Chapter 1: Exordium
For what felt like the dozenth time, MacArthur once more flipped through the pages of the file that was perched on his lap. He didn't have anything else to do on the way towards the Larson Hall anyway since his driver seemed too nervous to even look in his direction, let alone start a conversation. The soft droning of the humvee's engine was the only sound that pierced the silence that had dispersed over the two of them ever since they got in the vehicle. It might have been the difference in rank but Douglas knew what the true reason was.
For it wouldn't be the first time a soldier would be intimidated by his last name and the legacy his Great-grandfather left behind. It certainly didn't help that his father found it necessary to give him the same first name as his great-grandfather.
His gaze rested on a picture within the folder as he remembered why he was here in Annapolis in the first place.
Task Force Azur Lane, an idea from Allied High Command to create a fleet that would focus solely on the Siren invaders and those that sided with them. It seemed like a good idea at first. It would allow them to combine all the countries' forces which would allow for smooth communications and planning.
But no, instead, they insisted that this task force would consist of nothing but Kanzen led by only one officer. A big mistake, in his opinion. Firstly, if this Azur Lane really was supposed to grow into the massive fleet they hoped it would become, one commanding officer was far from enough to lead everything. Any military branch, be it either the Army, Navy or Airforce needed to be a hierarchy of junior and senior officers to maintain order and discipline. Only then would it operate like a well oiled machine.
Secondly, these Kansen…He wasn't a fan of them. For the very simple reason that he didn't trust them. The Iron Bloods, Sardegnans, Sakuran and some of the Iris Orthodoxy Kansen have already declared for the Sirens, who was to say 'their' Kansen won't do the same? Nobody could say for certain that they would forever remain loyal to them, that they would keep fighting for humanity until their destruction. They might look, most of the time, like adorable little girls or stunning looking women but they were not. They were eighty year old warships that got, somehow, revived and given some form of consciousness in the form of a woman's body. They were sturdy enough to survive several hits of large calibre shells and possessed probably enough strength to snap a man in two like a twig.
Yet, High Command found it a fantastic idea to put all of them in one base and only assign one human to order them around… And that wasn't even the worst of it all. Instead of assigning an experienced senior officer to the role, they had let the volunteering Kansen decide on who should lead them.
At least, to their credit, it was something they had taken very seriously, pouring over hundreds of files of potential commanding officers and debating with each other for almost a week's time.
Eventually, they had agreed on Aeron Dampierre: Born in Flanders, Belgium, he and his mother had fled to the Eagle Union four years ago, after the Iron Blood's invasion of the Lowlands. He had then enrolled into the Naval Academy and after barely passing the physical exam, he had gotten accepted.
The now twenty-two year old man had certainly left quite an impression on the Naval Academy. While he had scored rather abysmally in pretty much any form of physical exercise, he had consistently been at the top of his class in every other, more theoretical focussed, course over those three years. He conceded that it was a rather impressive feat. Normally, Dampierre's poor performance in the physical branch of things would be an immediate red flag for Douglas, however, he could give the young man some slack due to his rather unique condition. It took a lot of determination and quite a bit of stubbornness to continue fighting after the horrid event he went through.
No matter how impressive Dampierre's track record was, Douglas still thought that assigning an inexperienced officer to lead what was supposed to become the most important fleet in the fight to defend humanity, was a very bad idea. There was still the issue of the Kansen's unreliableness. He didn't trust them to behave correctly and professionally, let alone follow orders from someone so inexperienced as Dampierre.
He really didn't want to be a pessimist but as things were looking right now, he believed Azur Lane wouldn't be around after the first month of its inception.
"S-Sir, we have arrived at the Larson Hall." The nervous voice of the driver ended MacArthur's reverie. With a brief glance towards him to acknowledge he had heard him, he put the file he had been reading back into the black case that had been resting at his feet the entire ride.
"Thank you for the lift, Sargeant." He said as he exited the car. He chose to not address his driver by name simply because he couldn't remember. He didn't even know if the Sergeant had introduced himself, he doubted it though, given the nervousness that oozed from him. Nor did he really care because he didn't quite like soldiers who got intimidated by something as simple as a last name.
Before he made his way towards his destination, he put his head through the open window to address his driver once more. "Wait here, Sargeant, I should be back soon." He said simply before he turned and made his way towards the Hall.
MacArthur knew that the Larson Hall had been renovated in 2014 but even then, he couldn't help but think it looked rather plain compared to some of the other buildings in the Academy. Monotonous white bricks with the dull grey roof tiles made it look like any other administration building in existence. The one true wonderous aspect of the building was the man it was named after.
As he entered the building he was immediately greeted with a salute by a pair of Warrant Officers, he returned the salute and continued his walk towards his destination without breaking a stride.
The walls of the building were decorated with paintings and other decadent decorations. The Eagle Union flag hung from a decorative pillar somewhere around the middle of the hall he found himself in. The flag of the United Nations right across from it.
MacArthur took the stairs to the first floor, still remembering where the Superintendent's office was from previous visits. As soon as he came to the top of the staircase, an assistant was seated behind a desk on his right. She was sorting, what he assumed to be documents, attentively around, apparently not hearing him approach. He never knew why people would willingly subject themselves to paperwork for he absolutely hated it.
He cleared his throat to catch her attention. A brief flash of annoyance crossed her face as she looked up until it changed into what could only be described as shock. Well, either that or dumbfoundedness, he wasn't quite sure which one applied here.
"I'm here to see Superintendent Buck. I believe he should be notified of my visit, is he available?" He asked simply. He could see the cogs turning in her head as she tried to overcome her surprise.
"Uh, y-yes, sir. He is available at the moment." He had to give her credit, she only stuttered once. A lot better than his driver. "Although I'm not sure if he was notified of your visit, General." She stated as she turned fully towards the computer screen, clicking a few times until she intently studied the screen for a couple of seconds. "It certainly isn't planned in his schedule." She clarified somewhat confusedly.
Before he could retort, the door to the office opened, revealing the Vice Admiral who greeted him with a smile before addressing his assistant. "It's alright, Miss Miller, I was notified pretty late of General MacArthur's visit so I didn't bother to plan it in." He wore a kind smile as he said it and it seemed to work as his assistant visibly relaxed.
"No problem, sir. Should I cancel your appointment at 1600 hours just in case?" She inquired.
"Hmm, do it, just to be safe, ask them if they can see me half an hour later." She merely nodded as she typed away furiously on the keyboard while grabbing the phone.
"Come in, General." Vice Admiral Buck invitingly held the door open. He stepped inside and waited before the Vice Admiral closed the door behind him. "The notification I got wasn't very clear on the reason behind your visit, General." The man asked as he made his way behind his desk. As he took his seat, he motioned Douglas to do the same.
"I'm here to promote one of your students, Vice Admiral." MacArthur stated simply. He was slightly amused as he saw one of his eyebrows raise in surprise.
"Who may this student be? And why exactly are you promoting him?" Came his inquiring question. Deciding to skip the first question for now, Douglas decided to respond with a question of his own.
"Have you heard about the Azur Lane Initiative?" Douglas could see that the Vice Admiral had to repress a groan at the name. It would appear he wasn't the only one who wasn't overly fond of the Kansen. "So you have heard of it?" The Superintendent sighed heavily.
"Yes, I've heard the name floating around between the higher ups a couple of times now. I don't know what it is in greater detail but I do know it involves those Kansen.." He trailed off.
"It indeed does, The Azur Lane Initiative was an idea devised by the High Council. It is supposed to be a Task Force aimed to fight back against the Sirens and the Crimson Axis. Consisting entirely of Kansen units commanded by one single human Commanding Officer." The Vice Admiral looked at him as if he expected more than that explanation.
"Eleven Kansen have volunteered for this and so the High Council has officially declared for the creation of Azur lane." The Vice Admiral looked at him as if he had just sprouted a second head. "I am here to promote one of your students so they can assume the role of Commanding Officer of Azur Lane." The Vice Admiral's eyes widened.
"Is this some sort of delayed April Fools joke?" Douglas couldn't help but let out a chuckle at that question.
"I'm afraid it isn't, Vice Admiral, it's very real." He said as he took out the official papers from the case and presented them. The Vice Admiral went through the papers before he asked a question MacArthur had asked himself too.
"Do they have at least a method to assure those things won't turn on us like the ones from Iron Blood, Sardegna and Sakura?" Douglas briefly wondered just how popular the Kansen were amongst the general populace for it seemed military personnel weren't very trusty of them.
"I do not know." He answered honestly. "If they have some sort of contingency plan, they sure didn't inform me about it." That answer did nothing to lessen the Vice Admiral's wariness at all.
"And they want to put an only recently graduated student in charge of them?" He asked, flabbergasted. Douglas nodded his agreement.
"I know, I know, I had the same reaction." He tried to placate the Vice Admiral. "Apparently, they let the Kansen decide on who they wanted to lead them." Douglas expected a cry of outrage or disbelief, maybe both even, but instead the Superintendent simply shook his head slowly while pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Why didn't they choose an experienced officer?" Buck asked, not necessarily aimed at Douglas himself but he decided to answer anyway.
"I honestly have no idea, I personally believe it is a very bad decision but I'm just carrying out orders." The Vice admiral sighed heavily once more.
"So who is it? Who did they choose?" He asked in apprehension.
"Junior Lieutenant Aeron Dampierre." He answered simply as he forwarded Dampierre's personal file.
"I don't argue that his grades aren't impressive, far from it actually. Well, besides the physical grades that is. He is very amicable even though he prefers to keep to himself for I've rarely seen him fraternize with his fellow cadets. But even despite all that, surely there has to be some senior officer somewhere that would be better suited for something like this?" He finally asked, exasperated. It was clear to Douglas that the Vice Admiral certainly helt Dampierre in high regard but that didn't mean he wasn't right. Throwing a Junior Officer in a commanding role like this was destined to lead to disaster.
"I agree, truly, I do. But orders are orders, I'm afraid." Douglas conceded. The Vice Admiral sighed once more, while pinching the bridge of his nose, before his hand defeatedly fell on his leg.
"Fine." He stood up and went to open the door. "Miss Miller, could you have someone fetch Junior Lieutenant Aeron Dampierre please? Tell them it is really urgent." Douglas could faintly make out the assistant's muffled reply before Buck closed the door again.
After he had taken his seat again behind his desk, he rummaged through the files again for half a minute before he raised his head and addressed Douglas again.
"Do you want something to drink while we wait?" Once more Douglas answered by simply nodding before the Vice Admiral stood up from his seat and made his way towards a cabinet on the right to fetch two glasses and a bottle of whiskey.
While they were waiting, they discussed the young man that would become the leader of Azur Lane. Vice Admiral Buck boasted quite a bit about his student. Douglas learned that the young man was fluent in over half a dozen languages and really liked to read. The Vice Admiral voiced what a waste it was that Dampierre got picked for the role, he reasoned the young cadet would make for an excellent diplomat.
He talked about the young man's eagerness to help out his fellow cadets with courses they struggled with. Apparently, he had set up some extra tutoring courses for those who were willing to attend them. A kind gesture, although Buck revealed that not all cadets thought of it that way. He theorized they believed Aeron considered himself above them and was thus offering his aid to those whom he considered beneath him. A totally false assumption, Buck had assured him that Dampierre had nothing but the best intentions in mind, sometimes people were just short sighted like that.
Douglas had just declined Buck's offer to refill his glass as someone knocked on the door.
"Come in." The Superintendent answered. Douglas himself turned around in his seat to see who it was. It would be very quick if Dampierre had already arrived. The door opened slightly as the assistant poked her head in the room.
"Sir, Junior Lieutenant Aeron Dampierre has just arrived." Both he and Buck had to have made a very surprised face because she explained further. "When you asked me to have someone fetch him, I looked up where he was stationed and asked General MacArthur's driver to pick him up."
"Ah, I see, thank you Miss Miller." The Superintendent thanked his assistant. "You can send him in." She retreated back into the hall before she told Dampierre to enter.
The door opened wide as the young man walked in. Douglas couldn't help himself and did a quick inspection of the younger officer's uniform. Both the uniform and his cap seemed to be well-kept and in pristine condition, just like how it was supposed to be. That was a good beginning.
After he had closed the door he stood at attention before both of them. He was about to open his mouth, no doubt asking his superior why he was here, before his eyes fell on him for the briefest of moments. The briefest flash of disbelief crossed his face before he schooled his features again. Douglas at least conceded that it was a better reaction than the two other individuals he had interacted with beside the Vice Admiral.
"Junior Lieutenant Aeron Dampierre, reporting sir!" He saluted Buck, just like regulations had taught him to do.
"At ease, Junior Lieutenant." His body language relaxed significantly as he spread his legs to assume a wider stance while his shoulders slacked slightly. "Please have a seat." He seemed momentarily confused by that but did so regardless, taking a seat beside Douglass.
"Greetings, Sir!" He then saluted Douglas after he had taken the offered seat. MacArthur couldn't help but smile slightly as he returned the salute.
"The reason why you are here, Junior Lieutenant Dampierre is because of General MacArthur here, he needs to talk to you." Buck gave him an upward nod, indicating that he should take over the conversation and explain what was going on.
Douglas turned slightly to face the young Dampierre. Despite him trying to school his features and remain passive, Douglas could detect the slight curiosity mixed with nervousness from his body language.
"The High Council has agreed on the creation of a dedicated Task Force to battle the Siren threat, in the hopes of turning the tides in this war." Dampierre's eyes were intently focussed on him. "Eleven Kansen have volunteered for this and were tasked with choosing a commanding officer to lead them." Douglas grabbed the contract Aeron was supposed to sign out of the case and offered it to him. Still in a state between disbelief and curiosity, the young officer took the offered document and read it hurriedly as he looked up every so often to watch Douglas. "They chose you." His eyes went wide as he stopped reading.
"Okay." He started softly, as if he was being cautious. Honestly, Douglas couldn't blame him for it. "So I'm getting transferred then, Sir? Who is going to be my senior officer?" He inquired, now looking between both Douglas and the Vice Admiral.
Douglas sighed slightly before he answered. "You will be that senior officer, Junior Lieutenant." His eyes widened even more at that. "You will be in command of the entire base, the volunteering Kansen and any Kansen who might decide to join up at a later date." Dampierre's jaw nearly hit the floor at that revelation.
"Surely this is some kind of…" He started after he had overcome his initial shock. Douglas knew what he was going to say though and cut him off.
"I can assure you, Junior Lieutenant, this is not a joke." He looked at the Vice Admiral sideways before he added, "I am quite tired of people thinking I am lying…" He trailed off.
"I'm sorry, Sir, but you have to see why I would think such a thing, no?" The cadet justified himself. Douglas had to give him credit, he was at least not afraid to stand up for himself, even against his superiors. He looked at the Vice Admiral now for support, however Buck's face remained impassive for now. "I'm sure that there are other, far more experienced officers out there who could easily take that spot." He addressed Douglas once more. MacArthur was a bit surprised at his reaction. Other people would have done anything to be presented with such an opportunity as this, and yet, it seemed like Aeron was refusing.
"I quite agree with that, Junior Lieutenant, but neither myself nor my superiors made this choice." He blinked at him confusedly so Douglas clarified. "The volunteering Kansen were given hundreds, perhaps even a thousand, files of officers to choose from. Out of all of them, the Kansen chose you." Dampierre recoiled back in his seat as if he had been struck.
Due to lack of response, Douglas sat up right and decided to gather all the documents to put them back into the case. "You can refuse the offer, of course." He simply stated as he moved to gather all the documents. That seemed to snap Aeron out of his deep thinking.
"No, wait!." He exclaimed. He flinched slightly as Douglas fixed him with a piercing gaze. "I'm sorry, Sir, I was just overwhelmed and thinking all of this through. I didn't mean to insinuate I refused the offer." Douglas didn't have the chance to retort as Dampierre went on a bit of a rant. "I mean, I just would have never believed they would have picked me instead of, you know, someone more experienced."
"Don't be so surprised, Junior Lieutenant. You have been an excellent student here, achieving near perfect scores unlike anything I have ever seen before." Vice Admiral Buck, who was now offering a supportive smile, butted into the conversation. "Your resilience and determination are two very important traits of any good commanding officer." Douglas couldn't help it as he raised a questioning eyebrow at the Vice Admiral. Hadn't he agreed with Douglas moments prior?
"Thank you, Vice Admiral." Aeron Dampierre now turned towards him. "Is there anything I need to sign?" Douglas handed him all the papers he needed to sign and showed him where he needed to sign them.
After everything had been signed, Douglas McArthur stood up, the two others following suit.
"Well then, I believe there remains only one more thing to be done before we can go on our way." He then reached into the case once more and took out a small silver casket and offered it to Buck. "I'll let you do the honors, Vice Admiral." Realisation dawned on the man's face as he took the casker and opened it, revealing the two golden oak leaf badges inside.
Vice Admiral Buck walked from behind his desk and directly faced Dampierre who had realised what was about to happen and stood at attention.
Taking the smaller badge first, the Vice Admiral changed the one on his collar. Dampierre still had a look on his face as if he couldn't believe this was really happening. A sentiment Douglas shared for he couldn't believe it himself either. After that, Buck changed the badge on his left breast and put the Junior Lieutenant badges in the casket instead. He then took a step back and saluted the newly promoted officer.
"Congratulations, Lieutenant Commander." Dampierre swiftly saluted back as he couldn't quite contain the happy smile that appeared on his face.
"Well, now that that's out of the way, we can get going." Douglas announced as Dampierre turned towards him, his right hand falling back to his side. "I'll brief you on our way to the base." He nodded towards the door. "You can go ahead and join my driver, I'll be there momentarily." He did as instructed and left but not before giving the Vice Admiral another salute in goodbye. Something which amused the Superintendent greatly.
A smile which vanished as soon as he looked at Douglas, for his face was far from amused.
"You switched opinion rather quickly there, Vice Admiral, you sure you aren't showing favoritism?" Douglas really couldn't help the sarcastic remark that left his lips.
"Not at all, General." His reply was curt at first, probably not really liking the bite his comment held. "I still believe that a more experienced leader would have been far more beneficial for the goal they want to achieve." He said with slight conviction before his tone softened quite a bit. "However, I also believe it would have been detrimental if I said it out loud as well. I simply wanted to encourage him, give him the benefit of the doubt." His gaze now left Douglas' and settled on the door behind him. "In times like these, General, hope is the most important thing we have."
Douglas wanted to huff and voice his disagreement but didn't because he had neither the time nor the patience for that. Hope, in his opinion, was mostly based on falsehoods and utopian ramblings. Neither of those were very useful in times of war.
"Yeah, well, I'll be hopeful when I see results." He huffed out anyway, although he managed to not inject the annoyance he felt into his voice. "I'll be taking my leave now, Vice Admiral, thank you for your time." He politely dipped his head in goodbye before he turned around and made his way to the door.
"General." He heard the Vice Admiral's one word goodbye just before he closed the door behind him and made his way back towards the car.
XXX
Even though he was wearing sound dampening headphones, Aeron could still hear the furious roar of the Chinook's rotating blades.
It had been a hectic couple of days ever since General MacArthur picked him up from the Naval academy. First they had taken a plane to California from Maryland. Which was already a flight of about five hours. Aeron didn't particularly like flying but it was the fastest method of transportation and, according to the General, they were on a tight schedule.
Once they had arrived there, Aeron had been taken aback by the presence of two guards who had started shadowing them ever since they had gotten off the flight. He hadn't even spotted them until they had almost left the airport to take a ride to their hotel. The bewilderment must have been showing on his face for the General had addressed it.
"They won't stay with you once we've arrived at your base, kid. This is just a precaution while we're still in public. Can't be cautious enough with those Sirens… Wouldn't be a first if they were to send assassins to kill our officers." The last sentence was uttered with a hint of sadness in the aging man's voice, a clear contrast to his normal stoic and composed expression.
Aeron had wanted to offer words in comfort but didn't in fear it might not be well received. There was also the fact that the General's comment had given him pause and made him face reality. He was considered an important target now, a commander of a prominent fleet. It had served as a very rough wake up call for he had realised that every decision he took, every mistake he made, no matter how small, could have major repercussions. It could cost the lives of those he commanded or his own even.
That night, in a hotel in San Francisco, he had trouble getting to sleep as the weight of reality had settled on him. Which was very unlike him for normally, he had little to no difficulties drifting off to sleep. That night had been different. This wasn't like a game of Risk he used to play with his father when he was younger or one of those strategy games he liked to play on the computer when he was a teenager. This was reality, they were fighting for humanity, to rid their planet off these invaders. These Kansen had chosen him to lead them and it would be something he would take seriously.
He would not let them down.
After they had spent the night in the hotel, they had to catch yet another plane. This time to Darwin, Australia. The General had explained that the Azur Lane Base was located on the border between the Timor Sea and the Indian Ocean, on an island off the coast of Northern Australia. It was of great strategic value for it was close enough to send out patrols and other operations in the Pacific Ocean, where the Sirens have been the most active for now. In case of emergency, General MacArthur had explained, it had also a clear route towards the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal if his fleet would ever be needed there.
This trip was another sixteen hours of suffering on an airplane. Eventually, they had arrived on the Coonawarra military base in Australia. There they had spent another night in assigned private quarters. It had been a more restful night, in Aeron's case. The realisation he had made the night before had made him more determined than he had ever been in his entire life.
It was on this base they had taken the troop transport helicopter in which he now found himself in, heading towards Azur Lane Headquarters. He was brought back from his internal musings by General MacArthur leaving the cockpit and going back to his seat.
Minutes prior, he had told Aeron he would check up on the pilots and to ask their ETA. Aeron wondered how much truth this statement held. After all, they were wearing headphones through which they communicated. So, in theory, he could have just asked the pilots through the headphones. Perhaps he wanted to discuss something he wasn't supposed to hear? He decided to not break his head over it.
Aeron looked as the general strapped himself back into his seat. They were once more seated diagonally from each other, just like they had been when they first took off.
"The pilots told me we should be arriving in approximately twenty minutes, could be a bit sooner depending on weather conditions and the like." The General's voice was a welcomed sound compared to the noise those helicopter blades made. "I've also coordinated a safe landing place once we arrive at your base. And I've checked on your personal belongings, they should arrive tomorrow morning." Aeron nodded his thanks at that. It still felt a bit odd to hear it referred to as 'his base'. "If you want to import more personal belongings from your home, that can be arranged although it might take a while."
"Thank you, General, for helping me settle in." Aeron voiced his thanks out loud this time. The general waved it away.
"No need to thank me, kid, I'm only following orders by making sure you have the best possible start." Aeron had noticed a severe lack of formality once they had left the general premise of any form of military encampment. The General would address him by his new rank when others were nearby but would call him 'kid' when they were alone. Aeron had no idea if this was just MacArthur being informal because he didn't see the use in acknowledging ranks in a private setting or if it was the General making fun of his age. Again, Aeron didn't break his head over it, he had more important things to worry about.
He once more grabbed for the files he had left on the seats next to him. The General had given him these files at the start of the flight. They contained basic information about the Kansen he was about to lead.
A rather odd bunch, if he were completely honest. Well, the most odd ones out were The Iron Blood and Sakura ships that somehow volunteered.
He missed the curious glance General MacArthur gave him as he once more flipped through the files.
"It almost seems like I have a whole other man before me compared to the one that boarded the plane in Maryland." He suddenly said over the headphones. Aeron frowned slightly at the comment as he lifted his gaze from the papers to the senior officer.
"I guess you could say that." He started, still with a slight frown on his face as he tried to figure out how to voice how he was feeling. "I guess you could say reality finally caught up to me during the night in California, General." Aeron couldn't quite identify the look he was receiving but he decided to plough on anyway. "Even though I still believe a more experienced officer should have gotten the position, they chose me for some reason. Which means I'll have a lot of responsibilities that could cost people their lives if I even make the slightest mistake." He now locked eyes with the General. "And I'll be damned if I didn't give it my all, Sir." He said with great conviction.
The General kept silent for a while as Aeron briefly wondered if he had said something wrong. As the silence stretched on, he decided to resume browsing through the files.
"You know, I admire your determination and levels of responsibility, kid. Acknowledging you are responsible for the lives of dozens of subordinates is one of the most important parts of a commanding officer." Aeron bowed his head at the compliment. "Not only that but your perseverance after the… incident are truly to be commended." Aeron let out a small sigh at the mention of the horrific event that claimed his father's life.
"My parents always taught me to fight for my dreams until I accomplished them. They have always stood by me, no matter what happened." His voice held a lot of emotion. His parents were the most important people in his life after all, and he would forever be grateful for everything they had done for him.
His elbows were resting on his knees as he leaned his upper body slightly forward, unconsciously rubbing his gloved hands slightly together.
"They sound like good parents." The General commented, no doubt having picked up on the change of his demeanor.
"They were." He whispered as his gaze was focused on his shoes, his thoughts momentarily drifting off. "My mother still is." He eventually said with the slight hint of a smile etched on his face.
The General fell silent once more.
"True, my goals and dreams shifted after it happened.." He trailed off as he attempted to justify why he was so determined. " I just didn't want people to treat me differently…"
"Is that why you wear the gloves?"
"yes." He uttered the one syllable response before the General could even finish his sentence.
They fell into silence once more. The air wasn't charged with awkwardness or tension despite the topic they had just discussed. Rather, the air between them felt heavy, as if the topic had somehow made the air denser.
He didn't know how long they sat like that but it was eventually broken by the voice of one of the pilot's resonating in his ears.
"ETA in five minutes, prepare for landing, be sure you are securely strapped in your seat."
Aeron collected all of the files, quickly arranged them into alphabetical order and put them on the seat next to him, neatly stacked.
"I would inform Vestal about your… condition… If I were you." The General suddenly spoke up again. Aeron gave him a confused look but didn't say anything. MacArthur then elaborated. "She can help you in case you experience discomfort or pain. Besides, she's your medical officer, you are kind of obligated to tell her." MacArthur probably noticed his discomfort when talking about the subject. "Don't worry, kid, your condition wasn't included in the files they reviewed. Vestal will be the only one who knows."
"I will, Sir." He answered slightly relieved. He wasn't exactly fond of talking about his affliction but the General was right, he definitely should tell vestal.
Compared to a plane landing, the landing of the Chinook was a lot less rough. Nevertheless, Aeron still wasn't a fan of aerial travel.
With the helicopter grounded, the loading ramp lowered. Aeron quickly unclipped his seatbelt and stood up, gathering the files under his arm. General MacArthur was quicker though as he was already standing at the mouth of the ramp in order to wave him off.
"You won't be needing those, kid." He simply stated so Aeron left the papers on the seat and went to leave the helicopter.
"Good luck." The General simply said as Aeron gave the sound dampening headphones back. The sound of the whirling blades pierced his ears painfully. The General dumped the headphones on a seat behind him and faced him once more. "And don't get yourself killed out there, kid." Aeron was taken slightly back by the salute the General gave him.
He returned the salute, a small but quite confident smile on his lips.
"Thank you, Sir, and I won't."
He stepped off the ramp completely, walking towards the women who had all lined up quite a bit further away. Despite the distance, the updrift from the blades was so strong that some of them had to hold down the lower parts of their outfit to make sure the outside world didn't get a view it shouldn't see.
As he heard the Chinook take off again behind him, he took a deep breath and straightened his back. He tried to keep his facial expressions as passive and professional as possible but he couldn't help the friendly smile that eventually formed the closer he got to those he would command.
XXX
Jeanne d'Arc felt exuberant at the arrival of the Commander.
After a week of filtering through heaps of files and debating with one another. After days of getting the base operational, they were finally ready to join the fight. They could finally make a difference.
The decision to choose Aeron Dampierre hadn't been unanimous at first though. During their discussions, both Renown and Richelieu had voiced their concerns about him.
Renown was mostly hung up on his seemingly poor physique. She argued that someone with such low scores in physical courses couldn't effectively lead them. A point that quickly lost it's merrit after both herself and Maillé argued that he still managed to pass the courses and graduate regardless. Renown eventually relented and agreed with the choice.
Richelieu had been a whole other matter.
It definitely hadn't been the first time Richelieu and herself had butted heads. Richelieu was the leader of the Kansen of the Iris Orthodoxy, or rather Iris Libre now. It still pained Jeanne whenever she thought about the fate of her homeland. She was a good leader but sometimes, in Jeanne's opinion, she was too pragmatic. Richelieu tended to often focus only on accomplishments and results and judged their previous officers solely on that.
Her practical nature sometimes irked Jeanne because how were new officers supposed to prove themselves if they never got the chance to lead in the first place? Jeanne was one of the very few Iris girls that dared to voice her disagreement to the Cardinal.
The discussion that followed was nothing major though. All Iris Kansen were close, like one big family. These forms of disputes were not uncommon, just like in any human family.
They were a tight group.
Well they were, before the Iron Bloods decided to ruin it.
Eventually, Richelieu had conceded and assented to their choice but she made it loud and clear she wasn't happy about it.
As Dampierre was making his way towards them, Jeanne repressed the urge to comment on Richelieu's small glare she was sending him. She pitied the poor man for she knew how unsettling Richelieu's glares could be.
Her gaze shifted to their Commander-to-be. She noticed he had forgo the neutral expression he tried to wear earlier as a friendly smile was plastered on his face. The excitement radiated off him. Jeanne found herself grinning to see if he would notice.
They had decided she would be the one who would shortly introduce him to everyone. Normally, this role would befall Richelieu but Jeanne volunteered because she didn't want to subject him to Richelieu's glare any more than he needed to.
She was glad to see that it worked. His eyes met hers and his smile widened ever so slightly as she reciprocated the friendly gesture. The others were still standing at attention but she allowed herself to loosen up a bit.
As the Commander got closer, she got a better look at his appearance. He was clad in his uniform, the dark blue and golden yellow colours a clear sign it was an Eagle Union's design. The golden oak leaf pinned on his collar and the stripes on the little epaulets signified the rank he has.
The one thing she noticed immediately was his cleanly shaven face. This combined with the pristine state his uniform was in told Jeanne that their Commander really liked cleanliness and upheld good personal hygiene. As he got even closer she also observed he had hazel brown eyes and very short hair of similar color.
She decided to step forward so she could meet him halfway.
"Welcome to Azur Lane Headquarters, Commander." She greeted him while saluting. Despite the informal tone the two of them had spontaneously created, it wouldn't do her any good to forgo basic military formality. "I am Jeanne d'Arc, light cruiser of the Iris Libre." She introduced herself briefly.
A flash of recognition spread across his face before he returned the salute. She wondered what that was all about.
"Thank you, Jeanne d'Arc." His voice was light and amiable but still held politeness. That was a good sign. "I am Aeron Dampierre." He started but then he looked like he suddenly remembered something. "Well, Lieutenant Commander Aeron Dampierre, I suppose." He corrected with the faintest hint of uncertainty. As if he didn't believe he should be there.
Lack of self confidence or simply being humble? Jeanne didn't know which one it was yet but she had faith it was the latter. In his files, Dampierre hadn't struck her as a pusillanimous man. She watched as his eyes briefly darted towards her right before they snapped back to her. He had gone a bit pale. Jeanne knew the reason was Richelieu's calculating stare that she was no doubt sending the young man.
She decided to speak up once more before Richelieu could unnerve him further.
"Commander, would it be alright if I briefly introduce you to everyone?" The gratitude on his face was clear as day but he answered vocably anyway.
"Of course!" The exclamation was one of excitement. She was amused by the fact he was looking forward to meeting them.
It was no secret that some humans did not take kindly to them. Well, the perception the humans had on them varied widely. Most citizens saw them as warships, standing between them and the Siren threat. A careful neutral view, one Jeanne prefered over most of the other ones.
Some looked at them with distrust, a reaction she couldn't exactly fault them for considering the whole Crimson Axis fiasco almost five years ago.
Others, the ones that made her skin crawl, didn't see their warship side at all but solely focussed on their human side. Ever since her creation she had had to deal with leering gazes from men and women alike, viewing them as nothing but objects to quench their lustful thirst.
Of course, there were Kansen who indulged those people. Kansen who opted to experiment and give in to their own lust to try and make sense of all those conflicting feelings, emotions and thoughts that were trusted upon them since their creation all those years ago. On the other hand, there were also Kansen who engaged and explored romantic relationships with their fellow brethren. She had heard a rumor that the leader of the Eagle Union's forces, Enterprise, was involved with the head maid of the Royal Navy's Maid Corps.
So far, such romantic engagements have never been with a human. Not really surprising though. It was a rather uncommon thing that humans were kind to them and if they were, they mostly wanted to end up under the sheets with them. It was an uncommon thing that humans viewed them as a fellow sentient being and tried to establish even a platonic relationship. Although, she was happy to observe that their Commander seemed to be part of the small group that did.
It was a shame his excitement dulled as soon as she introduced Richelieu to him. Because of course she had to be the next in line. Richelieu's piercing stare never lifted and seemed to bore into him. To his credit, and to both their surprises, he was the one who saluted her first, addressing her as Cardinal. Jeanne did not know if he tried to placate her by doing so or if he was simply being polite. Richelieu returned the salute sharply, looking less than impressed and not even verbally greeting him.
Richelieu had also been the only one where she had to do the introduction for her, since the others would introduce themselves. Apparently, Richelieu didn't feel like speaking to him. Quite petty, in Jeanne's opinion but she let it go.
Next up was Rodney. In the short time Jeanne had known her, they had gotten along quite nicely. Most likely because they were quite alike personality wise. Rodney was an incredibly sweet girl, always calm and kind. But most importantly, she always looked at the good things in life and found happiness in the smallest of things. She greeted him with a pleasant handshake and a soft "Nice meeting you, Commander." The handshake momentarily confused him but he got over it quickly, smiling gently as he greeted her back.
Z23 or Nimi, as she preferred to be called, was next in line. Jeanne saw the very brief flash of confusion on the Commander's face. She deduced he probably wondered why an Iron Blood Kansen was here. Jeanne didn't need to utter a word to introduce her, however, Nimi's outgoing and enthusiastic nature took care of her introductions. She volunteered to be his secretary, which he gladly accepted. She then finished by telling the Commander how she deserted from the Iron Bloods because she didn't want to be on the Siren's side. It was a rare thing, Nimi speaking about her desertion for it was often accompanied with sadness and hurt. Jeanne could visibly see the Commander's face soften as he heard the change in the otherwise animated girl's voice.
"I believe you are incredibly brave for what you did, Nimi." He hesitated only a moment, Jeanne believed he was contemplating whether it was a breach of the commander-subordinate relationship they were supposed to establish, before he put his hand on her right shoulder in comfort. It prompted the Iron Blood destroyed to look up, her eyes widened at the gesture while some tears gathered at the corner of her eyes.
But she didn't let them fall.
It looked like he wanted to say more but eventually decided against it. Nimi, on her part, seemed to contemplate something as well.
Jeanne didn't have to wait long to see what that something was as the Iron Blood destroyer shot forward and embraced the Commander. He let out a surprised grunt as the unexpected force slammed into him.
At first, he stood there awkwardly with his hands in the air, not knowing what to do. Jeanne found his confused face quite amusing. Eventually, after a couple of seconds and after his shock had dissipated, he lowered his arms and returned the embrace.
Jeanne almost cooed out loud at the affectionate display before her.
It was no secret how heavy the burden was that both Nimi and Kashino carried. The tale of their desertion and how it made them feel was an extremely rare topic but the others knew how much it pained them.
Seeing the Commander comfort Nimi like this, soothingly patting her back as they hugged was really an endearing sight to behold. Even Richelieu's glare had softened.
"Thank you, Herr Komandant." Nimi softly whispered as they parted. The Commander gave her a small but supportive smile.
Jeanne felt reassured of her previous assessment of him. It would indeed seem Aeron Dampierre was a kind man that did not look down on them. She was also pleased that he seemed to have no issue with treading the line between military authority and friendliness.
She hadn't wanted a cold commander who kept everyone at arm's length. She wanted someone who would be friendly and kind, someone who showed compassion and would, hopefully in the near future, offer them friendship and companionship.
It's safe to say that Jeanne was happy with how he had behaved so far.
After that emotional display, the introductions continued.
Long Island was her usual shy self, only offering the Commander her name, the type of ship she was and a simple "Nice meeting you, Sir." in that soft, timid voice of hers.
Indianapolis was the complete opposite to the shy carrier next to her. The Eagle Union heavy cruiser introduced herself with a flirty undertone that even she didn't fail to pick up on. In combination with her choice of outfit, it was pretty clear what she was trying to do. Even the Commander picked up on it and was visibly uncomfortable at indianapolis' flirtatious advances. He even took a small step back.
Jeanne also had to commemorate him for the fact that he never let his eyes wander below Indianapolis' neck.
To the right of the flirtatious heavy cruiser, there was Arizona. Her introduction was rather sombre, like usual. Jeanne had barely talked to her since she found her pessimistic nature rather off putting. Nevertheless, Arizona introduced herself solemnly.
Jeanne immediately began to smile as soon as Maillé Brazé started talking. As usual, she was talking at the speed of light, slipping the occasional French word in due to her enthusiasm, and with animated gestures. The Commander looked on amused as she kept on talking, his head following her animations as he sometimes nodded along. It truly was impossible to be in Maillé's presence and not smile. She was such a sweet and optimistic girl.
The last combat able shipgirl was Renown. She introduced herself curtly as she looked the Commander up and down several times. Jeanne had no idea what she was looking for but it was clear it made the Commander really uncomfortable. She could see him fiddling with the cuff of his sleeves and the gloved wrist underneath, as if he was checking something. Jeanne found it quite odd, perhaps a nervous tic?
She didn't give it more thought and decided to rescue him from Renown. Vestal was polite, as she always was and briefly explained how Kansen worked. She explained how Kansen are a combination of their ship hull and their human form. Any damage dealt to the hull will manifest itself on their human bodies. That means that if their ship hull is sunk, there is quite a high chance their human body would die as well. The explanation made Jeanne think about Strasbourg and her tragic demise. It still made her sad thinking about it. Vestal ended by explaining that it is possible for their ship hull to be reconstructed in case it got sunk as long as their human body survived.
Kashino was standing at the end of the line. She told him that she was in charge of supplies, making sure that everyone had enough ammunition and food when they sailed out. Kashino wasn't usually one to be shy so it surprised Jeanne quite a bit when her introduction was rather short. She looked like she was worried about something but Jeanne couldn't figure out what it could be.
After all the introductions the Commander stood a couple of meters in front of them. Jeanne had already resumed her spot next to Richelieu as he addressed all of them.
"It was a pleasure meeting all of you." He started. "And I want to thank you all again for choosing me to lead you. I promise you I will not let you down." Jeanne planted her elbow in Richelieu's side to prevent her from making any kind of remark. The Cardinal gave her a sideways glare but Jeanne didn't care.
"You are all free for the rest of the day." Jeanne was surprised at this. She had expected he would be eager to set out on a mission already. A small patrol or perhaps an exercise so he could gauge their capabilities. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Richelieu rolling her eyes. "I will familiarize myself with the base by joining Nimi on a tour." The corner of his mouth twitched up as the destroyer beamed at him. "After that, I will plan out potential patrol routes and exercises we could do starting from tomorrow." So he liked to plan then? She supposed that was a good mentality to have instead of jumping straight into action.
"You are all dismissed. Enjoy the rest of your day and I'll see you all at lunch." As he dismissed them, his smile was kind. He momentarily watched as they all began to disperse before joining Nimi's side to start the tour she had promised.
"I have a good feeling about him. I think he will make an excellent commander." Maillé said as she joined both Richelieu and herself on their walk towards the Iris dorms. Richelieu huffed in disagreement.
It was Jeanne's time to roll her eyes.
"C'mon, Richelieu, you have to admit he is at least kind and respectful." She argued. "And he likes to plan things before jumping into action, which means he likes to be prepared and won't make hasty decisions." Richelieu was not convinced.
"He is fresh out of the Naval Academy and hasn't even seen real combat yet." Richelieu didn't glance at neither herself nor at Maillé. "He will apply textbook strategies and all the other ridiculous things humans are taught at those schools. And we both know most of that is useless in real battle, Jeanne." Well, she had a point that textbook knowledge barely held up in the field. It didn't mean, however, that Dampierre would lack strategic insight to adjust to a situation.
"I believe you are not giving him enough credit, Richelieu. I don't think he will be naive enough to solely rely on those books." Jeanne defended their new Commander for she really believed Richelieu was being unfair to him.
"Yeah, Richelieu, you just need to have faith in him." Came Maillé's quip and Jeanne couldn't help but chuckle. Richelieu was not amused at all and increased her pace towards their dorm, leaving Jeanne with Maillé.
Jeanne sighed, wondering why Richelieu was behaving the way she was. She felt Maillé comfortingly rub her back.
"Don't worry, Jeanne, she'll turn around." She couldn't help but smile faintly to thank her for her attempt to cheer her up.
The blue haired girl returned the smile.
"Come, We can watch some tv until lunchtime." The small destroyer said as she tugged at Jeanne's sleeve.
Jeanne followed as Maillé led them to their dorm. Once they had arrived, they made their way to the living room where Maillé put on one of her favourite comedy movies.
They both made themselves comfortable on the couch.
Maillé laughed at the antics of the actor in the movie and Jeanne couldn't help but smile as well. Not because of the funny scene, but because Maillé had once more been there to comfort her and made her forget all her worries.
A/N: Hello there! Welcome to my latest project. I'm still quite new to the Azur Lane fandom and have read plenty of fanfics. I really wanted to try my hand at a story myself and so, this was born.
This story will be a story of war, military life and naval combat with romance sprinkled in. I aim to make the Commander into a believable character, someone who has strengths but also flaws. I will try to portray the Kansen in a similar fashion. As seen in this chapter, not all Kansen will directly like the commander and vice versa. Relationships, be it either platonic or romantic, need time to grow after all.
For those wondering between whom the romance will be I will say it here because the site didn't let me tag the Kansen: This is a Commander x Sovetskaya Rossiya story.
The most challenging part so far, I've found, is how to handle injuries to the Kansen. In this chapter, I briefly explore it by Vestal's explanation. I will try to portray Kansen as beings who can take and dish out a rather substantial amount of damage. However, they are not invincible, there will be serious injuries.
I do not know how frequently I will be able to update this. This chapter alone took me over three weeks to write and edit. I hope I can churn out consistent chapters, but can't promise anything.
Anyway, that is enough rambling from me. I hope you like the chapter, be sure to leave your thoughts in a review and I wish you all a happy day!