Azur Lane: The defender of Odessa

Prologue

28 February 2022, Port of Mykolaiv.

It's been two days since the Russian military launched its attack in the city. They thought that they would be welcomed with open arms once they would enter. They were wrong. Instead, they were met with gunfire and missiles raining down on their heads and destroying their tanks and armored vehicles. The president had promised him they would be welcomed, looks like he had either lied or he made a mistake, although the former is more likely. Considering how determined he is to take over Ukraine, he doesn't seem to hesitate tricking his own troops, thus sending them to a painful death. 

When they weren't welcomed with open arms, they thought they would take over the city in just a few hours. It's now been two days. Two days of fighting at the streets with no success at all. The Ukrainian soldiers just won't kneel before their conquerors. Their bravery and courage are just too much for the Russians to handle. Every time a Russian soldier or a tank attempts to get close to the city, they are immediately pushed back by artillery, infantry and anti-tank missiles. The Ukrainians are teaching those Russians a lesson. That anybody who tries to take away their freedom, will pay with his own blood.

The city is now in ruins. The harbour has been completely destroyed by the Russian shells and missiles. Ukrainians may be winning on land, but at the sea, their victories are rather rare. Their navy is outnumbered and outgunned, and while they do have brand new patrol boats with the most advanced weaponry, they are not even enough to repell the larger Russian invasion fleet. Only their flagship, the frigate Hetman Sahaidachny is capable of fighting of the Russian navy. Unfortunately for him, he won't have a chance to fight as he is partially sunken at the harbour of the city.

You see, when the Russian military invaded Ukraine, Hetman was scuttled to prevent his capture by the invading army. And while he did have a chance to fight off the invaders, his crew thought otherwise. And now with him underwater, they've lost their only naval asset that could have changed the tides of battle at sea, at least until new vessels took his place.

Well, here he is now, observing the battle from underwater, unable to move or react. He can't help but feel powerless and shamed at himself. If it was his destiny to sink at the bottom of the sea, he could at least have gone down fighting. That way his death would have been more honorable, but no. It was more preferable to scuttle him in the harbour just because of the fear of being captured. What's worse for him is that he's not even dead. 

Because the water in the harbour is too shallow, he can't sink completely which means he cannot die. That way he has sentenced himself to a long imprisonment which will end up with him being broken up and his metallic carcass sold for scrap or being placed into newer ships, which is both creepy and depressing. 

Using a deceased one's body is never a good idea though. Not because of the possibilities of a haunting by the deceased, but because it's rather disrespectful towards those who fought with him and survived, not just the deceased. To them, the ship was just like their home, and seeing their home being broken up for scrap and spare parts is like seeing their comrade dying. But death is inevitable, even for a ship. And when that ship will fade from existence, it will pass down its legacy to a newer and more advanced vessel which will keep defending the nation and its glorious seas. Even if it takes another hundred years, the navy will rise again.

Just then, as the Ukrainian and Russian armies continue battling each other, strong waves begin hitting the docked ships, causing their cables to snap, wounding some of the workers that were near them. This is very strange as weather reports indicated a sunny week. This makes no sense whatsoever. If they indicated a sunny week, then why are the waves getting stronger? Something must have been messed up in the weather report.

The Russian vessels aren't unaffected by the strong waves either. In fact, most of the landing crafts that hadn't reached the city's coast were hit by the waves so many times, which caused them to either take on water and capsize or crashed onto each other while they were attempting to steer clear. It looks like the Russians will have to call off their invasion fleet and hold their ground for as long as possible. The storm just won't let them approach the coast. If they risk it now, they also risk losing most of their vehicles and their marines also risk drowning in the beach, and they need them to capture the city.

Just then, multiple lightnings start hitting the water near the scuttled frigate, sometimes hitting its antennas and radar dishes, causing its electronic systems to go haywire. Despite being partially sunken, his electronic systems seem to be working just fine, like they've been recently installed. This makes no sense as his computers and electronic systems are over 20 years old, and there's no way they could work after taking on so much water. Yet, they are working perfectly, without any malfunction. It's as if they're getting affected by some sort of magnetic field, which is probably the main reason as to what caused them to activate automatically.

Just then, a big white and yellow circle appears in at the port side of the frigate with the lightnings continuing to hit the water and the ship. This circle is exactly like the circle that transported USS Nimitz back in time in the movie 'The Final Countdown' minus the colors. It's unbelievable. The storm that was simply made for a science fiction movie, becoming a reality. That's just not possible. 

But this storm is not a storm. It's not a time portal either. It's different than a storm. It is something bigger, something scarier and undiscovered. Something beyond anybody's imagination.

Suddenly, after a few more lightnings hit the water, a really loud bang is heard across the harbor and the circle dissapears. The lightnings stop and the sea is once again clam. It looks like the storm wasn't a very serious issue. It lasted only a few seconds, so it probably wasn't anything to be concerned of. Nevertheless, it cost the Russians a great amount of time and gave the Ukrainians a chance to gain enough ground to make a defensive zone until reinforcements arrive. With the circle gone and the sea now calm, the battle can continue without any more mishaps.

But the circle isn't the only thing that has dissapeared. To the surprise and horror of the soldiers and workers at the harbor, there's no sign of the frigate Hetman Sahaidachny. It just diessapeared. That's impossible. A few minutes ago it was right there, partially sunken. It couldn't have just refloated all by itself and sail away. The ship had taken way too much water, so refloating it would take hours and judging by the current situation, it wouldn't have been possible.

The Russians must have hit the ship with one of their cruise missiles as a message of how far they are capable of going if they can't achieve one victory. Well, if that's the case, they have only humiliated themselves even further. Of all the ships in the harbor, they chose to bombard a ship that was already sunk. There's no further humiliation than the one they chose to endure. Well, they're gonna have a real hard time facing the mockery by the international community for their incababilty.

Little do they all know, the storm has actually transported the frigate in a world similar to theirs. A world where he is given a chance to actually fight. A world where he can actually save from the shameful history his world has suffered.

(And that's all for today's chapter. Let me know what you think in the comments below, until then see you next time. Remember, your opinion is always important).