Azur Lane: The Siren War and the Hymn of Steel Beasts

I - VI : The Hunt for Wolves

"The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-Boat peril… it did not take the form of flaring battles and glittering achievements, it manifested itself through statistics, diagrams, and curves unknown to the nation, incomprehensible to the public." — Prime Minister Winston Churchill

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The night-watches were always a nightmare to the men of the convoy, they dreaded the darkness where the enemy loved to lurk in and savour them slowly. And this was one of the many nights despite the amount of escort ships present, it didn't delay the enemy in their ruthless strikes.

"Two distress rockets from the rear! It's from the supply ship, Southland!" The report was for naught as the mentioned ship erupted into a ball of fire when the torpedoes impacted.

Halifax and the crews on the bridge-wing of the Autumn watched in visible horror as the supply ship sank in minutes before their very eyes, there had been no survivors nor lifeboats sighted floating nearby so the corvette steamed on to protect the other transport ships.

"Lookout reports gunfire on the port bow, sir." said the talker.

Halifax sprang for the T.B.S. He had been inattentive for at least three minutes while Arrow and Kidd were in rapid communication, their sentences snapping back and forth, straining at the leash of the trained manner; the shipgirl was starting to panic while the other corvette's Captain tried his best to remain calm.

"Bearing two seven zero from me!"

"I have him on the screen, Kidd."

"Firing star shell! Stand by!"

Gunfire. Star shell. A surfaced U-boat? And the said bearing meant that it was between the screen and the convoy, charging in for its attack. The darkness was suddenly illuminated as the star shell burst high in the sky, the brilliant white light dangled from its parachute. To the Autumn's port beam the leading ship of the starboard column of the convoy was shadowed against the light.

"Autumn to Arrow! Autumn to Arrow! I'm turning across the convoy's bows! Cover me!"

"Wilco."

"I'll take her, Mr. Patterson."

"Aye aye, sir."

"Left full rudder. Meet her. Steady as you go."

"Steady on course—"

Halifax didn't trouble himself to listen to the figure given. He was content enough to see that the Autumn crossed the bows of the advancing convoy. The star shell was extinguished by now. He reached for the ship-wide comm at the same time action began.

"Sub bearing broad on starboard bow! Range three five double zero."

"Captain to gunnery control. Do not fire without orders!" he swivels around to face the helmsman; Lewis. "Get clear of the convoy."

He went back to the T.B.S. "Autumn to Kidd. Autumn to Kidd. Star shell again."

"Sub bearing zero four two. Range three two double zero."

Bearing's changed, as well as the range. The U-boat was somewhere in the darkness, trying to crawl its way to the convoy. The Autumn dipped and plunged in the high sea. Then the darkness was no more, replaced by the light hanging from the sky, lighting up the sea and the ships in dazzling white as bright as the moonlight. And there, on the Autumn's starboard bow, some two miles ahead, the slinking gray shape hurried over the silvered water, the gray wolf running at full stretch towards the flock.