The Oil Rig of Azur Lane

Prologue

It is 9:15 AM. The ocean tugs P15 and P19 have just left the harbor. Their crews have been told to head to the Meditteranean Sea to pick up and tow an oil rig that has been abandoned outside the coast ofMalta for the past two years. Normally, this is a job for harbor tugs, considering how close the rig is to the coast, but because they have a very big distance to cover, the ocean tugs will have to do the job. You see, Malta doesn't have the facilities required for the rig to dock as it will have to be disarmed before being towed to its new location. Considering how long the vessel has been drifting left and right, it's a miracle the chains and the anchor haven't broken yet. They are old and rusty, and it's not guaranteed they can hold it for much longer. It's a pity though that such a historical oil rig will have to be scuttled when it could have made the perfect floating museum. 

You see, the MSCS Searcher isn't the typical oil rig you will find at the open seas and will be drilling for oil. No, it's something much more than that. In the 20 years of its service, the vessel had seen a lot of action, having served more than its usual purpose. With the nuclear threat of variosu nations appearaning once again, and with more and more satellites being launched at space, it was only a matter of time before the rig itself was affected by the conflict. And while it never saw any combat during the Second Cold War, it definitely kept the skies of the planet safe. How you may ask? Well, thanks to its conversion to an anti-ballistic missile platform, it became the ultimate weapon against any ballistic missiles that would have attempted to strike the European mainland, long or short range. So in some sense, it had become Europe's and the Mediterranean's guardian. In other words, this wasn't just some oil rig or a warship, it had become symbol among the Mediterranean navies, mainly the among Hellenic and the Maltese navies.

To be honest, none of the crews of the ocean tugs wanted this to happen. They had all served on the Searcher and knew the vessel better than their own selves. To them, the Searcher was more than a symbol. It was their home, their land, the only place they felt like they belonged to. The Searcher was full of memories for them. Memories, bith positive and negative. They couldn't just bare to see their home being swallowed by the sea. Unfortunately, it's not up to them to make such a decision. Apparently, the corporations do not care about what some lowly mariners have to say about such a subject or any other subject. To them, as long as they can make money out of something, the opinion of others doesn't matter to them. They could mutiny against their chiefs and hijack the rig to take it wherever they want. But where to take it? There's no nation that will accept a bunch of wannabe pirates, and besides, nobody is going to listen to them, just like their corporate bosses. All they can do is accept the situation they're in. Thinking about it won't do them any good. The sooner they get this over with, the better.

-'Hey. You okay?', asks the captain of P15, looking at the XO, who's hardly trying to hold his tears back.

-'I don't know captain', replies the XO as he wipes the tears off his eyes.

-'I understand how you all feel', continues the captain as he stretches his hat. 'But we have no other choice. Nothing lasts forever you know. At some point, we have to let go of things that are dear to us'.

-'We know that captain', replies the XO again. 'But having to see our home just being swollen by the sea. It's just too much. That's where we all made our memories, this more than our home. And yet we have to see it disappear'.

-'I understand', says the captain, trying to show some sort of sympathy.

-'I highly doubt that. You at least have a home. But look at us. What do we have? Nothing'.

Sadly, the captain has to agree there. He never served on that oil rig, so he doesn't know how strong those emotions are. On the other hand, judging by how everyone is trying to hold their tears back, they must be very strong emotions. If he could experience something like that as well, then maybe he would be able to understand their pain. Well, it's definitely going to be a long time before something like that happens. In the meantime, all he can do is try to cheer his crew up. Not that it will make a big difference, but it will at least keep his guilt away, if he has any.