85 Chapter 83: Encounter
"Shioi, report."
"Submarine fleet reporting. We are now at point D. Standing by under the surface." (Shioi)
Shioi and the others remain underwater and held their current position.
"Any movement or pinging sonars?"
"None." (Shioi)
Good. Everything is going just as planned.
"Akiyama?"
"First wave fighters are en route. ETA five minutes. Start the battle in two and draw them in." (Admiral Akiyama)
"You girls heard that?"
"Yep!" (Imuya)
"Loud and clear dechi!" (Goya)
"Dechi dechi!" (Ro)
"Ro-chan!" (Goya)
"I'm starting the countdown. On my mark."
We are halfway through the operation. The girls that were chosen for the next phase have moved to the Forward Base in Rabaul. That means Zuihou will be away from me until the operation has been completed. With Ooyodo joining the fight, Miyuki is my comms operator for today. After the transport phase and the sinking of the Southern War Princess, it was my submarine girls turn to shine. Though, their role is to lure and distract the enemy aircraft for ours to shoot down. Though they have limited aircraft capacity, it is still enough to incite a response from the enemy.
"One minute. Surface and get ready."
The submarine girls surfaced. Shioi's hanger opened up and a catapult extended into position. A Seiran moved onto the catapult and unfolded itself. A Type 2 Seaplane Fighter Ka peeked out from Hachi's book while Iku and Goya got ready to throw theirs. The propellers of the seaplanes roared to life, ready to take flight.
"10 more seconds... 3... 2... 1... Commence the mission!"
"Alright~! Gooo~!" (Shioi)
"I have no choice...!" (Hachi)
"I'm counting on you." (Goya)
"After I defeat them, I want a reward, Admiral." (Iku)
"If you can defeat them."
The seaplanes took to the air and fanned out. Red marks immediately appeared on my radar. Looks like they took the bait.
"Enemy aircraft detected!" (Goya)
"Call your aircraft back! Wait for them to get close before diving."
"Over here! Bleehh~" (Ro-chan)
"Woah! There is so many of them." (Imuya)
The seaplanes narrowly escaped being shot down by their pursuers as they retreated back to their owners. Iku and Goya caught their seaplanes while Hachi closed her book on hers. Shioi's Seiran landed on the water, letting its owner pick it up and place it back on her catapult.
"Akiyama!"
"I know! I can see them on my radar. Bring your girls underwater. My planes are reaching" (Akiyama)
"Crash dive! Now!"
The six of them dove underwater just as the Abyssal Dive Bombers swooped in to begin their bombing run. The bombs dropped into the sea and the sound of explosions accompanied by towering pillars of water followed instantly.
"Ahahaha~ Too bad~" (Iku)
There is no change in the vitals. Good.
"Next time, dive a little earlier, would you? Nearly gave me a heart attack."
"Come on. You worry too much, Admiral. Those kind of bombs won't take us out that easily dechi." (Goya)
The bombers flew circled around their position, waiting for a chance to attack my submarine girls. I watch on the monitor as our allied planes slowly came into view and rained bullets on the enemy planes. With our surprise attack, the Abyssal aircraft were all destroyed in mere minutes.
"Air superiority achieved. Perfect defence for point D obtained." (Akiyama)
"That took a longer than expected. We should adjust the timing of when Shioi and rest begin the luring them and when our planes should go in."
"I have to agree with you on that. I will make adjustments so the fighters can reach the designated points within a minute after your submarine girls lured them in." (Akiyama)
"Admiral, should we continue?" (Shioi)
"Yes. Move to the next point and do the same thing."
"Understood!" (All)
"It's just going to be same for the other 5 points, isn't it?" (Hachi)
"It's a little boring." (Ro-chan)
"I know it's just luring the Abyssal Aircrafts into range but you girls are acting as bait. It's still risky role."
"Like I said, you worry too much, Admiral. We are submarines. Taking risks and being sneaky is what we do." (Shioi)
The girls continued their mission and our fighters to take care of the enemy birds that thought my girls were going to be easy pickings. So far, so good. At this rate, we might finish this mission by the end of the day.
"Ah. Something is coming." (Shioi)
"An enemy?"
"Not sure. Sonar detected one surface entity just ahead of us." (Shioi)
"Get a visual confirmation. If it's an Abyssal or Siren, we make a decision whether to destroy it or go around it. If it's a ordinary vessel, Akiyama will inform the Solomon Island government to send the coast guards for a Search-and-rescue operation."
"Why me?!" (Akiyama)
Shioi and Ro-chan peeked out of the water.
"Is that...? (Shioi)
"It's smaller than usual." (Ro-chan)
On the monitor, in the direction the two girls are looking, there is a humanoid figure just standing there.
A Wo-class.
But it looks different. The usual Wo-class Carriers are tall, noble-looking, and menacing. This one is shorter and looks confused. Is this the weird Wo-class Ao was talking about the other day?
"Akiyama, are you seeing this?"
"Yeah. Azur Lane reported to us about an abnormal Wo-class the other day. We just haven't launch an official enquiry into it." (Akiyama)
"Well, we are still in the midst of an operation. Let's circle around it for now. If it's still in the area, we can get another fleet to take care of it."
"Ro-chan and Imuya-chan can take it out with our torpedoes." (Ro-chan)
"Yeah. Let us have something to do." (Imuya)
Hmmmm...
"Got it. Let's take it out."
"Yay!" (Ro-chan)
"You sure about this?" (Akiyama)
"It's just one oddly small standard Wo-class. It only has minimal AS capabilities. If it were one of the flagship variants, I will be worried. Besides, we are also nipping a potential threat in the bud. You never know if that thing will grow into something even more dangerous. Moreover, it may attack our fighters if we leave it alone like this."
The Wo-class turned to look toward Shioi's direction.
"Oh crap. It spotted us!" (Shioi)
"Dive. Ro-chan, Imuya, ready your torpedoes. Launch them when it gets close."
"Load tubes 1 through 4." (Imuya)
The two submarines prepared to launch their torpedoes as the Wo-class moved towards their current position.
"Huh?" (Shioi)
"What's wrong?"
"You hear it too?" (Hachi)
"What's going on? What are you girls hearing?"
"I'm picking up a transmission. Sending it over." (Shioi)
"...io... ...t... ...ou... ...e... ...om..." (???)
"What is this?" (Miyuki)
Some kind of distorted gibberish is being played on my speakers... Is it coming from that Wo-class? Aside of the Princess and Demon variants, the normal Abyssals can't speak.
So what and where is this transmission coming from?
Now that the camera fairy has got a lock on it, I can see it clearly. The approaching Wo-class looks young, sad, lost and confused. Like a child left all alone.
"Enemy is now in range." (Imuya)
"Launch the torpedoes."
"Now, let's go increase our accomplishments!" (Imuya)
"I'll do my best!" (Ro-chan)
Imuya and Ro-chan primed their torpedoes and launched them at the Wo-class.
I'm sorry. This isn't personal.
The 8 torpedoes made a beeline towards the Wo-class. Just then, some kind of yellow aura enveloped the Abyssals' body just as 5 of the torpedoes hit. It let out high-pitched ghastly cry and stumbled backwards, clutching its chest. I can see its expression changed from confusion to fear as numerous Abyssal planes flew out of its hat.
"What?!" (Imuya)
"Eh?!" (Ro-chan)
"What the hell? Did it just change into a Flagship variant? And it launched so many planes!"
"It's running away!" (Shioi)
"Shit! Those planes are bad news!" (Akiyama)
"Argh! We don't have a choice. They are going to screw up this mission one way or another."
So much for finishing the mission quickly...
"Let that Abyssal run. We are going to take out those Abyssal aircraft it left behind. Akiyama, use those fighters of yours and strike those planes down. We will thin them out as much as we can. Goya, Hachi, Iku, launch all seaplane fighters and engage the enemy planes. Keep them off Shioi as best as you can. Shioi, get your AA guns online and provide AA support. Crash dive immediately once the planes start approaching you. Imuya, Ro-chan, you are on look-out duty. Make sure no other Abyssals get a drop on us. More importantly, keep swimming."
"Roger!" (All)
"That Wo-class just tanked 5 torpedoes like it was nothing! That is not supposed to happen!" (Akiyama)
"We can worry about that later. focus on the enemy in front of us."
Those Abyssal planes are dangerous. There are Cat Fighters, Revenge Torpedo Bombers and Hell Dive Bombers. Two of them are extremely capable of sinking my submarine girls.
The seaplanes took to the air and engaged the Abyssal planes. Shioi surfaced and the three waterproofed Type 96 triple-mount AA guns mounted atop her hangar begin shooting at the swarming Abyssal planes. The single Type 96 25mm AA gun mounted on her back joined in the fray as well.
The bombers dropped their bombs and onto my submarine girls. While the girls managed to evade most of them, some of the bombs managed to hurt them.
"Kh! I'm still alright-dechi!" (Goya)
"Aaah! Isn't my swimsuit torn?" (Imuya)
"Hyah!? Owwww..." (Ro-chan)
"You little-!" (Shioi)
"Shioi! Look out!" (Hachi)
Hachi and Iku were grazed by the bombs. Ro-chan and Goya were slightly damaged. Imuya's swimsuit is in tatters but she is still alright. Her vitals aren't in the red.
Bombs fell on the exposed Shioi, engulfing her in a huge explosion.
"Shioi!"
Shioi's vitals immediately hit the red zone. She was heavily damaged!
"Nggh, they got me... But I can still go on! Don't underestimate me!" (Shioi)
Her torpedo launcher and orange serafuku top is gone. The right strap of her swimsuit ripped apart and the holes exposed a part of her left hip. The barrel of the single Type 96 25mm AA gun has bent upwards but the rest of her equipment looks fine.
"All of you, keep your head down and continue swimming. Wait of the planes."
Damn it!
"Fighters are approaching in 1 minute!" (Akiyama)
The planes continued to buzz overhead. The fighters launched by the other three have all been shot down. Shioi is too injured to come out and continue her AA fire. Not with the number of planes swarming above her. The planes continued to drop their bombs and my girls continued to evade them.
"Fighters are in range! 3 to 1, huh. This might be a little tough... Begin the attack!" (Akiyama)
The fighters finally arrived and begin shooting down the Abyssal planes. The enemy aircraft turned their attention to Land-Based Air Squadrons 2 and 3.
"Shioi, are you alright?
"It hurts but I can still fight! My AA guns are still good to go." (Shioi)
"That's not going to happen. You're in the red. One more bomb and you're gone. I'm not letting you take that risk."
"Admiral, our allied fighters are outnumbered! Even if we retreat, those planes may follow us back to base. We can't let that happen! I'm the only one with AA capabilities. I can still provide AA fire support. Let me help." (SHioi)
Shioi is determined... Ahhh! Fine!
"Don't push yourself. Ro-chan, Iku, keep a lookout and pull her underwater as soon as you see a plane go after her."
"Got it nano." (Iku)
"Leave it to Ro-chan~" (Ro-chan)
The three submarines peeked out of the water. The planes are busy shooting each other to even bother about them. With Iku and Ro-chan supporting her upright, Shioi angled her three AA guns and begin a turkey shoot. With Shioi's support, we can finally see a visible decrease in their numbers. They still outnumber us by a huge margin and our fighters are dropping just as fast as our enemies.
"Kh! There is too many of them!" (Akiyama)
"Tell me something we don't know. You are the smarter here. Find a way to get them out!"
"Damn it! Come on, think!" (Akiyama)
What should we do? If we retreat, those Abyssal aircraft will definitely follow closely behind. We can't risk an air raid on Rabaul.
But then again, our main force has Carriers and shipgirls more than capable of dispatching this horde of Abyssal planes...
This is a gamble...
"All units, retreat! Head back to Rabaul base immediately!"
"What the hell?! Are you crazy?! You are going to lead the entire swarm to our base!" (Akiyama)
"We have already lost more than half of our Land-based Fighters. My girls are injured. I'm cutting our losses. Their numbers have decreased significantly. If they follow us, we will let the girls back on the island handle it. They will be able to handle this. We might risk a bombing raid and I will take full responsibility for it."
"This is madness!" (Akiyama)
"Shut your trap! If you have a better idea, spit it out!"
"..." (Akiyama)
"No? Then step back and let me handle this. All units, this is an order! Disengage from the enemy and retreat back to Rabaul base immediately! Move it!"
The submarine girls dived underwater and begin swimming back to base. The remaining fighters broke off from the battle and circled back. The enemy followed, just as expected and feared.
"Miyuki!"
"Yes?" (Miyuki)
"Send a transmission to Nagato. Inform her to put the fleet on standby and get ready for an air raid."
"Roger!" (Miyuki)
"Wait! Hold that order!" (Akiyama)
"What now?!"
"Look!" (Akiyama)
I look at the monitor... What on earth is going on...?
The Abyssal aircraft that were chasing them earlier suddenly circled back, leaving the girls. It's just one weird thing after another.
"Did they get bored? That's kind of irritating." (Imuya)
"I highly doubt that."
That is the second Abyssal that defies what we understand of its kind.
"Whatever the case is, head back to Rabaul base and rest for the day. We will try again tomorrow."
"Understood!" (All)
"Ahh~ That was tiring." (Shioi)
"I'm going to get a quick repair~" (Iku)
"I'll go rest a little." (Ro-chan)
"Disconnect from the channel. Have a good rest."
I made sure the girls have left the radio channel before saying anything,
"Akiyama?"
"Yeah?" (Akiyama)
"Sorry for shouting earlier. But if nothing was done..."
"No. I get it. I was afraid of taking risks. That was on me... I couldn't think of anything to get us out of that situation. In hindsight, your decision was the right one." (Akiyama)
"It was the only one I can think of at that time. I was hoping you would have a better idea."
"But I couldn't. I couldn't think of anything..." (Akiyama)
...
"I'm going to disconnect now. I will handle the after mission report for this run." (Akiyama)
"Got it. I will leave it to you. See you tomorrow."
I switched off the radio and slumped back into my chair.
"Haah..."
"Commander, you alright?" (Miyuki)
"I'm fine. Just a little tired."
"Want a drink?" (Miyuki)
"Sure. Get me a soda."
I would prefer a beer though, but it's too early to drink.
"I will be back, 'kay?" (Miyuki)
Miyuki left the Command Centre, giving me some alone time.
"I going to call and talk to Zuihou later..."
