The sky was a clear blue, the vast sea stretching endlessly to the horizon.
Enterprise led the detached fleet on patrol through the distant waters.
"Hm—"
"K5 sea region cleared. No enemies detected. Area secure."
She and her companions from the carrier fleet followed their assigned routes, eliminating scattered enemies across the ocean.
After confirming their positions, she checked her aircraft—F6F Hellcats, F4U Corsair fighters, along with familiar dive bombers and torpedo bombers.
"Is anyone injured?"
"Good. Let's head back and rest."
The accompanying goddess of the kitchen clapped her hands and began counting heads.
Such small-scale skirmishes had long become routine. Since the establishment of the port, they had fought thousands of naval battles.
"Ah, Senior, will you have time later? Could we do another training session?"
"I still have some questions about carrier operations I'd like to ask you about..."
Essex leaned close to Enterprise, the look of a devoted fan on her face, drawing smiles from those nearby.
"Sure."
"I'm free this afternoon. I'll be waiting at the training field..."
Enterprise thought for a moment, but before she could finish speaking—
Suddenly—
Buzz—
"Alert! Alert—!"
"Twenty-four miles north of the port, a massive enemy fleet has been detected! All units, assemble immediately! Assemble immediately—!"
A shrill alarm blared from the vanguard fleet.
Everyone froze in shock.
Following the direction of the alert, they looked up to see a vast, black-and-red armada slowly emerging from the horizon.
Tens of thousands of carrier aircraft roared overhead, streaking toward the port.
"Enemy attack!!!"
"Level One Alert!!! All fleets, engage the enemy!!!"
Enterprise's voice cut through the chaos.
Boom—
The entire port was thrown into motion.
Flagships from each major fleet began assembling their forces and preparing for battle.
"Royal First Fleet ready."
"Iris Libre Fleet ready for deployment."
"Northern Union Fleet in position!!"
Nearly half the port's shipgirls surged out to sea.
Cutting through the waves, they spread into formation, ready to intercept the invading forces.
However, even with half the port's strength mobilized, the number of enemies was overwhelming.
"So this is their all-out assault? How troublesome..."
Enterprise muttered under her breath.
"Hold the line!!!"
Whoosh—
She launched wave after wave of carrier aircraft into the sky, where they tangled with the black-and-red planes above.
Destroyer and cruiser shipgirls weaved through the enemy ranks, launching torpedo attacks against the massive enemy battleships.
Battleships and carriers provided long-range bombardment and air support, forming a dense web of firepower across the sea.
But even as they fought with all their strength, the disparity in both numbers and power was overwhelming.
"There's too many!!! We can't hold them back..."
Essex gritted her teeth, struggling to maintain composure.
"The southwestern defensive line has fallen!!! Enemy forces have breached the port's interior!!!"
"Evacuate! Begin evacuation immediately—"
Bismarck's urgent voice came through the comms.
"What?!"
Before Enterprise could ask for details—
BOOM!!!—
A violent explosion cut through the signal, followed by silence.
"Hello?! Iron Blood Fleet, report status!!"
"Port sector, respond!!..."
No matter how she called, only static answered.
"Fall back!!!"
Enterprise signaled to the others.
Then—
She suddenly looked up to see a swarm of black aircraft descending toward her, blotting out the sun.
They filled the sky like a moving storm cloud.
"How... how can there be this many..."
The carrier fleet tried desperately to intercept the enemy, but they were hopelessly outmatched.
"Second Carrier Division, intercept!!!"
Whoosh—
Essex, Shangri-La, and Lexington all launched their aircraft in unison.
Ratatatat—
The planes were still climbing when they were torn apart by enemy fire.
Boom—Boom!!!
Accompanied by a shrill whistling, torpedoes and bombs exploded one after another all around them.
"Ah—!"
A shipgirl's rigging was blown apart, her deck and keel shattered into fragments.
"No..."
Enterprise barely managed to stand, bracing herself with her rigging, only to find that she too was in terrible shape.
Whoosh—
BOOM!!!
A hailstorm of bombs fell upon the port, turning the entire island into a sea of fire.
The once-bustling main building—where the major fleets had gathered to discuss operations or simply laugh and play—collapsed into ruin as aerial bombs and missiles struck it directly.
Nearby docks and armories were destroyed in round after round of carpet bombing.
Boom—BOOM!!—
Far out at sea, the bizarre-looking enemy fleets that had broken through the defenses unleashed their firepower on the port.
In mere moments, the peaceful, vibrant harbor was reduced to ashes.
"Ah..."
Some shipgirls who had not yet returned stood frozen, staring blankly into the distance.
They could not believe that the home they had lived in for years had vanished in an instant.
"No!!!"
A few shipgirls tried to charge forward to fight to the death, but Enterprise grabbed them back.
"Come back!!! Don't throw your lives away!!!"
"Retreat!!"
Crying and shouting, they covered each other as they fled the burning seas.
Endless battles, endless pursuit.
Due to the passage of time, only fragments of those memories remained.
They could no longer recall how long they fled—perhaps days, perhaps months.
Not only did they have to fight off pursuers and sea enemies, but they also had to tend to their wounded companions.
It wasn't until they reached a distant, unfamiliar sea—far from the port—that they finally stopped, panting.
After confirming again and again that there were no enemies nearby, they dared to rest briefly.
"..."
Staring toward the smoke rising from where the port once stood, Enterprise felt as though her heart had died.
The once-prosperous harbor had been annihilated by an unknown enemy. The proud weapons they once relied upon were now useless.
"The port and the Azure Lane Fleet... have been destroyed."
"Where... do we go now?..."
She and the other shipgirls realized that something vital within them had vanished.
They could never return to their former lives.
From that day on, they were homeless—adrift and fighting upon the endless sea.
"Let's move forward. We... can't give up."
After a long silence, Enterprise took a deep breath and stood up.
"Even if everything is destroyed, we must continue to fight."
"..."
The others exchanged uncertain looks. The brutality of war had made them aware of the merciless future awaiting them.
But none of them gave up. Even with their port in ruins, they steeled themselves—to fight for vengeance, and for survival.
"...Like the embers of a flame."
Helena murmured softly.
"We are the embers left behind after the world and our port have burned away."
...
"Wake up! Wake up!!"
"Don't fall asleep!!!"
"We're almost there!!"
Through the haze of her fading consciousness, she suddenly heard the chatter of other shipgirls around her.
"Mm?..."
META Enterprise slowly opened her eyes, still dazed.
"That dream again?..."
She shook her head and sat up.
Looking around, she realized she was aboard a small starship.
The anti-gravity craft skimmed over the sea, heading toward a distant capital city.
Outside the porthole stretched blue skies and white clouds—no trace of war anywhere.
From time to time, she could see Angeloids soaring past, their white wings glimmering in the sunlight—a sight almost dreamlike.
"Ah, right... we're in the Starsea Empire..."
Rubbing her temples, she finally pulled her thoughts back to reality.
The Commander had taken to calling them the META girls.
In truth, they had their own designation and name—the Ember Fleet.
They were born anew from another worldline's Azure Lane Fleet.
Before long, the starship crossed over the Sea of Marmara, and four grand naval bases came into view within the Golden Horn.
Flying the sky-blue naval banner was the Azure Naval Port, beside it the black-and-yellow Siren Naval Base.
Across the fjord stood the red-and-black Fleet of Fog base and the Kancolle Naval District.
Across the sea, shipgirls could be seen striding over the waves. Even after being refitted into starships, some smaller ones still loved to play upon the ocean.
"Considering there aren't many of you, and since you all belong to the Azure Lane Fleet, you'll stay with us at the port."
"There are still many vacant rooms in the dormitories. Of course, if you prefer to live in the capital city, you can apply to the Commander."
Yat Sen brushed a strand of hair aside as she introduced the situation to the META girls.
"Oh..."
META Enterprise and META Helena gazed absentmindedly out the porthole at the bustling capital and the towering naval bases beyond.
It had been so many years since they last saw such a prosperous and peaceful world.
As they watched, a small group of shipgirls came striding over the waves, waving cheerfully toward them.
"Oh? You must be the shipgirls the Commander brought back from another world? Welcome, welcome~"
"Huh?"
The META shipgirls stared in confusion at the tall woman with a high ponytail and a parasol. On one of her thigh-high stockings, four words were written: "No-Law-Above-Heaven."
"Who's that?"
"She's Yamato, the Grand Flagship of the Combined Fleet," Yat Sen replied casually.
"???"
"Yamato?! We have someone like that in our port?!"
The META shipgirls from the Sakura Empire—Fusou, Hiryuu, Souryuu—were all stunned. No matter how they tried to recall, not only did their own fleet lack one, but even before their META transformation, they had never heard of such a person.
"She's from the Kancolle world. Also, that one over there—the one in a white ceremonial gown with black hair—that's Yamato too, from the Fleet of Fog."
Yat Sen pointed toward another shipgirl in the distance.
"..."
Everyone was speechless, eyes wide at the sight.
Clack—
The starship landed at the Harbor. One by one, they descended the ramp, curiously surveying the colossal structure—several times larger than their old port.
"With all these naval bases so close together, if the enemy were to surround and attack, we'd be annihilated. They should really be spaced farther apart..."
"Also, proper defenses must be in place for large-scale air raids..."
META Enterprise frowned, speaking out of habit.
Halfway through, she realized her mistake.
Here in the Starsea Empire, there were no enemies. Even the Sirens were allies now, living right next door.
Watching the Siren girls strolling by the shore—or lounging on beach chairs under the sun—META Enterprise felt deeply uneasy, almost experiencing PTSD.
It was difficult for her to associate the little Siren loli lying lazily on a chair, sipping juice and playing games, with the formidable enemy she had once fought in another world.
"Your war is over," Yat Sen said softly.
"From this point on, the entire Azure Lane world—ports, Sirens, and every shipgirl across all parallel worlds—will be united under the Commander's leadership."
—
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