Chapter 45: Renewed Hope (Part 4)
"This room is completely safe and free from any kind of outside interference or eavesdropping. If there's anything you want to tell me or impart of your time spent among the northern climates in complete confidence now is the time to do so."
The Commander's expression grew steely.
"I take it this has more than a little bit to do with your mention of the Sirens being able to take over and control people?"
Grim nods and scowls left the assembled shipgirls, Admiral Kirill also in attendance as they convened inside a sealed and locked meeting room, the only decorations being a set of chairs and a large podium in the center that looked like some kind of high tech planning table.
"Unfortunately that is exactly what it's about. While I only heard tales of this from the lovely young ladies at my side it sounds like a sordid affair most unfortunate."
"A bit of an understatement…"
Jean Bart's muttered comment had the Commander narrowing his eyes, calmly stating, "Then tell me about it. I understand all of you have reservations about Alexander Curtis and the technology he brings to the table. This is your chance to convince me there's actual danger and not just an understandable but misplaced sense of apprehension over someone who only has the misfortune to look like the enemy."
Glances were shared by the gathered shipgirls, clear discourse and discontent plain to see. Jean Bart was the most obviously displeased while Le Malin, Tashkent, Sovetskaya and Chao Ho also didn't seem in any rush to go to his defense. The rest of the newly arrived shipgirls appeared to be more open to believing in the man's ultimate 'innocence', Émile Bertin evidently the most in his camp as she sent a disapproving frown her companion's way.
"So tell me, everyone…what happened?"
Le Malin shivered with a noticeable wince, Jeanne setting a comforting hand on the destroyer's shoulder as Jean Bart sucked in a trembling breath, eyes briefly closing as she began with, "After supply and reinforcement from the oceans became impossible due to Siren blockades while land routes were falling under air raids more and more consistently we had a choice to make. Either focus our efforts on breaking a hole in aforementioned blockade or take what people we could and flee to our last remaining stronghold, the Basilica."
The normally strong and brazen woman tightened her hands around her arms, fingers squeezing with crushing strength as she tersely continued with, "We chose the latter, since we lacked any kind of real air support and would have only been able to keep the blockade at bay for a short time. To that end most people fled deeper inland while we escorted the rest to the Basilica."
Jeanne took up the thread of the story, somberly stating, "In between the significant defenses, carefully cultivated ocean ecosystem and ample space it would serve as a safe zone that our people could find sanctuary at. And there was always the possibility that some kind of breakthrough could be discovered in terms of technology, since a fair bit of the Basilica's inner workings were a mystery."
The Commander nodded, knowing full well that the Iris and Vichya had always been eager to uncover some of the architectural workings of the colossal fortress but had met with little success, much of its processes no doubt Siren in origin.
"But…that hope lasted merely a few months."
Bart scowled, angrily relaying, "Some kind of discovery or breakthrough had been made with the things we didn't understand, Algérie and Richelieu went to investigate…and they came back different."
Le Malin's grimace spoke volumes, the normally lazy destroyer's expression suggesting that she was far and away with memories that would rather be forgotten.
"Both of them returned with some kind of strange metal collar, it made them…it was like something else was controlling them, their gazes distant and unnatural."
Shining eyes with strikingly unusual pupils squeezed themselves shut.
"Algérie killed Le Triomphant before we even realized what they were doing, their vessels turning on us as a Siren force attacked at the same time, the Basilica's weapons following suit."
Jeanne released a quiet sigh, finishing the brief explanation with, "We lost many of our sisters and would have been finished off by those forces if we hadn't had the fortune to meet up with our other fleeing comrades and take refuge in the northern climes, mostly due to Tashkent, Sovetskaya and Admiral Kirill's guidance."
The Commander merely nodded, expression pensive as Jean Bart clenched her fists, tersely stating, "That's why we don't trust Curtis or whoever he's pretending to be. We hoped and relied on Siren artifacts being our salvation. Instead it robbed our sisters of their will and forced us to flee from the one place we could still call home, innocent blood paving the road for our flight."
Yet again not reacting to the shipgirl's words beyond a pensive massaging of his chin the Commander turned to Kirill, the Parliament admiral reading his unasked question before responding, "Their words have merit. We yet again relied on and tampered with Siren technology during our stay in the north. Had it not been for your forces' arrival we very well may have perished."
Émile cast a pointed look at her more recalcitrant comrades.
"A force that included a certain figure of suspicion, yes? Or will you lay the blame of sending sufficient warning and saving my life on the supposed traitor in our midst?"
"As if you are in any position to speak on the matter. You're-"
"Ladies? Keep it civil."
The distracted but ironclad words of the Commander as he tabbed through a computer brought a swift end to the brewing argument, a satisfied nod leaving the man a moment later as he explained, "Here's the reality of the situation. As of this very moment almost half of the shipgirls are outfitted with the upgrades Alexander Curtis provided. Most of Azur Lane's industry and research divisions have taken full advantage of the knowledge provided by the Bakunawa and are already churning out new ships, weapons and resources that can be used to further enhance the newest wave of reinforcements. The settlements have already begun scouting and hiring laborers for the factories and processors that will fuel the infrastructure we've built and are building, never mind the water purification and other necessary quality of life improvements that have been drafted up."
The man's words caused a few raised brows among the more composed group, more visceral reactions among those that already had their reservations as Jean in particular looked horrified at the extent her worst fears had already come to pass.
"In asking me to suspect and be wary of Curtis and all he's brought to the table you're asking me to be wary and potentially even do away with the single, sole reason we're even still in this war."
He steepled his fingertips, calmly reassuring them with, "Now I understand that you have experienced many trials and tribulations to get here, never mind the plethora of evidence that speaks in support of your decisions…but there's simply no easy way around the fact that we would be placing ourselves at a massive disadvantage by doing away with all of these technologies."
His eyes hardened, meeting the gaze of every shipgirl one by one.
"If you want to convince me of this course of action, very well…but before you continue on that train of thought allow me to offer my own experience with matters, of what Azur Lane has undergone in your absence."
He flipped a switch on his device, light flickering to life on the various displays as the Commander continued with, "This is a recording of the siege we suffered, taken from overhead drones and the audio logs of the forces involved in the battle. Perhaps you'll change your opinions of our unconventional ally after witnessing it."
The ominous words accompanied the start of the record…and more than a few gasps or muttered curses left the shipgirls as they got a good look at the Siren fleet bearing down on their allies, several hundred vessels moving as an unstoppable armada while a humorless smile left the older man.
"I know most of humanity did."
Tashkent thought of herself as a pragmatic and cool-headed person, one not given to emotional outbursts who always kept a realistic view of the world and didn't expect or desire all that much out of life. She was perfectly content to just take things in stride and find what enjoyment there was to have in the busy, hectic schedule of existence.
Thus it was unpleasantly novel to experience real, chilling dread as she watched the recording of her sisters and Azur Lane as a whole desperately try to fight off a Siren armada beyond anything she had ever imagined possible. An armada that hadn't relied just on numbers but also brutally efficient tactics and counterblows, never allowing itself to lose the initiative for long as it forced engagement after engagement, never allowing the defenders a moment to rest.
More than 700 ships would have been terrifying enough just as a dumb beast…but a thinking, calculating viper?
"How did they even fend off this monster?"
She had seen the opening salvos against the battlegroup, heard the desperate battle in the hurricane and watched her sisters fall one by one to their implacable foe and now stood with their backs against Azur Lane itself, the hastily fortified island home resembling an erupting volcano as it sent unending streams of munitions into the hundreds of approaching Siren vessels while fleet elements did their best to add to the onslaught.
[Enterprise, Essex! Need your help!]
Wincing at the hoarse, tense shout of the very man they had for as long as they knew him suspected to be a possible traitor Tashkent quickly glanced around the room, trying to see if any of the others were as uncomfortable as she was with hearing something so…desperate. It was hard to reconcile the cool and somewhat distant giant with the voice that sounded as if it was on the verge of a panic attack.
Thankfully most of her sisters were just as disturbed and uneasy as she felt, watching the recording with hardly blinking eyes and pursed lips as the massacre played out, the various warnings, curses and other chatter of the battle leaving them feeling as if they themselves had been stuck right into the midst of the siege.
[God fucking DAMMIT! Commander, they fucking figured it out!]
This time there was no mistaking the frenzied and enraged shout from Alexander, his words a guttural roar as the Siren fleet suddenly seemed to fan out from their previous encirclement, a maneuver that the observing shipgirls could find no reason for.
Nor did it seem that anyone could do anything to stop it, the titanic vessel that Curtis commanded finally - after both suffering and dealing out an unimaginable amount of damage - falling dead in the water and remaining still, seemingly spent after days of battle.
Things looked grim, Chao Ho quietly murmuring, "How on Earth does this battle-WHAT THE?!"
There was no shortage of shocked gasps and yelps of fright as what looked like an underwater eruption of staggering proportions appeared beneath the Siren fleet, wiping out almost half of them in less than a second while the rest were swiftly engulfed by a wave that seemingly reached the heavens.
The rest of the recording was mercifully quiet, only a few mop up operations and countless rescues to be found…although the airborne drones picked up one final image, that of Alexander leaping atop his ship, a bleeding and injured I-13 cradled in his arms as the man gazed upwards-
-and Tashkent couldn't help but gasp slightly, such a series of conflicting emotions on the man's face that she honestly didn't even know where to begin.
Happiness, grief, fright, exhaustion…it was like the entirety of the human experience had struck him at that very moment, leaving behind only a fragile personality that could break at any moment.
She'd seen the same expression on far too many survivors and even her own sisters to mistake it for anything else.
The record mercifully came to an end, leaving behind only a hollow silence that was barely broken by the distant sounds of activity all over the base, the Commander letting them sort their thoughts about.
In all honesty the Parliament destroyer felt a bit sick to her stomach. Azur Lane had been fighting enemies like that, suffering gods knew how many casualties and almost being destroyed, all while they hid their heads in the snow and scurried about like rats avoiding the eye of a hungry cat.
How different would things have been, had they been here instead of cowering in the north? Perhaps more of her sisters would be alive, the world would be in less dire straits and-
"Enough, Little Blue."
Tashkent snapped out of her downward spiraling thoughts, the Commander's firm but always fatherly tone causing her to meet his stern gaze before nodding in embarrassed agreement, the man continuing with, "That goes for all of you. You couldn't have known and had no way of knowing. You kept tens of thousands of people safe under extremely trying circumstances and lived to tell the tale. If you're not going to take pride in that at least don't feel as if you failed."
The Parliament shipgirl flicked her eyes side to side, noticing that most of her gathered sisters had indeed looked despondent or downtrodden at the latest development before sitting straight at the older man's words.
"Now then…having witnessed what we're up against do you still believe we have a prayer of fighting against the Sirens with our previous level of tech?"
He steepled his fingers, continuing with, "That bomb - the Shinsei, as we call it - was created at the last minute by Akashi and barely saved the day. Shields, railguns, laser weaponry, guided missiles…and you've heard about the infrastructure projects that aren't related to weaponry or militarization."
The purple-haired shipgirl glanced at Sovetskaya, noticing the clenched fists the battleship had even if her outward appearance was as composed as ever. She could sympathize, this was a lot of information and upturning of preconceived notions, never mind escalation of what had already been a widespread and constant war.
""The Sirens were bruised but not beaten and are still in the game, ladies and gentlemen. Preliminary scouting and reconnaissance shows that they're ramping up production of military assets same as we are, difference being that they have more infrastructure and supply lines ready to go while we're scrambling to get started. You and yours are some of the only readily assets available that can be upgraded in a relatively short time frame to outright beat the Sirens ship for ship."
A ghost of a smile pulled at the man's lips.
"Humanity - it seems - will still be relying on your efforts and heroics."
"Nothing new about that."
Finally seeming to relax a fraction the Parliament woman settled into her chair, most of the others also easing up a bit as an affirmation that they were still needed provided a much needed bit of stability.
"So you want us to go through with that process like everyone else did."
Jean Bart's utterly inflectionless words instantly doused the upbeat and comraderly mood that had arisen, the Vichya woman's expression tight and even a trace frightened.
"You never explained why you seem to trust Curtis so much, or allow him such freedom in carrying out what is arguably the largest change in human history aside from the Siren war. Where did he even come from?"
The Commander didn't so much as flinch, respectfully facing Bart as he asked, "You still aren't convinced that he's fully on our side?"
For the first time Tashkent felt that her sister didn't have much ground to stand on. They'd seen the recording, heard the audio logs and seen him use that monstrous ship of his as a glorified meatshield to cover for both their kin and humans alike…most importantly, she'd seen his face when carrying I-13, the mix of rapturous vindication and deep suffering that she knew all too well.
And if the way her various sisters also shifted nervously at Jean's insistence was any indication she wasn't alone in that thought. Even Le Malin, Sovetskaya and Chao Ho seemed neutral on the subject.
"Hey, umm…miss Bart? I get that you're still worried and have bad memories but-"
A single, glacial look that would have had the entire Northern Parliament nodding in approval from the Vichya woman had I-26 snapping her jaw shut with a loud clack, the Commander merely shrugging before pulling up some more files, an image of a sun-kissed young man that bore a passing resemblance to Alexander appearing before them-
"Wait…is that Alexander?"
While not as muscular, tall, pale or grafted with metal the similarities were there, the Commander confirming it as he stated, "Before becoming an Aloadae Alexander Curtis was a dockworker at the Alaska port, living in one of the nearby settlements. He was involved in one of our operations that went south and was about to be killed by the Sirens until he set off a series of explosives in a suicidal attempt to deny them their prize, a shipment of Wisdom Cubes we stole."
The man shrugged.
"While the devil is in the details the long and short of it is that his actions resulted in the change to his body and acquisition of knowledge that we make liberal usage of to this day."
Fingers clasped together, the Commander resting his chin on them as he stared at an increasingly uncertain Bart, continuing with, "He has no family, they were killed in a Siren assault several years ago. One that Laffey saved him from, coincidentally."
Several of the shipgirls winced, instinctively understanding just why the man had sounded so defeated after the battle in the hurricane. That would have been a particularly nasty blow, finally being put in a position to help and aid a savior only to have them die aiding you again.
"...You never had any intention of actually deescalating or restraining him in any way, did you?"
Jean's slowly growing horror was calmly rebuffed by the older man, simply replying, "Not true. If you had valid reasons and evidence for why Curtis was a danger then I would take action without hesitation…but you don't. Or perhaps I should say you don't have valid reasons that outweigh potentially dooming all of humanity, which is what we would be gambling against if we were to deny and withhold Alexander or his resources."
A stony countenance quickly overtook the man.
"And let's not even go into the matter of how you would have Nagato and Elizabeth - or the rest of the shipgirls - go along with such a plan, or vast portions of the world. He's gaining a surprising amount of popularity after the summit, everyone likes a hero."
Le Malin tilted her head, confusedly murmuring, "Summit? What happened at the summit-"
She was shocked out of her ruminations as Jean Bart suddenly stood, striding from the room before firmly shutting the door behind her with a finality that was worse than any slam.
It was, unsurprisingly, Émile who leapt to her feet and stated, "I will speak with her, our fiery sister just needs to vent and someone she is diametrically opposed to will doubtlessly make for a good target."
"As much as things change some stay the same, I suppose."
The Libre cruiser paused only long enough to skip over to the Commander, placing two kisses on his weathered cheeks before giggling.
"You need to shave, grand-père. Your cheek is all scratchy."
"Call me that again and I'll have you running night patrols for a year."
Smiling brightly before dancing from the room Admiral Kirill unleashed a tired sigh, grumbling, "The more things change the more they stay the same? I cannot decide if that statement is hilarious at this moment or annoyingly poetic."
"Who's to say it cannot be both, old friend?"
There was a more peaceable moment of silence in the room, Sovetskaya looking towards Tashkent as the destroyer implicitly understood what her sister wanted.
A visit to Alexander, and soon.
"What would you have us do now, Commander?"
Jeanne's sudden question had the older man stroking his chin, asking, "So you're all in favor of receiving the upgrades Alexander offers?"
There was only minor hesitation before unanimous nods left the assembled group, I-25 stating, "Well for what it's worth we've already started getting the enhancements and it feels alright so far."
"Yeah! Kinda tingly and numbing every now and again but otherwise it's a-okay! And I bet Émile will have Jean all fixed up in no time!"
"Let's hope so. Kirill? We're already bringing up the carcasses of destroyed Siren ships and refurbishing them, a few more months and you should have a small but potent command. In the meantime you'll be in charge of local Azur Lane missions, organizing patrols and the rest."
The Commander scowled momentarily.
"Assuming the Parliament doesn't attempt to call you back."
"I doubt such a thing will occur. The leadership is scattered and only sporadically communicates, what with the harsh climate and constant Siren presence. Or at least that was the state of things last I checked, perhaps circumstances will be better with this scheme of yours."
"One can hope. I-25, 26? Once your refits are done you'll be off with Kawakaze, I-13, Akashi and Alexander to the Sakura mainland to aid in destroying the Siren presence there and liberating its people. The rest of you will continue the refits, run patrols and escort the people you saved to the Eagle Union mainland. Once you're all upgraded we'll decide on the next phase of our plans."
"Yes sir!"
While the response was formal in language it was wasn't in tone, some goofy and some serious as the shipgirls all rose to their feet and exited to go where they would. The subs ran off to watch their vessels get upgraded, Jeanne excused herself to check on the refugees while Sovetskaya approached Tashkent, quietly asking, "Are you ready?"
"Le Malin can come too, right?"
Ruby eyes rolled in a rare showing of resigned humor.
"I wasn't aware I could keep her from doing so anyways. Or am I the only one that remembers constantly having to hound you two for sneaking off to nap at every opportunity?"
The two destroyer's shared a brief look before nodding in agreement.
"You're the only one."
"I have no recollection of such an event, unfortunately."
The taller shipgirl heaved a resigned but affectionate sigh, Chao Ho and Ying Swei approaching the trio as the less prickly of the duo asked, "Mind if we join? I do believe someone wishes to apologize for earlier abrasiveness~!"
The partial redhead flushed, scowling as she sharply retorted, "I'm not going to apologize, just, you know! Stop being suspicious, that's it!"
Once more sighing Sovetskaya grumbled, "Only if you promise not to spend the whole trip there saying 'I told you so'. I think we're going to get a lot of that from our sisters as is."
Ying Swei's smile held no such promise whatsoever.
Jean knew who was approaching her far before she actually arrived, the distinctive clacking of bladed heels at a steady and measured pace belonging to only one of their sisters that she knew of.
"What do you want, Émile?"
"Can it not be about what I want but what you want?"
The brown-haired shipgirl sighed, reclining on a bench she'd stumbled across that overlooked Azur Lane as night time operations commenced, mood dour and lips pursed.
"Well what I want is to be alone right now. Take a hike."
"Mmm…no, I think I want to sit with you~!"
Clicking her tongue in annoyance at her fellow's irreverent and unstoppable cheer she caught the familiar scent of perfume and makeup. Not overly much, but just enough to be alluring.
"Guess you found your old stash here, huh?"
"I could say the same, I wasn't aware you had pirated so many interesting bits and pieces of vice."
Rolling the fat, carefully preserved cigar in her fingers Jean idly commented, "You know Algérie and I were going to enjoy these once the war was over, go on a holiday and see bits and pieces of the world. See what bars, cafes and whatnot there was experience. Maybe invite some of our foreign sisters along for the ride if we had room for a few more."
The battleship dully stared out over the bay, idly reminiscing, "I didn't want to have to drag Richelieu along for the ride - stick in the mud probably would have been stuck as the designated driver the whole time and complained endlessly - but Algérie somehow convinced her to come along with us."
Émile patiently waited as an utterly humorless chuckle left her sister.
"Then I got to watch as they cut off Dunkerque's head, stabbed Forbin in the back…and you already know Le Malin saw what happened to Le Triomphant. My sisters are well and truly gone, turned into mindless slaves of the Sirens…and they're not coming back."
"You doubt they can be rescued?"
"Rescued?"
A bleat of dark amusement left Jean.
"You know what it took to snap Akagi out of her deal with the Sirens. You think we can just waltz on in, rip those damn collars or whatever off of them and everything's gonna be all dandy? Grow up, they're gone. And even if we could somehow get them back what if-"
Here the battleship stopped, jaw clenching before she forced out, "What if they remember? What if they have to forever live with the knowledge that it was them who killed our kin?"
The blonde pensively hummed, aimlessly kicking her legs before idly commenting, "Would it still not be worth the effort to try, though? To perhaps seize some small miracle in which sisters we thought lost to us return? Is that not what just happened, as we sit once more in Azur Lane with comrades of old?"
"Not all of us are optimistic and sunny to the point of stupidity, Émile."
"True, but I see no reason why you have to be pessimistic, gloomy and grumpy!"
The blonde's expression softened, hand gently placing itself atop of Jean's.
"You needn't continue to take your anger out on Alexander just because he reminds you of what we've lost. Nor do you need to hold onto that anger and caution out of fear for appearing weak. Why, even Sovetskaya has decided to go easy on him!"
Émile giggled, teasingly remarking, "And only our northern sisters could hope to match you in terms of frosty demeanors, Jean~!"
Before the battleship could retort to that the cruiser's fingers danced along her thigh, tickling a spot she knew was sensitive as the Vichya woman yelped, instinctively smacking away the blonde's hand as she yelled, "Stop doing that already!"
Tinkling peals of laughter left Émile as Jean groaned, dropping her head into her hands while grumbling, "Why do I always have to respond to things so childishly? What does that say about me?"
"That you would have been much happier in a time of peace than a time of war."
An incredulous expression appeared on the Vichya shipgirl's features.
"Do you really think that?"
"...In all honesty? No. You would have been quite dour. You have always stubbornly insisted on not receiving handouts even when they would not have been considered such."
"A true privateer and warrior always looks a gift horse in the mouth unless we're the ones who stole it."
The rare joke from her sister left Émile giggling, cheerfully replying, "Well then victory and peace will be all the sweeter when you finally earn them, now won't they?"
"Maybe."
Heaving a tired sigh Jean rose to her feet, rubbing her eyes while grumbling, "Dammit, this touchy feely stuff always leaves me feeling tired and drained."
"Then why do we not retire for the night in the dorms? Our other sisters are busy either meeting with Alexander or carrying out their duties and I know you won't wish to meet with him while others are watching."
"You…would not be wrong about that."
Primly hopping to her feet with a radiant smile Émile blinked in rapid succession a moment later, Jean clumsily and awkwardly hugging her as the battleship tenderly patted the blonde on the back as if she didn't know what else to do.
"I, err…thanks. For talking to me, I mean."
Momentarily worried that she did something wrong as the cruiser began to tremble in her arms Jean pulled away-
-and almost yelped in shock as Émile unleashed a deafening squeal of delight, dancing and twirling around the Vichya shipgirl as she happily cheered, "Oh you are simply making this day precious beyond compare, sister~!"
"W-what? What did I do?"
Getting right in Bart's face as stars danced in her eyes Émile all but shouted, "You have never hugged me before, I always had to hug you~! Oh bonne journée~!"
Blushing red in both mortification and annoyance at her sister's reaction the battleship protested, "Oh for the love of…does everything set you off on one of these overreactive tangents?!"
"Only your honest affection, dear sister~! Hee hee hee~!"
The duo left for the dorms, one practically bouncing off the walls and the other unsuccessfully trying to reign her in, bond renewed.
Chapter got a little delayed from it's usual two week update due to some weekend work projects...as well as the more time consuming prospect of watching the final two episodes of 86, experiencing the void and then talking about it with a couple of my friends.
Seriously, the show - despite it's constant production issues and delays - is something I haven't seen in anime in a LONG time. It's actually kinda crazy. The older you get you don't ever stop enjoying things but the more events you live through and the more media you experience things tend to lose some of that initial wow factor.
You can't lose your v-card again, you can't top the first time you broke a bone, you can't watch the sheer eye candy that is Pacific Rim or Avatar and you can't be blown away by films like Seven or the Prestige as their finales leave you on the edge of your seat. So when something like 86 comes out of literal nowhere and clubs you across the face with its novelty you can't help but be intrigued.
Then you watch the show and realize it's a truly rare blend of incredible directing, writing and music/sound that has a message and theme to impart that performs the magnificent task of not being blatant or obvious about it, or taking the easy route and presenting things in overly simple terms of black and white.
It truly is one of the greatest shows - not just anime - I've had the pleasure of viewing over the past years and the final two episodes have one of the most satisfying and earned endings I've witnessed in a LONG damn time, 23 episodes of buildup culminating in an incredible conclusion that left me feeling 'the void'.
If anyone feels compelled to view after that little rant then all I ask is that you don't spoil yourself and start from the beginning. You'll know by the end of episode 4 if it's not a show for you and the payoff for making your way through the entire series episode by episode is worth it.
Fuckin' glory to the Spearhead Squadron!