Not much to be said other than this is the next chapter. Enjoy.


Gabriel stared at the locked door once more with a revolver in hand. The last time he tried to open it, the vision had ended. This time, it didn't seem to end as he raised the gun towards the lock with the trigger ready to be pulled. Exhaling slowly, he fired the gun with the recoil forcing his hand upwards a small amount. The round smashed into the lock and broke it completely.

"Alright, what's behind that door?"

The Admiral walked forwards with his revolver still gripped tightly. He had no clue what was on the other side of the door so it was best to play it safe. Pushing the door open, a bright light blinded him so suddenly where he had to cover his eyes on reflex. Only when the light dimmed that he was able to open his eyes to see the truth. What he did see both confused him and shocked him.

Two graves with cross shaped headstones were on display. The ground they were placed had recently been disturbed like someone had just been buried. Except, one of the graves had all the dirt thrown everywhere with a large pile formed to the side. Gabriel heard a whirring sound of propellers before the sudden smashing of metal brought him to turn around.

His whole scenery changed to a dark night covering a coastland of sorts. The Admiral didn't know where he was suddenly but a bright light in the sky caught his attention. The orange fire moving slowly in his direction before flying above him and slamming into the ground. The sound of screeching metal filled his ears before it came to a stop a few seconds later. What was he seeing in front of him out of a sudden?

As much as he wanted to see more, the vision suddenly ended when the sight of his ceiling came into view. Gabriel exhaled a held breath with sweat forming on his forehead. The warm covers snugly held him along with the body heat of someone else in his bed. Looking over, he found Eugen snoozing with body flush with his. The darkness still enveloped the room with no source of light in sight.

"Was that a dream?"

Gabriel just stared at the ceiling with his thoughts wandering about everything he just saw. An open grave with something smashing into the ground. It looked like a fireball of sorts but he heard propellers and metal. A plane? What was a plane doing out in the middle of darkness and suddenly crashing? Was it transporting something?

He tried to go back to sleep but after thirty minutes of his eyes shutting, sleep would not come to him. Sighing, the man got up from the bed and decided to do something to get himself tired. The first that came to mind was the mail. Even on slow days, there were always letters from various officers or even High Command themselves. Maybe there was something for him to look at since he had mostly ignored the mail and left it to his secretaries.

Gabriel went over to his small desk located in a separate room of his house. If the office was too much, he liked to come over to his small work room to handle paperwork in the comfort of home. He switched on a small lamp on the desk and noticed several unopened letters right away. Most of these had to be requests for reinforcements or some permission to 'borrow' a few shipgirls for a period of time. Despite giving half of the shipgirls to the various nations as an insurance, they still wanted more?

"Denied….Denied….Transfer?" A brow raised itself at one letter standing out of the bunch. This was a new request that came straight from the fortress at the Panama Canal. Who would be requesting a transfer when that was a necessary structure for trade? Maybe they simply wanted to rotate their shipgirls around so they weren't bored keeping guard.

He knew of the defenders were mainly Eagle Union shipgirls with a few Essex-class carriers as the strong arm. There also had to be some light and heavy cruisers to be the main fighting force. Looking at the letter closer, it read:

Dear Admiral,

I'm making a direct transfer request for a couple of shipgirls. Specifically, I'm transferring over Intrepid and Reno to you since High Command is sending additional resources to the fortress. With permission, it would be a great rise of morale if you could send Enterprise and Cleveland to us. Those two have a reputation and it would really help the troops if they got to see legendary figures like them in person. Feel free to deny the request if you need them more but it would be very helpful sir.

Regards,

Commander Adams.

Gabriel pondered on the request as he tapped his fingers on the desk lightly. He didn't want to wake Eugen up since she could get very cranky if she didn't get rest. Then again, wouldn't anyone get a bit angry if they lacked sleep? He shook his head and grabbed a nearby pen to sign the bottom of the paper. After that, a stamp slammed into the paper with the residue leaving a red 'Approved' on the letter.

The rest of the letters were nonsense and were disposed of immediately. That didn't take as long as Gabriel hoped, but it did get his mind off the dream. Two more shipgirls were being transferred over here and two of his own shipgirls were going to be gone for a bit. Especially with Enterprise gone, he needed to help Ash get over her own issues. Ember would come next but he had a sneaking suspicion that it wouldn't be so easy with her.

The light shut off as the officer made his way back to bed with his mind juggling the various thoughts. Maybe he could sleep the rest of the night without any issue. Hopefully, God be with him, that he helps Ash in any way.


The following morning came and went with the usual breakfast and mandatory chores before office work. Once in the office, Gabriel had gotten to any paperwork that needed to be filled out immediately. Rossiya should be coming around to do her secretary duties very soon but he hoped that Ash would show up instead. At least, for a small-time before the Russian battleship arrived.

"Admiral."

Gabriel looked to see Ash standing at the doorway. The line that was her lips lacking any expression and her eyes being void. Without any formal permission, she entered the office and stood on the opposing side.

A light smile graced the Admiral's face. He put down the pen and rested his back against the comfortable chair, "Good morning."

"Good….morning." The woman's mouth barely uttered the simple phrase like a vice prevented her throat from saying the words. Her eyebrows furrowed shortly afterward, "You asked to see me?"

Gabriel looked at the nearby clock to see the large arm halfway through and the smallest arm barely about to reach the tenth mark. Given the main workload was later in the morning, this gave him some time. "Yes, I want to help you out like you asked me last time."

"Then...please show me how."

"We'll have to change that look of yours first."

The woman looked at her attire with confusion as to what the man had said. What was wrong with how she looked? It made her stand out compared to her counterpart and it was a grim reminder of her past. Was there something wrong about that? Maybe the fact she hadn't changed it for days...months...years? If it smelled, Ash didn't notice.

Her arm felt a tug before she turned to see Gabriel gently pulling her out of the office. The carrier followed with more questions rising as to what he had planned for her. The passing doors of the administration building empty of any shipgirls for the moment but would be bustling with life once winter had left. Still, the Sirens weren't the type to be hampered by weather conditions.

Their journey took them out of the building and towards the Eagle Union forms. Oddly, the Admiral veered off the path and towards the side entrance rather than the front. Ash continued to follow without raising a word as the two entered through a side door. The hallways were clear as he took her along to the rear of the building. The end of the hallway held a door to which the man opened right away. No knock to see if anyone is inside nor any hesitation out of politeness.

To Ash's surprise, the room was empty with a bed resting near a large window. The curtains were wide open with sunlight exploding through. Simple furniture lined the walls with a mirror neatly attached to the door. A closet was slightly open with multiple white shirts hanging properly followed with several black ties hooked on a hanger. Lastly, a bathroom door was placed on the leftmost wall.

But what was the meaning of it all? Wasn't this her room?

"Ash, close your eyes please," Gabriel said with warmth. The carrier looked for any motive as to why he ordered her to close her eyes. Any clue to what he was about to do next within those brown eyes of his. But, there was none.

Ash closed her eyes as requested. Her nerves tensed with thoughts of the man possibly trying to kiss her of all things. Her brain quickly rejected that thought as that wouldn't explain why she was in Enterprise's room of all things. Speaking of which, where was her counterpart? Out on patrols?

Snip

The woman's violet eyes opened to see a chunk of hair falling to the floor. A bundle of strands that went between her face now laid on the floor. Looking towards the Admiral once more, she only found him with a small smile. Was this a step out of her grief?

"That's a bit better isn't it?" he commented. Gabriel moved over to the closest to gather some things and to avoid showing the carrier a growing blush. While this wasn't the first time he has been in a shipgirl's room, this was the first time he was going through their closet. The hairs on his neck raised in anticipation of a certain destroyer walking in and finding him in a bad position.

"I don't understand," Ash stated. The lack of strands gave a full view of her face instead of obscuring it. How long had she let that lay there while the rest of her hair stayed the same if not become more wild? She looked like her.

"Baby steps. Nobody gets over their issues quickly." Gabriel had a bundle of clothes in his hands, presented towards the fallen carrier. It had to be a full set of attire from Enterprise due to the familiar black skirt and sleeveless white shirt. "I don't mean to be rude, but when was the last time you took a shower?"

She didn't answer but she took the clothing without any hesitation. Without words, she turned towards the bathroom but stopped at the doorway. Her head turned slightly towards him with her voice having a low tone, "How long did it take you to get over your brothers?"

The smile left his face. Taking a seat on Enterprise's bed, Gabriel answered with his eyes aimed towards the floor, "Years...It still bothers me despite the fact. I keep myself busy to forget but I can't ignore my own problems."

"You were close…"

"I was…" His lips felt heavy, dropping downwards with one hand clenched tightly. "I guess I wouldn't be here if they were gone. Still doesn't excuse their passing no matter what I do."

Ash proceeded into the restroom to take Gabriel's advice wholeheartedly. Meanwhile, the man himself got up and left the room so he could get back to the office. He didn't want to be late even though he would have loved to stay there and just talk with Ash. Trying to find that small spark left in her and ignite it back to her former self.

She just needed time…

The trip back was mostly uneventful with some of the girls passing by to wave him hello before proceeding to their duties. Some, like Bogue, asked if he wanted to join them in some activities. Too bad he had to deny them since he had paperwork to do although an idea did come to mind. One particular action that lay in his closet back at the office. Gabriel wasn't sure how many of the girls were familiar with his particular hobby.

Once back at the office, he looked towards the clock to find he had five minutes left before Rossiya should arrive. Gabriel turned towards the nearby radio and began to fiddle with the tuning before stopping onto a particular station. Right away, music poured into the office with a punchy percussion followed by the low brass instruments. He would have begun bobbing his head rhythmically to the music if it hadn't been for the door opening.

"Comrade Admiral, what kind of noise are you playing?" There in all her glory was the mighty Russian battleship herself. Her crimson eyes looked towards the radio behind the man with furrowed brows. She then turned towards him for some sort of explanation.

"It's music, Rossiya. Have you never heard of it?" Gabriel replied while tuning the volume down.

It didn't seem to satisfy the shipgirl. "I know what music is but this form is alien to me. What kind of nonsense is even being played?"

He rolled his eyes at her answer. It looked like the Northern Parliament might have been a bit strict on what was allowed to be played. Considering the stories he had heard from Avrora, Gabriel assumed most forms of music were practically nonexistent in Russia's homeland.

"It's called swing. Another term for it is party music." He finally stated.

"What use could you have of this music when there is work to be had?" Rossiya questioned

"Puts me in a positive mood?" Gabriel answered back with a raised brow. Was it bothering the battleship that he enjoyed listening to something to put him in a good mindset?

"...very well." The Russian woman muttered under her breath, "Just don't let it distract you from the most important matters at hand. If we are to defeat our enemy, we must maximize our efficiency. It is our parliamentary values to do our best every second of the day."

She stood tall with her back straight and one hand placed on her bosom like some sort of salute. Gabriel just stared at her with a deadpan expression since he had heard similar remarks from many of the other girls. She didn't think he was getting lazy now was she? Only a few days here and the battleship seemed to be taking charge already.

"Let's get to work then." He stated with a shrug. Turning towards the small pile of paper, he grabbed the top most piece before beginning to scan the contents. A pen armed his right hand while the left held the victim in place to its inevitable demise.

Although, his mind would get distracted once more with the sound of Rossiya's voice. "Chapayev has told me everything about your conversation with her. I find it fascinating that a man focused on the arts became a leader of humanity's only hope. You would be a wonderful hero to the people of the Northern Parliament."

"How so?" He responded without pulling his eyes from the papers.

A smile full of mirth found itself on her face but he did not see it. "Our revolution held the values that all individuals seized their own destiny and are rewarded for it. At the same time, we must do what is necessary for the greater good and for a man like yourself, you embody that spirit. A dancer who wanted revenge for his slain family members and rose to be a legendary figure."

"I wouldn't call myself that legendary. I only look at the bigger picture while the girls around the base do the actual work." Gabriel replied, "They should be the ones being revered, not me."

"Your modesty is a good value to have. But, is it not the role of a leader to keep the moral high and to outmaneuver their enemy? As important are the individuals here, your loss would be a detriment versus one of them."

"That would be true if I didn't know them all that well. I'm sure Chapayev told you that I view everyone here like a second family." Gabriel stated firmly as he stared at a particular piece of paper. "Um..Rossiya, I believe you made a small mistake."

The battleship took the paper away from him to inspect it. A light blush formed on her face shortly after she found the particular issue, "It seems I have...I'll amend it right away. Please don't tell anyone."

"Perfectionist?" he mused with a raised eyebrow

"Net. As the lead ship of the Northern Parliament, I simply have a lot of responsibility on my shoulders. There is no room for mistakes when the Sirens stood at our doorstep for years."

Gabriel's face scrunched with an air of caution washing over him. The Sirens were at the Northern Parliament's borders? How long did they position themselves there and how large of a force was standing by? If it was a base of operations, that only meant the Sirens could launch an attack at any moment without a warning.

"Are they still operational?" he asked

Rossiya shook her head to the relief of the man, "We launched a full assault around a year ago with heavy casualties. Many of our own died but we broke the fortress. Our victory was one step forward but the people had suffered so much."

"My condolences," Gabriel murmured with a bit of sadness hinted in his voice, "We should be trying to save as many lives as possible in both victories and defeats. The will of the people can be broken before the army's."

"That...we agree on." the battleship sighed, "Normally, we don't ask for the help of Azur Lane since our leaders believe we do not need assistance. This war has taught us that we cannot handle the Sirens on our own. That brings me, Chapayev, and Pamiat here."

"We'll help in any way we can. Humanity has to stick together." Gabriel responded back with a firm tone. One of confidence and assurance that what he said would go through.

"Spasibo, now then, there is much work to do. Da?"


Four hours had passed by before the Admiral called it a day with the paperwork. Despite Rossiya's missteps in the process, she didn't do too bad on the matter. Every small mistake seemed to either anger her or make her embarrassed over such minor errors. In a way, it was almost adorable to see her get so flustered over paperwork yet her battlefield experience was not lacking. He needed to ask how the Northern women were able to summon icicles out of thin air.

Walking down the path back towards the small communal town, Gabriel looked towards the Royal building that housed the ballroom. The music he played in the office had begun to make his itch fester to an unstoppable force. In one arm, he held a box while his other arm held several records to be played. With the keys stored safely in his pockets and a swing in his step, Gabriel made his way to the ballroom.

If there was one complaint he had when it came to the accommodations on base, it would be the lack of musical choice. The budget seemed to not give very much when it came to leisure in the musical department. All Gabriel had was records, the radio, and anything the other nations brought to the base. If he were back in the states, Gabriel would have all the selection of the world to go through. But for now, he'll settle with the records.

The sound of hollow wood impacting a metal surface caught his attention. Who was in the ballroom when it was supposed to be closed until further notice? Gabriel could only assume it would be one of the ladies in the Royal Navy who would have access.

Opening the unlocked double doors, the Admiral was surprised to see a familiar face within the room. One of the few self-proclaimed idols on base whose long pink hair looked as beautiful as silk. Her dress maintained a level of modesty for her position but also showing enough skin to catch any man's eye. What was she doing here if she wasn't part of the Royal Navy?

"Wow, you're so good at dancing big sister Lexington," a voice spoke out from the corner of the room. To Gabriel's left was Unicorn who seemed to marvel at the small little performance the Eagle carrier had done.

"Thank you." Lexington smiled warmly to the smaller carrier before her attention turned to the open doors. "Ah~ Admiral, what brings you to the ballroom?"

Closing the door, Gabriel set down the items held in his arms on a nearby chair, "I could ask the very same thing, Lexington. Shouldn't you be looking for Saratoga?"

"I lost track of her an hour ago and wondered if she was going to set some of her pranks in this place. Thankfully, I found none." Lexington then turned to Unicorn, "I was about to leave but little Unicorn found me here and begged me to show her some of my talent."

On cue, Unicorn hid behind her stuffed doll like a child being caught red handed, "I was just curious."

"Oh really now?" Gabrielle chuckled, "I used to dance when I was younger."

A sparkle gleaned in Lexington's eyes, "Oh? You used to be a dancer, Admiral? I thought men found dancing to be unmanly."

"Well," he scratched the back of his head while looking to the side, "I was different. If it weren't for the war, I would have been on Broadway."

"Does that explain why you have a series of records and a shoebox?" Lexington further questioned, having pierced through the thin defense the Admiral had put up.

Unicorn seemed to brighten in a sudden understanding at what the Eagle carrier was saying, "Can you show me, Papa?"

"Dammit...I was hoping it wouldn't come to this. Ugh, this is going to be so embarrassing." Gabrielle gave a defeated sigh. He had hoped to not have anyone else in the room so he could live the past for maybe an hour. At the same time, a feeling of nostalgia washed over him with how Unicorn looked eager to watch. It didn't help the fact she called him Papa either. "Alright, just let me change these shoes."

It would be a lie to say that Gabrielle didn't like the feeling of dance shoes on his feet. But the question was what he was going to display for the Royal light carrier. Something from a classic film was the first thing that came to mind. Searching through the various records, he found one in particular.

"So what are we going to show little Unicorn here?" Lexington asked while trying to see what record the man had placed in a nearby record player.

"Are you familiar with Singin' in the Rain?" Gabrielle responded with a veiled grin ready to break out from its constraints.

"1952?" Lexington smiled in return, "That was such a great film. Are we singing as well?"

"No…" he answered quickly.

Gabriel placed the record into the machine and placed the stylus on the disk. With a simple push of the button, the disk began to turn and the faint sound of music could be heard. A quick turn of one of the dials made the music come out louder. However, he frowned when he did not hear lyrics come out but the music was fine. Did the records become damaged somehow?

"Hm..it seems like we'll have to sing for the full experience." Lexington mused with a faint grin that Gabriel did not notice.

He looked back at her with a frown, "The last time I tried to sing was a drunken experience within my first year on base. In other words, I'm pretty terrible."

"But you know the words at least."

"I do know the words. I had to learn them during my time in theater." Gabriel smiled in embarrassment, "As much I hated the singing, I was one of the top dancers in my group so I had one of the lead roles."

He felt a tug on one of his legs who happened to come from Unicorn. Looking down at the small carrier, Gabriel noticed she was giving him the innocent child act once again. "Can you sing it, Papa? I never heard you sing."

"Unicorn...why are you putting me in these bad situations?" Gabriel wondered to himself but he agreed to it with a simple nod. Ever since he revealed his true name and opened up a bit more on his past, it seemed like everyone wanted to pry more of it out of him. Then again, it was a two way street since he wanted to know these women more in return.

Reaching towards the stylus, Gabriel moved it a bit so that the music began from the beginning. The sounds of an orchestra began to play with waves of nostalgia slamming into his heart. Memories of a previous life before the war where there wasn't the threat of a hostile force wanting to exterminate humanity for some ludicrous goal. Where nations mostly kept to themselves and life seemed to flourish without restraint. Although times were much better than how they were at the beginning of the war…

It may never return to where it once was.

Walking on her lonesome was the ever cheerful Hornet. She had heard from Baltimore that two of their fellows would be swapping with her sister and Cleveland. A strange occurrence since Enterprise was better off here and it should have been Hornet who was transferred. Then again, Enterprise was very famous so maybe Hornet just avoided a bullet.

"Huh, to think that I am the one staying here while my sis gets to go defend a fortress. I hope Gabe isn't playing favorites since sis is way stronger than me." Hornet looked towards the sky as she thought to herself. A grin revealed itself as she already was starting to nickname the Admiral when everyone still referred to him by rank. It was a nice nickname, so to speak. Maybe everyone was still getting used to the idea of calling him by his real name.

Hornet's attention soon turned towards the sound of music and some voices. She had forgotten what she came to town for and now her curiosity was rising. Hood wasn't having one of her waltz classes again, was she? The only time she did that was days in advance for the ball and Gabriel certainly didn't need help. He was a complete natural on the floor with Shoukaku back then. Too bad she didn't have a chance to dance with him since the Sakura carrier had dragged him off to do whatever. What did they do?

"W-wha? No, nono. That's a silly thought," Hornet shook her head at how ridiculous that was. Although, it did make her wonder what it would feel like to dance with the man. She did show him her formal dress that one time.

Shaking off the thoughts once more, Hornet proceeded towards the sound of music and saw the doors were unlocked. Not wanting to disturb who was performing, Hornet pushed one of the doors enough to show a sliver of the inside. With an opening, Hornet peeked to see Lexington and Gabriel doing some weird movement with their feet. Add that with the clacking noise and it only left the carrier more curious than before.

She saw Unicorn off to the side staring in awe of the two adults dancing to some tune. Hornet would have assumed it was a date if the light carrier had not been here. After all, there was a whole agreement that went around the base to share the man equally. No doubt every sailor would be envious of Gabriel for such a situation.

"Good morning to you~" Hornet heard the duo say in a tuneful manner. Her grin returned before she opened the door all the way.

"Hey! Looks like you two are enjoying yourselves." the carrier smiled brightly as everyone in the room focused on her.

Gabriel was the first to stop midstep with a bright blush on his face, "Hornet!? What brings you here?"

"Just walking around the base until I heard some music. You two are pretty good together."

"Thank you for the compliment, Hornet. I should go find Saratoga. Thank you for the experience, Admiral." Lexington replied, giving her quick goodbye before leaving the area quickly.

Once Lexington was fully out of the picture, Hornet chuckled while Gabriel gave her a small glare, "I thought one of my sisters would suit your fancy but I am completely wrong."

"It wasn't anything romantic." Gabriel answered back with his hands up, "I just wanted to dance on my lonesome but Lexington and Unicorn were here before me. I was just showing a little of what I can do."

"You were really good, Papa. Can you teach me?" Unicorn said, hope sparking in her eyes along with her tightly gripping U-chan. The small creature wiggling its little limbs in desperation to escape from the vice grip.

"Yeah, I can teach you what I know after I do my daily tasks." Gabrielle agreed, patting the light carrier on the head, "You better run along back to Illustrious before she begins to worry again."

When Unicorn had left back to the dorms, Gabriel went back towards the record player. He removed the stylus and took out the disk before going to another one. Hornet raised a brow, "You aren't going to head home, Gabe?"

"Gabe?" he chuckled at that name, "I haven't heard that nickname since I was a kid."

"Ah, well, it's easier to say," the Eagle carrier replied with a tilt of her stetson. "I'm sure the other girls will start to call you that once they come around to it."

"The Eagle Union girls will. I'm not so sure about the others."

Replacing the previous record, Gabrielle returned the stylus back on top as the sound of an orchestra filled the room. Unlike the previous one, it was much slower in rhythm and more like ballroom music.

Gabrielle looked to Hornet before offering his hand, "Would you care to join me."

Hornet recoiled in shock with her cheeks lighting a faint hue, "W-wha?! You're not hitting on me are you?"

"What?" Gabrielle gave her a look of confusion, "No, I just want to sharpen up my skills for the banquet."

"Oh...I forgot that was coming up within the next couple of weeks."

She took his hand as he put his other arm around her back. Gabrielle put her in a bit close but kept a few inches between them or someone was going to think it was something else. He took a step forward while the carrier took a step back. If it weren't for the fact neither of them wore any formal attire, this would have looked a bit cute to watch.

"Do you happen to know anything about Reno or Intrepid?" Gabrielle asked out of a sudden.

Hornet shrugged as the duo continued to go around the dance floor without any observers, "Not really. All I know is Intrepid is one of Essex's sisters and that's about it. I think Reno is one of Atlanta's little sisters."

"So I'm expecting Reno to be a little on the short side?" he mused with a chuckle

That got the carrier to grin again, "I wouldn't doubt it. Maybe Intrepid is like her sister in wanting to be as cool as my sis"

"To be fair, Enterprise is basically a legendary figure."

"Yeah." Hornet nodded before one of her earlier thoughts came back to her, "Hey, so why are you sending Enty and Cleve out. Wouldn't they be better sticking around here if the Sirens ever return?"

"It was a request," Gabrielle answered simply, twirling the woman once before resuming their waltz. "Some commander at the fortress wanted a temporary transfer for morale purposes. I'm sure we'll be fine. I still got you and some of the other carriers for air coverage."

He noticed the carrier's grin had reversed in a moment, "I'm not as good as my sister. She took on the entire Sakura fleet for some time while me and Yorktown were under the waters early in the war."

"That doesn't mean you're worth any less. Didn't your ship take multiple torpedos and hundreds of shells but still wouldn't sink?"

Hornet shifted her eyes away from the man, "Most of those torps were duds."

"You still did great at what you were capable of." Gabrielle retorted with a slight frown working its way on his face. "You saved my life just the other day. I'm not going to forget an action like that."

Hornet's demeanor seemed to warm a bit, "Does that mean I get free dinner?"

Gabrielle chuckled under his breath, "Do you even have to ask?"

Hornet's grin came back to life once more before it scrunched up for a moment. Gabrielle felt his food on top of hers before he gave an apologetic look, "Whoops, sorry."

"You owe me for that."

"Let me guess, dinner?"


Gabriel gave a yawn as he trudged his way back home, a happy belly making him a lot sleepier than normal. As much as he wouldn't mind cooking up a good dinner, still nowhere as good as KGV's, Oklahoma had made meatloaf for tonight's special at the canteen which he was not going to pass up. Pair that with a good beer and the Admiral was in good spirits but also stuffed as hell.

When he did get home, Gabriel was a bit surprised that Eugen was nowhere. Although, she often liked to stay and chat over some beers so she would come home in a bit. On the other hand, he found a sleeping Unicorn under the covers.

"I'm going to hear it from Illustrious" he faintly chuckled while hanging up his coat and hat. Swiftly, Gabriel changed out of his clothes and into some nightwear before going over his mail once more.

Nothing new had come in. A shame to be sure, but considering there weren't any conflicts at the very moment, a welcome one. Looking down at his revolver, Gabriel noted a faint light emanating from one of the insignias.

"I wonder if I will ever understand how to use this thing properly." Gabriel sighed, removing the holster and placing it on the nightstand. So much mystery to such a simple weapon but the insignias meant something, right?

Those thoughts he could save for his dreams. Dreams he quickly fell to once his head hit the pillow.


Hey guys, another chapter is up and there has been a whole flow of stuff on Azur Lane. From Fallen Wings being permanently added, I just need Carolina, to Crimson Echoes having a revamped rerun. So, I do want to preface that I don't plan to have too many new characters show up since the cast keeps getting larger and larger.

But we are another piece down and closer towards the end of the story. Thank you all for the support as it helps me continue this large work of mine.

Stay tuned for next chapter