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Pearl Harbor
~Long ago~
Helena had no idea what was happening. It was supposed to be a normal Sunday morning, with her and her friends relaxing in the calm waters of the harbor.
"Hold my spot for me, will ya?" Penny ruffled her hair the other day as sister Lou chuckled behind her hand.
The taller woman grinned before leaving to join Zona. Oh, sweet and gentle Arizona. Helena never got to see her smile again.
Her ship was berthed in Penny"s usual spot when the buzzing of planes were heard. She looked up, confused since there were no patrols or exercises scheduled as far as she knew.
Then Helena saw the blazing red sun, and she knew. The Sakura Empire.
She knew tensions had been high, she wasn"t stupid. But to think they would actually attack like this? The mere thought made her tremble with trepidation and... something else.
She didn"t know which came first; the bombs or the torpedoes. All Helena knew was that some missed while others struck her larger sisters-in-arms. She didn"t know who got hit as cries, gunfire, and explosions drowned out the sound around her. She just focused on getting her anti-air batteries to work, rallying her fellow crew members to man their battle stations.
Oglala was next to her when it happened. Helena later learned the minelayer had capsized, yet miraculously she and her crew survived.
"Gahh!" Helena gasped as her right side flared in pain, falling to a knee in her command bridge, the following explosion deafening her senses.
"We"re hit! Helena, you all right?" Captain English rushed to her side, helping her back up.
"Starboard engine flooding, sir," she was able to hiss out between gritted teeth. It must have been a torpedo.
Nodding his head, English quickly ordered the damage control to get to it. Around them, the 5-inch guns were firing angrily into the swarm of enemies above.
"You," Helena glared at the planes, "why... how dare you..."
Ninety minutes later, the attack was over. Helena looked around with little tears in her eyes, whether out of emotion or because of the smoke in the air, she didn"t know. The tears streamed down her cheeks when she saw the casualties.
Twenty-six men currently from her own ship. Twenty-six lives cut short under her watch. She would later lose five more to their injuries.
Then she saw the burning wreck of Arizona, the capsized hull of Oklahoma, and she knew she would never see those two again. The tears fell like a floodgate had been opened. So she cried for her lost friends, for her wounded sisters, and the other men and civilians who were caught in the crossfire.
"It"s all right, Lena, shh," St. Louis rubbed her little sister"s back as she sobbed quietly into her shoulder. "I"m alive, see? Phoenix and Lulu too."
"I, sniff, know but..." Helena couldn"t finish, the sight of Penny cradling the pale form of Zona bleeding out in her arms too much to bear. Of Nevada clutching Okie"s hand tightly, begging her to breath again.
Even with her shut eyes, Helena could still see the blazing inferno in the once peaceful harbor.
~Burning on~
Cape Esperance
~The lives of everyone you know~
"Easy does it, Helena," Captain Hoover pat her shoulder. He must have noticed how tense she was.
The blue-haired woman sighed, relaxing her muscles as much as possible. "Sorry, sir, just a little on edge."
It had been about ten months since the day of infamy, and Helena had been assigned to Task Force 64. A month earlier, she had witnessed another comrade falling in combat.
I"m sorry, Enterprise, Hornet, she thought to herself as she recalled the final moments of their half-sister Wasp. It was a small mercy she was able to rescue a number of the blonde"s surviving crew.
Now Helena was sailing in the dark near Cape Esperance. Directly in front of her was Salt Lake City. Further ahead was her sister Boise, who was similarly reserved like her, unlike the rest of their ship-class.
Ping!
Helena startled a bit, her connection to her ship making her aware of the radar contact they had just picked up.
"Sir, I have contact on the radar," she reported.
The message was relayed to Rear Admiral Scott who was with San Francisco, the other heavy cruiser just ahead of Boise.
It"s them, the Sakura. I know it.
Mentally, her guns began training themselves in the general direction.
"Permission to fire, sir?"
"Hold, Helena. Waiting on the Admiral." Hoover then relayed the request to Scott.
A moment passed before they got a response. "Roger."
As soon as she heard Scott"s words, further confirmed by Hoover, Helena let loose. Just like on that day she felt trepidation and another familiar emotion... anger, hatred? She wasn"t sure but she showed no mercy as she opened fire on the unsuspecting Sakura forces.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Sister?!" Boise could be heard shouting out to her before also opening fire.
"Fire!" Salt Lake City followed soon after.
"Ladies, what the hell? Pardon my language, Puddin"." San Francisco had also joined in to Scott"s surprise, her own guns roaring to life in the dark.
Farenholt and Laffey also started shooting, peppering the now identified Sakura heavy cruiser in front of them.
"All forces, cease fire!" Scott ordered. "Destroyers, confirm your position!"
San Francisco predictably stopped, although not all of them ceased firing. Helena barely held herself back.
Out of her peripherals, Helena noticed Farenholt flashing her recognition signals. Then the order came to resume firing and she once more tore into the enemy.
"She"s deploying smokescreen."
"Target the other one!"
Helena shifted her aim to the second Sakura cruiser, believing that the first one had begun sinking or was at least out of the fight. She and her allies once again riddled their enemy"s armor with holes.
"Destroyer, take her out before she drops fishes." San Francisco pointed out.
"On it." Boise added her own firepower along with the heavy cruiser, the rest of them joining in as they sank another.
Helena was dimly aware that the Sakura were retreating before the order came to pursue. She vaguely heard the report of Farenholt and Duncan pulling back. Up ahead, she saw her sister and Salt Lake City.
"Can"t see a darn thing, I"m turning on my searchlights," muttered the heavy cruiser.
"Mm, me too..." Boise switched her lights on as well.
As soon as the lights came on, the enemy returned fire. Two shells hit their mark.
"AAHHH!!!"
"Boise?! Sister!" Helena found herself frantically shouting as she heard the painful shrieks of Boise.
"Helena, focus!" Hoover shouted. "We can worry about her after the danger has passed."
Biting her lip, Helena nodded. She watched as Salt Lake City exchanged fire with the offending Sakura cruiser. Her glare burned with vengeance as she itched to fire upon the one who dared hurt her own family.
That fire quickly burned out, however, as she realized that they had just claimed the lives of not only the opposing shipgirls, but their crew as well. People who also had their own families.
Helena looked at her trembling hands, opening and clenching her fingers to get herself back under control. She couldn"t, so she tried hugging herself but the trembles grew worse.
"Hey, hey, Helena. Easy, take a seat..."
She was dimly aware of her captain guiding her gently by the shoulders. The rest of the staff on the bridge either looked on with concern or tried to ignore the heart wrenching sight.
~From every heart you break~
Guadalcanal
~Well I"ve been holding on tonight~
"It"ll be easy, just like last time," San Francisco reassured. She was now under the command of Rear Admiral Callaghan, who had taken lead of the now reorganized Task Force 67.4.
"I wasn"t there last time, so we"ll take your word for it," Atlanta quipped back, her little sister Juneau humming in affirmation. Rear Admiral Scott had moved his flag to her vessel after Callaghan was assigned.
Helena didn"t say anything, just listening to the light conversation between her fellow shipgirls. She could hear Portland saying something about her sister but she tuned it out.
Ping!
Just like before, Helena"s radar picked up a contact. And just like before, it was about to get bloody.
She didn"t know who shot first. All she remembered was that their respective destroyers made contact with each other.
"Odd ships fire to starboard, even ships fire to port," Callaghan ordered.
"Huh? That doesn"t make sense, we weren"t even assigned numbers!" Helena cried out in a rare show of outburst.
She hesitated a bit at the confusing order. Even Hoover was unsure of how to commence firing. So she made the decision herself.
A single Sakura destroyer shone her light, and Helena singled her out. She opened fire.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The destroyer barely had time to return fire as her hull was struck. Several of Helena"s allies fired as well, making quick work of the ship as it exploded and sank.
I killed another one, she dimly thought.
Methodically, Helena shifted her aim to another destroyer, then to a cruiser.
"Frisco, stop! Goddammit, Scott"s dead!" Atlanta screamed desperately, pain evident in her voice.
"Huh? I... I didn"t...!"
San Francisco"s guns momentarily went silent and Helena could make out the damaged superstructure of Atlanta. Her stomach churned at the thought; friendly fire.
"What the hell just happened?!" Hoover demanded.
No answer came, everyone else too busy fighting for their lives. Helena kept her eyes peeled, firing on the enemy whenever possible. She didn"t want to think about what happened to Atlanta right now, she had her own crew to worry about.
"Gah, shit!" San Francisco swore as her bridge got hit, somehow getting down in time to avoid getting killed herself. "Dammit, you okay, Puddin"? Sir? Hey, Callaghan, talk to me!"
Helena frowned at the grim realization. Their force had just lost two Rear Admirals if San Francisco"s panicked shouts were anything to go by.
"Fuck you!" San Francisco fired several shots, striking one of the enemy battleships that fired upon her.
"We need to cover her, Helena," Hoover ordered. "She"s been hit badly."
"Yes, sir." Helena"s ship followed after the damaged heavy cruiser. "Laffey, this is Helena, where are you?"
"...I"m sorry, Miss Helena. Laffey...is going to sleep now..." The little destroyer"s voice sounded so weak, different from her usual lethargic tone.
Helena looked around, trying to make out the destroyer"s hull in the darkness. There, she could see it firing away at a Sakura battleship, before being surrounded on all sides by the enemy.
The cruiser turned away and closed her eyes, aware of the implication. "I see. Good night then, Laffey."
She dimly heard the gunfire, her own cannons drowning it out as she shot at enemies that tried to attack San Francisco.
"Dammit," Hoover muttered, "I"m pulling us out."
Helena nodded. "Yes, sir."
What was left of their forces regrouped, and fortunately for them the Sakura Empire had also retreated. In the following morning, Helena witnessed Portland fire upon a destroyer, sinking it.
"You can"t trick me with that white flag!" She shouted. "I will see Indy again!"
Helena wondered if she would see Brooklyn and the others after this was all over. She pushed that thought to the side for now.
Later on, Helena learned that Atlanta had succumbed to her injuries, Captain Jenkins having ordered the ship scuttled as he brought her body back with him. She consoled Juneau as best she could, but they still had a job to do.
"Come on, Juneau, we"re heading to Espiritu Santo," Helena told her. "We can get fixed up there."
San Francisco barely spoke, riddled with guilt over Atlanta"s demise.
The demure light cruiser confirmed the order, and together with San Francisco, the three cruisers sailed off along with destroyers Sterett and O"Bannon. Juneau had taken a torpedo hit the previous night and barely escaped intact, so she was desperately in need of repairs.
Disaster would strike again, however.
"Torpedoes, incoming!"
Helena didn"t know who shouted the warning, but she kept an eye out for the deadly long lances, ready to maneuver. San Francisco dodged them as well. Juneau wasn"t lucky.
BOOM!
The cruiser"s cry of pain was barely heard as the torpedo detonated her magazines. The explosion was so horrific, Helena wasn"t sure if anyone even survived.
"Dammit!" Hoover swore. "We... we need to keep moving. Our forces are too damaged and the enemy might come back."
Helena protested. "But the survivors, sir!"
"Helena, we are the only ship capable of fighting back. If we go down, who will escort the rest of these girls back to port?" Hoover countered. Then he turned to one of his staff. "Send a signal out, let them know where to pick up survivors."
The cruiser nodded grimly in understanding. She continued on her course, the other shipgirls not saying a word as they lost one more of their own.
"... I can"t feel my left foot... Someone come save me....!"
Helena froze as she listened to the pained cry. Juneau was still out there. She so badly wanted to turn her ship around to save the other girl and whoever survived, but she had her orders. Even if she could steer her ship around with a mental command, the helmsman could still fight back against the motions. She would also be risking the lives of her own crew...
I"m so sorry, please forgive me, Helena thought as she closed her eyes. Two sisters had been lost in such a short amount of time, and someone would have to break the news to San Diego and the others.
~Can you hear me? Are you near me?~
Kula Gulf
~We"ll meet again~
About eight months had passed since the tragic loss of Juneau. Admiral Halsey had relieved Hoover of command, replacing him with Captain Cecil. The guilt of that incident ate away at Helena, but she persisted.
She had taken many more lives in the meantime. In addition to helping sink enemy vessels, she had bombarded enemy troops and shot down planes, becoming numb to all the death.
Fortunately, Helena got the chance to reunite with St. Louis and Nashville, then Honolulu later on.
"Stay safe out there. Fight well," St. Louis murmured into her little sister"s hair as they embraced.
"You too, sister." Helena broke off with a small smile before turning to Honolulu.
"Hey, oof!" Honolulu grunted as she got trapped in a hug.
"Nashville says hi, Lulu."
"Yeah, yeah, I"ll see her later." The red-head then looked her- no, their youngest sister in the eye. "That goes for you too. We"ll catch up with Brooklyn, Phoenix, and even Boise."
"Mhm, yeah."
The three sisters, along with destroyers Nicholas, O"Bannon, Radford, and Jenkins, were assigned to intercept an enemy force. Once again, Helena noted, it was nighttime.
Ping!
Once again, her trusty SG Radar detected enemy vessels. Together, under the command of Rear Admiral Ainsworth, the Eagle Union force moved to intercept.
"Enemy is in range, preparing to fire," Helena said calmly. She was used to this by now.
Her allies also readied their guns. Their advanced radar gave them a major advantage when firing in the dark. Helena took deep breaths, mentally preparing herself for yet another battle.
"All forces, open fire."
Helena didn"t hesitate this time. She targeted the lead ship, a destroyer once again, and fired away. Her main guns tore into the smaller vessel while her secondaries engaged the one behind it. She was aware of her allies also firing but was too focused on the task at hand.
"Sir, gun crews report that the flashless propellant charges have been expended," Helena stated.
"Switch to the smokeless propellant charges," Captain Cecil responded.
"Aye, sir."
The order was given and Helena resumed firing. The volume of firepower from the three Brooklyn-class cruisers was overwhelming, quickly sinking a destroyer. The rest of the destroyers began to flee.
"Don"t let them drop off their troops, after them!" Honolulu kept firing.
"C"mon, try to keep up, sis."
"Right, of course." Helena adjusted her aim to fire on another destroyer.
She failed to realize that her guns were now flashing brightly with each salvo. Her own guns illuminated her hull in the dark, giving the Sakura destroyers a target for their torpedoes.
BOOM!
"Aarghh!" Helena cried out as her left side burned. She was vaguely aware of her ship"s bow being blown off, the port side torn open from the long lance that struck her.
"Helena, hold on!" Cecil had caught her before she hit the deck, the rest of the command staff reeling as they held on from the impact.
"Forward turrets are, cough, out, sir," she said with difficulty. "Hull is flooding. A-aft turrets still operational."
As if to punctuate her statement, her remaining guns kept firing on the fleeing destroyers. She could tell her hull was filling with water quickly, sending a silent prayer for the crew members lost in the initial explosion. Hopefully, the rest would be able to get out.
Two more torpedoes struck the ship in quick succession, however. The keel had been broken, she could tell, even over the sound of the explosions and her own scream.
"Dammit! Stay with me."
Helena was coughing up blood now, the damage to her ship far too extensive. She wasn"t going to survive this ordeal, tears welling in her eyes as she realized her sisters wouldn"t see her again after all this.
... Please, save me... Ignore the enemy, just let them go...
Aware that help wasn"t coming anytime soon, Helena held on as long as she could, at least for the sake of her crew.
"Captain, you... you need to go. Everyone... abandon ship. I"ll try to keep her afloat as long as possible."
Cecil looked at her solemnly before leaning her gently against a wall. Then he stood up and saluted.
"It"s been an honor, ma"am. Thank you."
Helena weakly saluted back. "G-go, hurry..."
Nodding his head, the captain left, the staff hurriedly running out as well. Several of them passed by her, silently thanking her before abandoning ship.
Breathing heavily, Helena struggled to keep her namesake floating. A pitiful laugh escaped her lips as she realized the irony of the situation.
"This, hah, must be karma for leaving you, Juneau. Guess I"ll see you soon..."
The groaning of steel could be heard as the hull began to buckle from the stress. With a loud crack the hull collapsed and broke apart, and the middle section sunk rapidly. The bow and stern sections followed soon after as they slowly took on water.
Helena didn"t feel any of it, having passed away quietly into the dark. When she opened her eyes again, she saw them. Familiar faces; Arizona, Oklahoma, Lexington, Sims, Hammann, Yorktown, and everyone else lost until now.
Atlanta and Juneau were there, both of them smiling as they took each of her hands to help her stand. Helena cried as she brought them into a hug, bawling apologies for not being strong enough to help them.
"It wasn"t your fault," Juneau said soothingly.
"Come on, let"s go catch up with the others, yeah?" Atlanta pat her on the back.
"Laffey is here too, Miss Helena."
"Yes, sniff, of course," Helena choked out.
Her heart ached that she wouldn"t see her sisters again, but held on to the hope that they wouldn"t arrive here sooner than later. For now, Helena would wait here with her friends, to comfort the others who would follow after them.
~So long and goodnight~