This my first ever story, so reviews would be appreciated,
A strange beauty is felt at Arlington National Cemetery. The row upon row of simple stone tablets, white crosses and stars of David. A beauty and sadness, as one glances at the rows of men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice, before the Sirens.
It's been years since the Sirens came after The Great War, the fighting was brutal, battle after battle, loss after loss, the few victories humanity achieved would give humanity hope for defeating this powerful enemy. With hope came innovation, the KANSEN were created, more commonly known as the Ship Girls. With the creation of the girls came the hope that The Siren War not only could be fought but won, but it has been years since the creation of Ship Girls, and the war isn't over.
A group of people stand around a coffin ready to be lowered down to its grave. Dozens of high-ranking officials and military personnel from multiple countries take part in this somber ceremony. Inside the coffin is the Commander, the Commander of Azur Lane, a person that was able to unite many nations into one organization to better coordinate the war against the Sirens using the Ship Girls. And now they are dead, killed by a simple car accident while driving to a meeting with 'The Council', a group of high ranking officials, of both military and political backgrounds. They oversee the Azur Lane organization while also allowing the Commander to set their own strategic objectives.
A serious blow has been dealt against humanity in the Siren War, all from a simple accident. More and more young men and women die every month trying to win this war. Humanity must now rely on the Ships Girls alone, but humanity might have one more card to play. In each nation, a Lost Generation remains, those you were forgotten but sacrificed much in holding the line against the Sirens. Though they have been forgotten, they have not forgotten each other, waiting until they are once again called upon to serve. There is one person that can replace the Commander, The Council decides to call upon an old veteran, a member of the Lost Generation.
A car drives through the snowy backroads of New England, inside were high ranking military personnel. They stop by a two story house in a small neighborhood, only a few minutes away from the main roads of the area. A person steps out, from his uniform, he seems to be a General of some sort. His chest covered with medals, his clean shaven face and bald head cooled by the cold New England air. Walking up to the front door, he knocks at the door and a minute later, the door opens revealing a tall and large man, his face showing the signs of growing out a beard, his face also showing signs of aging, wrinkles under his eyes, despite his age, he has maintained his discipline, as his body He recognizes the General, and shoots a glare at the General.
"What do you want?" He says.
"We need you back Shepard" The General says. Shepard rolls his eyes before moving to close the door.
"Wait Shepard, the Commander's dead" The General quickly says, stopping the door from being closed. Shepard stops, his face neutral of any emotions.
"What happened David?" Shepard asks.
"It was an accident Shepard, car wreck" David says. Shepard sighs at the news, he had met the Commander a few times in the past, giving the Commander his own opinions on tactics and the overall strategy on fighting the Sirens, the Commander took some of his advice, respecting the opinion of the Great War veteran and a soldier that held the line against the Sirens before the technology of the Wisdom cubes were created, the things that create the ship girls using pre-existing ships but requiring large amounts of material to finalize the creation.
"Who's the replacement?" Shepard asks. David takes out an envelope and hands it to Shepard.
"Congratulations Shepard" David says before leaving back to his awaiting vehicle. Shepard simply looks at the envelope in his hands, he knows what's inside, a promotion and orders. He sighs loudly, it hasn't really been that long since he commanded troops in battle, well officially it's been years, but unofficially he commanded "The Lost Legions", the Lost Generation still knew how to fight the Siren threat, having halted their advance when they first appeared years ago, before the girls were created.
Opening the envelope reveals his promotion and a location, a military dock near New York in a week. Then a meeting with "The Council '', from everything Shepard knew about the Azur Lane Command Structure he knew that he would have to change it to better suit his way of doing things, he picks up a phone, and calls an old friend.
"It's Shepard, how long until all the legions can be combat ready again"
"A few months at least for everyone to get mobilized with the amount of gear we need for a standard operation, our lost op drained a lot of resources you know you know" A male German voice says from the other end.
"O casualties, 237 MP ships, 17 humanoids, and we secured the Malacca Strait, pretty good in my opinion Karl" A sigh can be heard from the other side.
"We made a great Shepard but it's expensive, those missiles take time to build, the financers need time, what's this all about" Karl asks.
"I've been made Commander of Azur Lane" A pause follows the statement.
"You're supposed to be retired," Karl says.
"Yeah well not to them, I need you to reorganize the Legions, depending on how much control I get from The Council, they'll probably try to force me to do something big so I need a head start" Shepard says.
"What are you thinking Shepard?" Karl asks.
"Don't know yet but get the Legions ready, I'll call when I get a plan" Shepard hangs up and starts packing anything he might think he needs. Be it extra clothing or even some personal weapons. Many thoughts go through his mind, everything that's going on in the world.
The Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans are almost entirely under Siren control. Safe passage only able to be done under extremely heavy escort and staying near the coasts.
The Eagle Union/ The United States, fighting on both oceans, its resources continually being pushed to its limits as it tries to defend both its own waters, and the waters of her allies.
The United Kingdom, its powerful Royal Navy spread out to defend its large empire, its largest colonies wanting to gain independence from the Empire. The Sirens being the only thing keeping the colonies from fully rebelling against the crown.
The Sakura Empire or The Empire of Japan is a large island empire constantly being surrounded by Siren forces, with its navy spread out to defend all of it. It's mostly island empire causes much trouble as many groups in the Empire are subjugated by the higher government and military.
The Iron Blood/The German Empire with much of Europe under their control after The Great War, they possess one of the most powerful militaries in the entire world but their navy though power is small in number, almost always asking for joint-operations with other factions.
The Dragon Empery, the Chinese Republic the largest of the Chinese states, was one of the harder hit nations, it's navy was old and small, with only a few modern ships able to put up much resistance, it's large population and massive amounts of resources meaning it's still in the fight but it has to rely on the Sakura Empire for naval engagements. They c
The Northern Parliament, the old Russian Empire, is still trying to cling on to power, as one of the largest nations on the planet, it has many resources but not enough people for all of it. Its small but powerful navy is barely able to guard its large coast, having the same problems of many other nations of having to divide its fleet into smaller groups.
The Iris Orthodoxy, or The French Republic, its government split into two, Free France and Vichy France, its Ship Girls coping this by splitting into two groups, The Iris Libre and The Vichya Dominion. It's a mess that must be fixed, if a unified French force can be placed on the field.
The Sardegna Empire, of the Kingdom of Italy, often named the soft underbelly of Europe its small navy helping the British, French, and Germans in securing the Mediterranean, its power is weak, having to be helped by the other powers in almost every operation, however it does show potential in being able to build a professional military.
So many problems, and not enough time, the question is, what to do first.
What to do first, share your opinions.