Our Bonds

It has been 4 hours since contact with Shioi was lost. I'm on the verge of a heart attack. Ooyodo, Akashi and Yuubari managed to get the radio and communication channels working again but realized that connection with Shioi has been disabled, and something is preventing us from reconnecting with her. I have a brief idea on who the culprit is. Hiei's Fast Carrier Task Force went to Shioi's last known location to search for signs of her, only to be met by a bunch of Siren sh.i.p.s and a thick black fog. Those sh.i.p.s and that fog must be the ones responsible for cutting our connection with Shioi. What are they doing here?

With the Siren's involvement, the situation was handed over to Azur Lane, who announced they are going to launch an operation to get rid of the fog tomorrow. Rather than the Sirens, I'm more concerned about Shioi's whereabouts. The only thing I know is that she is still alive. Severely damaged but alive. I can still monitor her vitals on my console. My heart almost came out of my mouth when I saw her symbol instantly switched from green to orange and then to red, all in a matter of seconds. After that, it just remained like that. Either she is hiding, or she got captured by the Sirens. No matter what state she is in, I need to find her. If it weren't for this stupid protocol...

"Is there really no way I can circ.u.mvent this?"

"Sorry, Admiral. But unless you want to be court martialed, we need to wait at least 12 hours before a search-and-rescue fleet can be deployed on our own. We still need to send in a request and get it authorized." (Ooyodo)

"Send the request to HQ first."

Is there really nothing I can do, except wait?

"Admiral, I know you're worried but there is really nothing we can do at the moment. Shioi is definitely still alive. That girl must have taken refuge at Node P." (Ooyodo)

"If she did, she would have set up the totem by now. Reports that the Heavy Cruiser Princess has showed up would be coming in and the map would have been updated by now if she is at the island."

"Maybe she is on way back home?" (Rei)

"She would be back by now if that's the case. What do I do? I can't bare to lose her. I don't want a repeat of that- bhgghgbf!"

Rei pressed both hands on my cheeks midway through my panic talk and twisted my head towards her, causing me blurt a bunch of incomprehensible stuff. I think I heard my neck crack a bit.

"Calm down. If you panic now, you are going to break down even faster. Take a deep breath, hold for ten seconds and slowly exhale." (Rei)

"Ai kent boo yit wike yist..." <I can't do it like this>

"Huh?" (Rei)

I tapped her hand. Rei understood and released me immediately. My neck hurts.

I took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Ooyodo, can you brew us some tea. Get yourself a cup too."

"One with two cubes and the other with cream and three cubes?" (Ooyodo)

"Yep."

"Wait, how did you know I want mine with cream and three cubes of sugar?" (Rei)

"I have been doing this for years. It will be weird if I don't pick up on my superiors preferences. And Avrora-san told me that you prefer your tea to be on the sweeter side." (Ooyodo)

A short while later, Ooyodo came back with three cups of black tea. I took a sip from my cup and let the warm tea work its calming magic on my body.

"Thank you, Ooyodo."

"Your welcome." (Ooyodo)

These two ladies are right. There is no point in panicking. I must handle the situation calmly.

"Alright, time for an emergency meeting. Let's discuss ways how to get rescue Shioi without getting caught."

"I thought you might say that..." (Ooyodo)

"Let's do it!" (Rei)

I displayed the map of the mission area on the tactical map. I drew a circle where the fog is reportedly located.

"First let's list out all the information we have and the possibilities. I don't want to do this but I think we can assume the black fog has already engulfed Node P. Shioi's vitals hasn't changed since then so it's safe to say she is hiding somewhere, either on the island or in some cave."

"I think we can scratch the cave part. I wasn't really serious about that." (Rei)

"But we can't rule out that possiblity. Shioi might have blown a hole under the island and hid there." (Ooyodo)

"True. Worst case scenario, she might have been captured by the Sirens. If that's the case, she might be trapped in one of the Siren sh.i.p.s. That will put her at risk if we were to launch an assault."

"A 50-50 chance... I don't think we should risk it." (Rei)

"Yeah. It puts Shioi at too much of a risk." (Ooyodo)

"I say we take it."

"Why?" (Rei)

I drew a few rectangles to represent the sh.i.p.s and shaded the certain parts of some of them,

"Instead of straight up destroying the Siren sh.i.p.s, we hit non-vital areas of the ship. Shioi is a smart girl. She will use the chance and damage within the ship to escape into the waters. Then, we can rescue her. But that's assuming the worst case scenario. If she is hiding on the island or nearby, we can just punch through. However, the fog is a problem. We have no idea what it is or it's effects. Azur Lane might know but they will only launch an investigation tomorrow. I would prefer to save her today."

I think that's all we have for now.

"Next, how do we save her without being caught. I was thinking of tricking HQ and saying that there are some new shipgirls that require rescuing but I doubt they are stupid enough to believe that. Especially Rondo."

"Admiral, that is a stupid idea. Of course HQ won't believe that." (Ooyodo)

"How about I convince my father to authorize a rescue mission?" (Rei)

"That could work, but your father is a stickler for rules. And he hates my guts, actually he hates everyone, so I doubt he would allow that."

"He doesn't hate everyone... I think..." (Rei)

"How about we send in the submarine girls? They specialize in covert missions, and will be more than happy to do the rescuing." (Ooyodo)

"That brings us to the problem with the fog. We don't know it's effects. I am desperate to save Shioi, but I don't want to put the others at an unnecessary risk."

In the past, when Zuihou was captured, I was able to easily launch a rescue operation on my own with some trial-and-error and with Rondo authorization in the form of an order. This time, there is one uncertain variable that can jeopardize everything. This is tough.

I took another sip of my tea.

Come on, think. I can rely on Rondo again, but I rather not do that. He has already helped me several times now. I can ask Azur Lane for help but will they agree though? Maybe I can pull the 'you owe me' card, forcing them to repay the favour. But that will definitely soir our relationship with them, not to mention leave a bad taste in my mouth. But they are my safest option right now.

I don't think I have much of a choice. Sorry, but I going to be jerk for a bit.

"We will force Azur Lane to help us. Tell them it's about time to return the favour."

"Woah. That's a very bad way to do things." (Rei)

"I know. I would prefer not to do that. But they are the only ones who can do it right now. They have the expertise and the equipment to deal with the Sirens. It's only the matter on getting them to make a move right now. They are going to check the area out tomorrow but I can't wait that long. And neither can Shioi."

Suddenly, Ooyodo's communication console started ringing. Someone is calling. Ooyodo went back to the console and answered it.

"This is Maizuru Naval Base. Please state your name and designation. Oh, you are- I see. Yes. That's true. We have a shipgirl whose last known whereabouts is in that location. Umm... But we haven't received any new info and updates." (Ooyodo)

Suddenly, the tactical map and console started beeping simultaneously, revealing the Heavy Cruiser Princess's location and the possible routes to take.

Wait, hold on...

"It's updated now. Eh? We haven't received the authorization to- Oh, I see. Thank you so much. Yes. I understand." (Ooyodo)

Ooyodo disconnected the call and returned to the tactical map.

"The Heavy Cruiser Princess appeared. Shioi is on that island."

That's great. But I can't rest easy yet.

"Admiral, you are wanted at the port in 10 minutes." (Ooyodo)

"Why? And who was that?"

You will see. And she should be coming in soon." (Ooyodo)

Ooyodo just smiled. Wait, who is coming in soon?

The fax machine suddenly come to life and spat out a sheet of paper. That thing hasn't been used in ages. I'm surprised it still works.

I took a look at the paper and my jaw almost dropped.

It was my request to send a rescue fleet to look for Shioi. The large words 'approved' was stamped on it. Beneath it was the Marshal Admiral's stamp. Why did this go to the Marshal Admiral? Didn't it go to the the other Grand Admirals? There was a note written at the bottom stating 'no more than 4 with you'. Is that the number of shipgirls I can deploy? Why not a full fleet though? And what does it mean by 'with me'? There is a lot of things I don't understand but that's not important now. A chance has been offered and I'm taking it.

"The Marshal Admiral's stamp? Why is he involved?" (Ooyodo)

No more than four shipgirls. Who can I pick?

I heard the door creak open,

"Umm... Is Admiral here?" (Shigure)

Shigure popped her head in.

"What's wrong?"

"Is everything alright? The others are worried, especially Shion." (Shigure)

Of course she would be the most worried. Her little sister has gone missing.

I know who to bring along.

"Shigure, call those twins and Shion. Equip yourselves with night battle equipment and meet me at the port stat. We are going to rescue Shioi."