Steel Titan

Part IX: The Aftermath

It was midnight at home world. The same blinding yellow light filled the center of the hurricane.

POTUS (virtual): "What the hell is going on over there?!"
CNO: "Doctor, what's the meaning of this?!"
Dr. ██████: "I have no clue, Admiral!"

Then the light dissipates just as fast as it appeared. Almost immediately, the super hurricane falls apart, the clouds dissolving and turning into mere air.

In less than a minute, the hurricane was gone and the once-heavy seas were now calm.

Sitting within the former center was Centurion. The CNO was quick to notice the yellow bridge lights in the distance but paid no attention to the fact it was the same color as the blinding light. He grabbed the medium-range radio.

CNO: "USS Centurion, are you ok?"

Centurion responded.

Centurion (radio): "Yeah."
CNO: "What the hell happened?"
Centurion (radio): "I saw everything in that hellhole..."
Dr. ██████: "Well..."

He and the CNO looked at each other.

Dr. ██████: "I think we have answers."
CNO: "I'll end it here, Mr. President."
POTUS (virtual): "Wait!-"

The CNO closes the lid of the laptop, ending the virtual session.

XXXX HOURS UNKNOWN
AZUR LANE WORLD
UNKNOWN LOCATION

The Azur Lane fleet was at a standstill. Many were confused and tired out.

POW: "So when the alternate reality collapsed, it caused the nearby area to become unstable."
Hood: "Are the Sirens behind this?"
POW: "Oorochi might have a connection to the event caused by Enterprise as well."
Queen Elizabeth: "Whatever the case, if we're to foil their plan, they cannot escape."

She was looking up, and a tear in space-time was in midair, open to the vacuum of space.

Queen Elizabeth: "But, we have another problem."

Everyone looked around.

Hood: "The Manifest Destiny, it's gone..."
POW: "They must've ended someplace else after that event."
Queen Elizabeth: "Wherever they are, we must find them before they run into danger."
Hood: "Isn't it powerful enough to take on anything they can throw at it? It demonstrated that many times over."
POW: "All ships have their weaknesses..."
Queen Elizabeth: "It could overpower all who meet it for the mere fact it can project its firepower over any distance it wants, and it stays out of effective range of opposing guns. All it really did was subdue its enemy before they could even fire back."
Warspite: "We should waste no time in finding them. Who knows what they'll run into..."

...

UNKNOWN LOCATION
USS MANIFEST DESTINY

[World of Warships OST music ambiance starts playing]

The battleship was stationary and the guns were silent. Snow blew all over the ship.

Jackson groaned as he got up to his feet. He looked around to see fellow crew members confused and looking around.

The Manifest Destiny only suffered minor damage. Bullet holes and black char from fires stained the superstructure. Ricochets marks and flattened shells riddled the main belt armor. Bullet and shell casings flood the mid-deck.