Commander's Rounds Volume 1

Entry 82: The Journey Home

Frederica smiled as she stroked and then brushed through Friedrich's hair. "You don't have this done to you often, do you?"

Friedrich blushed a little, and shook her head. The tall woman certainly wasn't the one who got spoiled a lot of the time, and certainly not by someone's mother.

Frederica looked at the commander. "I would like to thank you for arranging for the extension. It was surprising."

The commander shrugged. "Five days seemed like too short of a time for you to stay, and since you behaved yourself, it wasn't much trouble. Though I wonder why you're here rather than with your son."

Frederica hmmed as she continued to dote on a very comfy Friedrich. "I can't get in the way of his work, of course, and I'm sure there are moments where he wants to have some private time with his girlfriends, for one reason or another... And it's not like I can't find something to do."

This was true enough. It wasn't hard for her to integrate herself with the community, seeing as there were plenty of shipgirls who liked to be spoiled, and she was happy to oblige. So, she got along as well with them as anyone else who had ended up deeply involved in the lives of shipgirls- Himself, Melissa, Albert, and now Frederica, during her temporary (but now longer) stay at the port.

And now he was being treated to the sight of Friedrich getting cozy with a somewhat smaller woman.

He nodded. "I'm glad you weren't distressed by your son's situation."

She chuckled a bit as she finished brushing Friedrich's hair, and just began stroking the large ship, who closed her eyes. "Anything that makes sure I don't have to worry about him is fine. He loves those girls and they love him back. There's nothing more to say."

There really wasn't.

The fact that the day had been so quiet made the commander suspicious, though....

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Elsewhere, on an island marked by craters from a battle with the Sirens, three intruders arrived without warning, as well as out of nowhere. They were all humanoid combat machines, but not as the Sirens or even Azur Lane made them.

They appeared to be massive, white armored suits, well over nine feet tall each. they were chunky and well-protected, their thick plates looking as though there was no weapon a human could use that could penetrate them. Mounted on their left shoulder was some manner of long-barreled energy weapon, and their back and legs had maneuver units- combinations of boosters and thrusters that allowed them to move over land and water equally. their backpacks also had weapons racks that carried the deadly weapons of their trade. Each one had a head that contained all manner of sensor equipment- cameras, other detection gear, as well as a comms antenna.

One of them turned to the one who was their commander. "Sergeant, this is definitely where we're supposed to be. The translocator did its job."

The second one spoke, this one with a female voice. "Still, it's going to be difficult- there is potentially an entire literal world for us to search."

The one called the Sergeant spoke up, with a powerful baritone. "It's not like we've shrunk from challenges before. Just make sure your communications are tuned to local satellites and transmission towers, that'll get our signals lost in the noise." The sergeant looked around, the cameras on the "head" of his armored shell rotating and scanning. "...There was a fight here against the invaders but..." He paused. "...Never mind. Remember, we aren't here for sightseeing. We'll split up from here and remain in contact. Set your threat beacons to automatic so that each of us will know if one of us is under fire."