The Mighty Belfast - Tales from Azur Lane #1

Chapter 2: Complications

"this chapter is a little chaotic at the end, my bad lol"

Upon seeing Prinz Eugen, Belfast quickly put the photo book back, turning to her rival. "Fancy seeing you here, Eugen." Belfast remarked quietly, trying to keep their little conflict secret.

Prinz Eugen only gave a hearty laugh, walking past her and checking out the photographs. "Don't worry, he won't be upset if he finds out, but you'll be in for a long explanation~" She replied.

Belfast peered over her shoulder, Prinz Eugen now grabbed a new set of photographs. Pictures Ethan had taken with the other girls, as reminders of the good times, and responsibility he was given. Eugen showed a grin when she saw her picture in the album.

"Where is your picture Belfast? It's not in here.." Eugen asked.

"Oh, my picture, um-"

Prinz Eugen cut her off with a giggle. "You haven't had yours yet I see... Either way, you'll be alright". As Eugen put the book down and headed out the door, she hollered over her shoulder. "Oh, and hurry up with the cleaning, the commander wanted to see you!!"

Upon hearing those words, Belfast took off like a bullet, out onto the deck looking for her commander.

She finally spotted him at the bow of the ship, facing into some heavy winds as a storm could be seen ahead of him.

"Not looking good?" Belfast questioned.

"I've seen worse. I'm just worried if that storm is where Prinz Eugen is hiding."

Belfast froze. If she just encountered Prinz Eugen minutes ago, then why was her warship out here?

"Commander, how could we be chasing Prinz Eugen? She's on the ship as we speak!" Belfast politely asked.

The commander grinned and continued looking ahead. "Ironblood has access to certain Siren tech. Most of the more powerful ships can seperate their bodies from their warships for great distances, and if they encounter something, any HQ that I'm staying at will be notified accordingly. Prinz Eugen sent out a distress call, so now we're here."

Belfast nodded, and now stood next to him, facing into the wind. "By the way, you never did tell me Kaga was here as well. How many other ships came with you?"

"Well, Enterprise and Prinz Eugen of course, and Kaga as well. Then there's Yorktown and Hornet, Amagi and Taihou. And lastly, my secretary, Duke of York."

"That's a lot of ships.."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I didn't want to cause too much panic with the Royal Navy. You know how Queen Elizabeth always makes sure everything's so prepared."

Belfast agreed again, and she felt a presence behind her. She turned around, and all the way up by the ship's radar tower, stood Duke of York, making her shiver.

Ethan noticed her too, and upon seeing him, Duke of York jumped down to the roof of the bridge, then down to the deck, quickly joining them.

"Ah, Commander, Belfast, it's a lovely night out, is it not?" Duke of York remarked.

"It is very nice, my lady. Now, did you catch anything on the scans?" Ethan questioned.

"We saw a heavy Siren Force, but it doesn't seem like they're moving anywhere. No Prinz Eugen yet."

Belfast pondered off, and an idea popped into her head.

"Why don't we send a submarine for deep sea scans?"

Both of them froze, looking to Belfast.

"If we send a submarine, we can get an ocean floor scan. If Prinz Eugen didn't sink, then maybe the submarines might even be able to escort her out of the fleet."

Ethan froze, and he quickly smiling, showing his agreement. In a hurry, he rushed to the command center inside the ship, Belfast and Duke Of York following behind him.

"Kaga, send a call to the mainland for I-19, we need a deep sea scan immediately!!!" Ethan announced. Kaga nodded quickly, getting on comms to order a submarine escort.

With enough time, breaking the surface, comes a giant Submarine, and out the hatch comes Cavalla. She bolts to the Cargo net lowered on the Belfast, and in no time, she immediately salutes Ethan.

"Cavalla, reporting for duty!!! I-19 was caught up, but I can fill in as replacement!!!" She exclaimed, Ethan just smiling at her. He saluted back, and led her inside to show her some maps.

Cavalla soon entered the water, and a live feed was projected to the Belfast, showing no signs of the Prinz Eugen on the bottom. If not on the bottom, where could she be?

Suddenly, a deafening Whistling sound pierced the air, and out of instinct, Belfast and Cavalla swerved just as an incoming shell hit the water.

"What was that?" Kaga questioned. She immediately jumped down to the water, taking action and skating across the surface, launching planes to get surveillance. Soon, the answer was clear.

"Commander, we have a problem. I found the Prinz Eugen, but you're not going to like who's with her..." Kaga announced. Ethan took a pair of binoculars off a desk inside the admiral's bridge, and cursed under his breath.

Ahead was the Prinz Eugen, but she was being towed. By a Northern Parliament Battleship. Sovetskya Bellorussia. This couldn't end too well... Ethan quickly ran down to the bow and stood at the railing, just as Bellorussia readied her guns once again, praying she would see them.

The shells never came as Belfast came closer and closer. A blue haired girl could now be seen on the towing Battleship, and soon, both her and the Commander were staring into each other's eyes across both ships. Belfast and Bellorussia anchored, and their respective owners established communications.

"I didn't expect an Azur Lane escort on Northern Parliament waters. What is the reason of this?" Sovetskya asked.

"Well, you happen to have one of our ships that you're towing. It belongs to Prinz Eugen." Ethan responded, trying to be as calm yet serious as possible. He DID NOT want to escalate this situation any further, just being in Northern Parliament without any notice was direct violation to Azur Lane Protocols.

"I noticed this was yours, why was it surveying Northern waters?"

"A malfunction, or Siren interference could be likely? We know they appear in the sector Eugen was in-"

"It doesn't matter. She was trespassing."

Bellorussia wasn't backing down. Ethan might have had to take the ship by force if Belfast hadn't suddenly stepped in.

"If this maid may ask to trouble you for only a moment, Bellorussia."

The battleship rolled her eyes, and nodded. "I'm listening. Make it quick, Royal Maid."

"This could be a moment to stimulate both positions. Azur Lane could help strengthen your trading routes if you agree to help us with the sirens. That cruiser you have hostage has tons of combat experience, and detailed information on all Siren opponents that could pose threats to all nations. If we could please retrieve that data, we would be happy to add Northern Parliament to the list of nations allied with Azur Lane."

Bellorussia seemed to be impressed by the speech. With a glance over her shoulder at the mainland, she nodded, and the chain from the back of her ship disappeared. Prinz Eugen quickly jumped aboard from her ship, and was in no time getting it securely behind Belfast.

Bellorussia gave a smile and a nod, and she continued to the mainland, and even extended an opportunity for the fleet to refuel at the Parliament's main port. One even Ethan couldn't refuse.

As the fleets moved on, a rift of energy appeared, And a girl appeared. By the looks of her, a powerful Siren.

"The plan is in motion. Time will tell when these little pests will be our prey, we the predator..."

"Man, where did the time go? I am SO SO SORRY for not updating this, recently personal life has been kicking my teeth in. I am finally in a "controllable" situation and I can keep my head above water. Hopefully you know what that means, I'M BACK BABY!!! I will work on Chapter 3 soon, but for now, I hope you enjoyed another Tale from Azur Lane!!!"