It was another day in Azur Lane's base of operations, everyone had already heard of their new commander's trip to the Royal Navy dorms and many were wondering why he was there in the first place and whether he was going to visit their dorms as well.
Out in the storage units, the blonde haired Cleveland and her sisters: Montpelier, Denver and Columbia, had just finished their rounds in checking the storage area for Akashi and they were now about to go on their way to head to the office to give a report.
On the way there, the group began to discuss their new commander, with Denver and Columbia prodding their older sister of what their new leader could be like. The one to answer however was not Cleveland, but Montepelier who stated that it didn't matter since their sister was clearly the best. While the other two sisters were not disagreeing, they still desired an actual answer, but then again, they expected as much from Montpelier who worshipped their eldest sister.
While they were engrossed in their conversation, Enterprise who was also making her way to the commander's office stumbled upon them.
Upon noticing her, Cleveland wasted no time in greeting her fellow Eagle Union ship, "Enterprise hey!"
"Heading to the commander's office?" holding up the report, Cleveland merely grinned at the carrier.
"I see, why don't we go together?" Enterprise asked and the light cruiser gladly accepted.
"You guys should head back to the dorms," Cleveland said to her sisters. "We might shock the commander if we all go."
Listening to their sister, the rest of the Cleveland class ships made their way back to the dorms while Enterprise and Cleveland herself headed for the office. When they arrived at the doors, the two heard their commander discussing something with Akashi inside the office.
"So even with the money we do have, purchasing new weapons and armour would still leave us empty. Well that's problematic, how much can we buy?" asked Emir.
"If we're planning to budget, then just up to at least two fleets nya." explained the Sakura repair ship.
Deciding to enter rather than continue to eavesdrop, Enterprise knocked on the door and waited for a signal to come in. Once she was allowed to go in, she opened the door where she and Cleveland were met with the eyes of the four people inside: Emir, Belfast, Amazon and Akashi.
After exchanging greetings, the two girls gave their reports in. Emir scanned over the pieces of paper before giving a nod of approval. "Great work you two. You can go back to the dorms now."
Cleveland was about to head out but noticed that Enterprise had not moved at all. The cruiser then asked if she was not coming but was ignored and instead the white haired shipgirl addressed their leader, asking him what the current situation was like. Although he was stunned at first by the sudden questioning, Emir quickly replied since he was aware that she was a representative.
"We've been thinking of getting some new gear to use against the Siren's. We've managed to get some of their armour that fell under the sea after their attack, so we're planning to use those as targets to test which weapons can deal damage." Emir explained, but the carrier knew from what she heard that they were struggling at the moment and judging from the boy's tired face, he's been working himself to the bone to come up with a solution.
"You seem tired commander," the carrier pointed out. "Why don't you take a break. I heard that you visited the Royal Navy dorms, why not come to Eagle Union next?"
Everyone was speechless at the sudden invitation, making Enterprise think that she had said something weird. But Emir quickly broke the awkwardness and scheduled to visit the next day, to which Enterprise gladly accepted and then left the office along with Cleveland.
Once they were gone Emir turned to his two secretaries and inquired if Enterprise was this sociable to new faces. Amazon mentioned that she wasn't sociable at first, but after some time she became one of the coolest people in the base and her actions often helped many ships get over some of their problems.
After hearing that, Emir began to entertain the idea that Enterprise may have invited him to help him with his predicament. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to visit. I'll have to make sure to clear my schedule, I have a feeling we'll be there all day."
The next day Emir and Belfast came to the Eagle Union dorms where an excited Cleveland waited for them. Waving at them the light cruiser then shouted, "Hey commander!"
Silently giggling at the girl's vigor, Emir waved at her back as he and the maid reached her.
"Morning Cleveland." the commander greeted, in response all Cleveland did was show him a wide grin as bright as the morning sun itself.
Emir had little knowledge of the Cleveland class ships, but from what he gathered in grandfather's stories is that they highly respected their big sister Cleve, though some were more vocal than others, and while Cleveland herself was described to be rather tomboyish in her personality, she's apparently also had moments where she was surprisingly girly.
As Cleveland walked them around the dorms, Emir immediately noticed the clear difference between the Royal Navy's dorms and Eagle Union's. For one the Union was far more casual looking: no lavish carpet, chandeliers or the feeling that one has stepped inside a castle; instead, the Eagle Union's dormitory felt like a school dormitory instead, it was a comfy atmosphere with only simple decorations: plants, paintings and desks that held small ship models. For Emir it was a breath of serenity in comparison to his time in the Royal Navy's dorms, which in his opinion was the apex of luxury.
"How is it so far commander?" Cleveland questioned, walking backwards so that she could talk with Emir face to face.
"It's a little bit more homey than the Royal Navy's. I like it, the simplicity is enjoyable." Emir replied, earning him a wide grin from the cruiser.
Cleveland then took her group to the dorm's kitchen where groups of different shipgirls had gathered. One of the girls, who had her red hair in twin-tails, happily skipped over to the group.
"Hey Cleve!" she gleefully greeted before turning her attention to Emir. However rather than greet him as well, the girl merely stared at him thoughtfully and even tilted her head in confusion. "Who's this?"
"It's the new commander," immediately the girl's face formed into a face of shock. She then returned to Cleveland and began to ask her what had happened to their previous commander.
"Was she let go? Did she get sick? Hah, did the Sirens get her?!" the girl's questions were relentless, but Cleveland managed to halt her and explain the situation regarding the commanders.
Now with a proper understanding of the situation, the girl finally introduced herself as San Diego: a light cruiser of the Atalanta class and a self-proclaimed idol. She was a chipper young girl, full of energy and quite positive. Though for some reason, she also looked like she lacked a couple of brain cells since when asked what everyone was doing, she answered they were making shuriken stars and when she pulled hers out… it was nothing more than a circle.
"This is… a star?" Emir questioned and the girl just nodded at him.
"Well, I don't know what a star is so I just made something I can throw," she answered innocently.
After their short conversation, San Diego left the group to their own devices while singing about how she was number one out loud.
Emir turned to his guide and she explained (in pain) that San Diego was not the sharpest tool in the shed, in fact she was dullest. Furthermore Cleveland revealed that the light cruiser also had no knowledge of the country she was born in, America. This was very surprising for Emir, because he thought even if San Diego was not the smartest person, she would at least know where she was made. So now armed with more knowledge about the girl, the commander made a mental note to not ask too much from the cruiser, unless it's very simple or unavoidable.
Continuing to observe the group making their throwing stars, Emir noticed tucked away in a little corner was a blonde haired girl with a meagre amount of clothes. She was staring at Emir with a rather amused look. Turning to Cleveland, Emir asked about the girl and the cruiser introduced the girl as Hornet, the younger sister of Enterprise.
"Enterprise's sister? Then why is she staring at me?" the commander asked.
"Ah she's been curious about the guy who beat her sister." Cleveland replied, with a nervous smile.
At this point the boy didn't even need an explanation, Enterprise was the ace of Azur Lane, she's always been the best, so it may have been shocking to see her beaten.
"So this is the commander who ended my sis' streak." a bubbly voice announced, before an arm wrapped around Emir's neck.
Emir's eyes then began to wander to Hornet but instead they landed on something that made his brain overheat. However he couldn't just stay silent, so with the remaining brain power he had left, Emir managed to stutter out, "He-hello there. Hornet correct?"
Noticing the flustered boy, Hornet gave a tiny smirk before she lightly teased the boy, "My eyes are up here."
Emir's next move was to immediately tear his eyes away, and quickly calm himself down. He was their commander, a new one at that, he didn't want to be labeled a pervert when he just began to work. In order to ensure his image isn't ruined, however he didn't need to worry since Hornet apologised to him, revealing that she was merely toying with him. Sighing in relief that he won't get in trouble, Emir invited Hornet to sit with them.
Gladly accepting the invitation, Hornet sat herself down and began to question Emir about how he managed to beat her sister. He didn't know what she was expecting, so Emir humbly confessed that all he did was instruct Akagi to distract her so that she could then do a sneak attack. Cleveland though added that it was loud and crazy enough to make Enterprise drop her guard, leaving her fully open to a direct attack.
Hornet contemplated the information she had been given, and she was honestly impressed. She began to smack Emir's back, while complimenting him for beating the ace of Azur Lane in their first exercise together.
After their chat with Hornet the group then proceeded with the tour, covering the rest of the dorms. During the tour, Emir noticed that they had not encountered Enterprise once. This prompted Emir to ask about her whereabouts and Cleveland explained that the carrier must have been somewhere on her own.
Curious as to what sort of person Enterprise was like, Emir asked the light cruiser as to what sort of person Enterprise was like. In her own words, the cruiser explained that Enterprise was a cool person, who knew how to make the people around feel safe and protected. However after the loss of her older sister, she became rather cold and while she still wanted to protect others, she instead turned feelings of relief to feelings of worry when she constantly put herself out on the line without any regard to her own well being.
"Her older sister? You mean Yorktown correct?" Emir questioned and Cleveland merely nodded in response.
"When she sank, it was a huge shock to the Union," Cleveland revealed. "She was our flagship and for her to sink was devastating. But even more so for Enterprise, who then felt that she needed to end the war as soon as possible."
Emir began to ponder about Cleveland's story, but noticed that Enterprise wasn't cold but rather she was closer to what the cruiser explained she was like before the loss of her sister.
"But I can tell, she's definitely no longer a cold person," Emir mentioned.
"Yeah, it's partly thanks to experience but also the commander, your grandpa," Cleveland confessed.
Emir froze momentarily, he hasn't really heard much about his grandfather's relationships with the girls, so this was new information.
"Because of him, Enterprise seemed to have managed to let go of her sister's death and it was all thanks to your grandpa giving her the opportunity to say goodbye," the cruiser said.
Confused as to what she meant, Emir asked, "Goodbye? What do you mean?"
Cleveland looked at her commander and saw that he truly was lost. There was a brief moment of silence before she decided to speak up once again.
"At the end of the war, we all held a massive funeral for the ones that sank. It was the moment in our lives that we could thank everyone who helped us and then say our final goodbyes to the ones we've lost without the fear of being attacked."
Upon hearing that, Emir decided to drop the subject. However he was unaware of Belfast who was looking at Cleveland warily.
Once the tour had ended, Emir returned to his office to finish off any paperwork he may have left suspended when he left. Belfast on another hand, informed her master that she had something to take care of and excused herself from his side for a short while. Normally Emir would be suspicious of her absence, but since his mind was on other things he allowed her to leave without inquiring at all.
Now with permission to leave, Belfast made her way to the outskirts of the Home Port where small hills ran along the cliffside that overlooked the sea. There she saw the spectre of Azur Lane's ace. She was sitting on top of a hill gazing out into the azure lanes she once protected along with the rest of the girls.
From where she stood the maid could clearly see the faint smile that was etched onto her face as her purple irises sparkled in the glow of the sun. This brought a smile to Belfast's own face as she slowly approached the carrier who she thought was too mesmerised to notice her presence.
"How was the tour?" the carrier asked, slightly surprising the maid.
"It went well, the young master was quite fond of the Eagle Union dormitory," the maid replied.
Enterprise turned to her friend and gave a relieved smile before saying, "That's good."
The two then began to catch up on their lives: Belfast telling stories of her time with Regis family; while Enterprise talked about the happenings around the Home Port. After some time, Belfast brought up a subject that even Enterprise couldn't see coming… her sister, Yorktown.
She explained that Emir learned of Yorktown's sinking and that was thanks to Cleveland explaining about her past. However Belfast also noted that Cleveland hid an important detail regarding Yorktown, and it didn't take long for Enterprise to deduce what that detail was.
"The Wisdom Cubes and the Key."
Belfast nodded. "Yes, while the young master has a faint idea of what the Wisdom Cubes are, he doesn't know about the Key," Belfast then became silent, she gazed out into the sea, much like the carrier did, before continuing, "Miss Cleveland told the young master that we held a funeral for all those who have lost their lives. However the young master is a curious person, he will most likely try and seek answers."
"Is that a problem?" Enterprise inquired with a raised eyebrow.
What followed this question was silence, so naturally Enterprise faced her friend in order to get a look at her expression, which may give her an answer. When she did, the carrier witnessed the maid as she shook in place, she listened to the cruiser do her best to let out full coherent sentences, but with the way her voice was breaking made most of her words illegible.
That's when she realised, Belfast was afraid.
"I do not know, now that the Sirens have returned. I fear, that if he were to delve more into our past, the more danger he will be subjected to," the maid admitted.
"You must really care about him," replied the carrier, in a warm tone.
"I do," Belfast began, "I have been by his side since childhood, so it could be some motherly feelings."
Enterprise gave out a silent giggle, thinking, "Is it truly just motherly?"
Hey everyone, hope you all enjoyed the chapter I know that there's not much detail to the dorm in comparison to the Royal Navy's and that's mainly because I always had the image of the Royal Navy's being very lavish in comparison to both Ironblood's and Eagle Union's. Sakura Empire is a different story.
Any who, next dorm will be Ironblood, so all of you who love the Ironblood faction be somewhat excited because I can't guarantee your shipfu will be in it but hey at least its Ironblood.
No massive or super important message this time, so as usual feel free to tell me all your thoughts about the chapter, positive and/or negative.
Thank you all so much for reading and I hope to see you all next chapter :D