And here is the first official chapter. Enjoy, folks.


Chapter 1: Of iron and blood


Ironblood Naval Base, 7:24 in the morning.

When the sun had just completely risen above the horizon and the cold wind of the night was finally making place for the warm air of solace, a new day has come. However, at this naval base be it in the morning or night, there's always a frigid feeling lurking in the atmosphere. It is a base belonged to the Nation of Ironblood, after all. Even more so as this base is the spearhead of all major operation and battle over the dominance of the sea.

When everywhere else start their morning with a hot breakfast, here at Ironblood the Commander starts the morning with paperwork. Efficiency is everything.

And as if to uphold that motto, a girl with platinum blonde hair was making her way toward the Commander Office, carrying a folder of neatly organized reports.

Dark blue beret, a hair ornament in the shape of the iron cross –symbol of Ironblood military, donning the Ironblood uniform with a color theme of white, red and dark blue or black depends on personal taste. She is one of the Ship Girls stationed at this naval base and also the Commander's Secretary, Z23. And although her appearance might be that of a middle schooler, her mind is that of a genius tactician.

"29:56, I am right on time." standing before the two giant wooden door of the Commander Office, she readjusted her uniform and waited for when the clock strike exactly at 7:30 to knock on the door.

"Commander, this is Z23 delivering the report." She knocked exactly 3 times and stopped briefly before stating her intention.

"Door's unlocked. Come in." from inside, a male voice could be heard. Receiving the permission, Z23 turned the handle and entered the room.

The interior was spacious and well lit with a large opened window situated behind the big desk where the Commander does most of his work, from reviewing reports, devising tactics and sometimes a quick meal before returning to the former two. In front was a sofa set with one coach and two armchairs positioned around a large wooden table. This is where most of the base's important decisions are made.

Although currently no one seemed to be presented at the table, Z23 did not flutter. Knowing the Commander's habits comes with being a Secretary. She turned her gaze slightly to the left, and there was the Commander, doing his morning exercise.

"586…587…588…589…" wearing only his black trouser, the Commander was standing upside down while doing push up with only one arm. Large beads of sweat that were trickling down his large back, his bare chest and his biceps reflected the light of morning sun making his skin appear to be shining.

"598…599…600…" finishing his last bout, the Commander slowly bent his body and placed his feet back down on the ground. Now that he's no longer standing upside down, you could get a clearer look at both his face and his figure. A man of his early thirty, the Commander has a lean but muscular build with broad shoulder and clear body lines. Grabbing a towel, he wiped the sweat off his face while pushing his dark purple hair back.

Z23 who looked like she was just waiting silently for the Commander to finish was actually silently admiring his body inside. Apparently her mind drifted off for a moment as she did not notice the Commander walking toward her until his face was right in front her.

"Mission control to Z23, do you copy?"

"A-Ah, yes! Pardon me, Z23 reporting for duty!"

"At ease. So, the reports." As Z23 handed over the report, the Commander just started reading them on the spot disregarding that he was still topless and drenched in sweat.

"Commander, why don't you sit down and read the report while I dry your hair?"

"Hmm…Oh, if that's not too much problem for you."

"Not at all." Z23 took the towel from the Commander's hand and started drying his hair as he sat down to read the reports.

"Hmm…Royal Navy's activity has becoming more and more frequent in Sector 3-4. Since a week ago there has been four encounters with the Sakura Empire's sea patrol and convoy." Probing his chin,

"Could it be that there's something in Sector 3-4 that they must get their hand on?"

"Hard to tell. Although the Sakura Empire's folks said they have already conducted a throughout search of that Sector, who knows if what they said is everything. But considering their Commander is him, it would be more worrying if they just show us all their cards." The folder contained several reports regarding different matters like expedition, commission and supply, but some of them the Commander just skipped entirely. Then the last report was the one that caught his attention the most.

"Hoh, now this, this is great news indeed." Despite still maintaining a somewhat stoic expression, in his voice there was a sense of excitement. Then the quiet atmosphere was disturbed by the ringing sound of the phone on the desk. Signaling Z23 that his hair had dried enough with a hand gesture, the Commander went to answer the phone.

"It's me…I see…Copy that, I'll be there shortly."

"First Fleet is on their way back from commision. Please go on ahead and prepare some refreshment for them. I'll catch up shortly."

"Yes, sir!"

As Z23 salute and ran off, the Commander took off his sweat drenched clothes and took a quick shower. Time is always of the essence for Ironblood, both commander and soldier. From his wardrobe, the he picked out the Ironblood uniform for Commander amongst other casual clothes for day off and formal clothes for political meeting, although the latter two he rarely ever get or never attend.

Black double breasted with red and white lining, decorated with golden ornamental cord and the symbolic iron cross, a new pair of black trouser with laced boots, complete with a peaked cap also adorned with the iron cross, a black overcoat and a pair of gloves.

"Another day, another victory. Glory to Ironblood."


Ironblood Naval Base, Dockyard Bruno.

Being a nation which took pride in its military might, almost half of the national budget is spent solely on the army's development and strengthening so even in a time when resources are scarce, this base would be the last place to worry about supply shortage. With three dockyards all equipped with state of the art equipment, the Ship Girls of Ironblood be it on standby or have just returned from expedition are always at tip top shape and ready for battle.

"Commander on deck!" at the presence of the Commander, all Ship Girls currently presented at Dockyard Anton immediately stopped their current work and saluted.

"At ease. Anything noteworthy on your expedition?" when he asked, the girl with silvery white hair and small red streak stepped forward to give the report. Flagship of Ironblood's first fleet, the 'Lucky Ship' Prinz Eugen.

"On our commission, the first fleet encountered with a medium supply fleet, heading for one of the Eagle Union's depot in that sector. Their supply cargos have been successfully captured and brought back, most of their escort cruisers were sunk or critically damaged. That is all."

"Splendid work. You all have fought valiantly and made the Father Land proud. Remember, we are currently fighting on two fronts and right now we may be few in number, but each one of us is worth three of them. And once all of our sisters return triumphantly, we will show the world that war is won with iron and blood, not pretty words with wings."

"Glory to Ironblood." Placing his clenched fist on his chest where the heart is, the Commander then shouted the chant as all the Ship Girls followed suit.

"Glory to Ironblood!" a solemn air enveloped Dockyard Bruno. Although that speech just now might have been a bit on the exaggerated side, the Commander speaks the truth.

In the current state of war, exists two main factions:

The Azur Lane formed by the alliance between the Eagle Union and the Royal Navy.

The Red Axis which the Ironblood is a part of, formed by the alliance with the Sakura Empire.

Other nations like the Eastern Radiance, the North Union, the Iris Libre and the Vichya Dominion decided to remain neutral. However, recently the Iris Libre and Vichya Dominion had joined hand and declared war on the Ironblood but still refused to join the Azur Lane faction.

Because of that the Ironblood is currently fighting on two fronts and out of the four powerhouses, the Ironblood possessed the least number of Ship Girls. Yet day after day they fought on, facing the madness of war without faltering. Not because the Father Land required that from them, not a façade they put on to prevent themselves from losing their sanity, but because of their Commander.

"Well, enough with the fancy words. Did you girls have fun this time?" But the solemn atmosphere soon disappeared when the Commander took off his peaked cap and broke into a smile. And that was also the cue as the Ship Girls also dropped the formality and engaged in a conversation with casual tone like talking with a friend rather than between a commander and subordinate.

"Commander, isn't there any interesting mission at all? Although it is our duty, just raiding supply convoy is getting rather repetitive." Prinz Eugen asked while sucking the tip of her index finger, it's like of hers.

"That isn't a very good thing to say now is it, Eugen?" Joining the conversation this time was the girl with silvery white hair stylized into a braided bun. Eldest sister of the three Konigsberg-class Light Cruiser sisters, Konigsberg.

"Supply is not only essential in keeping us going and helping the Father Land, but it's also to cripple our enemy. Just because the Father Land has given us a lot of favors and privileges, does not mean we should just rely on that and not put any effort in securing supply ourselves…" Konigsberg then went on and on with logistics and the like while Prinz Eugen didn't even bother to listen anymore.

"Commander! Commander!" As an energetic voice called out to him, the Commander shifted his gaze lower to see the 'big sister' of all Ironblood's Destroyer, Z1.

"I singlehandedly destroyed three of their escort ship with my torpedoes!" Z1 made a V sign while showing off her achievement.

"Hahaha! I expected no less from the Invincible!"

"Hehe, if you just let me handle it, all of your problem will disappear!" being praised, Z1 started showing off even more. That day her nose grew nearly another centimeter.

"Commander, do you have a moment?" from behind, with ashen grey hair and a pair of glasses, the youngest sister of Konigsberg-class, Koln came up to him.

"I've listed down the content of all the cargo that everyone brought back. Please double check them."

"Oh, that was fast. Let's see…Quite a big catch we got this time-" As the Commander started skimming through the list of captured cargos, the alarm horn went off. And on the red blinking screen, there were only two words yet that was enough to get all of their attention.

"Siren emerging. Sector 6-3."

"So they have come again." The Commander whispered before turning around to give the order.

"All ships, prepare to sortie! Z1, Z23 and Eugen, on me. We'll take point and head straight into the fray. Konigsberg, Karlsruhe, Koln and Leipzig, form a second fleet and flank the enemy from the side. Sector 6-3 is within the Sakura Empire's home turf but that doesn't mean they can just hog everything to themselves. This time, the Siren will be ours."

"Sir, yes sir!" after giving out the order, the Commander then ran outside to Dockyard Anton. Of the three dockyards, this one is exclusively used for Commander only.

Yes, the reason why the Ship Girls of Ironblood can fight on without fear, the reason why Ironblood despite fighting on two fronts with such few Ship Girls is still considered a powerhouse, all was because of the Commander.

With the power of the Wisdom Cube, humanity was able to transform their war machines into Ship Girls. However, there are still limits to that method, namely the source material, what mankind can create. So during the interval between the first and the second World War, mankind had completely revamped their way of thinking, and Project Armada was the result of such process.

Wisdom Cube as the core and catalyst, human body as the vessel. This time mankind was able to create monsters. A single war machine with the power of an entire fleet. Warships that only exist in fantasy and imagination, materialized into reality. That is Project Armada. And Commander was one of the only four successful Armadas.

Stepping onto the platform in the center of Dockyard Anton, six container units emerged from the platform below him and from them sprouted several mechanical arms.

First, a module of some kind with six mechanical limbs was attached to his lower back. Then from the six container units, the armament system was installed simultaneously onto the six mechanical limbs.

Armada-class Heavy Cruiser configuration, codename 'Sieger'. Armament system:

+2 shoulder mounted Triple 203mm Prototype SK C/34 turrets.

+2 hip mounted Twin 203mm SK C/34 turrets.

+6 Twin 37mm AA SK C/30 stations.

+2 Anti Torpedo, Anti Machinegun 'Auxiliary Arms'.

"Commander of Ironblood Navy, Burai Van Streiter, depart!"

"To battle we sail, and with victory we shall return."


So, what do you guys think? Rather unorthodox with my depiction of the Commander but I've always preferred a Commander who actually plays an important role on the battlefield rather than sitting in the back giving orders. Being in safety for too long dulls your sense and clouds your judgement.

Anyway, like what oyu have read in the chapter this story will focus on the Red Axis rather than the Azur Lane faction with the Ironblood being in the center. Why? Because Heil Hitler...NOT!

This was a rather dialogue-heavy chapter but the next one is sure to be action-packed. Do look forward to it and don't hesitate to throw me a review. And that's it for now. Later, folks.