Commander's Rounds

Entry 45: The Most Important Person

There were, at least, things that the commander could do away from the office, and he was going to use any excuse he could to get outdoors on these sunny days.

The remodeling of the captured Siren destroyer into his new command boat was proceeding at a useful pace. Even though its original power source had been stripped out and was still being examined by Yuubari, it was being refitted with the most advanced and modern engines they could fit on the thing- plus there was the fact that its power systems were still frighteningly efficient. He wasn't going to be charging into the front lines with that thing, but it was going to be more survivable.

And then there was supervising exercises.

The thing about doing that during this type of year is that it was impossible to keep some of the girls from ditching their regular uniforms or other outfits and going out there in their swimsuits, even for official maneuvers like these. There was just nothing to be done about it, so he let it happen- after all, it made the girls happy, and that was getting to be the most important thing apart from keeping in fighting trim.

And keeping their mind on their maneuvers was something that was much more urgent.

The commander understood that Purifier had a highly aggressive combat style, and once they engaged here there would be no room to coordinate fancy tactics from his end- there just wouldn't be any time because Purifier and her forces would be moving in at full blast, so these sorts of deployments and tactics would have to basically become muscle memory for his ships. Purifier wouldn't give them any time to breathe or regroup. To put it simply, Purifier's fighting style relied on the adage "Everyone's got a plan until they get punched in the face."

It was another sharp reminder about how the Sirens may seem like goofballs, but were deadly war machines that could outmatch any conventional force.

Luckily for him, he was the commander of the most unconventional military force around.

This is what was on his mind when he received a message from Monarch- she wanted to see him. This was actually an odd situation- Monarch didn't usually seek out others, and she only usually showed up when her sisters were involved or when she was summoned by him for some purpose or another. He actually didn't have any clue as to what this matter was about, but he was going to have to find out all the same. It was best not to ignore the moods and misgivings of his most powerful ships.

It would be unlikely he would be allowed to remain commander if he did.

So, the commander prepared himself. Monarch had a powerful presence, and was full of resentment when she first arrived. While the latter part was something that had largely gone away, much to everyone's relief, Monarch was someone who was determined to prove her mettle and power after being given a chance to live.

Before that, however, he had to finish up the exercises to see how they'd do without his input in fraught situations.

The results were promising, at least but there was still some work that needed to be done if they were going to take on Purifier again. There was no doubt that their opponent had learned from their last confrontation and wouldn't tie herself down to something as sluggish as a fortress. It was going to take some work to defeat her forces, keep her from escaping, and capture her. He began to wonder if his plan was pie-in-the-sky, but the confidence of the ships was infectious.

Besides, he made them a promise, and making a promise to one of these girls is something that you broke at your own peril- and he promised them that they'd get a damn good shot at knocking Purifier out of the war.

But, if he was going to actually succeed at that, he was going to have to tend to his ships, and that meant going to see Monarch.

She wanted to see him alone, too- she probably didn't want to have anything interrupted by any of her sisters- Well, they were also his sisters, now. That was just the way things worked, traditionally.