Azur Lane: The Adventure of the MS München

That isn't OSHA compliant!

23rd of January, 1942

3500km off the coast of San Diego

500km of Hawaii

Time: 1600 hours

Eagle Union Task Force 35

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The fierce storm that surrounded and held the fleet in place soon subsided, allowing the Kansen and the personnel aboard the various manned ships to enjoy a breathtaking view of what was now slowly being swallowed by the seas, minute by minute.

A cargo ship, nearly 860 feet long and over 100 feet wide, floated in front of them. Its radio tower (antennae) has fallen down, crushing one of the right bridge wings, breaking the structure and its windows. Smoke is coming from the bridge, light gray in color, indicating a fire. The rear of the superstructure was no better off.

The crane, which spans well over the 90 to 100 feet (almost the entire width of the ship), has come loose in the ride of the storm and crashed well into the back of the forward bridge, cracking it completely open and letting everyone see the inside of the ship's superstructure. From there various smoke clouds, both white and grey, escaped into the air.

Further down the ship, the side funnel was also badly damaged. Many of the lighters came loose around the same time the crane was thrown into the bridge, breaking their connections to the other lighters. The result was chaos and twisted metal. Some of the lighters were now hanging off the side of the ship, dragging the ship down and causing a visible list to starboard. Some of the lighters' cargo also slipped out, and some of it was lost in the deep abyss.

What was a real time-consuming problem was that the ship was taking water. Not in a normal way, but it was quickly noticed, while passing the ship, that it was bend amidships. This was what every Captain, Damage Control parties and Kansen fears.

A broken keel. Such damage can't easily be fixed in the open seas, let alone without any proper equipment. Not even a Repair ship can be of any help. Speaking of which-

"[This is USS Baltimore, small flotilla leader, under orders to assimilate with Task Force 35, heading for Oahu, Hawaii. We had lost sight of our LashCarrier. The 37,000-ton behemoth we were supposed to escort is lost in the huge waves, and we fear the worst. Can anyone hear me]?

Immediately, Admiral Fletcher took the radio in his hands and responded. "[This Admiral Jack Fletcher, Commander of Task Force 35. USS Baltimore, we have your Cargo ship in front of us.]"

"[Oh, thank god. I thought she was lost to the waves, again. How is she? Must have been a wild ride for each member of the Taffy, correct?]"

Fletcher looked out the bridge window and saw the ship next to the Yorktown list 20 degrees to starboard, taking on more water than the ship could hold. Many of the crew had already either dropped their anchors or activated their fire monitors, trying to put out the visible fires that had broken out among the lighters, on the deck, and in what could easily look like an open can.

"[That was the only good news I was able to tell you. The bad news is that the ship has critical damage and is an unknown amount of water. We are about to enter the ship and rescue any personnel on the ship.]"

"[...]" It was rather understandable that the first real mission for the newest heavy cruiser on the EU Navy list didn't go as planned. For it to go down south hard was obviously never expected. "Alright. I can see the huge black smoke appearing on the horizon. We will proceed to your current position. I will inform Vestal that the cargo ship must be flipped to reach Hawaii.]"