Chapter 1

Fulminating Arrival

Undisclosed location near Pearl Harbor

Enterprise and the Knights of the Sea were waiting at the arrival of the newly designated "Commander", appointed by HQ to now be the Chief of Operations of the newly formed Azur Lane initiative. While Enterprise was silently waiting for their guest to arrive, the Knight of the Seas were conversing about the new commander amongst each other.

U.S.S. Denver:

- So Cleveland, tell us about this guy that's comin'! You were bragging about knowing everything about it all day long! We want to know now!

Cleveland, who had really been boasting about knowing everything about the guy that would become their new "Commander" all day long just like Denver had said, was finally caught in her lie. In reality, she didn't know anything about their new commanding officer. But since she didn't want their sisters to find out about her, and for her to look "uncool" in their eyes, Cleveland started to make things up on the spot, as the shipgirl started to tell her sisters about the man they would soon meet.

U.S.S. Cleveland

- Hehe, you wouldn't know about it, Denver. While I do know about him, most of the information about this guy is classified. You see, HQ is sending their top brass, in order for us to fulfill our mission. But I can tell you that this guy is one of the tough ones, just like Enterprise. Actually, I've heard that he might even tougher than her, hehe.

U.S.S. Columbia

- Sis... You didn't really answer Denver's question. Seems more like you making stuff up on the spot... Maybe we should ask Enterprise about it, Denver. I don't know if Cleve really knows anything about our guy at all...

U.S.S. Denver

- I think you're right, Columbia. Maybe she knows more about it than Cleve...

U.S.S. Montpelier

- Whoever this guy is, I don't like him. He's most likely one of these guys that just sit behind a desk and let others do the job for him. He's just another spineless coward, just like the rest of them are.

U.S.S. Denver

- Monty, that's not really nice of ya'! You don't even know him yet! How can ya' say things like this about a person you don't know?

U.S.S. Cleveland

- Denver's right, Monty! If you keep badmouthing people like that, you're gonna stain the reputation of the Knights of the Sea!

Surprised by her older sister's statement, Montpelier quickly apologized for what she said.

U.S.S. Montpelier

- I'm s-sorry, Big Sis. It won't happen again. I'll not stain the reputation of the Knights of the Sea! Never!

U.S.S. Cleveland

- It's fine, Monty! Just don't do that in front of others anymore, okay? You also don't wanna piss Enterprise off, right?

While Cleveland and her sisters were still talking about their new incoming guest, with Enterprise silently watching over them, and AC-130 touched down on the airport track that was in front of them. However, this AC-130 was very different from the many others they had encountered before, and after the shipgirls paid close attention to it, they could see that the plane was clearly modified exclusively for combat. The heavily modified AC-130 soon parked in front of them. After the ramp came down, the shipgirls were surprised with what they saw. Coming in their direction now was not what they had expected at all. Instead of someone that would fit the description of a commanding officer, the men who got out of was completely different from what they had expected (even Enterprise was surprised, although she didn't want to show that to her new CO). A man that appeared to be in either his middle or late twenties was coming in their direction, wearing a U.S Marine's field uniform and sunglasses, with the tag on the uniform showing his rank and last name that reads: Colonel Taggart. After he gently put the large bag that he had been carrying with ease into the ground, the AC-130 took off, as CLN. Taggart introduced himself to his new subordinates.

Colonel Taggart

- Good evening. I'm Colonel Nathaniel Taggart, U.S. Marines. I'm the new commanding officer assigned to this base. You must be Enterprise and the Knights of the Sea, correct?

With just a look from of her eyes, Enterprise made Cleveland and all of her sisters stop talking amongst each other, with the cruiser quickly making a line while they saluted their new commander. Soon after, Enterprise introduced herself too.

U.S.S. Enterprise

- Greetings, Commander. I'm the second Yorktown-class aircraft carrier, Enterprise! Hull Number CV-6! Welcome to our port. And you're correct, these are the Knights of the Sea, Cleveland, and her sister ships.

U.S.S. Cleveland

- Pleasure meeting you, Commander! I'm Cleveland, the big sister of the Cleveland-class! Hull Number CL-55! These are my sisters Columbia, Denver, and Montpelier. We look forward to working with you!

Colonel Taggart

- I look forward to that too, Ms. Cleveland. You can call me just "Sir", no need to call me "Commander". Also, if you don't mind, I would like a tour of this facility. I want to start working immediately. Time is of the essence here.

U.S.S. Cleveland

- Then leave everything up to me and Enty, Sir! We'll get along just fine, I'm sure of it! C'mon, Knights of the Sea! You heard the man, so let's put a show for him!

As the Colonel was about to reach for his bag, Enterprise had already picked it up, with the carrier meaning that she would the Colonel with his "luggage". Colonel Taggart appreciated it, with him tipping his military cap, signifying that he was thanking Enterprise for her gesture. As the group was walking around the base, with Cleveland excitingly explaining every nook and cranny of it, Enterprise was observing and making her first impression of her "Commander". Although he appeared to be cold and somewhat distant, it appeared that the Colonel really did want to get along with them, with him also being really friendly towards them too (in his own way of course). But the most interesting fact about the Colonel was the fact that he didn't seem to be either scared or surprised with the fact he was now dealing with living incarnations of WW2 ships. He simply treated them just like any other personnel. This unusual fact somewhat made Enterprise curious about the Colonel, as they continued their tour through the base. The group only stopped the tour when they reached the "flagship" of the base's fleet, a very modern, but small, Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. The name of the ship was etched into its hull: U.S.S. Nathan James. Inside the vessel, the Colonel saw that the ship had most likely been retrofitted very recently since the ship was now sporting torpedo tubes positioned on the missile deck (which had clearly not been that before), had also all of its electronics been updated to the most advanced, without mentioning the complete overhaul of all of the destroyer's armaments, and furthermore, had a medical bay now installed into it (which was most likely to attend and repair the shipgirls that were now the Colonel's newest subordinates, in case they were badly damaged in battle he assumed). Overall, the Colonel approved of the retrofit, even if the destroyer wasn't exactly the adequate type of vessel to be a flagship. But since the "Azur Lane" initiative had been only founded a few month priors, it was to be expected that the base's newly formed fleet would still not have a proper battleship as their flagship. Meanwhile, Enterprise was quietly staring at the Colonel, observing him while Cleveland, alongside her sisters, was still determined to give her new CO the best impression possible of both her and the Knights of the Sea. However, something strange happened that caught Enterprise's attention immediately. After Cleveland had handed over a binocular to the Colonel, he kept looking somewhere far away in the ocean, while Cleveland and her sister kept talking with him. He was clearly worried about something that he was observing, so Enterprise decided to intervene since she was her CO's secretary ship after all.

U.S.S. Enterprise

- Excuse me, Commander. Is there something bothering you?

U.S.S. Cleveland

- Whoa, Enterprise! You scared me! Don't appear behind us like that!

U.S.S. Denver

- Sis, I don't think that Enty did that on purpose. I think she's feeling what I'm feeling right now too, just like Commander does.

U.S.S. Cleveland

- Huh? What do you mean Denver? I'm not feeling anything. If there was something wrong, we would have seen it by now.

U.S.S. Columbia

- I agree with Denver. I have a bad feeling about today ever since I woke up today.

What Denver and Columbia were saying intrigued both Cleveland and Enterprise. But their line of thought was interrupted when the Colonel said something that immediately got the attention of all shipgirls that were at his side.

Colonel Taggart

- I'm afraid we're under attack.

U.S.S. Enterprise

- Under attack? What you mean, Commander?

A loud sound came from one of Nathan James' anti-air guns and soon after, a shot down Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" crashed down near the destroyer. This confirmed what their new CO had said: The base was now under attack of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Enterprise knew now why the Colonel had his eyes fixed on the horizon for so long. But how he was able to see their attacker before her and the other ships too? But for now, that would be a matter for after they had repelled the attack.

U.S.S. Cleveland

- I guess that answers your question, Enty. Sir, what should we do now? How big is the enemy we're up to?

Colonel Taggart

- A small Japanese fleet with a carrier as their flagship. Even though they outnumber us by quite a bit, we must defend the base.

U.S.S. Montpelier

- And what about reinforcements?

Colonel Taggart

- Reinforcements won't be arriving for at least two weeks. I know it's too sudden to ask, but I must ask you to follow me. We'll protect the base, no matter the cost.

U.S.S. Enterprise

- Two weeks, huh?

U.S.S. Denver

- I'm with the Commander in this one. Even though we just met, I know we can trust him. I just have this feeling too.

U.S.S. Columbia

- If Denver says, I'll trust her intuition. It had never failed us even once. You're coming with us, right? Monty? Cleve?

U.S.S. Cleveland

- Of course, we're coming with you! I cannot let my sisters go into battle alone!

U.S.S. Montpelier

- If Cleve says, I'll go wherever she goes. I'll trust what she says.

U.S.S. Enterprise

- We have no choice but to defend our port from this surprise attack. We have to show our enemies what happens when they try to attack us from the shadows. Then, Commander, I ask of you: What are your orders?

After putting his sunglasses back, the Colonel looked directly at Enterprise and the other girls, before saying:

Colonel Taggart

- Anchors weigh, everyone! We must protect the port with everything we have. We're going into battle right now! So, prepare to fight.

U.S.S. Enterprise

- Understood, Commander. You heard him, everyone. Even if it's just us, we must do what we can. So, venture forth and show our enemies what we are capable of!

All of the shipgirls immediately left Nathan James' deck, as they quickly deployed their rigs and started to make their way towards the attacking Japanese fleet, with Enterprise launching her planes to give her enemies a "welcoming reception" to her base. They were soon followed by the U.S.S. Nathan James itself, with the Colonel easily controlling the destroying and giving orders to the girls via the vessel's advanced comm systems. The Japanese fleet was in now for quite a surprise now, one that would make them deeply regret their attempt to destroy the base of the newly formed Azur Lane.

TO BE CONTINUED...