ITS BEEN AWHILE...
SINCE I DID SOMETHING...
I keep forgetting the song. Enjoy the Chapter.
Atago joined Takao for the rest of the day at her sister's insistence. Karl finished his walk by going to the workshop to check out things. He hasn't been to the shop for a while due to all the META problems, but today was like the day to have some peace to himself or at least with Falcon.
"You around?" Karl asks aloud, sure that Falcon is listening. "Falcon?"
As the Commander takes the long way to the workshop, he listens and feels the air for Falcon in his mind.
"If you've been watching me all this time," Karl entices her, "Then here is your chance. I'm alone. I made sure of it."
Only the wind responded, and Karl sighed, "I know you around."
The large workshop came into view by the repair yard. Karl entered the large building and met with a calming smell. Motor oil, metal shavings, and exhaust filled his nose with nostalgia. Memories of being in the motor pool didn't matter whether it was a simple warehouse or a field fenced off to check on the men working on the steel beasts filled his mind. Crews would work on their Tanks and BMPs, fix their trucks, prepare vehicles, teach the new guys the ropes of being mounted, or simply bullshit with each other. Everything hit him at once in this comfortable place. The manji and sailors of Azur Lane worked tirelessly on whatever ship was in this place. But Karl would come here to work on projects and do metal work. Sometimes, he would relax in this place and listen to the sounds of progress. Sitting in a ragged chair, Karl took in the ambiance of grinders, hammers, rivet guns, impact guns, and wielders. The faint white light of the shop lights left pools of shadows around Karl.
"You'll never leave that life behind," A whisper echoes around him. "Will you?"
"I wouldn't want to do anything else," Karl says flatly.
"What will you do when the war ends?" It asks him.
Karl became silent and looked around the room for signs of optical camouflage: shimmers, glints, or the slight distortion of things around him. Above all, he tried to feel the other person's energy, drawing Karl's attention to a dark corner where the shadows looked more like an ink-filled pool.
"You don't know, do you?" It asks him harshly.
The question echoed in his mind, not just the question itself but who asked him it years ago.
"What will you do when the war ends, Junyou?" Karl asks harshly. "I think that's what I said to you at the Hub, was it?"
The drawing of a sword echoes around him, "Never say that name."
Karl says, "It's your name; maybe it's cursed, just like my moniker."
"It's cursed with the innocence and ignorance of my youth." Falcon hisses.
"Step out of the shadows, Falcon," Karl demands.
Falcon steps out of the shadows, her feet causing a puddle of water to ripple at the center of the workshop. She turns off her optical camouflage, revealing herself to Karl in fine detail. Her sword is drawn, and her face is like a stone. "Somewhere in you is me," Falcon tells Karl before sheathing it. You remember me."
"Everything is a haze," Karl admits, putting his hand on his face as Falcon closes on him. I recall it all, but things are still fuzzy. I don't know what made Shinano and Fredrich do what they did, but everything seems to be… I don't know. What I do know is that you are here. Now, why is the next question."
"Would you believe me if I told you I was worried about you?" Falcon asks.
"Would you blame me if I didn't?" Karl counters.
"Would you believe me if I'm curious to know what happened when the Hub was attacked?"
Karl rises to his feet and walks over to his workbench. He opens a drawer to retrieve a pack of cigarettes. "Emergency stash," Karl remarks, taking out a menthol 100-cigarette pack. Lighting it and taking a long drag, he looks back at Falcon. "Funny, I could ask you the same thing about you shipgirls. After I ordered the strike from Hadrian on the Hub to end the beast's life, I was hoping it would kill me. But it didn't."
His voice became harsh and bitter as he recalled the moment in detail. Holding the cigarette, he moved his arms as if carrying someone. "Akagi died in my arms. Her final moments were spent shielding me as the strike from the heavens decimated the beast and the Hub. I didn't let go of her body till a rescue team freed me from the wreckage… Then the body turned to dust…"
"She saved you?" Falcon asks, shivering. Karl nods, confirming her suspicion.
"Akagi can be crazy and brash," Karl recounts, "But she is loyal to the end. I… I didn't truly appreciate the loyalty of you girls back then. I don't even think I did in the time I've been here, either… But…"
Karl sighs heavily before taking a long drag, blowing it out his nose. The menthol cut his lungs and the inside of his nose, giving him an incredible high. But it didn't ease the pain in his heart. "But I'm trying to trust them… To make up for the sins of before. I sent you girls away because you wouldn't meet the same end as me or your fallen comrades in your branch. You girls were going to be the ones to decide the fight there, so of course, you followed a lead that would save you. Who was it that led you to Tiberius, hm?"
"The Wicker Witch," Falcon says, approaching him. "She was there in our branch to secure magic from the remains of the Sakura Empire. But the darkness was after her… Then we saw her true power…"
Falcon recalled the event in her mind and tried to describe it to Karl. "She… She opened the ocean and brought a beast that… Devoured the darkness forces whole… It… It ripped ships in half!"
The carrier's voice was shaky and trembled with fear, recalling the memory. "But she was… Calm… Like nothing happened… We asked her how she dealt with She invited us to your world, thinking we could help each other, but we failed… The Leviathan and Bon Hom Richard followed us."
Karl chuckles, "Of course, it was nothing to Claudia…"
Falcon could hear a shift in his voice as Karl shook his head with a smirk. "That witch travels to another world like she's going to the grocery store. Maybe she thought you could be of use in our realm? Who knows?"
He takes another long drag off his smoke, and the expression fades.
"Leading the leviathan to our world was maybe the best thing you could have done," Karl replied. "I don't know who that little shit girl that tried coming into the Hub. But we kept her at bay, didn't we?"
"That girl was Bon Hom Richard," Falcon told him coldly. "She is chaos personified. The fact she didn't cross over with the Leviathan still puzzles me. It was her who destroyed the world I call home…"
"Not worth talking about, if I'm going to be honest." Karl dismisses. "That annoying shit wouldn't have survived on Tiberius anyways. There are bigger fish than she would be used to."
"You are still an arrogant old man." Falcon chuckles.
"Fuck you," Karl says playfully. "I'm not arrogant, just assured."
"Whatever," Falcon replies, close in with him, sheathing the sword. Leaning against the table with Karl, she looks at him with concern. "I still can't believe that you are alive, even after putting my sword to your throat. I didn't think I would see you after you sent us off at C19."
Karl recalled C19, the labs where the portal tech was at the Hub base. He recalled the event clearly after they wired the place up with charges, evacuated all 500 staff, and destroyed it. But that didn't go that way.
"We were supposed to blow the whole place after you got off C19," Karl remarks, taking a heavy drag of his cigarette. "Operation Unthinkable in a nutshell: Get all the eggheads out, blow the place, and set back our larger interdimensional operations by at least 100 years. Destroying the Hub was the last thing the Consul wanted. Claudia told me the Order's special projects division has been working on that machine for nearly seventy years… All gone. What name should we call it,' Operation Unthinkable'? More so using Hadrian, another ghost of the past."
"What was Hadrian?" Falcon asks him, scooting closer towards him. "Was it a nuclear weapon? A superweapon?"
"The latter," Karl says reluctantly. Hadrian was an old relic from a time of extraordinary callousness and disconnected from reality when men thought they were gods." He chuckles darkly with a sour smirk.
"It defeated the leviathan!" Falcon replies enthusiastically. "What point did the Order have to have a weapon like this?!"
"That's a question for Claudia…" Karl says flatly. "But I'm not on the Consul to know about that. I know what it did."
"I know when you're lying," Falcon says calmly, her threatening tone hiding under the surface. A special forces Colonel demoted to Major, married to a leading consul member, and in the Order of St. Abaddon for decades doesn't have access to something like Hadrian? Or did that witch take that out of your memories as well?"
"I didn't know about Hadrian until that operation." Karl counters, looking her in the eyes coldly. "Everything is still hazy… I remember everything else, but after I sent the girls off the Oppenheimer on a Kamov, I only remember bits and pieces. But it seems you remember a lot about me!"
"What do you remember then?" Falcon hisses, squaring off at him. "Do you remember me? When you cursed me like a dog!? Throwing my honor, loyalty, and love FOR YOU TO THE DEPTHS?!"
Falcon grabs him by his uniform, "How dare you! How dare you!"
The girl shakes him violently, her voice hoarse and angry. "How dare you!"
"You wouldn't leave even if I put a gun to your head!" Karl growls, "I had to speak to you that way to get you to leave! If you didn't, I would have had to hold your corpse, too!"
"I WAS YOUR BLADE!" Falcon shouts, gritting her teeth. She bangs her fist at Karl's chest. "We fought the beasts that troll conjured from hell together! You said you were my friend, my best friend, and that you cared for me!"
With every sentence filled with malice and anger, she slammed her fist against his chest. It was raw anger and resentment that fueled Falcon.
"But no… I was just a fucking stupid girl, right?!" Falcon shouts. "A dog, a fucking mutt, who doesn't know when to give up on someone, right?! You pointed a loaded weapon at me, saying you'd shoot me DEAD if I didn't get those people out of there… After all the loyalty I gave to you…"
The words began to replay in his mind. Karl was vile, despicable, arrogant, and single-minded when he ripped into Junyou that day—the moment played in his mind again in a hazy quality. It was desperation personified:
Two powerful modern warships were destroyed.
The only significant link to reach other worlds was destroyed.
A world-ending beast was trapped on the last bastion of civilization in that world, loose, killing anyone and everything around them.
Karl's mind was like an exploding ammunition depot; everything was going off at once, and it was violent. His team did what they could for the mission, and the Shipgirls that stayed, regardless of whether he ordered them to leave, also tried their best. But when he saw Junyou, he lost it. Junyou wasn't going to listen to him… Karl got violent and pointed a weapon at her.
"RUN! NEVER TURN BACK! LEAVE AND NEVER RETURN!" Karl remembers shouting, pointing a pistol at her. He doesn't recall much before or after that…
"You would have died with Akagi if you did," Karl says quietly.
"I would have been honored to have fought with you until the end, Commander," Falcon said harshly, her eyes piercing his soul. I stood with you that day against the end of time and would have done it again without question."
With her index finger, Falcon pushes it into his chest. As the shipgirl pressed into him, it felt like a sword cutting into him. "Loyalty to the end, Death Before Dishonor, and to the bitter end. You told me, Taihou, Takao, Atago, and Akagi. I would have and still would DIE FOR YOU, Karl Dael. O la vittoria, otutti accoppati, no?"
Karl looked at Junyou with a stoic facial expression. But his eyes felt her pain, and Junyou saw the shame he felt through them. The battle-hardened Commander took a shaky breath, moved by Junyou's declaration of loyalty.
"To the bitter end…"
"Death before dishonor…"
"O la vittoria, o tutti accoppati!"
Such things were said to the battle-hardened Major Karl Erich Dael in the hopeless days. Encircled, cut off from friendly units, deep behind enemy lines, and facing utter destruction at the hands of the enemy. The latter was screamed to the high heavens by all the men, regardless of their nationality. A fatalistic motto for the darkest of days… It was an oath for the men of Nifelheim, for his men in the Kommandos… It was a promise. "We either win, or we all die…" Karl says quietly.
"We won that day," Junyou says to him solemnly. "Why did you leave us?"
"Claudia made me," Karl said, taking a drag off his cigarette. "If I was going to die with Akagi, why would I leave you, girls?"
Junyou turns away reluctantly, becoming noticeably quiet until firing back. "You didn't take us seriously… You just used us…"
"For what?" Karl asks frankly. "What did I use you girls for? I didn't get medals, awards, accolades, or anything."
He was offended; that was obvious to Junyou. Karl pressed on, "All I got was hit with a memory wipe or something and exiled. I was put on fucking VIP guard detail for the Wicker Witch until being sent here. You girls were a faint memory because of what she did to me. I didn't abandon you girls. I WAS TAKEN FROM YOU!"
Junyou suddenly smacks him across the face. Karl's face stings, but he accepts it. "I deserved that." He admits, holding his hand against his face.
"Taihou will do more, I assure you," Junyou warns him. "I don't want to know what Raiden will do…"
The light carrier breathed heavily, panting, and bounced on her toes. She wanted to hit him again and was waiting for Karl to strike her. But Karl did not move. "WHY!?" Junyou demanded.
"Why what?" Karl asks, confused.
"Don't play stupid, Black Hunter!" Junyou asks, getting more aggressive at the moment. "Why did you call the strike on the Hub?! You did the mission, yes? Plant the charges?! Run me off with the scientists! Why not let Akagi and I run the beast off into the sea for you to strike it? We wounded it before; we could have done it once more and saved us all!"
"Don't invoke that name, girl," Karl growls ominously. "You barely understand what that name means."
The room's energy changed as Karl's terrifyingly calm tone echoed around them. Junyou stood her ground, and the thoughts of conjuring her shikigami filled her mind. The shipgirl wasn't scared, standing boldly against the mammoth Black Hunter. Their eyes locked, sharing glances that could cut through steel. War was all these two knew. Junyou's eyes told the story of her ship, the forgotten carrier that fought to a standstill and limped home to Japan after being mauled to near death in the Philippines sea. But that didn't hold a candle to the story of the Kansen Junyou or her META persona of Falcon. The forgotten samurai's cold glare told a tale of a hopeless struggle against impossible odds through three lifetimes.
"You barely understand yourself," Junyou says coldly.
"Says the lost girl, Oh, how wrong you are." Karl presses. "I know I should have died there at the Hub."
"Luck unjustly favors you for whatever reason," Junyou says disgustedly. "Were you trying to make yourself a hero? Win another award? I'm surprised you decided on that splotched rag you call a uniform over that green dress uniform or the black and burgundy one with all your medals."
"I'd rather wear camouflage than a dress uniform," Karl dismisses. "You know this. Copper and tin isn't worth much to me."
"What, are you afraid to show these girls who you are?" Junyou presses again, poking him in the chest with her index finger.
He sighs and shakes his head, "I'd rather not be in a suit, is all. I hate wearing that monkey suit. Besides, these girls don't need to know the Black Hunter. But I think two of them know…"
"What do you mean?" Junyou asks.
"Fredrich," Karl says quietly. "Shinano, too. They might have seen it all… Poor girls."
"Ah…" Junyou says somberly, looking down at the floor. She looks over at Karl, trying to maintain the fire in her heart to hate the older man. But as much as Junyou wanted to hate him, she couldn't. The carrier breathed to calm herself down as the old man smoked quietly. The cigarette lazily sat in his right hand with his left arm wrapped around himself. The old man gazed into the darkness with a blank expression. She looked at his stance to see if the soldier was carrying a pistol. To her surprise, Karl wasn't carrying any firearm—no pistol at his side or a backup gun in his boot. As she previously knew him, the Black Hunter was known to carry at least two handguns and a blade. Yet here he was with nothing. It calmed her, knowing that she had the advantage over him. Junyou finds confidence and works up the courage to speak up.
"Does it bother you?" Junyou asks him awkwardly.
Karl reluctantly confirms with a nod, "None of you should know about that part of me… I still don't understand why Taihou wears that coat, especially after how she acted when she saw me."
"She's hurt," Junyou replies. "I can't say I blame her either. But I'm sure she wears it to emulate you."
"I'm not exactly a role model," Karl tells her flatly. The Black Hunter isn't someone you tell your kids about in heroic tales… It's the monster you tell your children about to keep them acting right or the story's villain."
"Raiden worries about you… Since we found you, she has been nothing but worried about you." Junyou slips out.
"Do you mean yourself?" Karl rebuttals. "Because the last three times I met our Atago, correction, Ms. Raiden, she tried to kill me or kidnap me. I would say four, but that was a drone."
"Ember sent that drone." Junyou corrects him quietly.
"Ember?" He says, confused.
"My lord's, honorable sister," Junyou says. "She is an honorable KAN-SEN and close ally of ours."
Karl puts his hand chin, the cigarette smoking in his hand, as he ponders the name 'Ember.' "Ember… Was she that woman who was with you when I pulled my weapon on you?"
Junyou nods disappointedly, "How could you not recognize her? You used to flirt with her too, your dog."
Karl chuckles, "Takao… I did hit on her back then, eh?"
Junyou groans, "What didn't that witch NOT take from you?! How could you not remember the honorable sister of the love of your life?"
"Excuse me for having a noggin full of mashed brains and shrapnel," Karl replies flatly as he takes a deep drag off his cigarette. The light of the cherry end of the cigarette illuminated his face under the bill of the blood-laden cap. Bags under his bright eyes told tales of a lack of sleep over years rather than weeks. Karl sneaks and glares at Junyou, noting her flawless face and holding hardened eyes. A slight smirk appears on Karl's face as he recognizes the shared understanding he and the KAN-SEN have with one another. "We both have memory troubles, don't we?"
Junyou folds her arms and withdraws at the observation with disgust and embarrassment. "You are excused, Hero, but not for your rude comments towards me."
"If the shoe fits, wear it." Karl delivers flatly.
"Fuck you." Junyou growls, punching him in the arm to much of Karl's evil chuckle. "You're a pain in the ass."
"Good hit," Karl chuckles, feigning pain with a sarcastic rebuttal. "You might sink me with that hit."
Junyou growls again, her mature display slipping away as she grows annoyed. The fire rose within her, but it fell again as she saw Karl's smile. She gives him a jaded expression, suppressing her emotions once more. Closing herself off by folding her arms, the shipgirl sighs and closes her eyes.
Karl takes another long drag of his cigarette down to the filter. Flicking it away, he assumes the same position as Junyou. They were quiet for a moment as the tension began to settle. Karl makes the first move and moves closer to Junyou, catching her off guard.
"Keep your distance," Junyou says to him sharply.
"Yet you kissed me?" Karl snaps, sarcasm dripping from each word. "Am I a cheap date then? Maybe I'll be a Juggalo for you then?"
"I won't let your immature ramblings break my discipline," Junyou replies coldly.
"If my memory is accurate, you kissed me, and then you slapped me," Karl smirks.
"I only did it to confirm who you were." Junyou corrects him.
"It was a passionate evaluation if that's the case." Karl chuckled.
"Shut. Up." Junyou growls. "I'm not a child anymore. I don't care for such things as passion."
"Jade isn't the right color for you," Karl muses, scratching his chin. Shipgirl or not, you seem too young to be jaded. I remember you being more hopeful, albeit a tad misguided at times. But you were still META back then, hm?"
"Forgive my youthful mistakes," she replies, her voice more pointed and harsher. Even after seeing so much death, I thought that my fellow warriors had finally found the salvation we needed to save our world. Ironically, this salvation was beasts wearing man's clothes.
She opens her eyes and slowly distances herself from the Commander. "I never understood why Ember hates humanity, even in my innocence, but how your breed of man fights shook me."
The shipgirl shivered, and her hair stood up, "I was still META back then, yes, but even in my darkened state, I still feel moments of fear that would have shaken my former self… How can you still do what you do, Karl Dael? How can you continue serving those people who erased the memory of the loves of your life? Who sent us back to our timeline empty-handed? Who treats you like cattle and makes you do awful things?"
"Where do I have to go?" Karl interjects boldly. "If I put away my gun, I return on my oath and honor as a man and officer. I'll be nothing more than a leper. That is a one-way trip to forced labor in the coal mines for the rest of my life as a prisoner slave… If I retire, I'll never forgive myself for calling it quits. I'm old, but I still can fire a gun or train troops. The Order is all I have. There are other reasons… But I don't see myself not being a military man."
"Then what about a lover and a friend to us?" Junyou asks suddenly. "If you didn't abandon us, why don't you join us? Why don't you come home to US?!"
"The ashes? The enemy of this world?" Karl gasps. "I already have enemies in the Order and here. What makes you think I'll make it worse for myself?"
"Not the ashes… We are not affiliated with them… Rather, we are part of something more," Junyou tells him, unfolding her arms and turning to him. "Please… Please return to us… Help us…"
Karl becomes noticeably quiet. He looks down to the ground to think about his options. The small gesture makes Junyou hopeful and raises her confidence enough to make her close to him. "My lord simply wants you back… Taihou too… I… I…"
He felt something…
Junyou could see it in his eyes as Karl raised his head to look at her. The old man's expression was sad and filled with guilt, "I'm sorry."
"I… I…" Junyou hesitates, feeling the pain of rejection and scorn for him. But before she can respond, the old man speaks again.
"I'm sorry for everything I did to you," Karl says to her in a calm and heartful voice. I'm sorry I had to leave you. Above all, I'm sorry for speaking to you like I did. It was spur of the moment, and I didn't mean it… But I had to make you leave. Though the rest… All I can do is ask for your forgiveness for the actions of my higher-ups…"
Junyou closed in on him quickly until she was right up on him—barely an arm's length away. Looking into his eyes, she saw that Karl meant what he said.
"I can't take back what I said or did," Karl tells her. And I don't expect you to believe my words, but I hope you will give me a chance at least."
Junyou threw herself at him and embraced him tightly. The shipgirl held him tightly, and his warm embrace made her comfortable. With a heavy sigh, she looked back at him with hopeful eyes, "Are you coming with us, then?"
Karl shakes his head, "If I leave these girls, I betray them, my men, and my values."
Removing the scarf from her face, she reveals a deep frown but reluctantly nods. "I understand… But it doesn't mean I agree with it…"
She lay her head on Karl's chest contently until a thought hit her: "What do you mean, your men? What do they have to do with this?"
"If I leave this port," Karl begins. "My men will be sent towards the northern frontier to mine coal or worse. It's the only thing keeping me this… Idle… Or else I would have found you girls by now or thrashed the Sirens properly."
"I see…" Junyou muses, thinking about the attack on Attu.
"That brings me to something…" Karl says inquisitively, moving her head to his gaze. "Tell me about something that Ember's drone said to me… Attu."
"Spookhouse tells me of META ships off the coast of Attu, and even Raiden herself mentioned the island by name." Karl begins calmly but with dark undertones. "What's the deal with it? Is there something I don't know?"
Junyou pauses, wrapping her arms tighter around his torso. Burying her face in his chest, she tries to block out his question and forget the pain of her tragic life. Inhaling heavily through her cute nose, Junyou greedily takes in the scent of the Commander. His natural human aroma and a gentle hint of gunpowder and tobacco made a rustic smell unique to the old man. The girl sighs reluctantly, releasing the Commander's essence from her lungs. "We learned of Attu via intelligence gathering on your Order coming to this world… We've been watching for some time but thought it was just Azur Lane. But after we confirmed that you became this fleet Commander, we took a special interest in the new units operating in our oceans."
She lifted herself out of Karl's chest and looked at him in the eyes with an innocent expression. "Then we watched you from then on… Our drones are rather advanced…"
"Then you know about Attu's importance…" Karl gasps. "Raiden… She wants the Attu base… But why?"
"Hadrian," Junyou admits innocently as she lets him go, backing away slowly. "If your Order is there and they can go to Tiberius… Then we can get to Hadrian or someone who can get us to it."
Karl squares off at the shipgirl and opens his stance, "I don't believe you understand the gravity of what you are doing…"
"My Lord fully understands why she is doing this," Junyou says, drawing her sword. But I can't entirely agree with her motives—not after I saw what Ember's doing did to your compatriots there."
"Explain," Karl demands.
"It's better to show you," Junyou says cryptically. "But first you must meet your obligations to your comrades… In the eye of the storm, you will find them…"
She faded into nothing with that sentence, and Karl fell to the ground. A moment later, Karl awoke in the same ragged chair as before. A light yawn escapes him as Karl realizes he has napped in his workshop chair. Was the conversation just a dream? Did this old man pass out in his chair?
"Eye of the storm?" Karl asks himself as he gets out of the chair. His phone vibrates violently as an alert from the weather service appears, warning of large typhoons across the ocean. Pulling up a weather application, Karl is alarmed as large storm cells cover major island nations around St. Elizabeth.
"Damn… It's a big one." He remarks, looking over the map of the storm. "Philippines, Indonesia, New Guinea, and Christ even close to here."
Thunder rocked the large building, making it shutter. Karl walks towards the exit and sees the darkness above. He curses again and begins making his way back to HQ. Snuffing out the cigarette as he walks briskly to avoid the impending rain.
Returning to the HQ just as the rain began to fall, he was greeted by Belfast at the door as she cleaned. "Welcome back, Master." She greets him. "I see you could make it in just before the rain."
"Thank you, Belfast," Karl replies, his voice wary and tired. Removing his cap and putting it under his left arm, Karl passes by her without a glance. Belfast noted this and stopped him by putting her arm on his shoulder.
"Something wrong, Master?" She asks him pointedly.
The question felt more like a declaration the way it hit Karl. Belfast's grip was gentle yet firm, almost holding him in place. He reeked of cigarette smoke, and his eyes were red. "You tired."
Karl sighs, "I took a nap at my workshop. I had a couple of cigarettes to get my mind off things and get my stress down."
"Smoking will kill you, my Master." Belfast lectures him. "Sleeping in a workshop isn't ideal either for your health. If you wanted to rest, I would have asked Ms. Akagi and Ms. Taihou to leave your room."
"Leave my room?" Karl asks, somewhat surprised.
"They decided to occupy your room for… A…" The cruiser chooses her words carefully as she pauses for a moment. "A competition."
"Ah," Karl smirks, chuckling. "I better wash up then. How long ago was this?"
"Ten minutes ago," Belfast replies annoyed. Heavy rain pounds the side of the HQ, and thunder shakes the windows.
Karl's face turned a little red with embarrassment. He wasn't expecting to be told something like this, but what could he do? He could feel his heart in his throat as he waltzed upstairs. "Inform them I'll be there soon, please."
Belfast agrees, but Karl knows he will have to repay the maid at some point for her loyalty.
Meanwhile, at Sea.
A fleet of shipgirls was returning from the Dragon Empery waters through the Sulu Sea south-southeast to the home port. Dido, Roon, Nimi, Javelin, and Sirus were escorting a small convoy of Sakura supply ships. The mission was a simple escort detail for the light cruisers and destroyers, but Roon joined after being sent on a search and destroy mission. Initially, she was paired with Agir, Hindenburg, and Ulrich Von Huten. But she sustained more damage than she would have liked after being cornered by heavy siren reinforcement and airpower. The psychotic cruiser made those sirens pay, with interest included, but at the price of damaging her monstrous rigging and limiting her abilities to one gun turret.
Nimi didn't like it. Roon had been spending much time on a mission rather than resting and recovering. The Commander's rest & work plan was solidly made, and the rotations he had implemented allowed everyone to have enough time to repair, rest, and have some R&R. But Roon was doing double duty and taking as many assignments as possible. Nimi had scowled fellow shipgirls like Eugen, Elbe, and others for not doing their assigned tasks. But the strict destroyer couldn't bring it up to the Commander due to his absence, or at least that's what his staff was telling her.
Roon was known to be bloodthirsty and reckless, but not this reckless to nearly destroy her rigging. Nimi recalled the day Roon was commissioned, as she had to catalog and process the data needed to make her blueprint hull. The girl was always 'Off' by any standard, which is noted for future priority research projects. The fact they had to put Roon at the center of their defensive circle with the transport shipping bothered her greatly. She had never seen an Iron Blood girl put themselves in such horrible shape before. The storm didn't help either, thrashing the younger girls around like toys. It almost reminded her of the North Sea's violence, but at least it wasn't cold and icy.
On the other hand, Dido could only think about her beloved Master. She had been assigned to Force Z in the Indian Ocean along with her sister for the last few weeks. She recalled reports of the Commander setting up a battle staff to assist him in his work. But the maid tried her best to keep her composure. Thanks to her sister and Javelin's help, she managed to keep it together for the sake of the mission. She wasn't the best maid, at least that's what Dido thought of herself, but when it came to combat, she and Sirus were warriors of the highest degree. Both of the Dido class protected the center of the formation with their superior anti-aircraft capability. Roon is heavily damaged, but she still had at least one of her long-range batteries to ring the siren's bells. The destroyers protected the front and rear with ASW support, with Nimi at the lead.
Roon was quiet and expressionless. The woman was known for her deceivingly gentle facial expressions and dreamy movements. It wasn't a secret to anyone in Azur Lane that Roon was a psychopath and a useful one. However, it won her many high remarks and preferences in high-intensity operations. But a quiet Roon was a dangerous Roon. Dangerous is the first word when mentioning KMS Roon, but not silent. She had been cold in everything she had done in the last few weeks, according to Agir and Hindenburg. There wasn't any enjoyment in her face, founded or unfounded enjoyment be damned. Agir noted it as, "Someone, or something, broke her."
No one knew what Agir meant when she briefed Nimi on Roon state, not even Roon herself. She would only nod to agree or look away to say no. It unnerved them deeply, and Nimi informed Roon that she would need to be sent to the repair facilities ASAP once they reached the port. Roon shrugged, unphased at the suggestion. But Nimi persisted and invoked the name of the Kommendant to change her mind, "He cares about you! He will order you to go once he sees you!"
Roon responds with a sneer as she hugs herself, turning away to look towards the sea. Nimi doesn't know what to think about Roon's response. Maybe she would have to speak to Fredrich or Bismarck to get some sense into Roon's head. But right now wasn't the time to argue.
The mature Z23 lead the formation through the storm courageously. Lightning illuminated their path as they navigated by charts and radar. The ships and their cargo kept their guiding lights on to keep sight of each other. Roon lingered between close and far away, prompting Dido to bring her back into formation. The battlemaid was afraid of Roon as she was of Akagi; not at all, but she felt sad for the heavy cruiser as she stood on the deck of her ship staring into the storm.
"Ms. Roon! Stay in formation, please!" Dido shouts over the crashing storm.
Roon nods slowly and guides her ship back into formation without a word, though she was doing this on purpose, unannounced to her comrades. A faint radio signal was interfering with communications. Static screams through her communications module cause her immense anger as they repeat: "Volga! Volga! Volga!"
The heavy cruiser moved towards the East whenever she heard it break her peaceful silence. But Dido kept pulling her away each time. She tried letting it go, thinking of what it may be, and kept her invested.
Were they a ship being beaten up by the storm like them? Maybe it's a siren trap, and that cry for help is an open invitation for more bloodshed. Or is it a sinking vessel needing to be saved?
Whatever or whoever was outside the storm, it mattered not to Roon. Like a moth drawn to light, Roon was drawn to suffering.
"Hunter 6! Hunter 6! SOS! Hunter 6!" The Signal came clear. "Black Hunter, are you on the net!?" the voice screamed to Roon's delight until that name made her cringe.
Black Hunter? Where did she hear this name before?
Crows cawed incessantly in her mind, and the flutter of wings enveloped her. The guttural screaming of vultures deafens her at the mere mention of the name. An image of a tall man in a black coat, his face covered by the brim of a black cap with silver piping, prevented her from seeing his face appear in front of her. She wasn't at sea for a moment but walking behind the tall man in the black coat. Three other officers followed behind him, all in green uniforms with black caps like the Kommendant and carrying weapons as they walked through smoke and fire.
"How many?" One of the officers asked the tall man. "100k? Or was it 200k?"
"350k," the tall man replies flatly. "The Burgundians are no more, nor the Sarkics. May their bones be crushed."
"Colonel… Are we going to hell for this?" Another officer asks the tall man, clearly worried and shaking as the smoke thickens and the smell of burning flesh fills her nose.
The tall man stops and turns to his officers. "Worry not about your soul. Worry about the souls of those who aren't ready to do what is necessary."
"Was this essential, Colonel?" An officer asks him.
"Only the gods will tell us."
The radio's scream echoes around Roon: "Karl Dael, if you are out there, answer me! This is Lucy! We have Sirens on our positions!" The voice is of a woman…
Roon breaks hard left and mounts her rigging. Whoever was calling knew her beloved Kommendant, and she would be damned if she didn't know who this was. The shipgirls called her over the radio, demanding what in the world Roon was doing. But she didn't care. Her Berserker rage didn't allow for such things as conversation or explanation. Pushing through the storm at blistering speed, she found herself in the eye of the storm. A series of explosions echo through the storm as the sight of a Siren ship appears on the horizon, firing towards the eye of the storm.
The heavy cruiser sheers the ships in half with what strength she has. Her claw cut through metal like butter, and her remaining turret came to life, sending heavy shells into the hulls of her enemy. A handful of humanoid sirens appeared for a moment but quickly disappeared with panic in their faces as they dodged incoming fire from within the eye of the storm. Small balls of light could be seen racing through the sky toward the flying humanoid sirens, causing them to scatter in all directions. To Roon's confusion, the balls of light followed the sirens!
"Missiles?" She thinks to herself as faint explosions overhead catch her attention.
Dido and Sirus appear behind her, shouting at her as the sight of more Siren ships appears through the storm. Roon shields the two maids and fires her battery at the boat, ripping its front gun turrets off and setting the ship on fire. The two Dido Class act swiftly and launch torpedoes, immediately finishing off the large siren vessel. With the battle maids in the fight and close enough to hear the transmission, they took positions in the storm.
"Ms. Roon! What the devil were you thinking?!" Dido spats as they fire on enemy ships and sirens. "You are heavily damaged, and breaking formation is-"
Roon surges forward again, firing at more enemies above with what remained of her anti-aircraft weaponry. She makes a motion to her ears, tapping at them quickly and pointing towards the eye of the storm as more missiles or whatever jet across the clouds, hitting more targets.
"Karl Dael, answer the fucking radio!" The woman screams again over the net.
Dido and Sirus shout to each other, "Who is that?!"
"Last calling station. Identify yourself," Roon says coldly into the coms. "This is KMS Roon. I say this once: Identify yourself."
"KMS Roon, this is Coyote 6!" Coyote 6 responds. "We are part of the Special Forces regiment! We need immediate assistance! I'm sending my grid now!"
Dido and Sirus radio this to Nimi and the fleet. Roon waves them off, pointing to the Sakura ships. The two sisters understand their mission is essential, But Dido persists, and Sirus sticks with her sister to help these needy people. Roon transfers the grid over to her HUD, and the trio moves to the eye of the storm. From the darkness of the storm, they emerged into the eye, where sunlight and blue skis surprised them. At the center of it all was an island with a cove. A sizeable flying boat sat in the middle of the cove, a sight neither had seen in a long time. Flying boats weren't used much in this day and age.
The closer they got, the true size of this archaic machine became apparent. Sirus gasped as they finally reached the far side of the beach near the plane: "My word! This plane is a sea monster!"
"Hello, Ms. Coyote? We have arrived at your aircraft…" Dido says as authoritatively as she can. But the monstrous aircraft intimidated her greatly. Large swirls on the wings and rear of the fuselage gave away whose aircraft this was originally.
"This is a Sakura Empire aircraft!" Sirus announces.
"I have eyes on you! We are returning to Sue! Our zodiacs are on your port side! Flashing lights now!" Coyote 6 replies over the net.
The girls see three boats from a collection of rocks, out of a cave and others from another island. The three ships get into a formation and flash their spotlights to signal to the girls. Dido and the girls wave at the boats, confused that they are meeting with regular people rather than shipgirls. Hydraulic actuators screamed to life from the aircraft as a large cargo door opened and lowered into the sea. The boats hooked around and lined up to load onto the ramp. Sailing at a decent pace, the boats were put on boat launching mounts and were pulled in by the aircraft crew. On the last ship, a woman waved to the girls to get close to the massive sea monster of a plane.
A haggard, pale-faced, strawberry blonde-haired tomboy in a ranger green plate carrier and green combat fatigues held on to a handle at the cargo door. Her hair was tied up in a tight bun, and she lifted her eye protection, showing her blue eyes to the girls. As they approached her, they noticed the sinking pits that were her eyes. Roon especially noted this, and it interested her deeply. An odd Chinese-made Type-56C with two forty-round Bakelite magazines tapped together sat tightly against her plate carrier. A cigarette burned brightly in her mouth as she paused to take a drag with her free hand.
"I can't believe he heard us…" She chirps. "I thought we were done for when those ships turned on us… Fucking hell…"
A dark chuckle escapes her, the chuckle of someone amazed at surviving yet another day. Dido and Sirus were disturbed by this laugh, but Roon didn't notice. The tomboy looks around, confused, "Where is your Commander? That madman Karl better not be trying to screw with me, damn it." She asks them bluntly. Her accent was American, but her mannerisms were more reserved than the typical American.
"The honorable master is tending to matters at the port," Dido informs her. "We are returning from the Dragon Empery escorting supplies to base. It was good fortune that we heard your Signal."
The woman chuckles cynically with a sick smirk, "First time for everything then…" She sighs and takes another drag, the little Sino-Kalashnikov swinging in the sea wind.
"Coyote 6?" Roon asks the woman directly.
"Yeah, What's it to you?" The woman asks aggressively.
"I'm just asking," Roon says coldly. I want to know the name of the person we saved."
"Red Lucy, Callsign Coyote 6," Lucy says aggressively. "That's all you'll get."
Nimi interrupts over the net for a status report; Dido and Sirus report about aiding Special Forces troops. Nimi replies quickly, saying she was reporting this to HQ. But Roon tunes it out and looks into the eyes of Red Lucy. Behind the tough exterior and the Kalashnikov, Roon saw fear under the tired blue eyes. Roon studies the woman, noting the crow's feet and aggressive stance under her eyes. It is evident to Roon that Lucy is young but seasoned. Though, unlike the Kommendant, Lucy wasn't nearly as seasoned as him. The woman appeared to be holding herself together by a thread.
"Roon, Commander Karl." Karl's voice echoes on the net. "Patch me through."
"Kommendant, Roon," Roon responds monotoned. "Coyote 6 on the net."
"Hunter 6, Coyote 6." Red Lucy takes over. "Seems we can't get away from each other, hm?"
"Like a bad habit," Karl remarks sardonically. "My girls bail you out? SITREP."
"I don't think this is something to talk about online," Lucy replies, referring to the radio. Offline, face-to-face is better. More to follow."
"Roger that," Karl replies sharply. "Got your grid. Nimi, Commander, SITREP on the convoy escort."
"Kommandant, Z23," Nimi responds, " The Convoy is on schedule for arrival. Roon is heavily damaged. I recommend she continue the mission with us at your command."
"I'm fine Kommandant." Roon interjects.
"Honorable Master, Roon only has one gun turret and is hurt badly. She needs to see a doctor as soon as she can," Dido and Sirus say in unison.
"BREAK. Hunter 6, Coyote 6." Lucy interjects. "Your ship girl is roughed up bad. If she can ditch her rigging, she can fly with us. That's the least I can do for the aid they gave us."
"Acknowledge," Karl responds quickly. "Roon, Commander, stow rigging or battle handoff to Z23. Coyote 6 will take care of you. Coyote 6, Hunter 6, On arrival, you will meet with me at my HQ for a Debrief. Roon, you will. I SAY AGAIN LAST, YOU WILL SEE THE DOC. Acknowledged?"
"Jawohl, Herr Kommendant." Roon begrudgingly replies.
"Please treat Red Lucy with the same respect as me. Thank you," Karl insists. "All callsigns, continue the mission. Please give me an ETA as soon as you get underway. Commander out."
"You heard him," Lucy says to the shipgirls. "Sue here will carry us to port. We know the grid; keep in contact, will you?"
Dido and Sirus nod, "We shall. Is your plane alright to fly?"
"Sue is an all-weather aircraft," Lucy says proudly. But she had some interference from something around here. We force-landed in this cove, and then the sirens jumped up. The problem is gone now, thanks to you three."
Lucy lets out her hand to Roon as she dematerializes her rigging. "Come on then!"
Dido and Sirus leave promptly as Roon loads onto the massive aircraft. Dido and Roon briefly share a glare before the cargo door closes.
"Everything alright, Sister?" Sirus asks Dido.
"Ms. Roon isn't well." Dido laments as they return to the rain.
On board Sue, Roon is escorted by Lucy to the troop compartment. The KANSEN was intrigued by the massive aircraft as she walked through the cargo bay. The sheer size of it was put into perspective as she looked at the overall unimpressive presence of the crude boats Lucy and her men appeared on. These motorized rafts were nothing more than target sleds to Roon. Lucy's men were loading them onto the aircraft's fuselage walls and mounting their engines in storage racks.
The men around her covered their faces with balaclavas. Roon recognized their uniforms as the same odd camouflage as the Kommendant. She sighs as she thinks of him. Lucy continues taking Roon upstairs to an infirmary.
"I've never seen a Sakura Empire plane like this before." Roon remarks as they walk up tight stairs through a bulkhead.
"Sue is one of five new breeds of aircraft for the Sakura Empire," Lucy says. "She's a KX-3, heavily modified, of course."
Engines roar to life, but their roar is deafened as Lucy closes the bulkhead. "Make sure to keep these closed. The last thing I want is to lose more of my hearing."
Roon nods as they round a corner to an infirmary. Four doctors and three nurses were treating the wounded from the last fight. A gentle guitar song played on low as the doctors worked on a young man of about 19. Two old doctors were picking shrapnel out of the young man's back with utensils while speaking to each other in some archaic language. She puts her right hand towards her left shoulder as the doctors extract a large piece from the man. Wincing as it's extracted, Roon turns away as the memory of ripping a piece of Falcon's sword from Karl's back plays in her mind. The doctor lazily put the piece of shrapnel, rattling like a coin as it rested in the stainless-steel pan.
Lucy sits in a chair and is quickly tended to by a couple of nurses. To her surprise, they spoke German instead of English. Their accents were Swabian; the pronunciation and dialect gave it away. Both were brunettes with ponytails and petite figures in ranger green BDUs with white aprons over them. Roon's healing abilities were a bit overwhelmed now, but most of the wounds to her human body were healing. The nurses kept telling her how lucky she was to be alive as they cleared the blood from her face with a rag.
But as Roon was being tended to, she looked over to Lucy as she watched the young man being treated. The redhead was mouthing the words to the song being played in the infirmary. The song was too low to hear clearly, and the thick Commonwealth accent only minced the words up more for Roon. But what she could gather from Lucy's mouthing was, "God help me… I was only 19…"
One of the nurses broke off and began screening Lucy, checking her vitals, and questioning her. Lucy looked lost for a moment as the nurse began her screening. "I haven't slept in days," Lucy lamented.
"The pills I gave you work or not?" The nurse asks bluntly.
"I don't need pills; I need the war to end already." Lucy snorts.
"Ja, Kaptain, we all do." Nurse laments.
The nurse working on Roon finishes and tells her to follow Lucy after her check-up. Thankfully, it was long before the aircraft began to lurch forward. The medical team stabilizes themselves and the patients quickly before the gargantuan beast of a plane takes off. Roon is pulled towards a chair with the nurse and strapped in at the nurse's directives.
"Is Frau Lucy injured?" She asks the nurse innocently.
"They are not injuries, you can see," The nurse says cryptically. "But we all fight a war within."
"War within?" Roon asks her, confused.
"Ja, She especially." The nurse replies, pointing at Lucy. The redhead stared into oblivion as turboprop engines hummed in the background. The expressionless face and an unfocused stare drew Roon to her. But the nurse kept her back, "Stay seated till the safety light is on."
Roon looks around till she sees a box above the door with three lights: Red, yellow, and green—the red changes to yellow as the aircraft levels out. Within a second or two, it turned green. Once it does, Roon gets out of the seat and checks on Lucy.
"Frau Lucy?" Roon asks her, holding her hand out to her.
But Lucy grabs her aggressively on instinct, only to gasp for breath and reach for her chest. The nurses grab Lucy and escort them out. One of the nurses grabs Lucy and puts a pill in her mouth, making her swallow it. "Take your meds!" She barks before returning to the kid on the table.
Lucy coughs and tries to compose herself, "Fuck…. Fuck… Fuck…" She gasps, holding herself up against the cold metal of the aircraft. "Fuck… Christ…"
After a few breaths, Lucy could feel the meds taking effect as her mood stabilized. She composes herself as Roon awkwardly comes to her side with a confused expression. "Sorry… I just… I have… Issues…"
"Yes… I see." Roon says to her, emotionless, not understanding the gravity of the situation.
"Lets.. Get you to the officer's quarters." Lucy tells her, trying to hide her weakness. "You look like you need some rest. We both look like hammered shit."
The crude remark rolled off Roon, but Lucy's attempt to hide her true self bothered her immensely. On their way to the officer's quarters, the pair passed by a series of rooms. Bunks for around seven hundred or more troops, arms rooms, tactical operations center, and everything needed to wage war. Roon spots a handful of soldiers, around twenty or so, in one of the bunk rooms. They were busy cleaning weapons, preparing their kit, and playing cards. But the others were empty with no lining on the beds or anything else.
"What is this plane for?" Roon asks as Lucy leads her to a room. "I don't see a lot of special forces here."
"You noticed that, hm?" Lucy replies, opening the door to a rustic bunk room with two twin beds. She puts her short Chinese carbine against the wall and removes her plate carrier. Sitting on the bed, she begins removing her boots. Sue is for sending battalions to wars. If the Sakura Empire ever needed to deploy seven hundred or a thousand troops across the Pacific, this aircraft can not only transport but also be the HQ if needed."
"If that is the case," Roon says, sitting on the opposite bed. "Then where are the rest? I only counted twenty soldaten."
Lucy looks at her with a cross expression as she puts her boots by her kit. "Abroad." She snaps.
"It's not nice to snap at guests." Roon snaps back.
"Where is Major Dael?" Lucy sighs, removing her BDU top. Roon notes burns and cuts on Lucy's arms.
"My Kommendant?" Roon asks, intrigued as she studies Lucy intensely. She notes the burns coming from combat, but the scars being a mix of self-inflicted and combat-related. The way the wounds were made gave away their origin to Roon. A sadistic feeling bellows under her innocent expression.
"That's what you call him?" Lucy chuckles harshly. "Surprising. But I see. Where is he?"
"At port," Roon says, relaxing her posture on the bed. "Herr Kommendant is busy waging war. But more honestly than you."
"Excuse me?" Lucy asks, taking her socks off to rub her feet. It was clear Lucy was sore, but the way she massaged her feet suggested that she had done this many times before.
"It doesn't appear that your men are ready for combat," Roon says bluntly. "I care for humanity, but the siren pawns are… Hmmm, Little fish."
"For you, Shipgirl." Lucy hisses, pointing her finger sharply at the KANSEN. We are simply humans, humans with less budget than the proper Kommandos or other units. I'm far from being able to shoulder a Harpoon anti-ship missile if you couldn't tell!"
Roon scoffs, "Do you think I'm stupid? Of course, I know this. But you were firing missiles at the humanoid sirens."
"Igla and Stingers," Lucy says flatly. "MANPADS, some of our last ones."
"I have no idea what those are," Roon tells her, her arrogant tone visibly annoying Lucy. But I assume it's some kind of special tech developed for your people, like this plane."
"I will neither confirm nor deny that." Lucy snorts. "Need I remind you that Karl explicitly ordered you to show the same respect to me as you would to him?"
"I'm not being disrespectful," Roon retorts. I'm simply asking questions about the people my beloved Kommendant worked with. You and him share an interesting aura."
"What a way to say "Tell me about yourself."" Lucy mocks, lying on the bed. "Do you do this with him as well?"
"We share a bond not known by other weaker beings," Roon says innocently as she lays on the bed like a gossiping teenager. "For we know the beauty of battle and the love in war!"
Lucy laughs evilly, each condescending chuckle. "Beauty of battle? By the gods, what a misguided idea. Karl would laugh at you, I'm sure of it. That cynical old man…"
"Then enlighten me," Roon challenges her. Her sweet expression didn't fade, but a bitter, sadistic glint in her eyes caught Lucy's attention. This woman knew her beloved Kommendant.
"There is nothing beautiful about battle or even dignity in war," Lucy says coldly. "To suggest that shows how much you truly know about it."
"How sure are you willing to bet on that, Frau Lucy?" Roon challenges again, licking her lips as she tastes the uncertainty in Lucy's eyes.
"I'm willing to bet a lot, honestly." Lucy feigns composure. "You're a shipgirl; you only destroy lifeless machines. But have you killed a man?"
Roon puts her hand under her chin, thinking in detail about her service history. With nostalgia, she recalls destroying and mutilating sirens, shattering the hulls of mass-produced ships like glass, ripping pawns limb from limb, and smashing the skulls of any machinations conjured up by the sirens and others. But she has not killed a man, a living, breathing man, before.
"Hmmm, it seems I haven't," Roon says, disappointed; then she smiles at Lucy. "Have you?"
"A few…" Lucy tells her gravely. "I'm not… I'm not proud of it."
"Why not?" Roon presses on. "You did it for the Kommendant, I'm sure."
"Don't make it sound like I'm a drone," Lucy spats. "I didn't kill in his name or on his command, and I killed because it was survival."
"Survival is an animal instinct," Roon says frankly. "But drone? No, you are not a drone. But you did survive. I see you went to war by the marks on your arms."
Lucy subconsciously covers her scars shamefully.
"Tell me," Roon begins, seeing she has the advantage. "I've seen scars like this on my beloved Kommendant. Where did you get them?"
Lucy rolls over, trying to ignore the cruiser. "Get some rest. I won't make an ass of myself trying to teach you morality."
"Some look self-inflicted, those on your arm," Roon says teasingly. "And my Kommendant, you called him a lower rank… Major? Did you know him before Azur Lane?"
"Never ask about my scars, Machine." Lucy hisses. "This is your only warning."
"Then tell me about the connection between you and my Kommendant." Roon snickers, her expression darkening as she imagines ripping this whore to pieces. "You seem to know him intimately if you've killed for him and mutilated yourself for him."
Lucy reached for her BDU top, pulling out a cigarette case. Her eyes were like dolls' eyes, lifeless as she stared down Roon. The heavy cruiser's sweet eyes hid a great evil under them, and Roon thought about how she would tear Lucy's soft flesh into ribbons with her claws. But Lucy didn't budge, staring Roon down without blinking as she lit her cigarette.
"I know him better than you'll ever dream of." Lucy arrogantly states. "But we never did anything in the bedroom. We served together for many years in the Kommandos. He stayed, and I returned to intelligence work. Happy?"
Lucy tilts her head slightly in an odd manner with a sarcastic smirk. Roon wasn't a fan of it and giggled darkly. "I'll rip that smile right off your whore mouth," Roon says gleefully.
"Coyote 6, Hunter 6." Karl's voice interjects from the radio.
Lucy and Roon do not break each other's gaze as the former moves to answer the calls. "Hunter 6, Coyote 6."
"What is your ETA? Are you underway?" He asks them calmly.
"We are underway," Lucy replies coolly. " The ETA is unknown; I'll ask Oberst Kleist and the navigator."
"Roger that," Karl Acknowledges. "Is Roon resting?"
"We are just chatting," Lucy tells him, half honestly and lying.
"It better be light-hearted chatting," Karl replies Ver bodingly. "Spookhouse or not, I'm still your superior as well."
"Acknowledged Hunter 6." Lucy begrudgingly agrees.
"Good, Hunter 6 OUT." Karl ends the conversation, leaving Lucy and Roon staring at each other bitterly.
"It seems we both have to play nice with each other," Roon smirks innocently.
"How boring." Lucy groans.
"How did he know we were having such a… Hot conversation?" Roon asks Lucy tensely.
Lucy rolls her eyes and puts her boots and BDU top back on, "I'll be back. Get some rest, Now."
"Why is he called that?" Roon asks as Lucy gets up.
"What?" Lucy replies, annoyed.
"That name, Hunter 6?" Roon asks clearly. "Why not just call him Kommendant?"
"It's from his alias," Lucy tells her, unsure how to answer this question. The dead stare into the abyss returns to Lucy's face as she thinks deeply about what she could and could not say. "Black Hunter… The six is code for a Commander. Please don't call him that… Black Hunter… Not you, not anyone."
Lucy leaves, making Roon's thoughts race through her mind. The redhead takes the radio with her and puts it on her belt as she makes her way to the command deck of the massive plane. Meanwhile, in the comfort of a warm bed with two beautiful shipgirls, Karl lies awake thinking about the words of Falcon. "Eye of the storm?" Karl thinks to himself.
"Hunter 6, Coyote 6," Lucy calls. He reaches over and grabs the long-range hand handle of the radio Belfast brought him from the nightstand. Akagi was fast asleep, nuzzled on his chest, so he was careful not to disturb her. Taihou traced her fingers along his right pectoral and kissed his neck greedily as she wrapped her legs around his own.
"Send it," Karl replies abruptly.
"ETA 6-0 Mikes. We'll need tug support to prepare Sue for arrival and take off." Lucy says.
"I'll have it on stand-by and inform my girls. Expect some Sakura planes from the 5th Carrier Division; They'll announce themselves, no worries." Karl replies, readjusting himself, and Taihou kisses his cheek.
"Roger that," Lucy responds. "I'll let Oberst Klest know. The gunners on this mammoth are itching to fire at something again, fucking rookies."
"No cursing on the net, Coyote 6," Karl says flatly.
"Roger." Lucy snickers. "You meeting us at the port to greet us?"
"I am the Commander here." Karl chuckles.
"Good," Lucy remarks, sighing. We'll be there soon. Coyote 6 is signing off."
Karl sets the radio down and kisses Taihou. The Phoenix couldn't go more than a second in this nude state without the Commander embracing her. The two carriers competed over who would be the leading lady for the Commander in the bedroom until one of them passed out, but unfortunately, after a couple of rounds, all three of them collapsed on each other from exhaustion. Akagi possessively took his left side while Taihou took his right, locking him into a cell of soft flesh and fluffy tails.
"Don't tell me you must leave my embrace, my commander," Taihou whispers in his ear. Her eyes sultry.
"In an hour." Karl reluctantly informs her. "We have guests and returning girls to welcome back."
"Fu-fu." Akagi yawns as she awakens, gently cupping Karl's manhood. "I knew I heard a pest's voice. Who is the other girl?"
Taihou rubs her warm lower region on Karl's thigh. "She's one of the Commander's subordinates. There's nothing to worry about for our competition, fox."
Akagi giggles as she strokes the Commander's cock, kissing his neck possessively. "Watch your tongue, bird. Maybe if you're you're lucky, I'll let you watch as I worship the Commander with my body more?"
"The Commander favors Taihou's perfect YOUNG body over your old hag of a body!" Taihou spats, attempting to push Akagi off the bed.
"Enough!" Karl raises his voice, pulling the two to his chest. "Play nice! I'd rather not have a Zero fly through my window while I'm naked. Thank you."
The two yandere giggle evilly as they imagine ripping each other apart. But Karl keeps them in line, grabbing their asses and pulling them closer to me. With a heavy sigh, he kisses Taihou and Akagi before cuddling them closer. "Taihou," Karl says to her. "Contact 5thCarrier and get them spun up on the mission. Akagi, I want more Sakura Empire girls there for a surface fleet escort for the incoming ships. I need only Sakura Empire on this one."
"Of course, my beloved Commander," they both said in unison, much to their joint annoyance.
Meanwhile
Commander Helena sits at her desk at SF port, Eagle Union. The Eagle Union benefitted heavily from the successes of Operation Siren I and Siren II. Modern equipment and building styles began to become standard at any EU base. The Pacific Fleet HQ was impressive, even to Helena's standards. Though she was removed from her position as a fleet commander at St. Elizabeth by that damn Karl Dael, she found some comfort knowing she was in command of a pure Eagle Union Fleet with big names like New Jersey, Enterprise, Yorktown II, and other famous ships of her proud country.
Helena always saw herself as a patriot, a military brat to the highest degree, and the closest thing to a blue-blood aristocrat you could get in her country. But it wasn't just the money, the pedigree, or the naval tradition in her family that was ingrained in her. It was the arrogance of a naval officer as well. Commander Helena Maxis, the daughter of famous Admiral Allen J. Maxis of the Eagle Union and war hero of the first war against the Sirens, was raised by generations of men and women of the navy. In one way or another, the affluent Maxis family had been with the Union Navy since George Washington.
How could an apparent low life, someone with no status or proper bone in his body, take a position from her? He spoke English with an evident Southern accent; she knew the awful drawl from her time at the Naval Academy in Virginia. Oh, how she despised the rednecks of the southern US! The Connecticut-born Helena never liked those lazy, backward pigs below the Mason-Dixon line.
The insecurities ate at her soul. Helena never liked being upstaged, especially by a lowlife. Like salt in a wound, it burned Helena harshly as she recalled the meetings with Karl Dael. The first meeting with him in his ugly green dress uniform with awards made her cringe. Special Forces? What the hell does some grunt know about naval combat?! How did he even get all those medals anyway!? The Special Forces only have existed for a year now!
Rear Admiral Makarov didn't answer her questions about him or the Special Forces. "Damn Northern Parliament… We can't even trust them either…" Helena seethes. The Commander digs her nails into her leather chair. All of her investigations ended in a dead end each time. His record was flawless… But she wasn't the only one she had looking into this Karl Dael.
"Commander." A voice calls to Helena. "I have news for you."
The figure of an Eagle Union shipgirl with bright red eyes burning from the shadows of the night caught her eyes. Commander Helena turns to face the figure in the shadows.
"My greatest ally." Commander Helena smiles. "You've returned. What did you find for me?"
"Sadly, nothing." Helena META replies, then raises her hand. "Nothing consistent. But I know someone who has found something she is willing to share."
"Go on." Commander Helena says, salivated, her excitement and morale rising.
"A splinter group of the Ashes," Helena META explains. "Known as the Black Ocean Society, they have been attacking your former fleet in St. Elizabeth for some time now. One of my contacts, Hiyruu META, reported that an experimental Sakura Empire flying boat left with a new crew of English speakers, European and Slavic origin humans, under the orders of Rear Admiral Makarov. Shipgirls from your former fleet rescued them after Pawns attacked them in the storms this Black Ocean Society created."
"Black Ocean Society?" Commander Helena asks. What do you mean, splinter group? I thought there were only your shipgirls and the rogues."
"I'm still looking into them," Helena META laments. Ember recently began working with them, according to Code G… She hasn't heard from Ember for months now—until recently."
The META shipgirl opens her HUD and shows it to the Commander. On the middle screen, she shows a recording of Ember leading an assault on an island. Oddly, it wasn't a warm Pacific island either. She knew this from the rugged mountainous terrain and the snow coverage in the mountains. "Where is this? South Atlantic?" Commander Helena asks the META.
"Attu Island, Alaska." Helena META says contemplatively. "Something is interesting on this Island. I've tried to figure out what that is, but some advanced security has blunted my attempts."
"Sirens," Commander Helena says, certainly smacking her fist on the desk. They are the only ones that can do such things. There is a siren base right on our frontier!"
Helena META shakes her head, "They are not sirens."
The mysterious Helena META was nearly omnipotent, at least in Commander Helena's experience. "Never doubt the capabilities of humanity, Commander."
Helena META's HUD shows a live feed from Attu Island. From the eyes of what the Commander assumed, a drone. The META girl pans the eyes of the destroyed drone, showing a sizeable concrete bunker system. Bodies of humans and humanoid sires lay together in pools of yellow coolant and red blood. Helena didn't recognize the appearance of the men and women in the sea of death. But two symbols stuck out to her: A wreathed skull clutching a dagger in its teeth and an odd Christian cross piercing an infinity symbol. Footsteps of heavy boots splashed in the puddles of gore around them as hulking figures in body armor clutching strange weapons appeared in the distance. Gas masks, helmets, strange, splotched uniforms, and hulking weapons made them appear as if they were inhumane works from a storybook. One of the figures appears and kills the feed to the drone with one mighty stomp.
"My God… Those are…" Commander Helena gasps.
"Human." Helena META confirms.
"There's nothing on Attu…" Commander Helena tries to rationalize to herself. Attu was a wasteland with only two villages on its shores.
"This is true." Helena META confirms. "But what about within it?"
Helena META shows another feed from a drone. This time, it shows the META versions of what Commander Helena could tell of Taihou and Atago finishing off a couple of soldiers before reaching a computer terminal. Ember appears from behind the drone and calls out to Atago META.
"My drones engaged with the Order's plane near the Philippines," Ember reports. The drones were intercepted by Azur Lane forces from your lover's fleet. They are en route to his position."
"Then they'll bring him here to me." Atago META smiles victoriously. "Just as I planned. We need his confirmation code and fingerprints for this system."
"Typhoon," Atago META turns to the black-clad Taihou. Activate the defenses and prepare our stand. Karl will leave for this place as soon as he gets the brief from his handler. Keep the girls at bay and KEEP MY KARL ALIVE."
Typhoon nods with a scowl, "I'll try."
Helena META shuts the feed off and turns to the Commander's shocked expression.
"Fate is an odd thing, isn't Commander?" Helena META asks her Commander.
Commander Helena picks up her phone and immediately calls her officers.
"Assemble a fleet and prepare for combat."