=================

After 3 days of all relaxation on the beaches, reality came back hard to Azur Lane and Caster. And the war is not over. And for now, Caster is on a remote island, and the girls are not too far away from it. They're doing... Wait, what are they doing?

"1st team... Ready your guns, we're going hot." Caster said to the communicator while he's laying down on the ground. He has binoculars and he's peering through it.

"Takao. Ready on your command."

"Master. Belfast is ready."

"Edinburgh is also ready."

"Master... Master... Dido is ready to satisfy you."

A-kun: Oh, god. Why did I have that on my notes?!

The entire chatter on the radio stopped and had an awkward tension flowing in the air. With Caster just utterly confused and he thought that she definitely worded that wrong.

'O...kay...'

"A-anyway... Prince of Wales. Ready for artillery support."

"Z23. Commander, just say the word."

Every girl is ready to fire their cannons on the targets that Caster set up.

He looks at a map... And he has a rule and a pen with him. He draws a line and gets some coordinates of some sort.

"Okay. Request fire mission on Grid 144567." Caster said with a bit of confusion from the difficulty of this grid system. "Danger close, by the way."

The girls fire their cannons and a big shockwave was heard and the waters felt that as well. As waves came crashing to the island where Caster was on. But luckily not big to get Caster doused in the saltwater...

BOOM!

As the shots land, on target or not on target, he still peered into the binoculars even harder. Trying to see through the smoke.

"Nope. No joy. No effect on the target." Caster said scratching his head.

=================

Another team of battleships, light and heavy cruisers, and some destroyers... Ready for their exercise.

"2nd team. Get your guns hot and get ready to fire." Caster said once more to another team of girls.

"King George V is ready."

"Cleveland, ready for targets."

"Carolina, ready for a fire mission."

"Washington. Ready."

"May our shots hit, Commander. Hood's ready."

"H-Helena... I am ready."

Caster's dummy targets are still there since the 1st team didn't have a chance of hitting them... Still not too far from him. They will serve as targets on this exercise or whatever they're doing.

He heard some loud noises behind him. The guns fire again.

BANG!

"Impact..." He mumbled...

BOOM!

He looked through the smoke with his binoculars again.

"Negative effect on target..." Caster sighed.

'Just what the hell...'

'I got to teach them fire missions. They can hit moving ships on the water, but this is a different story when hitting something on the ground.' He thought. Getting frustrated a little bit.

"And this system is very inefficient... Maybe laser marking would do the trick. Making my life easier and theirs." He weirdly started talking to himself. And the girls noticed.

"Commander, you're talking to who?" Cleveland asks him confused.

"Oh. Damn. Sorry, girls." He said before standing up and leaving the map behind him...

He walked on the beach and waved at the girls and the girls came to him.

"Alright, ladies, you can take a break. I'll figure out something so our fire missions are more effective next time." Caster yawned. As he was getting tired...

"Yes, Commander... We don't exactly get what our system is... Sorry if we are slow to adapt." Hood apologizes on the behalf of all the girls in the 1st team. The grid coordinate system is very methodical and slow.

Caster isn't just commanding heavy, slow ships that take 10 years to turn starboard. The rigging of their weapons of destruction are strapped onto them and somehow doesn't give them much weight. Thus, giving them mobility.

But with a cost though, their guns don't do much impact and the recoil is just dangerous. It could send girls flying if not careful or lacks proper balance.

And the prep for tasking them a fire mission is hard when the girls can't see their target. It is very easy on open waters, with targets sticking out like a custom car in a stock car garage. But on land, they can't see jack.

Caster has tested multiple systems already. This is the 4th time that he got the same criticism of his system. And not just his fire mission system. No, no, no. It's his entire system as a whole. On how he chooses girls on commissions, the lack of IJN ships joining the fray.

And the research on those 'modern' blueprints that they got from the captured Siren Carrier is still not done. Guess all these problems just ambushed Caster when he's not looking.

The girls walk away and Caster is walking back to the base. In his lonesome.

=================

The last day of the beach vacation... 3 AM in the morning.

"Commander... You may wanna look at this..." A voice said and she was knocking on the door. At 3 in the morning. Why?

After some repeated knocks on the door, he finally woke up and he was really irritated. Who the hell would be awake at this time?

He opened the door to see Illustrious. Slightly panicked. But he couldn't care less. He almost got harassed before he slept. His sleep schedule is SCREWED.

"Oh, my GOD! WHO IS AWAKE!?" Caster shouted at the top of his lungs before he opened the door.

Behind it is Illustrious and it was the first time ever that she got out of her 'calm' facade. Her face was screaming fear. She looked like she got jump-scared.

But who wakes someone up at 3?! A Florida man? Wait...

"Oh... Why now?" Caster said and he yawned... Shaking his head and looking at the ground in utter disappointment.

"Victorious's scout planes found something that is interesting." Illustrious grabbed something under her... *ahem* bust and gave the thing to Caster.

"What is this?" Caster said lazily. Wiping his eyes.

"A screenshot from her planes." Illustrious plainly said. She's planning to explain everything to Caster so she can be slightly forgiven by the intrusion of a healthy sleep schedule.

Caster inspected the photo even though it was dim as hell, with the moon the only light they can get, and Caster's drowsiness just made it worse.

He saw some... Ships? And large circle things?

But luckily for him, Illustrious will just tell him what the pictures mean rather just hopelessly trying to understand the picture.

"You see, you know the Sirens that we defeated when the ambush on our base?" Illustrious asked Caster first for some context.

"Yeah?" Caster gave back the picture to Illustrious. Planning to see it the next day.

"The Sirens teleported came out of that portal in the picture... And they were heading north by the looks of it."

Then Caster just nodded and smiled.

And then he slammed the door shut in Illustrious's face. It was rude, but you know what ruder? WAKING SOMEBODY FO---

=================

Caster just arrived back at the base with sweat all over his head.

'I could have been on somebody's arms the whole entire time...' He thought before going back to his office and immediately went to shower. (since there's a bathroom in his office... okay.)

=================

As he was showering, Illustrious, Hornet, and Z23 were in the room and they were arranging documents... Commissions, the progress on the 'modern' blueprints, and other plans.

As Hornet was going through the folders, she kept seeing nicknames. And this reminded her of something.

"You know, have we kept track of how many nicknames Commander got?" Hornet started the conversation strong. Getting Illustrious's and Nimi's attention.

"Hm... I may not know much, but I am sure that he's got plenty of nicknames already." Illustrious commented. Having limited knowledge about the nickname thing.

"I have heard some. Javelin couldn't shut her mouth about it. One of them is '6-0'. I don't know why..."

"I'm pretty sure that he hasn't lost a battle yet? It's pretty straight forward don't you think?" Lusty said after she put the said photos from yesterday on the Commander's desk.

"I think Hood said one time the most suitable nickname for him is 'Reckless Winner'," Illustrious continued and she sat down and drank some tea.

The list goes on of nicknames of the 2nd otherworlder. His victories, talents and the word of mouth has given him such a great reputation.

To be put it bluntly, the 1st otherworlder literally could have had the same reputation as Caster did if he was just tame when it came to the girls... But he didn't.

"Air support training is going to be in 2 hours... Be ready for that, girls." He walked out of the bathroom. In his Commander's uniform.

"That was a really tiring walk. I'm sorry that I didn't help you or accompany you." Z23 apologized to Caster.

As he dried his hair, he still felt something was off. That something isn't in place. Something missing... Then he remembered.

"Have anyone seen my reading glasses? I just remembered that it got lost 2 months ago." Caster glanced at his desk. Finding all but folders and books.

The 3 girls in the room glanced at each other looking for answers... Telepathically, of course. Then Hornet raised her hand up.

"My sister... I think she has your glasses. I have seen her walking around the base with glasses. Something that I have never seen before from her." Hornet suggested a conclusion.

Suffice to say, he believed her immediately.

"Okay." He plainly said, he hung up his towel to dry and bolted out of the office. Almost destroying the door on the way out.

"Geez." Z23 facepalmed.

Since the start of his Commander duties, he has finally got some decent memory now and he can work with his paperwork even if at times it looked like a sea of papers trying to drown him.

About his failed systems situation, he's already drawing up a few more systems but it was another work added to the plethora of works he already has to do on a regular basis.

The vacation month that the girls promised to Caster is not done yet. But that doesn't mean that work is gone fully. Commissions and daily missions always have to be done. And paperwork to boot.

But even with the system and teamwork exercises failures, he is still effective as a just a vocal leader. And that still gives substance and can give a noticeable effect on a battlefield.

The wind blows cold in the Commander's office...

=================

A girl... Running on the rugged and broken down cobblestone path towards a big structure. It looked like a fortress. A nearly destroyed one.

The girl finally gets inside the fortress and saw a woman who was holding up a big spear... And it had a flag on it. Sitting on a throne of some sort.

And another woman. A beautiful woman at that. But they're warriors nonetheless.

"Miss! We finally found the place!" The girl gives a paper to one of the women in the room.

"This place?" The beautiful woman raised a brow at the coordinates and pictures she was seeing.

"Yes." The girl bowed before running out to do more work.

The flag-bearer girl raised her hat to see a cold stare.

"We can continue and finish what she started."

=================

"Finally got those glasses," Caster wiped his sweat and his glasses. "Let's finish this exercise before I undoubtedly change the targeting method."

He's about to conduct another exercise. But for the aircraft carriers now. He feels that he's forcing himself to do this when he already knows that this is not going to work as well as the other method he has in his head.

But another operation is coming up. And the days of the vacation month are fading away. Days feel so fast when you're not paying attention, does it?

The shopping list that Akashi was tasked to find was still not done yet. Guess those parts are even harder to find now. But gold is coming her way. And her nature surely approves of that even if the order was tough.

=================

He was back on his spot. He sat down on the rock. The map and the pen that he left her a while ago are amazingly still there.

He took out his binoculars and his communicator. "Alright... Team 1, report."

"Hornet here."

"Onii... Onii-chan. Unicorn is ready..." A voice like cotton spoke.

"May the holy light guide our shots."

"Lexington, ready."

"Saratoga is also ready!!!"

"OooooOOo... I'm a ghost..."

He just shook his head. Knowing that is Long Island last to report her presence in the exercise.

He commanded the same grid location as earlier, Grid 144567. Caster prepared himself on the noise onslaught of the propellers of the planes about to be launched.

He wore a noise-canceling headset as the planes fly out and gave an airstrike at the area that Caster called out.

Miniguns were firing, and that was literally the only sound that Caster could hear for 10 seconds. Deafening, brain-damaging, everything.

As the smoke clears, Caster saw that the dummies for the 1st time, finally got some hole punched through them with the minigun fire.

"Impact! Good effect on the target. Nice work, girls." He stood up and he replaced the beaten dummies with new ones.

=================

The girls go back to the base, and the 2nd team comes in. Last one.

"Team 2. Report in." Caster demanded.

"Kaga. On your command."

"Caster... My love."

'Woo... Definitely not creeped out right now...' Caster told himself as he was almost hyperventilating. 'How am I doing to deal with this...?'

Seems our resident Commander doesn't know how to deal with affection at the highest degree. A problem? Yes, it is.

"Souryuu. Your leadership will guide us to victory."

"Hiryuu here."

"Zuikaku... 2nd ship of the Shoukaku class."

"Shoukaku reporting in... Let's do our best, everyone."

'WHY AM I HERE?! WHY AM I HERE?! BADSENIORS, BADSENIORS, BADSENIORS, BADSENIORS.'

"Good to be finally working with you all. Impress me, will you all?" He said it with his signature confident tone.

The girls all said something along the lines of: "Of course!" or "No pressure."

"Great to hear confidence just as good as mine. Anyway, get ready."

Caster called out his last 'Grid 144567' and the girls flew out some of their planes.

Wait? Did I say 'some'? No, no. I meant ALL of their planes. The confidence boost they got from Caster also affected how they attacked. And the Sakura Empire girls thought that they were firing on a real target. Like a Siren or something.

This misunderstanding culminates of the half of the exercise island a crater and Caster... How is he?

"W-why..."

=================

Caster went outside to the docks, and a lot of girls are currently there right now.

Curious, he walked up to the commotion.

"Commander! Just in time. Do you want something from the menu?" Hornet exclaimed. Happy to see him.

He smiled warmly at her. "What is this?"

Hornet explained that this area that they built, the tents for cover and lighting, the tables, the folding chairs, and the buffet-style of catering. She told Caster that this was an outside cafeteria.

And they plan to do it for a week. Since the vacation month is still not over. And they still have time to relax.

It looked like a market with the number of girls here. Girls were chatting, other factions inter-mingling with each other, some playing with their food, and some eating their food in silence. It was all kinds of weird there.

And if Caster just sat in one of the chairs there and decides to eat, all of the girls would definitely take the chance to know him better and sit next to him.

And fortunately, he knows this also.

"Commander... Earth to Commander!" Hornet said before Caster shook his head. With a smile right after.

'For a former Commander himself, he sure is a dork.' Hornet commented on Caster's awkwardness.

"I'll take some curry and some tempura. I haven't tasted the Empire's cuisine yet."

"Here you go!" Hornet gave her a big plate of his choice of foods. With some rice to come with it.

Before he can even turn around, almost all of the girls' eyes were straight to him. He is definitely a celebrity amongst the girls and he doesn't know it at all...

What a humble runt. Right, guys?

So he turned his 'neutral' mode on and went somewhere that doesn't have a girl at...

A lone bench overseeing the docks and the ocean. He sat down and started to eat his meal. But he was more focusing on thinking rather than eating.

"Commander, nya?"

He almost dropped his plate in surprise. He looked to his left, and Akashi showed up before him.

"Oh, god. Please don't surprise me like that." He took a deep breath. Before chomping some tempura.

Then Akashi gave back the same paper that Caster gave her 4 days ago. The contents of the list have a big check written all over it.

"The orders are done?" Caster he looked at her. And she nodded. "Where is it?"

"The things are in your office. It was expensive, nya. Don't buy that much next time, nya. You're going to siphon all our resources, nya." Akashi said before turning around.

"It was hard to assemble. And my payment..." She lastly said before walking away.

'She looked so cool...'

And he continued eating his curry and tempura.

And after some time, he finally got through with his meal. He brought back the plate and grabbed a water bottle and sat back on the bench.

He took a glug of water from the bottle.

"Ah... What a view..."

Caster's eyes widen and he turned his head on the direction of the voice.

It was Zuikaku. Standing and staring at the waters... He hasn't talked to her till now. Like straight up can't start a conversation. So he was being careful with his words.

"Zuikaku. Your older sister is Shoukaku right?"

"Gah!" Zuikaku just looked on her left and see Caster just staring at her. And this made her jump in genuine surprise and fear. He was like a ghost. Just appeared outta nowhere. And it reminded her of someone.

As for Caster, the reaction almost made him laugh. But he thankfully kept it in or problems will be imminent when he does.

"P-pardon?" Zuikaku said while her hand was on her chest. Beating so fast from the moment earlier. It creeped her out big time.

"Your sister is Shoukaku, right?" Caster repeated his conversation starter/question.

"Y-yes..." She hesitantly sat down next to him. As her legs were getting tired from standing.

"It feels great when you have a lovely sibling like her. Always there to help you." He said before he positioned himself to be more relaxed.

"Do you think...? Do you have a sibling yourself?" Zuikaku cautiously pressed the topic of siblings... In a more subtle way, since she's also in the same predicament as Caster. She hasn't talked to Caster ever.

"Well..." His face soured.

Over the course of 13 minutes, he had explained almost everything to Zuikaku. His upbringing, the tragic loss of his parents, and the abandonment of his sibling. He really didn't hold back. He literally told Zuikaku everything. And he did it subconsciously.

He has a habit of doing this a lot. Well, to his friends.

"But I'm thankful though." Caster's sour look was turning back to its normal state.

"What for?" Zuikaku as she eyed Caster's water bottle.

"That I have such dependable girls like you." He laughed suddenly. "Why does it sound so cheesy every time?"

After hearing the story, she felt bad. And can tell that he's probably faking his happiness in front of her.

"You know, Commander, you have already done so much for us since our faction joined you." Zui tries to make him happier.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean: 'What do you mean?'" Zuikaku tilted her head. "You don't think you've done anything for us?"

"I... I don't know how I made your life better since the fight. The stress has been too much and it has been pure frustration on my end. Trying my best to fix everything." said Caster. Whose face turned much sourer than last time. And he now admitted that the stress finally was getting to his head.

A-kun: Just like me. Wait.

Zuikaku felt worse about his situation and she scooted closer to him and tried her very best to comfort him. Even though she's just as awkward as Caster is.

"Please do not overwork yourself. Do you realize that so many girls want to help you?" said Zuikaku.

In a way, Caster felt déjà vu from her statement. He also said that as an argument point for Enterprise back on the USS Enterprise to calm down once again.

His mood wasn't really changing.

"Commander."

"Huh?" He looked at Zui.

"Can I take your water bottle? I'm thirsty." Zuikaku held out her hand to reach the bottle hesitantly.

"Uh, sure. Anyway, I'll be going back to the office. It's getting late." He gave the water bottle to Zuikaku. And he stood back up. "See you tomorrow, Zuikaku."

As he walked away, Zuikaku took a glug of the water bottle that Caster gave her. And did not realize what she just did to herself.

=================

Back at the office, he looked at the parts that Akashi gave her on the desk.

The desk was really messy. Folders that were put by Z23 earlier was still there, And some papers for paperwork was laid on the desk as well. But he put them down on the floor for now.

He smiled like a little kid. "Time to assemble these..."

=================

"Attach this... And, done." He nodded.

It's really late at night and Caster has finished assembling his 'thing'... Whatever it is.

"It's finally here. And done."

M200 Intervention w/ Suppressor & Variable Zoom... (You know the drill.)

"And this!"

M14 EBR Scoped.

A-kun: And a sidearm. I don't know what gun this is. But it looks cool so I'll use it.

After he assembled them all and taking a look at its ammunitions, he took a gander at the whiteboard he put in his office. With pictures and some drawings drawn there.

And the center, the recon photograph given by Illustrious from Victorious.

"The next operation is upon us."

"Operation: Snowstorm."

A-kun: I apologize greatly for the wait, had problems per usual, but I do hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I had making it. Can Caster finally be not neutral every goddamn time and be reactive to the girl's advancements? Find out next time, in *insert bootleg show here*!

Anyway, see you next chapter! Goodbye!

Word Count: 3050 Words.

1:51 AM
6/17/20