The Beach
Enterprise, Akagi and Hornet all demanifested their rigging as they glided off the water and onto the sand. Hornet was still smirking at the two older carriers, both too embarrassed to look at each other after what happened in the bell tower.
"Come on sis, you can admit you like her, I saw you cuddling~" Hornet teased while elbowing her older sister. Enterprise quietly scoffed as they walked and waved off Hornet's physical jest.
"Hornet come on...you can't really think me and Akagi were..." She cut herself off and blushed deeply. Worried about the implications of what she would have said. Akagi also blushed when she and Enterprise locked eyes briefly, both looked away covering their faces from the other. Hornet just laughed watching their reactions.
"You even look like new lovers! But hey I'm not gonna judge if my big sis wants to 'experiment' with a fluffy fox girl." the younger carrier stated, waggling her eyebrows at Enterprise. The older carrier growled and lunged for Hornet, the other Eagle Union carrier laughed as she jumped back. "Relax big sis, your secret's safe with me, heck its about time you found a way to properly unwind, bye!" Hornet then turned around and ran off, still laughing to herself.
"Your sister is...most irritating." Akagi spoke up as she stood next to Enterprise, frowning as she watched Hornet run off. The American carrier sighed in exasperation.
"I agree...I apologise for her ruining the moment like that." Enterprise then turned to Akagi with a small smile. "But that aside, I'm glad we could talk like that, but...what did she mean with that last thing she said?" She wondered. Akagi couldn't help but giggle at that, it seemed Enterprise was very naïve when it came to 'adult' topics. The fox woman then gave a sultry smirk.
"Enterprise...have you ever felt alone at night~? In your bedroom perhaps?" Akagi asked smoothly. The American kansen just blinked and tilted her head at her confused.
"What are you talking about? I always sleep alone." Enterprise replied, still puzzled with Akagi's question. "What are you trying to say?" she asked curiously. Akagi had another small giggle and started walking up the beach to the base with her smirk getting wider.
"You really don't know huh? I'll explain on the way back to Medical." The fox girl told her, making a gesture to follow her. As Enterprise tagged along with her, Akagi then explained, in full uncensored detail what Hornet was trying to imply between the two of them, with poor Enterprise just getting more and more traumatized by the subject.
The seafront Cafe
Kaga and the Commander were enjoying some sandwiches and tea, Kaga had been nervous and quiet at first, but had gradually relaxed and smiled somewhat as she talked. Other kansen had walked by and looked on at the two with confusion on how to act. One person they'd normally run away from, the other they'd normally run up to in glee. They all decided to walk on normally and simply leave the duo be.
"Its nice out here, I'm glad I ran into you Kaga, its funny since I don't really know that much about you since you always let Akagi speak for you." The Commander told her, munching his sandwich. Kaga looked away from the table, a little ashamed at her own shyness.
"I...never felt the need to, my sister was always an outspoken person and I usually dislike speaking to others myself." Kaga admitted. She looked down at her sandwich, she had only nibbled it and seemed unsure of what else to do or say. The Commander picked up on her pause and smiled kindly to her.
"You know, this is a big improvement for you, you came out with me yourself, without relying on Akagi to carry you through social interactions." The young officer pointed out. Kaga looked up at him with her mouth slightly open, her eyes noticeably widening in surprise.
"You really think so Commander?" The white fox girl asked. The Commander nodded and tilted his head with a smile and chuckle,
"I know you've got a self esteem problem, but its nothing you can't overcome in time, I mean I did." He admitted with a nervous laugh. Kaga's eyes widened further at that revelation, then she sighed a little in relief, knowing she wasn't alone on that front.
"Forgive me Commander, but you don't come across that way to me." Kaga told him. The Commander laughed at her words and took another bite of his sandwich. He then sipped his tea before replying to her.
"Its true, before coming to Azur Lane, I had some major confidence problems, especially when it came to actually commanding people." He looked down a little, his smile fading somewhat as he remembered his troublesome past.
"I actually hated the idea of joining the military, but my mother forced me into it, since she and dad were officers themselves. I just scraped by in boot camp and command school; hated every second of it, the hazing by the other cadets didn't help, Nico being the biggest asshole among them, his uncle Admiral Samson seemed to hate my guts too, always giving me flak for the smallest of reasons. I just barely graduated by the skin of my teeth...tch!"
The Commander cringed as he told the story, clearly not enjoying the trip down memory lane. Kaga looked on with sympathy, not knowing what else to do, she reached over and gently placed her hand on top of the Commander's own; feeling it shake underneath her. The young officer looked up at her, seeing her look offside with a blush, still not quite confident enough to look him in the eyes as she held his hand. He smiled again, he thought it was quite adorable of her to want to comfort him like that.
"I...I'm sorry you went through that Commander...but may I ask...how you came to command Azur Lane?" Kaga asked as she gave him a sideways look, her curiosity overriding her shyness. The Commander chuckled and kept telling the story.
"Well that was an interesting event to say the least, it turns out the most important quality to be Commander of Azur Lane...was being respectful of women. When we were all briefed on what the kansen were by the head of the Admiralty, every other candidate was either a closeted incel, or just plain terrified of powerful women, by the way: Nico turned out to be both those things." He explained with a laugh The Commander then held up his hands and added: "I asked the Fleet Admiral afterwards why I was chosen over higher scoring candidates, he just laughed and just told me 'The women like you the most kid'." The Commander laughed nervously as he finished.
Kaga chuckled with him and smiled. All the kansen could tell the Commander was somewhat different from other humans they'd worked with when he first arrived. He was always a kind, caring and respectful soul, always firm when he needed to be, but never harsh or abusive. Despite his own admission of not being good at actually commanding, Kaga had to disagree, during many battles, he had always had a knack for seeing opportunities where no one else did, allowing a seemingly weak force to over come an otherwise overwhelmingly powerful enemy, or when situations seemed too good to be true, he'd pull the kansen out of danger just in time.
Kaga for the first time, looked directly into the young man's eyes, catching him off guard and earning a small gasp. A look of courage in her deep blue eyes, wanting to show she had the courage to say this seriously.
"Commander." she uttered quietly, but then more confidently told him: "I can see now what my sister sees in you, a warm fire in your heart for all kansen, scarred by the past, but hopeful for the future, you say you lack command skills, forgive me but that statement is absurd, many kansen, my sister and I included, owe their lives to you, do not down play such skill for it would be dishonourable to do so."
The Commander was taken aback by Kaga's little speech, especially with the deep subjects she had just brought up, she seemed to be very insightful when given the opportunity to be so. He took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly and nodded at her.
"Thank you Kaga, its been a while since I've talked about my past with anyone, I'll certainly try to avoid beating myself up, Akagi would hate that." He pointed out finishing his sandwich. Kaga smiled warmly and nibbled her own food, pleased with herself.
Suddenly the both of them heard someone running up to them, The Commander turned around to see FDG running up to him, a serious look on her face, when she stopped in front of their table she took a moment to catch her breath before announcing:
"Nagato just docked...she has humans with her...and she wants...a meeting." She panted out. The Commander frowned and stood up, as did Kaga.
"Lets go, uh Der Grosse...you can take a break." The Commander told the tired woman before patting her back. He and Kaga then ran off to the docks.
Nagato's docking pen.
The Commander, along with Task Force Alpha, without Akagi or Enterprise, all showed up to greet Nagato and her entourage. The Azur lane officer watched in surprise, as a human captain then disembarked the hull along with Nagato herself. As they walked over, the Captain looked around at all the women surrounding the young man with some disbelief. The Commander then stepped forward and held out his hand with a smile.
"Welcome back Nagato, I hope Nico didn't give you too much trouble." He asked as Nagato shook his hand, a small smile on her face.
"It was hardly traumatic, however I wish I had better news to report." She admitted as her smile faded into a more neutral expression, she then gestured to her companion. "This is Captain Varennes, his ship was stranded without support out there." She added. The slightly older man chuckled nervously before saluting, which just made the Commander scoff.
"Oh don't salute mate, I've never cared for military formalities from those of lesser rank." He told Varennes before taking his saluting hand and shaking it causally, the captain scratched the back of his head in mild embarrassment.
"Sorry uh...sir...thanks for letting us stay here for a while, my own ship is...well...no longer seaworthy." Varennes told him. Nagato then spoke up.
"Commander; I don't intend to use my rigging while I'm here, may Varennes and his men use my hull until more permanent facilities can be created?" She suggested.
"Of course, that will save us a logistics nightmare." The Commander joked to her. He then looked across the docks to see Yamashiro towing a keel-up ship into the dry docks, a small fleet of boats manned by Manjuus then swarmed the ship. "Don't worry Captain, this the best repair yard in the world, your ship will be ready for action again in no time." The Commander assured, giving him a thumbs up.
"I don't wish to upset the mood, but we have problems Commander, may we please find somewhere to discuss things?" Nagato asked. The Commander gave her a serious look and nodded. They all turned around to find a meeting room.
Twenty minutes later...
The mood in the meeting room seemed to darken after Nagato reported what Nico and Jackson had told her, to punctuate her point, she tossed the documents Nico gave her over to the Commander, he sighed after reading them. Queen Elizabeth, Enterprise and Bismarck all frowned in annoyance, everyone else just looked on in shock at Nagato and the Commander. Akagi was hugging the Commander's arm, flustered by the news.
"He can't! I won't let him arrest my Commander!" She yelled, her tails flailing around in anger.
"Even if the Commander refused to allow him to do this, he'll most likely lock us up anyway, along with the Commander." Bismarck pointed out.
"Hmph! This Commodore is infuriating me beyond words, why is the Admiralty imposing these fools upon us?" The Queen demanded. Varennes clenched his fist at her tone, not long ago he was apart of Nico's fleet so he took offence to those insults. The Commander then stood up and looked around the room. He then explained what he knew so far.
"Its not the whole Admiralty your Majesty, just one person: Admiral Samson. He and Commodore Nico have reason to believe that you could be more dangerous than the Sirens, I'm not entirely sure how much of the Admiralty or the rest of the UN Navy agree with them, if Captain Varennes here and Captain Jackson of the Dominatus are any indication, things seem relatively fractured among Nico's fleet. We simply need something to convince everyone else in Nico's forces AND the rest of the Admiralty that they don't need to do this, we just need more time."
Captain Varennes then stood up with him.
"I don't know how much help we can be, but me and my crew will do anything we can to assist you Commander, we owe you that much." He declared, holding his hand over his chest. "The USS Lennon is yours to commander sir!" He added with a salute. The Commander smiled.
"Much appreciated Captain; I'll bear that in mind. Once your ship is repaired you and your men need to be ready for action." The Commander agreed.
"Yes sir!" Varennes yelled, standing to attention. The Commander then waved him back down and looked back across the table. Nagato then got a solemn look on her face as she stood up.
"I believe this next topic is of even greater importance: according to Captain Jackson, Nico is preparing something with the name: 'Project Water pounder'." She announced ominously. The Commander suddenly backed off from the table, a look of sheer horror on his face. Everyone looked on at him in puzzlement as he started hyperventilating.
"No...they can't! Its...its too dangerous!" He shouted. Akagi hugged him and gently shushed him to calm him down, making him stroke one of her tails while she purred, making her body vibrate soothingly on his.
"Its OK my Commander...Akagi is here...hush~" She cooed in a motherly tone. It quickly calmed down the Commander, he breathed slower and smiled up at the fox woman.
"Thank you Akagi...but...this is bad..." He stated as he walked back to the table.
"Commander what is it...whats Project Water pounder?" Enterprise asked. The Commander put his hands on the table and looked up, still breathing heavily.
"An experimental set of devices...meant to give humans... kansen powers." The Commander stated hesitantly. Making everyone gasp in shock. "Its not a new concept, early in the first Siren war, before kansen were created, humanity needed a way to fight back. Using mental cubes, Admiral Samson, back then he just a General, managed to create a device that mimics the abilities of a kansen within a human." He explained.
"Why is that dangerous? sounds like a great idea." Captain Varennes wondered. The Commander looked over at him and shook his head.
"Great idea; but terribly executed. They did work to some degree, we even managed to push back the sirens for a while, but after a while things kept going wrong. The rigging created by the device was often unstable, if it malfunctioned the operator could be dragged into the sea and drown, that's if they weren't burned alive when the power supply caught fire...or just full on exploded in a small nuclear fireball." The Commander stated. He then lowered his gaze and Akagi spotted a tear rolling down the young man's cheek.
"My father...was killed when he deliberately caused his water pounder to explode, his unit was under attack by a group of high class sirens, he told his men to run...and ran straight towards the enemy in a kamikaze attack... the explosion killed them all, he gave his life to save his unit and the fleet they were attached to."
Akagi hugged him reassuringly wiping away his tears and wrapping her tails around him, the Commander hugged her back, choking up a little as he finished. All the other kansen looked down gloomily, having a moment of silence for the Commander's father. After a few minutes Queen Elizabeth spoke up.
"If water pounders are so dangerous, why would Commodore Nico be developing them again?" She asked confused. The Commander reluctantly separated himself from Akagi and looked back at the Queen.
"He and the Admiral probably think they've fixed any design flaws, if that's the case, any potential conflict won't be as one-sided as we thought, but if they haven't, then they've just turned their men into nuclear suicide bombers, in either case its gonna be dangerous moving forward." The Commander replied.
"What are your orders if we encounter any of these...Water pounders?" Enterprise asked.
"Gather as much information as you can, try not to kill any of them, but if they're capable of harming you to the point of threatening your lives, you're cleared to use full force to neutralize them, even if it means killing them." The Commander ordered. All the kansen stood up and nodded to him. Nagato then looked up at the Commander with a worried look.
"What about Nico? Will you comply with his demands?" She asked. The Commander didn't reply and held his chin in thought. Akagi watched him intently with a frown, wondering if whatever happens she will be healed enough to protect him effectively, she clenched her fists in determination as she thought about the near future.
"Commander...No matter what happens...Akagi will protect you...always..." Akagi thought to herself, her eyes glowing a little.