Weapon Test

Enterprise honestly didn't know how to feel about the Commander. She, like most girls on the base, thought Maddy was going to be their new CO. The revelation that the actual Commander was the kid that was following behind Maddy came as a surprise to the Eagle Union carrier. Well, not really a kid as he had stated that he was in his mid-twenties and his sister explained that he took after his father's genes. Still, that didn't stop many ships from looking at him like a little brother. Even some destroyers mothered over him. Enterprise also felt that tickling feeling of maternity whenever she saw him. However, even with his childlike appearance, he wasn't afraid to use his rank and authority to get things done. Especially when it came to naval, supply, and recreational organization. Enterprise would acknowledge his orders for today's carrier exercise. After all, it was her duty as the greatest warrior of the Eagle Union.

Enterprise stared at the clear horizon as she waited on her flight deck. Her ship form manifested itself to carry the important personnel that would be taking part in the exercise. Emile was busy chatting with Akashi who was finalizing the retrofit of some special ordnance for a couple of Enterprise's aircraft. Enterprise took a moment to ponder what kind of weapons they were and why she was the one to receive them. While pondering, she scanned the ocean around her and saw the manifested forms of other carriers sailing alongside her port side. She could see the hulls of the Kido Butai and Taihou sailing in perfect formation with Akagi and Kaga leading them. Enterprise then turned to her starboard to see the three Illustrious sisters sailing elegantly. It seemed that a couple of the more prominent carriers at the base were participating in this exercise as she could even see Graf Zeppelin among them.

Enterprise then looked back to see her own sisters, Hornet and Yorktown. A smile crept onto the platinum blonde's face as she saw her older sister ready and well, having been through extensive repairs but finally healed thanks to the efforts of both Vestal and Akashi. Enterprise was glad to finally sail alongside her after so long. Though she kind of wished Essex could be here, she was on a commission with some of the Sardegnian ships.

Emile finally finished his discussion with the cat merchant and made his way towards the Grey Ghost. She could see a bit a nervousness in the young Commander's face as he approached but paid little mind to it. She stood in attention like a soldier, greeting the smaller Emile who gave a salute as he held a clipboard in his hand.

"Commander," Enterprise saluted.

"Greetings to you too, Enterprise. Also, at ease," Emile answered with a warm smile. The carrier had to admit, he was kind of cute.

"Before we get to the training area, I need you to sign something for me," Emile extended his clipboard to her.

"Alright?" Enterprise was a little confused but obliged. She signed a seemingly blank sheet on the clipboard before handing it back to a slightly giddy Commander.

As soon as he was handed back the signature he turned around and made a quiet fist pump. Enterprise raised her eyebrows in amusement and wondered what was so exciting about her signature. Emile steadied himself before turning upwards to look at his subordinate in the eyes.

Damn, why was I born small, Emile languished. Enterprise shifted her eyes a bit before speaking again.

"So… what was that about?" Enterprise asked.

"Oh, it was nothing important. I just wanted a signature from the legend herself," Emile spoke.

"Legend?" said a slightly confused carrier.

"Of course!" Emile excitedly exclaimed, catching the carrier off guard, "You're the ship that bested the best of the Sakura Empire, the one who held the line in the Pacific, proclaimed sunk multiple times but always came back to haunt her enemies like a ghost."

A blush rapidly formed on Enterprises cheeks at the amount of praise that gushed out of her Commander's mouth. It kind of made her uncomfortable. While she was proud of her achievements, she honestly thought it was just part of her duty as a warship. Yet here was her superior fanboying out to her presence. It was quite embarrassing, and Emile quickly took note of her flustered face.

"That's… quite the praise coming from you…" Enterprise scratched the back of her head, "You a fan of my history?"

Emile calmed down from his fanboyish outburst, before fiddling his fingers to explain himself, "Sorry about that, I just wanted this for a… collection."

Enterprise decided not to probe any further into her Commander's strange request and instead focused her attention to today's itinerary.

"About today's exercise Commander, how is it going to be conducted?" the Grey Ghost inquired.

"It's pretty standard, just target practice on a couple of mass-production models." Emile's eyes slowly glanced over to the side, "Also some… special weapons testing."

Enterprise's eyes narrowed at the apprehension in Emile's eyes, "You seem nervous about something."

"Crap, am I that bad at hiding it?" Emile asked rhetorically, "Yeah, I'm not feeling too comfortable about the new ordnance."

"That doesn't sound good. Are you sure we have to test them?" Enterprise inquired.

"We have to. Orders are orders." Emile's smile faded as he said those words.

Orders are orders. Those words echoed in the Grey Ghost's mind. It looked like her Commander was feeling the sting of being someone's tool. Enterprise gazed downward at her minuscule Commander who was giving the sea a thousand-yard stare. He had this air of longing surrounding him. As if he was being pulled by the strings of a higher power, which to Enterprise's knowledge, was the High Naval Command which conducted Azur Lane's operations. Enterprise felt pity for the little Commander. She placed a hand of reassurance on his head much to his flustered confusion. She gave him a light chuckle and smiled. It was her duty to serve under him and she was going to give it her all.

The moment was interrupted when the static of a radio went off in Emile's belt. He yelped in surprise as he heard the voice of his loudmouth sister blare through it, "Hey Em! How's the ride!"

Emile awkwardly juggled the radio in his hands before answering, "Everything's peachy sis."

"Ahahaha, I saw that!" Maddy's voice boomed through the radio's static, "Hey can you see me?"

"see you...?" Emile murmured as he pulled out a pair of binoculars. Enterprise watched her Commander as he pointed his eyes towards Akagi's deck, where his sister was stationed. She witnessed her Commander's eyes going wide behind the binoculars before he did a double take, his face scrunching into a mix of amusement and cringe. He gave a small sigh of embarrassed resignation as he lowered his binoculars a second time, his palm covering face and stifled laughter between his breaths. Enterprise raised her eyebrows in curiosity, wondering what her Commander had just seen.

"Something wrong, Commander?" Emile responded by handing her the binoculars, his hand still on his face. Enterprise obliged and took a peek through the two scopes.

Her eyes also went wide.

What she saw was Lieutenant Commander Maddy performing a ridiculous dance atop of Akagi's flight deck. Said kitsune carrier had a comedic expression of shock, pupils shrank and mouth slightly agape, as she watched her Lieutenant swing her hips and tap her feet to an imaginary beat. Enterprise repeated the same double take Emile took. The Eagle Union carrier had to struggle a bit to fight back the smile that was slowly manifesting on her face and the laughter than was trying to force its way out of her chest. It was made all the harder as she focused her gaze on Akagi, a chuckle escaped her lips as she had never seen the Sakura carrier with such a ridiculous expression. All of this caused just from a dance, performed by their very second in command. Maddy was quite the sister, Enterprise kind of pitied and envied her Commander.

She handed back the binoculars while failing to stop a small breathy laugh from escaping her mouth, "That was quite the show."

Emile shook his head to calm himself, "You know I'm a little jealous of you. Imagine if one of your sisters danced like that."

Enterprise gave a small chuckle, "I can imagine both of them doing it actually. After a couple shots of hard champagne."

"Well with my sister, alcohol isn't even necessary. She acts like an idiot either way," Emile laughed at his own playful insult.

Enterprise chuckled softly alongside her Commander as she reminisced the countless shenanigans, she and her sisters would get up too. Hornet was always a playful one, both on and off the battlefield. Always in the thick of battle and ready to prove herself. Every victory the twin tailed blonde achieved sparked a bit of sisterly pride within the Grey Ghost. Yorktown too, despite her previous condition, managed to surprise everyone with the feats of her air group. Even her durability was something to marvel at if her performance at Midway was to be looked at. Yet she sometimes tries to awkwardly distance herself while also acting…strange when drinking too much. Needless to say, Enterprise understood Emile's sibling plight and shared in his embarrassment. The two enjoyed a few moments of casually amusing themselves before a certain repair ship sounded from behind them.

"NYAA~, we're almost there!" Akashi's sudden interjection caused Emile to yelp and jump into Enterprise's arms. Said carrier was slightly taken aback as she bridal carried her Commander's small frame.

"I also finished loading the special weapons on Enterprise's planes…" Akashi gave a soft, drawn out 'nya' as she saw her Commander in Enterprise's arms, "Did I interrupt something nya?"

"No not really," Emile said nonchalant, still in the Grey ghost's arms, "Manifest your shipform and help me gather everyone on your deck."

"Hai, nya~" Akashi saluted before walking away.

"What a strange kid," The cat muttered out of earshot.

Emile and Enterprise remained still for a few seconds as they watch the cat's wisdom cubes manifest her ship form off the port side. Emile was the first one to break the silence.

"You can put me down now," said Emile.

Enterprise quietly obliged as she gently lowered her Commander down.

As Emile touched the ground, he fiddled with his radio to set it to an open channel and spoke into it, "Commander Emile to all combat carriers, manifest your riggings and report to Akashi's deck. I'll be debriefing everyone on today's exercise."

When he was finished, he turned to Enterprise and pointed his hand towards Akashi's ship, "Let's roll," Emile charged forward like a little kid.

Enterprise smiled while pulling the rim of her hat down while smiling, "What a strange kid. Hehe…"

As soon as Emile was off Enterprise's deck, she unsummoned her ship form and reformed the wisdom cubes to form her usual combat rigging. She saw the other carriers do the same before converging on the repair ship. She also noticed Maddy falling into the water as Akagi manifested her rigging.

Enterprise gave a small laugh at her Lieutenant's expense.

Akagi had been frustrated over the past few days.

Well, more like going through a mix of several emotions ever since the realization that her real Commander was actually the kid she had first talked to back on the dock. It took quite a while for her to recover from her shock before she made multiple attempts to get close to him. All of them failed thanks to another Sakura carrier, her junior and fellow yandere, Taihou. The phoenix and fox had been doing battle over the Commander's inbox, both jockeying for the position of secretary, each one sent gifts and letters while intercepting the other. To her anger, it seemed that Taihou gained the upper hand as her letters got Emile's attention. Akagi almost flew into a fit of rage when she heard the news of Taihou's appointment to secretary. The scathing defeat tore at Akagi's pride as Taihou made every effort to gloat in front of the nine-tailed fox's face. Every time she saw that bird it was the same smug expression. It infuriated Akagi to no end.

Even now on Akashi's deck, Akagi could hear Taihou's giggles emanating from behind. The fox kept her composure but discreetly grit her teeth. She would amend her mistakes eventually. A clever fox bides her time. Besides, she did find Emile quite adorable like a little puppy. Oh, how she wanted to pet him, maybe chain him a bit, and really help him see her affection. But right now, she needed to be professional.

Akagi called the Kido Butai (plus Taihou) to attention as Emile ascended to the podium with his sister and Akashi in tow. Akagi could see a bit of nervous twitching coming from her Commander's figure and really hoped that he wouldn't collapse on stage again. She still cringed at herself for freezing during the welcoming ceremony. However, it seemed that Emile managed to regain his composure as he beheld a clipboard in his hand. Akashi leaned in to whisper a few things before Emile turned to address the crowd of carriers.

"Alright everyone, good morning," Emile greeted his carrier groups.

"Good morning, Commander." "Mornin' Commander." "Ohaiyo gozaimasu, Shikikan." "Guten Morgen, Herr Kommandant."

Emile blushed as several carriers greeted him back in their own way. Hiding his face slightly behind his clipboard, he flipped the pages to the itinerary, "So… today is going to be a standard target practice. Carriers will be divided into two groups and tasked to destroy simulated mass production models."

Emile flipped through the pages and grimaced a bit, "Also… there will be some special weapons testing… courtesy of a request from higher up. Enterprise has been equipped with the weapons and will give the demonstration once the exercise is over. Akashi will record the results."

A cacophony of murmurs erupted from the carriers. All of them wondering what the Commander meant by 'special weapons.' Akagi turned around and noticed that Taihou usual giddy expression turn stoic. Akagi wondered if Taihou knew anything.

*FWWOOOOOO*

Everyone's attention was immediately caught back to the front as Maddy blew her airhorn. The slightly drenched Lieutenant smiled in amusement at everyone's surprised faces. The airhorn never gets older. In fact, she seemed to pay no mind to her current drenched status. Akagi took notice of that fact. Her Lieutenant was possibly insane.

"Alright here's the group run down! The former Crimson Axis on one team and Azur Lane ships on the other team." Maddy announced while Akashi tried to give her a drying towel. The Lieutenant silently accepted, wiping herself off.

The news of how the teams were to be divided slightly excited a couple of the carriers. It was a chance of some nostalgic conflict between the two factions without having to hurt each other. A certain crane from the 5th carrier division especially relished the idea.

"Come on Grey Ghost! How about a little wager," Zuikaku beckoned Enterprise, "Team with the lowest score buys the other a drink."

"Oh, are you sure?" Enterprise confidently smiled, "Well if you wanted to buy me a drink all you had to do was ask."

"I won't lose to you, Grey Ghost," Zuikaku declared with fire in her voice.

"I'll agree to that offer," Akagi chimed in. She also had a boned to pick with the allies of Azur Lane. She still kept a tiny grudge since Midway.

"Oh my, everyone is such in high spirits today," Illustrious commented.

"It would be most appropriate to goes it our all, isn't that right Victorious," Formidable spoke.

"Let's enjoy ourselves," Victorious quietly cracked her knuckles, "And make the Queen proud."

"Let our air wings drown the light of the sun so our enemies can cower in the dark," Graf Zeppelin ominously declared.

"Oh boy…" Emile sighed at the carriers' commotion.

Maddy gave her little brother a comfort pat to signal that everything was going to be all right. The two teams seemed to just be exchanging some friendly competitive banter. Perhaps they can translate it to their combat skills during this exercise. Hopefully Emile and Akashi can obtain the data they needed to satisfy... her.

Maddy ran down into the crowd and beckoned to Taihou over to her side. The phoenix seemed to be getting along rather well with her Lieutenant, seeing her as a friend ever since the cooking competition. Maddy would observe the Crimson Axis carriers and would record their results. While also trying to convince one of their carriers to let her fly one of their planes.

Emile shook his head and walked over to the Azur Lane carriers. He received a soft hug from Illustrious and a head scratch from Hornet. Being surrounded by taller women caused the little Commander's face to turn red like a beat. He took a deep breath and procured his pencil to record data. He just needed to get a bit of height and wondered which carrier he would ask to be his chauffeur.

He ordered everyone off the deck and the exercise began.

"My love is invincible. Ahahaha…AHAHAHA!" Akagi excitedly announced as she launched her aircraft. Her planes launched from the red magical manifestation of her flight deck. She also complimented her launch by throwing her red shuriken projectiles which transformed into aircraft by her unique Sakura magic.

"Try not to get too excited Nee-sama," Kaga stoically warned her sister as her air group launched.

"Zuikaku, let's show our oh so esteemed senpais the power of the 5th carrier division," Shoukaku encouraged her sister as she played her flute while launching her aircraft.

"Hmpf, even the Grey Ghost would tremble beneath our combined might. Launching strike!" Zuikaku flurried her sword as she launched her airwing. The planes of the two crane sisters linked up behind their nine-tailed senpais.

"Hiryuu, are you finished warming up yet?" The rabbit carrier Souryuu asked her tomboyish sister as she adjusted her glasses. Her planes were already in the process of efficiently lifting off her flight deck.

"I'm always ready sis. Let's Go!" Hiryuu excitedly exclaimed as her planes joined together with her sister's. The airwings of the 2nd carrier division slightly tailed behind the 5th.

The air was soon filled with the engine roars of the Kido Butai's air fleet. Nakajima B5N 'Kates', Aichi D3A 'Vals', and the mighty A6M2 'Zero' flew in perfect formation towards the target area. Akagi looked upon the massive V-formations with pride and nostalgia. Not since Pearl Harbor could the might of the Sakura Empire's prized carriers be witnessed. She hoped to put on a good show for her Commander and make him see how much Akagi is worth to him.

The red fox heard a bellowing roar as she turned her head to witness Graf Zeppelin launched her air group into the sky. Her monstrous rigging helped manifest the countless Iron Blood manufactured aircraft, Me-115, and JU-87 'Stukas' made the bulk of her air group. Akagi had heard of Iron Blood's legendary dive bombers and would like to see if the tales of their skill was true for naval combat as it was on land. However, Akagi sensed that something was off.

Where were Taihou's planes?

Akagi slowly turned around, the rest of the Kido Butai also followed her eyes, then all their eyes widened at a ridiculous scene.

"Lieutenant-sama, please get off me," Taihou pleaded in discomfort.

"Nope," Said Maddy who was currently riding atop the phoenix's shoulder's, "Not until you let me fly one of your Zeros. I need to have my eyes in the skies"

"I can't launch them if you're on my shoulders," Taihou complained as she tried to keep her balance.

The back and forth between the two continued as the Kido Butai and Graf Zeppelin observed them, some were amused. Hiryuu, Zuikaku, and Shoukaku giggled at the sight while Souryuu, Kaga, and Graf Zeppelin were less than entertained. Akagi though was boiling mad at their behavior. The fox made a low, frustrated growl as she gripped the paper-like texture of one of her shuriken before throwing it towards Maddy.

The projectile found its target as it smacked Maddy square in the forehead, knocking the Lieutenant off Taihou's shoulder's. However, before the brunette could hit the water, the shuriken manifested itself into a Zero. The Lieutenant laughed in surprise as she found herself sitting in its cockpit, the plane itself seemingly flying on autopilot as it climbed up from the ocean's surface.

"WO-HOO!" Maddy excitedly exclaimed, her voice being picked up by the Zero's radio and was transmitted into Akagi's ear. Said fox twitched in discomfort at her voice, much to the entertainment of her fellow compatriots.

"Thanks Akagi, I'll be heading over to the exercise area," Maddy accelerated the throttle and sped off towards the massive formation of Axis aircraft, "Now, let's see what this baby can do."

Akagi's eyes tracked the plane her Lieutenant was on before its shape integrated with the rest of the airwings. Ever since she arrived that blabbering brunette had thrown Akagi's pride, respect, and expectation out of order. Akagi's ears twitch as she heard Taihou finally launch her own airwing. She turned around to find Taihou with a smug expression glued to her face. This caused Akagi's nine fox tails to slightly set themselves alight.

"Umm…Nee-sama. Please calm yourself," Kaga pleaded.

However, the fire only got worse as Taihou decided to taunt her senpai by wiggling her eyebrows in a smug manner. The 5th and 2nd carrier division moved in to cool down the tension before things got out of hand. Graf Zeppelin shook her head before turning away. However, internally the Iron Blood carrier was quite entertained.

Things went along much smoother on the Allied side of things. The Eagle Union and Royal Navy carriers all took their turns launching their aircraft. Illustrious and her sisters went first, their Seafangs and Swordfish took off from their decks with the disciplined elegance befitting of the Royal Navy. Then it was the Yorktown sisters' turn, F4F Wildcats, SBD Dauntlesses, and TBD Avengers all leapt from their flight decks. However, Enterprise had to hold part of her airwing back in reserve due to them carrying the special ordnance. Not like it mattered to the Grey Ghost, she felt her airwing was more than enough for side to score more.

Emile watched the entire launch from the shoulders of Hornet who offered to carry him. The Commander was slightly hesitant due to Hornet's bold appearance but was won over by her sister like insistence. She even let him wear her hat over his own cap. The carrier had no trouble launching her airwing thanks to Emile's light weight and small frame.

"Wow," Emile watched with the wonder of a child as the massive formation of allied aircraft dotted the clear blue skies.

"Pretty ain't it, little buddy," Hornet chimed to the passenger on her shoulders.

"I've only seen things like this in documentaries and simulations," Emile continued to stare in awe and giddy as he felt the vibrations in the air from the massive number of engines whirling, "But to see it in person is just… something else."

"Hahaha. Glad you're enjoying the show," Hornet chimed back, "Hopefully I get to show off my skills today."

"I'm sure you will Hornet," Emile spoke, "I want to see what kind of damage our combined airwing is capable of."

The Commander procured his pair of binoculars and pointed his eyes towards the designated targets. Mass production models of ships used by the Crimson Axis and Azur Lane. The models resembled the various ship forms of the kansen ranging from the small Mitsuki class destroyer models to the bigger Renown class battleship models. A couple of Atlanta class light cruiser models were thrown into the mix to add an extra bit of challenge due to their specialization in anti-air. There were even two Illustrious class models to provide a bit of fighter cover. Overall, there were about 60 mass production models that were to be sunk. Akashi would also be observing the action on her deck as she collected data from both Emile and Maddy's perspectives.

Emile could see the cloud of Crimson Axis aircraft approaching alongside the allied airwings. It looked as though the two groups were racing towards their targets. Emile watched along in awe, but his eye quickly caught an oddity within the Sakura formation. A Zero twisted and turned erratically, flying up and down the formation. Emile's eyes widened before facepalming as he could already guess who was flying the damn plane.

"You alright, buddy?" Hornet asked with concern.

"Yeah…yeah, I'm alright," Emile reassured her.

"Well okay," Hornet decided not to ask and instead report on her air group's actions. The allies collectively agreed to use their torpedo bombers on the first wave, "Torpedo 8 is moving into position for their attack runs."

"Enterprise, Torpedo-6, Avengers commencing attack run," The Grey Ghost announced over her radio.

"Yorktown, Torpedo-3, enemy ships in sight, beginning assault," Yorktown's gentle voice announced through the radio.

"Torpedo 3 and 6, my Seafangs are converging on your position, we shall follow you in and take some pressure off your approach," Victorious boomed confidently as she and her sisters coordinated their fighters to distract the intense flak and enemy air interceptors coming in.

"Assistance appreciated guys. Target approach," Hornet focused as she mentally guided her squadrons towards their target.

Enterprise also concentrated but had more control over her planes due to having less in the air. Her avengers lined up on an Atlanta model in order to make a hole within the AA defenses. The Grey Ghost inhaled as she commanded the squadron to release its torpedoes.

Emile shook with excitement as he saw the waterspouts from the impact. He practically jumped with joy on top of Hornet's shoulders as the rest of the torpedo bombers closed in. He couldn't help but breathlessly exclaim, "Wow, that was…"

"…AWESOME!" Maddy exclaimed as she dodged another burst of flak. She twisted and turned her Zero, straining the plane's wings from all the evasive maneuvering.

"What are you DOING, Lieutenant-sama!?" Akagi's distraught voice rang over Maddy's cockpit radio.

The carrier had been witnessing the uncomfortably tight maneuvers that her Lieutenant had been performing. She witnessed it all through the red shuriken she held firmly in her hand. The ghost like material transmitted images of Maddy's flight in her mind. And Akagi was not enjoying them. The Lieutenant was maneuvering her Zero like a maniac.

"Relax Akagi, I've played Ace Combat so flying a Zero should be easy," Akagi's shuriken glowed red with every syllable that left Maddy's mouth. The carrier let out a groan at her Lieutenant's nonchalant response.

"Oh shit, I've got fighters incoming. Talk to ya later Akagi," "Wait, Lieutenant-" Akagi was cut off as she witnessed Maddy dive her Zero nose first into a squadron of simulated enemy Spitfires. The fox's eyes twitched in frustration as she was being ignored. A couple of thoughts ran through Akagi's mind like, 'is she insane' and 'I can't believe I thought she would be my Commander.'

Then her ears twitched as they picked up the sound of condescending giggling coming from behind. Akagi turned around slowly with a comedically savage look on her face to see Taihou march up to her.

"What wrong senpai?" Taihou asked is a mocking tone, "A little overwhelmed by our Lieutenant's fire, hmmm?"

"Shut your mouth, you oversized chicken," Akagi fired back, "You should be concerned about our combat performance. Our oh so brave Lieutenant is disrupting our cohesion."

Taihou tapped her chin in bemusement as she saw an explosion go off near the fighting. A cheer erupted from Hiryuu, indicating that her aircraft had scored a critical hit on an enemy battleship model. Her dive bombers managed to break through thanks to Maddy's charge breaking an incoming pounce from a squadron of fighters. In fact, it seemed that Maddy wasn't going for any kills as she seldomly ever fire her Zero's weapons. Instead, she seemed to be deliberately putting herself in danger by encouraging enemy planes and flak to focus on her instead of the Kido Butai's bombers. The effect of this was astounding as some of Taihou's B7A 'Ryusei' squadrons managed to punch a hole into the Atlanta flak wall, allowing Graf Zeppelin's Stukas to break through and disable an Illustrious model. The same patterned followed with the Crane sister's attack run on an enemy battleship, flooding its hull with their torpedo bombers and cracking it open with several direct hits with their dive bombers.

"It doesn't seem like it to me senpai~" Taihou pointed out, "In fact, the Lieutenant seems to be doing us a brave service."

Akagi sighed into her hand as she heard her Lieutenant's boisterous voice roar from her shuriken. Maddy had scored her 2nd kill against a Spitfire while assisting one of Shoukaku's torpedo squadrons. The white crane sister was very thankful as she dooted her flute in delight. Akagi had to admit, Maddy's actions were very beneficial to her side's overall score.

"Still…" Akagi sighed. She hoped that Commander Emile had seen her group's actions. The fox imagined the cute little expressions her Commander would make as he looked in awe at Akagi's performance. Taihou also had a similar thought as well.

Until their thoughts were interrupted by Maddy.

"Now this is pod racing," They both heard Maddy exclaim.

They didn't know why but their faces both contorted inward in secondhand embarrassment.

Emile shivered ominously atop Hornet's shoulders.

"Something wrong again, little buddy?" Hornet asked.

"Oh yeah… sis definitely said something cringe," Emile wiggled in discomfort.

"Your sister? What'd she say?" Hornet asked, feeling left out.

"I don't know but she's doing a real good job flying. See that Zero flying strangely," Hornet squinted her green eyes in the direction of Emile's finger. Lo and behold, it was Maddy's Zero that was performing multiple high G turns while escorting both Axis and Allied bombers.

"Oh damn, that your sis, eh? Hehe… damn, she's quite the wild one," Hornet laughed, impressed by her Lieutenant's boldness.

"Yeah, Enterprise said she kind of resembles you," Said Emile while rolling his eyes as he thought about adding one more detail, "While drunk."

"Oh, did she now?" Hornet put her hands on her hips as she smirked at her silver haired sister.

Enterprise noticed this and shrugged, "It's true."

"Wow, real shade coming from both parties here. Haha," Hornet laughed, "Man, don't you just love family."

Emile laughed along with Hornet while observing a massive explosion erupt from the last floating enemy carrier. He could hear Illustrious giggle in the background as one of her Seafang's dealt the finishing blow. One of its 500 lb bombs tore through an elevator and detonated an ammo storage unit. Emile swore, Illustrious was hiding some serious power behind that grace and…softness. Emile shivered a bit.

He regained focus as the exercise was nearing its conclusion, the last remaining enemy vessels were being cleaned up by bombers which still had ammo. Akashi watch from her own deck as she recorded the necessary information in her datapad, Maddy circled her Zero overhead as she assessed the damage, and Emile peered through his binoculars while tallying the results.

As soon as he was done, he ordered everyone to regroup on Akashi's deck. However, Enterprise was to stay behind and prep her remaining planes.

Hornet leaped onto the metal deck of the repair ship with her Commander in tow. Emile tapped onto the blonde's shoulder for him to be let down. Hornet obliged but not before rubbing her own cheeks with his. Flustered, the small Commander struggled a bit in her grip before she let him go. He tried to hide his embarrassment under the hat Hornet let him wear. With a laugh Hornet snatched her hat back and guided Emile like a little brother to the assembly area.

As soon as the pair arrived, Emile was suddenly blindsided by a hug from Akagi, catching Hornet off guard as they waited for everyone to gather back on the deck, "Shikikan-sama, I hope you are satisfied with Akagi's results."

Emile tried to speak but found himself sandwiched between Akagi's relatively large breasts. His protests only came out as muffles, much to the enjoyment of Akagi. Even Hornet kind of got a kick out it before she made a move to remove her from her Commander. Luckily or unluckily, Taihou entered the scene and swiped Emile from Akagi, inserting him into her much larger bosom.

"I think the Commander will have found my performance quite stellar," Taihou teased both of them, much to the fiery ire of Akagi whose tails were once again alight.

"Hey, hey, calm down now," Hornet raised her hands to try and cool the scene down as the other carriers approached the commotion.

Luckily Taihou managed to restrain herself and let Emile go. The Commander gasped for air as Akagi and Taihou's scent lingered on his nose. He heard an 'ara ara~' sound from Shoukaku, and an 'Oh my' from Illustrious.

Emile did his best to regain his composure despite the heavy blush that still remained on his face, "Alright, now that I'm free, I'll announce the results."

Both teams leaned their ears in, eagerly anticipating who the winner of this little competition was. Emile took a step back as he noticed a couple of them lean a little too close to him.

"Back up, please," Emile asked. They obeyed and took a tiny step back.

"Okay, now for the results…umm…Hey Akashi, you collected the results from your end right," Emile tried to ask behind his shoulder. Akashi was there swiping her datapad, meowing along.

"Hai nya, I got everything down," Akashi confirmed.

"Alright. I just want to say, congratulations to Akagi's team with a lead of five ships sunk," Emile announced to the crowd.

A small round of cheers erupted from the Axis side as the carriers congratulated themselves on a job well done and reveled in anticipation for those victory drinks the Allies would have to buy. Azur Lane took their defeat in stride and gave their own congratulatory applause to the opposite side. Akagi's heart soared with pride at her group's accomplishment. She could see in Emile's eyes that he was observing her reactions. From what she could interpret from his smile, he was very impressed. Akagi bowed her head respectfully towards her Commander, the other Sakura carriers followed their senior's actions. Even Graf Zeppelin gave her Commander the standard Iron Blood salute.

Emile smiled at the festivities before his face slowly turned serious. He grabbed his radio and found Maddy's frequency, "You got a good view?"

"Yep," Maddy spoke with an uncharacteristically serious tone.

"Everyone, may I turn your attention to the starboard side of the ship," The carriers on the deck turned and moved towards the right side of the ship. Everyone was a little curious to what was going on as sister ship duos murmured with each other.

"Hey are those Siren ships?" Hornet caught everyone's attention as black shapes appeared along the horizon.

Two Siren battleships appeared, their jagged bows cutting across the water parallel to Akashi's ship. A perfect position for a broadside. The carriers prepared for battle, their riggings summoned and ready to launch their aircraft at a moment's notice. However, their panic was stopped as Emile voice ordered them to stand down.

"Relax everyone, their just fakes," Emile assured everyone.

"Fakes? You sure?" Zuikaku asked with worry.

"Positive nya~" Akashi mewled as she showed her datapad to the crowd. Everyone sighed in relief as the screen showed that the 'Siren' ships were actually just mass-productions models designed to look like Siren ships.

"We tried our best to imitate the armor, weapons, and displacement but it's nothing compared to what the black cube could make nya" Akashi explained, easing everyone's fears.

"Wait, what's this all about?" Hornet asked.

"And Where's Enterprise?" Yorktown added.

"You'll see in just a moment," Emile addressed their concerns before walking up to Akagi. The fox smiled as he approached, wondering what he required of her.

He twiddled his thumbs before asking with a hint of shyness in his voice, "Since you won… may I sit on your shoulders."

"No need to ask," Akagi immediately lifted Emile off the ground and over her head, letting his small legs dangle off her shoulders. Taihou watched along with jealousy but didn't complain, she was still his secretary and if this is what his Commander then so be it.

A small sweat droplet fell off of Emile's face as he took out his binoculars. Maddy circled overhead, Akashi looked over the stats of the target, the crowd waited in anticipation. Enterprise let loose her bow, launching her aircraft.

Maddy did not like this one bit. Kesselring had always been a secretive individual within the higher circles of Command. She wasn't surprised that she was developing secret weapons, she was just worried about the kind of weapons her demented imagination could come up with. Emile had already told her about the nuclear shells concept and that only reinforced Maddy's theory about Kesselring being a secret Belkan. However, no matter how dangerous she thought Kesselring was, she was still an asset to Azur Lane. Plus, she did get her brother the position of Commander for Azur Lane by pulling a few strings at the academy, so Maddy was a bit thankful for that. Although, the elder sister still did not know the reason why Kesselring didn't elevate her alongside Emile. Maddy had to claw her way into her Lieutenant rank but it wasn't without difficulty. Trying to navigate the disgustingly labyrinthine bureaucracy of Azur Lane's hard enough, convincing the old farts in charge was a whole other story. They only let her go along with Emile just to protect him, from the ship girls and Kesselring's plans.

And these new weapons are probably part of it, Maddy spoke in her head as she circled her Zero over the two battleships. Since she was flying Akagi's Zero, it also allowed the carrier to observe things from above as well. The fox was just as curious as to the merits of these new weapons that she had heard about while overhearing a conversation yesterday from her little Commander. Like many other girls on the Naval Base, few knew of Kesselring's existence and even then, it was only surface details. Akagi was one of the few who knew Kesselring was an admiral from Iron Blood, but what she didn't know was her intentions or connection to her Commander. The fox and Lieutenant wanted to know more. However, they could do now was watch as Enterprise's Avengers made their torpedo runs on the rearmost ship.

Enterprise inhaled as she commanded her Avengers let dropped their ordnance. Four green tipped torpedoes plunged into the water and streaked towards their intended target.

All four found their mark.

Everyone gasped as they saw four green painted plumes of water rose into the air. From above, Maddy saw how the impacts painted the ocean around the battleship a sickly foam green. The color reminded her of a chemical spill. Then she noticed something else odd happening to the water. It started to bubble.

"Hey Em, you see the ocean boiling?" Maddy radioed her brother.

"Yeah…I do," Emile responded as he stared through his binoculars. Thick steam had taken form over the sickly green water as it bubbled along. The ocean was boiling over.

"Nyaah! What is happening to the temperature," Akashi panicked as her datapad showed that the ocean temperature around the stricken ship had risen rapidly, peaking at over two hundred degrees Celsius.

But that wasn't all, Maddy noticed that the water that had sprayed on the deck from the impact was starting to eat holes through the hull. The ship's belt near the waterline was beginning to dissolve like sugar. Maddy watched in horror as the ship's superstructure began to twist and turn unnaturally from being weakened by this 'acid' water. The plumes from before had sprayed all over the ship's deck and into the holes created by the torpedo impact. The metal twisted, turned, creaked, and ached as the ocean around it ate the ship alive. Everyone, from Enterprise to Akagi, watched as the melted Siren imitation dissolved into the ocean, making a sickly sound as the last of its molecules were broken down.

Emile slowly lowered his binoculars, resting them on Akagi's head. He wore an expression of disgust, "Gross."

"Shikikan…" Akagi spoke, still reeling in the effects the weapon had on ships, "…what kind of weapons was that?"

"Acid torpedoes," Emile stated.

"Nani?" responded Akagi.

"It was a thought concept from a special higher up," Emile answered to the confusion of the carrier he mounted, "Hey Akashi, did you record the data?"

The cat silently nodded.

"Alright…" Emile grabbed his radio again, "Enterprise, please target the last ship with your dive bombers."

Enterprise snapped out of her daze from the handiwork her Torpedo bombers had done. Just what were those torpedoes? The thought echoed through her mind as she drew her bow. Someone had to have one strange imagination for coming up with such a weapon and a mind of a mad genius for making it work, but who? Enterprise wondered as she released the string, manifesting a squadron of four SBD Dauntlesses carrying the blue tipped payload. The planes streaked towards their targets as everyone watched with unease.

Maddy continued to circle above as she watched the ocean continue to boil green. The other ship managed to sail out of the area where the ocean bubbled.

"Damn, that is so not good for the environment," Maddy joked under her breath as it looked like the green patch was far from dissipating.

Maddy jumped as she heard her radio come to life with her brother's voice, "Hey sis, I suggest you fly a little farther away from this one."

"Okay…" Maddy obliged, swinging her Zero in the other direction, away from the definitely doomed vessel she observed.

The SBDs began to line up for their attack runs. Enterprise guided them to their target as the first one began its steep dive. Then it released the blue tipped bomb before pulling up.

Maddy had just arrived at a position where she thought she would be safe enough from the seeming danger. She turned her head back to observe the attack run before a blue glare consumed her vision, forcing her to shield her eyes with her arm. Then a second glare. Then a third and fourth. It took a while for her to lower her arm as the glare's intensity had died down enough to be tolerable. When she uncovered her eyes, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Four blue bubbles pulsated where the bombs had impacted, each had a glowing white nucleus which sparked in all directions like a tesla coil. However, it wasn't the orbs that caught Maddy's eye was what they had done to the ship. Each place where a bomb impacted simply disappeared, disintegrated. Part of the ship's superstructure and deck was simply gone, the remaining structure molded to touch the borders of the pulsating orbs. Then the bubbles began to expand, eating the remaining superstructure and vaporizing the rest of the hull.

Everyone on Akashi's deck observed as the blue bubbles continued expanding like dying stars, eating everything in their way from metal to water. Their mouths agape as they saw small waves form from the amount of wind these orbs were generating. That was until they suddenly fizzled out of existence, leaving nothing behind. The target ship was completely gone.

Emile lowered his binoculars slowly again before hopping off the stunned Akagi's shoulders.

He walked up to Akashi, "Readings?"

A wide-eyed Akashi looked back and forth between the horizon and her datapad before answering, "Both ships are gone nya…"

Emile sighed, "The Matter Disintegration Bomb works, I guess…a little too well."

As Emile talked with Akashi about the results, murmurs ranged throughout the crowd of carriers. All of them related to what they had just witnessed, nearly everyone talked with a concerned tone. Akagi just stood there as she processed the results of the tests in her mind. These weapons took out two battleships in the most spectacular and brutal fashion. Who knows what they could do to actual Siren models? However, her thoughts were redirected as Maddy's Zero began to fly back to her location.

Taihou shook her head as she watched the entire spectacle. Just what kind of madwoman was Kesselring, she thought? She would have to keep an even closer eye on her Commander if this is evidence for how dangerous the mysterious admiral was. Little did Taihou know, Akagi had the same thoughts running through her mind. She wanted to see who was pulling the strings behind her Commander's curtains.

Meanwhile, Graf Zeppelin continued staring at the place where the two enemy battleships met their fate. She sighed and shook her head.

"Kesselring," the Iron Blood carrier muttered.

It was late in the evening. Emile and Akashi had managed to compile the data they collected into a sizable stack of documents. All of them were sent off to High Command and Admiral Kesselring via Akashi's mailing service. However, Kesselring was quickly emailed the abstract of the results. Her reply was quick.

Thank you for the data, Emile. I look forward to the day where we can put these new toys to use. ;)

Emile groaned as he read the email on his laptop. Kesselring had a special way of making him uncomfortable. He really wanted to sleep but the paperwork was quite the hassle plus he was feeling a bit anxious.

Not because Taihou had decided to stay with him over the night in his office to help with the paperwork and to cure any lingering loneliness. She offered her body to act as a soft chair cushion. Emile had to agree as Taihou had already taken his chair. He found himself sitting in Taihou's lap while his head was smushed between the carrier's voluptuous breasts whenever he tried to lean back. Luckily Taihou fell asleep before she could do anything weird to him. Plus, his sister was also in the room with them. No, he wasn't worried, Maddy was already passed out in the corner, but he could scream to wake her up. So, he had a bit of protection.

No, he was waiting for Essex's report on the situation with the Suez Canal. He had sent them to recon the Siren presence in the area. However, that was a few days ago when he first received the reports from Kesselring. He wondered what was going on and why High Command didn't immediately scramble him to the Suez? He hoped Essex and her fleet were okay.

Sleepiness began to overtake him, his eyelids ever so slowly drifted downward.

Until he heard his inbox go off. It was Essex.

Sorry for the late report, we were caught up in a mirror sea. We had no contact with any hostile Siren forces, but the sea just kept looping us in circles. Couldn't really get close to the Canal, there's a thick fog that keeps spewing us back out whenever we enter. However, one of my recon planes managed to grab a photo before it was shot down. Looks like some kind of structure being built near the mouth of the Canal. We're heading back to port now, see you soon.

Emile sighed quietly in relief. He leaned back and covered himself and Taihou in a blanket he had on his lap. Emile them turned to his side and placed his head on one of Taihou's soft breasts. It was a good thing they were so big, they made wonderful pillows. Emile heard a sleepy giggle from Taihou before he closed his eyes.

A/N: I don't know what those things that Akagi and Kaga throw are called. I'll just call them shurikens for now.