Hello all, I haven't done one of these in a while. I might as well since you all have a good idea what's about to happen after this. A little bit of news on my end here, good news mostly. So, as you can see, my updates are more often again thanks to my reduction in gaming. I only play Warships on my console or Fallout NV but I also was working only one job. I'm working on trying to obtain a second job to support my family and stuff until things get better. In the meantime, how was all your guys' pulls for the second wave of our glorious Northern girls?

Absolute silence

That would be the best word to describe what was occurring right about now in Gabriel's home. The small building now being filled with more of his subordinates while his mother was blankly staring at them. What else was she supposed to do as the living room began to fill up with more and more women that might or might not have a relationship with her son? In turn, the Kansen were confused by the presence of the elderly woman who clearly was on vacation before arriving. She didn't look like an officer nor did she look very pleased to see them.

"Is that all of them?" she finally asked after waiting for the room to settle itself. Standing before her was at least a dozen potential suitors, not excluding Eugen or Hood for that matter.

Gabriel gave a hesitant nod, "Yes. That should be everyone that I know is interested in me."

"Good. Now let me talk to them privately. You and Eugen should enjoy the day for yourselves."

"And Unicorn?"

Cassandra smiled sweetly at the mention of the light aircraft carrier, the closest thing to a granddaughter she was going to have. "She should go too, this is going to be a grown up talk."

So the Admiral went ahead and left the house with Eugen and Unicorn in tow. He wasn't surprised that Eugen didn't need to hear what his mother was about to say. She was the one he married first so she was exempt to whatever was going on. Whatever Cassandra had planned for the girls, Gabriel feared it was not going to resolve very well. He might have been away for seven years but one can never forget the type of anger a mother can have.

Once the trio had left, Cassandra gave a heavy sigh to cool her engines. "Well, this was not what I was expecting. On the one hand, I'm happy my little Gabie is married now but I'm not happy about this whole poligomy contract."

"Gabie?" The murmurs of the group echoed, except for Hood. She knew where this was going and she only kept her silence.

Cassandra let a smug smirk cross her face as she was glad they hadn't put two and two together. At the same time though, that smile faded as she chastised herself for being smug at the single moment. Though, the steam was ready to blow through her ears the more she lingered on what was going on. "I am his mother."

Any form of calm was broken at the announcement. For Roon and Akagi, they made a sharp gasp before turning to Rossiya. Why was Gabriel's mother here when they overheard his plans to visit her later. For the others, there was a mix of nervous anticipation and surprise to the revelation of the elderly woman in front of them. No one was aware of what Queen Elizabeth had done, none except for Sheffield.

To even her own surprise, Cassandra was expecting some more extreme reactions. At least the women were more than disciplined enough to let her continue. "I was given awareness about the multinational marriage arrangement between many of you. I have to say, if I was his age, I would be quite smitten by the idea. However, I am not very happy about the whole arrangement being established without my input."

"If I may," Z23 stood up as she politely spoke, "Can we get to the main point you are hinting towards?"

Cassandra gave a small smile at the destroyer, feeling impressed by the direct efficiency she had. "You are right, I shouldn't beat around the bush when it comes to this. Because the admiralty failed to even ask my opinion on this, I will not be giving my blessing on any one of you u-"

If the elderly woman was hoping to say her piece, she was sadly wrong. Especially when Akagi rose up with a fiery aura being evident, "That is unfair! Teito-sama and I are bound by fate to be together!"

"Calm down, senpai. Let her speak," Shoukaku said as she tried to calm the carrier from making a fatal mistake. It wouldn't look very good on any of them to even argue against Cassandra.

"Thank you dear," Cassandra replied. "Now let me finish what I was saying. I won't be giving you my blessing unless you earn it."

Akagi's anger was extinguished and the other girls showed more interest. Roon grimaced as she recalled what Rossiya had said days ago. She was right when she predicted Cassandra would be an obstacle for them all. Yet, the woman seemed to be pondering on a thought of sorts. Her eyes shifting between all of them like she was contemplating something.

Eventually, Cassandra let out another sigh. I am a religious woman and my faith looks down upon polygamy...except, even I can understand why this was done. I was told that this was part of a peace pact so we weren't at war with each other. I lost two sons to the war and I don't want to lose my last…" Once more, she fell silent to think on how to explain her thoughts.

"Rest assured," Rossiya chimed in, rising to stand proudly. "The Northern Parliament will protect the Comrade Admiral with our lives before any should dare to hurt him."

Tirpitz, not one to be outshone by the other battleship, stood up as well. "The Ironblood will also keep him safe."

Naturally, Akagi attempted to put herself in good standing by rising to speak. Sadly, Takao was first to declare, "A warrior's duty is to die while fulfilling their duty. The Sakura Empire's honor will not be tarnished so long as we uphold that."

Littorio, brandishing her rose, announced confidently, "The Ammiraglio will be quite secure under Sardegna's might. Not even the Sirens dared to challenge us."

"I'm sure the Queen is in full support of lending her aid," Hood began, "and the rest of us will simply reinforce that."

In spite of the current situation going on, Cassandra was touched by the display although still skeptical. Words alone would not prove anything if they weren't backed up by actions. For their credit, she let a smile graced her face. "Good to know, but my decision still stands. For now, I'm willing to let only one woman per faction marry him. But, I have to give that woman my blessing. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am!" The women answered back in military discipline. Even so, Cassandra could feel the atmosphere become tense between the Sakura and remorseful on the Ironbloods. Especially so when she looked towards Roon, who balled her fists tightly to the point of shaking.

A word was needed to be said to them individually, "Everyone is free to go except for Ironblood. I want to speak to you all personally."

Tirpitz, Z23 and Roon looked up at the declaration as the other ladies left the home. What was the old lady going to say to them? Had Gabriel ratted them out when he spoke of the peace agreement? Definitely, but now his mother had something to say.

So she said, "I want to hear your cases. I can't consider myself pious if I don't at least try to understand what made my son engage himself with so many of your faction."

While that occurred, Gabriel had taken Unicorn back to the Royal Navy dorms so he could mull over the current situation. Eugen on the other hand seemed unbothered by the whole ordeal, probably due to her position being secured. It just wasn't so simple to him, especially when he revealed the two other potential engagements to Tirpitz and Z23. Although, one was out of drunkenness and the other out of being pushed into it.

Then there were girls like Akagi and Roon. What would they do if they couldn't get close to him? "I can't help but be bothered by my mother being on the base."

"Because you told her the truth?" Eugen questioned, nonchalantly holding hands with her husband. "She deserves to know."

Gabriel sighed dejectedly, "I know that. My mother should at least see what's been going on with me. It's the others I'm worried about. I can't imagine how the girls I gave rings to must feel."

Eugen shrugged, looking off to the side absentmindedly. "They'll get over it. Tirpitz isn't very emotional and Nimi will understand. Roon will be the tricky one, and I can maybe see her try to convince your mother her unique case."

"About being a ship that shouldn't exist? Just a turret blueprint at best?"

"Mm...just about."

They continued to walk around, taking one path to another aimlessly. Yet, they both were headed on the hiking trail that was mostly used as a training regime. For the couple, it was an area to unwind and think through this ordeal. It was out of Gabriel's hands now and nothing he could say will fix anything. His mother would raise hell to the Admiralty if he hadn't told her and the worst case happened.

So, maybe it was the best route to tell her. "Do you think Akagi would burn the port down if she couldn't have me?"

"Not even close," Eugen answered. Her eyes closed momentarily as if she wasn't certain on saying her mind. She had something to say about all this, but not the time to do it earlier. "You know you can't please everyone, Gabriel."

The comment was like a hammer to glass. Gabriel stopped in his tracks to look at the Kansen as if she spoke blasphemy to him. "Excuse me?"

The heavy cruiser turned to him with arms crossed. Her eyes were set like iron with her words as she continued, "You're one man. There's no way you can do your job as an officer and manage a large retinue of wives. It doesn't take a good observer to see that. You'll be exhausted in trying to please everyone."

Once more, the Ironblood woman was merciless in her approach as she always was. At the same time, Gabriel felt a hint of something else in her words. They were true and it felt like someone punched him in the gut, but there was more to it. "Eugen...you don't happen to be jealous?"

For the second time today, he had scored a critical hit against the almost impervious cruiser. She turned away from him to hide the blaring scarlet cheeks. It was true that she 'may' have been a bit jealous that the other girls were stealing her husband away. "Schiesse...what gave that away?"

"Because that would be something Hipper would call me out on."

"Mn...She would say it like that wouldn't she?"

Gabriel chuckled a bit, his wounded pride softening up. Although it still stung about what Eugen had said, he couldn't deny the truth. It was only going to be more burdensome if he kept those promises. "You aren't the type to be jealous either. You could have said something."

"I could have...but I wanted to see how it played out. I didn't think it would get out of control so fast." Eugen grumbled, the very few times she showed it. She wasn't like her older sister who vented everything she had on her mind to the point everyone assumed she was always angry. To see Eugen upset was a rarity but there was a reason behind it.

Not that she wasn't entitled to. There was enough blame to be thrown around, especially on Gabriel himself. "I haven't been a proper partner either. I've let this get out of hand in the first place when I should have kept it under control. I've been stupid on my actions and how I conducted myself."

The two fell silent and continued on the trail. The small crunches of sand and pebbles beneath their feet would be their only maestro. Trees passed by and the sky overhead watched them carefully. Whether or not it was Cassandra's intention for them to finally talk about the matter, at least it was spoken. The sounds and sight of nature being enough to calm the heart of any negative emotion,

Off to the side of the trail was a hill that had a beautiful view of the ocean. Maybe not as vast as the cliffside, but good enough to be an area to rest one's mind. Gabriel brought them there to just gaze at nature around them. Enjoying the silence and thinking only about what they could see.

Until it was broken by Eugen. "From now on, I'm going to be right by your side. No more patrols or commissions. Let the other girls handle that."

"Noted, how do you suppose we spend the rest of Valentine's?" Gabriel pondered, ready to let the whole matter left behind. He should be spending this day with Eugen and enjoying it, not worrying about the others.

That was a grave mistake to make. "Hm...We could always try to make babies~."

"E-Eugen!"

"I'm kidding."

"So that's what happened."

Cassandra looked between the three Ironblood women, more focused on Tirpitz and Z23 as she got the jist of what got his promise. Although, the fact Gabriel even gave a ring out of drunkenness was disturbing for the religious woman. She still needed to hear out Roon's tale but as far as she was concerned, they at least respected her decision. Martin was going to get one hell of a call once she was done with this.

Eventually, Cassandra spoke to finish the matter entirely. "Tirpitz and Z23 was it? The method that you two obtained a promise from my son is distasteful. This has gone on for how long?"

"Almost a year," Tirpitz answered, trying to study the elderly woman in front of her for some sort of chink in the armor. At face value, Cassandra reminded the battleship of Bismark during more serious matters. None of the Kansen had a mother to begin with which only made the association a bit more difficult. At the same time, neither Tirpitz nor Z23 let the comments sting since this was Gabriel's mother.

Cassandra murmured something incoherent, no doubt getting a rough timeline of the events. "Almost a year has passed and my son has barely got engaged to another. He must have realized his mistake from the get go."

"Frau Harper," Roon spoke, "He has been focused on slowly settling into this pact."

This was surprising to Cassandra who let go of her previous resentment. "Has he?"

Z23 nodded, "Yes, Admiral Harper has been focused on dating everyone before he makes any rash decisions. We have plans to head to our country just like the Royal Navy has done."

The elderly woman's eyes flashed brightly as if her youth had suddenly been rejuvenated. "How soon?! Oh if he would have told me that he was going on vacation to foreign countries like this, I would have at least packed better. Tell me more." Whether they wanted it or not, now Cassandra was captivated by the thought of visiting another country.

"That...was easier than expected." Tirpitz thought while observing. They all knew Gabriel was kept under extensive protections during the war but was it possible that Cassandra was under some sort of house arrest? If so, then there was a very good opportunity here to change the mother's mind. All the factions were going to need her blessing on top of winning the Admiral's heart. "Cassandra, would you like to join us?"

Cassandra was quick to answer. "Of course I would!" After saying her answer, she realized she came off a bit too childish for her age. Very embarrassing after coming off stern initially, "Ahem, excuse my excitement. I don't get to travel much without bodyguards keeping an eye on me every day. I'd love to go. Now, if there is anything more you need to say, I would like to speak to Roon in private."

With no more words to say besides confirming another tag along, the two of them left the house. Once they had left, Cassandra was now left with an odd situation in front of her. She had seen Roon under Martin's command in the past although the truth was she was constructed at this port. Thanks to her importance to her son, she was allowed to see some restricted files although she couldn't speak of them. Could she consider Roon part of the Ironblood when she really had her loyalties to Gabriel only? That would open up another can of worms as there were more like Roon on the base. Thankfully, the women assembled earlier were not prototype's, only Roon.

Likewise, the prototype heavy cruiser was waiting with anticipation. On one hand, she feared the worst and braced for it. She hoped that she could at least have an opportunity but she was at this old woman's mercy.

After some thought, Cassandra made her decision. "For the meantime, you can date my son until I have a better grasp of you."

The sun began to rise for Roon as her heart leaped for joy. "Danke! I will do anything to prove myself to you."

The heavy cruiser's words made Cassandra smile a bit. So much youth in them yet they fought almost endlessly while being outnumbered. She could have a little fun with this, "Anything?"

Roon nodded vigorously. Nothing was going to keep her from Gabriel, not even if she was given an impossible task. But for now, she needed one little thing.

Back at the clearing, Gabriel and Eugen were laying on the soft grass below them, never minding the fact it might cause a stain on their clothing. The skies above were beautiful to gaze at. So serene and relatively at peace without the alien threat forcefully changing the weather. The few clouds that eagerly roamed about sometimes being shaped into familiar objects. Between them was their two hands held together, both adorned with rings to signify that moment of their lives.

"Hm~, skies like these would be great for Weser to practice her new role," Eugen mentioned, imagining one of the few clouds being replaced by a dive bomber.

Gabriel's concentration broke at the name, a familiar one that he could barely recall from his academic days. "I want to say I have heard that name before but I might be confusing it for another."

"Seydlitz was her original name" Eugen let a teasing grin show itself, "Her and Lutz...I mean Tallinn, got along better with Hipper."

"Maybe she won't be yelling at you when they're around." Gabriel suggested.

The heavy cruiser laughed in response. "Not even close. At best, Hipper will calm herself down a bit more. Although, I don't know if you'll get to meet Tallinn anytime soon."

"Why is that?" Gabriel questioned. If they were sisters, then she would be at their homeland, right? "Is she stationed on another base?"

The answer caught him off guard. "Northern Parliament. She was sold to them to 'help' keep good ties. Despite that, we keep ourselves in good contact with her."

"Huh...I guess I'll get to meet Weser at least." Gabriel commented. What was Weser like in comparison to the sisters? Was she more of Hipper's personality or closer to Eugen? "Does she know about me?"

Eugen shrugged, "I haven't said anything yet. It would be better if you met her in person."

That was understandable. Hard to connect to somebody if they lived thousands of miles away. Eugen could have at least informed her sister about Gabriel so it wouldn't be a bomb dropped on top of them. Speaking of which, wouldn't Weser know about him being married to Eugen thanks to the other Ironbloods? Did Eugen keep them tight lipped about that?

"So what kind of embarrassing stories am I going to hear from your mother?" Eugen asked, snapping Gabriel back to paying attention. "Considering you lived a whole life, I'm more interested in what she has to say."

Gabriel began to shudder at the thought of his mother sharing some very personal stories with his subordinates. Would she tell them about that mishap during his early years in high school? Then there was the whole graduation mess he would never live down. Worst of all, Gabriel hoped that his mother didn't bring any of the recordings she took, let alone the picture books. "You'll find my mother is a woman that can speak for ages."

Satisfied, Eugen got up with a certain mischief in her eye. "Then why don't we go ahead and hear it from her? The sooner, the better."

"I have a bad feeling about this." Gabriel grumbled

The Admiral was correct in his assumption once the pair had arrived back at the house. Any hope that the embarrassment would only be to Eugen was dashed away once he spotted his mother sitting down in the living room with a thick book in her hands. Said book was filled to the brim with various photos that only made his blood pressure rise a bit. The icing on that cake was that Hipper was observing the photos with a mix of genuine curiosity and familial mockery.

Of course, the couple entering only alerted Cassandra and Hipper of their presence. "There you both are, I was just meeting Hipper here while you were gone. I just had to share all the photos I've kept."

"Who knew you were nothing like you are now," Hipper said. The smile on her face was like that of an older sibling finding some useful dirt on their younger one. Gabriel knew what she was referring to but Eugen was even more intrigued by that revelation.

So it didn't surprise the Admiral that Eugen walked over to see what Hipper was talking about. The pictures in question were a handful of pictures of a teenage Gabriel riding a motorcycle. Not one of the classic designs but more of those compact racing ones. An older gentleman was spotted in a few of those photos, one of them showing him doing some sort of maintenance on the vehicle. Temporarily, any embarrassment was flooded over by a small amount of revered nostalgia.

"Since when did you become a racer?" Eugen questioned, "Nothing about you even gave me that hint."

Gabriel answered, "Short time. I kinda broke the thing in my first few races and Dad was not thrilled about me racing again. Thomas thought it would be a good idea to impress the girls at school."

"He only did that to mess with you." Cassandra scoffed at the memory. Her sons follow their hormonal desires of showing off and ending up worse for wear. "It's a good thing you followed my advice after that."

Hipper, not wanting to let Gabriel off the hook, added. "I thought it was illegal for teenagers to operate vehicles in your country."

Gabriel's answer was stopped before it left his mouth. His mother had that negative aura around her once more that dared him to even speak of it. "Let's...just say I wasn't the best rule follower."

"That did carry over," Eugen murmured with a sly grin. "After all, didn't you break your regulations at least once before they were changed."

It was a good thing that Cassandra learned of everything already as her anger momentarily flared up once more. Speaking of which, what resulted in her talks with the girls? "Mom, how did it go with them?"

"I restricted each faction to having only one marriage." Cassandra stated, giving the book to the heavy cruisers. "In addition, I'm going to have a say in who you'll be marrying."

A blink...two blinks. Gabriel didn't know whether to be relieved it was not as bad as it could have been or be annoyed his mother was budding into his affairs. What Eugen told him earlier made sense but the part about his mother having the final say was not so agreeable. "So...Now everyone is going to be vying for your approval on top of what's expected?"

"Exactly," Cassandra nodded. "Also, when were you going to tell me that you were planning a trip to Germany?"

Gabriel shrugged in response, "I wasn't expecting you to be here. I'm assuming Tirpitz or Z23 told you about it." No doubt his mother was now going to come along just so she could experience the sights. Too bad she missed out on the three other countries he got to visit. "In any case, we should be going in the following weeks. Just preparing for the trip since it will be a long one."

What he didn't expect was how the elderly woman was pumped full of life in an instant. It was almost as if her age was cut in half. "Good! That gives me time to prepare and I will be taking pictures of everything. I've always wanted to visit other countries and I will most certainly do so before I get older."

If that didn't get off the rails, Eugen decided to pipe in for good measure. "While we're there, I could ask our science divisions to see if they can make it possible to have children. If they can reverse engineer Siren technology, I'm sure they can solve that little issue."

"I am NOT sleeping near you two when that happens!" Hipper complained, a natural reaction to her sister's constant prodding.

Then the cherry on top arrived from Cassandra. "That's the only reason I'm even approving of this polygamy. You better hold up your end, mister."

Gabriel sarcastically chuckled as that idea was going to be hell for him. To his relief, his mother went back to going through her photo book with her daughters-in-law. This gave him a moment to take a good look at what the other girls got for him today.

The reward for all his trouble was at least a dozen boxes of chocolate...more than enough to make his eye twitch.

And there we go. Next chapter will be featuring Hornet and then we're going to have quite a few chapters between our lovely ladies trying to get Cassandra's approval through their own means.