"Dieu Merci! We made it!"
Wasp, West Virginia, Colorado, Maryland, Texas, Essex-12, Lafayette, JS Maya, and William displayed visible confusion as they looked at Richelieu, who was kneeling and praying.
"W-what the heck is going on?" Essex-12 asked in confusion, wondering why the woman was kneeling and praying.
"OH. You don't want to know...." Lucas said, trying to suppress his laughter.
Enterprise-80 faked a cough to get everyone's attention. The Modern Kansen formed a line formation. She then introduced everyone to the rest of the Carrier Strike Group.
"So, you're the one with the Iris Orthodoxy name?" Richelieu asked the small figure, interested in meeting him in person.
"Well... Y-Yeah..." Lafayette struggled to respond, as the Iris Libre Shipgirls looked at him with curiosity.
They examined him, searching for any details that resembled the Iris Orthodoxy. His tied hair resembled 1800s wigs, and his jacket was similar to a French jacket from the American Revolutionary War.
-I based Lafayette's character design on Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Montier de La Fayette-
Le Terrible and Le Triumphant poked him from the sides, tickling him slightly. "Whoa... you really look like an Iris Orthodoxy Kansen," the two Destroyers said, continuing to poke him.
'Even though I'm a heavily modified Italian Frigate to meet the American design, I still look like a French Kansen in this world,' Lafayette thought, as he was poked by the two.
Richelieu squeezed his cheeks. "My... You're cuter than I thought," she said, unable to resist squeezing his adorable cheeks.
"Pweesh shtoph..." Lafayette pleaded, his cheeks squeezed and being poked by the two Destroyers beside him.
Lafayette was currently surrounded by French Girls, who gathered around him.
Lucas heard his pleading and spoke. "You know Uncle Sam doesn't like someone touching his boats."
Richelieu apologized. "Oh, pardon my sudden curiosity. I just couldn't resist and it's hard to believe a Male-Kansen is named after an Iris Orthodoxy."
"Nah.... Just kidding, you can touch him," he said.
"Wait, what???" Lafayette exclaimed in surprise.
Lucas chuckled at the priceless reaction on Lafayette's face.
"Lucas? Isn't it?" Texas asked, his dress blues catching her attention.
Lucas quickly responded. "Yes, Ma'am, that's me."
"The little fella said you're one of the weirdoes. Is that true?" Texas asked, as the other three Battleships anticipated his answer.
Lucas raised a finger. "Well... I'm not the only weird one here." He looked to his side and saw Laffey-200 in her typical Laffey state. "There are far worse weirdoes than me, here."
Maryland chimed in. "He also said you have a destructive capability that even surpasses that of Battleships?"
Lucas sighed. "I guess you squeezed the kid for information about me, huh?" The Battleships nodded.
"Guess I have no choice... Yes... I have the capability to surpass that of a Battleship. But."
"But, what?"
"But, my real role is Air-Defense... the Anti-Ship Role was installed in me, as the dawn of 21st-century Warships called for capable Anti-Ship Roles."
The Battleships gasped, surprised to hear that he was an Air-Defense Destroyer with such destructive capacity.
Queen Elizabeth almost dropped her jaw as she looked at the parked aircraft. Warspite just stood there, imagining how these planes could destroy anything in their path.
"Magnificent, isn't it, Your Majesty?" Enterprise-80 spoke, seeing the two struggling to grasp the reality of Modern Warfare and the strength of a Modern Carrier.
"Y-Yes. It is quite a magnificent sight... indeed," Queen Elizabeth remarked, acting like she wasn't surprised at all.
"Your Majesty. What do you think about your counterparts as Carriers? ... Do they have the same powerful aircraft?" Warspite asked, regaining her composure.
"I-I don't know... Warspite," Queen Elizabeth spoke, also confused about her Carrier counterpart.
"The RQ-08 HMS Queen Elizabeth and her Sister Ship, RQ-09 HMS Prince of Wales, both use the British 6th Gen Aircraft," Enterprise-80 explained to the two confused Battleships.
"You mean my counterpart uses a different aircraft?" Queen Elizabeth asked, intrigued by the 6th Gen designation.
"Yes. The two Queen Elizabeth Carriers received a Catapult Assisted Take-Off Barricade Arrested Recovery or CATOBAR in their midlife refit to accommodate the existing British 6th Gen Fighters and other Aircraft, each with different roles."
"What plane does my counterpart use before the midlife refit?" Queen Elizabeth asked, her curiosity about her counterpart's Plane piqued.
"It uses the same aircraft as Essex does." She then pointed at the LHA's deck where a bunch of F-35Bs were currently parked.
Queen Elizabeth turned around and saw them, dropping to her knees after seeing the angular shape and muttering, "That's quite more advanced than any of your planes."
Enterprise-80 chuckled at the mention of that. The truth was that she hid her 6th Gen aircraft inside the Hangar Deck to avoid prying eyes from journalists and spies.
Warspite asked. "Why don't I see any hard points, just like your aircraft did?"
"That's a secret," Enterprise-80 said, putting her index finger to her lips with a smirk.
"It's time for our departure," Laffey-200 cut into their conversation to inform them, speaking in her typical Laffey manner.
Enterprise-80 nodded and ordered the Carrier Strike Group and Manjuu to prepare to set sail.
Horns blared, and moored ropes were untied from the pier bollards. Tugboats pulled the behemoth vessels out of their berthing area and headed to the open ocean.
Gulf of Mexico / Mejico
2:00 PM
CVN-80 USS Enterprise
"William. How's it going with the Satellite Dish Antenna, and our Little Project?" Enterprise-80 asked him, reviewing their battle plan.
"From my search on the website, I've only got the parts for building a strong Satellite Dish antenna," William reported, not wanting to disappoint anyone in the room.
"How much time will you need to build one?" Frigate Belfast asked him. She knew William wouldn't disappoint them when time was critical.
"Well... it will take me a month to build and make it fully operational—" William paused, as Frigate Belfast looked at him with a look that said: don't disappoint me.
"T-two weeks to assemble and two weeks of testing and adjustments," William finished, avoiding Frigate Belfast's disappointment.
"And our 'Little Project'?" Enterprise-80 asked William again, stopping her review of the battle plan and looking at him.
"The knowledge I learned from the Plasma Cannon is that... it works and acts like the HELIOS Laser System. So, I just improved the HELIOS design to cut time, and by leveraging the knowledge I gained from the Plasma Cannon, I made this!" William remarked, pulling a blueprint from his lab coat pocket and holding it up.
"What kind of Weapon System did you make?" Enterprise-80 asked, intrigued by William's Weapon System.
"Here." William placed the blueprint on the table. The Weapon System resembled the RIM-144 SeaRAM, but instead of a Missile Launcher, it had a square-shaped laser cannon.
"Basically, I used the parts of the Rolling Airframe Missile and replaced the missile launcher with a Laser."
"Hmm... not bad." Enterprise-80 was amazed by what he had done.
"And I'm calling it... Close-in Laser System or CILS, for short," William announced proudly, with a smug look on his face.
Frigate Belfast and Enterprise-80 shared the same confused expression, wondering whether to congratulate him for making the Weapon System or laugh at the silly acronym.
"Why is it that every time you make a good Weapon System, you give it the worst acronym?" Frigate Belfast criticized the silly acronym.
"I don't give a crap about the acronym. As long as it shoots the enemy with Lasers! Just make it!" Enterprise-80 remarked.
William smiled like he had won a big Military contract. "Yes.... Ma'am."
"Now, the other one?" Enterprise-80 asked.
William adjusted himself, preparing to present the other report. "Well... the Shield Generator... umm... how do I say it?"
"What is it, William?" Enterprise-80 fixed her gaze on him, sensing unease in his voice.
"To use its full potential... you must activate your rigging first, because it only covers a small area," William reported nervously.
"And if the rigging is not activated?" Frigate Belfast asked curiously.
"Because it covers only a small area. If the ship uses it, it only blocks low-energy attacks like cheap Lasers but not shells, missiles, and... Plasma Cannons. Those Shield Generators the Elite-Siren use are made for human scale, only," William explained further.
"That's all we need to face the Sirens head-on," Enterprise-80 said with satisfaction, knowing they could fight the Sirens on their own turf.
"But it would take me a month to make a working prototype," William said, still doubting the reverse engineering process.
"Okay... I want you to mass-produce this 'CILS' and distribute it to the Carrier Strike Group. You are dismissed," Enterprise-80 said, continuing to read the battle plan.
William left the office and headed to the Flight Deck, wearing the face of a man who had won a Military contract.
Frigate Belfast asked. "Are you sure he can do it?"
Enterprise-80 replied. "It's William. I'm sure he can do it."
USS Enterprise CVN-80 Flight Deck
"So, how's our new Military Contract?" Lucas asked jokingly, seeing William with a big smile on his face.
"It went well, as usual, without any bureaucracy and corruption," William also said jokingly.
The two then laughed at their own humor like a couple of children. Queen Elizabeth and Warspite looked at them as if they were children laughing at their own jokes.
"What are you two laughing at? That's not a funny joke!" Queen Elizabeth yelled.
The two stopped and looked at her. "We apologize, Your Majesty, we're just making fun of ourselves," William said, adjusting his necktie.
Then, a bosun's whistle could be heard over the intercom. "General Quarters, General Quarters, all hands man your battle stations." An alarm blared.
"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Lucas cursed under his breath. Both he and William ran towards the Seahawk and quickly embarked to get to their ships.
Queen Elizabeth and Warspite were being guided by one of the Manjuu in the Carrier's CIC.
CIC
"What is the situation?" Enterprise-80 asked over the comms.
Bunker Hill-76 responded over the comms. "Lafayette detected a bunch of U-Boats 30km away, ahead of our position."
"How many?"
"Four? It must be a---"
"Wolf Pack!" Warspite exclaimed, hearing the number of U-Boats.
"They are waiting for us here. Damn, Iron Blood!" Queen Elizabeth cursed, gripping her scepter tightly.
The Monitor Screen showed the position of the U-Boats and Lafayette's interception.
"How is he?" Enterprise-80 asked.
"He's currently performing an interception, Ma'am," Bunker Hill-76 replied.
"Good."
"Can he handle the Wolf Pack? I know he's a Modern ASW Frigate, but he's facing a Pack here!" Warspite asked with concern.
"I know he's powerful, but can he really take on a Wolf Pack, on his own?" Queen Elizabeth doubted his capability as an ASW-focused American Frigate.
Enterprise-80 answered with one word. "Yes."
One Constellation Class frigate sprinted in the direction of the Wolf Pack. A towed decoy was deployed for any Torpedo Attack, and at the aft of the frigate, one MH-60 Seahawk was being armed with MK54 Lightweight Torpedoes.
Mk-16 Launching System RUR-5 ASROCs were swiveling upward and pointing at the location of the poking periscope.
Wolf Pack
"Are you sure they will arrive here?" U-522 asked over the radio, bored. They had been waiting in the area for their target for hours.
"Ja. According to intel, they will arrive here this noon," U-556 said, also bored of waiting.
"I see a shadow in the distance!" U-110 exclaimed, looking through her Submarine's periscope.
She then noticed a peculiar aircraft taking off at the aft of the ship, heading towards them. The aircraft had two torpedoes attached to its side. To U-556, this aircraft was familiar yet different.
"Wait. What is that?!" U-522 pointed out, shouting over the radio.
"That's one ugly aircraft," U-110 commented, watching the Seahawk heading towards their location through the periscope.
"Is that a Fl 282 Kolibri?" U-556 mumbled to herself, trying to confirm the Aircraft's identity. Then she remembered. This was the same aircraft used by the Königsberg Class for hunting down Siren subs in the North Sea.
"Everyone... DIVE! DIVE! DIVE! DIVE!" She shouted over the radio.
U-556 gave the order to dive deeper to avoid visual detection, knowing how deadly this kind of aircraft was in ASW.
"What?" The U-Boats were confused by her orders.
The Seahawk, armed with MK54 Lightweight Torpedoes, flew towards the Wolf Pack's location and hovered above, slowly dropping its dipping sonar to listen to the U-Boats' acoustic signatures.
The U-Boats activated their Riggings to avoid visual detection from the aircraft above. But unbeknownst to them, that wasn't the only way the Seahawk detected Submarine. For Modern Submariners, being detected was a death sentence.
The U-Boats looked at the cylindrical shape with a wire attached to it, confused by the deployed dipping sonar. This was their first time seeing this kind of Anti-Submarine Warfare. Many of them just stared at it with confused reactions.
"What was that...? A depth charge?" U-556 exclaimed in surprise.
They were all confused why this depth charge didn't explode and why there was a wire attached to its top.
U-110 spoke. "Maybe it wasn't armed?"
"It's too small for a depth charge, maybe it's not a depth charge," U-557 said, squinting at the dipping sonar.
They circled it, waiting to see what would happen next. Then, their onboard radio crackled, and a kid's voice could be heard, giving them a jump-scare.
"Unknown Submarine. This is the United States Navy. Identify yourself and state your intention. I order you to surface, fail to comply and you will be fired upon. I have permission to open fire."
U-556 blinked, not believing what he had just said, ordering them to surface.
"Us surfacing...? Is he joking!" U-552 exclaimed, annoyed by the orders.
"Oh... how scary," U-110 said, unimpressed by his 'little kid' voice.
The U-Boats weren't even listening; they simply ignored his warning. Instead, they insulted him for being a kid and conducting ASW alone.
Lafayette repeated his warning. "Unknown Submarine. This is the United States Navy. Identify yourself and state your intention. I order you to surface, fail to comply and you will be----"
"Hell no!" The three U-Boats ignored his words.
"Go call your mama."
"One last warning!" He shouted over the radio, annoyed by the U-Boats.
"Maybe... we should surface and meet this kid," U-556 suggested with slight concern in her voice.
They had been detected, and their location was compromised. That kid might be alone, but the others were coming in their direction.
Lafayette muttered under his breath, listening to the U-Boats' conversation. "Come-on... don't make me do this."
He was having second thoughts about releasing the torpedoes at the U-Boats. He really wasn't the kind of guy who would dunk on these U-Boats with superior weaponry.
U-522 interjected. "No. We will not surrender to this kid. Remember, this is Herr Bismarck's order."
U-556 considered the right decision for their next move. U-522, U-110, and U-557 readied their G7E Acoustic Homing Torpedoes.
"Found him, he's 5km away," U-522 radioed, her periscope pointed at the lone frigate.
The U-Boats all nodded at each other, determined to sink him from 5km away. Their rigging bows slowly turned and pointed at the lone Frigate in the distance.
"My Torpedo Tubes are loaded," U-557 said, only waiting for the go-ahead.
U-556 glanced at the other U-Boats, their eyes full of determination. She then radioed and replied to his demands. "I'm sorry. But we refuse to follow your demand."
"You give me no choice then.... Sorry...." Lafayette replied. His trigger finger shook as it slowly pressed the release button. "Sorry..." He really hated doing this.
Then, one of the Homing Torpedoes attached to the side of the Seahawk was dropped right beside the dipping sonar.
"A Torpedo?" U-556 said, watching it slowly sink. It didn't move for a while.
They just looked at it for a second before it started moving in their direction. The Mk 54 Lightweight Torpedo used its active acoustic homing to find its target.
The U-Boats did a hard turn maneuver to avoid the torpedo. But the torpedo followed them.
"What kind of torpedo is that! It's following us!" U-522 cried out, as they were being chased.
"It's an Acoustic Homing Torpedo!" U-110 yelled, running away from the chasing torpedo.
"Dive deeper, it might not follo--- Ahhh!!!!!!!" U-556 was giving an order, but she was hit. The stern section of her rigging blew off, and the pressure of the explosion knocked her out.
U-556 was closest to the Torpedo when it was dropped from the Seahawk hovering above the surface.
This left U-556 unconscious, being pulled down by the ocean's current to the bottom of the abyss. U-557 and U-522 assisted her to prevent her from sinking further into the abyss.
U-110 summoned her U-Boat to get everyone onboard. They all left the area and called off the operation. U-557, U-522, and U-110 were left traumatized by the capability of their ASW and how efficient it was.
U-556 was injured and unconscious, lying in the CO's Quarters of the U-Boat with a hastily applied bandage.
"H-How are we gonna tell... Herr Bismarck about U-556?" U-522 spoke, scared of Herr Bismarck's ire.
The three U-Boats trembled in fear, not because they failed the mission, but because they let U-556 get injured and feared Herr Bismarck's wrath. They then started to tear up.
"I'm sorry U-556, we're... very sorry..." The U-Boats apologized, crying.
Denver-856, listening to her passive sonar, heard the girls crying and muttered to herself. "Damn kid, you made one of the girls cry."
Denver-856 then contacted the Carrier Strike Group. "Threat is neutralized. The U-Boats are retreating."
Lafayette also listened to the crying of the U-Boats from his Seahawk's dipping sonar. He felt bad for the girls for doing that. He felt like a bully to those girls, even though he gave them a chance to surface and surrender, which they refused.
"We're just doing our job, nothing personal," he mumbled to himself, holding back his emotions.
Then, over the comms, Queen Elizabeth laughed like a spoiled child, congratulating him for defeating a Wolf Pack.
"HAHAHA. That was excellent. Sir Lafayette, I, Queen Elizabeth, thank you for saving me from the threat posed by the Wolf Pack. Therefore, I shall bestow upon you the title of knight."
Warspite clapped her hands like a faithful servant, saying, "That was a wonderful speech, Your Majesty."
The Maid also applauded the Queen, as Queen Elizabeth herself laughed like a spoiled brat.
Enterprise-80 looked at the Queen with a disappointed look on her face, sighing deeply, knowing how the kid felt bad for his interception.
"Sorry, kid... I had to give you such an order for that," she muttered under her breath.
"Thank... you... Your Majesty..." Lafayette responded over the comms, still feeling guilty about hurting those U-Boats.
The Modern Kansen were also silent, knowing how he felt. Lafayette was having second thoughts about releasing the torpedo.
Queen Elizabeth's laughter like a spoiled brat and Warspite's clapping could be heard over the comms.
Lucas, at the sonar panel, held his brows, feeling that the kid was too soft when it came to fighting someone his size.
"Just bear it, kid, just... bear it," he muttered.
William put out his smoke and shook his head, muttering, "Poor kid."
"Your heart is too kind for this chaotic world, but you still have to do your duty," Essex-12 said.
Laffey-200, listening to the lessening acoustic signature of the U-Boats, muttered to herself. "You're too weak.... For this world." She was disappointed in Lafayette for having second thoughts about dropping the torpedo.
Atlantic Ocean 5:00 PM
A German Super Battleship was cruising in the Atlantic Ocean to rescue the four U-Boats that were accidentally sent to their own demise.
Two Heavy Cruisers, escorts, followed the Super Battleship. One was a Hipper Class Heavy Cruiser, and the other a P Class Heavy Cruiser.
"Heinrich, Blucher, have you seen them?" Friedrich asked over the comms, concern in her voice.
"Nein," Blucher replied, sweeping the horizon with her binoculars.
"Nein," Heinrich replied, lighting up the whole area with searchlights.
"We can't just lose them. This is the last location of their transmission before it was lost," Friedrich said to herself.
"Found them!" Blucher shouted. "Over there!" She pointed 8km away from their starboard side.
"Where?" Friedrich quickly shifted her binoculars to where Blucher was pointing.
They saw one U-Boat drifting in the waves. The U-Boat used all the fuel onboard to escape the Modern Kansen and Siren Ambushes.
Friedrich quickly activated her rigging and headed to the location of the stranded U-Boats. Her two escorts, Blucher and Heinrich, followed suit.
Friedrich jumped onto the deck of the U-Boat and quickly opened the hatch door. Inside, U-557, U-522, and U-110 were hiding.
"It's all right, my child, it's me," she said with a motherly tone. U-557, U-522, and U-110 came out from hiding and ran towards her, crying.
"Friedrich. Waaaaahh..." They called her name and cried. She hugged them like a mother who wouldn't leave her child's side.
"It's alright, I'm here now... nothing will harm you, my child," she said, comforting them.
"Now tell me... what happened?" She asked slowly, not wanting to pressure them.
They told her how the operation failed and how a single Homing Torpedo destroyed U-556's rigging, and how they ended up there, adrift in the waves.
"I see... a Siren fleet managed to ambush you after you escaped the New Kansens. Don't worry, I'm here to save you all," she said to the relieved U-Boats.
"Now then... where's U-556?" She asked.
Friedrich was guided by U-110 to the CO's Cabin, where U-556 was lying asleep, her temperature high.
Friedrich touched her temple to check her temperature, wearing the face of a worried mother tending to her sick child.
"She's having a fever. Quick! ... we need to put her in my ship's infirmary," she said, carrying her out of the U-Boat.
"Friedrich. We're surrounded," Heinrich yelled over the radio frantically.
"It seems we fell into their trap. They knew the U-Boats would use a distress call to lure us into their trap," she muttered.
"Blucher, protect the children. I'm going to deal with these pests," she radioed, her voice sounding like an angry mother whose child was hurt.
"Jawohl," Blucher radioed back.
Friedrich jumped off the deck and into the wavy Atlantic waters. She activated her Rigging shaped like a Dragon, Four SK C/53 405 mm Guns fired angrily at the incoming Siren Ships.
Within the relentless bombardment from her Four SK C/53 405 mm Guns, the Sirens ceased their attack and slowly retreated.
~Time Skip~
Iron Blood infirmary
U-556 was being treated by Iron Blood Doctors in the Emergency Room. They patched her wounds and injuries. The whole infirmary was in chaos, as they didn't expect someone like her to get injured.
Then, the door to the Infirmary slammed open, almost breaking. The Staff and Doctors jolted in reaction.
Bismarck entered the room, her every step reverberating through the room. She walked towards the Doctors and asked the Doctors treating U-556.
"How's her condition, Doktor?" Bismarck asked in a very worried voice, as the Doctor looked at the Patient's Record.
"According to her record, she received a direct hit by a 'Homing Torpedo' with a yield explosion of 102 kg of TNT."
The Doctor was holding himself back from trembling at Bismarck's presence.
"Homing Torpedo?" Bismarck asked in a serious voice, making the others in the room feel the pressure.
"Ja-Ja... Homing Torpedo. That's the one that hit her rigging with precise accuracy... according to the U-Boats," the Doctor remarked, gripping his necktie.
Bismarck sighed, letting go of her frustration. She then asked the Doctor calmly this time. "When will she be waking up, Doktor?" She gripped the pole she held tightly, anticipating bad news.
"I'm sorry, Herr Bismarck, U-556 needs time and rest to recover," one of the Doctors said, attempting to alleviate the pressure Bismarck exerted, which nearly caused another Doctor to lose composure.
Bismarck simply nodded, understanding that the Doctors required time to expedite U-556's recovery.
The two Doctors returned to the operating room to continue treating the wounded and unconscious U-556. Bismarck watched the door close, catching a final glimpse of U-556 lying in the hospital bed.
'A Homing Torpedo, striking a single U-Boat with such precision. This is more concerning than I could have imagined. We must develop more powerful weapons to counter them. This fleet has demonstrated their formidable strength,' Bismarck thought.
'I'm sorry, U-556, I may have to ask you to undertake a perilous task.' She clenched her fist, her eyes burning with rage and fury.
"They will pay dearly!"
This display of capability only intensified Bismarck's resolve to address the threat posed by the New Kansens of Azur Lane. She then left the infirmary and proceeded to the hallway where the others awaited her.
Friedrich could sense Bismarck's aura of rage as she approached. Heinrich, Blucher, and Hipper also felt its chilling presence, a sensation that sent shivers down their spines.
The U-Boats sat huddled in the hospital chairs, trembling in fear, as the echoing footsteps of Bismarck's boots reverberated through the hallway.
"U-522, U-110, and U-557. To my office. Now."
Bismarck's authoritative voice caused the U-Boats to tremble even more, as they felt the overwhelming aura emanating from her.