A Pirate's Crush

5. He's Proud of Me?

A/N: Before we start, I want to mention that I went back to previous chapters and retconned things. I didn't play Iris of Light and Dark or Skybound Oratorio , and thus didn't bother to read the story, only going off Jean's quotes alone. Having read the stories now, they put her and other characters' quotes in context and give more insight into their characters, and I have new plans for how this story will develop. Some slight revisions have been made in previous chapters to facilitate this. Jean Bart should be more in character from this point forward. I apologize for not doing my homework. Thankfully it's early in the story, so I think we can recover. Anyway, I hope you enjoy Ch.5, and thank you for reading.

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My second day as secretary ship began mundanely, consisting of more paper sorting. However, that quickly changed when a Siren fleet was spotted en route to port, and I was deployed to the frontline fleet: a main fleet consisting of Richelieu—our flagship—Shoukaku, Zuikaku, and myself; and a vanguard fleet consisting of Algerie, Belfast, and Le Malin.

Little did we know this particular sortie would be escalated to emergency status.

BOOM BANG BOOM BOOM

I hopped back as a bomb was dropped right in front of me. A towering column of water erupted in the bomb's wake, peppering me with water. But no time to breathe. Another plane roared above me, dropping a bomb and forcing me to dodge again. It was a nonstop barrage. Richelieu, Shoukaku, and Zuikaku weren't faring much better, having to do similar dances to avoid damage.

I'm deployed for sorties often, so I figured this would just be business as usual. But somehow, nobody knew about the gigantic Siren aircraft carrier spearheading their fleet—a gargantuan armored tank, steamrolling everything in its path, and impervious to even our heaviest ordnance. It also harbored an endless supply of planes, keeping our frontline busy, and really testing their anti-air capabilities. On top of all that, the carrier was guarded by a wall of cruisers and destroyers, mass-produced and shipgirl alike.

Richelieu spoke over comms in a desperate voice.

"Commander, where's our reinforcements?!" she beckoned. "We can't hold much lon—"

"Incoming torpedoes!" Algerie cried.

She sidestepped, revealing the rapidly swelling water approaching Richelieu and me. We dodged to opposite sides as the torpedoes' shadows passed harmlessly.

"Richelieu, Jean Bart! Reload!" Shoukaku cried.

"We can cover, but only for a moment!" Zuikaku cried.

They unleashed a barrage of fighters to meet the enemy planes head-on. Both sides were annihilated, giving Richelieu and I just enough time to reload.

"Richelieu?" the commander said over comms. "Richelieu? Come in!"

"I read you, Commander," Richelieu said. "I repeat, we can't hold much longer! They're pushing us back with alarming efficiency. Where's our reinforcements?"

"They're en route," the commander replied. "But we're far from port. It'll still be a few minutes before they arrive. We must hold until then!"

I watched Richelieu purse her lips, clearly frustrated. Even someone as patient has her has her limits.

"...copy," Richelieu said.

She made the cross symbol across her chest before addressing the fleet off-comms.

"We hold our ground!" she cried. "Reinforcements are on the way! Victory for the Azur Lane! For liberty and glory!"

"Bombers inbound!" Belfast cried from in front.