Chapter 47: Renewed Hope (Part 6)

"We just cannot catch a fucking break, can we?"

"It does seem to be that we discover some new aspect of the war every other week. Things never used to be this hectic until you came along."

"Funny, I feel the same way. My arrival did upend a relatively comfortable daily routine."

The Commander cupped his chin, staring at the simple and streamlined aircraft being carefully loaded onto Akashi's vessel, Kawakaze running escort duty for them alongside the trio of subs while Vampire would be remaining on station to ensure the ships carrying refugees to the Union would have at least one of their more advanced ships to lend a helping hand.

"So this is your latest invention, hmm?"

"Like all of the things that came onboard the Bakunawa it was modified after the fact. Originally these were just airborne cargo haulers but with a bit of design alterations it works as a small troop carrier that can drop off myself and some drones into whatever combat zone we find ourselves in."

"Not entirely sure why you need to go in person, son. I know you have fail safes in place but the fact of the matter is you're a colossal asset, one I'm not in any hurry to lose in some run of the mill raid."

Idly shrugging at the Commander's words Alexander explained, "I hear you, but what with the latest and greatest news that the original Sirens are actively trying to break into this timeline AND can apparently take over a shipgirl's will with their tech I think it'll be prudent that I stay close to the action."

"You have a way to break them free of said control, then?"

Gesturing to his back - still fused with TB's electronic bits and pieces - the Aloadae explained, "Working on one, at least. While this isn't something we expected to deal with we're at least going to be able to think of a way to fix it, what with having actual Sirens on our side to offer perspective."

"If you say so. I'm not the one with a bunch of computers jacked into my spine."

"It sounds a lot less impressive when you summarize it that way."

Shrugging dismissively the Commander stated, "Regardless of all that we're looking forward to positive results, there's already a significant amount of publicity statements prepped for the complete reclaiming of the Sakura homelands."

"Great. No pressure."

Huffing out an aggravated sigh as the final few steps of departure were prepped Alexander cautioned, "I left instructions to have the final stages of the retrofits put on hold until I return but keep an eye on things anyway, I'm still pretty in the dark on how most of the process goes and don't want any of the shipgirls left feeling like they're about to pop until we get back."

"I'll keep my eyes peeled. Any updates on the Wisdom Cubes you retrieved?"

Thankful that he hadn't been asked to specify how the shipgirls were going to 'pop' he released a tired breath, relaying, "I'd intended to use these spares to try bringing back some of our old comrades that fell but a few second hand accounts from other timelines suggest that by using the Cubes in a way I'm still learning about shipgirls from the future - or possible future, whatever - can be manifested."

He pursed his lips, still unsure of what the best course of action in this particular scenario was…not to mention he sure as hell didn't feel like telling anyone the specifics of his meeting with Empress.

"But that means giving up on the possibility of having our previous comrades return to us. It's an unknown quantity for a known one."

Appearing more thoughtful than troubled the Commander asked, "Would these shipgirls from the future or however you described it be more powerful than our current roster?"

"Well that's the assumption, I don't know how true it would actually end up being. So much of this is uncharted territory even by thousands of timeline's standards."

"Well aren't we the lucky ones?"

Cupping his chin in contemplation the Commander eventually replied, "Think of it this way, son. If we win this war we'll have opportunity aplenty to discover the secrets of Wisdom Cubes and their production, especially with all your fancy tech and other stuff on hand. If we don't win it hardly matters whether we might have been able to bring back the fallen shipgirls, now doesn't it?"

Reluctantly accepting the cold and absolutely correct logic with a slump of his shoulders Alexander stated, "Fair point…once we return I'll begin finishing up the retrofits of the shipgirls we just reunited with and use the two Cubes to try out this new strategy. Fingers crossed nothing goes horribly awry."

"Son, that's asking for all kinds of jinxes."

"Doesn't matter, I get into trouble anyway."

The final few supplies and munitions were loaded then it was time to go, a collection of the newly activated drones and his armor already deep within Akashi's hold as he strode off towards the ship, the Commander stating, "Godspeed, we'll hold down the fort."

Waving over his shoulder the Aloadae boarded the familiar deck of the repair vessel, shouts and mechanical whirrings heard all across the base as the last few steps of departure were finalized.

"You seem in a pretty good mood, nya."

"I do? Odd, figured I'd be all grumpy and stuff."

Akashi promptly clambered up his back and held tight onto his neck once he was out of sight of the rest of Azur Lane, headed towards the concealed cargo area before musing, "Nope. You get laid by our other sisters or something?"

"Not every improvement in my mood is related to sex."

"I dunno, nya. Seems to be a pretty common trend so far."

About to rebuke the cat's words Alexander paused, feeling a wince cross his expression as he realized the truth of the matter. Most of the times he'd been feeling pretty blue a bit of 'friendly' interaction with the shipgirls had perked up his spirits.

"Okay, you have a point but not every bit of interaction ended with frantic fucking."

"All it takes is a pretty face then, nya~?"

Akashi proceeded to merrily poke him in the cheek, the Aloadae smirking as he promptly plucked the Sakura off his back by the scruff of her neck, playfully trapping her much smaller form against a nearby bulkhead as he leaned in, the minty kitty suddenly on the backfoot.

"Well there are more factors at play than just a pretty face, Akashi…"

"Y-you're pretty close, heh heh-NYA?!"

A surprised yelp left the girl as he blew a puff of air into one of the feline ears atop her skull, the appendage madly twitching as an adorable blush coalesced on her features.

"Eugen always used to joke about me having an appreciation for the feisty and bold types…I think you fit the bill, Akashi."

Adjusting his grip so that one hand softly embraced the back of her head, arm supporting her body as the other gently trailed along the back of her knee the Aloadae had to resist the urge to burst out laughing as the normally teasing feline resembled the very petal her homeland was named after.

"Wow."

"He's really advanced, isn't he?"

"I, I've never seen Akashi so defeated before…"

The duo paused, glancing to the side where I-13, I-25 and I-26 were peeking around the corner, heads stacked perfectly atop of the other as they watched the proceedings with wide eyes.

"...So how are the retrofits treating the two of you?"

The blatant attempt at subject change went completely unaddressed, I-26 bluntly stating, "Don't mind us, I want to see where this goes!"

"D-d-does something that large even fit?"

I-25's stammered words and clear embarrassment both physically and telepathically relayed coincided with her gazing towards Alexander's crotch, the slightest beginnings of arousal clear to see after he'd begun teasing Akashi.

Both Alexander and the Repair vessel stared at each other with unblinking gazes, still not having moved a millimeter from their intimate positions.

"So the mood is pretty much done for, huh?"

THWAP THWAP THWAP!

"OW! Okay okay!"

Abruptly finding himself in a storm of loose sleeves and hissing cat Alexander was quick to retreat, able to perfectly hear I-13 and I-26 snickering at the display.

"Never knew kitty had such sharp claws."

"You never tried to steal something from her shop before."

Kawakaze's blunt words had Alexander raising an eyebrow, asking, "People tried to steal from Akashi before? How did that end up?"

Kawakaze pointed to the angry red mark across his nose where one of the crazy cat's nails had cut his skin during her frantic arm waving.

"But bigger. And wrenches were involved."

"Ah. Well it's a good thing she likes me?"

The fox's tails softly swayed as she stood by his shoulder, the Aloadae running another maintenance routine on his armor to ensure it was in perfect condition.

"Mmm hmm. It's a good thing indeed."

Sensing the woman's amusement just fine he nodded in satisfaction as the hunched collection of metal emitted a soft beep of confirmation, everything working as well as can be expected for a trial run.

"Well, looks like all that's left is to wait and see what happens."

Yet again the white fox didn't verbal comment, simply inclining her head as she followed after him, the barest hints of the Sakura homeland on the horizon if one squinted hard enough, the silhouettes of the rest of the shipgirls far more noticeable as they reunited with them after what felt like a considerable time away.

"Hard to believe it's barely been two weeks since they departed."

Their two surface vessels drifted into formation, the trio of subs staying beneath the waves for the moment just in case the Sirens were watching, Alexander spying a collection of figures skating across the waves to their location with no shortage of haste.

Well what the hell, he missed them too.

Leaping aboard Akashi's ship with deft motions were Essex, Enterprise, Belfast, Prinz Eugen and Warspite while Elizabeth and Nagato stayed put aboard their own ships, Alexander able to get a vague sense that the pair were conversing with I-13, 25 and 26 while the rest approached him with a variety of expressions. Essex, Enterprise and Belfast just seemed happy to see him, Kawakaze and Akashi safe and sound while Eugen and Warspite looked like they had a bone or three to pick with him for some reason or another.

"...You might want to standby with the swords, Kawakaze. I might be in trouble."

"Trouble well deserved, nya."

"Still holding onto that grudge I see."

A haughty sniff left the minty kitty's nostrils as the Aloadae's lips quirked in a smile, amused at her response-

"Oh? Is something funny, Alexander~?"

-and quickly lost it once he realized Eugen had seen his humor, either purposefully or mistakenly assuming it was at her expense.

He wouldn't hazard a guess when it came to her.

"It was. Now I'm regretting it."

The Ironblood cocked a hip and arched an eyebrow, an unfairly sexy pose when combined with her ire as she continued with, "Well since we find ourselves on the subject of regret what happened that caused you such distress?"

What was clearly concern that had introduced itself as frustration softened the cruiser's features, Warspite nodding along with her comrade as she said, "My liege, if trouble is going to find you so often perhaps you should refrain from engaging in conflict directly. Or at least take more guards with you! I have served her majesty in that capacity for many years of war."

Sensing the conversation veering off the rails slightly - and Kawakaze tensing a bit at the indirect implication that she wasn't doing her job well enough - Alexander quickly stepped in with, "Woah, easy there. Everything worked out okay in the end and it's…well I kind of learned how to time travel so I make for a pretty good guard all by myself."

No shortage of disbelieving gazes were sent his way.

"What?"

Essex got to the heart of the matter with that single word as he helplessly shrugged, responding, "Turns out I can make use of the same tech that created this whole mess in the first place, the ability to alter reality. On a smaller scale, sure, but I can do it. What you felt was me not handling Émile's death before I managed to reverse time and get things to work out okay."

"Wait, sister Émile died?"

Warspite's shocked murmur was overtaken by Enterprise snapping her fingers, the proverbial lightbulb flicking on as she stated, "So that's why your emotions took such a sharp turn afterwards. One moment you felt as if the world was going to end and then the next you were elated, all in less than a second."

Essex glanced around the group, somewhat frantically asking, "Wait, are we just going to gloss over the time travel part?!"

Eugen just pinched the bridge of her nose, muttering something under her breath in her native language that he only got bits and pieces of. The general gist was 'of course something ridiculous happened', as long as you subtracted the insults and curses.

Turning to the increasingly frantic Union engineer he explained, "It's not as grand as it sounds. Near as I can tell it can only reverse time in a localized area of a couple dozen meters and from thirty seconds to a minute, anything outside that range of influence is a done deal."

"Phew! Had me worried there for a second!"

The carrier paused, blankly asking, "Wait, isn't that really limited? And how many times can you do things over?"

"I would not call the ability to rewind time limited in any fashion, sister…"

Warspite's dry tone had the Carrier brushing her concerns away with a dismissive wave of her hand, Alexander amused at the engineer's focus as he replied, "Well TB and I reckon that after the initial run we can do so a lot more efficiently. Probably around five times before the heat waste of the shards along my back threaten to cook me alive."

"So traveling through time creates a secondary effect? Interesting…"

Sighing as theorycrafting and who knows what else began to rapidly unspool within Essex's mind Enterprise raised an eyebrow, asking, "Who's this TB person? Someone from the fleet you rescued?"

The Aloadae paused, eventually groaning as a hand slapped itself over his face.

"Right, more explaining to do."

"How much time do we have before the op starts?"

Belfast flicked out an antique watch from the folds of her uniform, promptly informing him, "Fifty-seven minutes until your attached drones and allied scout flights ensure the area is free of surprises, then we shall begin."

"Okay well you may as well settle down then, there's a lot of ground to cover…"

The Aloadae breathed a sigh of relief as he finally finished his tale, all of the shipgirls staring at TB's holographic image with no shortage of bewilderment at the latest reveal that they were dealing with for the immediate future.

"An A.I. from one of the other timelines that was meant to help humanity, time manipulation, the Original Sirens, our fellow sister's return and mind control?"

Enterprise pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I'm just going to go ahead and state it. The war was much less complicated before you arrived, Alexander."

"Funny, the Commander said something similar. And I agree."

Elizabeth - now having joined them alongside Nagato - tapped her scepter on Akashi's deck, thoughtfully musing, "While difficult to account for all of these new paradigms and the changes they bring does it not hint that the war finally favors us? That at long last we have forced our enemies to muster their full might?"

"I would be quite happy with an easy victory at this point, your most exuberant majesty."

Eugen's teasing words had the battleship haughtily sniffing while Nagato pensively cast her gaze upwards, musing, "Still, though…after all this time we not only recover sisters long thought dead we also receive weapons and skills often believed to only be the providence of the enemy."

A small smile graced the Empress's lips.

"I find myself agreeing with Elizabeth. This is indeed a dangerous time, but one we may meet on equal terms."

[Equal terms may be too strong a phrase but you are far better equipped than the Azur Lane of my time.]

TB's comment drew no shortage of wry stares, Eugen facing the Aloadae as she asked, "You seem remarkably more predisposed to our little computer ally than the real ones."

"She's kinda cute and so far hasn't made me want to throttle her."

TB inclined her head, stating, [Your words are appreciated, master.]

Warspite tensed, eye twitching as she tonelessly said, "Master?"

Inwardly sighing at the oncoming storm of a loyalty contest he was saved by a smirking Belfast, the maid predictably anticipating what he wanted as she flipped open her watch, announcing, "Unless word comes through that enemy reinforcements are on approach we shall begin in five minutes. We should best continue this conversation at another time and make ready."

"Excellent time keeping as always, head maid! To battlestations!"

Elizabeth abruptly called an ending to things, hopping off Akashi's deck and skating towards her own vessel as the rest of the shipgirls followed suit, Eugen hanging back a moment as the Ironblood gave the Aloadae a searching look.

"Stop that, you're making me feel like I did something wrong."

Flawless lips briefly quirked in a smile as the cruiser replied, "You do many things, Alexander. But in this case it was nothing wrong."

"Oh thank god, you had me on the ropes there for awhile."

"..."

"...So why the continued staring?"

"Hmm…who can say?"

Before he could respond to that confusing statement gloved fingers firmly grasped his chin, yanking him downwards so that lips containing equal parts passion and sensuality could devour his own, the Ironblood's tongue playfully flicking his own before she pulled away, expression nothing short of predatory.

"Not the worst makeup kiss I've ever had, I'll freely admit that."

"Oh? Not the worst? And just how many other fair maidens have you had to make amends with, Alexander?"

"You want the depressing honest answer or the funny but still depressing answer?"

Shaking her head the cruiser idly twirled a strand of silvery hair, adopting a fake and highly unconvincing expression of hurt as she said, "Oh, but to be someone's fallback option and little else. And not just I, but my fair sisters too…"

"Oi, if anything you should thank the gals that came before you. You think I'm bad now you should have seen me before I learned how to talk to women somewhat competently."

"True, you've come a long way from being a suspicious and quite possibly foreign enemy."

Deciding to hit the cruiser's weak points he comfortingly trailed his thumb across her silken cheek, deeply gazing into the Ironblood's eyes as he whispered, "And I'm grateful beyond description…if I hadn't met a woman like you my life would be all the worse for it."

He planted a chaste kiss on the shipgirl's forehead-

-and smirked as the briefest hints of pink colored pale skin.

"Still so vulnerable to genuine words and actions, Eugen?"

The man promptly found his ear being twisted as a feisty and irate lady favored him with an unimpressed glare, ominously stating, "Are your soft tissues still vulnerable? I don't consider myself a brute given to physical admonishment but I may just make an exception~!"

Not flinching in the slightest Alexander just shrugged, glibly responding, "I'll take what you're offering."

A roll of amber eyes coincided with the cruiser releasing him, lips quirking in a small smile as she seductively mused, "Then after this campaign we shall have to see if you live up to your words."

Feeling a great deal more relaxed as he chuckled in response to Eugen's words the Ironblood gave the Aloadae a friendly peck on the cheek before sauntering away, putting an entirely unfair amount of sway to her killer hips.

"...Gonna make me believe the Ironblood really are the superior breed of woman."

Pushing aside the less than pure thoughts that plagued his mind Alexander huffed out a sigh, heading below deck as he readied himself for the next phase of the operation. If the subs did their part then it was his turn.

"Woah, can they really not see or hear us?"

"Nope! As long as we run in deep silence mode the Sirens haven't got a clue!"

I-13 snickered at I-25's intrigued hum, I-26 cheerfully commenting, "Eh heh heh, this is going to be great!"

I-13 agreed, squirming in her command chair as she watched the interior of the Siren base from the senses of her five suicide planes. She hadn't realized just how isolated and lonely things had been without her fellow sub sisters to back up an op, the pressure of doing things on her own an unenviable position…but with the addition of her comrades back into the equation her mood was once again soaring, the Sakura feeling as if they couldn't possibly fail.

"In position, ready and waiting~!"

Snapping out her meandering thoughts as I-25 drifted into her allotted spot I-13 returned to scanning the area, I-26 joining in less than ten minutes later.

"Okay, let's get started!"

Performing a final check of their surroundings I-13 nodded in satisfaction. It had taken a few hours but she and her two sisters had managed to sneak into the bay the Sirens had been using as their main staging point, hidden beneath the waves and ready to strike. And boy was there no shortage of targets to mess up!

Coastal guns, missile silos, the gargantuan generators that powered a shield that could withstand even battleship salvos…never mind all the usual naval elements, including a titanic supercarrier that was the centerpiece of the defense fleet.

I-13 decided that was going to be her main target.

She sent a final pulse of confirmation to her waiting sisters outside the shield, smirked in anticipation before announcing, "Let's get started, sisters!"

I-25 and 26 didn't hesitate, concealed and stealthed portions of their sleek hulls springing open before warheads drifted upwards, still undetectable and silent to the patrolling Sirens as I-13 carefully oriented her kamikaze planes, all five of them prepped to dive into the supercarrier at the drop of a hat.

"Okay…almost there…now!"

I-26's exuberant shout conceded with the guided munitions kicking on their engines, bursting forth from the water in a shower of contrails that rocketed towards the Siren base faster than it had any hope of responding to. Point-defense and intercept missiles hadn't even left their housing before fire and shrapnel consumed the base with dozens of thunderclaps, the fuel depots and generators in particular going up like fireworks, I-13's sisters giggling in her telepathic ear at the heady sense of unrivaled destruction as the sub carrier herself unleashed a feral smirk.

Two seconds after the initial strike her suicide drones smashed into the supercarrier before it could activate its shields, detonating their payloads and sending secondary explosions through the hunk of metal as it unleashed a titanic groan of distress, sinking beneath the waves with stately majesty as I-13 cheerfully shouted, "Alright, sisters! Let's get out of here, mission accomplished~!"

"So I probably should have asked this earlier but don't we have to worry about them being able to detect us?"

Grinning at I-26's slightly nervous question the horned shipgirl bluntly replied, "Nope!"

As if in perfect synchronization with her response railgun salvos began raining down on the Siren fleet, pre-picked targets immediately listing or even bursting in fire and flame if they were unlucky enough to have their ammunition stores punctured by the kinetic rounds, hundreds of missiles close behind as even more fighters and bombers flew in to perform mop up operations as dozens of Siren vessels that survived the ambush pulled themselves into formation, ready to go down fighting even if it honestly wasn't going to be much of a fight with so many of their advantages taken out of the equation.

It was certainly enough of a distraction for three little subs to sneak out the back.

"So is it a good idea for Alexander to be going off on his own like that? I mean we're going to be pretty busy here even if we got em' real good."

I-13 shrugged, explaining, "The carriers can send fighter support if needed and he's got some pretty cool toys to play with. Besides, if anyone can figure out what was going on in that old research center it's him."

"He does seem to have a lot of metal and electronics on his body…"

Snickering at I-25's comment I-13 focused on the man's rapidly dwindling mental presence as he focused on his part of the mission, the submarine hoping that whatever he found in the Sakura Empire's old research facility wouldn't be trouble.

"...Nah. He's not that lucky."