Time:07:00

Date: 15th October

Location: Palmyra Atoll

It was another five days before we came to a halt once more, but luckily neither me or Pennsy had become bored over the past few days seeing as there were far more people, than the original three of us, to converse with thus keeping us entertained during the trip.

We had to stop a few times due to the fact that something had gotten caught in mine and Takao's exhaust ports, so it took awhile and with some help from Iori our exhausts were cleared and we could both sail at full power again. It turns out that fluff from Kirishima's bear costume had got loose and ended up clogging them, this really pissed the two of us off. So we had something planned for her at a later date.

We then had to play catchup as the others had gone ahead of us but that didn't really take us long and soon Iori was back aboard the 401 and thus we went ahead as group.

Barring those troubles we made good time and according to Shioi we had actually made it ahead of schedule and so we were stopped where we were because Gunzō said he wanted me and Pennsy to meet another member of the Blue Steel fleet. So once again we were waiting in excitement wondering who this person could be.

It was roughly going to be an hour of waiting as the mystery person had some distance to make up in order to get to the meeting point. So I went and checked some maps to figure out just where the hell we are going and as I searched the area we were in I only found one particular area of interest that was nearby our current position.

So I filed it away for later and headed topside once more and as soon as I took a seat next to Pennsy on my front most turret Gunzō decided to speak….

"She's here" he said looking out into the distance,as I trained my eyes on the location he was looking at once again it was another Jacuzzi as the water bubbled like crazy before a ship once again came to the surface.

For me and Pennsy seeing this again really didn't surprise us, But seeing who was on the ship caused the two of us to go wide-eyed in shock as her ship sailed closer to Shioi and she jumped on the subs deck shaking hands with Gunzō.

""It's Kongō"" the two of us said in unison shivering slightly

"Oh it seems an introduction isn't in order" Kongō said turning around and facing the two of us which resulted both of us to back up into wheelhouse.

"New members?" she said turning to Gunzō

"Yes those two are the battleships Pennsylvania and Taihō, our newest members. Also the fours Fletchers are under Taihō's command " Gunzō said as we peered out from the doorway.

"Hoh, is that so" she replied jumping onto the deck of my ship and walking over to the two of us, let me tell you seeing the blonde up close and personal was seriously scary seeing as we both know what she is capable off.

She looked the two of us over for quite some time as it seemed that she was judging us before she decided to speak.

"Are you sure these two will be able to handle the work that we do?" she asked Gunzō

"Well Kongō, Taihō here took down Pennsy by herself one on one" he replied

"Is that so?" she replied looking at me "She doesn't look like much to me"

At this I got pissed off again, Hyūga got ready to move at a moment's notice praying to the heavens that I don't start a fight with Kongō but fortunately for her my fight was going to be more verbal than physical.

"Didn't anyone teach you not to judge a book by it's cover" I said in an annoyed tone as I stared straight at her whilst she stared back. After a couple of minutes our staring contest finished with Kongō breaking contact as she turned around and walked off with a huff back to her ship. I wasn't the gloating type but secretly I was happy to have this small victory over her.

"Okay, now that that's over how about we get moving once more" Gunzō said heading back inside the 401 with the rest of them before diving below the waves as the surface fleet consisting of the four of us started our engines and proceeded to head in the same direction.

Another few hours had past and it was now 2:00pm and I was smirking because from the studies I had performed earlier whilst we all waited for Kongō I knew exactly where we were and off in the distance I could make out the outline of our destination.

"So, Palmyra Atoll huh" I spoke on the comms channel

"That's right, how did you know?" Shizuka asked

"Quite easy, I studied the old charts I found at Midway and figured it out from there" I replied

"Oh… but wait I thought you could find out where you were almost immediately due to the joint tactical network" Kyōhei spoke this time

"I prefer using manual methods for finding my way, besides you can't always rely on technology to help you especially when it's broken" I replied

After that total silence filled the comms channel with nothing more being said on the matter as we got ever closer to the Atoll. As we made the final approach we all got into a line formation and then one by one we entered the lagoon, entering this place got my exploring instinct to kick into overdrive but that was put to a halt as Gunzō spoke up.

"Okay all ships line up side by side with at least 300m between yourselves, once that's done we'll all head into the base" as he finished speaking we all complied with what he said and got into position. It was then that some rumbling could be heard coming from beneath us and the what seemed to be walls rose up and separated us from each other and then clamps connected to our hulls as water had started to be drained out, we then started descending on what I figured to be a lift.

As we further descended into the base the access hatches above closed leaving us cut off from the outside world, looking around the place and seeing how futuristic yet plain the base looked really got my imagination going and as for Pennsy she wasn't looking so good, I guess she really wasn't that good with elevators, in fact I don't think she's ever been on one before.

It wasn't long after that that we all stopped descending and a hydraulic walkway locked itself to my deck and seeing as Pennsy was still not looking to good I helped her onto the dockside before finding somewhere for her to sit as I got her some water from a nearby water fountain.

After giving her the water I sat down next to her and waited for everyone to congregate into a group again. I hoped that they would come soon as I along with Pennsy needed to get some sleep so when everyone finally came over Gunzō took one look at mine and Pennsy's condition before speaking.

"Well before we do anything major with these two, Hyūga can you take them to the dorms and get them a room so they can rest, we'll speak about their roles in the fleet later on" as he finished speaking Hyūga walked over to the two of us and shook us awake.

"Come on you two sleepyheads let's get the two of you into proper beds shall we" she said helping the two of us up leading us to the dorms as everyone else said goodnight to us as we passed them.

The room that was assigned to me and Pennsy was pretty plain but we didn't care about the aesthetics right now all me and Pennsy did was change into our PJ's, the old fashioned way, before jumping into the beds and drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

Hyūga seeing that the two of them had settled left the room and headed back to the others.

"Are they asleep" Haruna asked

"As soon as they hit their pillows" Hyūga replied letting out a giggle before the two of them rejoined the rest.

But it wasn't long before the next person had started to drift off to the land of dreams and that person was Makie, so Haruna and Kirishima went off to their room with Makie in tow and it wasn't long after that. That the others started to head to their rooms one by one until only Shizuka had remained seeing as she had lost the jan-ken-pon to decide who had first watch.

Luckily she had managed to catch quite a bit of sleep during the trip to the base but that didn't mean she wasn't happy about losing to the others earlier but she had no choice but to grin and bear it.

It was a few hours later before Hyūga came in and relieved Shizuka of her duties do that she could go to bed herself. Hyūga however had no real interest in the 2nd watch at all she was far more interested in the battle Taihō had with Pennsy and was wondering why on earth did she have access to flagship equipment, so she decided to start delving deeper into a copy of her core's coding in order to try and learn the secrets behind her being able to use flagship equipment in the first place and so her long night began undisturbed by anyone.

"Fair winds and following seas Taihō" A person hidden from sight in the shadows said whilst watching a screen of a Magneta-purple haired girl smiling on her ship.