Y/n opened his eyes and found himself unable to see. He could feel the bed covers over him, but there was another, much greater weight bearing down on him. He tried to sit up, but found something essentially keeping him pinned there. He found himself short of breath as he realised that something was squishing either side of his head, something soft and warm. He tried to move his arms, but found them immobilised by the same thing keeping him from getting up.

He wriggled around for a little while, trying to figure out what was keeping him there, until he heard a soft groan as whatever it was shifted and put its full weight on top of him. Once it was fully on him, he could feel a humanoid shape as well as Ceramite-hard musculature gently bearing down on him. He tried to move his head to breathe a little easier, but it was met by whoever was on top of him holding him closer. He could faintly hear the sound of the door of his room opening, though it was muffled slightly before he was freed from his captor's grasp. After taking a large breath, he looked up and saw that Imperator Somnium was standing with a cheeky smirk on her face as she lifted Conqueror off of him.

Imperator Somnium: "You seem to have had a good night, Admiral."

Y/n: "If by a good night you mean I woke up and found myself being suffocated by conqueror's gloriana-class globes."

Somnium let out a slight laugh as Y/n stood up and reached for his clothes. He had been wearing a simple white vest and his underwear since the royal maids didn't want to fully strip him. She watched with mild interest as he changed into his uniform, letting out a heavy sigh as he pulled his coat over his shoulders.

Y/n turned to the Emperor's flagship before speaking quietly so as to not disturb Conqueror, whom Somnium had put back down on the bed.

Y/n: "Somnium. Gather a fleet from each faction within Azur Lane. Also gather a fleet of META ships and a fleet of Imperium ships. We're conducting a training exercise."

Somnium nodded graciously before leaving. Y/n gazed idly out of his window as he buttoned his blazer, the weight of the imperial ornamentation adorning the sky-blue blazer seemingly heavier than usual. Despite that, he simply slapped his face a few times and straightened himself up.

After some time, he walked out of the base and onto the main dock where ten groups of six ships were waiting. Eight of them were fleets from Azur Lane's various nations. One was the group of META ships spearheaded by Code-E. The last were the six imperial ships which Y/n had to do a double take for since there were faces he didn't recognise.

Phalanx, Imperial Flame and Divine Right were the rear guard while the front line was composed of Vengeance Incandescent and two others that Y/n didn't know.

Y/n: "Somnium. Who might these two be?"

The admiral watched as one of the unknown ships hid behind Phalanx' rigging and peered out while the other one seemed to be completely feral.

Imperator Somnium: "Ah, I didn't wish to wake you when they arrived last night. But the shy one back there is Scylior."

Y/n had to do a double take, but it made sense. The grey, leathery skin, the black eyes, the quiet demeanour.

Y/n: "Well now, I didn't expect to meet a Carcharodon ship like this."

Y/n lowered himself to Scylior's height to seem more approachable before extending his hand towards her. She was considerably shorter than the legion flagships, but stood taller than Vengeance Incandescent by a head or two. The admiral watched as she extended her hand to shake his, her grey skin shimmering like shark scales in the daylight. Y/n smiled as her hand clasped his and gave a gentle shake, she was timid, but there was still that glint of murderous capability in her black eyes.

Y/n: "Nice to meet you. I am Lord High Admiral Y/n."

Scylior gave a slight nod before her voice came forth from her mouth like a sharp whisper.

Scylior: "Scylior. Sword-class Frigate of the Carcharodons Astra."

Y/n smiled before the other ship suddenly lunged at them and tried to bite at his fingers like some crack-addled chihuahua.

Y/n: "Somebody get a FUCKIN' leash for that one!"

Imperator Somnium: "Eternal Defiance. Enough."

The ship, seemingly now known as Eternal Defiance giggled maniacally before bolting back into formation with a manic grin. Y/n took a good look at her as her giggling continued. Bright crimson hair framed a slightly discoloured skin tone and dark eyes that seemed to swirl with a malignant orange hue amidst the black. He was about to question her existence when he saw the blakc emblem emblazened upon her right shoulder pauldron. A skull flanked by two curled horns against a crimson backdrop. He knew this chapter and suddenly her behaviour and those strange eyes made sense.

Y/n: "Exorcists."

Imperator Somnium: "She is Eternal Defiance. Strike Cruiser of the Exorcists chapter, she took part in the Gothic War."

Y/n: "I see..."

Y/n shook his head and looked at the imperial fleet with a frown.

Y/n: "... Never thought I'd ask this, where are the chaos girls?"

Imperator Somnium: "They wanted to do things in their own separate fleet, but since they only have battleships at the moment, they've had to put those plans on hold."

Y/n sighed in mild annoyance, but understood the intent. He then straightened himself up and turned to everyone before his voice boomed across the port.

Y/n: "Alright, listen up!"

His voice split the sound of idle chatter like a bolt of lightning as he put his arms behind his back and began pacing back and forth.

Y/n: "The objective of this exercise is simple. Inter-faction cohesion must be paramount to future operations!"

A slight nod from the girls indicated for him to continue.

Y/n: "In this exercise you of Azur Lane will form into groups of two fleets. Eagle Union and Sardegna Empire. Royal Navy and Vichya Dominion. Iron Blood and Northern Parliament. Iris Libre and Sakura Empire. Dragon Empery and Ashes."

As Y/n announced the teams, the fleets moved closer to one another until they noticed that the Imperials were yet to be announced.

Y/n: "Imperials, you'll split up and join both teams to keep things even."

Everybody nodded as Y/n continued.

Y/n: "This is a search and destroy exercise. Defenders will try to prevent attackers from planting the explosives. In the event that they manage to plant the explosives, you will have a small window of opportunity to defuse those explosives. Once a round is over, you will switch sides."

The girls all nodded in acknowledgement before Y/n turned to the imperial ships.

Y/n: "Phalanx. Scylior. Vengeance Incandescent. You three are on the defending team."

The three nodded before splitting from the others.

Y/n: "Imperial Flame, Eternal Defiance, Divine Right. You three are on the attacking team."

Flame nodded before ushering Eternal Defiance over to the other side of the admiral. He watched as the team leaders stepped forward. Enterprise, Bismarck, Giulio Cesare, Kronshtadt, Nagato, Queen Elizabeth, Richelieu, Clemenceau, Harbin, and Code E.

Y/n: "Each match will have four rounds. Somnium, if you could prepare the training area."

Somnium nodded before speeding off to the training area while Y/n turned back to the teams in front of him.

Y/n: "Eagle Union and Sardegna. Get into position on the defending side. Sakura Empire and Iris Libre, prepare the attacking side."

The leaders of the four factions nodded while the Ashes walked with the attacking team.

???: "You seem troubled, Admiral."

Y/n turned and saw Flamewrought walking over. Her face was marred with an expression of concern as she approached.

Y/n: "If I do, then it'll pass soon."

There was a moment of silence as Flamewrought looked at the admiral like she knew he was lying.

Flamewrought: "... Admiral."

Y/n sighed as he turned to her once again.

Y/n: "Alina has... brought troubling news. Eagle Union command has asked that observation be increased. Apparently, the politicians in their home country are... Less than pleased at my continued command."

Flamewrought: "Are they morons? At this point, this isn't their territory anymore."

Y/n: "Agreed. All one needs to do is look above the port."

Y/n looked up at the massive forms of the Imperial and Chaos ships that hung in low Terran orbit. His stoic gaze gave way to annoyance as he thought about the fact that some cowardly bureaucrats would dare try to question his authority. As Lord High Admiral, questioning him was akin to questioning the master of mankind himself and, though Y/n didn't see the emperor as a god, he remained steadfast in his loyalty.

Flamewrought: "... What will you do?"

Y/n: "For now, I will bide my time. Our forces will gather, our numbers will grow... And if they try anything, then they will burn."

Flamewrought nodded as the Lord High Admiral turned his attention to the preparing fleets of ships. He left it to Flamewrought and Somnium to preside over their training exercise as he made his way back to his office. As much as he wanted to see the girls under his command as they trained, he had work to do.

As he disappeared into the command building, the training exercise got underway. Eagle Union and Sardegna Empire were up against the Ashes and Dragon Empery with the Imperials mixed into their numbers.

They were lead to a specially prepared training ground that seemed to be split into three distinct lanes of attack. Two objectives were marked, but the attacking team could only go for one of those objectives. It was two teams of fifteen. Thirty ships in total, but six of those ships happened to have apocalyptic levels of firepower.

The two teams got into position and the starting horn was sounded from Somnium's ship form.

As the exercise commenced, Y/n sat down at his desk, rifling through various files and documents that were of no significant import to him. He sighed as he pored over the words written on each document until a peculiar voice snapped him out of his boredom.

???: "You seem disinterested in the menial work, Admiral."

Y/n's attention was drawn to a holographic image of a tall woman clad in pure golden robes accentuating her rather generous curves, long black hair cascaded down her back, but the most striking feature were the glowing golden eyes that peered down at him from the other side of his desk.

Y/n: "Bucephalus."

Bucephalus giggled slightly, hearing his bored-yet-reverent tone.

Bucephalus: "Dearest sister informed me that Scylior and Eternal Defiance made it to the port okay."

Y/n sighed as he thought back to the living jumpscare that was the little gremlin known as Eternal Defiance.

Y/n: "Yes. They're both conducting a training exercise with some of the other ships."

Bucephalus smiled gracefully before noticing the annoyed expression on the admiral's face.

Bucephalus: "Something weighs upon your mind. Lord High Admiral though you may be, you are still young. Far younger than most naval officers in the thirtieth, or even fortieth millennium."

The flagship of the Emperor extended an arm and, with a slight ripple of golden light, her hand gently rested against the Admiral's cheek.

Bucephalus: "Tell me what has drawn your ire, and I shall remove it."

Y/n: "It's... It's not something that can be dealt with simply. The politicians in the homeland of the Eagle Union are causing something of a headache. Same with those in the homeland of the Royal Navy."

Y/n held up one of the documents and Bucephalus had a cursory glance through its contents, a frown marring her expression as she did so.

Bucephalus: "... Disgusting."

Y/n looked up and saw that Bucephalus was clearly angry, far angrier than he was.

Bucephalus: "They dare to try to manipulate an envoy of the Imperium? To question the authority of a Lord High Admiral!?"

She went eerily silent for a moment and closed her eyes to compose herself before she turned to an unseen companion.

Bucephalus: "Forgive my sudden departure from the group. An urgent matter has come up."

Y/n's head perked up slightly as Bucephalus turned back to him, her shining golden eyes boring into his.

Bucephalus: "Lord High Admiral, I shall be with you in a day or so."

Y/n: "Wai-"

Before he could finish, Bucephalus cut the communication and he was left with the silence of his office, occasionally broken by the sounds of gunfire from the training grounds. He sighed and idly gazed out of his window as he saw the brief flashes on the horizon.

Meanwhile, within a room in the medical wing of the port, USS Yorktown gazed out at the same flashes of light. She idly wondered just what it was like, being a ship of the imperium. As if to answer her idly wonder however, Endurance walked into the room.

Yorktown: "Endurance."

Endurance flashed a small smile as she sat down next to Yorktown.

Yorktown: "I was just wondering what it's like, being part of the imperial navy."

Endurance frowned as she leaned back on the seat she had pulled over.

Endurance: "... Back in the glory days, it was just that... Glorious. I remember the grinning faces of my crew from back then. The only ones who never smiled were Mortarion and that slimy rat, Typhus."

Yorktown: "Could you tell me what they were like? Your crew I mean."

Endurance: "The death guard were a hardy bunch. We used to be called the dusk raiders before Mortarion was found. Though I couldn't be with them as I can be with you all, I used to share in every victory celebration held within my hull."

Yorktown: "... It must be hard, with the fighting."

Endurance: "The fighting was never the difficult part..."

Endurance went quiet for a few moments before she sighed and gently took hold of Yorktown's hand.

Endurance: "I- If mother asks, I never told you this."

She hushed up again before speaking in a subdued, saddened tone.

Endurance: "I often have flashbacks when I sleep. My most recent one was the day we initiated the Istvaan III dropsite massacre."

Yorktown: "M- Massacre..."

Endurance nodded solemnly.

Endurance: "When we solidified our betrayal of the Imperium and purged the loyalist cells of our legions. I remembered that day... And I have never shed so many tears since I awakened here."

Yorktown's eyes widened in surprise as Endurance sat slightly hunched over next to her bed.

Endurance: "I, the flagship of the death guard, wept. The legion known for our resilience, and yet a single memory is enough to bring me to tears."

Yorktown couldn't form words. Here was this stalwart bulwark of unfiltered power, and she had admitted that even she could cry.

Endurance quickly shook her head before going to speak when another voice stopped her.

???: "You too, huh?"

Endurance and Yorktown looked over at Vengeful Spirit as she leaned against the doorframe.

Vengeful Spirit: "You're not the only one who has nightmares about that day... Hell, I wake up in a cold sweat thinking about the day Horus was corrupted, but... That day... Whenever I remember it I just wanna scream for the bombing to stop. I wanna go down to the planet's surface and rescue as many as I can, but... I can't. It's just a memory. One I'm forced to relive over and over again."

Endurance nodded in somber understanding.

Endurance: "Temeter, Huron-Fal..."

Vengeful Spirit: "Loken. Torgaddon..."

The two legion flagships shared a somber moment of silence. They lost many of their legions on that Terra forsaken day. They may have been aligned to chaos for some time, but that didn't mean that the fall of their legions hurt any less.

On the other side of the wall by the door, Conqueror stood with her arms crossed, her teeth grit as she thought of the World Eaters lost to the slaughter. She then let out a quiet sigh and looked at the chains wrapped around her right arm, upon the steel links were names engraved in the metal, the names of those who died on Istvaan III, most prominently however, was captain Ehrlen. She clenched her fists tight enough to crack the ceramite gauntlet on her left hand. It was unfair, so very, very... Unfair.

At least she knew now though, that her sisters were in a similar situation. The constant flashbacks, nightmares leaving them helpless as they watched the world burn below them.

Back out at the training ground, the ships continued training. The Royal Navy and Vichya Dominion fought fiercely against the Sakura Empire and Iris Libre with the imperial ships providing support for both sides.

On the sidelines, as they watched the exercise taking place, Bismarck turned to Enterprise.

Bismarck: "What do you make of the imperials?"

Enterprise didn't even need time to think as she spoke her answer immediately.

Enterprise: "Devastatingly powerful."

Bismarck hummed and gave an agreeing nod as she watched the smaller imperial ships buzzing around their counterparts and laying into them with practiced bombardments.

Bismarck: "They see themselves as weapons and yearn to be wielded as such, however..."

Her eyes drifted back to the port as a small smile emerged on her face.

Bismarck: "I suspect that attitude is to mask their true feelings. Lord High Admiral Y/n has made it clear that they suffer mental trauma from the things they've seen, done, and endured."

Enterprise: "They want to be weapons, but their Admiral refuses to see them as such."

A small smile graced Enterprises lips as she watched the ships in the training area battle. Bismarck followed her gaze and saw how effortless the teamwork between Imperial ships was, they moved in tandem like a well oiled machine... Except for one.

Imperial Flame was more sluggish and her expression, while stoic, did nothing to hide the clear pain in her eyes.

Enterprise saw it too, but before she could address it, Somnium stepped up.

Imperator Somnium: "That's time! Final result! Royal Navy and Vichya Dominion win!"

The two teams whooped in joy as they exited the training area for a break. Somnium then spoke quietly without turning to Enterprise and Bismarck.

Imperator Somnium: "Flame hides her feelings well. I suspect this exercise was to allow me to see the pain that my daughters hide."

The two flagships turned to the command carrier as her glassy red eye shed but a single golden tear.

Bismarck: "A cruel method... But an effective one."

Imperator Somnium: "Cruelty and war are the currencies of the Imperium. Do not blame him, it's what he's known since he was a boy."

Bismarck: "... He mentioned Necromunda before. His former home."

Imperator Somnium: "Yes... A twisted, hostile place ravaged by gang warfare. I have been informed of some things he spoke of so far, but allow me to give you both the full picture."

Somnium placed her hands on the heads of the two shipgirls and closed her eyes. Immediately their minds showed them the homeworld that Y/n grew up on. A dark, dingy place where the sun didn't reach. Huge statues of the Emperor stood in plazas where hungry denizens shuffled about. The image shifted to a part of the industrial hellscape that was being torn up by gangers. Their makeshift weaponry wreaking havoc on the infrastructure as bullets ricocheted off of the steel.

The image shifted again, this time to a long line of people dressed in rags, shuffling along with pale skin, bags under their eyes and bodies so thin that one could call them skeletal. They shuffled along as men with whips yelled, their booming voices drowning out all but the sound of the industrial meat grinder that was the reality those people lived in. Finally, Somnium removed her hands and the two were brought back to the real world. Bismarck was visibly disturbed and Enterprise couldn't find the words to describe what she'd seen.

Bismarck: "Th- That was..."

Imperator Somnium: "A small glimpse of the hell that is the underhive. A hell that Y/n escaped... He was still a boy when they found him. They took him straight to the Schola Progenium and he never saw sunlight until he was officially in the navy. Can you imagine?"

Somnium's voice trailed off before she let out a sigh.

Imperator Somnium: "The Imperium is rotten. Even I can tell you that much. But, people like Y/n give me some hope."

She smiled as she looked toward the office window that she knew Y/n was on the other side of as he wrote out a report or sneakily caught up on some sleep.

As it turned out, she was more accurate on that second guess as the Admiral leaned back on his seat with his naval cap tilted forward to cover his eyes He had chosen to simply not deal with whatever Bucephalus had planned which likely involved an orbital strike.

As he leaned back however, the door slowly opened and a pair of white fox ears emerged from the other side of the door. The owner of those ears was a shipgirl from the Sakura Empire. One that was very rarely seen, even around her own homeland. She strode over to the admiral and stared for a moment as if to make sure he was definitely asleep. When she was sure that he was unconscious she nodded to herself with a small smile and gently lifted him out of his chair before lying down on the nearby couch with him. Nine massive fox tails then wrapped themselves around the admiral's body as the shipgirl also drifted off into a slumber.

Meanwhile, out in the depths of space, a gargantuan ship began to approach, her golden hull shimmered in the sun's light and the huge two-headed eagle that was emblazoned upon the sides of her hull shone brilliantly. Her sister on Terra sensed her approach with a smile and she let out a chuckle.

Bucephalus was coming and she would bring the Imperium's unending wrath with her.

End of Chapter.

Next Time: The Dream-Walking Fox.