Unmei Force Solitary Legends: Azure Seas, Black Space
Chapter 1: New Shipgirls, and First Contact
Richard and Siege had just returned from training up Sonic and his friends for the battle ahead against the forces Demigra had plotted to destroy their world. Allison was keeping tabs on that world, to ensure they were handling themselves. Richard and Siege's focus now was on figuring out ways to get Sakura Empire and Eagle Union, or Azur Lane if more from the bigger faction showed up, to sign a peace treaty. Nitori had contacted Siege and Richard to inform them that more from both sides of the war had been brought to the Ryujin/Hall of Origin, and already were sorted to their allies. Three were of Sakura Empire, two of them were from Azur Lane, One from Eagle Union, the other, the Royal Navy.
"Oi…" Siege said, shaking his head. "Now we have Britain in the mix. At least it's easy to tell which side they're on, considering History has shown countless times that Britain and the US are on the same side, despite how they started out in revolution times. I suppose we should check out our new additions, Richard."
"Of course… Hopefully the Royal Navy ship wouldn't be one with problems against the Sakura Empire." Richard answered back, before they then entered the break-room, where the Sakura Empire ship-girls and the one Royal Navy ship-girl was. And, to the surprise of Richard and Siege, they were having a lively conversation over some tea, getting along rather well.
"Boy we struck lucky Richard." Siege said. "The Royal Navy ship in question is not on bad terms with the Sakura Empire it seems. ...But Nitori said there was another Eagle Union here. I don't see her."
"That's because she came first." Kiana said, coming into the room. "She wasn't with these other four, so we took her and she's with Enterprise and Iowa, so… yeah."
"Ah, gotcha. Thank you for the information, Kiana." Siege said, before looking at the four ship-girls chatting away. "Let's get the introductions, shall we, Richard?"
"Alright…" Richard answered back, before he then walked to the gathered group of ship-girls and cleared his throat audibly, getting their attention. "I suppose that all of you have been quite comfy in this area? Sorry that I couldn't introduce you face to face earlier. My name is Richard Liu, and I am the commander of this base. I suppose that Nitori might have helped to clarify the situation a little for you all. Now then, if I may know all of you? It would be nice to know the names of my guests."
"HMS Leander at your service, Commander." The sole Royal Navy ship-girl, who was a girl in a white and black shirt with plaid patterns around the short cuffs of her sleeves and her waist, and around her waist, a large red skirt, and long black stockings with leather shoes, as well as short cream-coloured hair and blue eyes. "I hope that you'll take well care of me. I'll do my best in whatever is needed around here."
"I'm IJN Shigure!" The first of the Sakura Empire ship-girls said next, with a fairly boastful tone. She was a girl with long black hair with curled grey tips, and red eyes, and on top of her head was metallic grey wolf ears with red interiors, and she was dressed in a short black uniform with a large red ribbon under her chest, and her belly exposed, a white skirt with a black wolf-tail hanging behind it, waving gently, and baggy socks inside leather cloaks. "Ship number 2 of the Shiratsuyu-class! With the Goddess of Luck watching over me, I'll be sure to defeat anyone foolish enough to challenge any fleet with me inside of it! Don't worry, I'll even-"
"Shigure! That's enough!" Another one of the Sakura Empire girls barked out with a harsh tone, as she was a fairly mature woman with long brown hair that had several flowing strands in the air, and a pair of feathery wolf ears on top of her head and brown eyes. She was dressed in the uniform of a Japanese student council member, blue jacket and skirt both, and red armband on her left arm, and long black socks with metallic shoes. "The Commander may seem fairly young, but I doubt that he is the kind of person who would be inept at his work!"
"Tch… Fine, Myoukou." Shigure clicked her tongue, as her smile faded into a scowl. "Anyways, you just let me do a considerable part of your fighting, and you and I will be good with each other."
"Well, I'd hate to disappoint you...But we can talk about that later." Richard answered back.
"What do you mean I'm going to be disappointed!?" Shigure answered back with an irritated tone and expression, before Myoukou glared at her, as she bottled her outrage. "Alright."
"As Shigure said, my name is IJN Myoukou." Myoukou introduced herself. "First of the heavy-cruiser class named after myself. As one of the more elderly ships in the Sakura Empire, I can help you with most management matters in your base. And also help the keep the younger ships, as well as some of the unruly ones… Especially Shigure."
"Come on, you can't possibly paint me in such a bad light for first impressions. So what if I teased the Commander a little?" Shigure grumbled. "It's all in good sport and all. Besides, how am I supposed to know whether he really is a badass in such a young body, or just a green-horn, Myoukou?"
While Myoukou and Shigure looked at each other for a moment, Richard turned to the last one, which was a ship-girl that looked fairly young compared to the others, almost at the appearance of a pre-teen girl with long teal-coloured hair, with a large wide and braided pony-tail with a red ribbon at the tip and blue eyes. She wore a large yellow round hat on her head, as there were little squirrel ears popping out the sides, the same colour as her hair, and she wore a blue school-dress with a squirrel-tail popping out of the back, and she was wearing blue-and-white striped socks on her feet.
"May I ask you who you might be, little one?" Richard asked gently, lowering his head slightly to look at her properly.
"Mikazuki is Mikazuki… IJN Mikazuki." The little ship-girl answered back softly. "I have a lot of little and big sisters, like Shigure-nee and Myoukou-nee. We're all good friends. I'm good at escort and transport missions, and I love taiyaki. Do you have some, Commander?"
"Of course, you can have all the taiyaki you want here, and there's all kinds to eat." Richard smiled warmly back. "Welcome to our little base, Mikazuki, you'll have a lot more bigger brothers to take care of you."
Mikazuki's eyes lit up on the mention of having lots of taiyaki to eat, as her expression sparkled with awe and joy. "Really? Then I'll work extra hard for you!" Mikazuki remarked back.
"Hate to burst this lovely bubble, but we got a problem!" Siege said, after getting off comms with Allison. "We got huge trouble heading right back for the Metal Gear Universe. Since the train transport went a little shaky last time, and you remember this, Richard, we swapped to sea and air transport, well Demigra is now trying to put that down as well. He's got demons of all sorts heading for our latest transport about to hit land!"
"Demons…!?" Myoukou remarked, before she then perked up immediately with an intense look on her face. "Do you mean the damned Sirens…!? Have they followed us here already?"
"No, not exactly, it's hard to explain… But we'll need your help." Richard answered back. "Considering that this is suitable terrain for you to deploy in... I hope that you won't mind me asking for your help."
"There isn't a problem at all." Leander answered back. "It is our duty to help our commander and his forces. However, there are some things that I don't quite understand from your comrade's report. I thought that there is only a single universe."
"Not here, there isn't." Richard answered back, before turning to Siege. "Get Iowa and Enterprise, Siege. I'll go get Amagi. With her health a lot better, she'll be able to fight a lot better than she could have in the past."
"Wait, Amagi is here!?" Shigure exclaimed with surprise, as the Sakura Empire girls were all shocked. "As in like the big sister of Kaga and Akagi, that Amagi!? I absolutely have to fight this one! Take me with you, Commander, I need to meet with her myself, and so does Mikazuki and Myoukou!"
"Yeah, but that's going to be a fairly long story to tell." Richard responded back, before he turned back to Siege again. "As for the Eagle Union ship-girl, just give her the briefest run-down of what is going on. She should help out considering that her fellow people are fighting as well."
"Roger that Richard." Siege said, before seeing Sakura and Himeko rushing in… and Amagi with them, looking much, much better than what she had before. "...S-Sakura!? Is that…?"
"Yes, Amagi-san's physique and health are top shape now." Sakura said with a smile. "And at hearing the battle alarms, she insisted on coming along, so who am I to deny her that request?"
"You… You just cured Amagi like that… Holy gods…" Shigure remarked with awe on her expression. "If the other girls come here, they'll be unable to believe that this was Amagi at all… And I can't imagine how Nagato's jaw is going to drop when she figures that out."
"Shigure, Mikazuki, Myoukou… I'm relieved that we are briefly reunited, but we have pressing matters to assist with. I ask that you form a fleet with me immediately." Amagi remarked back. "We need to work together if we're going to take down the enemy and save the commander's men."
"Well, I ain't got no problems with that. With Amagi's leadership, and my luck, I seriously pity the foolish enemies who are about to face us."Shigure boasted.
"To have a moment to fight alongside Amagi-san… I would accept this honour graciously." Myoukou stated. "We'll move to sortie immediately, Commander. Just give the orders."
"I'll do my best, for everyone..!" Mikazuki answered back.
"Thank you, all of you." Amagi remarked. "I don't know how you can communicate with us in this era, but you can entrust things to us-"
"Out of the question. I know that you girls might be quite powerful in the water, but you're going to need some assistance with someone who dealt with those demons." Richard answered back. "I'm taking to the field myself."
"What the, are you nuts…!?" Shigure exclaimed. "You can't just-"
"You wondered if I was a badass or not. You're about to see that answer for yourself." Richard answered back. "Come on, the more time we waste arguing about these matters, the more danger the transport fleet will be in."
The Sakura Empire ships plus Leander immediately complied, as they followed Richard out, leaving Siege to gather up the USS Enterprise, Iowa, and the newest one, Washington, to prepare them for battle, while Sakura and Himeko followed Richard and his fleet to the transporter, where soon enough, everyone was beamed down to the battlefield.
The shipgirls all appeared in the water, while Richard, Sakura, and Himeko were on top of transport ship escorted by the Sakura Empire fleet, while Siege, Kiana and Mei were on top of the transport ship escorted by the Eagle Union fleet.
"This isn't the most optimal fleet… But it will do… The Sakura Empire vanguard will be enough to keep the enemy at a distance from us." Enterprise remarked.
"Huh… fighting alongside Sakura Union for once… that's a change of pace." Iowa remarked as she saw the Sakura Empire shipgirls.
"Come on, Iowa, who we're with ain't mattering much now. All I care about is getting some time to fight with some old friends." Washington chuckled, as she was a woman with short grey hair and blue eyes, as she had locks on the side of her head, and she was dressed in a white navy jacket, with a blue inner lining, as she had it wrapped around her shoulder and neck, dressed with a black corset, a short black skirt tied with a leather belt with golden buckles, stockings, and black boots.
"So we're fighting with what would have been our old enemies… Hopefully, this will be the start of a journey to mend our relations with each other as factions." Amagi remarked to herself.
"You have me, I'm on good terms with Eagle Union. Perhaps I can sway them for you." Leander suggested. "But later, of course."
"Captain, what is the bearing of the enemy position?" Richard asked the transport ship captain.
"Enemy is to our starboard side, Commander." The captain said. "Leading the sea units appears to be a corrupted ship-girl Demigra has created. And leading the land attackers… my god… that's… that's another version of Jetstream Sam!"
"Excuse me, what!?" Siege yelled as he heard this over communications. "You mean to tell me Demigra got a Sam that stayed his course with Desperado, brought him back, and now he's gonna be part of our problem? ….This just got a lot fucking harder…"
"A corrupted ship-girl…" Richard remarked, before he then gapped a pair of binoculars in, before he then zoomed into the distance, as within the rank of sea-borne demons, was a ship-girl that Richard didn't seem to recognise, considering that most of their figure was covered by demonic metal parts, melded with their rigging. He could at least discern that it was a battle-ship, considering the type of armaments on it. "...This might be a hard fight, but we should be able to handle it. Summon your riggings, everyone, the fight is about to start."
"I stand at the ready, Commander." Enterprise responded back, before everyone's armanents appeared. Enterprise seemed to have a large air-strip on one arm, with miniature AA-guns dotted along it, while her other hand wielded a large composite bow with a ship bridge at the centre of it. Iowa, Washington and Amagi, all being either battleships or battle-monitors, sported large-calibre cannons on their sides and back, as well as varying secondary armaments on other places. Iowa was interesting to Siege, as she had a sword similar to Dyrnwyn in her right hand. Shigure and Mikazuki as destroyers, had torpedo tubes fastened to their waists, and turrets on the other side of their bodies. Myoukou and Leander, the cruisers of the fleet, were equipped with much larger armaments, although while Leander had some torpedo-tubes on her waist, Myoukou had additional turrets across her rigging.
"Get me to the land, captain!" Sakura declared. "If that copy of Sam gets his chance, he can take out one of our new allies, even if they are in the sea!"
"Alright, we've got a speed-boat at the ready." The ship captain remarked. "Good luck out there, just make sure that blasted mercenary doesn't make it to us, I wouldn't bet against the fact that he would slice our ships in twain mid-trip."
Sakura nodded, as she took the speed boat to land, cleaving through sea demons and avoiding fire from Demigra's corrupt ship-girl, which upon closer inspection horrified Sakura.
"It's… it's similar to a Sakura Empire ship… the features and the fox ears on its head… no doubt about it." Sakura said, before she got on land, where Sam was waiting for her, well, the villain version of him anyways.
"Well, well, nowadays, they send a lady to do a man's dirt work…" The alternate-reality Sam remarked, drawing HF-Muramasa. "Mind if I ask about your name, before I take you out? If you really prove to give me a real fight, then I'll remember it quite well. And if you manage to take me out… Well, that's a prize for you.'
"My name is Yae Sakura, warrior of a land you may not know, but probably do not care." Sakura said, drawing her Ruinous Sakura blade, which looked a ton like HF-Muramasa. "And here is where you will meet your demise, Samuel."
"Heh, show me what you got then, lady!" Sam remarked, before he then charged at Sakura, going for a series of quick slashes.
(Cue - The Only Thing I've Ever Known - Metal Gear Rising Revengeance OST)
Sakura blocked his slashes with ease, before slashing back with ferocity, flames following her blade. Sam then immediately changed up his tactics, and leapt back, before going for charging thrusts to try and break open Sakura's guard. Sakura would trigger an Ultimate Evasion upon Sam's first attack, slowing time down like Zandaitsu, as she slashed multiple times in it, before performing a final slash that would send Sam flying backwards.
"Urgh… Aren't you strong…" Sam remarked, slowly getting up. He would attack again, only for Sakura to knock his blade out of his hand, which meant it was time for the second phase of the battle, which he shrugged his shoulders and got ready to continue. "Show me a good time, Sakura!"
Sam charged at Sakura, catching her off guard as he had her in his clutches now, as Sakura struggled to get free, grunting as she did so.
"Well now, looks like you're a bit out of touch if that got you." Sam remarked with a smirk. "Come on,don't tell me that's all you got."
Sakura grunted some more, unable to break free of Sam's grip, as Sam had his opportunity to do what he pleased to her, as he soon slammed her down harshly, and went to punch her hard, but she rolled, avoiding the punch and getting to her feet, as she soon slashed Sam many more times, as Sam continued to try and overpower her with his grapples, but she avoided each one with ease before knocking Sam back to his blade, as he smirked and walked over, picking it up.
"Now this is a true fight!" Sam said with a smile, as he and Sakura clashed with blades once again, Sakura making fine work of Sam in their blade duel, as they clashed their blades heavily with each other, before Sakura gave Sam the final blow, stabbing him through his chest, as Sam soon died on that spot.
"You are now finished. Jetstream Sam." Sakura stated, before she sheathed her blade, and walked away from Sam, victorious in her battle, and now looking to see if she could help the ship girls with their battle.
Meanwhile, as the fight between Sakura and Sam continued, the ship-girl fleet were already engaging the sea demons, as they seemed to be keeping the demons at bay, as the vanguard ship-girls were evading the demon's attacks, both melee and ranged, skidding across the surface of the water, and firing their armaments, which seemed to be doing considerable damage to the attacked demons.
"You're not getting past me! Commander promised me lots of taiyaki!" Mikazuki remarked, as she then let loose her torpedoes, as she fired a spread of them across the surface of the water, as they connected with groups of demons, blowing them up, while the torpedo tubes were already reloading quickly. She then readied herself, before she then let out a triple-shot barrage, firing a spread of mid-sized cannon shells through the entire front side of her, taking out even more enemies.
"Mmh, just the right spot to take my shot." Leander remarked, as she released her set of torpedoes, as it was a pair fired straight in front of her, as it seemed to be of greater ordinance, judging from the larger area of effect and power of the explosion. She then flexed her arms, before a blue aura washed over her and Myoukou, as it seemed to be boosting their firepower. She then moved in close, before firing two fanning waves of shells that collided with the enemy demons in the water.
"Foul demons, burn this final sight into your memories!" Myoukou roared, before she then charged the enemy troops, as her cannons fired in rapid succession, taking out the demons in her path, before she then fired a shot-gun spray of shells at a focused cluster of demons, as it gibbed them on impact from the sheer density of projectiles striking them.
"I'm feeling quite lucky today. I am Shigure of Sasebo! Watch closely!" Shigure remarked, before her speed suddenly accelerated, as she weaved through the enemy groups, deftly dodging their attacks, and dropping close-range torpedoes on the more bulky groups of the demon horde, before she then laid a rapid stream of shells that tore through anything that was ahead of her, as she strafed around the demons.
As the vanguard ship-girls immediately took out the enemy vanguard themselves, the aerial demons decided to swoop and engage the ship-girls from above. Leander noticed this, as the AA-turrets on her rigging immediately reacted, before firing a stream of light cannon-fire that peppered the demons.
"Look sharp, the enemy is attacking from above!" Leander warned the other vanguard ship-girls, as they noticed, focusing on the aerial demons, before their various anti-air armaments roared to life, as flak and shells dotted the air, cutting down the flying demons' numbers greatly.
Some of them immediately decided to make for the main fleet ship-girls themselves, as Iowa and Washington were firing artillery shells into the enemy horde, taking slews of them with each shot.
"Well, looks like they've finally wised up and decided to go for us." Washington remarked, barely acknowledging the approaching air demons with a smug grin. "Come on, Enterprise, you've got this covered. Remind them why you're called the 'Grey Ghost', home-girl!"
"I know… I'll clear the skies with a single flight!" Enterprise remarked, before she then slowly raised her bow to the skies, before she then fired a series of yellow glowing arrows from her bridge-bow, as they turned into a series of US airplanes, a flight of Hellcats, as the fighters rushed to engage the demons, as they fired a series of rapid vulcan shots that tore the winged demons apart, some tearing the wings, and dropping them straight into the deep ocean with hellish shrieks. The fighters then persisted, as they swept the skies above the vanguard ship-girls, taking out the rest of the demons in their air-space, before then strafing the sea demons from above, as they had little way to deal with the aerial fighters, except for magic projectiles, spears and arrows. When the surviving few reached the corrupted ship-girl on the back, the ship-girl raised her head, before the AA-guns on her rigging immediately roared to life, destroying them.
"Tch, seems it's not going to be easy getting something on her…" Washington remarked back. "We're not exactly at shelling range of that blasted enemy ship-girl… How annoying. But my blood boils with excitement on the fact that I'm taking out dozens upon dozens of enemies with my old pals, and that's all I ask for. We'll get that enemy ship-girl yet, but for now… her fodder will pay the price for being in my range, because I'm damn ready to fight!"
Washington then immediately let her main cannons roar again, as the large shells impacted the water, aiming for the more bulkier and stronger demons in the horde, before she then fired a spread of light shell rounds that streaked across the water, passing over the heads of the vanguard, and striking the enemy forces, while Washington's main cannons fired over and over again with high-explosive rounds, tearing the water surface with explosions.
"You said it Washington! It's time we show these demons who they're messing with! We are the Eagle Union!" Iowa declared valiantly as she prepared her own attack.
Iowa immediately fired her cannons at the enemy fleet, as it was loaded with enhanced armour piercing rounds, as they did much more powerful damage to the enemy fleet. Not only that, but Iowa immediately fired a spread of shells twice across the entire front, before firing a massive cluster of shells in front of her, decimating both the front and back of the enemy vanguard.
"Ahahaha… Truly my allies are fighting so strongly together… Then I suppose that I should spare no effort in helping." Amagi chuckled light-heartedly, before she then aimed her cannons to fire. "Commander, Sakura-san… I will not disappoint you after all of the kindness you have shown me."
She then fired her artillery rounds, as the high-explosive rounds tore more demons apart, before she then fired a massive straight barrage of both armor-piercing and high-explosive shells across the entire length of the sea, as the armour-piercing rounds managed to tear through the demons surrounding the enemy ship-girl, before the high-explosive rounds connected with her, causing a massive explosion of smoke to appear where she was.
"Yeah! Now that was a good hit on that! How do you like them now!?" Washington remarked, looking fairly pumped with how Amagi scored a hit. "Hey, Amagi, wasn't it? That was a good clean hit you got there. I'm even a little jealous that you managed to get that first hit in before me, haha.."
"Oh, my apologies, Washington." Amagi apologise gracefully. "I didn't mean to offend your pride by doing something that is insulting to you."
"Are you kidding? There's plenty of enemies ahead for me. I'm just happy that you managed to get one over me. Perhaps you Sakura Empire girls aren't what I thought you were. Thought you were all kind of a bit on the skimpy side, honestly, but now that I saw that, I think that if the others can do something like this, I've got a new way to look at you all." Washington laughed heartily.
'Washington getting along with someone from the Sakura Empire? Never thought I would see the day.' Iowa thought at seeing the conversation between the two, as hope filled her heart. 'Perhaps this is a step towards peace between at least us and the Sakura Empire at long last…'
"Everyone, look! It seems the battle is not over yet!" Leander remarked, as she pointed at the smoke cloud, which was dissipating, as the corrupted ship-girl's rigging was damaged considerably, with some of the many turrets taken out of commission, and the dark metal armour covering her was cracked apart, but she was still standing strong. "The enemy ship-girl, the barrage didn't seem to finish her!"
The ship-girl was still for a moment, before her cannons slowly creaked into place, with grinding metal noises, before the broken chunks of her armour fell into the water from the act, as a part of the armour covering the face broke, revealing a fairly familiar eye underneath it, as well as several locks of black hair.
"Wait, could that be…!?" Myoukou remarked, upon recognising who the face belonged to.
The ship-girl then fired a series of shells, as the vanguard ship-girls moved out of the way of the shot, before the other turrets roared to life, as it fired a series of thin needle-like projectiles that spread out diagonally on the sides, before then turning inwards to cover the entire front. The ship-girl then fired a series of V-shaped shell barrages in front of her, with high-explosive shells.
"Crud, everyone dodge! And most importantly, don't let those clusters of HE rounds hit you!" Shigure warned everyone, as they tried their best to evade the barrage of projectiles coming their way, although they seemed to be hit by it to varying degrees. Being a frail destroyer, a few shots was all it took for Mikazuki to be blown back and skidding across the water, as almost half of her rigging was trashed from the attacks hitting her. Myoukou and Leander didn't fare much better, as the shots bounced off their rigging, but still dealt considerable damage. Shigure was on full speed, dodging the shots, as some of them grazed her rigging, taking some of her turrets out of commission, although none of them hit her main body.
The barrage soon reached where the main fleet ships were, as Washington grit her teeth, and endured the needle-projectiles, which battered against her armoured rigging, and Enterprise was hit by some of them, although it only jostled her. Iowa and Amagi was mostly untouched by the barrage, since they were in a position where most of the shots missed them entirely. However, when they noticed that the HE rounds were still travelling…
"The cluster of HE rounds… They're going for the transport ships!" Enterprise remarked back.
Iowa gasped as she heard this from Enterprise, looking back to see the Commanders in danger, as she knew what she needed to do.
"I'll quickly move into motion… We cannot afford to let them be harmed! Let my body be the shield!" Myoukou stated, as she quickly put her engines to full speed to intercept the barrage heading for the transport ships. "I will be willing to take this blow if it will protect my unarmed friends!"
"No, Myoukou! Let me take the blows!" Iowa declared as she rushed between the shells and Myoukou, as they all hit Iowa, smoke surrounding her so no one knew of her condition.
"Shit! Iowa! Are you alright!?" Siege yelled, seeing the smoke. "Iowa, do you read me? Are you there!?"
"...I'm… here… Commander…" Iowa said through comms, as the damage had clearly been done. Her rigging was torn to shrapnel nearly, as the only thing that was a viable weapon left to her was the sword in her right hand. She was covered with bruises and bleeding spots of her human/ship state, showing that her damage was critical. Another round and Iowa would be nothing more than a shipwreck.
"Pull back, Iowa! You'll be destroyed at this rate! Your rigging's trashed as it is!" Washington exclaimed.
"Dammit! Why did you need to pull off a move I would do!?" Siege yelled over comms. "Listen to your ally boat, Iowa, and pull back! We're not-"
"No… I… I can still fight… as long as I draw breath, I will serve my Union, towards an era of world peace…" Iowa said, raising her sword.
"Goddamnit listen, as your Commander I-" Siege began to rebuttal, before Iowa interrupted him.
"Commander, my mission… is not fulfilled unless I complete it… and our mission is to destroy this corrupt enemy." Iowa said, defiance in her wavering voice. "I will not be put on standby… not while I'm still-"
"STOP SOUNDING LIKE ME! NOW GODDAMNIT IOWA LISTEN TO REASON!" Siege yelled in anger over the comms, snapping his words with emphasis, catching the attention of most ship-girls. "Now, here is what I want the fleet to do, as the Commander, hear my orders! Amagi, Enterprise, as the two ships that are in the best condition, you two take the front lines! Washington, provide them support fire! Mikazuki, Leander, position yourselves defensively behind them, but ensure you two can fire your torpedoes effectively between them! Iowa, I say it again, no refusals this time, you are to retreat, I repeat again, RETREAT. You have done your part for this mission, and as your Commander, I deem your actions today heroic. But let us not cross the line between heroism and stupidity with your brashness, I learned that once already! Myoukou, If she refuses, I order you to drag her ass back behind our lines whatever it may take! Once you've done that, take a proper defensive position in the formation where you have a firing line, and can still be defended! Shigure, since you are operational as well, take the front lines with Enterprise and Amagi. Now, am I understood!?"
"...Yes Commander…." Iowa said reluctantly, falling back.
"Damn, these Commander got the authority and the voice to make him good." Washington remarked with an impressed tone.
"Now then, assume the positions I gave you all! We only have one shot at this working!" Siege declared. "When I give the signal, all of you fire at once to give that Corrupt ship-girl hell! Understood?"
"Right!" was the collective shout from the gathered ship-girls, before they then immediately moved into formation, as the last of the sea demons made for a desperate offensive, and the corrupted ship-girl was now active, reloading her main guns as quickly as she could.
"Alright, she is reloading! Time for the first phase of the plan!" Siege said. "Enterprise!"
"Let me clear the way first!" Enterprise remarked, before she then let loose another set of arrows, as it turned into dive-bombers, specifically the Douglas BTD-1s, as they bombarded the entire front of the enemy forces, as some of them managed to reach the back, bombing the corrupted ship-girl and her demonic escorts, dealing some damage to them. "Alright, the path should be clear enough for the rest of you to land your shots!"
"Wait for my signal!" Siege said, as the ship-girls got closer, as the corrupt ship-girl was almost finished reloading.
"Commander, she's nearly done reloa-" Iowa started to say before Siege interrupted.
"All part of my plan Iowa, you will see! Hold fire, allies!" Siege said, as the corrupt ship girl finished reloading. "Hold fire…" Siege said, as the corrupt ship-girl was about to fire when… "OPEN FIRE!"
"Alright, this should be a safe enough spot to start firing!" Shigure stated. "I don't know whether you're who we think you are… But that question can wait once we have you down! Take this!"
Shigure then let her torpedoes fly, as Mikazuki joined in, as the multiple torpedoes collided with the corrupted ship-girl kicking up a spray of water that obstructed her view, and stopped her from firing momentarily. As she was about to fire again, the other ship-girls had their weapons trained, and they timed it perfectly with the ship-girl firing her weapons, which was going to spell bad for her, as Leander and Myoukou started with a pincer-attack, their weapons blazing through both sides of the ship-girl.
Amagi and Washington immediately loaded their weapons. "It's pay-back time for Iowa, bitch!" Washington swore with fury in her eyes, before she then fired her barrage onto the corrupted ship-girl, damaging more of her rigging in the process. Before the ship-girl could recover, Amagi's shell and barrage followed soon after, cutting through more of her rigging, as her armour was almost destroyed, not to mention her weaponry was hit as she was about to fire, catching those on fire as an explosion followed soon after, disabling the ship-girl's weaponry and rendering her armor destroyed.
"The commander's plan… It disabled the enemy ship-girl in a swift motion… Such tactical brilliance…" Myoukou remarked with awe.
"Holy… Commander, that was brilliant!" Iowa said in awe. "What timing!"
"Now then, we should be able to bring her down without much more of an issue, should she have another trick up her sleeve that she wants to try." Siege said. "Fleet, move in, but reload your guns in case the corrupt ship-girl tries anything."
The vanguard-ships slowly approached the corrupted ship-girl as her armour fell apart into the water, as the metallic helmet covering her head was completely gone, as it revealed long flowing black hair, with black fox ears, and yellow eyes. At the moment the face was revealed, Myoukou, Mikazuki, and Shigure froze where they were, while Amagi was shocked as well.
"What's wrong…? Shigure, Myoukou, Mikazuki, respond!" Siege tried to communicate with the shocked Sakura Empire ship-girls.
"N-No wonder that barrage was familiar… I only seen two people use that kind of barrage… And one of them is before us… Nagato… She looks a lot more mature… But it's Nagato, it has to be!" Shigure remarked. "What the hell is this…!? Some sort of Siren experiment fastened to her…!?"
"Nagato-nee… No… No…" Mikazuki remarked with disbelief and horror, as she froze where she was.
"Nagato… How could this possibly happen…!?" Myoukou answered back. "To twist her against her own kin… What kind of monster would do this…!?"
"Nagato…" Amagi remarked back with a longing tone.
Suddenly, the chest of Nagato began to glow red, before the red light began to flash, which caused the vanguard ship-girls to stop where they were.
"What is this…?" Leander remarked. "A flashing light… Why do I feel like it's a bad omen…"
"Let me check something…" Richard remarked, before he then immediately activated a scanner, before it then found something inside the corrupted Nagato, a high-ordinance bomb exactly. "...Fuck… FUCK! All of you, get the hell back! She's rigged with a timed bomb!"
"She's WHAT!?" Shigure exclaimed back. "Gods, what should we do…!?"
"We can't possibly abandon Nagato like this… But… But… Commander… how long do we have until it detonates…!?" Myoukou frantically asked.
"The bomb is set long enough to ensure that you won't escape it… It's set at a minute and a half… but with the power packed inside… it won't matter how far you get, it's going to blow you all inside of it!" Richard shouted, before he then realised something, something that could save the lives of everyone. "Iowa… can you still move…?"
"Barely… bu-" Iowa began, before Kiana soon spoke up.
"Wait! I know that kind of bomb! It may be Super powerful but it's easy to defuse!" Kiana said.
"How!?" Siege would demand.
"The dummies put the wires on the outside of The bomb. If I can shoot the yellow wire, the bomb deactivates!" Kiana said, soon rushing out to the deck.
"Captain, get us closer to Nagato!" Siege declared. "Kiana only has pistols, so she can't make the shot unless she's close enough…!"
"Alright, I'll try to make it in time!" The captain remarked, before he then set the transport ship to full throttle, speeding towards where Nagato was. "I hope you know what you're doing… We're all dead if this goes wrong…!"
"I know, captain, but have faith in us…" Richard assured the captain. "Alright, here's new orders: Myoukou, Leander, you two are the strongest of the vanguard, being heavy and light cruisers respectively. Use that strength, and restrain Nagato, expose the wires, and keep her still enough for Kiana to make her shot!"
"I understand!" Myoukou stated, before she then latched onto Nagato, lunging onto her, as Leander went onto the other side, before she then clawed the broken armour pieces off, revealing the wires meshed with her skin. "Gods… This is horrible, but the wires are exposed… She's trying to resist, but in her weakened state… We should hold her long enough for you to get your shot… Make it count, Kiana-san! You're our hope now!"
"You got it Myoukou-san!" Kiana said as she brought out one of her pistols, equipping a scope that gave her the yardage. She was at 100 yards. "Damn…! I can make a 100 yard shot but I still miss now and then, try to get me within 75 yards, captain!"
"Hurry, that bomb has about 30 seconds left!" Siege said as he was keeping time.
"We're already pushing beyond safe levels of engine power! I can't risk more right now!" The captain stated. "We're getting closer still, but this is cutting it close… We're here! Braking down will take too much time, and shift your aim too strongly! You're going to have to make the shot moving!"
"I've practiced on moving targets before! I got this!" Kiana said as she aimed. 10 seconds were left on the bomb… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5-
BANG!
Kiana would shoot the yellow wire, as the bomb timer reached 0…
But no explosion occurred!
"HOT FUCKING DAMN!" Siege yelled in glee as he leapt out of his seat from the transport boat. "Holy shit… too fucking close but well done Kiana!"
"Phew…" Kiana said in relief. "Nagato-san is saved, and so is everyone else…"
"I'm impressed, Kiana. This is why you're an A-Rank Valkyrie now." Himeko said with an approving smile, making Kiana smile as well as Mei hugged her tightly.
Sakura then immediately rushed into the scene, using the speed-boat that she was lent, arriving at the scene. She then saw that Nagato was safely captured, as she let out a sigh of relief.
"Phew… It's good news that you didn't kill her… You almost killed one of the Sakura Empire ship-girls…" Sakura stated. "Sorry that fight took a while, but I'm glad that you got the message before I could give it to you all."
"Yeah, it was fortunate." Richard remarked back. "Myoukou, Leander, keep her held, I need to personally fix this mess before it gets any more serious."
Richard then fell down one of his sukimas, before teleporting behind Nagato. He then immediately covered his hand with powerful energy to reinforce it, before giving her a precise neck-chop which cut away her consciousness immediately, as she slumped over. "There, that should keep her under long enough to be safely transported around." He stated.
"D-Did you just literally neck-chop Nagato and knock her out like that…! And then there's the fact you literally went from here to there in a flash…!" Shigure exclaimed with shock. "...You're not really human, are you?"
"Not really." Richard answered back. "I suppose that I should apologise for not showing my hand, when I promised it. But since I didn't have to, and the fight and its feats were mostly yours and the other ship-girls', I'm truly proud of you all. I'll be sure to give you all time to rest, and some rewards to help you relax."
"Will there be taiyaki?" Mikazuki asked curiously.
"As much as you can eat." Richard answered back. "Myoukou, Leander, move Nagato onto the ship. Once the delivery is done, we'll transport her back to the GFS Ryujin, where she'll be treated."
"As we said, well done to each and every one of you. If you want, Richard, you and everyone else can head back. I'll ensure the delivery is made myself." Siege said as the transport ship soon went to land, as Siege landed on the shore where the delivery was still in good shape. "And thank God. No more Dust explosions this time."
Richard then called for a transport ship, as the ship-girls all followed Richard onto it, returning to the GFS Ryujin, where Richard already called for a medical team at the hangar where the ship was landing. They immediately hefted Nagato onto a medical stretcher, and moved her.
"Get her treated ASAP. She is loaded with a defused bomb." Richard ordered the medical team. "And bring an engineer specialised on ship structures, in case her body runs on the hybrid principle."
The medical team then left, as Richard then turned to the gathered ship-girls. "Everything is taken care of… For those of the Sakura Empire, it'll be a fair moment away before the operation is complete to repair her body, and undo whatever devices controlled her." Richard informed them. "Until then, take your time to rest… And as for you, Iowa… You need medical attention as well. Come to the medical bay."
"Right… I have GOT to figure out what other tricks you have up your sleeve now. I'm beginning to think that you're some sort of mortal god." Shigure answered back. "Come on, Myoukou and Mikazuki, we need a long bath and a lot of soothing tea to get the events of today off our backs."
"May I join?" Leander asked gently. "If it wouldn't be a bother and all…"
"Eh, why not? You made some good tea earlier, and you helped us out… So who could turn down having a friend." Shigure smiled back. "I assure you, Myoukou's pretty good at bathing others."
The four ship-girls immediately left, while Richard gestured for Iowa to follow him. Amagi and Enterprise followed after as well, as did Washington. When they reached the nearest medical bay, they noticed that the doctor was currently out on a break.
"Well… That's a bit inconvenient… But it's a good time to show one of my talents, so to speak." Richard responded back, before he then collected the medicine and tools needed to treat Iowa. "Sit yourself down, Iowa. I'll treat you myself, since you haven't got anything too severe for me to treat. As for the rest of you, feel free to talk, but don't make too much of a ruckus. There might be other patients inside this bay."
Iowa soon sat down, wincing in pain as she laid her sword aside, soon looking down in disappointment. "Commander… I… apologize for my brash actions out in the field of battle today… I… I just didn't want to feel like I was totally useless in today's battle, considering I did less than my allies, so I wanted to continue the battle even though it was risking me becoming a shipwreck."
"Iowa… I understand what you are doing, and I respect that." Richard responded back. "However, I might have to object to two things. One is the fact that you need not apologise to me. You were merely running on adrenaline at that point, and trying to fight the enemy to the bitter end. To be honest, I was about to tell you to cut that bomb out of Nagato… And you said you could barely move… I could have almost drove you into a shipwreck myself, so I am at fault for even thinking of such a plan."
Richard then began to use cotton cloths to wipe the spilt blood on Iowa's body. "And second of all, never call yourself useless. No matter how little your contribution seems, it is always essential to a battle. The smallest change can bring about victory or defeat in battle, or even turning the tide of battle in a war." He continued. "However, your contribution was far greater than you believe. When I saw that barrage… That spread of artillery shells wiped half of the enemy lines in a single barrage. And because of that, Amagi's barrage managed to reach Nagato without resistance. So her first shot was because you cleared the way for her."
"Really? Well, I guess Iowa did tear the water a lot with those mighty explosions…" Washington hummed, before then turning to Iowa. "But you hear that, Iowa? Looks like you outdone me as always! That's why you're the number one battleship of the Eagle Union, because no one mows enemies down like you can!"
"Indeed, Iowa-san did manage to do severe damage on the enemy ranks." Amagi nodded in agreement. "So I thank you deeply for helping me get past the enemy forces with my artillery barrage."
"...Thank you all… thank you all so much." Iowa said with a smile. "Very well, I won't push myself so hard next time, for the sake of all of you."
"Glad to hear it… Anyways, back to the treatment itself." Richard answered back, as he wiped the last of the dried blood off Iowa's body, before he then quickly dabbed some cotton swabs in powerful antiseptic. "Next in cleaning up those wounds of yours. You might want to steel yourself, because this stuff is really powerful."
As Iowa was being treated by Richard, Enterprise took the moment to speak with Amagi. "Amagi, if I could ask something of you?" She asked gently.
"Of course, Enterprise, there is no need for secrecy." Amagi acknowledged Enterprise. "I'm willing to hear what you have to say."
"I know that I should be saying to Commander Siege first and foremost… But since I have the chance, I must tell you as well." Enterprise responded back, before she then bowed her head lightly. "Thank you for ensuring that Iowa wasn't pushed further. She was almost at the verge of sinking… And I cannot bear to see another of my kin sink."
"...I only heard rumours about it… But is the ship that you're thinking of…" Amagi started, before she then stopped. "No, blindly stating names would be rash on my behalf. However, you are our allies. Our past grudge as Crimson Axis and Azur Lane is long-gone, as we now stand as a unified faction under our commanders. Either way, I never harbour any ill feelings or intentions with the people of Azur Lane."
"So that is why you were so cordial with all of us…" Enterprise answered back, before she then eyed the eagle perched on her shoulder. "...I have to admit something… Grim, he wasn't exactly mine to begin with… More like that I inherited him from his previous owner."
There was a moment of dreadful silence, as both Amagi and Enterprise knew what the deeper meanings of the word were.
"I hope that something like this will not happen again, even if I have to personally clash opinions against my own sisters and my most trusted comrades." Amagi responded back.
"That's all I needed… Thank you, Amagi." Enterprise answered back.
As the conversation ended, Richard finished disinfecting Iowa's wounds, and moved onto using bandages to wrap the larger and severe wounds. It didn't take as long as the other steps of the medical treatment, as Richard was finished in no time flat.
"All done." Richard declared,before he then backed away. "How do you feel, Iowa?"
"Much better. Thank you Richard." Iowa said. "How long will I be out of commission for, do you suggest?"
"I'd say that you will need a few days or so, for those wounds to scar up and start healing. When that happens, that's the safest bet of fighting early." Richard responded back. "Either way, you won't be out of commission for long, unlike Nagato. It's going to be a fair while until her operation is done, and even longer before she even wakes up."
"Is that so… So we can only wait?" Amagi asked back. "I worry about Nagato… She may be a flagship of the Sakura Empire, but she is a girl burdened by heavy responsibilities that she can barely keep up with."
"Is that so…?" Iowa asked, as she heard all of this. "...That sounds like a large burden for one to carry…"
"It is." Amagi responded back. "Despite how she is much more mature than what her appearance shows, she is but one flagship leading a nation. Either way, I do not wish to cause more distress mentioning things. The Sakura Empire had more than Nagato to keep it steady, and here… We have a Commander… no, two who are strong enough to hold us together."
"And also put our pasts behind us, to forge a new era of peace… despite our past, Amagi, regardless of whether we have the opportunity to form peace or not… I would like to be a friend to you, and all of the Sakura Empire as well." Iowa said.
"And I will wish for the same." Amagi nodded gently back.
"Alright… I suppose that I should leave you all be to your own devices." Richard responded back. "I'll need to eventually prepare to introduce you guys to my other friends… So that it will be easier to get us acquainted with each other."
"Fair enough." Iowa said. "I will wait here until you clear me to leave."