Azur Lane: Ripples through Seas and Times

Prologue-2: Displaced

Prologue-2: Displaced

-Date: April, 7th, 1945-

Time: 2:15 PM

Location: South China Sea, enroute to Okinawa.

"And there goes the fish! Let's get the hell back to the flattops!"

The TBM Avenger pulled up after it had released its payload of a single torpedo. Its target: the infamous Japanese Super Battleship of the Pacific, the IJN Yamato herself. 

Despite its strong armor, seemingly powerful guns, and intimidating aura, it became very clear that the age of battleships finally met its end in a rather hard and dramatic way. 

Kōsaku Aruba, the last captain of the Yamato, finally saw her situation. Several of her smaller AA guns were anything but useful and functional. Her boiler rooms were flooded, making her slow down to a crawl. Fire began to spread uncontrollably as her damage control team was overwhelmed by it. Her list began to worsen as the flooding continued. It became obvious for everyone on board her: she is going to sink.

Those currently on the deck all abandon their posts and hopelessly scramble as the Yamato slowly listens to port. Some jumped off into the water and began swimming for their lives, only to be caught by the capsizing ship later on. Others who decided to simply outrun the list barely held onto anything protruding from the deck. Some were fortunate enough to make it to the starboard side of the battleship, others met their demise from losing their grip on anything on the deck. 

Yamato's escort ships, including the Yukikaze, all helplessly watched from a safe distance as the massive battleship listed further, later turning into a capsize. Some of Yamato's survivors all began to swim for their dear lives to the near-by escort ships. However, what came next would be etched into the minds of many for generations to come. A few moments after Yamato had capsized, her life finally ended with one last, but loud, bang. 

*BOOOOM!*

An explosion so powerful that it can not only be heard from Okinawa, but it also ripped the massive, heavily armored hull in two. Her captain and her thousands of men trapped within her hull all became victims. The battleship, which was supposed to be Japan's last hope to stall the US forces, finally met her demise. It became clear who is the true victor of the Pacific War. And it is as if fate had already decided the outcome of the Pacific War. 

However, the universe itself had other plans for her. 

As the pieces of the now obliterated Super Battleship sank to its supposed final resting place on the seabed of the South China Sea, they got enveloped in bright light. Slowly, the light grew in intensity until it was clearly visible on the surface from where she had sunk. Then, as the mysterious light faded away, the wreck disappeared with it, never to be seen again. 

And little did anyone know that she and those trapped on board were given a second chance elsewhere. 

Wherever she is now.

———/———\———

-August 10th, 1946-

4:34 AM

-Location: Atlantic Ocean, somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle-

"Got anything on the radar?"

"No, captain. Nothing on the radar, sir."

Dawn is just around the corner. The morning is calm and quiet, save for the silhouette of a sailing battleship which greatly contrasted against what remains of the starry night. 

But this battleship isn't just any battleship. No. She is the fourth battleship belonging to the Iowa Class Fast Battleships, the BB-63 USS Missouri, or the Mighty Mo as most would nickname her.

Her captain stood in the bridge, being the first of many to take their stations on the bridge after the previous sailors and helmsman finally ended their night shifts. He stood still as he watched through the bridge's windows, making sure that nothing would go wrong. At least not when he had taken command of his ship. 

He then looked up to the starry sky and sighed. He knew that, despite all the efforts, the new age of naval Warfare is coming soon. In fact, too soon for his liking. In just a span of the entire Pacific War, the carriers gained importance to the entire US Navy, both tactically and strategically, which effectively placed battleships out of the throne of "The Queen of the Seas".

However, Missouri, as well as a few other US Battleships, is still in service, with one or two of them modified into test platforms for the new surface weapon systems; missiles. While still in its infancy, the missiles all showed great potential for the coming age of future naval Warfare, should it even happen at all. 

The captain sighed. While Missouri and her sisters all still had their potentials, the golden days of All-Big-Gun Battleships is slowly coming to an end, with their guns doing nothing more than just for intimidation and ceremonial purposes 

"Umm.. Captain?" a sailor called out. "There's a storm cloud just up ahead."

Captain simply just looked dead ahead and saw what the sailor had seen. 

A dark cloud, with some lightning striking some distance away from the battleship. And to make matters confusing, the Captain knew that there shouldn't be any storms during this time of the year, nor should there be any recent reports of a storm build-up in the region. But seeing that the storm was far too big to safely navigate around it, he had no choice but to order everyone to brace for whatever the storm would fling at the battleship. 

As she sailed in the storm, many sailors on board the massive battleship began to hear numerous thunderous roars from a distance. They can all clearly see the waves jumping and splashing around the hull of the formidable battleship. Winds all howled louder than anything they had heard before as the flags on the battleship all fluttered violently. If anything can be compared with this storm, it would be the ones which foiled the Mongolian Naval invasion of Ancient Japan. 

Twice. 

And it would have been a nightmare for any ships from the Age of Sails and Wood to sail in a storm like this. Unlike to them, however, the mighty steel hull of the US Battleship sailed unopposed in the storm, with her bow plowing straight into a rather tall tidal wave as she sailed straight on.

Suddenly, a powerful lightning struck on the main tower of the US Battleship, causing multiple malfunctions within her. Radars are all going haywire, her communication radios all giving nothing but statics. Even her internal lighting systems are all flickering like crazy. 

Just before the captain could ask any more questions, another lightning struck her. This time, on her prow. 

Things couldn't have gone worse when the fog rolled in, dropping the visibility drastically. The Captain could still see the prow of the battleship.

But not anywhere beyond it. 

Struck by two lightning, sailing into an impossibly violent storm, and now into thick fog, Missouri still pushed on, with the waves already pouring on the deck of her bow. 

After two hours of enduring the storm, Missouri and her crew are all met with an unexpected, but gradual, calmness of the seas. 

Minus the thick fog that still lingered around.

On board the Missouri, the radar systems were still offline, but the crew manning her was working to bring them back online manually. The first system to be restored was the communications suite, though the radio operators were having difficulties establishing communications with the US Mainland.

Captain was the first one to notice something odd on the bridge; her compass was pointing to the wrong direction. He thought it was something to do with those lightning strikes that Missouri had endured, so he simply shrugged it off. 

However, they weren't aware that they are no longer on the same planet that they were used to living on. 

And they weren't aware that they ain't the only one to be displaced from their world either.