Hymn From the High Seas (Azur Lane x Commander Male Reader)

Should the World Turn Against You

Debris rains down around us as we make a dash for the hole opened in the side of the court building. The four of us come to a stop outside where cars that had been parked beside the wall have been smashed by the concussion of Elizabeth's cannons. Injured civilians groan and cry under rubble and in the street, but there's no time for us to care.

Soyuz grabs my hand and pulls me along with her as we sprint down the street. There's a single crack amid all the screaming of surrounding onlookers, and my arm instantly begins to sting. George pushes Soyuz and I behind a parked car after two vehicles full of military police stop ahead of us. When they step out of the car, George sprays them down with her pom-poms, turning one of their cars into a burning wreck and the soldiers into bloody mush on the street.

"Get in!" I shout, running for the untouched car after picking up one of the soldier's carbines.

George is the first one in the vehicle, and I get in the back with Soyuz while Elizabeth rides in the passenger with a distant look, "Gory hell... all those people..."

George adjusts the stick before sending us down the street as if we were taking off from a carrier, "Now is not the time, Your Majesty. The docks are to the east, Commander?"

"Yes," I poke my head into the front, "That street there – take a left and go straight. The shipyard will be close. TB, how long until you get here?" Soyuz holds my arm where a bullet scraped past me.

"Approximately nine minutes from your position," she responds, "I advise you to meet me halfway."

Seeing more Jeeps from the Army following behind us, I murmur, "Don't you dare let off flank speed."

Soyuz grabs my shoulder and points to our right, "More Jeeps. They will cut us off."

"George?" I hold her seat.

"I know," she says collectedly, her eyes darting between the side and rear-view mirrors, "Once we make it to water, we are home free."

Civilian vehicles in the road pull over as we barrel toward them, George revving the engine until we're at top speed. I check the chamber of my M1 Carbine and turn off the safety, gripping the weapon firmly. As we curve around a building, we can see the open water, but the Army cuts us off.

They stop in the road, and George slams on the brakes and pulls us onto the sidewalk where more people jump out of the way. The car stops beside a small restaurant, and a few bullets whizz past the vehicle. They stop shooting when more people run down the street towards the blockade, and I take our chance to get into proper cover.

"Out!" I push Soyuz, "Everyone out, out, get out!"

I exit on the side closest to the building, and George comes running around the vehicle before the Army lets loose. We duck into the restaurant as gunshots smash the windows and rip through the walls. I lay on the floor with everyone else, pinned down by the suppressive fire. At this rate, we'll be flanked and shot dead.

Soyuz can't even lift her head from the ground, bullets zipping over us like a swarm of frenzied bees, "I cannot get an angle!"

I look over at George and Elizabeth, who use their rigging to shield each other from fire, before hissing, "TB! Are you in firing range?"

"Affirmative," she says, "I have visual on four armored vehicles and twenty-four infantry bearing small arms."

"Hit them with the secondaries!" I hold my rifle over a window and fire back, "Send a salvo of HE and fire for effect!"

"Aye, aye, fire mission received. Calibrating firing solution for one salvo of HE, standby..."

After throwing my gun aside, I pull Soyuz closer to me and shout, "Danger close!"