7 December 1941
Location: Pearl Harbour Multinational Naval Base
Time: 0820
"KAGA!"
Akagi cradled her unconscious sister Kaga, her face contorted with horror and disbelief. The devastation wrought upon their fleet was beyond anything she had imagined. Just as she thought they could win the battle and complete their mission, a series of fast flying objects decimated their Siren forces and left Kaga incapacitated. Even their backline that was relatively safe far from the frontline also reported similar attacks against them.
"Kaga! Please stay with me!" Akagi's roar was filled with desperation as she redirected all her remaining airwings to defend her and Kaga's position.
"Attention Mobile Strike Force, this is Akagi. We've suffered heavy losses on the frontline. Kaga's down. We are retreating!" Akagi ordered firmly to the remaining Strike Force at the backline. This force was none other than the infamous 'Kido Butai'.
Carrying Kaga in a princess carry, Akagi sprinted away from the chaos of the frontline, launching every available shuriken in a futile attempt to shake off the pursuing enemies.
[Copy that, Senpai. How about Hiryuu and Soryuu?] asked the same voice from the radio before, Shokaku.
"If they can't equip their riggings, just leave them," Akagi replied calmly, though her heart pounded with the weight of the decision.
[Are you serious!? You know we do not sign the Geneva Convention right!? We don't know what will happen to them as Prisoners of War!] Shokaku shouted right back. Her voice wavered between anger and disbelief.
"Let me ask you one thing, Shokaku. You must be aware of what we do to our sinking ships so the enemy won't acquire our intel and technology, right? Or do you want to scuttle them yourselves?" Akagi responded grimly, her tone cutting through the radio static.
[Tch, fine] The radio transmission was abruptly cut.
After a grueling distance, Akagi summoned her ship and fled towards it. From the flight deck of the aircraft carrier, she made a perturbing declaration.
"To the Azur Lane! We, the Sakura Empire, Iron Blood, and Sardegna Empire, have joined forces to destroy and crush your alliance. As the saying goes, 'Treat others as you want to be treated,' this is often referred to as the Golden Rule. Since you oppress our ambitions, which are similar to yours, we couldn't just let you all be. We deserved to realize our ambitions and to do that, we formally pulled out from your organization and found the Crimson Axis. Azur Lane! With this, We Declared War!"
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The tide of battle had turned in favor of the defenders. Following the declaration of war, the number of hostile airplanes in the battlefield airspace was significantly reduced. Moreover, the fact that nearly every Siren ship was either sunk or rendered inoperable allowed the Commander to focus the heavy-hitters on Kaga and Akagi.
From the still standing speaker systems, a broadcast echoed throughout the base.
[Attention Azur Lane kansens! You heard them! This is our time! This is the start of our counter attack! If you want peace, prepare for war! Si vis pacem, para bellum!]
The Commander's voice resonated within every Azur Lane kansen, sparking hope and determination in their hearts. Loud war cries and cheers erupted on the frontline as the hunt for Akagi and her strike force was kicked off.
Scout planes were launched into the sky, covering their maximum range. The land-based radar systems around the base worked tirelessly, scanning every nook and cranny of the area under their protection. Unfortunately, the Kido Butai was already on their way back to their home port.
The hunt only lasted for an hour, as they could not find Kaga and Akagi. However, two significant figures of the Sakura Empire were captured as prisoners of war. Their ships were carefully towed to the harbor and sent to drydocks, while the captured kansens, still unconscious, received treatment in the Base's Hospital. According to the testimony of Ayanami, a Sakura Empire kansen who had defected to Azur Lane, the POWs were Hiryuu and Soryuu from the second carrier division of Kido Butai.
"Commander, thank you for your hard work," Wales said, approaching with a relieved smile. She found the Commander brooding on one of the piers and decided to greet him.
"Good job too, Wales. Hah… This battle was a hair's breadth away from defeat, but thanks to Her Majesty, the miracle happened. I usually don't like to attribute success to luck, but that was truly a lifesaver for us," the Commander replied, putting a cigar to his mouth and lighting it.
"I didn't know you're a smoker, Commander," observed Wales curiously.
"Ah no no, I'm not. Just in these kinds of stressful situations, I couldn't help myself. Sorry Wales," the Commander apologized as he blew smoke out of his lungs.
"It's fine, Commander. Just please do it in moderation," Wales smiled. She then looked out to the ocean that was a frontline an hour ago. She reminisced about what had happened and strengthened her resolve to become stronger for the battles to come.
"Oh right, Wales, have you reported enemies' retreat to Her Majesty?" Commander asked.
"Yes, Commander. London had sent it. She said she heard cheers from Her Majesty's side after she reported it. Truly, without that miracle, I don't know how many more would have fallen… Oh yeah, Her Majesty said she will arrive in four and a half hours," said Wales, still with her sweet smile plastered on her face.
"Great news! I want to directly thank Her Majesty for bringing us the miracle. Such fire power is unheard of even to me, and the fact that you from the Royal Navy have such weapons at your disposal is a relief for the war against Crimson Axis," Commander smiled and praised the Royal Navy.
"But Commander, the truth is I'm not even aware that we have such weapons," Wales admitted, shyly looking down.
"What? Even you as the head representative of the Royal Navy don't know?" The Commander was shocked as he put out his cigar.
"Yes.. this is also my first time witnessing such a devastating attack," confessed Wales as she remembered when the light trails slammed into the Siren ships. The trails accurately hit each and every enemy, and the massive detonations on impact indicated that the trails were packed with heavy payloads. Considering Queen Elizabeth's location was hundreds of kilometers away from the enemy, it made Wales shiver. But she knew, the last light trail was even more dangerous. Its speed was insane, she could barely see the black object that was targeting the fox.
"Well, what can we do other than ask Her Majesty directly? Come on, Wales, let's help the girls. We are safe, but some buildings weren't," said the Commander as he looked over at kansens cleaning debris and boulders from the destroyed buildings.
"Yeah, let's," agreed Wales.
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7 December 1941
Location: The Pacific Ocean, 250 km southeast of Pearl Harbour Naval Base.
Time: 0830
As the echoes of battle faded across the ocean, a different atmosphere settled over the Royal Navy fleet. Cheers erupted throughout the formation of the fleet. Some hugged each other, some jumped around merrily, celebrating the routing of their enemies from their new base.
A similar atmosphere enveloped the command table. Warspite exhaled a long sigh, Hood sat down as she leaned her back to the chair, Howe and Mo shared a small laugh, and Queen Elizabeth laughed haughtily.
"Hahaha, would you look at that? The Sakurans are running with their tail between their legs!" mocked Queen Elizabeth. She looked so satisfied. And then she continued, "Belfast! Prepare a feast in the name of today's star! Monsoor, you better start to think up a speech now, hahaha!"
"Of course, Your Majesty," Belfast bowed as she smiled.
Suddenly ordered to give a speech, Mo felt a wave of nervousness wash over her. Unlike her older sister, Walt, who could compose a coherent speech on the spot, or her younger sister, Lyn, who could speak confidently about anything, Mo had no idea what to say and what not to.
As she deeply pondered about her speech, a pat on her right shoulder brought her to reality. It was Howe. With a smile, Howe walked toward the back of the battlecruiser and beckoned at Mo to follow her. With the front deck getting more and more crowded from the maids preparing the feast, Mo followed Howe without much fuss.
They kept walking side by side in silence until they reached the aft turrets. This area was quiet with only the noise from the ship's machinery and the crashing of the waves breaking the silence. Mo looked around, finding no one else.
"Alright, you can train your speech here and I'll be your first audience. So, please do your best!" Howe encouraged, her presence uplifting Mo.
"Thanks, Miss Howe, how did you know?" asked Mo shyly.
"Your confusion and nervousness are written all over your face, you know?" Howe giggled softly. "Honestly, I'm just like you in that way. I have zero confidence when it comes to speaking in front of a crowd. As you know, I'm the youngest among my siblings. I love and admire all my sisters, but having such amazing siblings makes me often compare myself to them and feel like I fall short. It makes me so anxious because I'm terrified of messing up and tarnishing their good names. The only thing I'm really confident about is baking cookies! When I saw you earlier, I saw a little bit of myself in you, so I brought you here. I couldn't let the star of the day stumble over her words, right? Oh, and just call me Howe," she added with a playful smirk.
"Alright, Howe. Also.. Mo, you can call me, Mo," said Mo as she looked at the smirking girl with a warm smile.
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