Chapter Text
Arrival
The early morning rays shone through the window of the pristine ship's cabin. The light illuminated a small figure sleeping peacefully within the decorated quarters. He mumbled incoherently while clutching a round plushy decorated with the Royal Navy’s flag but with two white circles that formed eyes. Other similar plushies surrounded him, each carrying the design of the factions that formed Azur Lane. The eyes on each plush ball expressed each faction’s personality, from the stern look of the Iron Blood-ball, to the tranquil look of the Sakura Empire-ball, and to the cheeky playfulness of the Eagle Union-ball. All of them are organized neatly by the bedframe.
"Mmmm… expand our navy," the young boy mumbled in his sleep, "… the finest navy… in the world."
He continued to mumble nonsense as he lightly tussled around in his sleep, completely unaware that his door was slowly creaking open. A female figure crept into the room, taking care not to disturb the boy's slumber. She loomed over him, a sinister grin on her face, as she reached for the bed. She reached behind her to grab something and gradually pointed it at her unassuming target.
She squeezed the trigger.
*FWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW*
The loud noise jolted the boy from his sleep and launched him headfirst into the cabin ceiling before roughly falling back into his bed. Pain consumed his consciousness. Both from the loud noise and from the bump he received from the ceiling. Birds were spinning around his head as he tried to regain his senses. He heard the cackled laugh of the perpetrator emanating from the side of his bed. It was a sound that was always familiar to him but brought him great distress.
"Ahahahah heh heh heee, wake up Emile!" The figure was none other than his older sister. Her uncouthed brown hair contrasted with the bright green eyes that shone in the morning sunlight. Then there was that massive smile that beamed down at him, proud of what she had done and amused at her brother’s predicament.
"Come on, Maddy, you could have just shaken me up." The boy, named Emile, complained as he rubbed his eyes awake.
"Now where’s the fun in that," she shrugged with the airhorn still in her hand, "Besides, today is the day."
"Wait, we’re already there?" The boy’s eyes bulged as he jumped to the window. There was nothing but a clear blue sea.
"No, but in two hours, yes," Maddy replied, as she fished for something in her brother’s closet.
"Ah, here we go," She took out a fresh white admiral’s uniform and tossed it on her brother’s face. "Now come on, ya need to be spick and span if you want to be the new commander of the most powerful combined navy in the world."
"Please don’t say it like that. It’s a whole lot to take in," Emile's muffled voice was audible through the cloth as he reached down to take off his pajamas.
His pants were halfway off when he realized something.
"Please leave."
The brunette laughed as she strutted out of the room before exclaiming, "Meet ya by the mess hall," as her voice echoed down the hallway.
Emile sighed as her footsteps faded through the corridor. He took this opportunity to make his bed, comb his hair, put on his dress uniform, and collect the documents from his drawer… wait. A lonely fly buzzed away from the empty drawer. He opened and closed his drawer two times in disbelief. Not only were his documents, notes, and maps missing, but his personal journal as well.
"That brown nosed weasel," Were the words the boy muttered under his breath as he quickly dashed out of his cabin. He did not even bother shutting the door behind him. All he could feel were his cheeks glowing red with embarrassment and coated with a tint of anger.
"Wow lil Em, you really are a huge nerd," Maddy spoke as she perused the contents of her brother’s journal. She was so focused on the paper that she barely touched her breakfast.
Emile, in the meantime, was trying to enjoy his pancakes and was a bit upset that his sister was so leisurely teasing him so early. The awkwardness he felt was amplified by the fact that the whole mess hall was empty. The crew had already finished their breakfast and scattered to perform their various tasks around the transport ship.
"Please sis, don’t use my name so casually. We’re going to be formally in charge of the whole Azur Lane, so we need to start acting the part. " Emile begged his sister. His eyes scanned the room nervously, hoping no one heard his nickname.
Her sister gave a restrained chuckle before answering, "Whatever you say, Shikikan."
Emile could only grunt in response to the formal address. She even dared to say it in another language. His sister had to slap him in the face with the rank. Not out of jealousy, but rather to tease him. He took another bite of his pancake, hoping the flavor would help him relax.
"Hmm… analysis on the current Siren war, ships of Azur Lane and their equipment, observed personality matrixes displayed by the kansen," She continued to read off the topics listed within his journal and skimmed over their contents. Emile had carefully kept up to date with the events of the Siren war and the Azur Lane split. He hoped to use that information to help reorganize Azur Lane and to finally find an end to the seemingly endless war with the Sirens. However, Emile also expressed his own imagination within the private confines of his journal, and he thanked God that no one was here to listen to his sister expounding that information.
"Really Emile," his sister quirked her eyebrows with an amused expression, "A Star Destroyer?"
"Well, I just thought it would have been cool to turn a behemoth warship like that into a shipgirl." Emile squirmed as he tried to justify the idea. He knew that the wisdom cubes brought many historical warships into human form, so he just thought maybe he should try to go all out with his imagination. He heard that high command was doing a similar thing with special priority research.
"No, I’m not saying it’s a bad idea," his sister assured him, "I’m saying that it might be beyond our current capacity to accomplish."
Maddy leaned in inquisitively.
"A Star Destroyer is a kilometer and a half long. Would it manifest in proportion to that size? How would her rigging fit the number of heavy weapons mounted? Also, if a Star Destroyer launches fighters from a ventral hanger, would that mean she would be launching fighters from her a-"
"Okay, I’m going to stop you right there." The boy thankfully interrupted, "But a guy can dream, can’t he?"
"Hehe, indeed he can," Maddy responded with a sincere chuckle. She finally put down the journal and began to eat her pancakes.
The two were almost done with their food when Emile finally remembered why he had run out of the room in such a hurry in the first place. He took a napkin and wiped his mouth before coughing to get his sister’s attention. He extended his hand outwards, waiting to receive his papers. Maddy looked at the extended hand inquisitively before smiling and giving him an appropriate response.
"It’s nice to meet you too, Commander," The boy’s eyes went wide at the unexpected handshake.
"No, you slippery basket case!" Emile exclaimed, "My documents!"
Maddy’s hearty laughter roared throughout the mess hall. She handed both the documents and the journal back to her little brother. That teasing smile never left her face as she did. Emile looked over to see if she had done anything to his paperwork, only to find that nothing was wrong. Not only that, but all the documents were neatly organized by category and every necessary line was filled with the correct information. Emile’s eyes rose to give a thankful look to his sister, who was currently slouching sideways on the cafeteria bench.
"Hey, like I said Commander," She got up from her seat and put on her own commander’s cap, "Ya have to be spick and span if ya wanna command."
"Your right," The boy smiled as he stood up and adjusted his cap, "Lieutenant."
For a second, Maddy’s cheeks were tinted red.
The siblings have spent their entire lives together. Despite their three-year age difference and massive height disparity, they consider each other to be the best of friends. They could discuss random topics, share hilarious stories, or go over the patch notes for their favorite game. In the eyes of a stranger, Maddy was the brawn to Emile's brain. Overall, the pair of siblings understood each other on a level that few others could comprehend. Even so, the boy wished for that growth spurt. Everyone in his class was taller than him.
That's what everyone told him, or at least that's what he remembered them saying. To the short man, most of the social life at the academy was a blur. Maddy had told him not to be concerned about it and to concentrate on his future career instead.
High command needed someone to act as a bridge between the various factions now that Azur Lane had been re-united. To the chagrin of his male peers, Emile was chosen as the most viable candidate for leadership. He graduated from the academy with a renewed sense of purpose, determined to show...
"Wait a minute, Maddy," Emile interrupted the exposition, "How did you get the job too?"
"Oh, that..." Maddy’s eyes drifted downward, "I managed to convince the higher ups."
"Wait, what do you mean, convinced?" Her brother worriedly asked, "You didn’t do anything regretful, did you?"
The sister said straight away, "Oh no, I didn’t suck someone off."
"I didn’t say that!" Her brother exclaimed, flustered.
"Well you were probably thinking it," the older sibling smirked, "But yeah, I managed to convince someone that you needed help."
"I can handle myself, Lieutenant," the younger man protested.
"Oh, don’t you ‘Lieutenant’ me mister. Do you even realize what you’re getting yourself into?" Maddy retorted. She turned to face her brother as the ship began making its final approach to the dock.
"You’re not just going to command a fleet of warships. You’re going to command a fleet of shipgirls," Maddy made sure to put emphasis on the word ‘shipgirls’.
"Oh," OH Emile’s eyes widened at the realization. Azur Lane was composed of mostly women. He was a man, or young man,... OK, many probably still considered him a boy. His height would most likely make him look like a child. He even acted like a child. He was like a lamb entering a den filled with lionesses.
Emile started to tremble a bit but Maddy kept him still by firmly holding his shoulders. She looked him in the eyes with genuine reassurance. She smiled.
"That’s why I’m here," She let go and pointed to herself with confidence, "Your Lieutenant will keep ya safe and sound."
Her proclamation put a smile back on the young boy’s face and erased the clouds of worry from his mind.
"Yeah! And I’ll keep you safe too," He held his fist out and the elder sibling gladly accepted the bump.
The pair felt the ship come to a halt. Outside the window, there was a welcoming party. The older sister could see a crowd of various shapes and sizes as they waved their hands and banners in a welcoming manner.
"All right, let’s do this," Maddy said, opening the door’s hatch and charging outside.
"Wait, Maddy, the ramp’s not down yet!"
"WHATSSS-aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
Emile could hear the crowd gasp as a splash sounded beneath him.
"Oh dear"