Hymn From the High Seas (Azur Lane x Commander Male Reader)

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Contrary to my previous worries, I was able to slide back into the schedule of my office work without a hitch. Bismarck and Enty serve as my secretaries today, taking care of report-writing while I handle revisions for our island defense strategies. Considering Bismarck's agreement to work with Enty and I, I'm assuming she's also willing to hear us out on our contingency plan for High Command.

Speaking of, High Command has given me weekends off from office work after everyone on the island signed the petition for it. Of course, I'm not exempt from actual fighting. Despite Forster's threats against my kansen, this is one thing I can thank top brass for.

"Clearance has been granted to materialize another priority ship," Enty hands me mail from High Command.

"Who?" I check the official letter, thumbing the red wax seal on the parcel.

"Anchorage," she looks up at me, "Priority level: four."

I fold the paper up and drop it into a drawer just in case Forster complains about her, "We'll handle the materialization later."

Enty sets her pen down, "How's the battle plan?"

Bismarck looks up as I explain, "Complicated. While we don't have to worry about our ships sinking against mass-produced vessels, our Achilles' heel is the island itself."

"Indeed, we are meant to defend it," Bismarck huffs, her words dripping with sarcasm.

"My point, Bismarck, is that if the human navy comes for us, they'll hit the port and nothing else. In fact, we can bank on them bringing all the carriers they can. They'll most likely hit the docks and air strip before retreating with minimal losses. If that happens, they effectively end the battle with a strategic victory. Our kansen won't be able to refuel, all we'll have for repairs are our vessels like Vestal, reconstruction will drain what's left of our budget, and we'll have nowhere to rest. Forster will probably repeat the air raid next time and erase all of our progress, too. We'd be knocked out of the war indefinitely. The key comes down to air defense and targeting their carriers," I make marks on a map of the island, "Let's buff our island artillery and triple A. The defense formations seem fine, so I don't think we need adjustments made to them."

Bismarck circles the beach with a red marker, "What happens if they try to make landfall and storm the dock?"

I take another look at the map, "Nearly all Wisdom Cubes are sent directly to Leviathan's Rest for research and other purposes. The rest is sent to a single scientist within the Azur Lane. High Command will deem our wisdom cubes indispensable and make attempts to secure them in order to summon their own kansen, who'd be deployed against us," I look up at Enty and Bismarck, who glance at each other knowingly.

I continue, "Expect special assault forces – commandos, maybe. I'll take a fleet of destroyers and have them encircle the island to fire upon landing craft. Then, we can lay out some range-finder buoys for the artillery. Just in case they make it through, we'll have a fleet waiting for them on land. Drake might be able to work her magic and put some girls on machine gun emplacements around the beach. What do you think?"

Nodding, Bismarck comments, "My subordinates have sufficient experience with MG's. They should make up the bulk of the squad on land. With our superior technology, we'll undoubtedly decimate anything the Azur Lane throws at us. An aggressive spearhead into their formation would prevent any possible air raids or a direct invasion of the island. If we hit their carriers first, and hit them hard, then I'm confident we will have victory."

"I only hope they avoid this fight," Enty squeezes her hands together, "We're meant to protect humanity, not slaughter them."

Seeing Enty's hesitance, Bismarck lowers her head, "We will do what we must. I've come to realize that we're not meant for one thing or another as kansen. What we do with our lives is for us to decide, not humanity. If they wish to take our lives, we will meet them with steel. Every being on this planet knows that when you threaten the life of another, you also forfeit your own."