Azur Lane: Changing Tides

by RUROUNI15

A year has passed since the Sirens unleashed the power of Orochi on the world but were stopped thanks to a renewed alliance between the Kansen. Led by Enterprise, they have started to push back against their foes. However, humanity is no longer content to sit on the sidelines any more; preparing to launch a daring plan that will hopefully see a change in the tides of the war.

2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Eagle Union Commander Henry Jones

Norfolk Naval Station, VA

February 20th, 20XX 0815 Hours

Walking across the campus of the naval yard as the last vestiges of winter began to melt away, Commander Henry Jones made his way to his office in the archives building. Just a little over a year had passed since the two month long conflict which nearly brought about a third world war known as the Orochi Incident. Even though the reunification between Crimson Axis and Azur Lane had brought a swift end to the whole affair, it proved that the Siren threat was far from over, as well as the grave revelation that the kansen could be influenced . It may have been mitigated through the efforts of the kansen of Azur Lane, but the threat of such a possibility due to a lack of oversight by the United Nations Maritime Council, the figurehead body of Azur Lane, was of great concern to the UN and the citizens they represented.

Various voices in the course of the last year had been clamoring for humanity to take an active part in the conflict alongside the Kansen. Henry was one of them. He had been calling for humanity's return to the battlefield for years before the flashpoint had occurred; which only magnified his desire to get the Eagle Union sailors off the sidelines and into the fight. Though calling out high ranking members of the navy and appointees of his homeland to the UN only drew fire towards him and created enemies. These actions all culminated in the Commander having his prior posting revoked and being reassigned to the old archives building of Norfolk, known as the Stack; which he was sure hadn't been opened since the turn of the century.

Opening the main door to the building and kicking off the slush that clung to his shoes, Henry stepped inside. The interior walls of the archives building had become a sickly yellow due to the constant stream of phosphorescent light pelting them day in and out. Each step echoed down the corridors, only being greeted by the few others that had been assigned to this post. Eventually making a right turn towards his office, Henry could see the light from the room cutting through the frosted glass window signalling the Commander that his second Lt. Com. Travis Cooper had already arrived. Though what he hadn't expected were the two Masters-At-Arms present on either side of the doorway.

As he drew near the door, one of the two military police officers stopped him. "You're Commander Jones, correct?"

"Yes. That would be me," replied the Commander as he looked between the two that stood sentinel outside his office. Henry's response was greeted with a curt nod as the Master-At- Arms addressed him again.

"You're to come with us immediately."

Henry's gaze momentarily drifted to the equipment belt of the one who spoke, taking note of the fact that they hadn't moved to place the man in cuffs. 'At least they're not here to take me to Levinworth,' was the candid thought that passed through his mind as he moved to the side to allow the two to pass so that he could follow them.

The group quickly backtracked the way that Henry had walked into the building and soon made it to its entrance. During their little trek, his mind was going through the various possibilities for why two officers would be assigned to pick him up. And for that matter where they were taking him. As the one who hadn't addressed him earlier opened the door to the cold breeze of the naval yard, the Commander made an inquiry into their orders.

"We're taking you to the Pentagon. The Chief of Naval Operations requested your presence,' was the answer presented to him.

Pentagon

Washington D.C.

Henry had been at the nerve center of America's military might a few times prior in his career. Each time the overall atmosphere seemed the same. Various military brass, civilian contractors, and intelligence operatives were moving vital information to and from various offices to where the wartime decisions were made. Though as the Commander had made his way to the CNO's office, something felt off. Many high ranking officers of the Marine Corps and Eagle Union took direct notice of him, as if they were evaluating Jones for something.

"Admiral Spence just finished up his current meeting," the Admiral's secretary noted to Henry as he returned the phone in his hand to the receiver. "He'll be back shortly and you can wait inside till then."

Being directed into the CNO's office, the commander was still bewildered by the situation that he found himself in and took the time he had to scan the room. The walls of the office were as blue as the sea that the navy was meant to patrol, two wooden chairs were set in front of the lacquered oak desk with the flags of Eagle Union and the old stars and stripes set behind it in order to frame the Admiral. Though what caught Henry's eye in particular was a scale model of a ship off to the side of the room. The naval craft itself was very unassuming by modern standards, the commander noted as he took a few steps over to get a better look at it. The features of its low profile and the lone rotating turret with a distinctive version of the American flag missing a distinctive number of stars, denoting the craft as an Union Ironclad.

"The Monitor was one of the first of her kind and even though her service wasn't a long one, it helped set the precedent for the creation of a modernized navy," a voice called out from the door.

Quickly turning on the spot towards the source of the voice, Henry brought up his hand in a salute as he was greeted by Admiral Augusta Spence and another man that he had never met before, but knew all too well. Spence returned the lower officer's salute and addressed him to be at ease before motioning for Henry to take one of the two chairs in front of the desk with his free hand. Connected to the other was a briefcase that was chained to the officer's wrist. Taking his own seat and resting the case along his desk, the admiral addressed the Commander as the other person in the room settled in for the coming conversation. "Jones, I believe you're aware of Eagle Union's representative to the UN Maritime Committee Senator Howard Galveston."

The committee member looked over to Henry and sneered at the commander. For the last year, Henry had called out the Committee for not taking any proactive steps in the affairs of the seas, the kansen that protected them, or coastal borders of the nations. Particular, he had singled out Galveston and his team due to his role as Eagle Union's representative. Since the Senator's appointment to the post, it had seemed that he had carried on like his predecessors for the last forty years and washed his hands of providing any oversight for any of the Union's assets in the Pacific and Atlantic besides supply shipments.

"While I can't say we've met before, I'm quite aware of the Senetor's work," Henry said while casting a glower towards the man seated next to him. Before Galveston could respond, Spence cleared his throat, bringing their attention back to him.

"Likewise," was the response from the senator as he reclined back into his chair. Giving a light flourish of his hand towards the Admiral in a sign of contemptment that he had by being there Galveston went on. "Let's get this show over with Spence, I have to be on the Hill in forty five minutes."

"Right then," Spence returned in a measured tone that did not betray his thoughts to either man seated before him. Opening a drawer and pulling out a manilla folder onto his desk, the Admiral cracked it open. As he started to speak, Henry eyed the now visible cover of the opened file and was surprised to see who it belonged to. "Lets see here. Top marks at Annapolis with even a year abroad at the Royal Navy Academy. Briefly served as an XO in the Atlantic Coastal Patrol Fleet. Drew one of the short straws and was one of our human representatives at the last Joint Military Exercise. Part of the naval command staff for 'Project Shot Put'. More recently known for writing papers on naval doctrine and combat theory for going toe to toe with the Sirens."

The commander raised an eyebrow as the top brass read over his file, "Sir, why are you going over all this? I lived it."

"This isn't for you," the Admiral said as he closed Henry's dossier and set it on the desk before shifting his eyes momentarily over to the UN representative. "It's to remind our friend, Senator Gavleston here, as to why the SECNAV had your name at the top of a very short list of candidates for a new assignment."

There was a slight grumble from the man seated next to Henry, before he shook his head and then lowered it in a small sign of resignation. "Yes and while I still feel that there are other such options that may be more amenable to the role; both of your stances overturned mine in this light. Couldn't get either of you to budge before Augusta, but let's see if your golden boy here is willing to take the job."

Giving a short nod, Admiral Spence's face hardened as he unchained himself from the briefcase and entered the security key to open it. The clicks of the lock system cut through the stillness of the room before Augusta opened up the case. "While you were stuck… reassigned to the archives, did you ever come across any operational documents listed as 'Lighthouse'?" All that he got in return from Henry was a shake of the head. Most of what the commander had encountered in his day to day work was resupply orders, operation logs from the coastal defense fleets, and the occasional de- and reclassifications of combat records from decades past.

"I think our intelligence boys did much better this time around," Spence said with a grim countenance as he pulled out two large manila files emblazoned with the symbol of the Eagle Union. Henry looked down at the last of the Admiral's words. There was no need for him to bring it up in detail as he had avoided it already. It had been a dark day not just for the Union's special activities division when 'Shot Put' had been compromised. Looking back at the folders that were placed before him, at the top of each of them, plastered in a crimson red lettering for the clearance level for them being "Top Secret" and "Classified."

Picking up the first of the files from the desk, Henry waited until the Admiral gave him a nod before opening it. The header of the first page was adorned with the normal Eagle Union letterhead that he'd become accustomed to since his tenure in the archives began. But as the commander read on it was clear as day that the nature of the document was restricted to a handful of individuals outside of the program. Each one of these individuals were leagues above his station .

To say that Henry's curiosity had been piqued by the time he got to the end of the file's first page was an understatement. Moving rapidly on to the next and the next after that, continuously more and more his eyes grew wide with shock and amazement. The project was something that was nearly unthinkable in this time, humanity as a whole had created only a handful of new warships ever since the Sirens appeared after the second world war's end. The Kansen and the mass production fleets that they were able to produce had become the primary reliance of humanity to protect shipping lanes and reclaim the seas. But what was proposed in the documents that the CNO had handed him contradicted the normal doctrine of war that all the navies of the world had taken to following.

The four major camps had committed to the joint construction of a vessel that was to rival all the maritime machines of war that had come before it. Taking design aspects from various prized warships and integrating them into one combined structure that was made to be an antithesis to the Siren's latest creation of the Orochi-class carrier battleship. Where there had been shortcomings in one nation's design philosophy, another's was used and integrated to balance it out for the behemoth.

Though it didn't rely only on the old ways ships were set forth. The next set of papers that followed documented numerous other projects that both Azur Lane and Crimson Axis had pursued that were integrated into the new ship's offensive and defensive capabilities. But as he went through more of the documents it was evident that this wasn't an attempt by the nations to make a new kansen. Only a handful had manifested since the second world war and they had all been from designs that had been implemented or were worked on before its end. Though for this one, its plan took an utter about face. It was to be manned by a human crew and set out to sea to combat the threat that had held the world's waterways in a vice-like grip.

"Admiral,.." Henry paused momentarily as he tried to form the next set of words. "These are preparation files correct? You had me brought here to give an assessment on it because of my papers, right?"

Augusta shook his head at the younger officer before looking him squarely in the eyes. His demeanor verifying the gravity of the words that followed. "The *Manifest*, as she's called, is very much a reality and on top of that; the reason you're here is that the top brass of the Eagle Union want you to be the Captain of this ship as our chief representative officer."

Jones could form no words as his mind came to grips with everything that he had been handed and told. Minutes passed by as he internally questioned why they had selected him over the upper brass for such a position, the actual possibility of such a ship listed in the pages being a reality, and so much more. The room waited in dead silence for some time until one decided to break it all.

"So what!? This last year you couldn't shut your mouth for one damn minute about committing to something like this and now you can't say a damn thing?" Galveston's words finally sprung forth from the seething man. Though it was the senator's next barb that cut deep into the commander. "Ever since that disaster with 'Shot Put', I guess you really are all bark and no bite, Jones."

It would be a lie to say that Jones held much respect towards Galveston as an individual. A man that made various deals and promises to people to get the position that he held all to do nothing of substance there. Though he respected the position that the senator possessed within the UN and his own country. With that last attack, the man seated next to him had just crossed a line that Galveston shouldn't have even gotten close too. The muscles in Henry's arm began to constrict, ready to strike at their intended target.

Though before he even had a chance to raise his fist, the admiral stepped in. "Howard, you're stepping out of line. I invited you here today as a favor and can just as easily have you removed from the premises."

Even though the senator had been cowed somewhat by the CNO's words, he still looked like the cat that ate the canary as he rested back into his chair. The fist that Jones had unconsciously formed began to relax and the fingers once clenched tensely rested on the armrest of the commander's seat. His eyes bored into Galveston's smug face, while no blood had been shed in the exchange, it was clear that he had gotten a rise out of the officer. The question was for this silver tongued politician, if it had all been for personal satisfaction for the prior mud slinging that had occurred between the two or if there was some scheme he could use it for down the line.

Shifting back towards the Admiral, Jones returned to his thoughts on the offer made before him. The possibility of such an endeavor, even though he had championed it, had in the back of his mind always felt like a pipedream. Now that it was here, ripe for the taking, with the power to not only get some manner of closure from 'Shot Put' and a way to possibly push forward the stagnation of the war.

"And to make sure before I commit to this. The ship, The Manifest, her mission is to sail against the Sirens. The objective is not to just sail her to Azur Lane and just sit at the naval yard there for the press to visit."

It was actually the senator that responded first to Jones. "There is no way that any of us on the council would allow that 75,000ton behemoth of taxpayer money just sit around in port. Too much has been invested into it and once it launches there will be way too many eyes on it. Hell it would be more preferable for you all to be sunk in your first battle than to sit around in harbor," the senator arrogantly said to the navy man.

Henry's gaze sharpened as the man gave his reply, "Well then, I'll have to disappoint you. That won't happen on my watch."

Turning back to the admiral he continued. "Sir, I'll take the assignment. Till the job is done, I'm dead, or you find someone better for it," Sheer determination in his voice.

"Lets see if we can avoid that second one then," Augusta said with a small smile parting his face for a moment before it hardened again. "At attention Commander Jones."

In a flash, Henry was up from his chair; his arm's flat against his sides as he brought his feet together. The Chief of Naval Operations got up as well and opened a desk drawer retrieving a small box from inside before walking over to the current commander. "As of this time I and the officer corps of the Eagle Union have come to the decision to promote you, Henry Jones, to the rank of Captain with all the responsibilities and duties that it entails," the Admiral said as he removed the silver oak leaves from the lower officer's uniform. Replacing it with the Silver Eagle that indicated the rank and status of a captaincy before they exchanged a set of crisp salutes.

"They seem to suit you Captain, make sure that your actions warrant our decision going forward. Now for your first set of orders. Jones you have four hours to square your affairs away here and to report to Adams Airforce Base. From there, you and the executive officer that's been selected will be transported to Fort MacArthur and routed to where the Manifest is currently moored. She sets sail tomorrow to Azur Lane and Operation: Lighthouse begins in earnest."

Sea Hawk enroute from Fort MacArthur to Berth 87, Los Angeles Naval Yard

San Pedro, CA

1457 hrs

The constant churning of the helicopter blades resounded through the newly minted captain's uniform as he continued to go over the dossiers of the other officers that he'd be serving alongside in this joint venture. Henry was thankful that a few of the names he'd gone over were of those that he knew well and would make things go smoother during this mission. Even with them, however, a mission that involved bringing humanity off the bench to fight the sirens after more than 60 years would be rocky at best. Around three thousand brave men and women from the four major camps of sea power across the globe, had freely elected themselves to this venture. Three thousand souls that he was in charge of, who not only wanted to see the victory in their endeavour but also wanted to see their home shores once again after it was done. Even though this was something that Henry had wanted so badly that he had risked his career, now with the means and task in hand he'd be lying if it wasn't a daunting undertaking.

"If someone had told me this morning that the both of us would be shipped out west to take the helm of the most state of the art ship in naval history; I would have said that they were damn crazy," Cooper's voice cracked through the headset as it tried to amplify his voice over the rotors. It seemed as though his friend had picked up on his mood and decided to try and turn it around a bit. "Hell, now I'd tell them to buy every damn lottery ticket that they could get their hands on."

A wide smile adorned his friend's face as Henry looked up from the documents with a light chuckle. Since they had met way back at the start of their service at Annapolis, the two had been as close as brothers. From egging each other on to being there to raise the other up when they found themselves wading in self doubt. There was a sense that as long as they stood together side by side, that no matter how low life kicked them to the ground, the two could overcome it.

The captain was infinitely happy to see him on the tarmac waiting for the trip westward. It was likely that Augusta had figured just how things would eventually end up for their meeting, because by the time that Henry had arrived at the Pentagon, Travis had already been issued his new orders. During the journey, their focus was pouring over the documentation on the ship's systems and key figures for the last couple of hours. As they could see the port growing larger in the windows of the Sea Hawk, simply chatting with each other was a world of catharsis for them.

"So who's taking care of your apartment while you're out this time?"

"Ah, my little sis said she could take care of things and set them up in storage after her classes. I'm just worried she'll throw out all my lighters while I'm away. Been harping on me to quit," Cooper somewhat jokingly said as he unconsciously played with the zippo that his old man had got him for graduation. Brushing his hand over the emblazoned eagle, anchor, and shield of the navy, the XO shot a question back to the captain. "What about you?"

"My folks will be taking care of things for me. Wish I could have given everybody an honest reason for the short notice but I guess they'll know soon enough, won't they." He said with a slight melancholic shrug. There was a lot that he would have to make up for once everything settled down.

The pilot's voice crackled over the helicopter's internal headset system, pausing the conversation until later. "We're a coming in on our descent path right now Cap'in. Looks like y'all got a greeter waitin on ya."

With that said, the pilot switched his talk channel back over to the harbor officials as he brought the Sea Hawk down. Placing away the files and shifting his position to get a better view of what awaited outside, Henry looked through the door window. First greeted by a massive dull grey hangar that covered the dry dock, housing the Manifest. Though as the air transport lowered, he saw a familiar face, holding onto his officer's cap and dressed in the fatigues of the Royal Navy. The helo rocked back and forth as it finally touched down on solid ground. The crewman stationed next to one of the gunports opened the side door for the occupants to exit out.

Duffle bags were slung over shoulders just before two sets of feet hit pavement, as Henry and Travis disembarked the transport. The crewman called out to the pair before they headed off to the figure waiting for them. "Hope you enjoyed the ride, Sirs. We'll get this bird refueled, armed, and ready for tomorrow's departure."

With a nod and a salute, the helicopter team got back to their tasks for finishing the landing procedures as the two Eagle Union officers went on to meet their comrade from across the Atlantic.

"Chambers, I thought I told you to drop me a wire the next time you headed stateside," Henry said with an upbeat tone as he greeted the man who was his roommate when he studied abroad at the Royal Naval Academy. They each quickly exchanged the pleasantries of rank which quickly turned into a handshake between the two.

"If I had, they would've tossed my sorry arse on the first trawler back through the northern pass. Then I wouldn't av' been able to see your mug when you see this beaut. Cooper how ya been?"

The Eagle Union officer took the proffered hand of the Englishman and gave it a shake as well. "Eh same old, same old. Keeping Jones here out of trouble. Just don't know how I'm going to manage it now that I got both of you fools to worry about now," Travis said with a smirk. As the handshake ended, his keen eyes picked up on something new about Chamber's appearance "Well now, what do we have here? Looks like Cap wasn't the only promotion that went on the board."

The man from the Royal Navy straightened himself out a bit, so his chest beamed with pride. On his uniform's ribbon board held a new strand of simple cloth though it marked him with an extraordinary status. "Ah this then? The Admiralty thought it would be fit to give me the status of a Knight Commander now, for my efforts in maintaining the supply lines in and out of the home islands."

"So what? That mean we have to refer to you now as Sir Johnathan Chambers. Knight Commander of Her Majesty's Royal Navy every time you enter a room," The Lt. Commander chuckled as he took a jab at his friend.

"It does have a certain ring to it," John said as he rubbed his chin for a moment before waving his hand to dismiss the thought, "but I think it's a bit much to go for that. Now come on, let me show you lot what we're all here for."

Turning around, Chamber's waved a lazy hand over his shoulder for the two Eagle Union officers to follow him inside the dock. The door to the structure was guarded by a set of US marines with weapons shouldered and ready if someone unauthorized attempted to reach what was inside. Besides Chambers, the only people that were outside the structure were Americans, likely to not tip their hand too much. The trio made it past them with no issue and entered the holding area where the new ship waited.

Henry's jaw slacked slightly as he gazed at the Manifest. While he had read over the specs and viewed the design prints enroute to her it was a different thing altogether looking at it in the flesh. The Class A armored steel rested in the water of the berthing area, as sailors from multiple countries moved across her deck, conducting final preparations for their departure. Ships of this class were once considered like floating fortresses, before they gained legs and started skating across ocean surf, but the number of anti-air emplacements, missile racks, secondary batteries, and the main turrets brought that description back in full force. A grin came to his face as his eyes came to rest for a moment on the hull number of the vessel, 86. The number didn't hold the best omens, but as he'd told the senator, he didn't intend to die on this mission.

Across the deck and dock of the ship, sailors moved munitions and supplies on board for her maiden voyage. The air had a charge to it as each member of the crew was acutely aware of the hours ticking down to when their time in port would come to an end. As his eyes came back across the hull, Henry noticed a pair of Eagle Union sailors receiving a dressing down from a Chief Petty Officer. It was evident that the stress was beginning to mount but once they hit the open ocean everyone would likely be on edge.

"Thought you'd have a reaction like that… though was hopin' to see ya a 'lil more animated about it."

Henry scowled lightly at his friend as John chided him, all it got him though was a light shrug and a smile. Motioning with his head towards the gangway, he carried on his way, "I'll take ya both up ta officer's country, 's you can get away your things. Then if ya like, i'll escort you t' the bridge. Last place I saw those bars from Sakura and Iron mulling about."

"Sounds good. Hopefully we can square away how this joint command is going to work out."

Bridge - UNNV Manifest BB-86

February 21th, 20XX 0600 hours

Jones had barely gotten any sleep in him that past night. The excitement, worry, and planning of their voyage to the base of Azur Lane had robbed the man of that. Thankfully whoever had brewed the coffee for the ward room knew how to make a strong cup to see him through the morning. The sleep that tried to encroach upon his eyes receded back as he took another sip of the caffeinated drink and got up the last rung of the ladder to the deck that the bridge was on.

As he neared the entrance, two sailors from the Sakura Empire left the command center of the ship. They were talking in their native tongue as they moved down the corridors. While the dossiers that had been provided, let Henry know that the senior and junior officers from the old Crimson Axis nations were fluent english speakers, much of the regular enlisted weren't as well versed. No doubt that the language barrier would lead to issues in the heat of battle. The kansen had always seemed to be able to communicate no matter what language they used though that could have been based on how long they'd been around or their special nature. Either way some of them could possibly have some idea on how to address this issue in order to smooth over any communications gaps that were present with his crew.

Stepping onto the bridge, Jones heard his XO's voice quickly bark out a call to the others present, "Captain on the bridge!"

There was a quick rustle of movement in the technology laden room as its occupants came to various forms of attention. The most crisp of them were held by those that were of the Eagle Union, which was understandable. While those of the other nations at least straighten themselves out. Most had likely never known of him and as such the new commanding officer of this joint mission would have to earn their respect and trust in the gauntlet of war.

Glancing over to Cooper, Jones caught a wry smile creeping on his face which he couldn't really fault him for. There was a sense of purpose and power that one felt when they were in any command position of a ship. The last time either of them had experienced something akin to this was several years ago on a significantly smaller vessel.

"As you were," Jones said as he moved forward towards the command table where the other representative officers had gathered. Chambers was there of course, wrapping up a conversation about some requested supplies from the section of the Royal Marine detachment that was part of the Manifest's compliment with his second, Captain Maeve Malloy. With how everything shook down for the organization of things, she was the overall officer in charge of all the nations' marines that were present.

The Iron Blood's representative was busying himself going over the ship's schematics on the table's display. Kommandant Markus Kohler was a bit of an enigma. While the Captain had the officer's file, it seemed like there was a good deal of omissions present. Granted it made sense considering his prior posting that thankfully wasn't covered entirely in black ink. Apparently he was a bit of an engineering prodigy, after going through a short stint on a coastal defense cruiser, he was assigned to work directly under Bismarck and her research team on trying to integrate siren tech into the rigging and armaments of their naval forces. Even with all sides agreeing to get everyone back on as one and working together on the Manifest, there were some projects that each wanted to keep close to their chest.

Last but not least was Takeda Masaru, the commander sent by Japan's Self Defense Forces for this odyssey. He was the eldest among them clocking in at nearly fifty years old. It also granted him the most experience out of all of them combined dealing with the Kansen. For the last decade or so, he had served as a liaison between the kansen of the Sakura Empire and the nation's parliament. 'So he was the poor SOB that had to let his parliament and Prime Minister know that all the Sakura ships had gone rogue,' Jones mused to himself.

The man was hurriedly scribbling something in his notebook as the captain of the ship grew near. Quick as lightning, Takeda shut the booklet and returned it to its home among his fatigues, before turning to face him. Giving a shallow bow of his head, he greeted the American officer, "Jones, it is good that you made haste here at this time. The final sets of supplies have been loaded and the request you had for the quartermasters has been achieved."

As he was about to reply, Jones was cut off by Kholer, "Power levels for the primary and subsystems are within the acceptable parameters for our current course to the base."

Giving a nod of acknowledgement to both of them. "Well no sense staying here then. Cooper, get on the horn and let everyone know," Jones said as he briefly turned back to his XO.

With a nod he headed over to the intercom system on the wall of the bridge and sent a short whistle blast through the device to draw the attention of all those stationed on the steel behemoth. "Now hear this, now hear this. All hands of the UNNV Manifest stand by for departure and a message from the Captain."

Flipping a switch inorder to transfer the input from where he stood over to one of the main lines that was held to the command table; Jones picked up the handset. He paused for a moment before starting to speak, as he tried to find the words that he wanted to say. The captain hadn't really even considered what sort of a speech he would make. Making up his mind, Henry decided to be straight to the point and speak with honesty. While that tactic may have moved him out of the Coastal Fleet, it had led him to this posting.

"Sailors and marines, shortly we will be taking up a trial that had been long thought of in the realm of the impossible. But that is no longer the case, now that we stand united. The threat posed by our enemies, the Sirens, is a universal one that does not concern themselves with territory, nation, or people. We all saw what they were capable of recently and cannot sit idly by any longer."

Jones walked around the table so he could have a better view of the bridge crew present as the phone's cord stretched out after him.

"Now I will not mince words, our enemy has shown a near inexhaustible supply of their drone fleets and weapons systems that have surpassed our own. Though all of that is nothing when brought to bear against the indomitable Will of humanity. When faced with aggression in the past, we have moved mountains and razed oceans, and with this ship our collective 'will' will be made Manifest. The eyes of the world are upon us and with this ship they will see the reclamation of our oceans. So that we may sail across this blue marble free of fear."

"All hands prepare for launch," Jones concluded as he hung the handset back to its housing on the table. The faces of those in the bridge cast a wide variety of emotions from those ready and excited from what was to come to those of worry as the gravity of their situation mounted as only minutes ticked by before the ship was launched. Takeda maintained a neutral face, pushing away any thoughts that he may have as the Japanese officer turned his attention to a series of navigation charts.

The Royal Navy's own commander had been a "bit" of a thrill seeker back in college from what Henry remembered, so it was not a surprise that a smile worked its way onto his face. Chambers gave a hearty chuckle towards his old roommate, "Well it wasn't Shakespeare, but good a 'nough for the scrapes we're headed for."

"Right you are boss. I'll 'ead off t' me station then and pick up 'ny of the lads skulking about on the way," the Royal Marine Captain said as Maeve threw up a jovial salute to Johnathan before heading out of the bridge.

For the brief moment that the exterior bridge door was opened up, the sounds of boots and dress shoes rattling off of steel reached the ears of all assembled inside. Once it was closed again, Jones moved to the forward bridge windows to inspect the crew. Passing by Kholer, he caught the man's gaze for a moment. The Iron Blood sailor's eyes tracked him with an analytic precision, as if there was some sort of metric that the commanding officer possessed that he was trying to gauge. As disconcerting as it was, Henry brought his attention out to the deck of the Manifest once he reached his destination.

The vantage point gave the captain a clear view of the assembled crew that stood around the edge of the deck, adorned in the various uniforms of each nations' navy and marine branches. It was now or never, no sense in delaying any longer. "Comms, radio over to the harbor teams to open the doors for us."

"Aye, Sir!"

After a brief exchange between the comms officer and those on the dock, bolts that connected the top portions of the hangar to each other split down the middle. Rays of sunlight began to beam down on the Manifest as the hangar opened up slowly like the wings of a bird taking flight as cranes took the weight and structure away. Once it was all clear and the massive ship was greeted by the early morning sun, Henry spied one sailor out on the bow. They took the bottle which he had ordered Takeda to acquire and swung it against the ship's hull, officially christening the joint naval vessel.

"Helmsman, take her out. Slow ahead."

"Roger. Slow ahead," returned the helmsman as they brought the battleship's throttle forward slightly. Deep below the surface of the water, six massive propellers as tall as a small house spun to life. Slowly the Manifest pushed through the water towards its objective of open ocean.

The beginning of their journey did not go unnoticed however, Jones spotted gathering crowds on the other berths that lined the passageway to the sea. Eventually reaching the bridge that spanned the length of San Pedro's harbor, cars had been stopped and onlookers spied the warship that waved the flags of four nations and UN from her mast. There didn't seem to be any cheers, just an astonished silence. It was only broken by the Manifest cutting the waves before her and the rapid beating of helicopter blades slicing the air as the Seahawk that had brought the Eagle Union CO and XO to the vessel flew coverage for it.

As soon as the Manifest exited out of the harbor and into open water, Henry was informed that his ship was being hailed. Picking up the handset again, "To whom am I speaking to?"

"Captain Torrez of the USCGC Douglas Munro. My ship and the crew of the Kimball are to escort you out past the Catalinas."

"Understood Captain and thank you for the company. Match our course and speed," Henry stated before turning back to his helmsman and hanging up the line. "Set us to one third speed."

"Aye, Sir. Bringing her up to one third speed."

Bringing his sight out to the azur expanse before him, Jones steeled himself as best he could. Once they were out of these waters, they would be alone until reaching the kansen base.

---

Author's Note:

Hello everyone! Thank you for taking a look at my latest story on the site. Its been a long time since I've been here but, I'm excited to get back into the writing game. Chapter 3 of this tale is nearly halfway done now, so it should be a few more weeks before the story continues. I'm having a lot of fun with setting things up for this and have a pretty good idea of the road map that the story will take.

Thank you all once again and I hope y'all enjoy the story!