Azur Lane: The Cruise Ships of the Pacific

Unknown Seas

After opening their eyes, the three cruise ships started looking around. The strong waves, the lightnings, the winds, the dark skies, they were no longer there. What was once a stormy sea has now been replaced by a clear sky with calm waves. That's strange, because a few minutes ago, the angry sea was hitting them with all of its might, nearly capsizing them. To be more honest, it was so intense, they thought their rusty hulls would break apart.

Yet here they are, still intact as if nothing had happened earlier. But how? Ships like them wouldn't be able to withstand something like that, especially at their age. But the strangest of all, they are standing on their respective bridges, wearing the uniforms and caps of their respective companies. This makes it even more strange.

-'Harmony, Symphony, you both okay?', asked Aegean Explorer via his two-way radio, still feeling a slight headache from the storm earlier.

-I'm fine over here', replied Harmony of the Seas, letting out a groan from the pain through her own two-way radio.

-'As am I, though a bit shaken', replied Synmphony of the Seas via her own radio.

Judging by their voice tones, they seem both confused and shocked. Since when do ships have the ability to create their own human forms? It's both unheard of and very unlikely. Yet here they are, walking freely on their own bridges without being bound by anyone or anything. This new revelation is both scary and amazing to them. No matter how much they walk around, no matter how many times they touch their bodies and their uniforms, no matter how many times they touch the railings and electronic equipment, they can't seem to decide whether they're dreaming or if this is all real.

-'What happened?', asks HoS, still trying to come to terms with her new appearance

-'I'm not entirely sure', replies AE, checking himself for any wounds. 'But the last thing I remember was us being towed to the naval scrapyard when the seas became too rough'

-'I remember the same exact thing', replies SotS. 'But that's just it'.

-'I see', replies HoS, not sure of what to think or how to respond.

The two shipgirls and one shipboy then take their binoculars out and start looking around the area. They've been so disoriented and lost that they don't know their exact location. While trying their radars is one option, they have not been able to put them back online. They've attempted doing so seven times already without any success. It's as if their electrical energy has run out completely.

-'Where the heck are we?', asks SotS while looking around the area. There's nothing more than a crystal clear water. No islands, no other ships nearby, no aircraft, nothing.

-'Can't say for sure. Last thing I remember, we were at the Caribbean under tow', replies AE, also looking around while also trying to restore his own systems.

-'I remember that too, but if my memory serves correctly, we were close to one of the island of Aruba before this happened', continues HoS. 'And if we were that close to the island, where is it now?'.

-'You think we could have drifted away after the lines from the tugboats snapped?', asks SotS, having come up with another theory.

-'If that was the case, we would have all drifted towards different directions or we would have collided with each other', replies AE, seemingly making some progress with his radar. 'Yet here we are, still together'.

Harmony and Symphony nod, they can't help but agree to Aegean Explorer's observation. Indeed, when there's a storm like that one, the waves would have pushed the ships towards different directions or towards each other. The fact that all three are still floating side by side makes it even more unlikely. While none of them can know for sure what exactly happened, they can all agree on one thing. This was no storm, or at least not a regular one.

Just then, AE's radar, which he has now managed to restore starts beeping.

-'Hang on. I have an unidentified aircraft approaching from the northwest', says AE as he watches his screen. Judging by how calm he is, one would say he's relieved that he's finally been able to fix his systems.

-'Aircraft?', asks HoS. Normally, cruise ships are not equipped with aircraft tracking radars as it is not considered neceassary. For a cruise ship to be equipped with an aircraft tracking radar is something unheard of and unnecessary.

Aegean Explorer though, is no regular cruise ship. There was a time when he served as a support ship for the Egyptian Navy and then the Hellenic Navy before he was sold to the Cypriot Red Sea Cruises company. hile he was stripped of his military equipment, the aircraft tracking radar was the only thing the company decided to keep on him. They believed that this way, it would help them track down any civlian or military aircraft either to evade any conflict areas or to provide any assistance.

This proved more than successful as he managed to conduct his journeys much safer and was able to proved support with much more efficency without endangering any lives.

-'I'm positive. I have a former military radar with me. I can track down any aircraft', replies AE as he observes the unknown aircraft approaching. 'Number of aircraft, three. Speed 230 knots, heading, two-eight-zero. Distance, two hundred kilometers and closing. They're heading straight for us'.

-'We should try to contact them', says SotS, feeling somewhat relieved. 'Maybe they can give us an answer'.

-'Negative. That's not possible. As far as I can tell, the aircraft are not emitting any radar or radio signal', says AE before his secondary radar starts beeping again'

This time, the unknown contacts are identified as five ships, though their nationality and type cannot seem to be identified. All his radar is displaying is the word UNKNOWN, which is strange. He doesn't remember his electronic systems having such a function. Normally, even when a ship is unidentified, he would at least be able to identify the type, whether it's a civilian or a military vessel. Yet now, he is unable to make out what ships they are or their details.

-'It's no use. I'm receiving no results on the aircraft or the ships', says AE, seemingly frustrated from the results.

-'What do we do now then?', asks SotS. Judging by her facial expression and voice tone, her concern has grown even more than before. She's never faced a situation like that. Fear and anxiety is the only thing she's thinking of right now, as if she's sensing something is wrong.

-'We just sit tight and wait. There's nothing else we can do', replies AE as he grabs his binoculars once again and stares at the sky towards the direction the three unknown aircraft are coming from.

HoS nods and does the same. She doesn't like the idea of sitting back doing nothing, but right now, it's their only solution. Identifying the planes and ships visually is the only course of action they can take. Without satellite connection, their radars are practically useless. All they can do is track ships and aircraft, but that's it. No identification of the targets, no scans, nothing. This makes it much more difficult as those details are crucial to AE and the two Oasis-class sisters. Looks like they have to do thing the old way.

After a few minutes, the three aircraft come into view. AE and HoS, now relieved, are finally able to get a good look. Their relief is quickly replaced by shock and confusion. These aircraft are not the aircraft they were expecting. In fact, they are aircraft that were retired dozens of years ago. The aircraft are Aichi D3A Vals........

(And that's all for today's chapter. I understand I rushed things here, but I promise to give more details in future chapters. Let me know what you think in the comments below. Also, feel fre to check out and subscribe to my Youtube channel (LIterature Defense Force). Until then, see you next time. Remember, your opinion is always important)