Azur Lane: Silent Service
Chapter 17 - The Story of the Past

Sorry... The previous chapter was just April Fools Hehe..

This is the original chapter.

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Inside the Eagle Union command room, there was an Admiral holding a command paper and a black plate that read “TOP SECRET”. His facial expression was filled with confusion as the highest order of the Admiralty Code had to be executed in the Azur Lane region.

“What has happened? Why did they discontinue the Seawolf-class program?”

In front of his eyes, there was a camera capture containing a row of submarine corpses. The submarine's frame, reinforcing iron, protective steel, and submarine weaponry were destroyed to eliminate evidence including with those involved in it.

“Aaaahhh... This was why the Enterprise raged in that place. They are too stupid to involve civilians as experimental material. Creating a clone of the Wisdom Cube that was born naturally from a ship was just a futile effort.”

Toooks... Toooks...

All of a sudden, a subtle knocking sound was heard on the door of his room.

*Kreeck...

“Admiral, it's time for lunch.”

From behind the open door, a girl carrying a pile of papers entered her study.

“Helena? I was waiting for someone” the Admiral replied without looking at the girl.

“Admiral, did you forget? They've been waiting for you. If you do not fulfill their wishes, the security and harmony of Azur Lane will be broken back” Helena said.

“Ugh... I-I understand. They are very annoying if you want to get confidential information” grumbled Admiral.

The information regarding the Seawolf unit had become an open secret for the Eagle Union but for the other factions, it was information they did not know about. The appearance of the Seawolf Flagship involved in the fight of the Siren Strongholds in the territory of Gibraltar has spread to the main base of Azur Lane. All the Admiral who were representatives of the faction held a lunch banquet to discuss the Seawolf unit.

The journey felt very heavy. Every beat of the Admiral's steps was filled with a heavy pressure on his shoulders. A top-secret piece of information belonging to the Eagle Union and the crimes of humanity behind it. Behind all of that, he was reminded of his childhood friend who was the subject of Seawolf unit experiments.

“Altair, huh?” little mutter.

“Admiral, I heard a rumor about a Seawolf submarine docked at a reserve dock. Is that true?” ask Helena.

“It's true, Helena. I've sent a destroyer to escort his arrival.”

“Umm... Admiral..”.

“No, Helena. I will not answer that question” replied Admiral in a firm tone.

The Admiral's instincts worked fast. With the rumors that have been circulating and a high sense of curiosity from Helena. He had expected sensitive questions to come out of Helena's mouth.

“A-I understand.”

Helena was surprised by the reply Admiral gave and fell silent. The long journey was filled only with the sound of footsteps echoing in the hallway. The atmosphere between Admiral and Helena felt very awkward.

“Not that means I don't want to talk about it, Helena. It's just..”

“I am reminded of my childhood friend who was involved in it.”

“She is a mysterious, quiet, and difficult to understand child. You know the past about me, don't you? Born during a siren invasion and surviving in the Eagle Union's secret orphanage. I met a strange person in that hell.”

“Using the code name Altair, he is registered in the secret unit Seawolf developed by Eagle Union. Every cold night, I heard her moaning voice that was enduring the pain. As the other kids ate the warm soup, I saw him eating a military ration that felt like a coral! All of it was done to adapt his body to the Wisdom Cube clone and the war situation.”

“One day, I read a small paper hidden by him. The side effects of the imitation Wisdom Cube on his body are heart attack and muscle shock. Of the three hundred children listed, only a hundred survived and only he had normal status. The brain condition of the remaining subjects is like an undead carrying out an order to earn the death reward from their pain.”

“Helena, can you survive alone in the ocean for six months and return to base just to replenish the stockpile of ammunition that feels like shit?”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

There was silence between Admiral and Helena,

“Sorry, Admiral.”

That silence led them to a simple restaurant run by Sakura Empire.

*Kliiii...

*Kachining...

As the bell rang, all eyes were fixed on Admiral. Far in front of him was a special table with food that had been prepared. He walked up to the table and sat down to enjoy his lunch.

The Admiral is not alone. He was surrounded by other Admiral factions who enjoyed lunch at the same table.

“Arthur, it's time for you to talk about it” said an Admiral from the Iron Blood faction.

“Karl, I just got here. Even my lunch is still untouched” replied Arthur.

“This is just my feeling or Eagle Union is exploring its dark history.”

Beside him, an Admiral from the Sakura Empire faction entered the groove of conversation that had been made.

“Miyamoto, don't be rude like that. Eagle Union has a dark story that it doesn't want to talk about. The Royal Navy also has a history it doesn't want to talk about. All those bad things are just stories of the past that want to be forgotten. Isn't that what it is, Arthur?” suhut Admiral of the Royal Navy.

“Ugh... You guys this” responded to a question from the Admiral of another faction, Arthur holding his head.

“You don't want to ask too?” arthur said to the remaining admirals.

“As a representative of Northern Parliament, we are not interested in the HAM offenders that Eagle Union did.”

“Guuuuhu's... That really hurt my little heart, Vladimir!” arthur exclaimed as he held his chest.

“But, I'm interested in one thing. The Empress III and Siren Strongholds were destroyed by one Eagle Union submarine? That sounds very impossible” Vladimir said.

“Trust me, Vladimir. It really happened. This unit of Seawolf is so abnormal and unpredictable. Moreover, he was the Flagship of the Seawolf-class. His battle ability against the siren was beyond doubt. The entire record of his battle was highly classified. So, you will not get Seawolf-class information from me” replied Arthur.

“Speaking about abnormal and difficult to guess. I got a report from King George V that sounds weird. He saw a small torpedo-shaped plane flying above him. Is that Eagle Union's new weapon?”

“Hmm..”

“Interesting questions..”

“I'm curious about this one..”.

The important question was raised by the Admiral Royal Navy and invited the curiosity of other factions. A secret weapon that might be developed by their technology.

“Aaah... It's not the plane you think it is. Submarines have limited space for storage of food and ammunition. The aircraft referred to by King George V was a simple reconnaissance aircraft. The mileage and height are very limited for one use. Of course, that's a big secret from Eagle Union.”

“Talking about the plane, Akagi reported his scouting plane was shot down by a small object very quickly. He saw a line of Eagle Union destroyers escorting a small ship and his scout plane was shot down” Miyamoto said.

All eyes were on Arthur.

“I don't know about that, why did the Akagi surveillance plane get shot down?” Arthur turned the question over to Miyamoto.

“I also don't know, there are no reports of air strikes taking place in the Azur Lane.” region

“So, that means your plane has a problem?” Arthur wants to avoid questions about the Seawolf unit and end that troublesome lunch.

That heavy lunch added to Arthur's mental stress. Paper report jobs are much better than this. The pressure from other factions that were exploring the great secrets of the Eagle Union made the stress level increase.

“Ugh... When did they stop talking about it?” murmured Arthur.

After lunch, Arthur and Helena return to the Eagle Union command room.

As Arthur opens the door to his study, he sees someone familiar to him. A young man in military attire, well-groomed hair, and the glare of his relaxed eyes.

He holds a small picture frame containing memories of Arthur's past.

“Altair?” said Arthur.

“You still save this photo, huh? Long time no see, Arthur.”

Altair greeted Arthur who was silent looking at him.

The reunion of two childhood friends has begun.