Commander's Rounds

Entry 100-6: The Judge

The commander sat up on the deck of the Orpheus as he took stock of his situation. He had now gathered his fleet, but there were still four ships unaccounted for- Georgia, Helena, Cleveland, and Akashi, and the last that anyone had seen of Georgia, she was being attacked by a vast number of Siren vessels. No one had seen the other three at all since the transition to the Mirror Sea. Friedrich was so badly damaged that she had entered a sort of self-preservation mode, and they would have to get home to have the equipment needed to rouse her from unconsciousness.

One of the few pieces of good news was that the Iron Blood fleet hadn't suffered much damage overall, thanks to the acts of Roon and Friedrich. While he would've liked to have Friedrich on hand for the final push against Tester, the fact of the matter is that he couldn't define his entire strategy on one ship, no matter how powerful.

He did, however, have to face certain facts. Tester's attack left him having to make some choices, because about half his fleet wasn't capable of any further combat action, because of some combination of damage or exhaustion, and of the remaining ships, he had to think about which ships would still be able to stand up to a fight against Tester at this point. He was going to have to leave some ships behind to protect those who weren't capable of doing any more, especially since there was no telling what kind of dirty tricks Tester might try to pull. the repair ships were doing their best, but Tester wouldn't wait forever.

It was then that he noticed Roon standing in front of him. She had taken a ferocious beating from her escapades but she still put on that pleasant smile. She held out her fully functional arm. "...Hug?"

"Sounds good." He stood up, and hugged the cruiser for a little while, not caring that he might get some Siren innards on him. He eventually let her go. "...You did a good job today, and I'm proud of you."

Roon giggled. "I know it would make you sad if something happened to those other girls."

The commander nodded. "Yeah, it would. By the way, since you were there... What exactly happened with Friedrich?"

Roon put on a bigger smile. "You should have seen her, commander. She's never been so beautiful before."

The commander nodded. "You're hurt?"

Roon continued. "Not as much as they are. And besides, the commander is here, so it's fine. Would you mind if I went below to lie down for a while, until you need to leave?"

"Go ahead."

Roon went below. The commander could tell that Roon was also too hurt to fight anymore today.

Ulrich then stepped towards the commander. "It's a strange thing to think of Roon saving people. But, that's the situation we find ourselves in. Anyway, I think I can tell you a bit more about my sister."

The commander nodded. "I'm listening."

Ulrich shook her head. "...I can't tell you exactly what she became. She became something powerful, yes, but obsessed with destruction above anything and everything else. Even I was only barely able to reach her. I don't know what Tester said to her that made her that way, but..." She sighed. "...I just wonder if that kind of thing could happen to any of us."

The commander agreed. "I won't say it's not something to dismiss, but we are fighting under particularly trying circumstances. Anyway, you'll be able to address your grievances with Tester directly."

"Well, actually, there is one thing I can think of." She paused. "...I think that Tester might have threatened Matilda or something."

The commander took off his hat. "...It does fit the pattern."