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"They've sent me an assistant?" The commander looked up from his papers. It was the middle of the day, and it was a strange thing to bring up right then. "I thought I was clear that I didn't need another aide- I and the rest of you have been able to handle the military administration just fine."
Enterprise shook her head. "Unfortunately, by the time you told them that, the procedure was already in motion. They sent him on his way already, and there's nothing that can be done about it." She looked through the file that was sent ahead. "Still, it doesn't seem as though they pulled his name out of a hat- his academy record says he excelled at administration and logistics."
He sighed. "Whatever his skills might be, we haven't been able to make arrangements for accommodation and other support either, so we're going to have to scramble to sort all of that out, too. Beats me as to why they'd do this, though. Probably some automatic protocol once a base reaches a certain size, and we certainly have grown since we started." He put down the papers he was holding. "So, when is he expected to arrive?"
Enterprise responded promptly. "His ship pulled in with one of our convoys ten minutes ago."
The commander blinked. "First, that was quick. and second, that would place that convoy well ahead of schedule, which never happens."
The carrier turned a page. "Your new assistant made modifications to the route and managed to convince the convoy officer to adopt his plan." She closed the folder. "I sent Tennessee to retrieve him- it seemed a good way to ease him in, to have him meet with someone rather no-nonsense. I also told her to inform him that things work differently here than what he may be used to or have been taught."
"Glad you're on top of things." The commander quickly made his desk look more organized than it was. "I doubt we'll have to wait long for him to show up here. Tennessee tends to be rather direct."
They did not have to wait long.
Tennesee entered the commander's office, and with her was a young man in a black naval uniform, the national insignia replaced with that of Azur Lane. He was a few years younger than the commander and just about as tall, and he had short brown hair combined with bright, green eyes. The commander guessed from his rank insignia that he was something equivalent to a Junior Lieutenant. He snapped a salute, immediately giving off an air of having an excess of well-disciplined energy. "Sir! Albert Kesler reporting as your aide, service to begin immediately, sir!"
The commander gave a nod. "Well, we can always use the help, but your arrival was a bit sudden. Tennessee, take officer Kesler's belongings to the commissariat- Akashi will keep them safe, but also tell her that if she charges him any "storage fees" I will have Hyuuga turn her over and shake it out of her." Tennessee gave a nod, and took his bags. He turned to the eager new officer. "I trust that Tennessee explained to you that this will be unlike any other assignment you might have trained for?"
A quick nod was his response. "She did inform me about such matters, sir, though she did not go into great detail- she said that seeing you was more important."
"All right." The commander paused. How could he explain his experience over the past years? "...This posting asks you to be much more than a military officer. This is not the sort of command where you can act effectively based only on your legal authority as a commander."
He seemed confused. "...Would you elaborate, sir?"
The commander put on a small smile. "...They have to trust you. Fully and completely. While that's an important part of commanding in general, here it goes beyond the rigors of your rank." The commander needed to pause. "They won't do their best for anyone who keeps them at arm's length, you see. They may want to get close to you, and if they do, you have to let them. Do that, and your trust and effort will be repaid."
Albert stood straight. "...Sir, I don't expect to be in a position of command."
"Perhaps not, officer Kesler." The commander folded his hands together on his desk. "However, if you're going to wear that uniform around here, you will be representing my office, so they will have to trust you at least as much as they trust me. Now, they don't know you as well as they know me, so there's going to be a period where they might "test" you a bit to see what kind of person you are. Often with words, occasionally in other ways."
"I see, sir. Yes, sir!" He adjusted his stance slightly. "...What do you suggest I do first?"
"I'll certainly have some administrative duties for you down the line, but first we need to sort out your accommodations- we'll have something for you by the end of the day, if you haven't found something for yourself by then." The commander continued. "For now, I suggest familiarizing yourself with the base, but there's also two important things you need to understand."
"Sir?"
"First, if you're off-duty, take off your hat. It's... Kinda a thing around here, that's all I can really say about it." He went on. "And second, but much more important is this. If one of the ships asks you to help them with something, anything , do it. No matter what it is. Other than a prank, of course, you are not obligated to assist in mischief, and in fact, are heavily discouraged from doing so."
Albert hesitated, but accepted that those were his orders. "...Yes, sir!"
"Dismissed."
He turned on his heel, and left with a crisp walk.
Enterprise looked at the commander. "I'm not sure he entirely appreciates the full measure of his situation."
"I think he'll learn quickly enough." He went back to his work. "This place has a way of asserting its character. Besides, turning him loose like this will give us a better idea of how well he fits in here and what additional instruction we'll need to give him once he has settled in."
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Leutnant (zur see) Albert Kesler, however, was left to ponder the directives he had been given. The hat thing was the most understandable- every base had its informal traditions, and the thing involving the hat was probably the most sensible one he'd encountered in his admittedly short career as an officer. The second directive seemed fantastically broad, but figured it was to give junior officers some latitude in making decisions on where and when to apply their efforts.
The layout was also sensible and practical, even if it did give off more of an academy vibe than one of a military base engaged in combat operations, but this was a special naval force that likely had its own additional requirements above and beyond a typical naval port- he would have to get into the details of how the facility was run before making any conclusions.
Still, being given the run of the place suited him just fine- he wasn't the sort of person who could stay idle to begin with, and he was ready to jump right in and do... Well, whatever duty was needed of him. Even if it was a different sort of assignment, he was at least confident in his own skills.
As luck would have it, as he was making his way around on his perfectly even strides, his path would take him close to Victorious, who had dressed in that combination of sleeveless sweater and short coat that still showed off her legs. She was grumbling a bit about her own bad luck. "Ah... Spent so much time getting my hair and clothes just perfect, and now Lusty can't come along, Fiji has already left, and Formi and the commander are busy too..." She then perked up as she saw a fresh-faced young officer come by- one with nothing to do and energy to spare. She waved to him. "Hey, you!"
He came to a perfect halt, and looked at Victorious. "Yes?"
She sprang right to her feet, and walked right up to him, walking around him and looking at him from all directions. He stood stock-still, reasoning that this was some manner of inspection, and in a way, he was right. Victorious smiled. "Mhm~♪ Yes, you're the kind of person who can come with me on a shopping trip."
He had been in the middle of exploring the base, so... "Does that have to be immediately?"
Victorious pouted. "Well, of course it has to be right now. Even if you're new here, didn't the commander tell you to help us out?"
Albert thought about his directive. It was pretty broad, for sure, and he didn't want to be known as an officer who didn't do what he was told. And even if it was a formal order, he wasn't being asked to do anything illegal, and he was taught at the academy that sometimes he would have to follow orders that seemed strange at the time in order to serve some greater purpose down the road.
So, after taking that mental path, Albert managed to eventually military logic his way into believing that accompanying Victorious on her shopping trip was an action relevant to the overall mission objectives of Azur Lane as dictated by their current strategic circumstances. "I am not engaged in other duties, so..."
"Great!" Was the immediate response. "Now, no complaining out of you, because we've got quite a few places to see. Oh!" She started to head out, but then stopped to turn around to face him. "So... Who are you, anyway?"
He reflexively stood to attention, since he was just asked to identify himself. "Leutnant zur see Albert Kesler!"
Victorious blinked. "Well, Leutnant isn't part of your name, you know. You're Albert, I'm Victorious, and we're going shopping~"
Before he knew it, they were in town, and Vicky had a long list to work through. He looked around- the place was made for all of the civilian contractors, their families, and other support personnel that assisted the regular operations of the basic facilities of Azur Lane- a base like this would have many times more maintenance and support persons than actual combat personnel, and so there were plenty enough people for a substantial town to spring up near the base- so it seemed reasonable for him to see what he was seeing.
Not that he had that much time to take in the sights, seeing as he was currently tagging along with a very enthusiastic carrier that was in her element. "Ahhh, you'd better be ready to spend an entire afternoon around here, because that's what we're doing."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Victorious grumped. "You don't need to say something like that, it makes me sound a lot older than I feel. If you have to be like that, at least call me "miss", or something."
Albert quickly adjusted. "Yes, frau- I mean, miss Victorious." He had caught himself short because he wasn't entirely sure how Royal ship would respond to being called that .
"Good!"
He walked faithfully by her as she decided where she was going to go first. She took her time to decide, and as she wandered he began, in his mind, producing an optimal shopping map that would hit each of the stores Victorious wanted to visit. He refrained from suggesting it at the moment, as she was absorbed in her own process, plus he'd only be acting on superficial and incomplete information- the mark of a poor planner.
Victorious came to a sudden stop, and so did he, as they found themselves in front of a fabric store. "We're starting here?"
"Mhmm!" Went Victorious. "I mean, we're out on an island, so we don't have everything, so it's not just me- other people here make their own things, too."
Albert asked his next question out of honest curiousity. "Is that necessary?"
His wreathed companion explained. "Well, of course it is! You can't buy everything you want here, so for a few things, you just have to figure out yourself unless you want to do a pricey special order. I mean some people do that, but not everyone wants to."
"Understood."
"Alby, I'm not finished yet!" She cleared her throat and went on. "Besides, there are some girls here that are really big in certain places that makes it hard for them to find things their size, so they have to make it themselves or ask someone else. So sometimes people just come to me and ask "Victorious, make me something marvelous !" I mean, not always in those words, but when they ask me for help, they might as well be asking me that."
Albert took a good look at Victorious as a point of statistical reference, and did some quick math about what a girl like her might consider "really big" in comparison to herself.
The results were... Improbable .
However, he was on board with the idea that it was better to be certain of a result than to take too many chances. "Seems reasonable enough."
"All right, so I'm going in here, and whether you stay outside or come in is up to you, but you'd better stick around."
He stood at attention. "I agreed to accompany you, so I will be doing just that."
Victorious paused, and looked at him with what he thought was a hint of surprise, but soon enough she was back to her regular, smiling self. "All right~"
He accompanied her inside, and found that Victorious was actually very particular about, well, everything she bought. She was serious about what she was doing here as much as he was serious about what he did, but he understood, in his own way, that they both wished to achieve superior results in their endeavors. He waited patiently and in silence as she muttered to herself over the details, and it was some time until she found some things that satisfied her. He could guess that while the outfit she was wearing now was certainly fashionable, she had a taste for the flamboyant.
He followed along with her, and once it was all packed into bags, she handed them to him. "Here!"
He took them. "I'll carry them, but you are an expert in carrying heavy armaments yourself."
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but I keep work at work!"
While the bags were foisted on him, there was a part of him that was sympathetic to that attitude. "Reasonable. Workaholism is not something that produces superior results to careful consideration of productive hours."
"Mmm!" She walked out of the store, with him following close behind. "Some people just don't get that you need to just get out and play and shop and have fun~" She raised up her arms and stretched as she looked either way down the street. "Ah! Let's go this way."
This set the pattern for how he would visit each of these ships with her, and how the number of things he had to carry would increase. She would go into some store or other, take time to be very particular about what she picked up, and place everything she bought into his hands. He remained patient with her, as she took him from place to place.
Perhaps one of the more unusual places was actually a craft shop, as she was big into making decorations as well, which made him think more about the character of the woman who was with him- Royal ladies of her sort tended not the be the kinds of people who worked with her hands, but then again, she was a sailor.
She led him into the clothes shop. "Ah, now here's a nice place with a shop-girl, Melissa, that visits the base sometimes." She waved to the girl at the counter. "I'll be back, I know what I'm picking up." As Victorious went off, Albert just waited at the counter. Melissa Cartwright noticed the uniform, and asked. "So, you work at the base, too?"
He paid attention to her, since she seemed informed. "I just arrived to assume my duties this morning, one of which is, it seems, to accompany miss Victorious on a shopping trip."
Melissa tried to process this, but decided not to. "Ah..." She looked to the side and then back to the entirely earnest young officer, as he'd said that with a confidence that statement didn't entirely deserve. "So... May I say something?"
"Of course."
She placed her hands on the counter. "They may seem strange, but they're good people. You just need to accept the weird."
Albert was more intrigued than anything. "What kind of strangeness are you referring to?"
Melissa wondered if he would believe her when she explained things. "...You see, there's this dog-eared girl who lets you pet her fuzzy ears if you get nervous or stressed- I mean, it works, but I think she gets more out of it than the people who pet her do. And there's this nervous cruiser who dives underwater to calm down. And they told me about this fox-lady who sleeps most of the time, but they told me she does more work when asleep than awake... Should I keep going?"
"Continue." He said, not entirely sure what parts were true yet.
She continued. "...And there are carriers who are idol singers, and probably a couple of vampires? and more than that, too."
"I see." It was roughly at this point that his faith in his training to adequately prepare him for his post at Azur Lane was departing at an accelerated rate. He had a very well-ordered mind suited for the studies that he excelled at, but he felt like his mental skills suited for numbers would eventually be asked to do the equivalent of finding the mathematical sum of wine and a hummingbird.
Victorious bounced back to the counter, with a few things on hangars that Albert decided he didn't need to think about, and the carrier gave her a smile. "All of these, plus do you have that other thing I asked for?"
Melissa placed a white box on the counter. "Sure thing, just came in." She then bagged the other things, and like everything else they had picked up so far, Albert was made to carry them.
After all that, Albert sat down on the park bench looking for all the world like a very confused boyfriend. He had spent hours on end watching- no, experiencing Victorious fuss over clothes, her shopping experience, and on occasion, him, being able to tell that her blue eyes looked at him as something of a canvas for future projects. In practical terms, this hadn't been that big of a deal. In terms of physical activity, it was relatively mild compared to real PT, and it didn't feel like he was being abused. Eccentricities were not unknown in the service.
What he did do, however, was take off his hat in case someone else decided to ask him to do something, as he was currently indisposed, as he saw it.
Eventually Victorious came back, and the smell of freshly-ground coffee came with her. "Back~" She handed him a cup, as well as a couple of slices of Cassata that she bought from a Sardegnan shop along the way. She also handed a slice and a fork to him. "There you go."
This surprised him- usually this kind of trip given by senior officers were... Well, not to put too much a point on it, thankless. "Thank you, miss?"
Victorious hmphed. "Well, don't look at me like that." She smiled. "You think I'd drag you around and then toss you back in a room like you were some kind of slave? That wouldn't be very fabulous of me, would it?" She brushed her hand through her long hair with a single, dramatic flourish. "And if I'm not fabulous, I'm not me." She took her fork and began to poke at her cake. "Oh, yeah? Where are you staying, anyway? I don't think it's headquarters, or things might get pretty awkward for the commander and his wife."
He wouldn't turn down the offer of cake, and answered truthfully. "My lodgings have not been assigned to me at this time, and I'm still awaiting the commander's decision."
Victorious picked up her phone. "Okie doke~ gonna fix that right now."
He stopped eating. "Excuse me?"
Victorious started typing messages at a rapid pace. "Her majesty insisted that we have a bunch of guest rooms in the dorm in case some bigshots from out of town came to pay her a visit, buuuut she's not the kind of person who's going to notice if one of them has an officer in it."
He nervously went back to eating, calculating how many weeks this would put him in a brig, based on the possible classifications of the offense. He could feel it in the blood passed down to him through many, many generations of Prussian officers that he was about to violate some regulation or another. "...Isn't there a proper procedure for that?"
"Well, you can work out all that boring paper stuff with the commander later, and even if you have to move out, it's better to be sure to have a roof over your head now, right? Besides, big sis wouldn't be too happy if I let you go without making sure you had one." And then she gave one more authoritative tap on the phone. "Beep! Aaaand, there we go. Once you've got your things, just ask the maid at the gate to show you in."
He looked at his watch. It was definitely in the back half of the afternoon. "So, what's left to do?"
"Nothing!" She hopped to her feet with a smile. "Everything I need for me is taken care of right now, so we can just go back home, all right? And I mean we, since it's your home, too."
So they went back, with him carrying all of the things she bought. It wasn't too terrible, of course. Victorious didn't say anything on the way back, but she did seem to be in a pleasant mood.
"~♪"
She didn't say that in so many words, but that was the general vibe he got from her, which is all he really needed from her to know she'd had a good time, which meant that he had done his part. Assisting Victorious was not a burden, physically or otherwise- he wouldn't hesitate to do it again, if asked, and he had the time for it.
When they arrived back at the dorm, Victorious waved to Curlew, and the maid took all of Victorious's haul off of his hands as they both went inside, and Victorious gave him a smile and a wave as she went into the dorm. He had to part ways with her to grab his things, but by the time he came back, Curacoa was there. The maid smiled at him and regarded him with some curiosity. He cleared his throat. "Yes, I am Albert Kesler, and I was told there would be a room for me here?"
She bowed, and took his bags off his hands. "We have been expecting you, Mr. Kesler. Please come this way." She led him inside, and through the hallways of the Royal dorm, past far more tasteful decorations and fixtures than he might have expected from a fleet with the word "Royal" in the name. As he passed by the various rooms, the regular sensations of his new home came on him- the sounds of old music and pop music, the smell of fine tea and cookies being baked.
Once they reached one of the guest rooms, Curacoa opened the door for him, and left a key on his nightstand. The room was comfortable, but hardly lavish, and at least he didn't have to share it with anyone else. the maid set his bags down by a wooden dresser. "This is what we could prepare on short notice. You can choose to eat at the cafeteria or have supper here with us. If there is anything else you require, the maids are at your service." She did an impeccable curtsy.
He decided to make the most of it. "Do you have any advice?"
Curacoa's smiled turned warmer than ever- she wanted to teach her juniors, and this one wanted to learn. "Of course, Mr. Kesler, even though words may not entirely prepare you. Many of the girls are quite excitable and may become quite interested in who you are and where you're from. They like seeing young people around, because it's something familiar to us." She gave another curtsy, and then went on her way.
As he unpacked, his mind began racing as to how he might make the most use of the space this room offered- it didn't take long for him to figure things out, but arranging furniture could wait until later. he placed his shoes in one corner and took a seat on his bed in preparation to lay down, but that was interrupted by a knock on the door, whereupon he was greeted by a lady in white. His discipline made him immediately snap to eye contact with the carrier, and he was peripherally aware of how that reflex had prevented him from being rude. "Is there something you need?"
Illustrious smiled. Her eyes were as attention-getting as any other part of her. "I'm sorry if I have disturbed you, as I know you would prefer to rest after a long trip. But my sister came back from her shopping trip in a good mood- she said she found someone new who wouldn't hurry her or complain, and that he'd be living here."
He gave a nod, being careful not to look down too much- he was afraid of what he might take the time to analyze. "That's how things have gone- it was a sudden arrangement."
Illustrious folded her hands together. "Well... I don't know what you plan to do while you're here, Albert, or who else you plan to meet... But I'm always glad when there's someone around who makes my sister happy." She looked into his room, and then back at him. "Anyways, I wanted to say that, but I am sure we will be more properly introduced later."
And then Illustrious went on her way, with him feeling just that more connected to the fleet.
Albert finished having one look over his room, he decided that it didn't require his intense engagement for now. After he lay down, He placed his hat on the nightstand, put his hands behind his head, and began to wonder how he got from point A to point B. However, what eased his concern was that people actually wanted him to be around.
This was an ideal situation, for practical reasons at the very least.