"… Laffey…"
Ryan froze upon hearing that. He had been so preoccupied with getting some smokes to clear his head that he didn't bother checking the place he ran off to. Turning around, he was met with the sight of a little girl whose probably only 5 feet flat sleeping soundly on a bench within the tiny building. This girl was wearing a pink jacket, a red skirt, and white shoes and stockings. She also had a bunny ears headband that split her silver hair into twin tails. She was also hugging what appeared to be a liquor bottle as she slept.
He tried to scan her some more, but she began to stir and he backed off a bit. The girl sat up straight and stretched while yawning. She kept her eyes closed but one of the first things she did after waking up was open the bottle of Old No. 8 and drink from it. She took in a couple of gulps before stopping to breathe.
"Ahh, always love getting a good drink after a nap," She mumbled sleepily before opening her eyes, revealing pinkish-red irises that instantly locked onto him. "Oh, are you an officer? Laffey is sorry for drinking."
He shook his head. "Nah, it's alright… Wait a second, what's your name?"
She blinked sleepily before standing up and lazily saluting. "Benson-class destroyer, USS Laffey DD-459."
He blinked. Oh, look, another ship girl. Neat.
"Uh, right. As you were, Laffey. My name's Commander Eric Ryan. It's good to meet you."
"Mhmm," She hummed before sitting back down and patting the space beside her. "Commander can sit here if he wants."
"Thanks," Ryan said, obliging in her offer and sitting next to her. Looking at her, she seemed to be falling back asleep but taking another swig before doing so.
Okay, what's the play here? She looks like a little girl, but she's actually older than anyone here. Do I take the bottle or let her keep it? Oh, what the hell, I think I need a drink too!
"Uh, hey can I have some of that?" He asked, gesturing to the bottle.
"Mhmm," Laffey murmured before handing him the bottle.
"Thanks," Ryan said as he took the bottle before taking a metal shot glass from his briefcase and pouring himself a shot. He immediately downed it and he was feeling better already. "Ah, yeah, that's the stuff."
"Would Commander like more?" Laffey asked but he shook his head.
"No, I've still got work to do. But I'm feeling great already. Thank you."
"Commander is welcome," She said before taking a swig.
"Speaking off which, why are you here, Laffey?"
"It's cozy here, nice spot to take a nap."
"You do know that no one's stopping you from going back to your place."
"Friends said she has to go outside once in a while instead of staying inside all the time. So, Laffey sleeps outside," She answered sleepily.
"… Well, it's still technically going outside, so okay then," Ryan said.
"… Laffey also wants to see what's new here. It's been a long time since she's been to Pearl Harbor. Laffey remembers when there were more ships here," She added, pointing to where the docks were.
"Mhmm," Ryan murmured, not knowing what else to say.
The two continued to sit together in silence with Ryan going through another cigarette. He was about to excuse himself and leave when he heard three pairs of legs approaching.
"Ah, here you are Laffey! We've been looking all over for you!" An energetic voice in a British accent spoke.
"Ruhig! There's someone else with her!" Another voice in a German accent shushed in a hush but firm tone.
"Ayanami will be keeping quiet des," Another voice in a normal American accent.
"Use your identity!"
Ryan sighed with a smile. He'd instantly figured out these were more shipgirls, their attempts at concealing that fact were poor but kind of cute. He then stood up and turned around to come face to face with three girls who were about as tall as Laffey and currently frozen in place.
One of them had blue eyes and short purple hair tied into a ponytail with a little tiara on the left side of her head. She also wore a white top, a kilt patterned skirt, a single white glove on her right hand, and purplish-blue boots.
Another one had light-purple eyes and shoulder-length blonde hair. She wore a dark gray beret on her head, a red and black ribbon with an Iron Cross pinned to the right side of her head, a white, dark grey, and brownish gray long-tailed sleeveless top with a red interior, white gloves with brownish gray sleeves, brownish gray shorts, and red boots with an Iron Cross emblem on it.
And the last one had dark-orange eyes and whitish blonde hair tied into a ponytail. She had two red-orange and white metallic appendages on her head, a white sleeveless crop top with a blue collar that had white stripes, a yellow necktie with an anchor emblem printed on it, a blue skirt with white stripes at the hem, a bandage cloth wrapped around her left thigh, and long gray boots with red tips.
A little staring contest ensued with the first and second girls having wide eyes while figuring out what to say while the third girl just stared with a neutral expression. After a moment, Ryan sighed and walked before them.
"I know you're shipgirls, so don't bother with whatever procedures they told you to say or do when you meet someone. Your clothes and mannerism also give it away too, by the way," He told them.
"I told you to follow the protocol!" The beret-wearing girl whisper-shouted to her friends who just looked away in embarrassment.
He chuckled too. "Well, whatever, you're all safe within the base but please be more mindful next time. Anyway, my name's Commander Eric Halsey Ryan. It's a pleasure to meet you all," He greeted with an outstretched hand.
"J-class destroyer, HMS Javelin, hull number F61! It's great to meet you too, Commander!" Javelin introduced herself while enthusiastically shaking his hand.
"Guten tag! I am the Type 1936A-class destroyer, Z23. Schön, Sie kennenzulernen, Herr Kommandant!" Z23 greeted formally.
"Type II, Improved Fubuki-class destroyer, Ayanami des. Hajimemashite, Shikikan, des," Ayanami greeted.
They all have their own quirks huh? I can definitely see, He thought to himself. "So, are you three looking for our friend? She's probably asleep over there."
"Has Laffey been causing problems, Commander? I'd like to apologize if that's the case," Javelin asked.
He shook his head. "Not at all. We'd just finished chatting a while ago and I decided to leave her alone for a bit. Were you looking for her?"
"We agreed to spend the day exploring the base, but she had run off and we lost track of her," Z23 answered.
"What about you, what are you doing here, Shikikan des?" Ayanami asked.
"I have a big decision to make, so I came here to clear my head in order to avoid making a mistake," He answered.
"What's that?" Javelin asked.
He debated whether he should tell them or not when he felt his stomach grumble a bit. He had eaten lunch, but only a small amount so he could better prepare for the meeting. Usually, that amount would be enough to keep him up till dinner but his brain had been working on max power to process all of the information that has just been handed to him and it seems that energy had been used up as well. A sandwich might be really helpful right then and there.
"I'll answer that question, but I'm kinda hungry right now. There's a Subway near here and I'm buying. You girls like Subway, you're free to join me if you want?" He offered.
He then felt a tugging on his sleeve and he turned to see Laffey had snuck up to him and was now looking up at him with pleading eyes.
"Laffey wants food," She said
I should be creeped out, but that's just cute. "Hehe, sure thing," He told her while ruffling up her hair.
"I-I'm quite hungry too, admittedly. Hehe," Javelin blushed.
"I-I suppose it's okay. But I hope it's not a bother to you, Herr Kommandant," Z23 told him with a light blush.
"It's fine, it's fine. I've got a lot of free time, and it's best to spend it with company," He replied.
"If Shikikan insists, then it's no problem des," Ayanami said and the others shyly nodded in agreement.
"Great! Well then, follow me!"
They would later find themselves outside the Subway near the HQ building with a sandwich on each of them. The girls talked among themselves while Ryan just ate in silence. At one point, Laffey was eating a bit messily due to her sleepiness making Z23 scold her and wipe the food from her lips while the others just laughed. Meanwhile, Ryan was silently learning as much as he could.
Sunk, scuttled, scrapped, and scuttled then scrapped. Jesus Christ, He thought to himself. Weapons? How the hell do I treat that like a weapon? They're just little girls! Little girls that could sink ships, but still little girls!
"So, Commander, what were you doing there?" Javelin asked.
Ryan took a sip from his soda cup before answering. "Well, basically, the CINCPAC has dropped one hell of a job offer on me and I'm just not sure if I can do it. I've got the qualifications, but the responsibility that this job is demanding is not something I'm sure I can fulfill. So, I went somewhere to clear my head so I can make a clear decision. I don't want to screw anything up," he answered.
The four destroyers nodded in understanding. Though they didn't know what he was being made to decide, they knew what a wrong decision might mean to anything. It was sometimes alright to take things slowly and methodically in order to avoid mistakes. And it was also important to decide with a clear head.
Thinking that it would make him feel better, Z23 spoke up. "Um, Herr Kommandant, can I share with you some insight?"
"Of course, Z23, what would you like to tell me?"
"First off, what do you know about us? About Azur Lane?"
"I know that you girls are personifications of warships that have served in this reality in the past. You're not completely human but you're things either. I also know that Azur Lane is a multinational alliance on the other side dedicated to fighting the Sirens, but because of a recent conflict, it had a falling out and now tensions are high. Is that correct?"
Z23 nodded. "You're on the mark, Herr Kommandant. Azur Lane has passed through some rough seas, so it was decided that it was better for us to work under a unified banner that is free from any politics. And so, we were assigned a Kommandant to oversee us and lead us."
"But before the Commander got the job, he was only a junior officer. He had been accelerated into the position due to a lack of available personnel. The Eagle Union is known to be a nation that has everything, but there are times when they have too little of something. He wasn't anyone special, he was just him," Javelin continued.
"On the first days, it was only us and a handful of other ships des. Shikikan was always very nervous and unconfident then des. Shikikan also always talked about how he wasn't qualified and how he did not deserve the position des. It got annoying quickly des," Ayanami explained.
"But Commander is a good commander. He leads us when we fight, and then we win, and he's also very nice," Laffey sleepily added.
"Basically, Herr Kommandant, you should be more confident in yourself. Do not be too cocky, but do not be too shy either. Our Kommandant had so little but made the most of it and eventually led us to better waters. If he can do something like that, then you can too," Z23 concluded with a smile.
"Right," Ryan said. "Your Commander, you guys trust him that much?"
"Commander lets Laffey drink her booze and sleep a lot. Laffey likes Commander for that," The sleepy destroyer remarked.
He chuckled. "Yeah, I imagine so, Laffey," he told her with a pat on her head before turning to the rest of them. "Thank you very much for the encouraging words. It helped me out a lot."
"Commander is welcome."
"You're welcome, Commander!"
"Douitashimashite, Shikikan des."
"Gern geschehen, Herr Kommandant!"
"Oh hey, what will you be doing after this, Commander Ryan?" Javelin asked.
"Nothing besides hanging around and setting things up. I can give the Admiral my answer to his offer through a phone call actually," He answered.
"In that case, do you want to come along with us? We have a patrol shift scheduled later for a few hours around the island," Javelin asked.
"Is it okay with the rest of you?" He asked and they nodded. "I guess I can go. How do you girls deploy?"
"Our ships are encased within Wisdom Cubes so we can bring it with us wherever we go. We are brought out to sea by helicopter and allowed to do our work until it's time to come back," Javelin answered.
Thorson did tell me to learn from them. Here's a good chance…
Nodding, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "Danny, it's Ryan. Come and get me and some company from the Subway near the HQ. And get me a helicopter too."
Lieutenant Best/Danny came and picked them up shortly after, bringing them to the K3 helipad where an MH-60 Seahawk picked them up, its course heading out to sea. They can only deploy their ships once they are out of sight. Ayanami told him that other ships were out on patrol at the moment, and sure enough, he saw a few of them while they were en route. Two Shoukaku-class aircraft carriers that were escorted by two Takao-class heavy cruisers and two Kagerou-class destroyers. The Fifth Carrier Division of the Kidō Butai was now protecting Pearl Harbor.
"Kind of ironic that two of the six carriers responsible for the attack on Pearl are now protecting it. Strange times we live in," Ryan remarked.
"The Sakura- er, the Japanese ships, especially Shoukaku-san and Zuikaku-san felt a great shame once they arrived here des. To make up for that, we have dedicated ourselves to the protection of this place des," Ayanami remarked.
"Let it be known among you girls that no one here hates you. The war has long since ended and relations between our countries have significantly improved. Japan's one of our closest allies now too, by the way," Ryan told her.
"We know, but the shame is still within us des. We will work to make up for it des," Ayanami stated.
"Well, in that case, thank you for your service. And even if it remains a secret to the world, it would still forever be known to us," Ryan told her. He guessed that they'd be headstrong concerning honor, so he decided to be thankful instead.
Once they were at least fifty miles offshore, the girls hopped out of the helicopter and deployed their rigging. Glowing cubes that materialized from thin air gathered around and formed their equipment which consisted of cannons, torpedo launchers, and a small superstructure with a boiler. But with that equipped, they were also given the ability to walk on the ocean surface like how they would on land.
But that wasn't the best part. Pulling out a Wisdom Cube each from their pockets, they threw them into the ocean and waited. The cubes floated on the surface before they expanded into a bright light that eventually faded into four whole ships. Four destroyer shipgirls and four Cubes equals four full-sized destroyers.
Ryan and the helicopter crew couldn't help but stare in astonishment even when they knew what was to come. Giving it a thought, he decided that he would board the Laffey and remain with her for the duration of their patrol. He told the pilots, and they hovered over the Laffey where he just fast roped onto the deck. He thanked the pilots who then turned their bird around and headed back. It was just him and the four destroyers now.
"Welcome aboard Laffey, Commander," She told him.
"Good to be here," He said as he looked around. He was concealing it quite but inside he was extremely astonished. "A real Benson-class destroyer. Wow…"
"Does Commander want a tour?" Laffey asked.
He nodded immediately. "Please."
Wow, I'll actually be entering Laffey…! Well done, Ryan, you just won a free twenty-five-year vacation in Guantanamo Bay!
The tour didn't go for very long but to say that Ryan was impressed would be a giant understatement. Everything was exactly the way it was shown and described in pictures and text. Something like this was a naval historian's wet dream. And he can't even begin to describe what a full-sized Yorktown-class aircraft would be like. He was getting excited.
"Does Commander want to tour the ships of other girls too?" Laffey asked.
"Maybe next time, Laffey. You girls have a job to do now so I'll step out of the way," He replied.
"Okay. Laffey will tell them. Laffey will also tell Miss Enterprise that you want to tour her ship," She said as she sauntered into the bridge.
"Y-Yeah, that won't be necessary," He stuttered, surprised at how she seemingly read his mind. Guess they're a lot smarter than he initially thought.
"Main engines starting up," She said before the engine order telegraph (EOT) cranked forward on its own. Then a rumbling was heard throughout the ship and the boilers spitting out smoke shortly after. And in about a minute, the ship started to lurch forward. "Engines online, Laffey underway."
Laffey took the lead with the other ships following closely after. Ayanami in the second position, Javelin in the third, and Z23 in the fourth. Ryan asked Laffey for the radio and she pointed it to him,
"Javelin ready!"
"Z23, bereit für Aktion!"
"Ayanami, shinkō-chū!"
"Girls do you hear me?" He asked.
"Yes, Commander!"
"Hai, Shikikan des!"
"Ja, Herr Kommandant!"
"Okay, so I'll be accompanying you girls on this patrol. Just do what you need to do but is it okay if I can see your capabilities along the way?" He asked and they agreed. "Great, I just want to see how you act in a combat situation. Some maneuvers and a few cannon fires would be great."
And so their impromptu exercise began and he studied them for the next two hours. The four destroyers showcased their capabilities, and he was quick to notice each ship's performance differences. For guns, Laffey could put the most number of shells down range with her quick-firing 5"/38 caliber guns, but Z23 packed the most punch with her 15 cm TbtsK C/36 guns. For torpedoes, Ayanami has the best ones with her Type 93 'Long Lance' torpedoes that could sink almost any ship. And for speed and agility as well as being the balanced jack of all trade's kind of ship, Javelin was it.
"Who do you think is the best among us, Commander?" Javelin asked.
"No one is. I've reviewed your capabilities and I've concluded that you balance each other out. If I was to command you into battle, I already have a few ideas on how to efficiently make use of your capabilities."
"That's quite an observation, Herr Kommandant," Z23 remarked.
"Commander has good eyes, yes yes. Laffey doesn't mind if Commander becomes Commander of us here. Nimi agrees too yes," She stated sleepily.
"L-Laffey!" Z23 blurted out. "But… J-Ja, I agree."
"Me too!"
"Hai des."
Ryan couldn't help but blush a bit from their praises. Maybe he doesn't have anything to worry about at all.
"Um, thank you, girls. I appreciate it," He mumbled.
Two more hours later and they were almost at the end of their patrol shift. It was still bright but the sunlight wasn't going to last for long and he heard Laffey's stomach grumble from beside him while they stood on the wing.
"Laffey's hungry," She said.
He chuckled and ruffled her head. "We're almost done here, Laffey. Just hold on for a bit more."
"Okay."
Too cute, He remarked internally.
And then he heard it. A whistling sound that got louder by the second. He could also tell which direction it was coming from. Although he can only guess what it was without confirmation, he immediately sprung into action.
"All ships, hard right rudder now!" He ordered.
The girls were confused but immediately complied, turning the helm as far as it would go clockwise. Ryan almost lost his balance due to the sudden change of heading but was thankful that he gave the order when they narrowly avoided multiple objects that slammed into the ocean. Those would've hit them had they not changed course.
"Fucking shit!" Ryan exclaimed as he ducked to avoid the blast but still ended up getting drenched with seawater. He immediately recovered to issue an order. "General quarters! General quarter! All engines ahead flank!"
"We're under attack, I'm reporting it!" Z23 announced, transmitting their coordinates too.
"Where'd that come from?!" Ryan demanded as he stood back up and slammed binoculars onto his eyes as he looked onto the horizon.
"Multiple contacts sighted! Bearing 320 degrees!" Javelin reported.
Looking in that direction, he saw a sight that made his blood run cold. Black openings materialized over the ocean surface with multiple silhouettes of ships that were identical to the one in the picture he saw earlier pouring out. Those were the Sirens.
"Multiple Siren mass-produced ship sighted des!" Ayanami reported.
The emerging fleet had seven ships in it that immediately started firing upon them once they cleared the portal, prompting the DD force to take evasive maneuvers to dodge the incoming shots.
"What's the protocol if you spot Sirens, Laffey?!" Ryan demanded.
"Immediately report sighting with coordinates to Pearl Harbor. Engage if we can handle it or run away and wait for help if we can't," She replied.
"I see multiple light cruiser types with destroyer escorts! There's too many, we have to turn around!" Javelin said.
"All ships change your heading to 210 degrees! Let's get the hell out of here!" He ordered.
"Roger- WHAT?! Commander, ships sighted in that direction!" Javelin reported.
"WHAT?!" He yelled as he turned to look in that direction. Sure enough, portals were opening up with ships pouring in. Six more contacts and these ships were significantly bigger than the other ones.
"Those are battleship types escorted by heavy cruisers, Commander!" Laffey reported with more energy in her voice than normal.
The bigger ships fired at them with their shots not hitting but causing some really big splashes on the water. If they get hit then they'll have a really bad time.
"We're surrounded!" Javelin yelled.
"Herr Kommandant, reinforcements are en route! ETA ten minutes!" Z23 reported.
"We may not have that time," He said in a low tone. Even if those Siren ships had half the capability of a WW2-era ship, they would still destroy them. Especially when they were approaching from two sides.
Surrounded with no way and with reinforcements still too far away. Which meant they were completely on their own. They do have one option, and that is to fight at least until help arrives. Numbers alone do not guarantee the outcome of a battle. The Greeks showed the Persians that in 480 BC, and that was proven again and again in Midway, the Solomon Islands, and the sea off of Samar. The girls were capable of holding their own, but they will need guidance. They will need a commander.
Like in a video game, the tutorials are complete and it's now time for the real thing. The catch is that I'm being thrown into one of the higher levels already. Oh well, time for Battle off Samar Version 2: Electric Boogaloo!
"Alright then," Ryan said before taking the radio. "This is Commander Eric Halsey Ryan and I'm taking command of this force! That okay with you girls?!"
"Yes, sir!" They all told him.
"Wonderful! I have the conn!" He announced.
The four ships then formed into a single line and charged toward the enemy, marking the first engagement of Ryan's new job. And on that day, a commander and his fleet were born.
AN: Into the fire already! Please let me know what you think, and if you have any ideas, please feel free to share them too! That's it for now and until next time! Peace out!