One gets quite used to the tales of Azur Lane's finest. Usually centered around one of the battleships or carriers, though sometimes it ventures to a destroyer or cruiser, they almost always include some human along with them. These stories are meant to inspire humanity after all, whether the author is aware of this or not.
However, this story does not focus on a battleship or even a destroyer. Our main perspective resides with a meek little submarine, as controversial as that may seem. But she will be rather important for this tale, despite her role.
We start in the north Atlantic. A wolf pack of 3 was sent out on suspicion that Sirens or worse might be moving from the north to the south. Why they would do this is unsure, even among the heads of the Iron Blood. But Intelligence indicated that the Sirens were planning something there, and that was the best guess they had.
The 3 Submarines (U-73, U-556, and U-96) moved silently while watching their radar. They were spread out to widen their search though no one had seen anything yet. They had been underwater for the last several hours and knew they would need to surface soon. They would do so a minute later and group together to discuss what to do.
"We have only a few thousand Kilometers to go," U-96 began.
"And we have seen nothing, is our intel any good." U-73 crossed her arms.
"Lord Bismarck said the intel was correct, there is something out here." U-556 had the utmost trust in KMS Bismarck, unlike her companions who obviously thought this a waste of time.
"Smoke!" U-556 pointed to a faint cloud on the western horizon.
"Should we send a message first?" U-96 asked.
"No, we must make sure," U-556 then charged forward much to the annoyance of those behind her. They however followed after her.
In a matter of minutes they found themselves closer and able to clearly see the outlines of several mass produced ships that the Sirens employed frequently, however these were incapacitated at best. Seeing no reason to slow down, U-556 continued.
The closer they got the clearer it became that this was the remains of a battle. With whom, the submarines didn't know.
Finally deciding to dive to prevent being picked off by any remaining surface ships, the 3 subs crept around the many wrecks. Under the hulls, they spread out again looking for anything that might give them a clue to what happened and, more importantly, who had destroyed so many of these ships. U-556 would spot this as she slid past the underside of a frigate to find a small wreck of wood with what looked to be a human male floating above her.
She surfaced beneath the man so he ended up on her bow. Once on her hull she sailed slowly back toward the east making sure to catch the attention of her companions as she went. Once several Kilometers away, she began trying to awaken the man to no avail.
"What is he doing here?" U-96 asked as she slowed to a stop beside U-556.
"I don't know," she stammered. "Come on, wake up." she shook him again.
"Did he drown?" U-73 asked. She parked herself in front of U-556 but turned left.
"No, I don't think so," U-96 said, pointing to the life jacket around his neck. "And he does seem to be breathing."
"Check for any identification then," U-73 pointed to his pants assuming he had a wallet of some kind. U-556 patted his pockets before putting her hand in them.
"Nothing," she frowned. Then for some reason, whether by fate, chance, or luck, she then checked his sleeves by rolling them up. They would find a tattoo on the insides of both his arms. His left arm held a tattoo of the symbol of Eagle Union. His right, however, bore the words Primo Victoria.
"An awful man, isn't he?" U-73 responded.
"I know that tattoo," U-556 was almost jumping with excitement. "I heard a while ago the tale of a man with that tattoo."
"From where?" the two other Subs said together.
"Lord Bismarck made mention of him once, though she said she suspected him long dead in our world already. She said his presence changes the people around him, possibly even changing fate itself."
"Is that true?" U-96 tilted her head.
"If we possess this man, we could win the war." Both me and Admiral Jones would later question if she was referring to the war with the Sirens, with Azur Lane, or an Unknown enemy. She never answered.