Azur Lane: Under Development

Chapter 8: Lost

 "You look horrible."

"I know."

"I've had my fair share of insomnia, but I'd wager to say that the bags on your eyes are just as prominent as your nose!"

"Thanks."

"Look, what's wrong? I am genuinely concerned about your well-being."

"It was difficult to sleep last night knowing I would die horribly before living to a ripe old age."

"Do you not have trust in humanity?"

"Looking at our shared past history, it's very difficult to."

"Have faith, good man! I would bet on my entire family that we'll always pull out of it okay. We always have."

"That sounds like a terrible case of survivorship bias. Just because we've remained on the earth for this long does not mean that humanity has made perfect decisions to get to this point. Much of it is dumb luck. Much like this entire situation."

"Alright, alright, look. I already bet my whole family. My wife, three kids, and a grandchild. It'll turn out okay."

"So I have the right to sell your entire family once everything goes to shit?"

"Theoretically, yes. You want me to give you my address?"

"That seems unwise. And probably would lead to something illegal."

"Not to worry. My team of lawyers have assured me that giving out personal data does not violate my non-disclosure act. They just said it was really stupid."

"You are insufferable. How did you get to be chairman?"

—

The commander did not get a good night's sleep that night. Try as he might, his brain would not stop running wildly with all the events of yesterday. It was only after his body's circadian rhythms finally took over his lethargic body and pulled him into the sweet release of unconsciousness. And he remained peacefully ignorant from waking and getting ready until he walked into the hologram room for another skirmish. He already expected Belfast to be there with the file, but Amagi and Akagi being there as well made all the unpleasant memories come roaring back into his head, and he stopped at the threshold of the door.

"Ah, Commander," Belfast said. "You have guests."

That roused him out of shock a bit. "Yes. Hi Amagi. Hi Akagi. What brings you both here?"

Amagi tittered. "A little birdie told me that there would be a skirmish this morning. I wanted to learn strategy under you in real-time. And Akagi came along because of her secretarial duties." Belfast raised her eyebrows slightly at this, but remained impassive. Akagi simply clasped her hands together and looked down, avoiding eye contact with him. It seemed like after all of yesterday's events, Akagi was still not her usual boisterous passionate self.

He simply rubbed his eyes. "Yeah. Sure. I'll get started then." He took the file, perused it, and immediately booted up the holographic table. The file was left face-up, and he tilted it towards Amagi and Akagi, giving implicit permission for them to read the brief and details. Belfast remained in the corner, eyes closed.

He began with the usual: deployments, formations, compositions. All of this was second nature to him at this point. The holographic table had an option for voice commands, but he'd never used it. The terminal always felt better, where his sentences weren't slurred and broken, his words weren't imprecise and extrafluous. While it was slightly slower than vocal commands, he felt better about the fact that he could retract his orders if he didn't like the way it sounded. Then the game began.