The Hospital Ship of Azur Lane (Slow Updates)

Negotiations

It's been about three hours since the air attack ended. Doctor Solace is sailing under tow by Bulin on their way to her base. The atmosphere is much more peaceful now. The sea is calm, the wind has stopped blowing, the birds have disappeared, in general, there's nothing but silence. This for some reason, makes him feel awkward. Of course, he has faced the silence many times before, but this time, something feels off. This isn't the bad feeling he used to have back in the Austronesian Republic whenever he thought the Austronesians and the rebels would attack him or the field hospitals. On the contrary, it's rather something even he can't explain. He can't tell if he's panicking, or feeling relaxed. Maybe it's because of the stress he felt during the battle against the black jets earlier. Well, it does make sense in some way, considering the number of jets he had to fight against while also protecting Bulin from enemy fire. This meant he had two responsibilities, which distracted him and nearly caused him to sink. Well, at least he and Bulin are safe now.

As they continue navigating through the silent seas, DS tries to repair his lazer system. He didn't have the time to do it earlier due to the attacks, and while switching to manual did help him survive, it had a great disadvantage. He might be able to defend himself from enemy aircraft, but doing so manually means he has to lock on by himself, and as it was proven a few hours ago, it's not possible to pay attention to all the hostiles at the same time. That's why it's better if everything is done automatically. At least it's much safer than when done in manual. Judging by the damage though, it's going to take a long time before he can go back to service. He might as well replace it with a new system. Electronics of this type might be rare, but there's always a way of procuring a new tool when, even building it if necessary. Thanks to the new technical training provided to doctors and other personnel, building new electronic devices is incredibly easy.

After about two more hours of silent navigation, the two ships arrive at a small island. It's not like any other island he has ever seen before. Usually, when an island has its own naval base, it resembles an entire city. This base on the other hand, consists of nothing more than a small harbor, a drydock, seven buildings and a dozen few anti-aircraft guns, of which all are L60 Bofors models of the Second World War. Judging by its appearance, it looks more like the South Georgia Island in the Atlantic Ocean, right below the Falklands. DS is caught off guard. He did expect her base to be small, but he never thought it would be the size of a small neighborhood. He thought it would be something similar to the harbor of Aruba island, or at least Lebanon since most militant factions are usually about the sizes of brigades and divisions. For a militant faction to be that small, it's impressive how they have their own naval base.

-'Here we are', says Bulin in a rather joyful voice. 'This is the Universal naval base'.

-'Well. I must say, I'm surprised', replies DS in his usual low voice tone. 'I didn't expect your naval base to be that small'.

-'Well there are only three of us', replies Bulin. 'And our weapons factory is small so there's no need for a bigger island'.

-'Three of you? Seriously?', asks DS again, trying not to show impressed. Not only they have a small base, but a small fleet too? Well, if that's the case, how they can run this island all by themselves is nothing short of a miracle. He does have his doubts in what Bulin is saying, but on the other hand, she doesn't seem to be lying, she doesn't have to gain anything from it. Given the honesty on her face, it's very unlikely she would be lying.

-'Well, we need to get to port', says Bulin. 'I'll call for a tugboat'.

-'Negative', replies DS. 'I ain't moving from here'.

-'What?', asks Bulin in complete surprise.

-'I want to negotiate', he replies again.

This response catches Bulin completely off guard. She was never expecting to hear something like that come out of DS' mouth. On the other hand, can she really blame him? They only met a few hours ago, so it's no wonder he can't trust her, at least not yet. If he goes there, he might as well get arrested, and that's something he wants to avoid no matter what. One slight mistake and the whole situation could evolve into open conflict once again.