Azur Lane: For Profit

by Randomskitarri

Summary:

Veso did not expect to be sent to another world filled with living warships when he died, but now he must navigate his way through this new world, making friend and foe alike. (this is a rewrite of an earlier story that I felt didn't go right)

Notes:

this work is the beginning of a rewrite of an older project I made. any feedback and criticism will be useful to my work. any requests should be posted into the comments for consideration.

Chapter 1: the new war

Veso ran up to the last console he had to disconnect, he had just fought a jackal proxy and could feel the ship falling apart around him as the murex attacking the ship attempted to dock. he then hacked into the console disconnecting the last of the firing sync as he gazed at the Murex approaching.

“Attention crew, stand down, all stations”. Alad V ordered over the announcement system. “you’ll be pleased to know that I, Alad V, have negotiated a peaceful and profitable transfer of power to our new-”

Veso disconnected Alad from the system and reactivated the firing sync. “Fleet control, firing sync re-engaged, authorization, Corpus Tech first class Veso-R, take your shot, for profit.
The ship fired at the approaching murex doing nothing more than angering it. The murex fired its weapon in retaliation.
Veso breathed in and closed his eyes as he accepted his fate.

~~~~~~~~~

When Veso opened his eyes and saw he was in a dark void surrounded by debris. A faint feminine giggling could be heard from around him as something brushed against his leg. Veso tried to look around as something dragged against his back and began to enwrap his neck. The giggling got louder as he was turned around to face the source of it, a small girl with pale skin and yellow eyes. She had long pale hair with ear-like ornaments on her head. She was sitting on a throne of tentacles and weapons. She was scantily clad and smiling innocently.

“Corpus tech First class”. The girl said giving Veso a feeling looming dread. “Veso-R”.

Veso tried to speak but fear prevented him.

“I have a special reason for you being here”. She explained as a tentacle reached for his waist. “You have schematics useful for a project I am working on”.

The tentacle took his data pad and gave it to the girl. She started using it already knowing what she was doing. after a few moments of toying with the data pad she copied some schematics to an unknown storage device. When she was done, she turned her back to Veso and began to hum as she did her thing.

Veso tried to struggle his way out of the tentacle which caused them to tighten strangling him, he tried to maneuver his hand to Plinx to no avail. The girl turned around to face Veso as she sighed.
“Due to how much I have interfered I will have to bring you along”. She explained as she stroked Veso’s cheek. “I will give you a device that shall translate the local language for you, we don’t want you to die within the first five minutes do we”?

Veso’s data pad was returned with a small device attached to it. After the girl was finished stroking his cheek she giggled as she moved out of sight as the tentacles that trapped Veso let go and disappeared into the black void.
“don’t disappoint us.” The girl’s voice whispered coming from nowhere.
When Veso knew he was alone he took a deep breath, inhaling water. Veso panicked as he kept on inhaling the water, drowning himself. He looked up and saw light and dark objects occasionally obscure it. Just before Veso lost consciousness he saw a figure swimming towards him.

~~~~~~~~~

Impact

Impact

Impact

That was all Veso could feel as something kept hitting him trying to resuscitate him.

“don’t die”. A barley audible voice requested as it kept hitting him on the chest.
After a few more heavy impacts Veso finally coughed up the water in his lungs. Opening his eyes, he saw the person who had saved his life. Another small girl, her skin was identical to the one he encountered earlier, she had short hair with horn like attachments on her head, she was wearing a slightly oversized jacket. Before Veso could thank her, she ran off out of his sight.
Veso spent a few minutes lying down recovering from his near-death experience. When Veso recuperated he pulled out his data pad which was covered in sand. He brushed the sand off and looked for any information he could. All the data pad could say is that he was on earth, no date, no time, nothing except the planet he was on. Veso finally stood up and assessed his surroundings, he was on a beach littered with chairs and shades, food was left out and drinks were spilled, it looked like whoever was here left in a hurry.

Faint sounds of gunshots could be heard in the distance, Veso crested a small hill and saw what appeared to be a town on the other side of the island. A battle was raging in the sky as aircraft fired at each other, weapons fire also came from the ground, most likely anti air guns. One of the fighter aircraft got its right wing shot off and began barrelling towards him crashing on the beach near him setting itself alight. Veso immediately ran to help the pilot if they were still alive. He climbed onto the airframe and quickly opened the smoke-filled cabin only to find an empty seat.

“what”? Veso was confused. “Has controls but no pilot”.

As he looked for an answer to why there was no pilot the plane disintegrated into numerous glowing cubes that vanished after a few moments. A cackling sound came from the data pad as it connected to the local communications. More gunfire could be heard alongside energy weapons. Veso knew that if he wanted help he would have to go to where the battle was taking place. He checked what equipment he had. A data pad and a Plinx. He didn’t have his Prova or any robotics to assist him.

Veso sighed as he began to make his way across to the other side of the island. As he made his way across the beach one of his legs got caught on something causing him to fall over, getting a mouth full of sand. When he got up and saw what had caused him to fall, a breacher Moa was upside down, half buried in sand and kicking its legs around. Veso grabbed it by the leg and pulled it out of the sand. When he pulled the breacher Moa out of the sand he saw more robotics buried in the sand. After spending a few minutes digging out the robotics he was left with a breacher Moa, two striker Moas and a shield drone. Feeling more confident about his chances of surviving he ran towards the battle.

~~~~~~~~~

Veso arrived in the town, the gunfire had diminished, and the air battle had quieted down. He kept making his way through the area slowly moving under any form of cover. The Moas kept behind him as he approached a plaza. The plaza was filled with numerous tables and seating all in disarray. Laughing could be heard as someone else walked into the plaza. Veso found some cover to hide behind. When he looked at the new person, she was nearly identical to the people he saw earlier, pale skin, yellow eyes. This one had a weapon rig that was floating around her. Veso wasn’t sure if this one was friendly as he saw her flip a table seemingly looking for someone. After a few moments the device attached to Veso’s data pad beeped and a light appeared.

“identification”. The device spoke. “Light cruiser, Tracker”.

“This thing tells me who people are”? Veso said to himself. “I guess this could be useful”.

Veso could see that Tracker had stopped looking around as she started walking menacingly towards a small building. Veso looked to where she was going and saw someone scurry away further into the building. Any thing that was in Trackers way was thrown or flipped in a way to scare whoever was hiding. Veso started contemplating whether or not he should intervene after seeing the violent display.

“Ready for something interesting”. Tracker started while moving towards the building. “Come out now and I know you’re in there”!
Veso could hear whimpering coming from the building. It sounded like it came from children. Veso felt uneasy as he decided to intervein, jumping over his cover and making himself known. Tracker immediately stopped what she was doing and looked at Veso confused.

Tracker laughed. “How human, trying to fight against the natural order of the- “.

Veso interrupted her monologue by shooting at her with his Plinx. He then ordered the Moas to open fire on her, releasing a hail of energy weapons on her. Whenever Tracker tried to retaliate Veso would just have the shield drone protect him and the Moas. After some time, Tracker got a second wind and began to charge Veso. The Moas backed off as Tracker charge firing all the weapons she had at him. When she was within arm’s length a loud bang could be heard as she stopped charging and fell over. When Veso inspected her, he found two bullet wounds in her back. She wasn’t dead, just immobilized moaning in pain. Veso quickly got some ropes and tied Tracker up and used a cloth over her mouth to keep her quiet. When he was done he looked around and saw someone watching him from the small building. He walked into the building and peeked over a counter and got a bottle thrown at his face. He lost his footing as he fell over onto his back.

“That hurts”. Veso moaned rubbing his head. “I’m not going to hurt you”.

A few small girls appeared from behind the counter all were wearing yellow hats and had animalistic features. They all looked scared and were on the verge of crying.

“identification”. The data pad beeped. “Sakura empire, Mutsuki class destroyers, Mutsuki, Kisaragi, Minazuki, Nagatsuki”.

Veso waved at the group who hid away in fear after seeing Tracker tied up and gagged. They all peeked up when they realized they were safe. They were still uncertain about the siren but trusted Veso enough.

“Are you alright”? Veso asked. “Where is everyone else”?

Kisaragi spoke up. “w-we got sacred and d-decided to hide”!

“We saw the others get tied up at the docks”. Minazuki added. “So, we ran away”.

“The s-sirens started chasing us here”. Nagatsuki continued.

Mutsuki didn’t contribute to the conversation as she was stress eating something she had in her pockets.

Tracker tried yelling through the gag to no avail except causing the destroyers to hide again. Veso then got an idea, he didn’t want to carry Tracker with him to the docks, so he grabbed tracker and dragged her into the building. He then walked outside and found an item he was looking for. When he came back in he crouched next to Tracker and signalled for one of the destroyers to come over. Kisaragi cautiously made her way over to Veso. Veso in preparation tied Tracker to a post just in case something happened.
“T-try this”. Veso said nervously as he handed Kisaragi a marker. “She should be less scary now”.

Tracker saw Kisaragi grab the marker and started trying to flail around and grab someone’s attention. She realized No help would come when she saw Kisaragi apprehensively draw something on her thigh. Kisaragi giggled slightly as she kept drawing on Tracker. After a few seconds the others joined in, and all started drawing on Tracker who grumbled in defeat. Veso then used his data pad and had one of the striker Moas stay close to the destroyers.

“A-are you l-leaving”? Kisaragi asked with a small smile on her face.

“Y-yeah, I’m leaving one of my friends with you”. Veso answered as he patted her head. “Are you going to be okay”.

Kisaragi nodded as Veso continued to pat her head. Veso then started going to the docks where the weapons fire had quieted down, from what Minazuki said everyone was mostly captured which worried him. When Veso arrived at the docks he hid behind some crates. he saw two sirens; one was walking around laughing like a maniac mocking everyone that was tied up. The other one was floating a few meters in the air watching the event unfold.

“identification”. The data pad beeped. “Tester beta, purifier”.

“Look at all of you, tied up and on the floor”! purifier laughed around. “couldn’t beat us, how pathetic”!

“Purifier, we’re still waiting for you to get what Observer asked for”. Tester explained.

“fine”. Purifier answered as she pointed at someone. “Lurker, you take this one”.
Another siren jumped out of the water and moved to grab the person Purifier pointed at. Lurker grabbed the person who started yelling at the top of her lungs. After a few seconds of screaming Lurker injected a syringe into the girl which caused her to pass out. Lurker then dragged the girl out of sight.

“Now that everyone that we needed is dealt with”. Purifier said rubbing her hands together. “Anyone want to play”!

Most were silent, someone was crying. Many were scowling and ready to fight. Veso kept watching the events unfolding in front of him. He was unsure about his chances of being helpful. He moved those thoughts to the back of his head. He moved from his cover, pulled out his Plinx and fired it straight at purifier doing absolutely nothing. Everyone’s attention was now focused on Veso and the robotics he had.

“Like a knight in shining armor, coming to save the damsel in distress”. Purifier mocked. “overrated”!

Veso narrowed his eyes as the Moas got themselves into position. Purifier made the first move by summoning her rigging and charging Veso. Veso rolled out of the way as the striker Moa fired its weapon distracting her enough to allow him to get a few pot-shots off. After surviving long enough to anger Purifier, Veso made the next up the part of his rapidly developing plan. He shot his Plinx in any spot that would cause serious damage to her rigging. One lucky shot to the main part caused it to cease functioning as she fell out of the air. When Purifier tried to recover the Breacher Moa threw itself at her.

“GLORIUS DESTRUCTION”! the Breacher Moa exclaimed as blew itself up.

Purifier was caught in the explosion and was launched into the ocean. "purifiers blasting off again". purifier yelled before disappearing into the ocean. The explosion sent fragments of metal all over the place some hitting Veso. He could see tester aim her rigging at him. But just as she was about to fire a bullet hit her rigging then another, then another, then another. A multitude of bullets hit tester while seemingly coming from nowhere. After some more bullets tester realized that it would be useless to continue fighting.

“You may have won this round”. Tester stated. “But you will not win another”.

With that, tester fled through a portal, vanishing from the battlefield. Veso looked at his wounds wiping a small amount of blood off of his suit. After looking around and seeing the aftermath of the battle he lost consciousness from fatigue and injuries.

Chapter 2: Once awake

Notes:

any feedback and criticism will be useful to my work. any requests should be posted into the comments for consideration.

Veso woke up groaning, he was dehydrated and hungry. He wasn’t in his usual gear, instead he was wearing a hospital gown. He looked around and realized he was in a medical ward of sorts. The sterile smell of chemicals loomed in the air; the faint sounds of machines provided background noise. Veso could see six other patients, all in various states of injury. When he looked directly across he saw someone sitting in a bed drinking water from a glass. She had blond hair and red eyes.

“Morning”. She said putting down the glass.

“Morning”. Veso answered, his voice hoarse.

“On your left”. She explained.

Veso looked to his left and saw a glass of water. He took the glass and had a long drink.

“thanks”. Veso answered feeling better.

“You’re welcome”. She answered. “I’m Cleveland by the way”.

“Veso”. He continued. “How long have I been out”.

“Two days”. Cleveland explained. “Same as me, I’m here on account of being beaten face down into the dirt”.

Veso could tell, Cleveland had her left arm in a cast and sported a black eye. She was still smiling despite her injuries. They spent a few minutes talking about various topics such as Cleveland’s love of bonsai trees and Veso’s robotics. After they’re conversation had died down the door opened and someone walked in, she had long lavender hair, blue eyes and was holding a clipboard and medications in each hand.

“Hey vestal”. Cleveland asked. “Am I able go yet”?

“Yes, you can go Cleveland”. Vestal explained handing Cleveland a small bottle. “Please take one of these if you’re in any serious pain”.

Cleveland smiled as she steadily got up from her bed and slowly walked out of the room. After a few moments of checking notes on her clipboard Vestal walked over to Veso.

“Your awake, good”. Vestal started. “In all honesty I didn’t expect you to be awake so soon. Your injuries were quite severe, multiple burns from energy weapons, shrapnel and general fatigue among other things”.

Veso chuckled nervously realizing how many times he almost died. He heard some knocking on the door. Vestal walked over to the door and cracked it open to see who was on the other side. After a few seconds of talking Vestal opened the door letting two people in. one was wearing a white uniform adorned with a few medals, the other one had short brown hair and animalistic features similar to Kisaragi and her sisters. The only similarities between the two newcomers is that they had identical rings on their ring fingers.

“Good morning”. The man in the uniform explained. “I am Damian Flanders, acting commander of Azur Lane”.

“Um, Veso-R”. Veso gave his name. “Corpus tech, first class”.

“And I’m Mutsu, battleship of the Sakura empire”. Mutsu added eagerly. “I’m also Nagato’s little sister”.

“You love saying that don’t you”. The commander said as he ruffled Mutsu’s hair. “Anyway, Veso due to you capturing a siren and well, you not existing in any records”.

Veso contemplated what the commander was going to say. Meanwhile Mutsu was essentially bouncing around the room with Vestal giving her a snack to calm her down.

“I’m going to offer you a job”. The commander explained while giving Veso a set of documents. “We could always do with more manpower”.

Veso spent a few minutes reading the documents. Decent pay, medical leave, free accommodation, three meals a day among other things. If he were to join he would get more than the Corpus gave him. After signing the documents and handing them to the commander Veso started thinking if he had made the right choice.

“vestal”. The commander asked. “Is he ready to go”?

“he’ll be feeling a bit under the weather”. Vestal explained. “he’s good to go if he takes it slow”.

“Veso, the faction leaders would like to meet you”. The commander stated. “Mutsu is going with you, so you don’t get lost, and before I forget your stuff is in the other room”.

Veso got up from the bed he felt lethargic as he made his way to where his stuff was kept. When he reached the room he found his suit, Plinx and data pad. There was a note attached to the data pad covering a small crack on the glass. The note read. ‘Commander, I don’t know where you got this, and I don’t know how I was able to connect it to our system, but I did it, I’m unsure if I broke anything Nya’.

Veso put the note to the side as he began to put his suit on. Just as he was about to take off the hospital gown he noticed that Mutsu was watching intently making him uncomfortable.

“T-turn around please”. Veso asked embarrassingly.

“Sorry”. Mutsu said as she left the room allowing Veso to get changed.

After some time Veso left the room back in his regular uniform. Waiting on his right was Mutsu who was staring curiously at a trail of ants marching down the corridor. When she noticed Veso had changed she bounced up and down joyfully knowing what she could do now.

“Come with me Teko”. Mutsu ordered happily. “we’re visiting the Sakura empire quarter first”!

Veso cringed at the name but didn’t want to ruin Mutsu’s fun, so he simply went along with it. Mutsu would continuously run ahead by accident not realizing Veso couldn’t run due to him still recovering from his injuries. As the two walked Veso noticed how the base was still being repaired, though it had only been two days the port was mostly fixed. Soon the duo arrived at a large red gate sectioning off the Sakura empire area from the main section of the base. The buildings had very ornamental designs compared to the rest of the island. The concrete path he was walking on turned into a stone one. Mutsu spent the entire trek throughout the area explaining every last little thing about the life and culture of the empire, though her speaking was a tad bit to fast for Veso to understand. Everyone had some sort of animalistic feature. Continuing to make their way through the town the two arrived at a rather large building. It was clear that this building was of importance as it was on a small hill that slightly overlooked the rest of the area. When they arrived out the front Mutsu immediately walked up to the door.

“shouldn’t we be invited in”? Veso asked. “It seems kind of wrong to barge in”.

Mutsu started giggling like a child. “I live here, I don’t think its rude”.

Veso felt more confident about entering as he followed Mutsu, the interior was quite spacious yet sparsely furnished. As Veso walked through he swore he could see someone watching him out of the corner of his eyes. The two arrived in what seemed to be the main room, Stacks of paper were all over the room poorly organized, the smell of ink was making its way through the air. the faint sound of snoring could be heard from behind one of the paper stacks. The two went to investigate and as they rounded the corner they found a small girl sleeping deeply by a desk pen in hand. Mutsu walked over to the sleeping girl who looked like an older version of her and started trying to wake her up.

“Wake up Nagato-nee”. Mutsu said while shaking the sleeping girl to no avail. “You’ve got a Visitor”.

Nagato was still deep in her sleep, Mutsu kept trying to do what she could to wake her up. Veso on the other hand was just standing idly minding his own business. His idleness would soon be interrupted as footsteps could be heard behind him followed by the sound of one drawing a weapon.

“Identification”. Veso’s data pad beeped. “Sakura empire, Shiratsuyu class destroyer, Kawakaze”.

Veso turned around to see who most likely Kawakaze was pointing a sword at him. she had a fiery look in her eyes as she started moving towards him, Veso started walking backwards slowly as he put his hands up. After backing up for a few moments Veso’s foot got caught on a loose paper and he fell over making a loud thump as he hit the floor.

“Ahh”! Nagato yelled as she jolted awake.

Nagato looked around and saw that Mutsu was poking her face and Kawakaze was about to kill the visitor that she had arranged the previous day. She then looked at a small clock on the desk she was sleeping at, she had overslept by Twenty minutes.

“Kawakaze, that is quite enough”. Nagato explained looking embarrassed. “This man is our guest”.

Kawakaze then realizing her mistake sheathed her sword and gave Veso a small bow. “Please accept my apology”.

Veso nodded profusely which seemed to be enough for Kawakaze who then sat next to Nagato. Veso sat down across from where the others were sitting.

“I would like to thank you for saving Mutsuki and her sisters”. Nagato explained. “Many of us got quite worried about them”.

Veso nodded as Nagato continued. “Many of us would also wish to thank you for capturing that siren, though every time we try to interrogate her, Mutsuki and her sisters interfere”.

“It’s good to see that they’re okay”. Veso said.

“I would like to gift you this sake”. Nagato pulled out a small bottle and handed it to Veso. “I apologize if it isn’t a lot, it’s just um…”

Nagato’s ears drooped as she refrained from looking at everyone. Mutsu and Kawakaze faces filled with concern as they tried to comfort Nagato with whatever she was going through. Nagato honestly looked like she was about to cry. Nagato then remembered she had some more meetings coming up, so with some rushed goodbyes Veso and Mutsu were sent on their way.

The next location that Veso was being taken to was the Eagle union, from what Mutsu had told him they were very lively and loved freedom. Mutsu had also specified that there was no real leadership in the faction so instead of having a meeting they would just be looking around.

Mutsu was correct about the Eagle union being lively, everyone was either eating, playing or just talking with each other. Though there was one girl who was on the verge of crying, Veso had heard that her sister was the one taken on the day he arrived. After walking around for a bit, the duo had no clue what to do.

“Hey, Veso”! Cleveland’s familiar voice cheered. “And the secretary”.

Veso turned around and saw Cleveland and three others most likely her sisters.

“identification”. Veso’s data pad beeped. “Eagle union, Cleveland class light cruisers, Montpelier, Columbia, Denver”.

Mutsu waved and ran over to the Cleveland sisters and explained what she was doing. When Mutsu was done explaining the two were invited to join Cleveland and her sisters to do hang out. The group talked about many topics. They played a game called ‘basketball’ which was as simple as the name said, your team throws a ball into a net/basket to score points against the other team. Veso was put into a team with Cleveland and Denver, and was playing against Mutsu, Montpelier and Columbia. They played the game for an hour with Veso’s team barely winning. When they were finished Veso was sweaty and burned out.

“Not bad for your first game Veso”! Denver cheered while patting Veso on the back. “How about we get something to eat”.

Everyone agreed as they walked to the cafeteria. There was a lively buzzing of people eating and chatting. The group found a table where they shared a large ‘pizza’.

After finishing the meal Mutsu and Veso were due to meet the next faction leader, Bismarck of the Ironblood.

The Ironblood had very no-nonsense style to the architecture. There were no interruptions on their way to meet Bismarck. When the two arrived in the room they saw someone standing over a table looking at a map.

“identification”. Veso’s data pad blinked. “Ironblood, Bismarck class battleship, Bismarck”.

“Guten tag”. Bismarck welcomed in a professional tone. “you’re a few minutes early”.

“I hope that you didn’t have any trouble getting here”. Bismarck continued as she extended her hand. “As you should already know I am Bismarck, Lord of the Ironblood, and I hope to give you a warm welcome”.

Veso smiled a bit as he shook Bismarck’ hand. They had a lengthy conversation about what the Ironblood specialized in. meanwhile Mutsu was sitting on a couch eating some snacks provided by one of Bismarcks assistants. The conversation came to a close about half an hour after it started. And with that Mutsu and Veso were on their way to the final faction meeting, the Royal navy.

When the two arrived at the Royal Navy Garden there was someone waiting at the entrance.

“identification”. Veso’s data pad blinked. “Royal navy, Town class light cruiser, Belfast”.

“welcome”. Belfast greeted. “Her majesty is waiting for your arrival”.

When Mutsu heard the mention of ‘her majesty’ she froze and started sweating heavily. Both Veso and Belfast looked confused.

“M-maybe I should l-leave”. Mutsu asked.

“nonsense”. Belfast answered. “I am sure her majesty has forgiven your transgressions against her”.

Mutsu smiled nervously and followed hesitantly. As Belfast guided the two through the garden Veso noticed a lot of statues and well-trimmed bushes. In the center of the garden there was a table with two sitting at it.

“identification”. Veso’s data pad blinked. “Royal navy, Queen Elizabeth class battleship, Queen Elizabeth, Warspite”.

“Finally, he arrives”! Queen Elizabeth yelled. “Your late, and you brought the secretary ship”!

Veso was stunned that someone so small could yell so much. Mutsu was cowering behind him, and he could see Warspite sighing. Veso and Mutsu were sat down sitting across from the others while Belfast arranged drinks for everyone.

“So, this is the one who beat Purifier.” Elizabeth huffed unimpressed. “I expected more”.

“I’m sorry if I’m not what you expected”. Veso chuckled.

Queen Elizabeth huffed as she drank some tea. “And you also brought the secretary”.

“The gall she has to come here”! Elizabeth yelled as she slammed her teacup into the table. “After that child shells My house”!

Elizabeth continued to yell insults and slurs at Mutsu who began bawling her eyes out. Warspite looked slightly ashamed of this. And Belfast looked saddened. Meanwhile Veso was getting increasingly angry.

“Mutsu”. Veso ordered while grabbing her hand. “we’re leaving”.

“How dare you do this”! Elizabeth was fuming. “I will have you beheaded”!

Meanwhile Veso and Mutsu were walking off. After some time, Mutsu had calmed down, and decided to stop showing Veso around, after showing him to his room and handing him the keys. When Veso entered the room and saw his robotics leaning against the wall, there were boxes filled with various mechanical and electrical equipment sitting on a desk, opposite the desk was a bed for a singular person. In a closet was some clothing in his size, and a bathroom was filling what was left of the room. He put his data pad and Plinx on the bed. The bottle of sake was place on the desk as he worked on organizing his room. After a few hours of work Veso completed his task and had organized the room. It was dark outside, and he was feeling tired. As he was about to go to sleep someone knocked on his door. When he opened the door he was greeted by Nagato of all people. she wasn't wearing her usual clothing instead she was wearing a nightgown.

“Can I come in”? Nagato asked head down low.

“Um, sure”. Veso answered. “You can sit on the bed”.

Nagato sat on the bed. “Thanks for looking after Mutsu, she told me what had happened”.

“I thought the queen had forgiven her”? Nagato asked herself. “I seem to have been mistaken”.

“May I ask what happened”. Veso questioned.

“For some time, The Ironblood and Sakura empire were at war with The Royal navy and Eagle union”. Nagato explained. “We made peace when we realized the sirens were a bigger threat. But the Eagle union and Royal navy governments decided to punish us for starting the war”.

Veso took the bottle of sake and poured some of it into a small cup and gave it to Nagato.

“Thank you”. Nagato said. “After the war we had many restrictions placed on us. “They restricted the amount of funding we had as well as monitoring our locations”.

Nagato continued her explanation while drinking the sake. After some time one of the Moas approached Nagato. Nagato smiled as she started stroking the top chassis of it.

“May is ask something of you”? Nagato requested.

“Sure” Veso answered.

“Can I stay the night”? Nagato asked. “I want to spend some time away from Mutsu and Kawakaze”.

Veso nodded as he got Nagato a pillow. After putting Nagato to bed Veso used an empty box as a foot rest as he sat on a chair and too went to sleep.

Chapter 3: Corpus greed

Notes:

any feedback and criticism will be useful to my work. any requests should be posted into the comments for consideration.

It was early in the morning and U-47 was submerged and on patrol in the south Atlantic Ocean, it was a routine patrol that she had done many times. As usual nothing was happening, so she decided to return home. As she changed course her sonar detected a large group of ships passing by. She popped her head out of the water only to see a fleet of siren ships moving past seemingly ignoring her. U-47 contemplated destroying the fleet but instead decided to follow from a safe distance. After following the fleet for some time U-47 was starting to think that she was wasting her time, she shoved that thought aside when she saw where the fleet was going. A massive wreckage laying in a shallow part of the ocean half submerged. It could be heard buckling under its own weight clearly not meant to be on the ground. U-47 pulled out a waterproof camera that were recently given to all submarines and took some photos. After she was done with the photos she made her way back to base.

~~~~~~~~~

Veso woke up feeling refreshed, the curtains of his room were open letting in some natural light. The Moas were sitting next to the desk. He could hear the shower in the bathroom running, he turned to his bed and saw it was empty. He then realized Nagato got up before him and decided to get ready for the day ahead. After a few seconds the shower turned off and after a few more minutes Nagato stepped out of the bathroom dressed in her usual clothing. Her hair was slightly wet and unkept, but she still looked professional, nonetheless.

“Good morning”. Nagato asked. “Did you sleep well”?

“It was fine”. Veso answered. “How about you”?

“Good”. Nagato said, voice flat. “Thank you for letting me stay the night, but now I must go”.

Nagato opened the door to leave and was met face to face with Mutsu who was just about to knock on the door, behind Mutsu was Kawakaze who was looking for Nagato. Kawakaze sighed in relief as she now knew Nagato was safe but when she saw Veso behind her the relief vanished and visible anger filled her face. Mutsu’s ears flattened as Kawakaze Moved past Nagato and towards Veso. Veso was confused as to what Kawakaze was doing but quickly realized her plan as she reeled back one of her legs and kicked him in the crotch as hard as she could. Veso keeled over in agony after the attack made by Kawakaze.

“Do Not go anywhere near Lady Nagato again”! Kawakaze yelled, voice full of fury. “Now, what do you have to say for yourself”!?

Veso just groaned in pain as he lied on the floor. When Kawakaze knew that Veso wasn’t going to answer she grabbed Nagato’s arm and pulled her along. After a few seconds only Mutsu and Veso were left.

“Um, the commander wants you at the docks.” Mutsu explained quickly before shutting the door and scurrying off to deliver some more messages.

After some time, Veso got up off the floor and quickly had a shower before making his way to dock to meet with the commander. When he arrived at the docks a few ships were being loaded with fuel and ammunition. After looking around for a bit he could see the commander talking with a few people, after finishing the conversation the commander turned around to see Veso.

“Right on time Veso”. The commander ordered. “Get on board, we’re just about to leave”.

Veso boarded the ship and was greeted by eight people excluding the commander. Six of them were a mix of Royal navy and Eagle union ships. And the other two were from the iron blood. Meanwhile the commander was busy deciphering some photographs he received.

After a few minutes of waiting Nagato and Kawakaze boarded the ship. The moment Kawakaze laid her eyes on Veso her mood soured, and she began scowling at him. Nagato on the other hand smiled slightly. Since everybody who was needed for the mission were now here the group departed. After reaching deeper waters everyone convened into the ship’s bridge where the commander explained the operation as everyone gathered around a table.

“U-47 reported a siren fleet moving towards a mysterious wreckage”. The commander explained sounding serious. “Our objective is to secure it and see if it has any value to our cause”.

“Why is he here”? Kawakaze asked pointing towards Veso.

“Because I wanted to show him how we operate”. The commander answered slightly confused. “Is anything wrong with it”?

“Nothing at all”. Kawakaze answered.

“Anyway, the photos acquired by U-47 show the wreckage to be quite large”. The commander continued to explain the mission. “If you look at these Photos you should understand”.

The commander slid some photos onto the tables, many picked up the photos and examined them. When Veso saw the photos his eyes widened. He knew what this ship was and everyone around him didn’t. Kawakaze saw Veso looking like a deer in headlights and decided to speak about it.

“Is this too much for you”. Nagato asked slightly worried.

“T-that’s a Corpus P-pillar” Veso managed to stutter out.

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing to turn their attention to Veso with veiled interest. The commander began wondering what the sirens would want with a Corpus ship but let Veso continue anyway.

“it’s similar to a battleship in design”. Veso explained. “It can also carry fighter craft, industrial equipment, robotics and the like”.

“How do you know about this”? someone asked. “If you don’t mind me asking”.

“I served on one”. Veso answered feeling slightly nervous.

Everyone’s interest increased as Veso revealed this information. Some small conversations had even started up.

“Well, the mission was going to show Veso how we operate”. The commander laughed. “But I guess Veso would be the better leader on this mission”.

“Wait, you want m-me to lead”!? Veso asked shocked. “Oh profit”.

The commander ignored Veso’s comment and continued to formulate a plan for when the team reached the pillar.

“Team one will include Victorious, North Carolina, Essex, Baltimore, Jervis and Vampire. Their purpose is to secure the surrounding waters”. The commander explained. “Team two includes me, Veso, Nagato, Kawakaze, Roon and Z23. Our purpose will be securing the ships interior”.

“Not to be rude”. Victorious asked. “But why is the Ironblood and Sakura empire team going inside”?

“Because they’re better suited for melee combat”. The commander explained. “And Roon has some destructive tendencies that could be useful”.

Meanwhile, Roon who wasn’t listening to the conversation was looking out the window idly staring out into the sea. It would take some time to reach the wreckage, so in the meantime everyone began discussing the plan with each other.

~~~~~~~~~

It was early afternoon when the team reached the pillar, they saw it appear over the horizon. It was surrounded by numerous siren warships. Team one summoned their riggings and went to intercept the enemy fleet making sure to cover the second team who was steadily making their way to the pillar.

They boarded the ship through a gap in its hull. The team was half expecting to be fighting the moment they boarded but only the darkness from the corridors welcomed them. The power was out so everyone used whatever they had for light. Roon had some spotlights on her rigging that provided the majority of the light they needed to continue moving forward. The commander had a flashlight mounted on the underside of a rifle he brought, and Veso’s data pad was dim but still usable. The team continued to make their way through the ship the sounds of the battle outside being replaced with footsteps hitting steel floors and superstructure groaning under its own weight. Destroyed or non-functioning Moas littered the hallways. Many doors were inoperable due to the lack of power, but a few doors were damaged enough for the team to move through. After passing through a few of the damaged doors the commander noticed that Z23 was looking slightly uncomfortable with her surroundings.

“Something wrong Nimi”? The commander asked concerned.

“The ship reminds me of one of those horror games Ayanami plays”. Nimi answered. “Feels eerily similar to it”.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be staying up so late”. The commander suggested before turning to Veso. “Veso where are we going”?

“We need power if we’re to do anything”. Veso answered. “So, we’re going to the reactor”.

Everyone agreed as they began following Veso, the corridors continued for some time until they all entered a large room. The room was sparce with only a few small crates being present, as the team was about to move on a light shined from behind one of the crates. Kawakaze drew her sword as everyone else aimed their weapons. When the light finally revealed itself Veso realized it was simply one of the Granum propaganda drones that usually floated around most ships.

“Charity is power. More charity is more power”. The drone spoke in an elderly voice as a hologram appeared in front of it.

Everyone calmed down as the drone floated past them playing more of its prerecorded monologues. The group reached the door to the reactor only to find it closed. The team came together and tried to pry it open to no avail as it felt like it was welded shut from the inside. It was decided that the door had to be destroyed. One shot from Nimi was all it took as when the smoke cleared the door was reduced to scrap. When inside Veso approached the control consoles while everyone else stood guard. The consoles were functioning which was a relief except the security console which had a prova lodged into it, it looked like someone destroyed the console to bypass clearance requirements. Checking the other consoles, he found out that research & development had power along with the command deck. After turning on the lights and giving himself access to the power systems through his data pad Veso grabbed the prova and rejoined the group.

“Research & development has power”. Veso explained. “Someone could be building something”.

The commander was about to begin speaking but was interrupted by weapons fire coming from outside of the reactor as a group of moas began to open fire on the team. Z23 and Kawakaze were pinned down behind some cover, Roon was using her rigging as a shield as she fired at the moas. Nagato was also firing at the opposing forces. Veso and the commander quickly joined the fight to aid their allies.

“Why are we being shot at”? Z23 asked desperately. “don’t you have control of these robots”?

“Someone must have latched the grid”! Veso yelled while shooting at the rouge robotics. “I can attempt to stop it if I can get to a security station”.

“If we can get past them”! Kawakaze said. “More are coming”.

More moas entered the fight increasing the volume of fire. Veso crouched behind some cover, a small wall panel that came off during the firefight. He looked around to see what he could do; everyone was pinned down and unable to move as the moas kept approaching, but as he looked around more he saw something against one of the walls, two robotics dispensers, a breacher moa and shield drone dispenser to be precise. Veso activated the dispensers and the two robots he needed popped out. He ordered the breacher moa to get as close to the hostile moas as it could while being protected by the shield drone.

The rest of the group was confused when they saw a moa and drone move past them towards the wall of weapons fire that was their assailants. They watched as the breacher moa threw itself into the other moas and blew up sending smoke and shrapnel in every direction. When the smoke cleared the only thing left was scrap metal and electronics.

“If you don’t mind me asking”. Nagato spoke up. “Where did you get those”?

“I have access to the secure robotics dispensers”. Veso explained as he summoned another breacher moa. “We can reset the moas programming from the command deck, if we get there”.

Everyone nodded as they began to follow Veso, the dark and foreboding corridors were replaced by well-lit high-quality hallways filled with enemy moas, the command deck could only be accessed through research & development so that was the direction the group was heading now. It was difficult to get to research & development with all the moas in their way. But when the team entered research & development they found themselves in a large circular room with four support pillars forming a square shape in the center. When the team got close to the center of the room all the lights turned to a crimson red and all the doors locked. Everyone began to freak out as Roon and Z23 ran to one of the doors and began to try and force it open, mean while a hatch in the roof opened and out came a colossal four-legged robot. A Razorback.

“What the hell is that”?! The commander asked panicked.

“A Razorback”. Veso explained while backing up. “Built by Nef Anyo”.

Everyone started firing at the Razorback to no avail, the Shots simply scratched the paint off it. The Razorback counter by stomping its legs causing everything in the room to be launched around the room. After everyone got back up they ran to hide behind one of the support pillars in the room.

“Its shields are taking all the damage.” Veso explained with a whisper. “If we shot it all at once, we could get through it’s shields”.

“Worth a try”. The commander added. “Everyone aim at it’s main body”.

Everyone aimed all of their available weapons at the Razorback who was walking around the room. When the Razorback found everyone a loud “Fire” could be heard coming from one of its targets as it was suddenly engulfed in weapons fire overwhelming it.

When the smoke dissipated everyone could hear a loud thud as the Razorback collapsed. Veso walked over to it to inspect if it was destroyed, the floor around the Razorback was damaged and falling apart because of how heavy The Razorback was. Veso simply kicked the chassis of the Razorback which dislodged some of the floor plating causing him to fall through a hole in the floor.

Veso had fallen three floors down, he looked up and saw weapons fire soar overhead, he reached for his Plinx which was now bent and broken leaving him with only a Prova. Deciding to keep moving, Veso made his way through the ship, gunfire could be heard in the distance, every time footsteps could be heard Veso hid in a side room as fighting a large group of robotics with only a Prova would be a death sentence. Slowly the gunfire got louder as more destroyed moas became present. Suddenly an explosion threw Veso against a wall as moas began surrounding him. Veso groaned in pain as he looked around and saw what could be considered his demise. Another explosion hit the moas destroying them. When Veso looked around a second time he saw someone, the siren that had saved his life a few days ago.

“Identification”. Veso’s data pad beeped. “Destroyer, Scavenger”.

Veso watched as Scavenger walked over to him and extended a hand. Veso cautiously accepted it as Scavenger pulled him up and handed him a new weapon, an Exergis shotgun. Veso then got up and began walking in the direction of the gunfire. As he continued to make his way he noticed that Scavenger was following behind him while keeping some distance. After some time Veso could hear the rest of the team yelling at each other.

“Why do You trust him’?! Kawakaze could be heard yelling. “Everywhere he’s gone we’ve been attacked”!

“How was he supposed to know we would be attacked”. The commanders voice rebutted. “The robots have been shooting him as well”.

“If he Comes around that corner with a siren following him”. Kawakaze stated. “I’m going to kill him”.

When Veso finally rounded the corner he saw Nagato and Z23 sitting on a crate. Nagato looked tired, Z23 had a bandage wrapped around her right forearm. Roon had a crazed expression on her face while she was smashing the upper half of a moa against the wall while yelling “you will pay”. Meanwhile the commander was having a heated argument with Kawakaze.

“There he is”. Kawakaze said when she noticed Veso. “Got anything to say”?

“I’m not a traitor”. Veso explained.

Scavenger rounded the corner behind Veso and froze when she saw everyone. Kawakaze looked furious and drew her sword and began running towards Veso and Scavenger. When she got somewhat close she fell down face first with a dart in her backside.

“Roon”. The commander sighed while putting away a dart gun. “Could you carry Kawakaze”.

Roon threw the half-destroyed moa away and smiled as she slung Kawakaze over her shoulder. Meanwhile Scavenger who was hiding behind Veso moved out from behind him and received some suspicious looks from everyone except Veso.

“Could you tell us why a siren is with you”? Nagato asked.

“She started following me”. Veso explained. “After she saved my life”.

“I can take you to the command deck”. Scavenger offered.

Everyone was shocked at the offer but cautiously agreed and began following Scavenger and making sure she was in front of the group to keep an eye on her. The walk to the command deck was rather quiet with no moas or other robotics being present. When the team arrived at the command deck they saw large amounts of siren equipment littering the area. Some power cables were snaking along the floor leading into a side room. The team entered the out of curiosity and found what appeared to be a makeshift medical room. The smell of sterile chemicals and blood left a pungent smell in the air. There was a curtain splitting half the room in half. The commander walked over to the curtain and parted it.

The commander gasped. “Veso Get over here, I need you to look at this”.

Veso walked over to the commander who was standing over a table. The table had a small girl the same size as Z23 lying on it, she was wearing a medical gown with an oxygen mask on her face. Veso went to a nearby console and started to work on finding out what happened to the girl. She was a Eagle union destroyer that went by the name Hammann. and apparently she was part of an experiment of some kind

“It seems her whole person is being rewritten”. Veso theorized. “We can take her back to base, she’s just going to be unconscious for some time”.

The commander sighed in relief as he scooped up ‘Hammann’. The two rejoined the others who gave concerned looks at the sight of ‘Hammann’. They had Scavenger lead them to the main part of the command deck which wasn’t far from where they were. While they were walking Scavenger gave an explanation of why she was there. She was assigned to guard Observer alpha while she got anything of value from the ship.

“I didn’t predict this outcome”. Observers voice cooed over the announcement system. “Scavenger aiding the enemy, and it looks like Veso isn’t dead yet”.

“In case you’re wondering”. Observer continued. “I left the moment you destroyed the Razorback, but just so you know, you’ve all given me some wonderful data I can use for future experiments”.

Veso walked over to a console and shut off the announcement system before Observer could continue speaking. He looked out a nearby window and saw that all siren vessels were either destroyed or fleeing. Deciding to override the security controls and disable all robotics on the ship. He looked around at the team, they were tired.

Veso joined the team in leaving the ship, it was going to be a long night.

Chapter 4: The Sacrifice (part 1)

Veso had just finished dispatching a rogue Moa. he took a quick look out the window and saw the battle raging outside. After a few moments he pulled out his data pad and contacted someone.

 

“Sir! Veso here. Our robotics have gone rogue.” Veso explained. “The Sentients must have latched the grid!”

 

The voice of Alad V came from the data pad. “Someone has, yes. I’ll pull some meat crews to cover you. Just get me that command override.”

Veso stashed his data pad and continued his way through the collapsing ship, sometimes having to climb over large piles of debris that blocked his path. After a few minutes of running he came across another robotics dispenser, he quickly used his data pad to deploy another breacher Moa on the premise that he might need it. After a few seconds the Moa jumped out of its dispenser and began following Veso as he made his way across the ship. The Moa would always stick behind Veso even through battle. When ordered to access panels and go to locations Veso couldn’t reach, it would always take a few seconds to respond before doing its assigned task.

 

“How intriguing.” The Moa spoke with an artificial female voice. “I can acquire so much data just from latching onto your dreams.”

 

Veso turned to look at the breacher with a horrified look on his face. He aimed his Plinx at the Moa and readied to fire but was thwarted by a droning pain in his skull making him unable to aim properly.

 

“Who are you!?” Veso yelled in pain.

 

“You already know who I am.” The Moa responded in a mocking tone. “Corpus Tech First Class Veso-R.”

 

Then everything went black.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

The night was quiet, everyone on the base was either asleep or working late. Little did everyone know a lone figure was stood on the highest point of the base, looking. Stalking. The figure watched as some primitive vessels docked into port. The figure watched the crew deboard one of the larger ships, the crew (if you could call it that) was a variety of people wearing random assortments of clothes with no standardised Uniform. It disgusted him. The figure then watched with veiled interest as some of the team was assisting the Corpus tech with walking onto the dock. the Corpus tech was interesting to the figure. Corpus would only fight for money, This one fought for something else. the figure continued watching as one of those Siren things got off the ship. Kill It. the figure pulled out his sidearm, A Kraken handgun stolen from some Grineer during a capture mission. 

 

"You mustn't let your mind wonder While on the clock". A feminine voice emanated. 

 

The figure tried to ignore it. 

 

"I know you can hear me." the voice giggled. "Umbra." 

 

Umbra Drew his Skiajati and swung. the sound of sword piercing flesh filled the area. when he finally looked up he saw what was talking to him seemingly ignoring the weapon in her chest. It was one of the women from the base, but she felt different. her clothes were damaged and dirty. she was wearing a mask on the side of her face, she had ears like a Kavat on her head. her blood red eyes bored into his soul. but that Smile is what concerned him. That sadistic grin that was lying on her face.

 

"Impressive cut". she complimented. "but your skills need some refinement".

 

Umbra pulled his sword out and noticed no blood came out. he then noticed how she was not affected by the wing. she was not real. Umbra ran. he lost his footing as he leapt across a building almost falling into an alleyway down below. when he looked back he could see that she was not following him, just standing there with that smile.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Veso was barley remaining conscious. his head hurt and he couldn't explain why. Someone was holding his hand and guiding him off the ship. he could barley process the sound around him. he could see the commander giving orders that was barley audible.

 

"Nagato... …Him... …Room". Veso barley processed what the Commander said. "He... …rest".

 

Veso then turned to see who was helping him, Nagato's face looked back with worry as she started walking him to his room. the walk was long, lengthened by Veso almost passing out on separate occasions. Nagato opened the door to Veso's and guided him to his bed. Veso Practically fell onto the bed. He noticed that the sheets were being pulled up to protect him from the cold. 

 

"Thank you". He managed to mumble. 

 

"You're... Welcome". Nagato answered before Gently closing the door.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Umbra was running across the base making sure no to be heard by anyone. He did not know why he was running. He eventually arrived at the forest that was behind the base. Umbra slowed down and began to walk through the forest trying not to think about what he had encountered. 

 

"Howl all you want". A distant memory spoke. 

 

Umbra fell to the ground. he could feel the presence of the person he who was talking to him earlier. She felt wrong, as if she was from this world and not. Umbra wanted to kill her but something didn't let him this time. He finally decided to look around him. He was in a rocky clearing overlooking the ocean with a full moon shining brightly. There was a dead tree in the centre of the clearing standing against the wind. 

 

Finally the person spoke. "I cannot imagine what you have gone through Umbra, but there is still a long road ahead of you".

 

Umbra looked at his hands remembering what he had done. 

 

"Like you, I am not of this world". The woman continued. "But at the same time I am". 

 

"Look at him, old man". Another memory reminded him. "Look at your son". 

 

Umbra was shaking violently. The woman approached him and placed a cold hand on his shoulder. She was still wearing that grin on her face. 

 

kill

 

Umbra pushed her away and tried to leave but everywhere he looked he could only see what he had done. why. Umbra dropped his Skiajati and fell to his knees again.

 

He released a defining howl.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

the next day Kawakaze was taking a walk through the woods thinking to her self. she was angry but didn't show it. She was supposed to protect Lady Nagato But Veso was constantly in the way of that. he kept encountering Nagato in a way that seemed stalker like to Kawakaze. Nagato even slept in his room! Kawakaze kicked a rock out of frustration causing it to bounce back and hit her in the face. She stopped as her ears twitched. She was not alone. she pulled out her sword which she always had on her and prepared herself for combat. something dashed behind her leaving a shallow cut around the lumbar part of her spine. she quickly readjusted her stance to take a defensive position so she wouldn't be caught off guard. But it was too late as something grabbed her by the neck from behind and threw her a small distance. Kawakaze got up as quick as she could as she heard something running towards her. she readied her sword and closed her eyes.

 

the sound of metal clashing with metal caused Kawakaze to open her eyes. what she saw Infront of her was remaining perfectly still, it looked to be wearing armour of some kind. the only distinguishing features it had included a horn, some gold and a scarf. Kawakaze made the first move by trying to back away. after a few moments of seeing the thing not move she decided to let her guard down not realising her mistake. the moment she looked away she felt something sharp go through her. she looked down and saw blood dripping from that things sword. A moment later the sword was removed lettering fer blood flow out. Dropping her own sword, Kawakaze used her hands to stop the bleeding and ran. she ran for what felt like hours never checking to see if that Thing was following her. she made her way back to the base ignoring everyone's concerned looks. 

 

When she finally got to the commanders office she only had one question. "where's Veso"?!

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Veso was sitting on a bench eating a sandwich he had gotten from the cafeteria. the bench was overlooking the islands beach where in the distance he could see people playing in the water. it was nice out today only slightly cool and cloudy which really helped with headache Veso had developed recently. after continuing to eat for some time he could hear someone running towards him. turning around Veso saw Mutsu running full sprint at him.

 

"Commander. Office. Now"! Mutsu managed to huff out, catching her breath.

 

Veso got up as quickly as he could and began to run towards the commanders office. it was a short run as the office wasn't that far from where he was sitting. when he opened the door he was met with the commander wrapping bandages around Kawakaze's waist.

 

"You uhm, wanted to see me"? Veso asked. "sir".

 

"Actually, Kawakaze wanted to see you". the commander explained as he finished with the bandages.

 

Kawakaze was sitting on the commanders desk drinking a glass of water. she was looking shaky and had some dirt on her face. 

 

"I was attacked and I think you might know what it was". Kawakaze explained taking a drink.

 

"Could you tell us what it looked like"? the commander asked.

 

"I can't remember every detail". Kawakaze began to explain. But it was tall, had black skin if you could call it that. it also wore a scarf and on its head was a golden horn".

 

Veso's face turned white as Kawakaze gave those details. quickly he searched through his data pad and found what matched the description closest. what he found terrified him, Kawakaze was attacked by one of the most dangerous adversaries in all of Sol. And she survived! this was bad, really bad! 

 

"Umm, K-Kawakaze". Veso said. "you got attacked by Excalibur Umbra, He is One of the most dangerous beings the Corpus ever encountered".

 

everyone remained silent. quiet enough that you could hear the waves outside. no one spoke for five minutes until Kawakaze placed her glass onto the desk.

 

"Let me guess". Kawakaze asked. "he's going to finish the job".

 

Veso nodded hesitantly.

 

"Mutsu and I are going to the mainland for a meeting with high command". The commander explained. "You should come with us Kawakaze, it should be safer".

 

Everyone murmured in agreement.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Umbra was back on the base watching the docks. The sun was finally setting. He watched as that girl he attacked was boarding a ship with two others. the base's commander and someone else. perhaps they were running from him. kill it.

 

He summoned a K-drive and got ready to follow them.

 

 

Notes:

thank you for reading. any feedback and suggestions are kindly appreciated.

Chapter 5: The Sacrifice (part 2)

Notes:

any feedback and criticism will be useful to my work. any requests should be posted into the comments for consideration.

Veso watched as the ship housing Mutsu, Kawakaze and the commander departed. He pulled out his data pad and received a notification for a message from the commander.

 

"I apologize for not asking this before we left. I've organized people to recover equipment from the wreckage of the Pillar, If you can I would like you to sort through the equipment. If you need assistance, the Siren we captured has volunteered to help for an unknown reason. -Flanders"

 

Veso wasn't surprised. The siren that had saved his life on two separate was willing to help him again. But it was help never the less. He made his way to where the siren was being kept. It was a short walk but took longer than necessary due to being side-tracked multiple times. The holding area was behind the main part of the base and fairly small compared to other building. Veso took a deep breath as he opened the door.

~~~~~~~~~

 

Umbra was keeping his distance from the ship as he followed it. He enjoyed the journey, the K-drive beneath him and the water that surrounded really helped him think. Why was he doing this? Was he really going to attack someone who was just walking through the woods? When he attempted to turn around he was met with a searing pain that felt like something was stabbing needles into his mind. The pain ended the moments Umbra turned back to follow. Deciding to investigate the pain later, Umbra continued to follow the ship.

 

after a few hours the day turned to night and Umbra could see lights on the horizon. It looked like the group he was pursuing was heading to a naval base. Veering his board away, Umbra found a spot where he could enter unnoticed. After making land fall he stowed away his K-drive and began to sneak around. There was soft chatter of the base workers around him as he hid in alleyways between buildings. when Umbra got away from the main area of the base he was left to his own thoughts and a strange whirring coming from the back of his head. Umbra began feeling the back of his head. Quickly finding a reflective surface Umbra used his Skiajati to see what was on him. A small object was attached to the back of his head. he attempted to pull it of but that searing pain returned. finding a glass bottle someone had left, Umbra smashed it and picked up a small shard. Umbra was shaking slightly as he thought about what he was going to do. 

 

reaching behind his head and began using the glass shard to carve around the device. He could feel the warm liquid of his tainted blood pooling onto his hand. The pain was absolutely unbearable, the device was doing everything it could to stop. after a few agonizing moments Umbra felt a clarity he never felt before as the pain ceased as if it had never existed. dropping the shard he grabbed the device which had some of his infested flesh still attached to it. the device was smooth with a well finished shell, but what really caught Umbra's attention was the symbol that was etched into it. Narmer. 

 

Umbra began to remember what had happened to him. The Pain. The Agony. The operator. It enraged him. He fell to his knees as he howled with enough power to generate electricity and blow out nearby light sources.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Veso entered the "prison" and was met with the soft glow of the buildings lights. the walls were painted in a calming blue and there were plenty of windows to let natural light in. Veso had never been to a prison before but he was surprised at how nice it looked. eventually he found the only two rooms which were occupied. there were name tags next to the bulletproof glass doors that led to the rooms. Tracker, Scavenger. Veso looked into Trackers room remembering what he had done to her. she was asleep and covered in the remanets of what happened on the day Veso arrived. he then found a note next to the door: do not let the Mutsuki class interact with her, it makes her go into a state of extreme stress. Veso laughed to himself a bit as he read that. quickly moving on Veso went to the door that Scavenger was behind. when he looked through the glass door he saw Scavenger sitting on her bed staring out the window. after unlocking the door Scavenger turned her head towards Veso.

 

"You, uh wanted to help"? Veso asked. "With the item sorting I mean"!

 

Scavenger nodded as she got up from the bed and began following Veso.

 

"to the docks I guess". Veso stated as he scratched his neck.

 

Scavenger nodded as she continued to follow Veso. the trip to the dock was short and relatively uneventful, the two occasionally got strange look from those who they passed by. the duo got to the docks just in time to see the cargo ship depart after dropping of containers filled with equipment recovered from the wreckage of the Pillar. Veso opened one of the containers and witnessed various pieces of machinery, equipment and useless garbage fell out onto the dock. Veso grumbled a bit as he realized a lot more work would be required. quickly organising a basic plan, Veso and Scavenger began organizing the containers into various piles of weapons, machinery, materials and scrap. the two worked tirelessly for the first half hour before deciding to take a small break. by this point the scrap pile was by far the largest. the materials pile was also a respective size dwarfing the machinery and weapons. 

 

"stay here please". Veso asked as he turned to Scavenger.

 

Scavenger simply nodded as she watched Veso depart. when she knew she was alone Scavenger turned her attention to the piles of items, it seemed like the people who collected the items simply grabbed whatever they could. She didn't understand it, Why would humans be so careless with items that could propel themselves into the future and guarantee their survival. Humans confused her. Shaking her head slightly, Scavenger waited patiently for Veso return from wherever he went. after five minutes of waiting Scavenger saw Veso return holding two cups.

 

"I, um thought you might want something to drink". Veso handed Scavenger one of the cups.

 

Scavenger gave Veso a suspicious look as she accepted the cup. it had a strange smell, pleasant but strange. taking a sip Scavengers eyes widened a bit as she tasted it. it was great! drinking a bit more as she watched Veso place his cup on a nearby bench and continue with the sorting. Scavenger Watched with Veiled Interest as Veso counted Items with extreme focus. on a few occasions people would pass by, interested in what Veso was doing, though they would leave when they noticed Scavenger. A small amount of passer-by's would actually help Veso and Scavenger lift heavier Items that required the help of more people. After three hours all the sorting was done and everything was transferred into on-site  storage for later examination.

 

"That went well". Veso said as he wiped the sweat from his brow. 

 

Scavenger simply nodded in agreement. 

 

"Do you want to... …talk about something"? Veso asked, trying to start up a conversation.

 

Scavenger shrugged.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Umbra was pacing back and forth, Thinking. He had attacked someone from the Azur lane faction, who would most likely try to kill him for it. And he had gone to one of their bases. On the other hand there was the Siren faction. but from experience and listening in on others conversations he could tell that they wouldn't work with him. 

 

"Hard choice"? The women that had been talking to umbra had returned. "I can tell you something that will help alleviate your worry's".

 

Umbra grasped the hilt of his Skiajati defensively. What was she going to say?

 

"There will be a battle later". The woman explained while looking to the sky. "A battle where you will be able to prove who you are".

 

Umbra was confused. Who was this person and why does she say that there is a fight near. 

 

"My name is Yamashiro". She answered. "But not the one of this world".

 

Umbra had remembered hearing someone get called Yamashiro. An upbeat and determined yet clumsy woman who bore a striking resemblance to the one inform of him. But this one looked matured, experienced. Tired.  

 

"I know what your thinking". 'Yamashiro' stated. "You've already met the original". 

 

Umbra's thoughts were interrupted as gunfire erupted in the distance. Drawing his Skiajati, He dashed out of the alleyway and witnessed aircraft fly over.  He looked down the street and saw a man running down the street, retreating from something further down the street. Umbra watched as three shots hit the man, A soldier. the soldier fell. blood staining his uniform as he grabbed his rifle and began firing down the street, It wasn't long until the rifle stopped firing. Umbra looked down the street and saw what had attacked, A Corpus Moa. The Moa was shaking violently, shooting at anything that moves. It wasn't behaving normally. Umbra took a closer look and noticed that it had a black paintjob with red highlights. This Moa was not in control. Umbra walked into the street and confronted the Moa. The Moa noticed Umbra and began firing it's weapon. Umbra drew his blade and blocked the shots. The moa began running at Umbra and prepared to kick him. just before the Moa's foot made contact, Umbra grabbed the leg and ripped it off before throwing it at the Moa, knocking it over. The Moa started spinning around on the floor with its remaining leg Before Umbra stomped on its chassis, destroying it. 

 

Umbra ran over to the soldier who was laying on the ground, Dead. Umbra couldn't save him. Umbra noticed a piece of paper in the soldiers hand. Taking it, Umbra unfolded the paper revealing it to be a photo of the soldier, And his children. Umbra returned the photo and ripped of a piece of the soldiers shirt and placed it over his face before speaking a silent prayer. Umbra found a radio on the body and picked it up and began listening in.

 

"What the hell are these things"?

"More siren warships inbound". 

Kawakaze and Mutsu are defending the main offices, Rendezvous there".

 

Umbra discarded the radio, knowing where he was going. Umbra found the soldiers rifle and took it along with some ammunition. he stood up and stowed the rifle on his back and gripped the hilt of his Skiajati. hearing 'Yamashiro' walking up to him, Umbra turned around and nodded.

 

'Yamashiro' nodded back. "This is what you are".

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Umbra was running through the streets destroying any Robot in his way. He knew where he was going. The main offices. If that's where the bases personnel were going, the Sirens would as well. Bullet jumping over walls to sliding under fences, Nothing would stop Umbra as he went to save lives. Eventually he got to the main offices where a small amount of soldiers supported by Kawakaze and Mutsu defending the building from the attacking robots. running towards the robots from the side, Umbra activated his exalted blade and dashed through the Moas slashing all of them into pieces. When done Umbra stood alone amongst the wrecked robots. looking towards the defenders, Umbra watched as Kawakaze and a few soldiers aimed their weapons at him. He shook his head slowly causing everyone except Kawakaze to stop aiming at him. 

 

"Who is this guy"? someone asked.

"I don't care, He killed the robots". another added. 

 

Umbra walked past the defenders nonchalantly, Examining the equipment the defenders possessed; basic anti armour weapons, explosives and an emplaced anti air weapon. this was not enough. turning around Umbra saw Kawakaze's sword was aimed directly at his chest.

 

"Kawakaze, Don't kill him". Mutsu asked. "He helped us". 

 

"He Tried to kill me"! Kawakaze yelled. "He's dangerous".

 

Many of the soldiers began attempting to reason with Kawakaze, telling her not to kill Umbra. Kawakaze maintained her stance, preparing to strike. Umbra lowered himself onto his knees making himself Shorter than Kawakaze and much more vulnerable. drawing his Skiajati he held it out so Kawakaze could take it. This caused Kawakaze to react with Confusing, Anger and frustration. all this happened while people were telling her to spare Umbra.

 

"Fine"! Kawakaze yelled as she holstered her sword and walked away to join Mutsu who was playing with a butterfly. 

 

Umbra looked to the sky as tracer bullets made lines in the night. but something was off a light was getting brighter and closer instead of burning out unlike the tracers that filled the night. Umbra quickly stood up and readied his Skiajati. It was a siren.

 

"Why aren't you dead yet"!? Yelled the siren as she flew into the area and started firing her weapons randomly. 

 

Umbra bullet jumped out of the way. holding on to a street light he watched as the soldiers who were still alive began running around in fear. they all screamed a singular name. Purifier.

 

Umbra let go of the light, landing quietly on the ground. the place was destroyed. buildings were on fire, bodies littered the ground, Mutsu and Kawakaze were unconscious leaving only Umbra left to fight. Pulling out his Kraken, he fires at purifier who didn't even flinch as she turned around and laughed maniacally.

 

"Who's this loser"? Purifier laughed as she aimed her weapons at Umbra. "Doesn't matter, You going to die anyway".

 

Umbra backflipped away as Purifier fired lasers at him. after landing on his feet, Umbra used his Skiajati to blocked the lasers. the lasers were powerful enough that Umbra was being forced back slightly. Purifier put more power into the lasers until Umbra lost his footing causing him to loose his stance and get shot in the face by one of the lasers and launched into a wall. Umbra could hear Purifiers sick laughter as she began firing Lasers into the main Offices. Umbra got up one one knee noticing that the impact had damaged his body revealing his real skin to the cold air. pulling out the rifle, He began unloading into purifier. Purifier turned looked at Umbra with a mix of shock and anger at the fact he was still alive.

 

Umbra dodged every laser as he closed the distance between him and Purifier, Running along walls, bullet jumping, sliding. when close enough he jumped onto one of the smaller parts of her rigging and stabbed it with his Parazon, disabling it. Quickly, Umbra grabbed it and threw it at the other causing both to explode. Purifier only had the main part of her rigging left, the shark. 

 

Purifier, Realising the danger of not having her weapons attempted to fly off but was stopped when Umbra used the tether on the Parazon to keep her from fleeing. after some effort, Umbra yanked the last piece of rigging from Purifier and slammed it into the ground, Destroying it.

 

Purifier looked around In fear as she attempted to run away. she didn't get far before Umbra grabbed her and slammed her into the ground. eventually, She rolled over and found her self staring face to 'face'. Purifier looked in horror at Umbra's face. Broken revealing burnt, scarred skin and one pale, dead eye. Umbra planted a foot on Purifiers stomach, pinning her to the ground. realising there was no escape, Purifier gave up and accepted what was happening.

 

"So, Are you taking me to jail now"? Purifier asked with an innocent smile on her face.

 

Umbra put more weight into his foot. causing a small groan to come from Purifier.

 

"I guess that's a no". Purifier said.

 

Umbra watched as Kawakaze and Mutsu woke up and saw their surroundings. Purifiers mangled rigging, dead bodies and Umbra standing over Purifier. they both walked over and watched in amazement as someone actually took down Purifier. after a few minutes the commander entered the area with a few more soldiers. 

 

"What happened"? The commander asked, out of breath. 

 

"I think Umbra saved us". Kawakaze answered, gesturing towards Umbra.

 

The commander saw Umbra and who was underneath him, taking a few moments to check on every one he turned back to Umbra.

 

"Are you on our side"?

 

Umbra nodded. 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 6: Cytherean

Notes:

any feedback and criticism will be useful to my work. any requests should be posted into the comments for consideration.

"thank you for your patronage Nya". Akashi said as Ark Royal left the store with her brand new camera.

 

Akashi was having a good day. the store had only been open for two hours today and she has already made decent money. taking a sip of water from her glass, She watched as Mikasa entered the shop carrying a box over filled with various electronic items.

 

"Good morning Akashi". Mikasa announced. "Veso asked me to give you these as a way of thanking you".

 

"Oh, Wow". Akashi answered excitedly. "What's in it Nya"?

 

"He said something about a Dome-e-stick drone"? Mikasa tried to explain. "It was all a bit hard to understand what he was talking about".

 

Mikasa placed the box down on the counter and said her farewells before departing, leaving Akashi with the box. Akashi started to pull items out of the box. Various electronics, A small robot that had some dents in a few spots. and a data pad. Placing the pad to the side, Akashi Examined the robot and found a small note stuck to the side of it.

 

"Thanks for all of your help so far. I wanted to gift you this Domestik drone to help with cleaning. I also added a data pad I found"  

 

Akashi removed the note and activated the robot. Quickly the robot came to life and started moving around the store, cleaning up every speck of dirt it could find. turning back to the data pad, Akashi went about collecting the items she used to 'hack' Veso's one. A car battery and some jumper cables. Quickly gathering what she needed, she attached the jumper cables and battery and powered up the data pad. the data pad began taking power from the battery and overloaded the systems Allowing Akashi to remove the security functions present. after gaining access, Akashi removed the cables and inserted a makeshift adapter which allowed her to change the language to one she could understand. Examining the now usable data pad, Akashi found several files. deciding to take a look, she opened one.

 

"KANSEN show an average compatibility rate of 77% with modified Corpus technologies. Eagle Union Destroyer designation 'DD-412' shows unnaturally high compatibility of 94%"

 

Akashi Gulped as she pulled up another file.

 

"subject successfully adapted to surgeries in Spine and heart but showed partial success in surgeries in the frontal lobe"

 

Akashi went over to her logbook and searched for DD-412, quickly discovering that she was an eagle union girl who was named Hammann. remembering that Hammann was brought back from the raid on the Corpus pillar and was currently in a coma, Akashi Grabbed the data pad and ran to the medical bay. 

 

banging on the door to the medical bay, Akashi yelled as loud as she could. "Vestal, I have Something Important Nya"!

 

Vestal opened the door with a tired look on her face. "You better not be trying to sell me subpar medical equipment again because I don't have the time for it, I have a patient who is in a coma".

 

Akashi shook her head and showed the data pad to vestal. "Read it".

 

Vestals eyes widened as she examined the data pad. Grabbing Akashi by the arm, she pulled her into the medical bay. "I'm going to need your help".

 

Akashi nodded as she began readying equipment.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Umbra was leaning against a wall watching Kawakaze practice with her sword on the aft of a ship. Mutsu and the Commander were currently on the other end keeping an eye on Purifier. It was decided that Umbra and Purifier would return to Azur lane. Purifier was dangerous and needed to have an eye kept on her. and no one trusted Umbra. 

 

Umbra decided to approach Kawakaze to examine her fighting technique. the training dummy that Kawakaze was using showed minimal damage.

 

"Do you need something"? Kawakaze asked with displeasure when Umbra got closer.

 

Umbra Pulled out his Skiajati and used it to nudge Kawakaze's legs into a better stance eliciting a sound of genuine surprise from her. He then adjusted her posture. moving next to Kawakaze, Umbra copied her stance and readied his blade.

 

 "Are you... trying to train me"? Kawakaze asked with thinly veiled curiosity.

 

Umbra nodded before gesturing Kawakaze to copy his moves. Kawakaze copied the move as best as she could even when she had difficulties. though Umbra could not speak, he would try and point out any areas Kawakaze needed help in. after a solid ten minutes of practice, Kawakaze was perfectly following Umbra's sword style. by the end, Kawakaze was exhausted and decided to sit down. 

 

"Thank... you"? Kawakaze said, trying to keep a blank expression.

 

Umbra sheathed his weapon and held it out for Kawakaze to grab it. Hopefully it would make her trust him more. Kawakaze Eyed the weapon before slowly reaching out to grab it. she took the weapon out of Umbra's hands and felt its heavy weight in her own. she unsheathed the Skiajati and examined it carefully, paying close attention to the craftsmanship.

 

"What is it made of"? Kawakaze asked.

 

Umbra Gestured to his own body.

 

Kawakaze Sheathed the sword, gave it back and ran away.

 

Umbra felt defeated. all he had wanted to do was be seen as trustworthy. he wanted to be forgiven for what he had done. but he was so different from everyone else that no one wanted to be close to him. going over to the railing and starring out to sea, he watched as the waves went by, appearing and disappearing. 

 

"You tried". The commander said, approaching Umbra. "You'll get through to her eventually".

 

Umbra turned his head and looked at the commander.

 

"here's a hint". The commander explained. "Kawakaze likes fishing".

 

Fishing. Umbra could do that. 

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Veso was sitting under a shade sail on one of the roofs overlooking the docks. He was playing a Board game he bought with Scavenger. Veso was hoping that the board game would help Scavenger become less reserved, though he wouldn't mind if Scavenger wasn't. placing down his final piece, Veso sighed in relief.

 

"Finally". Veso said. "I won".

 

"It took you seven attempts". Scavenger pointed out, smiling slightly.

 

Veso Laughed. while he had lost seven times, his true Victory was making Scavenger talk more. Deciding that they'd had enough. the two packed up the boardgame and ate some lunch. It was a warm day and they were enjoying the weather. in the distance they could see a ship coming over the horizon. Veso Read an announcement that the Commander was coming back early with two other passengers. Quickly dusting his suit off, He Grabbed his data pad which was playing some music and signalled for Scavenger to follow. by the time they had gotten to the docks, a small crowd had formed and was waiting. eventually the Commander got of the ship followed by Mutsu and Kawakaze. Next was Purifier, The Siren Veso had launched into the ocean. she looked pretty beat up and had her arms tied behind her back.

 

The last Person who exited the ship shocked Veso. It was Umbra. Gently nudging Scavenger to get behind him, Veso kept an eye on the Warframe. He watched as Umbra simply ignored and walked past him. it seemed Umbra had more interest in Purifier. Veso watched As Vestal ran up and started speaking with the commander. the Commander listened for some time until he said some orders. Umbra, Mutsu and Purifier went off in the direction of the prison while Kawakaze walked off in the direction of the dorms. The commander then signalled for Veso to come closer.

 

"You need me sir"? Veso asked as he approached.

 

"What can you tell us about us about Corpus engines"? The commander asked with a serious expression.

 

"I can transfer any Data you need to your computer if needed". Veso explained. 

 

"give it to vestal". The commander ordered.

 

Veso nodded as he turned to Vestal who began asking for various pieces of information about Corpus ships. Veso quickly transferred the data to Vestal's computer in the medical bay. rushing her thanks, Vestal quickly ran off towards the medical bay leaving Veso extremely confused.

 

"what was that about"? Veso asked.

 

"I'll tell you later". The commander answered before leaving in the same direction of Vestal.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

"Can you let me out of these cuffs"? Purifier asked as she walked ahead of Umbra and Mutsu.

 

"Nope"! Mutsu Giggled.

 

"I wasn't asking you". Purifier huffed. "I was asking big guy".

 

Umbra remained silent as he kept moving Purifier to the prison. for the entire walk Purifier gave pleading eyes to Umbra. Umbra remained steadfast as he locked the siren in a cell. Exiting the prison Mutsu cheered.

 

"Thanks for the help"! Mutsu said as she smiled at Umbra.

 

Umbra felt slightly unnerved at the cheeriness of the young girl. He ruffled her hair before departing for a location the commander had told him about. walking along the beach, Umbra was following along a set of foot prints that went off into a rocky outcrop further along the sand. turning around a corner he found his target. Kawakaze, who was holding a fishing rod. her hair was blowing gently in the breeze as she casted her line out. Kawakaze's ears twitched as she heard Umbra coming.

 

"You... again"? Kawakaze said.

 

Umbra summoned a fishing spear and set himself up a few meters from Kawakaze and began fishing. a few minutes later, Kawakaze reeled in her line and pulled a small fish from the water. Umbra threw his spear and pulled out a smaller fish. Kawakaze smiled to herself at the sight. she offered a bucket for storage to Umbra who gently tossed the fish into the bucket. casting her line again, Kawakaze felt her hook catch something large. attempting to reel it in, she was met with resistance and was slowly being pulled towards the water. just as she was about to be pulled into the water, Umbra grabbed her and pulled her back. noticing how the line was moving in the water, Umbra signalled to Kawakaze that it wasn't a fish she had caught, but a person.

 

Kawakaze thought for a moment before realizing who it could be. "Albacore! Stop doing this"!

 

A small blonde girl popped her head out of the water and started laughing maniacally. "But its so funny! look at your face"!

 

Umbra started pulling on the line that Albacore was holding and dragged her to shore. Umbra then grabbed Albacore by the wrist and brought her over to Kawakaze. 

 

"I am sick of this"! Kawakaze growled. "And I know you won't stop".

 

"that's right. you'll never stop me". Albacore announced with pride.

 

Umbra pointed at the bucket of fish. If he could smile he would. Kawakaze immediately realized what Umbra was planning and smiled.

 

"Have you eaten today, Albacore"? Kawakaze asked as she pulled a fish out of the bucket.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Veso was sitting down with Scavenger. they were watching a game of basketball between Cleveland and her sisters against some Iron blood destroyers. suddenly the two heard the screams of a young girl.

 

"She put a raw fish in my mouth"! the girl screamed as she ran past.

 

"I guess she got what she deserved". Nagato said as she rounded a corner and approached Veso.

 

"Oh, um, Hello Nagato". Veso said as he pulled out a chair. "Come sit with us".

 

"Thank you". Nagato answered as she sat down next to Veso and Scavenger. "I hope our new friend hasn't been to difficult for you"?

 

"Scavenger has been good". Veso explained. 

 

Scavenger simply watched the game going on, choosing to ignore the two.

 

"And I hope Veso has been kind to her". Nagato added. 

 

Before long, the game had ended with Cleveland's team winning. the three decided to relax in the sun some more. Veso's Data pad beeped suddenly. Picking it up, He read a new message. The Commander wanted him at the medical bay right now. Quickly getting up and walking to the medical bay he noticed that Scavenger and Nagato were following him. as he arrived at the medical bay, Veso could see Vestal and a small girl with green hair sitting down, exhausted. The Commander was standing by a door.

 

"Ah, your here". The commander said with a strange look on his face. "Someone wants to see you. Just go through the door".

 

Veso gave an awkward smile as he opened the door. the room was empty except for a medical bed and a girl. Veso recognised the girl as the one found during the raid on the Pillar. but she looked different.

 

Her body was covered in old and new surgical scars, one just below her right eye. one of her animal ears was missing. her white hair showed signs of being cut. her left eye was blue and her right, orange. she was wearing a modified version of a Corpus Crewman's uniform. she had the boots and gloves. on her torso was a shirt akin to the standard top half on the uniform. she wore a short skirt that had a uniquely Corpus design. she also had a small jacket that was covered In Corpus iconography. 

 

Veso felt odd but smiled.

 

"Greetings, Corpus tech first class Veso-R". The girl said in a calm, robotic voice. "I am Corpus Pillar, designation: Cytherean".

 

 

Chapter 7: Rising Tide

Notes:

any feedback and criticism will be useful to my work. any requests should be posted into the comments for consideration.

I hope this is what OniTenshi500 meant with Cytherean/Hammann.

"Um, Hello Cytherean". Veso answered nervously. "Are, you on our side"?

 

"Pillar Cytherean must obey Highest ranking Corpus personnel". Cytherean replied in her robotic voice. "long range scans show only one Corpus personnel is in the system".

 

"Me". Veso sighed. "So I control you"?

 

"Affirmative". Cytherean said. "Awaiting your orders sir".

 

Veso walked out of the room and began panicking . He could order robotics around. but a sentient being was too much. He slumped against the wall and almost began crying. he watched as Nagato and Scavenger both walked over to him with concerned looks on their faces.

 

"Are you okay"? Nagato asked, her ears drooping.

 

"She'll only listen to my orders". Veso explained, grabbing his head. "I have only ordered robots before. I can't do this".

 

Nagato, Akashi and Vestal all looked towards the commander. The commander simply smiled. 

 

"Start simple. She can't stay in the medical bay forever". The commander said, tossing a pair of keys to Veso. "Order her to get a room and get comfortable here. You can do that".

 

Veso with shaking hands nodded to the commander before entering the medical bay again. Cytherean was still standing there, sporting a slightly confused look.

 

"U-um Cytherean"! Veso ordered nervously, handing over the keys. "Your o-orders are to go to your room and g-get comfortable".

 

"Orders received". Cytherean replied, taking the keys. "Locate quarters and familiarize self with layout".

 

Veso watched as Cytherean walked out of the room and out of sight. Veso exhaled deeply. he heard knocking from the door, turning around he saw the Commander giving a thumbs up. Veso gave a shaky thumbs up back. 

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

The commander left the doorway So Veso could have some quiet. looking down the Corridor, he could see Cytherean walking slowly, attempting to find the dorms.

 

Turning to Nagato, the Commander gave some orders to Nagato. "We got some strange readings from a radar station up north, Assemble a team and investigate. Bring Scavenger with you".

 

Nagato nodded before walking down the hall. Scavenger followed behind.

 

The Commander went back to the doorway and saw that Veso was sitting on one of the beds.

 

"Hey Veso, We got some more of your tech". The commander spoke. "How about the two of us go take a look at it"?

 

Veso nodded as he got up and began following the Commander. the walk was fairly quiet, everyone focusing on other things. what Veso saw at the docks got his attention easily. a broken down Condor Dropship. Getting excited, Veso walked over to the ship and began inspecting it. It was in repairable condition! 

 

"I see something got you excited". The commander boasted. "So... what is this"?

 

"Condor dropship". Veso explained. "capable transport vehicle. armed with two Sentra Turrets".

 

"sounds Useful". The commander said. "Can you fix it"?

 

"It would take time". Veso answered as he examined further. "With some help I could".

 

The commander smiled as he began to assist Veso in in the repairs of the transport.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Hammann woke up Tired. It felt like she hadn't been sleeping for days. she was also in slight pain. as she sat up, she examined her clothes. they had a spacey theme with interesting patterns. and her body. Hammann almost threw up when she saw the scars. running to the bathroom, she examined her face. there was more scars on her face. her eyes were still the same blue she remembered. and one of her ears were missing. in the mirror she could see some one standing behind her. turning around, Hammann saw Herself? the other Hammann's only differentiating feature were orange eyes.

 

"Greeting Hammann". The other Hammann said. "I am Corpus Pillar Designation Cytherean".

 

"Why do you have My Body"? Hammann asked.

 

"I am the results of Combining Corpus technology with KANSEN technology". Cytherean explained. 

 

Hammann approached Cytherean and tried to touch her, only for her hand to go through her body. 

 

"Are you a ghost"? Hammann asked jumping back.

 

"Negative. I am simply using a holographic projection". Cytherean explained. "Studies show that a physical form can provide comfort when Talking with a disembodied-"

 

"Enough". Hamman interrupted. "Where are you Right now"?

 

"my conscious is shared with yours". Cytherean answered. 

 

"So your in my head". Hammann mumbled before shaking her head. "Stop using my body creep"!

 

Cytherean's body disappeared, shortly being replaced by a floating orange cube. 

 

"Is this a preferable alternative"? Cube Cytherean asked.

 

"Anything is better than using my body". Hammann huffed.

 

Changing her posture, Hammann asked. "What's a Corpus"?

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

When Umbra had wanted to help out at the base. he did not expect to be gardening with a bunch of young girls. but he was enjoying it.

 

"M-mister Umbra". Kisaragi Stuttered out, clearly afraid of Umbra. "C-can you refill my watering can"?

 

Umbra noticed that Kisaragi was holding out a watering can. Umbra took the can and Refilled it at a nearby tap. when he was done, he gave the can back to Kisaragi. 

 

"Enjoying yourself"? Kawakaze asked as she entered the garden.

 

Umbra nodded as he crouched down and pulled out a few weeds. he enjoyed the simple pleasures of working with plants. He even began thinking about starting a farm when he got back to the origin system.  

 

"Albacore is very angry at us". Kawakaze explained. "She says she's going to get revenge".

 

Umbra noted the statement. and prepared himself for whatever Albacore was planning.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Veso had just rewired the control systems of the Condor. the ship was still a long way from being operable. The commander had helped as much as he was able to even though he didn't understand how Corpus technology worked. 

 

"Want to take a break"? The Commander asked. 

 

Veso nodded in agreement. "Sure".

 

Veso put down his tools and wiped his brow. breathing in, he could hear the Commanders phone ring. Veso watched as the Commander quickly glanced at his phone before putting it back in his pocket.

 

"Cytherean texted. Don't know how she got my number". The commander said with a confused look. "She requested to speak with both of us".

 

Veso stretched his legs and followed the commander. Cytherean's room was in the same hallway Veso's was. as the two approached the room, they could here Cytherean arguing with someone. 

 

Upon opening the door, Veso and the commander were met with a shocking scene. two Cythereans.

 

"Um, what"? the Commander said with visible confusion. 

 

"Commander"! the Cytherean with blue eyes yelled. "Tell this creep to stop using my face"!

 

"Hammann"?! The Commander yelled back, still confused.

 

"Who else could it be"? Hammann yelled as she pointed at Veso. "And who are you"?

 

"Corpus Tech First class Veso-R". Cytherean explained.

 

"I didn't ask you"! Hammann yelled as she lunged at Cytherean, simply going the her and colliding with a dresser. "Ow". 

 

"If you continue to harm our chassis I will take control over it". Cytherean explained. 

 

"Fine"! Hammann yelled. "Just stop using my body".

 

Cytherean turned into an orange cube and began floating near Hammann. 

 

"So uh. Do you two share a body"? Veso asked.

 

"affirmative". answered Cytherean.

"No". answered Hammann.

 

"Why don't we eat some lunch together"? The commander offered as he put a hand on Veso's shoulder, attempting to defuse the situation.

 

Hammann huffed as she walked past the others into that hallway. "No, I'm going to do my own thing".

 

"She could hurt herself". the commander whispered to Veso. "we need to do something".

 

Remembering what had been said earlier Veso ordered. "Cytherean. retake control of your body".

 

The Cytherean hologram vanished as Hammann stopped moving. A new hologram with blue eyes appeared shortly after.

 

"What did you do"!? the Hammann hologram demanded to know.

 

"I took control of our chassis as ordered". Cytherean explained as she straightened her shoulders.

 

"Give my body back"! Hologram Hammann yelled as she tried to attack Cytherean.

 

"Cytherean. you are joining us for lunch". Veso ordered, feeling confident.

 

"Understood. preparing to join superiors for mealtime". Cytherean responded instantly. 

 

Cytherean began following Veso and the Commander. Hammann had to follow as the hologram of her would disappear if it was more than five meters away from the body. there was a short walk to a shaded seating area where the 'four' could eat. the table did have a fourth chair so Hammann could 'sit down'. soon they got their food.

 

"So Hammann". The commander asked, pointing towards Hammann's hologram. "What do you remember"?

 

"the last thing I remember before today is being dragged off by a siren". Hammann explained.

 

"Then you waked up a few hours ago". The commander sighed. "We'll have to explain what happened while you were gone".

 

Cytherean was eating a sandwich while listening to the others talk.

 

"Anyway, Hammann. We need you to cooperate with Cytherean." the Commander explained. "But Cytherean will only listen to Veso since he is the only member of the Corpus here. will you listen to Veso"?

 

"No"! Hammann yelled. "I don't trust him."

 

Veso cleared his throat and spoke. "Is she always like this"?

 

Hammann was clearly insulted by this. "S-Shut up"!

 

"Sorry. I haven't met you before. these are my first impressions of you". Veso responded as quickly as he could.

 

Hammann's hologram blushed as she looked away. "humph! I suppose I can forgive you". 

 

"Hammann does forgive you." Cytherean interjected, looking to Veso. "She also desires to form a functional friendship with you".

 

"S-She's Lying"! Hammann yelled. "I don't want to be friends with this Idiot!"

 

The Commander laughed. "So, you can see each others thoughts".

 

"yes". Hammann stated.

"Affirmative". Cytherean stated.

 

"Anyway. The Iron Blood leaders have requested us and our Siren prisoners for some purpose". The commander stated. "Nagato's group is going to meet us there".

 

he then leaned over to Veso. "Tell Cytherean she is coming with us. And Umbra is coming with us".

 

Veso was okay with Cytherean, even if Hammann was a bit difficult. But the mention of Umbra unnerved Veso. "Understood Sir".

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

The sun had set and Nagato's little team had made their way to the frozen north. it was extremely foggy, common for the area. 

 

"We are arriving at the specified location". Nagato explained. "Be on the lookout".

 

Scavenger was in the middle of the group. She was there so she could be watched. but right now, she felt that something outside of the group was watching her.

 

Eventually the group made their way through the fog, they were met with a concerning sight. an entire Siren fleet, destroyed.

 

"Hehe. Never expected this". Blücher laughed.

 

"neither did I". Nürnberg added. 

 

"Yeah. someone partied without us". U-37 stated as she poked her head out of the water. "Hey Siren. What Happened"?

 

"I... Don't know". Scavenger stated.

 

U-556 jumped out of the water, holding something in her hands. "I found something"!

 

Everyone except approached U-556. the Item she was holding looked like an arm. it looked biological but also mechanical. it was shaped like a baton or staff.

 

Scavenger wasn't examining the arm. she was staring at something floating above a ruined ship. just before she was about to point it out, it vanished.

 

Little did Scavenger know. She spotted a Sentient Oculyst.