5450/AOH: Operation Hercules - Pursue the Enemy Fleet!

AOH: Operation Hercules - Pursue the Enemy Fleet!
Date of Scene:	19 August 2017
Location:	<AOH> Abyssal Pearl Harbor
Synopsis:	Operation Hercules proceeds out of Pearl Harbor to pursue the Black Fleet's retreat.
Cast of Characters:	Midway, Leyanne Mace, 571, Nagato, Wo, Kotone Yamakawa, Gaonoir, Reina Kinney, 385, Shigure
Tinyplot:	Abyssal Operation Hydra

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Midway has posed:
    Pearl Harbor at night. The Dreadnought Water Demon has been subdued, and with her unconscious and captured, there doesn't appear to be any further Abyssal presence within the Harbor. The not-quite-there battleship spirit of Arizona turns, gliding back towards the pristine memorial that marks her grave.

    In the distance, on the other side of the island, there's a staccato of explosions. High-caliber gunfire, unmistakable even at this range. Something else explodes, and there's the distant rattle of machine gun fire. The source of the aircraft raids from the initial breaching operation appears to be under attack! It's time to double back out of the harbor and finish driving the Black Fleet out of Hawaii entirely...even if someone else appears to have started the party early, off the shores of Honalulu.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leeroy, damaged, wallows in the water, Shigure still unconscious on the foredeck ahead of the 20mm mount. Leyanne stands over her with her M2 Browning, guarding her from any Abyssal that might want to try and claim her.
"Leeroy's damaged, barely seaworthy." Leyanne radios. "We're plugging the leaks, but until we can do that and transfer Shigure to medivac we're not going to be any good in a fight... unless we're moving onto land, then I might be a bit more useful."

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    "Contact." Alexis announces suddenly, just as she hops off the dock. She lands in her Asashio gear, speeding off as she heads for Honalulu. She's wanted to visit Hawaii for a long time now but this isn't what she meant by that. Taking off, she begins to speed toward Leyanne's boat. "Maaka to Leeroy, heard you could use some escort! How can I help?" She calls out, skidding to a stop besides the damaged PT boat.

Nagato has posed:
    With Musashi taking care of the captured Dreadnought... and Atago still resting out in the Stennis, a call goes out on the radio... and soon, Akashi's towing some rigging towards the Stennis, a familiar set of Triple and Double 46's in tow and two repair buckets with her. "Akashi, reporting for duty! The Admiral should be coming soon." she calls out on the radio's letting herself be known, "I brought a couple repair buckets too, just in case." comes a bright voice. She slides up to the Stennis and unhooks the rigging and boards up.

    Meanwhile, there's a rapidly flying catgirl incoming, and soon makes a crash landing into the Stennis' flight deck. Tumbling towards a stop... Tana mutters something about modern carriers and their rough flight decks before a few menu presses leaves a battleaxe wielding Admiral on deck and heading towards her own rig. "Admiral Nagato, reporting. We're going to finish this."

Wo has posed:
For just a while, the island is calm. With one enemy captured, and carried aboard Wo's ocean fit-out - which for newcomers, essentially resembles a weathered hulk of an aircraft carrier, but still unmistakable as what it is, with glowing orange-red welds apparently holding it together - there simply isn't much left to do but to try and figure out their next course of action in brief radio conversations, and try to pool together what is known so far. Within that context, it is there that a fact more complex than even her feelings for battling 'fellow' Abyssals is revealed: One of her sisters from her former existence is in the area. How would she even face her were they to meet? Should she even say who she is? Watching the last few of her air wing from the operations land, Wo clenches and unclenches the fingers of her hands, propped atop her cane, and adjusts her gloves.

    Then that momentary, relative serenity is shattered by distant rumbles of large diameter guns, as well as the rattle of smaller ones. She's brought out of her moment's anxiety as she glances in that direction, even though her radar wouldn't let her see quite that distance, much less with the obstructions in the way. Is that where her sister was? Even though it might be awkward, or even painful, there's really no avoiding it now. "I'm heading out. It sounds like we have another hot spot," she says over the radio, the large hull of the fleet carrier shifting a few notches over cruising speed, as the glowing seams pulse brighter in the process. The few passengers aboard should probably hold on to something with as fast as this beast is turning around to leave and set off for the gun reports.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa had been waiting in the wings for seconday support the time to deploy is now, with the battle at a full pitch it's time to make her move. She's now moving to deploy more planes, a small mix of fighters and torpedo bombers, she's also not sititng still as the battle is just getting savage. They need to drive the black fleet out, even with the unexpected but very welcome backup they have had? It's still not an easy fight,

She orders a group of fighters to go aid and cover The Leeroy hopefully it cna give Mace and anyone lese the backup they need there.

With that handle the other fighters and bombers are being launched, she also shifts how she's moving to make herself a bit of a harder target as well.

Gaonoir has posed:
There's a brief moment of still after the battle, but it fails to last long as the sounds of gunfire and explosions ring from the far side of the island. Gaonoir turns his head a bit, it's clearly audible even at this distance. "Hold on," he remarks to Erika on his shoulder, before pushing himself farther into the air.

He rises at an angle, so he is moving towards the conflict over yonder, but also higher to a better vantage point. Digital senses are tuned to their max, waiting for the tactical information of numbers and positions to start filting onto his visor display once the combat point is within their range.

A little advanced recon never hurts, after all.

Reina Kinney has posed:
Reina's back up in the air again after having taken some time to make repairs and things like that. Even the best of the best have to take some downtime now and then. But she's taken off and is back in the air, engaging in air patrol as usual and surveying for trouble.

And then she sees that there is, in fact, trouble to be had. Her radar picks up the action and she gets a look at it through her cockpit window too. "They just can't keep quiet, can they? Well, that's why we're here!" Reina turns her craft and heads in the direction of the conflict, albeit at a slower pace than normal so she doesn't rush into anything dangerous blindly.

Midway has posed:
From the air, at this distance, the most immediately obvious thing is a large, black-hulled aircraft carrier on the opposite side of the island from Pearl Harbor, cruising out of the port of one of Hawaii's larger cities-- Honalulu, apparently. Dense clouds of Abyssal mark-III aircraft cluster around it, dashing here and there, amidst tracer fire and flames and crashing, burning wreckage. They're fighting something, but what that is.. is unclear from this range. Small, traditionally shaped planes may be darting about amidst the more numerous Abyssal fighters.

    And then there's flashes of flame and smoke from the sea, followed by explosions against the fleeing carrier's hull. A trio of figures might be standing on the water out there, but in the dull pre-morning light it's impossible to tell at this range.

    It's no different from the surface, really, and the best option is to close into engagement range if only to start identifying what's actually going on, here.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Bringing El-Line to the initial assault was something of a gamble on Yuna's part: high risk, high reward. And the 'reward' part was pretty evident at the time - the Abyssals hadn't really built their fortifications expecting a giant robot to take out the big guns.

But just because it tilted the odds didn't mean the risk went away - and El-Line took enough of a beating, especially with the Destroyer Water Demon launching torpedoes into the Matrix Figure's ankle joint, that Yuna had to retreat, dismiss El-Line, and take some time to recuperate. (She may have been soaking her actual ankle during that time.) Still, with the assault entering its last stage, it's time for her to rejoin the fight.

Which she does - not in her Light Suit or any variant thereof, but in her Kagurazaka-class light cruiser fit-out. Kagurazaka wastes no time in launching, her cannons already loaded with anti-air shells and her additional machine guns primed for action; in addition, Elner is flitting along next to her, ready to augment Kagurazaka's radar with the robo-faerie's own sensors.

The blonde is sorely tempted to close to engagement range and start pitching in, but Nagato was clear that Akashi needs defending as well - and with all those aircraft in the sky battle, it would be FAR too easy to miss an attack run against the allied forces. For now, Kagurazaka sets a moderate speed - slow enough that she won't lose much time if she has to double back, fast enough that she'll be ready if the word is to join the attack, and in the meantime, gleaning what intel she can on the current situation in the event she has to use her own discretion.

Gaonoir has posed:
When Gaonoir pauses at a hover to scan the roaring battle ahead, Erika lets go of his shoulder with one hand to pull up her D-PORT which allows her to see the same thing on it's display as Gaonoir is getting on his visor. "There's more of those fighters swarming out there than neckbeards at a comic convention."

"Wha--" Despite his head being more helmet than anything else in this stage Gaonoir still manages a confused expression for a moment at the comparison. But quickly shrugs it off to Erika's usually quirkiness. "Nevermind, not important. The only way to sort this out is to get closer."

Cape flares and flutters briefly, then the darkness from within it seems to wrap out around Gaonoir as he takes off towards the mass battle. It's not complete cloaking, but between the lingering darkness of night and his shadow manipulation it should give his otherwise obvious form a bit of additional cover as he moves closer to the harbor.

Reina Kinney has posed:
Meanwhile, Reina's getting closer and closer, but it's not enough to get a look at what's going on. She decides to do a little recon to get a better idea of what's going on. Unlike those who might go in from above, Reina goes in lower, trying to see things from a better perspective. "Whatever you're up to down there, we're coming in to stop you!"

Wo has posed:
Though it's still hard to tell at the extremes of visible range, the one obvious and unmistakeable shape in the distance is obviously on the move. When Wo's sort of Abyssals wanted to make their stand, and a statement of sorts, they would not tend to stray far from the area where they had established their presence. Given that their primary installation and one of the strongest of their number has been captured, it makes sense if they're... "Trying to run, huh?" Those thoughts are spoken aloud, though not necessarily into the radio in that form. "Come to think of it, we never did learn who that 'She' they kept mentioning was. If circumstances were different, I'd let them run to see what their next move would be." A spectral figure appears briefly in the air next to Wo, herself, crossing her arms, "But we can't let that happen. They need to absolutely be punished for what they've done." "Right..."

    The ghost of Hornet was right. All of her allies for the moment, and all that this place stands for, demands immediate actions. Accordingly, she calls out her intent to pursue over the radio, and moves to full steam. It's uncertain if her speed will keep up with that other shape, but they definitely won't escape that easily, especially since aircraft move much faster. With that notion, a fresh wave of fighters prepares itself on the carrier's flight deck, jet turbines whining, before the catapult rockets them off in sequence. They intend to challenge their slightly newer-looking counterparts, it seems, and add to the confusion in the skies. As well as further blunt any offensive strike capability that enemy carrier might have.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa gets a ping that something else is up she seems concerned there's something comming for them she notches a few more arrows and lets them fly letting the planes go. She's concerned the Abyssals are fighting hard, very hard. She sees something is comming now she's now moving to get back into formation as she'd drifted a bit and that's sking to get picked off. She does however launch several scout planes to go check things out maybe she can get some good recon there.

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    Alexis' eyes scan out into the distance, and she blinks. "Oh shit." She sees a LOT of Abyssals coming their way, and she frowns. "This is gonna be an ugly night." She growls, before she begins to skate off towards the horde. Cocking her machine gun, she opens fire once she's in range, mostly probing to test their defenses. "Lotta x-rays up ahead, dig in!"

Shigure has posed:
    Yamashiro follows the group out of the harbour, pouring on to Flank speed to catch up, after making sure Shigure was safe and not in danger of sinking.

    "I apologise for the delay. I was making sure Shigure was safe. Super Dreadnought-class Battleship, Yamashiro. Sortie!"

    She moves into the Diamond formation, taking position and elevating her secondaries and AA battery, scanning the skies with a little fairy perched on the top of her pagoda mast head piece with a large pair of binoculars.

Nagato has posed:
    Nagato sets off, slowly overtaking the carrier she launched from. There's a quick salute as she breaks off from it and leads up... "All available ships, follow me. You have your orders." she comments with authority, the battleship moving to line ahead. "Kotone, Maaka, Kagurazaka, Diamond formation on me, prioritize new airframe targets... the ghost balls." the guns upon her rigging aim up... ready and willing, but waiting until she can get confirmed targets. For now, it's a Diamond Formation on her until, the time is ready.

    Meanwhile, at Tiny's PT Boat, a older teenage girl sails up towards her. "Hi, Repair Ship Akashi, heard you need some repairs... got my tools right here and willing to help... doesn't look too bad... your pumps are handling it. I'll get you repaired in a jiffy and your guns operational, kay~?"

Midway has posed:
    "Attack wing, bearing zero-four-five. Prepare your batteries."

    "Already ready to go~!"

    "My fighters are already occupied. I'm depending on you two."

    Accompanied by wings of Hellcat fighters, Abyssal Avenger and Helldiver bombers close in on the distant trio out to sea. All hell promptly breaks loose. Silhouettes lit up by rapid-fire cannons on the rigging of three women, moving in a wedge formation. The point leader is a tall, leggy, wavy-haired blonde. As the formation turns, the flanker whose side is presented closest to the approaching Abyssal aircraft carrier wears a similar rig and outfit, her hair straight and black. And the one in back, her hair in a red pixie cut, pulls a drum magazine from under her skirt and slots it into the hand-held weapon over her shoulder.

    When the lead, the blonde, fires her main batteries, her entire figure is briefly lit. Enthusiasm all over her face. Most distinctive ont he side of her hat and blouse, prominantly displayed white numbers: 61.

    Seconds later, the other battleship opens fire, the reports of her guns highlighting a pencil-skirted military uniform which prominantly displays BB63 on her chest.

    Behind them, the third lifts a hand to touch her earpiece, "My scout planes are reporting a second Abyssal aircraft carrier moving in this direction from Pearl Harbor..." Glancing up, she adds, "...Escorted by non-Abyssal fleet girls. It's the same one that fought their Demon in the harbor, I think."

    "All good, all good~!" the blonde cheers, "The more we get, the quicker we'll be done!"

    "Victory probability is steadily increasing," the black-haired battleship remarks evenly, adjusting the frame of her glasses with a fingertip.

Midway has posed:
    Shells burst against the Abyssal carrier's hull, shearing off chunks of tarnished metal. Aircraft scramble through the sky, dogfighting with what looks like toy planes. On the flight deck, her arms at her sides, is a pale-skinned woman in a billowing white dress, with long, wavy hair. She oversees the air battle with a scowl, only pulling her attention from it when figures burst from the sea in front of her vessel.

    Heavy Cruiser Water Demon is first, erupting from the sea and then slumping against her Princess' hull, clutching her chest. Oil leaks through her hands, splattering her uniform and trailing behind her as the carrier tows her along. "We've lost.. the harbor. Big sister is p-probably gone..."

    Destroyer Water Demon springs forth with such speed that she clears the sea for several seconds, then lands back down and immediately assumes a flanking position. Anti-air emplacements on her gauntlets swing upward, opening fire as she speaks, "We're leaving, my Princess. One of us has already been lost. Those responsible are already on their way here. ...I don't want to lose you, too." Her gaze turns, blazing violet eyes shining upward, "You may have to abandon this larger form of yours."

    "If it comes to that," the Abyssal Jellyfish Princess' voice is tense, with a forced air of serenity, "...Then so be it." Her eyes turn back to the sky, "For now. Those battleships are blocking my way. Destroy them and their aircraft carrier."

    "As you wish, my Princess."

    "A-as..you wish."

BGM: http://listenonrepeat.com/watch/?v=cx4IYQ0X9AU

Leyanne Mace has posed:
The mice on board blink at Akashi but smile. "Hey, yeah!" Leyanne says, beckoning her aboard, starting to go below decks. "Leeroy's an Elco-80, wooden hulled. Most of the damage is just seam splits."

    Below decks, the mice are re-caulking the seams, and putting large patches over the larger splits in the wood. Without help, it'll be a long time before the little PT boat can get back into the fight. "Thanks for the help!"

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is on air duty and will be forming up with Nagato, Maaka and Kagurazaka. The formation is set she'll be focusing on air targets, so again with the fighters she'll launch more and call in those she has not on escort of Mace. She'll have them form up with her as she heads along with Nagato and the rest in Diamond formation. This was the climax of the whole operation the question was who would still be standing when it was over?

Shigure has posed:
    Yamashiro's fairy lifts a large search-light beacon above her head, dropping the binoculars for the time being as she begins flashing recognition signals towards the US Kanmusu. <<Coming to assist. All Ships are ready for Anti-Aircraft and Surface Battle. Abyysal craft with us is Allied.>>

    Signal sent, the beacon is put back into hammerspace, and the binoculars picked back up. "Extreme range fire. Main Battery, Angle 35 Degrees, load Type 93 Armour Piercing, Impact fuse, delay 2 second. Double charge." her turrets ratchet out on the rigging, the barrels angling up as high as they will go. Sounds of ammo loading clank out from within. "Main Battery, Aim on bearing! FIRE!"

    Eight barrels light up in sequence, rippling across the extreme of their effective range, coming down amongst Jellyfish Princess and her Demon escort.

Gaonoir has posed:
Eyes narrow behind the Dark Beast Knight's visor to squint past the various sensor feeds at the actual fracas, pushing the readings to the sides of his field of vision. There's just too many enemies in the air for him to focus direct targeting on.

"Our best odds," Erika comments from his shoulder, "Would be to thin the congestion while the other anti-air is moving into position."

"Agreed." There's a metal-ringing sound as he deploys his warclaws again, then brings his arms up to his side. Unable to focus on specific targets, he just aims for the relative center mass of what's clustering around the Abyssal forces trying to flee. Then dives right in. The darkened state he was using to get close doesn't drop until he's almost right on top of the swarming airforms, rippling away to reform his cape in such a manner it looks like it's peeling off to just flutter dramatically behind him.

Ever seen a predator pounce from mid-air? Now you have. Emerging much like a spectre Gaonoir swings wide with his Umbra Claws, cutting arcs of energy through the air as he attempts to catch as many of the Abyssal aircraft in his ambush as he can and shred their numbers down to something a little more managable when his allies' own aircraft close in to assist.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
With Nagato picking up speed, Kagurazaka moves into formation with her - probably taking the forward slot in the diamond formation, the better to fend off air attacks against Nagato herself, or any of the others for that matter. "Elner," the blonde asides, "not sure if you'll be able to help much ... hang back and focus on support. If our base fleet needs help and we can't get back there, Jiina and the others are on defense duty."

"Understood," Elner replies, and flits back to Admiral Bridger's flagship - the robo-faerie already cranking up her sensors to maintain monitoring of the battle as a whole.

Kagurazaka turns her attention to the waters ahead and the sky beyond, straining her eyes and her radar to try and pick out friends vs. foes. Wo explained the difference already, and Kagurazaka's seen these Abyssals' style of fighters before, but picking them out in the middle of the fray may be more tricky than it sounds - particularly when her shells are set for airburst. The anti-air machineguns don't have to worry as much about area of effect, though, and they open up in bursts as individual targets become distinguishable, and targetable. The cannons will be reserved for friendly-free clusters of enemy air power ... or for intercepting any attackers headed for the Hikari fleet.

Reina Kinney has posed:
Meanwhile, Reina has returned from her brief recon and is moving to join the others on air duty. "Sorry about that, was just checking into some things." She comments. "Either way, I knew they were up to no good and we're gonna have to give it our all." She smiles a little. "But we can do this! We're all in this together!"

Wo has posed:
Even if Hornet was unquestionably right, and those that would sully this place must be punished, there is still a tinge of regret to it. This was a counterpart that had the same potential she had, with the profile of the fit-out being the proof. And now it seems they're going to have to destroy her. "Don't think too much," the ghost remarks, seemingly having noticed, since they're still fundamentally the same being after all. "If you hesitate, that's how we end up like we did! Besides, what would 'they' think?" Without so much as a motion, the spirit nonetheless directs Wo's attention to those three normal kanmusu-sized shapes in the distance, though the range is now close enough that radar can tease out more about them. So she really was here. "E..." It's hard to tell if it's a choked off 'eek' or just pronouncing that single letter. Maybe it's both.

    All of this was correct, though, and she's being counted on for primary air cover. They can sort this out after this is all over. The sleek airframes of the 'outdated' fighters climb high into the sky, before making a diving pass at their more advanced counterparts, and noticably avoiding the more conventional looking fighters mixed in the swarm. They may not be as technologically advanced, but they are well drilled on their maneuvers and tactics. Back at the deck of the carrier, a wave of Abyssal dive bombers, discerned from the distinctive bombs mounted to their undercarriage, move up from the hangar below and take turns catapulting off the flight deck. The defensive batteries of the fit-out, operable as they are, pivot at angles to be at the ready, just in case the beleaguered enemy launches a counter.

    Speaking of, new radar signatures appear. Almost certainly Abyssal, given that they appeared out of nowhere, and their proximity to the fleeing Princess. The fighters above radio back details that back up that appraisal, before being forced to take evasive maneuvers from the anti-air burst of Destroyer Water Demon. Their harassment of Jellyfish's aircraft is momentarily halted, though they don't seem to be leaving the area.

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    Alexis nods to Kotone as she links up with her, Nagato, and Yuna. She will handle the smaller fry, opening fire as she targets the air assault Abyssals, trying to take them out with accurate shots. She picks up in speed, using short bursts to act as flak in order to drop each flier out of the sky.

    She spies Destroyer eventually, and loads a torpedo. "HEY, GOT A PRESENT FOR YA!" She calls out, hurling the torpedo like a javelin at the Abyssal, firing upon Destroyer as she gets in close, trying to evade enemy fire despite feeling a few shots hit home, piercing armor and flesh. SUperficial damage, but it'll worsen soon.

Nagato has posed:
    With her fleet taking to the air battle... she turns to Reina. "Cover the Wo-Class, Kinney." comes the simple order, "Do not let her sink, I'm counting on you." she comments, a light smile being flashed her way, "And you're right, we're going to do this, we're all in this together." and back towards the blob of aircraft. Nagato's only got one simple answer for this.. "Guns at max elevation. Bearing... check. Sanshiki loaded." the barrels raised, the loud kathunk of shells finally hitting the compartment...

    Nagato thrusts her arm out and shouts, "FIRE!", the rapport of ten barrels worth of sanshiki are launched into the air, exploding out into a fan of shrapnel and magnesium, the smoke cloud covering the formation for a few moments as the light breeze blows it away. "Reloading, and aiming." she whispers, the barrels lowering as she takes aim to the enemy escort. "We'll find victory on the dawn's horizon. Pearl Harbor will be rescued."

    Meanwhile, back at Tiny's Boat, Akashi's already hard at work with the repairs, possibly working faster than some of the mice on board. Metal is slapped down and welded (Carefully) on, glue is tacked down, caulk is given... the Repair Ship is in her element, hard at work finishing what needed to be done. "And you should be good..." she pokes her head up off deck and blinks, "Are those BOFORS?"

Leyanne Mace has posed:
The mice are very pleased with the assistance, and it's not long before the boat's bilge pumps can be throttled down from maximum capacity to a more manageable level. Leyanne, sat in the chair for just that gun, nods. "Thanks for your help." Sye says. "Yeah, 40mm L70 with the very latest in ammunition from BAE Systems Bofors." Tiny pats the gun happily. "If I'm given accurage range data I can provide almost the same effective anti-air as a pair of Goalkeeper guns."

    With the repairs complete, the modified Elco's 3 gas turbines are pushed back up to operating speed, the little boat rapidly rising up into a plane again.
"Leeroy Jenkins is back in action, where do you need us?"

Midway has posed:
    "Signals," BB63 remarks, "International code. Identifying themselves as allies. With an allied Abyssal carrier." She glances sidelong, "The second large contact is not hostile. Curious how they managed that."

    "Oh, I know~" the carrier remarks, "But I'm glad to know my suspicion was right." Anti-air fire erupts from the two battleships, filling the sky around them with bursts of flak shells and Bofors tracers. Rapidly, incoming bombers burst into flames and crash into the sea. The carrier lifts her equipment to her shoulder, unleashing a spray of bright green rounds. In midair, each bullet transforms itself into a distinctive stubby-winged blue fighter, banking to the skies to engage.

    "I recognize the pagoda~," BB61 remarks, closing her eyes. Her hands clap together, "It's the Nagato and Fusou class, Japanese battleships~! It's heartwarming to see them, don't you think?"

    "An old grudge," 63 closes her eyes briefly, "But 'old' is the operative term. If they've forgiven, than I see no reason to doubt their intentions." One eye opens, sidelong to her companion, "Shall we then, Sister?"

Midway has posed:
    Gaonoir starts carving through the swarms of aircraft, throwing himself into the dogfight and swatting down numerous familiar white spherical Abyssal planes. More conventional-looking, stubby blue planes with stars on their wings swing wide of him, though one that got too close trails smoke from some damage as it does so. The fairy inside shakes her tiny fist through the canopy glass, but doesn't seem to be angry about it. Overall, the white Abyssal planes still far outnumber the little blue carrier aircraft. Distinctive green Japanese planes from Kotone's fighter wing soon join the fight. And then the black-hulled Mk.2 aircraft launched by Wo enter the air battle as well. And now it's starting to look a bit less lopsided.

    When Maaka calls in her direction, Destroyer Water Demon's gaze snaps towards the opposing destroyer. She glances skyward, as well, then gestures, "Heavy Cruiser, help me!" When the small girl turns sharply, Heavy Cruiser Water Demon laces her fingers together. Destroyer jumps, and Heavy Cruiser catches the girl's foot, hurling her skyward.

    Destroyer Water Demon apparently doesn't want to deal with Alexis. Her maneuver with Heavy Cruiser puts her into the sky, instead. Her fist draws back as she ascends, and she throws a punch right for Gaonoir's head befoe gravity takes over and she starts dropping again.

    It's Heavy Cruiser who has to contend with Maaka's torpedo. One of her tails sweeps up to intercept it, detonating the warhead. The turret ending that tail is destroyed, and the Demon winces. Her other three tails swing around at lower angles, hurling medium-caliber explosive shells towards Maaka in retaliation.

    Type 3 shells burst into cones of flaming shrapnel, catching dense clusters of Abyssal fighters off-guard. Many crash to the sea in flaming wreckage, while the remainder start spreading out to be less ideal targets for such concentrated attacks. Yamashiro's shells rain down, striking the bulk of Jellyfish Princess' carrier body in several places. A fire catches on the aft part of the flight deck as a result, in addition to the damage piling on from the two battleships ahead of the formation. Another of those 35.6cm shells strikes off Heavy Cruiser Water Demon's armor, though the glancing hit is still enough for her to wince and she's already turning away from Maaka, clutching her chest with one arm with a grimace.

    "Stop..." Jellyfish Princess' voice is soft, with that distinctive echo. Her hands shake as she slowly raises them, clenching pale fingers into fists, "...shooting down...my little girls...!" Amidst the fighters, Abyssal bombers get their orders and promptly scatter. Dive bombers, in particular, start making bombing runs on every surface contact in range aside from her allies with only one or two fighters escorting them. The bulk of the air wing is, after all, occupied with the contents of three separate flattops.

Reina Kinney has posed:
The moment the order is given, Reina acknowledges without missing a beat. "Yes, Ma'am," She replies understandingly. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to the Wo-Class!" She smiles a little more. "We can do this!" She moves into a better position to cover Wo, weapons ready at a moment's notice. "I got your back, Wo, don't worry!"

Shigure has posed:
    Yamashiro's turrets ratchet back into resting position, the mechanisms inside cycling to reload them again. "Load Armour Piercing." the lookout hops up and down, gesturing wildly with little semaphor flags, causing Yamashiro to giggle softly. "Good hits on target. Lookouts report a fire has been started on hostile carrier flight deck!"

    The lookout then flails, picking up her binoculars again and one-armed flailing. "Check! Incoming dive bomber strike! BRACE!"

    The AA emplacements on her turret caps swivel up, and begin pouring tracer fire and flak into the incoming aircraft, but her AA battery leaves a lot to be desired, so she hunkers a little while keeping formation, trying to angle her armour as best she can against a direct strike from above.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Those bombers are pretty much *the* reason why Kagurazaka wasn't risking her cannons during the air melee; as soon as she spots an attack run forming up, she raises her 'rifle' to take aim, and her other turrets swivel and elevate to match where she's aiming. Her smaller guns cease fire as well. even if only briefly ....

And then she starts cutting loose with *EVERYTHING* she has, main turrets firing one after the other and reloading as quickly as her equipment fairies can cycle new shells in, machine guns hurling countless bullets into the sky to cut down any bombers which make it past the eruptions of fire and shrapnel from the anti-air shells going off.

"Sorry about your 'little girls,'" Kagurazaka says under her breath as she continues hurling defensive firepower up against the aerial assault, "but I'm not letting you sink *any* of my friends ... not today ... not *ever*!" And while her voice may be quiet, for anyone who hears her, there can be no doubt of her intensity - her absolute determination not to let harm befall those who are close to her.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Is all righ tin the formation she's with people she's worked quite a bit with in the past and considers each one of them a friend. She also is on alert she's on the air the others are dealing with other targets she;'ll trust in Maaka for example to deal with the enemy destroyers for the moment. Then comes the order to fire from Nagato she keeps her planes gong running scorts so the direct attacking forces will have some level of protection.

The fight is joined now as her own place back up other allies own foces such as Wo's own things are really getting going here.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
With their boat fixed, the mice seem fully intent on breaking it again. The boat points its nose at Jellyfish and pours on the power. As the little boat reaches torpedo range, at maximum speed, it performs a gentle S-curve, aiming first the portside torpedo tubes, and then the starboard tubes, straight at her to discharge their payloads.

Then the little boat begins to turn away as hard as it can, the crew already preparing for the return fire that's bound to be sent their way.

    Tiny mans the Bofors gun at the back, attempting to keep any bombers or fighters who might want to target the little wooden boat, assisted by the .50 and 20mm guns.

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    Alexis growls as the torpedo is blocked, and she charges the Heavy Cruiser. Her arm catches one of the shells, and she winces in pain as synthetic flesh is shorn off. "-fuck!" She still ahs the gun, and she opens fire as she moves in close, dishing out a furious uppercut to the Abyssal after leaping to close the distance.

Gaonoir has posed:
Gaonoir did not expect one of the Water Demons to come into the air after him. Or was too focused on cutting down the Abyssal aircraft. Either way he doesn't notice the enemy's sudden ascent until she's literally under him. The fist slams into his helmeted head, snapping it to the side with the blow. Then she starts to drop away again.

But even with the startling blow the Digimon's honed reflexes are faster, and one gauntlet snaps out to grab onto the Water Demon before she can fall out of his reach. "Not so fast there." Metal digits tighten as he lifts her back up to look at him, eye to eye, his visibly narrowing behind the knight-like visor. "You've spread enough sorrow with your darkness." His tone is cold yet sharp like any blade should be.

"Now feel mine." The cape flares out behind him, showing it's seemingly endless shadows within the folds.

"Tenebrae Shroud"

The darkness erupts from within the cape, spreading and wrapping around them as it closes in to the point of claustrophobic discomfort. Even the digimon's dark form seems to meld into the shadows as he lets go of her. But by that point the Dark Digitron presence is already clenching tighter, forcefully constricting around her tighter and tighter....

Wo has posed:
Oh no, the enemy has mastered the power of Dual-Tecs. They truly have no hope of stopping them now! These 'new' Abyssals continue to find new ways to surprise Wo, as she's able to watch this from the perspective of her fighters in the vicinity. Those same Mk.2 fighters, once Nagato calls out her intent, scatter briefly away from the area, hopefully giving those ones in blue the same idea. In the process, two of them are caught in pincers of cannon fire from the white 'meatball' forms and belch smoke from scars on their wings. One is still able to remain airborne and limp away into evasive maneuvers, but another lapses into a steep dive before smashing, explosively, into the water. Wo's dive bombers, en route, actually briefly pass by their own counterparts, broadcasting this information back, though able to do relatively little about such an overwhelming quantity, and lacking the kinds of heavy guns to deal with it.

    She relays as much to her new escort, Reina Kinney, radioing over directly from where she's moved back onto the bridge, "We have dive bombers incoming. I'm not sure of your armament, but try to keep as many from getting through the screen as possible. And, be careful of yourself, too. I doubt they're discriminating much with what they target."

    Of course, at this range, it's relatively short warning. Figuring a vague heading, as well as consulting the air radar, Wo steers her ocean fit-out to present as little target area as she possibly can for the incoming dive bombers. When the ones aimed at her do arrive, they find the anti-air machine guns and 5 inch dual purpose guns blasting away. Despite all those efforts, all that can be really done is to weather the storm and hope to not get hit somewhere vital. Three of the bombs do find a mark, one cratering, and then exploding, a piece of the forward flight deck, before a fire breaks out. Another sheers off a piece of the side structure, as well as rendering inoperable AA guns that were fixed along it. And, finally, an aft piece of the flight deck, though the damage there looks superficial.

    Wo visibly winces, as despite it being more of a quasi-ocean fit-out, she an still feel the damage inflicted upon it as though it were her own body. But...there was no critical damage, and the all-important elevators are still operational. From below decks, some strange, spherical creatures that look vaguely like Wo's flight deck emerge, and make a belching kind of sound as they go that burning hole in the forward flight deck, beginning to...uh, secrete some kind of viscous fluid onto it. Is that what passes for a damage control team among Abyssals? But it's surprisingly effective at suppressing the flames.

    And her own dive bombers arrive at Jellyfish's vicinity, moving into attack position under both heavy fighter and anti-air cover, before entering their deadly plunge. Out of the original six, half their number have sparks fly off their wings and other airframe projections, before bursting into flames. They never get dissuaded, though, intent to deliver their payload, even if they aren't able to recover after. Wo's fighters try to keep the heat off of them, but ultimately at the end, when it comes time to pull back up, only two of the bombers are actually able. The rest continue their plunge to its logical and unfortunate conclusion.

Midway has posed:
    Destroyer Water Demon lets out a sound when she's grabbed and hauled back up, meeting Gaonoir's glower with her own young, stern glare and bared, fanged teeth. Kicking her feet, she snaps back, "Say whatever you want, I'll never stop protecting my family!" Her free hand swings at the Jetdog's face again as he winds up his shadow attack, and something curious happens. There's a blasting noise, like explosive bolts, and Destroyer drops suddenly again, falling free before the shadows can fully enclose her. What is enshrouded and crushed is her discarded gauntlet-- she only has one glove remaining, approximately half her arsenal, as she's falling back to the sea.

    "Ghh..!" Heavy Cruiser Water Demon staggers as she tries to put distance between herself and Maaka, favoring her wound from the earlier stage of the Operation. The uppercut punch is leaned away from, however. Trailing smoke and oil from various damage, Heavy Cruiser comes back around on Maaka with her three remaining tails. One attempts to bite the woman's arm, while the other two open fire at close range.

    This fighting is getting savage. Are they desperate?

    Bombers on various strike orders are targeted. One by one, fearsome white Abyssal planes succumb to anti-air fire and fighter cover. They deposit their ordnance over Yamashiro and Wo, Nagato, and attempt to drop on Kagurazaka with much less success. Conversely, the denser swarm of fighters over Jellyfish's besieged main body descend on the bombers threatening her, diving in and out of the formation in swift attacks rather than attempts at pursuit fire. This kind of harassment tactic mirrors what they've done on previous operations. But even if the majority of bombers are lost, the distinction is between those lost before versus those lost after successfully loosing their payloads.

    Explosions ripple up Jellyfish's flight deck, and she staggers where she stands. Her hands reach out for balance, though she ignores the fires catching behind her. The impact that knocks her off her feet is the torpedoes launched by Leyanne's torpedo boat. The blasts send up huge geysers of water, splashing across the deck around her while she picks herself up. The entire deck is slanting at an angle, now, as the ship's interior starts to flood. Additional fire from Task Force 6, the Americans in the distance, explodes against her opposite side, ripping out chunks of armor and plating.

    The fighters above start to grow disorganized, and begin acting as one might assume to be their 'own' volition rather than under orders. Jellyfish herself drops her arms to her sides, staring at the sky, past the air battle raging above her.

    "...Flames of battle... flames of pain... This flame is hot...isn't it...?" she murmurs, curiously audible despite how quietly she speaks, "...But not as hot as that day... that sun... A flame that incinerates everything..."

    "--My Princess!" Destroyer calls out when her feet hit the water, "Stay in the 'now'!" Sweeping her un-gauntleted, pale hand, she shouts, "Don't follow that pain! Don't!"

    "We can't...do this without you..!" Heavy Cruiser adds her voice to the encouragement while struggling with Maaka in close quarters.

Reina Kinney has posed:
When Wo is hit, immediately Reina moves into a better position to cover her. "I've got this! Stay back!" She calls out, before moving into an attack formation. There are, indeed, numerous enemies, but Reina's got her rapid fire shots going. "Don't worry, I'll protect you!" Reina knows she's in a dangerous spot, but it's better her than Wo.

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    Alexis cries out in pain as she feels the tail bite on her arm, pulling HARD on it. Given how it's already pretty badly gnawed up from damage as it is, if Heavy Cruiser keeps pulling she'll tear the damn thing right out of the socket. Alexis fires her machine gun point blank, only for it to jam up, a spent casing stuck in the chamber before it can eject. "Oh no no no no!" She roars, before she tosses the weapon aside, and draws a knife to try and stab the Abyssal.

    This may not be a good idea, given she's just a strong yank away from losing an arm right about now. Somebody may wanna hurry up and help her.

Shigure has posed:
    Yamashiro takes the dive bomb to her number 3 turret. It punched through the cap, and detonated within, sending fragments of metal spinning off and wrecking the entire turret, leaving it to sag and sway limply in its track. Black oil seeps from a wound on her cheek, and stains the white of her outfit from puncture wounds the shrapnel caused along her torso. Not major damage just yet.

    And then Nagato breaks formation. "May Kami-sama look after you, Nagato-teitoku." she says, before redirecting her efforts to clearing the sky above the Princess. "Load Sanshiki. Elevation 35 degrees. Spread ten degrees. Stagger fire, 2.5 seconds. Ready! FIRE!"

    Her rig ratchets out into position again, the ruined #3 creaking and sparking in the track, while the others angle and begin firing. They stagger fire, spreading the 'love' across as much sky as possible, raining fans of burning magnesium and molten metal shrapnel in amongst the leaderless Abyssal aircraft.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leeroy turns towards Maaka, harassed by fighters that strafe the little wooden boat. The repeating ka-thunk ka-thunk of the Bofors gun heralds the little PT boat's self-defense, swatting Abyssal fighters from the air even as the little wooden ship takes punishment; the cannon and machine gun fire ripples through his hull with ease.

    Making Zoidberg noises, the boat's pilot swerves and zig-zags as the side gunners open fire while Leyanne re-targets, letting the 20mm guns attempt to keep the fighters off Leeroy's hull as the Bofors gun swings around to target Heavy Cruiser... dammit, no clear shot, she can't risk firing without hitting Maaka.


    "Maaka! Can you get me a clear shot with my forty? I-" She radios. She's about to say more when she's interrupted.

    "Chto, chert voz'mi?" The big Russian piebald mouse-ogre points at Nagato. "What is the Admiral doing?"

Wo has posed:
The flight deck is not critically damaged, but the truth of the matter is that, while the two dive bombers and fighters can limp back and hope for fresh replacements, they won't be arriving too quickly. Once the fire is put out, the damage to the flight deck still remains, and that will take a while longer to sort out. Those same 'damage control imps' from before get to work with a suitably temporary solution, chewing up bits of the well-worn, charred black wood and then placing it back down as granular cement, with the wood pulp worked in. It's really quite disgusting to watch, to be honest, but whatever works. A few more moments for it to set, and she should be able to launch fresh aircraft again.

    In the meanwhile, though, she heeds Reina's calls over the radio, dropping back her speed and letting her escort come to the front of their small formation. Thankfully, despite the glowing orange-red hot welds look of the carrier's hull, the actual heat it puts off is tolerable enough to stand close to. Directly touching is still not advised. "I think the enemy's will might be breaking. Though that can either be good or bad for us," she remarks. "I somewhat understand how they must feel, as well."

    Running short of fuel by holding their formations all this time, the Mk.2 Abyssal fighters begin trying to make their way back to their mothership. A few are doggedly pursued, no longer held by tightly grasped reigns, perhaps. They dodge and weave as best they can, and a couple more do succumb to the frenetics of the situation, but somehow most of the wing makes it back, even the one that about got its wing shot off earlier.

    More privately, though, as Wo watches the damage control imps go to work, and the aircraft coming in for landings before going back below decks for repairs and resupply, she too stares a bit long. "Nagato, what on Earth are you thinking of this time?" She hopes Yuna hasn't started rubbing off on other people.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa keeps her air power going but she's also putting some torpedo bombers into the mix. The torpedo bombers are directed to go after the Heavy Cruiser Water Demon to lend Maaka some support. They will make their attack runs deploying torpedoes and they will try to bank away. Other bombers are not so lucky as some are taken out and the fighters counter attack. She keeps directly the fighters.

She then pauses at the Jellyfish's words.

"A ... man made sun that consumed everything in it's past....our greatest sin."

A terror that can never be put back in the box. Even with what her world has developed they are still terrifying weapons of destruction and with the clean up technology someone might /dare/ to use them.

She thinks more in her world Old America used captured war ships after the second world war as nuclear weapon test targets to research the effect on naval fleets. If this held true for the Princess? She has a hunch of what happen but Nagato knows it far better than she does. Maaka is in trouble and she orders another strike but all of this /is/ likely making herself a target. She will trust in the Admiral as she always have.

Nagato has posed:
    With all the hell that's going around, the bombs drop down onto Nagato, breaking her rigging a bit... a successful, if not majorly damaging, hit. There's a wince and she presses on, the battleship's trudging along and heading forward... ready to shell the hell out of everything that tries to go towards her and her misfit fleet. At least, she would until she heard those words from Jellyfish Princess... something about it just... clicking inside of her head.

    "I.. think I know her." she whispers, blinking a bit more... "Sun? Flame that...?" she blinks a bit more and gasps. "Breaking formation, flagship transfer to Kagurazaka." and with that, she cuts her radio connection temporarily... and pours on the speed, turning her guns back, unloaded.... and letting them fire, picking her up out of the water and speeding up.

    "She was there..." comes a whisper, "She was that one Re-Class was talking about, wasn't it?" her heart was pounding... she was launching planes... she had to be a carrier of some sort. Why is this information escaping her?! She kicks off the water and tries to push her speed faster and faster. Maaka was in the way with Destroyer... and the other was in the way as well. Jellyfish was her target.

    "JELLYFISH PRINCESS!" she shouts, trying to get her attention. "Bikini Atoll!" she shouts once more... flinging herself through... "I was there too... the bright sun that sank us all. The heat... the weight of all of our sins... and all of our work..." Nagato's heart is pounding hard but she leaps... rigging falling off and she tries to tackle Jellyfish into an embrace. It worked for Armiger that one time... it almost worked for Destroyer Demon here with Yuna

    "I was there too..."

    "Saratoga. It's Nagato. Please... don't do this anymore."

Gaonoir has posed:
Gaonoir lets out a surprised snarl at the sudden explosion, holding up both arms to shield himself and Erika with the shield-like vambraces as the compression of shadows is shattered by the blast and DWD falls away once more. Smoke hisses off his armored form as what remains of the darkness is pulled back into his cape, a few noticable digital cracks in his armor. The Dark Digitron is an extension of himself in many ways, and though it wasn't direct damage that explosion exposed it to considerable drain.

"I'm not going to be able to hold this form much longer," he grumbles low enough only the girl on his shoulder will hear. Not really a surprise after being through two fierce battles already.

Erika on the other hand is kind of glad the attack ended suddenly, being inside that darkness was creepy feeling even to her. "Then I suggest you make it count."

"Of course," Gaonoir narrows his gaze again, trusting Nagato to do whatever it is she intends. "Still air space to clear out..." The fighters seem.. disoriented? Let's capitalize on that.

As he hovers a bit lower than before Gaonoir flexes his arms and clenches his fists, but not to deploy his battle claws this time.

"HOOOOOWLBACK DESTROYAAAAAH!"

The beast within lives up to the 'howl' part, unleashing an electrosonic pulse radiating through the air to try and farther disable the remaining abyssal airforces.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Yuna knows a little bit about the World Wars of the 20th century on Earth - centuries before her time, yet still heavy with lessons that humanity only accepted slowly, painfully, over the decades which followed. Over time, those painful lessons finally sank in - and by the time of Yuna's birth, a planet once torn apart regularly by war finally knew peace. National borders were largely a thing of the past; the maps still existed, but more as a tradition than as a point of politics.

Nagato's duel with Re-Class occasioned Yuna reviewing some of that old history, so she's at least aware of the flame of which the Jellyfish Abyssal Princess is talking about. There's still a lot she *doesn't* know in detail - but those details aren't important now. What *is* important, for Kagurazaka, is assuming the flagship role after Nagato leaps out of formation.

There's also the fact that she didn't do nearly enough damage to the bombers on their attack run; even if Kagurazaka had come through that totally unscathed, the damage to her friends and fleetmates is ... well, it would be 'unforgivable' if she didn't suddenly have more to think about. Maybe that's part of why Nagato handed off the flagship role to her - to keep her from running wild.

"All ships, maintain fire but watch your aim!" she calls out. "Don't focus so much on the enemy flagship; if Nagato takes any friendly fire I'm having Akashi bill you personally!" Kagurazaka herself is maintaining the anti-air firepower - covering her allies as well as she can, even as she sees, and to a lesser extent hears, what Nagato is going after.

She's just hoping that it works. If it does, all the better. If it *doesn't* ... well, Kagurazaka doesn't write anybody off. If Nagato comes back from this an Abyssal, Kagurazaka is more than willing to fight her solo until Nagato comes back as her non-Abyssal self.

She's hoping it doesn't come to that.

Midway has posed:
    Abyssal fighters scatter, both from their own lack of coordination and from the losses incurred by Gaonoir's sudden wide-range attack. The planes that don't recede are destroyed, their wreckage raining down into the waves below. The ludicrous air power of the Jellyfish Princess is becoming far more manageable. Especially since Enterprise's Corsairs had the sense to fall back when Wo's Mk2s did. Those blue gull-winged planes dive back in as soon as the pulse is through, though, harassing the survivors in tandem with the sleek black Abyssal planes still present from Wo's air wing.

    Nagato dashes past where Destroyer Water Demon landed, and she puts up her hand to shield her face from the sea spray. Picking herself up, she pursues the battleship, "No you don't!"

    Heavy Cruiser Water Demon hisses between her teeth. The knife buries itself in her shoulder, causing a spray of oily black 'blood' and a grunt of pain. Her tail wrenches, and she attempts to use both her tail and her hands to throw Alexis away from herself. She turns, too, fixing glowing violet eyes on the scene unfolding upon the deck of Jellyfish Princess' sinking body.

    "I..don't know you..!" the Princess insists as Nagato approaches. In a panic, bombers dive on the battleship, though their hastily dropped payloads land harmlessly wide. She takes a step back, as the flight deck's leading edge approaches the water, "..Stay back..! Don't come any closer..!" However, she lacks the ability to enforce such a request. Rigging slams into the deck, discarded, and the pale woman is wrapped up in an embrace. She shrieks, struggling with all her might, until the name is uttered.

    Immediately, she goes still, staring into the sky. Tears well up in her violet eyes, starting to run from the corners of her eyes, "...S...Sara..toga..."

    "Princess..!" Destroyer Water Demon skids to a halt just shy of the sinking hulk, her posture low and hostile, but unwilling to advance any further with Nagato in such a position. She simply glares, teeth bared, tears in her own eyes from her anger and frustration.

    Geysers of water are what force her to pull back, and she shoots her glare into the distance. The sources, approaching fast, are the two battleships and the carrier who had been here since the start. Task Force Six.

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    Welp. Alexis loses the knife, but keeps her arm thankfully. She's flung away, skipping across the water like a stone before she begins to float...and sink. Oh shit. This is bad. Alexis feels her engines fail on her, and she frantically tries to swim to the surface. Her bum arm is pretty much hanging on by bone and some tendons, which means she can only do so much before she begins to sink bellow the surface.

    This is not exactly the best night for her.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Leeroy pulls up next to Alexis, a ladder being thrown over the side to let her climb on board. At the same time, Leyanne turns the handles to carefully centre her crosshairs on Heavy Cruiser. "From Sweden, with love." Leyanne mutters, tapping in a rough range estimate and setting the gun to five-round burst. Leeroy rocks again as the 40mm autocannon opens up with a full string of five rounds, intended to airburst in the vicinity of Maaka's target.

    A black mouse holds out his hand to help Alexis up onto the boat. "Welcome to Leeroy's Bar, Grill, Torpedoes and Rescues, can we take your order?" he says, cheerfully, quirking his antennae.

Gaonoir has posed:
The sound of someone hitting the water and not coming back up from it snaps Gaonoir's attention away from what remains of the Abyssal air fighters, leaving them to the other aircraft to finish wiping up. There was a time long ago when he simply would not of cared... but those times were long since behind him.

"I'll get her! Keep cover on the Admiral!" Just in case her attempt doesn't work, someone needs to blow away whatever remains of the enemy.

Gaonoir turns midair and dives, even as the cracks in his armor split and fragment farther. Erika hunchs down on his back to avoid hitting the water directly, even as she feels the Digimon's form starting to faulter and devert to an earlier form. Good thing she wore an floatation vest.

There's still a sizable splashdown, since it's in his more beastial Adult stage that Gaonoir actually hits the water. But this form has the best reach, sending down both his scarf-like appendages to grab Alexis and pull her back to the surface, and help her over to the PT boat.

Alexis Maaka (571) has posed:
    HANDS!

    Alexis frantically grabs onto that hand, before she's greeted with a giant mouse. "Oh." She sputters, soaking wet, and she accepts the help as she climbs aboard. "Thanks, I'll take a fixed arm and...a new gun. Shit, Nagato's gonna have me hanged for this." She says, slumping on the deck while she rests her limp arm in her lap. That thing is gonna take some -serious- work to fix. At least water doesn't seem to do much damage.

Wo has posed:
The pain she'd felt was still stinging, but it's not enough to distract her from everything at hand, as well as listening to Yuna's coordination of the task force. With the flight deck damage cemented over as a quick fix, a fresh wave of fighters is beginning to emerge, freshly fueled and yet not really looking that eager for a fight. Accordingly, rather than moving to engage the scattered remnants of Jellyfish's, perhaps emerging - Saratoga's, own fighter wing, they simply move to a spot high enough to observe and keep watch on the surface ships that had been with her. It's also enough for Wo to facepalm a bit at the aftermath of Nagato's actions, and confirm exactly what she was hoping not to find. And yet, behind that black glove...there's the faintest trace of a smile, despite it all.

    Wo had lost the ability to use the shared Abyssal communication channel long ago, and even then these sorts don't seem to have the same capability anyway. Nonetheless, she directs a message to both both the Destroyer and Heavy Cruiser over a frequency and modulation type that they ought to understand, "You two seem to care about your Princess a lot. So you should know that, at this point, continuing to fight might only bring her more pain. That task force from earlier is closing in, as well." She lets that sink in, and follows up with, "Do what you feel you must, though. That's just my observation, from having been on both sides."

Leyanne Mace has posed:
The mice help Gaonoir and Erika on board too, offering dry towels and beers.

Nagato has posed:
    Nagato didn't care about Destroyer Water Demon chasing after her or the daggers that Heavy Cruiser Water Demon is glaring into her... The seaspray of misdropped bombs reach high as Nagato holds Jellyfish close. She buries her face into the pale neck of her 'capture' and a whisper is given... "Saratoga." reaffirming the name. "It will be okay. I'm here... I sunk there too under the hate filled sun and flames of agony. We ... we don't have to fight each other anymore."

    The yell of Princess captures Nagato's attention, her eyes give Destroyer Water Demon this look. It was a pain filled look, a look of understanding for how she felt, "We don't have to do this..." she turns back to Heavy Cruiser, "Stand down. Both of you." she turns her attention back to Jellyfish, lifting her up slightly, "We both sunk there... and we both have risen..." a soft sigh, "I was you, once. But it doesn't have to be this way, Saratoga. It... may take more convincing, or more time, but... the Fleet is here for you... We won't let you experience that day again."

    She turns her radio back on, there's a light sigh over it. "All ships..." she starts, saying this loud enough for Destroyer and Heavy Cruiser to hear. "Stand down. Enemy carrier disabled." she takes another breath, looking towards the sky... "The dawn's horizon is coming soon. Shall we experience a sun filled with peace together? I... would like to."

Reina Kinney has posed:
Meanwhile, Reina can only roll her eyes and shake her head at Nagato's actions. "What were you THINKING?!" Reina exclaims, banging her hand on her console. Nevertheless, Reina focuses on Yuna's coordination and remembers Nagato's orders. She makes sure to fire upon the enemies while keeping Wo covered. Eventually, she hears Nagato on the radio again, and for a moment Reina thinks she's hallucinating. But then she realizes she's really hearing this, and for a moment, all she can do is bite her tongue to keep from making a sarcastic remark. Eventually, she takes a deep breath and blows it out before saying, "Affirmative."

Gaonoir has posed:
Once the girls are safely onto the boat Gaonoir hauls himself on with some help, shedding the remainder of his spent energy and collapsing onto the deck in his smaller form. Then pushes himself up and slumps against the railing as his eyes dart out towards the remaining enemy.

Then Nagato's message to stand down comes, and he slouchs completely. "Thank Goddramon. I don't have the energy left to digivolve again." The blankets and drinks are accepted, if only because it'll help start rebuilding his energy.

Though he nearly drops the can when Erika scoops him into a hug. "Gaaah!" "I'm so proud of you, you stopped fighting to help rescue someone~" Squirms a little, but for as young as she is Erika's embrace is practically unbreakable. "Not in public!"

Shigure has posed:
    CLANK, CRRRRK-CHK. The rigging on Yamashiro's back ratchets back into reload position, then the barrels swing out to the sides and up into parade rest. "Fully Acknowledging Broadcast. Stand To." She looks around at the others. Battleworn, battered, others back at the American support fleet, broken and in need of extensive repairs, but all alive. She looks at her shattered turret, then at Nagato embracing an old friend. "I can never know the pain you endured, Admiral... in some ways, I envy you for having such a strong thing to fight against. I only have this misfortune." she murmurs to herself.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Alexis is too far away for Kagurazaka to help, but luckily, Leyanne is a lot closer and is able to rescue the cyborg. Other than that ...

It seems like the battle's pretty much over, thanks to Nagato's gamble and a generous dollop of pure good luck. The Jellyfish Princess's aerial detachment is in a state of increasing disarray, and when Nagato reports that the enemy carrier has been 'disabled,' Kagurazaka lets out a sigh of relief and ceases fire. She doesn't stand down *entirely* until she has visual confirmation (i.e. 'seeing with her own eyes') that planes and bombers are no longer attacking - but once she's comfortably certain that the fight is finally over, she sets about engaging the safeties on her guns (rifle, mounted turrets, and anti-air guns alike), turning her attention back to her allies - taking stock for herself of who needs what kind of support, assistance, or repairs.

Akashi might want a preliminary damage report too, just so the docks and baths can be forewarned what to expect when the fleet returns home.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
The mice fistbump Erika, Aleksis, even Gaonoir if he's equipped for it as the little PT boat rejoins the fleet. Aleksis is allowed to slump where she likes, but seats are available for comfortable slumping. Cigars and beers are handed out, the driver refusing a beer because he's driving, while the others don't pop theirs until all the guns are safed and disarmed.

    It's going to be a lot of work putting poor Leeroy back into his original condition. In several places, his hull is more patch than original planking. Countless tiny leaks mean the bilge pump has to remain on at all times, even if it's not having to work at full power anymore thanks to the patching done by Akashi.

Midway has posed:
    Heavy Cruiser Water Demon hunches as she's peppered with anti-air ammunition, which keeps her from pursuing any further harm on Maaka. Flecks of oil spray behind her when she's hit, and she shields her face until the burst fire ends. Staggering, she takes a moment to steady herself, then simply sinks into the water. All that's left behind is a slowly spreading pool of oil where the damaged cruiser had been standing.

    Skidding back from gunfire launched by the approaching battleships, Destroyer Water Demon steadies herself with her gauntlet-clad hand, glowering at Nagato. Rising, she snaps, "That's two precious things you've taken from me, today! Don't think I'll forgive this!" Raising her gauntlet-clad hand, she shakes a finger, "I'll come out when you least expect it, and I'll rip you APART! ..And I don't care how many goons you have to hide behind!" Leaning forward, she starts to sink into the sea as well, "Don't /sleep/, Japanese Battleship..!" And then, like the Heavy Cruiser before her, Destroyer Water Demon is gone.

    Jellyfish Princess remains quiet, though. Through all the drama, she stares at the sky, tears running from her eyes. Around her, the sinking hulk of her carrier body begins to glow, dissolving in golden light and depositing Nagato on the ocean's surface. In the air, her aircraft likewise begin to dissolve, one by one, until only Corsairs and Zeros and Mk2 fighters rule the skies. Only after that does she start to laugh, closing her eyes. It's a soft chuckle at first, steadily growing louder until her shoulders shake. And as she laughs, her eyes open, and the laugh transitions steadily into a sorrowful wail, choked sobbing for several minutes while her dress, likewise, begins to glow.

    It only ceases when she passes out, but the woman who passes out is a brunette in a white dress, with a much healthier complexion.

    A few meters away, the three newcomers slow to a stop. The leader, BB61, presses her hands together. When she starts to close in, BB63 rests a hand on her shoulder and shakes her head. Don't ruin the moment.

Nagato has posed:
    She pays heed to Destroyer Water Demon, her eyes turning back to her. "I await the day, Destroyer Water Demon." she replies simply, watching her and her compatriate depart as well before she turns towards the carrier in her hands. Nagato looks slightly confused at the laughing but as it turns to the sorrowful wailing, Nagato hoists up Jellyfish and hugs her tightly, "It's okay, sister." she whispers, "I'm here. I'm here." she strokes Saratoga's back gently, looking at the sky...

    Her motto was 'Find Victory on the Dawns Horizon'... she obtained a victory here, but there was more. For now, she keeps her embrace on the now transformed Saratoga... and she looks to the approaching newcomers. "I'm Admiral Nagato..." she whispers, her head bowed towards the three, it's an apologetic bow from something ancient in her mind. "Thank you."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa hears the order to stand down and recalls her planes, one by one they will return to land on her held out flight deck, she slows down a bit and seems /happy/ Nagato made a hell of a risk but it's one she respect and would have done if she was in such a situation her self. She falls in to catch up her allies now. She seems fairly happy too Nagato took a big risk, but it paid off and it's seemingly brought the battle to the end she watches as the Princess passes out but seems to be someone else. She'll comes close to shore but doesn't ... move in this isn't her place but she does watch.

Shigure has posed:
    Over the horizon, as the sun begins it slow rise after the long night of combat, comes the familiar shape of a 'Maru' transport ship. Akitsu Maru to be exact. On the foredeck, stands a blonde girl in a black serafuku, one leg propped up on the railing as she cups her hands around her mouth and shouts across the ocean. "POOOOOOOOOOOOI!"

    Yuudachi radios in her arrival, just in case her shout didn't make it obvious.

Leyanne Mace has posed:
Upon hearing the 'POOOOI' echo across the waves, there's a brief discussion amongst the mice on board. A pair of ear defenders are placed over Maaka's ears, before the mice tuck in their antennae and put on ear defenders of their own. A signal is passed from the bow to the stern of the boat as everyone checks their ear defenders. The Deltic engine chugs up to full bore. Then, the boat's driver pushes a small, insignificant button.

    FFFNNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRP!

    Leeroy's foghorn sounds. It's quite clearly the foghorn from a much, much, much larger ship.