Warm sunlight poured into Gabriel's office as the officer was busy with another large set of paperwork. The past couple of days had gone by quickly and his trip to England was fast approaching. No doubt Queen Elizabeth would be delighted to return home for a short time but that did leave the question on who would be in charge here? Enterprise and Cleveland were at the fortress by now so that did leave things a bit uncertain.

He could leave someone like Washington in charge or possibly North Carolina but those two had some weird quirks. Bismark was a possible contender but being the figurehead for the Ironblood must be keeping her busy. The same could be said for someone like Nagato or even...wait. Mikasa didn't have any mandatory duties as of right now, did she?

Gabriel pondered on the old battleship's position in the Sakura. She used to be in Nagato's position at one point but her outdated design led to her resignation. He never found her upset about that moment but instead, she was more than delighted. Either it was old age or finally being free of duties that she tried to act youthful.

"I'll have to talk to Mikasa about the matter. In the meantime, I better knock this paperwork out before the new girls come in." He mumbled. Scratching markings into the beast in front of him, taunting him with its numerical advantage. No matter how many of them fell, it always seemed they multiplied like rabbits.

"Admiral, I'm coming in." He heard from the door. On cue, the door swung open with Pamiat holding a large stack of papers. The stack was tall enough to hide her face with the top of her hat barely keeping reconnaissance.

"Do you need a little hand with that?" Gabriel asked as the light cruiser came towards him slowly. Due to her lack of sight, she carefully took each step as if she might bump into something.

"I am fine. Here you go." She set the stack down on his desk. Pamiat gave a triumphant smug until an audible crack echoed in the room. The woman's smug vanished in an instant as she hunched over with one of her hands traveling to her back. "OW! Not again!"

Gabriel put down his pen before rising to help the shipgirl. Judging by the way she hunched over and where one of her hands tried to nurse her back, the answer was clear. She hurt her back or it was her ship's old age finally acting up. "When was the last time you saw a chiropractor?"

"What's a chiropractor?"

He gave her half lidded eyes and a frown, "Lay down on the couch. I'll call Vestal over."

Pamiat didn't say anything in return while proceeding to her temporary rest. In the meantime, Gabriel gave a quick call for the repair boat to come to his office. The only problem was…

"What do you mean you have the day off?" He questioned before grumbling a little. "Alright, what do I need to do? I can't have a granny boat breaking her back."

"I heard that!" The light cruiser complained from the couch

Gabriel glanced back at the crippled woman before his answer came swiftly, "Admiral, I suggest you massage the area and try to watch how much force you implement. Do this until she can move without feeling the pain and I'll set up an appointment with her tomorrow."

He put down the phone after hearing what must be done. A light blush formed onto his cheeks with the thought of giving a woman a massage. Gabriel had never even participated in having a massage from any of the girls. He was offered at one point by some of the Sakura girls during a stressful month but he declined out of professionalism. Now he had to give a massage to a shipgirl.

Taking a deep breath and controlling his nerves, Gabriel turned to Pamiat. "Alright, it looks like I'm dealing with the problem myself."

"Treating a lady to a massage eh? Wait till Chapayev hears about this~" Despite the crippled hull, Pamiat still had her smirk.

"I'm only doing this because Vestal is out of the office."

In the hallway outside of the office walked two shipgirls that had traveled far to arrive on the base. One of them being known as Intrepid thanks to her signature cape that only the Essex-class sisters wore. The other would be assumed to be Reno although when compared to siblings, she was entirely different with her very short platinum hair. It would be easy to mistake Reno for another class of ship due to her contrast.

"Ah~, we're finally here." Reno began with her stretching her arms, the muscles needing to be woken up after a long trip. "I didn't think Bremerton would be so kind as to let me go in her place."

"Well, you've been begging Commander Adams to let you transfer and I think Bremerton was a bit annoyed by your daily whining," Intrepid replied with a side glance towards the light cruiser.

"I was not whining!"

"Sure you weren't. I fondly remember you mumbling in your sleep about the whole thing."

Reno's cheeks expanded with her lips pursed which only made Intrepid grin, "Do you know how long I've been waiting for a moment like this? I finally can meet the Admiral after everything my older sis has told me."

"Are you sure you haven't been listening to the radio all day and read too many comics to distort your view of him?" Intrepid questioned with a shake of her head. "He's one of the few officers that repelled the Sirens temporarily. He may not be as great as they say he is."

Before Reno could retort on that thought, both of them heard noises coming from the office door. An audible crack echoed once more followed up by a muffled yell. Intrepid narrowed her eyes and was ready to bust the door open until, "Mm~, could you do that again but a little lower?"

"Lower?" a male's voice asked.

Intrepid shot a glance towards Reno before returning to listening in on whoever was inside, "Yes, a little more force down there would make me feel really good right now."

Both shipgirls had their face blushing intensely with their imagination taking control of what was going on. Not wanting to hear anymore of this, Intrepid opened the door only to find Gabriel giving Pamiat a massage. He looked at them for a moment before it dawned on him they were the new arrivals.

"Oh, you two showed up." Gabriel commented, "I was just helping my secretary out after she hurt her back." He stood up before offering his hand, "Welcome to the base. My name is Admiral Gabriel Harper."

"USS Intrepid, sir." Intrepid gave a quick salute before shaking the offered hand. Her eyes glanced at her compatriot but only found her with giant stars replacing her sight. Reno was also visibly shaking which only made the Admiral worried.

Pamiat beat him to the question, "Is she normally like this?"

"Not really...this is a first."

Gabriel would suddenly find his hand grabbed suddenly and shook violently. For a moment, he swore he felt his whole body spasm out of his control like a doll being tossed around. From an outsider's perspective, it would remind one of a cartoon. Pamiat couldn't help but snicker at the misfortune of the officer.

"I'm so excited!" Reno beamed a blinding aura. "I get to meet the hero I have heard so much about!"

Gabriel looked towards Intrepid with a raised brow which the carrier answered, "Reno listens to the radio a lot. I don't know if you've been paying attention to the civilian broadcasts but she thinks you're a superhero or something, sir."

"I see...I guess I can be considered one but I really don't think I should get all that much credit. Most of the fleet here has done all the heavy lifting while I am just the brains of the operations." Gabriel turned to Reno with a small smile, "Tell me Reno, anything I should know about you compared to your sisters?"

At least it got the light cruiser to stop for a moment, "Oh, I am really good at shooting down aircraft like my big sisters. I mainly stick close to carriers like Intrepid so they have an easier time launching their fighters."

"No, he means anything about you personally, comrade." Pamiat reiterated with a smug glance. "Considering those torpedo bulges yours, you might be his favorite."

Gabriel blushed heavily in response but he had to admit that Pamiat wasn't wrong on her quick observation. Thankfully he could just focus on something else instead of Reno's large assets, "Pamiat, please. I'm not that much of a pervert."

The sun would have a run for its money with how much light was pouring out of the shipgirl, "My hero wants to know...about me? Is this a dream?"

"No, Reno. The Admiral is literally just asking you simple questions." Intrepid retorted. "Sorry about her, sir. She'll come around but she's a bit busy being star struck. Is there anything we can do for you in the meantime?"

He shrugged, "Well, considering the only combat we faced was a large mechanical serpent about a week ago, there hasn't been too much. Pamiat?"

"Nope, nothing mandatory has been scheduled."

"Very good." Gabriel gave a nod, "Reno, Intrepid, you two are dismissed."

Reno snapped out of her daydreaming and followed with a salute just as Intrepid gave hers before the duo left the office. Gabriel gave a groan of annoyance once he looked back at the piles of paper on his desk. It was going to take a while unless half of those papers were long-winded essays to make one simple point.

"Pamiat," he said cracking his knuckles, "Let's knock this out so we have the rest of the day off."

"Da, comrade."

The sound of someone knocking on the office door drew Gabriel's attention, "Come in."

The door opened with Tirpitz walking in. Pamiat furrowed her brows a bit but spoke no evil, instead, walking past the battleship. Gabriel normally would have asked what that was about but history had taught him the Ironblood and Northern Parliament once had a bloody stalemate. A stalemate that cost the Ironblood thousands of lives and losing all gained ground. At the same time, the Northern Parliament lost some of its naval forces on top of countless numbers of casualties. That could explain the icy tension between the two factions.

"Tirpitz." Gabriel sat down at his desk and motioned for the battleship to sit across from him

"The Northerners have treated you well so far?" Tirpitz asked, taking the offer and settling in the comfy chair

He gave a nod, "So far. Pamiat is a bit of an eccentric type for such an old boat and Rossiya is pretty strict. Chapayev is...something."

A brow rose to meet the results, "How so?"

"She reminds me of Eugen but I don't think I have a complete picture of what she is nor any of them. I've spent only a day with each of them."

Tirpitz hummed in acknowledgment, "You will be heading to England tomorrow, ja?"

"That is the plan." Gabriel confirmed as he looked towards some leftover sheets of paper on the desk. "Belfast is already planning the security measures."

"Good, she is very capable." Tirpitz let her breath release that was bound tightly, "For as much as we Ironbloods mock the many light cruisers the Royal Navy has, they prove themselves quite well."

"They are something." A flick of the wrist slew the dotted line, "I trust they will keep me safe if the Sirens decide to show up again."

"Possibly, but the Sirens like to use alternate methods of attack. They might try something else if they seek to destroy you." Tirpitz pondered on the possibilities. The Sirens could do almost anything with their advanced technology and it showed with the Ironblood.

The tip of the pen stopped mid-stroke, "Like what? More corrupted versions of those we know? Some sort of futuristic soldiers brainwashed to do their bidding? Drag a commander from another timeline?"

Tirpitz didn't respond but her eyes spoke for her. Gabriel grimaced at her piercing gaze and considered that all three could be possible. Days ago, he almost got killed by an oversized rigging from the future but Ash saved him at that time. What would happen if someone else came from the future to murder him?

"Take great caution, Admiral. We have no intelligence on what the Sirens plan next nor do they know what we are planning either." Tirpitz changed her tone right away, "But, there is another matter I want to discuss with you.

"What is that?" Gabriel asked, curiosity brimming in the moment.

Tirpitz took off her naval cap and answered, "We are developing the next generation of prototype ships to fight the Sirens. Hopefully, you'll get to meet them when you travel to my homeland."

"I don't think I've ever been there." Gabriel indeed had never gone to the Ironblood's homeland. He had heard of some of its history being the source of their pride. A history that often got them in conflicts with some of its neighbors, including the Iris Orthodoxy. "I would love to visit."

A smile graced the battleship's face before she stood up, "I'll inform you once I make those preparations." With that, she donned her hat and left the room.

"I look forward to it." The stroke resumed and another sheet laid amongst its compatriots. Afterward, the Admiral got up and left the office to punch out for the day.


Gabriel was back at the two gravestones from his previous vision but something felt amiss. The stone that held the empty grave was overshadowed by a dark aura while the other contrasted with bright light. The grass sided amongst the darkness turned lavender and spiked liked lances charging into enemy formations. The grass on the light turned orange and flared in revolt with darkness slowly approaching the battle lines.

"Harper…." A ghastly whisper rose from the darkness followed by a silhouette coming from the shadows. The shape of a man formed with the darkness slowly unraveling itself as the being got closer.

"Who are you?" Gabriel reached for his weapon but did not feel it on his hip.

The man broke from the shadows only to greet Gabriel but hiding himself under a cloak. His face was covered in pitch black hollowness and all he could hear was the shallow breathing. The man suddenly raised one of his hidden arms with a gun firmly held in a gloved hand. Gabriel's instincts told him to move but his legs would not respond. It felt like hands held his legs in place with his executioner taking aim right at him.

The breathing raised in pitch before the concussive sound of the gun rang out.


Gabriel woke to spot the ceiling towering over him and the rapid breathing of his own. The sweat of his brow was one of the first things he felt beside his nerves beginning to calm. Eugen was not sleeping beside him this time around due to some night time commissions as the officer looked on in the darkened room. Thin strips of light squeezed through the windows but did not enlighten the room by much.

What was that dream? It was just as confusing as the last one but more importantly, who was that person that called his name? His last name for that manner. He needed to clear his head before he let these dreams get to him.

"A little fresh air is in order." Gabriel muttered to himself. He rose from his bed and proceeded to get dressed into something casual but comfortable. Leaving his personal home to feel the cool night brush over his skin. Nights like these were amazing to stroll around and the stars littering the sky above him were dazzling.

Gabriel began to walk down one of the dirt paths with his mind focusing back on the dream. One side of grass became fiery and alive while the other became deathly sharp. It was like one of those stories Enterprise talked about in terms of mental cubes? She described it like hollow darkness trying to eat at her but she prevailed against it. Maybe Ash would have better insight as to what Gabriel's dream could be.

"Still doesn't explain who was in that dream. Hope that it's some sort of Siren trick," Gabriel uttered under his breath while rubbing his temples. He really hoped this was just his brain overreacting to being exposed to Wisdom Cube energy for the past month. If that was the case, he was going to need a psychiatrist to be sure he wasn't going insane.

A silhouette coming into view made him lose sight of his thoughts. Who else would be out tonight? The only ones who should be awake were the commission teams. Unless there was one of the girls who also had trouble sleeping for any number of reasons. Wanting to find out who that might be, Gabriel got closer.

With the moon and starlight, he was able to make out Intrepid's purple twin tails from several meters away. She was sitting upon the drowsy grass away from the dirt path and with her head looking upwards.

"Intrepid?" Gabrielle called out

The carrier looked his way suddenly and jerked as if she was caught red-handed. She tried to rise to address Gabriel directly but her sudden movements made her trip over herself and eat a face full of dirt. After a couple of moments of grumbling, she stood up and saluted.

"S-Sir?! I wasn't expecting you out this late," Her eyes looked away momentarily with her other fist closing tightly.

Gabriel waved off the salute and held his hands behind his back like officers of an old era. "Couldn't sleep, what about you?"

Intrepid visibly relaxed with her fist loosening and her shoulders falling from its stiff posture. "Me? I'm just burning the midnight oil by stargazing."

"Stargazing?"

"Yes sir, it's a habit I've had." The carrier looked back at the sparkling masses of gas with her lips curving upward, "It's really peaceful. Keeps my mind at ease when something's bothering me."

"Is it? Do you mind if I join you? I have a lot on my mind as of late," Gabriel mentioned while also gazing at the lights among the sky.

"You don't have to ask me, sir. I appreciate someone joining me since none of the other girls can stay awake. Not even Reno."

The Admiral gave a curt nod before taking a seat on the grass with Intrepid following suit. The cool grass beneath was refreshing and the lack of noise made it more enjoyable.

"You know, there are billions of stars out there. We can only see so many of them what we are seeing is technically light from thousands, possibly millions, of years ago." Intrepid stated, pointing towards a group of stars, "There are constellations like Orion that can be viewed in different parts of the world."

That information was very insightful and it reminded Gabriel of a school teacher lecturing, "You know a lot more than I ever will. What got you so interested in astronomy in the first place?"

The carrier's lips tightened a bit and she forcefully put a smile on, "Well, I am the unluckiest Essex-Class carrier. I was sent to the dry dock for repairs pretty often."

"So you spent a lot of time with nothing to do while your ship was being repaired?" Gabriel guessed based on the current knowledge.

Intrepid nodded, turning towards the stars once more. "Yes sir, with so much time-wasting away for repairs, I began to stay up late out of boredom. From boredom, I began to get curious about stars and stuff. After that, I asked anyone around the dry dock about what they knew and before you know it, I was reading books about the stuff."

"At least you found your passion despite how tedious it must be to get repairs," Gabriel replied

"I also carried a space shuttle."

Gabriel's eyes widened with his body going stiff for a moment, "Wait, you carried a space shuttle once?"

Intrepid nodded vigorously, a more natural grin on her face. "Oh yeah, I carried one. My sisters can tease me about being nicknamed 'Decrepit' but I have the last laugh. But that's enough about me, what's been keeping you up?"

Gabriel thought back on his dream but wondered if he should even tell his subordinates about it. He hardly understood what it could mean, what use would it be to tell them? At best, it was an omen of some sort. At worst, it was just a random dream going through his head. It was probably best to not tell anyone until he thought about it more. "I guess I'm looking forward to seeing Great Britain for myself."

Intrepid raised a brow, "You're leaving tomorrow? How long will you be gone, sir?"

"A week at most. It was Sheffield's idea, but with the recent attacks, I'm basically having a massive escort at all times." Gabriel wondered about what he would do in another country. Queen Elizabeth would probably have a long list of activities for him to participate in, most of that work thanks to the maids. Speaking of which, could it be that Sheffield suggested visiting England of her own volition or by Elizabeth's order? There was still that agreement that he was tossed into.

"Hm, sounds fun. Do you need any carrier support?"

"I'll be fine. I'll have a considerable amount of Royal Navy ships escorting me already. Who knows if I get to meet some new ones." Gabriel then remembered something, "Speaking of which, Intrepid, you and Reno were keeping watch over the fortress. Who else was there?"

Intrepid answered, "Other than me and Reno, there is Bremerton. She's Baltimore's younger sister and self-described counselor among us. There's Cooper, our destroyer and cat enthusiast. Marblehead covers our cruiser department but she's a bit odd to understand. Bluegill is our submarine and she's looking forward to seeing some sort of combat someday. Lastly, Casablanca is our light aircraft carrier and she's the calm one among the group."

"Sounds like an interesting unit," Gabriel commented.

"You have no idea. Bremerton is the glue keeping us pretty close to one another. I can't even imagine how we could work as a cohesive group without her."

A light smile appeared on Gabriel's face, "That might run through the family. I hope to meet them someday."

"Well, if Adams is willing to transfer them, you could meet them soon." Intrepid chuckled at a particular thought, "I don't think he'll make it without Bremerton. He's gotten a bit spoiled having a counselor around."

"You make it sound like you all give him a hard time." Gabriel looked at the carrier with a questionable look.

"We do. Reno talks his ear off, he complains about my late nights, and he's allergic to cats." Intrepid frowned, "He had a nasty reaction one time Cooper brought a cat in. As a result, he banned any cats at the fortress. It's a shame Cooper couldn't be here with us. I think she'll prefer your supervision over his."

Gabriel gave the idea a quick thought. Another destroyer on the base wouldn't be too much of a problem and it was a benefit to both parties. Adams wouldn't have to worry about cats on his base and Cooper could enjoy said pets without scrutiny. "I'll message him about it. I'm sure he won't say no to the offer."

Intrepid blinked before looking at the Admiral in disbelief, "I wasn't asking for you to do that, sir. I was just simply sa-."

"It's alright," Gabriel assured, "It wouldn't be good for Cooper to be there."

"Well...Thank you, sir." Intrepid muttered

Gabriel rose to his feet and stretched his arms out. The conversation and stargazing were beginning to get his body back into sleep mode. "I believe that stargazing helped me clear my mind. I look forward to the next time I can't sleep again."

A smile graced the Eagle Union carrier's lips, "No problem, glad it helped. Next time I'll show you more of the constellations and specific planets.

"You have a nice night, Intrepid."

"You too, sir."

Gabriel left towards his home with a better understanding of one of his new subordinates but not on what he dreamed of. Once he got back to sleep, he could think about what it all could mean once more. In the meantime, he should just enjoy the time he had on a beautiful night. Tomorrow was around the corner and that meant a long journey to England. There was only one small problem…

Gabriel couldn't fall asleep that night


The following morning was terrible for the Admiral. One of the Royal Maids had to fetch him from his home to only find him still asleep far longer than he should have. He had a small bump on his forehead thanks to his sleep-deprived trip when he was awoken. To top it all off, he almost fell back asleep during breakfast and in front of the women.

"Ugh, I can't wait to get underway. I could sleep all day," Gabriel grumbled as he sipped some coffee for some much-needed caffeine. No maid was going to tell him no when he had a bad morning.

"Bad night?" Inside his office was Ash, looking much more like her previous self than before. She looked just like Enterprise besides the different attitude she clearly displayed. Still, progress was progress.

"You could say that," Gabriel retorted, feeling a headache come and go. "Had a dream last night and I couldn't sleep. So, I stayed up as a result."

"What kind of dream?" Ash questioned, sitting down on the opposing chair. Her brows furrowed as if she was trying to read Gabriel's thoughts.

"An open grave, half of the ground was covered in fire and the other in some purple spikes. Some sort of omen?"

"It could be. Two opposing forces ready for conflict." Ash hummed while processing the information. "I'm coming with you."

"Pardon?" Gabriel replied back, a bit surprised by the declaration.

"I'm coming with you. I have a bad feeling about what your dream could possibly mean."

"What about Ember?"

"She'll come too. She has more experience dealing with our enemy than I do." Ash answered

Gabriel nodded, "Sounds good. It wouldn't hurt to have both of you keeping an eye out for any Sirens. As a matter of fact, you can detect a Siren even if they are disguising themselves?"

She pursed her lips and looked towards the floor with her arms crossed. It looked like she was contemplating an answer. "If they tried sending an expendable one. It's much harder to tell if one of their main cards is played."

"Like Tester?"

"Exactly."

"Let's hope for the best then." Gabriel turned to look outside his office window and look over the various shipgirls that passed by. If Ash's assessment of his dream was true, then the Sirens were preparing something outright.

He was hoping that she was wrong


I am alive! Here is the upload for this story that I surprisingly got myself to finally write again. I hope you guys are all doing alright considering the virus going around. These new events have been fantastic and I'm looking forward to the new HMS event. Good luck on your rolls

Until then, stay tuned