Chapter 1

* It took about twenty odd minutes to get here but I finally made it to where the buildings were. I'm no expert but I've seen enough movies and games to safely guess that this place must be some kind of military base or something. It'd explain the optical camouflage around the island anyway. Yeah, I'm betting on some cliches here, but I'm hoping I can find records or something that'll tell me where and what this place is... Well, that or I maybe I could find something super cool? Well, a guy can dream at least. DON'T JUDGE ME! ...Ahem! Right, I, uh... I think I'll start with that really big building there in the center. *

- A little while later, on the building's third floor -

With just a bit of thoroughly snooping around, Liam found just what he was looking for in the form of some file folders that were hastily left behind for whatever reason... and boy was he in for a surprise.

"...Are you shitting me!? This really was some kind of secret lab!? And not just any lab either... 'Azur Lane Alliance - Strategic Naval Research Institute, Special R&D Lab XIII: Project KANSEN'? Is this place related to those special weapons that never got the chance to be deployed? ...Hmm..." Making himself comfortable at a nearby work desk, Liam began reading about whatever this 'Project KANSEN' was all about, writing down whatever important bits he found in his journal.

* ...At first, I thought that 'KANSEN' was some kinda weird ass acronym, but according to these side notes it was derived from the Sakuran kanji for 'Shipgirl'. Makes sense I guess, seeing as some of the lead research staff came from the Sakura Empire... Okay, but what are these 'Kansen' supposed to be then... *

Flipping through a few more pages and finding some more related project folders, Liam found his answer.

* Since the discovery of the then unknown sample of crystallized, solid ether back in the late 1930's, early 40's, research on what would later be called 'Wisdom Cubes' really were and what their possible applications, military or otherwise, could be became a major focus of the Azur Lane Alliance, with their main goal being the creation of a streamlined, autonomous mobile weapons platform capable of effectively countering the Sirens, particularly their elite humanoid 'Command Units'. Apparently, it was concluded early on that a 'fight fire with fire' approach would yield the most favorable outcomes long term. Back then though, mankind possessed no technology, scientific theory, or magical system capable of achieving that lofty goal yet. At least until the research team at the time thought to incorporate 'magic' and its related laws and principles into their work. *

Liam put down his pen to double check and make sure that his notes were accurate so far.

* You'd think they would've tried something like that sooner, especially considering the fact that magic is still widely practiced, albeit to a much lesser degree than in the past. Take places like the Sakura Empire in the far east or the in the states of the still divided Iris Orthodoxy, Iris Libre and the Vichya Dominion. But then again, that's just the way progress works I guess. Trial and error and all that. According to the findings from experiments run on the first solid ether circuit sample, then dubbed the 'Origin Cube', when subjected to certain kinds of external stimuli like contact with sentient beings, or other forms of information heavy objects, a reaction not unlike what is typical of magic when ether is used as a casting medium to sublimate and turn human thought and imagination into a physical and objectively 'real' phenomena. I don't really get all the details and jargon, but the research team used what they learned to not just create a copy of the 'Origin Cube' in the form of the less complex but still miraculous 'Wisdom Cube', but made it mass producible as well. Basically, by using science to create it, and applying the logic and rules of magic to make it happen, Azur Lane was finally able to get the vital foundation needed to make their ideal anti-Siren weapon a reality. The problem was what they would use to fuse with the completed Wisdom Cubes... *

Liam took a break in order to rest his hand and grab something to eat. Fortunately, he was able to find some fully stocked ration storage rooms on the the next floor. He made sure to bring everything worth taking with him though since after he finished eating and taking notes, Liam fully intended to head down to the lab's main R&D wing located in the facility's third subbasement. That's where the stock of completed Wisdom Cubes and main 'Shipgirl Construction Site' was said to be located.

* After countless failed experiments Lab XIII finally found the optimal 'information heavy vessel'-naval warships. Specifically those filled to the brim with 'history'. What was eventually produced were humanoid females with combat power equal or greater to the namesake vessels used to create them. Why were they always female though? My guess is because of the way we refer to and treat not just warships, but cars, tanks, and many other things we depend on. Take the phrase 'She's a real beauty', or 'My girl is the best car ever' for example. The idea of them being 'female' was likely hard coded in the injected information central to the 'Wisdom cube matter conversion' process... Essentially, it's modern day quantum based alchemy. Yeah, not gonna lie... turning giant warships or some shit like that into hot as fuck battle maidens? Total otaku degeneracy, but fuck it, these guys knew good culture when they saw it. Anyway, it was these '1st Generation Shipgirls' who were the real reason mankind was able to make a comeback and win the First Siren War... a fact that was kept secret and wiped from any and all official records since then with only SNRI's Lab XIII and Azur Lane High Command's Records & Archives Dept. knowing the full truth. It also didn't help that the 1st Gen Shipgirls and their Commanders all fell in battle by the war's end either though. *

Liam paused to take a sip of water before continuing to write in his journal.

* Now, you'd think that since Azur Lane was able to create such a miracle once before that they'd be able to do it again, but apparently not. The main reason being that the Shipgirl construction process specifically needed human males that were 100% able to resonate and synchronize with the Wisdom Cubes once the requisite informational vessels were gathered and placed into the Construction Site. Incidentally, they were also tasked with being the Shipgirls' Fleet Commanders as well... Which was the main reason why so many of them died by the war's end. "

Liam had to chuckle after reading and learning the truth about Shipgirls and how they were made. He was sure that some feminists out there probably raved and ranted about it, but it wasn't like life was always very fair, reasonable, or 'made sense'. After all, it wasn't like men had wombs or that humans were born able to perform photosynthesis in order to live. It was just that kind of issue, even if the reasons and mechanisms were grounded in rules humans didn't fully understand. Really, the whole thing reminded Liam of how, in anime, 'only girls/females' became 'magical girls'. People could argue the finer points all they liked, but the genre's been around long enough to all but establish that as fact by now. It was pretty much the same thing here, for better or worse.

* Honestly, I think it's kind of ironic that, despite the lead researcher credited with the creation of the Wisdom Cube, Dr. Veronica Anzeel, being a woman, it was only men that were capable of creating and leading Shipgirls. According to her research notes, the reasons had to do with a magical and metaphysical principle called the 'Harmony of Opposites'. In short, since Shipgirls were female in every way that mattered, the 'Harmony of Opposites' dictated that the one who summons and commands them 'must' be male then. That said, all the Shipgirls created considered and treated Dr. Anzeel as their 'mother' since she was the one who created the Wisdom Cube in the first place. Coincidentally, and as if to further prove that the 'Harmony of Opposites' were at play, was that it was her male partner/rival and best friend, Dr. Robert Aoste, who designed the 'Construction Site' that would facilitate the creation of Shipgirls using his own specialty in classical and modern-namely alchemy related-magical theory. A nerdy kind of Yin and Yang, I guess. *

To be honest, Liam still had a hard time believing all of this, but then again, the fact that this place even existed was proof that he stumbled onto something really amazing and couldn't help but smile to himself. 'To think that it was because of something insane like Shipgirls-humanoid weapons created using some kinda weird ass techno magic-were the real reasons why we managed to win against the Sirens the first time around...'

* Speaking of Shipgirls, they weren't just 'born' with an instinct to fight, but a predisposition to serve the one they recognized as their Commander too. Now, that didn't mean that Shipgirls didn't have thoughts, wills, or desires of their own... it just meant they had a different mentality and priorities from us humans. At least, that's what Dr. Anzeel and Dr. Aoste discovered after interacting with the 1st Gen Shipgirls for so long. They eventually concluded that they had no reason to believe that would change any time soon either. They were apparently just plain stubborn about things like that. Anyway, I think it's about time I headed down to the lab's third subbasement. *

Finally done taking notes, Liam put his journal away and began to make his way further downstairs using an access key he found lying around with only one real (admittedly ludicrous) thought at this point after everything he's learned so far.

'...I have to know if I can do it too. Can 'I' bring a real Shipgirl to life...?'

xxx xxx xxx

Special R&D Lab XIII, third subbasement.

"...Huh. The place is a lot cleaner than I thought it'd be... I half expected it to be totally trashed," Liam thought aloud as he took a look around the large 'Construction Site' room. "Wait, is that a Wisdom Cube? ...Were the scientists here in the middle of an experiment then? But, I thought they didn't have anyone suitable for the cube resonance and synchronization role... Huh. Maybe they were just running a pre-test check or simulation? Well, whatever. Let's see if I can figure out how to start this thing up then... I really hope they kept a manual for morons or something lying around somewhere. Fuck. I'm gonna feel like a total moron if this doesn't work..."

Liam sighed, scratching the back of his head as he carefully went about searching everywhere he could think of that might help him and started by going over to examine the mysterious, lightly shimmering Wisdom Cube up close and personal. After all, this was his very first time seeing one before. At least he had proof that everything he found and read so far was, for better or worse, the undeniable truth. And, as strange as it sounded, knowing that actually took a load off his shoulders.

"...It's kind of warm. Is it because of that faint glow it's giving off? Oh, and it has a... pulse? Like a heartbeat? ...Fucking crazy...!" Liam remarked to himself before reluctantly taking his hand off the Wisdom cube.

Now, if someone were to ask him why he wanted create a Shipgirl, then they'd probably be very disappointed. Honestly, even he didn't think his reasons were all that great, with the best one arguably being that he could maybe do what Azur Lane couldn't and give humanity a fighting chance against the Sirens once again... and hopefully not all die this time. That, however remained a distant third compared to his other reasons though... The first being that he just didn't want to be alone and figured it'd be his chance to hang out with some cute girls for once in his pathetic life, not counting the few friends he had before coming here that is. The second was that he really just wanted to see if he could pull it off. Well, that and he REALLY didn't like the idea of possibly being stuck here all by himself for the rest of his life. Yeah, aside from maybe trying to save the world, Liam would freely admit that his reasons were anything but pure and noble, but he didn't care. If history has taught him anything then it was that, in the grand scheme of things, a person's reasons don't matter all that much, only their results.

'...And when you think about it, it's not like most of the heroes in history books were anything close to perfect anyway. So, if those guys could get away with doing what they want, then as long as we can save the day and get our happy ending then all the haters can eat shit and say whatever they want for all I care,' thought the less than noble but still well meaning young man in his mid-twenties with a grin and a determined look in his eyes. 'Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained and all that.'

After an hour or two of running around all over the the place, Liam finally found what he was looking for.

In his hands wasn't just a manual on how to properly run the Construction system, but an accompanying file folder outlining each step in simpler, more easily digestible chunks likely designed for trainee presentations. Regardless, Liam was glad his run of good luck was still going strong. "Alright then, let's take our time and make sure I really understand this shit before trying anything..."

- Roughly 3 days later -

"Man am I glad that the scientists documented all this shit on video! Reading about all this was one thing, but seeing it in action was something else altogether," Liam muttered to himself thoughtfully as he recalled the records on the creation and deployment of the 1st Generation Shipgirls, honestly surprised by the high quality of the decades old footage. "But more importantly... Holy shit are those girls fucking gorgeous! Like, each and any one of them could EASILY put top models and actresses to utter shame with those looks and curves!"

Truthfully, Liam understood he was being an idiot who was thinking a bit too much with his baser instincts, and normally, he'd be better and more serious about it, but then, it wasn't like there was anybody else around either. If there was ever a good time as any to just cut loose, then now was it. 'But then again, even if this somehow does work out, I don't really plan to hide who I am. Better to be honest and upfront about who I am over having to put on some mask around them 24/7. Not like I plan on being some asshole pig who only ever thinks with his junk but still. Ugh. Seriously, who the fuck am I even saying/thinking this to anyway!? ...Ah, whatever. Let's just get this shit over with already...'

Shaking his head to try and stop whatever it was that he was wasting brain cells on, Liam moved to the adjacent monitoring and control room after making sure that the 'Construction Site' was properly set up. Satisfied after one last check, Lyner finally began the process by placing his hands on the the resonance plate connected to both the 'Construction Site' array, with the Wisdom Cube placed at its center, and the gathered information vessel that would serve as the 'fuel' for the whole process. Thankfully, much of the more complicated steps were handled automatically so Liam only needed to worry about maintaining his link to the Wisdom cube until the system took over at the third stage, then just keep an eye on things afterward. 'Thankfully I made sure to also thoroughly memorize the main troubleshooting and emergency shutdown protocols just in case too.'

After another fifteen minutes of the various systems in the room booting up and getting ready to do their thing, a timer then appeared on the the monitors in the control room Liam was in. It read: [01:35:00].

"Huh, only a little over an hour and a half. That's not too bad, and I can grab a bite to eat in the mean time too."

With that decided, the young man with shortish, unkempt dark grey hair took out some of the instant noodles, bottled water and military ration sets he brought with him, making sure to be very careful to not make a mess of things or accidentally damage one of the consoles in the room by eating just outside the control room itself. 'After all, I sure as hell don't wanna be the reason why this doesn't work.' He then took out the tablet he found a few days back to review and analyze some more of the record logs of the 1st Gen Shipgirls' time in the field during the First Siren War.

- An hour and a half, and two helpings of of surprisingly tasty military ration sets, later -

"...Man, if this is what our tax dollars went to then maybe I should've enlisted!" Liam cheerfully mused as he pat his full stomach while letting out a satisfied burp. He then turned to look at the closest monitor. "Oh. Looks like time's just about up..."

After making sure he properly cleaned up what he could, Liam walked over to the main control console currently overseeing the final touches of the 'Construction Cycle' to finish up and for the all clear signal to sound off before entering the now fogged up and faintly glowing Construction Site chamber.

"...Hmm?"

It was around then that Liam could barely make out the outline of a small yet feminine figure, trying really hard to focus and make sure he wasn't just seeing things. That's when the significance of what just he was seeing really hit him.

'...No way! No fucking way! Did... Did it actually work...!?'

And, as if the world read his thoughts, the strange glow and smoke that filled the room just about faded away and dispersed, leaving a more or less clear view of the newly constructed Shipgirl standing in all her naked glory in the exact same spot where the Wisdom Cube was placed.

"...Oh, wow. So they don't come with clothes on, huh? Nice! ...And are those actual cat ears...!?" Liam remarked to himself as he thoroughly examined the sight of the petite Shipgirl in front of him. "Well, not like I'm gonna complain, but what about her rigging and stuff?"

Now, as for the girl herself, cute cat ears aside, she was petite and had a slender build, a modest figure, and unblemished, milky white skin that suited her young and cute looks. Her cute features and laid back, easygoing expression reminded him even more of a cat somehow, real cat ears or not. Her second most distinctive features, however, were her bright golden eyes and long, light green hair that fell past her knees and fortunately covered up her modest assets and other private bits. 'No doubt about it. a fucking 10/10!'

She looked young, but he wasn't going to make the mistake of thinking she was a child or something like that. After all, those sorts of norms and rules didn't really apply when said girl was born from fusing a quasi-magic cube with a freaking naval warship. She was a living, breathing girl yes, but it was kind of hard to think of her as anything remotely close to just a 'normal girl'. After all, Shipgirls were still technically considered weapons... Not that he would ever thought of considering them as just tools or something stupid like that.

"...Nya...?" the girl's sensitive feline ears gently twitched ever so slightly when she heard Liam carefully and cautiously enter the 'Construction Site'. And then, the instant her golden eyes met and locked gazes with his amber ones, a sudden jolt ran throughout her small frame as clear realization suddenly hit her like a bolt out of the blue. "...Shikikan...?"

"Whoa! So you're a Sakura Empire Shipgirl then?" asked the grey haired man now standing just a few feet in front of her. "So what's your name? I'm Liam by the way; Liam Archer."

"Nya? Oh, I'm Akashi, and I'm the greatest (and only) Repair Ship in all of the Sakura Empire, nya~!" she proudly declared, now standing up and puffing out her (tiny) chest with pride, still in all her naked glory. Liam couldn't help but chuckle at how much energy the green haired cat girl had. However, the moment the shock, surprise, and excitement of meeting a real life Shipgirl wore off, his eyes suddenly widened just a bit. "Wait, did you say your name's Akashi? Sakura Empire Repair Ship Akashi?"

"...Nya~? Um, yes. Why?" answered the petite cat girl, looking up at him with slight confusion in her golden yellow eyes. "Is, Is something the matter, nya?"

Akashi's question and the worried tone in her voice quickly brought Liam out of his thoughts and back to reality. He shook his head. "No, no. Nothing's wrong, exactly... I was just surprised is all. Now, don't take this the wrong way or anything, and it's not like I don't believe you but... you just look different from what I was expecting."

"...Nya?" was all Akashi could say in response while cutely tilting her head just a bit, obviously very curious.

Liam grabbed his tablet and showed it to Akashi after fiddling with it for a bit first. "Here, have a look. This was taken back during the latter half of First Siren War." He then pointed to the older looking Sakura Empire Shipgirl with beautiful pink hair wearing a white sailor-fuku styled outfit with an armored left arm and a distinctive hakama themed pleated skirt, finished off with a pair of dark thigh-highs. Her rigging was loaded up with cranes and some AA weaponry. She was busy supporting her allies in the vanguard. "They're the 1st generation of Shipgirls actually."

"...Nya~! Really!?" Akashi exclaimed, quickly taking the tablet and staring intently at the recorded footage.

Liam nodded. "Sure is. And that pinkette there... was Sakura Empire repair ship Akashi. She was your... predecessor? ...Er, previous incarnation? ...Sorry, not really sure how that sorta thing works with Shipgirls."

"Ah! I see, so that's why you were a little surprised, nya... Okay," Akashi replied, now understanding Liam's earlier reaction on hearing her name. "...Well, it's pretty complicated and I don't quite understand it all myself, but based on my not having any memories of the past and not looking like the Akashi from that old recording I would say that since we were both born from the same source and are both Akashi... then I think that, rather than incarnation, I'm more like a different instance of the same ship nya."

"Huh. do you think those differences are because of me? Y'know, when I resonated with your Wisdom Cube?" Liam asked, still barely understanding how this whole 'Construction' process really worked.

Akashi thought about it for a moment, but then slowly shook her head. "Not solely, no. While I do think that you, as the one who resonated with my Wisdom Cube and acted as the link that started off the whole process, did have some effect as the 'initial spark'... it's, actually a lot more complicated and involved than just that. Right, so this is going to take awhile nya..."

"Hey."

"...Nya?"

"...Sorry. It's just you're still kinda naked... and it's honestly pretty freaking distracting for me..." Liam admitted, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, averting his gaze from the green catgirl.

"Huh? What are you talk-Oh!" Brows furrowed, Akashi was wondering what was up with Liam when she noticed the slight blush on the man's cheeks before looking down at herself, realization flashing in her golden eyes. "...Oh~!" A mischievous grin slowly crept on her face. "...Nya~? Like what you see, huh? Well, I don't mind if you wanna look, but I will need to charge you a small fee though nya...~!"

"Shit! Do I have any money on me? Hey, you take Union cash?" Liam rambled as he fumbled around frantically looking for his wallet.

"...Nyahahaha~!" Rather then being upset at how much of a shameless pervert Liam was, the sight of her Shikikan being so honest and true to his desires made her happy instead. Still, they had a lot to get through and so displayed a bit of what a Shipgirl could do by using her matter conversion abilities to make a one piece sailor-fuku styled dress with very long and wide sleeves that covered her hands and accented with gear designs here and there with her very long hair styled in a long, loose braided ponytail. She finished off her outfit with white socks and dark grey loafers. Noticing the completely amazed look on her Shikikan's face, Akashi giggled and did a little twirl to show off her new look. "Well?"

"...Not bad, not bad at all!" Liam declared with a thumbs up and a silly look on his face.

"...Nyahaha~!"

After calming down a bit, Akashi then began to carefully and thoroughly explain what happens when a Wisdom Cube successfully fuses with the injected information and becomes a Shipgirl. Needless to say, Liam had his pen and trusty journal at the ready. It was going to be a very long night for the two of them.

xxx xxx xxx

* Shipgirl Notes - Observations from my long talk with Akashi:

- So, according to Akashi, when a Commander successfully resonates with a Wisdom Cube and begins the fusion of it and the gathered information vessel, an ego is formed and eventually awakens as the Cube begins to see the information and the history of the namesake warship as its own memories as it transitions from a solid mass of ether with an indistinct mass of consciousness into a fixed and fully realized humanoid Shipgirl.

- This is actually why she referred to herself as an 'instance' rather than an 'incarnation' as, rather than being directly related to her predecessor Shipgirl she saw on the tablet, she was simply a different interpretation of the same information. Some of this can be attributed to the Commander who synchronizes with the Wisdom Cube, but most of it actually comes from the ego formed from the nascent Shipgirl herself. As a result, no two Commanders will construct the exact same Shipgirl. It's a bit like an MMO's character generator set to random, but on steroids. Oh, but if two Commanders are close enough in mindset and thinking, then it is actually possible to create two very, very similar Shipgirls, though this is EXTREMELY rare. Even then, it's more like them being not quite identical twin sisters rather than outright copies of one another.

- That said, once a Commander constructs a Shipgirl, the initial final form she appears with becomes fixed as her 'default' form from that point on. In short, if he somehow constructs two Akashis for whatever reason, then he'll get two of the same Shipgirl. Oh, but by altering the content of the information injected into the Wisdom Cube during the construction process, it is possible to alter the Shipgirl that appears. This could be anything from having altered base specs, growth potential, and rigging to being physically and/or mentally older or younger than her base form/original.

- Lastly, by manually upgrading a Shipgirl's rigging or converting them from one ship type to another, it is possible to physically alter the traits of the upgraded Shipgirl herself, though not in any outwardly significant way. Makes sense considering that a Shipgirl's rigging is an extension of her own body, so naturally any changes made to it would also be reflected on the Shipgirl to some degree. According to Akashi, this process is called 'Retrofitting'. Definitely something important to keep in mind for the future. *

xxx xxx xxx

A/N:

And That's the first real Ch. down.

I had a lot of fun writing this one, but definitely went a bit overboard... so I'm glad I took the time to really trim it down a good bit. I wanted to make sure I had the right feel and level of detail for this world since it is NOT the same as the games. I'm pretty satisfied with the results.

As you might have noticed, the '1st Gen Shipgirls' mentioned so far are indeed their KanColle counterparts. I made sure to try and illustrate that by describing both the Azur Lane Akashi and her older playable KanColle counterpart. I just thought it was a good homage and nod to the older work that influenced so many other Shipgirl works and worlds. I might even toss in some nods to Arpeggio of Blue Steel in there too, and I even have a character in mind as their Commander too! Not an OC this time, but DEFINITELY a curve ball when he shows up.

Oh, and I chose Akashi as the first Shipgirl because:

1. I really like Akashi.

2. She'd be the best one to have to try and help you learn the in's and out's of what Shipgirls and their related tech would be seeing as she is a repair ship, inventor, and merchant. She's just ideal for teaching a complete newbie what they need to know going forward.

The next Ch. will focus on Liam getting settled in and building up his first real fleet, as well as learning a bit more about each other.