Azur Lane: Dragon Rising

Ch27: Prelude

I've barely been back and yet, I'm being sent off to war once more. The shores are even more crowded now as the Leader of our Great Nation makes his speech from aboard my carrier. Much to my surprise, his other daughter is here as well. Looking at Liang, I notice that she's making every effort to avoid her sister. I thought they'd be close but I guess everything's not always as you'd think.

Leader: Commanding the Type 003-class Carrier, Zhejiang, will be Admiral Liang and the young lady who helped return the ship to us, none other than Zhejiang herself!

My eyes all but pop out of my head. Shock's written all over the faces of those who knew my secret as well, included Liang and Xiao but the people, either oblivious or completely caught up in their own assumptions about my ship being a part of their legends of old, soak it up like sponges.

Crowd: Zhèjiāng! Zhèjiāng! Zhèjiāng! Zhōngguó ài nǐ! ( China loves you! )

As the crowd continues their chants, going off into how my "spirit" has returned to guide our country to success, I turn to Liang.

Me: I thought we were going to keep as much as possible about my existence a secret.

Liang: I thought so too but I'm guessing he's using it to boost his standing with the people.

Me: By all but openly admitting they are somewhat right?

Liang: Religious beliefs are one of the best ways to secure fanatic nationalism.

Me: But-

Our conversation is cut off by the thundering roar of J-20s overhead. Their arrival marks the end of his speech and sure enough, he's soon moving to shake hands with various personnel for show. There's quite a sizeable amount of crew onboard my ship at the moment to give the impression that the ship requires manpower to operate it.

x5 Ping!

[Multiple unidentified vessels have entered range.]

Liang notices my sudden shift in facial expression and turns to ask me what's wrong but before I can respond, my ship begins engaging its countermeasures. All HQ-11s on my starboard side begin turning, catching everyone's attention. The crowd, thinking it's a part of the commissioning, cheers. Liang's father, on the other hand, turns to us to inquire what's occurring but before he can, they all fire. They are quickly followed by the Type 1130 CIWS which begin firing as well in response to incoming threats.

Liang: What's going on?

Me: We're u-

I'm interrupted by the sound of explosions above us. Now visible, it becomes obvious that the missiles my carrier fired off and the bullets fired were all merely means to shoot down incoming missiles. Still, as more and more targets come within range, it becomes clear that staying still will not be enough.

Me: Clear the flight deck!

It takes a while for people to respond to my instructions but when the first four J-31s arrive on deck, Liang and her father are the first to leave. By the time she gets back, after escorting him off, the planes have already locked into position. The crew, which hadn't been told that the carrier operates on its own try but fail to intervene and I am forced to tell them to get away from the catapults before all four planes are launched.

Because of how my carrier is positioned, two of the four are launched in the direction of the shore and are forced to turn almost immediately to avoid collision with nearby buildings. Noticing this, I have my carrier begin pulling away from the pier but as it does, the gangplank allowing people to leave my ship all collapse, sealing the remaining few to their fate onboard.