Five days later, the force made its triumphant return back at base. As triumphant as it could get, anyway. Though the maintenance crews and other essential personnel were waving bandanas and whooping as the ships moored, there was no impressive crowd, crackers, or loud music. There couldn't be, because of the mission's very nature. A point proved further when Howe and I disembarked and were met with an invigorated but still very intentional Admiral Theodore.

"Captain Leighway!" He greeted us with a wave.

Howe gave me an encouraging nod and nudged me towards him.

Empowered by that, I returned the Admiral's sentiments. "Admiral!"

He laughed heartily as we stopped in front of each other, moving to shake hands vigorously. "I just knew, I just knew, you were the man for the job. Hopefully it wasn't too awkward out there?"

"Thank you, sir," I chuckled, then looked back at Howe who was still walking towards us casually. "And, to be honest, it did start off pretty awkward, but…"

When I remained silent for a moment longer than usual, Theodore craned his neck to follow my eyes. "…But what?"

I looked back at him and grinned. "I get why Commander McConnell likes them so much."

"Ah," the Admiral's eyes gleamed the way only a knowing older man would. Mind you, he isn't that old, but certainly older than both me and McConnell. "I see. Well, I'm not against it. Just make sure to maintain impartiality."

"Of course, sir," I replied.

It was then that Howe finished closing the distance, looked between us, and giggled. "So, when's our debriefing, sir?"

I looked at Admiral Theodore with a raised brow, signaling the same question.

"Ah, actually," he said, "we figured you could have the evening off. I think she might need the rest, anyhow." He gestured to something else behind us.

Rather, someone. Tirpitz was slowly and unsurely making her way off the ship and onto the dock. When she caught sight of the three of us, she waved timidly.

"Goodness, that is something," Theodore mused. "Having Tirpitz right in our port and feeling nothing but sympathy for the poor girl."

"Times change, sir," I agreed. "And I must concur with the night off. She needs it before she's ready to talk about that again."

"Completely understandable," Theodore said. "Though, do allow me to give you a quick timeline for what's going to happen tomorrow. You're not quite done yet."

Howe and I looked at the Admiral with renewed curiosity. "Of course, sir. Go ahead."

"Tomorrow morning at oh-nine-thirty, we start your debriefing as a group. Everyone is to report to function room I2 fifteen minutes beforehand. Copy?" He began.

"Copy," Howe and I replied in sync.

"Good," he nodded, "right afterward, you'll be briefed on your next assignments. We expect you to be able to get going by nineteen hundred of the same day. But don't worry, that's a…" Theodore looked around with a sort of mischievous look, "I'll keep it a surprise."

Swallowing our protest and deciding to trust the man's experience with logistics, Howe and I nodded.

"For the rest of this evening, may I recommend taking your squad out for some supper?" He offered playfully. Gesturing to the others who were all giving out high fives and small talk, he said, "they would appreciate it, I think."

"Yes! I say we do it, Jam—," Howe paused and slapped her hand over her mouth in a moment of panic as she realized her slip up in front of the Admiral. "Uhm!"

Ooh, you've done it now, I joked to myself.

Admiral Theodore simply laughed to appease her. "Don't worry, I get it," he reassured. "Now, go on! Enjoy yourselves."

I laughed at the two's quick exchange before gesturing for Howe to start walking ahead of me. "Alright, sir. Thank you very much! We'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, sir, we'll see you tomorrow," Howe echoed a little shakily, still trying to conceal her blush.

He chuckled, "Absolutely, see you then."

Just as Howe had gone underway and was already waving at Javelin and the others, Theodore stopped me one more time by gripping me at the wrist.

"It's a…" He began slowly, "it's a relief to see you didn't run into a battle."

My mind kicked into overdrive. Has Theodore been working with Maxwell? If he has, then it makes sense that he might know. The more terrifying thought is if he hadn't… "Uhm…," I floundered.

Theodore walked up close and put us within whispering distance. "Don't worry, I'm in on it," he said. "Who do you think got in touch with Max?"

I widened my eyes and recoiled in surprise.

Theodore let go and winked casually. "From now on, Captain," he said. "Just call me Theodore."

Did I just get put on a first-name basis with the Admiral? "Ah…yes, sir. Theodore, sir."

He smiled approvingly. "Moving forwards…we're all going to need someone we can trust. Just allow me to make that clear even now."

Clearly, now was not the time to question it further. "Aye, sir," I stuttered. "See you tomorrow."

He tipped his hat and walked off.

Politics. Something that always bored me, because I could never make sense of it. Maneuver here, maneuver there. It was always too fluid, made too complex and variable by human emotion. Deciding not to stew over that mystery tonight, I responded to Javelin's call to come on over and ran to them with an assured little smile on my face.


"So, we were thinking, sir," Javelin said as we finally made it off the harbor and into the streets. "Why don't—"

"Sorry, hang on, Javelin," I held a hand up and took a deep breath.

Closing my eyes, I registered the feeling of solid ground beneath my feet. Cars drove up and down the streets as a very light drizzle pattered the ground softly. People teemed about, going through their days and catching up, working, eating, drinking, and laughing. The scent of an outdoor grill from one direction, a collection of flowers in the other, and the rain from above filled my head. The sound of the fountain churning away in the center of the square rang in my ears. Land. Home.

"Yeah, I just do this whenever I return," I continued nonchalantly and opened my eyes.

"That's kind of…weird," Zed joked to the others' giggles, "but I respect it."

"Yes, yes," I said with a grin. "Now, what were you going to say?"

"Ahh," Javelin sighed, "What was it again? Right, we should have supper together! I think Miss Howe knows a place—?"

"I do," Howe tittered. "Of course, if you're open to joining us, Captain?"

I took one look at all of them, obviously wanting me to tag along. "Did you really think I was going to say no?"


Minutes later, we sat at a long table in a very homely-looking restaurant called Manam.

As I looked around at the room, noting the high ceiling with lovely looking lights, the second floor that overlooked the ground level, and the many diners who were all enjoying themselves, I noted that the food they were eating looked very, very familiar.

When it clicked, I looked at Howe with surprise. As everyone else chatted amongst themselves, she caught my gaze and grinned knowingly.

I simply shook my head in appreciation and smiled.

"James," she said.

Everyone else fell silent as the attention was drawn to me and her.

"Do you know this place?"

I chuckled, "I do! We used to eat here as a family whenever there was an occasion, or we just wanted to get together."

"You come from the Philippines, sir?" Eugen asked.

"Until I was twelve," I replied.

"Ooh," they went collectively.

Charybdis asked, "Does the name of the restaurant mean anything?"

"I believe it does," I said. "They shortened the Filipino word malinamnam, which means delicious, into Manam."

"Interesting," Charybdis said.

"Yep!"

"So, what wouldst thee recommendeth we get, sir?" Vampire asked, perusing the menu.

"Ah," I said, "I would think Howe had some ideas, seeing as she brought us here."

She giggled, "I got the idea from George because she mentioned taking the Commander and his people to a different Filipino place somewhere close by. Then, I thought it would be perfect for you to show us how someone who's lived there would share a group supper!"

I nodded appreciatively. "Understood. Well, then, if you'd all trust my discretion, I suggest we share the Bulalo and chicken adobo. That is a pretty good starter experience for a supper with their food."

They all nodded collectively. "That's what we'll do then!" Howe declared.

Maybe thirty minutes later, all the dishes arrived at once, the sight of the pot of soup already bringing me back down memory lane.

"Whoa, that is much bigger than I thought it was gonna be," Howe blurted as the pot was set onto the center of the table.

Eugen and Vampire nearly fumbled their serviettes but knew better than to seize the opportunity.

"Yeah, that's why I said we all share," I replied. "What's particularly nice about this restaurant—you see those pitchers over there?" I pointed at a collection of steaming steel pitchers on a platter some tables away.

"Yeah?" Howe asked.

"Those aren't water. They're full of soup."

Charybdis guffawed in her seat as she poured some soup into her own bowl. "Fascinating! Instant soup refills? We might be able to learn something from that."

"Maybe," I laughed, "but it only really makes practical sense when you're serving a lot of people."

"And when aren't the Maids serving a lot of people, sir?" Charybdis retorted.

I shrugged. "Maybe when it's just a small group? Like…" I threw a glance at Howe, putting a helping of soup into her mouth to taste. "…George and her sisters?"

"Ah," Charybdis smirked, "see, George eats like four people all on her own when she's feeling mildly peckish."

"Right," I laughed. "And when she's hungry?"

Charybdis ceremoniously gestured to the pitchers of soup. "My point, exactly."

"Got it," I snickered.

As we quieted down again and people began serving themselves, I noticed something appalling. "Hang on, guys, you're supposed to put a little rice into the soup as well. Mix in some beef and snow cabbage to really make the flavor pop more."

"Oh, really?" Javelin asked. She went to put in some of the leaves as I'd recommended, along with a chunk of meat. Putting it into her spoon and blowing on it momentarily, she went and ate. After a second of chewing, her eyes lit up. "Oh, yes!"

"Yeah, there you go," I encouraged, smiling myself. "The cabbage just adds something to it, you know?"

"Definitely!"

"Well come on, James," Howe piped up, "you've been showing us the tricks of the trade but have none for yourself!"

"Right, okay," I said, going for the soup spoon. "It's just…nice to see you guys enjoying the stuff I ate as a kid."

Howe grinned. "Sure!"

Eugen looked at Tirpitz, who'd until then been eating in silence. "How is it, Frau Tirpitz?"

Tirpitz looked up from her bowl and cleared her throat, shuffling awkwardly in her seat before replying, "Yes, it's very good."

As it seemed Eugen was searching for something more to say to Tirpitz, I decided to take one for her and ask Tirpitz outright.

"Are you doing okay there?"

She looked at me mildly and smiled. "Ja. I'm just…getting used to having people at the table again. I…missed it."

We all looked at her with sympathy and reassurance. "Well, that's completely understandable. But as long you're comfortable and you're eating," I joked lightly, "then it's all good."

"Oh, yes, yes," Tirpitz nodded, "please don't take it as me being uncomfortable. I'm just…not quite sure what to say."

"Well," Howe chirped, "What about you tell us…what your plans are once the war's over? Then we can all pitch in!"

"Ah…" Tirpitz hesitated for a moment, but then took a deep breath and decided to go for it. "Personally, I had planned to retire to a…normal life. If I can even have one at this point," she chuckled. "I think I can still fight so long as the war goes on, but," her eyes reflected a sense of awareness, "it tires me to imagine myself in the navy after all of this. I'd love to be able to live simply and properly."

"Interesting," I said.

Tirpitz hummed. "After the experiences I've gone through, there were moments when I felt I should be compensated. As if I should ask for the years of my existence back that had been stolen from me. But now I realize…why waste time trying to get revenge for myself when I can contribute to everyone's gain, and then live in relative peace and quiet afterward? In a way, that would be the greatest 'revenge' I could ever take."

"That's…a nice way of seeing it," Zed said.

We all agreed simultaneously before I asked, "How about you, Zed? Where d'you think you'll end up?"

Everyone's eyes turned to her as she sat back in her seat to think. "I'm not so sure yet, actually. I always liked the idea of teaching, though. Maybe I'll brush up on my history and give that a spin."

"Oh!" I replied, surprise obvious. "That's novel."

"Yes," she nodded. Clearly, she'd gotten used to getting that a lot by now. "Javelin? Any plans for yourself?"

Javelin perked up in her seat, having been called to attention. "Ah! I actually…well, I'm gonna start by saying what I heard from a friend in the Union—,"

"—The Eagle Union?" I asked abruptly before putting a hand up. "Sorry, just had to clarify."

"Yeah!" Javelin replied. "Her name is Allen. I believe she and her sisters are eyeing taking up something called a 'degree?'"

I raised my eyebrows and said, "Oh, a college degree?"

"Yep, that! It sounds like a neat idea for me, too, if I'll be leaving the Navy life behind," she said.

"Yeah, that makes sense," I said. "It would be interesting to see what level of schooling you end up starting at, though. Trust me, the jump from juggling something like high school to university responsibilities is something you must be prepared for."

"Oh, is that so?" Javelin asked, some worry creeping into her voice.

"Yep, but don't worry," I replied, quickly trying to reassure her. "There are the lower levels to get through first for a reason."

Javelin giggled lightly, "I suppose so!"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Do let me know how that goes when you get 'round to it."

"Sure thing, sir!"

"Also, really quickly," Howe chipped in, "do you mean Allen as in Allen M. Sumner?"

"Mhm!" Javelin replied, "We became rather fast friends when she was here. I wonder when we'll get to meet up again. She's loads of fun! You'd like her, Zed!"

"Yes, I think I briefly ran into her once or twice," Z23 said. "Perhaps on the day we all operate out of the same base, we can have a big group gathering?"

"Ooh, yes," Javelin said excitedly, a million ideas for things to do visibly rushing by in her eyes.

Letting them talk it out for a few more seconds, I moved over to the next one in line to share. "Eugen? Any plans?"

"Hm? Oh," she said, "I think I'd like to take a car onto the Autobahn someday. Take a nice drive with someone, feel my hair in the wind."

Her answer pleasantly surprised me. "Now that does sound fun! What car are you thinking of? I'd imagine you'd like to take advantage of the speed limit."

"Yes," she laughed knowingly. "I'm surprised you know about that, Kapitän."

"Well," I shrugged, "Not like it's a secret. And I've driven cars before! I also have been to Germany a few times before everything hit the fan."

"I see," Eugen replied. "Did you take a drive on the motorway when you were there?"

"Oh, yes," I said, "It was only a matter of time for that kind of work stint. The car we took was—I believe a classic BMW 3-series. That was fun."

"Ah, so you've had the privilege of experiencing that," she said. "That's nice. How was the drive? I imagine it was excellent."

"Yeah, for sure," I nodded. "I mean, I'm not an enthusiast or anything. I know enough to get by, and my standards aren't super high or anything, but that thing rode pretty bloody smooth."

"I see," Eugen said, stroking her chin.

"You're interested in cars, James?" Howe asked curiously.

"Well, as I said, I know enough to get by," I replied modestly. "I wouldn't be able to identify a car just by driving past it on the road or anything like that. Though, I would like to be able to just for the novelty of it."

Howe nodded as I brought up my earlier question for Eugen. "So, what are you thinking of taking on there?"

"Hm?" The cruiser prompted.

"I mean, have you thought of the car you'd like to drive?" I clarified.

"Ah," she nodded slowly, pausing to think. "Call me predictable, but ever since I saw a Porsche 928 while being driven down a motorway back home, I'd always felt a strange sort of attachment to that car in particular."

"Ooh," I replied, sitting back. "That is a plucky one, isn't it?"

"Yes," Eugen chuckled. "I would say it has a certain personality to it that I'm drawn to."

"I see, I see."

"What about you, Vampire," Javelin asked, nudging her as yet silent friend from beside her.

"Hm," Vampire paused from eating to ponder. "In full honesty, I've not given much thought to yond question yet. I suppose I shalt seeth wh're the waves take me!"

"That's understandable," Zed replied. "Still a bit fresh in our minds, the big fracture." From the darkened look on her face, she was no doubt referring to the breaking apart of the so-called 'Crimson Axis' from the main Azur Lane.

"Definitely," I said. "Don't rush it, Vampire. It'll come naturally."

"Aye, Captain," she nodded. "Now, shalt we heareth from Charybdis? I find myself quite curious what a Maid of the Royal Navy wouldst liketh to do when the fighting ceases!"

All eyes turned to Charybdis in anticipation of an answer.

Put on the spot, she looked at us with uncertain eyes and laughed awkwardly. "I actually…don't really know, either. I do know I wouldn't fancy fighting much longer, but in terms of replacing it with another profession, I am unsure which as yet."

"Well, I suppose that makes sense, too," I replied. "Your work right now is…rather specific. And beyond that, none of you really have any recognized qualification outside of 'prior experience in the Navy,' do you?"

They all shook their heads.

"Looks like, one way or another, we're all off to school at the end of this adventure," Howe quipped.

"Sounds fun!" Javelin replied optimistically.

I chuckled at everyone's varied reactions to the proposition. Tirpitz looked, for all intents and purposes, neutral. Eugen was already bored just thinking of sitting in a classroom for seven hours a day.

And then Howe turned the spotlight on me. "Right, let's hear from James now! What are you thinking, sir?"

Taking a deep breath and adjusting myself in my seat, I thought for a moment. "I was thinking something similar to Tirpitz. Find work in computer sciences, because that's what I took up for my undergraduate course. Live simply but comfortably, and…" I paused to look at Howe. "Settle down with one I love."

Though no one else noticed where my eyes were focused, Howe certainly did, blushing and shuffling slightly in her seat as she became very interested in her food.

"That sounds lovely," Charybdis commented.

"Doesn't it?" I chuckled. "Anyway, the food's gonna get cold! Let's keep this going."

"Right!"


"Yeah, I'll see you all tomorrow!" I waved.

As everyone went their separate ways—Charybdis, Javelin, and Vampire logically going off to the dorms to, presumably, catch up with friends whilst Eugen, Zed, and Tirpitz were likely headed for their arranged accommodation—I lowered my hand and noticed something rather surprising. Pleasantly surprising, but surprising.

"Aren't you off, too?" I asked Howe, who distinctly had stayed behind.

She looked back at me and shook her head with a grin. "I'm stuffed. Thinking we should take a walk before hitting the sack. Yeah?"

I snickered knowingly and gestured forwards. "It's an excuse to hang around with you a bit more. Shall we?"

Howe bit her lip and began walking, sighing contentedly as we proceeded.

As we came to a quiet part of town headed toward the coast, I piped up. "You know, there was this one time when I was still a kid and we were back home…"

"Hm?" She looked at me and matched her pace with mine.

"My dad had just gotten back from a stint in the Union. One night, he offered to grab a coffee and a hot chocolate for the two of us," I began.

"Alright," Howe said, though she giggled subtly. "Chocolate loyalist from start to finish, huh?"

"Yes," I replied jokingly. "Anyway, we both hop in the car and head out to a place called Dylan, it was quite good. Order our drinks, wait in line, and then it's time to pay," I said. "Now, he pulls out his wallet, and realizes he's made a terrible mistake."

"What is it?"

"He forgot to convert his cash back into pesos."

"Oh, for goodness' sake," Howe giggled. "So, what happened?"

I chuckled and went on, "Well, he did have pesos on him. The problem was, they were all in coins."

"Okay," she said slowly, not quite fully understanding. "How much were the drinks? Surely not that much."

"Ah, the thing is, exchange rates for the Philippine Peso are quite high. One pound here is roughly seventy pesos over there, I believe," I explained.

Howe's face indicated understanding. "Oh. Oh."

"Yes, so he ended up having to pay around two hundred pesos in coins," I said.

She put a palm on her forehead and exhaled loudly. "Right. So, how did he work that out?"

"Well, he and the barista just had to go through the coins," I gestured comically with my hands, "counting up the amount until it hit two hundred. It took them twenty minutes to finally sort it!"

Laughing melodically, Howe shook her head. "Well, at least they got there. That reminds me of a time my sisters and I went to a bookshop."

"Okay," I said.

"We were browsing through the fiction section when Yorkie tripped into a bookshelf," she explained, though her voice got shaky from restraining herself.

"Ah, man. Now that sucks," I replied.

"They were like massive dominoes!" I broke into a fit as Howe continued, "Just one after another going foom, foom, foom. At least we were only four shelves down, but that was a lot of books to pick up."

I tried getting words out as I replied, "I'm imagining the janitor, the clerks, every staff member that watched that happen!"

"Ugh," Howe groaned at the memory, "I'm telling you, it was not pretty. We were in there the next three hours cleaning it up and apologising."

"Got it," I said, still laughing. "And how did you guys feel walking out of there? Did you at least purchase something to compensate the poor souls?"

"Well, by way of purchasing, I bought a book called The Martian, but that was about it," Howe replied. "Wales was busy having a laugh over the whole thing, as she does—George was quite annoyed and demanded we pay for her afternoon snack—Yorkie was pretty silent and red in the face, rare that that happens—and Monarch was peeved. You can imagine a little steam coming off the top of her head."

"I see," I shook my head, regaining control of myself. "How about you? In the way of reaction, I mean."

"Well, I just kept my head down and tried not to burn my face off with my own mortification," she tittered.

"A noble goal," I quipped.

I could sense Howe had a response lined up perfectly, but we were both abruptly silenced by the sight that now sprawled before us.

"Now that," Howe began slowly, "is just gorgeous."

Unknowingly, we'd made it all the way to the cliffside that faced the ocean, offering a dazzling view of the ocean below and the horizon line where it collided with the inky blue sky above, washed with clouds that were penetrated by the pockmarks of starglow here and there. With the town behind us serenely quiet, I enjoyed the privilege of taking it all in.

"I will say, there's something to be said about a crystal clear night sky," I said, "but there's still a case for this sort of clouded-up view, too."

"Mm," she giggled. After remaining silent a bit more, she said, "By the way, I still have a question you've left to answer."

"What's that," I asked.

"Why do you believe," she replied, "that God exists?"

I took a deep breath and looked at her. She met my eyes. I looked out at the sea, up at the sky, and then faced back towards the streets and lights. Then I held her hand and placed it on her heart. "Because only He could've made life so beautiful."

Her brows raised and her cheeks flushed.

"I know people love to say things like they were 'meant to be.' But destiny doesn't make much sense, does it? If someone were, say, destined to cause tragedy—why be born at all?"

She teetered her head from side to side, evaluating.

I continued, "No, I don't believe someone's out there deciding each person's 'fate.' But there is someone out there who causes to become."

"What's that mean," Howe said, her voice growing soft.

"They see people like those ones over there," I gestured at the city, "like you and me. And, knowing what we might be going through—pain, struggle, overwhelming doubt and anxiety—they cause something or someone to be just what we need to push on. That way, it's a reassurance that we're always cared for, even when no other person might see what's happening. Isn't that just a little beautiful to think about?"

Though her smile was bright, she voiced some apprehension. "That is lovely, but…isn't it a bit too good to be true?"

I smiled back. "It may very well be. But, at the same time…" I moved her hand from her heart to mine, beating quickly as it was. Howe blushed more when she realized how much it was racing. "…I wouldn't like to discount the chance that it isn't."

As she seemed to process my words, she started giggling uncontrollably. Before I knew it, she laid her head on my heart and leaned there. "Oh, you. What on earth are you doing to me?"

Chuckling, I put a hand on her back and pulled her closer. "You tell me."

Looking up at the sky, smelling the scent of petrichor, and feeling the warmth in my arms, I closed my eyes and lived in the moment. Tomorrow would be our debrief, and then I'd have to send them off. For now, though, it was just me, and the one who'd been caused to become for me. Far more than I could've ever asked for.


A/N: Yeah, adulting is harder than I thought it would be. But I'm keeping on, and I hope you guys out there are, too! All that's left for this story is to bring it home and then…start fresh! I'll let you know what the plans are next time, though. Until then, thank you so much for reading and sticking with me.

Jarvis