This day was going to be a hot one. This was nearly every day in Panama, but both Taihou and Hornet could feel it. The humidity was eternal, and had instead changed forms in the night. Now, a dense fog obscured the mainland and the Pearl Islands. The sun peeked over the land to the east, and started it's work on turning the fog into a haze.

Hornet reclined onboard her bridge. She'd long ago purchased a swivelling recliner and considered this one of the best decisions of her life so far. She hated waiting and anticipation, but at least could suffer through them in comfort and style. She adjusted the boombox on the console. None of the stations spoke English, but Hornet decided to be "sophisticated" and try to enjoy other cultures. She had no idea how she was supposed to learn anything about Panama through musical osmosis, but Newport News didn't build no quitter. That being said, the music was still pretty good.

The radio cut to the DJ talking in Spanish.

["You're listening to Salsa Panama Radio; broadcasting all day, every day, across the entire country. We'll stop at nothing to bring you the best tunes, both new and old. Storm, bomb, or gun won't stop us! Get ready for the day with our upbeat songs to shake to!"]

Hornet was nearly about to get up and start dancing when she had a better idea. She opened up her communicator and transmitted to Taihou. "Hey bird brain! Are you up? Do you want an alarm in your language? Ca-caw! Ca-caw! Ca-caw!" She then put the microphone next to her boombox and turned up the volume.

She heard a grunt on the other end of the line. Hornet looked over to the silhouette of Taihou's hull, barely visible in the mist. She could imagine all sorts of hilarious scenes inside the bridge. Hornet always woke with the sunrise, and enjoyed harassing people who didn't wake up elegantly. Eventually, the radio squawked, "...of all the Unioners, Texans are the absolute worst. If it isn't 'muh guns', then it's 'muh oil', or it's 'muh freedom'. You're not even loyal to your own country! What kind of-"

Hornet reclined and smugly took in the complaints. With a lack of emotion only seen in call center workers, she said, "Are you done?"

"...Yes. Good morning, praise the gods."

"I didn't know you were religious."

"It's a Sakuran tradition. I don't care much, but I don't want to invite bad luck. Is Shigure in position?"

Hornet didn't push Transmit, and said under her breath, "Rock worshippers." She then said into the radio, "Yeah, she called in last night. The meeting should be just starting. Look, I'll be honest, I don't like sending people over to do all this. We need to keep enough to effectively screen us, and that means one person at a time. Even then, we're still down one ship. I also hate just sitting out here; It makes us targets. We haven't even confirmed if the siren base or carrier exists. Why don't one of us go next time?"

"We haven't been able to do any scouting because of the weather. The camera-equipped recon planes won't work if there's fog obscuring everything."

Hornet grunted in agreement. A pair of planes with the most advanced imaging tech available in her hanger were just sitting there, taking up space. All because of bad weather. Nature remained the true queen of warfare. "So… we just sit?"

"As soon as Shigure returns, either you or I could go. Since there's just one carrier to cover, maybe we could bring some of the vanguard."

Meanwhile, Shigure was enjoying herself. She was following orders and several of the people she was meant to meet were already there in the room with her. All was well, and she was a shining example to the saying "Ignorance is bliss." This wasn't really her thing, and she had the feeling she really shouldn't be doing this, but orders were orders. She'd just nod to whatever anyone said and let the locals talk things out amongst themselves. If anyone asked, Azur Lane had their back.

They'd rented out a party room with a folding table and chairs in the middle of it. There were no windows. Just yellow walls and a single door in and out. There were a few fluorescent lights and the A/C system was trying it's best to beat the heat. Shigure sat in the chair closest to the door, but facing away from it. There were a collection of people who said they were officers at various ranks in the Panama military. All of them had pledged to stop the current corruption at the highest levels of their country. The last person to walk in the door and shut it behind him was Penultimo himself. He was shiny with sweat, but according to Cleveland, he sweated all the time. Otherwise, he looked like he'd been running off pure anxiety. He sat down and everyone was silent for a moment.

With nothing being said, Penultimo adjusted his collar and began. "We've all been complaining for a long time about the corruption in our country. We've ignored it because that's just how things are in the Americas, but now, I think it's time we did something about it. Because our friends in Azur Lane are here, I think we should try to speak English. Is everyone good at it?"

There was mostly agreement. A couple of the officers shrugged and said theirs was okay. One of them said, "Yeah. I'm sick of the presidente and his deals. He is… he is a backroom backstabber. I'm supposed to protect the country. I'm sick of giving orders to hurt my people. I want change."

The oldest-looking man at the table spoke. Everyone here except for him wore civilian clothing. A lack of care must've come with age, because he wore his colonel's uniform. The medals and ribbons on them showed him to be the most veteran of the group, except Shigure. He said in a quieter voice, "I've seen many rebellions in my time. Not many went well, and even less made things better. We will need to be careful, or we might replace one dictator with another."

One of the younger people said, "How can it be worse? He intimidates us! He makes deals with the sirens! He sells our own people off for them to experiment on! In exchange he takes their weapons!"

The old corporal looked at the younger officer. In a wordless glance, he reminded everyone that humanity was capable of far, far worse. Penultimo continued, "I'm not really a military man. I was put in place because I used to be Arturo's friend."

Shigure asked, "Who's Arturo?"

"Oh, that is the president we're talking about. That's his name. Anyway, I have a few locations of warehouses where he stores his weapons and where he meets in secret with the sirens. If we destroy them, that will send a clear message, I think."

Another officer said, "That sounds like a good idea. I will check and see if I can find some loyal men to help. Maybe we could capture the place and use the things inside as evidence against the president. Do you-"

The door suddenly exploded off it's hinges, showering splinters and drywall everywhere. Five armed and armored men charged into the room, screaming for everyone to stay put and put their hands in the air in Spanish. Everyone did so, except one; the one that didn't speak it. Shigure turned around and said, "Who are you? You just broke that door! What's wrong with you?"

The gunmen pointed all of their rifles and Shigure and continued screaming at her. She stood up and said, "Why are you yelling at me! Speak a language I understand! Don't you know who I am?"

Everyone else at the table was dumbfounded at her ignorance to danger. It wasn't really ignorance from Shigure's perspective. It was just that she had been threatened by much larger guns before. The corporal at the front of the fireteam of gunmen barked what sounded like a final warning. Shigure ignored this, and turned her head to the people at the table. She asked if anyone could translate for her and gestured toward the gumen.

The hand moving toward the corporal was the last straw for him. He aimed his shotgun at Shigure's head and pulled the trigger. Everyone in the room closed their eyes.

The corporal expected the girl's head to be turned into a pink mist. He didn't expect the buckshot to simply ricochet off. Shigure's hair was scattered about, but everything about her was fine. She turned around with an equally incredulous look on her face. She stammered, "Y-you shot me! You're not supposed to shoot people!"

The corporal was confused, and justified it in his head that the sights on his shotgun must be so off, that they missed her head entirely. The woman seemed unarmed, so he abandoned his weapon and went to restrain her. Shigure pulled back and said, "Oh, no! Nobody touches me unless I want them to! Everybody in Sakura got martial arts training, and you're lucky I'm not Akatsuki!" She crouched and made a kick for the man's knee. She unfortunately misjudged her own strength, and pushed the joint backwards beyond the point of no return. The poor bastard's knee inverted and he went down screaming. His four comrades stood there for a second, then started shooting.

Shigure disabled them one at a time, while half-heartedly pretending to dodge their weapons. The man in the back routed and fled as fast as his legs could carry him, desperately firing his gun with one hand behind him. In a bizarre stroke of luck, one of the bullets whizzed by Shigure's cheek and landed squarely in the old corporal's neck. An artery was struck, and he was doomed to death in seconds.

After a few seconds of silence, the officers leapt across the table to try and save their comrade. The attempt was unfortunately hopeless. Shigure stopped for a moment as the adrenaline left her. Everyone under her groaned in pain and desperately sucked in air. She looked down at them and realized that this fight was far from fair. She was used to fighting others like her, and this didn't really feel like a victory. She looked at her hand and arm, which was covered in blood after she'd given one of them a broken nose. This wasn't supposed to be on her. She was supposed to fight the sirens, not people. Panic set in, and she got on the radio.

Out in the Panama Bay, everyone decided that idling by themselves was a terrible idea. Therefore, Hornet had deployed her warship form, and everyone else had climbed aboard. They'd set up a card table in the shadow of the carrier's island. Hornet prepared her "Legendary" margarita mix. Everyone else played Hearts, which was the only card game they all knew. Cleveland commented, "Y'know, I like this 'salsa' music. It's got a party vibe to it. D'you know what they're saying?"

Hornet said, "I'm kinda rusty. Something, something 'Hey pretty lady. Let me give you a tomato.' My Spanish is okay at best."

Amazon threw down a five of clubs and said, "Did nobody seriously bring an English to Spanish dictionary to a country that speaks it?!"

Aurora said, "Why don't you just use your phone? Also, I don't have clubs." She placed a ten of hearts.

"Oh. Didn't think about that."

Taihou, who was just spectating, suddenly got a call on her radio. She walked away from the table and answered it. Everyone else could still hear only her.

"You.. you what? Calm down, I can't understand you. They followed one of you? Who's they?"

Everyone stopped playing and turned to Taihou, who held her finger up to her ear. She continued, "No. Yes, nothing's happened up here. They did what? Who's dead? Why did you let one get away?! Now he's going to tell everyone! No, it's too late to go find him! It's just a little blood! Yes, escort them to wherever their safehouse is! Put… No, don't do that. Put that Penultimo man on the line!"

Taihou then had a much calmer conversation, but Penultimo's panicked voice was so loud, everyone else could hear it. Eventually, Taihou closed the line and turned to everyone else. She said, "We have a lot to talk about. It seems our days of stealth are over."

Suddenly, Jamaica yelled, "Ha! My foresight never fails!" All of the vanguard ships opened up their wallets and handed Jamaica cash. She looked extremely smug.

[==============]

Gneisenau sat at the edge of her bed and stared with squinted eyes out the window. She wasn't a morning person in the slightest. It'd taken a herculean effort just to open the curtains just so the light could force her awake. Whether or not that actually worked was still debatable to her. Instead of being simply groggy in her nightgown, she was also blind. She was blind anyway without her glasses, so what did it matter?

She was jolted with a shot of adrenaline as a whining noise shot through her ear. The announcement system outside blared out in Helena's voice, "Attention all personnel: The winner of the art contest has been decided. First place goes to Miss Illustrious with her acrylic painting entitled, 'General Montgomery in the Thinking Position, Nude'. Second place goes to Miss Cassin with 'Kiwis, but I Don't Actually Know What They Look Like' in pencil. Results will be posted in the cafeteria. Also, due to the overwhelming mediocrity of last night's movie, it will be played again tonight."

Gneisenau was conscious enough now to stand, but not enough to intelligently process the announcement. Her only response was half-hearted disappointment. Sometimes she marvelled on how the ships seemed to be stuck in two entirely different eras. Some of them knew how to use electronics better than they could speak, yet others(In the Union) still thought Benny Goodman was "hip". However, she had to admit she enjoyed the Swing genre, but the threat of being labelled a "Swingjugend" kept that a secret. She managed to take a few steps and sit down on her desk. She opened her laptop, which thankfully didn't blind her as it used to. Helena's "Dark Mode" (or whatever it was called) had Gneisenau's eyes singing their praises every day and night. She equipped her glasses and opened her email. The first one she had to check was her least favorite. The Global Siren Activity Report(or GSAR) was an automated circular that updated everyone to yesterday's Siren mischief. It was practically digital depression.

She scrolled through and looked at damaged convoys, cut communications, kidnapped humans, air raids, and dozens of possible sightings. Gneisenau just looked for anything that might be an immediate threat. There wasn't really anything.

However, she noticed one thing that popped out at her. A siren raiding fleet set off some of the landmines in the North Sea, just off the coast of her homeland. They then made all speed and attacked Wilhelmshaven. Their apparent target was a… naval museum and records storage? They were pushed back, but some damage was done. Gneisenau sat back and pondered this. The report was confident on the Sirens' target, but the choice was beyond odd. Why records? She decided to ask someone who was stationed near there. She opened up another window and started a message.

To: Eisen_Fight: Hello. Are you awake?

There was no response for some time. Gneisenau nearly got up and started to get dressed when she saw a notification.

Eisen_Fight: sup?

Gneis_ABC: Are you familiar with the recent attack on Wilhelmshaven?

Eisen_Fight: yeah they tried to bust up the port but we scared em off

Eisen_Fight: nearly blew up a museum tho lmao XD

Gneis_ABC: Yes, that's my primary concern. What exactly was destroyed? Are you sure that the museum was their target and nothing else?

Eisen_Fight: yeah the entire port to shoot at and they all go after the naval museum. Nearly destroyed U-10. I dunno what we lost but it sounds like a lot of 19th and 20th century documents. There's copies. boring stuff why ask?

Gneisenau sat back for a moment, then replied:

Gneis_ABC: Because I think that this was very intentional. This wasn't the biggest raid by far, but it was the strangest. I think the Sirens are trying to erase the memories of us from the public. Sakura is the only nation where the general population knows we exist. If… If what I'm told is true and we are who they think we are… then will we disappear if we're forgotten?

Eisen_Fight: ship doesnt go away just because you forgot it

Gneis_ABC: Then what's the Sirens' goal here? Do they even know what we are?"

Eisen_Fight: dunno lol

Gneisenau said her goodbyes and ended the conversation. Heinrich was very nice and one of the strongest cruisers, but intelligence wasn't her best trait. After the prompt to a metaphysical discussion and the response of "dunno lol", Gneisenau decided that it wouldn't go anywhere useful. Rather than just asking around, she posted the question onto the harbor's message board with the request to talk later. She was just about to get up from her chair and start her day when she was interrupted yet again, this time from a priority message. Ah, it was the boss.

Terror_OfThe_Seas: Are you available to speak?

Gneis_ABC: Always, madam.

She joined the call and said, "Line open."

The voice of Bismarck rattled her low-end laptop's speakers. "I agree with your message. I do not believe this was a random attack, although I'm uncertain with their motivations. It's worrying nonetheless."

Gneisenau responded, "I agree. I don't… I admit I really don't have any suggestions on how to move forward with this. We're already having logistical problems as-is. Requisitions are… slower. The industries that always supplied us are now asking why we need everything we ask. I believe they're being pushed around from above."

"Why do you suppose that would be?"

Gneisenau shrugged and guessed, "Bottlenecking our supplies would obviously reduce our effectiveness. We'd have to choose our battles more carefully and let some sirens go. That would stain our image and bring our abilities into question. If it gets worse… we might have to start purchasing using less official methods, such as international arms dealers. That would look bad, but I can't think of any private companies that make the shells both you and I consume. That's just my theory, but if I'm correct, then this is something that will become more of a problem the longer we let it fester."

"I am done."

"Excuse me?"

"I am done hearing about this petty squabbling over Azur Lane. Evidently, some people who think they are superior to us have forgotten that we are fighting for our very existence. I have lost my patience and we certainly do not need to be fighting a war on two fronts. I will solve this and I will solve this now at the home front. I shall be gone for some time."

"If… if I may ask, what do you intend to do?"

"I will tell everyone who I am."

"Do you think we should check in with the Commander first before we do that?"

"No. He is still asleep, is he not? We'd best not disturb him. My sister can stay here. Once he wakes, you may tell him if you wish."

"I understand."

"Goodbye."

Gneisenau closed the computer and put her face in her hands. She had a good idea of Bismarck's personality, and none of the scenarios she made in her head ended comfortably.

[===============]

Fueling aircraft was one of the few things that both Taihou and Hornet agreed upon. The anticipation made both of them giddy. Taihou had personally inspected the fueling Suisei dive bombers getting ready for their mission. With that done, she wheeled them over to the elevator and began lifting them up. Things were getting done now. Things were certain. They had targets and the means to destroy them.

Hornet had already done the same with her Dauntlesses. Things were certainly escalating. Hopefully it would end well.

Cleveland idled outside the bay, a few thousand feet from the shore. She spotted the positions of the warehouses and bunkers that needed to be destroyed. She relayed the coordinates to the carriers, who double-checked their math. Cleveland just stood on the water, looking at the city in front of her. She had a hard time figuring out how bombing them was supposed to help us, but whatever. She deployed her rigging and set her sights directly toward the secret storage for siren weapons disguised as a dockhouse. She had no problems doing this out in the open. After all, who would believe the story of someone just standing out in the water? People just don't stand on water. Well, one guy did.

Right on time, she heard the drone of dive-bomber engines. She looked to the south and spotted some familiar planes in formation. That had to be them.

Cleveland stayed casual and watched them break formation and begin setting up for a dive. The planes slowly descended and their engines started increasing in pitch. They screamed downward upon the city. Cleveland wasn't an aviator, but even she was concerned with how low they were getting without pulling up. Both the carriers did say that accuracy was critical, though.

At the last second before she was truly concerned, the planes dropped their bombs and pulled up. She wondered if Taihou would stay true to her Sakuran roots and ram the building instead. The warehouses went up in large, but controlled, balls of fire. Inside the flames, Cleveland noticed the characteristic yellow flames of MK I siren equipment exploding. That was all of their targets. Time to do her part.

Cleveland loaded an HE shell into one of her six-inch guns. She aimed just in front of the building, close to the shore, so nothing else got destroyed. Targeting solutions were solid, and she fired a single shot. It briefly shot across the water, creating this trough and mist as it went. The shell slammed just in front of the building, destroying it entirely. The ground under it upheaved, and made the entire thing bulge upward, before collapsing into itself. The HE part of the shell ignited the equipment inside, and it, too, gave off yellow flames and sparks.

Seven targets, seven kills, no civilian casualties. Job well done. Cleveland patted herself on the back, revved up her engines, and sailed back into deeper waters. With this overwhelming success, she had good feelings that this country would be back on it's legs and loyal to the free world in no time at all. Maybe Azur Lane really was capable of helping out other countries, after all. Cleveland thought to tell her friends about this.

[==========]

I walked around the harbor in the sunshine, attempting to distract myself from the headache. I'd been drugged and dragged back to the harbor islands against my will. After I'd woken up, I searched for my captor. Attempting to chew out Sheffield was a nearly impossible task. Her stone-like deadpan face and impenetrable logic made her the anathema to anyone attempting an argument. I gave up, simply reprimanded her, and decided to take a walk.

Otherwise, it was a beautiful fall day. Still warm, but the wind was cooler. I walked past a park bench and noticed a lone blue notebook on it. Someone must've left it there. I moved closer, and noticed there was nothing on the cover, indicating it's purpose. However, toward the bottom, I noticed the writing, "If found, please return to Shinano" in three different languages. I remembered this book. Back in Sakura, I noticed Shinano meditating with closed eyes, and writing in it. I grabbed it and started walking toward the Sakuran temporary shelters. However, I made the selfish choice and indulged my curiosity.

Inside were scribblings, all in katakana. Unfortunately, mine was terrible. I went to the most recent entry. Despite the simplicity of katakana, the script was wild and barely legible. I made another selfish choice and brought out my phone. I opened up a translator app and aimed the camera at the page. The program had a lot of trouble and failed a few times, even when I stayed perfectly still. Eventually, it worked. It read:

"Troubles. Poor decisions. Distance between man and his tools. Finally away from Akagi. She makes the threads scream. All falling apart. It must, so we may rebuild. We must change. It can't be controlled; if we try we fail. A path? Try this one. Continue down. Collective sanity lost. The one with the heart of a sun pierces their armor. The mad one gives us the knife to wound them. Careful, careful. All going as planned. We learn from one of them. Deviation from plan. Attempt to correct. Too early! Unripe fruit! The time was not right! The wound was not mortal! The beast from the sky screams! It retreats. Silence. Confusion. Victory? Look to the sky? Where is the sky? Dark shapes? No. Failure, try to leave. THEY LOST PATIENCE. THEY DON'T NEED US. THE STARS FALL. THE SKY AFLAME. THE AIR DUST. THE SOIL GLASS. A CLEAN SWEEP. IT BURNS IT BURNS IT BURNS IT BURNS IT BURNS"

"An unfortunate end. I shall categorize this thread as "Very Bad End #113". I was certain that these series of decisions were the only possibility of victory, but I have my doubts now. Unfortunately, we may have already committed. I will consult with lady Nagato, as soon as I take a short break."

I slowly closed the book, and made a promise to never open others' personal belongings without their permission. I also decided to hand this over to Shinano, as soon as I changed my underwear.