Commander's office
The young man sighed as stared out his window. It was another sunny day at Azur Lane HQ. His office over looked the enormous port and sprawling town surrounding it, beyond that was nothing but the beautiful open ocean for miles.
The Commander looked down for a moment as he thought to himself. Despite his short career, he had more than enough experience in combat to know the capabilities of every ship in the port, especially that of a certain carrier. After all he had fought both against and alongside her numerous times.
He knew this woman, and to a lesser extent her sister, had a troubled past. However this was no excuse for the recent incidents she has caused on the base. As infatuated with him she may be, she couldn't be allowed to continue harassing other ships just for being in line of sight of him.
"Oh Akagi...I need to do something before she actually hurts someone." He thought to himself.
A knock on the door was then followed by a smooth female voice. "Commander~ I'm here~" She cooed. The voice then gasped and more annoyed added. "What is SHE doing here?" The Commander sat down at his desk and replied: "Both of you can enter."
The door opened and in walked two women, one was a brown haired, red eyed, nine-tailed kitsune, dressed in a revealing black and white Asian kimono, along with a red mini skirt and thigh high stockings.
She was scowling at the second woman to enter, unlike the first she seemed perfectly human, with long flowing white hair, eyes of light blue. She was wearing what appeared to be a more conventional white sailor's uniform and a large black jacket covering her, but also a black mini skirt and thigh high boots, a naval captain's cap completed her look.
She had a near completely neutral expression on her face, barely acknowledging the first woman's almost disgusted glare and only focused on the commander. "You wanted to see me Commander?" She asked in her typical deadpan tone.
"Yes Enterprise, you and Akagi actually." The commander stated, he then looked over at Akagi, who finally stopped glaring at Enterprise and immediately softened her expression to a small smile.
"Commander~ please tell me you need Akagi's help to discipline this...obstacle to Akagi's love~" She giggled before looking at Enterprise smugly. The Eagle Union carrier barely reacted with more than a raised eyebrow.
"No Akagi, I asked Enterprise here to assist me regarding you." The Commander announced. Akagi's smirk vanished as she suddenly gasped, her eyes went wide and her face went as white as a sheet.
The commander then pointed accusingly at her, his normally friendly face upended in an annoyed frown. "Your constant remarks about other ships, your comments about 'dealing with them', 'making them pay' and 'disposing of them' are unacceptable!" He then lowered his arm and looked away. He closed his tightly eyes for a moment and clenched his fist.
Then in a quiet, more hurt than angry voice he added: "Some of the younger girls told me they don't feel safe around you, they've overheard the things you've said and assumed you'll...sink them."
Enterprise also widened her eyes in surprise at the commander's words, she looked over at Akagi in disbelief. The kitsune had a hand over her mouth, just as shocked as she was. Her voice started to break as she tried to respond.
"C-commander...you misunderstand Akagi just-"
The Commander interrupted her by holding his hand up, still looking away. "Whatever your reason for saying what you said, I will NOT tolerate you making other girls feel unsafe, your aggression is becoming a serious problem for me Akagi, the other carriers and battleships are pressuring me to have you deported back to Sakura Empire permanently."
Akagi whimpered at the idea of deportation, she then slammed her hands on the desk and cried out. "Commander please don't! I love you too much to be away from you!" Enterprise, for the first time since she entered the room finally reacted to Akagi and stepped back.
The Commander looked up at her, her crimson eyes slick with held back tears, he knew if Enterprise wasn't in the room she would be bawling right now. He sighed and stood up from his desk. While rubbing his eyes he, more calmly said:
"I know you don't want that and frankly neither do I." He then looked back at Akagi and added: "But if you don't change your attitude I won't have a choice in the matter. That s why I've asked Enterprise to be here." He then gestured to the silver haired woman.
Akagi looked back at her in bewilderment. "The Grey ghost? Why her?" She asked. "As of today you and Enterprise will be re-organised into a new carrier group under Enterprise's command: Task Force Alpha." The commander announced.
"WHAT?!" Akagi suddenly yelled, backing away from the desk. "This will be your last chance Akagi, to prove to Azur Lane you really are an ally that can be trusted."
As he spoke he handed some paper to Enterprise. "This is a list of ships for the new task force, see to it that they understand whats happening."
Enterprise nodded. "Of course Commander." "You're dismissed." With that Enterprise left the room. Leaving a crestfallen Akagi alone with the Commander. She sobbed quietly and a few tears dropped onto the desk.
"Do...do you...not trust me anymore... Commander?" She asked, afraid of his answer. The Commander simply sat back down at his desk and gestured to the seat opposite. "Sit down a moment."
The kitsune took her seat, her hands in her lap, her tails drooped and her head down in shame. The Commander laced his fingers over each other on the desk, peering at her intently.
"Akagi...its not that I don't trust you, I know you're a good person at heart, but the others will need more convincing after all this." He explained. "This isn't meant to be a punishment, your role in Task Force Alpha is to protect Enterprise, so she can focus on the enemy vessels.
Akagi looked up at him, she looked lost, like a child being scolded by her parent. But The Commander could tell she was listening and kept speaking: "I want you to use this as both a learning and a teaching experience; show the others you can rise above that aggressive nature of yours and keep them safe on the battlefield."
Akagi looked down briefly and then with a determined look on her face she looked back up at him. "Akagi won't let you down Commander! Akagi will prove to you Akagi can be an ally!" The commander just chuckled a little.
"Akagi...its not me you need to convince, I already trust you." He then stood up and walked around the table, the fox woman looked confused at his words and even more confused when he gently took her hand in his. "I...don't understand..." She told him.
"Akagi...you know I trust you...but do you trust ME?" He asked as he motioned for her to stand up. "I know you say and do these things because you're worried someone will take me away from you. Do you really have such little faith in me?"
Akagi opened her mouth to retort, but her words caught in her throat, she looked away ashamed once more. The Commander gently put a hand on her shoulder.
"Its OK to be scared of losing someone Akagi, I know you don't want to go through it again, but threatening other ships is not the way to go." Akagi quietly sniffled and in a breaking voice she finally spoke up.
"I'm sorry for not trusting you Commander!...I'm sorry I made you angry a-and made so much trouble and...and..." The commander, then out of nowhere, hugged her closely, making her gasp in surprise.
While rubbing her back reassuringly he told her: "Its OK...I forgive you...do I have your word you will stop the bullying?" He asked her quietly. "Yes! Akagi will stop I promise!" She quickly agreed.
Before she could say anything else the Commander suddenly kissed her, right on the lips. Her eyes went wide and her heart pounded hard in her chest. All nine of her tails stood on end from the action and she become a little tipsy from intimacy. She eventually started kissing back and her tails wrapped around the two of them, locked in the very embrace she fantasised about since seeing him for the first time.
After what seemed like far too short a time, the two of them came up for air, Akagi giggled a little as she was still dizzy from the kiss, needing to hold onto his shoulders for support.
The Commander was blushing beet red, but he cleared his throat and said: "That was me giving you my word Akagi, it seemed only fair since you gave me yours." He chuckled a little.
"Thank you Commander~ could you...give me your word again~" She giggled as she rubbed her tails around him for emphasis. "Perform well in Task Force Alpha and I'll 'give you my word' as much as you want." He told her with a uncharacteristically cheeky smile. Akagi pulled away and bowed at him. "Thank you Commander!" "Dismissed."
Akagi then turned on her heel and walked away, with a noticeable spring in her step.
Briefing room
Akagi, Enterprise and two other ship girls were sitting at a long desk, The Commander had called a meeting earlier that day, but seemed to be running late.
Akagi looked sheepishly over at the woman next to her. She was dressed far more formally compared to the rest of them, a long red overcoat jacket across a red and white corset with gold trimmings, she black mini skirt with white stockings over her boots. She had shoulder length blond hair in a bob cut and red eyes.
She was scowling back at Akagi and made a huff noise before turning away. Next to her on the other side was a woman in attire like that of a German naval officer's uniform, only with a mini-skirt and stockings instead of trousers. She had very long blonde hair and blue eyes. She looked past the other woman at Akagi with a confused look and the fox woman could only shrug at her.
"Whats up with Wales?" Akagi whispered to Enterprise, the silver haired woman turned to her and replied quietly. "Shes one of the ships who wanted you deported, please don't annoy her any further."
Akagi frowned before quietly hissing, she thought about directly confronting Price of Whales right there in the room, but she remembered what the Commander said and simply fumed silently, ironically almost mirroring Wales's own expression.
"I wonder if this is about Task Force Alpha?" The other woman wondered out loud. Wales then leaned forward and banged her fist on the desk. "The Commander better have a VERY good reason for this, me and Illustrious kept telling him our concerns about Akagi and i'm suddenly assigned to the same group as her?!" she complained to the Iron blood ship.
"I'm sitting right here..." Akagi muttered as she glared at the desk in front of her. The Royal navy battleship growled at Akagi's response, she stood and pointed at her aggressively. "Don't try to act like you're a victim, several destroyers came up to me crying a few days ago because of you!" Akagi stood up too, her fists clenched and her tails tensed up. She closed her eyes tightly out of bottled up fury at Wales's words.
"I didn't realise they were near me when I said those things, I'm...sorry." She hissed through gritted teeth. Enterprise then put a hand on Akagi's shoulder and glared back at Wales; who seemed surprised at her. "That's enough Wales, leave her alone." Prince of Wales grew red in the face in anger, but she complied with Enterprise's request and sat back down with her arms folded.
"Akagi, you don't want the Commander to see you like this, do you?" The Iron blood woman teased. The fox woman gasped and immediately sat down, she then took deep breaths to calm herself before replying. "Thank you Bismarck, the Commander would be sad seeing Akagi upset."
Bismarck quietly chuckled as Wales glared at her for sticking up for Akagi. As she did so Akagi looked back at Enterprise, frowning a little. "Why did you do that?" She asked. Enterprise glanced back at her but didn't respond, simply watching the front of the room as she waited for the Commander.
All four of them then heard chatter outside the door, it swung open to reveal the Commander talking to a woman in a white dress and a much younger girl with purple hair.
"I need this to work Illustrious, for Azur lane to stay united it has to work." The Commander was saying. Illustrious looked into the briefing room and momentarily locked eyes with Akagi, she glared at the kitsune for a moment before looking back at the Commander. The younger girl hid behind Illustrious but also peeked at Akagi. The fox woman smiled kindly and waved at her, but this just made her squeak and bury her face in Illustrious's leg.
"Stop it you're scaring Unicorn." Wales snapped at her, Akagi frowned back at her but stayed quiet. She went back to staring at the desk in front of her. Enterprise watched Akagi do that, her face softening into one of sympathy briefly before returning to her typical neutral expression.
Unicorn peeked at Akagi again, noticing her sad reaction. She looked up at the Commander who was about to walk in. "Uh...C-Commander..." She called to him shyly. The Commander looked back at her puzzled, but he returned and kneeled to her level.
"What is it Unicorn?" He inquired. "Um...is Akagi nice? She seems a little... scary..." she was hugging her little unicorn pet as she told him. The Commander gently rubbed her head as he replied. "Akagi may look scary sometimes, but yes shes a really nice person, she just acts scary because shes scared too." He told her, he looked up at Illustrious he gave him a raised eyebrow at his words.
"Really? I...I'd like to be her friend...shes so pretty and fluffy...but i'm...scared to talk to her..." Unicorn admitted quietly. Illustrious gasped quietly at her, she was about to lightly scold Unicorn when the Commander held up a hand to stop her. "Thats brave of you to admit, if you'd like I can help you talk to her at some point?" He suggested. She gasped happily and smiled brightly "T-thank you Commander!"
Unicorn then turned around giggling, Illustrious just gave the Commander a stunned look at what he had said. "I hope you know what you're doing telling her that." She firmly told him. "Trust me, I wouldn't have suggested it if I thought it would put her of all people in danger." The Commander replied confidently.
Illustrious then smiled and bowed before leaving with Unicorn. The Commander then walked into the briefing room and stood front of the four seated women.
"Alright listen up: you four, along with four other yet to be determined ships will be part of my new division: Task Force Alpha." The Commander announced. "I've chosen you four specifically for your impressive skill, strength and leadership on the battlefield, but also for a far more important reason, to be a symbol."
The Commander than turned on a projector and it displayed the four emblems of Azur lane in a row. He then drew arrows from each emblem that pointed to a single area. He then wrote 'Task Force Alpha' in front of the arrows.
"Task Force Alpha will contain an equal number of each faction's best warriors, your job is protect Azur lane from splitting up, to show everyone out there, that Azur lane stands united once more, that even with differing thoughts, beliefs and viewpoints on the world; we CAN stand against the sirens TOGETHER!"
He then raised his fist and slammed it into his chest for emphasis. "We will always have our differences but theres one thing we can all agree on: if Azur Lane falls, the Sirens will ravage our world unopposed, I don't plan on letting that happen, do any of you?"
They all stood up and saluted. "No sir!" They all yelled together. "Good, now do any of you have questions?" he asked more calmly. Wales lowered her hand and said: "Just one Commander: Why is Akagi here?" She asked bluntly. The Commander raised an eyebrow at her before glancing at the fox woman in question. Akagi was seething quietly as Wales kept speaking. "Shes as trustworthy as a cracked torpedo! I strongly object to working alongside her!" Akagi was reaching her boiling point listening to Wales vent, she was red in the face and literally biting her lip to keep herself restrained from lashing out.
The Commander narrowed his eyes at the Royal navy woman in annoyance. "Prince of Wales, I've asked Akagi to be here since as Sakura Empire's strongest ship she was the obvious choice, I'd rather not waste her skills." He argued back coldly. "She still needs to be punished for her actions! What about the ships she threatened?!" Wales shouted back.
Akagi then suddenly smashed both her fists on the table. "I SAID I WAS SORRY!" She blurted out at the top of her lungs, making everyone flinch at her action. She started to sob a little as her emotions over flowed from within her. She looked up at Wales shocked face, her face red from both anger and her tears. Quietly, breaking, but tilting on barely contained fury she asked her. "What more do you want?!"
Before anyone could say anything else; she then bolted out the room, wailing as she went. "Wait Akag-" The Commander stopped himself before sighing as she was out of earshot before he could finish, he then glared at a confused Wales along with Bismarck and Enterprise. She looked about to defend herself but gave up and sat down.
The Commander then rubbed his eyes and stated: "I didn't want to bring this up before, but I guess I have to now." He then glared right at Prince of Wales as he ranted at her, he seemed to be attempting to burn a hole right through her with simply his gaze, making even the normally tall and proud Prince of Wales feel small.
"Akagi was chosen for Task Force Alpha to prove to all of Azur lane she can be trusted to protect them, I told her this was her last chance, otherwise she'll be deported like you keep insisting I do, is that clear enough for you?!" He chastised Wales.
"Crystal sir." She replied quietly, refusing to look up. The Commander then looked over at the other two. "I want you all to find one other ship from your own respective faction to bring into the task force, either a cruiser or a destroyer to round out your capabilities." Bismarck and Enterprise both saluted. "Yes sir!"
He then looked back at Wales who also stood up and saluted, but slower. "Yes...sir..." All three then left the room, the Commander then followed Enterprise into the corridor and walked alongside her.
"Permission to speak freely Commander?" Enterprise asked. "Of course." He replied. "What did you say to Akagi after I left the other day? She seemed very determined to be on her best behaviour before...that." She explained gesturing to the meeting room.
"I just told her I do trust her, she must be trying really hard to keep my trust." The Commander explained. "Wales clearly doesn't get how lessons are supposed to be learned, but she can wait, right now we need to find Akagi." Enterprise nodded and the two of them started running where Akagi had run off.