Operation Rumor Mill

by DeltaDestroys01

A codebreaker and his ship girl companion are tasked to hunt down and destroy siren superweapons that are holding humanity in a deadlock. Though these superweapons are secretive in their own right perhaps something more sinister will get to humanity first? Or maybe there is a link between threats? Rated M to give myself breathing room in the creative process; adult themes mainly.

11. Chapter 11: The Progress

I would really like to thank the people who have favorited, followed, and reviewed this story. You're like, my favorite people. But enough of that let's get on with it, shall we?

Disclaimer: I don't own Azur Lane or any other properties I make references to.

"To reach a port we must set sail –

Sail, not tie at anchor

Sail, not drift."

-Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Chapter 11: The Progress

They stood there for a few seconds in happy silence, enjoying each other's presence. After the embrace broke off Nashville wiped her eyes to clear them of tears, Commander followed suit. He said, "I really do think that we can pull this mission off now."

A big smile covered her face, and not an ounce of uncertainty left her mouth as she said, "I know that we can."

Commander's own smile conquered his face and he now could compliment his friend, "You did a great job. I think that if you did anything different, especially in the vortex, we all would have died."

"Thank you," she responded, and then she slapped his shoulder, "You didn't do too bad yourself. You actually sounded like a leader back there, and you kept it together."

"Which means that I don't usually do either of those?" replied Commander with his joking smile.

"You know what I meant," retorted Nashville. Then she smirked and teased back, "But let's just say that I was half expecting you to have fainted in the vortex."

He clutched his hand over his heart and jested, "Ouch! Your words wound me."

"Pfft. Yeah. I'm sure you'll survive," she said, and then she paid a bit more attention to her radar. The fleet was nearing and would be aboard in a few minutes. She felt like her and Las Vegas should greet them as they board. She looked back up to him and said, "The fleet is getting close. We should go see them."

"Good call. But once they board can you please turn to make course for the Windward Passage? We'll head southward but turn east out into the Atlantic before we go through the passage and take a roundabout course to get to Miami. We'll hopefully give all of the reinforcements presumably coming from the north-west the slip and throw the Sirens off our trail."

"You got it. Now let's go see them." They left the bridge and descended the tower onto her deck about a minute before Bogue jumped aboard.

In an instant she sank to her knees and then sat down on the deck. Her expression said it all; she was glad to be alive. She looked up to the duo to which she owed her life, Nashville, whose hull being where it was located ultimately saved her from the vortex, and Commander, whose leadership not only saved her from death, but gave her just what was promised. She laughed a little and conceded, "You weren't lying Magician. That was high stakes. But still a good game."

"Glad you weren't disappointed. But in all seriousness, I'm glad that you're okay," said Las Vegas. He gave her a thumbs up, she returned it, and then he said, "I'm also super glad that you came along. Thank you. Things would have been a lot different without your help."

Bogue stood, now recovered, and said while she hit her baseball glove with her other fist a few times, "No problem, Magician. You can count on me for stuff like this. Again, it was a good game."

Denver leapt up from the ocean's surface. Upon landing she looked around to those assembled, and she flew to Bogue, fixing her in an all-around big sister type hug. "You're alive, Bogue. You almost didn't make it."

They spoke a little more before Las Vegas's attention was drawn away by a tugging on his shirt. He didn't even have to look to see who it was, so he turned and knelt in the same motion to bring his eyes more-or-less level with Eldridge's. She looked even more sleepy than usual. He smiled and in response she took the last step and put her arms around his neck to give him a hug. He hugged her back and whispered to her, "You did such a great job, Eldridge. I'm so proud of you." She didn't respond, only staying where she was. He was alright with that.

Nashville looked toward her quarterdeck, feeling the approach of Nevada and Indianapolis, the latter supporting the former on her shoulder. She said to Commander, "I'm lowering my accommodation ladder for Nevada and Indianapolis. We should go over there if they need more help."

"Yeah, let's head on over," he said. He gave Eldridge a pat on the back to show that the hug was going to break off. But she staunchly refused, not budging an inch. Commander knew that it'd sooner snow in Needles, California, the closest place to hell on earth that he had ever been, before he could strong arm his way out of a hug with a ship girl, so he came up with another solution. "Is it alright if I pick you up?" he asked the destroyer escort.

She made a noise that sounded like happy surprise. "Eldridge…fly?"

"You sure can," he said happily. And now with one arm down low so she could sit on it and the other around her back to support her he stood up with her in his arms.

She leaned back a bit from him as he stood. She looked him in the eye again and said, "Commander…like." And she leaned back in for another hug. She stayed close like that while he looked back over the Nashville who was, "aah-ing," at the undeniably cute occurrence. He nodded for her to get moving, which she did in short order. He followed her with Bogue and Denver in tow.

As they walked, he was able to look at Denver. He got her attention and started reminiscing, "A knight of the sea helping slay a monster that attacks innocents. You know if this wasn't so classified, it'd make a good fairytale, or a good movie. Don't you think?"

She grinned characteristically and replied, "It totally would. It'd be a story like King Arthur and the knights of the round table! I think you'd make a great King Arthur!"

"You flatter me Denver. But in reality, I'd rather be the wizard Merlin. But you know, without the dying in the end part." Denver and Bogue snickered, before Commander started speaking again, but more seriously, "But if I were a king or a wizard, I'd still say that same thing, that your performance today is befitting the title of knight. You did great."

Her grin grew all the wider and she asked, referencing the lunch they had in town a while back, "Are you sure that you don't have any sort of ambition?"

He looked over to her and was going to reaffirm that he had no ambitions, but she interrupted him by saying, "Even though I don't think I can ever truly grasp the kind of future that you are envisioning, if it is something that you can stand by firmly, it must be very dazzling and beautiful."

His brain finally heard newfound desires of his heart. He discovered his ambition, his turning point. He replied, "I want to see a future of peace. But not a future simply without Sirens or without war. I want a peace where nobody has to live in fear of anyone else, regardless of who they are, where they're from, what they look like, or what they believe. That's my ambition."

These last few sentences were said as they arrived at the quarterdeck and Nashville caught it. She was astonished at how far her commander had come in the short time that she had known him. She felt in her own heart that she wanted to be with him and help make this ambition into reality. And if there was anyone with the right know-how and uncanny luck in the right position to bring people together it was Las Vegas, and she resolved to have his back for all that may come their way, be it hell or high water. She pondered briefly how she had changed since they met. She couldn't place a finger on any specifics, but she could tell that she was a lot happier than ever before, especially whenever Las Vegas was around.

She had to tell him how she would be with him to help him see his dream become a reality, but later. She descended her accommodation ladder, which was more like a staircase along her hull to help Indianapolis carry Nevada up onto her deck. While she didn't much like Nevada, she still went to help for two reasons. First, she couldn't clearly say why she didn't like her, so it must be nothing. Second, whether Nashville liked Nevada or not, Nevada was still a sister-in-arms and would be treated like one. She was almost to the bottom once Indianapolis and Nevada had the bottom few steps underfoot and their riggings had burst into cubes to fly toward the aft storage.

"Thanks so much, the both of you," said the grateful battleship as Nashville posted on her left and Indianapolis on her right, interlocking arms around Nevada's back to support the trio's ascent onto deck.

"It's nothing," responded Nashville plainly. She opted to pay more attention to not falling as they awkwardly climbed the stairs. Indianapolis grunted in agreement. They made their way up and arrived on deck to the presence of those who had gathered. Once they all had their feet solidly on Nashville's deck the hull made a turn to the south-east toward the Windward Passage.

Nevada looked up to see Commander with Eldridge in his arms. She smiled at the tender sight. Maybe with time, more officers like Las Vegas would be running around. This filled her with hope for the future. Just knowing that there is someone like this guy in existence made her almost dying worth it. She suddenly felt, quite strongly, that she had to properly salute the commander and thank him for his fine leadership. She said to Nashville and Indianapolis, "I can stand. You can let go."

"Are you sure?" asked Nashville skeptically. Indianapolis was silent but her gaze said the same.

"Yes, I'm sure. Let me stand."

Commander of course heard Nevada's request, so he quietly asked Eldridge to let him set her down. She finally consented and he put her down as Nevada was permitted to stand solo. They squared up to each other and Nevada snapped a salute that would make any flag officer proud. He responded in kind. Nevada was about to thank him, but she suddenly became unstable on her feet, so Commander rushed to put himself under her right arm that had been saluting him. He caught her before she fell. This was a moment of no small amount of embarrassment for her, and her expression belied her discomfort. He chuckled a bit and said, "You know, for someone that was almost cut in half, you look to be in pretty good shape. Still, you did a good job out there. Thank you for coming along."

Now disbelief showed on her face, "You're thanking me? I should be thanking you. You led us to victory, and nobody died."

"What are you talking about?" dismissed Commander, "Of all the things that could have gone wrong, or gone right, just enough held together to carry us on top unscathed. Um, relatively unscathed. But all the snap things that could have gone well or gone wrong fell on all of you." He gazed at the onlookers, and he continued, "I may have given orders that panned out, but giving me too much credit is a disservice to your own skills and sacrifices. And I won't abide by such."

Nevada looked down to the deck and she admitted, "You made the right call."

"About what?"

"Asking me over West Virginia. Her ability adds to her firepower, not her armor. Even with Indianapolis's help, she still would have died. Even though it hurts, I'm glad things turned out the way they did, and we don't have to see another empty berth on base."

He didn't know how to respond to that, so he decided to change the subject. He asked, "Need a hand to the crew's quarters?" Nevada chuckled at her own pitiful state and consented. Indianapolis decided to get under Nevada's left arm and go with them. But before they walked away Commander had some orders for the rest of the fleet. He said in general, "I'd love to get some sort of celebration going, but we aren't out of harm's way yet, keep alert and be ready for more action if need be. I expect we'll be like this for at least another day." He looked at Nashville specifically and said, "Can you please radio Hornet to tell her to return to South Point? Also tell her that we'll be there in a few days and to keep the operation a secret, but that she can report no deaths, and that we're gonna need some significant repairs for Nevada."

"Yes sir," answered the collective, and the fleet left the quarterdeck for their posts. Indianapolis and Las Vegas carried Nevada to the crew quarters and found the bunk that she had taken for herself. After finding out that there wasn't anything that could be immediately done for Nevada aside from resting, some casual jokes about tucking in and threats of bedtime stories were exchanged and then Indianapolis and Commander left the crew quarters with everyone in better spirits.

After they had left and were out of earshot of the quarters Commander was able to say, "Something tells me that Nevada wouldn't have made it without your shield so thanks for making everyone's survival possible."

He looked over as she pulled her high collar down. This was his first time seeing her whole face. He thought her cute, but he didn't comment on it. She smiled slightly and said, "It's no problem, Commander… I'm just glad that you thought to bring me along."

He was able to smile back and say, "Of course I brought you along, especially after how you did in the Windward Passage. You saved Nashville and I back then, so I was hoping for a repeat of something like that. You didn't disappoint."

She looked sheepishly to the side and Commander noticed this. So, he decided to let her go on her way by saying, "Please be on alert for any trouble while we're sailing to South Point. I should get going to keep tabs on any obstacles in our path to get to base. But thanks again for your hard work today. You did a good job. See you later."

"Bye," she replied.

With that he walked off to the bridge where he greeted Nashville and went over what had happened when she asked. Immediately he got to work guiding them through the new minefield of submarines and aircraft search patterns as they snuck first toward the Windward Passage and then east into the Atlantic to loop around the Bahamas.

They escaped like thieves in the night, and the Sirens could not find them.

XXXXXXXX

They sailed for just shy of two days to loop around the Bahamas and skirt the southern boundary of the Bermuda Triangle and come into South Point from the north. They arrived about an hour after dawn. Though no onlookers had, or ever would have, any idea why they sailed into port with their heads held so high, the fleet knew that it was out of pride for each other and what they were able to accomplish together. The only thing amiss with them was how Indianapolis had taken upon herself to tow Nevada. She was swiftly relieved of that duty as tugboats manned by manjuu practically swarmed the battleship to guide her to a dry dock for repair. The fleet found their way to their normal berths. Commander had directed that there wouldn't be any sort of debriefing so there was no need to gather around Nashville's gangway once they docked.

As Nashville pulled into her own berth, they saw that Helena, Honolulu, and Hornet were all waiting for Commander and Nashville. "What is it with the letter, 'H?'" Commander asked himself internally, only to conclude moments later, "The world may never know."

Nashville felt herself being tied in and she signaled to her commander that they were ready to disembark. He motioned for her to lead the way, which she obliged with a spring in her step, no doubt excited to see her sisters again. They walked down the gangway and had only barely set foot on the concrete dock when Honolulu all but grabbed Nashville into a hug and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. What's got you so worked up?" replied Nashville.

This time Helena explained, "When Hornet got back and said that Nevada needed a drydock, we didn't know how you were. So, Honolulu assumed the worst. But I knew that you'd be fine."

"Bullshit," claimed Honolulu, "You were just as worried."

The sibling reunion faded in Commander's view and hearing as he diverted his attention to Hornet, who was amused by the Brooklyn sisters. He asked her, "Are things like this with you and your sisters too?"

"With Yorktown and Enterprise, not really," replied the carrier with a finger on her chin, "Yorktown is the kind to worry quietly, and then try and fail to hide it. Enterprise is too strait laced to show that she ever was worried. What about you and your siblings? You got some don't you?"

"Big sister and little brother. I'm the straight-faced one of us three. My big sister wears her emotions on her sleeve, while my brother gets super, uh, passionate about stuff. Yeah, passionate is a good word for it. Say, is it alright if we talk for a bit before breakfast, just to recap what happened in the operation?"

"Yeah, that's just fine. I was hoping for that, actually. And there was something else I wanted to ask you. A favor."

Commander's curiosity was stoked like a flame. But if the conversation was going to drag on longer than what he intended, he had to make sure of something. He checked his watch while he asked, "Do you want to talk before or after breakfast?"

"After would probably be better."

"Alright then," said Commander, and then he added, "I know that I'll repeat it later, but I want to say good job back there. And thanks for your help with everything."

Hornet slapped his shoulder all buddy-buddy and said with a big grin, "Sure thing Magician. It was tons of fun."

Hornet and the commander walked toward the Brooklyn sisters and this cut off their portmanteau of revelry and a squabble. The group began the trek to the mess hall for some morning grub. As they walked, they were joined by more elements of the fleet that had just arrived and Eldridge again took Commander's hand. He could get used to that. They entered the mess and the rest that had stayed behind greeted their returning comrades. Food was grabbed and the number of people sitting at the table typically occupied by Commander and Nashville had now added a few more faces. Too bad Nevada wasn't there. Hornet had told him on the way over that she would be held up in the base hospital for a while to heal back up to working order. Nevertheless, breakfast carried on with high spirits.

But the atmosphere escaped out the door when Rear admiral Slade entered the mess hall, and the chatter died down significantly. But instead of seriousness filling the void, all present were caught up in the spectacle of one of the most serious women that anyone there had ever met waltz over to the bulletin board with a barely restrained skip in her step and an enormous smile showing pearly white teeth.

The fleet was shocked silent, but Commander's curiosity spurred him forth to the superior officer. She had pinned a notice to the bulletin that had, "Attention," in big block letters on the top. She turned as Commander approached and she said with elation on her voice, "Commander Las Vegas, how wonderful to see you. This," she pointed to the notice, "is the greatest thing to happen since I took command."

Commander scrunched his eyebrows together and remarked, "Who are you and what have you done with the Rear admiral?"

She ignored his remark and reported happily, "I don't have to be a hypocrite anymore."

He knew exactly what she was referring to and his suspicions dropped as he placed himself in front of the notice as he began to read. Roscoe moved fast it would seem. A smile reminiscent of Slade's plastered his face. The key to the code had been found. He reported to the crowd, "Where I'm from, we like to call stuff like this, 'a step in the right direction.'"

"What is it Commander?" called out Nashville for the collective.

"Only good things I assure you," replied Commander, he looked out over the crowd for a moment before his eyes settled on one ship girl in particular, "While this does apply to everyone here, I think this practically has Honolulu's name on it."

She pointed to herself dumbly and asked, "Me?"

"Yes, you. Now get over here."

She stood up and walked over slowly. Once she approached, Commander gestured to the notice and said, "Well? What are you waiting for?"

She started to read what it said. She got a few lines in when tears rushed to her eyes. They clouded her vision, and she felt her strength started to leave her. Commander threw his arm around the light cruiser to steady her. She would normally have never allowed such contact, but such a joyous occasion allowed an exception. He said to Slade, "Maybe you should just read it aloud instead of posting it on the bulletin?"

Having seen what just happened to the one ship girl she knew despised the Navy the most, she found herself in agreement, so she carefully separated the paper from it's corner tacks. She placed herself at the head of the mess as the ship girls were apprehensive as to what it could be, still not sure what could possibly invoke such a strong reaction out of Honolulu. Slade began to read.

"Upon the review of the Secretary of the Navy, the Chief of Naval Operations, and the Deputy Chiefs of Naval Operations with the recommendation of Azur Lane Supreme Commander Grayson Roscoe it has been decided that the following changes are going to take place in relation to ship girl operations and management in the Eagle Union Navy:

1. Naval Personnel Regulation Manual Whiskey X-ray 05d for ship girls is now declared obsolete, along with it's established practices.

2. The aforementioned manual is now replaced with Naval Personnel Regulation Manual Whiskey Charlie 09g, the regulation manual for special forces personnel in the Eagle Union Navy and those subject will enjoy all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities thereof.

3. Naval Personnel Regulation Manual Oscar X-ray 02b for ship girl commanders is now declared obsolete, replaced with Naval Personnel Regulation Manual Oscar Golf 11f for special forces commanders.

4. In line with standard practices of other ship girl forces around the world, a fleet representative will be decided upon democratically from among all Eagle Union ship girls, who will serve as voice for the ship girl forces of the Union.

We sincerely apologize for any wrongs that have been committed in the past. We thank you all for your patriotism and unwavering devotion to duty that has inspired generations of sailors, including us. We look forward to a brighter future for the Eagle Union and all of humankind. Fair wind and smooth sailing."

Slade fell quiet, her reading complete. Years of hopes and dreams had now finally come true for all the ship girls present. She, along with the commander had expected cheers to erupt immediately. That did not happen. With almost all in attendance, a repeat of Honolulu's reaction took place. Relief flooded the group and only now did Commander lean a bit farther in Honolulu's direction to whisper something. But in the relative silence of the mess hall, he might as well have been speaking normally, "Looks like that beach house just became a much bigger possibility, huh?"

She laughed a bit and now with a smile bigger than he had ever seen on her, she could reply, "Yeah, I guess so."

That broke the spell and everyone began their own celebration for this new development in their lives. They made enough noise and Slade had moved off to speak with a few of the other ship girls that it allowed Honolulu to ask Commander, "Did you have anything to do with this?" He looked over to her and shook his head so that everyone that may be listening could see his negative response. And then he winked to her subtly, tipping her off to the truth of the matter. She leaned in and gingerly put her arms around him. The hug was awkward for her, but it did it's job to conceal her mouth as she was able to whisper out, "Thank you, Commander. I don't think I can ever repay you right for this."

"No need, I was just doing what felt right." He chuckled a little bit and then he said, "I know it's weird, but a sea shanty comes to mind."

"You're right, that is weird. But let's hear it."

The hug broke off as he explained, "It's called, 'The Wellerman,' and it's about a whaling ship. A lyric goes, 'No line was cut, no whale was freed. An' the captain's mind was not on greed. But he belonged to the Whaleman's creed. She took that ship in tow.' I might not be a whaleman, but I have my own creed, so no whale is getting away from me, even if she takes the ship in tow, and my mind won't be on rewards for staying true to what I believe."

"You're weird," replied Honolulu, in refinement of her earlier statement.

"I prefer the word, 'unconventional,'" rebutted Commander.

Honolulu made a show of rolling her eyes, "You're such a nerd."

"You need to update your insults. What may have been offensive in what? The fifties? Is a badge of honor in this decade of the two-thousand twenties."

"Alright genius. I'll do that just for you." Both people spared a moment of camaraderie as they both laughed at their last words, thus joining the revelry of the mess hall around them. Commander was able to get around to each of the people that he remembered talking to on the day he promised to do something about the ship girl conditions in the Eagle Union so that he could ask them all to keep his involvement a secret. Nashville understood why he would want that. She even found herself impressed that any man would decline the glory that would get him in the good books of every ship girl in the union, most of which were beautiful women, if what her sisters said was true. Hornet was a little resistant to keeping quiet, but a quick explanation about the problems of being known swayed her to silence. Indianapolis accepted his desire without any need for convincing.

The only other ship girl present for that conversation the day he got to South Point was Nevada, who was ostensibly absent, being in the base hospital for the time being. He needed to talk to her. He first found Hornet to tell her that he needed to talk with Nevada to postpone their conversation for maybe an hour after breakfast. She consented. He then got permission from Slade to visit Nevada and bring the printed notice to her to give her the news. Slade permitted it, and after informing Nashville where he would be, he left the mess hall for Nevada's bedside.

Nashville felt the same discomfort that she felt the day he went with Nevada to the base office when they got back from the Battle of Windward Passage. Only now, she was starting to get frustrated not knowing what this discomfort meant. For her part, Slade had a feeling that Las Vegas had more to do with this change than he was letting on. But she knew from the day he declined a medal that he was the type to shun glory, so she let him and his secrets be.

XXXXXXXX

The base hospital was a small, converted office building nearby the base office. He entered the door to find the expected sterile smell that comes with hospitals. Behind what must be the receptionist desk was a manjuu with a nurse's hat. He greeted the manjuu, who chirped back in response. He would have loved to ask how his/her day has been, but chirps don't make for much to build a conversation on, so he got right down to business. "Can you please direct me to Nevada's room?" The bird typed a few keystrokes into a computer and a room number appeared on a screen facing Commander. He thanked the receptionist, and he found the room with ease.

He knocked on the door and was invited in. He saw that she was watching a basketball game on the television in the room, which was immediately paused when she saw who the visitor was. She greeted him, "It's good to see you here Commander. What's up?" And she saluted him as best as a bedridden person can do.

He returned the salute and pulled up a chair to beside the bed. "It's good to see you too, Nevada. How are you holding up?"

"I'm floating in more pain meds than ocean right now, so I don't feel anything. The doc said stuff about internal injuries other than a few bumps and bruises. She said that I should expect to be here for the next week or so. Lucky me though that us ship girls are tough. And my hull is going to be in drydock for a few weeks after that."

"That's rough. But it's nice to know that you'll pull through. I was worried for you, you know."

Nevada leaned back into her bed and said with a grin, "That's awful kind of you. But us battleships were made to take punishment. Besides nothing that monster could throw at us could hope to compare with Operation Crossroads."

Commander clicked with recognition. He asked with awe in his voice, "You were there for the first round of atomic bomb testing in Bikini Atoll?"

"Sure was," she affirmed, "They painted me orange and everything to be the target. But they still missed me in Test Able by a mile, and I survived Test Baker. I was sunk as a target ship in gunnery practice about two years later."

Commander now leaned back in his chair to look at the ceiling and remarked, "It's funny really. The longer I spend with ship girls the more I forget that you lot were once just made of steel."

Nevada smiled. "You saying that explains a lot." He looked down to her and she continued, "You treat us like humans. Why?"

"I see too much humanity to think anything else."

"I wish that there were more officers like you around. Things would be different."

This presented him with the perfect segue into the true reason for his visit. He gave a toothy grin that made Nevada lean forward and raise an eyebrow in question. "It's funny you should say that because there's been a development. Feast your eyes on this," he said as he passed the notice to Nevada.

She took it and read it in it's entirety twice before she leaned back in her bed. She closed her eyes and let out a breath. A tear streamed down the battleship's face. She opened her eyes and looked at the commander. "Did you do this?"

"Grayson Roscoe and the other officers did. I just sent a message at the opportune time after our victory in the Caribbean to give them something to think about during deliberations."

"Thank you. Really…Thank you. You stuck up for us when the Navy didn't."

"No problem. And can you please keep my involvement in this a secret?"

Nevada nodded and the room was quiet for a few seconds before Nevada started to speak, "I know that this amounts to treason, but if for some reason the Eagle Union, or even the whole world, declares that you're public enemy number one, I want you to know that you'll have at least one battleship in your corner."

Commander was taken aback at this declaration. He didn't expect that Nevada would do this. Here it was again, a ship girl surprising him. "I'm honored that you would do that," he finally replied, ignoring that it was indeed treasonous. He thought for a few seconds before he said, "I can't say for certain right now, but this story might just get crazy enough to call on your help for something like that. Especially now that you know what Nashville and I are up against."

Nevada smirked, "It must be hard being the main character in said story."

Commander laughed briefly before he reported, "It's actually not that bad so far. Sure, it gets scary sometimes, but I get to enjoy the presence of pretty women twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. And what's not to like about that?"

Now it was Nevada's turn to laugh. "It's nice that some things about sailors never change. Thinking about women all the time. Say, do you have any girl back home waiting for you?" She asked this because she had seen how Nashville looks at Las Vegas. There was chemistry there, Nevada would gamble a turret on it, make it two turrets, but it seemed that neither the man nor the cruiser had noticed it yet. She saw that Commander hadn't said anything yet. So, to get to the truth, she ordered, "Come on Commander. Out with it."

"I can't say that I do," admitted Commander reluctantly.

If Nevada were a sailor in the 1940's she would have made fun of the commander before her. But she wasn't a sailor in the 1940's, she was a battleship woman in the 2020's. She wasn't any different though, nobody was waiting for her. But at least she could say that there was a chance for Nashville, even if she didn't look like she understood what was happening, and regardless if she resented Nevada for a supposed interference in a game she didn't even understand. Nevada reassured the officer, "I'm sure you'll find someone."

"Maybe," responded Commander plainly. He was uncomfortable with the subject, and Nevada could see this, so she laid off, satisfied with what had been said. She hoped that Nashville would get the guy in the end, but enough of that. Commander started to speak again, "Well, that's pretty much what I wanted to share with you. I'm fairly sure it'll still be another few days before Nashville and I get going for wherever the next mission is but in between now and then I'll visit a few times. Besides, I bet Nashville will want a photo of the fleet so that's still gotta happen, even if it's by your bedside."

"Alright then Commander. I'll catch you later."

Commander moved his chair back into it's spot and as he stood to leave, having gathered the notice, he said, "Thanks for your trust to follow me if things really do fall apart. I promise that I won't betray your trust."

"You're welcome," she said, "I can tell that you're the type to keep your word, so you saying that means a lot."

"Get well soon. That's an order."

"Yes sir."

And he left the hospital for the mess hall where he said he would meet Hornet.

XXXXXXXX

He arrived to see what looked like a party in full swing. In an instant Commander was out of his league. Math Majors typically didn't get invited to parties in his university. And then he was too busy hating his life in grad school to live it up. So, he stood there, motionless, hoping to fade into the background and watch from afar. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. Nashville practically skipped over to him and grabbed a hold of his hand. "Commander! We never got a photo of the second fleet for the Battle of Windward Passage! Come on! Let's go take it!"

He was in no position to decline his superhuman friend, nor would he if given the chance. The rest of the second fleet was already mustered along one of the side walls so it only fell to Las Vegas to fall into the center of the back of the two-row formation. On his left was Nashville and then Honolulu. To his right, Northampton, Indianapolis, and Memphis. In front was arrayed Charles Ausburne, Aulick, Denver, Laffey, and Cassin. He looked up from the formation to see Hornet wielding the camera. She sang out, "Let me see everyone's smiling faces." The smiles came easier to some than others. It was easiest for Nashville hands down. It was probably hardest for Northampton, but even she was able to seem happier than usual. "Watch the birdie!" Hornet declared and then she snapped the photo. As she inspected her handiwork she announced, "This is a great shot, Nash! I should be a photographer!"

Commander looked over to Nashville and asked, "Nash?"

Nashville knew that taking this in a way that showed how embarrassed she was to hear her commander say any sort of pet name would only give him more ammunition in their ongoing war of light teasing. In a level voice she responded, "Yeah. Nash. What about it?"

When she had said that there was a dusting of red on her cheeks despite her attempts to be casual. Commander just got restocked on ammunition and he gave a smug grin that showed his new armaments. Nashville's color grew deeper. For a time, he stood there enjoying his teasing without any words, but after he had his fill of enjoyment, he tamed his grin and consoled, "I'll only use it sparingly. Sounds good?"

She nodded and replied, "I'd appreciate that." It is notable though, that she didn't outright forbid him from ever calling her that. Forbidding him never crossed her mind. Still, as the second fleet was starting to disperse back into their own celebrations Nashville felt to ask, "So, how is Nevada?" She asked for two main reasons: propriety and because she wanted a photo for the fleet that took out Lusca.

"She said that she's gonna be in the hospital for another week," replied Las Vegas, and then he said, guessing correctly what was on Nashville's mind, "It looks like any photo is going to be by her bedside."

Nashville empathized with the battleship. If at all she could avoid photos in a compromised position like in the hospital, she would prefer it. It looks like taking the photo before the operation should be the new operating procedure. Still, she needed the photo, or she'll forget. Try as she might, she'll end up forgetting. And she wanted to avoid that at all costs.

Hornet approached and passed the camera to Nashville, interrupting her train of thought and getting both Commander's and Nashville's attention. Nashville looked at the photo and smiled initially. But then there was a problem that concerned her though, the photo reminded her a lot of the photo of the doomed Operation Argonautica. It put her off a bit with how uncanny the resemblance was in her mind. But she would keep the photo of course. It was a part of her memory now, and good or bad, every memory deserves to be remembered because they're what makes someone who they are.

Commander's hand interrupted her line of sight to the camera's screen. She looked up to see him concerned. He asked, "Are you okay? You were spacing out."

"I'm fine. There's nothing wrong."

Commander might not be the best with people in general but even in this moment he could interpret woman-speech into easier to understand man-talk. What she meant was, "I'm not fine. There's something wrong." This was reinforced with the feeling he got when her ruby-red eyes met his own. He'd have to ask Nashville what was up later. But he didn't want to possibly wave around anything that might be private to her. So, in the meantime he said, "Hornet asked if you liked the photo."

She looked to Hornet again and then glanced at the photo again. "You're right Hornet. Maybe becoming a photographer is in the cards. Thanks for taking it."

"Sure thing, Nashville," she replied, "It's the least I can do for keeping the Sakura from finding us back during the Doolittle Raid. But anyway, I was wondering if I could talk with your commander about something? To recap the operation?"

Nashville nodded a bit quicker than she should have, eager to change the subject away from the photo. She said, "Yeah, that's okay. Where will you two be?"

Hornet shrugged and said, "My hull most likely. It's the most private place I can think of."

Nashville got that now familiar discomfort again. It frustrated her again with how she didn't understand what it meant. At least she could confirm a few things. It had to do with Commander leaving with some other ship girl. It also wasn't exclusive to Nevada like she thought previously. Does this mean that this is going to be a common occurrence now? Maybe she should talk to somebody about this? But who? Somehow, she doubted that any ship girl she knew on base knew what was going on. Las Vegas was an absolute no-go; he was the subject of her discomfort after all. Slade? Nashville didn't trust her. That left her with nobody. Whelp it looks like this is going to fester for the foreseeable future. Maybe she could somehow figure it out on her own? Okay, that's the plan. She needs to look into this on her own. Somehow. But before anyone noticed her protracted answer she said, "That's okay," to Hornet. And then to her commander she said, "Could you please radio me once you're done?"

Commander nodded and said, "Yeah sure I can do that." He then pat her on the shoulder and said his goodbye, "See you later, Nashville."

"Catch you later," said Hornet and she led the way out of the mess hall. She could see that something was up with Nashville. And she thought on it on the way out. It's meaning evaded her. If only Yorktown was here. She's sensitive enough to understand these kinds of things. But Hornet then resolved to talk with the next best person she knew when it came down to this sort of stuff, Nevada.

XXXXXXXX

The commander and the aircraft carrier didn't speak openly about the operation as they made way for her hull, instead opting for more casual topics. But once they approached the gangway up to Hornet's hull Commander remarked, "Come to think of it. I've never been aboard anyone else's hull other than Nashville's."

"That so?" asked Hornet and then she remarked, "And I bet you never thought it'd be a Yorktown-class carrier."

"You got that right. You know, I told Nevada earlier that I keep forgetting that I associate with people who were once just made of steel."

"Aaahh. You're too nice Magician. Thinking that we're not what we really are."

This got Commander's attention, "Then what are you?"

"I'm not entirely sure," confessed Hornet, "I keep coming up with new answers to that question every other week."

"You seem human to me."

"Thanks."

"Do you want to be human?"

The answer to that question changed with the same frequency as her changing answers to the question of what she is. Maybe now was the time to make a decision now that the ball was rolling in the direction of them officially being human to the Navy. Or at least more soldiers than weapons. She looked over to the commander and said, "Yeah. I'd like that."

"Well, congratulations. You're human now. You tick all the boxes and even a few extra so that just means you have something special to offer among humans."

"That's it?" she asked dumbly.

"Yep, and if you think about it a human excluding someone else saying that they aren't human is a pretty inhuman thing to do. So, who's the human than?"

"They both are," mused Hornet sagely, "flaws and all."

"Well said."

With those final words the duo had reached Hornet's hull. Only while Nashville's gangway led onto her topside deck, Hornet's led onto a deck below her flight deck. She led him up a flight of stairs onto her flight deck and as they crossed, he looked around and something odd happened to him. He could vividly imagine throngs of sailors and pilots preparing Wildcats, Devastators, and Dauntlesses, ferrying them back and forth from the elevators or from one end of the deck to the other, or moving them for take-off. He could tell that the memories of those men and a part of their lives carried on in their ship, who ironically would end up outliving them all. Still, he couldn't think of a better memorial to those men than the living breathing woman leading him to the bridge. He smiled at the perfectness of it all.

They entered the island and climbed several flights of stairs to come out onto Hornet's bridge. There wasn't anything fancy. She had a few model airplanes, mainly stuff that flew off her decks, and she had a few picture frames. One had her with her arm around Northampton. It looked like they were on friendly terms. But another had her with two other women that he didn't recognize. Both had white hair and were more modestly dressed than Hornet.

Hornet caught what he was looking at and teased, "Smitten with my sisters are you?"

Commander decided that the best course of action was to ignore her last sentence and he asked, "These are Yorktown and Enterprise?"

"Yep. What do you think?"

Commander responded with, "Every now and then I'm reminded of the absurdity of it all. That warships that I heard of in stuff like documentaries are now human women. This is one of those times."

Hornet collected the picture frame into her hand to get a good look at it. Commander now noticed that the back of the metal bits that held the photo into the frame were well worn into the cardboard backing. It seemed that Hornet handled the item often. She spoke, "Absurd is a good word for it. Things would have been so much easier after Midway for Enterprise and me or after Santa Cruz for Enterprise if we could have somehow known that we would meet again, us being inanimate objects at the time notwithstanding."

Commander moved to look at the photo again. He asked, "Which is which?"

Hornet pointed to one with a white skirt and smaller black jacket, "That's Yorktown," and she moved her finger to the other in a great coat like Hornet's and officer's hat, "That's Enterprise." Hornet sighed and set the picture down. "I haven't seen Yorktown in nearly five years now, but I know that she's alright. And well, Enterprise is what I wanted to talk to you about."

"What's up?" asked Commander concerned now that Hornet was worried about any ship as famous—or infamous, depending on who's talking—as the Enterprise.

Hornet took off her hat and sat it on a table as she plopped into a seat. Commander remained standing as Hornet began to explain, "Just over a year ago, there was a battle off Easter Island in the South Pacific. It didn't go well. Our causalities were pretty light, thank God, but the Sirens routed us in the confusion that they sowed in our command. We were scattered all over the region and were separated from command. I had an argument with Enterprise that I still regret. She wanted to go searching for the lost Eagle Union ship girls, saying it was our duty, while I was saying that we should get back to the Americas, where it was safer and let the lost find their way back. I'm not proud of the stuff I said or the position I took. I was afraid. We finally decided to divide ourselves. So, a few of the girls that were there went with me back to the Americas, while the rest went with Enterprise to search for the lost. I haven't heard from her or any of those that went with her since then. Eagle Union brass has pronounced her and all those with her sunk, figuring that if they were still afloat, they would have turned up by now. But us ship girls know that no force on earth can sink Enterprise. We also figure that those with her are probably fine too. We call them, 'Task Force 13.' I'd go searching for her myself, but I know that Enterprise would get so mad at me for abandoning my duty here and I can't leave Yorktown alone." Hornet leaned forward now, and continued, "You're in charge of an operation called, 'Operation Rumor Mill,' so do you think you can look into this rumor for me, especially now that you're gonna be on the move soon?"

Commander considered Hornet's request. All it represented was trouble at worst or inconvenience at best. But he knew that his conscience would never let it go if he declined Hornet. He would accept. But how would he want to go about this? Immediate priority? No. There was bigger fish to fry. Passively looking? No. The ocean was too big. Somewhere in the middle was best. But while he was debating with himself Hornet was starting to panic because he hadn't responded yet. Tears were starting to come to her eyes. This guy was her last hope and it looked like he might brush her off. She whispered, "Please. I'm begging you."

Commander was bought back to the present. He saw the state of Hornet, and he was filled with a piercing guilt for having even considered for a moment brushing off the request of a worried sister. He pulled up another nearby chair and sat next to Hornet. He sighed and then said, "We, humanity, can't afford to have the threat of these superweapons put off." Hornet was on the verge of breaking down in tears. "But I'll tell you what." Hornet perked up. "Wherever Nashville and I go, we'll ask around and we'll keep our eyes and ears open at all times."

What she just heard evoked a joy in her far surpassing what she felt this morning with the Navy's announcement. In an instant she was leaning over, her arms around Commander. What threatened to be wails of despair had become sobs of relief. Was it just him, or were ship girls pretty emotionally repressed? Maybe it was just an Eagle Union thing? Still, there was a sobbing woman in his arms. Now, what should he do? Well, uh, try not to be a doofus. Specifics? Hug back. So, he returned the gesture, and he felt Hornet relax.

Normally he would then try to say something to help. But something told him that simply being there was good enough. So, he waited patiently. And Hornet continued in what had started as choking sobs but then toned down in intensity. Eventually she was done, and she released him, and he did the same when he saw that it was enough. She leaned back up and started to wipe her eyes that were now red and still dripped in small amounts. "Thank you, Magician. I was just about to give up hope for this."

"Give up hope huh? You know, I once heard that while hope is frail, it's hard to kill."

"Where did you hear that?"

Commander chuckled and admitted, "I saw it in a movie once."

Hornet had expected that he would have heard it from some sort of guru or monk or something. But a movie, she was not expecting. What would normally just be a cheesy movie reference became the joke of the year. She began to laugh at the ridiculousness of that wisdom's source. Commander found himself laughing at Hornet's laugh, who began to snort every few seconds of her guffawing. They passed a good few minutes in uproarious laughter, and that did wonders to relieve the aircraft carrier's built up of stress over the topic of her missing elder sister. Having calmed down Hornet was able to say, "That was a good one, Magician. Maybe you could work in some comedy with the magic tricks."

"By the sounds of it, I'm way ahead of you on that one." And that was just the jokes. Don't even get him started on his meme game. His memes were pretty spicy, if he said so himself. But that was a topic for another day. He started to speak again, but more soberly, "But seriously, have you not been able to talk to anybody about this?"

Hornet looked out the window of her bridge. He wondered what she saw, or what she imagined. She recalled, "Rear admiral Slade and the rest of the girls could only do and say so much. And with time, they moved on, but I couldn't." She looked back to Commander and gave a much more subdued smile that was usual for Hornet. She started to speak again, "And then you showed up. And despite being the biggest underdog I've ever met you've somehow managed to snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat not once, but twice. And if what I saw in the Bahamas wasn't a dream then I don't think that you'll stop. It's like magic. You're the Magician. So, if anyone could help me, it was you."

"You're laying it on pretty thick with the flattery right now," said Commander, calling Hornet out on her excessive praise.

Hornet held her hands up in mock surrender. "I'm not lying," she said.

"If you say so," dismissed Las Vegas, even though he wasn't super convinced. He then said, "I know it's a subject change, but I wanted to thank you again for your help in the Bahamas. I feel like a broken record saying this to everyone that was there, but if you weren't there, I know that things would have gone different, and not for the better. It's nice to know that the stories are true."

"Most of those stories are probably about my sisters. But still, you're welcome and any time." Hornet suddenly fell silent and when Commander looked over, she looked reflexive. "Any time," she mumbled to herself. As commander opened his mouth to asked what she was going on about she interrupted him with, "Yeah, anytime. Since you're going to look for my sister, I promise that if you ever need any help with anything, you can count on me. Even if you need me to follow you to hell and back with the whole world against us, I'll do it."

Two things happened in his mind. First, he heard whistling about a short man from Texas. Then he got a flashback to not three hours ago when Nevada did the same thing that Hornet just did, and pledge loyalty to a stranger should the house of cards called "earth" ever fall. Burning bridges isn't Las Vegas's style, so he said, "I really appreciate that Hornet. I promise that I'll either find your sister or bring word of her fate."

"That's all I ask."

They sat in pleasant silence for a minute before a question came to Commander's mind. He asked, "I know that there was an Essex-class Hornet. Do you happen to remember anything about her?"

Hornet shook her head. "She's her and I'm me," said Hornet.

"Makes sense. I was just curious."

Hornet giggled for a second and it made Commander raise an eyebrow. Hornet explained, "There's a couple Essex sisters that are ship girls too. They're all in blue dresses with capes and I was just imagining myself dressed like that. It was a funny thought."

"I bet," responded Commander. Then they sat there for a few minutes more, nothing left to say. Then finally Commander said, "We should probably head back to the mess, before anyone starts missing us."

"Good call, Magician," and she stood up to leave.

Commander stood too but something crossed his mind that might be useful later on. He reached for Hornet with his voice to request if he could snap a picture of the photo of Hornet and her sisters, so that he could remember what Enterprise looked like. Hornet let him, and with the final picture taken he followed her down the island, across the deck, and down her gangway. As they were leaving Commander radioed Nashville, just like she asked. But once they got back on the dock conversation restarted and that carried them back to the mess hall.

Once they arrived, Commander and Hornet entered to see that the party was still very much going on. It looked like Slade was letting the rest of today be a free day for everyone on base. Hornet separated for Northampton, one of her best friends since WWII. Commander found his own way back to Nashville, her sisters, and Eldridge. Helena and Honolulu welcomed Las Vegas back warmly. Eldridge wanted to be picked up again, and he obliged. This didn't go unnoticed by nearly anyone in the mess hall, and they were equally dumbfounded to see such a thing. But Slade was the most surprised to see this. She found it oddly appropriate and as she watched further, seeing Eldridge's arms around Las Vegas's neck and the way she was being held securely caused a spark to flash in her understanding. She saw it now, ship girls are more than their name, they're human. And she started berating herself internally for not being able to notice until now. She'd have to work this out with herself later, but right now, she had subordinates to celebrate with, only now Keisha Slade had an extra reason to do so.

Back with Las Vegas, having said his greetings with Helena and Honolulu and having Eldridge in his arms he was finally able to turn to Nashville. She smiled at him, and he instantly felt more at ease. He smiled back, and she instantly felt more at ease. He started to explain, "I'm sorry it took so long, Hornet had a favor that she wanted to ask. Is it all right if I tell you about it later?" Nashville nodded, and Commander continued, "Still, it's good to be back."

Nashville replied, "It's good to have you back."

I know that I say it before every disclaimer I type that you're my favorite people, and let me tell you, it's the truth. I got such a positive response to the last chapter and I want to thank you all so much for doing that. I'm so very grateful that with all the amazing fanfiction on this website, you still choose to read what I have posted. Thank you. I can't say that enough. Thank you.

But onto the more immediate I have to say that I'm super excited to get this story moving onto the next location in the next little bit. I'm planning to definitely start wading through much more rumor hunting as this story carries on. Also, I know that a lot of you are excited to see Enterprise at some point. So, what do you think of what I came up with? Task Force 13. I think it's pretty cool. And I look forward to confirming that Hornet was right to say that no force on earth can sink Enterprise. That brings me to a question that I have for you, especially if you aren't from the United States. So, I'm an American. I think that's pretty obvious. And I think that it's safe to say that the USS Enterprise is the most famous ship to have sailed in the United States Navy. So, I'm curious. What's the most famous warship to have sailed from your nation's navy, or from a navy nearby to where you're from? You don't have to answer, I'm just wondering. And also, this story has crossed the 100,000-word mark. It's by far the largest creative writing project I've undertaken, and we're just getting started. Anyway, I got tons of comments last chapter, so I have some responding to do:

Thanks, assassin4321, for your recommendation. By what you tell me, the Bakunawa would be very interesting to feature. Your recommendation has been noted.

It's good to see your typing again, Zander22122. Thank you for both of your recommendations. The Each-Uisce or the Dobhar-Chu both are quite creative monsters from the Celts and the Irish (and whoever else has them in their folklore). Your recommendation has been noted.

Thanks, SomeRand0m, for your kind words. I thank you so much for your understanding about delays. But I'm glad that I'm able to make up for it with the writing itself. Thanks for acknowledging that I'm featuring the low rarity ships. I know that they can be annoying when building, (I'm still pissed at Kent and Suffolk and the other 01:30 build time ships for making me build heavies for a month hoping to get Takao, though), but they have interesting stories too. Sometimes, their stories make you wonder if low rarity really was the best choice for them. I'm anticipating as of right now that the higher rarity ship girls are going to factor into the next location pretty heavily, so look forward to that. I'm also looking forward to seeing how they react under different circumstances when our heroes introduce themselves. I will confess, I've never seen the movie "Battleship," so I'll take your word for it. In fact, I'm glad my writing can get you to think of Hollywood movies. I'm looking forward to that confession too, whoever says it. But I guess both of us will have to be patient. Oh no. I forgot about Akagi. I forgot about the yanderes in general. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. But for the record, Kaga is better than Akagi.

Thanks for commenting, SafetyDoggo. I really like your profile picture. I have to say, Ace Combat is one of my favorite series in all of fiction ever since I was just a little kid buying used copies of videogames in my local game store. I am honored that my writing would be good enough to make you want to listen to the music from one of the series that I love. I'm not lying when I say that I have written essays about the musical genius of Keiki Kobayashi. And If I wasn't writing an Azur Lane fanfiction, it would probably be an Ace Combat one.

Thanks for your review, Dario6595. Thanks for saying that my approach to the superweapons are interesting. I think that biomechanical was decided from the beginning, but I'll confess that I didn't know how I wanted Lusca to act until I sat down to type the chapter. I ultimately decided to use a dog's intelligence because I wanted Lusca to be more of a character with flaws, than a brainless obstacle for the heroes to overcome. Also, by making Lusca less computer-like I was able to make it decide something that would be ultimately unwise, and lead to it's demise. Think when it came above land. If I were Lusca, I would have hunkered down in the hole and waited for reinforcements, because it was doing just fine throwing away the depth charges. Combat was the hardest part to write, so I'm glad it got your heart pumping. Nice catch with my Sea of Thieves reference. You gave a good suggestion last time. It really did give me an idea, but one for a lot later in the story. I'm excited for Bismarck and Enterprise too. I also intend to keep with Azur Lane fanfiction tradition and reference Sabaton when Bismarck shows up or does anything cool. I wish there were a song about Enterprise. Come to think of it, I wish there were a Sabaton song about a lot of things. Your recommendation about the ship-eating ball things from "Battleship" has been noted. And finally, I have to say that when you said that this was the best story that you've read so far, I was beside myself with happiness. I still am. Thank you. Cheers and good luck to you too.

I've said what's on my mind and gotten it out into typed words. I want to thank all of you again for your time. Take care, friends. If you're having a bad day I hope it gets better, and if you're having a good day I hope it gets even better.