"So you know what to do, right?"
"Of course, Admiral. You have nothing to worry about."
"Saying that actually makes me a bit worried. Just make sure nobody enters my office without authorization."
"The port is in good hands. You should be going on your trip."
Gabriel attempted a smile but his lack of sleep made him look irritated. At least he can sleep on the way towards England. The trip along would take days alone to get there and days to get back. At best, the Admiral could see himself returning back to base within a couple of weeks, if he was lucky. But, at least he was going to leave the base in the very capable hands of Mikasa.
"Just be sure that nobody, and I mean nobody, is in this office without your supervision." Gabriel crossed his arms and looked towards the calendar. "With any luck, I'll be back within a couple of weeks. I prepared a checklist of daily tasks that must be done."
Mikasa, bless her old wisdom and naivety, just nodded along. "Good, I'll make the girls go through daily exercises so they are not bored. Sometimes I wonder if they secretly want the Sirens to reveal themselves just to have something to do."
"I would be lying if I said I wasn't thinking the same thing." With that said, Gabriel left the office and proceeded to the dock. The Royal Navy would be waiting for him there to begin their long journey, and so was sleep.
Once he did leave, Mikasa waited a few moments before going over the tasks. Besides commissions and exercises, there was some paperwork for the secretaries to work on and a few smaller matters. For a moment, Mikasa began to reminisce by the old days of leading the Sakura Empire during its blossoming years. The first Great War had shown the world that the small nation was not to be ignored but hubris still blinded most.
Enough of that, there were some chores to be done.
The sound of drills could be heard within the repair bay as many of the girls used them for constant maintenance of their rigging. Reno was one of them but she was not fixing her rigging, she was working on someone else's.
"Reno, you done yet? I want to be out there before the other carriers are even ready?" Intrepid questioned, glancing over her shoulder to be sure her friend was potentially done.
"Just about." Reno replied right back, "You should hopefully not crash into your rigging whenever you make a sudden move."
"Hopefully?"
"I can't stop your bad luck," Reno said in a light manner as she finished the routine maintenance her friend needed. "Do your best out there."
Intrepid gave a short wave before taking off out of port to join the other carriers in some exercises. In the meantime, Reno walked out of the maintenance bay and walked along the trail towards the lab. She wasn't looking for anything in particular but she could make herself useful by looking over some of the projects. If only her hero didn't have to leave so soon or she could have shown him her talent.
Reno raised her head towards the sky with an idea ready to pop out, "I know, I'll show him my collection once he gets back...whenever that is."
Once she had gotten to the lab, Reno began to search for something to put her effort into. There were various blueprints of gun models of every class of ship, ready to be put together once the required materials were ready. But that wasn't what caught the light cruiser's eye. Instead, she saw the suit stripped down over one of the tables with many notes scribbled on various chalkboards and papers. Instantly, Reno's eyes lit up like stars.
"Ah! It's like something out of the first issue of Iron Man!" Her smile suddenly turned upside down once she saw how stripped down it was. "Who would take it apart like this?"
"I did." A voice answered Reno's question from the direction of the door. The light cruiser turned to find Hipper standing in the doorway with a model floatplane in one hand. "Too many complicated parts for something to protect the Admiral."
"Where did you get this from? Did High Command create it for field testing? Are regular personnel going to be wearing similar suits like this one?!" Reno's questions fired off faster than the Ironblood could process. It made the MG34 look slow.
"Wha-? No, no one's going to recreate this. It came from the future, supposedly. The dummkopf thought he could go out in the oceans with this and he almost got killed. Just so he doesn't get that mentality, I stripped it down."
"Do you know how many people would pay to have this?! I would pay everything to have one for my collection."
"Huh? Collection?" Hipper furrowed her brows in disbelief although it wasn't Reno's behavior that was beginning to get on her nerves. It was something a bit larger than that. "Are you one of those types of people?"
"I read comics and listen to the radio after work." Reno then went into her signature pose with her armored gauntlets lighting up. "I built these myself...but they aren't weapons."
Hipper's brows rose, "Then why did you build them?"
"For the fun of it." Reno smiled before her eyes landed on the toy floatplane in Hipper's hands. "Oh? Are you a collector too?"
"Huh?" The heavy cruiser snorted, "What makes you think that I'm a collector?"
"That floatplane of yours. That's a limited model isn't it?"
"So what if it is? It's not like I enjoy building stuff."
Reno giggled as a result. In a couple of ways, Hipper acted a bit like Intrepid on a bad day. Although Intrepid was nowhere near the level of the heavy cruiser. But, there was one thing that got Reno curious.
"So...you're the flagship of your class?"
Hipper grumbled under her breath a moment but answered, "Yes, what of it?"
Reno continued, "And your sister is married to the Admiral? How did they meet?"
Hipper leaned against one of the tables with her arms folded over her chest. "You would probably have to ask Eugen that, but, I remember they met on the battlefield."
"Oh...I forgot that you were once our enemy."
"At that time, yes. Long story short, he was an unknown officer at the time but was making a name for himself. If we weren't busy dealing with the Royal Navy, Eugen was making it her own mission to find out who this commander was. We atte-" Hipper explained but the door being opened drew her attention away. Eugen was standing in the doorway with her usual smug expression although her eyes landed on Reno momentarily.
"Is my flat sister giving my life story?" Eugen asked, lips curling upward when Hipper visibly glared at her sister ship. "Let me explain it like this…"
Eugen stared down at the holographic display with her chin resting on top of her hand. The display showed multiple profiles of some anonymous-looking officers from Azur Lane with a single one being ruled out. All their details were blacked out with ink and despite the superior Siren technology, nothing was being revealed.
"Eugen, it's late." a cup of coffee was placed in front of the heavy cruiser. The voice belonged to the ever so astute and calm Z2. The destroyer had gone through many of Eugen's shenanigans in the various operations they partook in.
True to her word, Eugen rubbed her eyes as sleep tried to force them shut. "I can't sleep when this one commander has been giving our allies quite a bit of trouble. Any word from Z23?"
Z2 shook her head, "Not since her absence. Tirpitz has gone silent as well. Her last communication was weeks ago and calls have been made but she has not answered."
"You don't suppose she simply is too shy to talk?" Sleep would not stop the heavy cruiser from giving a coy look.
"I'm afraid not. Our submarines have searched all over her projected path but nothing has come up. Has Bismark said anything?"
"Bismark has not said much...That is concerning." Eugen looked back at the display with her eyes shutting for just a moment to think. "In the very worst-case scenario, those that are unaccounted for have either perished or fallen to enemy hands."
Z2's lips pressed together with a small grunting sound muffled by them. "Are you saying that they were captured? If that is the case…"
"I believe this commander is our suspect. While we hunted as a pack, he has hunted our stragglers. Clever…" Eugen smiled at the thought, bringing the cup and letting the warm liquid flow down her throat.
"Then we should plan an ambush," Z2 stated but was blindsided when the heavy cruiser chuckled under her breath. "What is it?"
"There is hardly any bait left. Tell Hipper to be ready within the week. I'll personally lead this next sortie. In the meantime, I have a commander to uncover."
Z2 did not say a word as she departed. Eugen continued to look at the blue lights on top of the table with her eyes occasionally shutting for moments. "Hm~, if it is you, Commander, our little game has been fun. The final moves will be made and I hope you are ready."
"...The next sortie I took part in was the last until I was set upon by the Royal Navy. Apparently, they had broken our codes and surprised us in the open ocean. If it weren't for the Admiral's hospitality, I and my sister would have been laying at the bottom of the sea." Eugen finished. She looked towards Reno to gauge her reaction, which was amusing, to say the least.
Reno had stars in her eyes as if she was being told a fantasy story. "It's like one of those enemies becoming lovers' stories. You two kept trying to outsmart the other and it led to you joining Azur Lane."
Hipper snorted, "If being threatened to have our lives ended counts as 'joining.'"
"Come now, Hipper, I don't recall you ever hating being part of the port since me and the Admiral got more 'antiquated' over the years." Eugen mused
"It's not that I wanted to be a part of this port anyway! I am simply doing what must be done so we can end this damn war!"
Reno could only stare as the two sisters had their little feud in full display. Atlanta and her other sisters were never like this as far as she knew. Were there others who had relationships like this with their siblings or was this a special case?
"This must be one peculiar family…" Reno could only think of those words as she watched in silence.
The sounds of several rounds firing out of their barrels broke through the calm sea breeze. The munitions swirling towards their target before smashing themselves into the hardened defenses. Thousands of seconds passed and the defenses gave way for the shell to breach to the interior. A detonation ensued a millisecond later with the target erupted into fragments of its former self.
"Bravo! An excellent shot as always, Cesare." Littorio's voice spoke after the firing had stopped. "You could possibly outmatch my accuracy one day."
Cesare had come down to the beach to practice her aim against a variety of targets; some smaller and larger. With the Admiral gone on his two-week vacation to England, it was only fair that Cesare kept herself in shape. Although, she preferred if Littorio hadn't come along and kept her nose in someone else's business.
"Unlike you, Littorio, I have dealt with formidable opponents than you ever will," Cesare glared at her fellow battleship.
Naturally, Littorio waved it off with her rose. "No need for such hostility, my friend. I know you have much more experience in combat than I do but I was made for the current war. It was your record that my creation could improve upon."
"Hmph, yet I hardly see you succeed against others of your caliber. That battleship, Jean Bart, seemed to have put you in your place." Cesare fired off a couple more rounds, aiming for the farthest ones out at sea.
"Ah yes, that brute of a woman." Littorio giggled but her demeanor shrunk for just a moment. "I underestimated her power for an incomplete ship. But, I have learned much from her and I will show the Admiral the true might of Littorio."
Cesare rolled her eyes at the pompous display and began to notice someone else was on the beach as well. Someone walking towards them with a smile that was too good to be true. That one being Chapayev.
"Privet, Italia, and Novorossiysk. A beautiful afternoon, is it not?" the Northern light cruiser said amusingly towards the two battleships.
For this one time, both Sardegna women flinched at the names uttered by Chapayev. Those names having some events neither were too fond of. More so for Cesare, that name bringing up some bad memories she would otherwise forget.
"It's Cesare for you. That name you just uttered has no meaning to me."
Chapayev put a hand to her mouth, "Oh my, forgive me. I only remember you two based on my construction year. I understand how much more significance comes out of your first name."
Littorio grinned once more, "What brings you to join Cesare's fantastic display of firepower, Northerner?"
"I too wish to test my armaments alongside you, if you do not mind. The Admiral would be happy if we interacted with the others." Chapayev summoned her rigging in an instant upon her statement.
The battleships looked on Chapayev's rigging that seemed similar to the Ironbloods'. It looked one part behemoth and one part like a horse with the chain being firmly secured around its mouth. The lower half of the rigging provided the light cruiser with a comfortable spot to sit as she awaited a comment.
Littorio was the first to speak. "Marvelous, my Northern friend. Here I thought the Ironbloods were the only ones with semi-sentient rigging. Where did you get such a gift?"
"Thank you for the compliment but I cannot say. Those are secrets that only Soyuz knows about." Chapayev then gestured towards the targets at sea, "May I?"
Cesare gave a reluctant nod of approval. The turrets located on the rigging began firing at an alarming rate that could almost rival destroyers. Each target was pelted under an intense barrage but each shell fired seemed to do minimal damage. That was until Chapayev's aura glowed a crimson red and her rigging suddenly fired off balls of fire. Each one hitting a target and igniting them in a scarlet fire.
"Hm~, that felt nice. The Admiral would be well pleased if he was still here." Chapayev commented on her handiwork.
"Is it your guns he would be pleased by or something else?" Cesare could only wonder as she noted how unlike her comrades, Chapayev exposed more skin.
"Most certainly, but I will tell you this, my Northern friend, the Admiral will be falling for me. It is not Littorio to fall for a man, but for a man to fall for Littorio." Littorio twirled her rose before throwing it into the wind dramatically.
"I see. I would not mind so long as he can be shared." The light cruiser seemed to grip the chain holding her beast much more tightly. "I wouldn't mind...at all~. So long as he is bonded to us all." Her cheeks seemed to have a pink hue but she didn't notice. Without a word, Chapayev gave a bow and walked away.
"I don't like her, Cesare." Littorio frowned once Chapayev was out of earshot. "She has something about her that feels off."
Cesare, for once, nodded in agreement. "Out of all of them, she is the odd one. If she is after the Admiral's heart, he needs to know what she is hiding."
"So you do know them?" Littorio raised a brow, the grin returning
"In another life. When our nation agreed to an armistice with the enemy, you and I were stuck in Malta for some time. Unlike you, I was sent to their nation and they changed my name." Cesare narrowed her eyes at one of the targets, imagining it being one of the Parliament girls. "For the most part, they were good people. But, I hate the cold and I do not like their leadership."
Littorio had a look of sympathy for once, "That was another life. This time, it will not be the case. Come now, these targets won't shoot themselves."
On the other side of the island base, Takao had been restless as of late. It was not the fact that Gabriel would be gone for two weeks with the Royal Navy that bothered her, it was something much worse. A problem so bad that some might say it is comical yet understandable. The problem that troubled her so much was...Takao didn't know much about being a wife.
Her life being so dedicated to swordsmanship left no room to learn some necessary skills if such a time came around. In Takao's mind, she never thought she would be with someone during the beginning of the war. All she thought about, at that time, was keeping her sisters safe and wiping the enemy out. Now, fate was catching up and although she wasn't married yet, it wouldn't be that long until that day came. Even if Gabriel gave her the decision, there seemed to be a twenty-ton weight on making such a life-altering choice.
"Uh...Takao-san, are you alright?" With her mind so preoccupied with the clear problem in front of her, the heavy cruiser had forgotten that Shoukaku was sitting opposite her. Both of them resting after a heavy war game exercise.
"No...I am not. Shoukaku, please answer this question for me." Takao answered with her eyes glued to the floor so the carrier wouldn't see her shame. "What should be expected of a wife?"
That single question had the effectiveness of a full salvo since Shoukaku was taken aback by the lack of knowledge the Sakura swordsman had. "You don't know?"
Takao's eyes shifted from side to side, making sure no one else was in the room. Gods, if Atago learned about this, she would never stop teasing Takao about it. "Well...I have a basic understanding but I lack the technique."
"Ah. All you need is some teaching and training." Shoukaku clapped her hands together with a confident nod. "I will keep your secret and train you as well."
Takao blushed in embarrassment. How shameful it must be to not have any skills in being a proper wife when marriage could be within the year. If the Royal Navy could get one of their to be engaged to the Admiral, so would the Sakura Empire. It wouldn't be surprising that this two-week vacation was secretly a wedding in disguise. Even so, that only meant Takao had to rise to the occasion.
"Shoukaku-chan," Takao began once a thought came to her mind. "Why hasn't the Admiral given you a ring? Didn't you two….?"
The carrier shushed her heavy cruiser ally before taking a few glances around. Once she was content with being relatively private, she answered. "I have not pressed him. He must have a lot of things on his mind as of late but I would not mind if he also gave me a ring. It would be a great honor that Akagi-senpai couldn't ignore."
"What does this have to do with Akagi?" Takao wondered about Shoukaku's reason. Hopefully, the Sakura carrier wasn't trying to be with the Admiral just to spite Akagi or it wouldn't be a very good relationship.
With that said, Shoukaku smiled warmly. "If you have no further plans, let's begin right away. We have only two weeks to make you the most ideal bride possible."
Fire flooded Takao once more but her damage control was on point this time around, "H-Hai."
The two departed in the direction of Gabriel's personal home. Naturally, Takao was against the idea of practicing within someone else's private home but a little encouragement from Shoukaku pushed her along. How could she be a proper wife if she could not be in a husband's home?
But one thing was for certain, especially when Shokaku was having Takao practice her cooking. "Takao-chan, you should know how to greet the Admiral when he comes back."
Was there such a specific way of greeting? Takao raised a brow at the suggestion, "I know how to greet him."
Shoukaku shook her head, "No, it's something only couples should do. Especially when he has a very stressful day, you should greet him like this; 'Teito-sama, would you like dinner, a bath, or..maybe..me?'"
If the Sakura woman was expecting a reaction out of the heavy cruiser, she was met with a bop to the head, "Have you no shame?!"
The breeze flowed over the calm grass overlooking the sea. The waves threw themselves into the impenetrable defenses until they were repelled, only to throw themselves again and again. The tree perched firmly served as a shield for those who sought comfort. Under the protection was Gascogne, who was observing the ocean waves with indifference. The sound of footsteps drew her attention.
"I was not expecting you to be here." The footsteps belonged to Jean Bart, the Vichya Battleship seeking some time away from the port.
"Observation of ocean activity near the port has produced surprising results. Conclusion, Siren activity is nonexistent as of now." Gascogne answered, turning her gaze back to the mass of liquid.
Taking a seat next to the priority ship, Jean Bart joined in the viewing of the waves. "Playing with the waves would be a childish move. They would want something much more devastatingly useful."
"That is true, Jean Bart. Reports of Sirens indicate their use of changing weather patterns or sending ally forces to the Mirror World."
"You don't have to call me by my name."
"Request is confusing, please specify."
The Vichy battleship tightened her lip, the thought of Richileu only aiding in the boiling of her blood. "You're a Richileu-class, non?"
"Oui," the prototype answered back flatly.
"Then we are sisters." Jean Bart stated, fist tightening to hold back the flare. "You can refer to me as such."
To her surprise, Gascogne shook her head. "Negative. Sisterhood implies a sense of knowing one another but Gascogne does not know Jean Bart emotionally. Richelieu, Battleship of the Iris Libre, fits the necessary requirements."
"It doesn't just mean that. We are the same class of ship as those who come from the same mother. We are sisters by default," Jean fired back, the bland tone from the prototype ship becoming a bit unnerving.
"Gascogne's design is paradoxical in nature. Such measures require the classification of 'subclass' as a result." Gascogne tilted her head with her antennae twitching slightly, "Jean Bart, why do you run away from Richelieu?"
"I'm not running, she ran away from her own people." Jean glared, not in the mood to speak about her older sibling.
Nevertheless, Gascogne continued, "Failure of the command structure resulted in the Royal Navy's attack. Battleship Richelieu was unable to do any definite action without violating co-"
"She could have fought out there with us! Even God does not forgive traitors so easily."
Gascogne blinked a couple of times without a shred of emotion emanating out of her eyes. "Jean Bart believes fully in the Vichya Dominion, non? What makes the others look towards you for leadership?"
"I…" Jean Bart honestly could give an answer to the sudden question. She couldn't properly give a reason why the others of the Vichya Dominion saw her as some sort of leader when Richelieu was not around. Was it simply due to her familial tie or was there something? But, considering the events of Mers-el-Kebir, there was a reason. "Ahem, I felt that I needed to fill the void Richileu could not. The others needed someone to rally around. Dunkerque was too heavily damaged to fill the role and honestly, she would have pushed me to do it anyway."
"Mm," Gascogne nodded, antennae twitching once more. "What is the relationship with Battleship Dunkerque?"
"She's my best friend." Jean Bart answered truthfully, the flames within slightly simmering away. "She always wanted Vichya and Iris to work together once more, I could see it in her eyes. Her faith never wavered no matter how many attacks she received from the Royal Navy. If only I had completed my construction, I would have sent those traitors back to their small country. Why are you asking me all these questions?"
Gascogne looked at the waves, her face hiding her intentions like a vault. The Prototype opened her mouth to only close it with her eyes shifting back and forth. It wasn't until she nodded to herself that she answered, "Gascogne wishes to understand Jean Bart emotionally."
"Huh…" Jean Bart was taken aback by the declaration. Just a moment ago, Gascogne was denying any family tie but now she stated the opposite. For a prototype ship, Gascogne was the weirdest of them all. Even so, the frown Jean Bart naturally held loosened a bit. "What other questions do you have?"
Gascogne would have plenty for her.
Here was our little shipgirl focused chapter with the next chapter going to be a bit long. Happy Second Anniversary for Azur Lane EN, and oh boy are we getting some good stuff. Stay tuned to whenever I update, see you all later.
