Commander's Rounds Volume 1

Entry 114: Fortune's Favor

Birmingham skated aside to avoid a Siren jet that was on its merry way to crash into the sea. Scylla was good at her job, though, and she was aware that the Royal maid couldn't exactly control where planes crashed when they went down.

More concerning was that there was even a battle happening at all.

The Sirens hadn't moved that much further south than the Bering Line for some time, but now a group of light cruisers and destroyers backed by Ryuujou and Weser were having it out with a small Siren fleet consisting mainly of mass-produced ships- Some leftover inventory, possibly. While they were all experienced at fighting it out with Siren ships at this point, the discovery was somewhat unexpected.

Not that the Sirens were willing to give Birmingham or anyone else involved much time to dwell on it. The only sign that she was able to see that things were going to turn in their favor was a plume of smoke rising over the horizon, showing that the enemy carrier had been tagged by friendly planes, allowing Birmingham to concentrate on what she did best- hammering anything within gunsight with fire from her numerous guns. Torpedoes were for other kinds of cruisers.

However, there wasn't much that required her to drop that kind of firepower- aside from the carrier, these were ships that the Sirens could afford to lose. She pulled into a sharp turn that came easily to her- A knight of the sea was just a loudmouth if she didn't develop her skills- and already had her guns on target as she unleashed them on a Siren light cruiser that ended up being not long for this world. Scylla continued to cover her as she filled the black ship with all of the explosions it could stand and more.

She quickly scanned the field as she left it to sink, and the other Siren ships were beginning to turn back, and soon turned on her radio to give orders. "Pursue and destroy them as practical- Any ship we destroy today is one everyone else won't have to fight later. But don't get too spread out and break off if you have to." She then turned her head. "Scylla, stay with me."

Scylla smiled, and gave a polite bow. "And abandon my duties? Perish the thought~"

The two cruisers saw an opportunity and began chasing a pair of destroyers into the morning fog, maneuvering around the waves to get clear shots.

However, someone else got a clear shot first.

From out of the thickening fog, volleys of solid shot pierced one of the Siren destroyers until it was essentially a sieve, the assailant seeming to act on the principle that watertight compartments didn't mean much if you put holes in all of them.

But that wasn't the act that grabbed Birmingham and Scylla's attention.

The second destroyer was slain by powerful tentacles that pierced the hull from underneath, while another wrapped itself around the middle of the hull. Both cruisers heard a great creak and groan of tortured metal, until, at least, the black ship was ripped in half and left to its fate beneath the waves.

Birmingham and Scylla just looked at each other, but the fog began to lift, and they got a view of the owner of those guns, and the very last thing that Birmingham expected to see on this outing was a pirate. Long guns, tentacles, cutlass, and a jaunty smile were offered to the two cruisers by the woman standing on the water. "Well! Looks like we're after the same thing, at least on the surface." She began. "Of course, the sea is more than just the surface, and I mean to enjoy it all."

Birmingham spoke up. "...Just who are you, anyway?"

"A free traveler of the seas." She said. "They feel a bit less free than they used to be, what with these black ships and all, but I haven't changed, not one bit."