Chapter 5: Wood
Part 2
Then, on the day of the Special Exercise.
The weather was cloudy today. According to the naval district's weather station, it would be cloudy throughout the day. The waves would be a little high. It is unknown whether it will rain or not, so don't forget to bring your umbrella when going out, they said.
Getting drenched was shipgirls' business, moreover, their whole body would become salty because they would be drenched with seawater. Their salt-covered hair would often look like wakame seaweed. Ordinary rain was rather welcomed instead. That's why there were many girls who didn't bring their umbrella.
They wouldn’t carry an umbrella during sorties, of course. It didn't matter whether there was a typhoon or a squall, they would still be ready to carry out their duty while getting drenched to the skin.
Kagerou glanced up overhead. The clouds were still high. It didn't seem like it would rain anytime soon.
“…I wonder why I keep worrying about the weather…”
She muttered alone. Truthfully, she knew the reason herself.
It was because she was anxious. She wanted to distract her mind somehow. She did concentrate her mind during training, but the training itself couldn't be said to have gone very well. It was failure after failure, and they even had a fight in front of Atago and the battleships.
Is this enough to win first place?
Kagerou shook her head. No, no, why am I being pessimistic? At the very least, our friendship has improved. Excluding with Akebono, though. If everyone cooperates together, surely we should be able to achieve good results. Not counting Akebono, though.
She looked behind. The 14th Destroyer Division members were all lined up. Akebono was the only one who was turning her face away as usual, but it's just the way she is, so there's no helping it.
“… You're…still going with us huh?”
“Hmph…”
Akebono snorted.
“It's not like I'm not allowed to, isn't it?”
Atago was sitting on something like a coast guard bench on the beach. She checked her watch a couple of times while writing something on the note she held in her hand.
There were whitecaps ahead. A destroyer division had returned. Atago turned her handheld microphone on.
“Please climb up. The score is still being calculated.”
A little while after that short exchange, Atago spoke again with her handheld microphone.
“This is the result for the 6th Destroyer Division.[1] 220 points.”
The spectators shouted with excitement. It was the highest score so far.
Someone even said “As expected of the 6th Destroyer Division.” They were exemplary girls even among the destroyer girls in Yokosuka Naval District.
A number of destroyer divisions had departed to the sea around the naval district at different times. Kagerou and her group's turn for the exercise was after this.
“Next. The 14th Destroyer Division.”
“Yes!”
Kagerou jumped to her feet and answered after being called by Atago.
“Please depart.”
Hearing that, Kagerou looked at everyone's face.
“Set sail! Let’s go!”
Everyone went from the pier to the sea. They planted their feet on the sea surface.
“Both sides advance at standard speed!”
Every member of the 14th Destroyer Division moved forward, riding the waves.
This Special Exercise was, simply put, just about escorting a convoy. They had to protect the convoy they were going to meet until they returned to the naval district.
Of course it wouldn't end with just that. The shipgirls who were assigned with the task of playing the enemy role were lying in wait on their way back and would carry out a raid attack and actually bombard them. The key was how well they escorted the convoy from the attackers to return home.
There would be exercise supervisors among the assigned shipgirls that would closely monitor the destroyer division movements. Also, since the convoy had been told about the exercise beforehand, they would deliberately give misleading instructions to confuse the participants. Among them, there were even convoys that plotted on ‘How do we make the escorting destroyers mind-boggled?’ The other time, they would ask a ridiculous request of ‘The chicks in the cargo could die due to stress, so please refrain any evasive actions,’ or reported something like ‘There are more than twenty pregnant women in the convoy, and every single one of them went into labor during the torpedo strike.’
A lot of shipgirls who were assigned to play the role of the Abyssal Fleet were also bold enough to put pale makeup on their face and donned black coats over their body. They would also try to howl like the Abyssal Fleet at intervals, so they looked like the genuine thing.
“Who's going to play the enemy role for us?”
Hearing Satsuki's question, Kagerou recalled what she had been told prior.
“If I recall correctly, I think it was the Kongou-class sisters.”
“The battleships?”
Satsuki was surprised. Nagatsuki who was standing next to her didn't expect it either.
“Despite that they should have seen what we did the other day, they still took the role of the enemy for us huh.”
“I wonder if they are trying to punish us.”
“Fast battleships appearing to raid a convoy is strange to begin with. It's not like they are pocket battleships.”[2]
“It must be the stuff about being able to respond to any kind of event, right?”
Though Kagerou replied like that, she didn’t know the truth either. Perhaps they just liked doing it to an extent, she thought.
She took a quick glance at Akebono. The girl remained silent. Even after that fight, she was the only one who stubbornly refused to open up.
I'm thankful that she's not slacking off, but how do we unite as a destroyer division to aim for the first place from now?
Kagerou was contemplating while folding her arms for a while, and because of that, she didn't hear that Satsuki was calling her.
“Hey Kagerou, hey, are you listening?”
“… Eh? Ah, sorry.”
“I wonder if we have already arrived at the exercise's starting point?”
Kagerou hurriedly checked the nautical chart. Certainly, this should have been the starting position for the exercise.
They stopped their main engines. There was almost no wind, and there was no one on this vast ocean except Kagerou and her group.
They waited for a while.
They waited, but the convoy never arrived.
She looked around, but there weren’t any figures and even silhouettes. She straightened her back and looked as far as she could, but she couldn't even find a single seagull, let alone a cargo ship.
Kagerou murmured, “What is happening…”
“I wonder if they are playing a joke on us,” Satsuki sighed.
It's miserable, but she couldn’t deny it.
“Arare, can you contact the Yoko District through the radio to ask what is happening?”
“… We are…supposed to be in radio silence[3]…for the time being…otherwise…we might get a penalty…”
“We won't be able to do the exercise at this rate.”
Seemingly understanding the situation, Arare started the transmission with the naval district while still being expressionless.
After replying a few times with her soft voice, Arare reported to Kagerou.
“… We are…told to return…”
“Ah, as I thought, the exercise has already started, we're being tricked, huh.”
Arare shook her head.
“No, somehow…the convoy was attacked…by an actual raid…so the exercise is halted…”
“Eeh!?”
Surprised, Kagerou picked transmission herself to confirm the situation.
Arare was telling the truth. The situation at Yokosuka Naval District had turned into a state of total confusion.
The convoy that 14th Destroyer Division was supposed to escort was quite large and fully loaded with actual supplies. They were asked to pick a safe route and to lend a bit of their supplies for the exercise.
They were attacked by the Abyssal Fleet that shouldn’t have appeared. Apparently, the crew of the convoy thought that it was an elaborate joke at first.
Fortunately, the Abyssal Fleet that had attacked them were few in numbers, as it was the recon force. However, the main force would eventually attack as soon as they received the report. The convoy was not willing to risk their lives. Therefore, they were evacuating at full speed, scattering emergency signals all over the place.
It's not an exercise anymore. The 14th Destroyer Division was ordered to return, while Yokosuka Naval District sortied a fleet to intercept the Abyssal Fleet.
Kagerou briefly explained the situation to everyone.
Surprisingly, the first one to get the grip of the situation was Akebono.
“What are we going to do now? Where is the raid location?”
Kagerou was startled, but then she replied, “Wait a minute. …The convoy is currently evacuating. The rest of the transmission is not quite clear.”
The transmission was sent from Yokosuka through a major communications relay ship.[4] There were interferences from time to time, so she quite couldn’t grasp the detailed situation.
“From what I managed to hear, it seems like the Kongou-class sisters are going to intercept them. I don't know exactly where the location is. We can try to pinpoint the location if we intercept the transmission around the 3rd Communication Channel, I guess.”
“So we have nothing left to do?” Nagatsuki said.
Kagerou affirmed, “Yeah. The exercise is halted, so there's no reason for us to wait idly here. Let’s go back.”
Kagerou activated her main engines.
“Set the course to Yokosuka… Huh, wait.”
She turned back.
While everyone was lining up, Akebono was the only one who remained behind.
Kagerou was baffled. Does this girl want to slack off after all?
“Don't just dawdle around.”
Akebono tried to say something in a hesitant and earnest tone, which was unusual for her.
“… Hey, Kagerou. For instance, just for instance, if I say we should also go to intercept them, what would you do?”
“You're bringing that stuff again? Kongou-san and her sisters already went there, didn't they?”
Kagerou had a suspicion on her face. Still, Akebono continued.
“But the convoy is being attacked, isn't it natural that we should go to help them?”
"What, did you come up with a new excuse to slack off?”
“I'm not slacking off. I mean, it's a real battle…”
“Just like in the training the other day, your only aim is to oppose everything I said, isn't it?”
“Th-that’s not it…”
“That's going to be a violation of order. Akebono would be sent into the detention house, and we might even be dragged into it if we are unlucky. Can you drop it already?”
“That’s wrong! Like I said…”
“If you want to show your motivation, you should've done it a long time ago. It's meaningless now.”
“……”
Akebono seemed to cast her eyes down, biting her lips.
Kagerou jerked her chin.
“Now, let's go back.”
Akebono was still dawdling. Kagerou only glanced briefly at her.
“… Ah, Ushio. Please keep an eye on Akebono so that she won't get any strange ideas.”
Ushio extended her hand.
“Akebono-chan…”
It was brushed aside.
“Don't touch me! …I know it already.”
Everyone set their course to Yokosuka.
As expected, their speed became faster. It should've been fine since four battleships were sent, but she became curious.
When they returned, Atago's figure was already gone. She was the secretary ship, so she must have gone to the admiral's place. The area around the pier was strangely cluttered, and the destroyer girls who were supposed to do the exercise were chatting loudly.
Kagerou said, “We're back,” but there was no reply. On the contrary, there was a sense of urgency akin to uneasiness drifting around the place.
“Whoa, it’s really bad!”
Satsuki, who had gone to get some information, came back in a hurry.
“It seems like Kongou-san and her sisters were unable to find the enemy. The compass malfunctioned or something.”
Kagerou and others all shouted, “No way!”
The area where the Abyssal Fleets appeared was roughly determined, so the shipgirls who went to sortie would proceed toward that location to fight them. Nevertheless, sometimes they would deviate from their supposed route and steer to a completely different place. The shipgirls would call such occurrences as “Malfunctioning compass.”[5]
The cause was unknown, and although several teams were formed to investigate the reason, none of them could come up with a conclusion. The only thing they could confirm was “For some reason it just happens with the shipgirls.” It was fate, so to speak, and many shipgirls tried to avoid such troubles by visiting shrines and temples, as they could not do anything about it by human power.
The Kongou sisters seemed to be caught by this wicked compass, of all people.
“Then, what is the naval district going to do next?”
“They are waiting for them to return, and it seems like they will be ordered to sortie again after that. I heard Atago-san is coordinating with the Admiral about that,” Satsuki said.
But could they make it in time? It's possible that the Kongou sisters might be involved in combat in a different location. They could be injured and had to recover in the dock. If that happened, the convoy would've been swallowed whole before they could be sent again.
Kagerou asked Satsuki, “What about Fusou-san and Yamashiro-san?”
“It seems like they are deployed to Okinoshima waters with the aircraft carriers. As for Ise-san and Hyuuga-san, they are currently being tasked in Maizuru District…”
In other words, there were only quite a small number of shipgirls who could go to help.
Without the large-sized ships like the battleships or the carriers around, they would be at a significant disadvantage. At any rate, it would be difficult to fight against the Abyssal Fleet with inferior firepower.
Kagerou remained silent. She could understand the urgency of the situation.
It's not just them, the other destroyer girls were also whispering with each other all over the place. Everyone was concerned about the situation.
At that moment, a cracking sound echoed from the speaker.
[…Is the mic volume okay? Check, one, two, just like Kirishima-san. Oka~ay everyone, ple~ease listen to me.]
It was Atago. The voice was coming from the speaker that was installed above the pillar on the pier.
[As you know, a supply convoy is currently under attack. We know there are a lot of rumors going around, but we just want to let you know that we are currently doing everything we can to deal with it.]
The destroyers listened to Atago's voice carefully with bated breath.
[As we have announced earlier, the special exercise has been halted. As for the destroyers, please return to your dormitory and be on stand-by.]
The shipgirls were stirred. Among them was even a voice of ‘Is it fine to keep doing nothing like this?’ being raised.
Atago’s voice continued as if she could see it through.
[This is an order. Please be aware that anyone who violated the order would be punished according to the regulations. Big Sis doesn't want that to happen. That's all.]
The commotion continued for a while, but since it was an instruction, there was nothing they could do. The destroyer girls returned to their dormitory in droves.
Kagerou was hesitating whether it was okay for them to return as it was.
For some reason, my heart is racing. Is it a bad premonition? She was really anxious somehow.
She still didn't know what was the source of her anxiety yet. Was it from the destroyer girls' gossip? Was it the broadcast from Atago?
But it was quickly verified by Arare's help.
She was tugging Kagerou's uniform.
“…It’s bad… Akebono…is gone…”
“Hmm. So she's gone… She's gone?!”
Kagerou spontaneously shouted.
“Isn't she together with Ushio?!”
As for Ushio, she was panicking with her pale face.
“S-She was here until a while ago. But when I listened to Atago-san's broadcast, suddenly she was gone without me noticing…”
Arare asked to Kagerou, “…What are we…going to do…?”
“Even if you ask me what we should do, someone from the naval district would chase her like the Fritz X[6] no matter where she escaped, you know?”
There were a certain number of girls who quit being shipgirl because the training was too hard or the naval district was not like what they imagined it would be. Quitting itself was not particularly difficult, all they had to do was to return their equipment after completing the required procedures, receive their salary up to that point, and go home. However, there were cases where the shipgirl was so distraught that she ran away in the middle of the night without telling anyone. In this case, she would be pursued since there was a possibility that she might escape with the equipment.
“She ran away at last. I wonder if we're being too cold to her,” Satsuki said.
Nagatsuki nodded in agreement.
“It would be nice if our friendship could deepen since we had spent so much time together, but it seems like our intention couldn't quite get through Akebono huh.”
“She's such a difficult girl, isn't she?”
A loud voice overwhelmed Satsuki who expressed her honest opinion.
“That's not true! Akebono-chan isn't that kind of person!”
Everyone was startled and looked at the owner of the voice.
It was Ushio. Everyone was dumbfounded by her loud voice, which was unimaginable given her usual timidity.
She herself didn't realize that she was letting out such a loud voice.
“I-I'm sure she went to escort the convoy!”
“No way,” Kagerou said. “Atago-san has issued a sortie prohibition order, hasn't she? There would be another sortie after the battleship sisters returned, anyway.”
“We wouldn't make it in time if we waited.”
“That girl, doesn't she hate escorting convoys? All she ever said is just about making fun of destroyers anyway.”
“That's…because…Akebono-chan knows better than anyone how difficult it is to do escort missions!”
Ushio was already on the verge of tears.
“Akebono-chan and I once escorted a convoy together. All this time, Akebono hasn't forgotten about it… She would be…very upset if I talk about it… But….”
She started to tell them while sobbing.
In the past, Akebono and Ushio had always been in the same destroyer division. Of course it was still the same now, but it was different from the current strained relationship between them. They were the typical shipgirls of a destroyer division, talking to each other in a very normal way, laughing in a very normal way, and working hard in a very normal way.
However, immediately after they sortied, they experienced unusual phenomenons. The damage would be concentrated only on Akebono. Despite that they never encountered any Abyssal Fleet, she would be damaged somewhere by the time they returned due to the main engines failures or getting hit by the high waves. In contrast, Ushio always remained unscathed.
“Isn’t that just a coincidence?” Kagerou said.
But Ushio replied, “At first, everyone said so, and Akebono-chan was also thinking the same in the beginning. However… When we escorted a convoy at that time…”
It was a convoy escort expedition, and it was supposed to be a straightforward mission. In fact, nothing happened with the other shipgirls who also did it at that time. As a result, not only Akebono and Ushio, but even shipgirls that were still being injured had been sent to escort the convoy.
The convoy name was TE-26 Convoy.[7] It was a group of transport vessels loaded with ores. It was supposed to be a simple task of going and coming back.
The cause was not quite clear. It was said that—as it was often the case—the upper management had overlooked the report of ‘There is a rising trend of Abyssal Fleet appearance,’ by the shipgirls who returned from the enforced reconnaissance.[8] In the first place, the admiral himself didn't even receive any reports, and at that time, the Abyssal Fleet movement report was still hidden under a bundle of reports with classified labels and yet to be discovered. As a result, a lot of people were dismissed, and the procedure was improved so that the reports could go directly from the secretary ship to the admiral, but it was after everything was all too late.
The convoy was sailing in the ocean area that was stamped with a ‘Safe’ seal approval. The seal of approval itself was already half a year before and hadn't been renewed.
It was fine yesterday, so today it's going to be fine too, they said, and it was further supported by the dangerous optimism of unrealistic beliefs.
By the time they realized it, it was already too late. A squall occurred at the last minute that made it difficult to keep watch, but that wasn't an excuse for being sloppy on the lookout. If only we had radar, they wished, but they were denied with ‘Not yet accepted due to the development difficulties,’ and being blocked by the obstacle called the lack of budget.
And just like that, the Abyssal Fleet swooped down on them at such times.
First, the accompanying shipgirl on the front was hit. The attack and the enemy detection were reported almost at the same time. It meant that the enemy was already too close for them to escape.
The Abyssal Fleet howls echoed on the ocean. The radio communication between the shipgirls and the convoy was running through such noises. Gunfire could be heard all around the place, and even the color of the sea surface seemed to change. Every kind of information was being thrown without pause, and Akebono and Ushio were on the brink of panicking because it was the first time they encountered the enemy.
“The convoys are to maintain the formation and the direction!”
They could barely hear the voice from the shipgirl who was the flagship of the convoy.
“Escorting ships are to attack the Abyssal Fleet!”
It was supposed to be followed with the orders for the specific shipgirls, but the voice was cut off. The enemy attacks were so intense that the communication was interrupted.
“Ushio, we should also go!”
Akebono pulled Ushio. Ushio agreed at first, but then stopped her feet.
“L-let's stay here…”
“The enemy is coming to attack us you know! We have to chase them away.”
“But we can't abandon the convoy…”
Ushio insisted that they shouldn't leave the convoy easily because their mission was to escort them. But she knew that she was just making an excuse.
She didn't want to move. The Abyssal Fleet's roars were frightening. She couldn't help but avert her eyes. She realized that fighting them in a direct confrontation was impossible for her.
She wouldn't have to fight if she stayed there. She could also justify it by saying that it was to protect the convoy.
But Akebono kept pulling Ushio. In her case, in contrast, their first ever engagement was an extremely exhilarating experience for her.
“Let's go, let's fight with the seniors!”
“Isn't it fine to stay here?! We can protect the convoy!”
“The enemy is approaching, you know!”
“It will be a violation of orders if you leave your post!”
Ushio waved her hand away.
“I-if you want to fight that badly, just go alone!”
That line of ‘Just go alone!’ had a bigger impact on Akebono rather than the words about the violation of orders. In the end, both of them tried to evacuate from the combat area while protecting the convoy.
The Abyssal Fleet weren't fools.
The reason was because they were lurking around the route just before.
The Abyssal Fleet attacked them. The ships in the front right and the ships in the rear left were swallowed by the attack at the same time.
There was little to nothing the two shipgirls could do in that simultaneous attack. The cargo ships that made up the convoy were completely caught by the attacks while moving in confusion. They sank to the bottom of the sea with their stern or bow uplifted, leaving only small debris of wreckage that would eventually sink as well.
Scream and shriek resounded. Bellowed agony was running through the communication device.
Ushio shuddered. Everything slipped from her mind, even the rules of engagement and the shelling procedure. She was gripped by fear and unable to comprehend anything.
The cargo ships were sinking rapidly, and it felt like all the enemies were coming towards her.
Screams came out from her mouth. Shutting her eyes, she started shelling. She was unable to look directly at the scene out of fear and scattered her shells in all directions. Akebono's figure was gone from her vision, and when she opened her eyes, she could only see the rising flames and the Abyssal Fleet silhouettes.
How much time had passed? She had no idea at all.
When she came to her senses, there was only a single cargo ship left.
It could even be called a crushing defeat. Most of the resources were lost. The shipgirls who went to intercept the enemy didn't return either. Miraculously, Ushio didn't receive even a single scratch, and it was the only salvation, so to speak.
Akebono, by contrast, was in tatters. She was floating on her back, staring at the sky.
“Akebono-chan… Are you okay…?”
Akebono brushed Ushio's hand away with her own wounded hand.
“Don't touch me!”
She didn't even look at her face even after they returned.
The investigation concluded that it would be impossible for them to defend against the Abyssal Fleet because of the difference in numbers. Even if they went to intercept, they would end up being sunk. Rather, there was even an opinion that they made the right call by staying with the convoy since they made it back alive.
But none of that mattered to Ushio. It was the same for Akebono as well.
“It's my fault…”
Ushio was crying.
“I…trampled Akebono-chan’s pride as a destroyer… Akebono-chan has always been proud of being a destroyer girl… Despite that, she wasn't able to join the fight because of me, and we couldn't protect the convoy either… She was even injured…”
Everyone was listening in silence.
“… Since then, Akebono-chan has become like that… She would try to find fault with everyone regardless of whoever it is, doing things that would only make herself disliked… Making fun of destroyers…”
Ushio said to them.
“Akebono-chan…has always regretted that incident even until now. She wanted to rescue the convoy, but she couldn't…”
“……”
Kagerou, Nagatsuki, Satsuki, and Arare, all remained silent.
“Even after that, there were many opportunities for convoy escort missions… But each time, Akebono-chan would refuse. I thought that she wanted to stop being a shipgirl, but ever since we were assigned to the same destroyer division with Kagerou-san and the others, she started to change little by little… I felt that she finally would be able to come to terms with that incident. That's why, I'm sure that this time, she went to rescue the convoy.”
Kagerou and the others couldn't deny her words anymore.
They themselves were aware of the concealed pride behind Akebono's irresponsible speech and conduct. What they weren't aware of was that it was based on a dreadful experience.
Shipgirls' impression of the Abyssal Fleet was often determined by their first encounter. In the early days, it was not uncommon for shipgirls who were suddenly involved in a violent battle to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder and retire from duty.
As of now, they would be given simulated visual experiences and be tasked with simple expedition missions before participating in the actual combat. And it was for a good reason.
But for Akebono and Ushio, above all, that simple expedition was a dreadful experience.
The memory of that incident had settled in the bottom of their hearts. Ushio became an introverted person in order to protect her heart, while Akebono opposed everything in an attempt to fight back.
And now, Akebono was on her way to the convoy.
To overcome her nightmare.
This time, to rescue them.
“I will go too!”
Ushio shouted.
“I mustn't be all depressed like this either. I will go. I'll go and help Akebono-chan!”
However, Kagerou shook her head.
“No.”
“Why?!”
“Because we are not allowed to sortie.”
Ushio's lips trembled. She looked at Kagerou in disbelief.
“If I don't go quickly, I won't be able to help Akebono-chan!”
“It's not like she wants to die, right? She would probably be back at dawn.”
Kagerou's tone was indifferent.
“You see, that sort of girl is simply just being stubborn, she’ll just come back one way or another later anyway.”
“Akebono-chan is not that kind of girl!”
“In the first place, I'm not even sure whether or not she really went to help the convoy. It's possible that she only went for a round trip nearby.”
“Absolutely not! She definitely went to escort the convoy!”
Ushio was screaming. Still, Kagerou didn't even speak any words of acknowledgment.
“Let's return back to our room. Be stand-by inside.”
“Y-you're cruel!”
Ushio yelled while shedding tears.
“You're so cruel! I hate Kagerou-san!”
“Well, I'm your leader after all. I need you to listen to what I’ve got to say.”
Having said that, Kagerou took the initiative to return to the destroyer dormitory.
Note :
[1] : 6th Destroyer Division consisted of Hibiki as the flagship, Akatsuki, Inazuma, and Ikazuchi.
[2] : Pocket battleships is a term referring to the Deutschland-class cruisers. The Kriegsmarine initially classified these ships as ‘Panzerschiffe’ (armored ships), but was reclassified as heavy cruisers in February 1940. Due to their heavy armament of six 28 cm (11 inch) guns, high speed and long cruising range, the class was more capable of high seas operation than the old pre-dreadnought battleships they replaced; for this reason, they were referred to as “pocket battleships”, particularly in the British press. These cruisers saw action in World War 2 mostly raiding the Allied merchant convoys.
[3] : Radio silence is a status in which all fixed or mobile radio stations in an area are asked to stop transmitting for safety or security reasons. An order for radio silence is generally issued by the military to stop any radio transmission that may reveal troop positions, either audibly from the sound of talking, or by radio direction finding.
[4] : The literal translation would be Auxiliary Radio Station Vessel. I tried searching about it but couldn't find anything other than the United States AGMR (Auxiliary General Major Relay) ship classification. There were only 2 ships with this classification, the USS Annapolis (Former USS Gilbert Islands Escort Carrier, CVE-107) and USS Arlington (Former USS Saipan Light Carrier, CVL-48.) These ships served as a floating communications station on the move. This capability allowed the ships to position herself at any ocean global position to provide major communication services without the construction and expense of a ground-based, communications facilities.
[5] : In the game, the path or route you take would be decided once you ‘rolled’ the compass. There are conditions that must be met to go to a certain route, but there is also route with total random probability, and when that happen, there would be an in-game message of ‘The compass is going amiss.’
[6] : Fritz X was the most common name for a German guided anti-ship glide bomb used during World War II. Fritz X was the world's first precision guided weapon deployed in combat and the first to sink a ship in combat. Fritz X was a nickname used both by Allied and Luftwaffe personnel. Alternative names include Ruhrstahl SD 1400 X, Kramer X-1, PC 1400X or FX 1400 (the latter, along with the unguided PC 1400 Fritz nickname, is the origin for the name ‘Fritz X’).
[7] : TE Convoy was a Japanese fleet of ore carriers during the World War 2. At that time, Japan's dependence on overseas iron ore was more than 85%, but by April 1944, imports had dropped to nearly half of their peak level due to difficulties in sea transport caused by wear and tear on transport ships. Hainan Island was a high-quality iron ore producing area in Japan's sphere of influence at the time, along with the Yangtze River area, and especially after the Allies lost control of the airspace in the Yangtze River area, dependence on the island had increased. To meet wartime demands for strategic raw materials, the Japanese expanded construction of merchant ships built as ore carriers. Fleets of ore carriers thus created and was named the TE Convoy. The outbound voyage to Hainan Island was assigned an odd number, and the return trip to Japan was assigned an even number.
[8] : Expedition 10 in the game.
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