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.

33. Liberty Falls

Belfast hummed a bit as she cooked the salmon fillets which were sizzling on top of the frying pan. She watched them attentively before she took them out and put the salmon on top of the plate. She brought the plate toward the top of the dining table, and she smiled at her work for the past one hour…A hearty eastern style breakfast with rice, salmon fillets, miso soup, and salad complimented with a pot of freshly brewed tea. She thought that changing the breakfast menu might boost William's mood in the morning. That's the reason why she prepared Sakura Empire styled breakfast today after she learned a bit about their cuisine, William could serve as her proving ground. Belfast noted that the washing machine was beeping, so she headed toward the bathroom area where the washing machine is located. She took out the clothes inside, put them in the basket, and then brought them out to the backyard where she proceeded to hang them one by one.

Belfast noted that it's around nine in the morning, and William has basically overslept. It's his day off, but that doesn't mean he could just sleep all the way until noon because it will mess up his sleeping schedule. She aimed to keep him as healthy as possible after all, physically and mentally. She made her way upstairs toward the master bedroom, she opened the door, and she's immediately faced with the view of William Blaze sleeping peacefully on top of the king-sized bed without clothes adorning his upper body as he goes to sleep only with his boxers. Belfast climbed the bed and sat beside William then shook his left shoulder lightly, he woke up quicker when his body was physically touched compared to being spoken to.

"Good morning master." Belfast said to William as she noticed him waking up.

"…Urgh…Belfast?" William groaned a bit as he tried to open his right eye.

"Yes, it's me, please wake up." Belfast said to William while she smiled a bit.

"…I'm still sleepy, five more minutes." William said immediately before he closed his eye.

"Ah, you're being quite uncooperative today…In that case, I will resort to a more drastic measure~" Belfast said to William while she smirked a bit.

She couldn't put something metallic over his neck, she learned that when she woke him up for the first time ever since he became a base commander. Her little prank ended up with her being flipped and pinned down to bed, he specifically requested her not to do that again. So, if she couldn't do that? Maybe she'll try a different approach this time. Belfast approached William's left ear, and she softly blew on it. She noticed that the large man shuddered, but still closed his eye as he attempted to sleep once more. Her smirk grows wider before she closes in even further while opening her mouth a bit, then she playfully bites his left ear then nibbles it. That successfully caused William to open his eye as he shot up in combination of shock and slight arousal, he stared at Belfast with annoyed glare before he sighed in resignation.

"Hah! Alright! Alright! I'm up! You tease…" William said to Belfast while he frowned.

"Ufufufu, that seems to work well~. Wash your face, brush your teeth then please head straight to the dining room, breakfast is served." Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"Fine…" William said while he rubbed his right eye.

William reached for the nightstand and grabbed his eye patch before he got down from bed and stretched himself, then he made his way to the bathroom. He washed his face, brushed his teeth, and that's when he noticed it…His beard had grown again. While having a beard will amplify his badassery (biased) by several folds, the young destroyers didn't like it because it tickled them whenever one of them snuggled on his cheek…Most of the mature girls dig it though. However, because they also didn't mind it when he didn't have a beard, he chose to shave it to cater to the young destroyers…After that, he put on his eye patch and headed for the dining room where he could see that breakfast had been served. William didn't waste any more time as he devoured his breakfast fervently, a change of pace compared to the western styled breakfast is great, and Belfast did a splendid job in cooking the meal. After he's done, William pulls out a tablet that he uses to browse for news around the world while Belfast cleans up the dirty dishes…

"…Any interesting news, master?" Belfast asked William while she's cleaning the plates.

"I haven't read much as I'm still following the news about those Brawlers in the New York underground tunnel network." William said to Belfast as he read the news.

"Ah, that one…Did High Commander Lucas ask you to handle the problem?" Belfast asked William as she put the plates back on the racks.

"No, he said that the regional troops will handle those Brawlers. It's a tough situation, he said, but they're handling it quite well." William said to Belfast.

The Brawlers that appeared in New York's underground tunnel have been a real pain in the ass for Azur Lane, thanks to them the entire subway system has been sealed and none of the trains are operational. The Brawlers are also predicted to have a nest somewhere in the subway, and Azur Lane is running out of options to handle them. It's gotten to the point where Azur Lane is seriously considering the use of chemical weapons to sterilize the entire subway, although experts and scientists are heavily against the method since if it goes wrong then New York's citizens will be subjected to deadly chemical weapon exposure, so the plan is put on hold for now. All Azur Lane could do for now is to send in infantry and set up choke points across the subway intersections and stations by fortifying them with mines and machine guns.

It's described as a dark hell assignment or LV-426 rip off due to its enclosed spaces and close quarter combat against aliens that could ambush them at any time, facing Brawlers in close quarters is suicide for most people due to their natural strength, and the Larva that appeared alongside them on occasion are annoying pieces of shit to kill since they could scale walls and could turn humans into more Brawlers if given the chance to…The soldiers use everything that would be effective in underground environments like motion sensors, various forms of lethal mines, flamethrowers, and all of them are armed with backup shotguns since it's the only gun that could stop a Brawler dead in its tracks with one shot, especially if it's loaded with 8 gauge shells.

"Is that so? But if given the choice, will you go to help?" Belfast asked William as she refilled his cup with tea.

"…No, my duty is to serve as the commander for all of you, so I won't abandon the base just to go and kill some Brawlers. Besides, I have more important tasks to do at the moment." William said to Belfast as he smiled a bit.

"Your training, isn't it?" Belfast asked William.

"Yeah." William said to Belfast while he nodded.

"Reading books every day, spending most of your early morning practicing swordsmanship with Madam Warspite, spending your free time in the afternoon to train your body, or studying…You are pushing yourself hard, master." Belfast said to William while she smiled a bit.

"That I am." William said to Belfast then sipped on his tea.

"The others are concerned that you could collapse from overworking, master. Though, it would seem you didn't get the hints." Belfast said to William while she smiled a bit.

"I now noticed them after Atago and Takao talked to me about it…I'm a bit slow huh? Hahahaha…" William said to Belfast while he smiled awkwardly.

"Indeed you are, that shows us that when you're obsessed with something…you could forget about everything else, the little details." Belfast said to William.

"…I see…" William said to Belfast as he returned his gaze back to the tablet he held.

…Well in a sense he did focus too much on improving himself that the frequency he interacted with the ship girls lessened, he's that determined to become stronger and better. But that issue was settled after Takao and Atago talked to him about it in the canteen, now he actually took two days a week where he would clear out his afternoon schedule in order to interact with everyone as much as he could. Today is William's day off, and he definitely need a breather since he has been abusing his own body for the past week by performing intense exercises to improve his endurance, his body is sore all over, and his suffering was alleviated a bit with Atago's help when she massaged him…William could still feel the aches in his muscles when the front door was knocked a few times.

"Come in." William said out loud.

"…Ohayou nya!" It was Akashi who then greeted him while she grinned.

"Morning. You need me for something, Akashi?" William asked Akashi.

"Hai, your armor is completed! We need you near Shiranui's shop, nya!" Akashi said to William.

"Why there?" William asked Akashi as he narrowed his eye.

"Because it's outdoors? At least if you blew up, the fire could be easily contained nya~" Akashi said to William while she smiled teasingly.

"Great…want to come with me, Bel?" William asked Belfast.

"Please go ahead, my task isn't finished yet." Belfast said to William.

Akashi and William headed straight for Shiranui's shop where Akashi had set up the necessary equipment for William to equip the armor, he couldn't help but to smile at the prospect of trying the new armor that Akashi and the others made. Oh, this time Akashi didn't work alone because she's got a team prepared beforehand. Akashi herself as the project lead and designer of the armor's aesthetics, Yuubari, who's in charge with the armor's operational systems, and Admiral Hipper who assembled the armor alongside all of the components with the help of the Manjuus. The three of them aimed to create a better armor platform than Albion that will help William in the frontline greatly, Akashi has learned all she could from the previous armor, and she want to make this new one as efficient as possible…They arrived near the shop, and it's quite crowded since there are several Royal Navy and Eagle Union ship girls that stopped by near the equipment set up.

"Quite a crowd we got over here." William commented as he approached the crowd, the girls turned around and greeted him.

"Ah commander, we're just done with breakfast when we saw this preparation." Cleveland said to William while she grinned.

"So all of you decided to wait for the demonstration?" William asked back as he looked at the equipment set up.

"Of course, we are quite curious since we never saw you with your armor." Illustrious said to William while she smiled.

"Right, you ladies didn't participate in Furushima…Oh well, let's get this over with." William said out loud.

"Ah you're here, equip the undersuit immediately, kommandant, and we'll start with the testing." Hipper said to William as she pointed toward Shiranui's shop rear entrance.

William nodded his head and entered the shop's rear entrance, he saw that Yuubari and Akashi had prepared his new undersuit and motioned him to strip his own clothes, so that's what he did. William was in his boxers when Yuubari mentioned that he should also take it off so he did, albeit a bit hesitant to do so. After he untangled his boxers away, William accepted the undersuit and noticed that it's quite flabby, which allowed him to easily slip inside the suit. Akashi and Yuubari then pressed the trigger on the undersuit's upper backside which caused the suit to pressurize and seal itself onto William's body, the man was a bit surprised when the suit did so, but he immediately could notice the difference between Albion's undersuit and this one. This one is tighter yet the joint parts are flexible as he could move himself and his limbs around without being hindered by the undersuit's tightness, the crotch part is quite comfortable for his 'equipment' as well. However, in a sense, it's bulkier in some parts compared to Albion's undersuit with the most prominent one being that the undersuit's torso is thicker than the previous model.

"…This one is quite bulky, more so than the previous one." William commented as he stared at the suit.

"We redesigned it based on your combat data from Furushima nya, this one is now padded with protective Kevlar padding alongside ballistic ceramic and gel. It also doubles as a flight suit since this armor is integrated with the jet thruster." Akashi explained to William.

"Nice…Alright, I'm ready." William said out loud.

"Hai, go outside and step into the machine shikikan." Yuubari said to William.

He nodded his head and headed outside, where Hipper had been waiting beside a round podium with mechanical limbs around it and Manjuus on standby. William stepped onto the podium, and Hipper started working. There's a tall rectangular metal box behind the podium, and Hipper opened it to reveal the armor parts, which the mechanical limbs quickly took and assembled it on William's body, the Manjuus assisted with the adjustments as the armor parts are put together piece by piece. First to be equipped is the chest plating which is the bulkiest out of all the other parts, then followed by crotch armor, before the shoulder armor was attached, then followed by his arm and leg armor, including the metallic boots…The ship girls watched as the final armor piece, which is the helmet, was fastened onto William, they couldn't help but be amazed at the team's fruit of labor…

"Whoa, it looks great on him." Enterprise muttered as she nodded her head in approval.

"He looks a bit scary…" Honolulu muttered as she stared at William.

"The design of his armor, his head looks like a reptile, and the armor parts look scaly in nature." Wales commented as she stared at William.

The Serpent Armor really lived up to its name. Cobalt painted armor with segmented armor pieces, menacing helmet with lizard head design that has two glowing 'eyes' complimented by a golden polarized visor, and a jetpack attachment on its backside with thrust vectoring exhaust ports. Akashi made the appearance to be menacing as a psychological trick, even though she didn't know how it will affect the Sirens, it certainly will be effective against human opponents. Albion was made with reinforced titanium alloy, and Akashi didn't hesitate to use less dense titanium, yet coated them with tungsten and added Kevlar padding underneath the armor. That way the jetpacks could work with less strain due to the weight reduction with the sacrifice on overall defense due to the thinner armor plating. The armor is meant to be the last resort, to stave off some unavoidable hits instead of tanking the incoming attacks like Albion or the Praetorian armor concept.

"That's the design motif, Wales-san. This is called the Serpent Armor, made with an emphasis on mobility and agility. It's also made with the best technology humanity has right now nya." Akashi explained to Wales while she smiled widely.

"Booting the OS now…We improved the armor operating system so it will load faster, integrated it with many features, and is capable of self-modifying its own OS in the field depending on your needs. Now you will be able to see your overall health based upon the medical sensors we put on the armor. We simplified it into a bar to make it easier to read, if it's depleted…well, you're basically dead." Hipper explained to William as his cyan colored internal helmet HUD went online.

"Okaayyy…noted." William said to Hipper as he stared at the 'health' bar.

"We improved the radar as well by cross-functioning it with the new identification system on your HUD, bringing them online now." Hipper said to William.

"…I could see the ladies outlined in green, there's their names on it too." William commented as he watched the girls in front of him are outlined in thin green outline.

"That's because with the addition of the self-upgrading database we installed on your armor, it also has a prototype artificial intelligence who manages these systems, nya. Say hello to the Artificial Intelligence Base Operational Unit! Or, for short, AIBOU! It means partner in Japanese, by the way. She works with a voice command module…Try asking Aibou to 'scan the area' around you, nya." Akashi said to William.

"…Aibou, scan the area." William said out loud.

"Scanning...No threat found; ten friendlies detected." A female voice could be heard responding to his command.

William's armor display briefly displayed a cyan circular line coming from his body that travels on the ground and sweeps through the area, then various things are highlighted with outlining in various colors. The scenery like buildings, trees, furniture are highlighted in white outlining, the equipment around him are outlined in yellow, the ship girls and the Manjuus are outlined in green…William directed his gaze toward one of the ship girls and focused his gaze on St. Louis, who stared at him curiously, then all of a sudden, a window pops up beside her. It showed her official photo in the Azur Lane database, her name, her general stats like designation, affiliation, height, weight, and surprisingly her three sizes…Wow, this scanner feature is quite useful…

"Lou, is it true that you weigh fifty-six kilograms?" William bluntly asked St. Louis.

"W-What?! H-How did you…" St. Louis stammered as she looked at William in confusion with red cheeks.

"I'm just trying the scanner feature on this armor, it's really useful." William said to St. Louis while he smirked.

"Ugh…now everyone knows…" St. Louis muttered as she averted her gaze while she shifted awkwardly.

"Urk, it knows your weight just from scanning?" Enterprise went rigid when she heard that.

"Whoa whoa whoa tiger! Uncool! Ya can't just blab about a girl's weight out loud like that!" Hornet said to William with hands on her hips while she frowned.

"Uwaaa…that's a dangerous feature." Cleveland muttered to herself.

"Oh dear, that is a breach of private information." Illustrious said out loud while she smiled awkwardly.

"Indeed, that scanner should be used wisely." Hood said out loud.

"Hey dummkopf, focus!" Hipper said to William while she frowned.

"Oh right, sorry." William said to Hipper before he returned his attention to her.

"…The things that are tagged after the scan feature is used will remain tagged for quite a while, be mindful that if you lose sight of the object the mark will also disappear after a short period of time. We're still working on the sensor to be more reliable and powerful enough to keep an object tagged indefinitely." Hipper explained to William.

"Don't worry, it still helps a lot." William said to Hipper while he smiled.

"Alright, next, try the integrated vision mode." Hipper said to William.

"Aibou, activate night vision. AGH! MY EYE!" William said out loud before he shouted as he's basically being blinded.

"Of course you will go blind when you activate night vision in daytime, dummkopf!" Hipper said out loud in exasperation.

"Aibou, night vision off! How many vision modes does this armor have?" William asked Hipper.

"Right now? It only has Night Vision and Thermal…Okay, time to check the movement. Disengaging armor lock." Hipper said to William.

The HUD briefly flashed the word 'Lock Disengaged' in the center of the HUD before William could move around freely, just like when he tested Albion armor, he immediately tried to be as frisky as possible. He ran around, jumped, rolled, performing punches and kicks. It was clear that this armor is significantly less heavy than Albion because he didn't make a huge sound when he landed on the pavement, he felt free in moving around as if he's naked but being clothed at the same time…After letting William move around for a while, Yuubari brought out three steel plates to test the armor's exoskeleton power.

"This armor is made to be light yet still able to deliver devastating melee strikes due to its state-of-the-art exoskeleton frame, for that purpose alone we have prepared you standard steel plates here. Try punching them shikikan, with all you got." Yuubari said to William as she prepared the steel platings that's being held by one of the mechanical arms.

BANK!

William didn't hesitate as he dashed forward and launched unrestrained right hooks toward the steel plates, his natural strength combined with the exoskeleton power sent his fist through the first and second steel plates while bending the third one, and all of them were thrown quite some distance away. With the combined strength that he has with this armor, it looks like he could brawl a Brawler head on without any worries. He also doesn't feel much of the pain that usually comes with punching a metal plate head on, why is that?

"…Whoa…I don't even feel that much pain." William commented as he stared at his right fist.

"I forgot to tell you that there's a kinetic gel layer within the undersuit, it helps a lot against harsh impacts." Yuubari said to William.

"I see…Akashi, I noticed the jet thrusters. Can I use it?" William asked Akashi, this is the feature he's been looking forward to testing.

"We're still prototyping the optimal control for the jet thruster, but for the early version we could get it to work by using the armor's hand parts as the control scheme. Try the flight mode, shikikan nya." Akashi said to William.

"Aibou, flight mode." William said out loud.

"Flight mode engaged." Aibou said out loud.

"Now, form your hand like you're holding the levers and controller for a fighter jet shikikan." Akashi said to William.

"Alright, let's try hovering at least." William said to Akashi.

The HUD changed by adding a fighter jet HUD where it has an altitude meter and speedometer, William formed his left hand as if he's holding the accelerator and his right hand holding the flight stick for the jetpack he rode on Eden. He slowly pushed his left forearm forward, and he could hear the roar of jet engines from his backside. William pushed even further slowly, and he felt himself lifted off the ground slowly. When he stopped pushing, he found himself hovering around two meters off the ground, the ship girls stared in excitement at seeing the armor work its main feature. William's lips slowly morphed from smiling into a full-blown grin, he could finally fly without having to worry about fuel since the Wisdom cube provided the power for the armor.

"Great first take off nya!" Akashi said to William while she grinned.

"Oh no, why do I sense that he will-" Hood said out loud.

WHOOSH!

"And there he goes." Hood said out loud with half closed eyes.

Flying freely and this time wearing armor that also acts as a flight suit? William couldn't help himself by going up high in the sky while pulling off sharp turns and maneuver. The thrust vectoring tech really helps with his maneuverability since the armor doesn't have wings, but some stabilizer thrusters instead, which are located on his rear legs and rear upper arms. He flew all the way upwards, up to two kilometers off the ground. He briefly stared at their base and the city next to it. While he's tempted to take it for a ride above the city's skyline, he thought it's unwise to do so since that could spread rumors and possibly get tagged by the city's defensive emplacements. So he just disengaged his thrusters, fell down and reactivated it around one hundred meters off the surface of the sea. William flew at high speed before he slowed down near Shiranui's shop and landed not so smoothly, so to stop himself from crashing he had to slide on the ground using his legs as the brake…

"…I'm in love with this armor!" William said out loud while he grinned.

"Great that you do shikikan, at least you could fly it without crashing nya." Akashi said to William.

"Shiranui-san won't be pleased to see that trail in her backyard however." Yuubari said out loud while she pointed at the trail William created when he landed.

"Yeah, I'll tell the Manjuus to patch it up later…Want to try it, Enterprise?" William asked Enterprise.

"R-Really?! I could also fly without having to worry about fuel!?" Enterprise asked William in disbelief while she smiled widely.

"Hate to say this, but you can't equip his armor, Enterprise-san." Akashi said to Enterprise.

"Eh? Why?!" Enterprise asked Akashi while she frowned.

"For starters, the size is catered to shikikan's size. The armor wouldn't fit, even with its self-sealing ability." Akashi said to Enterprise.

"Aww…" Enterprise muttered to herself while she pouted.

"Good news is, you can still use the prototype jetpack we received from Eden. Since we still need the data, do you want to test it whenever we conduct an experiment? We could use someone who's willing to fly around~" Akashi asked Enterprise while she grinned.

"Yes, I'd love to!" Enterprise said to Akashi without delay while she smiled.

"Whoa! No hesitation whatsoever!" Hornet said out loud as she stared at Enterprise.

"It seems I've grown addicted to flying, Hornet." Enterprise said to Hornet.

"I could see that…" Hornet said to Enterprise with half closed eyes.

"Excellent decision! Look forward to my call nya~…" Akashi said to Enterprise while she grinned.

"…Anything else I need to know about the armor?" William asked Hipper after he watched Akashi persuading Enterprise.

"Take a look above your health meter, I'm activating your armor energy shield module." Hipper said to William.

"Wait, what?!" William asked out loud.

That can't be true, personal energy shield? William had a hard time believing her words until he noted that his body glows blue as the energy shield enveloped his whole body, then it disappeared as the new shield meter on his HUD filled completely…It's a real energy shield! William couldn't help himself but to be amazed at what the team could build, a personal energy shield would mean he won't have to worry about staying behind cover all the time! That also means he could take some hits without having to really worry about damaging his armor plating! Man, this basically allows him to charge at the enemy line to conduct lightning raids, especially with the jet thruster being available! But he needs to always remember the fact that this armor isn't built to tank enemy attacks, so he will need to do his best to avoid them as best as he could, though considering the strength plus speed boost and the features the armor has, William is confident with his chances.

"The energy shield technology received a breakthrough a week ago. Unlike the shielding that Eugen, Zara, or even I have, this model envelops your whole body and protects you from incoming damage. When it's dormant it will exist in a very thin level, so it won't be noticeable by naked eyes, but if you're to take damage-" Hipper said to William before she hit his right shoulder with a spanner.

BANK!

"Hey! Wait, I didn't feel a thing except for the impact…" William said to Hipper as he stared at his right shoulder which glows blue for a split second.

"That's the beauty of it. Though this shield is still in prototype stage, it's not powerful enough to take on ship grade weapons like a ship girl has, take note of that!" Hipper said to William while she pointed at him with the spanner in her right hand.

"Right, of course." William said to Hipper while he nodded his head.

"Okay, your shield meter will beep continuously if it has only twenty percent strength left and will ring a continuous alarm if it's depleted. It will approximately take four seconds to recharge, so if your shield is down, find cover. Next, try to clench your fists and jerk your arm downwards." Hipper said to William.

William did it immediately, and there's a metallic sound coming from his wrists that prompted him to stare. His mouth opened a bit in awe as he stared at two blades that extended from beneath his upper wrist armor. A twenty centimeter long and five centimeters wide blade, William set his stance and swung his arms for a bit. It's like having two combat knives that he could deploy at a moment's notice. Even though it's less flexible because he couldn't twirl the knife around, it's still a deadly feature which can make him able to murder anyone in close quarter without much hassle.

"Neat." William commented as he stared at the blades.

"That should serve well as your knife replacement. We noticed that a Brawler is a hard bastard to take down even with powerful punches, those blades should help you in facing them or any hostiles in close quarters. You'll want additional melee weapons other than a broadsword." Hipper said to William.

"Any safety measures? Because I'm afraid I could cut my forearms off in an accident with the blades' positioning." William asked Hipper while he stared at her.

"We did put small sensors that will prevent the blades from being unsheathed if your hand is in the way." Hipper said to William.

"Glad to hear that." William said to Hipper while he smiled.

"Sheathe it back by pointing your arm downwards then jerk it upwards." Hipper said to William.

"…Done. Quite easy to operate." William commented as he sheathed the wrist blades.

"Ah, for the last feature, face that tree nya." Akashi said to William as she approached him.

"Okay, what now?" William said to Akashi as he faced toward the nearby tree.

"Jerk your lower arm forward while opening your palm at the same time." Akashi said to William.

Hmm? There's another feature for the wrist part of the armor? William did as he was told, and he was surprised when something shot out from his lower wrist armor, a metallic hook that is connected to a thin line which fired and attached itself to the tree. Apparently, Akashi decided that it's a good idea to put a grappling hook on this armor. Not that William is complaining, he's already got some crazy ideas on how to utilize it against enemies or when he decided that jet thrusters would be too noisy to climb a building. This armor is packed with features and he's loving every piece of it!

"Grappling hook?!" William asked out loud in surprise.

"Made from Kevlar weaved with nano technology and a titanium hook, these babies are tough as nails! It only has a range of ten meters, so don't try to use it to swing around like Spiderman nya!" Akashi said to William.

"Nice!" William commented while he grinned.

"You could release the hook by yanking the thread without holding it." Akashi said to William.

"So the hook will still be deployed if I hold the rope?" William asked Akashi.

"Pretty much nya, there are loads of sensors in your armor parts after all, so it's easy to make it so." Akashi said to William.

"This armor is packed with features, and I'm loving it, thank you Akashi, Yuubari, Hipper." William said to the three ladies.

"It was fun building the armor, shikikan! It certainly gives me lots of experience!" Yuubari said to William while she smiled.

"Ma, ma, thank you for your patronage nya~" Akashi said to William while she grinned.

"Well, with this armor, hopefully you won't end up like you did on Furushima, I won't forgive you if that happens again!" Hipper said to William with hands on her hips.

William pitched a lot of his money to build this armor, he trusted Akashi with the funds he had in his savings, so she could build the Serpent armor. The base has most of the materials for the armor, but there's a few things that the team has to buy from outside the base…The team worked for weeks ever since William's decision to go with Serpent armor, and they finally completed it yesterday. The armor should help William immensely especially when he could fly around as he pleased now. The man resolved to get himself used to the armor as quickly as he could, he planned to train himself while equipping the armor from now on.

"Warspite, from now on, can I train while using this armor?" William asked Warspite while he grinned.

"Sure. I think getting used to it would be quite beneficial, you better give everything you got from now on!" Warspite said to William after she watched him without commenting anything.

"Count on it!" William said to Warspite while he nodded his head.

.

…Midnight swung his obsidian black longsword to the side that resulted in the wall to his right being splattered in red, two Azur Lane riflemen in front of him fell to the floor headless. The Siren sighed a bit as he looked around the place that he's in, a subway station which has been turned into a temporary command center for the operation against the Brawlers within the subway network. The station is deathly silent with corpses littered around the area, most of them were human soldiers who died with massive gashes on their bodies or completely losing their heads. Midnight looked around to make sure he didn't miss anyone alive before he opened a portal by snapping his left finger, he then immediately entered the said portal and emerged on top of a skyscraper overlooking the whole New York area. In front of him? There stood Nyx, Observer Alpha, and Tester Beta who were waiting for him to show up.

"…I did my part." Midnight said to the Sirens.

"We saw, you're being merciless to those soldiers." Nyx said to Midnight.

"…They will die sooner or later." Nyx said to Midnight.

"I know, doesn't excuse you for being a dick anyway. Will it kill you to let some of them escape?" Nyx asked Midnight.

"…Your sympathy is quite suspicious, Nyx…Why do you care so much about these humans?" Midnight asked Nyx while he folded his arms.

"Because I've busted my arse preparing them, Midnight, for this entire thing. Do you want them to evolve faster? You nurture and prepare them…You could jeopardize the entire experiment by killing everyone, dead men tell no tales." Nyx said to Midnight while he shook his head sideways.

"In a sense, Nyx is right. We need to leave some survivors or this entire experiment won't yield any of the intended results, I commend your ruthlessness, but do exercise some restraint, Midnight." Observer Alpha suddenly said out loud.

"…I understand." Midnight said to Observer Alpha as he nodded his head.

"Good…Also, it has come to my attention that the military in this timeline just boosted its production rate, there have been reports of new weapons and technology currently being tested in their facilities. It would seem in a way we manage to make them improve…I think it's time to begin the operation." Observer Alpha said out loud.

"Wait a second, you agreed to commence the attack in three months since we sent the Brawlers in, it's only been two and a half months, have some patience." Nyx said to Observer Alpha.

"I know, but the situation improved significantly for them. It will even the odds." Observer Alpha said to Nyx while she smirked.

"You're not going to wait until they perfected the technology that they're testing huh? That's a bit of a cheap shot, even for the Sirens." Nyx said to Observer Alpha in exasperated tone.

"They will perfect it, on the battlefield. It is the most effective method in testing any prototype." Observer Alpha said to Nyx as she walked to the edge of the skyscraper's roof.

"…Well, I can't argue with that." Nyx said to Observer Alpha.

"…Beta, start the experiment." Observer Alpha said to Tester Beta.

"Commencing experiment, initiating phase one of Operation Liberty Falls…Invasion commences in three…two…one…" Tester Beta said out loud.

…New York citizens are doing their daily activity in the clear autumn noon, it's business as usual despite the news about Brawlers inside the subway stations. The temporary solution is to block all access to the subways and stop using them. It works even though it inconveniences those who usually took them, but there's still the trains on the surface area. Unknown to them, they're about to have their day ruined as countless purple portals appear in the sky above New York, everyone's attention is immediately taken by them and countless people immortalize the moment with their phone cameras. The citizens aren't exactly told how the Sirens appeared in the frontline, they're about to find out directly…A minute later, the sky is blackened as hundreds or even thousands of Siren fighters appear out of the sky and followed by hundreds of Siren dropships. But that's not all because after the dropships, even bigger aircraft than the dropships also appeared out of the portals. The entire sky is covered by the hulking black machines, they even manage to cover the sun with how many are present above the city. The citizens now know that whatever that's going to happen in the future, they know that their lives are in grave danger.

The jets dived toward the ground, and they didn't hesitate to drop their bombs while shooting their plasma cannons at anything below them. Citizens are being blown to bits, charred as plasma bolts hit them directly, or even died in accidents where vehicles trying to escape in panic crashed into the fleeing pedestrians. Siren dropships also begin their descent toward the surface while firing all of their plasma cannons toward the fleeing civilians. The dropships hovered above their chosen landing zones before opening their hatches, and Siren troopers poured out of them. The troopers immediately set up a blockade to prevent the civilians from escaping, and they make a clear example on them by firing their plasma weapons at the civilians who're trying to flee, those who remain and surrender are spared while remaining at gunpoint. Many troopers also entered the buildings around the city, flushing out those that were hiding and killing those that resisted them. In less than five minutes, more than twenty five percent of the New York area is occupied with Siren forces.

Local police forces are mobilized immediately as first responders, they pull all the stops with fully armed officers, armored cars, SWAT teams, helicopters, and even patrol boats. While they are no match for the Sirens' overwhelming firepower and numbers, they still valiantly fought until the military could deploy all of their forces. The situation turned around for a bit when Azur Lane New York HQ deployed all of their available military units and activated the defense grid around the city, anti-air weapon emplacements went online and started shooting down the jets from the sky, and automated turrets went online to stave off Siren ground forces. It really helped the police in securing the civilians while the military fend off the Sirens themselves, fighter jets, dropships, Siren troopers, and some Brawlers? Pretty standard enemies to fight, they are trained to fight them, so while it will make the soldiers struggle, it's a fight they could win…until the large Siren aircrafts begin to descend into the city.

Those huge aircraft are pentagon shaped, larger than an A380 Airbus with twin massive engines on the rear and the hull are littered with cannons with two large main cannons on their underside. The large Siren aircraft open their lower hatches and each of the aircraft drops out four hulking black masses onto the surface of New York. Azur Lane units immediately converged to take down the aircraft as tanks, APCs, and even helicopter gunships were all firing their cannons or missiles. The large aircrafts flashed purple in the places where they're being hit as ballistic rounds impacted them and their cannons fired pulse lasers at incoming missiles that were being fired by Azur Lane units. The missiles that managed to slip through missed their marks when the aircraft deployed chaffs and flares…The aircraft is basically untouchable by missiles, possessing purple-colored shields that are durable enough to take hits from literal tank cannon fire, and their cargo? It's even worse than Siren spider tanks...

Four huge hulking humanoid mechs stood up tall after successfully landing on the ground, large armored machines carrying huge cannons in their mechanical hands, their two yellow mechanical eyes lit up as they found their targets below them. The tanks and APCs immediately escaped while firing their cannons at the mechs, they immediately saw that the mechs' body flashed purple at the place where it was hit, and that means the mechs are shielded as well. The mech retaliated by firing its plasma cannon; it fired a huge purple plasma bolt that immediately blew up a tank in one shot. They decided to combine their firepower and focused all of them on one of the mechs, they discovered that the mech's shielding could fail from intense fire, but that's where it shown that it's not only durable but fast and smart as well…the mech that has it shield down immediately jumped to the side and take cover behind buildings. Around ten seconds later, the mech reemerged while firing its weapon and its shield has recharged as a retreating tank discovered by firing at it before being literally crushed by the mech's foot.

"Fufufufufufu, I love it when we get to use our more exotic toys~" Observer Alpha said out loud after she giggled menacingly.

Death and destruction were committed all around her, their overwhelming numbers and firepower have managed to put even the heavily defended New York City into a kill zone for the Azur Lane army. Observer Alpha spread her arms and a yellow holographic screen appeared in front of her showing the overall New York area from a bird's eye view. She rubbed her chin for a bit before pressing her finger on an area known as the White Plains. Her lips morphed into a smirk when the screen showed writing 'Establishing Field Headquarters' on the display, she noticed that Azur Lane forces have fought valiantly, but they are losing ground as they speak. Southern New York and Long Island are still under Azur Lane control, the John F. Kennedy airport is still operational, and the Azur Lane Regional HQ that is located on its southwest on the outlying islands? Their HQ is still in the fight as well. Observer Alpha swiped the screen to the left and closed the hologram screen, she's confident that it's only a matter of time before they take Azur Lane Regional HQ and could advance toward the Long Island area. Oh yes, better start constructing bases and outposts inside the city, the sooner the better.

"Hmm, their local defense fleet near their headquarters needs to be taken care of before they could deploy to the south bay…Beta, they're yours." Observer Alpha said to Tester Beta.

"Heh, wiping them out will be too easy." Beta said to Observer Alpha before she teleported away from the scene.

"…Nyx? You won't join? Some of our units are being massacred near the airport, they could use your help." Observer Alpha asked Nyx.

"I'll just watch from here; they could get it done by themselves." Nyx said to Observer Alpha while he folded his arms and watched the burning city.

"Fufufu…ah, after all this time, you still feel compassion for humanity?" Observer Alpha asked Nyx as she smiled sinisterly.

"Who knows? I might be just too lazy to work today." Nyx answered noncommittally while he shrugged.

"Indeed…In that case, I'll let the others have their fun then…Midnight, make sure the way to the airport is cleared." Observer Alpha said to Midnight.

"As you command, milady." Midnight said as he bowed before he jumped down off the building while entering a portal he summoned.

"Shit! I'm late for the party!" Someone said out loud as they appeared from behind Observer Alpha and Nyx.

"And where have you been?" Observer Alpha asked as she turned around to see Purifier who's rubbing her head.

"You know, modifying my rigging for quite a bit! Bah, you wouldn't care anyway, I'm off to have some fun!" Purifier said out loud while she grinned.

"Spare some of the civilians, we need to give the Azur Lane and Crimson Axis a reason not to use their nuclear weapons." Observer Alpha said to Purifier.

"Tch! Spoilsport! Fine, but I'm letting loose on their soldiers!" Purifier said to Observer Alpha while she scowled.

"As long as you follow my instructions, do what you want with them. Start helping our poor little soldiers in the south, they could use your talent in wrecking everything." Observer Alpha said to Purifier while she smiled a bit.

"Alright, now we're talking! Oi bastards! Here I come~!" Purifier shouted out loud as she jumped off the building.

Observer Alpha only looked down for a bit and confirmed that Azur Lane forces are slowly being pushed toward the beach area, pretty soon the Sirens could fortify the city with their own arsenal to stave off the massive counterattack that Azur Lane would undoubtedly launch in the near future. They will advance to retake the city from Philadelphia and Boston with possible reinforcement from Washington DC. It is imperative for the Sirens to take New York and Long Island at lightning speed, so they could advance further once their foothold on New York is secured…Observer Alpha was contemplating her next move when she saw several inbound missiles coming at her, she immediately wrapped herself with her tentacles and the missiles impacted her. The missile strike only lightly scorched her tentacles and rigging thus she quickly looked around to identify the ones that attacked her, a flight of F-15s could be seen coming at her while firing their cannons. Observer Alpha only aimed her cannons toward the approaching jets before she fired and literally took out four jets in one shot…

"…What an eyesore." Observer Alpha muttered to herself before she continued to watch the battle around her.

…Azur Lane Central Headquarters is buzzing with activity as soon as the information regarding invasion of New York reaches them, they have been busy scrambling all viable responses toward the attack. Lucas himself stood in the middle of Central Headquarters' Mission Control Center, his face grim and not even a speck of his usual calmness could be found. He is pissed with the fact that their nightmare came to life, and there's not much he could do about it. He knew since the appearance of the Brawlers within the subway tunnels that New York's security is already compromised…He just didn't expect for the Sirens to appear in such numbers that they almost conquered the city in less than an hour since they begin their attack with new units they haven't seen before, it's a bad day for everyone over there.

"There's Godzilla, King Kong, Chitauri, and now Sirens…I swear, that city is a magnet for monster attacks." One of the operators said out loud.

"Don't forget the Ceph too." Another operator said out loud.

"…Sir? We received a transmission from the New York HQ." The operator on his right side said to Lucas.

"Patch them in." Lucas said to the operator.

"Central?! This is New York HQ! The Sirens are here, and they have overwhelming numbers! We cannot hold the city for much longer! Please send reinforcements as soon as possible!" The commander in charge of the New York Regional HQ appeared on the large main screen, his face looked distressed and the command center over there was in shambles.

"We already scrambled around three hundred fighters and dozens of support craft from Iris and Royal Navy as a rapid response, they should arrive within two hours, commander." Lucas said to the commander in a calm tone.

"We don't have two hours! The Sirens are already marching toward the HQ as we speak! We have fifteen minutes! Tops! And there's still millions of citizens trapped within New York! We need to get them out, and our troops won't last long with how many of them are out there!" The commander said to Lucas while he frowned deeply.

"…Understood, we'll do what we can from here. Dig in and hold the city with everything you got." Lucas said to the commander.

"…Roger that sir!" The commander said in a low tone before he ended the call.

…Lucas proceeded to sit on the chair behind him, the command chair for High Commander, which felt very uncomfortable as he just basically told the commander in charge of New York HQ to die. Lucas had mustered every counter he could think of, mobilizing Azur Lane units working in tandem with Eagle Union local forces from Boston and Philadelphia, but they couldn't enter the New York area because the Sirens have deployed a perimeter around the city at lightning speed, which immediately impeded Azur Lane ground forces from reinforcing New York. Local air forces are having a tough time trying to break in because every time they try to cross the perimeter, they're immediately chased by Siren fighters and if those crafts didn't shoot them down then their AA guns will blast them from below. There's only so much plane they could spare before Eagle Union Air Force learnt their lesson for the day and stopped trying to go in without rigorous planning, and Lucas got a feeling that would be the least they would be concerned about in the future.

"…Gather ALL info you got on the new Siren unit that attacked New York, I want detailed info on them." Lucas said out loud.

"All of them sir?" One operator asked Lucas.

"Every last one of them. If they eat lunch, I want to know what they eat." Lucas said out loud.

"Yes sir!" The operator said to Lucas.

"Lucas." Someone said out loud as they approached him.

"…Lena?" Lucas looked to the side and saw the one that called him was Lena.

"My task force is ready, Lucas. We're going in." Lena said to Lucas.

"No, don't immediately go to New York." Lucas said to Lena.

"New York will fall in less than a day! We should go there and help however we can! We can evacuate the citizens and establish a defensive perimeter around Long Island!" Lena said to Lucas while she scowled.

"I commend your bravery and selfness, Lena. But I already have a plan for you and your task force for the counterstrike operation. I need you to rendezvous with our 7th fleet in the Atlantic for now. Stand by for orders on the Terranova.'' Lucas said to Lena.

Azur Lane 7th Atlantic Fleet is their most powerful fleet in their arsenal, the fleet consisted of dozens of ships with one prototype ship as their flagship. The flagship is called the ALS Terranova, a super carrier with three runways, which is long enough for a commercial plane to land in case of emergency. That's right, a ship one and half kilometers long and carrying more than three hundred fighter jets with dozens of helicopters as support. The ship housed five thousand crews and six thousand combat ready marines, hundreds of vehicles are also stored in the ship, alongside the landing crafts in case they are needed for ground deployment. In addition to that, the ship is littered with dozens CIWS, SAM launchers, and defensive 152mm cannons around its hull. Nothing could get close to this ship without being shredded to pieces…That ship is also Azur Lane mobile HQ, a floating fortress surrounded by dozens of escorts and that's where Lucas just told Lena to go.

"7th Atlantic Fleet? Huh…We're going all in?" Lena asked Lucas while she folded her arms.

"Not just yet, right now we are preparing for the worst by reading those who can immediately fight. Erich contacted me, and he said two Ironblood fleets have been redirected to support us, that also doesn't account for the rest of the reinforcement being prepared in case we still fail." Lucas said to Lena.

"How about Eagle Union's own forces?" Lena asked Lucas.

"Washington DC sent word that they're mobilizing the entire east coast defense force to establish perimeter and try to make sure the Sirens won't advance further inland, their naval fleet is also moving to engage, and their air units have scrambled as well…though, right now their situation isn't looking so good." Lucas said to Lena while he frowned for a bit.

"The KANSENs? How about them?" Lena asked Lucas further.

"Some of them are already engaged in New York, a small fleet led by USS Yorktown. They're doing everything they can to stave off the invading Sirens, but I have made it clear to them that they have to retreat when things get worse, and its only matter of time until New York falls…The rest will rendezvous with Task Force 38, which is headed for Long Island to reinforce our units that's constructing field headquarters. The Sirens also showed up there, and we aim to defend it as a staging ground for the rest of the reinforcement." Lucas said to Lena as he massaged his right temple…

Yorktown, Alabama, Bataan, Birmingham, Biloxi, Concord, Wichita, Portland, Indianapolis, South Dakota, and Massachusetts are the only KANSENs on standby in the New York area, the rest are either out on the seas or assigned with Task Force 38. They're the ones that held the lines on New York's southern bay as well helping the ground forces with seaborne fire support, using their guns and aircraft to their maximum capability. So far, nothing gets past their established perimeter and their fire support has been very effective in staving off Siren ground force advances across New York.

"How about immediately heading for New York and trying to establish a foothold there once the city falls? Three counter fronts, Long Island, New York, and the mainland perimeter." Lena asked Lucas as she stared at the large screen in front of them.

"Possible, but we will need ALASUC for the New York one. And sizable experienced fighting force." Lucas said to Lena.

"Shouldn't be a problem, isn't it? My task force is ready to go, and if I remember correctly, you mention something about Commander Carl Johnson? The one that fought to recover the summoning machine from the installation in the Southern Pacific?" Lena asked Lucas as she smiled a bit

"Yes, his unit is experienced in combat against the Sirens. He will be a great help during the battle, I have sent the word, and he's preparing his forces right about now…We need to see how the situation develops first, we just can't go in without a plan…this is the first time the Sirens ever launched an attack at this scale, and it won't be the last…Our response here, might be the deciding factor whether we could survive their onslaught or not." Lucas said to Lena with serious tone.

They would need those who have been in combat with Sirens and lived to tell the tale, there are many of them across the world, including Commander Carl Johnson's unit, who's shown good promise. They would need several battalions of elite fighting forces to set up shop in New York once it's under Siren control, to do that they would need to commence a large-scale beach landing, set up a fire base, and hold out until they could bring in their heavier arsenal into New York. Sounds impossible? Not when ALASUC is involved, the ship girls will be able to help immensely on this plan-

"Sir, incoming transmission. From ALASUC." Lucas smiled as he heard that, what a coincidence.

"Patch it through." Lucas said to the operator.

"High Commander, ALASUC is ready to deploy. Where are we needed?" William Blaze himself appeared on the main screen.

"Great news commander, however, I want you to listen for a bit…The KANSENs are to join Azur Lane's 7th Fleet in the Atlantic, pick one of the ship girls to lead them temporarily, while you will go here for a bit." Lucas said to William in a serious tone.

"Sure we could do that, but why?" William asked Lucas as he cocked his eyebrows.

"Mrs. Blaze specifically requested you, she has heard the news about your armor, and she will provide you with a 'crucial' update…Ms. Akashi has discussed that with her, and your armor modification is scheduled to be performed a month from now, but with the situation currently going on, she decided to accelerate it…Despite that, the KANSENs are still needed on the frontline, so that is why I want you to select someone to lead the others for a bit." Lucas explained to William.

"I see…Admiral, will you fight in the front?" William muttered before he asked Lena.

"Yes, I plan to go there immediately, but there's been a change of plans." Lena said to William as she nodded her head.

"Change of plans?" William asked Lena as he rubbed his chin.

"We basically have to see where this fight goes first." Lena said to William while she frowned.

"What?! Just sit and wait while those aliens are slaughtering our people?!" William asked out loud while he scowled.

"Not everyone." Lucas said out loud as he stood up.

"What do you mean by that? I've seen the live reports and the videos all over the internet!" William said to Lucas while he scowled.

"While it's true the Sirens are rampaging on New York, they didn't kill all of the civilians…In fact, they're capturing a huge number of them, and that is why the rest of the civilians are trying to evacuate or hide themselves somewhere within New York or Long Island." Lucas said to William.

"Capturing them? Oh god, are they going to be turned into Brawlers!?" William asked Lucas as his eye widened in horror.

"It is a possibility…Commander, I understand that you can't let this happen and want to participate in the battle immediately, but right now please do as I say. We need to be careful; this is the first time the Sirens ever launched an attack at this scale…they must be planning something." Lucas said to William in a calm tone.

"…Fine, will the armor modification take a long time?" William asked Lucas.

"I honestly don't know, but…I think it will be necessary, you'll need every edge you can get in this fight." Lucas said to William.

"…I understand. Will you participate in commanding the army, high commander?" William asked Lucas while he smiled a bit.

"Oh, of course…I'm doing my part." Lucas said to William while he smirked.

"Then I'll see the both of you soon." William said to Lucas and Lena while he smiled.

"Roger that commander~, it would seem we will get to work together in the field once more." Lena said to William while she smiled widely.

"Just like old times, only with different enemies this time." Lucas said to William while he smiled.

"For sure…" William said to Lucas and Lena before he disconnected from the call.

…Lucas grinned to himself as he sat back down, ALASUC is certainly going in, and William himself would show his prowess in the field of battle. He has heard about his new armor and the features it has, not going to lie it would make him like some sort of superhero…Ah…Lucas leaned forward a bit as something sparked inside his head, hero? This is it; Lucas has always been looking for a reason in order to boost the morale of people across the earth. Folks need heroes, to give them hope…This battle would undoubtedly will give birth to heroes for all of humanity, but he requires more than heroes that could make the difference in the fight…He needs heroes that could rally the troops, someone that could take on what the Sirens throw at them plus having a commanding and menacing presence on the battlefield. If they could make their regular soldiers in awe and revere that said hero, that's even better…William would have the potential to be that kind of hero with his training and equipment, Lucas will tell him to receive his 'boost' before he dives into the battlefield.

"…Hey, you didn't call him here just for the armor modification, didn't you?" Lena suddenly said to Lucas.

"What gives it away?" Lucas asked Lena as he stared at her.

"You always sport a nasty grin whenever your plan falls into place." Lena said to Lucas while she folded her arms.

"Hoho…Lena, you're quite attentive." Lucas said to Lena while he smiled.

"What is it that you're planning to do to him, Lucas?" Lena asked Lucas while she narrowed her eyes.

"…The DNA mod serum is complete." Lucas said in a low tone to Lena as he stared at her.

The DNA modification serum that he secretly commissioned? It's finally completed after a recent breakthrough helped the scientists decipher the components needed to make the whole process as safe as possible while providing maximum results. The serum works gradually to change the DNA structure, but there are some immediate effects. The scientists have concluded that the subject will immediately experience an increase in muscle strength, bone integrity, and stamina reserves which could theoretically be enhanced further by training. However, there's the side effect of hormone rushes, and since William is a man that means it's a testosterone rush. That's the downside, and he'll be experiencing that for months to come; boy he's in for a hard time, but the boost will be required during this battle…so maybe, it'll be worth it in the end to pay the price later.

"What!? And you're going to give it to him just before he's about to combat those aliens? Are you out of your goddamn mind?!" Lena asked Lucas as she stared in disbelief.

"The serum works immediately with minimal side effects, hours upon being injected with it he will receive substantial and subsequent improvements to his physical capabilities." Lucas said to Lena in a calm tone.

"So what's the trade off? Minimal risk is still a risk in the end." Lena said to Lucas.

"His behavior in combat might be more aggressive with the hormone rush, just consider it a second puberty." Lucas said to Lena.

"And you consider that minimum? I can't believe you sometimes! We're talking about a life and death situation here!" Lena said to Lucas while she scowled.

"Lena…trust me, this is for his own good. Like I said before, he will need every edge he could get out there, and I think it's a fair trade off for his increased aggressiveness. Regardless, I will run it by him properly, so he can make the decision on his own." Lucas said to Lena in a serious but calm tone.

Lucas really has to make her trust him, of course Lena would worry about this. They're talking about the man she spent years since their teenage days, the one she trained together with and fighting alongside one another. He's also the man she cared about as well, so she will be anxious when his life is put on the line, especially with the aftereffects of the serum. He will also need William's consent as well because of the risks, he doesn't want to force apply the serum upon him, even though he's already agreed to take it. But if what Lucas knew about William all this time is true, then he really bets that William will agree to take the serum without much hesitation…He knows the stakes, he knows that he will need to even the stacked odds against them.

"…This is so risky, but fine, I'll trust you could see this through." Lena said to Lucas while she frowned.

"Yeah, don't worry. Besides, I'll be doing him a favor. He could start making babies after this battle, I think more than a few girls won't mind bearing his children." Lucas said to Lena while he grinned.

"Hah, damn you and your humor, old man. At least think of the timing!" Lena said to Lucas while she frowned and hands on her hips.

"Humor works anywhere and anytime, as long as you know how to crack it." Lucas said to Lena while he returned his attention to the main screen while smiling.

"And you just demonstrated that you couldn't-" Lena said to Lucas with half closed eyes.

"Alert! We've detected a massive energy signature! Displaying visuals now!" One operator said out loud.

Both Lena and Lucas looked at the main screen that displayed satellite view and it showed a large purple portal opened on New York's south bay, from that portal a massive black ship with red glowing lines appeared, and it immediately dwarfed even Yamato class battleships. The only thing that would be matching in size would be their very own ALS Terranova, the realization that Sirens also possessed something that large and equipped with unknown weaponry at this time during the invasion sent shivers down everyone's spines. This is the largest Siren ship they have ever seen yet, and Lucas already thought that ship would be a real pain in the ass to sink, they would need an entire fleet to beat it or even KANSENs.

"…That's one huge Siren ship! Any intel on what it is!?" Lucas asked out loud.

"Not at the moment sir! It would appear to be a combination of battleship and carrier, satellite imaging showed that the Siren ship is equipped with main battery guns and seems capable of launching aircraft!" One operator said out loud.

"…Nora." Lucas called Nora who's on standby in front of her terminal.

"Yes sir?" Nora asked Lucas as she turned around to meet his gaze.

"Contact everyone, ask them whether that ship has been spotted anywhere else or not. I don't care about the clearance needed, just tell them it's a direct request from me." Lucas said to Nora while he frowned.

"Sir yes sir." Nora said to Lucas as she stood up then left the room.

"The KANSENs are engaging it!" Another operator said out loud.

"What? Patch me through them!" Lucas said out loud.

"You're online sir." An operator said to Lucas.

"Ms. Yorktown, this is High Commander of Azur Lane. You are not to engage that ship, pull out and rendezvous with 7th Fleet immediately." Lucas said to Yorktown on the radio.

"High Commander, we're still combat effective. We can at least damage it, so our forces on the ground will stand a chance!" Yorktown said to Lucas on the radio.

"This is not the matter of being combat effective, Ms. Yorktown. No matter how you look at it, that ship won't go down even with eleven KANSENs pounding it. Pull back for now, and we will hit it once we could form a fleet with sufficient KANSEN numbers, ALASUC is coming to reinforce." Lucas said to Yorktown in a firm tone.

"…ALASUC will? I see…We will withdraw now, High Commander." Yorktown said to Lucas on the radio after she went silent for a bit.

"Excellent, rendezvous with 7th fleet as soon as possible…" Lucas said to Yorktown on the radio while he smiled a bit.

"Yes sir". Yorktown said to Lucas on the radio.

"Contact the nearest battlegroup to New York." Lucas said out loud.

"Yes sir, we're contacting Battlegroup Griffin immediately." An operator said to Lucas.

…Lena watched as Lucas leaned back on his seat, she knew exactly why Lucas ordered the ship girls to retreat. That ship has so many unknown factors on them right about now, and those eleven ship girls are in immediate danger no matter how skilled they are. He pulled them out on purpose by using ALASUC as the bargaining chip…Lena looked to the side briefly, in order to gain, they have to lose. To secure victory then they must prepare to make a sacrifice…In this case, Lucas chooses to preserve the ship girls by testing that ship's capability with other means, and that's by using their own mass-produced ships. Losing an entire fleet of mass-produced ships is indeed devastating, but not as catastrophic as losing an entire fleet of ship girls…

"Sir, we just got some intel from New York HQ…There's been a confirmed sighting of Observer Alpha, Tester Beta, Purifier, and someone that matches the description of 'Midnight'. All of them are spotted in the New York area." An operator approached Lucas and said that as he handed him a folder.

"…So, those Siren leaders are on the field, leading their forces directly." Lucas commented as he looked through the folder which is filled with captured photos of the Siren leaders.

"Don't tell me you're about to do the same?" Lena asked Lucas while she smiled a bit.

"Haha, of course not, I'm an old man. I won't last long in a fight against them…Still, this will be the hardest battle we'll ever face yet. I think I will get intimate with caffeine and aspirin for the next month or so." Lucas said to Lena while he smiled.

"…Battlegroup Griffin is moving to engage the Siren ship sir, they're thirty kilometers out and closing in." An operator said to Lucas.

"Composition?" Lucas asked the operator.

"Uh, five frigates, three destroyers, three light cruisers, one battleship, and one light carrier sir." The operator said to Lucas.

"…Alright…Give me a direct control link to the battlegroup, make sure the one in charge knows." Lucas said to the operator.

"Yes sir. Establishing battlefield control, standby." The operator said to Lucas.

"Whoa, been a while since you're in direct command. I'm looking forward to seeing how well you'll do." Lena said to Lucas while she smiled.

"I might be a bit rusty, let's see about that shall we?" Lucas said to Lena while he smiled as he stared at the main screen.

…The screen transformed to display two separate screens; one is the massive Siren ship while the other showed Battlegroup Griffin. Five frigates, three destroyers, three light cruisers, one battleship, and one light carrier? This battlegroup is set to meet any threat in the open seas, but everyone knows it still won't be easy to fight that Siren ship despite outnumbering it thirteen to one. They need to use this chance to find out as much information as they can, so they could formulate a plan to sink it. How many missiles will that thing be able to take? Lucas predicted around a few dozen, the battlegroup would have to empty their ammo reserves if they want that ship to go down.

"Battle control online." The operator said to Lucas.

"This is High Commander Lucas Carville; I'm assuming direct control of Battlegroup Griffin. We got work to do ladies and gentlemen, we will prod that unknown ship for its strengths and weaknesses, so begin the attack with a missile strike and spread out." Lucas said out loud.

"Missiles are launched sir." The operator said to Lucas.

"Good." Lucas said to the operator.

"Impact in five…four…three…two…Huh? Missile did not connect! All missiles are intercepted by their point defense weapon system!" The operator said out loud.

"Hmmm…Commence saturation attack, missile barrage." Lucas said to the operator.

"Saturation attack commencing, missiles in the air." The operator said out loud.

"You're testing their point defense system capability." Lena commented as she watched the screen.

"Yeah, and I got a bad feeling about this one." Lucas said to Lena while he frowned and rubbed his chin.

The missiles are in the air once more, and this time the battlegroup launched dozens of them at once, with around fifty missiles in the air one or two will hit that ship, right? Lucas narrowed his eyes as he witnessed the massive Siren ship light up its entire point defense cannons on its hull and hundreds of purple beams and plasma bolts filled the air between the ship and the approaching missiles. The ship only fired its point defense for fifteen seconds and all of the missiles are gone as they got hit then exploded in midair, every single last one of the fired missiles…Lucas and Lena could feel the dread among the operators inside the room, fire and forget missiles are the staple of modern combat as all ships rely on it compared to using their main guns…and that ship could just intercept everything by its formidable point defense cannons.

"Missiles are intercepted! Sir, the unknown ship is launching a new model of fighter jets." The operator said out loud.

"Take a photo and have it on display, alongside their generic fighter jets." Lucas said to the operator.

Few seconds later, two photos of new Siren aircraft are displayed on the main screen alongside a photo of their generic fighter jet as comparison. Lucas stared intensely at the three aircraft as he tried to decipher the functions of the fighter aircraft that were launched from the ship…The first one is diamond shaped and resembled an arrowhead in design, the second one looks more rounded in design and seems larger than their other jets.

"…What do you make of its Lena?" Lucas asked Lena while he looked at Lena.

"There are two of them, one is larger with a more rounded design while the other is sleeker and diamond shaped. My best guess is bombers and interceptors, it's the only conclusion I can come to after seeing their designs." Lena said to Lucas while she looked at the screen.

"I think so too…Status on the light carrier's air wings?" Lucas said to Lena then asked the operator.

"They're scrambling two squadrons of F-14Ds now sir." The operator said to Lucas.

"F-14s? A bit outdated against the Sirens, but in the hands of skilled pilots those should hold up against them. Let's hope those pilots can pull it off." Lucas commented as he looked at the screen.

"Well, we haven't exactly got the budget to modernize all of our arsenal, some Eagle Union carriers still carry F-4 Phantoms and the Royal Navy still carries Harriers. Northern Parliament is so intimate in combat with Sirens that they didn't hesitate to use MIG 21s against them." Lena said to Lucas while she shrugged.

"Damn…We need to manufacture new aircraft with lower production costs, so it would be easy to mass produce." Lucas said to Lena.

"And make them smaller to minimize build costs?" Lena asked Lucas as she folded her arms.

"A fair trade off if we could spread them across the earth, the next problem is training the pilots." Lucas said to Lena.

"What about drones?" Lena asked Lucas.

"Too risky, maybe it will work with the implementation of helpful AI to guide the new pilots." Lucas said to Lena.

"After thinking about it, the AI themselves are going to cost us quite a bit." Lena said to Lucas.

"Yeah…I'll leave that planning to my secretary later, she's quite good regarding that problem." Lucas said to Lena while he shrugged.

So, back to the matter at hand, it would seem they couldn't touch that ship at all with missiles, so let's attack it with something that couldn't be easily blocked even by point defense cannons…shells. The battleship could do catastrophic damage with their big guns, Lucas hoped that the massive ship didn't possess any kind of energy shield that would null their cannon attacks. That ship would've been overpowered by then, and Lucas might have authorized a tactical nuclear strike because that's the quickest and most efficient method without sacrificing their military units, he's saving that option for the worst-case scenario.

"It's obvious that missiles didn't work, and nuking that ship is not an option right now…Have the battleship fire their main guns, armor piercing." Lucas said out loud.

"Commencing attack sir." The operator said out loud.

The battleship aimed its cannons toward the Siren ship, the ship then fired all of her cannons in a single salvo. Nine armor piercing shells flew at high speed toward the Siren ship and due to its large size, all of the shells managed to hit it directly in the superstructure. Many of the operators within the room cheered when they witnessed that the battleship attack did produce results and successfully damaged the ship, although lightly.

"Direct hit! Confirmed visual damage on the unknown ship!" The operator said out loud.

"Huh, curious…So, it is equipped with proper missile defenses, but it can't intercept a shell. That means direct cannon fire is the only effective way to deal damage to it for now, because our aircraft would've been shredded if they tried to get close." Lucas muttered to himself.

"Energy spike! Coming from the unknown ship!" The operator said out loud.

The massive Siren ship has four cannons and all of them are now aimed toward Battlegroup Griffin's battleship, the cannons fired and launched four huge purple plasma bolts at high speed toward the battleship. Of course the ship tried her best to avoid the incoming projectiles, they successfully avoided three with big effort by moving in just the right time, but the final one is unavoidable as it hit the front side of the ship directly that took out two of her huge turrets.

"The massive ship fired, and our battleship has been hit! Severe damage!" Another operator said out loud.

"Can they still fight?" Lucas asked the operator.

"…The captain in charge said they could, but they will have to rely on their aft turret since their bow turrets are gone." The operator said to Lucas.

"Do it, have the destroyers and the frigates distract that ship." Lucas said out loud.

"Yes-. Huh?! Siren reinforcement! Mass produced ships pouring out of the portals." The operator said out loud.

"Shit, their timing…Clear them out with missiles, continue the attack." Lucas said out loud while he frowned.

"Yes sir!" The operator said out loud.

The timing couldn't be a coincidence, the massive Siren ship realized that the humans are capable of damaging their hulls, so it brought some reinforcement to even the odds. Not to mention, the ship's primary cannon projectiles are devastating enough to wreck their battleship's cannons in a single hit…Not even a Siren mass produced battleship could do that, and it only proves the theory if the projectile hit any ship in the center? It could tear the ship in two in a single shot. Lucas rubbed his chin as he stared at the main screen, trying to formulate a tactic that could deal additional damage to the Siren ship without the aid of the battleship. Sooner or later, they will have to retreat to a safe distance, and Lucas would like to maximize the other ship capabilities-

"The unknown ship fired again! Our battleship is hit! Critical damage! Crews are abandoning the ship!" The operator said out loud.

"…Eliminating the most troubling one, that ship has good priority management." Lucas commented as he narrowed his eyes.

"…This one isn't your ordinary mass-produced ship, the AI on this one is more advanced." Lena commented as well.

The Siren vehicles have driver compartments, cockpits, and bridges that could be used to steer the vehicle, but they make heavy use of AI, so their vehicles usually operate without any crew. It does make them downright predictable on some occasions but most of the time, humans still struggled heavily when fighting against them. The mass-produced ships' behavior themselves usually operate by the principle 'get close and you are toast' whenever the Siren leaders are absent from the fight, but as shown in multiple cases, that's not always true because those mass-produced ships could relentlessly pursue their target if needed…Regardless, their priority targeting seems flawed as they usually target the closest target to them first. Unlike this ship, she knows which targets to eliminate first, and generally the AI is more advanced in its behavioral pattern…

"Move the destroyers and the frigates closer, torpedo the ship. Have the cruisers distract it." Lucas said out loud.

"Yes sir, ships are preparing to launch torpedoes." The operator said out loud.

Now that Lucas paid attention closely, he realized that their mass-produced ships spawned in a scattered formation. Honestly, he didn't know why those ships moved in an ineffective pattern like that, but since this is the Sirens they're facing, there must be some reason why the ships positioned themselves randomly. Human frigates and destroyers are advancing closer toward the Siren ships, the cruisers distract the Sirens by rapidly firing their main guns and missiles toward the smaller ships. That allowed their frigates and destroyers to launch torpedo salvos toward the massive Siren ship; what happened next successfully caused everyone involved in the fight to get frustrated. Those ships that scattered in random places? They moved in and provided cover for the massive Siren ship in the middle, sacrificing themselves by tanking the torpedoes being fired by the humans.

"Their mass-produced ships are moving in to protect it, they intercepted the torpedoes!" The operator said out loud.

"What about the ones that manage to hit?" Lucas asked the operator.

"No confirmed damage could be detected on that unknown ship sir…They're retaliating!" The operator said out loud.

Now it's their turn to attack, and they are merciless as they fire every cannon they have onboard. Energy bolts rained upon the human ships, and they were struggling to avoid getting hit. The worst happened when the massive Siren ship recharged its cannons once more and aimed at four different targets at once, the cannons fired which launched four huge yellow plasma bolts toward their intended targets. As expected, the small ships that were hit never stood a chance because the plasma almost engulfed them when they hit. That's the sheer size of the main cannons' projectiles, and that's enough to strike terror on anyone going toe to toe against that ship.

"…Status?" Lucas asked out loud.

"We lost two frigates and two destroyers, sir, all are gone from a single shot of their cannons. Carrier fighter squadrons also reported major casualties, and the ship itself suffered moderate damage from the attacking Siren aircraft." An operator said to Lucas.

"…Call off the attack, retreat to a safe distance." Lucas said out loud.

"Yes sir, issuing order." The operator said to Lucas.

…Lucas facepalmed as he leaned on his seat, they lost five ships from this single encounter, and so far, all they discover is the fact that the Siren ship is armored to the core, with excellent point defense emplacements, and has a devastating attack. Worse, that thing also could launch aircraft, so if that thing could fly in the air as well, Lucas will find a bottle of the strongest alcohol available and drink the entire thing in one go because oh hell fucking no they are doomed! Really, it is quite fortunate already with the fact that the ship does not have any energy shielding, so they could technically destroy it…But, what kind of firepower other than nukes could really give it a beating? While he thought about that, Nora approached Lucas and Lena while holding a folder.

"…High Commander, intel from Sakura Empire regarding the warship. It's some sort of Siren capital ship, a mass produced one, and apparently the Sakura Empire only saw it once during the course of the Great War. They codenamed the ship, Orochi." Nora said to Lucas as she handed him the folder.

"…Did they have any info they could spare regarding its design or specifications?" Lucas asked Nora as he examined the folder's content.

"No sir, even the Sirens didn't allow them to inspect it back then. However, it has been confirmed that in addition possessing four massive guns and aircraft? The ship also has a missile launcher module." Nora said to Lucas.

"Missile launcher? Strange, the Sirens usually prefer their energy weapons…Any shielding to worry about?" Lucas asked Nora, he's still wary about this one particular aspect.

"None observed so far sir. The ship can't move fast, but its armor is almost impregnable, and its defense matrix is almost perfect, floating fortress is a correct term for that ship." Nora said to Lucas.

…So Sakura Empire did encounter this ship back during the Great War, it must've been a closely guarded secret since that info just got here after Nora inquire them regarding Orochi…Lucas didn't mind regarding their secrecy even when they are now cooperating with one another once more, what really bugged his thought are the fact that Orochi possessed a missile launcher. Lucas has thoroughly learned about anything relating to Sirens, their weaponry, behavior, units, and not even once he saw or heard about Sirens using missile tech. The Sirens opted to use direct energy weaponry based on plasma or laser tech, their plasma bolts are a bit slower than a bullet, but deadlier, and their laser tech is downright overpowered in any situation. There's little reason why they would use fire and forget missiles, they basically have almost infinite ammo with their energy-based weapons with their advanced energy reactor…So, when Lucas heard that Siren do actually use missiles, and it's on their largest ship to date? Lucas couldn't help but have a bad feeling about that…

"…Good thing we didn't retire the battleships huh? It seems among our mass-produced ships, they're the ones who could consistently damage it. We've grown too reliant on missile technology; we need to step up our tech on cannons" Lucas said out loud while he rubbed his chin.

"Well, calling all battleships available on Eagle Union east coast is not the answer…We definitely need the KANSENs for this one." Lena said to Lucas while she folded her arms.

"Agreed. Let's hope ALASUC could rendezvous with 7th fleet as soon as possible." Lucas said to Lena while he frowned.

.

It was the first time the ship girls ever saw their commander's face filled with so many emotions at once, uncertainty, dread, apprehension…anger. The Sirens have quickly established that they have an overwhelming force, invade New York, and close to taking the city in just under two hours. Eagle Union ship girls have been the most affected by far, each of them has expressed their desire to head into the fight, to do what they can for their home which is currently under siege. Right now, the ship girls have gathered inside the academy's briefing room with William standing on the podium. He looked at the ship girls that were present in front of him, every one of them sat in their respective seats, staring at him as they listened to him…William felt his stomach churning, even though he was never this nervous when the Great War started. The sheer stakes in this battle are what caused him to feel this dreadful, he knows that losing is not an option.

"For now, the order for us is quite simple…We are to rendezvous with Azur Lane 7th Atlantic Fleet, for those who don't know, that fleet is the biggest fleet Azur Lane has with a prototype mega aircraft carrier as its flagship called the ALS Terranova, and that is the ship where you ladies will be staying during this battle. We will hold a crucial role for the upcoming operation, and that is the reason why we are not going to New York directly…I have heard your opinions regarding the roster for the reinforcement, Eagle Union ship girls will go on this mission with several other ships as support…Belfast, Illustrious, Victorious, Formidable, Prinz Eugen, Hipper, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Amagi, Takao, Atago, and Yuubari will be coming with them. The rest of you will have to stay and protect this base, the Sirens could attack us while we are away…Any questions for now?" William explained to the ship girls.

"Sir, are you going to participate in ground combat?" Enterprise raised her hand and asked William.

"Yes I am. Regarding that, I have received a direct order to head for Azur Lane Central Headquarters to receive some upgrades for the armor, and apparently, I also have to be there. Which is why, I have to select one of you as the temporary commander while I'm away…I have decided that Enterprise will be in charge." William said out loud.

"Yes sir!" Enterprise said to William with a serious face.

"Commander? What is the current situation in New York?" Queen Elizabeth asked William.

"I haven't received the full report regarding what's the extent of the damage those Sirens did, but I'm sure all of you have seen the citizens' firsthand experience with the videos of the invasion that are booming throughout social media…Furthermore, it has been confirmed that their leaders are in the New York area. Observer Alpha, Tester Beta, Purifier…and even Midnight. We already compiled all of the intel we received for now and will send it to all of you later, put your phone on standby ladies. I want you…No, I order all of you to read that to better understand our enemy. I know some of you didn't really bother with reading boring reports, but please do it…Knowing your enemy is half the battle after all." William explained further.

He has watched the videos, citizens are being massacred or captured for unknown reasons, and Azur Lane military units are being blown back despite putting everything they got. The Sirens send in their new units, and the technical details regarding them are still obscure at the moment. William, however, immediately recognizes one threat that makes him shudder, and that's when he takes a look at the photo of Midnight. It turns out that back on Furushima, he's not wearing his armor plating because in the photo, he saw Midnight wearing some kind of metallic armor. If his undersuit is that durable against explosions, he didn't know how tough he would be when he equipped his armor plating. This time, however, William knew the key was to engage him in close combat. This time, he will fight him carefully with everything he has. He's not busting his ass training for two and a half months only to lose now!

"All of you will receive further instructions when you arrive with the 7th fleet from Admiral Helena McAllen herself, listen well, and cooperate with her as she's someone you can trust…I won't lie, this battle isn't like what we faced before. I mean, we're talking about possibly millions of Sirens that occupy the city right now, and they undoubtedly have built their base over there. As ship girls, your strength and abilities are definitely needed on this one. Do your best out there, success in this battle might be the deciding factor in this war against them. Until I arrive, I wish everyone good luck and godspeed. May lady victory smile upon us in the end…Okay, pack your bags and be ready to move. Assemble on the helipad in an hour, you will be taking the dropship. Dismissed." William said out loud.

The ship girls rose from their seats and went out of the room to prepare themselves for sortie, those that didn't also exited the room to prepare for the defense of the base. William sighed, well, the worst really happened, and he should be really glad that it's just one city that's under attack. If the Sirens attacked globally, it'll be another can of worms to deal with, and he's not sure he's got what it takes to lead these girls into a global war…Just as he's about to step down from the podium, his path is blocked by a white-haired beauty in front of him.

"Sir, can I ask you something?" Enterprise asked William.

"Sure, what is it?" William asked Enterprise back.

"I am curious regarding your reason for picking me as the leader for the others while you're away." Enterprise said to William.

"Hmm, you doubting yourself?" William asked Enterprise.

"I honestly don't know, I am up for the task but…there's just something, feels off when I said yes before." Enterprise said to William.

"…Walk with me, Enterprise, we'll sort this out." William said to Enterprise.

Both Enterprise and William walked out of the academy building then headed for the park, both of them stopped by the vending machine and got themselves some canned drinks. The Sun is high up in the sky, but both of them are dressed heavily. William wore his full commander uniform, including the coat, and Enterprise equipped her coat and had a scarf around her neck. If anyone still asks why, it's because it's early November, but Mother Nature decided that humanity could go fuck itself by giving earth an early winter. Sure, the snow hasn't fallen yet, but the weather sure dips close to ten degrees celsius at NOON. William and Enterprise sat on one of the benches, facing the golden anchor statue in the middle.

"What makes you doubt yourself?" William asked Enterprise.

"…I'm sure you know the reason why I got my head injuries when we defended Battlegroup Dakota." Enterprise said to William.

"Hood told me." William said to Enterprise.

"…I'm afraid that might happen again." Enterprise said to William.

"I see…Look into yourself Enterprise, what makes you charge at the enemy by yourself back then?" William asked Enterprise while he sipped on his drink.

"Of course because I have to protect my friends, I could distract them while they rain the Sirens with their cannon shells." Enterprise said to William while she frowned.

"Now, put yourself in Hood's position, who's leading the northern flank perimeter. How would you feel when one of your teammates just goes by herself to engage the enemy without minding her safety?" William asked Enterprise.

"…I'd be frustrated." Enterprise said to William.

"There you go, that will be your position in a few hours…You're a good leader in the battlefield, but sometimes when you're not in a command position you're going in with a reckless attitude. I put you in charge of the others, so you could control yourself better. When I was just a major, I acted like you too...even going so far as to disobey a direct order when I was assigned to Egypt. I'm not saying that you should always follow orders or commands, I'm saying…there's a time where you could disobey orders, protocol, or commands." William said to Enterprise.

"Sir…even though we are a military unit?" Enterprise asked William with widened eyes.

"We're still human first before a military unit. Sure, disobeying a direct order might have severe consequences, but in the events where the stakes are far worth more than said order? When you're out there in a few hours, you will be treated like I am. You're in charge of giving orders, to make sure everyone does their part and to make sure none of your comrades have to die…I know you don't need the lecture about 'being a leader is a tough job' because you do have the experience under the belt already. I'd just like to remind you that you will be in charge of the KANSENs' lives until I arrive. Please do not make any reckless decisions, Enterprise and think carefully on requests or orders that you might receive." William said to Enterprise as he put his hand on her left shoulder.

William is afraid that someone out there will take the advantage of the ship girls when he's unable to lead them temporarily, he knows Lena will do whatever it takes to prevent that, but there's no telling what might happen in the battlefield, thus the reason why William told Enterprise regarding 'disobeying' command. What if the ship girls are sacrificed for a desperate push just because some bastard thought they're stronger than the average human, so it's enough reason to make them tank enemy attacks? Assholes like that do exist, and William is afraid one might do that. Enterprise is not a fool, she's a good leader with her only weakness is her tendency to be reckless…In a way, he did see himself within her. It is hypocritical of him to say that to her when he's still doing that on occasion, but comparing his life to the ship girls? His life is worth less than theirs.

"You have my word, commander. I'll make you proud." Enterprise said to William with a serious face.

"I know you will…Thus, I'll give you this info that I got from Lena a few hours ago. Eagle Union ship girls will head for this base after the battle, everyone that's currently available, and that's including Yorktown, who's waiting for you with the 7th fleet." William said to Enterprise.

"Yorktown?! She's participating in the fight!?" Enterprise asked William with widened eyes.

"She's among the few who held the line when the invasion began, last I heard. You get to fight together as sisters once again and after that? She'll join us…One more reason why you should do your best, but not be reckless, Enterprise." William said to Enterprise while he smiled.

"Yeah, I understand…I'm ready to fight them." Enterprise said to William while she smiled confidently.

"Good…do your best out there, Enterprise." William said to Enterprise while he smiled.

"Thanks commander." Enterprise said to William.

Just as he's about to reply, Enterprise swooped in and pecked him on his cheek before heading off toward the Eagle Union dorms. William still sat there with a wide eye for a few seconds before he snorted and chuckled to himself. Well, that certainly motivates him to do his best and try to heed his own advice that he gave to Enterprise…An hour later, William stood above the canteen with Hood as they witnessed the ship girls boarding the dropship one by one. Many of them stopped a bit to chat with William, telling him to be careful, expressing their concerns, or just to say a few words before heading off. William smiled as he talked to each and every one of them, the girls boarded the dropship and waved at him as the dropship lifted off the ground and immediately headed off for Eagle Union.

"…It's kind of sad having to see the ladies away without being able to go with them." William said out loud while he smiled a bit.

"Well dear, now you know how I feel." Hood said to William as she approached him and snuggled on his left arm.

"Hehehehe…Yeah, I do. I'm sorry regarding personnel placement Hood." William said to Hood as he pulled her into one arm hug.

"It's fine, I understand your reasoning. We'll be fine here in case they ever attack us, what worries me is how many Sirens you will face out there." Hood said to William while she frowned a bit.

"I get you, millions of Sirens stationed all around New York is indeed nightmare fuel. Not to mention I heard they're deploying new units; it will be harder than usual…I hope that the upgrades I will receive from HQ is enough to even the odds." William said to Hood in low tone.

"…You're nervous?" Hood asked William while she frowned.

"Of course…I know I trained hard, so if I have to face Midnight once again, I wouldn't be defeated as quickly as I was on Furushima…But even after all that training, I still feel that…it's not enough." William said to Hood.

"I know how hard you trained yourself, Will. It may not be enough, but if you live through the second fight with Midnight, then you will know exactly the progress you've made since your last encounter with him…You don't have to win, all I want is for you to come back here safe and sound. That's all I ask of you." Hood said to William as she stared at him.

"Strange, you didn't lecture me about recklessness." William said to Hood while he cocked his eyebrows.

"Because I know you're going to be reckless when you consider it necessary…That is why, even if you do, please return here safely Will." Hood said to William with a serious face.

"…I will do my best." William said to Hood.

Yeah, he really doesn't want to worry her. Now he has even more reason to return alive, he will do whatever it takes to make sure of it. Hood stared at him while she smiled a bit in satisfaction, he couldn't help himself but to lean in and kiss her directly on the lips for being so beautiful. Of course the woman was surprised, but she immediately returned the gesture…After that William headed for Akashi's shop, where the owner was already waiting for him. Akashi immediately guided William inside the shop, so he could equip his armor and immediately head toward HQ. The situation is bleak, so the less time he could waste then the better…William equipped his undersuit and had the armor assembled on him then immediately tested its features, everything seems to be working in order.

"Now remember, this armor isn't built to take consecutive hits, so try your best to avoid attacks nya." Akashi said to William.

"Of course…Oh hey, Akashi, there's a chance that I will fight in the field for months. The crotch area for the undersuit could be taken off, right?" William asked Akashi.

"Not exactly taken off, temporarily opened. It should expose your butt and 'main gun' enough to perform their functions nya~" Akashi said to William while she grinned.

"Glad to hear that, I'm heading off Akashi." William said to Akashi.

"Be sure to review the armor in the field alright nya?" Akashi said to William while she smiled.

"Got it." William said to Akashi as he gave her a thumbs up.

When he stepped outside while carrying his helmet, he noticed that a few ship girls were already waiting for him. Warspite, Hood, Bismarck, and Nagato. Huh, looks like they're the party that will send him off…The method for him to go to HQ is a bit unorthodox, that's why all of them now converged in the park. Hood approached William and handed him a small bag which he took and put on his front torso because it would get burned to crisp if he put it on his backside, the jet thruster is a safety hazard if handled carelessly.

"Your phone and a few things to eat on the way to headquarters." Hood said to William while she smiled.

"Thanks darling, I think it'll be empty by the time I arrive there." William said to Hood while he smiled.

"Fufu, I figured as much." Hood said to William while she smiled softly.

"Remember your training commander, do nothing but your absolute best out there." Warspite said to William while she smiled.

"Got it instructor, I won't let you down." William said to Warspite while he grinned.

"Shikikan-sama, here is something from me." Nagato said to William as she offered him something.

"Oh? What is this?" William asked Nagato as he stared at the paper ornament that she gave him.

"It's a good luck charm, for thou's successful endeavor on the battlefield." Nagato said to William while she smiled.

"I'll be sure to keep this, thanks Nagato." William said to Nagato while he smiled.

"Kommandant, here's something I made a few days ago." Bismarck said to William as she handed him something.

"A beetle? No, a drone beetle?" William asked Bismarck as he inspected the drone.

"I planned on making a dragon themed one, but I couldn't complete it due to the invasion…Hopefully, it'll be ready when you return here." Bismarck said to William while she smiled a bit.

"Thanks anyway Bismarck, so what could this little bug do?" William asked Bismarck while he smiled.

"It's a reconnaissance drone, I'm sure you'll find it useful in the upcoming battle kommandant. It's compatible with your armor OS, Aibou should be able to help you." Bismarck explained to William.

"Alright…Danke schon, wunderschönen." William said to Bismarck while he smirked.

"Ah, uh, bitte…kommandant." Bismarck said to William while her cheeks were reddening.

"When did you learn to speak German, commander?" Warspite asked William while she smiled cheekily.

"Picked it up during my study session…Thank you everyone, now I'm ready to fight." William said out loud while he smiled widely.

He's glad that the girls will send him off before the fight, not to mention he got a good luck charm and a reconnaissance drone. That definitely motivated him to fight as best as he could later on the battlefield…He heard a low sound of a jet engine approaching the base, and William nodded his head to the ship girls before he equipped his helmet, the ship girls took a few steps backwards as William activated his jet thrusters. Few seconds later, a C-17 transport flew at low speed over the base, and that plane was William's ride to headquarters.

"Later everyone!" William said out loud.

"Take care, dear!" Hood said to William while she waved.

William nodded his head before he waltzed upwards using his jetpack, the C-17 opened its rear hatch, and William immediately flew inside then landed smoothly in the passenger bay. The personnel who watched him do that are in disbelief, they were only told to open the rear hatch to let the VIP in, but they certainly didn't expect him to just fly from the ground with a jetpack. William stood up and looked around at the people inside the passenger bay. He was about to say something when someone walked toward him while holding a tablet.

"A call for you sir." The man said to William.

"Thanks…Lucas, it's rare for you to contact me using this kind of method." William said to Lucas whose face was shown on screen.

"Yeah, I know, we need privacy, and I don't know your radio channel for the armor just yet. I just want to say that we'll be pulling all the stops for your upgrades, even including the DNA Mod that we could give you as soon as you arrive at HQ." Lucas said to William with a serious face.

"It's completed?" William asked Lucas.

"It is. We could immediately apply it to you, and you will get many significant boosts to your physical capabilities, with some side effects." Lucas said to William while frowned a bit.

"Lay it on me." William said to Lucas as he walked toward the plane's closing hatch.

"…Would you like to experience a second puberty?" Lucas asked William while he grinned.

"…Ah shite, that's the side effect? How long?" William asked Lucas while he frowned, though due to the helmet Lucas couldn't actually see it.

"Several months, you might find yourself a bit angrier, more aggressive during a fight, and hornier than you usually are. Though I think it's a good trade off as it only lasts for a few months, I'd still like to ask you the question…This is a life changing experience after all…You're my good friend, I won't risk it unless you agree." Lucas said to William.

"…This is the reason why you told me to go to HQ huh?" William asked Lucas while he frowned.

"To be honest, you're right. But that's not all, your mother has prepared the armor modifications, and several new toys for you to field test against the Sirens." Lucas said to William while he smirked.

So this is it, the serum for the DNA modification is completed. William fell into deep silence as he thought and weighed the pros and cons in taking the serum, what Lucas said could be basically translated as him being more emotional in exchange for gaining power that might be on par with the ship girls…THIS QUESTION IS A NO BRAINER! William planned to survive this fight; the serum would make it easier! Sure, he will lose some composure, but that's a small price to pay for victory! Besides, it only lasts for a few months anyway! William shouldn't be pondering about this! The answer is pretty obvious! Not to mention, his mother came up with upgrades for his armor, which is already pretty loaded with abilities and 'toys' or new weapons for him to field test! It's a significant win in his opinion! The chance of winning against the Sirens is even higher than ever now!

"In that case, I'm down for this." William answered without hesitation in his voice.

"Hoho! My boy, I knew you wouldn't let me down! You could massacre those bastards without a problem after this!" Lucas said to William while he grinned.

"Heh, whatever you say old man." William said to Lucas while he rolled his eye, what a good friend he is to ask despite already knowing the answer.

"Just one thing though; if you're going to have sex with the ship girls, please don't creampie them for the duration of this battle, since your sperm will be very potent after you take the serum. I understand if your fetish is internal ejaculation or impregnation, I'm not kink shaming, but please try to-" Lucas said to William.

"MIND YOUR OWN FUCKING BUSINESS YOU OLD BASTARD!" William shouted with all his might. For fuck sake, Lucas Carville!

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Updated: 14-02-2022 (Beta readed by Culture-Hunt3r)

…It finally happened, and everyone is needed in the fight to retake New York from the Sirens, it will be a tough battle with everyone's resolve and skill being put to the test. William finally has to 'limit break' himself and gain significant combat strength, but would that be enough? One thing is for sure though, a big battle awaits. As usual, thank you for the follows, favorites, and reviews dear readers. Stay tuned for the next chapter!

See you next time!

- Dasmara