Chapter 28: Aloadae

"Seriously? I'm on scavenger duty? I fight stuff and that's what I'm good at! My talents are wasted on trash management!"

Alexander gave Purifier a withering glare, growling, "Well I hate to break the news to you but you don't have a ship right now. Neither does Observer Zero and the Bakunawa isn't going to be mobile for at least another five days, let alone be at combat readiness. So unless you want to go around punching other Siren ships with your bare hands your current assignment is to keep tally with Zero of any and all salvage operations, make use of your familiarity with that tech to help organize and direct efforts."

Purifier looked ready to protest-

"Quite bitching at me, if anything you should be happy about this. I'm hoping to cobble together a fleet of refurbished Siren vessels from all the wreckage around here and that means you'll actually get first pick of the litter."

-and instead switched gears to sadistically eager, humming to herself as she mused, "Well it won't be my old ship but anything is better than nothing...hey, do you think those shipgirls would mind having another go round with-"

"Go anywhere near them and I'll finish what I started."

The flat, utterly inflectionless warning caused Purifier to pout, Zero amusedly remarking, "Always the brutish one, are you not?"

"Shut up, you're just as bad as me except you do sneaky and boring stuff all the time!"

Releasing an agitated breath through his teeth Alexander reigned in his temper, largely having moved past his desire to beat the pair to death but still finding it hard to completely move beyond the reality of what they had done.

"If it's a fight you want I'll set aside an hour or so every couple days and we can beat the shit out of each other or something."

Purifier looked like Christmas had come early, eagerly asking, "Wow, really~?! Heh, wouldn't have figured you to be the scrapper type."

The male shrugged, remarking, "You grow up in this world working on the docks without parental supervision and you figure out how to look after yourself just fine. Maybe I'll surprise you."

Zero tapped her lip, musing, "You refused to lay a hand on us earlier yet now profess a desire to physically engage in violence? Perhaps you and Purifier are more alike than I thought, what a shame."

Ignoring the more energetic Siren's childish tongue sticking towards Zero Alexander cooly explained, "There's a difference between what I was planning to do and having a sanctioned, mutual beatdown."

"If you say so. But you are setting aside two important subjects that need addressing, now that you have passed the first hurdle."

Crossing his arms and trying to ignore the quickly forming pit in his gut Alexander mused, "The second test, I take it?"

Zero cheerfully nodded, replying, "That is one of them, yes. Now that you have proven yourself against overwhelming military might you shall have to conquer other challenges, ones that will only be solved partially through brute force."

Narrowing his eyes Curtis grumbled, "And you won't tell me what they are?"

"No. After all, that would defeat the purpose. Humanity of the future did not understand or know what the Sirens were fully capable of or had planned, neither shall you."

Releasing a breath through gritted teeth he grunted, "And the other subject?"

"Simply put, you are neglecting a great many abilities we possess as Sirens."

The male blinked, caught off guard by the sudden comment.

"Come again?"

"Have you tried to make use of your ability to reverse and influence the flow of time in an area?"

"..."

"..."

"...Are you...are you saying that…"

Feeling like he was going to be physically sick, that he'd always possessed the means to bend reality and simply hadn't fucking tried the young man felt his grip tighten on the edge of the display they were looking at, composites groaning at his action-

"If you're freaking out that a bunch of people died during my attack for no reason and that you could have saved them, don't bother. Your ability to power that kind of temporal alteration is based directly off the Wisdom Cubes in your possession and the kind of wide-scale changes needed for our battle would have drained them dry in one go, leaving your ship helpless in whatever new timeline or scenario you popped up in."

Purifier's words drew Alexander's gaze, the Siren shrugging as she continued with, "We're only able to rewind and alter time because the Creator used an entire planet's worth of combined energy - alongside who knows how many Wisdom Cubes - to form a reservoir we can interact with...and even that wasn't finite, since it was coming dangerously close to draining entirely when this cold-blooded and boring schemer hatched her little plan. The battle happened the way it only could have happened, quit freaking out over it."

Entirely unsure of how to feel about the fact that he was being comforted by a Siren he held no shortage of animosity for Alexander decided to move the conversation along, staring at the pair of yellow-eyed women as he asked, "Well if I can't alter the course of battles or anything like that then what the hell is the point?"

"You think too small. To affect hundreds of warships is beyond your scope, but what of a few individuals? Suppose a conversation or scenario goes awry in a manner unpleasant to you, would you not prefer having the means to reverse it?"

Purifier, for the briefest of moments, appeared serious as she added on, "Don't forget, the Sirens of the future will appear and knowing how to counteract and disrupt their ability to affect time and reality will be crucial."

Huffing out a sigh the male ran a hand through his hair, remarking, "Alright, point made. Now how, exactly, do I go about learning this-"

[Alexander? The Commander wants to see you in his office at your earliest convenience, is this a good time?]

Blinking at Essex's sudden mental call he responded back, "It can be, but why his office? Wouldn't it make more sense and be safer to have it onboard the Bakunawa?"

[He didn't say but don't worry, there's a cleared road around the back of the island that won't have any personnel on it, you can use that.]

"Right, I should be along in twenty minutes or so."

Pulling back from the mental conversation he turned to the pair of Sirens, Zero sensing his unasked question as she airily replied, "Mastering this ability will take time, a minor delay will likely have minute consequences."

"Right. Then get to work with the tasks I gave you and we'll meet later. Only when I call you and not of your own volition, is that clear?"

Purifier rolled her eyes while Zero merely smiled amicably, Alexander inwardly sighing at just how much more complicated everything seemed to be these days.

"You wanted to see me?"

Giving the pair of admirals he vaguely recalled seeing during the final meeting before the siege of Azur Lane a brief glance Alexander reserved most of his attention for the Commander, Nagato, Elizabeth and Akashi, the quartet giving him amicable and friendly expressions.

…

Maybe it was just his imagination but the expressions of the shipgirls seemed a bit more intense than they were previously, a bit more feverish?

He shook his head clear of that line of thought and nodded in what he hoped was a respectful display, inwardly reflecting that he'd never really learned how to salute.

"You holding up okay, son?"

Blinking at the sudden inquiry from the older male he could only shrug, replying, "As well as can be expected."

His eyes flicked towards the shipgirls, adding, "Cooler and more experienced heads have helped keep me on an even keel."

"Good to hear. In that case mind sharing with us any and all info you can? Being connected to the Sirens and their motives you bring an invaluable insight to the whole deal."

He flicked his eyes towards the non Azur Lane officers.

"I assume it's alright if I tell them all that there is to tell?"

"They wouldn't be here otherwise. And your previous meeting was so brief I don't believe you were formally introduced to Admirals Harrison and Elias, Alexander."

Giving the Eagle Union and Ironblood duo a respectful nod which they seemed content to return the Siren couldn't help but muse, "I'm surprised they went along with the planned defense of Azur Lane, what with the sudden reveal of my status and everything at the eleventh hour."

Elias snorted, speaking in heavily accented english with, "Had our backs not been up against the proverbial wall we very well might have...but after the events of the past few days, reviewing what information has been provided and the personal approval of Prinz Eugen and Enterprise denying your assistance and aid to our common cause would just be acting out of spite and pointless fear."

Feeling a surge of affection for the shipgirls that he was quick to stifle - he needed his wits about him, not blushing like a virgin schoolboy - he settled for a nod, announcing, "Well for the first big announcement then...the Sirens will never be able to launch an offensive of that scale and size again, a full three-fourths of their armed forces were annihilated in the battle and to my understanding their ship-building capabilities are limited. To construct their forces up to the strength they previously had will take decades."

No shortage of eyes widening greeted Curtis, the young man taking a bit of childish amusement at the unified action, only the Commander remaining as cool as a cucumber.

"You're right that that's a big announcement, son. But as much as I'd like to march off and declare V-day it sounds like we still have anywhere from 200 to 300 Siren ships lurking around out there, two or three more being constructed every month while our own forces took one heck of a beating. And that's assuming they don't step up production either, which I imagine they'll do."

The room sobered, recognizing that the situation - while improved beyond recognition - had simply gone from utterly fucked to dangerously lopsided.

"And if they aren't going to be launching any more massive sieges then it stands to reason they'll try more indirect assaults, correct? Hit and run, ambush...what about those crazy schemes they cooked up beforehand, like the weather control tower?"

Only able to shrug Alexander responded, "Can't say for sure but that seems like a logical progression of things."

Ellias pinched the bridge of his nose, commenting, "Then we will have to adapt as well...and that raises perhaps the most pertinent question we will have to answer sooner rather than later."

The Ironblood admiral spread his hands, remarking, "How shall we distribute the Bakunawa's technological bounties? Should we distribute them at all?"

Elizabeth turned to a blinking Alexander, the man not having expected that comment in the slightest. Even if he really should have, now that he thought about it.

"Akashi mentioned that you advised them to tread carefully during the construction of the Shinsei, only giving the go ahead when there was little recourse left. That implies you wish for some of these marvels of science to remain unexplored, or at the very least highly regulated."

Hesitating as he was put in the spotlight Alexander huffed, deciding that being upfront about this subject was the right choice...besides, most of the people in the room had decided to put their faith in him when countless others wouldn't have. It was time to start paying that back, little by little.

"What Akashi, I-13 and Essex stumbled upon was what's called nuclear fission. It's a method of harnessing power that can afford nearly limitless energy with next to no harmful emissions aside from a few nasty bits that can be neutralized with a bit of careful preparation and a much more manageable supply chain to boot."

The Commander's interest was confined to a raised eyebrow, voice calm as he asked, "Judging by the Shinsei, there's more to it than just a bounty of clean and plentiful energy."

"Exactly. The same process that creates aforementioned energy can be altered so that it releases a great deal of energy all at once, with enough power to wipe a city clean off the map."

That got no shortage of understanding looks, Alexander continuing with, "But - as strange as this may sound - that's not the most dangerous part of it. You're familiar with radiation and its adverse effect on the human body?"

The group nodded, Akashi seeming to catch onto the implications as her ears and tail wilted, Harrison replying, "Only in the most broad terms. Something about it degrading and destroying the building blocks of the body?"

"In a nutshell, yes...the Shinsei was detonated underwater, was relatively low-yield and exploded a fair distance away from Azur Lane so we won't have to worry about it but more powerful bombs - or god forbid a malfunctioning power plant - can release enough radiation in the 'right' circumstances to make entire continents uninhabitable for several generations, likely more."

He took a deep breath, Akashi meeting his gaze and the morose look on the brilliant inventor's features let him know she had at least a rough idea of how dangerous the science behind the weapon she had created could be.

"That's one of the difficulties the humanity of the future faced further down the road. They made use of so many of these weapons that the planet became covered in large swathes of radioactive clouds, reducing their ability to grow crops and find safe places to live. The worst nuclear winter you can imagine."

His features took on a grim tinge.

"And that's only one of the various technologies I've got squirreled away in my brain and the Bakunawa's computers. Yes, we've been making use of these inventions to save humanity and no one is going to complain about that...but none of these exist in a vacuum."

He raised a hand, commenting, "The engines on our new fighter craft and drones? Completely revolutionize air travel, allowing it to become a viable industry for civilians in the future. The railguns? Cheap and fairly efficient means of mass travel or breaching the atmosphere without the use of conventional fuel. The factories aboard my ship? A streamlined and highly refined process of cheap manufacturing that eliminates the need for human workers."

He shook his head, grimly remarking, "As crass and hard to believe as this may sound...these could impact the world to an even greater extent than the invasion of the Sirens did. All of these technologies were introduced gradually over more than a century, dumping them into the proverbial mixing pot at once is asking for chaos."

Silence greeted him, broken only by Nagato quietly sighing as she remarked, "You are wary of those outside Azur Lane, aren't you?"

Blinking at the tiny shipgirl's sudden comment he quickly replied, "That doesn't really have much to do with-"

"You need not divert and attempt to hide from the truth, Alexander. The Commander has no doubt had you sit in on quite a few discussions between him and those that rule from the safety of the furthest reaches inland."

Elizabeth's uncannily accurate observation had Harrison and Elias turning to the Commander, the older man simply shrugging as the Siren admitted, "It was the one where they discussed the feasibility of mining for rare earth metals...I wasn't impressed, to put it lightly."

When he had just been a normal human daily concerns had focused mainly on surviving out the month, not on the decisions from a distant, impersonal authority hidden away in some secure bunker. Not to mention that news was a far cry from what it had been, communications both spotty and unreliable when a single disruption of roads or printing press could delay events by days or even weeks.

Finally getting to sit in on discussion between their highest levels of government had been an...enlightening experience, to say the least. In much the same way discovering that your previously distant but amicable father was actually a deranged serial killer.

Nonetheless he turned to the group, asking, "What makes you think that's the cause though?"

Nagato arched an eyebrow, stating, "You willingly and without caveat bequeathed us reams of technological gifts, granting a monopoly over both the physical and technical know-how of further production...yet you now bawk at gifting it to the world at large? That implies a distrust of those outside of Azur Lane, does it not?"

"...Yes. Guess I should have expected the leader of the Sakura to have a discerning eye."

The diminutive shipgirl seemed highly satisfied with her conclusion - and for whatever reason caused Elizabeth to pout - as he turned back to the military outfit, commenting, "I'm not beholden to the chain of command and have no determined rank...but I would highly suggest that whatever is decided here is given due thought and caution, I simply don't have any real way of telling how this abrupt technological upshifting will go."

The room was yet again silent, no one saying anything for a time...and Elias suddenly spoke up with, "These technologies you are so wary of, do you possess any that may be used in their entirety for humanitarian purposes? Mass food production or water purification, for example? While I do not doubt they may also be used for ill purposes I doubt it will be as simple or immediately dangerous as grabbing ahold of a Shinsei."

Giving the Ironblood man's words serious thought Alexander went through what he knew, the Bakunawa providing a few answers as he eventually replied, "There are a few that fit that kind of criteria. Some water filtering plants can be upscaled to serve more than ten thousand people and they don't do anything more impressive than some basic chemistry with a few finely spun textiles and other fabrics not yet created serving as filters, desalination was a big business in the future. And as for mass food production? Well as long as people don't mind very basic flavors like chicken, beans or bananas then it's possible to churn out nutritious ration bars by the hundreds of thousands that can be eaten in a pinch. And all they're made of is highly efficient recycling technology."

That seemed to satisfy everyone at least for the moment, the Commander stating, "Good, one of the biggest problems facing humanity right now is the need to properly feed and supply our remaining populations. If these do what you say they will they'll earn us a great deal of breathing room to plan and decide what kinds of technology will be beneficial towards humanity as a whole, since we'll be proving that we're sharing things as they're 'discovered'."

Alexander raised an eyebrow.

"We'll decide?"

The Commander didn't so much as bat an eye.

"Yes, we. Son, you're the one with all the future knowledge of the changes these new gizmos cause. If you say we need to be careful on how and when we implement them then I'm inclined to believe you."

"...Right."

Not entirely sure on how to react to the knowledge that he was the sole provider of techniques that would heavily influence humanity's future Alexander instead carried on with, "I'll compile a list and bunch of blueprints on how to build these things, have em' ready by the end of the day for distribution. Anything else I need to know about?"

At this all eyes turned to Akashi, the tiny Sakura blushing for a moment before reaching behind her chair, pulling out a sketch pad of considerable size before flipping through it to a specific page, nervously stating, "W-well what do you think of this, nya?"

She showed him the drawing that had been kept out of sight, Alexander raising an eyebrow at the imposing image of a figure clad in what looked like highly advanced battle armor, features concealed beneath a helm vaguely reminiscent of the Sakura's samurai.

"Pretty impressive, but what's this all about?"

"That's you, nya."

"...Huh?"

Nagato covered for the suddenly shy inventor, explaining, "We realized that with the gradually changing situation - as well as your own proven loyalty and bravery in aiding Azur Lane - it was high time we allow you to walk freely among us once more. To that end Akashi came up with a rather clever scheme."

Tapping her scepter on the floor and confidently crossing her legs Elizabeth added, "You will be introduced to the world as a volunteer that willingly underwent an unknown process from the Sirens that could perhaps save your life after being grievously wounded. What it did was instead grant you a vastly improved body alongside cybernetic enhancements and a suit of armor, your new position being to act as a bodyguard for either the Commander, myself or Nagato."

A brilliant smile appeared on the Royal Navy battleship's lips.

"Well? An act of genius, is it not~? Oh hoh hoh!"

Alexander could only dumbly stare, shocked at the completely out of nowhere offer that they had come up with when he hadn't expected anything of the sort in the slightest.

"I...I, well…"

He shook his head, trying to muster up some kind of intelligent statement.

"I don't have the ability to create any other people like me. If we go down this route there's no guarantee the story will hold once-"

The Commander shrugged, commenting, "We can truthfully say that the whole process is still a work in progress requiring much additional research before anyone else undergoes it."

"Okay, sure, but...people are never going to accept this, the war with the Sirens has-"

"Umm, about that, nya?"

Akashi hesitantly interrupted him, holding up her sketch book so that he could get a closer look at it.

"That's why I added so many different design inspirations, nya. For the Eagle Union the light emitters on it will shine red, white and blue. The helmet is like those old samurai designs from the Sakura but it's body and gauntlets are made to look like an old knight's plate armor for the Royal Navy while the plates themselves had grey, red and black colors like the Ironblood shipgirls do. You'll be a Siren, sure, but one that appeals a little bit to everyone, nya."

Nagato nodded at the repair ships explanation, Curtis struck dumb as she quietly stated, "The world is changing and the future will be quite the different thing compared to how it once was...the people of the nations will have to grow acclimated to Siren technology and the idea that its appearance and functions are not inherently a bad thing. And to do so we need a human face to pave the way."

A more gentle smile appeared on the Sakura's features.

"More specifically, we did not wish for you to be isolated from humanity for the rest of your days, not after you had done so much to save it."

Alexander found that he had to speak past a lump in his throat, roughly clearing it before replying, "If you say so and have gone to such lengths then, sure...I'll do it."

His response was thankfully understood despite its dismissive tone, the shipgirls smiling in response to his words as the Commander stated, "I think we're done for the moment, son. Get started on that fancy suit Akashi designed and have those blueprints of the tech we were talking about earlier primed and ready to go by tonight...we've still got a lot of work ahead of us."

He paused, appearing thoughtful before commenting, "Also we can't go calling you a Siren and while it would be a nice head nod to Shoukaku and Zuikaku 'Mermaid' doesn't really have the same gravitas to it. How does Aloadae sound? Still Greek but with far more positive connotations."

Slowly nodding in acceptance of the title he found that he kinda liked it.

"Understood. Akashi, mind if I see those-huh?"

Blinking as the minty kitty all but teleported onto his back where she looped her arms around his neck he sent a questioning glance towards Nagato and Eizabeth, the former seeming amused while the latter had a puffed out cheek as if in vexation.

"Umm...not that I don't appreciate the company but aren't you busy with another bunch of projects, Akashi?"

"I can do them from the Bakunawa! Besides, I designed this so you'll need my input, nya!"

Unable and unwilling to refute the point he just nodded to the rest of the room and departed, shipgirl clinging to his back and inwardly marveling at how lucky he was that he had people looking out for him.

"Huh...if this ends up working I wonder what people back in the settlements who knew me would think."

In response to AcidPebble's review.

Yes, that is a teensy bit insane. Thus I recommend you reread the chapters and come to the realization that's not at all what was happening.