(It has been five months since your fight with the Russians, it still leaves a sour taste in your mouth thinking about it. In those months, they ran tests and trials figure out what technology IronBlood had that they did not. Slowly you felt your sanity drain after each test, growing ever more enraged inside at the end of it all. It was all a small price to pay for your honor to remain intact.)
(You pace back and forth in your cell, waiting and thinking about what would become of today, but you had something else on your mind as well.)
Whittman: Why haven't they sent out a search party yet? Have they abandoned me? No, no no on that can't be the case.
(Your rambling seemed to disturb the cell next to yours.)
Prisoner: HEY CAN YOU SHUT UP OVER THERE!!!
(This was it, you would not tolerate it any longer. You would not tolerate filth talking down to you, now it was time to leave this hell.)
(You punch your mechanical arm right through the bricks that separate the cells, now you gripped the prisoners throat slowly choking the life out of them.)
Whittman: Oh sorry, did I disturb you?! (Your grin was from ear to ear at this point)
(The prisoners cellmate was calling out for the guards to come and rescue his companion from certain death. The Guards begin rushing from the upper and lower level, while the guards on your cell level try to find the correct key in a panic. After a few seconds your cell door swings open, you release the prisoner and begin your assault on the guards.)
Whittman: (laughing maniacally) You make this too easy!!!
(You begin demolishing the guards one by one until you reach the door of your cell ,an alarm is sounded once the guards notice you are attempting an escape.)
Guard: HALT!!!
(You snap your head at the senior guard who issued the order.)
Whittman: Is there a problem? (You tilt your head in a sarcastic manner.)
Guard: Return to your cell before we terminate you!!! (Gun raised)
Whittman: Do you have anything bigger than that?
Guard: What....?
(You walk up to the guard and snatch his firearm from him and study it for a moment.)
Whittman: Standard .9 millimeter, no augmentations, full metal jacket ammo type.......Yeah this is not gonna do anything to me. (you crush the gun in your mechanical grasp.)
Guard: What the hell......what are you...? (shaking in fear)
(you lean down and stare him in the eyes)
Whittman: I am what you made me, I am you collective fear.
(You just do a quick strike to the neck and the guard is out cold.)
Whittman: Why did I take so long on him.......I should have just killed him. (you walk towards the exit, but not before you release the other prisoners to cause a distraction.)
Whittman: Now then.....where to find my rig? If I were studying foreign tech in a prison, where would I be hiding. (You look up and see a convenient sign pointing towards a tech wing.)
Now that's bad placement.....
(Russian Ship Pov)
Gangut: What is going on down there...?!
Guard: A prison break mam....all of the cells were opened manually via the guards post.
Gangut: I want this contained you hear me, I want all of these prisoners either shot or put back into their cells!!!
Guard: MAM I HAVE REPORTS THAT A HOSTILE SHIP IS TEARING THROUGH THE PRISON!!!! THEY ARE HEADING TOWARDS THE SCIENCE WING!!!!
Gangut: WHAT!?!!?!? What do they look like, and who the hell are they?!?!?!
Guard: Checking.......Its.....its.....(fearfully)
Gangut: SPIT IT OUT!!!!
Guard: ITS THE BLACK SMOKE.....!!!!!
Gangut: No, no no no......Check again!!!!
Guard: look for yourself.....
(Gangut runs over to the monitor and see you smashing a guards head into a wall)
Gangut: GET SOVETSKAYA HERE NOW!!!!
Guard: on it...
(whittman pov)
(after searching for what felt like forever, you find your rig in near perfect condition)
Whittman: They must have tried to gain information about how I was built, and my gun specifications. Hmmmm.....oh well I'm gonna burn this place to the ground anyways so why not?
(You rip the wires from your rig ,releasing it from a forced stasis)
Whittman: You ready to leave? (your rig binds itself back to you)
I'll take that as a yes.
(Before you could walk out the door, an explosion from the outer wall makes you brace for a moment.)
Whittman: WHAT NOW?!?!!?
(Before you could react something deactivates your rig and suspends you in the air.)
?????: Odd, I never thought that the ship would be male?
?????: HAHAHA, look at him all helpless. He can't even fight back.
????: I informed you that they were here observer, now take them and get out of my territory!
(You could tell by the glowing yellow eyes and the robotic monotone voices that they were sirens.)
Whittman: SIRENS!!!!! (You furiously struggle to get the tentacle off of you)
Observer: It seems that they have figured it out.
Purifier: HAHAHA, Took him long enough. Now when do I get to play with him?
Whittman: HOLY HELL YOUR ANNOYING.....AND WHAT DO YOU WANT?
Omitter: You sure do talk big for someone as weak as you are?
Whittman: Weak.......
Purifier: YEAH YOU'RE WEAK, WEAK WEAK WEAK......
Observer: Purifier, stop taunting them. You don't even know how strong they are, much less know if they have an awakened state!
(You felt your conscious slowly start to fade as anger and rage started to fill your head. Soon even the sirens notice that you have stopped struggling.)
Purifier: Is he dead....?
Omitter: Not possible, could he be sleeping?
Observer: No, His body temperature is fluctuating. The cause being emotional distress to the point of near insanity.
(Observer releases you and watches as you curl into a ball while a black smoke fills the room.)
Observer: Tread carefully, we do not understand the events before us.
(Omitter readies her naval guns, along with Purifier.)
(You stand up and steady yourself, your crimson eyes glowing their intimidating red hues. You have had enough of these games, now it was time for a serious fight.
You raise your arm pointing with two fingers towards the sirens.)
Whittman: Fire....(Your rig no longer two sharks has become a singular figure, it's size compares to Friedrich Der Große, fires a single shot that demolishes a building behind the sirens.)
Observer: Impossible.....he has an awakened state!!!
Omitter: We should retreat and let the Azur lane deal with him.
Purifier: BUT I WANTED TO PLAY...!!!!
Observer: You will get your chance later, but for now fighting him would be the worst mistake we could make right now.
(The Sirens retreat but soon after the Northern Parliament ships arrive and start securing the facility. A tower begins shooting down upon you as you walk across the court yard towards the docks.)
Whittman: Destroy that tower would you.....(you shark fires another punishing shot that brings the tower down in one hit.)
(You reach the docks without incident, but before you could leave you notice Pamiat Merkuria and Minsk staring in your direction dumbfounded that your rig is now insanely large. The two ships do not even fire at you, they just stand there and stare in horror at who they thought was contained.)
(You shrug it off leaving the nearly destroyed prison base behind as you make your way back to Ironblood waters. A few days go by without you seeing a single Ironblood patrol, It was confusing that they had not suspected anything. You arrive at the base and disembark you vessel.)
Whittman: Where is everyone? (Your shark letting out shrieks trying to call the others to your location.) (You begin to suspect that something is wrong and quicken you pace, but as soon as you did you were greeted by a familiar face.)
Roon: Well, Look who's late back....(A smirk forms on her face.)
Whittman: I don't have time for this, And where are all the other ships?
Roon: They are attending a meeting with the commander.....and look at how you have grown.(she looks at your rigging)
?????: Yes, look at how you have grown. (a familiar voice called out, you turn around to see the self proclaimed mother of Ironblood, friedrich der große.)
Whittman: If there ever was a god, may they have mercy upon my soul....
Friedrich: You act as if you're not happy to see me, why don't you tell me whats wrong? (she crosses her arms.)
Whittman: for starters, Roon.....self explanatory......second of all, why are you here?
Friedrich: That is no way to speak of your sister.....and I had come to see the commander.
Whittman: If you had seen some of the crap she pulls, then you would understand. But you are here for the commander as well?
Friedrich: So we have a common goal here, so do please tell.
Whittman: You will see soon enough, the commander owes me few months recovery.
Roon: Taking a rest in war, that seems very suspicious of you. You even have a more hostile attitude towards your seniors, aren't I right Friedrich? (she stands to the right of Friedrich.)
Friedrich: You are correct. but I want to hear it from him.
(Your Shark rises to its full height looking down upon Friedrich and Roon, it was giving the answer to their question by showing hostility towards them.)
Whittman: I believe that this answers your questions. Now I do not have time for this, I need to see the commander immediately. (You walk away from the other two ships knowing that they would want a different answer.)
(On your way towards the commanders office you notice that the meeting had already ended, all of the other ships were staring at the sheer size of your rig.)
Z-23: Whittman......How did you make your rig this big? (she takes a step back to get a full view of the Shark.)
Whittman: To be honest with you, I have not the slightest clue. Though I intend to find out fully by looking at my build records and related data, maybe even this "new" commander can shed some light about this.
Z-23: Are you sure that he will have those answers? Why not check the archives in the library?
Whittman: The archives would not hold such sensitive information. IronBlood wouldn't risk it falling to enemy hands, besides if he was the most qualified then he should know every aspect of the ships under his command.
Z-23: But what if he doesn't know?
Whittman: Then that would be disappointing, I need to see why my mind is slowly deteriorating and memory worsening. Hopefully even find a way to reverse it, though it is highly unlikely I would recover from this stage completely.
Z-23: It might be from your past fight with some of the strongest of our rival factions.
(You stop in your tracks and turn to face Z-23.)
Whittman: What do you mean?
Z-23: You have already forgotten? You came back severely inured after one of you night raids, your SOS alerted Prinz Eugen and Admiral Hipper who brought you back.
Whittman: Do we know who was responsible? This information is of utmost importance.
Z-23: We know that the one who managed to hit you was Eagle Unions Enterprise, however we cannot say who was the second culprit. The wounds matched several canon types, so we couldn't decipher who was with Enterprise.
Whittman: If I remember correctly, The were of the Royal Navy and was small, but they wield battleship style armaments.
Z-23: That sounds like you might have seen Warspite, right hand maiden of Queen Elizabeth. But are you sure it was her, since she rarely ever leaves Queen Elizabeth's side.
Whittman: Than that was some pretty important cargo going to the Royals, they were both there and were the cargo ships escorts. I may need more information, I will need you to inform me of the most recent meeting with the commander.
(Z-23 turns a little pale, but acts as if nothing is wrong. A bad decision on her part since you noticed immediately.)
Whittman: What was the meeting about? What was its primary topic?
Z-23: The Commander brought to all of our attention about your current mental state, he also said if the problem persists that the other commanders would vote on what action should be taken. The Commander explained that it was possible that your cube is corrupted in shape or form, but he didn't say how it could happen, just that you might turn against IronBlood and defect to Azur Lane.
Whittman: THE COMMANDER SAID WHAT!!!!!!????? (Your mind was going a million miles an hour trying to comprehend what was just spoken to you.)
Z-23: Please calm down Whittman, the commander has your best interests at heart.
Whittman: You said the other commanders would take a vote on what would happen on my behalf, that is not my best interest at heart, it is an ultimatum that I can not complete now.
Z-23: What do you mean? (she takes a step back)
Whittman: If the commander is worried that I would defect, then he knows something that I don't. Because I would not turn my back on the people of IronBlood, they have given me so much that I must repay them with my service.
The Commander has already lost faith in me, now he is possibly thinking about scrapping me.
Z-23: Why would the Commander scrap a senior ship, one that had already proven themselves in the field of battle multiple times? It just doesn't make any sense to do such a thing.
Whittman: I do not know, but I intend to find out. This to sounds of betrayal, either on my part or his.
(You turn and start again towards the commanders office, leaving Z-23 fearful of what might happen. You arrive at the commanders office and open the swing the door open alerting Bismarck and the commander.)
Commander: Whittman, how did the mission go?
Whittman: It was a failure, there were no cargo vessels only the lead ships of the Northern parliament.
Commander: Sorry to hear that, but why didn't you call in if you were in trouble.
Whittman: My long-range radio was damaged in the ensuing combat that followed after the initial encounter. Now my question, is why you didn't send any scout vessels to see if I had fallen?
Commander: My faith in your ability to survive remained true, and it seems to me that you haven't slept for several days.
Whittman: Imagine being tested on and escaping, running into sirens and avoiding detection after the escape.
Bismark: Escape? Tested on? were you captured?!
Whittman: Correct, they wanted to know how to build ships like me. Though they could never figure it out.
Bismark: That is disgraceful. Who were the ships that attacked you?
Whittman: Who do you think?
Bismark: Sovetskaya brought you in for the testing?!
Commander: Bismark, Whittman here has been through a lot. He may need to rest.
Whittman: I am fine commander, but I was informed about a meeting I missed? (playing Dumb)
Commander: Yes, and I'm sure that one of the other ships informed you of the topic.
Whittman: Then what was it that made you think a vote from the other commanders would be necessary to determine what would happen to me? You can see how frustrated I am about this, seeing as how it concerned my well being.
Commander: The Oberkommando brought this to my attention. They were monitoring you for a while and have grown disillusioned with your abilities.
Whittman: What.....
Bismark: They stated that you may have a corrupted wisdom cube, and that you might turn against humanity. In basic, they believe that you might pursue destruction of humanity.
Whittman: I would never turn against my people!!! What gave them the right to decide such false narrative?
Commander: Please show us your rig outside, we need to confirm if their suspicions are correct.
Whittman: I will prove to you that nothing is wrong with me, and that I will never defect.
(The three of you walk outside, you walk a few paces in front of both Bismarck and the Commander and reveal your rig to them.)
Whittman: Do you see anything wrong with me?!
Commander: Whittman, you are changing. Your rig was not this large, and now look at it, its the size of one of Friedrich's.
Bismark: I'm sorry but I have to agree with the Commander, this proves what we just discussed.
Whittman: Alright, then tell me this......what is an awakened state?!
(The Commander is taken aback by the question though Bismark remains as calm as ever.)
Bismarck: An awakened state is the state of immense power that a ship could reach if they were chosen for it. Whittman, do you possess an awakened state?
Whittman: The sirens seem to think so, they retreated after I lost my sanity in the prison.
Bismarck: What was the name of the state?
Whittman: I cannot answer that, all I know is that i felt all of humanities rage and hatred for each other and the sirens when it happened.
Commander: So you have an alter.....then there is nothing else that can be done.
Bismark: What do you mean commander, this is valuable to our cause. We cannot let this opportunity go to waste.
Commander: I understand this Bismark, but I will have to inform the Oberkommando of this recent discovery, and re-classify him Bismark.
Bismark: Yes, Whittman you are no longer of the Roon Class. You will Identified as an H-class battleship and will be given the armaments needed. You will also be given a new hull number.
Whittman: So, what does this all mean now?
Commander: You will be on par with Friedrich, and will not answer to any other commander than me or Bismark and Tirpitz.
Whittman: I do not want all of these honors, as my failures will not allow me to do so. Though I will carry these with valor and service to the people of Ironblood.
(a quote hinting at the next chapter.)
(Thank you for reading once again, sadly I must Inform you the reader that the story will be coming to an end in a future chapter, but I will make another story just as long as this one and it will be better and hopefully more entertaining to read as well.
I do intend to make a story for each of the faction, and no they are not all going to be male ships, Whittman was sort of an idea that I really enjoy thinking about as a character.
but thank and stay tuned for the next chapter.) ~KMS-Whittman~