Azur Lane: Return of Davis

Chapter 21: Attu

March 3, 1942

I keep mulling over what Akagi said. Amagi-san's death, Yuuki-shikikan, Tosa-sama... If what she said is true, then these questions in my kimono might hold a truth not even Nagato-sama is prepared for...

Ayanami: "Zuikaku-san. Are you okay?"

"Ah? Oh, yeah."

Alongside Shoukaku and I, the foxes sent Ayanami, Fusou, Ashigara and Aoba to watch the Azur Lane, under the guise of a strike force. We've been sailing for some time, but now I can see the archipelago of Hawaii in the distance with my planes.

"Everyone! We are but a few knots away from the danger zone. Enter double line formation and move with purpose! We must stay hidden."

A volley of confirmation meets my ears as we split and speed towards a set of islands.

Aoba, over radio: "Aoba, reporting in."

"Speak."

Aoba: "I see a large fleet leaving the base." The fiddling of binoculars can be heard. "I count, uh... 18?"

"Wait, 18? Like 1-8?"

Aoba: "Yes ma'am. Uh, let's see here... I see that Z23 girl... Some more destroyers... A couple of battleships, both Eagle and Royal... Hey, Ayanami, who's the girl in the center?"

Ayanami: "That is... Enterprise."

Enterprise... ザ・グレイゴースト?

"That... They might be housing the Commander."

Ashigara: "Let's strike while the Commander isn't home!"

"No, we're here for the Commander, not to make a mess of the place. All units, reconverge. We're going to turn off technology and follow them from a distance."

A less than optimistic yes hits my ears.

Why'd I agree to this?

--

The radio goes live.

Repulse: "Commander! I detected something odd on radar. Should I engage?"

"No, we're too close to base. It might be a girl who didn't sync something properly or forgot to deactivate a signal jammer. Keep an eye out for the weird signal. If it keeps following us, you're free to blow it to high heaven."

Repulse: "Roger!"

The radio dies down.

I exhale out of my nose. "Right." I flick to all channels. "Ladies, this is your Commander speaking. Hope you're ready for the long haul, we're reaching Attu Island in about 6 days, 12 hours. Get comfy."

Arizona: "Question."

"Shoot."

Arizona: "Why do we have to go directly, and not stop at a harbor or something?"

"We don't exactly have the luxury of time on our side. For all we know, if we take a day's break, the soldiers on Attu will all be dead. We can't risk it."

Arizona: "Understood."

"Any other questions?"

...

"None? Alright. Onwards!"

--

Oh, yeah. Did I ever tell you which ship I'm on?

I'm on the Eldridge. And she's on top of my head, emitting sparks.

Eldridge: "Commander... Play... (Sparks fly everywhere)"

"Okay, okay."

It's day 4 of the trip. I have done the (stupid) technique of trying to (literally) hop on to the next ship over. Note to self (and anybody reading this): do not do that while on a ship going 17 mph. Just don't. Or rather, don't do that in general. There is at least 300 feet of straight distance, not to mention a negative height drop from a destroyer to a carrier. Thank God for rope. Otherwise, I'd be drowning right now.

Eldridge is acting like a little child (and I'm all for it, I love kids), but some people seem to think I'm doting on her too much.

Javelin: "C'mon, now, Eldridge. It isn't good to hog the Commander all to yourself."

Laffey nods enthusiastically. I'm guessing she just wants a lap to nap on or something.

Eldrige sparks up.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow." Eldrige stops. I rub her head as thanks.

Nimi: "Now, now. Jason, why are you doting on Eldrige like that?" Is it just me or is Nimi... jealous?

"When she clings to me like a pup to her papa, how am I not going to dote on her?"

???: "Oh, do you want children, Commander?"

"Belfast, I swear to God, we are not having this discussion in front of the kids. 'Specially in front of Nimi."

I look disapprovingly at Bel, who just got on the Eldridge.

"So, anything to report?"

Bel: "Aside from some of the girls slowly thinking you're a lot like Ray when he was brainwashed–"

"Tell them to say that shit to my face."

Bel: "–the signal Repulse mentioned? It's still behind us."

"And none of you decided to tell me that 'til now?"

Bel: "It seems they wanted to catch up, so they sped up, getting in range to our radars."

"Understood..." I get up, grabbing Eldridge and placing her on the ground. "If they wanted to kill us, we'd have been blasted like last Thursday. Who's at the back of the pack?"

Bel: "That would be Ms. Honolulu, who noticed their signal."

"Alright. I'm boarding the Honolulu and screech at our tailers. We don't need a time sink of a fight." I start popping my joints, ready for whatever comes next.

Eldridge: "Commander... Scary... (Her hair wilts down)"

I bend down to Eldridge's height. "Don't worry, nothing bad will happen. Promise."

Eldridge nods, her hair returning to its normal (fluffy) form.

"Let's go greet our visitors. It's rude to make them wait."

---

I love writing Eldridge. She may not be a part of my main team, but on god she's an absolutely adorable little gremlin I love her so damn much.

Anyways, hope ya enjoyed this short one.

Za gurei-gousuto?!