"Hmm? Where am I? And who has woke me?" A tall dark haired woman asked as she stood, under her own power, on the deck of a massive battleship of German design.
"Holy shit..." I-13 whispered. Moments before, there were a pile of cubes that had been sitting in the drydock. Now she was staring at an absolute behemoth of a battleship.
"You, young child of Sakura. Would you be so kind as to answer my question?" The woman asked as two massive mechanical serpents slowly made themselves known, snaking across the deck like some sort of Deus Ex Leviathan.
"You are on the Island of Niue, at the Azur Lane facility in the South Pacific. We... Myself and Akashi... we awoke you to aid our Shikikan on his mission." I-13 spoke as one of the serpents coiled around the gangway, stopping only a few inches from I-13's face.
"So, I have a Kommandant? Hmm? Where is he?" The woman asked as she scratched the chin of the other serpent, the sound of her metal tipped fingers created a soft metallic ring.
"He is more than likely approaching the Island of Fiji. If we can get your sisters built, We can send you to battle." I-13 spoke.
"Good. Excellent! I will get out of your way, my child. I will await the commission of my sisters of Ironblood. Please send us as soon as you are able. Our Kommandant has need of us." The woman spoke as the drydock began to fill, lifting the hulking mass of steel and allowing her Kansen to pull into the wet docks.
"So that is Friedrich der Große... She is utterly terrifying to behold. I don't think I could sink her... even if my life depended on it." I-13 thought to herself.
"Akashi! Drain the dry docks and prepare the next ship!" I-13 yelled.
"Hai" Akashi yelled as the docks quickly drained. At the bottom was a small disk that mirrored the one inside the lab. Akashi piled the next set of ten cubes onto the pad and ran immediately as the disk began to glow. The cubes dissolved into specks of light that traveled upwards, quietly coming to rest in the form of a ship before slowly darkening in color. Steel formed from the light as a sleek and dangerous hull sat snugly in the dry dock. The rest of the ship came seconds after, having already been fed the necessary information. As with Friedrich, Akashi also hid one of the devices used to speed up build time inside the pile of cubes.
"Was muss ein Mädchen tun, um hier Kaffee zu bekommen?" A young, white haired, Ironblood girl asked as she stood on the deck of her newly minted light cruiser.
"Uh... I know you're speaking German... but I cannot understand you." I-13 admitted.
"Coffee. What does a girl have to do to get some coffee around here?" The cruiser asked.
"Oh... I'm sure I can find you some... It won't be the best." I-13 asked.
"Ugh. If it isn't made right, there's no point." The cruiser said, clearly annoyed at her lack of caffeinated beverages.
"Well, Why am I here? What purpose have I been brought here for?" The cruiser asked.
"Light Cruiser Mainz... You have been constructed to aid our Shikikan in taking back this world from the Sirens. Once we have the last of your sisters constructed, you will ship out for Fiji to back him up." I-13 spoke.
"Ugh. Fine. I'm sure he can find me something decent." Mainz spoke as the docks began to fill once again.
"Iron Blood girls are always a handful." I-13 thought to herself as Friedrich made her way over to the Mainz.
"My child... You wouldn't be disrespecting the acting Kommandant, would you?" Friedrich asked, a slight hint of malice sullied her angelic voice.
Mainz did not get the hint.
"It isn't my fault that this dumb little submarine can't brew some decent coffee. Maybe our actual commander can do better." Mainz spoke, causing I-13 to hang her head.
"My child. Do not let her words sway you." Friedrich spoke as she jumped up onto the deck of the Mainz.
"Disrespecting those who command me, is the same as disrespecting me. And I will not allow such a travesty from such children of Ironblood." Friedrich spoke, her golden eyes shining brightly behind stray strands of hair. Once again, Mainz did not back down.
"And who the hell are you, you pin-up pansy? You think I'm scared of you just because you think you're some super special battleship?" Mainz growled as her rigging took form, drawing her sabre.
"Poor decision, my child." Friedrich said as she grabbed the sabre by its blade and snapped it between her fingers.
"Please, both of you, stop. Sirens have conquered the world! This is no time to be fighting among ourselves. I'll admit that I'm not much in the way of a commander, but please heed my commands. You will be under the command of an actual commander upon your arrival in Fiji. So please, just let us get your last sister assembled so you can take your aggression out on the open seas." I-13 spoke, her voice shaking in the presence of two monstrous kansens.
"As you wish, my sakura child." Friedrich said as she dropped the broken sabre that Mainz had long let go of.
"Fine. Let's just get this done." Mainz said, suddenly glad that she didnt have to fight the demon she had been staring down.
"Last one, Akashi." I-13 used her radio, her usual voice had lost it's gusto.
"H-hai." Akashi said nervously as she placed the last of the cubes on the pad, along with another building part.
"This one is Oden, nyaa." Akashi spoke as she cleared the dry dock in time to watch another massive battleship take shape.
"If I have been awakened, then there must be need of my strength and tactical advantage. You, Submarine, is this the case?" Odin asked, quickly taking stock of her surroundings.
"Yes. We are starting a war with the Sirens, who have enslaved the earth and it's people. Our shikikan needs your help as well as the help of your sisters. Please." I-13 spoke.
"Understood. Fighting such a foe... will bring me much joy." Odin spoke as she cracked her neck. her rigging appeared.
"She looks like an officer of the Kriegsmarine. She might be the best candidate for leading these three until Isaac can incorporate them." I-13 thought.
"Excellent. And it only took us 2 hours to get this done." I-13 spoke as Odin departed the dry docks.
"You three, please come to the lab." I-13 spoke through her radio.
Within minutes, the three Iron Blood Kansens stood before her.
"Akashi made you some coffee... Just the way Shikikan drinks it." Akashi spoke as her voice shook, handing the metal canteen to Mainz, whose face immediately brightened the moment she caught a whiff.
"I take it back, maybe you guys are good for coffee. This smells amazing." Mainz said as she slowly sipped it as she listened to I-13.
"Okay. As I said, Shikikan is currently on his way to Fiji. If you can steam straight there, I believe that he has cleared the way through this area of the Pacific. So there is no danger of being traced back to here. Please get to him as soon as possible. I do not know how much longer his forces can stand against the Drone ships and Sirens that have taken root in the Philippines and surrounding seas." I-13 spoke as she bowed to the three Ironblood Kansens.
"Lift your head, child. We will join with him and crush his opponents under our heels. It will be quite the performance. One that we will encore until this world is free." Friedrich spoke.
"Yeah, kid. We may look innocent, but we are just as fierce as any warship, if not more so." Mainz spoke as she rested her hand on a new sabre that graced her hip.
"This new commander sounds like he lacks a proper Tactician. If he even uses a quarter of the strategies I suggest, we may have this war won by St. Stevens day." Odin spoke as she tilted her cap.
"I hope so. Isaac has been working himself to the bone and has even graced Death's doorstep. If you could protect him, as he has protected us, then I would be most appreciative." I-13 spoke, blushing when she spoke his name.
"Understood." The girls spoke.
"Odin, I want you to assume command until you reach Fiji. The only order I ask you to follow is that if you find any wisdom cubes, please give them to the Shikikan when you see him." I-13 spoke as the Ironblood Kansen left the lab. Fog horns graced the ears of all who was present, as the three massive ships left port.
"That is much better. I appreciate the soup, Taka." Yukikaze spoke.
"I'm glad it was satisfactory. Hopefully it will hold you over until we can meet up with this Shikikan we heard about." Taka said as the Advisor's son moved past him and sat with Hashirama.
"Do we know anything else about this commander?" Fu asked.
"Other than he was seen with Royal, Union, and Sakura ships? Not a thing. The Sirens are guessing he is from the Union since their empress failed to kill an escapee during a riot. Supposedly, she has been scouring the areas around the west coast of the Union, looking for any signs of him." The advisors son spoke.
"We never got your name. Could you tell us?" Taka asked.
"Just call me Kido. My father is the advisor to the Emperor of Japan." Kido spoke softly.
"Hmm. No wonder Lady Shinano is so insistent on this guy. If he can get three nations working together, then he must be some kind of legend." Taka said as he stared at the sky through the porthole.
"Well, we should be able to find out in about two days. Hopefully we don't run into anything before then." Fu said as he finished his bowl of soup.
"Let us hope." Hashirama said as they steamed towards Fiji.