Hymn From the High Seas (Azur Lane x Commander Male Reader)

Commander

"Commander?" a young woman's muffled voice brings me into the waking world.

Still clinging to sleep, my tired mind forces itself back into rest and I pass out before I even know it.

"Commander!" her voice calls to me again followed by a knock on wood.

My eyes slide open with groggy reluctance, now fully awake. Radiant sunlight fills my room through a window on the right. I sit up in bed, the knocking thumping louder against the door, the woman still calling out for someone. I rub my eyes. Hang on a minute. I rub my eyes again, realizing where I am. Wait. Where am I?

I feel the alien texture of the bedsheets over my lower body and notice the different coloration. This entire room is... wrong. The area of the room is larger than what my bedroom is. I stare at the odd wall color, the unknown furniture, the incorrect placement of the door, the new floor material, and even the uninviting balcony. I was supposed to be in my bedroom but this place – and the room I spend my nights in – contrast in almost every way.

"Commander? I'm coming in, Commander!" the muffled voice continues as I wander over to the balcony.

In a trance, I push the sliding door aside and step out onto a stone balcony overlooking a glimmering sea. The building I've awoken in resides upon a tropical mountain with a gradual, but short, slope. Gripping the rough, breeze-swept stone of the banister, I observe a sea-side town beside a long railway curving along the shoreline until it reaches a port docking dozens of warships and carriers.

An island with a naval base? I step back from the stone railing, observing a warship setting sail for an unknown corner of the world. Now that I've gotten a grip of my surroundings, it's plainly obvious, isn't it? It's a dream. Clearly, it's a dream. Knowing this makes me lucid, right? I can have fun now? Before I leap from the balcony in an attempt to fly, I double-check my intuition and push my finger through my palm.

Only, it doesn't go through. That's... odd.

I push again.

My hand is perfectly solid.

Next, I pinch my nose shut and try to breathe through my nostrils.

Why can't I breathe? I should be able to breathe just fine in a dream.

No matter how much I try to inhale, I cannot breathe, so I even try to pinch myself.

It stings.

I look up again. Staring out at the endless span of blue – a cumulonimbus cloud floating across the water – I can make out the curve of the planet itself. My vision warps and I feel as if the sea is dragging me out with an invisible riptide. Vertigo throws me off balance and I cling to the railing, squeezing the edge as the distant waves and seagulls attempt to calm me. Gazing up at the partly cloudy sky, I give in to the heat of the sunlight. Its warmth is more comforting than the bedsheets. I close my eyes.

You mean this really isn't a dream?

The door to my bedroom opens behind me, "Commander, you're going to be-"

I turn around and face a strange girl with pale indigo hair styled in pigtails. My eyes wander down to her unusual clothing consisting of a navy-blue short-cut dress and impressively long stockings. Over her shoulders, she wears some form of cloak colored in a similar fashion. A word on her dress uniform reads "ESSEX."

Essex... where've I heard that from?

She covers her face with a gloved hand, "C-Commander! For-Forgive my intrusion, but you are going to be late for your daily briefing!"

"Brief...ing?" I mutter absent-mindedly until I realize I'm in nothing but my underwear.

The woman starts digging through my closet, doing her best to keep her eyes off of me, "I'll help and lay everything out for you. If we're both late, who knows what Enterprise will think of me. Do whatever you must to start your day!"