Hello everyone. After the long absence I'm back again with a new story. A crossover between Gundam Char's Counterattack and a mobile game that just got it's 3rd JP anniversary today: Azur Lane.
FYI, in my story, the CCA plot ends differently from the movie or manga or novel version. What did I change? You will find out when you read it.
Enjoy.
Beta by Vandenbz
Disclaimer: Gundam series and Azur Lane belong to their respective owners.
Chapter 1 – Missing In Action
Universal Century 0093...
The final battle between the Earth Federation Special Forces task force of Londo Bell and Neo Zeon was about to reach its climax.
Neo Zeon, a newly newborn Axis Zeon, declared the war against the Earth Federation after a man named Char Aznable –who went missing after the Gryps Conflict- revealed himself to the public as the new Zeon leader. The man had decided that in order for humanity to evolve into the beings known as Newtypes, they needed to migrate into space to achieve it. However, his plan involved using the old Zeon asteroid base, Axis, being dropped on Earth to cause an eternal nuclear winter, eventually forcing all of its inhabitants to migrate to space in an effort to avoid annihilation.
In response to this threat, the Earth Federation dispatched the Londo Bell unit, a special task force composed of mostly former members of AEUG (Anti Earth Union Group) and Karaba resistance fighters. Both groups had fought against the Titans, an elite unit of the Earth Federation Forces known for their brutality and cruel methods that had gone rogue, in what later became known as the Gryps Conflict. This unit was led by Bright Noa and Amuro Ray, the veterans who had fought the Principality of Zeon's forces ever since the One Year War, now over 14 years ago.
Despite facing multiple enemy ace pilots, numerous psycommu custom Mobile Suits, and Neo Zeon having a powerful assault Mobile Armor, the Alpha Azieru on their side, Londo Bell successfully carried out their attack and set off a massive detonation within the asteroid base meant to be used as a giant meteor upon the Earth. However, their objective was far from complete.
Because Axis had only been split into two pieces, one of which was still heading towards Earth and Londo Bell had no more nuclear warheads left to use...
...
Not too far from where Axis' other half was descending, a white Mobile Suit, the RX-93 Nu Gundam drifted in silence while surrounded by the debris of the asteroid and destroyed Mobile Suit parts. In the Nu's right hand was a red ball-shaped escape pod that was once a part of the MSN-04 Sazabi after their fierce duel which ended with the Gundam's victory.
Inside the Nu Gundam's cockpit was a man in his late twenties. He had short, wavy brown hair, brown eyes, and was clad in a white pilot suit without the helmet.
This man was Amuro Ray, the White Devil of the Earth Federation who had brought victory to Earth's forces against the Principality of Zeon during the One Year War using the powerful prototype Mobile Suit, the RX-78-02 Gundam.
Amuro felt a chill run down his spine at the sight of Axis falling towards Earth. After all that planning, their plan had ended in failure...
The Gundam pilot's face hardened again when he heard a voice emerge from his intercom as the Nu Gundam's head turned to the escape pod in its hand. A small window which showed the face of the Sazabi's pilot appeared on the panoramic screen.
Said pilot was a man in his early thirties. He had short, slicked back blond hair, blue eyes and wore an orange pilot suit. Like Amuro, he also didn't have his helmet on.
This man was Char Aznable, the infamous Red Comet of Zeon, infamously known for his skills in Mobile Suit combat and his red ace custom Mobile Suits as his nickname suggested.
"You only delayed the inevitable, Amuro." Char told his adversary. "This is the Judgment Day for Earth. Why can't you see that?"
"And what gives you any right to play god, Char!?" Amuro asked back with a frown and looked back at Axis. "It's just an oversized boulder! My Gundam can push it away!"
If the White Devil bothered to pay attention to the face of the Red Comet right now, the latter looked mildly shocked by his bold statement, almost as if he wanted to say something along the lines of 'you're insane.'
"You're out of your mind..."
Amuro however paid no heed to Char's words and responded in defiance. "We will see about that."
"Commander!"
Just before he could move his Gundam, another voice called him from the comm. On the cockpit's radar, three green dots –identifying the newcomers as friendly units- appeared from behind his unit. The Nu Gundam turned around to see three RGM-89 Jegan Mobile Suits approaching. One of them had beam cannons -one on each shoulder- and an armored waist with missile pods. All of them were painted in dark navy blue and had yellow visors instead of blue which marked their status as custom units.
Three windows, showing the identities of the Jegan pilots, appeared on Amuro's screen. While their faces were obscured by their helmets' visors, Amuro knew who these pilots were.
They were the Tri-Stars team. A team consisted of three ace pilots: Nigel Garret, Daryl McGuiness, and Watts Stepney who specialized in spec-ops missions.
"Commander. Captain Bright told us to return to Ra-Cailum immediately to discuss our next move." The Jegan piloted by Nigel, spoke first.
Amuro shook his head. "There's not much time left. Axis will have fallen past the point of no return by the time we're done."
"Then what should we do, sir?" asked another Jegan, piloted by Daryl. "We're out of nukes and I doubt detonating our Mobile Suit reactors will be enough to blow it up."
"Not like anyone would be crazy enough to pull that off..." added Watts.
The White Devil looked at the Sazabi's escape pod in his Gundam's hand. In Amuro's mind, he really wanted to end the life of this megalomaniac. He understood his rival's intention to save the Earth, but what was the point if the planet itself became uninhabitable in the end? And billions of innocent lives that would be dead in the process –even if said lives included the corrupted Federation officials- wouldn't be worth it.
The Nu Gundam handed the red escape pod to the Jegan in the middle. Amuro then spoke again.
"Here. Take Char to the Ra-Cailum and tell Bright to call for a ceasefire with Zeon forces."
"Wait! Char as in CHAR AZNABLE?!" The pilot of the Jegan with the beam cannons, Watts, exclaimed and pumped up his fist. "Oh yeah! I knew you could kick his ass, Commander Ray!"
The Red Comet could only scoff at the childish attitude of the Federation pilot inside his escape pod. And this person was supposed to be part of a spec-ops unit?
Nigel stared at the red escape pod for a moment before letting out a sigh. "So this is the infamous Red Comet himself, huh? Alright commander, we'll do it."
The Jegan commander held the pod close to its chest and looked back at the Nu Gundam. "But what will you do?"
"I'm going to push that stupid rock away from Earth!"
Amuro's answer immediately earned him a trio of gasps from the Federation pilots. They all looked at the white Gundam as if their commander had grown a second head. The Axis asteriod was already entering the Earth's atmosphere and being pulled in by its gravity. No Mobile Suit would ever to survive the heat and the pressure, let alone pushing it away.
"What!? Commander, that's insane! It's nothing more than suicide!" Watts exclaimed.
But his protest fell on deaf ears as Amuro chose to ignore him and turned around. At full speed, Nu Gundam boosted towards Axis. The two Jegans immediately moved to pursue Nu Gundam in order to stop its pilot from dying needlessly. However, Nigel stopped them first.
"Daryl! Watts!" Both pilots turned their Mobile Suits around to face Nigel. "We've been given our orders to return with the POW to the ship."
"But Nigel..!"
"I'm sure Commander Ray has a plan." Nigel told Daryl from his cockpit as he watched the blue flare of the Nu Gundam's thruster became smaller. "He's not a person who'll throw away his life so recklessly."
"...And how are you so sure about that, Federation pilot?"
Nigel was mildly surprised to hear from Char and fell silent for a moment. Truth be told, he was also unsure if his commander could make it out alive in a situation like this. It was nothing more than a gut feeling after witnessing how Amuro cheated death more than once on their missions.
And hopefully, this wouldn't be his last...
"I don't remember asking you, Red Comet. But if you want to know the answer: I don't. Call it a hunch or something like your Newtype thingy..." He answered.
"I see..."
Not in the mood to engage in any further conversation with the enemy, Nigel let out another sigh and switched his comm line to a secured frequency so only his team could communicate with each other. The leader Jegan then waved its hand, motioning for its teammates to follow it.
The trip back to the Ra-Cailum was an intense one as the battle continued between the two clashing forces. Nigel's Jegan kept the escape pod clasped tight to its chest while Daryl's and Watt's covered his sides, shooting down any incoming mono-eyed Zeon units that came close.
Two Geara Doga-class Mobile Suits emerged from behind one of the asteroid fragments and opened fire. Being the one who was carrying the POW, Nigel was quick to raise his shield to block the beam shots. Fortunately before Nigel could sustain any damage, Daryl's Jegan slid in front of him and made short work of the enemy units.
Another group of three Geara Dogas, one possessing an antenna on its forehead, appeared from behind. All three Mobile Suits then aimed their shields and fired their sturm faust rocket launchers. While powerful enough to destroy even a warship, the projectiles were easily dodged by the Jegans due to the lack of homing capability.
The Jegans countered back by firing their missile shields. While smaller and less powerful, the small missiles had guidance systems installed and they were aimed at the Geara Dogas' munition racks. The explosions threw the three Mobile Suits off balance, allowing the Tri-Stars to finish them off with their beam rifles.
"Guys, look out!" Daryl warned from his cockpit as a small red dot marked as unknown approached them quickly. "I'm picking something up here and it's not one of those Zaku look-alikes."
The three Jegans turned to face the oncoming threat. Before them a familiar Newtype-use Zeon Mobile Suit, the Jagd Doga, was coming at them. Like the original Jagd Doga, this one also possessed six remote weapon pods known as funnels, three on each shoulder. However, instead of being outfitted with a beam rifle and beam cannon shield, this one wielded a beam machinegun and standard shield similar to the Geara Doga and had a green color scheme.
"Son of a bitch! A funnel user!" cursed Watts, "How come we don't have more Newtype pilots in our ranks!?"
Nigel however was the only one who kept his calm demeanor as he took out his beam saber and held it like a throwing knife. "I'll handle this one..."
Before both Daryl and Watts could register what he meant, Nigel threw the beam saber in a spinning motion at the Jagd Doga. The enemy pilot saw this and took out his beam saber to knock away the incoming death copter while deploying his unit's funnels. However, he didn't expect the Jegan to fire its beam rifle at the spinning beam saber.
The result? The beam shots scattered into thin beam waves. While they were too weak to do any damage to a Mobile Suit, they were enough to cause a control malfunction on the funnels and destroyed them.
"W-What!?" The Jagd Doga pilot was caught off guard and didn't even have time to react before he met his demise as another beam shot pierced his Mobile Suit's chest.
From inside their cockpits, both Daryl and Watts were at a loss for words. Their mouths hung open slightly at how Nigel had just 'no-sold' a psycommu Mobile Suit, a type of enemy which inspired fear in even the Federation's veteran pilots.
With no more hostiles detected on their radar, the team continued on their journey. A few minutes later, the team finally reached their destination as they could see Londo Bell's flagship from inside their cockpits, the Ra-Cailum.
"Hmm... somehow I got a feeling you'll be treated more like a guest rather than a POW in our ship..." Nigel murmured as he looked at the Sazabi's escape pod and then sped up his Mobile Suit, followed by his teammates.
...
With Amuro
The Nu Gundam's thrusters burned like no tomorrow as Axis kept falling. Its white armor plates started glowing red from the friction with the atmosphere as the Gundam dove past the asteroid before turning around. Now facing the rocky surface of Axis, the white Mobile Suit ejected its beam sabers –one on the back and one from the forearm- letting them be consumed by the heat of reentry and then emptied out all of its vulcan cannon ammunition in order to prevent internal heat buildup that might cause explosions.
Inside the cockpit, Amuro wiped off the sweat on his forehead before focusing his attention back to Axis. Despite the heat, the Gundam pilot didn't show any sign of fear or worry for his own safety. All that remained was a look of determination, one that vowed to save the Earth even at the cost of his own life.
"Nu Gundam! Let's do this!"
The white Mobile Suit then raised both its hands forward and began pressing against the rocky surface, pushing it. Its thruster output increased as the blue flare became longer. However the giant asteroid didn't show any sign of slowing down, instead the Nu Gundam was slowly getting pushed back.
Blaring red warning signs filled the entire panoramic screen and klaxons blared, but they didn't distract Amuro in the slightest. Gritting his teeth, the White Devil continued his mission.
"Urrrgh...! No... not yet...! Come on...!"
Small explosions began to occur on the Nu Gundam's frame, especially on the left calf and the right corner of the backpack which made it lose some of its thruster power.
"Kuh! I know you can still do better than this!"
More of Nu Gundam's armor began chipping away from the heat friction with the atmosphere. Beneath the chipped armor layer, a strange layer of glowing green components was revealed inside. From it, a yellowish green aura-like energy radiated out and swirled around the Nu Gundam's frame.
The psycoframe...
"I didn't... build you... Just for SHOW!"
Between his breaths, with all his remaining strength, Amuro pushed the controls further. At the same time, as if the machine was responding to its human partner's emotions, the psycoframe was suddenly overloaded with immense power. A burst of psycowave energy then exploded from the leg boosters, skirt armor, chest vents, and shoulder armor thrusters.
Like a miracle that happened only in fairy tales, the psycowave energy began to form a butterfly shape on the Nu Gundam's back before the 'wings' enveloped the asteroid whole. This time, Axis actually slowed down! By the time the psycowave encased all of Axis in its field which would later be known as a psycofield, the asteroid stopped moving, suspended in the sky before it slowly pulled itself away from Earth's orbit...
But the psycofield didn't just stop there. The aurora-like energy kept radiating as it extended all the way to where the other battles were taking place. When the psycofield touched a Geara Doga, the Mobile Suit suddenly twitched before it stopped moving, as if its main reactor had been deactivated from the inside.
A confused Jegan pilot then saw this as his chance for an easy kill, at least until the psycofield also affected his Mobile Suit as well.
It wasn't just those two Mobile Suits, however. The psycofield kept spreading throughout the battlefield area, rendering any Mobile Suit it touched immobile. Soon after, all Mobile Suits from both sides had stopped working as the greenish yellow trail of psycowave energy surged past them, creating a visage of a rainbow in space.
Awed and amazed by the beautiful yet unnatural phenomenon, some pilots even started getting out of their Mobile Suits, despite the fact that they were just a few meters from their adversaries. And yet when the strange green energy wave touched their Mobile Suits, something inside them felt a warmth they hadn't felt in a long time...
A warmth like a mother's embrace along with a voice that told them there was no need to fight anymore...
A few moments later, both the flagships of Londo Bell and Neo Zeon, the Ra-Cailum and Rewloola fired their flares, signaling that the battle was finally over.
Back inside the now busted Nu Gundam, Amuro was breathing hard. The psycoframe had taken a toll on his body and mind worse than he thought. He could still hear the warning sirens, alerting him to the power failure as Nu Gundam started falling, pulled down by the planet's gravity, but he was too exhausted to even lift a finger.
Was this how he would die? Free-falling to his death inside his Mobile Suit? Amuro wished there was a better way for him to go, but this was the fruit of his recklessness.
"Lalah... perhaps it's really my time now..."
With a smile, Amuro closed his eyes, ready to accept his final moments before darkness finally overcame him...
...
Universal Century 0093, the final confrontation between the Earth Federation Forces and Neo Zeon ended with a phenomenon which would be later known as the Axis Shock. After the battle, an armistice between the Federation and Neo Zeon was signed. As a part of their peace treaty, Neo Zeon had to hand over the perpetrators to be tried.
One of them was obviously the Red Comet himself, Char Aznable. However, due to the growing concern over the reactions from the colony citizens who still viewed him as a revolutionary figure, the trial wasn't publicized on mass media. This led many individuals and experts to come up with many assumptions and conspiracy theories on whether Char Aznable had been sentenced to death or not.
In the end, one could only take a wild guess as to what happened to a man named Casval Rem Deikun, the son of Zeon Sum Deikun. Not even the Londo Bell Captain, Bright Noa...
The Nu Gundam pilot, Amuro Ray, had been declared as MIA or missing in action since the recovery team which had been sent to the Axis couldn't find any remains of the Mobile Suit nor could they find the pilot's body. This news brought grief, especially to the people who were close to him: namely the Kobayashi and Noa families which had close ties to Amuro ever since the One Year War.
A month later, a memorial park and a life-sized human statue dedicated to the White Devil was created to honor his deeds as the Hero of the Federation in Canada, specifically in the town where Amuro Ray was born...
But what the Universal Century didn't know was that this wasn't the end of the White Devil's story yet...
It was just a new beginning...
.
.
.
No matter wherever you are... War will never change...
In this world, similar to Earth, mankind found itself fighting for survival against a race of mysterious beings called the "Sirens."
An alien force of unknown origin whose technology and weapons far surpassed the limits of Earth's forces. When they suddenly appeared in the seas throughout the world, the Sirens launched a massive attack that reduced mankind's population by 90% to almost near extinction.
Despite the one-sided slaughter thanks to their technological advantage, the Sirens actually gave mankind a 'chance' to fight them back on equal grounds. And thus, they gave humans a mysterious gift which would be known as the Mental Cube.
In the face of annihilation, a divided humanity finally stood in complete solidarity for the first time. Using the power of these mysterious cubes, the humans conducted many experimental projects on how to properly utilize them. After many attempts ended in failure, they finally discovered a way to beat the Sirens back.
The Shipgirl or KANSEN...
Taking the form of female humans, these girls weren't ordinary humans as they bore the essence of their warship forms. They were physically stronger, carrying warship rigging which could be converted into the real size ships and packed artillery levels of firepower in human size.
In order to face this global threat, four nations: The Eagle Union, Royal Navy, Sakura Empire, and the Ironblood then formed an international alliance to combat the Sirens throughout the world. Soon after this organization was formed, countries with small naval power joined under their banner either to seek protection or to improve their naval warfare against the Sirens as well.
The Azur Lane...
With the combined might of the Shipgirls, the Azur Lane secured their first victory in open naval warfare against the Sirens. Slowly but surely, mankind with the help of the Shipgirls started to reclaim their lost seas...
But it wasn't without a heavy price because the humans, who were part of the Azur Lane forces, including the shipgirls' commander, had perished in the flames of war. Without the commander to keep the different factions united and lead them, the organization was left in care of the shipgirls.
And as if the situation couldn't get any worse, one day it happened...
Different ideals amongst the members of Azur Lane divided them into two sides. Both Ironblood and the Sakura Empire believed that in order to win this war, they also needed to embrace the Siren technology and incorporate it into the Shipgirls while the Eagle Union and Royal Navy were strongly against it, fearing it would be too dangerous and corrupt the Shipgirls.
These two clashing ideals caused both the Sakura Empire and Ironblood to break away from the Azur Lane and form their new faction.
The Crimson Axis...
Initially, both parties didn't mind each other's presence as long as they didn't get in each other's way. However, things began to heat up between the two factions when Crimson Axis began invading smaller, neutral countries which didn't want to take any part in the war which Azur Lane saw as a violation of their rights.
And thus, a three-way conflict was born from two clashing ideals and one common enemy.
...
Azur Lane Base – Eagle Union Dormitory
It was the nighttime at the Azur Lane base where most Shipgirls and various personnel were already in their dorms. The air raid led by the Sakura Empire's 1st Carrier Division, Akagi and Kaga, although it was stopped by the Union's carrier, Enterprise, had dealt a lot of damage to the base.
Some shipgirls were also damaged from the attack. Fortunately, none of them suffered fatal injuries. However, most of their riggings, which were in their warship forms prior to the attack, had been badly damaged to the point that they were beyond repair. The lack of proper repair ships and facilities only made it worse. As the result, some shipgirls had no choice but to allow their riggings to be scuttled.
Inside one of the rooms at the Eagle Union dorm was a Union shipgirl in her bed, trying to sleep. She had long silver hair, purple eyes, and wore a sleeveless white shirt and a short black skirt.
Her name? The CV-6 USS Enterprise.
Her room didn't have anything fancy, consisting of simple wooden furniture and bookshelf that contained a collection of naval strategy books and medals. Her peaked cap, tie and coat dangled on the hanger near the wardrobe while her bow was placed under the window. Empty ration cans were scattered across her desk, implying she didn't have her dinner at the dining area.
The silver-haired carrier seemed to have trouble sleeping as she kept moving around in her bed uncomfortably. No matter how long she tried to close her eyes, she just couldn't. Her body was telling her to rest, but her mind refused to comply. She felt that she should be out there on patrol, ensuring the base's safety. After the attack, the base was even more vulnerable as most shipgirls were out of commission.
"Ugh..." distressed, Enterprise slowly got out of her bed and shook her head to fix her messy hair. Maybe a glass of warm water would help.
The sound of footsteps silently echoed throughout the hallway as Enterprise had to make sure that she wouldn't disturb anyone who was asleep. The nearest water dispenser was located at the corner next to the staircase so she had to walk a bit.
Enterprise suddenly shivered. While the base was located in a sub-tropical region, it could become quite cold at night.
"Should've worn my coat..." She muttered.
After filling her cup with a mix of cold and hot water, Enterprise drank it in a single go. A wet and warm sensation soothed her dry throat all the way down, giving the carrier a more relaxed outlook as she threw the empty paper cup into the nearby trash can.
But just as she was about to walk back into her room, something caught her attention from outside.
Curiosity got better of her. Instead of returning to her room, the humanoid carrier went to the balcony where she could see a faint light coming from outside. And what she found there was something she never expected to see.
It was an aurora, a natural phenomenon that only happened in the northernmost area of the world. Part of the sky was filled with yellowish-green sparkling lights flowing like a river. The last time she saw it was in the Northern Parliament when the light cruiser Avrora invited the Azur Lane members with her as the representative of the Eagle Union, along with Hornet, and...
"Yorktown..." Enterprise's head dropped slightly, feeling a bit somber when she mentioned that name but then shook her head.
'No! I must not dwell on the past!' She mentally told herself before she looked up again. This wasn't the time for that. As beautiful as the aurora was, out of all places, how and why could it appear here?
Before Enterprise could think of any possible answer, the carrier spotted something like a shooting star coming out of the aurora. As it fell from the sky, the aurora slowly disappeared and the sky was once again filled with stars.
The carrier's eyes went wide when she realized that the falling star was heading fast towards the forest on the far side of the island, and...
*KA-BOOOOMM!*
A loud explosion, followed with a quake shook the entire island and Enterprise had to shield her eyes from the explosion. When it finally died down, the carrier leaned forward, looking at the location where the star had fallen.
Down below, the other buildings turned on their lights again and many shipgirls came out in their sleepwear, ranging from pajamas to nightgowns. Most appeared to be on alert while a few still looked sleepy.
Enterprise immediately ran back to her room and grabbed her peaked cap, coat, and her bow. While her rigging wasn't fully fixed yet, at least she still could use her bow for self-defense.
Heavy footsteps echoed throughout the corridor as the carrier made her way outside. When Enterprise passed the last door at the corner, it opened and another shipgirl came out running, following the carrier.
The girl had a long blonde hair with her left side tied into a ponytail and red eyes. She wore a white cape over her blue and white shirt, a pair of black fingerless gloves, a black skirt with a red outline, a pair of USA flag themed socks and white sneakers.
This girl was the USS Cleveland, the light cruiser of Cleveland Class.
"Enterprise! What's going on?" Cleveland asked as she trailed behind Enterprise, "That was an earthquake, wasn't it?"
"A meteor hit the far side of the island." Enterprise replied, "I have to check if it's dangerous or not."
"Then I'm going with you." replied Cleveland. "You could use an extra hand."
As the two shipgirls went outside to investigate the meteor site, two more shipgirls in their pajamas walked out of the room beside Cleveland's. Compared to both Enterprise and Cleveland, they appeared to be a lot younger in appearance.
The first one had light purple medium hair and blue eyes while the other had long fluffy white hair tied into twintails, red eyes and wore a pair of fake rabbit ears.
They were the destroyers from J-Class and Benson class: HMS Javelin and USS Laffey.
"Hmmm... so noisy..." Javelin muttered. The destroyer then rubbed her eyes and looked at the direction where Enterprise and Cleveland had gone to. "Why is everyone getting so worked up at this hour?"
"Laffey... couldn't sleep at all..." In mere seconds, Laffey dropped her head and closed her eyes and...
"Zzzz..."
*THUD!*
"Hya!?"
…fell to the floor, which made Javelin shriek in surprise. The Royal destroyer gave her friend and roommate a worried look before Javelin kneeled and gently shook her shoulder to wake her up.
"Wake up, Laffey. You can't sleep on the floor like this."
"Zzz..." Unfortunately the bunny girl didn't respond and kept snoring. After trying to wake Laffey up several times, Javelin finally gave up and sighed.
"Haaa... I guess I have to carry you back inside..."
The destroyer then shifted Laffey –still snoring- into a sitting position before pulling her back. However, much to her surprise, Javelin found herself struggling to pull Laffey back inside.
"Hnngggh...! S-since when are you this heavy!?"
...
With Enterprise and Cleveland
Enterprise, Cleveland and two additional Royal Navy shipgirls were carefully navigating their way inside the forest as the darkness and the density of the trees limited their visibility. These Royal shipgirls had been ordered by their highness to investigate the meteor site in an effort to determine whether it could bring any danger to the base. Cleveland then proposed an idea that they should cooperate to make the search easier, something the two Royal ships agreed on.
The first shipgirl was as old, if not slightly older than Cleveland. She had shoulder length hair tied into a braided bun with two front sides and blue eyes, wearing a blue and white long sleeved shirt which showed her navel and a pair of white silk gloves, a blue miniskirt with white outline and black waist area and a pair of white long boots. On top of her head, she wore a ship bridge piece of headwear, but what really caught the eye was the sword scabbard she was carrying.
Her companion had an appearance similar to the first, indicating their relationship as sister ships of their class. However she had shorter brown hair tied into braids and a small ponytail while her shirt had a white and black color scheme. Like her sister, she also carried a sword scabbard like a knight.
They were HMS Renown and Repulse, battlecruisers from the Royal Navy and the pupils of HMS Hood.
"I'm really glad you girls could join us." Cleveland said, looking at the Renown sisters behind them. "With the four of us, we can make this go easier."
"No, the pleasure is ours." replied Renown as she brought her sword to her chest. "Being able to carry out this important mission given by her highness with the best warriors from the Eagle Union is really an honor for a knight of the Royal Navy."
"Oh, I-I see then. Ah-ha-ha..." Cleveland replied with a nervous smile, unsure what to make of the blonde ship's unexpected and overdramatic response.
"You have to forgive my sister, Cleveland. She can be a bit too formal, I think." Repulse giggled as she rested her hands behind her head. "You'll get used to it."
"Sister, you are too laid back." Renown scolded her. "Warriors of the Royal Navy should maintain-"
"Her dignity and elegance wherever she goes. Yeah, I know that." Repulse cut her off and waved her hand dismissively, "But-"
"We're almost there." Enterprise's voice instantly focused everyone's attention to the matter at hand.
As the four finally walked out of the woods, the shipgirls found themselves in a clearing surrounded by the trees. During the day, this place was usually used for outdoor games, picnic or outdoor tea parties held by the Royal Navy on special occasions. However the reason why they came here now was because this was where the meteor Enterprise saw from the balcony had fallen.
"Oh my..."
"By the Queen..."
"Whoa..."
The girls, except Enterprise, gasped in mild shock at what they were seeing now. Right before their eyes was a huge impact crater on the ground, and the nearby trees around it had been blown to shreds. Smoke could be seen rising from the center of the hole.
Cleveland then noticed Enterprise stepping forward first to get a closer look. "Enterprise?"
"I'm going to check it out." She answered and glanced behind her. "Are you coming?"
"Wait! How do we know if it's safe for us to approach it!?" asked the Union light cruiser. Much to her chagrin, the carrier ignored her question completely and jumped inside.
With a sigh, Cleveland looked at Renown and Repulse who gave affirming nods, knowing what to do as they followed her. Enterprise used her left hand to slow her slide as she made her way down to the bottom. Once she landed, the carrier dusted off her coat and bow.
But when Enterprise turned to the object in the middle of the crater, for the first time the carrier felt speechless as she gasped. Her purple eyes widened and her mouth hung open in utter disbelief.
"W-what on earth..." She stuttered, finding herself at a loss for words at the sight before her. "...Is that thing?"
What the carrier thought to be a meteorite had turned out to be a humanoid machine in the middle of the crater. It had a white head with two stacked v-shaped yellow antennas under the black forehead with a hole on each side, a pair of green 'eyes', a red chin, a black and white body with two yellow 'vents' on its chest, red highlights on the stomach and waist areas, topped off by white shoulders, arms, and legs with black on its calves and feet.
The machine wasn't in good condition either. It was badly damaged as Enterprise could see scorch marks on its chipped armor frame. It was almost like the machine had gone through one hell of a battle.
While she wasn't a tech geek, Enterprise highly doubted that the Ironblood could make something like this, for one it lacked any of the insignia that they were so proud of and the white and black color didn't really go well with their preferred crimson and black.
The Sakura Empire? That mere thought even made the carrier shake her head.
'But then... Where did it come from? And more importantly: What is this..?'
"Yo Enterprise!" Cleveland's voice snapped her back from her thoughts as the carrier turned to the light cruiser who just had arrived with two Royal battlecruisers behind.
Needless to say, their reactions were more or less similar at what they were seeing in front of them.
"What did you- WHOA! What is that!?"
"My goodness! What in the queen's name is that?"
"Wow! That's certainly not something you'd see every day!"
"That's the meteor." Enterprise answered and narrowed her eyes. "Or at least what we thought it to be."
The three shipgirls took their time analyzing the machine in front of them for a moment until Cleveland spoke first.
"But... who built this? And how did it fall from the sky?" The light cruiser turned to Enterprise.
"That's what we shall find out." replied the carrier as she walked forward. "Be careful. For one, we still don't know if it still can move or not."
The three shipgirls nodded and followed Enterprise with caution as they approached the metal giant which they would learn its name as 'Mobile Suit'. Fortunately much to their relief, by the time they were just a few feet away from its legs, the Mobile Suit still didn't show any response.
Curiosity then got the better of Cleveland. The light cruiser crept closer and touched the Mobile Suit's foot first and rubbed her hand up and down the metal.
"Wow... I wonder what this thing is made of..." said Cleveland, amazed. "It doesn't feel like the steel we're familiar with."
Meanwhile, Enterprise climbed up the left leg and then looked at the red area under the Mobile Suit's chest. For some reason, the carrier felt that it looked like some kind of hatch where a person could fit inside. Like the cockpit for her fighter and bomber planes, except those were unmanned.
'Could it be… that someone is piloting this thing!?'
Carefully, the silver-haired woman moved to the chest area, something which Cleveland and the Renown sisters noticed.
"Hey, wait for us."
The carrier, light cruiser, and battlecruiser duo now found themselves encircling the red hatch on the Mobile Suit's body with Cleveland trying to open it but to no avail. Having been informed of what the red hatch could be by Enterprise, Cleveland -confident in her strength- offered to open it herself.
And much to her distress the light cruiser now was sitting, panting from exhaustion.
"Urrrgh... (pant) it's... (pant) heavier than... (pant) I thought... (pant)" Cleveland said between breaths.
"You did as best you could, Cleveland." Enterprise reassured as she patted her shoulder before turning to the Royal shipgirls. "Perhaps there's another way to open it? Like a switch or something?"
"I'm afraid I haven't seen anything like that, ma'am." Renown then noticed Repulse's thoughtful expression, "Sister? You know something?"
"I... think I saw this button on its feet before coming up here." answered Repulse. "It says 'For Authorized Personnel Only'."
"WHAT!?" Cleveland suddenly stood up, surprising Enterprise, and pointed her finger at Repulse, upset. "And you tell us this now!? Ugh! I can't believe you, Repulse..."
"Ehehe.. Sorry." The battlecruiser scratched the back of her head with a slightly mischievous look.
After the little squabble they had, Repulse then jumped off and walked over to verify Repulse's words. Sure enough, on the Mobile Suit's right foot was a circular-shaped button as big as her hand. However, due to its black color which blended in with the foot, she was the only one who took notice of it.
A low hissing sound followed by pressurized air came out from the two yellow vents, surprising Enterprise, Cleveland, and Renown. After it was over, the red hatch then produced a sound like a lock opening and was raised slightly. Cleveland crouched down and tried to lift it open again, and this time it felt almost weightless.
"It's open." She said to Enterprise who nodded back. "Now time to reveal the truth... hi-yah!"
The Union cruiser then fully lifted open the hatch, allowing the three to see what was inside. And what the shipgirls found inside shocked them to their cores (or cubes) as they could only stare at the lone occupant of the cockpit, eyes wide and mouths open.
Inside the cockpit was a human, a male human who look like in thirties and he was unconscious. He wore a full body white suit they had never seen before but it appeared to be some kind of pilot suit.
A small part inside the girls, safe for Enterprise, suddenly sparked with mix of curiosity and nervousness for various reasons. Curious because it had been a long time since they ever interacted with men and nervous because the last men they ever interacted with were their commander and high officers from Azur Lane admiralty who were all in their fifties or sixties.
In other words... these shipgirls never had any interaction with young men before and only saw them from books or magazines.
"It's... it's a man." Renown finally broke the silence.
"Yeah..." Cleveland nodded in agreement before noticing Enterprise suddenly went forward inside. "E-Enterprise! What are you doing?"
"Step aside. I'm getting him out there." was Enterprise's reply before she came out, carrying the unconscious man in fireman's carry. "Hrngh! He's a bit heavy..."
But when she turned around, Cleveland's face was inadvertently stroked by the man's brown hair from standing too close with the carrier which caused her to back away a bit.
"We have to bring him back to be treated." The carrier turned to the blonde battlecruiser. "Our dorm is fully occupied. Do you have an empty room at your place?"
Renown nodded back. "Yes, the Royal Mansion has a few empty rooms preserved for the guests from Royal Isle. We can take him there but we must inform Lady Wales first."
"Then we should waste no time." Enterprise then turned to the Union light cruiser who looked a bit dazed. "Cleveland. We're leaving this place now."
"Ah? Oh. Okay, I'm coming." replied the blonde cruiser.
But as Enterprise and Renown jumped off the chest to meet back with Repulse, Cleveland's mind went back to when Enterprise accidentally stroked her face with the man's hair. It was only for a moment, but she could smell the scent of the hair mixed with the sweat.
And it somehow felt nice...?
'Ack! What am I thinking!?' The cruiser immediately shook her head to dismiss any dirty thoughts as she jumped off the Nu Gundam following her friends.
However, Cleveland failed to notice how her cheeks started blushing red as she kept walking...
R&R and I hope you like it and stay safe.
Oh and once again, Happy 3rd Anniversary JP server Azur Lane.