Tirpitz

January 21st, 2003 - West Point Forest - Diego Garcia

Hasegawa had no idea what was going on. While he and Myōkō had been walking back to the ships, a grenade had appeared at their feet. Myōkō had pushed Hasegawa into the trees, and then dove to the side. After that, clouds of smoke had filled the air, and Hasegawa had lost track of where Myōkō was. 

"Stay right where you are."

A harsh voice sounded behind Hasegawa, and a cold piece of metal pressed against the back of his head.

"Who are you?" Hasegawa asked, not moving an inch. His body was freezing in fear. He had been in battles before, but he had always been safe in Fuji's hull. He had never had a gun to his head before, or anything like it.

"That's not important. Just keep your mouth shut and don't try anything."

It was a young woman's voice, but not one that Hasegawa recognized. A shape started to form in the smoke, coming towards them. A woman, wearing an olive-drab uniform cover by a red-and-white cloak stepped out of the cloud of smoke, stopping in front of Hasegawa. She had piercing blue eyes, long blonde hair, and a sword hung from her belt. The woman behind him clicked her heels together, and Hasegawa felt the gun move away from his head. 

"Got 'im right here Boss," she said pressing down on his back with her boot, "I sent the cruiser down the hill. Lützow's watching her right now. Everything's going right on plan."

The woman gave no response, and stood for a few moments, before speaking. 

"Good job, Spee," her tone was monotonous and lifeless, like a machine's. After another pause, she continued, "Leave us. Make sure we are not disturbed."

"You got it Boss," Spee answered, and Hasegawa heard her walk away, pushing through the branches.

The woman sat down a few feet in front of Hasegawa, her legs crossed. He could tell that if he tried anything, she could cut him down with the sword on her waist immediately. The two of them sat silently for a short while, while the woman's eyes seemed to dissect him like a small animal.

"Hasegawa Kenji"

She said his name and nothing more, but it sent chills down his neck.

"What do you want?" he asked, his voice shaking. From their names, he could guess that they were German, or at least, this world's German-equivalent, which was... the Niemec Reich? But that didn't make sense, the Reich was involved in a massive war right now. How could they send a force all the way to Diego Garcia?

"I decided I wanted to speak to you," she said, and her tone changed to a warmer, more human one. As she said this, however, she drew a revolver from inside her cloak, and let it rest on her thigh. "It would be beneficial to me to let you live, but, at the same time, killing you here would bring me far closer to my goal. Depending on how this conversation goes, either both of us or only one of us will stand up at the end of it."

Beads of sweat were rolling down Hasegawa's face. He couldn't feel half of his body, and he could barely think. He could tell that she was being completely honest with him. The feeling that he got from her was familiar, but where from?

"Why don't we start with an introduction?" the woman kept talking in a completely normal tone. It felt like when Hasegawa had been meeting his co-workers back in Japan. "My name is Tirpitz. I used to serve the Niemec Reich. Now, I lead an independent fleet, much like your own."

She paused, and it took Hasegawa a moment to realise that she was expecting a response from him.

"I...I'm-I'm Hasegawa Kenji... I'm a... I'm a Builder, and I, uh, used to serve the, uh, the Yamato Empire, and, uh, yeah." He was having trouble speaking properly because of the shock and fear. After a moment, he realised that she must have already known all of that.

"I have three questions for you, Hasegawa Kenji." She picked up her revolver, and loaded three bullets into it, pointing it to his head. 

"Question one. What is your goal?" 

Hasegawa didn't know how to respond. So far, he had mostly been trying to keep himself and the shipgirls who had found their way under his command safe from harm. Back in Japan, he had wanted to work on a new generation of destroyer-carrier hybrids like the Izumo-class, and help with restoration work on the old Japanese ships from the Second World War. Now that he was in Oceanus, the Izumo-class were almost a hundred years more advanced than anything that currently existed, and the old ships were in mint condition, and trying to hunt him down. 

"My dream... is to live a life by the sea, surrounded by an incredible variety of ships until the day I die. I want nothing more than that."

He was shocked at how easily that answer came out. As he thought about it, he realised that that truly was what he had longed for his entire life.

"I see," said Tirpitz, her face blank. She lifted the pistol and fired it. Hasegawa flinched as the shot rang out, but after a moment, he realised that she had only shot the ground between them. 

"Question two. Do you plan to create any more shipgirls?"

"No."

"Why not? It is a part of your dream, is it not?"

"When I first came to this world, Yamato tried to use me for her own benefit, but Mikasa, she... she told me the truth, and helped me become free. She asked me to not create any more shipgirls unless it became strictly necessary. Because of my debt to her, I won't create any more shipgirls unless I need to."

Another shot rang out as Tirpitz fired the revolver into the ground a second time. 

"Last question. One of your subordinates is currently being held at gunpoint by one of mine. If I ordered to have your subordinate shot, what would you do?"

"I-... I don't really know," Hasegawa admitted. After thinking about it for a moment, he continued, "It isn't as if I can do anything to stop you. I suppose, I would just have to hope that I can heal her faster than your bullets can kill her."

"...I see." Tirpitz seemed mildly disappointed by his answer. 

She lifted the revolver once again, a pulled the trigger as a shot rang out for the third time. 

***

A shot rang out from the top of the hill. It was the third one that Myōkō had heard. According to Lützow, it was coming from where Hasegawa and 'the Boss' were. Myōkō was sweating buckets, fearing for Hasegawa's life. Each shot had been a few minutes apart, which might suggest some kind of prolonged torture, but no other sounds had come from the top of the hill, so Myōkō had dismissed that option. She wanted to be there, to keep him safe, to protect him. It was her duty, as his bodyguard, even if they had both become enemies of the Yamato Empire, it was the last post she had held there. 

Suddenly, a man in an olive drab uniform burst out of the brush next to Lützow. He was wearing a similar uniform to hers, with a helmet instead of a cap, and a small red-and-white badge took the place of Lützow's vest. He held a submachine gun in one hand, and a pair of binoculars hung from his painted neck. 

"Kapitan, two hostiles are approaching through the forest. Please evacuate immediately. The Admiral has also been informed."

With that, he disappeared back into the forest, heading in the direction of where the Free Fleet had moored their ships.

***

Fuji and Salem were running through the forest, guns in their hands. Fuji had felt something wrong coming from the forest, and knew somehow that it was Hasegawa, the same way she had known he was in danger back in Yokosuka. She had grabbed a rifle from her arms locker, before yelling at Salem to follow her. While she was running, she realised that the voices in her head had quieted as soon as she felt that the Admiral was in danger. 

As they ran, she kept thinking about how it had been a mistake to leave the Admiral in the woods. They had encountered several enemies already, uniformed men hiding in the forest and shooting at them as they passed. Salem had identified them as Niemec Commandos, some of the best shock troopers in the world. Of the two of them, Salem was the only one trained in combat, something that Fuji was absolutely useless in. At first, Fuji had been the one leading the way, but she quickly became tired, and it wasn't long before she could tell that she was slowing Salem down.

They ran into a small clearing at the base of a hill, and found a body lying at the base of it, covered in leaves. Salem rolled it over, and stepped back in shock. Fuji stepped forward, and stared into Myōkō's face.