The world is getting crazier and crazier, man. I hope you all stay safe wherever you are.
Let me emphasize this once more. The world of Azur Lane happens in an alternate reality than ours' which is where Halo universe from. I will reveal more about it as the story progress forward.
Chapter 5: Escalation
She would never get used to hospital.
The plain white corridors, the smell of medicine and the quiet and sometimes eerie atmosphere would always make her uncomfortable visiting one. As Hornet ventured the very same hallway she despised the most, she couldn't help but to think why nobody had ever tried to change the paint with something more colorful instead of the bland ones.
It was said good heart meant good recovery, if it was her who was under treatment she was pretty sure she would never heal and instead die out of boredom on her next two hours there. She'd rather kiss the ocean floor than die in such horrible manner.
Well, at least the people around her were a good fellow. The staff and the now semi-permanent patients like the elderly and the terminally ill had all known her as a regular visitor and every once in a while she would make a time to chat around. There was this one guy who was a sailor and served aboard her sister Enterprise during the Old War, he and Hornet got along pretty well and she often helped him sneaking a bottle of beer much to the nurses' chagrin. Cool guy he would like to visit later.
But right now she only had one objective and that was none other than to visit her beloved sister Yorktown. It had been months since she last paid her a visit and to be entirely honest she missed her big time more than anything. Hornet had a bag full of ice cream she knew a favourite of Eagle Union ships with her, half of them were vanilla flavored which specifically Yorktown liked, she had already known they would spent the day talking together while eating it and droning around doing nothing.
So why couldn't she move to open the brown wooden door before her? why was she hesitating the moment her gaze landed on the two syllable word stamped on it? wasn't it the same since the last time she came to visit? only when she saw her hand shook on the knob did she notice.
She was scared.
8 months, It was roughly that long she spent her time away from her sister doing her duty as a Kansen. A lot could have happened in such long time and she wouldn't know what. In the past, the three of them were practically inseparable, wherever Yorktown went to both Hornet and Enterprise would follow her, for them their older sister was like a mother figure than an actual sister so their bond was very strong compared to other siblings even between the other Ship-girls.
But now, after that tragedy struck, they were forced to leave their sister behind, and to make things worse the reason behind it was because Yorktown was now crippled beyond repair. It's like throwing away a broken goods after you continuously using it, a goods that was left to dust in the corner until it too became a dust.
Even so, for Hornet it's not the only reason she had a difficulty to converse with her eldest sister. In fact, it's just the partial reason why she barely looked at Yorktown in the eyes nowadays.
The main reason was because she actually felt responsible for Yorktown's predicament.
On that day, history repeated itself.
It happened pretty fast, one time they got an order to eliminate a major Siren fleet spotted a few hundreds kilometers away from the mainland so they quickly went to sortie and block the Siren, it's pretty simple just like their usual days until they suddenly got ambushed by Siren submarines and the next thing they knew Yorktown had already sinking with a giant hole on her starboard. Damage Control couldn't do a thing with half of her hull missing already so all they could do was to watch as she slowly slipped beneath the waves.
And Hornet blamed herself because she was away chasing a fake distress signal they detected a couple miles from their main position, had she been there she could probably set things differently and her sisters wouldn't have gotten hurt.
Yorktown wasn't the only one scarred due to that incident.
Her older sister Enterprise also went through a turmoil. The first few weeks after it, everytime Enterprise visited her sister Yorktown and saw the stump that was once her leg there was this fire on her eyes, a fire that didn't emit any warmth but instead a cold and freezing rage of a tortured soul. Hornet was honestly scared when she first saw it, such cold gaze was worse than the deep of Pacific Ocean she once resided on, the chilling sensation didn't just penetrate her body but also the very core of her heart.
That gaze, however, was not directed to anyone in particular. As time flew by it slowly faded from her purple eyes, but along with it was her smile and her other emotions. What was left of her once cheerful sister was nothing but an empty husk of her former self, gone was her joyful laugh and tender eyes, what remained was a face and heart deprived of happiness.
Suffice to say, Hornet lost not one but two sisters on that fateful day.
She hated herself for that.
She was the lesser one of the Yorktowns, compared to her sisters, her achievement barely a thing. She was not like Yorktown who always made her own odds, she wasn't like the steadfast Enterprise who would always manage to prevail even in the most impossible of battle. But what she hated the most was the fact her sisters never looked at her that way because for them Hornet was a sister they would always love no matter what.
"We carry our own burdens, but we should never make a burden for ourselves. We all knew what befallen me might happen to one of us one day, I'm just glad it's neither on of you two" Yorktown once said exactly one day after the incident, her wound was still fresh back then but her smile never wavered.
"I'm glad you are safe, I don't know what would happen if you were ambushed too" Enterprise told her as she hold her in a tight embrace. It was the last time Hornet saw Enterprise cried, the last tear she shed was meant for her.
A drop of cold water to her foot snapped Hornet out of her thought, she lifted the bag she was holding up and grimaced when she noticed the accumulating droplets under it.
It seemed she was running out of time.
She hung her head low, trying to dispel the grief and sadness building in her chest. She always found herself in such condition whenever she visited her sister after a long period of absence, it should be an old issue by now and yet it always came back at such moment.
The first few time it happened, someone would come and ask her if she alright but after some more times they would just leave her alone because she would tell them she was fine. There was some footsteps on the end of the hallway but they would suddenly stop when the person rounded the corner before retreating back. It was probably because everyone had understood that what she needed the most at the moment was some alone time.
She liked the staff and the patients on this block for that reason.
Hornet sighed, silently resolving herself as her hand moved to open the door before her. It wouldn't put her anywhere if she stayed wondering the meaningless, what had transpired couldn't be undone and all that left was to live in the present with all the outcomes, for better or worse.
"Yo! Big sister Yorktown! It's been a while don'cha think?" The blonde said with a big grin the moment she came through the door, but her eyes were everywhere except to the person sitting on the single bed in the room. "Man, I'm telling you, things are getting wild in Pacific, Command even ordered a new base to be built even though we already have Pearl there. I mean who needs two bases to begin with, right? People wouldn't be happy if they knew"
It was at that time that Hornet steeled herself and threw her gaze to Yorktown, and in an instant her grin wavered before it vanished completely the moment their eyes met.
Her older sister sat there besides the large window overlooking the outside world, her ever so exist gentle gaze and warm smile in full display to Hornet as she paced around the room trying to evade looking at her directly. When a gentle breeze blew through the window, it caressed the curtains decorating it along with the silver locks that were Yorktown's hair. It was one of those moments where Hornet realized she barely resembled Yorktown while her sister Enterprise was pretty much a spitting image of her.It made her feel distant to those two.
Hornet bit her lips, trying to banish the myriad of emotions swirling inside her chest. She knew of this fact for a long time now, it was just obvious when she looked at her hair and her sisters', the stark difference in their tastes and their personality didn't match each other in various ways. There was only person who had once told her it was not a bad thing, someone who wasn't her sisters, someone she met on a very unfortunate event decades prior.
"So what if you're different? you are you and you have your own traits not even your sisters have. It's normal amongst siblings and to be honest it's what make you unique" He once said during their meet-up in a bar. "It doesn't matter whether you are similiar or not with each other, what's matter is that you love each other. That's all is enough at least for me..."
Anyone else around her would ask the same questions Hornet herself didn't know the answers again and again; why she didn't look like her sisters, but that person answered it for her instead.
"Welcome back, my cute little sister"
What's matter is that you love each other.
Hornet all but launched herself to Yorktown's open arm, enveloping her sister into a tight hug, the bag of ice cream she carried sat on Yorktown's lap as the silver haired Aircraft Carrier stroke her twintails hair affectionately.
"I'm back"
Hornet was practically clinging to her sister as she began to cry.
A crack of thunder illuminated the sea for a brief second, revealing a single Aircraft Carrier sailing close near a giant otherworldly construct protruding from the sea surface. The carrier swayed along the building up waves, metal deck groaned as a flight of Dauntlesses took off to the sky, quickly climbing high above the dark clouds and disappeared to the night sky followed with a group of Wildcats as their escorts.
The presence of the Dauntless might be not needed but one couldn't be too careful.
A thump on behind her caught Hornet's attention, she blinked the idle thought and turned around to face its source, grinning widely the moment she recognized the person stepping under the mounted light.
"Hey, need something?" She asked lightly, wrapping her cloak tighter around herself when a rather cold night wind washed over her deck.
"Nothing in particular, it's just that I notice you brooding all by yourself so I decided to check on you" Replied Prince of Wales to the Aircraft Carrier, she lifted her hands to show Hornet the thermos and cups she was holding. "Care to join me for a cup of tea?"
Hornet shrugged. "Sure, but I don't have a table nearby so let's sit somewhere else"
"I wouldn't mind the bow"
"Fine by me too" They began to move towards Hornet's bow, setting down on the edge with their feet dangling to the water surface. It didn't take long for Wales to settle down the necessity and the next thing Hornet knew she already had a steaming red colored liquid on her palm, the sweet scent tempting her for a sip. "Do you guys always carry this stuff around?" She gestured at her tea, refering to it.
Prince of Wales hummed in affirmation. "It's necessary, in a way. Our usual AO was in the North Sea where the cold can even freeze your deck and turret, we needed something to keep us warm and tea happened to be the most suitable choice"
"That... makes sense, actually"
"Had a different reason come to your mind prior?"
Hornet laughed awkwardly. "Well, I thought you Royal Navy girls have a weird fetish for tea or something..."
This time it was Prince of Wales turn to shrug. "While it's undeniable we like it, by no means we are addicted to it. We grew fond to it, rather"
"Yeah..." A pause, both Hornet and Prince of Wales silently taking a sip of their respective tea until Hornet put her's with a dry thunk. "Look, we can't keep pretending that is not there" She said while pointing at a certain direction.
Wales grimaced, sighing heavily. "We can try if we want" she said somehow sarcastically, an expression one would rarely see from her. "That's been said, you're getting a little too close to the ground zero for a Carrier, you know?"
Hornet was refering to the giant metal construct roughly one kilometer away from their position, the fallen space ship that was the subject of their operation. From Hornet's position, she was literally facing it with her bow directed toward its starboard side, in other word they had the front seat when they decided to sit on the bow.
Looking up close, the thing looked bigger than she previously saw even though it literally had a third of its form deep under water.
Earlier when she just crashed, Hornet was the one to arrive on station first. She witnessed her took tons of water into her hull before she stopped slipping beneath the waves, possibly after her displacement increased a Battleship worth. Had she been a Wet Navy ship she would be resting on the sea bed by now but judging from her size lifting a Battleship must be an easy task, a fact that wasn't lost on Hornet.
"I don't see what's the point in putting up distance, she's pretty much capable to blow everything to kingdom come if she wanted to" said Hornet half-jokingly, earning a scoff from Prince of Wales in return. "You didn't come just to seek a company, did you?"
The Battleship didn't answer right away, she stared at her own beverage for a long time, watching her reflection looking back at her, grim and cold gaze slowly replacing her neutral expression. "Did you know... that Siren can actually do Manifestation too?"
Hornet frowned, wondering why Wales suddenly asked her such question. "I read it somewhere that they could. They abandoned the practice now with no apparent reason of why though"
"That's what the public know" began the Royal Navy Battleship, downing her tea in one go and directing her attention to Hornet. "The reason why they abandoned the practice is to make themselves appear more human, so it's difficult to see them as anything but aliens"
"But why would they went such a length?"
"Psychological warfare and an effective one at that, they exploit mankind's desire to protect living being to destroy them. You know, there was an incident occuring roughly a few months after the beginning of Siren War, a naval base was destroyed because the child they found drifting out in sea was a Siren, at that time we wouldn't know the difference between human and Siren unless from thorough examination. That was the first time humanity encountered humanoid Siren"
"A few months... that was before the first KANSEN emerged" Hornet mumbled, eyes wide in realization. The first ship-girl emerged around a year after the start of the war, before it humankind had been fighting a losing battle against the Siren because of the unbounded tactic they utilized, resulting in many countries succumbing to destruction.
The history was completely overwritten, almost no ship survived the preliminary Siren War since it's an unprecedented factor to the world. Many sailors died in the battle far fiercer than even the Old War, countries exhausted from the said war were forced to fight again lest they wanted to be wiped from the map. In the end, complete reform was made in the world, those who had power stood strong, those who were weaker must form a pact to stay still and prevail the raging current. Governments throwing everything they had to keep everything running and civilians were taught to produce than consume more thanks to the breakdown of international trade networks.
"Indeed it was, people still call those time as mankind's darkest hours even to this day"
That would be an understatement. Hornet thought to herself, not really had the courage to speak it out loud to Prince of Wales. It was still a sore subject for some people even to this day, a wound that time would gradually heal but not yet.
She decided to keep the conversation neutral.
"So why did you bring the subject up again?"
"Because that ship over there shows an essence of Siren Manifestation!"
Another thunder flashed high in the sky, coming from the accumulating dark cloud, it briefly shone over the area, this time revealing a wide eyed Hornet staring at Prince of Wales with shocked gaze full of disbelief in her green eyes.
"Wh-what?!"
The blonde Battleship stood up, her half empty cup of tea clattered on her side, its red-ish content spilling all over the flight deck. A sense of turmoil exploded inside her chest and she began to pace back and forth while gritting her teeth. "Remember the purple light? Siren's Manifestation had something in common and it was that! We don't emit purple light because our main element is blue, the thoughts and wishes of mankind to conquer the sea which are what consisted our souls. And now the very same ship's human form is currently in our base along with the defenseless Commander"
"That's not necessarily the proof needed to make such decision" Hornet interjected, mirroring Prince of Wales's earlier action and got up to face her.
Her pacing came to a stop the moment Hornet stood in front of her, Hornet's face contorted into a disapproving scowl Wales didn't even try to ignore. "We don't know what she is, an unknown factor in this war, something otherworldly" She declared harshly, each worth punctuated with a step towards Hornet until they're merely a few inches apart. The Aircraft Carrier kept her defiance look straight to Wales until the Battleship jabbed a finger seaward at where the spaceship was on. "That thing possesses unknown dangers not just to us but people in this world too"
Hornet growled. "That thing is now a Kansen just like us, she needs to eat and rest just like you and me and she also has her purposes, which I believe, even bigger than any of ours so please stop objectifying her! Save it for the Siren if you really desire to use the term!" The last part of her sentence came out in a yell, leaving Hornet breathing heavily, she only noticed when Wales didn't reply to her sudden outburst, rendered speechless by her actions. With a deep sigh, Hornet forced herself to calm down and face Enterprise steel form. "Did you see the damage she suffered? There's a giant hole on her starboard side so big it can fit a Battleship like you. What do you think she fought to give that extent of a damage? Not even Yamato sisters with their high caliber guns can deal so much, for all I know she probably had her own war back home"
"We don't know that, that's something we need to verify"
"So is her status as suspected Siren"
A pause, Prince of Wales took a step to stand beside Hornet. "Why do you defend her so vigorously?"
Hornet smiled warmly as yet another breeze blew her cloak sideways. She looked up, watching a swirl of dark cloud moving towards her and the base, already obscuring the silver moon from reaching the ground with its ray. However, before she could give her answer to Wales, a loud sizzling sound suddenly filled the air followed with a steadily increased humming, slowly drowning the silent sea in a series of mechanical sounds.
Prince of Wales gasped as the slumbering ship suddenly lit up, power flickered to life along her previously dark metal hull illuminating the sea surrounding her with powerful floodlights. The Battleship's metal form sped up before taking a sharp starboard turn, from previously on Hornet's port side she was now directly on her fore.
With her guns pointed in a full broadside towards Enterprise.
Hornet snorted, mentally steering herself away from the now active spaceship. "Stand down, your guns wouldn't do much damage anyway" She said somehow matter of factly, bringing online one of her floodlights and point it toward the fallen vessel's bow where one of her two giant cannons was pointed at their position. "She could have killed us if she wanted to but she didn't. I've been looking at her complement of weapons from the second I saw her metal form and trust me, she's an embodiment of flying fortress neither you or me can penetrate"
It was an understatement rather than anything.
Her hull was literally adorned with weapons, there was so much guns and cannons installed it effectively made her the most heavily armed ship in the world. Hornet's flight groups managed to observed for a few seconds before Enterprise's own CAP units forced them away from their mothership, in those precious seconds she could make out a pair of cannons that stood out the most because of their sheer size. Those cannons were probably bigger than even Sakura Empire's 18 inches gun, which by itself was more than capable to burn a whole base down and considered as one of the most devastating ship based weapons ever built.
The sheer destructive power was unmatched for a mere cannon until Enterprise's arrival, at least Yamato's 460mm guns were known factors to the equation. For all they knew the ones Enterprise's sported could be firing nuke rounds.
You could never destroy a ship her size with Yamato's cannon, if a 2,5 kilometers ship exist then surely a bigger or equal ones of adversary too. Hornet just hoped they wouldn't have to test out the theory because they had no means to counter it with.
She's being reasonable.
Hornet thought distractedly as a droplet of water fell on her hat, she looked up as the sky began to rain its content with a roar of thunder following it.
She's gone so much too. Even after those years humanity haven't found her peace despite her own bloody history.
The sea around the spaceship exploded, not even the heavy downpour could negate the loud sound coming from Enterprise as steam began to rise from her aft. It was clear she had enough of sleeping in the cold sea when the said sea itself began to shook the moment a second explosion occured on her belly, golden light of rocket engines slowly pushing the massive vessel heavenward while infiltrating sea water seemingly slipped out from inside her through the crevices and holes, creating massive pillars of waterfalls.
All it took was 10 seconds and the spaceship was now levitating like an immovable titan, unflinching with all her might displayed even when a thunder struck her.
Just what kind of war did you fight?
It was the last thing in Hornet's mind as Enterprise's main engine came to life, pushing the ship to fly by above them for a split second before moving towards their base with unrivaled speed.
Boom!
The flash of silver light and the tremor on the ground were the first things the Commander encountered the moment he stepped out of the Command Building when a thunder struck the shore not so far from his position, eliciting a surprised gasp from Vestal who was on his side as a second lightningstrike occured and cut the power on the whole base, leaving the island shrouded in darkness.
Somehow, in just a few minutes the weather suddenly changed despite it being clear not so long ago. What was once a calm and peaceful night turned into a beginning of a calamity with waves and thunders crashing to the world with intention of erasing it forever in a shifting wrath of heat and coldness.
Droplets of water poured down from the sky, painting the ground dark with dampness as if to wash it with its very own color, accompanied with bone-chilling sea air steadily building up a howling that rivaled even a pact of wolves.
Boom!
The ground shook, fiery red ball of fire rose up from the building West of the Command Center, burning even the raging heaven with its sheer might and heat. David's mouth went agape, he tried to find his word but nothing came up. Between Vestal's horrified screaming and the storm, he could barely make out anything in his mind.
Medical Ward... That's the Medical Ward!
A flash of thunder, a second explosion followed with a series of machinegun fire, and the sound of something crashing through the wall filled the air for a split second before suddenly the concrete wall before them burst to dust, a body flew through it and skidded to stop a few meters on the paved road, bloody and unmoving.
Warspite
Her sword, now broken and had been cleanly cut into two, still rested on her oddly bent hand, and her main guns were still hot from firing with steam oozing from the barrels. Her second turret, however, was destroyed with the same precise cut on her sword, a literally hot red scar running from its front to the back pried open the armor protection like a hot knife through butter, seemingly ignoring the fact a ship-girl's rigging was just as durable as their metal form.
The Repair Ship was the first one to move out. She jumped into action almost immediately, kneeling beside the incapacitated Warspite, her hands were a blur of rapid and professional movements as she checked on the Battleship despite the incomprehensible mumbling leaving her mouth.
David followed suit almost a second later, he barely paid attention to the rain soaking his once pristine uniform and instead the blood pooling around Warspite the rain washed down. He pulled his handgun, switched the safety off after loading the chamber and kneeled beside Vestal, his brown eyes now focused on the destroyed wall.
He had a hunch whoever or whatever injured Warspite was pretty much impervious to his gun, but it's rather comforting to know he wouldn't be bare handed.
"Speak to me, Vestal!" The Commander ordered with a yell to make sure he didn't just go through the storm but also Vestal's disarrayed mental state.
Vestal went silent almost immediately but her hands never stopped administering first aid. "Mild concussion, broken ribs and bones in various places, so far I count 3 but it may be more, shallow cut on her left arm presumably from close quarter battle going in a vertical starting from her elbow to shoulder, knife? dagger? need to stitch it later..." She trailed off as if lost in her own thoughts, David took the initiative to confirm the conditions.
"Can you move her somewhere safe?"
"I would have had her on the Medical Ward but my office is currently on fire, Commander" Vestal replied with a hint of bitterness on her tone. "Just what is going on?"
"I wish I had the answer for that" David muttered more to himself than as a reply, he noticed Nevada running to them with Arizona following not so far, they're amongst few who stayed on base as guards. "I'm going to see what's happening, tell Helena to recall all ships back to base, mark it as priority message"
Both Battleships finally arrived, Nevada went to help Vestal while Arizona stopped right before the Commander, her eyes filled with concern looking him up and down searching for any possible injury. "Are you okay, Commander?"
"I'm fine, the explosion happened pretty far actually" David replied, giving Arizona a reassuring nod, it was at that moment did he notice the rigging connected on her. "You're in battle readiness?"
She straightened up, her guns traversing from stand by position to full salvo configuration. There was a series of small clickson each guns that could only mean one thing; the shells had been fed on to the barrels and ready to be fired anytime. "Aye, sir"
"Good, follow me, we're going to find out" David said to her before turning his attention to Nevada, giving the other Battleship a quick instruction. "Get Warspite to my office, there should be some first aid kit under my desk then tell every available personel to guard the Command Center"
The blonde gave him a thumb up, lifting Warspite up from the ground and quickly making her way to the aforementioned building while Vestal stayed close to do her job. David watched them go before nodding at Arizona who had patiently been waiting for him.
"Let's go"
The ground shook once again, making the destroyed wall to crumble even more. Black iron bar running horizontally which was once functioned as reinforcing medium was now nothing but useless piece of metal, sticking out with the end pretty much bent outward exactly on the destroyed section. David carefully navigated through the gap in the wall, keeping his sidearm forward at where the sound of battle was coming from.
The hole, or rather, holes were all connected in one straight line, at least through 4 rooms all the way out of the building. It started from where the spaceship was being treated on but there was also another hole on the opposite side of the room David barely make out since the whole room was literally on fire.
It didn't take him long to connect the dots.
"Son of a-"
"Commander!" Arizona called out to him, she was standing on the end of the hallway leading outside. "I detected Belfast out in the courtyard! She is fighting something!"
David sprinted for the double doors.
"How long are you planning to hide? You have nowhere to go"
The Light Cruiser shouted into the darkness surrounding her, watching the bushes and trees swayed back and forth from the bone chilling wind carried by the storm with resolved glare. The cold didn't bother her on the slightest since she had much experience operating in the merciless Atlantic Ocean, such simple disturbance didn't affect her at all and it took nothing but little effort to ignore it.
Belfast's 6 inch guns were on alert, aimed forward while her secondary guns created a kill zone around her that prevented any sort of threat to come closer. It was usually enough to keep most enemy away but this time, she was sure they were not enough, never were.
Warspite, a Battleship, failed to subdue her opponent. She was one of the best ship ever exist yet she was defeated in less than 3 minutes by a wounded and rigging-less ship with nothing but a mere knife, a feat never heard before even from a Siren. Belfast was there when that happen, she still could not believe it even to this very second. She saw Warspite fired her main guns, she saw the Battleship exchanged melee attacks with her target using her infamous great sword, she also saw the very same sword got cut to two by a knife not even longer than its half and her turret being disabled with a single strike still with the said knife.
She also saw Warspite getting kicked away while in her full equipments through walls like a weightless rag doll, bare handed by her opponent.
And right now, that opponent had become Belfast's opponent.
She wasn't sure how she would do it but she would try to neutralize the threat regardless how, maybe she should start by buying time for the others to help.
Something shone above her, driving Belfast's reflex into an overdrive. She looked up on the split second, barely recognizing the white blue-ish light the object was emanating due to the heavy rain, still it was enough for her to know what it was.
She didn't bother trying to deflect it as it plunged right at her from the sky, instead the Light Cruiser jumped away from its trejactory, fully aware it was the very same knife that cut through Warspite's turret armor like a hot knife through butter, which in this case the first half was literal because the knife was melting hot.
The knife plummeted right to the ground tip first, embedding itself deep on the cemented surface, faint smoke slowly rising from it as it gradually cooling down, revealing its original jet black color. The attack was proven as nothing but distraction when a shadow suddenly jumped from behind a tree relative where the knife came from, heading straight for the now unprepared Belfast.
"You-!"
Whatever she was about to say never got finished when a fist suddenly hit her right on the gut, knocking the air out of her lungs. The blow was abnormally strong for a ship without a rigging and it actually pushed her off of her feet down to the ground where she then laid on her back, wheezing and coughing.
The figure picked the knife from where it was, holding it in a reverse grip, almost instantly it lit up again with the same light it had.
A lightning roared in the heaven, its light illuminating the figure holding the vicious looking knife for a brief moment. Still, it was enough for Belfast to pick up many details of her opponent and it didn't help her relieve the sinking feeling on her stomach that wasn't due to the punch.
Many things unfazed her, but at this very moment Belfast actually felt dreadful.
Enterprise stood there, not the similiar girl Belfast was tasked on to monitor but an unknown spaceship that had just recently been ressurected from death. She was dressed in heavy gear, olive colored metal plating covering her torso and shoulders giving little to no openings for an attack most in which functioned as compartments or some sort. On her back, a stock of a gun protruded upward, there was also a handgun glued on her right thigh and what seemed to be the scabbard for her knife on her left arm, empty since its content was in use.
Belfast vaguely wondered why she didn't use any weapon other than her knife to fight her and Warspite earlier until she realized all it took was the knife to incapacitated both of them.
"What... Are you...?" Said the maid through a wheezing breath, watching Enterprise slowly walking towards her. The lack of expression she had unnerved her and the steady way she held her knife suggested she was in full intention to kill her.
The rain made it hard to comprehend Enterprise's reply and the fact it came out in nothing but a whisper made it more difficult, still, Belfast was pretty accustomed to in reading lips movement so she was certain she understood it pretty well.
"I don't know..."
Enterprise squatted low, her knees pressing against Belfast's arms completely rendering her helpless. She couldn't do anything except to watch as Enterprise slowly brought the knife close to her neck, the heat prickling Belfast's chin.
"There's no turning back from this" Belfast started, her voice uncharacteristically steady despite the clear threat before her. "You have no allies in this world"
"And you just committed an aggression against the UNSC"
Belfast was quiet for a moment. "That was a miscalculation in our part, we thought we could subdue you but it was proven the strength difference is much more higher than expected"
"I heard your Commander is a very reasonable man, does he know about this?"
"I don't" A voice piped in, almost immediately Enterprise had the handgun on her thigh drawn at its source, safety off.
The Commander stood a few meters from their position, his own handgun pointed at Enterprise while Arizona had her main battery zeroed in to her, eyes brimming with a myriad of emotions.
Belfast took the sudden distraction as a chance to free herself, she quickly traversed one of her guns to the girl looming over her with an intention to incapacitate her. Turned out, it was a bad decision when Enterprise suddenly drove her knife to the turret, cutting through the middle most barrel all the way to the back.
"Try me once again and you'll find your head rolling away from your body" She said venomously, effortlessly pulling the knife from the now destroyed turret before holding it closer to Belfast's neck than before.
The Light Cruiser smirked. "I've cheated death once"
"Yes but I'm not a mine waiting for my prey, this time you'll die for sure"
Belfast was about to retort but the Commander cut her off. "That's enough, nobody is going to die tonight. Drop your weapons and slowly get away from Belfast, we've got you surrounded"
True enough, a lot of ship-girls were already surrounding the area, most of which were a part of base staff and guards like Helena. The blue haired girl seemed confused as she stood amongst her friends, fully equipped in full rigging.
There was also a glimpse of a silver hair somehwere behind the Commander, a now familiar head. The Aircraft Carrier Enterprise in a night attire.
Didn't see that coming.
She seemed conflicted judging from the way she kept looking at her and the Commander, she wanted to help but she couldn't summon her rigging since her steel form was under emergency repair on the dry dock and with the way it was she's fully aware she was nothing but a hindrance.
Still...
"What the hell are you doing?!" She shouted to her, tone brimming with anger and disbelief. "Attacking Belfast and destroying base properties like this?! I thought you said you prefer peaceful approach!"
"Well it has changed when that blonde midget and this woman over here decided that pointing a damn sword at my throat is a good thing to do when talking with me" The Heavy Carrier replied heatedly. "This is a legitimate self defense I am dictated to uphold against threats directed to me"
"Wh-what?!"
"I was not the first one to pull the trigger"
The world fell silent, nobody's daring enough to move a single muscle. The only sounds around them were the rain and constant thunders but even so they were pale in comparison with the thick tense atmosphere permeating in the air.
"Stand down" The Commander ordered before lowering his weapon, there were a lot of hesitations but many Ship-girls quickly complied. "You want answers? I'll give you answers in exchange for questions, come with me and we will have a long nice chat"
"Sir! You're not seriously thinking to have her audience, right?!"
"All of this was not necessary yet it occured because of errors in our part so cease any hostile actions immediately. As the highest Commanding Officer, I revoke whatever orders given to you previously, Bel. Go to Vestal and get yourself checked, do not perform any superficial activity until I give you an all clear"
You're confined.
"... Aye, sir"
David didn't wait for Enterprise's response, he silently left the area heading back to his office. He only stopped once he was within arm length to Arizona to communicate with her.
"Tell Prince of Wales to RTB ASAP and find me on my office along with Hornet and the other core members"
"What about the patrol, sir? it'll greatly reduce the manpower"
"There is no need for that anymore, Arizona" Helena cut in with wavering tone. "Did you notice?"
The Battleship made a puzzled look "Notice what?"
"... the rain, it's not as intense and the major magnetic interference in the area. Something is jamming our signal and electronics" She explained it to the Battleship but it caught all of the Ship-girls' attention.
"Where is the source?" Davide queried, beginning to worry that Siren was moving again to attack the base. At such time everything was on their advantage with the base currently in disarray and most personel out conducting patrol.
Her answer, however, was not comforting in a lot of ways.
Helena raised her hand, pointing straight up to the sky with her index finger. "Here, or rather up there"
"What?"
The world exploded in a blinding white light, forcing all present to close their eyes when the light replaced the darkness once dominating the base. David blinked rapidly to adjust his vision, and slowly but surely he could make out the giant construct looming above his base, the very same construct that was the source of the light.
"You're wrong" said the Heavy Carrier Enterprise, she was now standing above Belfast, pretty much looming over the Light Cruiser with her sheer height, not unlike how her metal form loomed over the base. "I have my ways out, some in which won't do well to you nor me"
"What a mess" Hornet muttered to herself, following a certain blonde haired Battleship as she hastily made her way through the docks. "Hey, slow down a bit will you? I don't want you kissing the ground good night because you slip up on something"
"That is the least of our priorities"
"Oh now we have priorities and the least" She replied somehow heatedly, jogging to catch Prince of Wales up. "What the hell were you thinking when you give them that order-no, what the hell were you hoping? You did realize it's like the number one on no no list, right?"
"... I'm aware"
Hornet silently cursed, glaring at Prince of Wales' back as she slowly let the Royal Navy girl being on the lead once again, she couldn't fathom what was going on inside her head at the moment because it really was out of her character. "What the hell were you thinking... things could have turned for the worst for us and the Commander" Hornet mumbled with hollow tone that spoke a myriad of emotions, she didn't want something to befall the Commander or anyone else in general if she could help it.
Prince of Wales understood it, she came to a sudden stop in front of Hornet, palms tightly wrapped into a fist. "Miss Hornet, would you be so kind and meet the Commander first? I have matters to attend at my end by myself and will follow in a moment"
The Aircraft Carrier scoffed, hard enough for Wales to hear it, before stomping past the Battleship with a deep scowl on her face. She didn't bother to look back, not on the slightest, and instead marched to the Commander's office.
There were a lot of Ship-girls occupying the hallways, mostly the nimble Destroyers, but as she got closer to her destination the groups started to vary with some Cruisers and Battleships mixing inside the formations, all of them lost in their own worlds but one topic stayed the same in their conversations.
"Did you hear? they said the culprit is inside with the Commander"
"You mean the one responsible for destroying the Medical Ward?"
"Yeah, I also heard that Warspite is injured so bad Vestal had to perform emergency treatment on her. There's a pool of blood near the Commander's desk where she was nursed before they transport her away somewhere"
"That's so horrible, why would Commander Allenforth let her inside? and with him nonetheless..."
"I know, right? she even brought her weapons inside!"
"Yo! Hornet! What's with the terrifying face?" Columbia called out to her with her usual easy going tone, but this time it felt a little less natural.
Hornet stopped and looked at the direction where Columbia was on, pretty much glaring at the 3 Cleveland sisters making up the group. She saw Columbia's smile faltered and Denver flinched because of her action while Montpelier did nothing but glare back.
Hornet sighed tiredly, rubbing her temple to ease up the tension on her facial muscles. "Where's Cleve?"
"Inside, been there for like 10 minutes with the Commander and your sister, Queen Elizabeth is there too along with Illustrious"
"Why didn't you guys come in?"
"They prohibited any entry, seems like some serious stuff is happening they can't let it go around the base" The smaller blonde explained, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Y'know I couldn't care less and honestly I'd rather have my nose somewhere not confidential"
"Cleveland said she's going to fill us in later anyway so it's not like you won't get involved" Denver cut in somewhat cheekily, mirroring Columbia's action by crossing her arms. "You just too lazy to get into whatever conversation they are having"
"Well, crap, don't blame me, talks aren't my forte, that's why Cleve is the big sist"
"As painful as it was to admit, you're the second older Cleveland-class so therefore you are technically our big sister too"
"Why you little-!"
Both Columbia and Denver started to throw arguments at each other, for outsiders it might seem like the sisters were in a bad term but for someone who had known the Clevelands for a long time like Hornet, they would easily understand it's just another day with them.
Nothing fights as well as they argue like the Clevelands.
"I'm worried" Montpelier suddenly spoke on her side, almost startling Hornet with her not so sudden appearance. Amongst the sisters, the most odd one was this one girl speaking to her, she was silent most of the time, a mismatch on a bunch of obnoxious misfits. Unlike her sisters, Montpelier was the type who'd rather observe and stay on the sideline as things unfolded and would only join in when she was interested or ordered by Cleveland herself.
She also barely initated a conversation with people unless she trusted them, especially when it came to her feelings.
"About what?"
"Big sister"
Right, should have seen that coming.
In this world, there was only one thing Montpelier truly liked and interested on and it was Cleveland. For her, her sister was the only person worth giving attention to other than the Commander who took around 5 years to gain such regard from her, that itself was probably the greatest achievement one could possibly gain.
"She's going to be fine, I'll be there too in a second and I promise you I will keep an eye on her"
"No... You can't, not against her"
"... how's Cleveland holding up?"
Before Montpelier could answer however, the double wooden doors separating the hallway and the Commander office suddenly creaked open, a familiar face peeking through its sill.
"You're back" the person said more to a statement than question, addressing Hornet who grimaced in return. "Get in quickly, what were you doing in outside"
"I'm waiting for Wales, she said she has something to do"
The person, which was none other than Hornet's older sister Enterprise, frowned at her answer. "Let her be, we have an urgent matter we need to discuss"
"Is everything alright now?" Denver once again cut in, ignoring Columbia who was in the middle of throwing tantrums.
"I wish I could give you the answer for that" Enterprise replied with a hint of regret in her tone before addressing her sister once again. "Get in"
"Alright"
With a small wave of her hand, Hornet left the three sisters be as she made her way inside the office, fully aware with the stares she received from other Ship-girls around her.
The doors clicked shut the moment she fully entered, courtesy of Enterprise who then wordlessly walked past by her without sparing her even a glance. The atmosphere inside was more intense than what Hornet imagined and it made her nervous with the silence and cold air dominating the room thanks to the broken windows they barely kept closed.
She tipped her hat low to shield her face, feeling her throat tightened due to the pressure accumulating around her. Eventually, Enterprise once again called for her when she noticed Hornet had been standing idly like a lost person for the whole time.
"Hornet, take a seat" The silver haired girl ordered, gesturing at the empty space on the sofa beside her.
"Right" Hornet muttered in return before she reluctantly maneuvered around the set of chairs, passing by a lot of faces she's familiar with and one she had begun to get accustomed to.
The Heavy Carrier Enterprise.
She was sitting alone across the Commander who had been oddly silent the whole time, her heavy gear pressing against the soft material creating a rather large disproportion on her end. A rather big gun sat near her left leg, resting against the sofa with its barrel pointed upward, not too close to be translated as a hostile intention but still within range should something happen. The gun... Hornet never seen a gun like that before, the design was bullpup judging from the way its magazine and trigger were positioned, but it's also looked so bulky and heavy with all the metal covering it, seemed like something you could use to beat someone to death and it would still be operational for the rest of its service.
The Commander meanwhile had both Illustrious and Queen Elizabeth flanking his sides, the former had a rather neutral expression while the latter didn't seem was even trying to hide her disdain as she glared at the woman in front of her.
The woman in question, however, merely ignored the venomous look pointed at her and instead focused more at the Commander with unreadable face etched on her, heck she barely glanced around the room.
A hand landed on Hornet's shoulder, startling her out of her reverie. She pretty much jumped in surprise before realizing whose hand it was.
"Coffee?" Enterprise offered, lifting a steaming cup of black liquid to her direction.
The action was so sudden Hornet needed a couple of seconds to process her answer. "A-ah... Yes, thank you" she said while mustering the best smile she could at the moment. It didn't take long for the blonde to melt in its comforting warm, and she was eternally grateful of her sister for offering such blessing.
"Take off your hat, it's drenched, you might get a headache if you keep it on"
"Okay" Hornet breathed out, fully aware how unusual her sister was acting around her but not really having the courage to bring it up. Enterprise rarely showed a sign of affection unless to Yorktown but even so she did it scarcely most of the times, so to have her practically hogging Hornet out was troubling.
"Here, a towel to dry your hair with"
"Thank you"
And just like that, everything fell silent once again, Queen Elizabeth was still glaring at the person across her with the same pointed look she had earlier but it somehow had lost its intensity a little bit, Illustrious was openly glancing around the room seemingly looking for something while in actuality she was just bored, or nervous, Hornet really couldn't tell.
She untied her hair bands, letting her ponytails to drop down, before patting and rubbing the white towel to her damp hair. Hornet didn't notice it at first but both Enterprises were suddenly had their eyes on her, maroon and purple respectively pointing at her with each having a subtle and different hint of emotions.
"What?" The blonde Carrier asked somewhat awkwardly when they kept on looking at her, swiveling between her sister and the spaceship.
"You both sure do look alike" stated the latter, gesturing between the Yorktowns with her head slightly. "If only your hair was silver you'd be indistinguishable"
Hornet was at loss for word all she could do was to stare back and gape like a fish out of water while her sister had this half smile half grimace expression Hornet didn't know people capable of making.
Before someone could reply on that, the doors suddenly creaked open, drawing their attention to the person standing near it.
"You request my presence, Commander?" Prince of Wales asked stiffly, it's sounded like a rhetorical question than anything. Instantly, the improved mood dropped to its previous state and the gloomy and pressing atmosphere returned in its full power.
"Yes, please sit down"
The Battleship glanced around, looking at the assembled people with keen eyes swiftly, and only stopped at one particular person.
Their eyes met, Prince of Wales averted her gaze away.
She cleared her throat and wordlessly made her way to the only available seat, the only sound she made was the rustling from the brown folders she carried with her. There was also an audio player in her person which she then placed onto the table.
"Commander, I-"
"I want you to explain what's the meaning of your aggressive actions to UNSC Enterprise" David cut in, bringing up a piece of paper. "One building is completely destroyed, some external destructions are also notable mainly the courtyards, and numerous base properties are also destroyed across the island. One Ship-girl is suffering a major injury and rigging damage while another one is almost killed in action, initial estimation the former will require at least one month worth of repair and healing to be fit for combat again. All of it was because of your reckless orders to gather infomations by any means necessary from the subjected Enterprise, in other word, an unauthorized interrogation"
"How is Lady Warspite?"
"Alive but not eager"
"That's a good news..."
The Commander glared at Wales, invoking a squirm from her. "Queen Elizabeth did not know about this order at all and she's your de facto leader, I do not care of your internal affairs and I'm more than willing to tolerate your little game of royal but when it comes to the people under my responsibility then I need to know"
"Her Highness is not one to blame, please don't bother her with this matter, it was all my fault" The Battleship confessed with a tone filled with resignation, she then began to unpack the brown folders she carried. "This is the most guarded secret in Royal Navy even Her Highness Queen Elizabeth does not know exist, usually a foreigner is not allowed to get on such knowledge with any leaks will be dealed swiftly by the military. However I, being one of those who was deeply involved by the incident, got a full authority to share it with whoever I deemed necessary"
She handed those in the room one folder each, even the Heavy Carrier Enterprise beside her. Neither of them bat an eye to each other with Prince of Wales intentionally keeping her gaze down all the time while Enterprise had her eyes set on the folder before her as if staring at death itself.
"Incident FIERCE...?" Hornet mumbled as she read the title on the cover, there was a big red stamp of Top Secret on top of it she barely ignored. "What's that?"
"Foreign Inexplicable Emergency Radio Communication Emissions" she explained. "Please refer to its content"
There was a slight hesitation coming from everyone except the Commander and both Enterprises who almost instantly tore the seal off of the documents the moment they got all clear, their actions inspired Hornet to do the same and a second later she had the first page displayed before her.
The room fell silent.
Logs of Incident FIERCE.
-September 26th 1967, Deep Space Surveillance Facility 'Echelon'-
Log 1:
Incident recorded as first encounter coming from Mars orbit, an unknown radio transmission is received by Echelon's main communication relay dishes at 14:35 hours lasting for approximately 5 minutes in a form of gurgled statics, telescope tower 3 nestled south west of the facility moved to search the source but no contact can be established. Facility's director requests an orbital surveillance satellite assistant, approval pending from the government.
Addendum 1: Request approved, still no sign of the signal's source, the case is flagged as a mere space noise despite Dr. Whitecomb's insistence and request for further investigation.
Log 2:
Second contact occured roughly 5 hours after the first contact at 19:34 local time, reports coming from other facilities across the country indicate a massive surge in signal strength but not enough to clean the statics, the source is predicted to be much closer to Earth. By this time, the government has speculated the contact is another Siren's ploy.
Addendum 1: The Kingdom has dictated a nation-wide network restriction to prevent civilian population from receiving the transmission unintentionally by signal jamming, the frequency is extremely high to even a mere radio to catch it.
Addendum 2: Dr. Herriman theorizes the white noise is not a white noise but the transmission itself and because of the insufficient receptor media the system can not translate it as such, this is proven by the sporadic pattern he discovers while analyzing the transmission.
Addendum 3: The transmission is sent with 2 channels, one is a Hyper Frequency signal and the second is a form of signal never seen before, request for specialized equipments has been approved and is currently waiting for application.
-September 28th 1967-
Log 3:
The signal is successfully comprehended and an attempt to translate it results in a decent outcome, the following recording is the most we can translate by far.
All eyes turned to Prince of Wales immediately, the Battleship, however, simply played the recording from the audio player she carried.
"...is... UNSC... heavy ..c..r...er E...re...s, we... re... ffering... Slip...ace ...rive mal...unction and..."
The rest was lost in a garbled static until a click signalled the end of the recording. Nobody uttered a word as they stared at Prince of Wales who returned the gesture with hollow gaze.
"It's... a UNSC ship" Hornet mumbled in shock, she directed her attention towards a certain someone. "Was that you?"
"No" replied the spaceship resolutely. "From what I can gather, whoever she was, she had a problem with her Slipspace Drive"
"Slipspace Drive?" David asked, shifting on his seat.
"It's a superluminal transfer engine we utilize to travel a long distance in a short amount of time, an FTL device basically"
"Wait, are you saying your maximum speed is that of light speed?" The Commander once again asked, this time in a tone filled with surprise, before Enterprise could answer however, Hornet suddenly butt in.
"Man, I know you have some big engines but I didn't know it was that fast"
"Well no I can't go light speed fast in real space, that's why we need Slipspace Drive, it works by ripping the 11th dimension open"
Illustrious raised her hand up, the display brought a lot of odd stares. "Um... what does that mean?"
"They force a controlled blackhole to manifest and transit through it" Wales muttered, eliciting a small gasp from her Royal Navy fellows.
"What make you so sure it wasn't you? You were suddenly appeared afterall and there was no other way for you to just pop up like that"
Enterprise paused at Hornet's question. There was no accusation in her tone neither there was any hint of suspicion, it just a pure question of curiosity. "That is true in a degree, but there is one flaw"
Her counterpart raised her eyebrows questioningly. "And that is?"
"I blew myself up to smithereens, even if my people were to search at my pieces they would barely find anything worthy. I was obliterated"
A cold chill ran down Hornet's spine at the Heavy Carrier's words, everyone minus the Carrier in question must have felt the same judging from the way they shifted uncomfortably. It was not just because of the way she died, but also the way she talked about her own death that disturbed them.
Clipped tone void of any emotion, not unlike when people were talking about business.
"What kind of enemy did you fight for a ship as mighty as yourself to resort into such drastic measure?"
"One that has no regard about anything else other than their goals, even if it means burning hundred of planets into glass" She replied, this time a hint of anger was present in her tone and it didn't go unnoticed. "Nevertheless, I'm certain it wasn't me since I did not even have the time to flag a distress beacon"
"Then who it was?"
The Heavy Carrier did not reply, instead she skipped through the report until something caught her attention. Something that even made her jaw dropped.
"CB-255... This..."
"That's what we found on the supposed crash site" Prince of Wales cut in as she watched the person beside her went through a shock.
-October 3rd 1967-
Log 8:
A construct of unknown origin has suddenly entered Earth's geosynchronous orbit and is on collision course with the planet, unaware governments around the world have been notified of the imminent fall out. Contingency plans have also been created in case of catastrophic event.
The following picture shows the construct to have silver color, blocky appearance but smooth surface, with esitmated length 1,5 kilometers. Various symbols are seen on the surface but mostly suffered heavy deformity. An extensive amount of damage on the construct is also visible with many destroyed sections and structures present.
Object's trejactory is yet to be calculated since it tends to change course erratically.
-October 4th 1967, aboard the HMS Prince of Wales-
Log 9:
"It's going to crash somewhere in the middle of Atlantic Ocean, that's a blessing for the most part but it will be difficult to secure it considering the threat level there. I've requested help from Eagle Union and they agree to spare a couple of ships from Task Force 39"
-Rear Admiral Grand
Addendum 1: The ships participating in the operation are as follow; Royal Navy Home Fleet (HMS Duke of York, HMS Victorious, HMS Belfast, HMS Exeter, HMS Rodney, HMS Nelson, HMS Indomitable with HMS Prince of Wales as flagship) and Union Task Force 39 elements ( USS Sims, USS Independence, USS Washington, USS North Carolina, USS Wasp, USS Essex, USS Intrepid, USS Bunker Hill, USS Missouri with USS Yorktown as flagship). The Joint Task Force is later renamed as Battlegroup Remedy and HMS Prince of Wales acted as the command vessel.
Addendum 2: The Iron Blood dispatches an element of ships of their own, the units are derived from Iron Blood High Sea Fleet consisting of as follow; KMS Bismarck, KMS Gneisenau, KMS Prinz Eugen, KMS Z39, KMS Z23 with KMS Friedrich Der Grosse as the flagship. U-boat Division 3 is also dispatched, consisting of 5 submarine vessels. The combined group then later randezveous with Battlegroup Remedy the following day.
Addendum 3: All participating ships and individuals are all vowed to keep secrecy of the operation due to its sensitive nature, they are not allowed to converse the subject in question with anyone else unless a clearance is given by an authorized individual or when the subject is extremely necessary to mention.
"So my sister knew about this..." muttered the Aircraft Carrier Enterprise when she finished reading the report.
"Lady Yorktown is one of those high ranking individuals but the first order outrules the second one, she simply does not get the opportunity to tell you and I'm certain she would do the same as I did"
Hornet scowled. "Big sister Yorktown would not take such extreme measure" She growled, still having a little bit of disdain at Prince of Wales' actions. "What she would do is actually sit everyone together and talk"
"Regardless..." The Commander cut in before Hornet could say anything more, it was obvious she was very close from lashing at Prince of Wales. She didn't appreciate it when someone talked about her sister that way it seemed. "This is not enough reason to commit such aggressive actions"
"That I agree, Commander. However there was an... occurance when the ship crashed"
"That is?"
Instead of answering directly, the Battleship raised the documents in her hands. "Log 10. Due to the condition of the calculated crash site, a continuous observation is impossible and a period of blindness exists for approximately 3 hours, moreover, with the construct's tendency to drastically changing speed and trejactory it is impossible to calculate the exact crash site, a question still remains about its origin and why it transmitts communication data in human language but no successful contact has been established despite efforts, maybe if a successful contact was made we probably could direct it somewhere more prime"
Log 11:
Communique between Rear Admiral Grand and the Atlantic Warfare and Rescue Strategic Command (AWARE STRACOM) recorded in October 6th 1967.
Admiral Grand: "Command, we have been conducting CSAR operations for a while now but no sight of the target, I repeat no sight so far, over"
STRACOM: "Repeat, Admiral Grand, are you sure you don't miss it? Over"
Admiral Grand: "No way in hell I'll miss something as big, I should have asked are we on the correct spot to begin with, over"
STRACOM: "The estimated crash site has not changed, Admiral, there must be something down there, over"
Admiral Grand: "Well, that thing has been flying around like a confused bird, this spot is approximately around 265 nautical miles from the original one and I'm afraid we missed the actual spot, over"
STRACOM: "That is the correct spot, Admiral. However, we hereby authorized you to expand your search area by 10 miles considering the situation, over"
Admiral Grand: "Yeah this mist doesn't make life easier too, I'll have the search area expanded then, over"
STRACOM: "Positive copy, report back once there's a progress in the operation, over and out"
Addendum 1: The search area then later expanded by 15 miles with heavy reliance on U-boats, it is probable the construct has sunk underwater at this time.
Log 12:
"We found something, I am not certain whether it's related or not but... this is all we found during the operation. A metal box, or some sort, was floating around the waves, one of my boys saw it from his post in conning tower last night out of accident. We extracted it and examined it, the box is green in color, there are some white symbols painted on it with some numbers and letters, yes human numerical and lettering, at this point it's undeniable the construct is a part or has made contact with humanity before, just like what the eggheads assumed. The symbols are quite distinctive I must say and the letters too are pretty clear, a bird with a shield and globe and the word UNSC on it, some kind of organization? maybe we can check it further later. What caught my attention the most, however, is the word 'CB-255', if it's something like Union standard Hull Lettering Identification then that means the construct is a Large Cruiser or akin, a military vessel for all intends and purposes, and we lost sight of it. What is that ship? what is her intention? why is she transmitting distress signal? So many questions have appeared, it seems like instead of answers we have more of them. Either way, we have to wait, we've reached our deadline and Command has concluded further investigation is a no go considering how the Siren keep attacking us, seemingly dead set to chase us away for some reason..."
-Rear Admiral Grand, October 18th 1967.
The search operation is concluded the following day, effectively ending the operation. Rear Admiral William Grand is relieved of his duty and returned to his position as Northern Home Fleet Commander and Battlegroup Remedy is disbanded. The acquired object is then brought to Eagle Union for further examination.
Addendum 1: Prince of Wales has been chosen as Royal Navy representative and she is given an order to observe the object examination progress in Union soil.
Log 13:
-Navy Research and Development Facility 'Blue Whale' Mississippi, Eagle Union, October 20th 1967-
The examination has been carried out for the object, it has dimension of 2 meters length, 0.7 meters width and 1 meter height and is made of Titanium and other unidentified matters. The object itself has a total weight of 124 kilograms, an extreme heat resistance and decent buoyancy, it is also airtight and perfectly sealed. A request to examine its inside has been approved after the object is deemed harmless and a team of researchers is ordered to start the procedure.
The following picture is taken after 3 hours of attempt to pry it open, the object is proven difficult to bypass because of the super dense material it is made off.
"That's a UNSC weapon cache, it can only be opened by active UNSC personel without forcing the cover off" started the Heavy Carrier as she frowned at the aforementioned picture. "Standard ground logistics, a couple of M5 Assault Rifles, BR55 Battle Rifles, M6 Magnums, grenades, magazines and ammo boxes"
"Some of these looks like those weapons you carry" Hornet stated after she compared the picture with both firearms Enterprise had.
The spaceship nodded, gesturing towards the gun beside her and the one on her thigh. "The M5 Assault Rifle, a perfect gun for medium-close range battle and an M6 Magnum, a gun so devastating it can work wonders"
The contents are as follow; 5 full automatic guns, 5 burst fire guns, 6 handguns, 12 grenades, 26 magazines for each gun types, 6 ammo boxes with 2 containing 1000 rounds of ammunition with caliber 7.62x51mm, 2 boxes containing 500 rounds of ammunition with caliber 9.5x40mm, and the last 2 boxes containing 800 rounds of ammunition with caliber 12.7x40mm.
Our scientists and engineers are currently working to disassemble some of the weapons and ammunition for research purpose.
-End of logs, further informations can be found on Army's Weapon Testing Facility Seventeen report number nine-four-four-three section zero-seven 'Atlantic Incident' and is accessible by the permits of facility's director-
"What happened to those weapons?"
Prince of Wales shook her head. "I don't know, it's beyond my jurisdiction. Rumors had it they're used to develop a new shell type for Union ships, maybe some of you are familiar with it?"
"The experimental high velocity semi-armor piercing shell?" Hornet proposed in which Wales shrugged.
"Maybe"
"That does sound plausible, the BR-55 utilizes such ammunition afterall" Began the Heavy Carrier. "I'm sure whatever you gained from them has propelled the technology for decades if not centuries"
"Well, it does sound peculiar when the Navy suddenly threw us a new ammunition. I recall Missouri was the one to try it couples of years ago"
"Those Iowas have always been so excitable when it comes to new toys" David commented, earning a chuckle from Hornet.
"You got that much from a mere weapon cache, compared to myself, it's not even a drop on the ocean. Usually I'd demand for you to return UNSC possession but I don't think that holds any meaning anymore" There was no deeper meaning under her tone yet the volume itself was enough to send shiver down their spines, almost all of the occupants had their eyes on the spaceship immediately. "The situation demands compromises, I have no commanding officer to give me directives so I'm not sure what to do since this is literally the first time I become my own captain. Either way, I have only one question left, why would you consider me as a Siren accomplice?"
"... it is but a mere suspicion. When you Manifested, I saw an essence of Siren inside of you. In addition to the fact we never found the other UNSC ship..."
"You thought I was her?"
"Yes, we barely got clear visual contact with her since somehow she would avoid the area where our observatories are on so all we have are references. The probability that the Siren has influenced that ship is also not out of equation considering how Atlantic Ocean is basically their playground"
When Prince of Wales put it that way, it was not a really reckless action. She did nothing but do her job keeping everyone safe from an unknown possible threat previously seen only to be lost, it's her responsibility as one of the most involved individuals. Enterprise understood this, she would probably do the same if an unknown ship suddenly emerged out of the blue above Reach.
Well, that already happened though...
"... what's this 'essence' you are talking about?" Enterprise asked, unclenching her fists she didn't realize had balled on her lap.
"That-"
"Commander!" The double doors leading outside the room burst open with a flash of blue suddenly bolting inside, immediately, everyone was standing on their feet and alerted.
"Helena?! what's the matter?!" David asked the panicking Light Cruiser as she frantically made her way to him.
"Emergency transmission from Sierra-Zero-Two-Four; retrieved a crucial package and an additional HVT codename Gluttony, disguise has been compromised requesting combat reinforcement on rally point Delta, expect heavy enemy combined elements on site"
"Sierra?" The Commander shot a glance at the spaceship who suddenly piped in with a mix of surprise and confusion.
"HMS Sheffield, she's away on a covert mission along with Edinburgh deep in enemy's territory" He explained simply, not really paying much attention to her.
"Oh..."
"It's one problem after another, they've missed three rally points so far so that means the enemy have already been there. They're running out of options"
"The rally points are set on international water so we can always send in ships to help under the excuse of Siren extermination, however rally point Delta is still approximately 2500 nautical miles from base and it'll take days to sail there, what should we do, Commander?" Helena asked hopelessly.
"There is no other choice" David said after a period of silence, directing his gaze towards Hornet. "Get all able body and form a fleet then depart immediately, I will take care of the paperwork. I know you are tired, everyone is, but this is an important mission paramount for our fight, we cannot afford to let the Siren get ahold of it"
The blonde Carrier actually threw him a salute, her face morphed into a silent determination. "Yes, sir!"
"Then I will-!"
"No, you stay here, Enterprise. I can't let you running around with no offensive capability whatsoever"
Hornet reluctantly put a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder. "It's okay, I got this, even though I'm like this I'm still one of the legendary Yorktowns!"
David gave the dejected Carrier a warning look before addressing the spaceship. "I'm sorry but we have to adjourn this meeting"
"Then I will take my leave now, I have no more business" said the other Enterprise understandingly. She picked her gun off the ground and hefted it in one hand, the gesture made the other occupants to tense up for a second before she put it on her back where it later attached itself with small click.
"Where are you going?" The Commander queried when the spaceship silently made her way out the room, even with such heavy equipments she didn't make any sound when she walked.
The answer present itself when a loud whine of jet engine suddenly filled his office, they looked outside the window when an aircraft flew past it before landing on the front yard, drawing many Ship-girls' attention especially since it seemed different.
"I'm going to prioritize my repair first while looking for that other UNSC ship, I'll be on the planet's low orbit, so if you need me just send me a message, there won't be a reply though"
"Send you a message? to where?"
"Anywhere you like I'd still pick it up"
The implication was... disturbing. She was saying she could intercept all their signal and they wouldn't notice it.
"Understood"
She gave him a parting nod before stepping outside the room. Not long after, the aircraft whined once again as it shot up to the sky, followed with a loud rumbling the Commander had grown accustomed to hearing which was coming from none other than Enterprise's three powerful rocket engines.
Nobody uttered a word at first as they quietly watched her disappear on the night sky, one thought lingered on them, left on her wake even when her lights had faded away along the stars.
They were a hairline away from demise and her presence could either be the blessing they needed or the curse they would never anticipate, for all they knew she was the cursed blessing, one that had been set on motion to shift whatever sense of balance the world had.
For better or worse, none of them could tell.
"You've been oddly silent" Enterprise softly said to Queen Elizabeth, giving the smaller girl a look. "You and Illustrious"
"Contrary to popular belief, I'm not really good with strangers" said the Royal Navy Carrier somehow sheepishly.
"I merely chose to observe this newcomer, one had to uncover her intention between us six"
"What did you gain from your keen observation? what do you think of her?"
"She is an epitome of unwavering duty, a true warrior that will not falter even on the face of death. Whereon her duty had been complete when she fell, she holds it dear on her second life because her duty is all she have and know. I have seen those eyes, eyes that will never lose their lights unless on death, eyes of the shackled souls that wish nothing else but objectives, not even their freedom. Her's in particular are more intense and it is honestly terrifying, I certainly do not wish for her to be our enemy"
"But what is her duty?" the Aircraft Carrier asked almost rhetorically but Queen Elizabeth still replied with a shake of her head.
"I know not of it"
David turned towards Prince of Wales, giving the Battleship a tired look. "You have a clue?"
"No, sir. None of the reports show anything about it"
He sighed, slumping down onto the couch with his head resting on its backrest. "I just hope it's nothing drastic because at this point hoping is the only thing we can do"
"I saw..." Hornet began reluctantly and in an instant she had everyone's gazes settled on her. "...Her ship crest... there's something written on it"
Words written on a ship's crest usually meant the motto of the ship itself, it's representing her crew's wishes or a factor of identity. It could be translated as the ship's fixed and bounded preservation, one that was close to her duty.
"What is it?"
"Caelum Est Spe"
TBC
So technically this update is faster than before even though the count is just some mere days lol but hey I kept my promise!
Lot of you guys keep reminding and cheering me to improve my grammar and boy I couldn't ask for something better from my dear readers (probably) and I really really appreciate it when you guys point out where I do wrong the most amidst the many, really I appreciate it so much I can't say enough of gratitude. One thing I want to say is that, English is hard, so please don't judge or think bad of me when I made mistakes in the future.
That little life advice? yeah I take it, I am know working on my big bro's workshop, though saying 'working' is a bit of overstatement you can say I'm learning rather. But yeah, just saying I have little less time to write stuff with me usually doing around 200 words per day. I'm planning to enter college next year, I'm going to take English as one of my courses, have to take a formal and deeper lesson you know?
So anyway, as always, a little bit of spoilers to compensate my terrible update schedules.
-UNSC Enterprise will not be giving some tech upgrade to AL ships, main reason is to upgrade a ship especially to that much of an extent means you have to pull her whole electronics out and replace them, too long time.
-I don't plan to excessively put UNSC ships into the story because it will ruin the atmosphere than anything, frankly speaking.
-The story follows the show but I alter some things, like how Crimson Axis and Azur Lane had once united but seceded later on.
-I chose Epoch-class because I feel like it's the most balanced Carrier in Halo universe, unlike the Supercarrier or a normal Carrier, an Epoch can be used as jack of all trades. Actually there is a reason why I take her, a reason for the future I think you guys will like.
Most of you guys ask sensitive questions so for the sake of the story I must refuse to answer them, I'll try to reply whatever question you guys send my way but curiosity is inevitable and it's not always end well, so I'm sorry it's for the best.
And yes, it's a reference to Ace Combat 4, I'm a huge of fan of the series and as the story progress you may find more AC references.
So anyway, that should be all. I'll see you guys in the next update and as always please leave review, I won't mind it so don't be shy okay?See you guys later.
Cipher032 out!