A/N: And thus, this project sees the light of day~

Best hope you're prepared for a lot of angst and PTSD~ Currently have six chapters finished (with a seventh nearly done), though I'm churning them out at a slower rate than, say, Whispers of Saturn.

Still, I hope you'll enjoy~


Stardust

Chapter 1: Adrift

It was a stormy day in the North Atlantic ocean.

Restless as the ocean usually was at this time of year, now more than ever it seemed to rage; dark tides curling and crashing down with a roar of ivory foam. The looming grey clouds mottled what little sunlight that managed to pierce through the overcast skies, only dulling the scenery even more. Not that there was much to look at aside from raging tides and an endless grey horizon.

Belfast felt particularly akin to the weather that day; her own restlessness having not left since she had woken early in the morning. She wasn't sure what had overcome her. It certainly wasn't because she was nervous or anything – it was just a simple patrol journey around the base's wide perimeter, making sure no Sirens were lurking about. Unlikely, but given recent events, nobody complained about the excessive duties.

A harsh wind whipped into her face, blowing her white locks into her eye and making the maid grimace, tucking said hair behind her ear once more. Idly she peered out of the corner of her eye, gazing back at the rest of the patrol fleet with her – just a few cruisers and Destroyers, most of them Eagle Union or Royal Navy. Many of the two nations were eager for patrol duties, and it wasn't hard to figure out why.

Enterprise.

The carrier had been attacked by the Sirens a little over a month ago, and when the Mirror Sea vanished, so too did Enterprise. There was no body, no sign she'd escaped; nothing. She just disappeared. Of course, search parties were organised, and the top-level brass went absolutely mental trying to get back their star carrier – but it had been for naught. Enterprise was gone. Dead, missing; it depended on who you asked.

That said, few of the Eagle Union accepted that – least of all Hornet and Yorktown. The two carriers had been at the forefront of the search parties, running themselves ragged trying to find their lost sister to the point Vestal had to step in due to them overexerting themselves. Combined with the regular Siren attacks that happened every now and again, it had been hard for the two sisters, and Belfast truly felt for them. She couldn't imagine having Edinburgh suddenly vanish without any closure.

'Perhaps I should check on Yorktown when I return.' Belfast thought to herself, brow creasing with worry. 'She's looked noticeably thinner than usual... perhaps a word to Vestal will sort that out. She's normally good at coercing the Eagle girls...'

So lost in her worried thoughts, Belfast almost didn't hear the crackling of her radio – but when a startled voice broke through it, she most certainly heard it. ''B-Bel! Fletcher detected multiple Siren warships appearing ahead of us! A-And a Mirror Sea is starting to-!'

That was all Belfast needed to hear. ''Understood! All cruisers, link up on me! Spearhead formation!''

A chorus of agreements came from the Ship-Girls with her, and even as a thick fog began to cloud the ocean around her Belfast charged straight ahead. In the distance she could see the distinct purple portals, black hulls already sliding out of them and into the ocean. Her eyes keenly scanned the shape of their hulls and their armaments. Usually when Sirens ambushed their prey, they had an assortment of cruisers supporting a singular Battleship or an Aircraft Carrier, often with an escort of Destroyers.

Except this time things were different. Belfast's eyes widened marginally as she counted the number of Battleships, numbering at nearly half a dozen with three carriers behind them, the portals bigger to reflect the larger hulls. Escorting them was a small fleet of Heavy Cruisers, said cruisers already unpacking their turrets; the platforms supporting them rising out of their hulls and beginning to groan towards Belfast herself.

'Something isn't right here.' Belfast's visage hardened. ''Edinburgh, can you still contact headquarters?''

''N-Negative! The Mirror Sea is blocking my communications!''

''Same here! Can't hear crap from the usual frequencies!'' Phoenix agreed as well, her own voice crackling over the radio.

''Then I suppose we're on our own.'' Belfast noted, both to herself and to her companions – smiling thinly when she spotted them appearing out of the thick mist on either side of her, slowly getting into a loose formation. ''Headquarters will notice shortly that our signals have disappeared, we just need to-''

Conversation was suddenly cut short as one of the enemy Heavy Cruisers fired, a loud boom echoing before four shells came whizzing their way. They splashed harmlessly into the water around Belfast but it was only the beginning; a veritable hailstorm of golden shells raining down at an arc, pelting the water strongly enough to create small columns of frothing seawater – the barrage making Edinburgh yelp.

''Spread out!'' Belfast ordered and her companions obliged, all of them forming a more loose V without breaking formation as they approached, their own rigging cannons taking aim. ''Fire at will!''

That was all her allies needed to hear; a chorus of eruptions flooding Belfast's ears as a chain of shells rocketed across the misty ocean. The Heavy Cruisers, some still in the process of aiming, were instantly besieged by the worst of the barrage – a chain of explosions igniting the deck of one and blowing a hole in the side of another, sending its frontal turret airborne. However the victory was short-lived; the Heavy Cruisers slowly picking up speed as they finally got clear of the portals, and readily began to sail towards them.

''All Heavy Cruisers!'' Belfast ordered over her radio, wincing as one shell whipped past her rigging and hit the water behind her. ''Provide support for the Destroyers to get in close! Torpedo their Battleships before they get up and running!''

Agreements came over the radio, the sound muddled by the chorus of gunfire. Belfast dug her heel into the water and banked a sharp left, avoiding the two shells that shot past where she would've been a second later. In retaliation she took aim at the guilty Siren cruiser and opened fire, her high-explosive shells soaring across the distance and erupting across the warship's hull. Quickly whilst she was reloading she dared to glance at the Battleships and Aircraft Carriers, her visage tightening when she noticed several had finally gotten out of the portals fully, and were beginning to move.

Her cannons reloaded, and with haste Belfast opened fire again, her ears filled with the chorus of shells booming across the sea. She tuned out the sound with practised ease, focusing instead on how close she was to the enemy ships, mentally calculating the direction they'd turn and where to launch her torpedoes. Ahead of her the Destroyers were already beginning work on that; a sharp hiss preluding the torpedoes that launched out of their riggings and disappeared beneath the surface of the waves, the faintest of wakes generated by their movement.

''Yow!'' Aulick yelped loudly as she took a cruiser shell to the shoulder – making her lean back from the force and nearly fall. ''Ow ow, that hurt~!''

Had the situation been different Belfast might of smiled, but instead settled for taking aim at the cruiser responsible and firing – the faintest of smirks curling at her lips when her shells blew up one of its turrets, causing a fire in the process. Whilst Sirens were hardly weak to ship fires, they weren't immune to it either. Their fire extinguishing systems could only do so much, as she'd learned in the past.

Belfast jerked aside on instinct, amusement fading as a large shell shot past her, exploding into the water behind her. A Battleship shell. She didn't need to look where it came from, instead digging her heels into the water and sharply changing direction, evading the hail of incoming shells that peppered the area around her. Edinburgh evaded them as best she could but she heard her sister take a hit, wincing at the pained sound her fellow cruiser made.

BOOM!

A chain of explosions erupted across the hull of one of the Battleships as the torpedoes hit, blowing a hole straight along its side – in turn causing a chain of smaller explosions to rupture up its side, shooting flames out from the torn-open black metal. Seeing a chance she slowed down and took aim, waiting until the Siren warship turned more towards her, and promptly fired a salvo of HE shells right into its side; right beneath its main turret.

The resulting explosion as its ammo went off was both satisfying and reliving, doubly so when the black ship nearly split in half, the red lights across its hull dulling as it deactivated.

At the same time a fresh explosion blew a hole in the side of one of the enemy Aircraft Carriers, briefly puzzling Belfast before she wrote it off as a stray torpedo, her gaze shifting onto the enemy Heavy Cruisers as she besieged them with another salvo of shells – armour-piercing this time. From so close they managed to penetrate the admittedly durable armour of the Siren warship, blowing a modest hole in the side of it that her fellow cruisers took advantage of; multiple salvoes of high-explosive shells striking the hull and worsening the damage.

In the distance another chain of explosions went off as more torpedoes found their mark, and Belfast let it all bleed into the background – almost functioning on auto-pilot as she methodically took aim and blew holes in the weaker spots of the Siren hulls or set them on fire with HE shells. When she was close enough she unleashed her torpedoes to devastating effect – and in turn was punished for her boldness by a barrage of shells, some of them finding their mark and drawing blood.

''Mn-!'' Belfast winced as one such shell found its mark on her hip, the armour-piercing shell cutting cleanly through her flesh without dealing much damage. Nothing Vestal couldn't fix.

A rare curse fled Belfast's lips however as she heard the unmistakable roar of engines, ones belonging to Siren aircraft. Her hearing proved accurate as less than a few seconds later she saw a small squadron of black Siren aircraft taking off from the enemy Aircraft Carrier – a second squadron soon racing off its other deck. Moments later another two squadrons took off from the other Aircraft Carrier – but before the third carrier could launch its own aircraft, an explosion just between its twin flight decks went off; taking with it a sizeable chunk of the rightmost flight deck and setting it ablaze.

Curious Belfast tried to see why, knowing on some level that couldn't be because of them – they didn't have the penetration needed to break through a carrier's armour at this distance, and the explosion had happened too high-up for a torpedo impact.

However even if one of the carriers had taken a significant blow, that didn't meant the other two were inactive. The swarm of planes numbered at over a dozen and came down from a sharp angle, bursts of flak fire erupting around them as the assembled Ship-Girls took aim at shooting them down. Very few of them were oriented towards anti-aircraft however, unlike San Diego or her sisters, so the enemy aircraft managed to mostly escape unharmed. But not before unleashing a hail of gunfire down at them.

''Mn-!'' Belfast raised an arm to cover her face, wincing as bullets peppered her body – many ricocheting off her armour-like skin, but several cut and drew blood.

The planes passed overhead but quickly began to circle around for another run. Belfast grimaced, firing some flak but missing by a significant margin, her aim not helped by the pillars of foamy seawater that erupted around her – Battleship shells interspersed with Heavy Cruiser shells hitting the water around her. They only got more accurate the closer she got, but thankfully she had her allies to back her up.

A fact she was reminded of as the on-fire Aircraft Carrier suddenly took another significant hit, a loud crack tearing through the battlefield – before with almighty eruption, the Aircraft Carrier detonated into a raging plume of flames. The sheer intensity of the explosion was potent enough to kick up a strong wave and accompanying gust, eliciting a slew of startled grunts and yelps from the Ship-Girls as they reflexively slowed down lest they get knocked flat on their backs.

The Sirens weren't immune to the shockwave, and to Belfast's growing befuddlement – the Battleships actually turned their guns away, clearly aiming at something Belfast herself couldn't quite see.

''Belfast!'' Fletcher's voice came over the radio.

''I see it.'' Belfast confirmed, voice firm despite her unease. ''Is anyone responsible for taking down that carrier?''

Gunfire blossomed, the loud sound failing to drown out Indianapolis' voice over the radio. ''Um, I don't think so...''

Belfast narrowed her eyes. 'Something isn't right here... so many Battleships and carriers, but no humanoid Siren to lead them? A Mirror Sea appearing out of nowhere, and so close to the base? Unless this is a distraction, I can't see why...'

The maid was distracted as Edinburgh called out to her, the following burst of anti-air flak explaining why. The Siren aircraft curved around from a high angle, spitting bullets down on her and the others nearby. Small spits of water went airborne in a wide line, and with a grimace Belfast raised her arm – only for her eyes to widen as she spotted the bomb-bays under the aircraft opening up.

They never got a chance to drop their bombs. With barely a second of warning machine guns suddenly opened up, a blitzing chain of bullets utterly shredding a line through the black Siren aircraft and causing it to detonate mid-air. Not a second later a squadron of planes zoomed overhead, flying so low it made Belfast's long hair whip about, though this time she couldn't muster the energy to tuck it out of the way.

'Those planes...'

They were Wildcat fighters. Faded and worn blue paint, chipped wings and with far too many battle scars marring their patchwork frames – but they were undoubtedly the signature fighter plane of the Eagle Union.

She wasn't the only one who noticed that. Others gazed in befuddlement at the passing aircraft, the gears in their minds visibly turning as they tried to figure out how an allied Aircraft Carrier had gotten stuck in the Mirror Sea just like them. Belfast however had an entirely different train of thought, one that ignited a daring hope inside her – and what compelled her to speak with renewed vigour.

''Focus fire on the Battleships! Edinburgh, lay down a smokescreen to cover Portland and Indianapolis! Fletcher, try and draw their fire without getting hit!''

''What about the cruisers?'' It was Phoenix who worriedly spoke up.

''Ignore them for now.'' Belfast said firmly. ''Fire on them if you can, but focus on taking down the Battleships; they're the main threat. We can't afford to take too many hits from them.''

''Understood!'' Came a chorus of agreements, reinvigorated by the sudden air support.

Belfast smiled briefly; the expression fast fading as a grim visage took root instead. Without hesitation she raised her guns high and opened fire once more, lobbing HE shells across the ocean and detonating them across the hulls of the Siren Battleships. Now that she was close enough their smaller self-defence guns began to take aim at her whilst the main guns dealt with their unknown ally, and while they weren't nearly as devastating as their main guns, they weren't weak by any means.

Something that Fletcher unfortunately found out, wincing as several golden shells impacted her shoulder – scorching away that segment of her dress and drawing blood, though thankfully her own armour was durable enough that she didn't lose an arm from the impact. Her sister-ships were more than ready to make up for the slack, yelling childish insults at the Battleship responsible and unloading another salvo of torpedoes.

And in the distance, a second aircraft carrier suddenly went up in flames – the roaring tide engulfing the entire rightmost deck and blowing out a large chunk of its flight deck. That didn't stop it from launching another squadron of black planes from its other deck; but like as if from thin air a squadron of Wildcat fighters came barrelling out of the fog, gunning down the aircraft before half of them had even gotten off the deck, causing them to combust and erupt, dealing only minor damage to the hull.

That was until a squadron of beaten-up Dauntless dive bombers came roaring out of the mist above, dropping half a dozen bombs that erupted across the main hull of the Siren carrier, and finally caused it to combust with a deafening eruption – penetrating all the way to its core with unerring accuracy, unheeding of the anti-aircraft flak sent their way.

'It has to be.' Belfast thought to herself, unconsciously speeding up more than intended, trying to get a view of what the Battleships were shooting at.

Dimly she registered that the Battleships had moved into a circular formation, several of them tilting inwards as if to encircle their target – something she hadn't seen a Siren warship do prior. Doing so would just make it easy to be torpedoed.

Unless their target didn't have easy access to torpedoes, such as a Battleship... or a carrier.

Just then, Belfast saw it. Between the raging, frothing waves and the heavy mist, just visible from beside the Battleship's massive bulk, a mane of silver hair whipped in the intense winds.

Not a second later two squadrons of Dauntless dive-bombers came down at opposing angles, engulfing the top of the Siren Battleship in a mass of explosions. The bombs must've penetrated its ammo supply as not a second later the frontmost turret popped off with a burst of flames, just as some allied torpedoes hit the side of the hull – signing its death warrant and blowing a titanic hole in the side of the ship, causing its crimson lights to rapidly dim as water flooded the hull.

Several more torpedoes went past it and hit a second Battleship, detonating across the frontmost section and blowing a hole in it, but not knocking it out of the fight. That was solved as a barrage of shells rained down on its broadside, high-explosive shells detonating for a solid five seconds straight as dozens upon dozens of shells impacted in a row. Under so much overwhelming fire even the Siren Battleship couldn't shrug it off, parts of its black armour plating denting and chipping before ultimately breaking, allowing the shells to penetrate deeper bit by bit.

'...it's not enough.' Belfast noted with a grimace, twisting to avoid a Heavy Cruiser shell – retaliating by launching a barrage at it, taking a modest chunk of its side.

She twisted out of the way of another shell, several more splashing in the water around her. By now she was too close; she should've stopped approaching long ago like the others and fired from a more safe distance. Being in torpedo range was dangerous enough, given the Siren Battleship's secondary guns, but something inside her urged her onwards. Towards the mane of silver that vanished behind the bulk of a sinking Siren Battleship.

By now there was only one functioning enemy carrier and two Battleships left, the Heavy Cruisers numbering in just shy of a half-dozen. All of said enemy cruisers were torn between shooting at the Ship-Girls or their mystery target, their anti-air guns booming constantly as they fired up onto the misty sky, the shadows of Dauntless or Wildcats visible amongst the clouds. Not a single shot from the Siren's warships anti-air landed, the blasts missing by the most tiniest of margins, yet never managing to land a hit. Not even the Siren aircraft – those that were still in one piece – could manage to land a hit, their gunfire missing the patchwork planes that twisted and twirled out of their fire.

'Focus.' Belfast mentally slapped herself, forcing herself to take her eyes off the sky.

Not a second too late either, as she she caught sight of one of the enemy cruisers taking aim specifically for her. She swerved out of the way but one shell clipped her rigging, blowing apart on impact and taking with it both her leftmost turrets – effectively cutting her firepower in half. Belfast winced at the loss but didn't let it slow her down, glaring at the cruiser responsible and firing with her remaining guns.

Her damage didn't go unnoticed, it seemed – a miniature barrage of shells pelting the unfortunate Siren and finally blowing it up.

Not wasting any time savouring the elimination Belfast looked ahead, watching as the crippled enemy Battleship was bombed once more by the patchwork dive bombers. The first wave didn't sink it but the second squadron of dive-bombers did, the Battleship finally going inert as the main section burned, the ship slowly beginning to sink from the damage it had sustained. From the corner of her eye she could see the remaining Siren Heavy Cruisers struggling too; those that were still afloat on fire and missing multiple turrets, their armour struggling against the overwhelming firepower now that the Ship-Girls had the numbers advantage.

Rapid motion drew Belfast's eye – her gaze, long-honed by fighting in rapid-fire battles, allowing her to spot a golden projectile shooting across the distance. An arrow, she realised somewhere in the back of her mind; her eyes widening as the projectile flew straight in-between the Siren carrier's two flights decks mid-turn, and piercing straight through its heavily-armoured core.

Not a moment later the arrow flashed and erupted, a gout of baleful fire belching out of the narrow hole the arrow made and warping blackened metal outwards. The fire churned upwards, cracks showing in the carrier's armour; until with a bellowing roar the top of the carrier exploded, the whole ship combusting.

A single arrow. That was practically all it took to take down a Siren Aircraft Carrier.

Belfast was snapped from her daze by a loud eruption, registering it as the sound of torpedoes exploding across a hull. The final Battleship, its frontal guns warped and one aflame by HE shells, had taken several torpedoes straight to its side all in close proximity. Others saw and jumped on it, a barrage of shells hitting the ship's broadside in rapid succession, worsening the damage-

-until finally, the Siren Battleship's keel cracked in two.

Over the radio Belfast could hear others cheering, the sounds of shellfire finally fading as the remaining Siren cruisers were blown to smithereens under the unrelenting fire of their own Heavy Cruisers. Smoke pillared into the misty sky, fast fading thanks to the high winds, and gradually the Mirror Sea seemed to fade bit by bit. However Belfast's gaze wasn't on any of it.

No, her gaze was on the gap between the two halves of the Siren Battleship, the blackened hull sinking beneath the waves, and revealing the person on the other side.

''Enterprise...''

The name slipped unbidden from her lips, but despite the crashing tides the silver-haired woman heard her, even from so far away. She jerked towards her, skin an alabaster hue bordering on deathly grey. Eyes wide and bloodshot with greyish bags hanging beneath sunken eyes. What remained of her uniform was patchwork and ripped, scorch marks emblazoned onto her tattered white shirt and hole-laden skirt. Dried crimson mixed with fresh scarlet down her legs, her feet bare and covered in soot. Scars of all shapes and sizes marred her legs, and even from such a distance, Belfast could see the jagged scar that ran down diagonally across Enterprise's bruised nose and hollow cheeks.

Enterprise opened her mouth, and Belfast could faintly – ever so faintly – hear her voice, but not make out the words.

And then without warning, the legendary silver-haired carrier dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.

''M-Miss Enterprise!''

[END]


A/N: Tadah~ How'd ya like it~?

See ya next time in Chapter 2: Broken Wings~

Tiny preview:

The mere thought immediately inspired a sense of worry inside Vestal. She approached the carrier's bedside, carefully laying a hand on Enterprise's cheek. The carrier didn't react to it, and when Vestal gently tilted her head to face her, she was struck by sight of Enterprise's gaze. It was intense, piercing... and hollow. To call it a thousand yard stare would be far too light; it was like she was looking straight through her.

Vestal swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. ''Enterprise...? Speak to me, please...''

Silence. Utter, stifling silence.