0600 hours. Enterprise's eyes popped open and she sat up. Scrapper, her Rockruff, wagged his tail and gave a quiet "ruff". Corsair, her Rowlet, softly ruffled his feathers and fluttered to her shoulder. She glanced at Belfast who still slumbered on her side, with her Raichu curled up against her belly. Carefully, she stood up and stole out of the house. Once on the porch, she inhaled the fresh air and grinned. Slipping on her sneakers, she stretched for several minutes before taking off at an even pace. Scrapper loped easily beside her, and Corsair launched from her shoulder and flew alongside. As the sun broke over the horizon, Enterprise picked up her pace until she achieved a steady run. She ran as far as she could until her watch chirped the one-hour mark; she turned and began the run back. Upon reaching the house, she paused to catch her breath and then moved into the martial arts warm-up she learned from Ning Hai. While Enterprise didn't care for Tai Chi Chaun, she found the warm-up exercises made for a good cool-down regimen after a hard run. Enterprise was halfway through her cool-down when the door of the house opened.
"Good morning Miss Enterprise!" Belfast sang out softly, descending the steps to where Enterprise stood. "You certainly do stink. Please take a shower before sitting down to breakfast, and please leave your dirty clothes outside the bathroom so I can wash them."
Rolling her eyes and shaking her head, Enterprise snorted. "You really don't know how to be subtle, do you?
"By the way, why are you dressed as a maid? And please tell Sheffield to stop trying to get into the shower with me. I don't need her to help scrub my back."
Belfast bowed deeply, "Apologies miss, Sheffield is merely attempting to carry out her duties as a maid. As for myself, well there has been a change in plan. Colton and I talked last night and since we are already here in Alola, we should go through the island challenges before traveling to another region."
Thinking about this for a moment, Enterprise nodded. "That sounds good to me." Having finished her cool-down, Enterprise kicked off her sneakers and entered the house. She stopped to grab a pair of cutoffs and her favorite t-shirt, a black shirt with a gray cartoon ghost on the front; a gift from Yorktown, her older sister. "Good morning Enterprise!" Sheffield greeted her, walking into the living room. "Would you…"
"Absolutely not Sheffield!" Enterprise snapped, cutting the light cruiser off. "Keep out of my shower.
Sheffield smirked, and inclined her head. "As you wish, miss. But do let me know if you ever need help scrubbing your back. I am more than willing to render assistance." With that she wandered off, leaving Enterprise shaking her head in annoyance.
"What was that all about Enterprise?" Kukui yawned as he entered the kitchen, scratching his neck.
"Sheffield...she's always been lecherous, but ever since she began hanging around some of the Sakura Empire girls, she's always trying to join in a shower. Some of the other ships might like that, but it really doesn't…" Enterprise made a sour face, "float my boat." She exited the kitchen and slipped into the bathroom, still grumbling under her breath. She double-checked the door handle to ensure it was locked, but even a lock didn't deter Sheffield. Enterprise showered hurriedly and dressed as soon as she was dry.
Unicorn, Burnet, and Kukui were all at the table eating breakfast when Enterprise came in. She slid in next to Unicorn who smiled up at her. In the living room, Yuni and the various Pokemon were playing. Belfast brought her a cup of tea and Sheffield laid a plate of food before her. Spearing a piece of melon with a fork, Enterprise gave Belfast a grin, "By the way Belfast, where's your boyfriend?"
Frowning, Belfast shook her head, "I'm not entirely sure what you're implying, Enterprise, nor who you are referring to."
"Oh c'mon Belfast, you and Colton were pretty chummy last night when you came back. Not to mention that you're the one who carried him a plate of food and I noticed you didn't return until much later. Were the two of you snogging, as you Royal Navy girls put it?"
Covering her mouth, Belfast chuckled. "Oh Enterprise, you Eagle Union girls make a huge deal out of everything. I am a maid and serving others is my duty. As I am currently detached from serving the royal ships, you are my responsibility. As you were well cared for, I decided to make sure that Colton got dinner too. As for staying with him, we were merely discussing our plans and whether or not we should travel to the other regions or stay here in Alola for the island challenges. Honestly Enterprise, you're as gossipy as the destroyers."
The opening of the front door saved Enterprise from further embarrassment. "Hello, Professors!" A young male voice called out. A moment later a young man with a Pikachu on his shoulder entered the living room. He was holding hands with a young girl with long green hair.
"Ash! Mallow! It's so good to see you!" Kukui cried, leaping up to hug the two newcomers. "Why didn't you tell me the two of you were coming? Whew, we have quite the full house now. Ash, I'd like to introduce you to my guests. These four young ladies are ships from Azur Lane. This is Enterprise, Unicorn, Sheffield, and Belfast. They've just started their own Pokemon journey. I'm pretty sure Enterprise would appreciate some tips from you. She's got more fire than Wela Volcano and you can bet it won't be long until she's rivaling you as a trainer."
Rubbing the back of his neck, Ash grinned sheepishly. "Sorry professor, we just got in last night and Mallow thought we should drop in on you today. We didn't know you had company or we would have called first." Nodding to the girls, he grinned brightly, "A rival huh? Get in line, I'm sure Gladion and Kiawe are going to want to have a battle with me. But sure, after breakfast, we can do some training out on the beach."
After breakfast, Ash and Enterprise walked down towards the beach with Sheffield following close behind. Enterprise watched Unicorn playing in the sand with Snowdust, Fizz, her Popplio, and Yuni before turning her attention back to Ash. "So what do we do now?" She wondered.
"Now, I'll evaluate your battle skills. We'll start with your Rowlet and then I'll have you switch to your Rockruff. Sheffield, don't hang around in the back come up with Enterprise and send out your Litten. I'll take you both on and then I can give you both an evaluation."
Corsair leaped from Enterprise's shoulder with a hoot and soared into battle. The battle quickly went downhill from there. Try as she might, Enterprise could not catch a break. She tried as many tricks as she could think of. She and Sheffield had tried synchronized attacks, coordinated multi-pronged attacks, even sending in Scraper for a three on two battle, all to no avail. Her triumph over Sheffield yesterday seemed empty and hollow in light of the current battle against Ash. She had almost given up hope when Belfast appeared to announce that lunch was ready. Corsair fluttered to her shoulder and Scrapper collapsed on the ground, panting. Ash walked over to her and handed her an Oran berry. She split it in half and fed it to her Pokemon. Frustration welled up inside her and she scrubbed her arm over her eyes and growled.
"You have a lot of potential Enterprise, let's go eat and I'll give you my evaluation." Ash smiled and held a hand out to her.
Taking his hand, she pulled herself to her feet. "Yeah, I think I already know. I'm a terrible trainer." She snorted bitterly.
Ash laughed and shook his head, "I don't think so. You're good, I mean really good. Honestly, there is nothing for me to teach you. You already know the important aspects of battling, all you need to learn are the technical details. C'mon."
Confused, Enterprise followed Ash back to the porch where a picnic lunch had been laid out. Ash sat beside Mallow and Enterprise sat down beside Unicorn. The little carrier beamed up at her. "You were great out there Enterprise! Yuni and I had a lot of fun watching you battle."
"But Ash swabbed the deck with me," Enterprise groused, feeling slightly mollified by Unicorn's words.
Mallow laughed, "Of course he did Enterprise, he's champion level and you're a beginner. The purpose of the battle wasn't for you to win, it was so Ash could see your skill level."
Helping himself to a sandwich, Ash nodded. "It's true, listen you have an instinct for battle. Most trainers will spend their entire lives trying to develop the skill you possess naturally. That's your greatest strength. Your greatest weakness is that you're reckless. You push yourself and your Pokemon to the breaking point and you don't know when to quit. That doesn't have to be a bad thing, but you need to get to know your Pokemon and yourself better. If I were to ask Belfast, I can guarantee she would tell me you battled Sirens the same way. You're driven and determined to not win but to destroy your opponent. That may work on the battlefield but not in the arena. There is nothing I can teach you because you know how to battle. So I want you to focus on getting to know your Pokemon better and getting to know yourself better. Sheffield isn't determined to battle the way you are, I can train with her but she lacks your drive. Unicorn wants to be a Coordinator so it'll be best for me to leave her training to Colton." He reached out locked eyes with Enterprise and gripped her hand. "You are going to go far Enterprise and you damn well better come and challenge me one day and I expect you to beat me. That's my goal for you, understand?"
A surge of energy pulsed through her, and Enterprise jumped to her feet, gripping his hand, unafraid to meet his piercing gaze. "Oh, you betcha Ash. When we next meet, I'm going to take your place as champion."
"Now will you eat Miss Enterprise?" Belfast wondered, with just a hint of annoyance in her voice. "I'm very happy that you've found yourself a purpose and a goal, but as Ash said you have a bad habit of neglecting yourself, now sit down and eat your lunch!"
Sitting down, Enterprise picked up a sandwich and took a bite. "Yes Belfast," she said meekly, "I promise I'll behave myself."
Belfast smiled, "Good; because otherwise, I'll have Sheffield sit on you and force-feed you!" The look of horror on Enterprise's face caused them all to laugh.
Your greatest weakness is that you're reckless. You push yourself and your Pokemon to the breaking point and you don't know when to quit. Enterprise sat on the beach, tears of frustration streamed down her cheeks. She couldn't get Ash's words out of her head. Was she reckless? Is that why the other ships had kept their distance? Was that why she couldn't get her Pokemon to follow her directions?
"Would you like to talk about it, miss?"
Enterprise started with an oath. "Belfast...you…you startled me.
"Belfast, am I reckless? No, don't bother to answer, I can see it in your eyes. I am reckless aren't I?" When Belfast sat beside her, Enterprise leaned against the maid and was heartened when Belfast put her arm around her.
"Of course you're reckless, miss, but why do you see that as a bad thing? You didn't fully listen to Ash's evaluation of you, did you? Your recklessness wasn't the only thing he addressed. He also addressed your instinct for battle. He also mentioned that with some time, you would learn how not to push yourself to the breaking point."
"Would you have scuttled yourself Belfast?"
Letting out a quiet sigh, Belfast patted her lap. "Lay down Enterprise, and listen carefully." When Enterprise had laid her head in Belfast's lap, the young maid began.
"To answer your question, yes I would have. I told you that day, I would rather join you in death than live life without you. You see Enterprise, I love you. I have loved you ever since that morning when I forced you to eat. Do you recall? I brought you tea and you asked me to join you because you didn't believe you could finish your meal. You have no idea what you did to me that day. You see, a maid lives a very lonely life. I serve Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, my whole existence is wrapped up in serving her. But, as you may not know, there is still a class distinction between the royal ships and the rest of us commoners. Prince of Wales tolerates Cleveland because she is an ally and we need to maintain a working friendship with Eagle Union. Rest assured, were Cleveland a Royal Navy ship, Prince of Wales would never deign to interact with a common ship. And so, a maid is forever relegated to the background. Always there, always serving, and while the royals might thank me for a job well done, they will never recognize me as being an equal. On the other hand, as a member of the royal household, those who do not serve are never fully comfortable around those of us who do. The common ships distance themselves from those in the royal household. So, we are stuck between two worlds. Not royal enough for the royal ships yet too royal for the common ships. But I was raised to serve, the height of my happiness is ensuring those I serve are happy and have all their needs met. I was quite content in my life and then one day, you brought it all crashing down. You smashed through the façade I had erected and you forced me to see how truly lonely and miserable I was. You did the one thing no other ship has ever done. You invited me to sit down with you as an equal and to share food from your plate. No royal ship would ever dare to show such sympathy and connection with a simple servant. Yet you, Enterprise, for all your strength, magnificence, and battle stars, you saw me as just another ship with whom you would serve in battle. In that moment, when you destroyed the barrier between your world and mine, you exposed to me the truth of how miserable I truly was and how much I longed for companionship. This is why I stayed by your side. Did you honestly think Queen Elizabeth could force me to remain by your side, with you being as obstinate as you are? I could have simply told Her Majesty that you were a lost cause and left it up to Eagle Union to deal with you, and inevitably you would have destroyed yourself long before we had a chance to reunite with Iron Blood and Sakura Empire to turn the battle against the Sirens. No, I stayed by your side because I love you Enterprise. It broke my heart to see you suffer the way you were, but you had shut all of us out, and yet I tried to stay within calling distance, should you have ever needed me. So, yes, you are reckless, you are incredibly stubborn, and yet you are so wonderfully kind. You rush in to save others, even if it means surrendering a tactical advantage, even if it means sacrificing yourself. Enterprise, that sort of heart cannot be built into a ship. That sort of tenderness and compassion cannot be taught, it is a part of you. It is that spark of humanity that is in you that you are so determined to snuff out. The circumstances of your birth do not define who you are, but what you do with your life. So, yes, I will indeed stay by your side even if that leads to death. I do not fear death, I fear being parted from you." As she spoke, Belfast gently ran her fingers through Enterprise's long white hair.
"I had no idea that you felt that way Belfast."
"Nor indeed should you have Enterprise. A maid's heart is her own secret and she does not share it lightly, however you needed to hear that. You need to understand that your weaknesses do not lessen who you are. It is in your weakness that you are truly defined as a wonderful person and more so if you learn to turn your weaknesses into strengths. Do you think Unicorn cares if you are reckless? It is that very recklessness that saved her life. Had you been anything other than what you are, Unicorn might not be with us today. So we are very grateful that you are reckless."
"Thanks, Belfast, eventually it may get through this thick head of mine that I do have worth beyond my ability to fight, but I am truly grateful for all your patience with me. Sorry I'm such a blockhead at times."
Touching Enterprise's nose with a delicate finger, Belfast smiled. "What are friends for? If you weren't the stubborn blockhead you are, we probably would not be here right now."
Smiling, Enterprise shook her head. "I wish I could express my feelings to you as eloquently as you do to me. But, I'm really glad you've stuck with me Belfast. I know I don't always show it, but I'm really happy that you forced me to take care of myself when I had given up. And…" Enterprise blushed, "I love you too Belfast, and I promise I'll always be your friend...even if I am a bit stubborn at times."
Returning the smile, Belfast nodded, "I wouldn't have it any other way. Now, let's get inside, it's getting chilly out here."
The next morning, Enterprise was surprised and a bit disappointed that Belfast wasn't asleep at her back. She was even more surprised to find Belfast outside stretching, her Raichu hovering nearby. Beginning her own warm-up routine, Enterprise smirked at Belfast. "Those malasadas a little too tempting for you?"
Returning the smirk, Belfast nodded. "They are true. I so enjoy pastries with raspberry jam.
Silently, the two ships took off at a steady jog, their Pokemon joining in the early morning workout. Neither spoke during the run until they returned to the house. "Alright Enterprise, you are off training today. I am hereby ordering you to take Unicorn down to the beach and play today. Spend time with her and your Pokemon and have fun."
Blinking, Enterprise thought for a moment and then nodded. "Yes ma'am!" She gave Belfast a mock salute.
After breakfast, a delighted Unicorn took Enterprise's hand and together they headed towards the beach. Yuni and Snowdust frolicked in the surf while Enterprise and Unicorn worked to build a sandcastle. It wasn't long before Ash joined in the fun. Enterprise decided that Ash had a very strange way of training Pokemon, and yet it worked. By the end of the day, she felt closer to Scrapper and Corsair and more confident than ever. "Ash, do you think it's possible to go and watch the Melemele Island Kahuna battle?"
Looking up from the mound of sand that he and Unicorn had sculpted into a small mountain, Ash nodded. "Sure, but don't assume that just because you see Hau battle one way, means he'll always battle that way."
Enterprise nodded, "Sure, I understand that. The best-laid battle plans go right out the window upon first contact with the enemy. That's basic naval strategy. However, there is no harm in studying your enemy, just don't assume you know everything about your enemy. Or, in this case your opponent."
Standing and dusting off the sand, Ash smiled at Unicorn. "Why don't you go see if Mallow will play with you, Enterprise and I are going to take a walk." Ash led the way to Iki town and in the center of the town stood a large Pokemon battlefield set on a large stone dais. A battle was already underway and Enterprise quickly identified Hau. She carefully studied him, observing how he commanded his Pokemon, a Decidueye, and his strategy. When the match ended, she followed Ash who freely approached Hau.
"Ash! Long time my friend, how's it going?"
Gripping his friend's hand, Ash nodded. "Pretty alright Hau. Let me introduce you to a student of mine. This is Enterprise, one of the Azur Lane Fleet Girls. She's going to be taking the island challenge soon, be careful with her, she's a beast on the battlefield."
Hau looked her up and down and grinned widely. "A student of yours you say? I'm gonna have to work extra hard if I hope to beat her then." He laughed and shook her hand, "An Azur Lane Fleet Girl, hey? I'll be honest, I never thought we'd see any of you here in Alola, glad to meet you. If you don't mind my asking, what kind of ship?"
Still flushed from Ash's compliment, Enterprise shook Hau's hand. "Nice to meet you too, oh I'm an aircraft carrier."
"Well Enterprise, I'm looking forward to taking you on in battle. Whenever you're ready, go and see my grandfather at the ruins of conflict. If you pass the Island Challenge, then you can come and challenge me here."
During the walk back, Enterprise kept thinking of the battle she had just witnessed. In her mind's eye instead of a battlefield, she saw the ocean. Instead of Hau, she had seen one of her sister ships during a training exercise. The purpose of training exercises wasn't to sink your sister but to improve your strategy and tactics.
"I don't think I've ever known anyone to be so intensely quiet as you Enterprise. Your silence is pretty loud."
Enterprise chuckled, "Sorry Ash, I was thinking about battling Hau. Would it be alright if we do the trials tomorrow?"
"You can take the trials any time you like Enterprise. I think I can hang around a few more days if you want. I just need to check with Mallow."
"I'd like that, Ash!"