Commander's Rounds Volume 1

Entry 106-2 Crowning a Princess

The commander sat in the waiting area just outside the room where Vestal, Perseus, and Jervis were hurriedly making King George V as comfortable as she could be for what was to come. The commander wasn't staying inside at the moment, as he didn't want to get in the way of the people who had some idea of what they were doing, and it was probably better for his wife not to see how terribly anxious he was. The last time he felt like this was back when he first came to Azur Lane- Just some young officer who was handed orders to head up the most important international war effort since the war most of his ship had taken part in.

The commander was left deep in his thoughts until they were interrupted by someone who didn't let things like life-changing events get in the way of him executing his duties. "Sir?"

Alex jumped a little in his seat, and turned to see Albert, standing at attention as he always did. "Something you need, lieutenant? I'm not strictly in command at the moment."

"I wanted to inform you that Enterprise was able to conduct the rest of the meeting smoothly. I was also only stopping by briefly to see if you had any further orders at this time."

The commander rubbed his forehead. "You have your own sense of timing, don't you?"

He put his hands behind his back. "Regardless of what is occurring in our personal lives, there are matters of interest that won't wait. I will dismiss myself if that is what you deem appropriate."

Alex nodded. "...Just continue with your routine duties for the time being. If you've finished with those, just... Take some time off and spend it with your girlfriends, all right?"

"Yes sir. Also, my apologies for interrupting you at a delicate time. I will not intrude on you again until you call me back personally."

Alex wrung his hands for a moment. "No, no, you did have a compelling reason... What's happening in here doesn't change what's happening out there. You are dismissed."

"Yes sir." Albert took out his phone, covered in chibi stickers of his various girlfriends. As he walked down the hall, he heard Albert talking. "Hello, Strasser? Yes, this is Albert... I have been ordered by the commander to spend time with you and the others, and I mean to be a good officer, so..."

Eventually, Albert walked out of earshot, and Alex was left on his own for a while longer.

Alex considered that it might have been better to ask Albert to stay a little longer, as he was left alone with his thoughts- And at times like these, they were not pleasant company.

The smell of something delicious came down the hallway, too tasty to be hospital food. Alex turned to the direction that the scent was coming from. He didn't know who had prepared anything for him- He was away from home, and King George V was occupied with something far more pressing. What he did see though, was a maid, though not one of the regular royal maids- It Was Princess Royal, grumpy as ever, holding a tray with a covered dish on it, attended by carefully arranged flatware.

Alex looked over at her. "Did you...?"

"Of course not. However, Dido seemed to be of the opinion that you were foolish enough to ignore eating at one of the most crucial times in your life, and it seems that she was entirely correct. She did the cooking and practically begged me to bring it to you." She sighed. "...So many of the maids here are so obsequious it makes me suspicious. I wish they'd be at least a little uncouth once in a while or have some vice, like Glasgow's penchant for illustrated stories about maids lusting after one another. Here." He handed the tray over to Alex. "And before you ask, it is asking too much for me to take everything back home. I'm not waiting for you to finish, so you'll have to see to that yourself."