Azur Lane: Return of Davis

Chapter 30: Sainte de la Mer

April 20, 1942

Later that day...

"So? What did you want to show us, Ray?"

As of now, Fletcher and Fitch are exploring Honolulu. They don't leave until the 23rd, so they have technical vacation time. Since Nimitz has already been here once before, he decided to accompany me to visit Ray after he wanted me to check something out.

Ray: "Trust me, Boss. This'll be really cool. As mentioned before, Project re:VIVE is going as planned. However, Amagi is being stubborn, so I decided to try some other girls and plans as starters, to see if it's just Amagi or if it's something else." We stop in front of a door.

Nimitz: "What...?"

"Secret project we had cooking for a while. Essentially, what if we could play God and revive the dead."

Ray: "Yeah, that. Well, Test Subject 2 decided she wanted to come forth earlier than expected, so..." He knocks on the door. "Es-tu prêt ?"

The other side of the door responds with "Oui," so she must be French. If I couldn't get it from Ray speaking French.

The door opens, revealing a grey-haired girl, her crimson eyes sharply looking the three men up and down.

Ray: "This is FFNF Saint Louis, technically with the Free French Navy of the Iris Libre. A heavy cruiser, with good AAs, high damage output, and a freakin' badass lance."

I bow my head. "Nice to meet you, Saint Louis." I plant my hand on my chest. "I am the Commander on base, Jason Davis. This–" I gesture to Nimitz. "–is Admiral Chester Nimitz, my 'boss,' so to speak, and you have already met Hernandez Ray."

Nimitz, bowing his head as well: "A pleasure, Miss Louis."

She gets up, grabbing her lance, and looks me in the eyes.

Saint Louis: "It is an honor to meet you at last – my prophet, my leader. I am Saint Louis, brought to your side by God's will. As long as it is justice that guides your hand, then this humble spear shall be yours to wield."

I smile. "I'm expecting good things from you." God, she's a bit extreme with her language. "Come with me. We should introduce you to the rest of the fleet." I extend a hand. If she uses the imagery of God in her speech, then...

"The Lord's rays should shine upon a follower, wouldn't you agree?"

Saint Louis, smiling: "I do." She grasps my hand as we return to the surface.

Nimitz smacks my shoulder with the back of his hand.

"What?"

Nimitz, with an odd grin: "Oh, nothing."

"Oh, shove a sock in it, old bastard." Reaching the elevator, we rise to ground floor, where I plan to begin the base-wide meeting.

--

Commander: "Welcome, everyone, to our first official base meeting. I didn't know this room existed until like last Thursday, so good job me, the smartest dumbass to ever." He claps sarcastically.

The Commander seems to downplay the seeming importance of this meeting, as he is cracking jokes whenever he can. Noted.

Commander: "And I apologize for it. I need to keep good contact with you girls about the happenings around base. And I failed on that front. But it's not time for my self-deprecation. It's time for important business." The screen behind the Commander flickers to life, with three segments, colored red, blue, and yellow. "Thank you Ray, for making this layout in like two minutes. Let's talk. First this."