Commander's Rounds Volume 1

Entry 125: Stronger than Steel

The commander was behind his desk, looking over all the battle reports that had been dumped on his desk. He didn't have time to read all of them himself, but the summary that had been provided was something worrying. He shook his head. "So Konig failed, too?"

"Yes." Said Z23. "She tried to take forces from Atlantic command and sneak north through the Queen Elizabeth Islands, but Chariot appears to have pre-planned targeting the passages. In addition to Chariot's modified ships, Konig appears to have been attacked by land-based artillery weapons that have three times the range of the Paris Gun. She was expecting trickery, so she managed to get her people out of there, but she failed to accomplish anything else thanks to that and Chariot's heavily modified ships."

The commander blinked. "What do you mean, modified ships?"

Z23 shook her head. "In addition to the regular ships, Chariot used battleships that were equipped with a single superheavy long range artillery piece as a primary weapon. Based on our own experience, it appears that Chariot may be able to drastically modify the equipment of her own forces to fit both the battle she is expecting and the strategy she uses to tackle it."

The commander bowed his head slightly. "...So, what you're saying is, as long as Chariot is around, we may not be able to get through the Siren defenses and into the Arctic Circle."

Z23 was at a loss of what to say to that, but nodded. "Removing Chariot is our goal- The very thing that makes her so dangerous for us to fight is why it is completely crucial to destroy her."

And there were other Arbiters out there, too. "Thank you, Nimi. At least we have a goal now." He paused for a moment. "...You're dismissed."

The destroyer saluted, and left.

The commander began to feel as though the Sirens had been spoiling him- They had entrusted the defense of their home territory to someone capable of displaying tactical ability with the brain of a networked supercomputer. Every tactic that he had ever used was probably something she was aware of and was ready to counter at a moment's notice. He had limited tools to deal with such a thing- He was, after all, only human.

The commander half-heartedly continued to work into the night. He had dinner with King George, but there were still things that needed to be done that had nothing to do with any grand strategic plans to win the war. He couldn't even focus as much as he used to, and in the end, only one clear thought came through.

You should probably go to bed. After all, King George is there.

The commander was surprised, but he decided that he should listen to himself. He put his papers away and secured them, before leaving his office and heading over to the bedroom. King George was already in bed, and seemed to be waiting for him. "Decided to call it a night?"

"Yeah." He said. "...Besides, knowing that I keep you waiting is another good reason to call it a night if I'm not getting anything done." The commander got out of any part of his uniform that would get in the way of sleeping, and then slid right into bed, remembering to kiss King George on the lips. "You and Matilda are great motivators to take care of myself."

King George kissed him in return. "Mmm... So, going right to sleep, or..."

Alex was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The battleship smiled. "Ah... I guess that answered that."

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When Alex became conscious of himself, he found himself standing in a field of darkness that stretched out all around him. He wasn't aware that he had been taken somewhere, and so he decided to walk forward.