"And this place is our headquarters," said James, addressing the leaders of the human resistance "I spend most of my time here, delegating work, assigning commissions, going over reports and the other stuff."
"Incredible," said Whitney as she and the rest were taken back by the presence of the ship girls going around their daily routines.
"I didn't know there were so many of them," she added
'There would be more if it weren't for Omega,' thought James but never said it aloud.
"And these girls," said Damien, looking at Dido and Sirius dusting the windows "they all listen to you?"
"During combat, yes. Otherwise, all decisions are made through a vote involving the faction leaders," he replied.
"Amazing," said Byron "tell me James, do you know which girl belongs to which faction?"
"Of course I do, it's the first thing I learnt when I arrived," he replied.
While the leaders continued talking to themselves and throwing a few questions to James, the latter sighed at his state.
"Remind me again why the hell am I the one stuck giving a guided tour?" he muttered under his breath.
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"Consider it your punishment for flying off the handle during that last mission," said Alec in the control room, along a few other girls, who were all giggling at James' predicament.
"It's odd seem James so, muted and tired," said Friedrich.
"James is the type that loves to be on the front lines," said Alec "he may be a good leader, but he's still a soldier. He's at his best when he's fighting shoulder to shoulder with all of you."
"Bureaucracy and politicking are the two things he avoids the most so I figured it'd be the most appropriate place to put him."
"Is it just me or did you get used to your job a little too quickly?" asked Richelieu.
"Umm…" said Alec, looking away.
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"Now onto the real reason why we're here," said Ingrid and the others visibly sighed at her comment.
"What?" she asked "it's not like we're here to take in the sights. You know that, I know that, hell even James knows that too, don't you?"
"Yes, we should head to our meeting room to discuss the other matters," he said, and led the group to a room inside the headquarters.
Once inside, they all took a seat around the table, with James being the last one to sit down.
"I'll get right to it then," said Whitney, "James, we want to know the secret behind the girl's powers and how we can mass produce it for our soldiers."
"No," he said, flatly.
"What?" asked Byron
"James…"
"I hate to break it to you but the secret behind their powers is just that… a secret. They never explained it to me and I never asked about it."
"But surely you must have wanted to have the same powers that they do," suggested Byron.
"For a little while, I did. But then I got over it and decided to improve the things about me I could improve, rather than chase some crazy dream."
"James," said Damien, crossing his hands "the only way for this arrangement to work is if you give us something. That way we can give you something in return."
"Enlighten me if you could," countered James "what exactly can you give me that I need?"
"The way I see it," he continued "I already have the technology and the army to pose a threat to Omega, we've already got teams in place to gather resources and by the end of the week: I'll be fully updated on the Siren activity since the war began."
"I have everything I need. Anything more would be indulgent."
"Even if there is nothing for you to give us," said Lakshmi "as a soldier, no, as a human it is your duty to do everything you can to help your people."
"Funny," he said, his left cheek rising slightly "you call me a solider, yet you conveniently left out that I was dishonourably discharged for insubordination."
He noted how the five looked genuinely surprised by his response and not try to fake surprise.
"James," said Whitney "the truth is, this is not a partnership where both sides benefit. The truth is, we need you. Humanity needs you and the Azur Sky and without them, we're at Omega's mercy."
"I ask you, not as a leader of the world but as someone who saw her friends and loved ones get massacred, please give us the tools we need to defend ourselves."
Her words seemingly hit the right note as James let out a sigh before giving his response.
"I can't give you the power that my fleet has, however, there is a pet project we've been working on I'm sure you'll be interested in."
James got up from his seat and headed to the door. He gestured for the others to follow him and took them to the research building. There, he led them to what looked like a storage facility. The group were surprised to see a number of targets lined up at the far end. They also noted the two similarly dressed girls who immediately greeted James upon seeing him.
"Hello Kako, Furutaka," he said "nice to see you."
"Hello James," said Furutaka, giving him a smile and a wave "fancy seeing you here."
"Commander," said Kako adjusting her glasses "I take it you're here to see our progress."
"Kako," said Furutaka "didn't James give us clear instructions? We only call him by his title during missions. Otherwise we call him."
"I…I can't do that," said Kako, adjusting her glasses again "we've spent so long calling him Commander, calling him anything else doesn't sit right with me."
"And besides," he added, putting her clipboard on the table "I feel like we're not being respectful to him."
"You always let them speak to you like this?" aske Byron, casting a sideways glance at James.
"Yeah, I don't see the problem with," he replied.
"And don't worry about the name thing Kako, feel free to call me Commander or James. Whatever's comfortable with you."
"Thank you, Commander," said Kako, regaining her composure.
"Did you bring us out here for a weapons demonstration?" asked Ingrid.
"Not just any weapons, we'll be testing this special ammo today," replied James and held out a seemingly normal looking bullet.
With a nod to the girls, they removed the paper targets and brought out the upper torsos of five Siren hybrids. While the girls propped up the torsos, James loaded a cartridge into an assault rifle. The girls finished then headed back to the safe area. Once there, James pointed the rifle at one of the targets and fired five bullets into it.
Most of the group were confused and did not understand the purpose of the demonstration. However, Ingrid and Lakshmi soon noticed something that made their eyes widen in surprise.
"It… went through," said Ingrid, causing the rest to look at the hybrid. It was then they noticed that all five bullets James fired pierced through the Hybrid's armour.
"As I'm sure you're already aware," James began "conventional weapons do nothing against Siren steel. Hence, a few brilliant minds in the fleet decided that instead of creating a new metal, they would simple turn the Siren's armour and plating against them."
"In the brief time that we were here," continued Kako, we were able to recover a few destroyed Siren ships. We then melted it down and applied a proprietary formula to the metal, refined it and remade them into bullets."
"But wait…" said Byron "if you girls are capable of facing the Sirens on your own, why bother with this?"
"They were doing it for my sake," replied James. "High-ranking Sirens like Omega utilize a combination of long and short-range attacks on their opponent. I however only rely on short-range attacks, which puts me at an immediate disadvantage against my opponents. The girls decided that it was time they levelled the playing field and came up with this solution."
"It seems like you're putting a lot of work just for one person," commented Lakshmi.
"Of course, we will," said Furutaka "James is after all, our Commander. He is our leader and it's only right that we do everything possible to ensure his safety. He means a lot to everyone here and not just 'one person'."
Lakshmi immediately backed away and looked in another direction after that comment.
"Kako, please give them a copy of the formula we used," said James.
Nodding in response, Kako went over to the table and retrieved a small stack of papers. She then went to Whitney and handed it to her.
"We'll provide you with the salvage we've secured," added James, "however, you'll need to build the furnaces and get the required manpower yourselves."
"Thank you James," said Whitney, "you've given us the chance to take back our world."
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Alec later found out about James' meeting with the resistance leaders when he was busy visiting Alexis and the others at the hospital. Not long after that, a soldier in training appeared and requested that he meet with the leaders as well.
Alec said goodbye to the patients and left. It didn't take too long for him to reach the resistance headquarters and notice the joyous mood the five leaders were in.
"Alec's here," said Byron, "come Alec, you're just in time to celebrate with us."
"Celebrate what?"
"Our manipulation over that foolish Commander," commented Lakshmi with a sarcastic emphasis on Commander.
"Hmmm?"
"Well, it's not if we take all the credit," added Ingrid "after all, it was Whitney's careful choice of words that swayed James' mind."
"Long story short," said Whitney "James was busy flaunting his power in our face and telling us that there's nothing we have that he needs. I then came up with this half-assed speech about doing his part for humanity and the boy ate it up."
"Not long after that," added Byron "he's giving us this technology to melt down Siren metal and turn into bullets."
"Well that's… that's a good thing right?" asked Alec, still processing what he just heard.
"Of course it is," replied Damian "now, not only do we have a way to defend ourselves from the Sirens, we also have a way to counter James and his fleet."
"What?"
"Alec," said Whitney "I know you're perfectly aware of the difference in power between a regular human and those girls. Their strength, speed and damage output means that any one of them could take out a city block. You know it, I know it and so does James."
"So now that you have this new technology, you can use it on James if he decides to turn on us, is that right?" asked Alec.
"Exactly," nodded Lakshmi "hell, we could take it a step further and threaten those girls if they don't tell us the secret to their powers."
"Oh don't be so shocked by this Alec," said Byron, who was the first to notice the worried expression Alec had "we must do everything we can to ensure the safety of our species."
"And we do that by turning on our only ally in this war?"
"If James decides to turn on us, then we strike back," said Whitney "if he doesn't then we leave it be."
"Of course," she added and stared intently at James "if we had an idea of his plans and actions, that would also help us in deciding what to do next."
"Are you saying you want me to spy on him?"
"Not spy exactly, just give us… regular updates on what he's doing and when he plans to attack any Siren strongholds," countered Whitney "nothing that puts you in danger of course."
"By the way kid," said Byron "since you just heard our confession, it's not like you have a choice in the matter."
"You realize it's two-faced behaviour like this that'll bite you in the back sooner or later?" asked Alec.
"And when that time comes, we'll be ready for it," said Lakshmi "till then Alec, be a good boy and tell us about James and what he's doing."
"The facts are clear Alec. James may be our ally now, but there's nothing stopping him from turning on us when the war's over," said Whitney "we need to gather information about him and the fleet, learn their weaknesses and plan for the future."
"Plan for a future where we turn on our allies?" countered Alec.
"We won't strike first," said Lakshmi "we'll only retaliate if he attacks us."
"There's no point in trying to debate the matter," said Byron "you'll help us keep tabs on James and in return… we'll make sure your friend Alexis gets the best medical attention she deserves."
In that moment, Alec looked like he wanted to punch Byron square in the face.
"Alexis' condition is a particularly difficult one, don't you think?" asked Damien "given her inability to walk and fragile mental state, it takes significantly more resources to keep her from doing anything dangerous."
"As stated before Alec," said Whitney "you will help us. There's no denying that."
Rather than say anything that could risk getting him into trouble, Alec stormed out of the hall with his head lowered. Once outside, he came across Tashkent who wanted to take him to the base. Alec didn't need much convincing and agreed to go with her.
Back at the base, Alec felt strangely calm. He didn't memorize everyone's names yet but he recognized a few of the girls. He saw San Diego standing on a bench and singing about her being the best, he saw Queen Elizabeth and Warspite seated at a café while a maid came to serve them tea and he saw a parade of children running away from Ark Royal.
'I'm starting to understand why James likes this place so much,' he thought 'there's no backstabbing crap or manipulation here. These girls are…"
"Hello Alec," said a familiar face. He turned around and saw James alongside a well-dressed maid. Given that James was wearing some gym clothes and was covered in sweat from head to toe, Alec understood he must have finished training.
"Hey, I had a meeting with the resistance leaders then Tashkent brought me here. I was just… taking things in."
"I see," said James, turning to the maid "good work today, Dido. You can go and give your report to Belfast."
"Um… Master," said Dido, looking nervous.
"Ah, that's right, sorry I forgot," said James as he reached out and gently patted her head.
"Thank you for the hard work Dido, I appreciate it," he said. Seemingly renewed by his words, Dido nodded to him and went towards one of the buildings.
"You looked like you had something on your mind," said James "want to talk about it?"
Alec nodded and together, the duo headed to one of the meeting rooms. Once there, Alec took a seat but had a difficult time trying to say what was on his mind.
Then, he thought of something else that was equally important.
"James, why did you give the resistance that ammunition type without discussing it with everyone else?"
"Oh that, don't worry about it. I made sure to give the leaders detailed instructions on how to make the bullets. There's no chance of any accidents happening."
"That's not the part you should be concerned about," countered Alec "right now, most of the human are scared of those girls and what they can do. Imagine the disaster if some lunatic got his hands on those bullets and fired it at those girls? Or what if the resistance decides to turn on you and attacks the girls?"
"Alec," said James giving him a slightly smug look "do you really think I'd just give them anything that could be used to hurt my fleet?"
"I'm not following."
"Those bullets are only good on Siren ships and the hybrids. If you fire them at any girl or a high-ranking Siren, all it's going to do is make them ticklish."
"What? How are you sure about that?"
"Extensive tests," he replied "originally the ammo was meant for me and during the initial tests, I also asked the same question you did: what if I were to accidentally fire at one of the girls?"
"That was when Kako and Furutaka explained how the bullets wouldn't damage them at all. Even if the resistance managed to refine it to the highest degree, those bullets do nothing against the girls and the tougher Sirens."
"Phew," said Alec, letting out a deep sigh "that's a relief to hear. When I heard about Bayron boasting about it, I immediately got worried."
"Well. I hope that clears up your doubts," said James.
Alec nodded and indeed he was glad to know the resistance didn't have the tools to turn on the Azur Sky at any second. With that issue resolved, there was still the other issue he had to deal with. Alec could clearly see that James cared about the girls and his heart was in the right place. He trusted Alec and gave him free reign to do whatever he wanted. Could he really betray that trust by spying on him for the other side?
Sensing his anxiety, James took the initiative and asked him "are you getting used to things here?"
"Yeah," replied Alec, sounding listless.
"Did you have breakfast?" he asked
"Yeah," replied Alec
"Did they ask you to spy on me?" he asked.
"Yeah," replied Alec.
"Have you spoke to Rossiya and the others since coming here?"
"Yeah I…" and Alec paused for a second, sensing something had happened. It was then that he realized he inadvertently slipped up and revealed an important secret. He looked up at James who merely smiled at him.
"Don't feel too bad about that trick," said James, also taking a seat "my CIA friend used to use it all the time on her kids."
"Well, that doesn't help," remarked Alec sarcastically.
"It's standard human nature for them to try and figure out what we're up to," said James "I figured they would try it later but then I noticed how you were hesitant about saying something and quickly put it together."
"What… what happens now?"
"Nothing. You'll continue to observe and report my actions like you're supposed to. The objective here is to beat Omega and stop the Siren invasion. After that, I have every intention of leaving here."
"But, since I know they're not going to take my words at face value, you're going to carry out your mission."
"Now that that's out of the way, we should head to the research division. I'd like to find out about Akashi's progress on the case Alpha was carrying."
With that said, James got up and headed to the door. Seeing this, Alec did the same and followed from behind. As the two headed to their destination, Alec could not get over how James weeded out a secret from him using a rudimentary trick.
At the same time, he also had to come to terms with a simple fact: James was far more cunning than he expected. That he was able to figure out something was wrong with him and quickly find a way to extract the information told Alec to be wary of the fleet leader. More than Omega, Alec felt that James was one opponent he did not want to face.