Azur Lane: Dragon Rising

Ch40: Welcome Back

The journey back proves far less deadly than I could have ever dared to hope. For starters, no one attacks us and we even receive a transmission from the mainland informing us that the Americans even offered an apology. Surprisingly, they haven't mentioned anything about us returning Enterprise to them. In fact, so far they haven't mentioned her at all. I suppose they haven't figured out who she is as yet which works in our favour. We could always just relabel her as our newest carrier.

In other news, the US Nimitz class carrier we'd already commissioned and named Renmin is being considered for use in upgrading Enterprise. However, I know how valuable having that carrier will be to us and so I immediately pushed against it and in the end, they ended up going with my counter-proposal. 

Rather than simply strapping a new deck to her and calling it a day, they've agreed to commit to changes similar to those that had been done to surviving ww2 carriers in times long past. We can't change her engine to a nuclear-based one so she'll also need to be limited to steam catapults rather than using the same system my sister and I use but given they've had time to study the Nimitz, this should prove a cakewalk. 

The biggest challenge will ultimately end up being the fact that her hull itself needs to undergo major strengthening efforts. It is sturdy but not strong enough to maintain the weights it will need to handle for long. Planes are fairly easy to handle. She's too small for most of the planes I currently use but she can easily host the J-31 at a minimum. The J-15 are also a possibility but the latter would lower the amount of aircraft she can carry by a substantial amount. The others are simply out of the question entirely.

This alongside what weaponry to arm her with proved the hardest decision to make since her engine isn't powerful enough to provide enough power for everything we'd want to add. Indeed, even as we near the port in we still haven't reached any final decisions.

Xiao: I should warn you-

Me: What happened now?

Xiao: Well...I guess you'll see soon enough.

He avoids sharing anything extra but as we enter the harbour it becomes all too clear what he was hiding. I've always known that a small group of human beings can produce a surprising amount of noise when they try to but as we come into sight, it is as if all 1.4 billion citizens are gathered along the shoreline to welcome us back. The screams are so deafening that even Jiangsu covers her ears and hides behind me.

Smiling, I lift her up and wrap her in a warm embrace. She buries her face in my neck, my hair hiding the remnants of her face from view. Liang smiles but doesn't attempt to intervene so we remain as we are, standing on the deck of my carrier as the entire fleet pulls in. On the left of my carrier, Jiangsu's own carrier sails onwards whilst on our right, the Fujian completed the triad of Type 003 Carriers entering Shanghai Harbour. Enterprise, on the other hand, keeps her carrier hidden and rightfully so as we really aren't ready for the world to know we have yet another. The fact she should technically be with the US would only complicate things even further.

Me: Welcome to Shanghai.

Enterprise: You mean the same as the one you made the capital of the Dragon Empery?

Me: The very same.

She looks around at the towering skyscrapers, eyes filled with wonder and I can't help the laughter that comes rushing forth in response. She's like a little kid.

Refocusing on the crowd, I notice that they're not just here to see our safe return. No, going from the banners and the songs they are singing, they've found out about my unique circumstances somehow. Liang also notices and turns to Xiao to ask what's happening but before he can respond, a squadron of J-20s thunder overhead. Behind them, the colours of our nation's flag are on full display.

Me: They really do know how to advertise, don't they.

Liang: What can I say. Father's known as a good politician for a reason.

Me: Which makes me wonder how the people-

Xiao: The whole world saw you absord your carrier-

Me: Huh?

Xiao: When you got dragged into that black hole. Pretty much everyone witnessed it and the fact that your whole carrier entered your body prior to you vanishing. The fact that your sister's carrier followed after you only further cemented the concept and now that she's returned in a similar state to you...

I see. So rather than continue making up stories, they simply decided to embrce the truth and spin it in their favour. I guess this was their plan all along. It'd certainly explain why they embraced the "Zhejiang has returned to save us" thing the people had come up with when I had initially arrived. No matter. Not like it affects me much. All it means is that I won't have to be mindful of who sees me. More freedom for me!

As I continue fantasizing about life out of the shadows, I hardly notice that our carriers have been guided to the docks. It's not until I hear the Premier's voice that I finally snap back to reality.

Premier: Liang! You had me worried.

Looking in his direction, I find he's already stepped onto my carrier's deck and is making his way towards us. Liang smiles but I can tell she's forcing it. Going from how her body tenses, she definitely expects him to berate her for her carelessness so when he reaches her and hugs her, it's quite the comedic scene to watch the sixteen different emotions her face displays in response as her poor little brain struggles to process what is happening.

Jiangsu peaks out from the cover my hair provides to see what's happening but when the Premier looks our way, she quickly hides once more.

Premier: And who do we have here? Don't tell me my daughter has gotten you-

Liang: Dad!

Everyone laughs, even as Liang goes red from embarassment.

Me: This is my little sister, Jiangsu.

Despite clearly wanting to be anywhere but here, Jiangsu still makes an effort to greet him shyly before burying her face back in my neck. He smiles and after passing her a chocholate bar as a peace offering, manages to at least get her to smile. Taking that as a victory, he moves on and comes to a stop before Enterprise.

Premier: When I first heard about you, I'll admit I was a bit surprised but it's been brought to my attention that you aren't the same Enterprise who attacked and sunk our ships.

Enterprise: I-

Premier: So tell me, why do you wish to join us?