"When I lost my rifle, the Army charged me 85 dollars. That is why in the Navy the Captain goes down with the ship." — Dick Gregory

A/N: Quick response towards the question directed by a guest; here is the chapter featuring a KanColle character and it'll take awhile for the others to follow since I'm taking this slow. And forgot to mention that since this is a crossover, I'll be changing things in Azur Lane so it'll be AU in terms of history as you know it. Like how missiles aren't a thing yet for this humanity, except well... Germany. I will also introduce several OCs for the Azur Lane side. Enjoy..!

Bismarck roused from her unconscious state to find the comfort of a blanket covering her and the softness of a mattress underneath her as she tried to make sense of what had happened prior to this. She was in a normal sortie before being separated from her friends, forced to combat the Abyssals alone and seek cover in a squall, everything else was blurry as the blonde shipgirl held her head and sat up on the bed. She can't recognize the room even though there wasn't much but white walls or dull furniture, and shouldn't she be in a repair dock instead of laying in bed due to her damages? Bismarck heard a rustling sound to her right, snapping towards the source to find a dark-haired female occupying a chair, and she was staring at her with a raised brow.

The person's black sharp bangs covered her right blue eye and a yellow string hung from the left side of her head. As for her attire, it was a blue cropped jacket with red and yellow accents, a white and yellow collar and black garter straps on her arms over a white collared buttoned shirt with a cleavage cutout. A red slim and fit corset also wrapped around her midsection with hints of yellow alongside a blue belt; complemented by a circular golden buckle on her mid-torso. Moving further downwards, she wore a black pencil skirt with a blue waist cape and a white wide garter to pair with the black thigh-high heeled boots. To top all those off, the female wore a pair of white leather gloves currently holding onto a book she was reading.

"Good morning, you were sleeping so peacefully there, I didn't want to wake you up from it. And to think that they found you like a stranded fish on the beach, I thought you'd be out cold for a few days."

Bismarck stared at her without uttering a single word, the only thing running through her mind at that moment was who it was that she's looking at. She has no absolute idea, did the naval base get a new ship? And if they did, who is it? Another British shipgirl?

"What's wrong..? Is there something on my face?"

The German battleship shook her head before replying, "Who are you? A new shipgirl?"

"Hm? I'm supposed to ask you that question, who are you? And what were you doing in the North Sea, in the Royal Navy's waters?"

Bismarck was bewildered at the response, holding her head as it aches when she tried to probe on her memory. That's right, she was on a sortie to protect the convoys passing by Norwegian waters alongside her fleet members and having encountered a heavy presence of Abyssals, she split the fleet into two to protect the convoys. It all happened too fast for her to piece what occurred then, but she did remember saying that she'll distract the enemy and bring them away from the civilian ships. The squall, her last stand, and a wave crashing onto her. She muttered something incomprehensible to the female.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

"My name is Bismarck."

The room fell silent for a few minutes, Bismarck looked up to see that the dark-haired female seemed hesitant and in disbelief.

"What..?"

"There's no way that you're her."

"I'm not lying! I'm Bismarck! Just… who are you!?" the blonde pointed at the female, glaring at her.

"HMS Ark Royal of the Royal Navy."

Bismarck flinched at the name and nearly stumbled over her words, "You look nothing like her..!"

Ark Royal flipped the book she was reading close, leaning forward on her seat to study Bismarck carefully. "Aside from the same hair color, I don't see how you're the Bismarck that I came to know. But you do have a rigging similar to that of Iron Blood, without the shark aesthetics at least."

"Hold it right there, what are you talking about? Iron Blood? Another Bismarck? What is this place? What year is it?"

"I'm afraid you're not in a position to ask questions here, 'Bismarck'. The Royal Navy demands that you expose what schemes Iron Blood is making now, sending a lone espionage ship posing as the Bismarck to the North Sea. And failure to do so... the Queen will have your head." another shipgirl entered the room, prompting Ark Royal to stand up from her seat. "Ah, Warspite. You're here just in time."

"This is Warspite!? What happened to the granny look?!"

That made the Royal battleship's eyebrow twitch, "Enough with the shenanigans! Tell us who you really are."

"Now, now… Warspite. I think we should listen to her first, she's been through a literal storm and by the looks of it… I don't think she's faking her reactions."

"Are you sure, Ark Royal?"

"I saw genuine fear in her eyes when I revealed who I am, no one else would make such a reaction… not even our Bismarck. Perhaps, there's a different explanation other than her being an espionage vessel."

"Very well. Her Majesty expects some answers, and you better squeeze out whatever you can. And you." Warspite's steel gaze laid upon Bismarck, "This is your only chance. Speak the truth and nothing else, prove that you're not what I think you are." The blonde left the room shortly after, leaving the two to their business.

Ark Royal rubbed her nape as she plopped down onto her seat, "You heard her. There's a lot of confusion right now and we both don't know what's going on. I believe that you're Bismarck, not from Iron Blood however. What's the last thing that you remember?"

The German battleship explained the journey before her untimely fate, emphasizing the details so as to make it believable for the shipgirl. If what she perceived is true, then this isn't her realm… did she somehow fall into another dimension? Can the sea do that? Bismarck clasped her hands once she finished speaking, eyes solemnly staring at the tile floor.

"I see. Your incident could very well be the results of tampering by the Sirens, I don't know how but it has to be that. There's no other explanation to this. So you're a Bismarck from another world… and you seem to know the Ark Royal there for you to be that scared at knowing me."

"Not just Ark Royal, all the shipgirls in my world, be they the Japanese, German, Italian, British, American or French… we're all bound to this camaraderie despite our past and rivalry." Bismarck smiled at the thought of remembering her friends, although everything went sour at first, the bonds they created during every sortie eventually bear fruits. Except for her acute fear of the aircraft carrier that always seemed to chase her all around the naval base.

"Everything here used to be just like that, everyone united under the Azur Lane banner. I'm glad that things aren't that different on your side. Despite the conflict the Royal Navy has against Iron Blood, I know that things will revert back to how it was. All of this started because of the Sirens, and it'll end with them."

"... what are the Sirens? Are they that influential? That… even dimensions are affected?"

Ark leaned back on her seat, taking the time to think of a proper way to answer the German battleship's questions, "I'm not even sure myself what they are, extraterrestrial beings, I guess? According to the earliest archives that we have, intervention from the Sirens dated as far back as the 1900s, however they weren't as severe and most are sporadic to even cause any threat to everyone. We could be wrong though… there hasn't been any solid evidence to back up those archives."

"So they're aliens, huh? I guess they're this world's equivalent of the Abyssals, although... the Sirens are far advanced if what you said is true."

The dark-haired carrier chortled, "There's always a bigger fish, and for all we know there could be another faction stronger than the Sirens."

"Let's not dwell on that…" Bismarck sighed while Ark stifled a laugh, the two got to know about each other with the time they've been given. Unbeknownst to them, one of the Royal Maids had been posted by the door and noting down their conversation.

[ The Admiralty - Ripley Building ]

The main hall fell silent as a gavel struck the sound block several times, a lone figure stood atop the podium holding the instrument and he cleared his throat.

"There will be an order in this hall. Please proceed with the briefing, Admiral Hastings."

Admiral Henry Hastings was seated by the podium, and upon being mentioned he stood up promptly and offered a respectful nod of his head, "Thank you, Lord High Admiral Graham." he turned to face the individuals present within the hall, gathering his thoughts for the briefest moment before speaking, "As you are all aware of the recent event, gentlemen. We can't take the Siren's infiltration in the North Sea lightly, and I believe that they must've had a purpose being there… lest it's just an ordinary recon work." Henry paused for a dramatic effect, "I have exchanged words with Commander Caspian this morning, and I can confirm that it's not just us, who received a surprise visitor. But, that is a subject for another time as we had a single shipgirl beached in our territory."

The naval officers that were present began to murmur while civilian elected officials remained silent as if waiting for a reason to respond. As the High Admiral was about to hit the sound block again, the door slammed open and a group barreled through, mainly the Royal Maids with two of their superiors being escorted towards the front of the proceedings.

"Your Majesty." the High Admiral bowed his head, the rest of the men got up from their seats to show respect as well. Henry placed his hand on his chest, above the heart and gave a slight nod of the head.

The Royal Maids halted when Queen Elizabeth did, she stood proudly while holding her scepter and her sister; Warspite standing by her side.

"Have you lot discussed the Royal Navy's next move per chance? And regarding this shipgirl that we've brought into our custody?"

"We were just getting into such a matter, Your Majesty. As for the shipgirl, something similar has occurred over at Eagle Union and we're still trying to find out if the two are connected officially." Henry replied on behalf of the Admiralty, receiving curious gazes from several of the officials.

Warspite directed her gaze towards him with narrowed eyes, "If so, we should arrange a meeting with Eagle Union, at least we'd be able to come to terms with their own theory."

"Precisely what I was about to suggest, Miss Warspite." Henry nodded as he faced the crowd of the Admiralty, "Other than a vague idea of who this shipgirl is, we have no evidence to back them up. And with Plan AS still in the works, it's a sound reason to meet with Eagle Union directly."

A loud tap resounded within the hall, the source coming from Queen Elizabeth's scepter now touching the floor, "Very well! You will be assigned to a convoy to Eagle Union's naval base in New York, Admiral Hastings. The future operation rests in your hands, as well as the shipgirl you will be bringing with you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will see to it that my duty is fulfilled."

Warspite appeared to be deep in her thoughts after the decision was made, she had every right to be doubtful but without anything to back up her claims then she can't just make accusations. Hopefully the meeting would clarify her suspicions or shine a light upon it.

The aforementioned German battleship was walking down the hallway alongside Ark Royal, with another Royal Maid following them closely from their rear. The aircraft carrier seemed immersed in her talking that she failed to notice Bismarck's subtle attempt to catch her attention.

"Um…"

"Hm? What is it?"

"I don't mean to ask the obvious or anything, but…" Bismarck trailed off, raising her shackled hands for Ark to view. The dark-haired shipgirl mouthed an "Oh" and glanced back towards the Royal Maid who was minding her own business, eyes forward without a care in the two unless she was called upon or given her order.

"Unfortunately, I'm the only one whose trust you gained here. You're in our custody so it's to be expected… so, you'll have to bear with this for now. I'll see to it that you're in a private quarter once onboard."

"Is that so..? And where are we headed exactly?"

"Eagle Union's naval base in New York."

Just as Bismarck was about to voice her excitement on the journey to America, she was greeted by the warm afternoon sunlight and the heavy activities donning the port of Liverpool. The line of cargoes being carried by cranes onto transport ships as they sailed off with their respective escorts.

"Where are they going..?"

"Everywhere. From the frozen seas of the Arctic to the tropical climates of South-East Asia. Wherever the Royal Navy or her allies are posted at the moment, we can't afford to let our territory be overrun by the Sirens if we want to take back the sea from them."

Sounds just like home. Bismarck could relate to the situation since she was recently in a convoy escort mission as well, one that didn't bode well when the Abyssals tore through the fleet's picket defense line. She prayed that her sister-in-arms made it through the Abyssal onslaught and protected the convoy without unnecessary casualties, safe for her at least.

"Hello! It's nice to see you out here, Ark Royal." a cheery voice brought the German battleship out from her thoughts, spotting a brunette and a blonde greeting Ark.

"Good afternoon, Miss Ark Royal." the blonde gave a curtsy befitting of the gentlewoman vibe she gave off to which the dark-haired carrier responded, "Good afternoon, Renown. And to you, Repulse."

Repulse. The word rang inside Bismarck's mind, she recognized the battlecruiser who aided in the search for her. And the said brunette finally turned to her, "Ah! You're up and running already? I suppose Ark here warmed up your engines, eh?" Repulse chirped, earning a light nudge on her side by the aircraft carrier herself.

"As said by Icarus herself, she does look pretty up-close. Have we identified who she is..?" Renown directed the question to Ark, mindful of her tone so as not to be heard by Bismarck.

Ark patted the German blonde's shoulder, "Renown, Repulse. Allow me to introduce Bismarck, not of Iron Blood but a different world."

Repulse perked up at the name, Bismarck feared that she would lunge at her which she did, however she didn't expect that the brunette would embrace her instead of going for her neck.

"Wow! I never thought I'd finally meet you, Bismarck. You may not be the one that I looked for back in 1940, the thought of actually getting to meet a different Bismarck feels great! I have so much respect for you, as the only advanced battleship in Europe of it's time. If you have to exclude Tirpitz who came after…"

Bismarck was frozen in place from the reaction, even Renown had no complications of accepting her as the blonde battlecruiser smiled from her spot, "I see. Bismarck, huh? At least she looks much friendlier than our Bismarck."

"That she is. I would have never thought that I'd see a Bismarck who isn't cold and prideful like ours. It felt more like talking to an old friend with her." Ark watched as Repulse conversed with Bismarck and tried to get Bismarck to keep up, even telling her how Tirpitz ended up becoming the last feared Bismarck-class of Europe even though the Allies brought their heaviest battleships to the North Sea to counter that. It was something to be proud of, knowing that your sister ship accomplished a feat; knowingly as one of the few last battleships to be replaced by the era of aircraft carriers. The blonde battleship seemed confused with Repulse's friendliness at first, the mention of her sister which she never had to ask back in her world made her smile widely despite the tragedy that befell Tirpitz in the end.

The two quickly became like the best buddies before anyone could spell Denmark Strait, Ark had to thank Repulse for that because she needed more support to prove that Bismarck isn't related to Iron Blood, and perhaps might help them in their fight or negotiations with Crimson Axis.

"Lovely afternoon, ladies. What seems to be the commotion here?" Henry approached the group after overseeing transfer of cargoes for his own convoy, earning a crisp salute from Ark and a bow from Renown.

Repulse gestured a playful salute, "Admiral Hastings." She presented Bismarck towards the man since the two shipgirls were linked arms, at Repulse's insistence apparently. Bismarck stood at attention even if she were in shackles, her expression taking a more serious approach upon knowing the rank of the man.

He's the Admiral of this naval base? Bismarck wondered if this person was the equivalent of her own Admiral back in her world, commanding the various shipgirls of nationalities but mainly those that are Japanese since foreign shipgirls are more of a select group within the roster.

"You may go, Sheffield. We'll take over from here." Henry addressed the Royal Maid following Ark and Bismarck all this time, the light cruiser did a curtsy for him and excused herself without a single word. He shifted his attention to Bismarck, donning a warm smile towards her. "So here's the shipgirl who's the talk of this entire base. As well as the Admiralty, unfortunately." The man studied her form, noting the uniform difference from that of Iron Blood even though the color theme seemed to match in certain parts, he nodded to himself once satisfied with details.

"What do you think, Admiral?" The simple question from Ark made him hum while Bismarck tried not to shrink from the pressure of being observed by him.

"There are some similarities, but not enough to warrant that she's from Iron Blood. Bah..! Where are my manners?" Henry extended his hand forward, "Admiral Henry Hastings, I've been given command to lead Force Z on its journey to Eagle Union. That makes you my responsibility, Miss..?"

She took his hand and shook it to respond to the gesture, "Bismarck. It's a pleasure to meet you, Admiral. I'm grateful that you're willing to command this convoy despite the dangers that Ark Royal told me of the high seas."

She saw that Henry raised his brow, most likely due to discovering her name but nothing too major than an acknowledging nod as if he's pieced together a puzzle from his observation earlier.

"Oh please, I've been in command of a fleet larger than Force Z, in many dangerous circumstances so leading this battlegroup is much of a vacation trip for me. Repulse and Ark Royal have been with me through tons of sorties, so I have trust in them protecting the convoy." the man replied casually, highlighting his reliance and the mentioned shipgirls' abilities. "And Bismarck, huh? Eagle Union also has a case of a ship, instead of a shipgirl on the other side. I was wondering if it's tied to your situation…"

"I don't remember coming here with anyone else, Admiral."

"I'm aware of that, but we can't let the fact that we found you stranded on the same day that Eagle Union met their mystery guest. So we're bringing you to New York to meet this… individual."

The remaining members of the formed Force Z were the last to arrive, two cruisers and two destroyers making up the light escorts for the three heavier warships; two battlecruisers and an aircraft carrier. Henry introduced them to Bismarck, starting from HMS Icarus, the one who found the German battleship to which she thanked the small framed shipgirl, then HMS Juno, HMS Swiftsure and lastly HMCS Ontario. Her being the new addition for the Royal Navy before she was ordered for transfer to Britain's Dominion in North America, her duty with Force Z would be temporary as she would make a second trip to Canada for service.

The former British Minotaur-class was a redhead with ocean blue eyes, her uniform mostly based on the Royal Knights like Southampton; except leaning towards the hue of blue and she had several mini canisters strapped around both her thighs, the greyish color of the drums in contrast to the black strap that they were attached to, mostly smoke canisters for her to use offensively or defensively. In addition, she had auxiliaries on her hair similar to that of a ship's mast, a set of spotlights and her surface radar acting as hair ornament.

"HMCS Ontario, reporting for duty, Admiral. I will accompany Force Z and provide an ample escort screen to the best of my abilities, you may leave anti-aircraft and anti-submarine duties to me. My artillery mounts are that of a support platform so I can assist capital ships in shelling."

Henry motioned a salute to her, "Welcome to Force Z, Ontario. It's good to have you with us, even if it's just a one-way trip."

After the pleasantries were settled, the group disembarked from the port onto the ship body of the Ark Royal, the shipgirl herself was standing at the bow of her flight deck once she was onboard. The convoy departed shortly, with civilian ships carrying cargoes as the rest of Force Z made a diamond formation with their respective ship bodies as soon as they broke out from the harbor to open sea, and several mass production ships made up the outer ring of the convoy for extra safety. It'd do well to bring merchant ships along since they take the same route with the battlegroup.

Accessing World Database…

Filtering unnecessary information and prioritizing political and military history…

User: USS Saint Paul, CA-73 of the Baltimore-class heavy cruisers, Former Fleet of Fog Enforcer and currently serving for the original Earth's United States Navy.

Level 5 clearance acquired…

1920: The Great War that concluded in 1918 changed the fate of various nations, the emergence of a new power; the United States of America, the collapse of the Russian Empire and it's Orthodox Church by a Socialist Revolution and the dissolution of the German Empire into the Weimar Republic, as well as the independence of satellite states that previously belonged to the aforementioned Empires.

1930: Reports of mysterious attacks spread around the world, mainly focused on commercial shipping lanes including military vessels taking the same routes.

1939: The emergence of the Sirens during the outbreak of the Second World War brought major concern to the League of Nations despite the hostilities by the Empire of Japan and Nazi Germany with Adolf Hitler's appointment as Chancellor and eventually Führer of the Third Reich few years prior.

1941: Attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan's dastardly raid brought the United States into the stage of war. The increase in Siren intervention jeopardized future naval operations in both Pacific and the Atlantic as both Allied and Axis warships had to face each other while fending off the extraterrestrial threat.

1944: Nazi Germany's V2 Project had been perfected, launching strikes against the British Empire amidst the raiding by the Sirens in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, forcing the Kriegsmarine to abandon Norway to protect the German coasts. At the same time, the Allies weren't able to retake Norway due to the Sirens who were also wrecking havoc upon their convoys heading for Murmansk, the Soviet Union's naval base of the North.

Searching for Operation Overlord within the database…

Data not found…

Assuming the landing operations never came to fruition due to the Sirens…

1945: An armistice is signed in Bern, Switzerland after a long stalemate with little changes made to the status of Europe. Nazi Germany would keep the territories it had taken, with the exception of important Russian cities like Kiev returned back to the Soviets. The Vichy France government would be recognized in Southern France while Free France remained in Africa.

South-East Asia is freed from Japanese control with the condition that the United States of America continue supplying oil without any restrictions. Wake Island, the Marianna Islands would remain under the Empire while the Philippines is recognized as independent from both America and Japan; but both are able to tap into the government's affairs. Indonesia declared independence without worrying about any Dutch intervention as the Sirens expanded their dominance over the oceans while Malaysia received their very own independence with Japan's blessings, Singapore and Borneo remained under the British Empire as their frontal outpost in Asia.

Both Nazi Germany and the United States of America completed their respective nuclear projects by the end of August, prior to the undisturbed heavy water industry in Nazi-occupied Norway and the secrecy of Project Manhattan carefully orchestrated within America.

America detonated it's A-Bomb at Bikini Atoll shortly after the assembly of one bomb while Germany tested its first bomb in the Baltic Sea, the effects of the weapons were devastating and shocked the world media. The public demands that the respective projects be put down, and with pressure from Great Britain, Italy, Japan and the Soviet Union; America and Germany abandoned the projects. The ban of nuclear weapons is announced, converting them into renewable energy instead for an efficient industry.

1947: Humanity gathered their warships to combat the Sirens in a full-frontal assault, resulting in massive casualties but with minimum effects against the Sirens. This would become the basis for the foundation of Azur Lane, which was founded after being pushed back to land. The Wisdom Cube was the first step into this new idea of battling the Sirens, sea-faring nations funded the research known as Project KANSEN and work began immediately while the Sirens withdrew from the shores.

1948: Project KANSEN gave birth to the shipgirls who were divided into different factions to represent their nations such as Mikasa for the Japanese Empire and Avrora for the Soviet Union, the older shipgirls were to serve first and hold the line for humanity till newer shipgirls could be called forth.

1950: The Azur Lane coalition becomes a global organization, identifying as a different faction compared to the navies of the nations they belong to. The Eagle Union, representing America. Royal Navy representing the British Empire. Sakura Empire representing the Japanese Empire. Iron Blood for Nazi Germany. Sardegna Empire for Italy. Vichya Dominion as Vichy France's representative while Iris Libre as Free France's own. And the Northern Parliament belonging to the Soviet Union. Several other minor powers would follow suit, such as known colonies within the British Empire.

1960: Communications with the Soviet Union and the Northern Parliament are severed for unknown reasons, possibly from the endless Siren assaults. Research on Siren technology discovered in Iron Blood, there are suspicions of Northern Parliament conducting them too, hence their silence. Soon the Sardegna Empire and the Sakura Empire followed, leaving the remaining major powers of Azur Lane in their straight path.

1980: Iron Blood declared a new faction after leaving Azur Lane; the Crimson Axis which included the previous Axis Powers during WW2, jump-starting a brand new rivalry between the shipgirls in favor of more power than through strength of unity.

1993: Ayane Catherine Caspian is born, a half-Japanese native to Hawaii when her mother moved there as a permanent settler. Due to her militaristic father, she would be enlisted into the Navy upon maturing.

2000: The Eagle Union and Sakura Empire underwent various small skirmishes in the Pacific, mostly for contested territories and access to sites of interest. The Royal Navy, having to work on two fronts; abandoned Asia to keep the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean under their major control, beating back any Axis prodding while searching for any Siren presence.

The Sirens have gone silent for years, amounting to the emboldened attacks by Crimson Axis without intervention. Leadership figures suspect a new plot in the works by the Sirens, but defending their core territories came as first priorities.

2016: At the age of 23, Captain Ayane C. Caspian is chosen as the next Commander of Azur Lane, after the previous candidate; Rear-Admiral Henry Hastings rejected the position and recommended the Captain for her brilliance, as well as boldness in tactics.

Logging Out…

St. Paul opened her eyes, the holographic rings surrounding her dissipated as soon as she exited the virtual world.

It had been a smooth sailing from Pearl Harbor when it was announced that she'd be meeting with representatives from the Royal Navy and another shipgirl who miraculously dropped onto the faction's front door. And the fact that she was currently having personnel onboard felt odd to her, mainly the Commander and several shipgirls who were interested in her body, the ship itself. Because of the difference in speed, the St. Paul could make the trip to New York twice the speed of even the fastest destroyer that Eagle Union possessed as the vessel was currently travelling at 64 knots; something that St. Paul was accustomed to and such a speed isn't even her max potential, if she had to push the engines to its limits and focus on speed it wouldn't be a problem for her to reach up to 80 knots due to the upgrades she received before leaving the Fleet of Fog.

She stared out the tinted viewport, spotting the outer installations of New York Harbor come into view. The door of the bridge slid open, welcoming the figure of Ayane accompanied by Enterprise and Wales. Georgia isn't amongst the company onboard since she's an adjutant and Pearl needed her in case a problem arose, the Commander studied the many interfaces and equipment available within the well-lit up bridge. It felt like home to her even though St. Paul isn't a ship that's originally manmade, by human standards.

"We're almost at our destination." St. Paul said flatly, not aimed at any particular person in the bridge as Enterprise walked up front to stand beside the mental model who recently got up from the Captain's chair.

"Have you ever been to New York in your world, Paul..?"

The silver-haired mental model did a brief tilt of her head, "If it's a short stay then I suppose so. Much of the American East Coast were hit bad during the opening salvos of the Human-Fog War. This will be the first time that I'm visiting New York in a functioning state."

"We're lucky ourselves that much of our territories aren't affected, even though New York has been under siege before. It proves that Eagle Union and the United States are able to stand on its two feet. In addition, we have veterans like Enterprise here to hold the fort for us." Ayane finally managed to slip into the conversation, searching for the nearest seat in the bridge and slumped down onto it's comfort.

Wales remained by the door, arms crossed and a soft smile tugged at her lips as a silent spectator. Enterprise chuckled, "Everyone has been calling me that or a war hero, I'm just doing my duty as a shipgirl, Commander." the white-haired carrier shook her head briefly and adjusted her service hat, "And I'd be glad to give you a tour of New York if we get the time, Paul."

St. Paul wondered if the nickname that Enterprise chose is for convenience or just to lessen the gap of their friendship, she's been spending time with the shipgirl ever since arriving in Pearl and she'd learn to pick up small details that the war veteran aircraft carrier often dropped during their talks. Whichever it is, St. Paul didn't mind Enterprise acting so close to her in a world where she's essentially alone in terms of the only Fog warship present and without her flagship to relay orders.

The entry to the harbor didn't take long with verification numbers being thrown at the operator who managed to hail the mental model through comms, with the Commander onboard, it's like a quick swipe of an ID card as the Fog Baltimore-class slowed down to proceed to it's docking area.

New York Harbor, the crowned jewel of the Eagle Union is a far-cry of its former state after the siege by the Sirens and the appearance of another faction; the Ashes. Being the most protected harbor and city with various calibers of coastal artillery dotting defense lines, the honeycomb of seamines as the buffer zone in the case anyone decided to disable the coastal guns. And of course, the Home Fleet that guarded the fortress, the second largest fleet to that of the total tally in Pearl Harbor alone, was ready to repel invaders or raiders that managed to go through picket lines and get detected by radar installations. Due to the last siege that befell NY City, it was imperative that research into radar technology improve and at its current state they would give sufficient information for anyone defending the harbor. Ayane had pressed on the matter of home defense many times before, and it took a single assault to make that dream come true… much to her disappointment and frustration when the Sirens were able to break through defenses but eventually beaten back. Never again. The Senate and Minister of Defense are completely reliant upon her service after all, the US Maritime Force (The combination of the US Navy and the Coast Guard) aren't fully equipped against an all-out assault with Sirens or for any matter involving the Ashes.

At most the branch only had a number of brand new corvettes for escort missions or anti-submarine warfare, older frigates that only formed the backbone of anti-air duties, a new class of destroyers, several activated cruisers fit for service from the 90s and a single super carrier; the USS Midway. The USMF didn't reactivate any battleships or battlecruisers they kept as museum ships or mothballed fleets in the case of desperate defense. The USAF, USMC and USMF also formed a combined air fleet ready to tackle the smallest submarine threat to a large gathering of fleets as jet fighters became a prominent tool to combat Siren jets or hit and run tactics against equipped Siren warships. The research on jet fighters or jet bombers for shipgirl use are being considered, at the request of a certain Essex-class who made it clear that speed and power would be the final nail into perfecting the Eagle Union's own air complement.

The latest research that the US government wanted their hands on would be the surplus of technology that St. Paul possessed as a Fog warship, the weaponry mainly the missile tech that were said to be scarce and only existing in Germany, the propulsion that ran on some form of energy and shielding that the Fog heavy cruiser displayed during her action or shown in the clips that Ayane forwarded to HIGHCOM. There were mixed feelings towards St. Paul when the data came through, the horrors of whether or not Fog warships could exist in this very world other than St. Paul or the amount of carnage of the world she came from. The subject of nuclear weapons were taken seriously following it's ban during the late 40s, some within the War Cabinet wanted to reactivate the old Manhattan Project but they were immediately ousted by the Office of Naval Intelligence. No doubt there were complications hidden under the rug, but the priority for technology acquisition came first to beat the Axis in the arms race.

As soon as docking procedures were completed it didn't take long for those onboard to disembark, the select few shipgirls that were designated as escorts exited first, followed by the bridge group consisting of St. Paul, Enterprise, Prince of Wales and the Commander. The mental model noted the curious stares from personnel and engineers alike present within the dock space, to see a Baltimore-class vessel was common but to have one with foreign sigils and a different color theme was beyond their expectation, also the various alien machinations as well as outline of what appeared to be individual cells for weapons on the deck or the side of the ship's hull. Some even noticed the well concealed submerged torpedo tubes on the bow of the heavy cruiser, these were enough evidence to show that the ship isn't one of theirs no matter how much resemblance existed and that the issue of firepower wasn't at all that worth worrying about.

The ship's company was greeted by a lone individual, the man noticing the female officer, immediately stood at attention and gestured a salute.

"Welcome back to NY Harbor, Commander."

Ayane returned the salute with a hardened expression, a habit due to her profession. "At ease." she lowered her hand and looked around for a brief moment, "I assume Captain Halifax is occupied with another task, Lt. Commander Keyes?"

"Yes, ma'am. USMF needed him for an escort mission from Gibraltar, it shouldn't take long since it's been 3 days already since he announced that he's hauling back the merchants at best speed." the Lieutenant eased his posture, turning about to guide the group out from the sheltered docking space.

"Who did he bring with him?"

"Kidd and Cooper. The two girls were rather ecstatic to see some action after much time standing by in the Home Fleet, I can't blame them for wanting to get experience out there."

Ayane allowed a small smile to decorate her features, some of the girls within the group chuckled since they knew the feeling when the Pacific Fleet received standing orders last two months, everyone itched for a fight that when they did get it—much to the Sirens' concern, what was chaos could be referred to. In terms of the damage done, at least.

Lt. Keyes could make out St. Paul was the odd one from the bunch as the man glanced back at her, paying no mind at the emotionless expression plastered on her face despite the cheerful mood of the shipgirls. He shook the thought off and led them up until they've reached the Eagle Union side of the harbor, saluting Ayane once more before excusing himself to perform off-shore duties as mostly managing the harbor in place of the aforementioned Captain who had such duty before his sudden departure for a sortie.

The giddy group of shipgirls parted off themselves to get their share of time spent, mostly because it's been a month since they stepped foot in New York leaving the bridge group yet again.

Ayane faced the three individual girls in front of her with a short huff, "I guess we could start by sorting out things ourselves. I'll be in the main building office with Wales, so that leaves you with St. Paul, Enterprise."

"It wouldn't hurt to give her a tour of New York then, as promised."

The Commander nodded at that, "Very well, you two are dismissed to do just that. And don't wander off too far, alright? Things will get busy when the Captain arrives, and the Royal Navy contingent as well."

From there they splintered off, the duo of the blonde battleship and brunette female heading for the Eagle Union's NY HQ building whilst Enterprise and the mental model went about to study the installations and facilities on and nearby the harbor, a considerable distance enough to warrant their return or backtracking to their starting point of the tour.

The white-haired carrier happened to shift her attention to catch sight of another shipgirl having a light jog, the said shipgirl in turn waved her hand and came to a stop just beside the duo to catch her breath.

"I didn't think you'd be back this early, Enterprise. And who's your friend?"

Enterprise glanced over at the silver-haired female and turned towards the shipgirl to reply, "We took a shortcut, so to speak." she pointed towards the mental model beside her to introduce her, "Baltimore, meet Saint Paul."

Baltimore was wiping off her sweat when she heard the name, froze in her spot for a couple of seconds and tried to take a closer look at St. Paul.

"I know that you're not one to joke around, Enterprise… but, are you serious?"

"My name is indeed Saint Paul, a ship of the Baltimore-class, only a world's difference to be your little sister-"

"But still a Baltimore-class, so she's like your very own little sister. It's not a joke, Baltimore." Enterprise interjected, stepping out of the way so the two Baltimore-class could face each other directly and watched as the brunette shipgirl put up a wide grin.

"I don't exactly know what's going on and how you came to be, I just want you to know that I'm happy to be able to see you again, Saint Paul. You're the third Baltimore-class that I've met since it used to be me and then Bremerton. It doesn't matter if you're different..! We're still sister ships in name." the heavy cruiser patted Saint Paul on the shoulder, beaming her with a smile.

The mental model blinked, obviously puzzled by the unexpected response from Baltimore and simply did a small nod, she turned her head towards Enterprise as if asking for help. The carrier put up an amused expression, "Sorry about her, Baltimore. She's not actually much of a talker sometimes."

"Oh! I can fix that with a little bit of sisterly bonding!" the brunette elicited a hearty laugh, wrapping an arm around St. Paul's shoulder to bring her into close contact. The trio walked off with Baltimore and Enterprise picking on the confused silver-haired female as she was being dragged away.

A/N: Another chapter done. Yay? I hope it was at least a good read for everyone and simple to follow through as with acceptance for the OCs that I included in this story. I do apologize for my late update as I apparently have a "life", and I sometimes struggle with writing dialogues but I'll try my best at this. I sincerely thank you for your follows and favorites so far, they mean so much to me. Leave your reviews, and for those with long reviews or something to discuss about then my PM is open! I won't bite, promise! That's it, I think.

Good luck and fair seas!