Anyway, I just came back and redid the old chapters by running them through Grammarly, I do hope that it improved the chapter.

So as always, all rights go to their owners, as I own nothing!


A bad plan that is well executed will yield much better results that a good plan that a poorly executed: Otto Von Bismarck


"Captain Cutter, good to see you, sir." One of the crew members said to him as he approached him.

But Cutter Captain of the Spirit of Fire knew that he could not stay to talk, as he was currently on his way to the Spirits observation deck to meet with the Spirit of Fires head Scientists: Professor Ellen Anders to talk over recent developments. As the situation they had found themselves had not been they had been explaining.

Still knowing that he could not stop and speak with the man, but also wanted to be polite and acknowledge him. Cutter merely gave the soldier a simple smile and nodded as he continued. But there was also another reason why the Cutter did not wish to talk for the moment, as he was still coming to terms with the loss of one of the Spirit of Fire's most prominent members. A close friend of his: Serina, the ship's Smart AI, had activated her final dispensation while the crew had been in cryo-sleep.

Cutter had only learned of Serina's fate through the massage that she had left for him. A message that Cutter had been replaying over again and again in his head, as he was still trying to come to terms with it. This process continued while he continued making his way toward the main elevator that would take him to the observation deck to meet with Andres.

Even so, a part of him wished that he had been there to see Serina off, but then again there was a part of Cutter who was glad that he had not been there. Cutter was more than aware of what rampancy was like for most UNSC AI.

If anything, he could at the very least take comfort in the fact that he had never had Serina in such a state and keep the memories of what she had been before unsullied.

Still, this was little comfort to him as he continued making his way to the elevator, as he walked Cutter would occasionally walk by one of the ship's many personnel, who upon seeing him would either ignore him or give him a sign of acknowledgment. Either through a simple nod or depending on the person, they would stop and salute him as he passed. A sign of respect that Cutter had been able to build with them over the years they had spent serving under him. Some of the crew knew Cutter well enough to know when he had something on his mind and knew not to disturb him while he was thinking it over.

One of the obvious tells that this was the case was his hat, as it was rare to see him without it. But when it was not there and was in fact behind him in both his hands. That was a clear sign that there was something important on the captain's mind. So, knowing this, many of those who saw him did not stop him as he passed by but merely gave the captain a nod in greeting as they continued.

For his part Cutter honestly wished that there were a couple more familiar faces in his crew, Serina included, as he could use their help to figure out just what kind of situation they had stumbled into. But sadly, this was not the case, as Cutter was more than aware of the nature of this job. Especially during wartime, as he knew that certain members of the crew would never return from their deployments. But their sacrifices in the line of duty ensure that everyone on board the Spirit could survive to the next battle and hopefully the peace that would follow the end of the wars that Cutter knew would come before his time was done.

But such thoughts had to be put aside, as he had finally reached the elevator that would take him down to the observation deck. And currently standing on each side of the door were two Marines, who upon seeing Cutter's approach give him a quick nod and salute to him, to which Cutter then acknowledged with a quick nod of his head as he then entered the elevator.

While on the ride down, Cutter used this moment of quiet to over Serina's last message one last time before the elevator doors opened. Because once they did, he would have to put his feelings aside and do his duty for the ship's crew. So, knowing this Cutter collected himself for what was to come, the elevator doors then opened in front of him. And upon exiting the elevator Cutter was greeted by the sight of Professor Ellen Anders who is currently working with a mixer of her old and newer equipment that Serina had left for them to use. He then walked into the room without Anders so much as batting an eyelash, so Cutter decided to make his presence known to the Spirit of Fires Chief scientist.

"Good morning, to you Professor." There was a hint of sarcasm in Cutter's voice as he said this, as he then made his way over to the Holo-table that Andres was currently using.

"Sorry, Captain. But I thought I would get a head start on things." Anders said as she continued to work on the new Holo-table that Serina had left for them.

Cutter could see this, as Andres had already pulled up a hologram of the planet that the ship was currently in orbit above. He could already see that Andres was highlighting points of interest.

"Any reason as to why these areas are so important Professor?" Cutter asked as he touched one of the highlighted marks on the planet.

Some data on the area appeared in front of him, as Andres elaborated.

"They mark areas with unusual seismic active Captain," Anders informed him as she kept working.

Cutter then read the notes, as more information sprung up from the area that he had touched on the planet, showing scans from the ship that confirmed signs of usual activity within that area of the plants' crust.

"Not much in the terms of landmass," Cutter commented, as he finished looking over the data and turned to face Andres.

Who for her part was still mapping areas of interest on the world, whether it was some unusual seismic activity or points of interest that the ship's sensors had noticed the planet below, Andres and her staff would be busy for the next couple of months or however long Cutter decided to stay in orbit above this world.

That much was for certain.

"Indeed Captain, I believe that the planet's lack of land mass and the unusual seismic activity we're picking up are related. But I would have to go down there to confirm my theory." Anders was already three steps ahead of where everyone else was.

"We don't know what's down there yet Professor" Cutter reminded Anders.

As there was standard protocol for this kind of eventualities, the UNSC had learned the hard way during their colonization efforts that not all habitable planets were necessarily the safest. For there might be other less visible dangers that might lurk on the planet below, such as deadly new diseases, hostile locals, or even dangerous life forms such as those in countered on the shield world they had blown up.

Knowing this, Cutter was going to follow protocol until these things had been identified and actions are taken to counter them, or at the very least minimize the threat they posed. One of which was already underway, as drones had been sent out and the staff in the medical bay was using the data they had collected to develop and distribute vaccines to members of the crew, as the last thing they needed now was an outbreak of disease to occur onboard the ship.

"But Captain." Anders started to say before Cutter cut her off.

Because Cutter knew that she was going to argue with him for permission to let her down to the planet's surface with the first team. This was something that Cutter could not allow as he knew that they were going to need Anders in the coming months ahead, especially should things turn south on the planet below.

"No buts Professor, you'll just have to content yourself with studying the three captured Covenant vehicles in the meantime," Cutter said as he firmly shot down any ideas of her being on the first transport down to the planet.

Besides, if anyone could figure out how to repair or even rearm the Wreath and the two Locusts they had captured, then it would be Anders. As the techs were still struggling to even understand just how Covenant technology worked let alone how to use and maintain it themselves.

So having Anders spend some time looking over the three captured Covenant of vehicles would be helpful in that regard, besides, it kept the Professor somewhere where Cutter's men could keep an eye on her and ensure that she did not try to sneak onto the first Pelican heading down to the planet.

Because if things did turn ugly down planet-side then those captured vehicles would quickly become indispensable assets to the ship and crew.

Cutter then watched as Anders seemed to want to say something but then seemed to think better of it.

"Very well Captain. But I want to be on the second group sent down to the planet." Anders then stated.

"I think that can arrange that Professor," Cutter said as a small smile touched his face.

As he was more than happy for this compromise between them, as they both got what they wanted with Cutter ensuring her safety and Anders getting to the point of her curiosity.

"Thank you, Captain. Now as you can see, there's…." Anders started to say something else but Cutter for some reason found his attention drawn to the planet outside.

Cutter could now see that the night side of the world was starting to emerge into view. For the normal person there was nothing out of the ordinary, Cutter's gut feeling told him that something unusual was happening in the world below. For there was an unusually considerable number of gray-black clouds that were hanging in a southern area of the world, something that Cutter with all his years of travel felt out of place.

Even though he knew it might be nothing, Cutter still knew better than to take chances in this case. Especially given the circumstances in which they came here.

"Captain to bridge," Cutter then opened a line to the bridge of the ship, "Can you send some drones to investigate this sector? I've already forwarded you the coordinates."

"Of course, Captain, we'll inform you if anything comes up." The bridge crew member informed him.

"Understood Bridge; Cutter out," Cutter said as he then closed the COM.

For a moment Andres watched the captain as she tried to figure out just what had caught his attention in that area of the planet. But she would not get a chance to ask right away, as Cutter then spoke up.

"Andres, bring up the live feed from the drone." Cutter then ordered her.

Which the Professor immediately mentioned the images being recorded by the drone that the Spirit of Fire, as it made its way to the area that Cutter had specified.

"Any reason as to why these areas caught your attention?" Andres then asked him.

Cutter did not respond right away, as he was still trying to figure that out himself. Even so, Cutter could not help but feel as if something strange was happening in that area, but despite that, he was not entirely sure as to what tipped him off to it.

"Call it a hunch Professor," Cutter said offhandedly as he watched the display.

Satisfied with what he was seeing Cutter turned his attention to Anders, as he wanted to bring up another important topic with her while they waited for the drone to reach the area Cutter had specified.

"So, Professor, have you figured out what drew us here?" Cutter then asked her.

Because as far as Cutter knew they should have been at least on the outer fringes of UNSC control space by now, not here above an unknown planet halfway across the galaxy.

"No Captain. I'm still working on how we even got here." Anders admitted.

As she was also baffled as to how the Spirit had so badly drifted off course and ended up here. Because it was not like they were asleep at the wheel, as the computers would have automatically awoken some of the bridge crew if navigation failed for any reason.

Still, before Cutter could continue further on this topic, the COM to the bridge opened again.

"Sir, the drones approaching the area you specified." The bridge crew informed him.

"Thank you, Bridge. I will be watching a live feed from here, inform me if anything interesting comes up on sensors. As Andres would be interested to look over anything you find." Cutter then said.

"Understood Captain, bridge out," The crew member said as he then cut the COM again.

Cutter and Andres then turned their attention to the live display, as they watched the drone make its final approach to the area that Cutter had specified. While they did so, however, Cutter could not help but notice the static that started to appear on their live feed.

"Any idea as to what might be causing that interference, Professor?" Cutter then asked as the static on the display started to grow worse.

"I can't say for sure, but if I were to guess…" Andres started to say before the live feed unexpectedly cut out.

For a moment, the two of them just stood there, taken aback by this unexpected development, still, this state of surprise did not last long. As once Andres recovered, she immediately went to work on trying to figure out what happened to the drone's signal, while Cutter for his part made immediately contacted the bridge to see if they had any information as to what had happened.

"Captain to bridge, can you please confirm that you're still in contact with the drone that you sent to investigate the coordinates I sent you?" Cutter asked the bridge crew for confirmation, as Andres also worked to find this out as well.

Cutter then silently wondered who would wonder as to who was going to give him his answer. But it did not come as much of a surprise when the bridge crew did, as they had more people's information available to them to troubleshoot this problem.

"I'm sorry to report Captain that we've lost contact with the drone. We're still trying to figure out what happened to it." The bridge crew informed the captain.

"Understood, any idea if we can regain contact?" Cutter then inquired.

"Sir, I'm certain that if that was the case then the drone would've resurfaced on our sensors by now." The voice of the drone operator now cut into the COM circuit.

This raised some eyebrows, as UNSC drones simply do not lose contact with their ships so easily. Though they might be cut off, UEG drones were equipped with a Dumb AI that would attempt to bring the drone back into contact with the mother ship. So, to hear his bridge's drone operator saying this, raised a lot of red flags in Cutter's mind.

"Was the drone able to pick up anything before we lost contact with it?" the captain then inquired.

This might give them an idea as to what managed to take down the drone. For a moment, the line went quiet as the crew member pulled up the data that was recorded in the drone's last moments.

Even so, there was a long pause, as if the crew member on the other side was confirming something, while Cutter then checked on Andres who was still shifting through the same data as well.

But before Cutter could ask Andres a question that had just crossed his mind the COM to the bridge cracked to life.

"Captain, before the drone was lost; it picked up large amounts of plasma in the planet's atmosphere." The crew member then informed him, his voice barely under control.

Cutter paused for a moment before he responded.

"Cutter to bridge, can you confirm that you said there was live plasma in the planet's atmosphere?" Cutter then asked for confirmation of what he had been told.

Because he knew that if this was confirmed, then the whole situation had just been turned on its head.

"Yes Captain, the sensor from the Spirit also confirms its presents in the area as well." The bridge sensor officer confirmed what Cutter had feared.

At which point Cutter's mind went into overdrive, as he immediately ran over the ramifications of what he had just said. Even so, Cutter knew that he could not afford to become bogged down in those thoughts, as his attention immediately turned to what actions he needed to implement immediately.

"Lieutenant put the ship on full alert! Have all crew members at action stations, also contact Spartan Jerome." Cutter snapped out orders, as the captain knew that he could not take chances at this moment.

Especially considering that they had just poked a stick into what could be a hornet's nest. Knowing this, Cutter started to scan the area around the unusual black clouds he had spotted earlier, fully expecting a Covenant warship to come out of them to challenge the Spirit of Fire.

"Understood Captain!" The Lieutenant confirmed Cutters' orders as alarms then sounded for general quarters across the ship.

Cutter then turned to Andres who for her part seemed taken aback by this sudden development. Even so, Andres quickly recovered from her surprise, and she then redoubled her efforts in trying to get an idea as to what was taking place on the planet

All the while Cutter scanned the world below them, fully expecting to see a Covenant warship emerge from the clouds on the planet below to challenge the Spirit of Fire.

But no such ship came out of the darkness to challenge them it was all quiet on the observation deck until the ship's COMS came to life again. And the voice of the Spirit resident Spartan came out of it.

"Reporting, Captain." The claim and professional voice of Jerome-092 came clearly through the ship's COMS.

"Prep all Spartan teams and a small ground force to go planetside. Expect hostile contacts, recon only." Cutter stated the basic mission parameters to Jerome.

As Cutter knew that this was something that had to be investigated and knowing that he had little time to plan this out as he would like. He would simply have to make do with what he had available at this time.

Knowing this, Cutter would simply have to send his best available forces to scout the area since it seemed they could not send their unmanned drones to do it. But the fact of the matter was the team that was being sent down there was not being sent to engage whatever was down there, more so to get an idea of what was down there so that they could plan a proper response to what they discovered.

As Cutter knew that some of the crew of the Spirit of Fire was still coming out of cryo; thus, leaving the ship vulnerable to any attack. So, Cutter had to take this risk if only to stall for time.

"Roger that Captain, we'll be ready within the hour." Jerome's untroubled voice informed the captain.

"Understood Spartan, delay if you need more time to organize," Cutter said to him, as he was not going to have Jerome rush this more, he already had.

"Understood sir, Jerome, out," The Spartan said cutting the link.

Thus, leaving Cutter alone to think over what he had just ordered the Spartan to do. In all honesty, this had been the best option available to him, as Cutter trusted Jerome and the other Spartans to be able to handle situations like this. As they had already proven themselves more than capable, Cutter could not help but wonder if he had overplayed his hand. But considering the current situation he did not have the best cards to work with, so he was doing the best with what he had available.

Still, it was around this point that the captain realized that Andres was now looking at him, as he then turned to face her with a small smile on his face.

"It's been nearly fifty years Professor. Let's see what kind of galaxy we've woken up to." Cutter said to her, with one final look at the planet below he then made his way over to the elevator.

As he knew that he was needed on the Spirits Bridge where he could help his crew with final preparations for his away teams, all the while he was hoping they could figure out just what kind of hornets' nest they had just stumbled into as the doors then closed behind him.


"SHIKIKAN!" A familiar voice that Miles had come to know very well in the last couple of months reached his ears.

Miles had been making his way to a meeting that was supposed to take place when he heard her voice. But from the tone of the Sakura Empire girls' voices Miles guessed that these plans were going to be severely delayed. As he then turned to face the owner of the voice, he saw a familiar figure running towards him.

The battleship Suruga from the Sakura Empire, but there was something unusual about her. It took Miles a moment to realize that she was missing her usual white overcoat and was instead running towards him with just her regular clothes with a stack of files in hand. This fact immediately got his attention, as Miles knew that Suruga rarely went anywhere without her overcoat.

As such this plus the fact that she seemed exhausted immediately sent off all sorts of red flags in Alex's mind, as he quickly made his way over to the poor girl.

"Suruga? What is it? What has happened?" There was a hint of worry in Miles's voice as he asked this.

Suruga did not respond right away. As the battleship was still trying to catch her breath from all the running, she had done, it was obvious that Suruga had been trying to find him for quite some time, which only made Miles even more alarmed.

"O-One," Suruga started to say, but she was still catching her breath before she continued, "C-City, was, Attacked!" Suruga had barely caught her breath as she finished relaying this report to her Commander.

Whose heart immediately dropped upon hearing that, as he immediately forgot about the meeting and started trying to get an idea of what city had just been hit.

"What city had been attacked? Do we know by who and why?" Miles asked her.

As he asked this Miles could not help but think of the artificial port cities that had been a part of the Azur Lane defensive system before it had been abandoned once a majority of its members left. This was also something that had been brought up in the League of Nations as well. For everything they tried, everyone quickly found out that it lacked any way of doing anything substance. Especially if those nations who were trying to get the support simply left the building and ignored its edicts.

Azur lane was different in that regard, but even so, the main problem was the fact that it was now mostly made up of volunteers and Ship-girls voluntarily loaned from the said nation. The fact that Miles simply could not prevent them from leaving was a holdover from when the organization had been first conceived. Allow the member nations to pull out their forces, should their needs at home prove more urgent than their prior obligation.

As such the only Kansen that Miles currently had on hand were more so than no was either acting as envoys to said nation or were here using loopholes in the agreements alongside some political favours he was owned to get them assigned to this post.

Even with that he barely had enough to cover even the most basic of the responsibilities the organization was charged with. A fact made worse considering that he was despondent on the charity of said countries currently at war with one another.

But such things could wait as Suruga had finally caught her breath and could finally reply to Miles' questions.

"I'm sorry Shikikan, but we don't have any information as to who did this. Let alone where the signal came from." The answer that Suruga gave him only made his heart sink further into his chest.

As this was not the answer that he had wanted, it did not matter as this news alone was more than enough for him to throw all his previous plans out the window. As he knew that he would be spending the rest of the day addressing this crisis that had just landed in his lap. Knowing this he started to fire rapid-fire questions at Suruga.

"Has anyone asked us to investigate, or intervene?" This was the next question that Alex needed to know the answer to.

Because if whoever was under attack asked for their assistance then Miles would have to immediately begin to recall ships while shuffling others around to plug in the gaps left in their patrol areas. This was something which Miles did not look forward to doing, for he knew that he would have to leave certain areas unguarded to deal with the current situation.

This meant that there was an opportunity for Humanity, our mutual enemy, to have a clear shot at the most important shipping lanes in the area. This was a fact that Miles was more than aware of as they had barely contained this problem during the Siren War, so to remove the ship and have them else could be a catastrophe. As even to this day the waters around Port Azure and the Panama Canal were still crawling with pirates, raids and worst yet, Siren raiding fleets.

But despite that, Alex could not help but worry that whoever was behind this attack had hit a certain island, one that not only played a specific role in Azur Lane's defensive strategy but also held a personal interest to Miles as well.

Even so, Miles knew that he could not afford to worry about such things, at least not yet. Especially considering that he did not have that information available to him. So, to waste his time on such worries would be useless at best, considering that he had other things that he needed to attend to.

But still, the Grand Admiral of Azur Lane found himself listening very closely when the merlot-haired battleship finally gave her reply.

"I'm sorry Shikikan, but there's no word on that yet either," Suruga informed him, a hint of uncertainty.

'Okay, I can work with that.' Miles thought to himself.

Because this was not the worst thing in the world, especially because would not be forced to spin on a dime to recall all the Ship-girls that were desperately needed patrolling the wavers in and around the Panama Canal.

"Understood, so when can I see my guest? As I needed to inform them of what had taken place, Alex then said, as he refocused on what he needed to deal with immediately.

Suruga allowed a small smile to touch her lips, as she gave her Command the good news.

"No need, as Belfast has already rescheduled your meeting, alongside informing your guests of what had taken place." Suruga then informed him, much to Miles' relief.

As that was one less thing on his plate, even so, Miles knew that he needed to know when he was to be expected by his guest. Because there was nothing worse than being rescheduled and then stood up by the person who had rescheduled their meeting.

That was simply bad form, and something Miles had come to understand the frustration during his early years in his position as Grand Admiral. As such Alex tried to ensure that he avoided such things, having been to the receiving end more than enough to know what it was like.

"When did my meeting get rescheduled for?" He then asked the obvious question.

"This evening, as allow you enough time to handle any paperwork, while getting an idea of the situation so that you can explain it to your guest." Suruga once again surprised Miles with how well thought out this scheduling was.

But then again, this was Belfast they were talking about, as the woman had a talent for managing details, a fact that had been rather apparent from an early age.

"Thanks, Suruga, do you know if all the paperwork regarding this matter will be in my office waiting for me?" Miles then asked the Battleship how smiled upon his question.

"I have the relevant papers right here Shikikan," Suruga then lifted the arm that had the files in it, "As I thought it would be best to deliver everything to you at once."

Once again Miles could not help but admire both Suruga and Belfast's forethought, as despite only knowing one another for less than a couple of months, the two women made a good team. For Belfast handled most of the talking and go-between with people, while Suruga usually handled most of all the behind-the-scenes details, as this played to both woman's strengths.

Something that Miles had sorely missed, as most of the burden of handling both duties had fallen to Belfast when he was not available to do so. Which was a role that Bel could perform well in; even so Belfast was better used where her people skills could shine.

Still, Miles was glad that both Bel and Suruga had the foresight to clear his schedule so that he could have the necessary time to deal with this situation.

"Suruga," Miles said getting her attention, "Thank you." Suruga seemed a little embarrassed when she replied.

"It was, um, nothing Shikikan. As Belfast handled most of the things, I just helped in getting all the papers in order." Suruga said embarrassed, as she tried to downplay her part in all this.

As Suruga was never comfortable in the spotlight in any form, she preferred to stay in the background if possible.

"I'm just glad that you and Bel are working so well together, given the short time you've had to work with one another." Miles then commented.

As Suruga had not worked with Miles before, she had been a part of the secret fleet that the Sakura Empire had held in reserve. The only reason why she was even here was because of the de facto leader of the Sakura Empire: Akagi order had ordered her here to ensure that Miles followed through with his part of the arrangement they had come to. But despite the circumstances that had seen her come to the base, Miles could not help but see the help she was willing to give them as immeasurable. For it had allowed Belfast to attend to other urgent matters that needed her attention; thus, helping Alex in the process for there was no end to things needing to be done on Port Azure.

"Shikikan," Suruga seemed to be trying to find the right words, "I'm glad that I got the privilege of working with you."

It was not what she originally wanted to say. But it was close enough in the spirit of what she wanted, as she had heard of the Grand Admiral of Azur Lane as someone who was positively talked about among her peers. This had made Suruga wonder whether he would be the person that would be able to live up to the reputation. And much to her pleasure surprised so far Miles had done so, even if not in all the ways they had spoken of for Suruga knew the value of rumours.

Still, it had been nice to work with someone who considered her limits, which was much appreciated considering her former work environment.

But she could dwell on those thoughts as her Commander finally responded to her.

"So am I, still I wish that the circumstances of our first meeting weren't so… problematical." Miles then trailed off after saying that.

To say their first meeting with one another had problematic would be quite an understatement. For this had nearly ended up as an international incident due to the circumstances around it. Even so, Miles had been able to smooth things over, but he had taken some questionable actions to do so. Especially considering that he now had a couple of Ship-girls illegally on base.

But given the situation he found himself in, Alex accepted this as the best solution that was available to him.

"Yeah, no kidding," Suruga seemed a little anxious as she said this.

As they both knew that the Sakura Empire had its secrets just like the other nations. But most of the nations had managed to keep those secrets under wraps, well mostly. As now certain ones were starting to come out, such as the now not-so-secret fleet that the Sakura Empire was only now deploying, thus ensuring that the war between them and the Union continued for at least another couple of years if intelligence were to be believed.

But despite that possibility, Miles found that unimportant now considering his position, as he honestly had not been expecting to be put into this position and would have stuck to his guns and shot Akagi's proposal down if it had been for her. As she had asked to speak to him in a private conversation, after which Alex had agreed to what she had proposed. As it was the least, he could do for her considering what she had done for him when he had been a child.

Besides, at this moment in time having Akagi as your sister was punishment enough for Miles, especially considering everything that was currently taking place.

"Also, Shikikan she's asked for you again." Suruga then said into the silence that had fallen between them.

'Speaking of the devil,' Miles's thoughts then turned to face the battleship.

As it had been a while since he had last visited her, as he had been busy trying to keep things together as best, he could. So, for her to ask for him meant that something important had come up; as the old fox knew he was currently under a lot of obligations and pressure.

So, she would not ask for him unless it was extremely important. Knowing this Miles let out a sigh, as the Grand Admiral knew that he could not ignore her request. Even so, the sigh he had let out had been misinterpreted by the Suruga, who quickly started to speak up.

"If there's a problem Shikikan then I can-." Suruga started to say before Miles waved her off.

As Miles did not want Suruga to get any ideas regarding the relationship between himself and the old fox.

"No, no, it's fine Suruga." He assured her.

As Miles had known that he would have had to be available to see the old fox eventually.

'But not until this situation is handled.' Alex then thought to himself.

As Alexander knew that he would not be able to focus and enjoy his visit with her until he had this situation firmly in hand and considering how it turned out he might even turn to her for advice as to what he should do about this current situation, as she tended to give good advice on these matters.

"Just let her know that I'll be there as soon as I can." Miles then told Suruga as the two of them finally arrived at his office.

"I will, Shikikan," Suruga assured him, as the two of them approached his desk.

Miles allowed a small frown to colour his face, for he knew that this was going to be a long day considering the current amount of paperwork that was already currently sitting on his desk.

"Leave those on the desk for me, I'll get started on them right away," Miles said with a sigh, resigning himself to the fact that he would have to do the usual routine before he did his work.

As Miles had not been much of a coffee man, instead he had been more of a tea person. But without Bel here to make one Miles would simply have to work without that luxury. That and the fact that he was most likely to go without lunch today as well, as he wanted to get through this work as soon as he could.

But as Suruga placed the papers down on his desk, Alex then sat down to start working, he was then puzzled when he saw her bring over a chair to join him. At which point Alex shot her a look, as he tried to understand just what she was doing.

Seeing the look that Miles was giving her, Suruga seemed to be a little embarrassed by this awkward situation she now found herself in. Still, this did not stop her from explaining her actions to the Grand Admiral.

"Well, um, Shikikan," Suruga seemed uncertain as to how she wanted to say this. "Belfast said that she wanted you to be available as soon as possible, so…" She then trailed off, not needing to fill in the rest.

At that moment everything clicked in Miles's mind.

'You do think of everything Bel.' Miles thought to himself.

As he knew her well enough to see her influence on events as Belfast knew his workload well. And considering that she had guessed that it was more than he could do in one sitting. And even if he did manage to do so it would not have been a timely matter, so knowing this Belfast had sent him the only free pair of hands available on the base for today.

To which Miles silently thanked her, as this would be invaluable in terms of time. So, seeing no reason as to why he should delay any longer, he and the Battleship Suruga began climbing the small mountain of paperwork that lay before them. Knowing full well that it was to grow larger as more news about this incident would arrive. Knowing this Miles silently hoped that none of those arriving reports would confirm what he feared the most.

Because that did happen, he might be forced to do something he had been hoping to avoid for a long time. But he could deal with that situation should it come to that, as for now, Miles needed to help Suruga with the mountain of paperwork, they both had to climb, and as such Miles could not afford to be distracted by such distance worries.


That is all she wrote; I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter.

Anyway, I don't have much to say, and until next time have a good one.