to aid us in our land invasion in the future."
Bringing up several pictures of the JMSDF Kongou-Class, Atago-Class, Akizuki-Class and Murasame-Class destroyers, amongst others, Sakawa noted as she gestured to the screen.
"It would also be folly to ignore the JMSDF destroyers and submarines, so I suggest arming the Dutchman with several RGM-84 Harpoon and Type 90 Ship-to-Ship Missile Launchers, as well as carrying some RIM-174 ERAM Missiles in our vertical-launch system in order to crush those destroyers."
Bringing up the Souryuu-Class JMSDF attack submarines Unryuu, Souryuu and Hakuryuu, Sakawa continued.
"Carrying several Anti-Submarine RUM-139 VL-ASROC missiles which can be loaded into our vertical-launch missile system and arming the deck with several Anti-Submarine RUR-5 ASROC Missile Launchers in order to crush any submarines which stray too close would also be a good idea. Wouldn't want a repeat case of Kongou the battleship, who was sunk by USS Sealion. So which one of these weapons do you wish to prepare at the next dock in order to immediately begin refitting when we arrive?"
Everyone could almost hear the smirk in Yuubari's voice as she dryly replied.
"All of them."
Everyone turned to her as she noted, her face partially shrouded in darkness as she explained herself.
"There's no more need for us to hide our capabilities. We're taking the fight to them, and in order to do that, we need to play every hand we have in order to combat both the ship girls and the humans in their own comfort zone, and show them how screwed they are ever since they allowed us to finish developing 'Apocalypse'. Sakawa, how many more Abyssals can we ferry without slowing down to a pace where even a swimming turtle can overtake us?"
Sakawa calculated the space available on the Dutchman and the aviation battleship's maximum capacity before answering.
"Probably about a hundred more in order to boost our crew count, which is around 1800 strong. But why?"
Dyson theorized as she looked at the silhouettes of the Yuubari-Class and Agano-Class light cruisers, politely drawing their attention as she spoke up.
"Well, if I'm not wrong, these Abyssals are probably the reinforcements you would bring to the battlefield, am I right? After all, another function of the Flying Dutchman is to ferry Abyssals in order to allow them to storm the battlefield and boost our numbers, yes?"
Yuubari nodded before looking back down at the touch-pad, highlighting the plan which they were to follow.
"We'll surface a fair distance away from the naval mine formation, and as we approach, we'll have our Princesses and the Dutchman soften the ship girls up with an opening salvo of cannon-fire, bomber planes and missiles. They'll likely retreat and you'll advance, and the entirety of the JSDF will come down on the Dutchman by this point in time with their destroyers, submarines and jet fighters. I'll have the Dutchman draw their fire with our missiles and cannons in order to make things easier for your invasion force."
Yuubari's glowing eyes shifting to look at Woxanne, who was standing at attention beside her as she ordered her Abyssal spokesperson to notify the next Abyssal base to get their weapons ready.
"Woxanne, use the high-speed underwater jet ski in order to sail to Abyssal Base #102F3G-Delta in order to get all the weapons we've discussed here ready to be fitted onto the Dutchman. This order is priority 'Alpha', so you're free to expend any amount of resources you deem necessary in order to make this possible before we arrive…"
Woxanne finished the sentence for her as Yuubari trailed off mid-sentence, answering monotonously.
"A week from now, Ma'am."
Nodding, Yuubari gestured with her hand as she got the Wo-Class carrier to leave the room, answering thankfully.
*Yes, thanks. Now get going, we have a busy schedule ahead of us."
Woxanne bowed reverently with closed eyes as she retreated from the room, Yuubari continuing her explanation of the plan to a patient Dyson and a sitting Sakawa.
"We'll play all the cards we have in order to pile on the pressure. We'll arm our railgun attachments to be fired at the JMSDF destroyers, and let's activate our arsenal of Abyssal-customized and upgraded F-35 C Lightning ll, F/A-18 E Super Hornet and Shenyang J-15 jet fighters to be launched from the flight decks of the Flying Dutchman when the time comes. They won't even know what hit them."
Dyson lifted an eyebrow as she noted how her superiors were pushing so hard to win this battle, remarking bemusedly.
"Well, are we going in loud? To even go so far as to send out your aviation battleship-based, modified jet planes in order to tussle with the JASDF even before 'Apocalypse' has truly begun…"
Yuubari shrugged as she highlighted the predicted flight path of the incoming JASDF fighter aircraft and explained herself.
"If we're to strike at the Combined Fleet, which likely consists of six or more naval bases uniting their ship girls in order to oppose us, we have to crush them all with everything we've got. We'll distract the humans and provide cover fire whenever possible, but the priority for this sortie is to deal maximum damage to them while in their Safety Zone. And when the battle is in full swing, I delegate all the decision-making responsibilities to you, Dyson, as the flagship."
Yuubari then requested of Sakawa,
"Tap into the human communications and send out reconnaissance submarines to spy on them, and determine exactly how many JMSDF destroyers and submarines they're sending out to greet us. Do your best to map out their patrol routes, and we'll position ourselves strategically before the shelling phase. Should they retreat, we'll advance, but note that Admiral Haru, who's in charge of this large-scale battle, will likely have several curve-balls thrown our way, so be sure to keep your radio on at all times, Dyson-chan."
Dyson lowered her eyes as she nodded respectfully, while Sakawa cheerily replied.
"You got it, Pyon!"
And as Dyson lifted her gaze to look at her superior, she asked one last question about what they should do if they were to come across any injured enemy ship girls, and how they should treat them.
"Yuubari-sama. How are we to treat the ship girls or humans whom we capture?"
A slight chuckle was all she got in return, and Dyson could almost feel the Abyssal Commander-in-Chief smiling maniacally as she responded with a fair bit of mirth in her tone, responding to her question with a chilling answer.
"Capture? Oh no, Dyson-chan. Like I told you, we're to deal maximum damage to them in this battle. To that end, we're going to sortie ten Princesses. We will give no quarter in this battle. Everyone will die."