Whoo Boy, the longest chapter I ever written. Originally, I wanted to wrap the whole rescue in one chapter but after hitting 10k word I realized doing so will make it too long for me to write, and you all to read. So, I decided to split it into two parts so it's easier for both sides. Expect part two to be ready in about two weeks or so since I have a work now, but at least the flow is already there.
Also, some dialogues were in italic to denote that they were speaking in their native language. French for the Iris, German for the Iron Blood and so on.
Day 28
1350
London, Great Britain Quarantine Zone
She's been running for a while, yet the crowd chasing her is persistent. No matter what she does, they were able catch up without much troubles. She occasionally glanced to her back to see how far they was from her. Every time she did so she swears they were getting closer and closer as she could see their enraged faces as if they were angry at her for some reasons. Remembering the assault rifle she obtained from the church prior, she takes out a few blind shots at the crowd. She managed a few hits but they were hardly fazed by it. A few stumbles but immediately gets up and resumed their chase.
In between dodging obstacles such as vehicles, barriers and debris London knew that trying to use her rigging here is dangerous as the narrow streets and other objects makes chances of getting stuck too great to be ignored, coupled with the speed the people chasing her was, getting herself stuck would spell the end for her. Not to mention she needs some distance for the rounds to work safely or she can hurt herself from her own rounds. However, she eventually reached a large avenue where London immediately turned left and followed the road. Unlike the narrow streets, this time there's plenty of room for her especially on the opposite lane which was almost devoid of any vehicles or any other obstacles compared to the side she was on. But even that her first priority was to gain some distance from the crowd. Fortunately, this time with no obstacle in her way she was able to gain some grounds.
By having some distance, she can now safely use her rigging, but given the size of the crowd chasing her she doesn't think one volley would be enough to deal with them, as such she began to look around looking for anything that may give her an advantage and soon enough, she spotted a crashed tanker truck blocking the intersection in front of her. An idea soon formulated inside her head.
"Maybe if I blow up that truck, I could stop them from chasing me." But first she must get past the truck and get to a safe distance before she can execute her plan. While she can go around the truck thanks to a gap to the right, she instead chose to jump over it using an overturned car as a base.
"Here it goes!" Putting as much strength she could on her legs, London somersaults herself past the truck, a feat easily done by any shipgirls given their naturally strong lower legs stemming from having to carry their rigging during combat. As soon as she lands, London ran a further bit down the road before summoning her rigging and making a 180, pointing all her guns at the truck. Taking aim, she immediately fires a volley of HE shells. And London was blown backwards from her guns recoil.
"WHAT THE…!?" London was surprised as she was sent flying backwards before crashing through rows of abandoned vehicles ploughing through them like a bowling ball smashing through the pins before she crashed into the back of a bus, stopping her. She then picked herself up, her head spinning trying to digest what just happened.
"Ow…What the hell? I didn't remember the recoil being that strong." London looked ahead and saw that her plan did worked, for where the tanker truck was before is now a sea of flames. But then she saw some of the crowd ran through the flames, only to flail around and screaming before dropping down on the ground. London thought it was over, only to hear more of the screams coming around her. Only then London realized her actions had attracted the attention of basically "everyone" around her. Through the corner of her eyes, she could see another crowd rushing at her from her right. They were still far away, but her experience from the previous encounter with them tells her that they will close the distance easily.
Not wanting to be thrown across the street again, London tried to use her secondaries instead, hoping that the smaller secondary guns had a more manageable recoil compared to her main guns. When she fires her secondaries however, she almost loses her footing again from the recoil. While not as powerful as her main guns it still made merely standing still almost impossible. This also affects accuracy as even if she has aimed at her target the resulting recoil threw everything off balance.
"What's with this recoil? I can't use my main guns and even this? I can't even shoot anything like this!" London fired about twelve shots before stopping due to the constant recoil slowly hurting her legs and back, as well as noticing only a few of her shots hitting her intended targets. Realizing the crowd is getting closer, London prepares her assault rifle, ready to shoot at the incoming crowd.
That is until the incoming crowd suddenly disappears under an explosion.
"Huh?" She was surprised for it was certainly wasn't her doing as none of her shots, not even her main guns could do such damage. Looking up, she saw a trail of smoke that came straight down from the sky. Then she heard the screaming roars of jet engines coming closer towards her. She turns her head towards the direction of the sound and saw two fighter jets swoop down and began strafing the streets, taking out those that didn't die from the earlier explosion. One of the fighters dropped several bombs onto the streets engulfing everything in a huge conflagration while the other fired missiles further down blowing up another crowd that London didn't realize was there. It then also dropped bombs taking out the entire street along with the rest of the crowd.
London could only stare in shock and awe at what is happening around her. Minutes ago, she was running for her life with a group of crazed citizens chasing her and next thing she know was bombs and missiles started falling down from the sky. Even though she could feel the heat of the fires despite her distance, at least she knew she was safe for a moment. Then her communicator devices sparkled to life, startling her for a moment. She pulled up the device and for the first time since she's out of stasis, she hears a normal human voice.
"This is General Eleanor Gayle of NATO Rage Containment Task Force to HMS London, do you read me!?" London was surprised that she was contacted by NATO considering the military alliance and Azur Lane normally stayed out of each other's way unless necessary, but she immediately replied back.
"Yes General, I read you loud and clear."
"Listen, London. The area you are in right now is not safe. You need to get out of there now!"
Minutes earlier
Day 28
Joint NATO – Azur Lane Base Bembridge
Bembridge was among many settlements that were forced to be abandoned when the Sirens invaded in 2007. For the next seventeen years the town was left to its fate until the Sirens was finally beaten back in late 2023. Following the end of the so-called Siren War, plans are afoot to rebuild and repopulate the village. But following the outbreak of the Rage Virus, and the fall of the UK Government it had been since then acquired by NATO alongside the former airport and St Helens and has been rebuilt as a military base housing NATO soldiers, air and naval force and Azur Lane shipgirls that were involved in the operation to contain the spread of the virus. The joint base has been the main point of entry where supplies went into the island to help civilian population that remained on the island as well as mainland refugees that were evacuated to the island during the outbreak.
The base was also the main operational headquarters of NATO Rage Containment Task Force, which was established early during outbreak initially to assist the UK Government in containing the virus from spreading and later evacuation efforts and as of now, quarantine enforcement of mainland Great Britain. Inside the former village hall turned command centre is where all missions conducted within the Quarantine Zone were coordinated under the commands of General Eleanor Gayle. Everything from air and naval patrols, survivor rescue, drone controls are all conducted within the building.
The inside of the building was rife with activities with various staffs monitoring everything from communications to the whereabouts of all patrols. However as soon as a middle-aged American stepped into the command room, the activities temporarily halted as everyone saluted their commander.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gents! Status report?"
"Sir, there's a small Siren activity 80 nautical miles southwest of Plymouth."
"Any updates on that, lieutenant?"
"Of course, sir, the Iron Blood, Eagle Union and Iris Orthodoxy of the Azur Lane had just sent a fleet to take them out. Should be back in the next hour."
"Anything else to report?"
"Uh, one of our drones in Wiltshire spotted a group of survivors in a farmhouse just outside Gore Cross. Want to send them a chopper to pick 'em up?"
"Contact one of the quarantine camps nearby and see if they have room for more survivors. If so, then yes."
"Got it sir."
While all this were happening, near the centre was a group of monitors and consoles that have one purpose: To oversee drone operations over London. Following NATO's decision to stop evacuating survivors out of Great Britain, any survivors found afterward would be sent to one of the many quarantine camps that were established within mainland Great Britain. Initially using reconnaissance drone, they have since then make use of MQ-9 Reaper as it could provide immediate air support rather than having to wait for help to arrive. In London alone there were six of them patrolling the city, its operator scanning the monitor looking for any signs of survivors. So far, they were able to rescue eight survivors out of London since they became online.
One of the soldiers assigned to this mission was Lieutenant Jim. To him, this was just another day on duty looking at the monitors and instruments in keeping the drone airborne as well as keeping a lookout for possible survivors still living within the city. This was his routine for about six hours a day these past few days, until he spotted a fireball near the corner of his screen. Realizing there was something wrong, he immediately notifies the General.
"Sir, I just saw an explosion in my sector." In an instant, the General went from relaxed to a more serious mood as he made his way to the drone operator.
"Where do you see it?"
"Uh, hold on. I think it's on the intersection between Finchley, Hilgrove and Adelaide Road. Moving drone closer to the site." Taking manual control of the drone, he flew it closer to the rising column of smoke.
"This had to be a survivor. Power and gas are down and as far as we know the Infected can't use weapons so whoever set that explosion off had to be somewhere."
"Yeah sir, but that has to be sloppiest thing to do out there. Unless you're surrounded by them you don't want an explosion that big. Attracts too much attention."
"Whatever Jim, just get the drone there." Jim doesn't say anything as he pilots the drone towards his destination. As he gets closer, he can see in the streets a large number of Infected leaving their hiding place, seemingly attracted by the explosion.
"Damn, whoever did this better be prepared because you just announced a party and everyone heard your invitation and are coming for it." At this point, the other officers and soldiers had taken notice of the commotion and began watching his monitor.
"Didn't see a horde that large since like, twenty days ago."
"You're in London back then corporal?"
"Yeah, it was a total FUBAR I tell you. One moment everything's under control, and then everything's got real. I mean entire street full of Infected running at you like goddamned Usain Bolt on meth and you can shoot them, but eventually ammo starts running low and that's the point where you really had to go." Then a nearby lieutenant spoke up.
"Okay that was FUBAR. But wanna know how to top that? The Brits kept saying that their shipgirls managed to stop them at Cricklewood, so the other factions brought their shipgirls to reinforce the defensive line between Tottenham and Park Royal thinking they can beat them too. But we know something ain't right that morning when some bunch of Royal girls showed up at my post near that supermarket in Kilburn. The moment they saw some bunch of shipgirls with us, their faces went white, man. I swear to God, their face had the "Oh God, these girls gonna die" look plastered all over. They basically yelled at the other shipgirls telling them to retreat to the Thames, saying their guns are useless against the Infected. When other girls asked why, they tell them to just listen and retreat immediately. "
"So, what happened lieutenant?"
"We thought they went out of their minds, but some of them are veterans, you know. There's Warspite and Renown with them. They're among the first shipgirls that were summoned when we started this shipgirl stuff against the Sirens, and when they give you that face you know you should've listened. Problem was the other girls didn't take it seriously. Boy, just minutes later the entire horde showed up and that's when they found out those Royals ain't kidding when they said their guns are useless. Excuse me, I need a sip."
The lieutenant pauses his story so that he can quench his thirst. Then he continued. "So, one of the girls…" Before he continues his story, Jim saw something that would change everyone's priority for the next few hours and immediately alerts everyone.
"Oh my god, sir. Sir! You've got to see this!" He alerted General Gayle as he adjusts the drone's camera to focus on what he had seen.
"What is it lieutenant?" Before Gayle could ask further question, he too saw it. Several other people in the room also gathered near the screen. Even the other drone operators temporarily leave their station to see what Jim had found. They all can't believe what, or rather who did they had found.
"It's a shipgirl…" It's the only thing he could think of at the moment. Jim however, corrected him.
"A living, uninfected shipgirl, sir."
"But how? There should be no other shipgirls down there. The only ones left in the city are all infected." They all can see her resting behind a bus, among piles of crushed vehicles. They also could see smoke coming from her guns meaning she had just used them.
"No doubt she's the one that set off that explosion. But who is this?"
"Run her face through the FRS."
"Right away sir." The facial recognition software took several seconds to work, but the results returned almost immediately and it brought shock to everyone in the room. "Sir, it's HMS London, one of the six missing Royal cruisers listed in the Casualty Manifest."
The news pretty much hit everyone in the room on their nerves, especially Gayle. Just by the looks of it he knew he has to get her out of city as fast as he can. He immediately regained his composure and began issuing orders.
"How fast can we get her an air support other than the drones?"
"Sir, a patrol just went through London a few minutes ago."
"Tell them to turn back! We got a VIP to be rescued!"
"Contacting Bembridge Tower right now."
"And you! Find a way to contact her."
"On it, sir!" The female soldier went straight for her console as she begins to search for a way to communicate with London.
Skies over London
Also flying above London at the time was a pair of F-35 Lightnings, which was tasked for combat air patrol. Alongside the drones they were also used for air support providing more firepower to supplement them.
"Hey man, it's just shame that the whole city just got wasted like this."
"Come again?"
"First time I came to London was when I was a child, back before the Siren War shit. With my parents of course. Visited many of the museums there, including that light cruiser docked next that lift bridge..."
"Museums, huh? How does it look?"
"Nah, just some bunch of old stuff they took from their colonies when the Brits used to own half the world you know. Kinda boring to be honest, but at least the tour guide brought us to Piccadilly and of course the London Eye."
"That's it? Sounds like a shitty holiday to me."
"Yeah, but back then I was a child, so at night after putting the kids to bed my parents and the older participants went and hit the pubs. At least that light cruiser was interesting. Shows how the Royal Navy, I mean the normal one fought in WW2. It was fascinating. That's how I got interested in the military. Initially I wanted the Navy, but then I decided that Air Force is cooler, so that's how I got here."
"Wow, that's one way to start your career. But yeah, you're right. It was a shame that whole city is like this. Or rather the whole of Great Britain. Unlike you, I've never been here before. Always wanted to go though. Since this Siren War ended, I already planned a trip this summer. Then this Rage shit happens."
"Hey, at least you did get to London as you always wanted." The other pilot replied with a chuckle.
"Well, not like this! I mean I wanted to explore the city on foot, not…" Before Two could finish his argument both pilots were contacted by their superiors.
"This is Bembridge Tower to Thunder Lead, do you copy?"
"Tower, this is Thunder One, go ahead."
"Uh, we got news from Command that there's a VIP on the ground in need of immediate air support. They wanted both of you to turn around since you're the closest other than the drones."
"Solid copy, Tower. Turning back to London now."
"Thunder One, how about we do a Split-S much faster that way."
"Roger that, you lead the way Thunder Two." The two fighter jets performed the Split-S manoeuvre, which enables them to turn around faster compared to other options. As soon as the jets turned, both pilots could see a rising column of smoke in the distance.
"Yeah, we can see smoke coming from there. We don't see that earlier."
"Uh, Tower? This is Thunder Two, what's the exact location of our VIP?"
"The VIP is currently at the intersection between Finchley, Hilgrove and Adelaide Road, just west of South Hampstead from your direction and heading. Better hurry up, she just attracted a lot of attention. How fast can you get there?"
"From this distance, I say ETA is probably in forty-five seconds. Copy?"
"Solid Copy, Thunder Lead. Tower out." With that the two fighter jets opened up on their thrusters as the pilots raced to get to their destination as fast as they can.
Bembridge Base Command Building
"We got updates from the Tower. The patrol should arrive within forty-five seconds."
"Good. Lara? Any updates on communications?"
"Still working on it, sir. Scanning all airwaves in London for possible radio transmission right now."
"She's probably still hooked to the old Royal Navy channel. Try that first."
In the meantime, Jim observes what London was doing at the time. He could her standing up before attempting to fire secondaries. His experience witnessing other shipgirls using their riggings on land comes to his mind and he immediately knew that she was in extreme danger. Others who saw it also came to the same conclusion. He again called the attention of the General.
"Woah, woah, woah, the way she's trying to fight, she's obviously got no idea that her guns don't work the same way on land. With all that Infected around she won't last forty-five seconds. Sir! Permission to engage with Hellfire?"
"Do what you have to lieutenant, just don't hit our girl." Without any much saying, he activates the weapons system aboard his Reaper drone. Then he began to angle his drone towards the intersection, aiming to hit the closest horde which is coming from the north. Upon sighting a possible target, an Infected woman leading the northern horde, he pressed the trigger, unleashing a Hellfire missile straight towards the target. Launching from the Reaper drone, the missile streaks through the air leaving a trail of smoke which in turn gains attention of the two fighter jets also racing towards the intersection.
"Uh, this is Thunder One. We just saw a missile flying down towards our destination, confirm the VIP is still there?"
"Confirmed, Thunder One. One of our drones had just launched a missile strike against an incoming horde coming from your direction. But we're seeing more coming her way."
"Copy that. We have the intersection in visual range, preparing for an attack run." In the meantime, Jim watches as the missile he fired made contact with the ground, vaporizing the Infected caught within the ensuing blast.
"Target down." While Jim was already norm to seeing targets obliterated by drone strikes, the same wasn't for those watching in the command centre.
"Woah!"
"Get siked bitch!"
"Good hit, Jim. That's one few Infected down there." Seeing the blast, the two fighter jets prepare for the attack run. "Two, I take this road. You handle the one after the intersection. I can see like a horde coming from that direction as well."
"Copy that, One. Two out." Both fighters then began their attacks.
"Thunder One, engaging."
"Thunder Two, engaging."
Both fighters fired their cannons towards the Infected horde below, their 25mm cannon rounds cuts through them almost effortlessly.
"Thunder One, dropping ordinance." With the press of a button several Mk77 bombs were dropped onto the street below, incinerating any Infected caught in the blast. Given how the Infected often grouped together in large numbers, incendiary and cluster munitions became the weapon of choice against them, partly from its ability to destroy large numbers of Infected in one run, but also from knowing that there were no more civilians in the area, allowing such weapons to be openly used without fear of civilian casualties other than a slight case of collateral damages to surrounding properties and infrastructures.
"Hey, anyone in for a zom-b-q?" Just as Thunder One bombed the street below the intersection, Thunder Two went straight ahead and unleashed a pair of missiles straight down the intersection, blowing up several vehicles as well as unfortunate Infected close to it. Like the other pilot, he also dropped his incendiary payload as well, burning any surviving Infected as well as creating a firewall ensuring no more Infected could go through.
"Make that medium rare please. Command, this is Thunder Two. VIP has been secured. Waiting for further instructions, over."
Back in the command room, everyone took a slight breath of relieve after the Infected horde has been destroyed. But they also knew London was not truly safe yet, for she was currently in the place NATO personnel has dubbed a "hot zone", areas with a lot of Infected. They now have to find a way to communicate with her.
"Lara, how's the comms?"
"Not yet sir. Still scanning all airwaves for possible radio transmission…. No, wait! I think I got something." She heard a garbled message as she was going through the airwaves and slowly, she readjusted the frequency until the message slowly becoming more clearly and tangible enough to be heard.
"This is heavy cruiser London…"
"Sir, I got it!"
"Patch me through to her now!"
"Hold on a moment." Jenkins pressed several buttons before handing it over to the General. "Connection to London established, she's all yours General."
Now connected to London's comms channel, Gayle took the microphone and immediately made with her.
"This is General Eleanor Gayle of NATO Rage Containment Task Force to HMS London, do you read me!?"
Present
"Unsafe? General, what is going on right now? Any explanation?"
"We get to that later. Right now, you have to get out of the city. Your best chance is to get to the Thames River, about five klicks southeast of your position. Now, there's an intersection behind you. Go there and turn right into Avenue Road and run down the whole road. We'll guide you all the way. Do you copy, over?"
"Copy, General." London doesn't ask any further questions as she turned around and ran towards the intersection behind her. As soon as she reached the intersection, she turned right into Avenue Road and begins to run down the road. She can already hear the screeches and groans indicating there was another group chasing behind her.
Bembridge Base Command Centre
"I want a rescue team to depart immediately. Send as many attack helicopters and a transport helicopter we could right now!"
"Sir, they're already on the way now. They just departed Bembridge airfield, twelve Apaches and a Chinook."
With London running down the Avenue Road, General Gayle began to look around for additional reinforcements as right now the only thing protecting London was a pair of F-35s and half dozen Reaper drones now heading towards her direction.
"Just those two fighters and drones won't cut it to protect her. We need more support. How fast can we get those choppers there?"
"At top speed, it would take at least twenty-four minutes to get there, and that's just to get to the city."
"That was too slow, any other options? Our fighters?"
"Airbase prepping the Lightnings for take-off sir, but it's going to take about two minutes to get the first birds out. But at least they can get there in four minutes at full speed. Just pray that the two birds we had on her right now had enough weapons to last that long." Just then, they received an incoming transmission.
"General, we have an incoming transmission from Charles de Gaulle."
"Let them through." The operator then passed over the transmission to the General.
"This is Bembridge Command, what's your report, over?" A heavy French-accented voice came through.
"Bembridge, this is the commander of Charles de Gaulle, we've been monitoring the situation and we've already sent two Rafales over to London. They're returning from patrol and were supposed to land a few minutes ago, but we're sending them over. We also prepared a squadron ready for take-off if you allow us. From our position they can get there in four minutes as well.
"We appreciated that commander, send it. We need all firepower necessary right now."
"Understood Bembridge, de Gaulle out."
Gayle let out a sigh after the last transmission. He then looked at the monitor as the drone continues to track London as she ran down Avenue Road, with several more Infected in tow. Immediately he gives an order to the radio operator.
"Lara, contact the Azur Lane commanders. Tell them to go to the Command Centre this instance."
"Right away sir."
Bembridge Base, Azur Lane side
"So, Garfield, you said you came from Cleveland?"
"Yep, from Lee-Miles. Not the best part of the city but still liveable." Said the Cleveland-born pilot as he and several other are playing a board game with some of the shipgirls stationed there. "Uh, who's turn is right now?"
"Me." Dunkerque replied as she throws the dices. "Seven." Dunkerque moves her token across the board seven tiles, which made her landed on a tile that have a hotel building placed on it. Immediately her face became gloomy as she realized what she had just ran into.
"Umm…who owns this Paris tile right now?" She asked with a nervous tone, only to receive a reply which sounds very confident. "Me." She turned her face to the right to see Mainz grinning as she proudly waves the aforementioned tile in her hands.
"Come on, Dunkerque. The rents won't pay by itself. This here says you have to pay me 2000…" Dunkerque could only clench her teeth as she checked the amount of money she had in her hands right now. She had enough to pay Mainz, but that means if she ran into another owned property, she's pretty much bankrupted. But she has no other option for her left.
"Fine." She unwillingly hands out a single 1000 bill, a 500 bill, three 100 bill and multiple 50 bills to Mainz who takes it gleefully.
"Danke! Now it's my turn!" Mainz then takes the dice and throw it across the board. For them it was just one way to pass time when not on patrol duty. It was also a way to help alleviate stress from what has happened to them in the past twenty-one days. Everything was seemingly routine for them right now, off-duty NATO soldiers and pilots together with off-duty shipgirls in the same room either simply minding their own business, playing games or having a chat with one another.
That is until an alarm blares through the base, immediately lifting the relaxed atmosphere as combat readiness kicks in.
"Whoa! What's going on!?" Cleveland jumped from her chair upon hearing the alarm. Dunkerque and Mainz were also tensed as well, and so does the other shipgirls, soldiers and pilots as they prepare themselves for any possible deployment. Then the PA system came to life as General Gayle's voice resounded throughout the base.
"Attention to all available pilots! We have an urgent rescue mission! All available pilots please be ready for deployment immediately!" Even before the announcement ends, all the pilots in the room had already made a dash towards the door as they rushed for the airfield.
"Sorry girls! Seems our game need to be paused a bit!" Said Garfield as he joins the other pilots as they made their way outside.
"Oh, okay." Knowing that they were not the ones to be deployed, Cleveland and the other shipgirls and soldiers went back to whatever they were doing previously, although for her, Dunkerque and Mainz as well as two other soldiers had to wait until Garfield returns before they can resume their game.
"A rescue mission, huh? I wonder who was that, they don't normally send that much air support for a rescue."
"Don't know Cleveland. Maybe that person is important enough for them to send that much, but still, why would that person have stayed there for an entire month knowing how screwed was the situation there?" Mainz replied before taking a sip of her coffee.
"Probably tried to hold out as long as possible only to ran out of supplies and had to get help." Cleveland replied as she reaches her pocket to pull out a box of cigarettes. "Excuse me, I need some of this." She opens the box to reveal only one stick left. As she took out the last stick, Dunkerque could only sigh at seeing what the formerly charismatic Eagle light cruiser had become.
"You know, that's like the sixth pack you've emptied within this week. Are you sure you're, okay?" Cleveland didn't answer Dunkerque's question as she reaches her pockets again for her lighter to light up her cigarette, only to find it empty.
"Ah shit, mine's out. Uhh…do you have a lighter?"
"Non."
"Sorry, I don't smoke." Mainz replied as she pulls out her e-cigarette. "I prefer vaping, less annoying to other people. Plus, you can have it in coffee flavour." She said as she inhales the device and then letting out a large puff of vape, the familiar aroma of coffee lingers in the air. Dunkerque clearly became uncomfortable with this and move herself a little further away from both light cruisers.
"Vaping, smoking, same stuff, different day. Only methods change." She balked. Meanwhile Cleveland asked the other two soldiers if they had lighter. One didn't but the other does. But before the soldier could lend her his lighter, another hand reaches from her back with a lighter already lit.
"Sister…" Cleveland looked back to see Montpelier lending her lighter. "Ahh…Monty. Thanks." She lit up her cigarette and then proceeds to put it into her mouth. A few seconds later, she lets out a puff of smoke. Dunkerque can't do much other than endure the whole ordeal. While shipgirls aren't much affected by smoking, the smell and the smoke can still irritate or cause discomfort. Then Cleveland finally speaks up.
"Besides, like you don't have something to drown yourself into so you can forget what nightmare we're endured these past few weeks. I think I saw stacks of empty six packs right outside your room. You sure you're still sober right now Dunkerque?" The Iris battlecruiser instantly felt agitated by Cleveland's statement, but she tried to keep it cool and decided to diffuse the situation.
"Come on, you don't have to say that. Besides, every shipgirl in here were all have something in common here: Each of us was in London when the world practically turned upside down on us."
There was a brief moment of silence as soon as Dunkerque said that. It felt time almost stopped. She then looked around the room. Cleveland and Mainz continued to smoke and vape. Washington, Prinz Eugen and Tartu having a conversation with several soldiers near the corner of the room, Saint Louis sleeping on the armchair with the Bible in her hands, and Z23, Z24, Bailey and L'Opiniatre playing a game of cards. After what it felt like an eternity finally someone spoke.
"Oh god, please don't bring that up." Montpelier breaking the silence. "Sister went through some unspeakable shit down there and it still haunts her." She said as she looked at her sister's face. Even though she was busy smoking, Montpelier could see her pupils shaking and dilating, and she reaches down for her other pocket ready to pull something out, and then Mainz speaks up.
"Yeah Dunkerque, I still can't shake it off. I thought us shipgirls are immune from tinnitus considering our main guns is just behind us but damn! All those shootings and explosions that day, I swear my ears are still ringing!"
"Sorry, I shouldn't say that. I also have nightmares you know. Just…what happened back then…its just beyond what any of us could think. From finding out what happens when we shoot our guns on land, to seeing those Infected swarming us and…" At that moment, the door on the other opens up and three uniformed men walked in.
"Commander?" Cleveland was surprised to see her commander walking into the room, yet his face clearly shows that he has an urgent business. The other shipgirls were also surprised to see their commander walking alongside the Eagle Union commander.
Eobard Griggs Jr, Eagle Union commander.
Reinald Robert, Iris Orthodoxy commander.
And lastly, Winfried Eichel, the Iron Blood commander.
Accompanying them was their secretary ships, Enterprise, Jean Bart, and Prinz Heinrich. Noticing that their shipgirls are saluting them, they stopped by to addressed their shipgirls.
"Whoa! At ease ladies! We're just passing through, got a business with NATO that need to be taken care of." Griggs spoke, the other commanders also nodded which made most other shipgirls to resume what they were doing except for Saint Louis who decided to leave the room. "Come on, gents! We can't keep the General waiting!" The three commanders then left but Cleveland were confused.
"NATO? Commander, what's going on!?" Cleveland asked her commander but he alongside the other commanders has already went through the door. Enterprise also did not say anything. Dunkerque then stops Jean Bart for a moment.
"Jean, what happened? Is this had to do with the rescue mission?"
"Yes." The battleship replied with only a simple answer.
"Then why did they call the commanders?" There was moment of silence as Jean Bart took a deep breath before answering Dunkerque's question.
"Not sure if I heard correctly, but apparently a few moments ago some of those drone things they been flying around spotted what is apparently a shipgirl, still alive and more importantly uninfected in London and basically they're sending every jets and helicopters they had right now."
"A shipgirl? Uninfected?"
"Yeah, that's what the Commander said…" Just then Jean Bart was interrupted by Prinz Heinrich. "Hey Jean! Hurry up!"
"Yes! Yes! I'm coming! That's what I can say right now. I have to go Dunkerque." Jean Bart then hurriedly left the room, joining the other two shipgirls. Cleveland, Mainz and other non-Iris shipgirls as well as the soldiers took notice of Dunkerque's brief exchange and started to gather round.
"Hey Dunkerque, what did Jean said?" Asked Washington. Dunkerque hesitates to answer the question but eventually speaks up.
"She said NATO drones found an uninfected shipgirl in the streets of London not too long ago and now they're currently sending everything to save her." The reaction to what she said was exactly what she expected considering what happened back in London during the early outbreak.
"WHAT!?" Basically, the reaction of every shipgirls within earshot of Dunkerque.
"How!? The whole damn city a death-trap to us right now! Hell, we even struggled back then and you're saying this one girl survives a good three weeks! While we can't even last two days against them!? What bullshit is this!" Washington ranted, having unpleasant memories during her time in London. Z24 then asked Dunkerque. "Do you know who she is?"
"No, she didn't say anything. But whoever she was, better hope help gets her first before the Infected do."
At the same time
FS Charles de Gaulle
5.47 nautical miles off Broadstairs
120.84 km from London
"MOVE IT!" Yelled one of the crews responsible for arming the airwings aboard the French carrier. The order to launch a carrier strike came to them so sudden, yet years of training and combat experience meant they were able to ready the aircrafts. The armaments crew rushed to armed twelve Dassault Rafales needed for the strike. This was purely ground support, and as such the fighters were loaded with AASM and AS-30Ls for the mission. As soon as the first two fighters were loaded, the pilots went in. It was then lifted to flight deck where they wait for the order to take off.
In the bridge, the previously calm atmosphere was replaced with tension as officers rushed to do their duty, coordinating theirs with the ones in Bembridge.
"Charles, this is Condor One, we're entering London airspace, waiting for instructions. Over" The earlier patrol group sent by the carrier had already reached London, being the first jets from the carrier to reach the city ahead from the main strike group. They had just finished their patrol and should have landed back on the carrier when they were redirected to London to provide additional air cover.
"Condor One, this is Charles. We received information from Bembridge that VIP is approaching The Regent's Park. Head over there and rendezvous with the two American fighters already there. Switch to their frequency once you meet them. How copy? Over."
"Solid copy. Any status of additional support?"
"We're launching a squadron right now. Bembridge also have sent six fighters as well. ETA for both is in four minutes. Until then it's just you two and the American jets. Copy?"
"Solid copy, Charles, Condor One out." As soon as the transmission ends, another one comes in. "Charles, this is Dragon One. Are we cleared for take-off? Over."
"Dragon One, you are cleared for take-off. Wait for the signal from the flight deck crew."
"Roger that." The pilot waits as the aforementioned crew dressed in yellow appears. He made a final inspection to make sure everything is in order. Seeing nothing is out of the ordinary, he finally gave the all-clear sign, and the pilot readies himself for the take-off. Readying the thrusters, he was pushed to his seat as the heavily loaded fighter was pushed to take-off speed by the aircraft catapult. As soon as he does so he opened up the thrusters and within seconds he was airborne.
"Charles, Dragon One is in the air."
"Roger that, Dragon One. Proceed straight to London. Time is of the essence here. Others will join you later."
"Understood Charles. Dragon One out." With that the fighter immediately heads northeast towards the city as another Rafale prepares for take-off.
London
Between dodging abandoned vehicles and other crazed individuals as she ran down the road, London did everything she could to maintain her speed. But the increasingly large crowd behind her slowly getting to her nerves. "General, there's another group behind me!"
"I know, I can see them through my drone. I recommend you to disengage your rigging. These guys are fast on their foot and if you ever need to use your rig, don't use your weapons other than anti-aircraft guns. Your main and secondary weapons aren't made for land combat." Upon hearing Gayle's advice, she disengages her rigging. While this made her unarmed except for her assault rifle, at lease she has better mobility to navigate through whatever obstacle she ran into.
"No shit, General. I literally got blown across the road just by shooting my main guns. Should've contacted me earlier."
"Well, until you blew up that truck nobody knows there's someone down there. We thought everyone in London is now dead or infected."
"Wait, what do you mean by Infected?" This is the first time London heard the word "Infected" and as such curiosity got to her. "Is this why everyone here is mad at me?"
"Yes London. Long story short, a virus broke out when you were away. We called it the Rage Virus. You could probably tell by now why we named it that way." London briefly looked behind her to see a horde of Infected chasing after her. "Okay, I get it. But sir, I'm approaching the end of the road here."
"Where she's at right now?"
"She's approaching Macclesfield Bridge sir!" Gayle looked at the map and an idea came to him. Immediately he contacted London. "London, once you crossed the bridge, turn immediately to your right down Outer Circle. But keep your attention to your left as proceed down the road, there's a pathway that cuts across the park. Contact me once you go into the park. Do you copy?"
"Understood." He then gives out another order to the drone operators. "Jim, Stiles, once she crossed that bridge, blow it up. We need to give her some breathing room."
"Yes sir!" They then watched as London crosses the bridge. "General, I crossed the bridge! Turning to the right now!" This was the cue for the two operators to execute their orders. "Bomb released." Two Paveway II laser guided bombs were dropped from each of the Reaper drones, the target being the bridge. They couldn't time it better as the bombs struck the bridge just as the Infected attempted to cross it, the resulting explosion not just killed most of them but also destroyed the bridge, making it impassable to them.
"Strike one for humanity!" Jim declared, receiving applause from others. "Actually, that's the third. The first two is at Finchley." One of officers remarked. "Good job Jim, keep it up and you might get promoted." Gayle said which made Jim flustered. "Just doing my job, sir. I didn't expect anything more than that." Just then London called the General again."
"General, I'm approaching the path you mentioned on my left…OH SHIT! THERE'S A GROUP COMING TOWARDS ME!" Eyes are immediately glued to the drone camera and just like London said, a horde of Infected is rapidly approaching towards her. Jim jumped right back into his battle station. "Hold on, readying Hellfire." But another voice came in.
"Not anymore they don't" One of the F-35 swoops down in front of her. Like before, it fired the cannons first before launching two missiles towards the horde and before London knew it where the horde was is now a pair of craters filled with blood and bits of human remains. She felt the need to throw up again but managed to hold it in. Compared to what she saw outside the church this was considerably mild. Then a transmission came in.
"Miss London, this is Thunder One. Don't worry about the Infected. Just follow what the General says and you'll be out to safety in no time. We'll handle the Infected, consider us your guardian angel. Thunder One out." London looked back at the passing fighter jet; it briefly made a barrel roll which helped her to identify her saviour. "Thanks, I appreciate your help." She proceeds down the road and just as Gayle said, there was a pathway which she swiftly enters.
"General, I'm in the park, which way should I go?" She asked and the general immediately respond. "Take the right path and just go straight until you Inner Circle Road. Copy?"
"Copy that General." Taking a deep breath, she resumed her run again. The drone continued to track her while fighters flew overhead ready to engage any incoming horde. While everyone is watching, an officer walks into the room and greets Gayle. "General, the Azur Lane commanders is here." He turned to see the three men as well as their secretary ships enters the room. He proceeds to greet them. "Afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Sorry for calling you all so suddenly."
Griggs was the first to greet him back. "Afternoon General. What is the…" As soon as he saw what's on the screen, he became speechless, and so does the other commanders and their secretary ships.
"What in the world?"
"Sweet Mary mother of Jesus…"
"Wait, what? How?"
Reinald looked at the screen in disbelief, and then he turned to his secretary ship. "Jean?"
"Yes?" She replied. "Slap me." The request caught the battleship off guard.
"Say again Commander?"
"Slap me Jean, I think my eyes playing tricks on me." He insisted. "Just don't hit me too hard."
"No, you don't have to, Reinald. Ladies and gentlemen, what are you looking here is not edited in any way. This is a live footage from one of our drones right now. This, everyone is HMS London, one of the six missing Royal cruisers." He explained, and then he continues. "About eight minutes ago at 1354 one of our drones detected an explosion near Finchley, Hilgrove and Adelaide Road. We sent the drone to the area and that's where we found her."
"Well, I'll be fucking damned! How in the world she survived that long while half her faction, and some of us got wiped on the ground hard!?"
"We ask her that question later. Right now, we…" He was interrupted by Jim as he saw another horde approaching in the field. "We got another one coming! West side!" They could see on the field adjacent to the path London was another large horde running towards her. Gayle was fast to contact her to warn her of the incoming danger.
"London, there's another one coming for you from your left side!"
"I know! I see them already! Care for another airstrike!?"
"This is Thunder One, I expended all bombs and down to only two missiles left. We need bombs for this one, missiles alone won't be enough."
"This is Thunder Two, same here."
"Hold on, making another pass with the drone. Stiles! With me!" Just then, a French-accented voice came in.
"Not to worry, we handle this one." Just then, two Rafales appears over the horizon. "Thunder One, this is Condor One. We're approaching from your eleven o'clock position." Both fighters went straight towards the Infected horde before engaging them. As the two fighters were originally tasked for patrolling the English Channel, they were mostly equipped with anti-air and anti-ship weapons but they do carry a few bombs with them. They began strafing the Infected with their 30mm cannons. Afterwards, they released their bombs.
"Condor One, bombs away."
"Condor Two, bombs away."
The two fighters dropped their payload over the field, decimating the horde in one pass. "Target eliminated." The French pilot speaks after their successful engagement.
"Thanks for the assist Condor One."
"You're welcomed." Just then more voices came in. "Thunder One this is Thunder Three, we're coming in from your twelve. We have six aircrafts in total."
"Roger that Thunder Three. Bembridge this is Thunder One, requesting permission to RTB. How copy?"
"Solid copy, Thunder One. You are cleared to return to base to refuel and rearm. Command wants as many air assets to cover the VIP.
"Roger that, Bembridge. Thunder One out." Thunder One and Thunder Two heads back towards Bembridge just as six more F-35s arrives. They were not the only reinforcements arriving as a dozen Rafales announces their arrival as well.
"Bembridge, this is Dragon One. We're about to enter London airspace and approaching from the east. How copy? Over."
"Solid copy Dragon One. Be advised, VIP is still in Regent's Park. Recommend all air assets to be within a four-kilometre radius from VIP. Bembridge Out." Meanwhile, London had just made to end of the path.
"General, I'm almost near the end of the path. Where should I go now?"
"Alright London, you're now about to enter Inner Circle Road. Turn left and follow the road until you reach an intersection."
"Okay, turn left and follow until you reach an intersection. Got it." She turned left and followed the road until she finally sees an intersection ahead of her. "I'm near the intersection, where next?"
"Turn left down Chester Road but keep your eyes on the right for a footpath. Once you see it, get on the path and just after that it's just a straight run out of the park."
"Got it sir, turning left right now." With fighter jets and armed combat drones flying overhead providing air cover for her, London swiftly moved as instructed. In the CIC, Jim continued to monitor her, looking for possible Infected nearby. "No Infected around this part, or anywhere around her right now."
"Really Jim? Last I remembered London there's millions of them on the streets when order to abandon the city was made. That can't be all the Infected there, especially with all that show we just put up."
"Maybe they just waiting for her to get closer to them. It's like four weeks now, maybe they conserving their energy, only strike if they can. That's just my theory. Just saying." While there was no Infected around London, Griggs saw an opportunity to talk to her. "General, may I speak to her?" Gayle simply handed over the headset to him and he starts to speak.
"HMS London? This is Commander Griggs, Eagle Union commander. Do you still remember me?"
"Commander Griggs? Yes, of course I remember you. The Azores Campaign, isn't it? But what are the Eagle Union doing here? Where's my Commander?" Upon hearing London's question regarding the whereabout of the Royal Navy commander, the commanders looked at each other as well as their secretaries, for they already knew the ultimate fate of him. Griggs then answered her. "Uhh…Commander Simonds is not available at the moment. But anyways, I just wanted to ask you this question: Where in the world are you in the past twenty-eight days?"
"I was in Kilburn, undergoing retrofit." Then she continued. "Had to be placed in stasis. I was told it only take three days. Except when I woke up, I found the whole retrofit centre abandoned. So, I went out and find the whole place messed up. Then I ran into these Infected you all been calling." Hearing her explanations gave Gayle as well as the commanders an idea what happened to her.
"So, she's basically sleeping while everyone else are fighting for their lives…" Enterprise remarked. Prinz Heinrich replied back. "More like late to the party, except the hosts are willing to celebrate the latecomer to be more specific, in a big way." She said prompting a reaction from her commander. "What compels you to say that, Prinz?" She then pointed her hand at the monitor, prompting everyone to look at it, and that's when everyone realized the true gravity of the situation the Royal heavy cruiser was in.
"Oh damn. Sir, I detected a large horde coming from the north…No, wait! There's another coming in from the east and west!" Every eye in the room focused on the monitor and just as Prinz Heinrich said, and later discovered by Jim who just zoomed the camera out a bit only to saw several large congregations of the Infected appearing from almost all sides around London. It was by luck there were none seen coming from the south.
"Jesus Christ! That isn't a horde anymore! That's half the fucking city coming after her!" Cried an officer. Gayle could only curse himself for failing to see this problem from the start. "Damn it! We focused so much on taking the local ones that we forgot that she was right in the middle of a city full of Infected!" He then immediately contacted all the fighter jets currently flying within London airspace. "This is Bembridge to all available aerial assets within London. Be advised, we have visual of multiple Infected hordes coming from the North, East and West of Regent's Park and is likely heading for the VIP. Be prepared to engage should they got anywhere within two hundred metres from her. How copy?" He was met with various rogers from both American and French pilots. He then contacted London again.
"London, have you reached Park Crescent?"
"I'm about to. Why?"
"At least you know your city. Listen, we just discovered a large horde of Infected converging on you. We did some calculations and we found one safe route for you to follow. Do you know Prince Edward's statue?"
"Yes. You mean the intersection in front of it?"
"Was about to say it, but yes. I want you to run down the road. Just run through it, no need to take a turn or anything. It will lead you to Piccadilly. Contact me once you reached Piccadilly. Got it?"
"Yes sir." Following his advice, London made a right turn down the road and began what would be her longest run ever. Meanwhile, Gayle looked around and noticed that the helicopters he dispatched haven't yet arrived at the crucial moment where he really needed it the most. "Where the hell are those choppers!? I need them right now!"
"Sir, they approaching London right now."
"Patch me to them." He waits while the radio operator worked her magic to contact the helicopter squadron and eventually, he is connected. "Helix 1-1 this is Bembridge, what's your status? Over?"
"Uh…Bembridge, this is Helix 1-1. We're just reached London, flying over Putney right now."
"Helix 1-1 be advised; the VIP is currently on Portland Place Road and we have detected massive Infected horde converging on her. I want half your squadron to Piccadilly and the rest to head towards Portland Place. Get to her ASAP, Infected are getting closer to her."
"Roger that Bembridge. Helix 1-1 out." He then relayed his orders to his squadron, and six attack helicopters as well as one Chinook breaks off from the formation and flew northeast while the remaining helicopters pressed on forward, attempting to reach their VIP as fast as they could.
London meanwhile is halfway down Portland Place as she ran past the Chinese embassy. Unlike what she saw in Kilburn, in this part of the city the signs are far more visible. The shops along the road were all damaged, with broken glasses, debris, trash, bloodstains and occasionally corpses left on the sidewalks telling her that evacuation was ordered too late. This was reinforced by rows of abandoned vehicles clogging the northbound lane. She pretty much chose to stick to the right-hand side as it is mostly empty though occasionally there were vehicles in the way especially near intersection. If she looked closely some of the vehicles still have their now dead occupants inside.
But her worry and fear grew larger as she continued her run. While the sound of the fighter jets help soothes her assuring that help is always nearby, she could hear the screams and groans around her and with each passing second the sound kept getting closer, a good indicator that the Infected is closing in on her. But just as she went past the New Cavendish Street intersection, she detected a signal, the kind given off by other shipgirls to help indicate their position and presence. She soon also starts detecting two more signals. She knew whoever they were, they're getting close as the signal strength were getting stronger. Thinking that there's other surviving shipgirls around her, she radioed Gayle.
"General, you said earlier that I'm the only uninfected down here, but I'm getting signals telling me there's some other shipgirls down here with me." This pretty much alerted him as well as the three commanders and their shipgirls. "Say again London, you said what?"
"I said I've detected signals from other shipgirls, they're getting closer right now. Do they also trying to get out of the city?" The words immediately haunted Griggs, Reinald and Winfried, and especially Enterprise, Jean Bart and Prinz Heinrich. Almost immediately before Gayle could give an explanation, Reinald grabs the microphone and starts speaking to her. "London, this is Commander Reinald from the Iris. Do you hear me?"
"Yes." Hearing her response, he continued. "London, listen. Just wanted to let you know, you're about to see some familiar faces among those incoming horde. If you do see them, try not to look at them in the face." London was confused by Reinald's request. "What do mean by that Commander?" There was a short pause before he answered. "Let's just say they're not themselves anymore." Before London had any chance to ask any further question, she heard a loud crash behind her. Turning her head around, she finally understood what the Iris commander meant when he warned her.
"Oh god, here they fucking come." Muttered Griggs.
Her vision had been red not just from her constant state of anger, but also from her eyes bleeding constantly ever since she became an Infected, her formerly blue eyes had turned red as the result. Her hair has been dishevelled and unkempt from days of exposure to the environment. Her face was also washed with blood, not just from her eyes but also the nose and mouth as she was practically haemorrhaging. This in turn stained her once beautiful clothes red. Her rigging sways behind her uselessly as the Rage Virus erodes the brain function needed to operate them, essentially making them a deadweight to her. The rigging itself were covered with bloodstains and scratch marks and dents from crashing into various objects while she chases down her victims.
Since the day she was an Infected, she ended up roaming the streets of London during the night before retreating to a dark spot for the day. While she's been detecting signals from other shipgirls in the city they were also Infected which she eventually learned to ignore. For almost three weeks, short of chasing down and killing unfortunate survivors which became increasingly rare, this was how she spent her life.
Until she detected a foreign signal not too long ago, the signal being different from the ones she's been ignoring, which catches her attention. And also agitates her. Leaving her hiding spot, immediately she began to search for the source of the signal. She soon finally has a lock on the signal and began to follow it. Her actions were noticed by several other Infected who also joined her. Starting out alone, she soon leads a sizable horde as she leads them towards her target. She also detected other signals from others as well, meaning she wasn't the only one that is hunting the same thing.
As such she went from street-to-street heading towards the signal source which became stronger as she closes her distance. Eventually as she turned into an intersection, she saw exactly what she's been looking for: an uninfected shipgirl running right in front of her. Enraged, she immediately sprinted after her, hoping to hit her from the sides. Speed was not an issue for her. When she was just a shipgirl, she was not just amongst the fastest shipgirls deployed by the Iris, but also amongst Azur Lane shipgirls. As a shipgirl, this trait helps her in defeating Sirens. But as the same trait also made her one of the most dangerous Infected out there for her speed made outrunning her almost if not completely impossible. However, despite running at the fastest speed she could on foot, she missed her target by a few feet. The combination of her speed, the weight of her rigging and the wet road surface from the recent rain sends her skidding into the side of a van. Freeing herself from the wreckage, she turned around and saw that her target had also looked back at her, her face displaying a complete shock as she realized who she was.
But all this no longer matters to her, for what's left on Le Triomphant's mind was to either kill her, or turn her into an Infected, just like all the other unfortunate shipgirls that ended up becoming Infected either from failing to escape the city in time or simply being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
There we go. The next chapter of Outbreak is finally out. Totally not done yet as technically we're halfway down "rescue London" part but as I explained at the beginning, it would be too long so it was best for me to split into two parts.
Now here's some explanation about how the shipgirls, despite their strengths and packing tonnes of firepower got beaten by the Infected. Long story short: They weren't made for land combat, more specifically, urban combat, as well as mishandling of the shipgirls by the Government.
The first problem? Recoil. On water, recoil was never a problem for them as the recoil were absorbed without much issue. Here, they were on solid ground, which doesn't absorb recoil easily. Which means firing guns bigger than 155mm would equal getting flung backwards. But even guns under 155mm still have considerable recoil which made aiming almost impossible, which makes accuracy drops to the point you had to be close to your target, except nobody sane enough to be within 100 meters from a charging Infected. The ones that weren't affected are anti-aircraft guns, aircraft carriers or those whose guns are wielded like firearms such as Sheffield. But why didn't they use the AA guns earlier? Think psychologically. The Infected is not like any enemy they used to face. They came in numbers and rushed at them on sight and upon seeing their guns didn't work as they expect, panic tend to sets in so they probably forgot that AA guns existed.
But here's where another problem comes into view: Reload and ammo. Sure, 406mm can take out entire hordes of Infected without breaking a sweat, but even with the necessary gears it still takes almost a minute to reload. And you rather want something to shoot when the Infected are charging at you. Sure, AA guns reloads fast but the few seconds you stopped shooting to reload was the few seconds wasted not shooting them. And they have to replenish their ammo as well. Eventually ammo ran out so you had to leave, and that's a prime time for the Infected to hit you.
Third problem, they were in a built-up urban area, not out at sea anymore. Even Dido in the prologue complained about this, because here's a thing. If Stalingrad, Berlin, Hue City and Fallujah tells something, urban warfare is a bitch. Tight space for the shipgirls to use their rigging or to move around and plenty of blind spots for the Infected to surprise you. All their life the shipgirls fights in the open ocean were aside from archipelagos and polar regions they never had problems manoeuvring. Here they had to content with alleyways, side streets, tunnels, etc. Some of the shipgirls have rigging that are too big to fit in these areas. For those who did fit they have obstacles such as railings, streetlights, vehicles, trees, etc so they have to be careful not to hit something when moving around, but good luck trying to do so with the Infected around. Built-up areas also mean they can't shoot their guns freely since line of sight is limited. And about those alleyways and tunnels I mentioned earlier? The Infected still have a functioning brain. Even with some functions gone after infection, they still capable of calculating route they can take to get to their victims so who to say that they can flank their victims and hit them where they never expect. And if the shipgirls were able hug you even with their rigging on, then there's no doubt that an Infected can run straight to a shipgirl and either bite or vomit blood all over them to infect them.
About the whole Government part, it was too complex to explain here so I plan to reveal what really happened during Day 2 until Day 8 as the story progress. What I could say right now was the Royal Navy commander knows from the start that deploying shipgirls against the Infected on land was suicidal but he was forced to do so by the Admiralty and the British Ministry of Defence, who later despite knowing what happened decided to call in the Azur Lane factions to help while withholding vital information from them in an attempt to convince everyone that the shipgirls could fight the Infected. Let's just say it didn't end well, and some shipgirls in the other factions starts viewing the Royal Navy in the wrong light despite they were innocent and not responsible for the mess they've got into.
For the military communications, most of it were based on my experience playing Call of Duty and reading GATE fanfics so if you find it unrealistic or wrong then forgive me for it, or at least help me make it more believable.
I will explain about NATO, infected shipgirls and shipgirl behaviours post outbreak in the next part. Though frankly I planned to write codex chapters which will help further explain the finer details on the world of Outbreak so keep an eye out for it.