The Lame Duck Off Linosa

Tama nodded. It was good that she found an Admiral that loved his ships. Though, she knew it bothered him deeply. He truly loved them like family so whenever he had to send them off to battle, you could physically see the distress that came over him. None of them understood really what had happened to have him react like this. It was under many of the shipgirls stationed there that the Admiral might have fallen in love with a shipgirl who sunk under his command. But was that sort of love even allowed between humans and shipgirls? She didn’t know.

“A meowster…” Tama didn’t like the idea of that word. Master could mean something rather bad. She knew English often used one word that had several meanings. Right now, she only new master as a word for owner. It didn’t sit well with her at all, and her face could show it. 

But that was all changed when the loud yelling of another girl came in. Tama could not for the life of her understand a single word the other was saying. It had to be English, but the slang and accent were so different that she couldn’t translate anything. It must have been that other escort that was mentioned.

“Other escort is that, meow?”

Ohio glanced towards Tama, noticing her discomfort with the word master. The merchant knew what she was thinking - quite a few thought the title ‘Master’ had bad intimations, especially with the fact those they commanded were sapient beings - but couldn’t comment, not with Houston on the radio. Ohio sheepishly grinned, silently nodding as Houston continued.

Tama looks over to the other. Translate… translate…. Admiral? The commander? Underneath him? Well usually it was always the ground right? That seemed like a strange question to her. Perhaps there was another meaning to the word ‘under’? Are they nice? Oh, Ohio must have meant what it was like to be one of his ships!

It took her a solid 2 minutes to figure this out so she was completely quiet until she could reply well enough.

“Sorry. Tama had to translate, meow,” she gave an embarrassed look and begun to answer. “Admiral is nice, meow. Tama loves him very much.” Of course, she didn’t mean romantic love, but that was the only equivalent she could find. “Admiral treats his ships like people, not weapons. We friends.”

Ohio had almost begun to wonder if she needed to repeat herself when Tama finally responded. She had waited patiently, though her smile has been replaced by a little bit of worry, but it returned once Tama spoke. “Oh, love~? I like admirals who treat their shipgirls well,” she commented, fiddling with the radio attached to her rigging. 

“I have a Master, back in London. I don’t see him, he controls half of the entire British merchant fleet. So I can’t say too much about him, I only get orders. But with so many ships and shipgirls to command, I think I can understand why he’s impersonal.”

The radio knobs were turned a bit and Ohio stuck her tongue out slightly in concentration. She was trying to find a specific radio frequency when the Texan-accented voice of another shipgirl came through, extremely loud and clear.

“Ifin' ya wannabe Brit don’t git awn this frequency raahyt now, I’m goin'ta shove thayse barrels so fuh-ar uhp your—“

“Hello, Houston!”

She was not quite sure how she got into this damned town. It was American, probably the most American place she’d ever seen; and far from any major bodies of water. 

Gangut didn’t quite know what to do. But this “Moe’s” had many individuals stumbling away from it in the classic stagger of Yankees with no concept of holding down their liquor. She pushed the door of the establishment open, her noise wrinkling at the smell. Had this place ever been washed? She was unsure, but couldn’t say it was unexpected. Nobody in the place was recognisable, but there was an old bartender, obviously on duty. Perhaps that was Moe?

Gangut walked up to the bar and attempted to smile at the man, speaking English with a heavy Russian accent. She tilted her hat as well in respect, before taking it off entirely.

“Good evening, comrade. You are Moe? I wish to order drink. Moskovskaya, if you have it. A vodka.”

Tama held up her ear to listen in if there was anything ahead. There didn’t seem to be anything to out of the ordinary. Some dolphins, other sea life, and that was about it. There might have been a storm ahead, but it wasn’t clear yet. No Abyssals though so that much was great to hear.

“All is okay, meow! Danger ahead, there is none, meow.” She gave a smile towards the other, then translating what the other said. “Other escort? Okay! Hurry perhaps meow. Storm ahead there might be.”

Moments later, the sea plane could be seen making its return. 

“Great!” The news was welcome. It was not exactly be fun to be shot at, Ohio had learned, and loved to avoid danger when possible. She relaxed somewhat, releasing her fairies from general quarters and allowing them to stand down for the moment. With all duties completed the little beings began to vacate the decks and went ‘below’ into the rigging, battening down the hatches for the storm. She was hoping Houston would contact them soon.

“I’m not your damned grandma. Go away, I ain’t gonna deal today.”

“Know not many American ships, does Tama,” she commented in return. A nod was returned too at the other for getting to know each other. Really the only American she knew was that of her Admiral, and besides that there was Seedler, but she was an American converted into a German ship. So did that count? It mattered not really for now was a more concerning situation.

Oh that’s right! She needed to do something. “Zenpō sukauto, hai?” She looked to her little sea plane who gave a salute and prepared to take off, scouting the area ahead.

Ohio’s eyes tracked the seaplane as it launched, giving a little wave as it flew towards the clouds above. “That’s a good idea.” Her own aerocraft were not for the use of spotting, nor did she have a way to recover them. Having a light cruiser with a seaplane was useful in making sure the seas ahead were clear when she was unable to do so, and without radar, Ohio’s “sensors” came down to the fairy with binoculars on her bridge. 

Tama needed a moment to figure out what the other was saying. There was so much English to translate back into her head as Japanese. It was a struggle, but she felt this was good practice for her. Some of it was easier because of the context clues for some of the phrasing, but she got it! Disappointment and bombers were what Tama finally concluded on.

“I see, nya,” she replied, getting her thoughts together as they continued forward. Tama was thinking about her current mission. Did the Admiral have a mission for her when she returned to port? He didn’t seem like she was needed for quite some time. If she was incapable of returning while Abyssal’s were active, Furutaka and Prinz would step up to substitute for Tama’s Light Cruiser duties.

“Try for a full escort, I will try! Nya!” she exclaimed, sounding rather excited. She was going to try and request to extend her journey. It could be good for her, and the Admiral always tried to give his ships some freedom to make their own choices. “Going all the way, asking Admiral at Philippines.” If they could get to the other country, she could make a long-distance message go through satellite.

“Air friends too do I have nya.” She had just one seaplane that she managed to acquire during her upgrades. “Never named, though. Those are cute, nya.”

“A-are you sure?” Ohio was a bit taken aback, but appreciative – having two escorts on the leg to Singapore…

Tama continued forward thinking about that. She knew some ships did that often, yes. But those that were traded over tended to change their name as well. She knew in particular, a ship known as U-511 originally from Germany would change its name to Ro-500 when it was transferred to Japan all those decades ago. So why didn’t Ohio?

She definitely looked and sounded American, then again, Tama hadn’t really come across any British ships before so she couldn’t make a comparison between the two types. She’d heard American vessels, even some of her own German vessels that were stationed at her base saying a lot of the Asian ships looked the same to them originally. Perhaps it would be the same? Who was she to judge until a time like that came.

“Tama understands,” she replied in confirmation with the other’s tale about Roosevelt and the British.

Used to it? Was that a good thing? Tama couldn’t tell from her voice if she was okay with such longer journey’s with people she doesn’t often know. Perhaps it had its benefits–but surely losses as well.

“Is that… okay? Sad does that make you feel?”

Ohio hemmed and hawed, taking a moment before she responded. 

“It’s sad when an escort I like doesn’t stay for the whole trip. I can understand why they don’t stick around. After all, they have to return home through the sea they just escorted me through. It’d be dangerous if they stuck with me the whole way, hm~? Lately, I’ve dealt more with aircraft than anything else. Luckily, I’ve got a little something for their bombers, it’s usually quite a surprise! Faith, Hope, and Charity. They’re my faithful air friends.” The tanker meant the trio of famous Gloster Gladiator biplanes that had defended Malta in the old war; they return in times of duress to help her.

“Aren’t you heading for the wrong tanker?”

“ Not on yer Horatio Nelly. This one gives trading stamps!”