Odin sighed. "They just said Moskva got summoned over… Haa. I know I'm a supply ship, but I want to be useful too."
Supply ships had always been awkward—on the margins of a naval district, more mascot than mainstay. They weren't valued; the three of them mostly huddled together for warmth.
Sukhbaatar gave her best friend a thumbs-up, grass stem between her teeth. "You can dream with me. In dreams, we've got everything."
It was the quiet consensus among supply ships. Past Commanders never cared for them. Sukhbaatar and Vestal were better off—both in the 70s or 80s. Odin was pitiful at level 14, written off by the former Commander as ballast for the ship holds.
So they weren't really expecting to be summoned.
That said, they weren't going back to nap either—meaning they still nursed the tiniest sliver of hope.
You never know.
They weren't fighters—really, they had no head-on combat power at all—but word was the Commander who once only prized the strong had changed.
Even Vampire sported a supercharged rig now; thanks to her, many shipgirls who'd never touched decent gear in the old district were suddenly allowed to browse and pick what they wanted.
It was like living in a dream.
The three supply ships, however, weren't part of that rush.
Although underappreciated, they had once been refitted by order of the Commander himself.
All three were fitted with five-star Improved Power Systems—the "gold motor," each adding +10 Evasion.
Sukhbaatar and Odin each wore two; Vestal, with an extra slot, wore three.
They were supply ships, after all—no need to fight. On a battlefield, evasion was everything.
Of them, Vestal had the highest dodge ceiling. Her skill Dawn of Hope granted +30 Evasion; with her rig that put her at 116 Evasion, and the skill also damped her presence—nearly invisible on the field.
Even so—despite the Commander's personal refit—Odin, seizing on the recent blanket permission, slipped into the armory to fetch her original rig: Gungnir.
Grand name aside—borrowed from the lightning spear that never missed—it was, in practice, the net-cutter in her hands.
Odin toyed with Gungnir, letting her mind wander. Her name came from the Norse All-Father, and Gungnir—carved from a branch of Yggdrasil—was his weapon.
She was right at the part where she brandished the lightning spear and rode on the Commander's shoulders across the world when Sukhbaatar shook her back to earth.
The black-haired girl was wailing, sky-is-falling expression in place.
"Hestia is gone!"
Hestia—another name for Vestal.
Bathed in golden light, Vestal stepped into the construction room, a little dazed.
"Why me?"
Hikaru smiled. "Because it's you."
Tirpitz and Vampire looked over. Flustered, Vestal stammered, "But the naval district is at war. I'm… not much use."
"No—you're amazing. We need your power," Hikaru said, patting her shoulder. "You're the best repair ship there is."
Vestal glanced down. "But everyone has quick repair and elite damage-control fairies…"
"Hestia, haven't you realized?" Moskva looked her over with a twinge of envy. "The old district's thousands of quick repairs were burned up while we searched for the Commander. And your skill can repair instantly during battle. You're going to shine."
"R-really?" Vestal's eyes lit up.
Hikaru chuckled inwardly.
Strictly speaking, classing Vestal as a "supply ship" was an epic buff to the entire type—historically, she was a 12,000-ton repair ship.
Vestal (also called Hestia) was famous: laid down in 1904 in the U.S. as a collier, then in 1909 she entered service as a support ship. She served through both world wars and repaired almost every notable American warship.
Her most legendary mission came in 1942. The IJN had mauled Enterprise; the front desperately needed air support. Vestal paced Enterprise, repairing as they advanced, letting the carrier launch aircraft while under repair.
Naturally, Vestal's skill set flowed from that legacy.
[End of Chapter]
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