Our Bonds

The medium-scale operation has begun. For the first mission, Kure will be clearing out the Abyssals located at the Spratly Islands, before engaging the submarine fleet that has taken control of the area. Maizuru is slated for supporting the 2nd mission and spearheading the 3rd, so we still have some time to relax and prepare. According to intel, all of the missions have multiple phases, so each of them will definitely take a while to complete. HQ estimated it would take at least a week to complete each mission, so good luck to us when it's our turn. Until then, we can do some maintenance and upgrading our equipment, and maybe get some info from our Abyssal friend. With Ryuujou's help, I called Hoppou-chan over to play and ask her some questions. Hoppou-chan and the Harbour Princess is with in the Entertainment room.

"What are you... talking about...? Destroyers dumbest... Cruisers... dumb-dumb... Light carriers... maybe smart... but still dumb... Battleship and carriers... smart... Princesses and Demons smartest... Smart Destroyer... No such thing..." (Hoppou-chan)

If I were to translate it into proper sentences, she is saying that Abyssal Destroyers are the dumbest of the Abyssal command chain, followed by light and heavy cruisers who are still dumb but not as dumb as their Destroyer brethren, the Light Carriers who are slightly smarter than the other three, the battlesh.i.p.s and Carriers who are above the Light Carriers, and her kind and the demons being the most intelligent of them all. There is no way an Abyssal Destroyer is smart enough to pull off something like ambushing a shipgirl. Looks like she doesn't know anything about the new types. And here I thought I could get some hints on how to deal with them efficiently. That was a fail.

Hoppou-chan continued doodling happily on a piece of paper with a blue crayon, with the Harbour Princess watching over her like how a mother would watch her child play.

"Let's just say there was a smart Destroyer, how would you handle them?"

"Me?" (Hoppou-chan)

Hoppou-chan put down her crayon and stared at me. She tilted her head from side to side, looked up, looked around the room, looked at the harbour princess, who shook her head, before looking back at me with a smile on her face,

"Don't know... Never met one before..." (Hoppou-chan)

And she continued her doodling.

That's why I said what if. Oh nevermind. I guess it is hard to imagine one of their own breaking away from the norm.

Suddenly, the harbour princess reached out and grabbed a piece of paper from the nearby stack. She gently grasp a black crayon within her large claws and drew what looks like an Abyssal Destroyer. She then stabbed her creation with those claws of hers, making a low growl in the process.

"Umm... I'm sorry?"

"You don't understand..." (Harbour Princess)

She stabbed the drawing with her claws again, this time with more force.

"Kill... before they do anything..." (Harbour Princess)

Ahh... That's one way, I guess. Simple, but effective. Rondo did say that they are only smarter than normal. It's not like they possess enhanced strength and toughness. Looks like there really isn't any special way to handle them. Just treat them like any normal Abyssal.

"That's a good idea."

The harbour princess smiled. I have never seen her kind do that before. She is technically an abnormal Abyssal so I can't expect anything normal. All of Hoppou-chan's followers are abnormal.

The Harbour Princess tried to pull back her claw, but she seems to fail. She tried a few times, the floorboard creaked with every attempt. Her stoic face grew ever more concerned.

"This is a dumb question, but are you stuck?"

"Help..." (Harbour Princess)

Hoppou-chan laughed as I tried to free the large Abyssal Princess. She laughed even harder when the Harbour Princess started to panic and pulled out the entire floorboard, with her claws still stuck in it. We eventually managed to free her, but not without the help of some passing Mutsuki-class Destroyers and reducing the floorboard to splinters.

Mutsuki, Kisaragi, Satsuki, Nagatsuki brought over a tool trolley from the factory and with a chisel and hammer in hand, the five of us worked to break the floorboard and free the harbour princess's claws with hurting away. Hoppou-chan finally stopped laughing and decided to act as moral support for the larger princess. She pet the larger girl as we broke the floorboard apart. This wasn't just any ordinary wood, isn't it? It feels more like concrete. Even with our powers combined, it still took us almost an hour of hammering to break it into pieces.

Oh my gosh. I just had epiphany. I think I figured a way to safely deal with any potential Beast Abyssal threats. I'm gonna discuss this with Akashi later.

I entertained the two of them for a while more until Ryuujou showed up. With Ryuujou coming along to see how her bestie is doing, I decided to leave them to play together while I go do something else.

Sorry I lied. I actually called Ryuujou over to help me take care of the two Abyssals. Hoppou-chan has taken a liking to the small, flat-chested Light Aircraft Carrier, so I officially made her the little Abyssal's playmate. Ryuujou was extremely reluctant to take on that role, but some of Mamiya's desserts and a few days off were enough to convince her. I will patch the hole in the floor later. Right now, I have to discuss my awesome plan with Akashi and make preparations for the submarine girls. They will be essential for a few of the missions.