World War S: An Oral History of the Siren War

by Rapid Intervention

Kansens are the valiant heroines in the Siren War, but what cannot be forgotten is the sacrifices and heroics of conventional human forces, civilians, and human leaders in the days of the war. These are the tales of those who took the brunt of the war - your everyday man.

1. Introduction

The Siren War, a conflict still fresh in our minds. A nightmare that left wounds on humanity, wounds that have yet to close. The event that shook us on the core, a cold hard slap that showed us that no, Earth isn't our domain yet.

But, for a decade already, the world has been at peace. Humanity, cornered and bloodied, managed to claw a pyrrhic victory, and we forced the Sirens back where they came from.

We have successfully fought off the Siren menace. Drove them off our precious lands and seas. Yet, one wonders, what do we remember nowadays?

Each day, we indulge ourselves in the story of the big players of the war - the Kansens. They are our heroines, the stars of the show. They deserve all the credit they deserve. Giving this to our guardian angels is the least we can do. That I can concede.

But, ever since they appeared, they have held all the spotlight. Today, books, movies, songs, you name it, almost always show the stories of Kansens. So much so, that perhaps we are starting to forget the tale of the billions who also saw the war - us.

Yet how are we remembered in this war? How do we remember ourselves? In a few, obscure stories, or as extra, background characters in the tale of Kansens? Or as meager numbers in a statistical report? Wasn't the Siren War supposed to be the pivotal moment of humanity?

It wasn't just Azurlane that fought this war for humanity. From the conventional forces of every nation to the near-legendary, but overshadowed United Nations Naval Task Forces, we fought this war since day one, in fact, we fought the majority of the battles and skirmishes.

The Siren War is a struggle of humanity. And thus, it is dangerous for us to forget what we, normal humans saw in that grueling war. It's not just the story of a few hundred Kansens that matters, for there are 6 Billion souls still alive today, who saw the war and lived to tell the tale.

Both stories are important, and now's the time to show our story.

This book is created during my long journey and interviews across the world, to gather and compile the experiences of your everyday man. From the worker, the engineers, the doctors, the scientists, the politicians, the soldiers, the airmen, the sailors, you name it. All to retell how we saw the war, how we experienced it, and how we survived it all.

I wholeheartedly thank the many organizations and people who helped me with this project. To give the Siren War a human face. The human face that is being forgotten in the mainstream.

And so, I present to you, their story.

Author's Note: This fic is heavily AU, set instead on the modern world. More importantly, as you can guess by the title, this is heavily inspired by Max Brook's WWZ and Stud Terkel's "The Good War" books. It will be a bunch of compiled interviews from people who saw the war. I think this format is a great way to tell a massive war, and so I did this. The main character, he's just an interviewer, perhaps working with the United Nations, in any case, he's not the main focus so don't worry to much about him. As for the Kansens, they're going to appear later in the story, and I plan to only show them from the POV of those being interviewed.