Commander's Rounds

Entry 44: Back to Business

The commander had sat I-19 and U-101 in his office- he needed to explain some things to both of them that they were a little confused about.

One of I-19's fuzzy ears flicked in confusion. "...But, I don't get it... If she's not a submarine, how come she goes so far underwater?"

The commander was ready to answer. "You see, Boise can find it stressful to be around people other than her sisters, so sometimes she just goes out to sea and dives under to decompress for a while- she does it because she knows most people won't follow her there."

U-101 went up next. "Is it really that bad, though? We just want to talk to her and tell her how cool it is that she goes diving like Icarus."

He shook his head. "Icarus is much more outgoing, to begin with, while Boise is still somewhat shy. It's best not to bother her while she's out there. If you really want to make friends with her, try to do it through her sisters, like St. Louis or Helena- and also try not to come on too strong."

I-19 stretched. "All righty~ Come on, let's go."

After the two submarines left, the commander leaned back in his chair. It was now back to the business of running Azur Lane and dealing with things like this.

One of the things he did do before anything else was that he went to see Yuubari and ask about what she was able to get out of the Siren ship. She was quite happy to explain to him the significance of the find.

The first and most important thing was an intact Siren computer. While the computers on-board their automated, mass-produced ships didn't really contain any strategic information, it was useful because it contained the basic architecture of their digital systems, which mean it would be possible for her to build something that could mess with the more sophisticated equipment used by Sirens like Purifier, Tester, Omitter, Observer, and Compiler.

The second was the ship's power systems- the ship's power source was some species of compact nuclear reactor that was small enough to fit in even a destroyer-sized vessel- while there were inert and destroyed examples, she finally had one she could work with. The large amounts of power available even to even lesser Siren ships finally explained why only living ships were able to pursue and catch them. It wasn't something they could safely fit into rigging, and they didn't know what was in Siren rigging, but Yuubari had her own ideas of what to do with it.

She was working on activating the intact particle cannon that was formerly attached to Marduk's suit, but that was a very long-term project.

So, until Yuubari's work bore fruit, it was back to the regular business of the port, which meant exercises and helping the various ships work together and get along- and the fact was that some ships were just intensely curious about those they may not have personally met in the old days. Le Tem wanted to be friends with everything that had a pulse, Aquila wanted to be a proper lady carrier (whatever that meant), and more and more besides.

The commander tidied up his papers, and took a deep breath. He was going to have to find alternate places to work once construction began in earnest. And he'd have to do it discreetly, because if he put up a notice of such things, he would still get at least a few invitations to work in someone's room. He did consider who might be willing to accommodate his work when he needed quiet, and he had a few candidates in mind.

They might well ask for something in return for hosting him, but that was part of the give-and-take of being the commander of Azur Lane. It's not like he could work underwater, so he couldn't take Boise's route, so he had to think about where other people might go to work if they wanted some peace and quiet.