Commander's office.
The Commander was reading a report from the latest patrol around the island. He had a grim look on his face as he skim read its contents. It seemed Commodore Nico had decided to blockade the island with his fleet. The Commander knew it was simply posturing and Nico just having the naval equivalent of a tantrum, but he worried about the safety of the men under his command.
If Nico was stupid enough to order his soldiers to use armed weapons on the kansen, they'd all be slaughtered in minutes without him to order them not to, fortunately he trusted the ship girls to not use excessive force when dealing with Nico's men, not that they really needed to.
On the latest patrol, Prinz Eugene reported seeing a PT boat from one of the transports scouting one of the beaches, it seemed all she did was glide over and ask them what they were doing and they ran away. He chuckled to himself, imagining Eugen, in her intimidating rigging and wearing that sultry smirk of hers, just asking those terrified men why they were close to the island against his wishes.
But his smile melted away as he thought about what could happen over the next few days, if the Admiralty was worried he didn't have the kansen under control, they may order Nico to secure the island. While he was confident Azur lane could easily win any armed engagement, he worried that it may cost innocent men their lives if Nico pushed them to not back down. Not to mention the long term effects of Azur lane killing humans, it could alienate them even further from the rest of the world and make them lose their resolve to fight the Sirens.
His thoughts were interrupted by his computer flashing and chiming, it seemed the Admiralty wanted to talk to him live for once. He clicked the message and a window popped up revealing a middle aged navy officer on screen.
Despite his obvious age, he darkly radiated an air of unyielding authority, clearly seemed energetic, but in a precise, calculated way. His face had bright green eyes and a short brown beard that extended around his chin and ran unbroken up the sides of his head as sideburns, his brown hair just visible under his cap.
The Commander then stood and saluted, a neutral expression on his face as he watched the screen.
"Admiral Samson sir!" he stated in a practised tone. Admiral Samson saluted back with what he must have thought was a kind smile, but to the Commander it just came off as condescending.
"At ease Commander." He replied, his tone seemingly friendly, but no warmth behind it. The Commander then sat back down and folded his arms while giving the Admiral an expectant look, dropping any pretence of professionalism. This seemed to annoy the Admiral and his voice showed it as he spoke.
"I guess I'll start with the most immediate issue: Why the hell did you give my nephew a bloody nose?" He accused. The Commander rolled his eyes.
"Your nephew has no manners, so I decided to teach him some." He replied casually. The Admiral scowled at him before continuing.
"Nico and his men are the only thing stopping the kansen from stepping out of line again, if you insist on making life harder for him there will be consequences!"
The Commander could barely keep himself from laughing at that statement. He then explained, while trying to stop himself from giggling like a school girl. "I'M the only thing keeping the ship girls in check, with trust in each other and our friendship, Nico and his men don't even come close by comparison!"
"Commander you can't trust or befriend a weapon; you can only use it." The Admiral corrected. "Don't feed me your drivel of 'bonds' and 'trust', the kansen are meant to be an intelligent weapons system for use against the Sirens, nothing else beyond that! Your carelessness could have jeopardised the rest of the world." He told him in, his anger giving way to worry.
The Commander grew curious at that remark and leaned closer to the screen. "How exactly would that come about? The kansen just want to protect humanity." He pointed out. Samson looked down for a moment, collecting his thoughts before he replied.
"For now, you could be right. But remember Commander: these women may look, talk and even think like humans, but they're NOT human, they're weapons of war. You really think they'll want to just stay on that little island forever once the Sirens are gone?" The Admiral ranted, getting irritated with the Commander's assumed naivety. He started pacing in front of his own camera as he kept monologuing.
"Lets say you win against the Sirens, you have your big, end of the war party, hooray!" He sarcastically cheered. "Then what? They'll just stay on Azur Lane HQ and their own little homelands, twiddling their thumbs for the rest of time? Or turning back into mental cubes and/or normal ships? Of course not!" He then stopped and glared directly at the Commander, the younger man feeling a hot pressure in his chest just from the look.
"They're literally just warships at the end of the day, Its in their nature to fight and destroy, they'll eventually either turn their sights on mankind or each other. In either case we lose Commander, Nico is the only true ally you have out there, those 'ship girls' are not and never will be your friends." Samson finished darkly.
The Commander was floored by the blunt hatred and fear from the Admiral, he truly believed humanity was in trouble once the kansen had gotten through with the Sirens. He didn't believe that himself, but he knew too many people thought like Samson and Nico about Azur Lane.
"Right...speaking of Nico I assume you have new orders for me that include him?" The Commander asked attempting to change the subject. Fortunately the Admiral took the bait and pulled a document out from off camera.
"Ah yes, I almost forgot: You're to allow Commodore Nico to offload his security forces onto Azur Lane HQ; you're expected to co-operate fully with him in this matter." Samson announced to him. The Commander sighed as the Admiral kept speaking.
"You are to allow his forces access to ALL areas of Azur Lane, no excep-"
"I'm gonna stop you right there." The Commander interrupted holding his hand up, not caring how rude it was. Samson glared up from the document.
"Excuse me?" he angrily asked.
"Many of the kansen are young girls, I won't permit some strange men snooping around their dormitories and bathhouses." The Commander then laced his fingers on the desk and added:
"Besides the older kansen won't allow it either and they won't be as nice about it if your men bring it up." The Admiral ignored the comment and continued.
"Each of the faction leaders will turn over their authority to new officers reporting directly to Commodore Nico, they are then to be incarcerated permanently, by force if necessary."
The Commander gave an exasperated gasp. "For someone who doesn't want Azur Lane to turn on humanity, you're giving them every reason to do so!" He snapped.
"Commander its not your decision." Samson stated matter-of-factly without looking up. "Those leaders are the same ones responsible for the 'Red Axis' war, as are you, the only reason you're not joining them, is because you're the only human who can, allegedly, control the kansen."
The Commander went wide eyed in fury at the accusation. "I did NOT cause th-"
"Finally..." The Admiral interrupted, making the Commander lean back out of annoyance. "Any and all sorties, are subject to approval by Commodore Nico, his forces must be present on all missions and patrols etc."
The Commander didn't even bother to look at the screen as he responded. "Then they might as well draw a bullseye on their hulls, since even the mass produced Sirens will tear them apart, plus the kansen are faster than anything Nico has."
"Well they'll just have to slow down then won't they? Someone has to watch the watchers." The Admiral sneered. "I should have known you'd go native Commander, but try to co-operate son, over the next few weeks you might just be glad to have fellow humans around to watch your back."
Samson then leaned in to turn off the camera, but then stopped for a moment. "Oh, one more thing: If you or any of your girlfriends ever touch my nephew again; I'll come out there and kill you myself."
The window then shut off as Samson switched off his camera. The Commander fumed in his seat as he mulled over his new reality. "I should just sink his whole damn fleet and be done with it." He thought as he clenched his fists.
The Computer chimed again, this time it was a message from the Royal Navy HQ, then a second one from Sakura Empire.
"Elizabeth AND Nagato calling me? What are the odds?" He thought again as he replied to both messages, in one window was an energetic, long blond haired girl with cloudy blue eyes looking back, she had a red and yellow crown on her head and seemed rather angry about something.
The other window showed a calm, long haired girl with black fox ears on her head and golden eyes, her expression very blank, the Commander knew Nagato wouldn't call unless it was important, she hated having to talk to anyone.
"What is it ladies?" The Commander asked, already regretting answering the queen's message.
In her very high pitched, almost child-like voice, Elizabeth screamed in fury: "Whats this about Wales throwing her glove at Akagi?! Hasn't that fox done enough damage without angering my subjects even further?!"
The Commander shot up from his seat and slammed his hands on the table in a mix of anger and shock.
"What?! What are you talking about your majesty?" He asked frantically.
"It seems Akagi has once again stirred up some trouble, I apologise for this Commander." Nagato solemnly replied, she looked down a little and her eyes closed slightly in what seemed to be disappointment.
"Trouble doesn't cover it! Commander, if Wales has thrown down the glove, than this can only mean one thing: a duel!" Elizabeth explained, pointing her finger at the camera.
"But...you girls spar all the time, how is this any different?" The Commander asked, not getting the seriousness of the queen's tone. Elizabeth frowned, getting irritated at the Commander's ignorance.
"Fine! Then i'll be blunt: This is to the DEATH!" She exclaimed. The Commander went white in the face at that fact. Even Nagato widened her eyes in shock.
"Why would Akagi want to accept something like that?" Nagato asked, fearful for her kitsune friend.
"She doesn't have a choice, once the glove is thrown you must accept! I'd have no choice but to hunt her down if she doesn't." Elizabeth retorted.
Nagato's gaze darkened considerably as Elizabeth finished, her eyes narrowed and her ears straightened up, standing on end. She barely showed emotion often, but that little glare was one of the most intimidating sights to many kansen, despite being one of the few ship girls shorter than her, Queen Elizabeth went a little white and her eyes widened somewhat meeting this little girl's angry glare.
"Don't...threaten...my friend like that." Nagato declared very slowly and firmly. "Argh! I-I'm sorry! C-Commander, Wales-said-its-at-the-training-grounds-bye!" Elizabeth stated rapid-fire, before then slamming the camera, frantically trying to find the off button, after a few seconds of panicked tapping on the screen her window finally shut off, leaving Nagato and the Commander alone in the chatroom.
Nagato's face returned to her neutral expression. "It seems I won't make it in time to witness the results of this...duel." she stated in a soft tone.
"Getting here might be bothersome anyway, Azur Lane HQ is blockaded by human ships." The Commander pointed out.
"How odd, do you require assistance?" Nagato asked. The Commander looked aside, thinking about what to say to her. If Commodore Nico was intent on capturing the faction leaders, it might be best if Nagato stayed away, but if she did, he may see that as an act of aggression and attack Sakura Empire directly. With their home at stake and no way to directly command them, the Commander was certain the Sakura kansen would massacre the humans.
"Yes, but non-lethal force only, its their commanding officer I have an issue with, we don't need blood on our hands." The Commander told her, going for a middle of the road approach.
Nagato nodded. "I will make haste." She then looked away and added more quietly: "Take care of Akagi, Commander." She blushed a little saying it, The Commander chuckled a little since she actually looked rather adorable like that. Akagi must have mentioned their kiss and confessions to her.
Her window then went off, leaving the Commander alone once more.