An emergency meeting was held the same day after Shioi's mission. It was one of the fastest emergency meetings I have ever went through.
At Aimi's discretion, Hornet, Aquila, Intrepid and Gambier Bay were sent to recon the entire operation area in pairs. Hornet and Aquila found the whirlpool and a rather creepy Abyssal crawling out of it. Looking at the pictures taken by Aquila and Hornet, it has a miko garb, a black and white head ornament, and large skeletal hands. Its face is so pale that I'm not sure it that is really its face or just a mask. It doesn't seem to have legs and is instead supported by two pale muscular arms and two Destroyer I-class shaped Abyssals with two pairs of tusks. The most notable part of its body is that circle behind it. It is black, grey and red, as if mimicking the eclipse that is currently happening. HQ has given it the name 'Abyssal Sun Princess'. Originally, it was to be called the 'Abyssal Eclipse Princess', but they settled on the latter option instead.
Fortunately, there aren't much changes to our original plans. The only things that changed will be the fact that it will be more dangerous than we initially thought and that radars, NOAPs, Night planes, Searchlights and Starshells will be used extensively this time. It will be a matter of whether we can see them first or will they get the drop on us. For this phase, we will be alternating between two Surface Task Forces and a Carrier Task Force.
Due to this sudden change, the two Surface Task Force will begin the mission first while we handle the logistics to get more Night Planes for the Carrier Task Force waiting at Rabual Forward Base. A few girls will head back to their respective Naval Districts to transport the Night Planes. Taigei... I mean Ryuuhou, Ryuujou and Victorious will reach Maizuru tomorrow night to collect as much planes as they can carry while being escorted by Agano, Fumizuki and Kamikaze. They will leave the next morning. Akashi is now rushing to upgrade any other planes into Night Planes.
Akiyama is in charge of the STF 1, with support from Aimi. Aimi will take control of STF 2 with my support, and the CTF is under my care. Akiyama will be supporting me for that part. The Main Fleet for STF 1 consists of Yamato, Musashi, Warspite, Myoukou, Ashigara, Commandant Teste, with Abukuma, Zara, Pola, Kitakami, Kawakaze and Satsuki as part of the Escort Fleet. STF 2 will have Nelson, Colorado, Bismarck, Saratoga, Mogami and Ryuujou as part of the Main Fleet, and Atalanta, Furutaka, Prinz Eugen, Ooi, Akatsuki and Yuudachi as part of the Escort Fleet. The CTF's Main Fleet has Nagato, Mutsu, Akagi, Kaga, Hiryuu and Souryuu, with the Escort Fleet consisting of Yuubari, Zuihou, Gambier Bay, Shigure, Fubuki and Isokaze. There are also other girls on standby in case we need to switch them out or act as support when things go south.
Since it's not my turn today, I'm helping Akashi with the upgrading.
"You know, I have been doing this for years but I still can't tell the difference between plane types."
"Oi. Is that something an Admiral should say?" (Akashi)
I place a Type 97 Torpedo Bomber into the mechanical box used for upgrading equipment before putting in the necessary resources and screws into their respective barrels. The box is connected to the barrels with tubes.
"I mean, I am more familiar with guns but planes are a whole new world for me. I know their names and which ones are stronger but if you need me to tell the difference between a Suisei bomber and a Model 12 in front of me, I would say they are the same planes. If Zuihou is here, she would be able to tell them apart instantly."
I push the buttons on the box and it begin making the usual sound of metal clanging against one another.
"Every carrier will be able to tell them apart. Run that one through the oven again. It will turn into a Prototype Type 97 Torpedo Bomber Kai No. 3 Model E with Type 6 Airborne Radar Kai after another round." (Akashi)
"That was a 931 Air Group?"
I didn't even realise. Akashi just stared at me with a perplexed and unimpressed look.
The box made a 'ding' noise and opened on its own. I gently took out the Type 97 Torpedo Bomber 931 Air Group. The pilot fairy munching on a Senbei stared at me innocently. I pat its head with a finger before putting the plane back into box and repeated the whole process again.
"Putting your lack of plane knowledge aside," (Akashi)
"Hey!"
"Do we need to send them more radars and night equipment?" (Akashi)
"They have more than enough. Not everyone needs to get equipped with radars and night equipment."
"If you say so." (Akashi)
The two of us continued upgrading planes.
"This should be enough for them to carry back."
The entire work desk is covered with different types of planes and fairy pilots.
"We are almost out of screws as well." (Akashi)
"I will get HQ to send us some more once this operation is over."
"Alright. We will let the little ones frolic around for a bit. I will pack them up for transport tomorrow." (Akashi)
"I will head back to my office to consolidate our current stock of Night Planes and report how much supplies we used."
"Oh. Give me a few minutes." (Akashi)
Akashi went to another work desk and begin scribbling something. What is she doing?
"Meow~" (???)
What?
I turned around to see our resident cat, Tina-chan, ferrying three of the new pilot fairies on her back and toured the Arsenal. There are a few seemingly waiting for their turn as well. I watched as the fairies took turns on the 'Tina-chan Cruise'. I'm surprised she allowed them to do so and patiently waited for them to climb on and off her.
"Done. Here you go." (Akashi)
Akashi passed me a piece of paper. It contained the number of resources used in the plane upgrades and the number of Night Planes that were developed.
"That's fast!"
"Hehe. I'm a repair ship. This factory is my domain. Of course I would know how much resources were used and the number of equipment we developed by heart." (Akashi)
"Thank you. This makes my job easier."
"Hey! When did Tina-chan get here? And why are the little ones riding her?" (Akashi)
I left Akashi with Tina-chan and the fairies and returned to my office. With Akashi's summary of resources used and numbers, creating that report was easy. The rest of the day was as usual. I waited for the expedition teams to return before creating the daily report. I did my rounds and got invited to play tag with some Destroyers and Coastal Defence girls for a little bit. I spent some time listening to Yamashiro talk about her sister as an embarrassed Fusou tried her best to maintain her composure. At night Kashima, Noshiro and Sakawa got drunk, so I had to carry them back to their rooms while maintaining my own composure. Before bed, I tried to call Zuihou but it seems she is asleep already. Figures. Rabaul is an hour ahead of Japan, so it's almost midnight over there.
Looks like it's going to be a lonely night for me...