POV Akashi
After witnessing the display of the AW249 Fenice Helicopter as it landed back on the flight deck of the JS Izumo.
Today, the Azur Lane Central Command Headquarters received a foreign ship. This shipgirl is different from most of the girls here. She is accompanied by two individuals who are not shipgirls—they seem to be like Manjuu. They help her sail and keep her company, even managing logistics and energy?
I see her exhausted; now she is lying cuddled on the lap of her friend, who looks like a winter fox, accompanied by a small cat girl. I walk toward her ship, which is currently docked at the pier. Beside it, there is a ladder to climb up. I head up. It's quite high, though I think IJN Akagi's ship is taller, but this ship's deck is wider. A ship from the future, nya.
The vehicle called a helicopter earlier is sitting on the flight deck. Such amazing technology. I didn't know there would be a vehicle that could move like a dragonfly. Our dimensions truly are different. I hope you can cooperate so we can survive in this dimension together, JS Izumo.
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POV Narrator
While Akashi was seen exploring the aircraft carrier JS Izumo, two shipgirls were seen walking toward the pier. Two shipgirls respected by all the girls of the Sakura Empire. They were Nagato and Ryuuhou. The rhythm of Ryuuhou's wooden geta clicked against the pier floor, creating a rhythmic 'clack-clack' sound that echoed. Beside her, Nagato walked with the grace of an empress, her white robe swaying gently in the sea breeze, while her fox ears occasionally twitched, catching the sound of waves breaking against the hulls of the docked ships.
Nagato looked at the docked JS Izumo with admiration.
"The ship is almost as large as Musashi. Only Akagi is longer. So, this is a ship from another world in the future," Nagato said. "And it seems someone is exhausted over there." (She glanced at Izumo, who was sleeping on Jolly's lap). "Ryuuhou, can you help restore her stamina?"
"I can, Senior Nagato. It seems our guest is exhausted, perhaps the leadership meeting earlier made her tense. Especially since they say she is from a distant region. Maybe she is worn out and wanted to rest immediately, but was conscious of her duty to greet the hosts. Such Sakura Empire-like politeness," said Ryuuhou, who began to emit a mysterious orange light energy from her swirling hands. This was one of her powers—infinite healing for ships that are exhausted and out of stamina. She cannot repair or treat physical wounds, but she can restore stamina and energy.
The two of them finally reached the sleeping Izumo. Jolly was surprised that one of the Azur Lane faction leaders had arrived.
"Lady Nagato?" Jolly said. She panicked slightly because Izumo was still fast asleep on her lap. Akaneko was the same. Javelin and Laffey, on the other hand, were still sound asleep nearby.
"Sshhh... Don't be startled. Let her rest; I came to help restore her stamina. She looked so tense earlier that I saw her exhaustion. I decided to meet you all instead, along with our best healer, Ryuuhou," Nagato said, placing her index finger on her lips for a moment, signaling Jolly not to wake Izumo.
Without needing further instruction, Ryuuhou sat down and directed her glowing orange energy toward Izumo's chest. The energy was absorbed. Izumo seemed to grow more comfortable in her sleep. A smile suddenly appeared on her closed face.
"What a sweet fox," Nagato remarked. "Now, let me take a walk on that ship's deck," Nagato added as she headed toward the JS Izumo. She saw Akashi was also exploring the deck. Meanwhile, Ryuuhou remained there to finish the restoration ritual. The orange energy seemed to envelop Izumo's body. A sensation of peace was also felt by Jolly.
"It's so calming, Lady Ryuuhou," Jolly said.
"Don't call me Lady, I am nobody. Only Nagato, Akagi, and Kaga should be called Lady. I am just a small aircraft carrier helping her sister," Ryuuhou said with a smile.
Meanwhile, moving to the command room of the Izumo. The radar monitor flickered several times, detecting a distant object appearing as a single small dot.
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Above the Skies of the Pacific Ocean
A J36ASF fighter jet belonging to CN Type 004 Long Chao. The sixth-generation fighter was seen flying at an altitude of 10,000 meters, above the Cumulonimbus clouds. The advanced jet's radar detected the object it had been searching for: JS Izumo. It was detected 300 km away at a certain coordinate. The aircraft was controlled by Long Chao, the shipgirl of CN Type 004, through her energy.
"Got you, you damn little ship," Long Chao said, standing on the deck of Ship 004.
Behind her, the KB-X bomber was preparing to launch, waiting only for the command as Long Chao tried to get even closer to obtain a visual from the radar. The jet began to approach, closer and closer, pushed to a speed of Mach 3, so it only took a few minutes to close the distance.
However, just as the plane was approaching within 20 km of the harbor, it exploded. Long Chao's visual feed immediately went black; she lost the trail and her heading. Long Chao, who had initially closed her eyes to enter the plane's visual, now opened them.
"Damn it, who is that girl?" Long Chao said grumpily.
It turned out that over there, Enterprise's arrow had transformed into a Mustang aircraft and shot it down. Projectile bullets from machine guns are indeed difficult to aim perfectly, but if they are in a straight line, the bullets will focus on a single point. This caused the J36ASF aircraft to explode, causing Long Chao—who was controlling the aircraft through her energy from hundreds of kilometers away—to feel the loss of contact. Her visual was dark.
"A foreign aircraft. Its shape is different; is Izumo's aircraft like that?" Enterprise said. She lowered her bow. The sea breeze moved her silver hair to the side, as if following her resolve to protect Azur Lane from enemies. Then, two other aircraft carrier girls aligned themselves beside her. They were USS Essex and USS Yorktown.
"It seems we aren't just meeting good people," Essex said.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah... Sister Enterprise, thank God your aim was true. I couldn't even see it earlier. It moved like light," said USS Yorktown. She had also tried to aim at the plane but lost track of it.
"The enemy is approaching. Perhaps it's time for us to speak with all the faction leaders. It seems this dimension is starting to show its villains," Enterprise said, then glided back toward the harbor, followed by Yorktown and Essex.
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At the Pier
Izumo woke up. She saw Jolly talking to someone. When she turned to her side, she was startled and immediately sat up. Her movement woke Akaneko up as well.
"G-g-good afternoon..." Izumo said nervously.
Ryuuhou, seeing Izumo wake up, smiled.
"Good afternoon, it seems we haven't been introduced. I am IJN Ryuuhou, a light aircraft carrier and healing specialist from the Sakura Empire. I just restored you," Ryuuhou said,
"Err... restored?" Izumo asked, which was answered by Ryuuhou's nod. Izumo herself looked fresh and fit. Akaneko beside her appeared to yawn several times. Laffey and Javelin next to them also woke up.
"Eh, Sister Ryuuhou. Who did you come here with?" Javelin asked while rubbing her eyes. Laffey, beside her, instead leaned back onto Javelin's shoulder.
"I am with Lady Nagato. She is taking a walk with Akashi on the ship (glancing at Izumo). And it seems she needs a guide," Ryuuhou said. Izumo was shocked.
"I have to meet her...!!!" Izumo said as she stood up and ran toward the JS Izumo. She immediately caught up with Nagato, who had already met Akashi and was having a private tour of the ship.
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Moving to the Hangar of the JS Izumo,
"Different aircraft, right Akashi?" Nagato said.
"Yes, Nya... I heard Iron Blood is developing planes faster than propeller blades. Maybe the plane Izumo brought is the perfected version. I want to make one myself, Nya...!!!" Akashi said enthusiastically.
The aircraft they were looking at was a MiG-27K Flogger, which was indeed the plane brought by Izumo to this dimension. There were also helicopters and drones parked inside the hangar.
Thud.. Thud.. Thud.. Crash.....
A noisy and chaotic sound filled the entire hangar room. It was Izumo, who was running down the stairs to enter the hull's hangar but ended up tripping and falling right in front of Akashi and Nagato.
"Are you okay, Nya??" Akashi asked worriedly.
Izumo, getting back up, patted her kimono clean while panting.
"M-m-m... sorry. I was fast asleep when you arrived. I didn't wake up at all," Izumo said while bowing her body in apology. Nagato smiled at her.
"Never mind, Izumo. You are such a cute fox. Better yet, guide us around so I can know what the Sakura Empire is like in your world," Nagato said, patting Izumo's shoulder to calm her.
"I want to see your technology, Nya... Maybe there's something I can copy and make my own version of to sell, Nya...!" Akashi said while wagging her tail.
"You're funny, Akashi. Yes, maybe I can show you all some things I can explain," Izumo said. "Welcome to my aircraft carrier." Izumo walked to the stairs, heading up toward the Command Tower followed by Nagato and Akashi. They still didn't notice the ship's radar monitor flickering a few times before settling down.
Meanwhile, 300 km from Azur Lane Main Headquarters. A shipgirl from the Eagle Union faction was returning from an exploration patrol and survey of the area around the Pacific Ocean. She was USS Juneau, a light cruiser who had been on patrol for three days. Several cruisers and destroyers were indeed diligent in patrolling and observing. Because they carried stronger weapon rigging, they were sent to survey, supported by mapping data from the aircraft carriers.
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POV USS Juneau
Finally, time to go home. Yes, it should be, it's so lonely here. I've been on patrol for three days in total silence. No radio, no one to talk to. I miss the food at the harbor. I'm too tired, even this rigging feels heavier than usual.
"A little more, after passing these small islands, I'll turn back to the main base. Gosh, I can't wait. I want to see Laffey and sleep together," I mumbled while adjusting my black headband.
I briefly passed through a thick fog, where I turned on my rigging lights to pierce the darkness of the mist. But then I was startled, causing my ship's engines to stop spinning. A giant black shadow, as if it were cleaving the ocean, filled my vision. It wasn't a Siren ship. Its shape was flat, very long, and it had a slanted command tower with strange antennas spinning rapidly. It was like an island with a long, towering mountain.
"Who...?" I said in confusion. Because I had been on patrol for three days, only encountering empty islands and silent seas.
Just as I began to move around to see and detect what kind of ship this was, suddenly a flash of fire appeared from the sky and headed toward me. An attack!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Those weren't ordinary cannon shells. The projectiles flew in curved trajectories, exploding around me with incredible air pressure. I was wounded by shrapnel from those weapons. Weapons I had never seen before. It made me think of only one thing.
"I have to run! I have to report to Sister Enterprise!" I screamed in panic.
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POV Narrator
USS Juneau glided over the water at full speed, trying to distance herself from the figure of the ship that turned out to be a foreign vessel she didn't recognize—one that shouldn't even exist. She only knew the ship was massive and dangerous, and it wasn't a Siren. CN Type 004 loomed like a monster before her.
She didn't realize that on the deck of CN Type 004, another monster was ready to fly. Long Chao stood on the side of the flight deck. She saw Juneau gliding away from her.
"Fly and destroy," Long Chao said. She then closed her eyes, the visual from the bomber plane appearing in her head, becoming her vision now. The stealth bomber rose high into the sky, maneuvering at low speed toward Juneau, locking onto the small figure of Juneau trying to escape.
"Too slow for this world," Long Chao said flatly.
The KB-X aircraft dived sharply from a low altitude, making Juneau look tiny before it. Juneau looked up, seeing the wide wings of the pilotless plane blotting out the sun. From the belly of the plane, a torpedo dropped. It wasn't the slow torpedo Juneau usually encountered; this torpedo had a small jet booster that made it glide across the water surface at incredible speed, leaving a straight and deadly trail of white foam.
"No... please no..." Juneau tried to perform evasive maneuvers as best she could, trying to zig-zag to deceive the torpedo, but unlike a regular torpedo, this one was locked onto her and kept tracking her no matter her maneuvers. The auto-lock system gave her no opening.
DUAARRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!
A massive explosion occurred right under Juneau's rigging. The force of the blast tore through the steel plating, shattering her tiny cannons into burning metal fragments. Juneau's small body was tossed into the air before falling back into the cold sea with a hard impact. Blood began to color the blue seawater red. Juneau coughed; her 5-inch gun rigging was completely destroyed, and now it became a weight dragging her down into the depths.
"It hurts... it's so cold..." Juneau said, looking up at the sky. Glimpses of the atmosphere at Azur Lane Headquarters flashed through her mind. The kindness of other factions, even the image of the Iron Blood girls who loved to invite her to bake cakes was there.
Her hand tried to reach for the sunlight that was fading from the water's surface. Her rigging slowly detached, sinking first to the dark ocean floor. Her brownish-red eyes slowly dimmed, losing their light, as her consciousness was swallowed by the eternal darkness. USS Juneau sank in an ocean she didn't recognize, by an enemy she had never imagined before.
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POV Long Chao
The visual from the KB-X showed the target had been destroyed and sunk. I took a long breath, inhaling the sea air that now smelled of explosion smoke.
"One nuisance has been eliminated. Those of you who are seen will not survive before me."
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To Be Continued
Next Chapter 6: Something to Be Proven and Believed