I always left notes on the end of each chapters but I feel I should address this on the beginning.
I couldn't find any CANON source that details on Epoch-class ships and their hull numbers, what I found is a fanon source and as I said earlier I don't want to take a reference from fanon, it's like taking someone's idea and I don't like it so I will stay with my own.
Chapter 3: Azur Lane
It was another peaceful and quiet afternoon in Azur Lane base. The birds sang their songs, a melody of serenity carried by the gentle breeze of sea wind across to the whole base, offering a calming effect to the whole populace as they went on their daily routine.
The base itself was large, spanning almost half the island it was built upon. Tall white command building and sturdy looking supply depots complimenting the structures, but the largest of all were the docks and shipyards poisitoned on the shores where most activity occured. Hustle and bustle of a military base could be seen on the shipyards where various warships resided, either being repaired or upgraded with the most recent technology. While on the docks girls with various ages were lost in their own business, chattering or just killing time with their friends, completely unaware with a pair of brown eyes watching them from afar.
Commander David Allenforth sat behind an open window of his office, sipping a cup of tea Prince of Wales brought him earlier during her visit. The blonde haired woman had been a great help for the Commander, always offering a help in doing the most boring part of his job; paperwork, along with Belfast. While the headmaid often busy with chores, Prince of Wales on the other hand was basically a part of the base top-brass so she never exactly left the command center and by extent his side.
He had learned to never question the dedication Royal Navy ship-girls possessed, especially those close with Queen Elizabeth who they seemingly agreed as their de facto leader and queen. As long they did their jobs right, he wouldn't comment their way of living. Even their grandeur royal-like living they copied from the actual royal family of their home country.
The Commander was on a break after a meeting with faction leaders, if a video conference could be called that, of each nations consisting Azur Lane. As usual their main point of discussion was the Siren and their activities on each's regions and how the fleets repelled the attack, also as usual it seemed Northern Parliament still had their hands full fending off the inexplicably agressive fighting the Siren gave them. It's still unclear why the Siren had stronger presence in the north pole, even the Iron Blood before their retreat from the alliance would occasionally report growing activity in the Atlantic Ocean. It's a shame they lost such powerful ally, and seeing how things turned to be they seemingly gained a powerful enemy instead.
Without Iron Blood monitoring the northern sea, they had to rely on Royal Navy to keep a watch there. Such strategic place couldn't be let fall into enemy hands, lest they would eat a cannon shell in the face. The tension near West Coast of Eagle Union also been putting HIGHCOM in strain, with impending conflict near the horizon everyone had their fingers on the triggers. The Commander had read the report about the mobilization of Fast Carrier Task Force 58, consisting mainly of Essex and her sisters, to a battle ready condition in preparation to repel Sakura Empire's growing threat.
It reminded him of the Old War, and he didn't like it one bit. They were supposed to fight the Siren together, not fight each other when there was an obvious enemy out there, they shared a common goal of mankind survival for God's sake.
David ran his fingers on his short hair, feeling it prickling his hand. He tried to maintain military discipline on the base by keeping it regulation short, hoping to at least being a figure the girls could look upon. This base, afterall, wasn't an ordinary military base and he couldn't just apply the harsh rules of military life, not when there's some girls that barely mature yet.
The world had changed, that was for certain.
The Commander sighed wearily, it was another dilemma he had the first time Command pointed him as the new CO of Azur Lane. He didn't enjoy sending kids into war, kids young enough for them to call him uncle, and he's only on his early thirty. But these ship-girls, their efficiency couldn't be denied they completely rendered old naval tactics useless, as much as he hated it he must admitted it they're the only chance humanity had to win against Siren.
If he was honest with himself, he liked it better when ships stayed ships.
Taking another sip of his tea, he idly fidgetted with the corner of a specific document on his table. It was the document detailing about the unknown anomaly occuring above Pacific Ocean hours prior. He had read it for countless time now, taking in every details trying to find any faults or errors in the informations with no result. The Commander certainly hope it was just a joke, because if what he saw was correct and it's a part of Siren then their chance of winning the war might have decreased hundred folds, as if it's not low enough already.
A few hours after Enterprise and the group's departure, Helena reported of a new message from HIGHCOM saying they finally figured out the unknown construct's actual size and what they believed it was. David was sure it's probably the most shocking moment in his life when he heard that the construct was some sort of vessel with a total length two and a half kilometers. A vessel with unknown origin and unknown capability, they had all the reason to believe it was Siren considering they often brought techs beyond modern, which this ship's design undoubtly was.
Just by remembering it was enough to make him anxious. Suddenly the thought of going into another war with Sakura Empire was more comforting than being in war with such being, because for once the theory of it being a Siren actually made him afraid.
But right now his concern only focused toward Enterprise and the girls following her. Hornet tried to assure him Enterprise going to be alright but he doubted it, that girl had a bad tendency of pushing herself too much she sometimes neglected her own well being afterall. Besides, with the newly acquired informations he only wanted them to return home safely, he didn't want to be the one explaining to their sisters they went under, especially to Yorktown and Cleveland's sisters. The former he was sure would be devastasted but the latter was a wild card, he didn't know how Montpelier would react.
What am I thinking anyway. The Commander thought to himself with a grimace, getting rid of the horrid scenario. The girls gonna be fine, they'd be back before he knew it, he refused to take the alternative as answer.
David stared at the open sea, watching the sunlight glinting on their surfaces with gentle rolls of the waves punctuating the display, he tried to ease his mind once again, to be lost on another moment of solace. Right now the impending conflict between nations was not his concern, his job was to take care of the girls and fight alien menace threatening the whole humanity, no stress there.
At least that was the plan.
A sudden commotion on the docks caught his attention as many of the Destroyers and Cruisers suddenly rushed to the place, they ran frantically trying to reach their destinations in time while the more heavy Battleships and Aircraft Carriers directed them. The Commander stood up, calling the first girl passing near his office window.
"Javelin! What is happening?!"
The blue haired Destroyer came to halt on her track, waving at the Commander excitedly, he couldn't help but to notice her weapon on her grip. "Enterprise's group is back! They alert the base for their arrival!"
"Enterprise is back?" David mumbled as Javelin continued on her way, his brows furrowed together in concern. "Why would they alert the whole base?"
Something was not right and he knew it. The Commander quickly grabbed his naval cap on the table and put it on, going for the door in haste. He was just finished to open it when Prince of Wales greeted him from the other side.
The blond haired woman was slightly surprised with his sudden action but she quickly recovered. "Ah, Commander. I was just about to inform you"
David nodded, leading the way out of the command building with Prince of Wales in tail. "What's the situation, Wales? I've heard Enterprise orders the whole base into full alert" He asked, rounding a corner where Cleveland's three sisters passed by him all but sprinting, barely noticing his presence.
"Yes, Commander, that's the gist of it. Apparently they found another ship-girl they believe as the vessel we told them to investigate"
The Commander paused, glancing at Prince of Wales warily. "Is it Siren? Is she hostile?" He asked with no small amount of trepidation. If the unknown ship was truly hostile they had to prepare medical treatment for the returning girls, no doubt they gonna need it.
Prince of Wales shook her head, indicating his concern was not true, it was a relief for the Commander. "No, but she claims she's a part of UN"
That caused him to frown in confusion. "UN? The United Nations? Since when do we have that kind of ship? You sure with what you say?"
"In accordance to what Enterprise said" Wales stated matter of factly. They had reached the outside world, the blinding glare of the sunlight forced the Commander to tip his cap lower all the while processing the new information. "Also, sir, there is one more matter to address"
David merely nodded to let Wales continue, the amount of informations he got in one day had to be enough one more wouldn't make much difference. "What is it?"
The blonde caught on beside him, staring at his eyes intently, at that moment David knew how wrong he was.
"The unknown's name... Is Enterprise"
"So let me get this straight"
A voice from her side broke the space ship's train of thoughts, her helmeted head moved toward its source, finding the same blonde haired girl who had been nagging her for the last few hours. "You said you have the same name as my big sister?"
"Yes" The armored girl replied simply, leaning her body back against the superstructure of the very same blonde's ship manifestation.
After their first encounter and many questioning later they decided to bring her to this 'Azur Lane' alliance they claimed specialized for ship-girl warfare, saying her questions were going to be answered once they back at base. Enterprise refused to believe what they said, a possibility of them being enemy in disguise was still present but after a little bit of convincing she finally relented. Besides, they were the first group that didn't directly threat her so that's a plus on her book.
Still, she had too many questions Enterprise needed a moment to organize them. And this girl with ridiculously revealing clothing seemingly adamant to bother her with as much questions if not more.
"But how is that possible?" The blonde cried out with her arms crossed on her chest, pacing back and forth on the flight deck all the while mumbling to herself.
"I might need an answer for that question myself" Enterprise muttered, she stole a glance toward the other Enterprise who was standing on the bow of the carrier with her back facing her, noting how she still had her damaged equipments on her. Unlike her friends, the silver haired woman seemingly dead set on staying vigilant near her even though they were the ones who convinced her to trust them.
How ironic.
With a sigh, she let the Aircraft Carrier be, staring forward to the port side where the other two ships were sailing. One was a Light Cruiser she identified as the lead ship of Cleveland-class, the USS Cleveland CL-55 and another one was a Destroyer type specifically the fourth ship of Sims-class USS Hammann DD-412. What caught her attention the most was their human manifestations especially Hammann and her animal traits.
It was... Strange. Enterprise never thought she would see something like that, or anything in this world in general. Ships turned to human with some having animal traits. When she first asked them about it they said it was pretty common between the ship-girl, claiming some not just animal but even demonic traits like horns or some sort.
This place, she wasn't sure what to make of it, she wasn't supposed to think. All she wanted was to get answers about her conditions and link up with the rest of UNSC forces for possible one last battle for Earth. Certainly Reach had fallen if her last hours had something to say about it, and if the planet fell then Earth going to be next since Reach was literally the front door to Earth.
With her new body, they might have a little bit of chance to hold the Covenant for a bit longer while evacuation was under way. She possessed a firepower and durability of a full-fledge Heavy Carrier while her form was reduced billion folds than her original body, with that kind of asset what impossible to achieve now was possible, it opened up more chance in naval tactic and engagement.
All she had to do was to report her finding.
"Hey" Enterprise called out, stopping the pacing woman mid-step. "You claim Enterprise over there is your sister, yes? Then you must be USS Hornet?" She asked, trying to mask the little bit of bitterness in her tone. She, afterall, almost blew the Enterprise with her MAC. Had it not been for the other woman's quick response she might have disintegrated her.
Luckily, Hornet didn't notice the underlying tone, Enterprise had concluded this girl was rather oblivious about things and more to go to lucky type. She grinned at the recognition, grabbing a fistful of her hat and tipping it side-way. "Yep! That's me! Third ship of Yorktown-class Aircraft Carrier; USS Hornet!" She declared proudly, puffing her already ample chest.
Enterprise blinked owlishly at the action. "So, you are American ship?" She queried with great interest, only to received a confused look in return.
"I'm a what?"
Hornet's response raised an alarm inside her head and she tried to reiterate her question. "Are you a part of United States Navy?"
"Um, no. I'm from Eagle Union" Hornet replied just as confused, looking at the space ship oddly with her own troubled expression.
Eagle Union? What?
The information yet again insinuated more questions rather than answers, as if the idea of encountering World War 2 era vessels wasn't ridiculous enough now the United States had a different name.
Enterprise needed to make sure.
"What is Eagle Union?"
"It's uh... Where I came from, a nation on the west side of the planet consisted of a federations of smaller countries. I rarely come home though, only been home a few days ago and already deployed back to Pacific so I'm not too familiar with the look out, just for your info" The blonde paused, a small smile graced her lips for a briefest of second before it disappeared. "It's kinda sad I know so little about my homeland but... Pacific is where I belong for the last 30 years and before it so I'm not complaining. Besides, this is my home now with my sister and friends with me, at least they are here and I'm not alone by myself like before"
Enterprise didn't respond to that, fully aware with what Hornet was implying. According to history CV-8 was sunk in 1942, this girl had died and was lost in the cold of sea. That alone must put a strain on her.
She honestly didn't care about it.
"So you never heard of this America?" Enterprise queried with clipped tone, it's all business for her.
"Nope, never. Y'know I'm not the brightest between my sisters but I'm certain I never heard of this America"
There was a moment of silence as both ships stared at each other, Enterprise tried to find any hidden lie on the blonde's green eyes while Hornet held her curiosity. When she was sure Hornet was being truthful Enterprise finally broke their gazes with a stiff nod.
"What is this place? Where am I exactly?"
"What do you mean?"
"This planet... What is this planet called?"
Hornet's eyebrows arched upward, for her the question must be beyond weird. "Well, this is Earth. I thought everyone knows that"
"No, that can't be..."
"Huh, what?"
"The Earth I know doesn't have..." Enterprise paused, motioning toward herself and Hornet with her gauntlet. "Us. The Earth I know doesn't have human-ship entity like us"
The surprised look on Hornet's face morphed to a deep frown at her statement. "To be fair, we are not exactly human either. We are known as KANSEN by the humans"
"KANSEN?"
"Kinetic Artifactual Navy Self-regulative En-lore Node" Hornet explained tactfully to the space ship.
Enterprise scoffed. "That's mouthful, the short term would be sentient ships then. Why 'infection' though?"
"Huh?"
"Kansen is a Japanese word with literal meaning infection or contagious, are we considered ill by the human?"
Hornet's eyes widened at her question, clearly horrified. "What?! No! Now I don't know what 'Japanese' is" Enterprise opened her mouth to ask but closed it again after a second of consideration. "Nor did I know Kansen literal meaning but now I know, I think it's because of the way we're reborn. You know, Wisdom Cube and all"
"Wisdom Cube?"
"Yeah... It's uh... Hard to explain. It started 30 years ago when human still fought the Siren with steel-hull ships, whenever a Siren's killed they produced a small essence of their existence in a form of small cube people called Wisdom Cube. When this cube comes in contact with steel-hull ships it would manifest the souls of the said ships, that in turn allows us to have human-like appearances" Hornet chuckled, gesturing toward Hamman who wasn't so subtly staring at them both from the port side along with Cleveland. "With some having additional attachments"
"How is this Wisdom Cube work to be exact?" Enterprise pursued the subject, this by far was one of the most interesting prospects she had encountered aside from having a human body and the unknown adversary known as Siren. If she found a way to make more ships to be like herself it would be a great advantage for UNSC, granted once she deemed it's safe enough.
Hornet however merely shook her head in answer. "Nobody knows exactly how, mankind has been trying to unveil the secret of Wisdom Cube for 30 years but nothing noteworthy has been discovered so far"
Once again Enterprise tried to detect any lie but all she found was a resigned truth. "Understood"
Another moment of silence prevailed as a gentle sway of waves rocked the Aircraft Carrier, Enterprise rested a hand on her abdomen when a shot of pain travelled up all the way to her head, clenching her teeth until it subsided. She tried to disregard it but the more she ignored it the more difficult it become to breathe. She closed her eyes and leant her head against the metal wall on her back.
"Hornet" A voice from behind her caught Hornet's attention, the blonde spared the armored woman a final glance, noting her shallow breathing and clenched hands, before turning around to face the source.
Her sister stood a few feet from her, face as stoic as ever. "Ah, big sister! I was just asking a few things to this cooler Enterprise" Hornet said half-jokingly, she had to admit the other Enterprise looked cooler in appearance than her sister with her futuristic armor, and her sister always looked cool.
"So I'm aware" The silver haired girl replied emotionlessly, whether ignoring the jab or straight up didn't realize it as Hornet's attempt to tease her. In an instant, Hornet's grin turned to a more awkward one. "I need to talk to her"
"Right, sure... I guess. I'll check on Hammann for, you know, stuff, make sure she's doing great" Hornet bolted toward where the other two girls were standing, bristling when she felt her sister's gaze all the way. "Yo, Hammann! How's it doing?"
"Huh? What?" Hammann replied dumbly as Hornet all but launched herself to pputthe Destroyer into a playful head lock.
The Aircraft Carrier vaguely heard Hamman's dumbstruck complaint, turning her attention to the woman before her instead, in an instant her expression hardened. She bent low to meet the sitting girl's visor and glared at where she supposed the eyes were.
"Is this somekind of sick joke?" She growled, glaring at the black glass covering the other woman's face.
The helmeted head shifted, a single word left the person behind it. "Explain"
"For all I know I am currently the only active ship bearing the name Enterprise, no other ship in service has the name" The silver haired girl paused, purple eyes narrowing to a dangerous slit. "What's your name exactly?"
"I'm telling you my name is Enterprise, second ship of Epoch-class Heavy Carrier"
"There is no ship with that class under the affiliation of United Nations Security Council!"
Both women fell silence, one had a confused look on her face while the other was breathing heavily from her sudden outburst. Hornet, Cleveland and Hammann were all gone quiet, looking at both Enterprises worrily but none had enough courage to intervene to their conversations, especially after their Enterprise's uncharacteristic action.
"Security Council? What the hell are you talking about?!" The armored one demanded, this time confusing the Aircraft Carrier instead.
"You said you are a part of UNSC, Isn't that the abbreviation for United Nations Security Council?"
"Wha-no! It's United Nations Space Command! A military, exploratory and scientific agency of Unified Earth Governments. It's not the long disbanded, half-assed excuse of a council UN had back in the 21st century" The space ship explained to the Aircraft Carrier. "What kind of backwater of a planet is this to never heard about UNSC? Having World War 2 era vessels as models for this new technology is one thing, but using this tech without sharing it with the UNSC is another, had this technology come in possession to the Navy we might have chance to win the war"
"What are you talking about?!"
"All discovery deemed beneficial for the advancement of human race must be handed over to UNSC for further development and application, this planet not just deviates UNSC Article of Science and Exploration but also UNSC Inter-planetory Law of Governance by having a Non-UEG affiliated governing body" Recited the Heavy Carrier, she leant forward to put herself eye level with the Aircraft Carrier. "And this is no Earth, if it is someone would have picked my SOS and sent help instead of an investigation party claiming they're a part of an unknown alliance unregistered in any database, with possession of knowledge beyond science yet still utilizing ancient military assets as their forces. A lot of this doesn't make sense to me so you must know the only reason I coming with you is to question whoever in charge of this whole situations"
Despite her earlier shock at the bold statement, the Aircraft Carrier quickly recovered. "Then what? You think people would just believe it with your claims? That you are a space ship associated with an interplanetary military organization? Because I'm telling you, people wouldn't. The farther humanity ever goes to space is the moon, the only space constructs mankind builds are a bunch of satellites orbiting the planet"
"What year do you think this is? 1970?"
"1975 to be exact"
"Exa- I beg your pardon?"
The bending girl straightened up, taking a step back to put a bit of distance, face contorted into a scowl. "It's 1975, thirty years since the end of Old War and the start of Siren War"
"Are you telling me I'm travelling back in time?!" The space ship belowed in disbelief, her own temper starting to rise because however she looked at it, it just plain ridiculous.
That was the last straw for their audiences, Cleveland nudged Hornet on her side, giving the taller blonde a pointed look and gestured toward the two Enterprises with her head, the message was clear that they needed to do something else a shoot out happen, knowing full well the distrust was thick in the air.
Hornet grimaced, not really wanting to be the one to intervene but still stepped forward, hands raised in placating manner. "Alright guys, let's chill for a second okay? I'm sure we can find a solution, and if what she wants is to speak with the Commander then I say we let her"
Her sister's head snapped toward Hornet, expression tight. "I'm not allowing this girl anywhere close to the Commander. Too much risk"
"Yeah as if I don't feel like taking risk by following you all" Countered the other Enterprise.
"That's your own call, nobody forced you to follow us"
"Regulations states I must take all actions necessary to make sure I'm working in full capacity and right now all I need are informations, just be grateful I'm taking peaceful approach"
"Regulations from what? A fictional military organization?"
"A military organization dedicated to ensure mankind survival first and foremost"
Hornet moved to grab her sister by the shoulder and guide her back a step. "We're not getting anywhere" She muttered to herself, sighing tiredly. "You supposed to be the cool one, what's the given?"
"I merely want to make sure she's not a threat, I contacted the base and asked a few matters regarding our guest here, they said there is no ship with such designation and class in service within United Nations Security Council"
"That's because I'm not a part of UN Security Council!"
"Okay! Okay!" Once again Hornet cut in before the conversation could turn to another heated debate, glancing at her sister worriedly. Her Enterprise rarely lost control of herself, and seeing how she acted so repulsively to the new girl was concerning for the blonde. "We started up pretty rough, how about we redo the introduction?" Hornet proposed, smiling in hope to ease the tension visible in the air.
"... Fine, I supppose"
"Great! So, I'm Hornet and over here is my sister Enterprise" Hornet gestured to her side where her sister was silently glaring to the sea, apparently trying to calm herself, it made the blonde smile appreciatively before she turned toward two other people onboard "And over there are Hammann and Cleveland. We're a part of a military global organization specifically created to fight an alien entity known as Siren, under the banner of United Nations Naval Special Warfare Unit called Azur Lane. Our unit is the main force of Pacific Fleet, and my sister and I are a part of Task Force 17, well, what remains of it anyway"
"We were initially consisted of 3 Carriers" Hornet glanced toward her sister when she suddenly piped in, her voice soft and steady. "But after our older sister's crippled there is only two of us now. I... Think I owe an apology for my actions, it was uncalled for but after recent events I need to stay vigilant especially against unknown like you are"
"That makes the two of us" The space ship confessed, nodding in acceptance, if they're willing to forgive and forget she would do the same. "Detailed informations regarding my origin are classified but for the sake of diplomacy I will resort to general knowledge known by the public. I'm the second ship of Epoch-class Heavy Carrier, UNSC Enterprise, I was a part of UNSC Battlegroup Leviathan and was the second command vessel on the group below UNSC Leviathan. I'm under affiliation of United Nations Space Command, a military, scientific and exploratory agency of Unified Earth Government and is currently the acting emergency governing body for the whole of mankind"
"Okay, so you're a part of UN, that indirectly makes us allies" Hornet deduced, she didn't want to stress herself on the prospect of another humanity so she decided to act professional for once. "If what you said is true that you are a space ship, then what is your intention in this world?"
"Acquires informations, especially ones regarding my conditions, then raly with the rest of UNSC forces. However..."
"However...?"
The space ship pursed her lips. "There is... A bit of complications on my end that might render the latter impossible"
"Are you damaged?" Hornet asked with noticeable concern on her tone. She gave the armored girl another once over, trying to assess the total damage she got with no fruition since she didn't know her full form. However that didn't mean the dark burn spots on her plating went unnoticed by the blonde, along with the deep cracks on her abdomen. There was some indication of missing parts too, especially on the helmet, what seemed like a metal tube on the side was completely burned off leaving nothing but an exposed internal wiring.
All across her form there were various markings, colored in white pain as a contrast to her dark grey-ish armor sans the big metal tube of a weapon on her back which had a black and yellow pattern of hazard warning near the lower base, but other than that the weapon was painted with dark color too. On the newcomer's left chest plate, some sort of symbol was printed, Hornet wasn't sure what it was due to the scorch mark marring it but she could still make out the open wings of an avian creature, possibly an eagle, and the round object below the said assumed eagle. A faded sentence also present on it but it's too unclear.
On the right chest plate however was a more familiar designation Hornet had seen countless time on an entirely different person. The blocky letter 'EN' sat above the woman's claimed hull number CV-600, while her full name was displayed vertically on the sides of her thighs all the way down to the knees, right next to the dual handgun like weapons she possessed.
Hornet had seen similiar weapons on Sheffield, but these were different to what she's familiar with.
Come to think about it, this girl claims she's a Carrier but I never seen any Carrier this heavily protected and armed... Hornet silently mused to herself.
"Sort of, my overall conditions are still rated as operational though"
Hornet snapped out of her reverie, looking up to meet the woman's dark visor instead of her collection of weapons. "What kind of damage? We have repair ship on base, she's capable to fix almost everything" She said with no small amount of confidence, Hornet of course was refering to her and her sisters' long time friend; Vestal, who had been with them three since the Old War.
"No, I'm afraid not this one. If you're being honest, that today's 1975..." The space ship began sarcastically "Well, let's just say you won't have the capacity until centuries later"
Her response didn't go unnoticed by the Aircraft Carriers, Hornet sighed and tried to convince the Heavy Carrier once again. "It is 1975"
"That something I still need to confirm"
Hornet shared a glance with her sister. "Look, I don't know why you're so dead set to deny it but we're being honest here, it's 1975"
Her sister nodded, emphasizing Hornet's statement. "If you really need proof, then I guess you can talk with our Commander. However you must take that rigging of yours off first"
"My what?"
"Your equipments, your weapons and armor fusing to your body is called rigging" The Aircraft Carrier explained, gesturing toward her flight deck on her side. "We need to work on trust, we let you see the Commander but you have to trust us too"
"You know I'm fully capable to gather informations by force, right? I don't owe you all anything"
"You could do that, I've seen what your weapon capable to achieve" The space ship muttered something along the line 'not at all' but the so called Grey Ghost pointedly ignored it. "But do you really wish an unnecessary bloodshed?"
"I don't enjoy fighting, if that's what you mean, and I prefer peaceful exchange, although you must know I'm fully adhering UNSC standard Rule of Engagement Procedure and authorized to neutralize any threat directed to me"
"Then we'll make sure to not threaten you"
The space ship nodded, standing up to her feet. The height difference was palpable between the three with her armor and all adding to her already impressive build, dwarfing the Aircraft Carriers almost a head.
"Then show me how"
Back at the base, another moment of silence prevailed once again. This time however instead of a peaceful and relaxing one it was a tense kind of silence. On the dockyards, lines of Heavy and Light Cruisers assembled in a defensive positions, some were on the water and some stood on the docks themselves, mixed with smaller and more nimble Destroyers. Nobody uttered a word as they watched over the horizon waiting for the arrival of their friends.
A few meters behind the main formations, the Commander stood at ease with his hands behind his back. His calculative eyes scanning his surrounding searching for anything that might hinder his ships. Thanks to the sudden alert, all activity on the docks had ceased, no cranes were moving to unload supplies and all repair attempts stopped at where they were, in other word it's a total silence on the once busy docks.
Flanking his sides were Prince of Wales and Warspite, both Royal Navy ships were fully armed to the teeth and ready to fight at moment notice. Illustrious was also with them but she held her position a bit further back with the other Carriers, their air groups soaring high in the air conducting Combat Air Patrol.
"Any news?" The Commander asked to nobody in particular, but his girls were competent enough to take the initiative of replying.
"They shall arrive sometime soon, Commander" Said Wales, peering through a pair of binoculars.
David nodded, inhaling deeply. His girls were all getting anxious, a quick glance around him proofed that, with the waiting. At this rate he just wanted something to happen already rather than to have someone accidentally blown something wasn't meant to be blown off later with how stiff the air felt.
Everyone was still jumpy, especially after the last time they got attacked. He couldn't blame them for that, beside a little bit of anxiety kept the mind sharp, and he needed them just sharp.
"Commander!" A blue haired girl ran toward him, breaking the silence with her rapid footsteps. The Commander turned around to face the coming girl.
"Helena? What is it?"
The Light Cruiser huffed an air before replying, clearly tired from running all the way from communication center. "Enterprise's group is detected coming from 275 degree West, they're making final approach to docking now"
Prince of Wales handed him her binoculars, wordlessly the Commander accepted it and directed his enhanced gaze toward the direction Helena stated. True to her word, he could make out three silhouettes of ships sailing toward them.
The sight brought a relief to David, he smiled softly as he scanned the ships for any damage and found none. Cleveland was still afloat, looking proud as usual with Hamman on her starboard aft, Hornet led the formation as the flagship and was on the front most of the group.
"Wait one, I'm picking up something" Helena suddenly declared, holding a finger on her Radar suite on the side of her head. "It's a radio signal, transmitted on friendly frequency"
"Enterprise'?"
Helena nodded, handing David a pair of headsets "Most likely, Commander". She turned toward Prince of Wales and Warspite "Enclosed channel 3".
"Understood, setting to channel 3"
The Commander put on the borrowed headsets, handing his naval cap to Prince of Wales and listening to the buzz of static. All around him the ship-girls mentally switching their internal radios to the designated frequency, another advantage the Kansen had was their ability to stay in touch with each other or anything reachable by radio due to their rigging. It almost same like when a Carrier connected herself to her flight groups but instead of a limited mental link this method of communication allowed them to talk directly just like in regular radio.
And talk Enterprise did, through the static her voice suddenly broke in.
"This is Enterprise, prepare for Manifestation. Do not, I repeat, do not agress no matter what might happen" She warned, confusing a lot of the girls present on the docks with her statement, they began to chat with each other wondering the meaning behind Enterprise's word. The Commander however just kept his eyes steady to the coming group on the horizon.
He knew why Enterprise warned them.
Manifestation was a term used to describe the phenomenon happening when a ship-girl undo her rigging, which in turn would transform the said rigging to the ship's original form as a steel-hull. The action would reveal the real form of a ship-girl.
The Commander knew why, most ship-girls on base didn't.
Far on the open sea, now roughly only ten of kilometers from the base, a swirl of small blue lights shot up from onboard Hornet, these lights were emanatted from hundreds of cubes consisting the formation giving the illusion of blue fire or a flurry of thunderbolt to whoever watching the occurance. They quickly swarmed to one single spot on the starboard side of the Aircraft Carrier forming another Aircraft Carrier of the same class as Hornet; her older sister Enterprise.
The newly transformed Carrier had seen a better day, that was for sure. David couldn't help but to frown when he saw the extent of damage Enterprise had yet to repair, even with the distance he could still make out the cracks and various chunks on the surface of Eagle Union's greatest Aircrafts Carrier's hull, complemented with her destroyed superstructure which rested on her flight deck like a broken concrete wall, completely blocking the runway and her ability to launch aircraft. Enterprise was also listing slightly to her port, most likely due to a breach on her hull.
I shouldn't have given her the permission to sortie. David thought regretfully, he didn't want to be the one explaining to HIGHCOM that their best fighter went under due to disrepair especially when the said best fighter fell on his care.
"Is Vestal on stand-by?" Asked the Commander to Prince of Wales, he tried to change his thought from the worst.
"She is ready on dry-dock 3. I don't think she's in good mood after what Enterprise had done, Commander"
"She can scold Enterprise later after she fix her, hell she can do whatever she like to Enterprise, but first I want her done and running at a hundred percent again"
"It will be done"
"Good" David muttered, once again diverting his attention to the coming ships when another beam of light appeared. "Now let's see what we are dealing with"
The second wave of light was more intense, far more intense than what he had seen in any other ship-girls Manifestation before. It's so bright it actually engulfed Hornet and all other ships around her in a blue light of Wisdom Cube usually found during transformation, however a hint of purple also visible amidst the hue like a thunder cloud in an otherwise white cotton.
All of the ship-girls around him began to murmur, commenting about the unusual intrusion of change. The Commander looked at Prince of Wales and Warspite only to find both blondes frowning in deep thought, jaws clenched as if to suppress themselves from doing something while Warspite gripped the hilt of her sword tightly on her side.
Something was troubling both Royal Navy ships.
"Look!" A shout from the front of the formation drew the Commander's attention, he refrained from asking Wales and Warspite in exchange to it. Javelin was standing on the Destroyer line along with Laffey and the Fletchers, her hand raised toward the position of the coming fleet.
"What the hell is that?!"
"You've seen anything like that before?!"
"It shot up to the sky!"
"Commander!" Prince of Wales stepped forward to the Commander's front, expression hard. "I must urge you to return to Command Center until we figured out what is happening" She declared, signaling toward Illustrious and the other Carriers to put their CAP groups on alert.
David however merely shook his head, putting a hand to Wales' shoulder and guiding her back. "No, I need to see this myself"
"But, Commander. We don't know what we are dealing with"
"Exactly why I must find out by myself, and that's final, Wales" David said sternly, fully aware with how diligent she could be when it came to duty.
Prince of Wales seemed to argue at first but then she relented with a heavy sigh, gaze shifting between the Commander and the pillar of light on the far sea. "Very well, but if something does happen you must get back to your office immediately. We cannot afford to lose our commanding officer"
"You have my word" The Commander assured the Battleship, sparing her a glance before returning his attention seaward.
When the beam of light finally receded back another anomaly occured, this time on the blue sky itself. High from above the cloud surface a dark grey-ish metal construct emerged, its color contrasting against the white of cloud like a stain in otherwise pristine fabric, a stain with multitude of smaller discolored specks courtesy of its damaged state.
The not so sudden appearance of the massive vessel swept fear to the presence girls, Norfolk fell flat to her bottom with a startled squeak, Ausburne and her sisters all but gone rigid, while the rest of the Cruisers and Destroyers expressed their discomfort in their own way. The Clevelands however kept sharing a glance to one another worriedly, it's obvious who they were thinking about.
A meek tug on his sleeve caught the Commander's attention, he glanced to his back at the source which none other than Helena. The Light Cruiser was trying her hardest to keep a straight face but David could see a hint of fear on her eyes too just like on the other ship-girls.
"Commander?" Helena asked in a mere whisper. "What is going on? What is that thing?"
Helena's question brought the nearby ship-girls' attention to the Commander, they stared at him expectantly for an explanation. The sudden drop of situation made David grimace in response, he straightened up and addressed the presence ships "I will debrief all of you later but rest assured it's not a threat we are looking at. Enterprise has given the all clear message, from now on this is officially a welcoming ceremony for a new ship-girl"
They didn't seem convinced but they trust his judgement enough to not question it, the Commander was totally fine with it as long as they kept on doing their duty at their best potential, they were free to have a doubt or two. Sweeping his gaze around, he nodded at Belfast when their gazes met, receiving the same gesture in return from the maid, before taking the headsets on his head off and gesturing to Prince of Wales to hand him back his naval cap.
She wordlessly complied, exchanging the white Navy attribute with the piece of communication equipment. When the Commander also handed her back her binoculars however Wales paused for a brief second to search his expression, as if to ask him how certain he was.
David kept on silence the whole ordeal, and it was enough of an answer for Wales, the binoculars were removed, and now with his hands free he could finally assume a perfect stance with his hands clasped behind his back and feet spread apart, ready to welcome the new arrival.
A loud rumbling sound, akin to a distant thunder, emanated from the sky. Four small dots zoomed in toward the base with extreme speed, with each passing second the objects were getting bigger and bigger until it became clear the objects were none other than aircrafts, aircrafts with the same color of the massive construct heading their way and design just as foreign, their blue trails of afterburners following their wakes.
The squadron of aircrafts easily broke through the CAP provided by the Carriers, it caused a small panic amongst the Carriers themselves as they bypassed the patrolling aicrafts with sheer speed alone. Despite it none had ordered the patrol groups to give a chase knowing full well if the passing aircrafts tried to kill them then the whole dockyard would already be leveled to the ground.
Besides, it's not like they would be able to catch up the unknowns anyway with how fast and agile they soared through the sky, clearly a testament of an advanced aviation engineering.
The small squadron continued on forward, breaking to two formations and flew high to the sky in yet another display of extreme climb rate, they then circled around the base in a non-aggressive manner, providing a recon and patrol to their command vessel.
A command vessel which continued to launched more of these aircrafts.
The first thing they noticed was her gargantuan size.
Long dark metal surface stretched for a good few kilometers forward, shielding the sun itself from reaching the sea. The scale difference was so frightening for the small group, especially for a tiny Destroyer like Hammann, she was completely petrified on her spot beside Cleveland while the Light Cruiser all but slackened due to shock, rendered speechless.
Hornet managed a little bit better compared to the two, by better which she needed to support herself on her superstructure all the while fighting the nauseous feeling buillding up on her belly. A construct that size messed up with her perception to the world around her it seemed like everything was stretching for the poor Aircraft Carrier. Her sister actually gasped in surprise and had her jaw dropped to the floor, it's the best Hornet had seen her usually stoic Enterprise expressed her shock.
The second thing they noticed was how quiet everything was, despite cruising at 20 knots the space vessel oddly silence. They had seen how rocket was launched to orbit during a patrol duty back on Union sea and how loud they were, but this ship which undoubtly worked in similiar way didn't emitted any engine sound. It unnerved Hornet at first because she feared the vessel might fall and crush them to smithereens but it held itself steady in speed and altitude.
The next thing they noticed was the loud screech of jet engine coming from the vessel's underbelly as aircrafts with unknown design quickly taking off to the sky. Four of these aircrafts made a plot to the base while the rest formed a patrol group around the space ship in standard CAP patterns. Hornet decided to call her own CAP and ordered them to examine the grey-ish ship, unsurprisingly they reported of a multitude of damage on her hull scaling from a mere blast mark to a complete break down of structures.
The last thing they noticed was the unknown woman standing at where the other Enterprise was standing right before the Manifestation occured.
The woman was tall, maybe eight centimeters taller than both Aircraft Carriers. She had a shoulder length raven hair with a hint of grey on the tips, matching the color of the vessel overhead, fair white skin, and a set of incredibly red eyes they reminded Hornet of a dying star she saw on a picture once. What caught her attention the most however was the face she had, or its structure to be exact.
It's similiar to her older sister's.
The resemblance was so uncanny Hornet's mind came to a sudden halt thanks to it. She dumbly looked between the space girl and her older sister back and forth trying to discern any difference but other than her eyes and hair she basically looked the same as her Enterprise.
Her attire also spoke of her character, black cloak encasing her frame giving a mysterious vibe around her. The said cloak covered her body from shoulders down to ankles, completely shielding her. Her military issued boots however were still visible, colored in dark green drab of a forest floor.
There were a few markings too on her cloak, just like on her armor. The assumed eagle turned out to be true, it was some sort of identifying symbol of her allegiance judging with the blocky string of 'UNSC' across the eagle and the expansion it perched on, printed in white paint on the front above her heart. Hornet stared at the word 'United Nations Space Command' for too long, still trying to process her running thought, it was unbelievable but with all the proofs she saw it's undeniable the woman had been sprouting nothing but truth all this time.
She was a space ship created and purposed.
Oh geez, I'm not built for this.
"That... feels odd" uttered the space ship, staring at her steel self with deep frown on her face.
"Tell me about it" Hornet mumbled in return, she squinted her eyes trying to see the bow of the massive vessel with no fruition "Were you always this big?"
"Two-point-five kilometers, height 785 meters"
"Two-point-five..." The blonde trailed off in disbelief, she could put 10 of Essex sisters and they wouldn't still be enough to cover her entire length. "You must be the biggest vessel out there!"
"Not really"
"Wait" The Aircraft Carrier Enterprise cut in, drawing both women attention. "There are bigger ships?"
Her counterpart shrugged nonchalantly, staring at nothing but her fingers as if they were the most interesting things she had ever seen, considering how she didn't even suppose to have one they probably were. "I'm one of UNSC Capital Ship classes, but I'm hardly the biggest in the Navy, that would be the Punics"
"And how big are these 'Punics'?"
"4 kilometers, roughly"
THUD!
All eyes were drawn to Hornet's port side when a loud sound of something heavy crashing down resonated in the air. Cleveland blinked dumbly, looking to her side at where Hammann was standing only to find the Destroyer laying on the deck face first, fainted due to shock.
"Huh, Hammann?! Hey, you okay?!"
Cleveland rolled the unconscious girl to her back, patting Hammann's cheek in a futile attempt to wake her up, all she got in return however was a muttered '4 kilometers' from the Destroyer.
"Ah, crap. Now we have to tow her back to base"
The convoy came to a halt, keeping a steady close distance with the adrift Hammann. Hornet moved to her aft in preparation to tow Hammann back to base after telling Cleveland to transfer the unconscious girl below her deck.
The Light Cruiser grunted in response, picking up Hammann off the deck and walking into Hornet's superstructure, muttering an apology to both remaining Carriers as she passed by them before disappearing behind a bulkhead.
The silver haired one grimaced. "You must refrain from disclosing such informations in the base unless necessary" She addressed the other Enterprise pointedly, all the while deliberately avoiding her gaze. The similarity of their faces disturbed the Aircraft Carrier greatly, especially when such face was adorned with an unfamiliar expression.
"Noted" The Heavy Carrier replied in a curt tone, she then changed the topic to its original. "Do you believe me now?"
"It's... undeniable, you really are a space ship"
"And?"
"And no matter how I look at it, it seems this UNSC really does exist"
"Thank you! I was starting to doubt myself too" There it was, another sarcastic response, it seemed it was one of her ways to cope with the situation. "Now can we please cut the chase and be honest to each other?"
The Aircraft Carrier shook her head, expression grim. She stared at the space ship in the eyes hoping the other girl to understand the gravity of the situation. "You don't get it, there is no trick on the play here, we are all being honest. It is 1975 and we never heard of you or your organization" With her helmet being absent it was easier to detect the doubt the other Enterprise had. "Listen, I know it's difficult but you have to trust us or we will never reach a common ground. You are far from home as far as I know, simply put you either came from a distant space or the Siren did something and brought you here"
"They capable to do that?"
"They capable to do many things. It won't be the first time they brought an unknown from faraway places, and a kilometers long vessel won't be too far-fetched either"
The space ship frowned at the statement, crossing her arms and leant on her left leg in an attempt to ease the weight on her abdomen. "How advanced are these Sirens actually?"
"They are considered as hyper-advance by our scientists, their technology is beyond anything we've seen some people even said it's imbued with magic"
"Tch, there's no thing such as magic. Anything advance enough becomes difficult to distinguish of between but there is always a scientific explanation for them, maybe I can start to find the answer myself"
"You can do that?"
"Well duh, UNSC ships are technically a giant flying guns with science backing it off. We are equipped with the latest research technology to support expeditionary mission, complete with a group of scientists as a part of permanent crew on my..." The Heavy Carrier suddenly trailed off, her eyes wide in realization. She didn't have any crew left on her, not even a single human of UNSC origin, not even her ages old Captain, everyone was gone and she was all alone in this unknown world. How she even operated was beyond her understanding but she could feel every inch of her being, both metal and flesh, like they're a part of her soul.
It just there, every corners inside her hull, every bulkheads and open compartments, all the holes and battle scars she had were imprinted on her very core just like her human form was. Enterprise knew she had total control of herself, even without crew manning her stations. She didn't realize the feeling earlier because she was too busy experimenting with her new form but now if she wanted to she could even make out a single bolt on the deepest part of her most closed structure.
But still, the deafening silence on her hallways unnerved her, not a single soul exist within herself, not even one of her hundreds of crew.
They're all dead, ceased from existence. I should have too but somehow I ended up in this place with such confusing and depressing situation.
Was I even alive before?
Another shot of pain travelled from her belly, this time more intense than the previous ones. The Heavy Carrier hissed, clenching her side in a desperate attempt to null the burning sensation with no fruition, barely registering the alerted calls her companion gave her as the world suddenly grew darker and darker around her.
She expected herself to hit the hard and unforgiving flight deck, instead a pair of slender but strong arms caught her before she did so. Her pain induced mind didn't allow her to think of anything other than how comforting they were, and soon she found herself slipped out of consciousness on the embrace.
Maneuver... Maneuver out of the way to safety...
...Maneuver what to safety?
Ah I need to rest a bit...
"Holy shit! holy shit! holy shit!"
Hornet who just finished connecting herself with Hammann quickly ran toward where her sister and the space girl were when the giant vessel above them suddenly capsized toward its port and descended to the water surface rapidly. It seemed like the other Enterprise suddenly lost power and just fell from the sky itself like how she feared she would.
Oh shit no I don't want to be squeezed to death! Hornet thought in a mix of panic and fear, she hastily jumped onboard her flight deck when she was close enough and changed her course to her starboard so she was heading opposite from where the space ship was falling to, engines full right rudder.
Only when she was sure she wouldn't crash on her sister's aft side she realized her sister didn't changed her sailing course at all and still steadily moving in even speed and direction toward the base. Hornet was about to warn her when she noticed the person Enterprise was holding.
"What is going on?!" Cleveland suddenly bursted out from the bulkheads separating Hornet's superstructure, panting in exertion obviously had been running from below deck all the way up. "I see she suddenly loses altitude!"
"I don't know, one time she was talking and then she just staggered on her feet and lost her consciousness" Explained the silver haired Aircraft Carrier as she gently settled the girl she was holding down. "I am not sure with what she did but I think she steered herself away before she passed out"
Hornet blinked, true to her sister's words the giant vessel plummeted port first to the sea a few hundred meters from their original positions, even had she not changed her direction it wouldn't crush her. Still, the effect its sheer momentum carried was enough to produce a high wave which travelled all the way to the base.
The blonde felt her keel shuddered as it tried to compensate the impact, it's almost like having her spine blasted by a giant loudspeaker on point-blank. Since the wave was coming from her port side her beam couldn't break the wave they were forced to kneel lest they lost their footing and fell to the sea.
"She's not dead is she?!" Hornet yelled amidst the creaking sound and the splash of water on her hull.
"No, but she's got a fever" Replied her sister, putting a hand to the cloaked girl's forehead before adding "A bad one too, we have to give her treatments, fast!"
"I can't sail any faster with Hammann roped to me!"
"Leave it to me, I currently have the highest speed amongst you guys" Cleveland proposed, gesturing toward the unconscious girl. "I need help in transfering her to my ship though"
"Got it!"
Enterprise took a step back as her sister heaved her counterpart, she unceremoniously carried the girl in bridal style before jumping off of the deck with Cleveland in tow. She watched as Hornet settled the other Enterprise on Ceveland's deck before she hastily made her way back, leaving Cleveland alone to carry the space ship to the base.
The Light Cruiser didn't wait any longer, as soon as Hornet was cleared of her way she quickly put her engines into flanking speed, outrunning both Carriers in a wash of sea water. Halfway to the base she was joined by her 3 sisters whom quickly did a full turn and fall into a standard escort formation, none spoke a word but Cleveland caught Montpelier staring at her with noticeable concern on her usual stoic face.
Cleveland gave her a reassuring nod.
TBC
Well, that was it I guess.
To be frank I already finished this chapter a few days prior but I was getting anxious in uploading it.
You see, I've been in Halo community for a few years now and I'm fully aware with how... Difficult people can be. I've seen some random persons throwing tantrums at some authors in their story because the said story doesn't go like how they wanted it to be and I kind of afraid the same thing would happen to me, but then I decided no matter what people say I know better how my story will proceed and what best for it so I will continue it no matter what.
Doesn't mean I'm telling you guys to stop giving critics, heck no don't ever stop, but just bear with me okay. I would always appreciate any form of ideas, thoughts or feedbacks you guys give me as long as it beneficial for me and the others. Besides, you guys have given me nothing but positive reviews so far and they really have lifted my spirit.
Regarding first chapter and a mess of grammar it has... Well, my English is not perfect but even I have to admit I kind of had it uploaded in haste so there's that, I'm planning to fix what I can later but yeah, later.
So anyway, here's something I want to share with you people regarding my story:
-I have a tendency in reforming a whole world of the series I make a story of, the more the plot holes are the more I can exploit and in the end I usually ended up creating a world of my own, you can see its telltale on this chapter.
-Enterprise had a partner AI, I will reveal about it in later chapters. She was aware with her surrounding before she was exposed to Wisdom Cube but not in a great extent, also I will reveal more later.
-Enterprise's armor is the classic Mark V, although I like Prototype's design but it's too bulky for this kind of situation. There's reasons why I make her rigging as simply as I can and not like Friedrich der Grosse's oversized equipments which loomed on her back like a pile of metal.
Again, I appreciate your reviews so far, they've been a great help for me and I hope you guys keep it coming.
Until next time.