Hey all, good to see you once again. This chapter is more of a radical change compared to the previous. Your guys' feedback is well appreciated and so far, it seems you all are liking the rewrite so far. I hope to continue impressing you all and keeping this story entertaining. Just to clear the air, I will not delete the original. Enjoy the chapter

The following day was very similar to yesterday. Another large batch of paperwork to handle and several requests to attend to from other officers. The requests ranged drastically from additional Kansen forces on their posts or transfers of their forces to Harper's base. He had to think through all the requests carefully due to the limit of current Kansen. High Command hadn't informed him of any new developments; as of yet at least.

"Commander," a voice called out to Harper. He turned his attention away from the current report to his secretary of the day. A fine woman from the Royal Navy with beauty that rivaled most, if not, all of her compatriots. She even carried the title of "Pride of the Royal Navy" to show her importance. "The others are heading to the beach later this afternoon. They requested that you would join them."

Harper answered with a smile at the thought of his subordinates inviting him to join in their recreation. He couldn't remember the last time he had spent a day at the beach due to his work. "At our current pace, we'll be there before them. Thank you for informing me, Hood. Is there anything else on today's agenda?"

"You have a call with Admiral Spears. It must be important since he requested that it would be with just the two of you," Hood replied.

Harper gave a nod. A little odd that his superior officer wanted a private discussion with him. With the lack of Siren activity, was he going to inform Harper to reduce his number? Reassign him to a smaller position until further notice? He wasn't the only admiral in charge of heading Azur Lane, just one of several. In any case, it would be best to take the call as soon as possible.

Harper put down his pen and said, "Hood, would you mind waiting outside the office until I finish the meeting?"

"Of course, Commander." Hood answered, "There is not much left on my side. I will take it with me to finish." She got up with a small stack of papers and left the office without another word.

Once the door closed, Harper pulled out a drawer to find a small circular device inside. A couple of its sides were flat with one having a glass surface while the rest was metallic. He placed it on his desk and a low hum began to emanate from it. Like a projector, light flew out and began to materialize a humanoid form in front of the desk.

The man himself was dressed to the expectations of his rank, full dress uniform with all medals and accessories. He easily stood a bit taller than Harper himself but the age difference was significant. From the wrinkly skin to the gray beard set on his weathered face. Yet, his blue eyes were as sharp as any blade and his stance was as firm as steel.

Harper stood up from his desk and gave a firm salute, "Commander Gabriel Harper reporting for duty, sir!"

The man chuckled a little and waved it off, "At ease. I'm calling to give you both official and unofficial business, kid. I haven't been able to have a talk with you since your last engagement."

"A talk?" Harper questioned in confusion, "Hood informed me that it was urgent that we speak alone. Admiral Spears, what were you going to talk to me about?"

"Let's lose the official titles," the man stated. "Just call me Martin. Just like you used to before the war."

Harper relaxed a bit, a small smile playing on his lips when he sat down. "Glad to see that things are loosening up a bit, Martin. How's my mother since we last spoke?"

"Good, she's doing well." Martin answered with his own smile before it faded quickly. "She still asks about you and I tell her you're fine. That's not why I called."

"Then what is it?" Harper finally asked

Martin took in a long breath and exhaled slowly. He rubbed his temples as if he was aggravated, "With the current situation, Azur Lane is having a bit of a crisis. When the Red Axis rejoined, we had a lot of work to do in order to keep them happy. Reinforcements, supplies and political pardons to keep the war effort going. Well, with the Sirens taking a backseat, as it seems, their leaders are putting some pressure on us."

"Pressure for what?" Harper asked curiously. He had avoided the politics between Azur Lane and their rivals as his orders to focus on the Sirens entirely. That didn't mean he had a few engagements with their Kansen during his first couple years in command.

Martin placed his hands behind his back before answering, "They wanted to keep their highly skilled officers away from us, all those who specialized in leading Kansen. The problem there is we need them and we began negotiations to settle this. Long story short kid, we had to make an odd and archaic solution."

"That being?" Harper inquired further. He was beginning to get a sense something was amiss as his superior went on. A solution that was archaic but necessary to secure the members of the Red Axis staying with Azur Lane? A couple ideas came to mind but he would let Martin do the talking.

The answer came like a gutpunch. "Political marriage."

Harper stayed motionless for a moment as a small yet disturbing thought came to mind. Martin wasn't going to suddenly ask Harper to forgo his marriage with Eugen to satisfy this odd deal. There had to be more details to this. "Who is part of it?"

"That's the thing," Martin continued, "We asked that very question to our colleagues across the aisle. We came to the conclusion that as many of our young but talented officers would be consulted into holding up to the bargain. I pushed for only personnel that had no prior commitments to any spouses or significant others. Thankfully, I got my say, but I conceded to another."

Harper's worries were partially relieved but also worsened as he listened, "I have a bad feeling what you are going to say. I'm glad that the focus will be on other officers who aren't married or have a relationship already. What was this other point you conceded to?"

"It's a test run. Both Azur Lane and Red Axis want to have officers who can command Kansen effectively whenever the Sirens return. However, not every officer can lead a whole fleet. Some can lead one or two ships while others like you are versatile. So, we came to the agreement that any officer would be equally aligned with either side." Martin finished with a deep breath

Harper rose up in protest, "Equally aligned? You've got to be kidding me."

"That's politics, kid." Martin grumbled, "No open war means negotiations and a whole lot of politicians building bridges. I already discussed the absurdity with the admiralty and they are going with it. I don't like this anymore than you do. Worst of all, they want you on this agreement so you can probably imagine what that means."

Harper let out some steam and sat back down, a battle already lost to him before he made a move. Decisions made without his consent or even his knowledge and dropped on top of him. "Is there anything else I need to be aware of?"

"Not much. We've finished the development of our third wave of priority Kansen and are distributing them to our outposts who lack firepower. As a result, we're sending back Roon to your base since she's not needed." Martin answered

"Roon?" Harper's eyes lit up slightly, "I haven't seen her for a couple years now. From what I heard, she really helped turn the tide. If that's all the news, then I guess there isn't much to discuss."

"She's been asking about you. I don't know why, but that's none of my business." Martin relaxed his posture. "I'll leave the rest of the day to you. Don't worry too much about the paperwork today, we have to sort a bunch ourselves. Keep me posted on anything developing."

Harper stood up one last time and saluted. "You know I will. Just make sure my mother doesn't worry too much about me...and maybe break this news to her. I'd rather she had time to comprehend it than march to my base like an angry elderly woman."

A short chuckle left Martin's throat, "I'll sell it to her. You and I both know what will make her approve of the deal. Until next time, Harper."

The hologram vanished from view with Harper putting the device back into his desk. He stretched his limbs as he let his mind wander on the knowledge he received. The factions wanted to have officers like him be willing to assist in case of another Siren incursion by using their Kansen as political tools. As much as he didn't agree with it, Harper had to admit it was a pretty effective way at getting allegiances. What an easier way to sway over men, and some women, to their side than using beautiful women to coax them over.

Did the girls know about this yet? If so, Harper feared, he would have to look at all of them as potentially out to marry him. Not the greatest viewpoint to have about his subordinates, many of whom he was still getting to know. Worse, what if this caused even more drama between the Kansen?

"Well...Fuck me I guess," Harper sarcastically chuckled. Leaving the office, he didn't find Hood anywhere although he did find the paperwork dealt with. She must have left the office to join the others at the beach. Without another thought, Harper left to go home.

A short trip back home was more than enough time for Harper to get a good reason why his subordinates were asking for him to join. The heat was sweltering and he hadn't noticed until after he walked outdoors. Mix that with a high humidity and the weather was begging everyone to go catch some waves. The cold waters of the ocean would do wonders for how uncomfortably hot it was. As a result, Harper opted for a sleeveless shirt and shorts.

However, it only reminded Harper about his prior conversation. How was he going to explain this to Eugen? If some of the Kansen knew about this, how many of them would get aggressive with their advances? Harper hoped that none of them had a clue until he was better prepared. Ideally, a conversation with Eugen to work this all out and iron out any problems before they poked out.

"Just spending the day with the girls. Keep the sunglasses on and don't stare," Harper tensed slightly as he began putting some of his beach gear in his jeep. The only vehicle that he was granted, but as a hand-me-down from a man who took it to hell and back. It ran as clean as a whistle but it looked like it had crashed recently. No windshield, no mirrors, and the driver door bent inwards.

Despite the damage, he got in and started up the engine. Purring to life, the jeep soon took off from the home at cruising speeds. The air flowed freely into Harper's face since the windshield was nowhere to defend him. It would feel good to just cruise endlessly and enjoy the cooler air but the trip down to the beach was short lived. The roads that lined around the base snaked him towards the sounds of splashing water and laughter.

As Harper came into view of the beach, he could note the many figures moving about the sands. A good number were in the water already, some lounging under large umbrellas, and a smaller number were partaking in beach volleyball. Harper quickly parked the jeep off the road and began to disembark with his supplies.

"Hey Gabe!" a voice called behind him. Harper turned around to see another one of his subordinates. She didn't wear her usual clothes this time around but he could recognize those emerald eyes of hers paired with her blond twin tails anyday. Also, he only knew of one person that gave him that nickname out of all the girls. Thankfully, he was wearing shades because his eyes immediately went towards her very noticeable bust.

"Hornet," Harper replied as he forced his eyes to look upwards. "You just arrived here too? I would have thought that you would be the first one here."

Hornet shook her head, "Not today. Something happened today that has gotten Enty a little jumpy lately. When I tried to ask, she wouldn't say anything."

Harper did his best to remain stoic when he answered, "I'm not sure either. I just had a call from my Admiral Spears to report on the latest activity. Still no Sirens as of right now."

The carrier murmured momentarily, "Weird. Just up and left out of a sudden without their typical speech about returning to teach us a lesson." Just as quickly, Hornet gave a bright smile, "Oh well, can't blame em' when we've been kicking their ass. We finally get to enjoy life without em'."

"It's a relief. I have years of paperwork to catch up on and I just got word that Roon is heading back here," Harper agreed.

Hornet nodded while placing a hand on her hip, "Roon huh? I don't remember the last time I ever got to see her. I'm sure she's happy to be coming back. Anyhow, how do I look?"

Harper let his eyes roam the carrier's figure as she wore a two piece black bikini that didn't hide her features. Funny enough, Hornet always seemed to show off a lot of her body and the swimsuit looked more modest in comparison. She may not have had her jacket, but Hornet was wearing something that Harper could expect her to wear. "Roughly the same. Are you looking for a date with someone?"

"What?" Hornet chuckled, "Can't a girl look nice in general? I just felt you would speak honestly if I asked."

Harper shrugged, "You're not wrong. As a married man, it's not easy just complimenting other women on their looks. There's a stigma about that."

"I know, I know." Hornet waved it off, "Don't worry, Gabe. If you were still single, you'd probably be Yorktown's type of man. That's enough talk, the beach isn't going to get any better waiting here."

The carrier took off towards the rest of the Kansen to join in their fun while Harper kept his gaze lingering on her. Hornet always seemed to be the type to talk about her sisters more than herself but he couldn't figure out why. In a way, it was relieving since that whole arrangement was now in effect and Hornet was clueless to it. Even if she did know, Harper felt comfortable knowing he didn't have to worry about the carrier as of now.

"Now to put myself into the thick of it." He thought to himself. A small pang of fear rose as he looked out to the various women on the beach. Taking a breath, Harper grabbed the last of his stuff and went into the fray

As luck would have it, Harper just so happened to be ignored as the Kansen on his base were too busy in their own activities. There was a nice spot for him to lay his towel across and set up his beach umbrella to provide ample shade for himself. A game between the Eagle Union and Ironblood was underway directly in front and it seemed to be a tense one. Eugen and Tirpitz represented their faction against Baltimore and Hornet. How Tirpitz was convinced to participate in a sport was a wonder.

Despite that, the battleship looked highly determined in the backline. Blocking and setting up retaliation strikes for Eugen to strike with. Yet, their opponents were equal in their resolve with more practical experience to boot. Through it all, Harper could not help himself but watch with interest in the match. Partially torn to root for his wife and another part towards his home faction. Although, there were a few times he had to catch himself from staring at the movement of their breasts.

Thankfully, a voice would keep Harper from it. "Do you mind if I set up alongside you, Commander?"

Harper turned to see Hood dressed appropriately for the weather and flashing him a smile. "I don't mind at all, Hood."

As the royal lady began to set up her spot, Harper turned back to the volleyball game. The score was tied with neither team seeming to give in. Match point was on the line with bragging rights given to the victor of the competition. The ball was on the Ironblood's side, making Eagle Union on edge for the attempt.

"Was everything alright with Admiral Spears?" Hood finally asked after finding comfort under the shade of her umbrella

Harper nodded"Yeah...Everything's swell. Just wanted to hear my report and gave me news that Roon would be coming back."

"Forgive me for prying, but your meeting was longer than a simple report. Was there something else?" Hood questioned. Harper cursed the fact she had noted it was an important meeting before. He couldn't tell her yet until he informed Eugen first.

So he answered, "Just a bit of catching up. High Command just finished the development of a third wave of priority Kansen. We won't be seeing any come to our base as there were outposts desperately needing more firepower. Then, Spears was informing me about how my mother was doing since she misses me. Being the only surviving child of hers made her a bit clingy."

To his relief, the battlecruiser seemed to accept the explanation without problem. It wasn't wrong but omitted a very important detail. "My apologies, the Queen was a bit flustered lately and our allies have been awfully silent. My best attempt to ask Richilieu of the situation was met with her needing to attend religious services."

A red flag rang in Harper's mind. Hood had almost gotten a full answer as to what was going on today with the odd behavior from Azur Lane alone. Had she tried the Red Axis, would they have told her up front? Although, for as religiously devoted the Iris Libre were, there was a large amount of doubt they would seek anything poligimous. However, were the Vichya in a similar position or completely the opposite? The more Harper questioned himself about it, the more he began to feel the mounting pressure.

The way Martin explained it, it was simply an equal affiliation between the two main factions. But, anyone with two brain cells could see that the numerous nations within each faction would have their own agenda. They would want to sway the opinions and actions of officers like Harper which meant…

"Commander? Are you alright?" Hood's voice broke the temporary railroad of thoughts

Harper was about to respond until the collective cheer from the assembled Kansen interrupted him. Apparently, Eugen was able to land the final point needed for Ironblood to win. As a result, the small number of Ironblood Kansen began to collectively applaud their sisters-in-arms. However, much to everyone's relief, they also cheered for the defeated Eagle Union. A good sight of sportsmanship from opposing aisles kept allied to fight a common enemy.

With the match over, Eugen made her way over to the Commander and his secretary. Predictably, she had a bit more smugness than usual. "Chatting up the Royal Navy's pride ship, are we liebe?"

The heavy cruiser's skimpy attire was more than enough to take all of Harper's attention. Even more so when hugging him from behind. Naturally, he blushed when his wife's bosom pressed against his back. "Just relaying some information I learned from Admiral Spears. They just finished a new wave of priority ships so Roon is returning."

"Ah, I'll make sure to let Liepzig and Nurnberg know. They will be happy to see their 'paper sister' since she left." Eugen responded, looking towards Hood with narrow eyes. "You aren't trying to seduce my husband now are you?"

Hood answered back, astonished that the heavy cruiser accused her of such a deed. "No, not at all. We were just having idle conversation. I was just explaining to the Commander that many of the faction leaders seem to be aggravated today."

"Oh that?" Eugen teasingly smiled, raising alarm bells in Harper's mind. "Fraulein Bismark informed me what had happened on the negotiation table. I'm surprised your Queen hasn't informed you."

The sirens were wailing right now. Eugen knew after all? Hood's expression turned more questioning towards Harper as if a spotlight was put on him. It wasn't his responsibility to tell all the girls now...was it? "Now, Eugen, that's politics. Let's keep that under wraps until further notice."

"Keep what under wraps?" Harper's fears only worsened as Baltimore was approaching them with Hornet in tow. "What did the Admiral have to say?"

There was no way Harper was going to tell them here. "That's classified until further notice. End of discussion."

"You're no fun, liebe~. I won't say anything until you're ready, but don't keep them waiting long." Eugen mused, making the rest of the girls become even more curious.

Thankfully, the discussion did end there and Hood began to change the topic. "Moving back to the priority ships, will we be receiving any reinforcements?"

"Besides Roon, no. We will not be getting any new reinforcements that I am aware of. Possibly on the next wave," Harper answered. Martin didn't mention anything about reinforcements unless he too was unaware of any.

Hornet then spoke, "I get we're a bigger base than most but it would be nice to see some new faces. We haven't had reinforcements for the past year."

"It wouldn't be fair if we hogged all the girls here. There are plenty of outposts that are still lacking. My sis just texted me that she and her friends were transferred over to Commander Adam's post," Baltimore stated.

"Then maybe we should shed some of our numbers and transfer others. I'm sure some of the girls are homesick and it does them some good to let them go home," Hood then suggested.

Harper gave it some thought. It would be nice to change around some of his current Kansen and let them go home. He could easily request transfers to their home nations or other outposts much closer. However, it would take some time to approve and Harper needed to be sure that he didn't lose too many. There was much to be done.

Finally, Harper said, "I'll put in the requests and see who is willing. Pass the word along to the others so we can get a head count. Other than that, let's get back to enjoying the rest of the day."

If Harper thought that everything was avoided, he was sorely mistaken. Eugen let a smirk cross her lips as she said, "We wouldn't want to waste time discussing political marriages."

Everyone froze around the Commander as if they were encased in ice with bewildered expressions. Harper looked at his wife with a mix of fury and dismay that she had to spit it out. She playfully winked in response and it didn't help that this was starting to get the attention of the other Kansen around. Some had even heard Eugen's words and began to spread the gossip at lightning speeds. What once was a peaceful and enjoyable day at the beach turned into a gossip filled chaos.

"Is that what the Queen was flustered about?"

"Nagato-sama didn't tell us about this."

"Does that mean the Northern Parliament is getting involved?"

All the questions began to fire off while Harper just watched the scene unfold around him. Only one sentence left his mouth, "God damn it."

So yeah...still roughly the same chapter but with some radical changes on the side. I'm focusing on trying to keep the good chapters relatively the same while cutting out the bad. I hope that it shows a lot of improvement. Please leave a review and your thoughts.