"My, this is quite a conundrum…" Emperor said as he watched the events unfold in front of him. If he had a cup of tea, he'd be sipping it.
A few miles away from him, a convoy of what looked like cargo and civilian transport ships was being targeted by a small Siren fleet. When he arrived, their escort had already been wiped out, and now the alien warships were targeting the defenseless cargo ships.
There weren't many of them; normally, if he had no choice, he'd be able to take care of them with little effort, but right now he was exhausted.
It had been hours since he had become separated from the others, and he had been aimlessly wandering under the scorching sun the entire time; thankfully, he had his trusted tricorn hat covering his sweat-drenched dirty blond locks, or he would have passed out from heatstroke by now; Kansen were more durable than humans, but they also had limits, and he was approaching his own, especially since he had already been worn out by the previous battle, the one before the accident that brought him here.
He was aware that he was no longer in his home reality; it was a risk he was willing to take when he and his brothers agreed to embark on that ordeal. The worst part was that he had basically no information about the location; the only thing he was certain of was that if they had sirens, they must have wisdom cubes, and if they had wisdom cubes, they must have Kansen like him, or whatever else could come out of those creepy alien contraptions.
But knowing that wasn't helping him. He could only hope that the technology of this world was advanced enough to allow him and his brothers to go back, but first, he had to find them, and if he wanted to find them, he had to preserve his energy, which meant he couldn't afford to get involved in every minor scuffle he came across, like the one happening in front of him.
Even if it meant leaving helpless people at the mercy of the Sirens.
…
"ARGH! FUCK IT! I can't just stand here and watch them die!" He shouted in frustration and immediately bolted towards the fleet.
This was not who he was; he couldn't bring himself to look the other way, no matter how many lame excuses he tried to come up with. He had to help them; he couldn't live with himself if he didn't. He could deal with the consequences later, if he survived, of course.
He took off his hat, steeled his resolve, and focused on his Cube.
"Wisdom Crafting…"
.
.
"It's over." John Walker, captain of the Serendipity, the lead ship of the convoy, had lost all hope.
The Sirens came out of nowhere, wiped out their escort in a heartbeat, and were now ready to focus their murderous intents on the cargo ships.
"These waters were supposed to be safe, dammit!" He hissed in frustration, slamming his fist on the panel in front of him. Siren incursions had been intensifying lately, and finding a good and competent escort was becoming harder day after day, so they decided to settle for what they could find; after all, given the relative proximity to the biggest Royal Navy base and the frequency of their patrols, this route was officially regarded as Siren-free. The chances of bumping into a solitary scout were already slim enough, and the chances of encountering an entire fleet were astronomically low.
It seems this was not their lucky day.
And now they were paying the price for their negligence; even without taking them by surprise, their underprepared escort was no match for two Siren destroyers, one battleship, and one light cruiser. Good thing they didn't have a carrier; otherwise, they would have already been annihilated.
"Mother of God!" The other men around him could only watch helplessly as the last of their escort ships still putting up a fight was enveloped in a fireball caused by the explosion of its magazine.
"Sir, what do we do?!" The alien warships were now turning to focus their attention on them.
He had no choice. "Radio the other ships! They must get to a safe distance until help arrives; have them drop their cargo and try to outspeed them!"
"What about us!?"
He looked his men in the eyes and declared. "We cover their escape; turn to starboard! And after that, ALL MEN ABANDON SHIP!"
"Yes sir!" His men scattered immediately to execute his orders, while he turned his attention to the enemy through the windows of the bridge.
They were now facing directly at them, their alien-looking barrels and batteries slowly adjusting their angle, ready to unleash their fury upon them. The escort ships flanked the battleship.
"I'm sorry men… God forgive me, but I don't think we'll have enough time to abandon ship."
The cannons roared. He closed his eyes and braced for impact.
A deafening noise reached his ears, but the ship didn't even budge.
Several others followed suit in a cacophony of impacts, but there was still no shockwave.
"What the…"
"CAPTAIN!" Came the voice of his helmsman.
"Y-yeah?"
"LOOK!" He shouted again, pointing at something outside.
He turned his eyes to the window. "Oh fuck…"
A flat, transparent energy shield with golden lining on its side was standing like a curtain in the middle of the sea, not too far from the hull of the Serendipity, and it was blocking the incoming barrage of attacks. Not only that, but he got a glimpse of aircraft flying above them.
Taken aback by the sudden turn of events and with a new glimmer of hope in his heart, the Captain rushed outside of the bridge, went on deck, and leaned over the guardrail, trying to get a better look.
The curtain shield, which was large enough to cover most of their flank, was being deployed by a weird contraption floating in the middle of it; the impact of shells and laser blasts caused ripples to run along its surface. In the sky, he could see aircraft swarming around, Grummans of various types, harassing the Siren escort ships and forcing them to deploy their AA defenses.
Behind the shield, standing on the water, was a figure dressed in black and white. Another weird contraption was hovering behind its back; it looked metallic, was decorated with silver and gold, and resembled an eagle with a crown atop its head, with its wings spread widely on each of its sides. Those wings resembled the flight deck of an aircraft carrier; at the tip, they transitioned from solid matter to shining rays of light that enveloped the figure like an ethereal cloth.
There was no mistaking it. That was rigging; it was a Kansen! Reinforcements had finally arrived!
Something caught his eye on second glance. The short, dirty blond locks adorning the head of their savior did not belong to a feminine face; the figure that was giving him his back was clearly a man, he could tell it even from behind. How could it be? He thought Kansen could only come out as women.
Besides, he had only just sent the distress call with the coordinates of their location, and there were no Royal Navy patrols around at that moment.
And if he was alone, what could he possibly do against an entire Siren fleet?
"Who in the hell is this man?"
.
.
"It's been a while since I last summoned my rigging…" Emperor grimaced, doing everything he could to keep his shield up while controlling two different squadrons of aircraft at the same time.
He was out of practice; he knew it and couldn't do anything about it. Since Sparviero had joined their team, his role as a support carrier had slowly become more and more marginal; he started using his rigging less and less, his utility in battle slowly reaching a dead end, until he started believing that his presence had become completely irrelevant… and then he was appointed strategist of the team, which made him the de facto leader of the group. At that moment, any complex of inferiority that was starting to grow within him was quickly replaced by a newfound sense of duty, and with it came the weight of responsibility. Suddenly, he found himself with a lot of pressure on his shoulder; his brothers were counting on him to have their back, and he couldn't allow himself to be left behind.
But no matter how much he tried, he could never match their prowess in battle, and the retrofit that was granted to him by the higher-ups wasn't making him any good either.
His brothers were very understanding about it, telling him that he didn't need to feel that way, that his presence was important to them, and that he could contribute to the success of their missions even from the sidelines, supporting them with his brain and his experience. He was grateful for that, but it didn't help him with his feeling of inadequacy.
And then there was Kurama. The two of them had always been at each other's throats, and the Kitsune didn't mince his words when he told him that if he was so sure of being useless, he was free to leave the team and retire whenever he wanted. He didn't want his negativity to affect the morale of the others; he remembered that time with fondness, and if he recalls correctly, they came to blows and a few shots were fired during that argument. Emperor knew that it was his brother's way of telling him to get a grip and that he didn't have any expectations to meet outside of those of their superiors. As long as he kept doing his job to the best of his abilities, they would never forsake him.
With a huge weight lifted from his heart, he resigned himself to his fate and spent the rest of his time training with his brothers, improving their coordination, and helping the newcomer Sparviero adjust to his new life.
But with time, the layer of secrets surrounding the Wisdom Cubes was slowly starting to get unraveled. Many important discoveries were made, and one of them, in particular, would change the way Kansen conducted their battles against the Sirens; it was a huge breakthrough that allowed him and other more "outdated" Kansen to get back into play.
When it was made public, he was so thrilled about it that he couldn't contain his excitement and offered himself as a volunteer for the first crash course in mastering the newly discovered secret of the Cubes, which was named Wisdom Crafting.
Unfortunately, just as most people have no idea how their bodies work, he was unaware of the technicalities surrounding the Cubes; that was the domain of scientists and researchers, and he only knew the gist of it.
What happens when you combine the hopes and dreams of humanity with an alien cluster of data and knowledge? You get a Kansen.
And what happens when Kansen learn to freely control that cluster of data? You get Wisdom Crafting, the ability to conjure matter directly from the knowledge contained in your Cube, just like rigging.
But, whereas rigging was a naturally implemented function in every Kansen that came to them as naturally as breathing and could be used without consequence, wisdom crafting required intense effort and practice, its effects varied from Kansen to Kansen, and it had a significant negative impact on them.
And he was starting to feel it.
Using his Morphing Polyhedron to create a shield and protect the ships behind him while simultaneously controlling two different squadrons of aircraft with his rigging was taking its toll on him. Adding to the fact that he was tired, dehydrated, and sleep-deprived, he didn't know how much longer he could resist; he knew he had to end this quickly.
What he needed was just an opening, a single moment to exploit, and he'd be able to put an end to this fight.
The color of his shield was slowly changing to orange thanks to all the damage it was absorbing from the enemy volleys; it was only a matter of seconds before it turned bright red.
Meanwhile, the Siren assault was unrelenting; even though their calculations were not able to predict the arrival of the new variable, they realized immediately that it was simply taking hits without retaliating, and its aircraft were more of a nuisance than an active threat, so their simple digital brain decided to just brute force through it. They would break through that shield, eliminate their targets, and then go back to perform their task. It was as simple as that.
Suddenly, the aircraft harassing one of the destroyers were able to deliver a significant hit to their target, neutralizing its main battery.
At the same time, Emperor's shield had turned a bright red color.
And the battleship, which had stopped firing, was reloading for the next volley.
Emperor smirked. That was his chance.
Rising his hand towards the polyhedron powering the shield, he mentally ordered to recall it. The shield suddenly retreated inside the polyhedron, which started humming with a low, menacing tone and emitting light of the same red color that was saturating the barrier.
Without the shield, the enemy salvos were finally able to reach their target, but most of them simply flew over the deck of the ship, while others impacted harmlessly in the water, too close to the Serendipity and Emperor himself.
Unperturbed, he sent a mental order to his aircraft. His rigging started glowing in response, and they all started diving toward the Siren escort ships at once.
"And now, the final touch." Said Emperor focusing on his Morphing Polyhedron and making it change shape and size. The contraption's structure started rearranging itself to fit its creator's will.
It took the form of an elongated, futuristic spear with a spiral shape, plated in gold and silver, decorated with metallic wings and feathers, just like his rigging.
The gold and silver winged spear was pulsating with an ominous red hue and was hovering a few feet above the shipboy. And it was massive, almost half as long as a small destroyer and as wide as a truck.
"Preparations completed." He said to himself, turning his gaze towards the battleship.
He positioned himself as if he were throwing a javelin and shouted, "TAKE THIS! YOU FILTHY PIECE OF SIREN CRAP!"
The spear took off like a missile, traveled the distance toward its target in a few instants, and made contact.
The spear exploded in a red and golden flash, cleaving through its target like butter, disintegrating the entirety of the superstructure of the battleship, leaving behind only a chunk of burnt metal smoking like charcoal floating in the sea. The shockwave reached back to Emperor and the sound of the impact was ear-splitting, like nails scratching the surface of a blackboard but with a metallic screech that sent shivers down everyone's spine.
The deflagration also reached the light cruiser, which was sailing next to its capital ship to protect it from the aircraft; of course, it suffered the same fate.
Meanwhile, those same aircraft that he sent to kamikaze into the smaller ships had done their jobs, neutralizing their weapons and rendering them harmless.
The two destroyers looked worse for wear compared to when they started fighting; having lost their capital ship and being barely considered seaworthy in their condition, their only choice was to retreat.
Emperor, who was watching those ships with a concerned expression, breathed a sigh of relief when he saw them turning back and retreating.
"I did it…" He said this while panting from exhaustion and dismissing his rigging.
He tried to recall his polyhedron, but he couldn't feel its presence anymore; it must have been destroyed in the impact. He couldn't even use it as a hat anymore, and it always took too much of his energy to make another one from scratch.
"What a hassle…" He thought to himself as his eyelids became heavier.
Then he proceeded to fall on his back and blackout.
.
.
Captain Walker and his crew, who were standing on the deck of the Serendipity, had assisted to the scene and couldn't believe what they just saw with their own eyes.
Shock and surprise were gradually replaced by relief and then elation; the man began shouting in joy, hugging and high-fiving each other, tears began to flow, and hats were thrown in the air.
They knew that Kansen were exceptional; they had seen them in action a few times, but they had never seen one of them take on an entire Siren fleet on his own (even if it was small in size) and win. Not only winning but utterly disintegrating a battleship with a single hit from what looked like a giant futuristic golden spear.
If they were to tell the story, no one would believe it.
But now they were safe. They had already resigned themselves to their fate, but this mysterious man had jumped in to save the day.
Speaking of which, their savior had just collapsed. Time to repay their debt.
"Enough dilly-dallying! Drop a lifeboat and get him up here! Bring me a medic and a stretcher! Right now!"
"YES SIR."
.
.
Queen Elizabeth was standing atop her bow, holding her scepter in her hand, and with a pensive expression on her face. Her beloved sister and trusted knight, Warspite, was standing at her side, a couple of feet behind her.
They had received a distress call from a merchant convoy sailing not too far from Devonport. They were under attack by a small Siren fleet, and there were no patrols close enough to aid them, so they had to quickly assemble a fleet and depart immediately; normally she would entrust an event like this to the hands of her capable knights, but this time it was different.
A Siren fleet so deep within Royal Navy waters was cause for concern, especially since it managed to get so close to Devonport; it could mean only two things: either the Siren were planning a large-scale operation against the Royal Navy and this was just a scouting force that stumbled upon a random convoy, or it was a trap. Whichever it was, she had to be there.
Besides, any chance she could take to get out of her office was a welcome one; she just needed to leave behind one of her maids to fill in for her; after all, delegating work was part of being a leader.
"Your Majesty," Warspite started. "I mean no disrespect, but... isn't this too much for a small Siren fleet? The distress call didn't even mention the presence of a carrier or a humanoid Siren." The fleet consisted of three carriers, three battleships, two cruisers, and two destroyers. It was an impressive force, but in her opinion, a little overkill for a simple rescue mission.
Elizabeth tried to stifle a laugh. Warspite was the only one allowed to question her sister's decisions; it didn't happen often, but every time she did it, Elizabeth was always ready to point out her short-sightedness.
"My dear sister, you are not looking at the bigger picture here," Elizabeth spoke in her usual haughty tone, a sardonic smile on her lips. "Try to imagine. We make our glorious entrance with our impressing fleet, gallantly sailing to the rescue of my subjects. The Sirens are so taken aback by our imposing might that they immediately turn on their heels and run away with their tail between their legs without even trying to put up a fight. It will send a message to their leaders, and they'll understand that the Royal Navy is not to be underestimated; next time they'll think twice before sending a hostile force so deep within our territory."
"I understand but…" Any retort that Warspite was about to make was quickly cut off by Elizabeth resuming her rant.
"And think about the sailors. They will be so elated to see their sovereign in flesh and steel coming to their rescue that they won't be able to hold back their emotion. They'll fall to their knees crying their hearts out while shouting their praises and showering me with their gratitude; they'll tell stories about this day to their kids and…"
"Your tea, Your Majesty." A monotone voice came from behind them, interrupting the Queen's monologue.
"Ah, thank you, Sheffield, my throat was getting shore." Elizabeth took a sip of the tea from the silver tray offered to her by the maid. As expected, it was delicious.
Today was Sheffield's turn to be her "maid for the day," and her service was as impeccable as always. She was second in skills only to Belfast and had proven herself to be an excellent replacement for the head maid since the day of her transfer to the newly established Azur Lane base.
"Your Majesty, we are approaching the coordinates indicated in the distress call; we'll be there in less than 5 minutes." Reported Sheffield to her Queen.
"Very well." She mentally reached for her radio and contacted the other members of the fleet. "Ladies, we are almost there. Form up behind me; Perseus, get ready to assist the wounded."
A series of "yes, Ma'am" and "yes, Your Majesty" rang into her ears, followed by the acknowledgment of the laid-back carrier, who answered with a slurred "copy…"
It was time for them to finally take the stage; she only hoped there were people still alive to admire their entrance…
.
.
"He is not wounded, but he is showing symptoms of burnout." Said the ship's doctor to his Captain. "He must have passed out from exhaustion; his life is not in danger."
"Good, bring him to my cabin and keep an eye on his condition." Captain Walker said. He knew that normal treatment didn't usually work on Kansen, that they recovered naturally from their wounds at a higher rate than humans, and that they needed a specific kind of equipment to recover from their more serious injuries. Of course, he had none of that overly technological stuff on his ship, which was why he was glad that the shipboy's condition was not as severe as he initially thought; it was nothing that a good nap and a tasty meal couldn't fix. He couldn't wait to speak with the lad after he woke up.
But first, he had his duty as fleet commander to fulfill; he had to ascertain the condition of the cargo, the safety of the civilians on the transport ships, keep the sailors in line… and bodies to recover.
He was not looking forward to that part.
.
.
"I see smoke up ahead," Warspite said, squinting her eyes toward the single smoke pillar in front of them.
"This is the moment of truth." Elizabeth thought.
The closer they got to the location, the more figures they were able to make out.
Ships. It was the convoy that sent the distress call, which meant that behind them was the siren fleet that was attacking them.
"That's odd…" Murmured Elizabeth, bringing a hand to her chin pensively. The ships didn't look as if they were in any hurry; in fact, they seemed to be chilling in the water without a care in the world. If there was a battle ongoing, she couldn't see or hear it. Even the radar had been silent the entire time.
Knowing that the convoy was safe was a relief, but she couldn't help but wonder what could have happened. Were they able to outrun their assailants?
And then she saw it.
"What in the bloody hell happened here?" Prince of Wales' surprised tone came in from her radio, voicing out the thoughts of everyone else.
Multiple lifeboats were scurrying around, picking up sailors, both alive and dead from the water. Other sailors were waiting for them on the deck of their ships or attending to the wounded that had already been saved. Many of them stopped their occupations to look at the newly arrived fleet and started waving at them, happy that reinforcements had finally arrived.
But the most important detail was the eviscerated structure of what looked like a Siren warship slowly drifting away along the waves; it was just a twisted chunk of metal, from which was coming out the smoke they saw earlier. The question was, how did it end up like that? Or even better, who could have possibly done that? And how could it still be floating in those conditions?
"Perseus!" Called out Elizabeth.
"On it." Replied the carrier, dematerializing her vessel and rushing to the closest ship to offer her aid.
"Queen Elizabeth to every ship listening, let me speak with the fleet commander."
"Captain John Walker speaking." The gruff but gentle voice of a man in his fifties came to her head. "Your Majesty, I'm sorry, I'd like to meet you aboard your vessel, but I'm too busy coordinating salvage operations and…"
"No need to fret, Captain." Elizabeth cut him off. "I'll come to you myself."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, I'll be waiting for you on the deck of the Serendipity; we have much to talk about."
"You can bet your arse we have." Elizabeth didn't voice that thought and ended the radio call after dismissing the Captain.
"Javelin, Vampire, and Chaser on standby. Sheffield, Hermione, and Illustrious go help with the salvage operations."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Warspite, Wales, you are my escort for the meeting. Let us head to the Serendipity." The aforementioned Kansen acknowledged her order; Warspite and Sheffield jumped off the deck of the Queen Elizabeth, landing gracefully on the water and summoning their rigging; at the same time, the other Kansen recalled their namesakes and summoned their rigging. The now humanized fleet scattered to carry on with their orders.
Elizabeth, flanked by the other two battleships, proceeded towards the cargo ship, from which the Captain's radio signal came. The Serendipity looked in perfect shape, with only a few blemishes on its hull, proof of multiple shots that landed too close for comfort but didn't hit directly.
The three women readied themselves and jumped from the water, landing gracefully onto the deck of the ship, between the awe-inspired gazes of the sailors. Waiting for them alongside his men was Captain Walker himself.
"Your Majesty, you honor us with your presence." Said Walker, bowing his head to the Queen of his navy and her escort. "I'm sorry we couldn't prepare a more suitable welcome for you and your retinue…"
"Let us skip the formalities, Captain." Elizabeth interrupted him by raising her hand. "I was led to believe that your convoy was under attack and that you didn't have any effective means to defend yourselves, and yet, I can see the remains of what seems to be a Siren warship floating like a raft in the middle of the sea, and it looks as though it went straight through a grinder; care to explain what exactly occurred here?" Elizabeth knew that she was being excessively harsh with him, but she hated when things didn't go as planned, and most of all, she hated being kept out of the loop of things.
She was relieved that the damage and the human losses weren't as heavy as she feared, but she couldn't help the feeling that she was missing something important.
"Of course, Your Majesty, but I have to warn you, you might not believe what I'm about to tell you. "We witnessed something so bizarre that it could have come straight out of a novel." The officer looked as giddy as a kid who couldn't wait to show his new toys to his friends.
"Oh? Speak freely, Captain, you have my attention."
Elizabeth listened closely to the Captain as he recounted the events that unfolded before their arrival, from the moment the Siren fleet seemingly spawned out of nowhere up until the moment the lone mysterious man jumped in to save the day, putting his life at risk for them; the handful of sailors surrounding the group was all too happy to interject, excitedly adding their twist to the tale.
By the end of it, the three battleships were gobsmacked. Wales was the first to recover, while the other two were still trying to process the absurdity of such claims.
"Are you trying to say, Captain Walker, that an unknown Kansen, a man, appeared out of nowhere and annihilated an entire Siren fleet on his own?"
"I swear it's the truth, my lady, on the tomb of my late mother."
"And where exactly is this individual at the moment?"
"I'm right here."
They turned to face the voice from behind them, watching as a tall man dressed in black and white emerged from the door beneath the bridge; he appeared to be in his late twenties, with short dirty blonde locks on his head and a tired but cheerful expression on his face.
The man in question performed an exaggerated curtsy in front of the group and declared with an American accent:
"Ruler-class escort carrier, HMS Emperor, at your service."
.
.
"IT'S HIM!" "HE'S AWAKE!"
He didn't even have the time to properly finish his introduction before a wave of excited sailors rushed to him, picked him up, and started throwing him in the air like a ragdoll, singing their praise and gratitude to him.
Elizabeth could only watch in absolute shock as he begged the sailors who were manhandling him to put him down.
Luckily for him, Captain Walker stepped up to his men. "Put him down, you insensitive blokes! Is this your idea of a good first impression?! Put him down and give him space!"
The sailors complied and stepped back so that their Captain could finally be able to look their savior in the eye.
"My name is Captain John Walker, CO of the Serendipity; all the men here today, including myself, owe you their lives; please accept my gratitude on behalf of every soul in this fleet."The Captain saluted sharply, and the men around him did the same.
Still a bit dumbfounded, the shipboy was able to find his bearings and respond to the Captain. "Everyone, please, be at ease, there's no need to be so rigid; I'm not your superior, and you owe me nothing; I didn't help you for recognition or any ulterior motive."
"Now, no need to be so humble, lad; if it weren't for you, we'd be sleeping with the fishes tonight. At least allow me to do something to repay you; just say the word and I'd do anything within my power to…"
"Now hold on just a second!" Elizabeth was fuming. Not only was this man hogging all the attention to himself, but he had the bollocks to declare himself a ruler in her presence! "I was talking with Captain Walker first, who do you think you are for breaking in on a conversation between the Queen of the Royal Navy and her subject? I should have you put through the wringer for such disrespect!"
She strode up to him and looked him in the eyes, and then realized that she was barely able to reach his shoulders with the top of her crown.
Only then did Elizabeth start realizing that she was not making a good impression of herself in front of her subjects. The Queen tried to compose herself, but all she could do was puff up her chest in the hope of appearing bigger than she actually was, like a pathetic pufferfish.
Emperor, on his part, was doing his best not to laugh at the expense of the diminutive monarch; he had been listening in to the conversation between the Captain and the three women, and if he was able to figure out something, it was that the person in front of him was of a much higher status than she looked like. And she really liked hammering that concept in everyone else's face. He needed to tread carefully with her.
Before the powder keg could explode, he bent down on one knee.
"Please excuse my lack of manners, Your Majesty. I just woke up from a much-needed sleep after a harrowing experience, and in my ignorance, I couldn't recognize the brilliance of your presence and ended up disrespecting your stature." He then reached for the right hand of the woman. "I hope you will find it in your merciful heart to forgive me."
Then he proceeded to plant a kiss on the knuckles of the hand he was holding.
Silence fell on the deck of the Serendipity. Warspite and Wales had their mouths agape, Walker had his eyes popping out of his head, and Elizabeth's face had become as red as a tomato.
Then all hell broke loose. The sailors shouted in unison, clapping their hands and whistling their euphoria at the display in front of them.
"Hey! You brute, step away from Her Majesty!" Warspite rushed to her sister's side, yanking her away from the grip of the man who had just snogged with her hand and placing herself between the two.
"I-It's okay, Warspite; there was no harm done." Said Elizabeth, trying to compose herself. "F-Fine, courtesy of my merciful self, I have decided to forgive your misconduct, now let us head to the bridge of this fine vessel and have a long, private conversation about… stuff." She needed a place where she could cool off, and she needed it now. "Warspite, Wales! Do not just stand there like a deer in headlights. Escort me!"
The two battleships could only comply without saying a word, going after their Queen that had decided to beat retreat.
Emperor stood back up with a satisfied expression on his face. He was able to break up the tension without damaging the pride of the little monarch and managed to avoid a possible red flag. Now that he was able to diffuse the situation, it was time for a serious talk with the Queen.
But first, he had something to do.
"Captain, I have a favor to ask."
.
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.
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AN: Kurama is not a real warship, just the fruit of my imagination obviously, his name and design are inspired by the Kyubi from the anime Naruto (orange fur and red eyes).
Emperor, instead, IS the HMS Emperor, and his outfit is the same one used by the lieutenants of the first company of the anime Fire Force, minus the crosses; some of the other OCs will also be inspired by real-life warships, others will not.
HMS Emperor was an escort carrier previously known as USS Pybus, which was a Bogue-class carrier; yes, Emperor is basically Bogue and Chaser's brother.
There's a reason why I brought Chaser herself with Elizabeth and the others.
Edit: Turns out there's an actual ship called JS Kurama, it was the second destroyer of the Shirano-class and it belonged to the JMSDF, it was ordered in 1976 and launched in 1979, commissioned in 1981, and decommissioned in 2017. Thanks to Xcepter for the heads up.
Next chapter: (Iron)Bloody duel.