Mainz gets used to the quirks and oddities of Azur Lane. In other words, she meets new people.
I've decided to introduce some named human characters. It makes sense that a number of them would be on hand to help run things. This means the Commander will also have a name but it'll remain anonymous for a bit (more like I haven't decided on his name yet)
Update: I made some edits in the previous chapter and in this one. The setting is currently in Kiel, with multiple Azur Lane bases around the world just like the Operation Siren map. Also edited the bit about rigging firepower because it would conflict with a future scenario I already planned; it won't be as dangerous as standing on the deck of a warship firing it's guns but normal humans would still want to stand back from a kansen with active rigging, even more so with the battleship girls.
One of the things about Azur Lane is that it was largely autonomous. They were still bound by rules and regulations like other nations, but for the most part they could act independently, provided it was for the good of humanity. No one nation had more power and influence over the other when it came to dealing with the multiple bases around the world, especially since the kansen themselves could just outgun most militaries should they try to seize power by force. No one wanted to test that theory, especially since the Sirens were already a major threat.
Aside from Kiel, places such as New York City, Liverpool, Taranto, Brest, and several others had bases used for operations by Azur Lane personnel. The general public knew about the saviors of humanity but the bases had restricted access due to their military nature. Rumor has it that there is even a base somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle.
Mainly kansen resided on the bases, of course, but good old regular human hands were still needed to run the logistics, deal with resources, manage restaurants, and handle various behind the scenes work, provided they passed a thorough background check. Not all kansen had a knack for such things that would seem tedious and boring, after all. At the same time, it was an opportunity for humans to mingle with their would-saviors.
One such human was Janice, a fairly young woman from the Eagle Union who had seen a chance to make a living and explore the world. The brunette's hair reached her shoulders and her skin had a light brown complexion. She started one of several clothing stores for the kansen to explore their more human side by dressing up, and at the same time she was quite an experienced tailor for those seeking custom outfits. Her cosplaying hobby certainly paid off.
"Bah, it's getting boring here. Where's all the hot guys and cute girls?" Janice was no stranger to the various individuals she saw. Whether it be the buffed dockworker with a nice butt or a cute kansen with fluffy ears, they all came to her shop at least once for some new threads.
Just as she was about rest her head on the counter to take a quick nap, the door opened with the accompanying jingle of the bell. Finally, she had some customers.
"Ah, hello and welcome. How can I help you girls today?" She noticed that her customers this time were several kansen, which was always nice. Those girls were like super-heroes come to life with strange science and magic stuff. Hopefully, they weren't some of the more...aggressive ones. Of course, that hope vanished when she noticed a familiar face.
"Frau Janice, it's good to see you again." Prinz Eugen walked over to the young woman and gave a hug in that sensual Eugen way of hers.
Like always, Janice blushed slightly at the affectionate gesture, but didn't push away. This was just how Eugen was and it felt nice anyways.
"Eugen, n-nice to see you, too." The tailor stammered a bit. She wasn't small by any means but Eugen's larger breasts pressing up against hers always made her embarrassed at the contact. While she certainly wasn't shy about looking, touching was an entirely different matter. Janice learned that Eugen could be quite touchy. "What brings you here?"
"Eugen, let her go already." Hipper stomped over and pulled her teasing sister off the flustered woman. "We need her conscious, remember?"
"Of course, of course. My apologies, sweet Janice."
Janice sighed in relief as she got her heartbeat under control. "It's no problem, Eugen. Anyway, what's up?"
"Straight to business, good." Hipper then turned to introduce Mainz. "This here is our new sister, Mainz."
Said kansen was dressed in a sweater and jeans. "Guten tag, Frau Janice. I was told I could procure outfits from your establishment."
Janice shook the newcomer's hand as she took in her overall appearance. "Wow. New girl, huh? Nice to meet you, and this is definitely the right place."
She looked at Mainz from head to toe, taking in her physical appearance. "Hmm, do you have an idea of how you want your outfit to look like?"
Mainz brought a hand to her chin as she pondered for a moment. Her eyes shifted back and forth between Hipper and Eugen. They had their own style that also looked similar to each other, but she felt it didn't suit her preferences.
"Perhaps...a uniform in white," she said after a while. "Black and red may be added since it is our faction colors, but I would prefer mainly white."
"Hmm." Janice closed her eyes, trying to envision a proper outfit for this girl just based on her appearance. It had been a while since she had done this sort of commission, and the last person she did it for...
She shook her head free of those wandering thoughts before pulling out a pencil and sketchpad. "I know not all of you are artists, but it always helps to have you ladies draw something up for me." She then offered them to Mainz.
"I see," said Mainz as she took the items. "Certainly, this would be easier. A moment, please."
"No worries, take your time."
And so, Mainz began sketching a rough design of what she envisioned herself wearing. Meanwhile, her sisters took the time to walk around the store and browse through the clothes.
Janice didn't have to wait too long as Mainz handed back the sketchpad in about five minutes. She looked at what was drawn on the paper and smiled to herself. "Yes, I can work with this. I can add a bit more accessories and details to complete the look, if you don't mind of course, but this is quite doable."
"Thank you, and yes, you may add what you see fit," replied Mainz. "Just...not too gaudy or flashy."
"Of course, of course. Just give me a few days and I'll have it ready for you." Janice pocketed the sketchpad and pulled out a measuring tape. "Now, I'm gonna n-need to take your m-measurements, alright? Please, follow me."
Mainz raised an eyebrow. "My measurements?"
Nearby, she could hear a faint chuckle from Eugen.
After leaving Janice's shop, the cruiser trio decided to grab a bite. While they didn't starve as quickly as regular humans did, kansen still enjoyed the act of consuming food and drink. They had human bodies, therefore they had human needs. Due to their super-human nature, some things were invented specifically for their nourishment. That also meant that there were certain things that only kansen could consume safely, such as oxy-cola.
"I believe I know what eating and drinking is, but only the bare minimum knowledge given to me by the wisdom cubes," Mainz said thoughtfully.
"Well, you get to learn today. Can't have you starving on the first day in your new body." Hipper led the way on their quest for delicious food. "We have a bunch of different cuisines here in Kiel, and not just German food. It's only natural with how many different nationalities you have coming through here, and not just with us kansen."
"Call it cross-cultural pollination, if you will," added Eugen.
Mainz nodded in understanding. She would follow their lead for now until she felt stable enough to move around without a guide. The Commander had also informed her earlier about the different kinds of people that mingled in many of Azur Lane's other international bases. Kansen from the other factions regularly moved to and fro between bases as a way to familiarize themselves with each other and the different locales.
The Eagle Union kansen who were present on base at the time of Mainz's awakening were in Kiel not only as ambassadors, but also because Vestal was requested to help facilitate the prototype cruiser's manifestation. Akashi and Yuubari were also requested from the Sakura Empire for the same reason. It was relatively easier to bring a ship to life; forcing the existence of a theoretical ship, however, required a bit more time and effort, hence the planned arrival of the repair ships and experimental cruiser.
As fate would have it, Mainz would end up meeting some of those overseas visitors much sooner than later. Specifically, several cruisers with tomboyish charms.
"Ah, watch out!"
The sisters heard the warning as a basketball came bouncing towards them. Following behind it was Cleveland, the blonde light cruiser trying to catch up to the rogue ball. She had misjudged her step while bouncing it along the way to the basketball court, and now it was heading towards her Iron Blood allies. She hoped none of them got hit or got upset with her blunder.
Both Eugen and Hipper made to avoid the ball or catch it, like the good comrades they were. Instinctively, however, Mainz rushed forward and actually summoned her rigging to defend against the offensive projectile.
"Hey, no-" "Oh my."
The two heavy cruisers could only watch as one of their younger sister's mechanical sharks caught the ball in its jaws before biting down and popping it. Fortunately, Mainz was sensible enough to not blast away with her guns unlike some of the other trigger-happy girls.
"Ehhh?!" Cleveland was flabbergasted, a hand reaching out in a futile attempt to prevent the ball's demise. "My ball...but why?"
"Woah, woah, put those away," Hipper said as she moved between them, waving her hands around. She was sort of good friends with Cleveland, and thus, didn't want to sour their relationship. "What are you doing, Mainz?"
"That...projectile was about to hit us, no?" Mainz was confused. She merely acted in self-defense against what she perceived as a potential danger.
"Well, yes. But it's harmless." Eugen gently pulled Mainz back. "It's used for a simple game and you could have caught it, instead."
"I.."
"Big sis, what happened?" "Cleve, you okay?"
Following after Cleveland was her sister Montpelier and the heavy cruiser Baltimore. They noticed the look of distress on her face and turned to the Iron Blood girls for an explanation.
"Sooo, what's up? New girl, yeah?" Baltimore looked at Mainz with a light grin.
Montpelier, on the other hand, had an accusatory glare. "Did you do something to my sister?"
Hipper tried to diffuse the situation. She knew how the younger Cleveland-class sister could be like. "Relax, it was just an accident. Cleveland is fine, see?"
Said light cruiser was still a little upset at the loss of her ball. Cleveland let out a sigh of resignation before addressing her peers.
"Err, yeah. I'm fine but this...this new girl over here just ate my ball," she muttered with a bit of disappointment.
"She ate your ball?" Baltimore looked at Mainz curiously, taking in the newcomer's appearance. "Cleve, I know we're like super-humans but there's no way this delicate cutie could have swallowed that thing."
"Delicate?" "C-cutie?!"
Mainz felt slightly offended, while Hipper was shocked that someone who wasn't the Commander was already hitting on Mainz. The audacity and forwardness of these Eagle girls still took some getting used to.
"I say it how I see it, Hipps," Baltimore confessed with a shrug. She then addressed Mainz directly. "Not saying you're weak or anything, sorry 'bout that. You are cute, though."
"No, argh, that's not what I meant. And stop flirting with her, Balti." Cleveland pointed at the remains of the basketball dangling from a metal maw. "Her rigging chomped on it. Like a hungry shark!"
"Oh, that makes more sense." Baltimore shrugged again before pulling out her phone to text someone. "And c'mon, I just appreciate pretty girls and handsome guys."
Although her glare lessened in intensity, Montpelier still crossed her arms sternly as she addressed Mainz. "Why would you do that, by the way?"
"Like dear Schwester said, it was an accident," replied Eugen a bit defensively. "She thought we were under attack and responded quite, ehm, drastically."
Realizing the predicament she was in, Mainz finally understood she made a mistake and dismissed her rigging. "My apologies, I made an error. It is as my sisters say, I thought we were in danger and responded in kind."
At that, Montpelier stopped glaring and just hummed in understanding. Her arms were still crossed, though not as tense as before.
"Well, as long as you're sorry about it, I guess it's fine." Cleveland scratched her head before doing a double take. "Hold your horses, did you just say sisters?"
The three Eagle Union cruisers looked back and forth among the Iron Blood cruisers, studying their features more closely.
"Well, I can kinda see the resemblance," Baltimore started. "Although, she has more displacement than y- "
"Does that mean you're the only one with blonde hair?" Cleveland interrupted before Baltimore could finish. After spending some time around Hipper, she was aware of her fellow blonde's sensitivity regarding bust size.
"Haahh? What do you mean? They can be considered blonde, too." Hipper gestured to her two younger sisters. Fortunately, she either didn't notice Baltimore's near slip of the tongue or just didn't care. "Their's is just a lighter shade, or pale. Something along those lines."
"Well, Weser isn't blonde," Montpelier said thoughtfully. "She's a red-head."
"Huh, guess you're right, Monty. Still, the other two also have a bit of red in their hair, remember?" Cleveland also crossed her arms as she closed her eyes in thought.
"Hmm, but their new sister doesn't."
"You girls really gonna debate about hair color for sisters?" Baltimore added in. "Remember Birmingham and Biloxi? Heck, Bremerton has pink instead of my brown."
"They probably just dyed their hair something."
"We can't know that for sure."
"Well, I bet my money on Blucher having the same blonde hair..."
The Iron Blood trio simply watched them continue their tirade over hair color and genetics. Mainz noted something particular, however.
"We have more sisters here?" She was knowledgeable enough that the Hipper-class had at least three completed ships, but wasn't too sure about the other two.
"Uh, yeah. Seydlitz and Lutzow, or Weser and Tallinn as they're currently known as," answered Hipper. "Actually, it's entirely possible they would have had the same gun configuration as you. Mostly Weser before that silly carrier conversion."
That got Mainz's attention. "Carrier? She is not a cruiser like us?"
"Let's just say...upper management at the time wasn't always the brightest," Eugen added in. "Despite that, Weser is still very much our sister and has certainly proven herself. Not many of us got to truly show our worth in the old war, after all."
"I see," Mainz said as she pondered on a name mentioned earlier. "...and what of Blucher?"
Both of her heavy cruiser sisters merely shook their heads. Their other sister had not been brought back like they had. Considering that there were other kansen that haven't shown up as well, prototype or not, it wasn't too much of a surprise.
"We don't know, yet," replied Hipper. "Maybe the wisdom cubes will manifest her some day. As for now, only four-"
"Five."
"-five of us are in this world."
Mainz nodded her head in understanding. "If I can be brought back, I'm sure Blucher can be, too."
Though it wasn't her intention at the time, her comment made Hipper show a rare smile of appreciation. Even Eugen seemed to show some genuine emotion under that smug grin of hers. Mainz chose not to say anything about this and simply committed it to memory, one of the first of many more to come.
"Anyway, you girls done yet?" Hipper interrupted the Eagle Union debate happening in front of her. She certainly didn't forget the silly conversation that started over hair color. Best to put a stop to it now or they would keep going.
"Huh? Oh, sorry. Don't mind all that, we just got caught up in the moment." Baltimore put on her best winning smile and held a hand out. "We should welcome the new girl, right? Name's Baltimore, a heavy cruiser from the Eagle Union just passin' by."
Mainz grasped the offered hand and gave it a firm shake. "I am Mainz of the Iron Blood...light cruiser."
"So she isn't Blucher," murmured Cleveland. "Ahem. I'm Cleveland, also a light cruiser and from the Eagle Union. This here is my sister, Montpelier."
"...Hi. You guys still owe us a ball." The younger cruiser still had her arms crossed.
"Monty, be nice."
"Just saying."
"Well, anyway, I have a bunch of other sisters, too. They're just waiting for us at the court but seeing as we don't have a ball anymore..." Cleveland sighed. "Dang it, Independence was looking forward to it too."
Mainz winced at that. Now she really felt a bit guilty. "I really am sorry about my mistake. Is there any way I can make it up to you?"
Cleveland waved it off. "Nah, don't sweat it. Accidents happen and it looks like you were just trying to protect your sisters. We'll just have to find another ball or reschedule..."
"No need, Cleve. I got you covered." Baltimore pat the shorter cruiser on the back. "Bremmy is on the way with an extra. I can always count on her, hehe."
"What? Really? How?"
"Texted her as soon as I saw the bits and pieces." The ace held up her phone. "These may be trivial but it's a bit more fun than just opening our mental radios, don't you think?"
The radios she mentioned was another interesting byproduct of a kansen's existence. Essentially, since warships had radios for the crew to communicate with others nearby, the girls had a similar feature that carried over to their human forms, although it required their rigging to be active. It takes some getting used to, but with some simple mental commands, one could communicate with another individual or the rest of the fleet depending on their proximity. They could choose to turn it 'off' for privacy, but that would leave them unable to communicate until they consciously turned it back 'on' to start transmitting messages again. It was useful for stealth operations, yet risky for situations such as rescue missions. To put it in layman's terms, it was basically like telepathy.
"So...we're good, right?" Hipper asked at the revelation of Bremerton coming to the rescue.
"Yeah, we're good." Cleveland gave a thumbs up and smiled. "Actually, why don't you guys join us for a game? It'd be nice to get to know you better, Mainz."
"I see," Mainz replied. "Unfortunately, I am not familiar with this game you speak of."
"Oh, nothing to worry about. Basketball is easy, we can teach you the basics in like five minutes or so. You can't be any worse than Queen Elizabeth, hahaha." Cleveland laughed at that memory, yet deep down she always winced at how terrible the Royal Navy leader was at learning basketball. It was certainly not a sport for everyone.
"Actually, we were heading to the food court before this happened." Eugen shook her head. "I'm afraid we'll have to decline. Perhaps next time, ja?"
"Ah, of course. Sorry 'bout that." Cleveland scratched her cheek before turning to Hipper. "Well, I'll see you at the next Polaris meet-up, yeah?"
"Sure, sure." Hipper waved her off. "Hurry along now, your sisters are waiting."
The cruisers bid their farewells before going their separate ways. As Mainz waved in return to the Eagle Union girls, she thought about how future run-ins would be like for her. She certainly hoped there wouldn't be too many problems, even though today's was a minor misunderstanding. She had barely taken a few steps forward with her sisters before being interrupted from her thoughts. Namely, by an alarm of sorts.
"Attention, Azur Lane personnel. One of our returning patrols ran into Siren forces. All available forces, prepare to assist. I repeat, one of..." came Bismarck's voice over the speakers scattered throughout the base.
"Scheiße, there goes our plans for the day," cursed Hipper. Then she blanched in realization. "Wait, returning patrol..."
The elder blonde turned to her younger sister. "Do you remember who was out on patrol today?"
Eugen put a finger to her lip as she thought for a moment, eyebrows scrunched up as she racked her memory. "Some of our own girls along with some Northerners in a team-bonding exercise, I think Murmansk was one..." Then her eyes widened. "Leipzig and Tallinn. We have to go help them."
Hipper nodded in agreement. They would have gone to help regardless of who was on patrol, but the fact that one of their closest friends and sisters were involved certainly hastened them to act more urgently.
"I shall go with you," said Mainz. "If our sister is indeed in trouble, you will need all the help you can get. I...also wish to test my potential."
Her sisters looked at her hesitantly, unsure of whether to bring her out to combat or not so soon. Nearby, Baltimore was waving towards them while the Cleveland sisters were already heading out. It seems that their basketball game would end up getting rescheduled anyways.
"Hey, you guys! C'mon, we gotta hurry up and save the day!" She yelled out to them before running off.
Hipper turned back to Mainz. "Look, I don't think it's a good idea to bring you out yet. You literally just woke up like six hours ago."
"Five and a half."
"Not helping, Eugen. Go follow Baltimore or something," Hipper replied with a shooing motion.
Eugen smirked a bit before facing Mainz. "Listen to big sister, Mainz. You have yet to go through an actual shakedown cruise, after all."
With a wave, Eugen was off, leaving the other two cruisers in the midst of the blaring alarm. Mainz felt conflicted; she had this desire to show her worth and help her newfound sisters, but at the same time they were telling her to stay back as they went out to fight.
Hipper put her hands on Mainz's shoulders, despite the minor height difference. She was still the lead ship of their class, so she had to take charge. "Just stay here and wait. We'll be back soon."
Steeling herself with fire in her eyes, Mainz answered back. "I can fight, too. Let me prove it."
Hipper shook her head. "Not today, Mainz. One step at a time, verstanden?"
With a firm pat on her shoulders, Hipper grinned lightly before turning to follow after Eugen. "And if I see you out there, there'll be hell to pay, got it," she shouted over her shoulder.
Mainz was left to stand there as she watched her sisters go out. Around her, she could see several other kansen scrambling into action as well. They paid her no mind due to her civilian clothing, though if one took the time to get a closer observation, they would have sensed she was also one of them.
The prototype light cruiser looked down at her right hand and realized she was clenching it into a fist, the nails digging into her palm. Closing her eyes and exhaling, she relaxed her hand, flexing her fingers to get the blood flowing again. Then, her eyes snapped open once again, this time with more determination and that familiar sense of Hipper-style stubbornness. Like hell, she was going to stay back and do nothing.
"One step at time... I can just start now, ja?"
I wasn't too happy with the first upload of this chapter when I reread it a couple times so I edited it a bit. Also, I decided to add some changes based on several comments about the location of this particular Azur Lane base.