Commander Blaze, a front line commander story

by Dasmara

Meet William Blaze, a veteran who royally screwed his last mission and was thrown into prison. But when The Sirens invaded, Azur Lane High Command need him once more and so he is reinstated. His new job? Command the beautiful ship girls and give The Sirens big F you in the face. Join them as William balanced his daily life between dealing with the girl's antics and killing Sirens.

19. The poison and the cure

"…Ms. Hood, I asked him to 'review' the equipment since it's relatively new." Lucas came for the saving maneuver, he fucked it up so it's his responsibility to mend the mess!

"Review it? Isn't the Research Division alone enough to do that?" Hood asked Lucas with narrowed gaze.

"Well, in a sense. But William here is quite knowledgeable in the technology business, so his input is appreciated, right?" Lucas said to William while he smiled and nudged William's feet underneath the table.

William tensed up because Lucas nudged his left leg which was fresh from surgery yesterday, he stared at Lucas with widened eye and scowled but Lucas was oblivious on the condition of his left leg. Moreover, he just smiled at him innocently that caused William to drown in the urge to sock him in the jaw. But he doesn't want to cause a scene right now, and that would even draw more heat from Hood who already stared at him accusingly…

"Right…" William answered with a forced smile on his face.

"…So, that voice was one of the experiments?" Hood asked William.

"Yes." William immediately answered.

"The one awfully sounded like me?" Hood asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"That's a coincidence." William immediately answered.

"Is that so?" Hood stared at William with an unconvinced face…

"Alright alright, we can talk about it later…Will, your chosen method?" Lucas asked William while he smiled.

"…I'll use the app." William said to Lucas after he thought a bit.

"…Huh, he wants to keep the situation under control." Lucas said out loud with a smug smile.

"My hands were forced by the circumstances, alright?! Now, do you have that solid hologram projector?" William asked Lucas while he scowled.

"Here…Do 'enjoy' yourself." Lucas said to William as he put the device on the table.

Hood and Bismarck watched as William took the device and left without uttering a word to the toilet while carrying the cup that Lena put on the table, both Lucas and Lena could only watch with unreadable flat expressions on their faces, so the two ship girls couldn't exactly gauge what are they really after from their expressions alone…Lena sighed a bit, she would've expected that he would bring a ship girl with him, and Lucas just said all that in front of them. Did he plan on telling them about this genetic modification plan? Must be since he did all that, Lena just has to get along with his plan.

"Now, may I ask what's going on here? Why does kommandant William have to give his sperm sample?" Bismarck asked out loud while she frowned.

"I thought you ladies already figured it out…Do you remember about the fact that the chance of you getting pregnant is only 0.8%?" Lena asked Bismarck back as she folded her arms.

"Yes." Bismarck said to Lena immediately.

"…His sperm sample is needed for an 'experiment' of our DNA mutation technique, we have plans to mutate his DNA strain slightly to fit ship girls. We hope that with the matching physiology the chance would rise to an acceptable level." Lena explained to Bismarck and Hood.

"…Are you going to turn him into one of us?" Hood asked what Bismarck was about to ask them.

"No, not entirely true. Just his DNA strain, hopefully this mutagen would allow the ship girls to conceive children." This time it's Lucas who answered the question.

Now everything made sense for both Hood and Bismarck regarding their entire situation, so this is the thing that holds William back from responding to the ship girls' advances. He didn't want to let anyone down if things went even further, so he held his position as he waited for the result of the experiment, but as it turns out it didn't go as smoothly as planned. It's also the reason why he created that draft concerning the regulation for the child born from a ship girl. He didn't want them to be turned into weapons…he wanted them to have a choice in their future. All of these precautions, when did he ever think about it?

"…Is this why he's been holding back? We aren't fools, he has interest in the ship girls, but for some reason he doesn't actively pursue any of us…Is this why?" Hood asked out loud.

"Yes, that might be the case…Probably, he didn't want to bring your hopes up when any of you wanted a child." Lena said to Hood while she smiled a bit.

"Well, it's not by anytime soon either, you ladies and William still have a lot of time to think about all of this." Lucas said to Hood and Bismarck.

"I know this sounds shady Hood but believe me, Lucas and I only have the best interest at heart." Lena said to Hood and Bismarck.

"So, this is why he created that draft regarding children born from a ship girl." Hood said to Lucas while she frowned a bit.

"Yes, so you ladies already knew about that…It's a deal that William proposed when I revealed the plan to him, I had to accept that before commencing with the experiment…To tell you the truth, this won't be received well within the High Command Council. There's only so much I could bend until they start pointing fingers at me…Regardless of that, I already have a plan to counteract the situation." Lucas said to Hood as he leaned on his seat.

"Ho? I wasn't aware that you were prepared?" Lena commented from the side with an accusatory glance.

"Oh, but I do. This is all nothing but the usual political battle." Lucas said to Lena before he winked at her.

Lena widened her eyes in response, whenever he did that it meant he already had two or three backup plans ready for execution. Whenever there's a deadlock or fierce arguments within the High Command Council, Lucas always did that to Lena to ease her worry regarding their decision making, and Lucas always delivered results. The only occasion when he didn't do that was during William's court martial, and Lena was hit by the strongest feeling of despair she ever experienced during that time, so it's a relief when Lucas did that gesture just now…

"…He took his time." Lena commented out loud.

"Well of course he would, who's the one who made him have to produce half of that cup?" Lucas asked Lena with half closed eyes.

"Just saying what they required, you old fart. I'm confident that he could do it easily." Lena said to Lucas while she smirked.

"With your experience with him, I'm not surprised-" Lucas said to Lena with half closed eyes.

"This entire situation and the Trident Initiative are starting to make sense." Bismarck suddenly said out loud.

"See? She gets it, pay up." Lena said to Lucas while she grinned.

"Dammit." Lucas said to Lena as he reached for his wallet and pulled out some money.

"Thank you~" Lena said cheekily as she stored the cash inside her purse.

"Hah…One other reason why we implemented that was the fact that there's no indication when the High Command Council will use you ladies for their own twisted gains, I don't even know when I could stay in power with Lena here. If the others find out our plan or our dealings, then safe to say we could be removed from office, permanently, if they have to. Power corrupts so with this, your independence is guaranteed…You ladies were already brought to this world without any of your consent and fought on our behalf, I think it's only fair to ensure your freedom from those who seek to mistreat you. The scary realm of politics, it would be best if you don't get involved too much but, in this case, we have no choice…This also serves as my redemption." Lucas said to Bismarck and Hood while he smiled bitterly.

"In this ongoing war with Sirens, we would need everyone that could fight and every edge we have…If this experimentation is successful, then…we might stand a chance against them." Lena added while she frowned and leaned on her seat.

"Is the situation that desperate?" Bismarck asked Lena.

"Our analysts have predicted that unless we start major upgrades and replenish our numbers quickly, we would lose Earth's waters within six months if the Sirens relentlessly attacked us. Then, it would take at least one or two years before they could subjugate fifty percent of our landmasses…That's assuming we manage to hold them off. If they steamrolled us then it will only take half a year before the entire planet is under their control, I pray to anything holy out there that won't happen. It is why this major upgrade is required; Crimson Axis wasn't wrong with their views to use Siren technology in order to fight them." Lucas explained to them both.

"But why did Azur Lane refuse to do so before? I admit, the mind control effect toward our leadership served as a catalyst for the war, but why?" Bismarck asked Lucas curiously.

"…Admittedly, our councilors were quite naïve and idealist back then. They believe that we should struggle as a 'human' and using their tech would make us no better than them, but that could no longer be viable here. The Sirens will unleash their full might against us and to survive that, perhaps we have to unshackle the border of 'normal' humanity. We need to go further…To put it bluntly, the Sirens' presence forced us to evolve significantly. Any major war would do that, but this…this is different." Lucas said to Bismarck as he looked toward his feet while he frowned.

"Fortunately, most of the people we worked with shared our concern, so work could begin immediately. Project Custos Terrae, our grand plan to upgrade our military might and civilization is what we came up with as a solution for the problem. We don't know how long until we reach our end goals, but I assure you we won't stop until we get there." Lena said to Bismarck.

"And this end goal, what are they?" Hood asked Lena while she stared at her directly in the eyes.

"…Peak military combat capabilities, mass produced ship girl riggings, evolution of our biology, and many more but that's the general outline." Lena answered Hood with a serious expression on her face.

"Mass produced ship girl riggings huh." Hood said out loud as she thought about it.

"We don't only plan to make the riggings for waterborne use, imagine if our army and air force could use such things too. Our tanks and combat aircraft could be much smaller and more combat effective than our current ones, we could cut cost for the materials, the training would be far more integrated with infantry training, and the firepower of each personnel equipped with this? Marvelous…Ship girls, tank girls, jet girls? If this experimentation succeeded, it won't be far until that could become a reality. Would we still need conventional ships, aircraft, and ground vehicles? Sure, but our true power would lie with our new Tactically Enhanced Mechanized Personnel Regiment or TEMPER for short. That's right, we're preparing a branch specifically for those that will be like you ship girls." Lucas said to them both with a serious expression on his face.

And that ladies and gentlemen, is the ultimate goal for their current military research. To search for a way in summoning tanks and jets as humanoid like the ship girls, the research is currently put on a grinding halt because if they indeed successfully summoned them, then their use and number would be severely limited because they haven't found a way to mass produce the units. Ship girls are the pioneers for this research, everything depends on whether the ship girls could successfully procreate…But the thought alone caused Bismarck and Hood to take a minute imagining the entire situation, their tank girls moving forward in formation with the infantries as they advance into enemy positions, their jet girls flying freely in the sky providing aerial fire support and guard them from enemy aircraft, while the ship girls could support them from the sea and beachhead. If the situation required them to, the girls from the three branches could combine their entire firepower and possess the agility much better than their mechanical origins. The firepower, the agility, the easiness to find recruits, easier mass gear manufacturing, and even the individual personnel skills combined with their equipment…It really defines the 'peak' in a biomechanical combat unit…

"I...I see now…so that's what you mean by peak military combat capabilities." Bismarck said to Lucas with widened eyes.

"Precisely. Azur Lane and Crimson Axis, both are currently implementing this project as our top priority...Now that you know about this, hopefully ALASUC could also help with the implementation of this project with your own ways. The potential for growth and research is limitless." Lucas said to Bismarck while he grinned.

What they planned might be the solution to hold off the Sirens' constant advance and harassment, it might be the key to defeat them in this war as well. Lucas thought deeply, he really wanted to avoid the use of weapons of mass destruction as much as possible in the war against the Sirens…Well, unless they somehow find a habitable planet out there, with a spaceship and a faster than light method of travel? Then they could just nuke Earth into smithereens…Okay, that's too deep of a thought into dangerous territory. After they waited around half an hour, William finally returned to their table, he then put the previous cup in front of Lucas. One which was almost filled to the brim, he then sat down with flushed cheeks without uttering a single word as Hood and Bismarck stared at the cup that is full of his sperm…

"Wow! You almost filled it completely! How much you got inside those balls of yours!?" Lucas exclaimed as he looked at the cup with astonishment etched on his face.

"You don't want to know and please! Hood and Bismarck are here!" William said to Lucas while he frowned.

"I think they're grown up enough not to be embarrassed with this kind of talk." Lucas said to William while he shrugged.

"But still High Commander Lucas, please refrain from talking vulgarly like that!" Hood reprimanded while she frowned.

"See?" William said to Lucas.

"…Alright, alright I get it…Still, you could impregnate any girl with this much of a load..." Lucas commented before he stared at the cup.

"Don't you get any ideas, Lucas!" Lena said to Lucas while she scowled.

"I wasn't planning anything!" Lucas said to Lena.

"You totally just thought of something!" William supported Lena's argument.

"You two lack any kind of faith in me!" Lucas said to them both with half closed eyes.

""And whose fault is that?!"" William and Lena said at the same time while they scowled.

Sure, he's the one who's got most of the brilliant plans that could bail them out from trouble, but that was offset by the amount of ridiculous and insane ideas that came up in his head once in a while. William and Lena have enough experience with it, but Lena was the one who had to face the majority of the problems. For example, he wanted to install dance poles in his office, which pushed Lena to smack his head with a newspaper roll during breakfast. There's also the time when Lucas was so bored during his day job that he turned his office into a temporary golf course, that's also Lena who had to clean up the mess…Now that she thought about it, she saved his ass multiple times already. She should've gotten a raise or something!

"Hehehehe…Oh by the way Will, I already explained everything to these ladies here." Lucas said to William.

"Everything?" William asked Lucas with cocked eyebrows.

"Yup, everything. There's no need for you to keep secrets anymore, just be honest with them." Lucas said to William.

"…Guess tonight there will be a long talk." William said out loud.

"Yes, I think so." Hood said to William.

"…Oh yeah, we would need a cooler to store this." Lucas said out loud as he pointed at the cup in front of him.

"I think you could buy one in a drug store, though it will be hard to-" William said to Lucas.

"I'll go then. Here, you hold this…Not comfortable in holding another man's cum with my hands." Lucas said to Lena as he pushed the cup toward her and bailed out of the cake store.

"…And he went just like that while ignoring Hood's words before, he certainly lost a few screws." William commented out loud.

They finished their meals before Hood received a request to buy a few things from several girls back on the base, Bismarck chose to accompany her, and both of them took the car as they went shopping. William let them since they might need some time too to discuss what Lucas and Lena just spilled to them which must also include that draft, oh boy…it'll be a long talk tonight with the secretaries and the fleet representatives. Both William and Lena waited outside the store near the back alley where there's a table and four seats whenever the shop employees wanted to take a break, both sat as they waited for Lucas to be done with his purchase.

"You don't look that tired." Lena commented toward William's still vigorous appearance.

"…Well, my hand sure is." William answered with a half closed eye.

"You didn't use that app?" Lena asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"How could I use that within that small toilet stall? Nope, not happening." William answered with half closed eye.

"…Still, you came that much. How many times have you done it?" Lena asked William while smiling smugly.

"I'm not answering." William said to Lena in a firm tone while he frowned.

"Aww, since when did you become rigid like this~?" Lena asked William with a teasing tone while she grinned.

"You and Lucas have become more like each other lately!" William said to Lena while he scowled.

"Ahahahahaha! Guess you're right!" Lena laughed at William's remarks.

William snorted when Lena laughed, he then leaned on his seat as he looked at the busy street to their side. Civilians walked on the sidewalk going wherever they had business to, none of them showed any sign of fear or restlessness on their faces even though not too long ago, there's a shooting incident at the biggest casino on this island. Terror attacks just happened few days ago, and they still take it easy with the police acting as usual? William wasn't sure whether to call them brave or ignorant right now, but he guessed that's for the best…A terrorist's greatest weapon is fear itself, showing them that they couldn't be affected by terror easily is pretty effective in his own opinion. Thinking about terrorists though, William remembered Jenny's face the moment she passed on…He subtly tightened his left fist beneath the table.

"…Lena…about Jenny." William said to Lena.

"I know…Hah…her family wept for two days straight, Will. Also, the one who shot her is Ronald himself, he was on this island." Lena explained to William while she frowned deeply.

"…Him again." William said out loud as he stared at the table.

"Yeah…We need to stop him before anyone else becomes his victim. I already lost my little brother and trusted operative to that bastard, and there might be a good chance he will strike at our families, personally." Lena said to William with a serious face.

"…I won't make the same mistake twice." William said to Lena.

"Me neither." Lena said to William as she leaned on the table.

"…Give this to her mother Lena and tell her that Jenny was sorry, she didn't specify it but…that's her last wish." William took out Jenny's necklace from his shirt pocket and handed it to Lena.

"…Her necklace…Ah, I get it." Lena said out loud while she smiled bitterly.

"You do?" William asked Lena with cocked eyebrows.

"This is her family's heirloom, the tradition in her family is whenever they found someone that they want to spend the rest of their life with? It's customary for them to gift this necklace to their lover…Jenny has no lover, and she's honestly not that interested in marriage, until few months ago when she started to 'tease' this analyst at headquarters. I can see from their interactions that Jenny held special interest in the guy, borderline romantic even…he might've been the candidate to receive this necklace." Lena said to William as she inspected the necklace closely.

…The memento of fallen soldiers, each of them held a personal story that's known by their family or close compatriots. It's the one thing that many other soldiers carry with them when their brothers or sisters fall in battle, and it's not possible to recover their bodies, they usually took the fallen soldier's item as something to remember them by or even something to give to their family later. Has William done this before? Yes…Benjamin, Lena's little brother always carried a valedictorian pin that he got after graduating from the military academy that he claimed as a 'motivating tool' for himself during battle. William was the one who took the pin from his dead body personally, and also the one who handed it to Lena, at that time Lena instantly howled in grief when she realized that her little brother was killed in action and swirled with anger when she knew that a fellow Azur Lane soldier was the one who put a bullet in his head…

…And now William just learned the significance of the necklace that Jenny had with her, though the first time they met he remembered Jenny only wore a dog tag, so she must've kept it somewhere else, as obviously, she didn't want that to blew her cover…So, Jenny had someone she's interested in central headquarters despite her lack of interest for marriage. She really upheld her family tradition too it seems by carrying the necklace with her, but it's a shame. Maybe she just found the 'right guy' based on Lena's story and worked her way up to win him over, all of that only to be killed by Ronald a few days ago…William wondered what would the guy think when he heard that Jenny was KIA? Will he grieve for her?

"…Shame that romance won't ever happen now…But why did she say sorry to her mother? If I remember correctly, she said she couldn't be there for something…" William can't help but to ask Lena since he's still confused regarding that.

"That might be because Jenny couldn't make it to the opening of her mother's restaurant, she was in deep undercover within Crimson Cleanser at that time and had to maintain zero outside contact…She talked to me about it, never seen her so depressed before…Jenny was a smart woman, and she had a keen sense of duty, she sacrificed her time for her family all in order to keep them safe, to make sure that whatever's threatening them would be dealt with…We also have recovered her body from the local morgue, cause of death is massive blood loss due to impact from a 7.62 to her liver." Lena said to William, his assumption is on point.

"…When would her funeral take place?" William asked Lena.

"In three days, her family was preparing whatever they needed before." Lena said to William.

"I want to recommend a spot on Azur Lane Heroes Cemetery." William said to Lena with a serious face.

"Me too initially. But as it turns out their family already has their private burial grounds." Lena said to William.

"Now I'm curious about her background, is she a noble or something?" William asked Lena with cocked eyebrows.

"Oh, she's not. But her family is quite influential and possesses quite a lot of power in Eagle Union's senate." Lena said to William while she frowned a bit.

"…I see." William said to Lena as he nodded his head in understanding.

And she came from a well off family too! What made her want to be a soldier for Azur Lane? She's smart! Beautiful! Sexy! She would be an excellent scientist or even work in another field of business besides the military, and she would hit it off well! As William thought about that, he couldn't help but to think about himself too because frankly speaking, her situation was the same as his according to an outside perspective. William had every chance to work in the civilian sector, yet he chose to be in the military…He guessed that he could never know Jenny's reasons now. It was far too late. Both Lena and William looked to the side when they saw someone approached them, it's Lucas who then proceeded to sit on the chair beside them.

"Hey you two." Lucas greeted William and Lena.

"Did you buy the cooler already?" William asked Lucas.

"I did, with some administrative reasoning that I didn't buy one for an illegal organ harvesting business. You shouldn't leave the two girls unsupervised in this town, Will. Danger lurks in every corner." Lucas warned William with a serious face.

"It's fine, they must've needed some time to discuss what you just spoiled them." William reasoned as he leaned on his seat.

"Ah yeah, you're right…So, what are you two doing here?" Lucas asked William and Lena.

"Just talked a bit regarding Jenny." Lena said to Lucas.

"Oh, Jennifer Lawson…the one we lost few days ago, she's the one we could count on if we require any infiltrators or someone to help with tech problems. We lost one of our best…" Lucas somberly said while he looked upwards.

"Yeah…hah." Lena said in agreement then sighed.

"Shame…she would go far in the world if she chose another career. But I respect that decision of hers to wield a gun, to be in the thick of it for the sake of peace." Lucas further said out loud.

"I thought so too." William said in agreement with Lucas.

Yeah, because he really thought so before and turns out Lucas has the same opinion as him. Lucas didn't know her that well since she's closer to Lena and they worked together on an almost daily basis, but he at least knew her skills and capabilities to appreciate all her efforts. Lucas looked at William, he's the one who saw her die, and it seems he wasn't shaken up…or he already saw so much death that while it did affect him, he didn't show it on his face. But he knew the mood was somber right now, and Lucas chose to lighten it up a bit, he reached for something in his cargo pants pocket before he threw it on the table. A package of large brown cigars, one which caused William to widen his eye…

"Now, we don't have beer to wash the depressing mood away but I think these would do." Lucas said out loud while he smiled a bit.

"Well…" William shrugged as he took one, Lena however just stared at Lucas while she frowned.

"You don't want one?" Lucas asked Lena with cocked eyebrows.

"I'd like to stay away from smoking as much as possible." Lena said to Lucas while she shrugged.

"Suit yourself, here you go." Lucas said to Lena then lit up his lighter, he offered it to William who used it to light up the cigar in his mouth.

"…An old man's classic eh." William said to Lucas while he smiled after he exhaled the smoke…

"Yup, my father used to smoke one too, and it turns out I shared his taste. Nothing beats this alongside a bottle of Jack Daniels." Lucas said to William while he lit one up for himself.

"The bloody truth." William agreed before he sucked on his cigar again.

Well, few things that William and Lucas could agree on in a heartbeat are their taste for good liquor and cigars. William thought a bit on the entire situation right now, he had to depend on Lena and Lucas even less now that the situation demands it…He guessed that this will be the time where his skill and knowledge as a commander will be truly tested, he had to make sure the base facilities keep running, the occupants happy, the economy keeps going, and the ship girls as effective combatants against the Sirens. He did play several management and base building games before, though he doubted that would help him much. Lucas then handed another thing to William, an ordinary looking flash drive, but if it was the High Commander of Azur Lane himself who handed this, then that means the content is important.

"My gift for you, database extension regarding recent events. This should help you." Lucas said to William.

"Thanks." William simply thanked him as he took the flash drive

"Anytime…We're in a critical phase now Will, our plans are in motion. and we absolutely can't fail. Keep your eyes and ears open and make sure none will mess with ALASUC. We'll leave the girls in your care." Lucas said to William with a serious face.

"Got it." William simply responded with an equally serious face.

It took around two more hours until Hood and Bismarck finished with their shopping, they parted ways with Lucas and Lena who immediately chose to head to the airport as they went their separate ways by boarding a different flight. During the ride back to the base, Hood and Bismarck didn't speak much, William himself stayed silent as he inspected the flash drive that was given to him by Lucas. He had much to learn and fast, refreshing his memories on grand military strategy, base management, and he had to get as much work done before the notification regarding base upgrade came in…That night, William, the secretaries and the fleet representatives gathered inside his office to talk about everything that's been going on within central command and the overall direction for ALASUC in the future. Project Custos Terrae, the grand strategy of Azur Lane alongside Crimson Axis, the genetic modification experiments, the situation on the frontline with the Sirens, the situation with Crimson Cleanser, and the Trident Initiative's hidden purpose. If they had to be honest, it's a lot to take in…

"Politics, how troublesome…hah." Queen Elizabeth said before she sighed then sipped her tea.

"Agreed. But High Commander Lucas really looked out for us, he set up all of these precautions on purpose to keep our powers from being misused." Enterprise said out loud.

"On that I can agree…I hope everyone understands everything that we just discussed?" William said to Enterprise before he asked out loud.

"We all understand its importance and the situation now, shikikan-sama." Nagato said to William.

"In that case, good..." William said to Nagato before he gulped down his tea, his throat is like the Sahara Desert since he's been talking almost nonstop.

"Kommandant, does this mean you won't be going anymore in battling Crimson Cleanser?" Bismarck asked William.

"Not entirely…I don't have to participate in every fight against them, Azur Lane and Crimson Axis could handle the majority of them. My mission is a personal one, specifically to kill one person." William said out loud while he scowled.

William brought up his phone and swiped the image gallery marked as the 'Kill on sight list' with only several photos of a same person there before William connected it to the holographic projector on top of the table, the ship girls frowned, and some scowled at the sight of the person that caused some ship girls to be put on resting period due to the poison gas attack. Ronald Mitchel is clearly someone the ship girls won't hesitate to kill now.

"This man, the bloody inhuman dastardly son of a bitch called Ronald Mitchell is the one responsible for many of Crimson Cleanser's atrocities including the poison gas attack on the next door base. He and I have a long history, we fought together as a core unit of Task Force Nimbus, until his betrayal during Operation Dradetheus. I shot him in the head, but that didn't stop him from coming back alive…Now, he has personal vendetta against me and has set out to target everyone around me. You ladies are among them." William explained to the ship girls.

"So that's what happened…" Warspite commented as she studied the image.

"And he murdered three of my best friends, in cold blood…I'll be honest with you ladies, I want revenge against him." William said out loud.

"Revenge? Too many people died in doing so, commander. Won't this make you no better than him?" Enterprise asked William while she frowned.

"Perhaps…But as long as he's alive he will cause even more harm to this world. He already killed my best friends, he harmed ship girls on this base…it won't take him long to target someone else I hold dear, quite possibly my family." William said out loud regarding his worries.

"That's indeed a big possibility." Warspite said out loud while she frowned deeply.

"Milord, this little quest of yours sounds dangerous. A personal revenge against a terrorist who we don't know about his whereabouts?" Hood asked William while she frowned.

"I thought we-" William was about to protest at Hood.

"Dangerous as it is, we understand the weight of the decision to kill him. But let me ask you, are you going to do this on your own again?" Hood asked William as she stared at him with a serious gaze.

Most likely he will go solo again in killing Ronald, but he still doesn't know where he is and going on a blind manhunt is not the answer because he still has the ship girls and the base to care for. It pained him to think about, but it would seem he had to rely on intel from Lena and Lucas regarding Ronald's whereabouts, or until he showed up himself. William stared at every ship girl that's present in the room…Hood, Enterprise, Hornet, Warspite, Queen Elizabeth, Brooklyn, Belfast, Souryuu, Bismarck, Prinz, Nagato, Shoukaku, Zara, and Avrora stared at him. Each has their own expressions, but it was clear that they are worried about his statement of wanting revenge…

"Depends…I still don't know where he is, I still don't know his plans, I still don't know what he's capable of. But in time, all of this will be revealed one way or another. Once I get solid actionable intel, I will strike him down. This time, I may bring some friends if he chooses to hide behind his ragtag group of men. The one that will cause us trouble most likely would be their mysterious Gemini Squad… But I…really don't want to involve you ladies in this quest of revenge." William said out loud as he smiled bitterly.

…This whole mess was started because he failed to kill Ronald himself, that 5.56 bullet that hit Ronald straight in the head failed to do its job, and that caused so much harm on the world today. An unforeseen consequence because he failed to confirm his kill or double tapping to be sure, William felt he was the one responsible for what Ronald did…The ship girls have been with him only less than a year, there's still so much they didn't know about his past and furthermore they didn't have connection with all of this mess because they just happened to be in Ronald's way of getting revenge and started another goddamn war with Crimson Axis…William and Lena are the last member of Task Force Nimbus, the two people that Ronald put on top of his priority target list. The ship girls-

"…Kommandant, may I say something?" Bismarck asked William after being silent for a while.

"Sure." William said to Bismarck.

"You're an absolute dummkopf." Bismarck said bluntly to William.

"Wha…" William was baffled that Bismarck would insult him that bluntly.

"He attacked us, he tried to kill our fellow KANSENs, and none of us will take all of this without a fight, so you could be sure that we are willing to participate in hunting him down…Kommandant, should you need our strength then we are more than glad to lend it to you. In fact, none of us want you to do this by yourself. Maybe you're the one he wants to kill the most and vice versa, but now you're our commander and that alone should already be reason enough for us to help you. It's as you said, he could cause even further harm as long as he lives, so it's within reason for us to put him down when we have the chance." Bismarck said to William.

Those words were followed by agreement from all the ship girls in the room, Bismarck said the truth about the whole situation. William was honestly taken aback, he remembered that the girls are actually a capable military unit that could handle a wide variety of tasks at hand. He really needs to discard his ego and overprotectiveness of them, he thought all this time that ship girls are only suitable for sea based combat…But just as they proven to him few times in the past, they're also effective combatants on land…should he considered training them in case they had to fight on land or in close quarters? So far, the majority of them have weapons, but what about those that don't?

"I see…You ladies shouldn't involve yourself in this fight against fellow humans if possible. But it would seem none of you have any intention to back down…Fine, I'll consider you ladies' participation when we moved in on Ronald. But promise me one thing…His life is mine to take." William said out loud while he scowled.

.

…Last night turned out pretty well, but William had to retire early to his bedroom while the girls continued their talk. He really wondered what they were discussing without him present, but if it's important enough he guessed the girls will tell him eventually. Hood didn't speak about what they talked last night though, so he guessed it wasn't that important after all…Right now they're doing their daily tasks, William read through dozens of papers since morning with Hood beside him while he wondered on why they didn't just use a data pad as replacement for all of these papers. A data pad would make it easy for him to sign and not demoralize him with the sight of tall stacks of papers on his desk. Someone knocked on the door, both William and Hood stared at it before he told them to come in. A girl opened the door, a bespectacled long haired brunette with crimson eyes while wearing white clothes. Yup, she's London.

"…Your excellency?" London asked William.

"Hmm? Ah London, how can I help you?" William asked London back.

"It's Mr. Koichiro, he requested an audience with you." London said to William.

"Fine, bring him in please." William said to London as he finished the last paper on the current stack.

"Yes…He will see you now." London said to William then to someone beside her.

London bowed a bit before she left, and Takeshi entered William's office. He noticed that Takeshi looked around a bit regarding his office, and it would seem he approved of it. Well, when you have these ladies coming in and out of your office on a daily basis, it was unavoidable that they will suggest him to furnish the office with something, that's how he managed to transform the room into a comfortable auxiliary living space.

"...Good morning, Commander Blaze and Miss Hood." Takeshi greeted the both of them.

"Good morning to you." Hood politely greeted back while she smiled a bit.

"Yeah, morning doctor. What is it?" William then asked Takeshi.

"I've done my research, the gas was unmodified, so it would be possible to create a cure." That's great news!

"Splendid! So, have you made it?" William asked Takeshi.

"Not yet, I have the components nailed down, but I would need some time and resources for it…Here's the details." Takeshi said to William as he handed a sheet of paper filled with the things he needed.

"Hmm…Okay, we could get you all of this. Hood, please send this to Brooklyn and tell her to contact one of our clients for the necessary ingredients." William said to Hood after he inspected the paper and handed it to her.

"Yes milord." Hood said to William while she smiled.

Hood quickly walked out of the office as she took out her phone, both Takeshi and William watched until she exited the office and closed the door. Hood smiled brightly at the news as she walked quickly down the corridor, she was very glad that the doctor could cure the girls…Takeshi looked at William who checked the paper stack to make sure he already did everything, after that he stretched a bit in his seat and leaned on it. William saw that Takeshi was still standing in front of him awkwardly…

"…Sit down doc, don't be so tense." William said to Takeshi.

"Uh…yeah." Takeshi said as he proceeded to sit down in front of William.

"…I'm aware of how the girls looked at you." William said to Takeshi.

"Yeah…most of them have been giving me the cold shoulder." Takeshi said to William while he frowned.

"I don't blame them, I would too." William commented offhandedly as he took out his phone.

"I was short sighted before." Takeshi said to William as he looked to the side.

"Indeed…But let me ask you something, do you wish to repent?" William asked Takeshi with a serious face.

"Yes…I…just want to get this done, then come home. I left my wife for weeks already." Takeshi said to William with a determined face.

"I see. Doc, cure my ship girls and few men that are still struggling with their lives back on the other military base, and I'll make sure you return to Sakura Empire safe and sound. Do that, give me the knowledge regarding Marry, and I'll get you home personally." William said to Takeshi while he folded his arms.

"…That's a pretty generous offer." Takeshi said to William as he narrowed his gaze at him.

"You treat me good, and I'll do the same, it's a simple rule…Is it possible to produce Marry here?" William asked Takeshi.

"It is…But, what are you planning?" Takeshi asked William with a hint of worry in his tone.

"Retribution." William simply answered.

Well, an eye for an eye makes the world blind? Fuck that statement, those terrorists played with something as dangerous as chemical weapons, so they should feel the consequences directly. Don't take William as some idealist protagonist from those shounen anime regarding war and killing, he won't hesitate to nuke an entire enemy army if it means victory in the most efficient manner possible…Poison gas? It was still mild compared to the Tomahawk missile strike that Eagle Union used during the North African Ironblood base raid which obliterated an entire base in one salvo! The methods may be different, but the end result is the same, people die in the end.

"…You…want to use the gas against Crimson Cleanser? That's a violation against the Geneva Convention." Takeshi said to William while he frowned.

"They're terrorists." William said to Takeshi in a matter of fact tone.

"But they're still human, if you use the gas against them, you'll be no better than them!" Takeshi said to William while he frowned.

"Then what does that make you then?" William immediately asked Takeshi.

"…What?" Takeshi asked in a shocked tone.

"You're the one who created the gas, doctor, you're the one who created this weapon of mass destruction. You're the one who brought it to this world, so your creation was naturally used as a weapon. Am I wrong to use it against those rule breakers?" William asked Takeshi in firm tone.

"…Yes, I'm the most horrible man to create such a dangerous weapon. But that's all the more reason to stop you, commander. It's enough with me as the guilty one, there's no need for you to be involved." Takeshi said to William while he frowned deeply.

"…Takeshi, what's a universal language that everyone would always understand?" William asked Takeshi in firm tone.

"...Violence." Takeshi said out loud in his answer.

"Exactly. Crimson Cleanser would only understand the extent of suffering they cause to everyone if they tasted their own medicine." William said to Takeshi as he frowned deeply.

"…But, it's still against the rules." Takeshi said to William as he frowned.

"Why do you think the rules of war itself were created? War is chaotic doctor, so there's something that would be needed to prevent it from breaking off into mass destruction, but even some people could decide to ignore them to gain something, the only thing preventing Azur Lane and Crimson Axis from firing nuclear missiles at each other in the last war wasn't the rules itself, but the fact that we have Sirens roaming on the surface of the Earth. Crimson Cleanser? I doubt they have the respect to follow the rules of war, if we limit ourselves in the fight against those who don't, then either we are amazingly arrogant or we are idealist bastards!" William firmly said to Takeshi.

Does that mean William is someone who likes war and fighting? No, on the contrary he prefers spending his days in peace playing games, eating good food, drinking fine wine, and in the company of those he holds dearly. But, apparently destiny in collaboration with humanity told him to go fuck himself with that wish of his because every day they need to throw something at him. Terrorist attacks, Siren attacks, and even freaking infighting sometimes…The rules of war, it's something that Crimson Cleanser would never follow. If Crimson Cleanser played outside the rules, then so did they…What? Beating a cheater while still following the rules? The world doesn't work as simply as that, that's what William firmly believes.

"You're an evil person, commander." Takeshi said to William as he frowned deeply.

"Evil? Good? Doesn't matter. In the fight against survival, it won't do you much good…I'm prepared to be called evil if it means ending a threat once and for all." William said to Takeshi firmly.

"…I understand now, the extent of what I've done. You, the military, would not hesitate to use it for your own gains." Takeshi said out loud as he stared at the floor.

"And my gain, is the survival of humanity…We're at war with the Sirens, Crimson Cleanser did nothing but fucking with the order of society by spreading terror, and that only weaken us in our fight against those aliens. They have to be put down, by any means necessary…But rest assured, I'm not some genocidal bastard who doesn't care about the life of a human being. I don't plan to use the gas for that, but for retribution, a personal one against one guy that I consider worthy of such treatment." William said to Takeshi as he stared at him directly in the eyes.

"…I'm not sure you will keep your promise, commander." Takeshi still stood his ground.

"…Okay…You're the only one who knows how to make Marry, right?" William asked Takeshi.

"Yes. Those terrorists raided the only stash at the Osaka Lab, I'm the only one that knows the formula." Takeshi said to William with a confident tone.

"Then, I want you to create a small tank of it. Highly compressed small tank filled with Marry." William said to Takeshi.

"If I did create it…What are you going to do with it?" Takeshi asked William while he frowned.

"Like I said before, retribution…Just make it enough for one man." William said to Takeshi as he folded his arms.

Yup, there's only one man that came to mind when William said that and when he gets it, William will shove Marry down Ronald's throat, make him choke on it, break his limbs, and then lock him up, so he could die slowly and as painfully as possible, and it would be better if he could witness all that personally…William heard the door to his office opened, and he dispelled the gruesome thoughts away as he watched Hood returned from her short trip, she smiled widely, so it must be a good news right?

"How is it?" William asked Hood.

"We managed to confirm a purchase, the goods are being airlifted now. It should arrive in five hours." Hood said to William while she smiled widely.

"Excellent news. Well doctor, can I count on your help?" William asked Takeshi as he stared at him.

"…Just this once. After that, I will destroy the data and make sure none of this gas could be produced again." Takeshi said to William in a low tone.

"It's a deal then. Thank you doctor, you may leave." William said to Takeshi as he smiled in satisfaction.

Takeshi nodded his head then stood up, he walked out and only offered Hood a brief smile before he exited the office and closed the door…Well, that was easier than he expected to be honest. William thought that Takeshi would offer more resistance, but it would seem he agreed to this request. What could be the reason? Doesn't matter, all William cares about is the fact that he agreed to create a small dose of that gas for his personal use, and that's good enough.

"…What did you talk about with him?" Hood curiously asked as she walked toward William's left side.

"Hmm? Ah, the cure and a bit of philosophical debate regarding weapons." William smoothly said to Hood while he smiled a bit.

"Is that so? Is it an interesting debate?" Hood asked William while she smiled.

"Yes…though, I believe the doctor is quite naïve." William said to Hood while he rubbed his chin a bit.

"Is he the kind of civilian who is reserved when it comes to ways of war?" Hood asked William again while she stared at him while she smiled confidently.

"Spot on…You're pretty good." William said to Hood with widened eye and an astonished tone.

"Thank you~" Hood said to William while she smiled widely.

Then they resumed working…for a while, until William and Hood finished off whatever job they had today and were left with some free time to kill. Hood opted to sit on the couch while she read a novel, while William messed around with the holographic computer on his office desk in order to customize it, it would seem the novel that Hood read has quite an engaging story because he could hear gasps of shock, awed noises, or even subtle groans coming from Hood once in a while and that really distracted him. He was really tempted to ask what she was reading right now, but before he could do that, his phone rang. William looked at the caller, and it's Carl Johnson.

"Carl?" William asked Johnson on the phone.

"Haven't heard from you for a while, I heard from one of my medics that you have returned." Johnson said to William on the phone.

"Right, sorry for not telling you that I'm back already. But I do have good news. Takeshi will be able to produce the cure, the materials are on the way, and your medics will bring it with them once it's completed." William said to Johnson on the phone while he smiled.

"Thank the lord! That's a damn good news, William! Man, I felt more at ease now!" Johnson said to William on the phone before he sighed in relief.

"Yeah, me too." William said to Johnson on the phone.

"You alright?" Johnson asked William on the phone.

"Hmm? Yeah, I am, why the sudden question?" William asked Johnson back on the phone.

"Just checking up on you who went off to Southern Ironblood with no backup, I know you're special forces rated, but damn that was reckless." Johnson said to William on the phone.

"I know…My secretary already nagged me about it, I better stop doing that unless it's necessary…or maybe I shouldn't do that again." William said to Johnson on the phone before he cringed and revised his statement.

Why do you ask? Because as soon as he said that, Hood stared back at him with a cute pout and a disproving expression painted on her face. While seeing a usually elegant beautiful lady like her pouting is unusual and honestly looking pretty cute like that, he cringed because he realized that she's listening to him. He only just remembered that some ship girls have a keen sense of hearing, for a battlecruiser like Hood she could make out words from the phone call on low volume even though she's a few meters away from him while reading a novel…Johnson heard that William got really quiet, he could only come to one conclusion.

"…She's there isn't she?" Johnson asked William on the phone with an amused tone.

"Yeah…Hood, where are you going?" William answered on the phone before he saw Hood stood up.

"Lavatory, I think I drank too much." Hood said to William as she exited the office.

"Err, sure." William said out loud.

"Heh…Hey listen, I got new orders from High Command. Two days ago, an Ironblood cargo plane passed through this area to head over toward a secret research facility somewhere in the Southern Pacific. There's an island there with a multibillion dollar installation dedicated for research, thus they lack any significant protection aside from several patrol boats and lightly armed security guards. Designation is Site 17." Johnson said to William on the phone.

"Hey, that must be the plane I rode to get here." William said to Johnson on the phone.

"Really? Man, talk about coincidence." Johnson said to William on the phone.

"What's the mission for them? Do you know?" William asked Johnson on the phone.

"From what they told me, it's reinforcement." Johnson said to William on the phone.

"…That doesn't make any sense. The plane is only filled with around a dozen soldiers if memory serves well, what kind of reinforcement is that?" William said to Johnson on the phone while he rubbed his chin.

"…I don't know man, sounds fishy." Johnson said to William on the phone.

"Whose facility is it?" William asked Johnson on the phone.

"Eagle Union's." Johnson answered on the phone.

Wait what? An Eagle Union facility requesting armed reinforcement from Ironblood? As in, Ironblood's legit government owned armed forces? It's nonsense at the highest order to be honest. Accordingly, a facility owned by Eagle Union would request help directly from Eagle Union's forces! That's just common sense, right? So, even though they're all friends now, why would you call someone else's armed personnel to that facility? What's going on over there? What kind of research facility is that anyway?

"Ha? A core member of Azur Lane's facility requesting help from Ironblood forces and deployed straight from their home base? Nonsense, even though we're allies now, a facility under their command supposed to ask help from Azur Lane forces directly if needed to. There's a protocol for that…" William said to Johnson on the phone while he frowned.

"Agreed, though I don't know whatever political bullshit that happened behind the scenes, but the order is clear. Approximately three hours ago we lost all contact with the facility, satellite imagery showed that the facility is still active, but there are no signs of activity on the surface. High Command already contacted Crimson Axis, and they reported the same thing with their soldiers being out of contact…My forces were ordered to join Battle Group Dakota of Eagle Union's Third Pacific Fleet to investigate the facility, what's your thought on it?" Johnson asked William on the phone.

"Something went horribly wrong, I'm sure of it. Any research facility that lost contact with the outside world would be oozing with 'fuck ups' that you might want to tread lightly." William said to Johnson immediately on the phone.

"Yeah, countless movies said so too hehehehe." Johnson said to William then chuckled on the phone.

"Well, I can't say anything else other than good luck with that, it's your mission. Though, if you require help, I can provide you some." William offered to Johnson on the phone.

"Appreciated, I might want to hold on to that as a panic button. The ship girls would be invaluable reinforcement, if the situation is heading south then I know who to call." Johnson said to William on the phone.

"For sure. You're going out there too?" William asked Johnson on the phone.

"Hey, Task Force Commander. My ass has to be there, besides if these are caused by the Sirens I want to be there in person." Johnson said to William on the phone.

"Alright then. Good luck mate." William said to Johnson on the phone.

"Yeah thanks, catch you soon." Johnson said to William on the phone before he ended the call.

William put his phone down on the table and resumed his modification before he wondered because Hood took her time, he hoped she didn't get stomachache or something…William was finally done with the modification, he grinned as he saw the result of his holographic computer screen modification in front of him. He took out the flash drive that Lucas gave to him before and put it on the interactive panel on top of his desk, the place that the flash drive was put on top of glowed blue around it, and the holographic screen in front of him showed the file contents of the flash drive…Technology, bitch! He saw this online and just had to buy one. It really made the holographic computer easier to use with a digital keyboard, and you could transfer files from the computer to a storage space just by putting down the device such as flash drive, hard disk, or even phone on top of the interactive panel installed!

The file that Lucas sent him was composed of many things, even some E-Books that might come in handy in order to be a good commander and leader too. But what caught his eye the most was the new database extension regarding Siren forces…Okay, William chose to read the whole document. Work was done for the day, and he doubted Hood would mind him learning something regarding the Sirens, this should help him plan and strategize better in the fight against them.

The first one is the black scaly creatures that William fought ever since Terania, command dubbed them as the 'Brawler'…Strong, agile and terrifying in close up, this creature is unarmed, but their natural strength makes up for their lack of any weapons on them. Few investigations and autopsies on their corpses concluded that this creature type are previously humans who were heavily mutated by some sort of Siren based organism, the organism that was known simply as the 'Larva' would then latch on the victim's chest area, overtime growing bigger to cover up the victim before rapidly mutating them into your standard brawler. The time required to transform is unclear for now, and no matter what the host's sex was, each 'Brawler' would turn into a 'male' the moment their transformation is completed…why this happened is currently unknown and under further investigation. Their diet is disturbingly primarily consisting of human flesh…

They are strong, capable of breaking human limbs and bones easily or even use their limbs to climb while carrying a fully grown man. Their jaw strength is enough to bite off or crush bones, complimented with their sharp teeth, then they could chew any creature easily. Their impressive endurance showed when they could face full brunt of bullet hails, one Brawler has been recorded to withstand twenty shots fired to their chest from an M16 assault rifle which means it could take almost an entire magazine itself to down one. The solution for now? Headshots, these creatures have remarkable endurance, but damage to their head is always lethal. It only took around one or two well-placed shots to their brain to kill them since they are unarmored, their speed and agility, however, would make that feat difficult enough under stress of combat. They've shown intelligence where they would set up simple flanking behaviors during combat and could be forced to run according to the combat situation…Conclusion, strong primal melee units that come in large numbers. Threat level, 5…Threat Level, there's even a threat level that High Command set up?

Next is the 'Larva'. William prepared himself to read something terrifying because his gut told him that this could be a nightmare fuel creature…Described as black starfish-like creature the size of an adult human's torso, it possessed five limbs that showed remarkable muscular strength and flexibility. This creature is aggressive, anyone who meets this creature will get attacked as soon as the creature detected them with currently unknown methods. As the evidence showed from gathered footage from those facilities or personnel in contact with them, the creature has very basic intelligence which seemingly focuses on attacking their prey as soon as they're within range. They attack by latching themselves onto their victim's torso with their four limbs securing their hold on their victim's body, their remaining one appendage would then choke the victim to the point of unconsciousness. Once the victim fell unconscious, the creature would then start secreting unknown material until the victim was covered in these black materials that would branch out from the Larva in some kind of black veins.

Once the victim is starting to get covered by these unknown materials, they will undergo a mutation process and eventually be completely covered up into a cocoon. During this process, the Larva would blend its body into the cocoon while transforming into a gunk mass of black flesh with currently unknown purpose. When the mutation is complete, a new Brawler would spawn but the larva itself would always be nowhere to be seen. Few biologists theorized that Larva itself is the first form of the Brawler, it would then find a host to transform into its mature form. They theorized it as a parasitic life form that needs biomass from other creatures in order to fully mature and then maybe reproduce, how they reproduce is still a mystery, but William hoped to anything holy out there that they won't use humans as a host…Nah, he jinxed it, what are the chances they will use living creatures as their spawning ground? Very likely with this kind of life cycle…Threat level, 4. Avoid being incapacitated around the creature at all costs…

…Disturbed? Hell fucking yeah, William was sure the Sirens are a spawn of hell of now. The next one is their armed soldier that William fought recently, they're dubbed by High Command simply as the 'Siren Trooper'. The Trooper is an oddity because Troopers resembled your average human in many ways, their only difference was the fact that their eyes are glowing yellow, their hair are snow white, and their skin lacks any pigment which makes them extremely pale…Sounds familiar? William remembered that the person they rescued from one of the cocoons on Terania was in the same state as the Troopers with one yellow eye. Are troopers just simply an incomplete transformation of Brawlers? William isn't sure.

…The Trooper however is a lot stronger than the average human, capable of sending a human flying with just a punch. They are fully covered in some kind of Siren blackish metal armor which, thankfully, could still be damaged, destroyed, or punctured by human conventional weapons. They are armed with a plasma weaponry which are currently under intensive analysis by human researchers, details on them would be available soon…The Trooper is the most common form of Siren encountered in the field with Brawlers being a close second, the Troopers have shown that they possess equal intelligence of a human and shown that they could coordinate with each other during firefights, use tactics in combat, they moved in squads, and seem to possess some kind of hierarchy within the unit alongside specializations among them. They've been shown taking prisoners and speaking in the English language…Well, with some Siren ship girls capable of speaking it, it's pretty clear that these Troopers would be able to speak the language too. Threat Level, 6. How to fight them is already covered in basic training…Eh, right.

A section caught William's eye, and he turned over to another section, vehicles section. Siren War machines have proven to be at the same level or even more advanced than what humanity has. Maybe they could turn this into an advantage to level the playing field in the future. First off their main battle tanks which William already heard of before, 'Spider Tanks'. Even though the design philosophy seemingly is based on a crab, their mechanical limbs aren't. This black mechanical machine is a pretty tough opponent on the battlefield, capable of moving at seventy kilometers an hour, capable of climbing buildings, and their legs could be used to jump around as a primary evasive maneuver. That's made worse with the fact that their legs were equipped with some kind of bladed weapons for close range attacks, coupled with two rapid firing plasma turrets, and one large main cannon capable of heavily damaging to outright destroying human tanks? This thing is an absolute nightmare in any combat theater, luckily for us their legs are vulnerable, so immobilizing them is still a possibility. Threat Level, 8...As a tank gunner, it's your primary target. As infantry, you better run or hide. As an aircraft pilot, you're relatively safe at a high altitude…Huh, this thing can't shoot upwards like AA guns?

Moving on, William felt like reading their aircraft. First thing that caught his interest are their jet fighters…It doesn't have an official name, but pilots among Azur Lane have agreed to call this bird 'Raven', black in coloring, come in hordes, and their howling jet sounds means a certain death for those unlucky enough to be ambushed by them. Many have theorized that these jets are actually drones with how they maneuver and engage in combat, but vehicle recovery and study showed that the plane possess a cockpit although all that were shot down are usually in unrecognizable shape or completely FUBAR. It's on par with their F-22 fighter jets and SU-57s in performance and size which seems to fit the role of Siren fighter bombers, the jets usually spawn from carriers or shown up out of the blue through their portals. It has energy machine guns that fired some kind of energy bullets, equipped with missiles and bombs…If that didn't frighten anyone enough, this plane is shown capable of hovering to provide aerial fire support, and some saw their bombs switched out into high yield plasma cannon that could also wreck a tank in single hit…Threat Level 8…Shit, William actually survived numerous encounters against these deadly bastards…

Then William decided to read the last entry for the day, the Siren dropship which was named 'Dropship'…The aircraft is a diamond shaped large black metallic machine with powerful engines, tough armor, and possessing numerous point defense turrets alongside its body and one turret as its primary means of attack. Comparable to a V22 Osprey in size and based on analysis it could fit around fifty people inside or Sirens, despite its lumbering size it has shown to possess remarkable agility as one of them could be seen turning around easily while under direct AA gun fire. The hatch is located on the underside of the aircraft which is the only access into the machine, it's also shown capability to airlift a spider tank through some kind of force field on its underside. However, this aircraft wasn't shown to possess any kind of missile countermeasure system such as flares or EMP jamming, and instead relies on volume fire from their point defense turrets to destroy an incoming missile…Well, glad this thing has a weakness at least. Threat Level 8…

"…Shite, it feels like reading FPS game codex or something…well technically, my experience and video recording while facing them could be turned into an FPS game itself." William commented out loud.

"Lord William, I'm coming in." Someone said from outside the office.

William got no time to respond as the door went open immediately, that's followed by someone entering the office and stared at William who closed the holographic computer screen. This person possessed long light brown hair, styled in twin tails that almost touched the floor in length, mesmerizing crimson eyes, and dressed in black gothic clothes. Congratulations to those that were right, she's Formidable, Illustrious' younger sister…Formidable walked closer to William after she closed the door, she then sat on the chair in front of him, looking cute and all that…Honestly speaking, William still hasn't figured Formidable out, and the interaction between them is sparse. Why did she come here now? She must've required him for something.

"Oh. Formidable, shouldn't you be resting right now?" William asked Formidable.

"I wasn't that affected with the gas that much Lord William, aside from the occasional headache, I'm quite fine." Formidable said to William while she smiled cutely.

"Well, you still shouldn't be moving around too much." William said to Formidable while he smiled a bit.

"I'll be honest milord, I was bored." Formidable said to William while her shoulder drops.

"Bored?" William asked Formidable with cocked eyebrows.

"I want to entertain myself." Formidable said to William.

"And that's why you came inside my office? Really…" William asked Formidable with narrowed gaze.

"The entire fleet knows your office is the hotspot for 'entertainment'~" Formidable said to William while she smiled playfully.

"Oh?" William said out loud.

"Music player, flat screen TV, game console, a fridge full of snacks and drinks? With all that, surely you know that one or two or even dozens of girls would be flocking here." Formidable said to William while she smiled.

"Eh…You're not wrong. So, you basically came here to disturb me?" William asked Formidable as he reached for his drawer.

"Not quite. Allow me to stay here for a bit, milord, I promise I won't bother you." Formidable said to William while she smiled.

"Alright then. Just be ready if Hood has a few choice words for you later." William said to Formidable as he took out a small tool box from the drawer.

"I'm sure she'll be fine with this." Formidable said to William with a confident tone.

"Let's see about that, shall we?" William said to Formidable as he smiled.

William took out his Colt Python revolver, unloaded the rounds from the cylinder, and started to disassemble it for regular maintenance. A well maintained gun is a must, and William is diligent in routine maintenance for his guns, he stared at the disassembled parts to check for any signs of damage, and then took out the tools to clean the parts. Formidable is actually paying attention to what he did, she noticed that he deftly disassembled a weapon without any sort of difficulty and then proceed to tinker with it…However, she got bored, so she started to look around and then noticed that William's game console is located on a small aisle underneath the coffee table. She grinned a bit at the thought, perhaps playing some games would alleviate her boredom a bit.

"Hmm…hey, what kind of games do you have on that console?" Formidable asked William.

"Action, shooter, and strategy games?" William said to Formidable without looking at her.

"That's it?" Formidable asked William as she frowned.

"…Yeah? I don't really play other games. There are few RPGs too, but I doubt you'll like them." William said to Formidable with cocked eyebrows.

"Hmm…hey, do you mind if I download a game?" Formidable asked William while she smiled.

"With my money?" William asked Formidable back with narrowed gaze at her.

"Your salary really pays well, right?" Formidable asked William back while she smiled widely.

"Oh well. Check the storage first, I assume you know how to operate it?" William said to Formidable as he took out a controller from his drawer.

"Don't worry, Formidable shall not disappoint." Formidable excitedly took the controller and sat on the couch.

"…So, how much?" William asked Formidable after she turned on the console and the TV.

"You still have five terabytes worth of space." Formidable informed William.

"…Huh, that's a lot. Alright, just pick something you like from the online store and then download the game. Shouldn't take you five minutes, the internet speed on this base is guaranteed." William said to Formidable.

"Don't mind if I do!" Formidable said to William while she grinned.

Yeah, in this base you could watch video in ultra HD 4k resolution with minimum 60 fps without any sort of buffering. You can play games and there will be no lag whatsoever even during intense storms. The speed was so great that William downloaded games worth three terabytes were all finished in under one hour. Well, this privilege comes at the cost of this particular job to fight the Sirens, so it's not like he has lots of free time to spend when you have to constantly strengthen your fleet and combat capabilities of the base. Oh, but when he did, even Belfast had to pinch his cheek in order to get his attention and scolded him for using noise canceling headphones for gaming…After a while he finally finished with his maintenance and stored the tools back, that's when the office door was opened and Hood went inside…

"…You took a while." William commented as he saw Hood.

"A bit of a detour to the dormitory, milord. We just heard news from London." Hood said to William.

"Our London here or the London over there?" William asked Hood as he leaned on his seat.

"The one over there, they just briefed her majesty, and she asked me to relay the info to you." Hood said to William as she smiled a bit.

"Oh, what is it?" William curiously asked Hood.

"Periodically, the Royal Navy will send ship girls here starting from tomorrow. The first group that will come here consists of Unicorn, Exeter, York, and Abercrombie." Hood said to William before she frowned a bit.

…Wait a minute, that's rare! Hood frowned when she mentioned a ship girl's name? She did that when she mentioned the last girl, Abercrombie…Now he didn't know who she is yet, but if she hailed from the Royal Navy then it's safe to say that Hood and her have some history together, but to actually make Hood frown that girl must be a handful in a sense…

"…Your face changed drastically when you mentioned the last one." William commented to Hood.

"Abercrombie is a bit…handful, so to say. Abercrombie is a good girl, she really is, but she's quite mischievous sometimes." Hood said to William, oh so his assumption was correct.

"That's putting it lightly Ms. Hood, she's at Ms. Saratoga's level when it concerns pranks." Formidable commented while she's playing.

"Uh…right." Hood said out loud while she smiled bitterly.

"Another Saratoga on the base? Oh, I see…what's her worst case?" William asked Hood.

"She even dared to prank Her Majesty Elizabeth herself." Hood answered William's question then sighed.

"Yikes, no doubt I'll be within her strike range." William said to Hood while he cringed.

"Precisely." Hood simply responded.

"…I'll deal with her antics when the time comes. So anyway, that would mean tomorrow we would have to pick them up from the airport. Has Brooklyn been notified?" William asked Hood.

"Yes, she and Illustrious would be the ones who pick them up." Hood said to William as she smiled a bit.

"Excellent." William said to Hood.

Then, Hood turned around to stare at Formidable who played a game without much care in the world while eating tortilla chips and drinking a can of soda. Hoo boy, William hasn't been paying attention, but Formidable clearly acted unladylike right now! Formidable seemed to sense someone staring at her, and she turned around to look at Hood while she's munching some tortilla chips. Hood stared at her while she cocked her eyebrows in wonder at what she was doing here during work hours when she's supposed to be resting, but Formidable stared back with oblivious gaze at her.

"…Ms. Formidable, shouldn't you be resting?" Hood finally asked Formidable herself.

"I've rested quite well, Ms. Hood." Formidable answered while she smiled.

"Let her be Hood, I can relate that being stuck in bed with nothing to do is not amusing." William said to Hood while he smiled.

"But still, if I remember correctly Illustrious handed you some novels?" Hood asked Formidable.

"Read them all already." Formidable said to Hood as she turned around and resumed gaming.

"Five three hundred paged books? You're that bored?" Hood asked Formidable with an astonished face and tone.

"Mhm~" Formidable said to Hood without looking at her.

"Hah…I suppose this is fine on occasions. But Lord William, this room is a work office, so you need to be firm when you need to, understood?" Hood relented before she said that to William.

"Yeah, got it." William immediately responded with a tensed expression.

Why is he involved with this?! Oh, William guessed that he did let Formidable play around the office, so it's kind of his responsibility. Now that he thought about it, he's being quite lenient on the girls who visited his office. Few days ago he let several destroyers sit in while enjoying fish and chips on the table as they waited for class to begin, just yesterday he let several girls from Sakura Empire to play some Shogi in the office as they have nothing to do in the afternoon, and they had to wait for a bit before talking about the meeting results between him, Hood, Bismarck, Lena, and Lucas…Just as he thought that, William witnessed that Hood walked forward and sat beside Formidable and picked her novel from the coffee table.

"…What game are you playing right now?" Hood curiously asked Formidable.

"Ah, it's this game about farming! They have cute characters, cute designs, and overall, it's quite easy to play!" Formidable said to Hood while she smiled widely.

"Interesting, to be able to raise your own farm like this virtually. Can you also go out to a nearby town?" Hood asked Formidable while she smiled.

"Yes! You could buy a lot of things for the farm, seeds, manure, and even some food for the livestock." Formidable said to Hood.

"Ho. That is a lot of items…Hmm? What is that?" Hood said to Formidable as she pointed at the screen.

"Premium option? Hmm…Gain monthly boost income and other benefits? I should buy this…Eh? Aww, real life money? Fine…Lord William, may I know your credit card numbers and PIN~?" Formidable asked William cutely while she smiled.

"Yeah sure, it's 0846…HOLD THE FU-!"

.

"The cure is ready; this should neutralize the poison in their systems. Please give this through their IV." Takeshi said to Vestal as he handed her a vial with crystal clear liquid in it.

"Thank you doctor, I'll get on it. Let's go." Vestal said out loud to the medics around her.

"Right behind you Ms. Vestal." One medic said to Vestal.

"Enterprise, Prinz, go help them out." William said to Enterprise and Prinz.

"Ja kommandant." "Yes sir." Prinz and Enterprise responded before they followed Vestal

Takeshi had gathered them in his room in the morning, he worked overnight, and successfully created a working cure to neutralize Marry. William, Prinz, Enterprise, Vestal, and the medics gathered around as Takeshi put the cure in the vial before he handed it to Vestal who's face immediately brightened and went out half running to get the cure to the sick girls as soon as possible. William watched the hallway, after confirming it to be empty he closed the door of Takeshi's room.

"…Is it ready?" William asked Takeshi.

"…Not easy doing it with Ms. Prinz breathing down my neck but I did it…Thanks to a last minute resource delivery, ignorance is bliss isn't it? Anyway, how do you manage to get those ingredients?" Takeshi asked William.

"Manjuus, pretty easy when you got helpers ready at a moment's notice." William answered while he shrugged.

"I see." Takeshi nodded his head in response.

He agreed to William's request, but he would need several ingredients that were different from the ones that Hood ordered, thus when he said his concern to William. He only told Takeshi to hand him the list, and William would take care of the rest…William ended up asking a Manjuu to buy them, he won't bother asking how did those birds managed to make it back with the necessary stuff safely. William handed the ingredients to Takeshi, and he took care of the rest. Takeshi reached for something that was taped on top of a drawer's ceiling, it's a small drink bottle sized chrome gas canister which he offered to William.

"This is it, this tiny tank is the remaining Marry in this world. The dose isn't as strong as the original due to the shortage of the ingredients, and I can't compress the gas due to the absence of equipment. Best I could do in this situation…The entire tank is enough to fill this room within seconds, I predicted the dose to kill someone within three minutes of continued inhalation." Takeshi explained to William.

"Wow. It is much weaker in dose, in the previous attack, it only took around half a minute to kill a human." William commented as he inspected the gas canister.

"But during those three minutes, the victim will experience the most excruciating pain they'll ever feel in their body. Breathing problems, muscle spasms, splitting headache, and nausea." Takeshi said to William.

"That's awfully specific." William said to Takeshi while he narrowed his right eye.

"Hey, I'm the creator of course I know what this thing does…All yours to use, handle with care." Takeshi said to William.

"I take this work like a hand grenade? Thanks." William said to Takeshi after he noticed a safety pin on top of the canister.

William just received what is basically a hand grenade, this should make things easier…But, William had second thoughts on using Marry. You know, breaking someone with your own two hands felt much more satisfying than using a gas or even a gun. Just look at that new DOOM game, but imagine you doing it to someone you hate from the bottom of your heart and felt nothing but the urge to kill whenever you see his image, okay okay, that's enough thinking about the ways to kill that bastard…When the opportunity comes, William would know what to do with him. He just has to be patient…

"…I must ask though, what makes you want to use this on that person so much? Wouldn't a bullet to the head be enough?" Takeshi asked William curiously.

"Ironically, I tried that already, and he's back from the dead. Have to make sure he won't this time." William said to Takeshi with half opened eye while he shrugged.

"Oh. Just…one more thing commander…Promise me, you won't synthesize this gas." Takeshi said to William with a serious face.

"You have my word." William answered immediately without a single hint of doubt in his voice.

"Thank you…Now…" Takeshi took out a flash disk, he threw it to the toilet before flushing it.

"…Alright. You have some free time, call your wife or something. I'm going to check the ladies." William said to Takeshi.

"Okay." Takeshi simply responded.

…What he just threw back there must be the data regarding Marry, flushing it down to the toilet the data inside would surely be too corrupted to recover…William walked toward his personal room and made sure he wasn't followed or that no one saw him, he successfully entered his own room and locked the door. Now, where to store this without having any of the curious girls possibly finding out? William suddenly had an idea as he took out his old suitcase that could only be unlocked with a four digit code that he's sure to be the only one who knows…9-0-2-9, the suitcase was opened, and he stored the canister in a secure strap. He smiled a bit as he closed the suitcase and put it underneath his bed, he's confident that not even Belfast knew about the code to this one. After that, he walked toward the infirmary before he heard loud shouting, he proceeded to speed up and opened the door to the room only to be hit with relieved feeling.

""""""BIG SIS!""""" Aulick and her sister shouted when Fletcher was able to respond.

"Is it working?!" One medic asked out loud.

"It's like magic, it works wonderfully fast!" Vestal commented out loud while she threatened to cry in relief.

"KISARAGI-CHAN! UWAAAA!" Mutsuki said as she and the others hugged Kisaragi in a group hug when she woke up.

"…Guess we owe the doctor." Hornet said out loud.

"That indeed." Mikasa said to Hornet as she sighed in relief.

"Kongou nee-san, how do you feel?" Haruna asked Kongou.

"A whole lot better. I'm still feeling weak though." Kongou said to Haruna while she smiled weakly.

"Saratoga?" Lexington asked Saratoga who sat on the sick bed.

"Sara is feeling healthier already, big sis!" Saratoga excitedly responded while she smiled widely.

"Hah…glad to see your cheeriness return, Saratoga" Enterprise sighed in relief then said to Saratoga.

"Hehe, sorry for worrying you~" Saratoga said to Enterprise then winked.

"You're teasing me again!" Hipper said to Prinz while she blushed.

"It's good to see the rosiness come back to your face. Gut, the cure is working." Prinz said to Hipper before she hugged her tightly.

"Carabiniere. Take it easy." Zara said to Carabiniere while she smiled.

"Don't worry, I feel fine now." Carabiniere said to Zara as she tried to sit.

Huh, what a miracle drug they got there. The effects of the poison were neutralized quickly, William was glad that Takeshi was willing to uphold his end of bargain and use his knowledge to help all of them in more than one way. He should return the favor and make sure Takeshi could make it back safely to the Sakura Empire. William saw Hornet who stood beside him with Mikasa watching the touching scene from afar…William remembered that aside from this recovery, there will be new arrivals today. They will need to prepare a banquet, and they don't have a lot of time.

"Hornet, please get a word to Hiei, Shoukaku, Belfast, and George. New mission, I want a banquet meal ready for tonight. This prompts for a celebration as well for the welcoming of the new arrivals." William said to Hornet.

"Got it boss~, anything else?" Hornet asked William while she grinned.

"No, that will be all for now, thank you." William said to Hornet as he smiled.

---

Updated: 03-11-2021 (Beta Readed by Culture-Hunt3r)

Yeah, that took a while but glad the girls are on their way to recovery…Anyway, thanks for the review, follow and favorite! You know, a guest asked me in a review what my opinion is regarding Azur Lane The Animation. So, this little afterword would also serve to answer said guest's question…Feel free to read further but be warned, this is my opinion, some of you might disagree with me but hey, each to their own so let's not hate each other due to differences, shall we? Oh yes, SPOILER ALERT!

…Okay, I have very mixed feelings regarding the anime, really. Let's start off with the good things first. The opening is nothing but awesomeness in all corners! Sometimes I found myself singing it unconsciously, the song, and the cinematic showing the ship girls from the four primary nations between Azur Lane and Crimson Axis was done really well and fit overall with the theme song, graphite and diamond. Someone mentioned that the name really described the conflict between Azur Lane and Crimson Axis really well. Graphite and diamond possess the same element in the periodic table, but they turn out pretty differently, and I agree with the guy! Azur Lane and Crimson Axis both fight the Sirens, but their approaches to it are really different from one another…see what I mean? That's why I never skipped the opening when I watched it, not even once. The song and the scenes are so memorable…

Some of the combat scenes are really good. Seeing ship girls fighting in animated scenes is really great, the first episode alone already kicked in with combat scenes when the Sakura Empire attacked the newly set up Azur Lane base. The fight between Zuikaku and Enterprise too was awesome, and even more so, when Belfast just interrupted the fight without much effort while smiling smugly. There's also the one where they rescued Edinburgh, Sheffield, Akashi, and hoo boy that one episode was filled with action. Then there's the huge fight in the last episode, PRINZ USED HER RIGGING TO CHOMP A SIREN! Damn! Now that's how I imagined what she would do with her rigging, that one German shipfu never disappoints thus far!

We could also see how the shipgirls interacted with each other outside of combat and storyline in the game, it's a refreshing sight and definitely an interesting thing to see. We could see how they do their daily life aside from fighting, the close up shot of locations on the base that we normally only could see from bird eye view, and…Man, the fanservice…Believe me, I stopped leaning on my seat with face focused directly on the screen when the bath scene showed up. Arizona rear shot? St. Louis radiating ara ara energy? First time Hood's and Cygnet's underwear was exposed to the world? Illustrious and Prince of Wales naked in all their glory? Hell yes…The doujins, keep em coming my artistic friends! Those scenes should serve as great material hehehe!

Now, the bad things according to me…The anime went downhill quickly, the first few episodes were great, but I started to notice the dive in quality on the next episodes. Episode four, brrrr, that one scene where Edinburgh and Akashi used a suicide boat? Shit, that was ugly as hell and obviously poorly animated. There are few other scenes too, but that one was the most obvious one…Oh, there's this scene in episode 12 where everyone lined up and attacked? The ship girls were actually the 2D sprites that we have in game, copy pasted into that scene, damn that was disappointing…Then there's the pacing, sometimes in one episode it felt the story was rushed, and it was quite jarring to watch. Not to mention the dub…oh my god, the English dub…hilarious while cringe inducing would sum it up well, in my opinion.

The ship girls' characteristics…You know, I didn't mind that the anime wanted to try something different, but they could pull it off better in my opinion. The relationship between ship girls such as Enterprise and Belfast seem to work well, Akagi and Kaga, Kaga and Prinz, and alongside the other ship girls too. In my opinion, it would work well with a platonic relationship, and that's when the problem starts…Those relations are filled with yuri baits. Hell, I never expected that when I first watched it. I'm no fan of Yuri, and I'm sure the anime didn't actually try to enforce pairings on them, but the community certainly reacted, and…voila, Belfast x Enterprise pictures started to surface. No hate on them, that's their preference and taste, each to their own…But my real problems come with how they interpreted Enterprise's character in the anime. Enterprise, while being extremely lethal in combat and a skilled warrior is actually a kind girl who values her friends and family, many sources indicate so, such as her scenes in the manga as a great example. This interpretation of her in the anime, I'm quoting others, is that she's quite 'edgy' and 'rigid' in this one. I simply found her interpretation in Azur Lane Crosswave to be better overall.

The plot itself is simplistic which I found okay, but the lack of exposure for other ship girls was…disappointing. For example, we are teased from the opening that Bismarck would somehow get involved in the anime but when? She briefly showed up near the end as a cameo, am I right? There's Iris Libre and Northern Parliament with Saint Louis and Avrora shown in the first episode, but that's it. There's a cameo of Zara and Pola in the background during Episode 3 if I'm not mistaken, but that's it for the Sardegna Empire ship girls…What I'm trying to say is, there's a lot of source material, factions, and amazing ship girls, so it's unfortunate that the studio couldn't utilize their full potential. I understand that including all of them with speaking roles where there's around four hundred ship girls is an unrealistic and unreasonable request for twelve anime episodes, but they could at least make the relationship between the factions clearer, give them equal spotlight, and maybe get the audience acquainted with them better. Plus, each ship has their strength and weakness, but carriers in the anime? They're overpowered in a sense, huh?

Then, the lack of human appearances…I'll be honest, this one really put a big question mark over my head. Where are the humans? They aren't shown in the anime, there's no explanation on why they didn't show up, and that really raises a lot of questions. Aren't the ship girls fighting Sirens in order to save humanity? What about their chain of command? How about logistical support? If the purpose of ship girls is to protect humanity by combating the Sirens, then show it! Show the state of humanity after they're being pushed to the brink by Sirens, show that the ship girls might be their last line of defense, show that humanity while battered and weary put all they got to protect the innocent, show the audience the relation between ship girls and humans, what's their opinion on each other, show them a scene where a human city is under attack by Siren forces and the local military was overwhelmed until the ship girls show up and saved the day! That way, the ship girl's purpose is clearly outlined, and the audience would realize the ship girl's importance in the war against them. That way, their questions of their existence would be answered easily…Speaking of humanity, that brings me to something I really want to say out loud…

Where. The fuck. Is Shikikan?! Okay, okay, personal opinion ahead! In many storylines, it was hinted that Shikikan is someone important both in the eyes of humanity and the Sirens. Humanity saw Shikikan as someone that unifies the factions of earth and turned them into a unified fighting force, The Sirens saw Shikikan as a disturbance to their overall plans as an 'anomaly'. I heard Shikikan doesn't exist in the anime as a way to avoid representing a group of people? You know, for example, showing him as American, and Japanese people won't be able to immerse themselves fully as Shikikan in game and vice versa. In my opinion, Shikikan could still be present in the anime like Kantai Collection did and excuse my language…without fucking up as many have said, like Kantai Collection did. If you are ever curious on why many people have that opinion, you could watch the anime yourself.

Every time Shikikan appears, the studio could make the scene turn into first person from Shikikan's perspective like in Kantai Collection or when Shikikan indeed had to appear on screen they could always obstructed Shikikan's features with anything (Thousand animes did so with their fanservice or even character tropes, come on!). That way, shikikan's identity would always remain a mystery…Oh Dasmara, what if Shikikan speaks? Won't that give away Shikikan's identity? No, not necessarily. In certain ani-, screw that, a hentai! The protagonist doesn't have a voice but still interacts with the girl he fucked, how? Subtitles! That way, the audience could still read the line and feel themselves interacting with the ship girls around them! But wait, isn't Enterprise the protagonist of the anime? Well they don't have to make Shikikan as a protagonist if they really insist, even an important major character would serve Shikikan's role well!

Won't that really change the story line and be filled with political bullshit? Absolutely, but let me tell you something about politics. The short description of it is 'Who gets what, when and how', and that means everyone does politics every day. So, what if a bit of politics were involved in the story line? As long as that's not the main focus, I believe the anime could still run well! So, if you're the one in charge of writing the anime, how will you do it? Oh boy, this is it…bear with me for a while. If I was the one in charge of the storyline, it'd be like this…maybe incorporate the elements from the anime.

Episode 1

Background narration on the situation of the world, show the audience when humanity had first contact with the Sirens, how outmatched they are in fighting them with conventional weaponry, how by some miracle they found the wisdom cube, utilized it, and managed to create ship girls. The ship girls proved to be an effective force to fight the Sirens, and the nations of the world quickly built their own ship girls in order to combat the Siren threat, but the efforts were disjointed and lacked any coordination. In order to fight in a united front, an organization was created to harness the full might of humanity's greatest military alliance in history, Azur Lane.

The alliance shows results, many battles were won because they worked together. That is until the Sirens threw their full might against humanity by including their own ship girls, the war continued on, but cracks started to show in the alliance. Some believed that incorporating enemy technology would make them prevail in combat better, while others believed they shouldn't due to its dangerous nature. The alliance splits up and those that want to incorporate Siren technology into their arsenal formed Crimson Axis. They strategized by pretending to join the Sirens' side while plotting to destroy them from within, which results in a massive, open global war. Then, show the first battle of the anime. Azur Lane has initiated a desperate strategy, and that is to secretly combine their ship girls' strength to face a massive Siren force position in order to prevent destruction to several human coastal cities according to their intel, but before they could sortie a surprise attack hits their staging ground.

The attack was committed by Sakura Empire ship girls who led their mass produced ships to raid the base and making sure the major offensive is a success, battle ensues between Azur Lane ship girls that gathered at the base with Sakura Empire ship girls. The situation looked dire for Azur Lane until a military transport managed to land despite the raging battle, and the shikikan themselves had arrived. Shikikan was the chosen commander to lead the defensive operation against massive a Siren attack and had been with Azur Lane ever since it's conception, but Shikikan had to command the base defenses since the local commander was apparently killed in the first shelling, and it was Enterprise who's commanding their forces right now. Taking up immediate direct command, Shikikan contacted the ship girls through their radio to let them know that Shikikan would be in charge from now on as Enterprise relinquished overall command to Shikikan. Shikikan quickly ordered the base into full defense, learning the situation before finding an exploit in the Sakura Empire ship girls forces. Shikikan ordered the Azur Lane ship girls to attack the said exploit and manage to break through the attacker's formation, the ship girls battled with each other, wounding one another before Akagi who's in charge of the operation on Sakura Empire's side realized that they exceeded their attack time limit and ordered their forces to withdraw while wondering how can they get organized so quickly.

Episode 2

The raid was partially successful as the Sakura Empire managed to inflict major damage against the base, and the ship girls got acquainted with Shikikan as they plot their next move. Shikikan briefly studied the ship girls' profiles and their current situation before concluding that they still need to prevent the amassed Siren forces from attacking, but it was clear with the fact that Crimson Axis will actively prevent them from doing so. He ordered them to pursue the attacking fleet in order to find out their staging ground, he chose the ship girls that will go on the mission, and Enterprise as the leader. As the chosen ship girls set sail to track the escaping Sakura Empire Fleet, the rest focus on repairing the base's necessary facilities, tend the wounded, and be on guard for another attack.

The Azur Lane ship girls took some time to catch up and they did, Sakura Empire was cruising back into their staging area as they lamented the fact that their raid was only partially successful, but assured themselves that they at least managed to cripple the base for a while. That is until they detected the pursuing Azur Lane ship girls in the distance, they opted to split up in order to prevent Azur Lane ship girls from discovering their staging ground. Another fight ensued between them, in the ensuing fight Sakura Empire received a communication from patrolling Ironblood ship girls led by Prinz Eugen who showed up to aid them a few moments later. Seeing the Sakura Empire fleet in a messy state, Prinz told the Sakura Empire ship girls to retreat alongside the others for now. Some argument happened between Prinz and Kaga because they have their own pride to fight too, but Prinz reasoned that they need as many people as they can to make sure the future offensive operation is a success, thus the Sakura Empire ship girls and the fleet reluctantly pulled back as Ironblood ship girls hold the line against Azur Lane ship girls.

In the ensuing fight, Enterprise realized their exhausted state and lack of preparation for prolonged combat meant they're not ready to engage the more combat ready Ironblood ship girls, so they chose to retreat. While they retreat, they know better than to lead the Ironbloods to their already damaged base, so they choose to take another route where they hopefully could lose pursuit. It was a successful attempt by Azur Lane as Ironblood ship girls received new orders to intercept an Azur Lane convoy, they proceeded to disengage, and Azur Lane ship girls managed to return despite their failure. Shikikan told them it's fine, they already tried their best.

Episode 3

The scene opens with Sakura Empire ship girls and the fleet returning to their joint staging ground between Crimson Axis members, repairs immediately commenced, and the ship girls went inland. After having a brief meeting to discuss their raid and the girls going to rest their weary bodies, the scene shows the audience of how the Sakura Empire ship girls proceed with their daily lives on the frontline in a bit of slice-of-life style. Showing the interaction between ship girls of each Crimson Axis factions, the condition of their staging ground, and their day to day routine, Nagato as the leader of Sakura Empire Naval Forces then receives new orders to prepare few ship girls to escort several technicians to a secret facility in order to work on a secret project.

Meanwhile the Ironblood patrol made contact with the convoy, it turns out to be a reinforcement from the Royal Navy. After asking Bismarck herself, the commander of Ironblood Naval Forces, the patrols were given permission to engage them. The fleet was led by Elizabeth herself and while the fleet itself looked small that's because their main convoy was far behind, the fleet that Elizabeth led is but a decoy. A huge fight ensued as the Royal Navy main convoy used their carriers to fend off Ironblood's patrol and their battleship is being merciless with their shelling, seeing the situation is unfavorable for them, Prinz ordered the fleet to disengage and escape. The Royal Navy was about to pursue before Elizabeth told them to use the planes to tail the fleeing Ironblood ship girls, their priority is to get the convoy to the base that was hit by Sakura Empire's raid.

Nagato selected Akagi and Kaga to be the escorts for the technicians, they learned that the supposed secret project is in actuality Orochi. The two ship girls also met with Observer Alpha who oversaw the construction, she got acquainted with the two of them and told them that the plan to make Orochi ready for operation will require some things to be done. Akagi and Kaga initially refused to work with her, but Observer Alpha persuaded her with the possibility of reviving her sister, Amagi from her supposed demise. When Akagi asked about the possibility, Observer Alpha mentioned that Siren technology would make it possible, and that it rivaled the power of gods. Akagi relented as she agreed to help Observer Alpha, Kaga still showed some reluctance, but with Akagi's reasoning she decided to follow Akagi. Observer Alpha then assures them that she will handle the business with Nagato and the others regarding their 'reassignment'.

Episode 4

Royal Navy convoys arrived on time to join the Azur Lane forces on the damaged base, where Shikikan was introduced to the Royal Navy's and Eagle Union's side better. Elizabeth and Hood shared their intel on what they have based on their aerial reconnaissance, Shikikan now knew where the Crimson Axis staging ground is. Shikikan was faced with a hard option, to go immediately straight in the defense of those coastal cities which Azur Lane predicted a massive battle was about to take place or divert temporarily to strike the Crimson Axis staging ground. In the war council, majority of them agreed that weakening Crimson Axis on their way to reinforce the coastal cities defenses. However, Shikikan received a communication from Azur Lane Central Command that Shikikan's amassed forces would have to wait for now due to discovery of the said Crimson Axis staging ground, if they moved in now then those amassed forces could easily flank Azur Lane's defenses. Shikikan's forces were told to wait and intercept them if the Crimson Axis decided to join the offensive, crush their forces, and attack Siren forces from the rear.

With the unexpected delay of their operation, the ship girls choose to spend their suddenly acquired free time to get to know one another. They spend time doing activities together, eating together, and even training together. No one knows how long it will be delayed, so they choose to repair the base and prepare themselves for the inevitable battle that will occur, Elizabeth immediately incorporated the Maid Corps to help with the base daily activities and sent Belfast herself to help Shikikan and Enterprise who seemed to be the ones in charge of the base. The three of them started doing their work as usual, but Belfast quickly found that Enterprise actually has a bad habit of eating MREs, so with permission from Shikikan, she would often remind Enterprise and advise her to lead a better lifestyle. Enterprise confessed that she ate MREs so she could be ready for combat anytime, and MREs could be carried around for a long time, the two talked with one another and shared experiences as the two quickly became friends.

Meanwhile, Shikikan, Elizabeth, Hood, Lexington, Yorktown discussed their next move. Hood suggested sending infiltrators into the staging area in order to acquire more intel, with sufficient ones they could attack them preemptively and perhaps end the threatening fleets before they moved. Shikikan, Yorktown, and Lexington expressed concern regarding who should go since the Eagle Union ship girls lacked good infiltrators. That's when Sheffield and Edinburgh were appointed, both of them would monitor the staging area from within, periodically sending intel to them and then send the signal to begin the attack if possible. The plan commenced a short time later, and both Sheffield and Edinburgh departed for the Crimson Axis staging area.

Episode 5

Akagi and Kaga attacked an Azur Lane research facility with several Siren units; they were tasked by Observer Alpha to recover Wisdom Cubes for Project Orochi. Kaga expressed her discomfort in working together alongside Siren units, but Akagi reassured her that it should be fine, they are to endure it if they ever want to see Amagi again. Kaga convinced herself and the both of them entered the decimated facility. Many personnel evacuated themselves and the majority of them were killed when the Siren ships commenced their shore bombardment. Akagi and Kaga proceed further when they encounter several scientists defending the cubes and tell them that they will have to take their lives if they want to take them, Akagi sighed before she resolved herself that nothing will hold her back from seeing Amagi again as she summoned her paper planes. Then she proceeded to kill the scientists, take the cubes, and escape from the area with Kaga as she thought that this would be the first of many facilities to taste their strength directly.

Azur Lane was notified that one of their research facilities was attacked, they immediately tasked ship girls from Iris Libre to investigate the cause since they are the closest. Le Triomphant alongside Saint Louis and Emile Bertin arrive on site and destroy the sieging Siren ships, the survivors greet them and provide information that there are two ship girls that lead the attack and possess fox tails. After they managed to get all the information they could from the survivors, the Iris Libre ship girls then contacted Azur Lane High Command regarding their findings, and they were told to scout the area for those ship girls as High Command proceeded to hunt for clues. Le Triomphant sent Saint Louis and Emile Bertin to scout the area as she investigated the facility further, she then found out that all of their research was still there with Wisdom Cubes being the exception.

Le Triomphant then received information that it's possible that the perpetrators for the attack are the 1st Carrier Division's fox sisters based on the information they gathered. She was told to return to their base. Meanwhile, Sheffield and Edinburgh arrived in the staging area by posing as helpers for the Sakura Empire side, since the Ironblood ship girls would be more likely to recognize any of them. It helped a lot that each faction had their own separate areas with few areas merged into one for public use such as a park and shopping area. Both of them had to be careful not to expose their identities, but found their job getting harder and harder after they managed to get themselves involved with Mutsuki and her sisters, they decided to play along for a bit and to collect intel at night. Bismarck read the reports on Azur Lane research facility's destruction from U-556 who she ordered to tail Akagi and Kaga, Bismarck wondered what those two were up to by working directly with a Siren and noted that she will find out why soon.

Episode 6

A Sardegna Empire fleet led by Littorio was on a regular patrol when she heard transmission that they had lost contact with their forward guard post near the Azur Lane base, Carabiniere wondered out loud if Azur Lane managed to find out their remote outpost used to monitor them from afar. Littorio said that if they did it might be because of their carriers though expressed no concern whatsoever, since a battleship like her would certainly defeat it if she ever spotted one. Zara commented that they should at least investigate the cause and the Sardegna Empire fleet volunteered themselves to investigate the base.

As it turns out, the transmission was sent by Sheffield who needed the area clear from any Sardegnian ship girl. She went to the shore and rendezvoused with Dace who she gave a package compiled with intel for Shikikan and the others, Dace immediately set off back into Azur Lane base. Sheffield continued her undercover activity when Edinburgh said they managed to locate Akagi and Kaga then decided to follow them, after following them for a while they stumbled upon a secret facility that housed Orochi. Both Sheffield and Edinburgh were taken aback by the size of it, Sheffield took out a camera as she photographed the ship for evidence. Before they head back, they saw that Akagi and Kaga were talking with Observer Alpha and also took photos of them. However, Akagi and Kaga's keen sense of hearing heard the camera shutter and their cover was blown, both Sheffield and Edinburgh immediately made their way to escape and decided to break the radio silence as Kaga set off the alarm.

On the Azur Lane base, Shikikan received the transmission and immediately ordered the ship girls to sortie. Belfast immediately volunteered for the mission alongside Enterprise, they organized several ship girls from Eagle Union and Royal Navy as they set to rendezvous with Sheffield and Edinburgh. However, both Sheffield and Edinburgh cannot proceed with their usual route because it was blocked by the Sardegna Empire who diverted from their task after Kaga sounded the alarm. Littorio immediately ordered them to open fire and a short battle happened between them, Sheffield contacted their base for Plan B as both she and Edinburgh escaped to different directions.

Episode 7

A large Sakura Empire ship girl fleet led by Shoukaku and Zuikaku was mobilized to search for Sheffield and Edinburgh who had to retreat into a small city island, both had chosen this spot as their hiding spot as Sheffield checked on their photos. During the last photo she noticed that Akagi was handing a cube to Observer Alpha and both girls dreaded the possibility, then they noticed that Sakura Empire had arrived and began their search for the both of them. The ship girls started a citywide manhunt aided by local Sakura Empire troops, Sheffield and Edinburgh received a transmission from Belfast that Azur Lane had waited nearby and asked for her location. Sheffield told them their location and warned them that there's a huge fleet waiting for them, Belfast assured her that they came 'prepared'.

Azur Lane began their attack to serve as a bait for Crimson Axis, Enterprise leading the attack alongside Lexington as they separated themselves into two fleets. Shoukaku and Zuikaku reacted by engaging them with several other ship girls in tow, Zuikaku faced Enterprise while Shoukaku faced Lexington. Both battles happened, while Enterprise managed to hold off Zuikaku well, Shoukaku was craftier in her tactics and managed to land a fatal blow to Lexington and forced her out of action. Shoukaku rejoined forces with Enterprise as they focused on the fleet that Enterprise leads, until they heard communication that their flank was breached by the Royal Navy fleet. Enterprise and the Eagle Union fleet were there to serve as bait, because she's out of options Shoukaku ordered Takao and Atago alongside Ayanami to go in and capture Sheffield and Edinburgh in the city. The three of them managed to find them as they tried to escape but found that Javelin, Laffey, and Belfast were there to guard them, a short battle ensued before Cleveland shouted at them to stop fighting in the middle of heavily populated areas.

By the time the fighting stops, they realize that they heavily damaged the part of the city they're in, and many civilians were injured as collateral damage. Takao said that one does not harm the innocent as they fight and sheathed her blade as both sides helped the civilians out, both sides spoke a bit, and expressed respect for one another because despite being enemies of one another both sides agreed that civilians shouldn't be involved in their fight as they fight for humanity's future. With that, both sides agreed to continue the fight on the open waters. But Takao, Atago, and Ayanami received direct orders from Nagato to pull back to their base, something has happened, and all Sakura Empire ship girls need to be present on the base. Reluctantly, both sides retreated from the battlefield while carrying their injured.

Episode 8

Vestal and the other ship girls worked hard to treat those that were wounded during the previous battle, the ship girls consoled one another that the fight is long, but together they will prevail in the end. Shikikan received the intelligence from Sheffield regarding Orochi. Shikikan held another war council and the majority of the ship girls expressed that the ship looked Siren in design aesthetics, and something that big will definitely pose a major threat if it functioned. Shikikan noted that the ship looked like it was completed, but why didn't Crimson Axis use it yet? After thinking for a while, Shikikan remembered about the reports that Azur Lane research facilities were being attacked one after another, the wisdom cubes in those facilities were the only things that were stolen. The ship girls concluded that the wisdom cubes are capable of creating miracles, and the possibility of using those cubes for Orochi is very likely. They need to act soon.

Back on the Crimson Axis staging ground, everyone was recalled in order for the release of Orochi. Nagato, Bismarck, and Vittorio declared that the time had come for the offensive operation to take place, but first they would need to destroy Azur Lane ship girl forces in order for the offensive to progress smoothly. They will rest and prepare for a while before they will make their final attack, morale was high with the addition of Orochi. In the shadows, Akagi and Kaga demanded that Observer Alpha uphold her end of the deal because they've helped her out, but Observer Alpha said their deal isn't over, yet since Orochi hasn't proved itself yet. Once Orochi proved to be a success, Observer Alpha will uphold her end of bargain. She advised Akagi and Kaga to join this final assault against Azur Lane, so they could witness just how capable Orochi would be. Akagi and Kaga started getting suspicious about Observer Alpha but decided to play along a bit longer.

Just as Akagi and Kaga returned from the secret facility, Bismarck and Nagato confronted them and asked why they kept this project a secret. Akagi and Kaga reasoned that the secrecy is necessary to prevent intel breaches, but since it was compromised already, they decided to reveal it to Crimson Axis to boost morale for the final assault. However, Bismarck wasn't fazed and demanded to know why the two of them worked closely in collaboration with the Sirens, and asked whether they already forgot that Sirens are their true enemy. Kaga then expressed her concern that the Sirens might be on their side for now, but she believes it won't be long until they will stab them in the back. Akagi starts to have doubts but she assures them that she will make sure the Sirens won't be doing anything against them before she and Kaga leave. Bismarck and Nagato didn't believe what Akagi just said because frankly speaking they are also getting suspicious of Akagi's and Kaga's independent operations. Both agreed to form a contingency plan and decide to contact someone they never thought would call, but desperate times require desperate measures.

Episode 9

Sometime has passed and the preparations are ready, Crimson Axis ship girls expressed their optimism in this massive offensive operation, and they readied themselves for the day. This will be the final operation launched from the staging area because once this is done, they will also move to another base. The ship girls expressed that it will be a shame since they made many memories in the place, and they will miss going back here. After everyone was ready, they parted ways from the regular Crimson Axis naval forces and then set out with Orochi in a formation filled entirely with ship girls. Vittorio asked Bismarck regarding last night's plan, Bismarck said that she's confident that it will work, but they have to be convincing about it.

Hornet was on patrol when she detected movement from her aircraft, she widened her eyes in realization and notified Shikikan that Orochi is on the move. Shikikan immediately gathered the leaders in preparation for a large-scale battle, he then explained to them that there's additional information regarding Orochi, and he received it from a trusted source. The ship girls then prepared their defenses, majority of them waited until Orochi was within sight while several carriers attacked with their aircraft earlier on to harass the Crimson Axis formation and gather intel on them. Nagato saw that Azur Lane already noticed them and ordered that the assault was to commence immediately, two sides worth a hundred ship girls stared at each other across the horizon before the battle commenced.

Everyone is in the massive fight, even Bismarck, Nagato, and Vittorio joined the fray personally. The battle happened for a while, Bismarck and Prinz had to face off against Hood and Wales directly, Enterprise, Yorktown, and Hornet had to face Sakura Empire Carrier Divisions, Illustrious and Formidable squaring off against Sardegna Empire ship girls, and many others involved in straight up artillery fights or use their personal weapons for close quarter attacks. Shikikan watched calmly from his command room with Belfast beside him, Shikikan looked at the large screen in front of Shikikan when the screen showed warning signs for an anomaly and the whole area turned into a Mirror Sea. The ship girls were startled and confused, but Nagato, Bismarck, Vittorio, Enterprise, Elizabeth, and Shikikan smiled because the prediction became a reality, and it's time to execute the contingency plan.

Episode 10

This entire operation was a trap schemed by Observer Alpha to eliminate the majority of the ship girls in one fell swoop, she then summoned Siren ship girls alongside mass produced Siren ships and surrounded the entire area. That's when Shikikan opened an open communication channel to Crimson Axis' side and spoke directly to Bismarck, Nagato, and Vittorio that it's time to enact Plan Origin. They agreed, and Shikikan announced loud and clearly on the open channel that Azur Lane and Crimson Axis would fight the Siren as allies without exception. This announcement shocked those who weren't told, but when considering the situation, all of them didn't hesitate to turn their guns from another into the approaching Siren forces.

Another battle ensued as the joint forces of Azur Lane and Crimson Axis fought against the Sirens, the leaders of the ship girls met in one location and banded together surrounded by the other ship girls. Observer Alpha giggled in amusement before she showed herself in front of them, she openly wondered how her intention was founded out. Bismarck simply stated that their alliance would doom to fail from the start, and that it's only a matter of time before Sirens would stab them in the back, Observer Alpha clapped and congratulated them for figuring it out before someone else appeared beside her and revealed to be Purifier. The battle resumed, Observer Alpha hanged back as Purifier stayed and challenged those who sought to sink her. Shikikan noticed that the fight wouldn't last long if they didn't act soon, Shikikan quickly studied the Sirens formation and concluded that Orochi won't be joining the battle directly. Shikikan contacted Crimson Axis ship girl leaders to ask permission in commanding their forces, one that they agreed to and Shikikan started issuing orders on what to do.

Akagi and Kaga sneaked off and confronted Observer Alpha directly while enraged that she wouldn't uphold her end of bargain, the three fought her, but Alpha managed to beat the two and fatally damaged them to the point that both couldn't fight anymore. Alpha watched the battle, and she noticed that the ship girls were coordinated, both Azur Lane and Crimson Axis forces fought beside each other effectively. Purifier contacted her to tell that these ship girls received orders from someone else. Observer Alpha confirmed Purifier's statement as she noticed that the fight is slowly but surely tipping in Azur Lane and Crimson Axis favor. They decided to retreat for now and employed Orochi to use, but to do that they would need to arm it with their own weaponry, Observer Alpha predicted the refit would at least take three days and then vanished alongside the other ship girls while leaving the mass produced ships to stay and cause as much as damage them could before their inevitable destruction.

Episode 11

Crimson Axis decided to stay with Azur Lane on the base, the leaders gathered in Shikikan's office to talk properly this time and in a video conference with High Command of both sides. After explaining the situation to them, it was revealed that Crimson Axis High Command predicted that this would happen soon and already made plans to adjust to the situation, and that the massive Siren attack they predicted 'never came to fruition'. It was agreed that Azur Lane and Crimson Axis would enter a new alliance and fight together as a united front, just like they used to do before the split. They noted that Shikikan's strategic performance during the massive battle was impressive, and they made shikikan as the commander of the combined ship girls' joint task forces as they believe Shikikan is the most suited person for the task, after that clears up Shikikan and the ship girl leaders decided to talk about the more imminent problems. Making sure that the ship girls won't kill each other now that they're living together.

However, shenanigans ensued as both sides still bear grudges at each other. Shikikan was involved directly in defusing many of the tension between them before it could blow up into a second civil war between them, those that were less hostile with each other started to get to know one another and tried to live harmoniously. In the precious down time they got, everyone was busy preparing themselves for the next battle and making friends with one another. It was a sight that brought nostalgia to Shikikan's eyes, the first time Azur Lane was conceived, ship girls and regular soldiers all fought together in a united front and displayed the truest unyielding resolve of human resistance. Shikikan then visited the wounded and talked to Akagi in the sick bed, she explained her motivation to help the Sirens and expressed her regret that she should know better than to trust their enemies, but she was blinded by her greed and selfishness to see her sister again. (This episode could be used for fan service, no, please, make this one where the girls took a hot bath together! What do we need for that scene in episode 6? Even more girls from Crimson Axis' side with hot bods!).

A few days after the battle, and now that everyone was already getting used to living with one another, they received news that a major city was obliterated in a Siren attack that had Orochi in its formation. The devastating strike came from a missile that was fired from Orochi, it impacted the city and basically destroyed it in a thermonuclear explosion. Shikikan came up with a plan to put Orochi down for good and the ship girls all agreed to it, Shikikan then contacted Azur Lane High Command and Crimson Axis High Command regarding his plan which they found to be reckless, but it's a surefire way to eliminate Orochi. They agreed to the plan and the next morning, Shikikan assembled the ship girls in preparation for Operation Crimson Lane. Their objective, destroy Orochi no matter the cost.

Episode 12

Intel that they received revealed that Orochi is en route to attack another human city, this time it's a big metropolis with millions of people living in it. Although the majority of them have been evacuated into underground shelters and the regular army is prepared to fight, Orochi could easily decimate them and only ship girls that could stand a chance. Shikikan also personally joined the fleet to fight the Orochi above a special command ship, Shikikan will directly command the attacking forces that participate in Operation Crimson Lane. Orochi was soon in sight and the battle commenced, however, the Sirens anticipated the massive attack and deployed massive forces to protect Orochi as it prepared to launch its weapon of mass destruction.

The fight didn't go well as ship girls made little progress to breach the Siren defenses, but Shikikan convinced them to have faith because it's still according to plan. All of a sudden Shikikan executed an offensive tactic, a combined submarine ship girl fleet suddenly raided a few key ships important in the Sirens' defenses. While the Sirens try to adjust with the sudden attack, reinforcement has arrived. The remaining ship girls from all factions arrived on site to support the attack according to shikikan's request, Eagle Union, Royal Navy, Sakura Empire, Ironblood, Dragon Empery, Iris Libre, Vichya Dominion, and even Northern Parliament were all present. The reinforcement allowed them to push the Sirens' defense line all the way that forced Orochi to participate in combat directly, however, it failed as the ship girls combined relentless offensive left its escort in pieces. Then, they commenced the final attack. Shells, torpedoes, and air strikes repeatedly slammed Orochi's hull until it couldn't take any more, and it sank as the gargantuan ship split in two. The ship girls cheered at their victory, and the whole city population thanked them for what they did. The city celebrates this major victory, and the ship girls are all invited.

During the celebration, Shikikan went to the rooftop of the building where the celebration was held to take a breath of fresh air. All of a sudden Shikikan was joined with Observer Alpha who commended Shikikan for the victory today, she confessed that Shikikan wasn't a variable that she accounted for when they created Orochi for trapping the ship girls. Shikikan expressed that as long as Shikikan is alive, Shikikan will make sure to thwart whatever Observer Alpha was planning. Observer Alpha giggled as she disappeared into the portal while she promised to visit him again soon with her forces in tow. Shikikan fearlessly said that they will be waiting for that moment. The door to the rooftop was opened, and several ship girls asked what was taking Shikikan so long outside, and the fact that Shikikan was needed to give a speech at the party. They dragged Shikikan back inside as Shikikan wondered what would happen in the future, and Shikikan was eager to witness it.

…Well, THERE, DONE! At least that's how I would write the storyline if it was left up to me…Wow, this might be the longest afterword that I ever wrote in my entire life. But that's how I feel regarding Azur Lane The Animation, thank you for reading it until the end. Anyway, that's all for now and let me know your thoughts.

See you next time!

- Dasmara