Kantai Collection Quest: Pacific Strike 38

Explanation?

>>WATCH THE CRUISERS BURN

From a half-second read of Belated Battleships, apparently Borie's a nudist there or something.

That looks like Clemson Borie, ours is an Allen M. Sumner

Hey, ain't been here in a while.

Have we killed Nazibitch yet?

>>WATCH THE CRUISERS BURN
BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD

She has a habit of streaking the base. Exactly why, I don't think has ever been explained. (At least the pocketknife makes sense, though!)

Nope. We should keep an eye on her if she decides to use Abyssal Juice on herself to make an Artificial Shipgirl or something.

...

"Anyways, the repair docks are this way!" You say cheerfully as you lead the newcomer ships to the Tarawa's onboard repair docks. Looks like that British carrier, Venerable, opted not to tag along. In fact, it looked like she was trying to chat up the very clearly uncomfortable looking Section, with the rest of his STRIKE-1 team looking on with amusement and totally not bothering to try and help him. Apparently he did something during the "rescue" mission to impress her?

Well, regardless, you lead the American contingent belowdecks, all while the destroyers kept constantly pestering you with questions.

"Sososo Hoel, what was Leyte like?!"

"How many Abyssals did you sink?"

"Where are Heerman and Johnston?"

"Ohmygod, I remember I met Heerman once!"

"Girls, CALM DOWN." Phoenix sighs as she karate chops all four destroyers on the head.

That quiets them down long enough for all of you to get changed out of your clothes, all covered in sweat, ash, and seawater. You see teams of faeries collect your discarded clothes into a basket and quickly ferry them away to destinations unknown.

"So, anyways, there should be a few more ships in the docks-" You start right as you open the door, and almost instantly the destroyers have bolted through it before either you or Phoenix could stop them.

(cont)

Portland, having had to deal with the Fletchers constantly, had already developed something of a destroyer sixth sense by this point, and she quickly dipped her head under the surface of the water like a submarine. San Fran, however, still inexperienced in these matters, is caught completely off guard.

"Hiiiiiiii!" The destroyers squeal as they pounce on poor San Fran.

"THE FUCK." San Fran croaks, completely unsure of how to handle the situation as she tries to defend herself from the onslaught.

"SanFranSanFranSanFran!" They chime.

"Oh my how adorable!" Enterprise chuckles.

"Well, this is a great first impression." Phoenix rolls her eyes.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" Portland glares at you as her head rises from the surface right next to you.

"Now what makes you think that?" You grin.

"You're lucky I saw that coming." Portland scowls.

Meanwhile, San Fran was trying to make her escape from the attention of the destroyers, and utterly failing due to being dragged down by their collective weight.

"S-shouldn't we help her?" Portland looks on a bit nervously.

"At your own risk." Phoenix shrugs. "If I were you I'd just wait till they tire themselves out."

>Fine, I guess...
>Naaaaaaah.
>Other

>>Other
>"Need help San Fran?"

>>Naaaaaaah.
SanFan needs Fletcher therapy

Reminder that everything was Mercy's fault.

>>Naaaaaaah.

It's not like we're getting too old for this stuff. Besides, we're a Destroyer.

>Other
>mention something about getting ice cream

>>Fine, I guess...
Don't want her to actually *drown*, after all.

>Naaaaaaah.

>Naaaaaaah.

>>Naaaaaaah.

Reminder that Hoel is beautiful.

Makes me wonder what direction the quest would have taken if we decided to succumb to the abyss

Abyssal Quest never.

It would have been interesting.

The knowledge that the cancerous growth in our brain may take over one day, and we have to cope with the constant fact that we'll be 'gone'.

The characters would get pallette swapped and have a bunch more teeth and arms on their rigs.

some of them may or may not get a bust upgrade

We'd spend a few sessions wrecking the puny humans and then the world comes to a halt.

I wanted to run one, but its damn hard to come up with all the backstory that would be required to make the Abyssals relate-able and have a valid reason to attack humans that wasn't stupid.

>I wanted to run one, but its damn hard to come up with all the backstory that would be required to make the Abyssals relate-able and have a valid reason to attack humans that wasn't stupid.

Why not just have everyone be morally grey?

Humans cant survive the large open spaces of the ocean without a boat no matter how small. Therefore the ocean doesnt belong to humans but to their ships. Get the humans out of your lawn.

Abyssals are a bit crazy anyways

"Naaaaaah, I'm pretty sure she can handle herself. She's a heavy cruiser, after all!" You say confidently.

"Uh huh." Portland narrows her eyes, not fully convinced.

"Ah, I'm sure it'll be fine for her!" Phoenix chortles.

"San Fran! San Fran!" Borie giggles. "Did you get any cool upgrades?"

"Are we really at war with Britain?" Collett asks as she hangs off San Fran's left arm.

"Why do you smell like smoke?" Perkins wrinkles her nose as she catches and inadvertent whiff of San Fran's hair.

"And your breath smells funny!" Hank adds.

San Fran's mouth flaps open and closed silently, as she tries to formulate a proper response.

"Well that's no good!" Borie huffs. "Girls! We need breath mints and shampoo! LOTS OF IT!"

"Oh no-" San Fran moves to escape as the destroyers scramble off to where the toiletries are stocked, only to get held down by a single arm to the shoulder by Enterprise.

"Fran," Enterprise says with the most menacing and sweet smile, "you're still not fully rested! Why not let these destroyers pamper you for a little bit!"

"B-but-" San Fran protests, unable to keep up her hard and mean exterior against the larger carrier.

"Just stay a little while longer!" Enterprise's expression doesn't change, but her tone subtly does, convincing the acidic cruiser to actually stay put.

"Gosh, Big E is really as scary as I remember." Phoenix gulps.

"Yeah, she kinda is." You nod.

(cont)

"Yo." Red kneels on the side of the pool, still dressed in her fatigues. "I hate to be saying this to y'all, but new orders just filtered down. Once you're all done here, Phoenix and the other new girls are gonna be flown back to the States for debriefing and retraining."

"What? Now?" You blink.

"Yep. Sorry, but that's straight from the top." Red shakes her head.

"Aw nuts, and we were just starting to warm up to this place!" Phoenix groans.

"Damn..." You sigh as you watch the destroyers rigorously shampooing poor San Fran's hair.

"Agh! It's like getting snagged in a fishing net!" Borie gaps as she tries to work her fingers into San Fran's hair.

"I think my hands are stuuuuuuck!" Collett whines.

"C'mon, it's just one breath mint! It's mint flavored!" Perkins tries to coax San Fran into taking one of the little tablets which was proving difficult with San Fran stubbornly turning her mouth away whenever it came close.

Jesus christ she's being more childish than the fucking destroyers. This was priceless!

Pity it had to end so soon...

>Well, it can't be helped.
>They gotta at least meet Heerman first...
>Other

>They gotta at least meet Heerman first...

>>They gotta at least meet Heerman first...

>>They gotta at least meet Heerman first...

>>They gotta at least meet Heerman first...

>>They gotta at least meet Heerman first...
Reunion time!

>>They gotta at least meet Heerman first...

>They gotta at least meet Heerman first...

So what sorta future upgrades do you think will be in store for us?

I'm thinking that we could get some upgrades so we can be more like Johnston.

>>They gotta at least meet Heerman first...

That doesn't answer the question of why the Abyssals happened at all

'Make them grey' is vague as all hell. Does that mean make them more human? Make the humans more evil? Make the Abyssals have good reasons for what they're doing?

There's always running with different interpretations of Abyssals beyond the 'vengeful ghosts' concept. USN Shipgirls made them eldritch interdimensional biomechanical alien war machines, and there's some fics running around that made them more like the Vex of all things, so a more liberal interpretation wouldn't be bad so long as the execution was good

All that 'extra armor' could just slow us down, not really something for Destroyers.

Better boilers. Exploding boilers seems to be a recurring problem in life-and-death situations

Damn right make humans more evil.

Maybe Abyssals just want to be left alone, but humanity keeps trying to mine the ocean's resources. So the Abyssals go to war in order to keep humanity from destroying their home.

"Wait! Can't you just wait for like... half an hour?!" You plead Red.

"Well, their orders WERE pretty vague...." Red puts a finger to her chin. "I mean, they just said to bring them up once their repairs are done, but that won't happen till they actually leave the docks, right?"

"Thanks a lot!" You grin. "Um, can I borrow your phone?"

"What are you planning?" Portland raises a suspicious eyebrow.

"Nothing insidious or involving you, Sweet Pea." You roll your eyes as Red hands you her phone. You quickly dial Heerman's number into it.

"What? Red?" Heerman's slightly tired voice groans.

"HEERMAN! REPAIR DOCKS. NOW." You shout before hanging up, therefore preventing her from questioning your perfectly reasonable request.

"I see the sisterly bond is strong." Portland sarcastically observes.

"Super strong." You nod as you turn around to get an update on San Fran's status.

And... and... she looked...

CUTE?!?

You guess as a result of her constantly substance abuse and lack of sleep and self hygiene, San Fran had never looked particularly attractive. Plain, at best. But now, with her hair freshly shampooed and combed straight thanks to the combined efforts of three Allen M. Sumner destroyers, she actually looked pretty damn good. The difference was like night and day.

"Wait a minute, are my optics set right?" Portland squints.

"Oh, you look so much more adorable now!" Enterpise squeals.

"Mission accomplished!" Perkins says proudly.

"They're pretty good." You note.

(cont)

"Well, we had a lot of free time." Phoenix explains. "They picked up a few tricks from the base caretaker staff."

"Kill me, please." San Fran groaned.

"Now now, don't be so sour!" Enterprise chuckled. "You should upkeep yourself like this more often!"

"Too much work." San Fran grunted, as she instinctively reached for a fresh cigarette, only to remember she left them in the locker room. "Fuck."

"Language." Enterprise tuts as she flicks San Fran in the forehead with a large CLANG.

"Ow!"

"What the hell is going on here?" Heerman grunts as she pushes the door open, still dressed in her pajamas.

And that's when the radars of four destroyers instantly lock onto her.

"HEERMAAAAAAAAAAN!" The four destroyers cheer as they literally explode out of the water to launch themselves at your sister.

"Agh!" Heerman croaks.

"Oh, hey Heerman!" Phoenix waves casually, at the destroyer pile, still content to stay in the pool.

>Give them some 'privacy'.
>JOIN IN.
>Other

>>Give them some 'privacy'.
Take a picture if we can.

>JOIN IN.

>>Give them some 'privacy'.

>Other
Sneak off to and start rifling through everyone's belonging... look for blackmail material

>Give them some 'privacy'.

>>Give them some 'privacy'.

>Give them some 'privacy'.

>>JOIN IN.

>>Give them some 'privacy'.

>>JOIN IN.

There's also the idea that the Abyssals are acting like the ocean's white-blood cells, destroying the parasties that dump their waste and spill their toxins and so on into it.

Or that the Abyssals are trying to ensure segregation of terrestrial and aquatic life because they can't comprehend how something that's supposed to live on land could survive at sea, and this see ships and the human crewmembers as horrible eldritch abominations.

You decide to give Heerman and her old comrades a bit of private time as your sister is bombarded with the typical rapid fire questions. You turn back to the pool, where you see Enterprise continuing to dote on the beautified San Fran, while Portland seemed to have struck up a conversation with Phoenix about their shared "destroyer problems."

"How do you deal with four destroyers by yourself?" Portland sighs. "It must have been tough."

"Eh, I guess it wasn't so bad." Phoenix shrugs. "We light cruisers were kinda built to work with destroyers anyways, so I never really had much of a problem."

"Uggggggh." Portland sighs. "I have to deal with seven."

"Ouch. I feel for ya." Phoenix grimaces.

"Wait a minute, there's eight of us." You point out.

"Haida doesn't count. She's actually mature for her class." Portland explains.

"O-ouch. That kinda hurts." You pout.

"It doesn't, and you damn well know it." Portland glowers.

"Ha! I can tell you're pretty tight with your destroyers already!" Phoenix laughs. "There's nothing for me to teach you in that case!"

"T-that's not how it is!" Portland blushes.

>Yep! Sweet Pea is just a big old softie!
>Awww, don't talk about your dearest closest friend like that~!
>Watch out, Sweet Pea doesn't take well to teasing.
>Other

>>Awww, don't talk about your dearest closest friend like that~!

>>Awww, don't talk about your dearest closest friend like that~!

>>Awww, don't talk about your dearest closest friend like that~!

>Awww, don't talk about your dearest closest friend like that~!

>Awww, don't talk about your dearest closest friend like that~!

>>Awww, don't talk about your dearest closest friend like that~!

>>Awww, don't talk about your dearest closest friend like that~!

>Awww, don't talk about your dearest closest friend like that~!

>>Yep! Sweet Pea is just a big old softie!

>>Awww, don't talk about your dearest closest friend like that~!

"Awwww, don't talk about you dearest closest friend like that!" You say with a singsong voice as you huge Portland close and mash your cheek against hers. "Besties forever!"

"Quit it, Hoel!" Portland whines.

"Heh, pretty close, I see." Phoenix chuckles.

However, soon enough, Section and the rest of STRIKE-1 arrives to collect Phoenix, Perkins, Hank, Borie, and Collett. It was too dangerous to keep them aboard the Tarawa, so close to Argentina. While the Argentinians couldn't really pursue the issue lest they admit that they were secretly keeping shipgirls in their custody, a blatant violation of the UN's shipgirl treaty, it was better for everybody involved that the girls get a fresh start in the States, first. Plus, the Admiral promised that they'd be rotated onto an active front as soon as possible, considering Perkins, Hank, Borie, and Collett were the most advanced destroyer classes the USN had ever deployed in the War.

Things got particularly tearful when the destroyers had to part ways with Heerman, practically having to be pried off of her with the help of Phoenix, San Fran, Portland, and Enterprise. However, a reassuring smile from Heerman and a few words of encouragement were all that were needed to convince them to finally go. You stand by your sister as she watches the destroyers be escorted to the flight deck.

"You know, you could always go with 'em." You suggest.

"What?" Heerman blinks in surprise.

"Well, I understand if ya feel a need to be with them. They've been your buddies for a pretty long time, right? For decades!" You shift nervously.

And that's when Heerman steps forward and hugs you, patting the back of your head in the process.

"Hoel, I'm close with Perkins, Hank, Borie, and Collett, but that doesn't change the fact that you and Johnston are my sisters. Hell, I'm pretty sure the two of you need me more than they do."

F-fuck, that was really touching.

>Try not to cry.
>Cry
>Other

>>Try not to cry.

>Try not to cry.

>>Try not to cry.
>>Cry

>Try not to cry.
>Cry
"Something's in my eye."

The only question is what sort of Abyssal is the best to play as.

Hoppou? Long Hoppou? Wo?

>>Try not to cry.

How about Ta? An annoyance, but not "Holy Shit, where are the nukes?" level.

> there's some fics running around that made them more like the Vex of all things, so a more liberal interpretation wouldn't be bad so long as the execution was good

Oh you mean your side of the pond. SB, was it called?

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>Try not to cry.
ROLL TO NOT CRY

>Quest objective 1: find some pants

>>Try not to cry.
>>Cry

Incidentally, that's the most likely thing anons would do if they played a Witch in Strike Witches.

>>Try not to cry.

Didn't they ever try in any of the bajillion Strike Witches '89 spinoffs?

>>Try not to cry.
>>Cry

Red actually wore pants, because she didn't like using strikers. Merlin too, but she switched to no pants when the Wyvern got an interface.

>Try not to cry.
Emphasis on 'try'.

I remember there was a joke about regular women being asked why they were wearing pants due to being confused for Witches.

"Y-yeah, I knew that you'd stay. It's stupid to thin o-otherwise, huh?" You sniff, trying to hold back a few tears.

"Yeah, real silly, huh?" Heerman gives you a knowing smile.

"Heerman! Hoel! We'll see you next time!" The destroyers wave excitedly as Marines try to shove them into the waiting Osprey. They're only finally loaded when Enterprise casually strolls by and gently points to the Osprey's passenger cabin. Like trained puppies, the destroyers immediately dart off inside the waiting aircraft, much to the bewilderment of the surrounding Marines and deck crew. Oh yeah, Enterprise was also leaving. She was only transferred here for this mission, and was heading back to the Pacific to secure the lifeline to Japan.

"Bye, see you all soon!" Heerman grins and waves. You wave alongside her as the Osprey takes off.

"We make sure they never link up with Wren, Luce, Daly, and Kidd." Heerman notes as she turns to you.

"Agreed." You nod quickly. You don't even want to know what would happen. They could get along, they could... not. Neither scenario boded well for anybody involved.

"Well, it's getting late." Portland yawned. "I heard from the Captain that the Tarawa's going full speed all night, so we'll be reaching the Falklands in the morning. Better rest up."

"That's a good idea." Heerman nodded. "Should we go back, Hoel?"

>Nah, there's someone i want to see first. (specify)
>Sure, let's get some sleep.
>Other

>>Nah, there's someone i want to see first. (specify)
Time to call Woel, and see how she feels about us on TV, and stuff.

>Sure, let's get some sleep.

>>>Nah, there's someone i want to see first. (specify)
>Time to call Woel, and see how she feels about us on TV, and stuff.
support

>Nah, there's someone i want to see first. (specify)
Time for a woelcall