Taiidani Usurpers to Siren Liberators | Azur Lane x Homeworld

Not Our Homeworld

The crew of Ascended Justice are all extremely dumbstruck. This planet they are orbiting has a striking resemblance to Hiigara. The blue bodies of water and the massive green expanse of land and the nature its home to. The only telltale signs that this is not our Homeworld are the lack of Hiigaran Defense Groups and orbital facilities. With my fleet lost and confused, the intelligence personnel are doing all they can to give us a location on the galaxy map to orient ourselves, but even that is proving futile.

F/N: "Raymond, are we getting anything from known faction frequencies? It could be the damn Turanic Raiders or Taiidan Empire for all I care."

Ray: "Negative sir, nothing from the Taiidan, Raiders, Bentusi, or Hiigaran. We are apparently still in our home galaxy, but in a sector that has not been explored and charted. We are lost."

Ray takes a minute's pause to turn back to his console. A grey panel with blue highlights, switches, and buttons. A live feed of the planet below is on it's main screen and on the side, a window showing multiple unidentified transmissions on the planet's surface.

Ray: "The fleet has reported that all conventional drives are down and will take time to repair. Destroyer Arbalest specifically reported a hyperdrive failure from the emergency jump and requests a Support Frigate to help them with the task."

F/N: "Granted. We need the fleet to be at full strength, especially now. Tell all captains to have their crews prioritize repairs and get their ships back to 100%."

Ray: "Will do. On the subject of our location, we are detecting multiple transmissions from the surface. Their coding is extremely weak, and they seem to be very far behind us on technological terms. We can easily crack into their encryptions and decode them in a matter of minutes. Might give us some insight on where we are and who they are."

F/N: "Do it. Any information is of great use to us in this situation. Find out who they are, what planet this is, and what their situation is down on the surface. Maybe we can pay a little visit and get more information if they are willing to meet aliens from across the galaxy."

Ray nods and assigns a few intelligence and coding officers to the task. The hustle and bustle in the bridge has increased tenfold compared to any other situation. Probably because no one expected to find an alien derelict that would sabotage the HyperDrive and take them to a world on the other side of the galaxy. "What's the status on Decks J through R?" "Decks J through N have no reported problems. However Deck O was not completely sealed and prepped for the jump. All personnel were thankfully evacuated before depressurization. Decks P to R have no malfunctions." "Good, see to it that Deck O is repaired and repressurized. Then go through all remaining decks for possible errors. We can't afford any mistakes, ESSPECIALLY now."

Just what the hell is that alien piece of junk? What ship did it belong to? How much power did it feed into our Hyperspace Core to transport us to a planet across the GALAXY? Far too many unknowns at this time and no possible pointers for getting the answers. I need to check on the status of the hangar and the derelict with De'Reives.

Y/N: "De'Reives, what is the status of the anomaly and how is the main hangar bay?"

De'Reives: "The hangar bay is fine. All emergency protocols were completed before the jump and the personnel are just now lifting the last lockdowns for operations again. As for that piece of trash, I wish I knew."

You both turn to his terminal featuring multiple live feeds from gimbal cameras throughout the hangar. The black with red highlighted junk that caused this mess still sits, hauntingly as one camera is aimed directly at it. Wires are strewn across the bay floor from the research personnel attempting to gather data as their instruments and computers are scattered about. Multiple maintenance crew approach to pack up the equipment and return it to the labs for analysis as many others just stand on the sidelines and observe the derelict with uncertainty and hate. The realization that they will likely never see their families back on Hiigara shown on their faces.

De'Reives: "There has been no other action from the derelict. It seems most of it's power was used in our Hyperspace jump. However, it is still transmitting that strange signal and we don't think it will stop anytime soon. I am extremely tempted to give the order to toss that thing back into the abyss. We only await your order to do so."

Y/N: "Permission granted. Once all the research equipment has been moved to the labs you can issue the order to remove that thing from your hangar bay."

De'Reives: "Thank you sir."

Now time to speak with Jenssen. You look over and see her peering out of the bridge at the planet below. She is clearly thinking of Hiigara and her family. You walk over and stand next to her as you observe the planet below. It certainly matches Hiigara in terms of beauty. A shame that not everyone can experience the breathtaking sight of seeing your home world from space like you can, unbound by the inability to travel the stars and endless expanse of space. Too bad you were fighting a war against the Taiidani the whole time.

Y/N: "You've been staring at this planet since we arrived. Everything alright Jenssen?"

Jen: "Oh hello Commander. Yeah I'm just going back through the past. The haunting fact that I will very likely never see our home world again is just starting to sink in."

She pauses for a bit, debating whether or not to express her thoughts to you. You can't really sympathize with how she feels. You understand that you will never see Hiigara again or be there to defend her from a Taiidani attack, but you had forsaken everything except your sister who was your only family left, on Kharak. The day you left with the Mothership's crew was the day that you left that desert wasteland and everything on it behind. Only to later find the planet obliterated with no survivors.

Jen: "I had a boyfriend on Hiigara, Adrian. We had promised to live together once the war was over and start a family of our own. Now, I will never be able to fulfill that promise, and for all he knows I was killed in action, and no chance to say the last goodbye in a funeral. I can't even fathom what he must be feeling now."

Y/N: "I'm truly sorry. If I had never given the order to bring that wreck aboard you would be back home by now, embraced in your lover's arms once again. It's my fault no one in this fleet will be able to return to the home world."

Jen: "Enough sir. I know for a fact no one here blames you for this. You had no idea that this could happen. You are not at fault. But this has managed to teach me a very important lesson."

Y/N: "That lesson being?"

Jen: "That our lives are not like some fantasy book where the good guys win the conflict and return home to move on with their lives. I made a promise to my lover that I was not able to keep. I know you left all you held dear behind on Kharak, but if you do find someone you care for again that way, don't make them a promise you can't keep. Because giving them false hope that you will return to them unharmed, only to never be seen again will truly break that person."

As Jen finishes her thoughts, silence quickly falls once again. She is correct. She made that promise to Adrian and now they will never see each other again. My own sister made that promise to me before the Graveyard. I could never explain the grief that threatened to consume me just as no words can possibly explain the guilt Jenssen must be feeling now. I can only hope that she can overcome it, and fight on. I know she just told me to never make a promise that I can't keep, but this is no ordinary promise. I must find a way to get us back to Hiigara. For my crew who would lay down their lives so their families could live in relative peace on Hiigara. I will find a way to get them back.

Just as you finish your thoughts and silent oath to return you crew to the lives they had, alarms begin to ring out on the bridge. The alarms that signify an incoming fleet.

Ray: "Sir! We have ships approaching that look strikingly similar to that derelict from Karos! Apparently.... there are also.... women with what look like ship parts on their backs?! In space?! WHAT THE FU-"