It wasn't long before the team made the announcement to the rest of the fleet. Due to injuries sustained, the Commander's left arm had to be surgically removed. This was the best move as to explain what happened to the Commander in between the attack was one that nobody wanted to speak about. In fact, the man in question itself could not properly recall the events that transpired during his excursion. Whether it was one he experienced mentally or physically was unclear and perhaps it was better that way. Everyone needed to move on and not dwell on the past too long.
As for the change in look, that didn't require skewering the facts all that much. He required blood to survive the operation and Enterprise volunteered. This, coupled by his other-worlder physiology led to the change in his appearance.
Not long afterwards, the Commander made an announcement to everyone in the fleet, assuring them that nothing has changed. The day-to-day operations that everyone was used to would continue unabated. As for the overarching goal of defeating the sirens, that was the endgame and in time, he would decide on how to take a step forward to achieve that goal.
That was two weeks ago.
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The scene was a familiar one, the setting was night and there was no one else around except for the two of them. She was dreesed in a formal white dress, which was only reserved for winter occasions. There was nothing wrong with wearing something out of season and he didn't mind it at all. In fact, when he first saw her, he made it clear that she looked absolutely enchanting in what she wore.
"Here's to us," said the Commander, dressed in his new uniform as the two of them clinked glasses and took a small sip of the contents.
"Yes," said Enterprise, smiling lovingly at him "I'm glad we're taking some time off to do this."
"Well it's like you said Enterprise: sometimes you have to stop what you're doing and admire what's in front of you."
"So here I am," he said smiling warmly at her "admiring what's in front of me."
"Oh Commander," she said, turning away immediately as the blood rushed to her face "you can't say something like that."
"Why not?" he asked, getting up from his seat and kneeling next to her "everyone else is asleep. You and I are the only people here."
"Yes," she said, looking at him, all the while still red in the face.
"And you don't need to call me Commander when we're alone," he said, moving dangerously close to her.
"When it's just the two of us," he said, his breath on her neck "you can call me….."
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"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH," shouted Enterprise, shooting out of bed, panting hard.
'Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-what the hell just happened?' she thought then instinctually touched her neck. It was only now she realized that what just happened was a dream.
"That was a dream right?" she muttered to herself, wiping the sweat from her head and face "but…. Why am I dreaming about him?"
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To call what happened each morning a training session would be putting it kindly. It mostly consisted of the Commander trying his hardest to land a strike on Belfast, with his sabre, while the latter regularly knocked his ass on the ground.
"Get up Commander," she said, standing on one leg "you won't be beating any sirens on your back like that."
At that provocation, he quickly shot to his feet and went on the offensive against her.
'As much as I tried to provoke or goad him,' she thought, dodging the flurry of swings and thrusts that came her way 'he didn't respond to any of them. His mind is still sharp and focused, not clouded by any emotions.'
'His mind is still sharp, able to react to my attacks and predict when I'm going to strike,' she thought taking a step back then quickly charging forward so that she was only a hair's breadth away from him.
The Commander was quick on his feet as he also jumped back and pointed his sword at her, before she could take advantage of the opening.
'The problem comes from his muscle memory,' she thought and just as she expected, he tried to attack her with his left arm, only realizing he didn't have one, but it provided Belfast the time she needed to perform a leg sweep, sending him to the ground once again.
"Commander you really need to work on that muscle memory of yours," she said, reaching out to grab him, but he declined. Instead he flipped himself up and kicked his sabre up instead of bending down to retrieve it.
"That's easier said than done Belfast," he said, sheathing the weapon "that's something that's practically been ingrained into your body for a long time. To overwrite that is not something you can do in a month or two."
"Hmm then we need to start thinking of other avenues like meditation," she thought, rubbing her chin "I might not always be there to pick you up Commander."
Belfast was deep in thought, trying to figure out how best to help the Commander. She was so deep in thought, she failed to notice the protruding root behind her as she took a step back. This caused her to tumble back and if not for the timely reaction of the Commander, she would have also hit the ground.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his one good hand stretched out, holding hers while she was stunned at what happened.
He pulled her back to a vertical base. He looked like he was about to say something, but Belfast quickly threw a towel in his face.
"You'd better get ready," she said, hiding the hint of red forming on her cheeks "the day's starting and we can't have you late. It sets a bad precedent."
At this, the Commander could only nod in silence and wipe the sweat off his face and chest.
When the pair got back to HQ, he got out of his training clothes and into the bath. Although he had a little trouble getting the soap in certain places his hands couldn't reach, it wasn't something that debilitating.
The real problem came afterwards.
Tasks such as tying your shoes, putting on your pant and loopin the belt through the holes became an increasingly difficult task in his current state. As much as Z23 initially kept forcing him to agree to let her help, the Commander was adamant in the belief that this was something he had to do on his own.
He looked at himself in the mirror and remarked "did it without falling down once or swearing. Always a good day when that happens."
With that, he left the room.
The change in appearance the Commander underwent was not simply limited to the way he looked. Now that his regular uniform was torn up, bloodied and could only be used as rags, he had to have a new uniform.
This came in the form of a black Commander's uniform with thin white lines along the edges. Although it didn't look remarkably different from his regular uniform and was only an inversion of the former, he still felt it was a big change from what he was used to.
He reached out and grabbed the cape that rested on the chair and with a quick flourish, he attached it to his uniform.
"All set," he said, looking at his reflection in the mirror then left. Outside, he was greeted (more like reprimanded) by Z23, for taking so long to get ready.
Initially, many of the fleet members thought that this change in look and attire was a sign that the Commander was perhaps undergoing a change in personality. They thought that from now on, he'd start having them go on riskier missions and pick fights with factions they were nowhere near ready to face.
In fact, many were initially wary of him, fearing this personality change might bring about a more darker and harsher outlook on life.
The only people on the fleet that didn't make a big deal about the Commander's change in look was Yorktown and the school of children she taught. Just like how they did before, some of the kids would come to the Commander's room and either play with the toys they brought, scribble in their coloring books or sleep on the sofa that was there.
As for Yorktown, she simply said "he's still the same person as before," when others voiced their concern to her.
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"Any adverse reactions?" asked Vestal, poking and prodding Enterprise with her index fingers.
"Yeah," she said, "I mean you initially dismissed the whole idea of anything happening to me because the Commander's generally weaker than us….. But what if the effects happen over time and not immediately?"
"There'd still be markers for something like that," replied Vestal "is that why you came here? Did something happen?"
"Uh…" said Enterprise, remiss to recall the steamy dream she had last night "I am feeling a little weaker than normal."
"Well it normally takes a day for a person to recover from giving blood," said Vestal, tapping her pen against the table "but given the circumstances, maybe its a little longer in this case. I'd recommend resting in your room for the day. The Commander hasn't put you on any sorties right?'
"No."
"Good. Then take this chance to rest and relax."
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'Vestal was right about needing to rest,' thought Enterprise, standing outside a door
'But how the heck did I wind up here?' she thought, referring to her standing outside the Commander's office.
'Vestal said to relax somewhere I'm comfortable with,' she thought, ignoring the fact that only half that statement was true.
'So why here?' she thought 'I mean the Commander's easy to get along with and has a good relationship with everyone…'
Her thoughts came to a halt when she heard some kids laughing and giggling from the other side. Curious, she opened the door and found the Commander sitting infront of a small plastic table, with his guests Aulick, Thatcher and Fletcher.
"Commander," declared Fletcher "today Thatcher is the Dutchess of Tea, Aulick is the Lady of Pudding and I am the Duchy of Mint."
"So what am I?" he asked, pointing to himself.
"The butler," replied the three of them at the same time.
"Excuse me," said Enterprise, now fully entering the room "what's going on?"
"Hey Enterprise," he said, standing up to greet her "I'm just playing with the kids. Wanna join us?"
"Commander, this is the third game the four of you have played," interjected Z23, holding a notebook in one hand, a pen in the other and wore a pair of curved rectangular specs "you have to take them back to class now."
"EH? Boo I wanna play more," stated Thatcher.
"But the classes are boring," said Aulick
"Can't we play a little longer?" asked Fletcher
"Yeah can't we?" asked the Commander.
"Oh I'm fine with you guys playing as much as you like," said Z23, with a shrug, causing the four of them to sigh in relief "but you don't wanna get Yorktown mad do you?"
At that statement, the four children (yes, him too) froze in fear, the color draining from their faces. The party were no doubt recalling the last time Yorktown lectured them for playing too long.
"Crap look at the time," shouted the Commander "we have to get going."
The three others nodded to him and without another word they darted out of the room.
"Umm…." said Enterprise, baffled at the turn of events.
"He likes to play with the kids," said Z23, "its the only thing he does here aside from going over reports, approving commissions and checking the inventory. It's pretty boring stuff so I agree to let him have some fun, but he often has too much fun."
"Sorry Enterprise, did you want to ask him something?"
"Ah, no nothing like that," said Enterprise "hey, would you mind if I rested here for a little?"
"Is something wrong with your bed?" asked Z23, sounding concerned "we could have an order made for a replacement."
"No, it's just….. My place smells a little weird," she said, lying a little "I've opened up the windows so it shouldn't be there for too long, but for now, I'd like to rest here."
As much as Z23 wanted to state how there was a perfectly good lounge room that was recently renovated with a new theme, Z23 thought it best not to point it out. For whatever reason, Enterprise felt relaxed here and as long as she wasn't impeding any work, she was welcome to relax here.
"Alright go ahead," she said, walking towards the door.
Enterprise watched Z23 leave then sat on the sofa. It wasn't as comfortable as the bed she was used to, but the atmosphere of the room put her mind at ease.
"Maybe just for a few minutes," she said, lowering her head and closing her eyes.
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After an unspecified amount of time had passed, Enterprise woke up. She let out a long yawn, blinked a couple of times and stretched her arms and legs a little.
As she did, she noticed the black cape resting on her, the same one that the Commander wore.
She noticed this and looked at both the desk and door to make sure no one was there or that no one was about to come in.
Sure she was alone, Enterprise put the cape on her and smiled to herself at how well it fit and how much it smelt like him.
She was swaying side to side across the room, but soon came to a halt. This was because she noticed what was going on outside the window and knew what would happen next. Enterprise darted out the room, bounded down the hallways and leapt down the steps before leaving the building.
Outside, she noticed that Z23, Belfast, Illustrious, Oklahoma, Nevada, Hornet and the Commander were all staring at the spectacle above.
"Is this natural?" asked the Commander, reaching out and watching as a sakura petal rested onto his hand "do petals like this usually just start falling out of nowhere?"
"This isn't natural at all," said Enterprise, marching ahead and standing in-front of him "this is her doing."
As if on queue, the group saw a pair of shadowy figures land on the grounds, a good distance from them. Considering that it was night, there was low visibility, making it difficult to make them out. While the others could hazard a guess as to who the two figures were, the Commander could only grasp at straws.
The figures looked human that was for sure. But then he noticed the two protrusions emerging from the top of their heads and behind them were two shapes too difficult to discern in the dark.
As the pair drew closer, the light from the headquarters revealed their forms.
"Akagi," said Enterprise, getting her bow ready.
"Hello Enterprise," said the woman in light brown hair "nice to see you after so long."
"You know for someone who's dead, you don't look that bad," said the white-haired girl beside Akagi.
"Kaga," said Eugen, taking a step forward "still taking your bead from Akagi."
Kaga narrowed her gaze at that comment, looking like she was about to strike. Akagi extended her left hand out and said "Kaga, stop. We didn't come here to fight. Just the opposite in fact."
"Well that's new," said Enterprise "it's not often the two of you are seen without your entourage."
"And before they realize we've been missing," said Akagi, striding past Enterprise "I'd better deliver my message."
'You," she said, looking at the Commander "I heard a lot of good things about you, otherworlder. Unfortunately you're not as grand as the stories make you out to be."
He immediately noticed how Hornet and Belfast looked like they were about to attack and quickly reacted.
"Yeah, can't help it," he said, smiling a little "Haven't been training as much as I should and the food here is way better than anything I had back home."
"Comedy," said Akagi, looking down on him "the last weapon of a cornered animal."
"I'll make this brief, otherworlder. Submit to me, and I'll let this merry little group you've got continue without any trouble."
The group looked like they were ready to attack but the Commander quickly raised his hand up and stopped them.
"That's a pretty bold statement to make," he said, smiling. This time though, it did little to hide the anger in his voice "what happens if I say no?"
"Then you'll learn what so many others have learned," Akagi replied, showing an equal degree of animosity towards him "a painful death awaits any who dare stand against the Sakura Empire."
Akagi looked at the others behind the Commander and said "I came here expecting to see warriors and soldiers and the only thing I see is… disappointment."
"Come Kaga," she said, turning around and walking away "I'll give you three days to decide and give me your answer."
The group watched both Akagi and Kaga head back into the shadows and vanish out of view. As that happened, they noticed how the falling sakura petals had stopped.
"Well this was a fun turn of events," said the Commander, looking in the direction the pair came from "now time for a response."
"Commander," said Illustrious, turning to him "just to be clear…. You're not going to surrender are you?"
"Nope," he replied, a hint of arrogance in his voice "I know what we're going to do."
With that said, he went back into headquarters, no doubt to come up with an appropriate response. It seemed that before he contended with the sirens, he would first have to deal with the overarching problem of the Sakura Empire, who have made their intentions clear.
"By the way," said Belfast, looking at Enterprise up and down "what are you doing wearing the Commander's cape?"
All Enterprise could do was look away and pretend she didn't hear the question.