In the month following the confession, Yorktown and Enterprise became more and more withdrawn, closing into their own cells with their respective lovers, while Hornet and Wasp were sadly left behind. At the same time, one could notice how Wasp was slightly more open, and Hornet was slightly more taciturn, due to how they symbiosed with eachother. The classic extrovert and introvert, finding eachother with no-one else but themselves(and Northampton, in Hornet's case), grew closer.
Of course, as much as the elder two feel a tinge of regret for growing apart from the family that was once all they had, the younger two did not resent them one bit. It was natural to want to live a peaceful life, settled with a loving man, and secretly, both of them longed for such a life after the war was over. Even Wasp, surprisingly.
If only the damn war would be over...
(Hornet)-So, what's it gonna be for tonight, boys and girls? Getting back to our shacks for the night, two by two?
(Silver)-You bet so!
(Hornet)-I am not going to lie, I miss the days when we spent time together.
(Enterprise)-Sadly, that is true. I wish I would have more lovely memories with you all, in case something bad happens...
(Enterprise)-My dear, can I spend a night with my sisters? And Yorktown, I would be so glad if you would be with us as well!
(Yortown)-Why yes, I would love to-
Silver bends and whispers something to her.
(Yorktown)-Actually... it may have to wait for another time... there is something I have to do tonight.
The other three sisters are swept by a gale of sadness and nostalgia. Yorktown has been the most distant, and always seemed lost. No matter how much her lover was comforting her, something was pressing on her chest.
It is also apparent that the girls are suspicious of Silver, who not only is not familiar to them but also seems to be bringing sadness to their older sister.
(Mannerheim)-You girls wanna be by yourselves or can I join?
(Hornet)-Oh commander, you're not a girl! You can be with us, but you may feel left out.
(Mannerheim)-Fine by me. If I am to be honest, before me and Enterprise confessed to eachother, my nights were very lonely. I know it's surprising, since I am always surrounded by beautiful girls, but that's not how things work.
(Wasp)-Well, you could tell us more about that tonight.
Silver got up.
(Silver)-It's been a great night and I hope you all have fun, but me and your sister have things to do. Things that are quite important.
Yorktown nodded and turned to leave as well.
(Yorktown)-I'm sorry.
They walked for some 15 minutes, along the Main Boulevard, and then down into the underground complex commonly known as "Lab". There, they faced a reinforced door with "Maternity" written on it.
Entering, Yorktown tried to avert her gaze from the pods in which naked girls were developing. Two contained brown-skinned girls with the titles "South Dakota" and "Alabama", one more contained "Iowa", and there were twenty empty pods.
When she saw the twenty empty pods, Yorktown's heart was impaled by a spear of fear and sadness. So much so that she bent and the captain caught her before she fell to the ground. She was inch-close to break down and start crying, because she knew what was expected of her.
"I have thereby sworn to never engage in an unjust war but likewise never to disengage from a just one one other than when the enemy is thoroughly crushed" he whispered to her, in an attempt to lift her spirits. But he missed the point.
(Yorktown)-It's not that I don't believe in our cause. It's that I am so appalled of being bred like cattle and then forgotten about!
Throughout naval history, ships were born as daughters of the existing shipgirls, by biological insemination of the mother, in whose womb they would spend a while until they were born(depends wildly on the shipgirl's class), and then they would be engineered and trained for war.
Yorktown knew that, as representative and vanguard of her entire naval class, she was the one to bear the burden. But never in history was it asked of a woman to bear no less than TWENTY daughters at once. She was visibly nervous not only for her life and health, but also because she might just get discarded and forgotten after sh'd been used.
Silver smiled and embraced her warmly.
(Silver)-Be at peace and be happy. The Home Front sent us a "Cytoprolificator Machine" which allows us to only have to do it once, after which we can harvest the egg cell and replicate it twenty times.
She felt as if a quintal of rocks had been lifted off her chest.
(Yorktown-happy)-Really!?
(Silver)-Yes. It's true. He adjusted the arrestor belts on the 'Docking Machine'.
(Silver)-Now, when you feel comfortable, we can begin.
The 'Docking Machine' is a special piece of furniture to which the ship-girl is strapped via arrestor belts around her wrists and ankles. It has adjustable position depending on the captain's preference, who is the one to 'dock' her.
She looked visibly distressed, her face turned away from the captain and the machine.
(Silver)- What's the matter, sweetheart?
(Yorktown)-I, I don't want to be treated like an object. I want my first time to be meaningful, and when I look back to it, to feel as if it was a beautiful day. He wrapped his arm around her waist.
(Silver)-I understand that. Let's go back to my room and make it a day you will never forget.
Fun stuff happened that night.