Commander's Rounds Volume 1

Entry 46: Metamorphosis of Wisdom

The commander rubbed his forehead. "Okay. I want you to start over, and explain things slowly and in plain language. What did the three of you get up to this time, and why did it end with such a loud noise?"

The commander, Yuubari, and her associates were standing in a cube lab that had seen better days. He didn't doubt their ability to repair the damage that they had caused to their own equipment, but it was concerning that some things were still smoldering.

Yuubari decided to offer an explanation. "Master, we decided to perform an experiment. We actually learned more about the technology in Marduk's suit, so we safely dismantled some of it and used some of the parts to enhance our equipment in the cube lab. we believed it would enhance the results, due to its more sophisticated power and energy direction systems."

The commander scratched the back of his neck. "You know, taking technology we don't understand that well and using it on other technology that we don't understand that well sounds pretty dangerous, considering that one of the two things we don't understand comes from a different universe altogether."

Marblehead was arranging some of the bits and pieces for recycling. "Obviously! We're in a navy at war, so everything we do is basically dangerous, right?"

He sighed. "That doesn't mean we want to invite it into our house any more than necessary. So, what are the damages?"

Yuubari looked around. "The parts of Marduk's suit that we removed are still intact- they're extremely robust. Other equipment will have to be fixed and replaced."

Akashi spoke up. "And don't you worry about the budgeting, nya! Akashi bankrolls a lot of this stuff!"

He stretched. "That's a small mercy, at least. As long as nothing really strange happened, we can just chalk this up as business as usual for the lab."

Marblehead hesitated, but then spoke up. "Yeah... About that. Something kinda strange happened."

The commander stopped cold. "...Explain."

Yuubari gave a nod. "When we used Marduk's technology on the Wisdom Cube, it... Changed. It mutated, and reconfigured itself in ways that we can't really understand, or even really analyze yet. It's not so much that the readings were impossible, as they weren't something we can really read to begin with."

The commander waited for the other shoe to drop. "...Go on."

Yuubari's fox-tail flicked. "And we ended up creating... Something. It escaped the lab, so it's wandering around the base right now."

"I see." He opened up his phone, and found the app he used to broadcast a priority danger alert to the entire base. In only a few seconds, he was able to put Azur Lane on full red alert. "I hope that whatever you've created is more bizarre than actually dangerous. I'm afraid you're too valuable to put into the brig at the moment, but I want you to cease these strange cube experiments."

Yuubari spoke up. "If you mean to put someone in the brig, I believe I can do without Akashi for a little while."

"That's illegal restraint of trade, nya!"

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The commander left the lab with a sigh. The lab's other accidental products, like the child ships and Battlecruiser Lexington weren't such a big deal, but this felt different somehow, like they had trifled with something they absolutely shouldn't have. And it would, once again, be up to him to clean up the mess. Of course, he was going to have to survive it, first.