2 || Prologue • Fleet Admiral Kōri

"They had done it... May God have mercy on us all."

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April 2032

Seto Inland Sea (near Hiroshima), Japan



It is a calm, sunny day at the sea. We can see the entire upgraded United States 7th Fleet sailing towards the exit, into the Pacific Ocean to the south. With over 70 ships, almost a mix of new generation and old 2010 types of aircraft ranging from 150 to over 200 aircraft, and nearly 300,000 sailors and marines on board.

Their commander...?

Meet Fleet Admiral Y/N Kōri, the youngest holder of the said position in this generation. At the age of 31, he was awarded many ribbons and medals in his time of service since he was 18 years old. Born to a Japanese mother and an American father in San Francisco, his father once fought in the Gulf War and the Balkans back in the 2000s.

Nowadays, FA Kōri is known to be cold, and strict, yet a protective leader and approachable when it comes to off-duty.

His flagship was the new generation of the America-class Stealth Aircraft Carrier named, the USS Constitution. The name referred to the old, wooden-hulled USS Constitution back in 1797.

Main parts or the skeleton of the USS Constitution

The model shown here, has a length of 302 meters, a max beam of 78 meters, and a displacement (when fully loaded) of around 82,000 tons.

It has two flight decks in a CATOBAR configuration, using the US electromagnetic (EMALS) launch system to launch aircraft. The lower flight deck can be used to launch and store UCAVs and manned aircraft, while the exposed upper flight deck can be used as an extra deck if necessary, to launch manned aircraft.

Aircraft can only land on the angled landing strip on the upper deck, which has retractable arresting gear only exposed when aircraft have to land on the carrier, to minimize radar reflection when no aircraft needs to be recovered.

Outer look at the USS Constitution

Key figures:

- Length: 302 m

- Width: max. 78m at the lower flight deck, 48m at the waterline

- Displacement: 82,000 tons when fully loaded

- Propulsion: integrated electric power system powered by a nuclear reactor

- Maximum range: 10000 yards

- Crew: 450 to operate the ship, 1200 with a full airwing embarked

- Airwing: a mix of up to 120 manned (fixed wing and rotary) aircraft and UCAVs

- Weapons: laser weapons and missiles for self-defense- Stealth design

- Material used includes stealth-coated steel above the waterline, carbon fiberglass and hardened plastic

- Around 50 times harder to detect on radar compared to non-stealthy, similar-sized aircraft carriers

- Acoustic signature is comparable to that of the Los Angeles-class submarine

- Cost per unit: USD 22 bln

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Admiral Kōri is seen at the bridge, staring at the blue, calm yet waving seas ahead. Crossing his arms, he was silent and thinking of something...

"Quiet, today. Right, Sir?" One of his colleagues, Rear Admiral Ethan White stated, that Kōri turned around with a frown, hearing that his fellow admiral said the cursed, and infamous Q-word.

"Admiral, what did I say about mentioning that... word?" Kōri gave him a nonchalant look. White faintly smiled.

"Admiral Kōri, you're having those kind of thoughts again, are you?" He stood next to his friend as they enjoyed the calm seas. "My condolences to your mother, Y/N." He said with a solemn tone.

Kori was silent. He only held the railing tightly, closing his eyes. "Admiral, radio the USS Ronald Reagan. Tell 'em that the last ship was now out from Hiroshima."

RA White sighed and nodded, saluting after. "Aye, sir."

"Also, inform TF 74 and their subs to create a perimeter as we organize our ships in a sailing matter before we can go straight to Busan."

Whilst speaking, a loud rumbling hum was heard all over the fleet. The ship rattled, causing the two admirals to nearly trip over and grab the railing. "What in the...?!" Kōri snapped his head to the crew inside, "Radioman? Tell me that was just the breeze."

The radioman that is manning the RADAR, shakes his head. "Negative, sir." He tapped the radar once more, yet no light illuminated. "RADAR's dead, shall we initiate an emergency power system, sir?"

Kōri nodded. "Do whatever you can, Geronimo." He then moved to the alternate microphone and ordered, "All hands to General Quarters."

"Sound the alarm, now!" Admiral White added, pushing the button on the side.

Loud sirens blared as the seamen of USS Freedom scattered in an orderly fashion. "GENERAL QUARTERS, GENERAL QUARTERS, ALL HANDS TO YOUR BATTLE STATIONS."

"Give the USS Chatanooga and USS Shawnee this message. "Likely EMP. Take caution and alert the others." He ordered an aide to write his sentence on a piece of paper. "Run and deliver the message, ASAP."

The seaman snapped a salute and hurriedly exited the bridge as another metallic sound groaned beneath the sea, causing the ship to rock a little.

"Anderson, how much until we can put up our birds in the air?" He asked the man far away from him.

"Power's still not up yet, sir. That EMP caught us off-guard.  It would take 3 to 5 minutes if we were lucky."

"Luck, we need that secondly. But we need that power first-hand! Has anyone contacted the boys below?!" He shouted as another answered.

"Affirmative, sir! They are powering up the backup engines. That should take 30 seconds."

"Damn the DoD... Who has the right mind to greenlight this and make the ship fully electric? Fucking Elon Musk, of course..." Kōri snarled as he shuffled to the other side of the bridge.
After that, the messenger returned with a paper at hand, he gave it to Kōri as the man panted, catching his breath.

Kōri silently read the letter, his brows furrowed before he cursed, "Hell..." He then went outside of the flag bridge to the flight control and saw arrowhead missiles flying from the distance. "Inform and man all AA defenses! We've got incoming!"

*BRRRRTT!*

*Whoosh! Whoosh!*

The AMRAAMs and Sea Sparrows countered the flying G2A ASMs as tracers of orange danced above the blue sky.


________

Jets from the USN, and USAF scrambled and took off to defend the remnants of the 7th Fleet. Y/N, now with a cut wound on his forehead starts to ache as 3 hours after the beginning of the attack crippled a fourth of the entire fleet. Enemy jets can be seen flying past the USS Freedom as the ship's own ranged laser weapons protected the ship from another wave of the enemy's cruise missiles.

"Turn hard to starboard, now!". Kōri ordered the helmsman.

"Hard to starboard, aye aye sir." He repeated as he turned the wheel of the ship. They tilted in a slight degree as the ship went right.

"Status report?!" He asked.

"Gallery deck has been slightly damaged by those missiles. Hangars are safe and sound as well with the aircraft inside. Engine room reports minimal damage as well."

"Good. Now we are collecting ourselves, are we?" Kōri snickered. "Does any ships of ours outside CONUS know?"

The man paled as he answered...

"Y-Yes, sir. An hour after the EMP, synchronized strikes hit Hiroshima and the Ryukyu Islands. Hawaii and Alaska are on red alert as DEFCON has been raised to Level 2, precisely after." With that grave news, Y/N's eyes widened, and gulped, nervously slumped on a nearby chair.

"God... And I suppose the President will raise the order to... Level One?"

The man hesitated at first. "That might be a possibility, sir."

Y/N took a deep breath, thinking this thoroughly as explosions could still be heard outside. His crew silently observed his expression and composure as he sighed.

"Get me the USS Constellation and the whole fleet on the line. Announce to them that we're now on DEFCON 2."

All of a sudden, another seaman enters the room, sweating hard and pale. "Sir, urgent news, nukes from the peninsula and the mainland have been launched. NORAD counts over 300 mixes of SLBMs and ICBMs going for Japan and other countries in Asia."

"That's... not a false alarm, was it?" Sadly, the seaman slowly shakes his head. Admitting that the reports were true.

"And so it begins..." Y/N muttered. Left with no choice, he faced the crew. "Raise to DEFCON 1, tell the George Washington and other NBM-held ships to retaliate and fire their arsenals now. And I mean it, now...!"

As he gave the order, he saw some of the ships firing their missiles high up in the air, especially the submarines. As they flew higher and higher, Y/N could see the enemy's missiles coming over from afar in a large trail of smoke behind its boosters.

"Gentlemen, for all of my years serving the navy... You might think as well, why I am called the "Ice Cold Admiral". Y/N stated, "I did that not just for every one of you. But also to prove that I am unwavering and calm when it comes to this kind of decision."

Silence fills the entire room as he continues. "It is an honor, giving me the opportunity to serve this fleet and this ship. As you all know recently, I lost my only family back home, my mother. And now, this...

I salute all of you. May God bless us all, and may he ever forgive us for what we've done."

As he finished his speech, Y/N saluted his crew before his eyes met the coast of Hiroshima from far away. The single warhead nearly met the ground as a bright flash of light consumed the coast and every city in Japan.


___________


He blinked...

Yet he didn't feel the scorching heat nor the toxic air around him. His hands blindly grabbed whatever he gripped onto.

Sand... He loved sand.

His mind warily focused on the outside, still with his eyes closed. He hears the waves crashing onto the shore.

The sea, the waves tickled his feet and made his shoes wet.

Groaning, he opened his eyes and realized that what he experienced earlier was like a dream. A dream he wishes he could never encounter again.

Is this an illusion? Or that was a nightmare?

"KYYAAAAHH!!"

And yet, he heard a girl screaming not far away from him.

Why would a girl would scream like that?


With his reflex, he was surprised to feel the cold barrel of a gun at the back of his waist. He grabs it and is intrigued when he finds a note alongside with the gun.

It's an old Smith and Wesson Model 29 revolver. And he was familiar of it. Ignoring the revolver, he read the note silently.

His eyes scanned the whole note, eyes narrowing with suspicion before it widens. With his hands shaking, the note slipped away from his hand.


"I'm in the world of WHAT-?!"

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THERE WE GO! FIRST OFFICIAL CHAPTER OF ICE COLD ADMIRAL!

THOUGHTS? SUGGESTIONS?

TAKE NOTE THAT THE FIRST SEASON WILL BE TOLD IN THE FIRST PART OF THE AZUR LANE ANIME BUT WITH A SLIGHT CHANGES HERE AND THERE...

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