Commander's Rounds

Entry 54-6 Operation Ulysses: On Solid Ground

It was over.

The commander could hardly believe it himself, but once he and the fleet had docked at Azur Lane, he finally was assured that there would be no more surprises- he could just find a place to collapse and sleep it off for a while.

He couldn't have been more proud of his fleet- he had chosen Hornet because of her ability to make snap decisions under high pressure because he thought it would be best for the carrier group, but the fact that she used that skill to preserve the fleet entirely was above what he had anticipated- and the fact that the other girls responded well just showed how much the ships had learned to trust each other.

While he couldn't think of much else to give her, just decided to give Hornet "All the leave she wants."

At the end of the day, it was unfortunate that Vestal, Akashi, Perseus, and others would have quite a bit of work to do, but thankfully it was as caretakers rather than coroners.

The commander was glad to be able to come back to a bed, but there were still things that a commander needed to do. The very morning after, Littorio asked him if she and a few of the other Sardegnan girls could go back out to the battlefield. When he asked her why, she simply winked and told him it was part of a tradition, and to leave them to their foibles. So, he let her go.

Over the following few days, he visited those who needed help recovering from the battle, but Incomparable had to be saved for last, as she wasn't ready to be visited until then- plus he ceded the rights of visitation to the other battlecruisers first.

However, when he did go to visit, he found Revenge standing there as well, and she noticed him immediately. "Commander, do you have a few minutes? It's something I think you should know about."

"I think so. Are you also here to visit Incomparable?"

She nodded. "Well... that, and get away from Surcouf for a moment- ever since we got back, she insists on trying to bury me in kisses, and, um..." She began to blush. "...Other things."

The commander chuckled. "Fair enough. So, what's on your mind?"

Revenge handed the nameplate she seized during the battle. "Commander, I found this during the battle. What does this mean to you?"

He took the nameplate. "HMS Erin? That was a Royal Navy dreadnought battleship. She was one of the ships that was scrapped under the terms of the old naval reduction treaties." He handed it back to Revenge. "...But she was broken up a long time ago at the isles. How did you find something like this?"

Revenge sighed. "I and others fought against her during the battle." The commander's eyes widened. "Not only her, but Orion, Conqueror, Agincourt, Settsu, Florida, Delaware, Michigan, and North Dakota. Technically they should've been no match for us, but they had somehow re-armed themselves with top-notch weapons and equipment."

The commander paused. "...They were living ships?"

"Indeed."

The commander shook his head. "I can't say where they may have come from, but a lot of wild experiments were done with Wisdom Cubes before I was commander, and before Azur Lane was even established. Now I wonder if some of the mysterious attacks on transports and port facilities that have been attributed to the Sirens over the past few years were carried out by them, instead."

Revenge spoke up. "And from what she told me, there are probably more of them out there. In total, including the ones we fought, there may be at least fifteen."

"Oh..." He had to compose himself. "Well, they aren't a threat to us on their own, but this does complicate things. Any idea why they'd help the Sirens?"