Chapter 8: Queen of the North

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3rd Person POV

Azur Lane

"Talk about reckless," Cleveland stated as she, Hornet, Striker, Wales, and Belfast stood around the room, Laffey and Javelin among them. "What were you thinking?"

"So y'all made an excessive effort, so you could save an enemy?' Hornet asked, shaking her head. "Shoot. You ain't trying to earn any medals, that's for sure."

"I'd still give it a medal for honorability," Striker commented, leaning against the wall opposite Hornet.

"I apologize," Javelin replied.

"No, please wait," Belfast protested. "There's nobody else to blame here but me. I am the one responsible for allowing it."

Wales sighed before turning from where she stood at a window. "That's noble of you to say. But we need to send the right message to the others."

"What? Like 'let your former allies fall to their doom and not even lift a finger'?" Striker asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You're not free of this either," Wales said, turning to him. "You helped in their aiding an enemy of Azur Lane."

"No, I didn't," Striker countered, smirking slightly. "I saved Laffey and Javelin, and Ayanami by extension. Not my fault that those two were trying to do the right thing."

Hiding her smile at how well Striker played Wales, Hornet spoke up. "How about this?" she proposed. "Laffey, Javelin, as consequence of your actions, you're on prisoner supervision duty."

Both Shipgirl's eyes widened in surprise.

"We've got a strict rule that prisoners of war need maximum care," Cleveland agreed, catching onto Hornet's plan.

"So that means...?" Javelin trailed off hopefully.

"We're counting on you," Hornet filled in with a smile.

"We'll do it," Javelin assured and rushed off, Laffey in tow, to watch over their friend, Ayanami.

"That was a light punishment," Wales sighed, sitting down as Belfast poured some tea for the group. Striker politely declined his in favor of a piece of chocolate.

"Well, there's no need to be overly harsh," Cleveland commented.

"Yeah, she's right," Hornet agreed, picking up her cup. "Just like coffee, tea, and life in general. Sweetness always helps."

"You sure you're not just talking about yourself, Shelia?" Striker teased, earning a punch to the arm from Hornet.

"I suppose you're right," Wales sighed. "But still, we've been very lenient with the punishments in regard to helping those of the enemy faction." She looked pointedly at Striker.

The Battleship shrugged. "Hey, the first time my sword slipped."

"And the second?"

"Lost them in a fog," Striker replied.

Shaking her head, Wales sighed and looked at the Black Wisdom Cube on the table. "Anyway, that's the real problem."

"What's with the Cube?" Cleveland asked, eyeing it as the Cube glowed ever so slightly.

"Ever since the battle ended, the Cube has been behaving quite abnormally," Belfast stated. "Unfortunately, there's no way to know exactly what it means."

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