Azur Lane: The Guardians of the Black Sea

Prologue

14:25 PM, Black Sea

Patrol boats Iveria and Sokhumi have just left their home port in Batumi. This is their fourth sortie in just a single day. It's been about a month since clashes at the 'Abkhazian' border commenced which resulted in many casualties, both police and military. The Abkhazians suddenly decided become aggresive again and attack the surrounding towns, and while the UN secretary did file a complaint at the Abkhazian government, it didn't have much effect. Since Abkhazia is not recognized as a country, it's not a UN member either, which means it is not completely affected by the laws enforced by the UN. Even if the state was affected, Russia would have vetoed the descision. But that's what happens when the world's superpowers decide to play dirty for their own benefit. They won't care what you think. As long as it's for their own benefit, then they'll stop at nothing.

Today's task if very different though. A few hours ago, Coast Guard command had received a radio call from the National Guard that an Abkhazian patrol boat had crossed the DMZ and is heading towards batumi. Since Iveria and Sokhumi are the only boats cirrently available, it's up to them to intervrene and stop the enemy vessel. They're not that advanced and do not have any superior weaponry, but they outnumber their enemy by two. Even if the enemy vessel manages to bypass their defenses, it won't stand a chance. It'll be blasted out of the water before it manages to fire a single shot.

There's one problem though. There might be a Russian warship nearby, waiting to make its move. Since Abkhazia doesn't have a very strong navy, they rely on Russia for naval protection, which is one of the many reasons Georgia has suffered so many losses at sea. Ever since the war of 2008 which saw the downfall of the Gerogian Navy and the rise of the Coast Guard, Georgia has made no attempts of rebuilding its naval supremacy. They fear retaliation by the Russians and complete annihilation of their harbor and coastal cities as method of punishment. It's like the situation in Japan where the public opposes the JSDF's rearmament and peacekeeping missions just because they fear the same consquences they suffered in WW2, paranoia at its finest. Well, that's what happens when your nation is weaker than your enemy.

After about twenty more minutes of sailing at maximum speed, they spot the patrol boat. It's an old Zhuk-class patrol boat like their own ones. More precisely, it's the same boat that shot down the three Georgian airliners during the secession war of 1992 and killed hundreds of passengers It's old, it's rusty, but it still appears to be in good shape. It's a miracle how the Abkhazians can still manage to keep their old boats going, despite their old age, that's something to give them credit for. Well, there's only one way to find out if it still combat capable.

Not wasting time, the captain of the patrol boat Iveria orders action stations, prompting everyone to put on their combat gear and F.A.S.T. helmets and take positions to the machine guns. He then picks up the CB radio and activates the loudspeaker.

-'Vessel on my port bow this Georgian Coast Guard patrol boat Iveria', he calls out loud. 'You are in Georgian territorial waters. Turn around immediately or we will be forced to fire upon you'.

There's no response. The Abkhazian boat continues its course at maximum speed. Either the crew is very brave or very big idiots. They probably know that they won't make it far, but it's their chance to do somthing heroic for their so called nation. They've been brainwashed for all those years, they've forgotten their Georgian origins, just like the Russians hoped. The more people they brainwash, the more followers and puppets they will gain, and that will continue to grow among future generations if other nations don't do something. The only way to stop this from spreading is with re education of all prisoners, and that's exaclty what awaits the Abkhazian crews once their boat sinks.

The two Georgian boats aim their machine guns at the Abkhazian vessel. They are about to open fire when a rain of 7.62 mm bullets from the enemy boat shatter their windows and create holes in their cabins, wounding several of the sailors. Looks like the Abkhazians are not willing to give up that easily. From what it looks like, they are preparing to go down and take their enemies along with them. Well, that's a very foolish and falsely calculated move. They are doomed and they know that. Still, they're not going down without a fight.

Having had enough of this, the captains fo the two boats run towards the machine guns at the bows of the vessels and start firing back at the enemy vessel, killing one Abkhazian sailor and wounding five more. However, it appears that the bullets have no effect on the boat. From what it looks like, it appears to be heavily armored, despite the fact that it can sail at its maximum speed. Looks like the Abkhazians were playing with them all along. They just pretended to go on a suicide mission only to catch the Coast Guard by complete surprise. And it appears to have worked in some degree. Still, it seems that they're gonna have to take them out before they can continue their mission, whatever that is. They promised to their president that they'll come back victorious, they can't let him down now.

As the three boats continue exchanging bullets with each other, the weather begins to change as well. The blue skies are now slowly getting covered by a huge dark clouds, turning the day into night. That's strange. Weather reports indicated a very sunny day, yet it looks like it's about to rain. No, actually, it's about to create a storm, a storm which will be too strong for their boats to withstand and will cause them to capsize and drown everyone, regardless of whether they can swim or not. Still, they can't give up this battle, they have to defend the harbor no matte what the circumstances are. If this is where they will make their stand, then so be it.

Suddenly huge drops of rain beggin showering the boats and their crews prompting them to abandon their posts and retreat inside the cabins. The raindrops are so big and powerful that they create small shockwaves on their F.A.S.T. helmets, causing them pain and making them feel dizzy. The captains cannot force their crews to go out there and continue the fight under such situations. If bullets won't kill them, the rain definitely will. Still, they can't stop the battle all of a sudden, there must be a victor.

Just then, lightnings begin to hit the water, landing near the three boats and disabling their electronics and weapon systems, thus immobilizing them completely. The crews are all confused. How can a storm like this disable their boats out of the blue. Normally, these vessels are built to withstand strorms even worse than this, it shouldn't be a problem for them. Yet, it appears that something just went wrong. Whatever it is though, it is not a good sign at all.

What is about to happen next, is something beyond anyone's imagination. Something terrifying and incredible at the same time. Something unbelievable and amazing. Something that will change everything in scientific logic. Something.....

(And that's all for today's chapter. Let me know what you think in the comments below. Until then, see you next time. Remember, your opinion is always important).