Interlude 2

10 Downing Street

London

Royal Navy Mainland

One week after Gibraltar's disappearance

"Preposterous!"

Prime Minister Clement Attlee threw down a newspaper onto his desk. The headline of the day was something he had been dreading to read, and today was finally the day in which it arrived.

"Calm now Attlee, it's not as bad as you may think." Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin tried his best to calm the Prime Minister down, but he too had been preparing for the day in which it arrived.

"Look me in the eye and tell me that Eden isn't going to use this in the next session. You're not the one who has to explain to parliament how we've managed to lose an entire bloody territory practically overnight."

Attlee took another look at the newspaper, the headline reading:

"GIBRALTAR GONE FOR A WEEK! ATTLEE COVER UP?"

He thought back to the initial reports over Gibraltar's disappearance, how the entire area seemed to disappear in one instance, now it was instead littered with black, glowing crystal. With something as big and important as Gibraltar disappearing, hiding it was bound to fail. However, he hoped that the Royal Navy could come back to him with an appropriate explanation that he could use in parliament before the papers finally ran the story. Unfortunately, his hopes were dashed as he ate breakfast this morning.

"And what of the RN? Have they aught to share?"

Attlee shook his head. "None, it is bad enough it was our base that disappeared, but Kansen of other nations were present as well. Are the Yanks still breathing down your neck?"

Bevin nodded, the President of the Eagle Union was particularly annoyed at this latest incident. Trade had just been reestablished between their two nations across the Atlantic, their joint efforts finally clearing a majority of that sea of Siren forts and mirror seas. This threatened to throttle his nation's economic revival, and Attlee knew the opposition was going to use this as ammunition for the next election.

"I was told that the Azur Lane Commander was coming here today. Has she arrived yet?"

There was one bright piece of news, however, Commander Theresa was diverting from returning to their main base in the Pacific to deal with this latest incident. Judging by the time on his watch, she was to arrive at any moment now.

"Not yet, but soon. I believe you are most familiar with her, anything I should do when she arrives?"

Bevin chuckled, probably remembering something fondly. "None, just be yourself. She may hail from royalty, sure, but she is a very 'down to earth' person as the saying goes. There is a reason why she has managed to unite both factions after all."

Attlee's predecessor was the one who met with the Commander most of the time, and since taking the office of the Prime Minister he had not once met with her at all. For someone so important to the continued survival of humanity, it was odd that he never met her, until now.

Suddenly, the phone on his desk rang, and he moved to pick it up. His secretary's voice immediately spoke before he could even ask what the matter was.

"Sir, Commander Theresa of Azur Lane is here to see you."

"Of course, send her in."

Attlee tightened his tie and made sure his collar was impeccable. Despite Bevin's reassurance, he was still dealing with a princess, even if she may be 'approachable'. How someone like her went from a princess in a landlocked nation south of Ironblood to the supreme Commander of Azur Lane was anyone's guess, but he wasn't about to send her away. Whether or not his party remained in power by the next election will heavily depend on the outcome of this incident.

A knock on the door into his office came a few moments later, and he stood up on instinct as if he was meeting her majesty-

"Sit down, she doesn't like those who focus on her status."

Sheepishly taking Bevin's advice, he seemed to be entirely at ease, while Attlee himself had some beads of sweat forming on what little hair he still had. The door creaked open slowly, and the first thing that he saw was a head full of pink hair.

"Apologies for being late, I had to speak with Prince of Wales on the way here."

Upon hearing her voice, a feeling of calm washed over him, as if the anxiety that he felt a moment earlier never existed. It was an unnatural feeling perhaps, but the calm he felt at that moment did not make him question it whatsoever.

"O-Of course, it is of no trouble to me, your Majest-"

"Please, Prime Minister, just Theresa is fine."

It seemed that the rumours about her were true after all, Attlee stammered for a moment upon hearing her. "I-I see. May we begin then, Commander?"

Wearing a simple white naval uniform, the only thing that denoted her allegiance was an armband to Azur Lane. Sitting down in front of him, Theresa began speaking first, wasting no time at all.

"I stopped by the site while returning, it really does seem like an entire base disappeared in an instant."

"Yes…that is what we have concluded as well. Have you managed to find anything about why it disappeared? A new mirror sea perhaps? Siren experimental technology from the Crimson Axis?"

The latter was what many in his cabinet suspected since they had a history of experimenting with technology they should not have. What they did to Hood was still fresh on a lot of minds, and those scars did not heal so easily.

"Neither. We suspect it has to do with the black crystals found on the site."

From her pocket, the Commander retrieved a glass vial, the very same black crystal he read in the reports contained within it. Handing it over to him, Attlee inspected the vial in his hands, wondering how these crystals were responsible for making an entire base disappear from thin air.

"A sample flown out to Akashi, a Sakura repair ship, on our main base revealed some interesting properties. For one, these crystals hold a comparable amount of energy to our own Wisdom Cubes."

Attlee's eyes widened, perhaps these were the so-called Black Wisdom Cubes? Maybe they were shattered in an experiment gone wrong? There were Crimson Axis Kansen in Gibraltar at the time, so maybe…

"Whatever you are thinking Prime Minister, it is not so. The Crimson Axis have nothing to do with this."

"And how sure are you of this?" Trust between the two camps was shaky at best, Gibraltar only agreed to host Crimson Axis Kansen as a sign of respect and joint operations. Some of the RN Kansen were posted to Yokosuka or Kiel as an example.

"Because this crystal does not hail from Earth."

"You can't be serious. An asteroid? Am I really going to have to tell Parliament an asteroid made one of our major bases disappear?" Needless to say, Attlee had an incredulous look at that revelation.

"You misunderstand me, this Black Crystal is not from our universe."

"Excuse me?"

"I will spare you the details of quantum theory, but the core principle is that it functions similarly to how Kansen are 'born'. In a way, these Black Crystals operate on similar principles to our Wisdom Cubes, just far less versatile, and perhaps even deadly to us."

"Deadly…?" Attlee suddenly felt a lot more conscious holding the vial in his hands, and he quickly placed it down on his desk, before wiping the hand that held the vial with a handkerchief.

"Worry not, it is safely contained in this vial. Though the same could not be said for some unfortunate individuals. Thankfully, symptoms seem to be mild so far, and the risk of infection is low for most people. So any risk to humans is minimal, if not, trivial." Attlee wanted to ask more about it, but he had other priorities right now, mainly what actually happened to Gibraltar.

"Right… Progress on finding Gibraltar then? Based on what you have said, you are saying that the base has been transported away, am I correct?"

Theresa nodded, causing Attlee to be relieved. "Verily. Azur Lane is working with Queen Elizabeth to find our castaway base. And these crystals are key to discovering where exactly it went. Our current theory is that it has been transported to the same origin that these crystals came from."

"And you're certain of Azur Lane's ability to find them? A tall order if I do say so myself…"

"Of course it is…" Theresa spoke softly, before a determined look appeared on her face. "But for my Kansen, there are few things that will stop us from reuniting. After all, the day of our reunion is something that I look forward to the most. Believe in us, Prime Minister, we will need the support of all nations in Azur Lane if we want to meet again."

At that heartfelt plea, what did Attlee have to say in response? Running his hand over his bald head, he thought for it a while longer, before ultimately deciding that his answer was set long ago.

"Very well. The brightest minds of our nation will support you in this endeavour, bring our ships home, Commander."

Perhaps he could introduce Doctor Priest to this? She was the Royal Navy's chief scientist on Wisdom Cube and other related matters, so her presence can only serve as a boon to their overall efforts. With their short meeting over, he immediately began preparing a small draft of things to say to Parliament. Not before picking up his phone again, this time dialling the Admiralty office. A few seconds of ringing later, the other end opened, and he began making requests.

"Admiral Tovey, do pass on a message for Doctor Priest…"

AN:

Commander Theresa is of course based on you know who. Her background is based on Maria Theresa of Austria.

I'm still working out the kinks for the next arc's outline. Gonna take a while before the new arc is ready.

Be civil in the reviews.