Azur Lane: Tides of Fate

Prologue

Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii
6:00 AM

A small burnt orange streak hanged over the horizon of another warm morning, marking the start of the new day as a lone middle age man in a small motor boat lurked its way up the small pier hanging from the long white structure resting in the middle of the bay. It's glistening white concrete surface in the form of a hanging bridge, suspended on the calm body of water gave a sense of both eeriness yet tranquility to the man as he slowed his small vessel to the port.

How a single structure can invoke such emotions of dread yet peace was something that a common occurrence by this point. After tending to the place for twenty-five years now the sensation became normal but it was all the more reason why the custodian felt proud in his role in making sure the interior of the monument was kept in shape. If not for him and others then who would keep the halls shining, rather it what the structure represented that he felt so inclined to his task.

1,100 men lay to rest here from an eventful day over a quarter of a century ago, the world was never the same since. The custodian knew it and anyone who heard of this place knew the tale it served in a greater calamity that plagued the world at the time but all that reside here now is the sweeping sounds of the ripples that rub against the structure.

Upon docking and tying his vessel, the custodian began extracting the buckets of supplies from the front of the boat before stepping on the platform of the pier. Once taking into account all his wares the man picked up the two buckets and proceeded towards the the entry to the assembly room. Crossing the room he paused for a moment to take glance outside of the gallery of windows towards the remains of a battery turret that stuck out of the water. There he sees the sight he come to known all too well for the past two and a half decades, a small stream of translucent black and rainbow liquid marks a trail that traveled under the structure towards the other side. The sight was simply another reminder of the importance the job was for him but nonetheless after a few minutes he continue forward to the marble wall that stood on the other side, on it list the names of the lost.

Wasting no time the man prepared for his day. Setting the buckets aside, the middle age man retrieved a pair of latex gloves from one of the containers and donned them before reaching into the other to pull out a small cylinder of powdered, cleaning solution along with a fabric cloth. Setting them aside for a moment the man took a quick second to check his phone for the time, it read 6:15 am. By then the earlier streak on the horizon was beginning to broaden as a small hump of the sun could be seen rising in the distance. Without hesitation or as to beat the clock the man unlocked his phone and selected an app for a major news station, raised the volume and returned it to his breast pocket before picking up the cleaning supplies and proceeded to the memorial wall.

Due to the nature of the monument location it was a daily chore for people like him to come by and apply a small coating substance on the marble wall as the salt water exposure meant the names would eventual fade and would have to at some point be replaced again. Twice it occurred within his lifetime to see a new wall erected after the other but they were names that needed to stand the test of time. But as he continued his focus on the task at hand the audio from his phone began to play the report for the day, a broadcast could be heard detailing a recent engagement occurring on the other side of the world, news that became repetitive at this point but never became any less depressing to hear.

"Last night a coalition fleet of United States and Indian ships attempted to break through the infamous 'Sumatra Gap' but failed to gain ground after sustaining heavy losses to the Sirens. The attempt was made in an effort to break the deadlock that had became to surround the strategic oil reserves of Indonesia and provide a secure flank for Australia. Reports from the White House had stated that the losses were retrievable but recent leaked footage from the Indian and American sources have shown otherwise, some even reporting a sixty percent loss of the initial fleet that went in. The White House have yet to comment on the recent leak but the Pentagon reassures that progress will be made in the following months. We'll now have our reporter on the field, Leon Orange, take you live at Washington D.C."