The Commander, knowing that the circumstances made it impossible to convince the opposing side of the discussion, was about to finish the meeting between him and the main carriers of the Task Force.
It was at that moment of the meeting when the news from Polarstern arrived.
"...I am sorry for the interruption, Commander, but it appears that something caused Polarstern's sensors to give out an alert. Standby for confirmation."
Gerald R. Ford interrupted, looking over the highly concerning report she had received from one of the research ships. According to it, the detonation of a nuclear device has been detected in foreign waters - specifically the Sakura Empire.
This did not add up. The technology of this world appeared to be far not advanced enough to construct a weapon sufficiently devastating enough to trigger alerts, especially not weapons of mass destruction.
Both Gerald R. Ford and Queen Elizabeth immediately tensed up by a factor of over a hundred. The situation strongly suggests this incident to be a false alert - one which should be handled extremely carefully.
Back during the Cold War, multiple false alerts of an incoming nuclear strike nearly led to nuclear war, which has been thankfully avoided.
The Commander, noticing this sudden change of behavior, kept his mouth shut while observing them.
The two supercarriers waited a few seconds which, for them, seemed to drag on forever.
They hoped that Polarstern would give out a false alert, with the alert having been mistakenly activated due to a problem on her part.
When the confirmation in the form of identical sensor data from both Planet and Alster arrived, the ensuing silence would have been enough to hear a pin drop.
Time seemed to freeze around the two main carriers as they realized what this meant, their expressions changing to one of fear.
Their Task Force - their allies, their friends - are in danger.
The Commander watched this unfold, high concentrations of worry overtaking him.
What in the world would be enough to make two futuristic, foreign carriers of this caliber worried?
Gerald R. Ford and Queen Elizabeth glanced at each other for a split second.
Then, it was as if a switch had been flipped in both of them.
All sense of friendliness, fear or any general emotion left their faces - no, their entire behavior - instead being replaced with cold, ruthless seriousness.
"We need to alert the Task Force to immediately depart as quickly as possible and head to the extraction point with maximum speed. No stops, no interruptions. We must evacuate or risk losses."
"Negative. This is not an option. The extraction point resides within general proximity of the Crimson Axis. Now that a WMD threat has been confirmed, we could be easily wiped out completely if interrupted before or during the Gateway Protocol."
"Acknowledged. We have two options, with the first one now rendered useless. That leaves us with option two - Proportional Response."
"Copy that. Proceeding back to carrier to relay further orders. Queen Elizabeth, brief the Commander about the situation, then proceed towards my position."
Gerald R. Ford immediately stood up and left the office of the Commander with high speed. Queen Elizabeth nodded, confirming it.
"Commander - it appears our hand has been forced."
She adjusts her seat, her serious gaze directed at him.
"I shall take control of this 'meeting' now, turning it into a briefing."
YOU ARE READING
Azur Lane: Konvergenz
FanfictionOff the coast of Germany, three kansen sisters sailed in the darkness of the night. All three of them struck with curiosity. Following the trail of anomalous signals, they encountered something - unusual. Something that was not supposed to be there...
