Legends

Chapter 43~ The Toll

The attack to retake the channel coast had been a costly one. Not just in girls sunk but in the beating the survivors took. For Lafayette, it was a rude awakening to the true realities of being a warship. And she wasn't a warship, not really. Her role in war was meant to be the same as it was in peace, to transport people. This had been her first real test in combat and she had failed, miserably. Ark Royal had been sunk because she failed to intercept the Abyssal planes.

What was worse, was the fact that Lafayette didn't suffer any punishment for her failure either from her own chain of command or the enemy. She returned to port without a scratch compared to some of the others. Upholder was the only survivor of the kanmusu submarine contingent. Hood and Campbeltown would need months of work in the docks before they could go out to sea again. Makon was badly wounded in the fight and although Hindenburg was able to get her charge to safety, it wasn't clear if she would make it.

Lafayette sighed, holding back a sob as she downed another glass of fine French bourbon in the solitude of her room. From her own stock, the bottle would have cost upwards of several thousand once. Now, she was pounding them back like water. A knock sounded at her door but she ignored it in favor of pouring herself another glass. As she did so, a pair of hands came down on her shoulders, the grip gentle and soothing.

Lafayette twisted her head around to meet the compassionate green gaze of Queen Mary. "May I join you?" She asked. "Oui."

Mary went to the cabinets and pulled out a glass for herself, joining Lafayette across the table. "This won't be the last time you'll have to go through this." She said.

"Losing friends I can handle, Mary." Lafayette growled. "I had to write off my entire fleet as essentially dead to me once France fell. But not when it's my fault."

"And how was Ark Royal's loss your fault?" Mary asked. "You think if you had your planes in position they would have stopped the strike from happening?"

"Dammit yes! Yes I know that could have worked." Lafayette growled.

"Maybe it might have. We'll never know for sure. What I do know is that the Abyssals were performing another of their hammer and anvil attacks." Mary said.

"There was another carrier?" Lafayette wondered.

"Actually there were four. Washington sighted them as they retreated through the North Sea. If you hadn't led the task force away as soon as you did, you might have shared Ark Royal's fate." Mary replied.

"It doesn't change the fact that I left her behind. She-she was wounded but alive when we turned around. The others don't say it but I can see it in their eyes. They blame me, wish I was the one on the bottom now instead of Ark. And they're right." Lafayette knocked back the last of her drink just in time before Mary gripped her fiercely.

Surprised, Lafayette looked up to see Mary's green eyes had lost their compassionate sparkle and were now hard. "You think you're the only ship here who knows what it's like to leave friends behind? Leave her behind knowing she would die?!" Mary swallowed hard. "It's the hardest thing any of us have to do. But we do it because stopping would be far worse. Look at me Lafayette! We keep going, no matter what. You understand?"

"I, understand Mary." Lafayette sighed, closing her eyes when the British liner leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

For Curacoa, the mess hall was a welcome relief after the docks. Medusa had checked her out and determined that her injuries were nothing a hot meal and rack time couldn't fix. Easy for her to say. She wasn't right next to Prince of Wales when the battleship took two 1000 lb bombs right through the smokestack. A third finished her off by igniting her magazine. She'd gone down in flames, clinging to Repulse as the other battleship did her best to soothe her even as she faced death herself.

Curacoa wanted nothing more than to curl up in her room like Lafayette was no doubt doing and liquefy her brain until she could forget this day altogether. But the smell of food wafting from the mess hall was too tempting. It was common after a mission for there to be comfort food placed out and this was no exception. Although the cruiser noted a different variety than before. The aromas gave off a far more homely vibe and she understood why when she saw several of the ocean liners on kitchen duty.

"Here you are dear." Queen Elizabeth dropped three chocolate chip cookies on Curacoa's plate.

"Thank you." Curacoa nodded to her and continued on. She found a place out of the way in the corner, away from the majority of the shipgirl contingent gathered in the center tables. Nevertheless, she was noticed. Her radar pinged with a very familiar signature and stifling a sigh, the cruiser set her plate down and braced herself.

Instead of the vigorous handling where she'd be swung around in the air a few times before being held hostage, Curacoa was surprised when Big U simply spun her around and embraced her in a far more gentler manner. Her grip was tight but the hug was more comforting than crushing. Curacoa found herself leaning into it.

"I'm here for you, okay?" Big U's voice was soft.

Curacoa couldn't take it anymore. She wrapped her arms around the liner's midsection and clung to her as she cried.