Azure Lane Base, Pearl Harbor
T-AKE 12 USNS William McLean
6:00 PM
Everyone boarded the Cargo Ship moored next to the Modern Vessels. On the deck, they entered the Cargo Ship's Storage Bay. The size and spaciousness of the Storage Bay didn't surprise the four, as they had seen similar Cargo Bays on ships loading and unloading at the Harbor. However, the carrying capacity of this particular Cargo Ship still baffled them.
In the Cargo Bay, among the stacked crates and supplies, William ordered the Manjuus to bring down the special 'Cargo'. The Manjuus complied, bringing a coffin-shaped metal box and placing it on the deck with a resounding thud.
The four gathered around the coffin-shaped metal box, their expectations high. William unlocked the intricate lock mechanism. The metal box opened, releasing ice vapor that slowly dissipated, revealing the headless corpse of a woman.
Adm. Nimitz, Adm. Philips, and Cmdr. Thomas flinched at the sight. Yorktown almost vomited, covering her mouth as she looked at the naked, headless body of Tester β.
Lucas leaned forward and whistled, looking at the 'good stuff'. "I can't believe you've been fiddling with this babe with your bare hands, old man," he said with a chuckle.
William shrugged, his hands at his sides. "What can I say... I'm a Physicist."
Arizona chimed in. "Damn, this alien chick beat your ass," he said, pointing at Tester β's corpse.
Lucas growled. "That bitch pulled a Force Field bullshit on my face. I could have torn her apart with a .50 cal." he said, his voice laced with hate.
Maya turned red after seeing the corpse. She felt violated.
Essex smiled at the sight. "Noice."
Denver thought for a moment, noticing the skin tone. "So she's albino?"
Laffey drew her Desert Eagle and pointed it at Tester β's corpse, seemingly to add some "Holiness" to the Siren
Corpse. Lucas and Arizona quickly grabbed her hands to stop her from putting holes in the corpse. They struggled to hold Laffey back, but she was overpowering them.
*Insert Calm down Einstein meme*
"Stop! She's already dead!" Arizona yelled. "Laffey!"
"Could you please stop? She's already dead. For fuck's sake," Lucas also yelled at her.
"...." Laffey didn't respond. She still pointed her pistol at Tester β's corpse, intending to add more holes.
"Oh... please stop already," Lucas's voice echoed.
Adm. Nimitz, Adm. Philips, Cmdr. Thomas, and Yorktown watched as the two tried to restrain Laffey to prevent damage to Tester β's corpse.
Bunker Hill reassured the three Naval Officers and Yorktown,
"Don't worry, she's a little bloodthirsty and has a few loose screws."
The three Naval Officers, and Yorktown were even more confused, their expressions blank with question marks.
Enterprise ignored the others and asked William, "So, what did you discover?"
The three Naval Officers, and Yorktown listened in to William's discoveries.
William read his research papers. "According to the data I gathered, these Sirens are similar to Fish DNA. Her Rigging is shaped like a 'Manta ray'. Their fighting capability is similar to 21st-century tactics: fast and nimble, but when using a force field, they are stationary targets. The only way to break their Force Field is to bombard it with artillery or overwhelm it with bombs."
Adm. Philips interjected. "We already did that with 10 Battleships against an Elite-Siren; it was a waste of time and ammo. We only managed to break one force field, and it depleted half of the Battleship Ammunition."
Adm. Nimitz added, "Our Carriers are also vulnerable to their Plasma cannons."
Adm. Nimitz then looked at Yorktown and continued, "They can also melt our Carrier Planes with ease, so our tactic is to overwhelm an Elite-Siren in a single engagement."
Enterprise thought for a moment and said, "Overwhelming your enemy's defenses is a good idea, but it also leaves your Carriers vulnerable to attack. Having reserve planes is always a good idea." Yorktown's expression darkened, remembering when she sent all her planes, leaving her undefended. Enterprise noticed her expression.
Enterprise asked William again, "How about the Plasma Cannon and Force Field?"
William scratched his head, looking irritated, and answered, "Well... those two are the hardest to crack, even for a physicist," he said, his voice somewhat conflicted.
"I see. Take your time. The world isn't ending, yet," Enterprise said reassuringly.
Yorktown asked Enterprise, "Can we take Tester β's corpse to be examined by our Top Scientists?"
Enterprise looked at William. William nodded slightly.
"Yes, you can have her, just don't let any uninvited onlookers see her. We don't want any uninvited visitors knocking at our doors," Enterprise said with a warning.
"Yes, we will," Yorktown said.
A few minutes passed, and Adm. Nimitz, Adm. Philips, Cmdr. Thomas, and Yorktown left the Cargo Ship, with the Manjuus following, carrying the coffin-shaped Metal Box.
Enterprise watched the four leave the Cargo Ship. William walked beside her, lighting a cigar in his mouth.
Enterprise shifted her gaze to him and said, "You lied about the Plasma Cannon and Force Field, didn't you?"
William smiled and puffed smoke before responding, "Yes, I already know how it works. And I know it's dangerous to fall into the wrong hands. The mechanism and functionality are similar to your HELIOS Laser Weapon System."
HELIOS is a Laser Weapon System used to counter slowflying Suicide Drones and Subsonic Cruise Missiles. It was installed on Enterprise during her mid-life refueling and overhaul at Newport News, Virginia.
"I see... what about the Shield Generator?"
He puffed smoke. "I still haven't looked into it."
"Those two Weapon Systems are going to be our main problems if we encounter humanoid Sirens again," Enterprise said, leaning against the ship's railing.
"Yeah..."
Harbor Pier
Lafayette was surrounded by Destroyers and Submarines, being introduced by Albacore to the rest of the Azur Lane Destroyers.
He had never felt this much anxiety, surrounded from every side.
"Are you a Destroyer just like us?" Bache asked.
"Is it true that you use a weird aircraft to conduct ASW?" Dace asked.
"Are you a new Eagle Union Kansen?" Charles Ausburne asked.
"Why do you have a single gun?" Spencer asked.
Lafayette was pinned in the corner by the Destroyers and Submarines, bombarded with questions.
"Umm... Please stop asking me so many questions!"
Luckily, Lucas passed by and saw him surrounded by girls, probably his age. He saw the look of embarrassment on Lafayette's face as the girls gave him googly-eyes and asked questions.
Lucas grabbed him from behind and pulled him out of the group. "Okay... Ladies... we don't want to attract any trouble, so... could you please stop bothering him."
He looked at his watch. "It's now 8:00 PM. You ladies should be in your dorms at this time of night." He shooed them away.
The Destroyers and Submarines Shipgirls frowned and stuck out their tongues before heading to their dorms. Lucas, being a Marine, stuck out his tongue back at the girls.
"Thanks for the save. Now can you put me down?" Lafayette said, still held by Lucas at his shirt.
Lucas lowered him to the ground. "We've only been here an hour, and you're already surrounded by girls. You Casanova," he said teasingly.
"It's not my fault I got surrounded," Lafayette replied, annoyed.
Arizona chimed in from nowhere, "So, Junior is picking up girls left and right, huh?"
"Oh. It's you. You're supposed to be at your station watching for underwater threats," Lucas said.
"Nah, just getting some fresh air, it's kind of cozy inside," Arizona said, lighting his cigar.
"I wouldn't worry about that, we're in a closed Harbor. Who do you think would come here and plant bombs under our hulls? It's practically suicidal. Many of our Manjuus with M4s and Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) with mounted .50 cals are patrolling the Harbor. And besides... Denver is on watch," he paused, puffing smoke.
"That sounds odd coming from you." Lafayette commented.
"Quiet you – anyways. What about you? I thought you were assigned to keep an eye on her," Arizona said, pointing to Lucas and his duty.
Lucas replied, "She's back inside her Ship. I can't just follow her inside. That's a violation of her privacy, you know?" "Yeah, right..." Arizona looked suspicious.
Lucas read his face. "Don't you dare give me that face," he said, knowing what Arizona was thinking.
Arizona raised a hand in surrender, knowing his probing wouldn't go any further. "Alright, good night then." "Good night, dumbass," Lucas said.
~Time skip~
William was in the Ship's Room where all the communication activities of the US Navy Military Sealift Command are being conducted. He was currently looking through the Ship's Cargo Log and anything related to a Cargo Ship.
As he scrolled down the pages of articles published by the Military Sealift Command, something caught his attention. He darted his eyes at the Monitor Screen and immediately clicked on the page.
His jaw dropped as he couldn't believe what he had just discovered.
William let out a quick laugh, surprised by the discovery. He slicked back his hair, hand holding his head. He circled around, trying to find an explanation for why that option existed in the US Navy Military Sealift Command Log.
He sat down after calming himself from the unexpected discovery.
He then immediately contacted everyone to come over to his Ship.
~Few moments later~
12:00 AM
Everyone gathered inside William's Ship. Many were confused as to why they were called so late at night. Some were still yawning and barely awake. The only one awake amongst them was Belfast, in her Maid Outfit, as everyone else was in shirts or pajamas.
Bunker Hill entered the cramped room where everyone was gathered, dragging Laffey like a Cargo-Bag while she was drunk. She was grabbing Laffey by her jacket like a cargo bag while carrying her.
"Sorry. It took me a while to get her here," she said, glancing down at Laffey.
Enterprise checked if everyone was present, and then spoke. "So, everyone is here."
She then turned her attention to William. "What did you discover this time, old man? The way you contacted us, it sounded like an emergency, and you said it's not related to any of the Sirens or something else?"
Denver yawned. "What is it this time? I'm about to hit the bed," she said, drowsy and annoyed.
Arizona, looking wide awake as he treated midnight as morning, lit his cigar. To be fair, he never slept, so he never felt drowsy like the others.
"I hope this is good news, Old-man," he said, his voice dry.
Maya, in her drowsiness, leaned to her right, almost falling over. Lucas, on her right side, caught her. "Whoa... don't sleep here..." he said as he caught her.
Maya opened her eyes and saw herself being held up by Lucas. "w-whaaa...." She stammered, startled, and straightened up quickly, shaking off her drowsiness.
"You alright?" he asked.
"Y-Yeah, I'm alright. I'm just... tired... that's all," she said, feeling her head ache and turning red.
"Good," he said.
Lafayette, in his pajamas, asked. "Is there any Siren attack?"
"No. I think not," Belfast said while helping him shake off his drowsiness.
Essex walked in, wearing only a shirt and her underwear. Everyone could see her underwear and bra through her shirt.
"Really? You're wearing that?" Bunker Hill asked, unamused.
"I'm wearing it now, so yeah..." She said, ignoring the fact that everyone could see her underwear.
Enterprise spoke. "Enough chitchat. William is about to say something."
William fixed his Lab-Coat and Ties, he coughed and started explaining his recent discovery. "I was just recently looking through the Ship-Log and anything related to Cargo Ships. Then I saw this."
He pointed at the Monitor. On the Screen, there was a word written 'US Navy Military Sealift Command'.
Everyone lost their drowsiness in total shock, even Laffey, who was still half-asleep. They all fixated their eyes on the monitor, eyes almost popping out of their sockets.
Maya's dog-ears perked up, and she stammered. "Y-you're telling us, we can C-Contact home?" Tears slowly fell down her cheeks. William responded in a sad tone. "No, I didn't try that yet."
Essex comforted Maya, as she cried. "There..., there.... Old fart is just being a meanie."
William's brows furrowed. "Hey, I'm not that meanie."
Enterprise cut in, as the discussion was off-topic. "Enough with that.... William, continue your report," she said.
William continued his discussion. "We can still order any Supplies, Equipment, and Weapons from the 'US Navy Sealift Command log', in theory...."
Everyone screamed "WHAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTT!!!!!!"
Lafayette shouted in French. "C'est quoi ce bordel!!!!!"
"WTF! Old man Don't Fuck with us!" Lucas shouted, trying not to lose his mind at the news.
Arizona yelled out. "Are you trippin Old-man!"
Bunker Hill and Denver were frozen, jaw dropped. Lafayette started tearing up like a baby as he was comforted by Belfast.
"That's great. I really need to restock my stock of MK48s," Denver said cheerfully.
Getting access to the US Military Inventory from another world is a kind of cheat code to any Isekai plot. Luckily for Enterprise and her Strike Group, Uncle Sam's Inventory was accessible.
Earlier, Adm. Nimitz offered them MK14 Torpedoes for restocking the Ammunition Storage of the two Submarines.
Denver and Arizona declined the offer immediately before Adm.
Nimitz could finish his sentence. The history of the MK14
Torpedoes back on Earth had more failure rates than any College Drop-out and reliability issues. They wouldn't let any MK14s get even near their Submarine.
Enterprise explained to Adm. Nimitz about the controversy surrounding the MK14s back in their world and its subsequent misfortune to any Submarine Crews.
The Submarine in Azur Lane's mouths gaped, some got their soul leaving their body after finding out the Kill Streak of the MK14s on Friendly fire and its malfunctions. After that, everyone started checking the defects of the MK14s stored at the Torpedo Room.
Enterprise spoke in a conservative voice. "We could not contact them, but we can order Supplies, Equipment, and Weapons in theory. Did you even try this one out yet?"
William responded in an optimistic voice. "I didn't try it yet, but I will do a test run tomorrow..."
Belfast spoke in a calm voice, trying to hold back her emotions. "If this works, we wouldn't have to worry about Supplies, Equipment, and Weapons. We just need to find solid communication lines with the US Navy Pacific Command or any US Military Command."
Enterprise could see a light of hope in Belfast's eyes as she said those words. Belfast, like the others, missed Earth that much. They were all homesick.
Bunker Hill stared down and mumbled. "US Navy Sealift Command will reach you anywhere and any parts of the globe.... now they are reaching us from another world...." She then smiled at her own joke. A joke can be true.
"So, what do we have then...?" Lucas asked as he walked toward the Computer and looked at the various Equipment and Weapons lists.
William then opened the US Military Sealift Command Log. He then selected the cargo selection and all of the weapons from SM-2 Missiles to BGM-109 Tomahawk Cruise Missiles.
"What do you think?" William asked, as the selection of Weapons got Lucas's attention.
Lucas whistled. "Nice. Getting run-out of Missiles in another world is a bad idea."
"Yeah...."
Lafayette ran toward the Computer to look for any ASROC Missiles. Lafayette was too afraid to return to using good old depth charges in conducting ASW in a world of the unknown.
"So there are some ASROC, Thank God," he said in relief as he saw an ASROC available in the list.
Essex, out of nowhere, rammed the poor kid in front as she laid her attention on the Computer Screen. "F-35 Parts are available. Nice."
She said, ignoring the kid she rammed. Lafayette was being crushed by two cushions at Essex's chest.
Arizona, seeing the Frenchie getting squashed by the cushions, pulled him out of his misery. "better use PT Belt next time," he suggested.
Lafayette looked up at him, confused. "Why would I need that?"
"Can we order Nukes?" Laffey asked.
Everyone looked at her with disbelief. Laffey returned the glance, determined to double down with the Nuclear Option.
William just tagged along with the youth. "Maybe."
"Laffey. We don't want to create any more chaos in this world if we use Atomic Bombs. And also, be careful of speaking out about our Advanced Weapons, especially the Atom Bombs. We don't want them to recklessly use us," Bunker Hill scolded her.
"And William," her sharp gaze pierced him. "Don't add firewood to the fire."
"I'm too old to be berated by the youth," he muttered.
Enterprise, silent as she pondered the implications of using Atomic Weaponry against the Sirens if the situation turned south with unpredictable outcomes.
"Nukes will be optional," she said, surprising everyone. They all fell silent at the Nuclear Option.
She continued as everyone remained quiet. "It will be our last-ditch attempt to beat the Elite-Sirens if the situation goes bad. This world is full of surprises, so I want you all to be armed and ready at a moment's notice."
"Yeah, you're right, Ma'am. Maybe having a strong weapon is better than nothing in this kind of world," Bunker Hill said, agreeing with the use of Nuclear Weapons in a world full of surprises.
The American Kansens agreed to the plan of using Nuclear Weapons in emergency needs. But not all agreed with the use of such destructive weapons. Maya had a different view of using Nuclear Bombs in this world.
~Time skip~
As Maya still couldn't agree with the use of Nukes in this world, the clock on the wall in the room hit the middle of the night. Everyone then started leaving William's Ship and heading to their own Ships to sleep. They all gave themselves farewells as they departed the Cargo Ship. "Good night."
"Good night everyone," Enterprise addresses everyone.
William glanced around as he saw everyone leave the room, except Enterprise. He took a deep breath and told her to wait. Enterprise stopped at the door, turned, and looked at William, who bore a serious and gloomy expression.
Enterprise asked what he wanted to say, having waited for everyone to leave the room. William, now alone, sensing no one was around to eavesdrop, spoke. "I have something to tell you about-."
Enterprise was confused as she looked at William, his expression darkening as he spoke in a grim tone and low volume. "I-I just read a news article on the US Navy Sealift Command Article about the current situation on Earth. It says that—"
William couldn't continue the sentence as he teared up a bit. "that, Adm. Pike has... has passed away on June 6, 2055 6:00 PM at Honolulu, Hawaii. The cause of his death is falling from the bridge of a Carrier at the height of 150 feet..."
Enterprise fell to her knees, tears slowly falling from her reddish eyes, and started crying. She didn't expect her Admiral would die from falling off her own Ship's bridge.
William sat in one of the chairs with a sad expression, staring at the floor, because he too couldn't believe the news.
"H-How was my crew?" Sadness and grief could be heard from her voice as she asked.
"Most of the casualties from the Strike Group came from your Crews. Most of them were working inside your Ship's Hull. When the Carrier was gone, the crushing wave and water pressure that filled the void of your displacement left. The crushing wave and water pressure is the cause of injuries and death to your Crew."
It took her a minute to stop crying and compose herself. She got up, wiped her tears, and fixed herself. "Thank you. For giving me the news, William," she said, as she went out of the Cargo ship and headed to her Carrier.
William, still in his chair, contemplated his own Crew, most of whom were civilians. "Whoever did this had a reason why. Why are we here?" he mumbled to himself.
USMC Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) equipped with M2 Brownings and MK-19s, and Manjuus armed with M4A1s Rifles, were guarding the Carrier that was moored next to the two Submarines. One of the Manjuus patrolling noticed her sad expression. They all avoided eye contact, as they didn't want to upset her.
Enterprise went to her Quarters and lay down on her bed. She hugged one of the pillows tightly and cried. As she thought about her Admiral deeply, memories of her first days of commissioning, where her first Captain, Capt. Pike, delivered a speech about USS Enterprise CV-6, CVN-65, and CVN-80 at the commissioning days, flowed through her mind.
The first Sea Trials were rough on the first day. Her first deployment and her first mission were controversial and almost got her Captain, along with other Officers, in trouble. She was overflowing with sad emotion as she remembered them all. She cried as she let out all her emotions and fell asleep.
Enterprise felt something different as she felt herself floating in the air, her body lighter than before. She then woke up in a dark place.
"W-Where am I now...?"
The whole place was dark, devoid of light. She looked down and saw her own reflection on the clear and calm waters, as crystal clear. Her face was confused and full of questions running through her head. She then heard a voice from behind.
"We've finally met, sorry about the earlier fuss."
She turned around to look at the direction of the voice. She saw a woman who looked like her. The Woman was holding a bow with a ship's bridge, she had short white hair and a flight deck with a paint scheme of Navy Dark Blue, reminiscent of WW2, and a number designation '6'.
Enterprise jumped back and summoned her 1911 Colt Pistol, pointing it at the woman, as she prepared for a shooting stance, her eyes ready to fire.
"Who are you?!" she asked.
The Woman raised both her right hands, signaling her to stop. She then introduced herself. "Please don't shoot, I mean no harm. My name is Code-G; you may be wondering why you were here... right?"
Enterprise didn't respond, only pointing her handgun at her.
"I am the one who summoned you and your escort here in this world to help Azur Lane."
Enterprise didn't lower her 1911 as her confused eyes turned serious. She then spoke in an authoritative tone.
"I don't care who you are, or what you are? You just stole a property of the United States Government!"
Code-G spoke in a voice full of regrets. "I'm sorry for dragging you and your Escorts into this mess. I was looking for someone who's capable of fighting the Sirens in their own turf."
Enterprise spoke with a hint of anger in her voice, tightening her grip on her 1911. "Why not go out there and help them, instead of kidnapping me and my friends!"
She said, annoyed by the fact that she was the reason why her Admiral died in a tragedy that no respected person would want.
Code-G started explaining her reasons for kidnapping Enterprise and her Escorts. "I've already done that before, but humanity never learns from its mistakes and can easily be blinded by power and greed. So, I decided to watch from the sidelines, as humanity started to tear itself apart. I couldn't bear it anymore, so I looked to another world for someone who has the power to turn the tides and change everything that's wrong."
Enterprise spoke, putting the pieces of the puzzle together in her head. "So basically, you want me to solve this mess, because humanity is too stupid to put their shit together?"
Code-G nodded. "Yes and No, before we get to that.... I'll tell you how it all started first. How Humanity faced and overcame their invaders. And how they fell into this kind of mess."