A/N: Just a brief warning: the beginning of this chapter contains a bit of violence/gore. Also, since I'm here, thank you to everyone who has reviewed/favorited/followed so far.

The smell of concrete, dust, and smoke permeated the air of the city, and the shrill screams of the wounded combined with the feeble moans of the dying provided a sickening melody to the grisly scene. The sun began to dip underneath the horizon, casting a pale, red glow over the city as the darkening night slowly encroached upon the vast skies which were filled with Abyssal aircraft mere hours ago.

Commander Richard Maximilian Drake cringed to himself as he tried to make his way through what was left of Tangier. He stepped over pieces of rubble and blackened chunks of unknown material, and as he walked through the destruction, sailors and medics from Admiral Cassius' relief fleet sprinted all around him, rushing to get to the wounded.

He knew he should be helping too, but he was so tired. It wasn't a physical weakening, but more so an exhaustion of the mind. For some reason, Drake could not focus on any sort of objective, even if it was to just help people clear the rubble and pull the wounded to safety. Instead, the shellshocked commander wandered through the city aimlessly, his eyes seeing nothing and everything at the same time.

Passing by a collapsed house, Drake saw a woman trapped underneath a pile of rubble. Most of her body was obscured, but her left arm, which was twisted at a sickening angle, was visible, as was her face, which had contorted into a sort of surprised expression and remained frozen like that after death. Her mouth was open and her eyes wide, as if she were wordlessly calling to someone or something in the sky.

The commander continued walking. Next, he saw what appeared to be an infant impaled upon a metal stick. He stopped and stared, unsure of how the baby got there. The metal rod was jammed through its spine and up out of its skull, and there was so much darkened blood that Drake could barely make out its features. As he stood there and watched it, the front half of the tiny corpse slide off, causing the rest of the body to collapse and fall of the metal rod, leaving only a few strands of flesh and a coat of blood on the stick. Drake continued to look at the grisly sight until a dog, its fur blackened by the flames, came by and began picking at the flesh on the ground. Drake chose that moment to move on.

He went forwards, his expression blank and his mind in shambles. A loud sound made him jump, and his whole body trembled when he remembered the sounds of the USS Freedom's Sacrifice as it was hit by the Abyssal strikes. He hit the ground as a defensive maneuver, but he slowly calmed down as he realized the noise was just part of a nearby structure falling down. He picked himself off the dirt.

After five more minutes of walking, Drake came upon what looked like the remains of a school. He assumed it used to be one because the corpses scattered around the rubble were mostly children. A few were still alive, crying out in agony as medics and sailors rushed around to try and help them. The relief fleet scrambled around the remains of the building, passing by Drake without a word, far too busy to waste time on him or to ask him what he was doing there. The commander surveyed the scene some more, and as he walked, he accidentally stepped on the face of a deceased boy. Half the boy's skull had been severely cracked due to some sort of trauma, so when Drake stepped on it, the weakened skull collapsed completely, enveloping Drake's shoe in blood and brain matter.

Drake pulled his foot out and walked towards a spot where two medics were desperately trying to save a girl who was pinned down by a large piece of concrete. When Drake got closer, he realized that 'save' was the wrong word. The girl had been screaming a few seconds earlier, but now her voice had diminished to that of a low gurgle. One of the medics held her hand as the other wiped the blood from her mouth with a towel. The girl gasped, a rough, rattling sound. A second later, she was dead.

Stepping away from the school, Drake stared back at the direction of the sea. In a brief moment of clarity, he wondered whether it had been worth it. After all, it had been his idea to withdraw towards the city. He couldn't even claim that the destruction of Tangier was an accident, because getting the Abyssals to bomb the city was an essential part of his strategy.

All this because he wanted to survive. He looked back at the school, then recalled earlier in the day when he was lying on the floor of the USS Freedom's Sacrifice at the moment when he thought that the battle was lost and that his time on this earth was up. He took in that feeling.

Would he go through that again if it meant he could bring all these people back? Knowing what he knew now, would he be willing to sacrifice himself so that all these innocent people could live?

Drake broke out into a run. He ran away from the school, away from the corpses, away from the destruction he had caused.

His answer was no.

Drake jolted awake, nearly jumping out of his chair as he found himself back in his office at the Tokyo Bay Naval Base. He took a breath, trying to calm himself and rid the images of that day from his mind.

"Are you all right, Admiral?"

He looked over to see Kaga sitting beside him at his desk, staring at him with a mixture of surprise and confusion in her golden-brown eyes. Oh. I almost forgot she was here.

"Kaga… You're still here? Did I fall asleep?"

"You did, sir. Fortunately for you, I managed to finish your paperwork in the meantime."

"Oh… Thanks."

It was currently late at night, about two weeks after Drake had first arrived at the base. He was stuck doing some paperwork he forgot about (again), so he had to stay in the office after everyone else had left in order to finish it. His ever-diligent Secretary Ship had insisted on staying as well in order to "complete her duties," so luckily he had some help, which he apparently needed since he had fallen asleep on the job.

Drake suppressed a yawn as he stood up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Did you just finish? You weren't waiting for me, were you?"

"I finished a few minutes ago, but you looked like you were in pain, so I stayed behind and tried to decide whether or not to wake you," the carrier answered. Though she was as expressionless and professional as ever, even she couldn't hide the tinges of tiredness on her face.

"Yeah, I was just… Well, anyway, we're done here, so you should get some sleep. Thanks again for your help."

"I am simply doing my job as the Secretary Ship," she stated as she got up. "... But I am curious, what were you dreaming about that troubled you so much?"

Drake looked away. "Oh, that's…"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't ask such personal questions."

"That's all right," Drake replied, deciding that he could at least tell her a little bit since she stayed behind and finished all his work for him. "I was dreaming about the Battle of Tangier. I'm assuming you know what that is?"

She nodded. "Yes. It is the most infamous battle of the Abyssal Conflict thus far, so all of us know of it. You fought in it?"

"Yeah. I helped hold the Abyssals off until reinforcements arrived. The fact that I survived that battle is actually one of the main reasons why the USLN assigned me here."

"I see. That must have been quite the experience."

"That's putting it lightly," Drake said with a mirthless smile, then yawned. "... Anyway, I'm going to bed. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Don't forget that the ship girls from Sasebo are returning tomorrow," Kaga called after him.

"Yeah, I know," Drake waved her off.

The American admiral exited the Administrative Building and strolled through the naval base, back towards the officer's quarters. The base was quite peaceful at night, and though there were still lamps and lights illuminating most of the base, the majority of the base's personnel was asleep, allowing a sense of quiet to settle over the facility. The gentle rolling of the ocean's waves could be heard in the background, a sound that Drake found comforting. Though he knew of the various dangers that lurked underneath the waves and about all those sailors who perished in the waters, he still found the sea to be extraordinarily majestic. The ocean was something to be feared, but certainly something to be respected as well.

After about a ten-minute walk, Drake arrived at his quarters. It was a small house towards the edge of the base, right next door to Rear Admiral Genji's and Fleet Admiral Miiro's residences, which were basically exactly the same as his own. He pulled out his key and entered, turning on the lights so he could find his way to the bedroom.

The house itself wasn't very big, but it was well-furnished and stocked with modern appliances, such as an excellent kitchen and two flatscreen televisions. It was only one floor in height, but it had a living room, a bedroom, and two moderately-sized bathrooms in addition to the kitchen, so it didn't lack much. The other workers on the base lived in an on-site apartment complex or had to drive in from home, and the ship girls all lived in dorms, so there were definitely perks to being an officer.

Drake changed out of his white USLN uniform and slipped beneath the covers of his bed. He fell asleep rather quickly, and thankfully, he didn't have any more dreams of Tangier that night.

When morning came, Drake got up, went about his business, and left the house, deciding to head straight towards the beach since he woke late and didn't have time to go to the office and finish up any new paperwork that had been sent to him overnight. He almost never ate breakfast, so he made it to the beach early with about fifteen minutes to spare.

Most of his fleet was already on the water, and those who weren't were probably in the equipment building, preparing for morning training. Drake nodded as Haruna sailed by and smiled at him, her ash-gray hair trailing behind her. Ever since the first day that she showed up 'late' to training, the Kongou-class battleship had made it a point to be one of the first ones on the beach.

"You weren't at the office this morning, sir," Kaga noted as she sailed up to him.

"Yeah, sorry. I slept in," Drake admitted. He felt kind of bad about not showing up, but he was the admiral, and so he didn't need permission from his subordinates if he wanted to change his schedule.

If Kaga was annoyed, her face didn't show it. "The Sixth Fleet should be here sometime this afternoon. I assume they won't be joining us for training?"

"Better to just have them watch for today."

Kaga nodded, then sailed back over to the rest of the fleet as Fubuki and Amatsukaze arrived to complete the six-girl team. The whole fleet then headed towards the beach in preparation for this morning's run.

As Drake watched them land on the sand and take off their sailing shoes, he couldn't help but marvel at how far they had progressed in just two weeks. Now, all the girls were able to complete the morning run, though they still had to rest for quite a while afterwards. In terms of CQC training, they had improved so much so that they no longer needed to train on the beach and could switch to practicing on the ocean instead. Their skill with the fleet maneuvers had also increased, and they functioned like a well-oiled machine, easily adapting to new orders that Drake or Kaga issued during the exercises. Overall, the fleet had gotten much better at everything, and Drake could see why the world governments relied on them as the best weapons to combat the Abyssal threat with.

The rest of the morning's training passed by uneventfully, and when lunch rolled around, Drake decided to head to Mamiya's. He usually either ate there or Houshou's bar, occasionally hitting up the McDonald's as well. He had still yet to visit the mess hall, but he had enough of crowded buildings that served cheap food in high school and college, so he was in no rush to try it out. Mamiya and Houshou had both gotten to know him by now, so he felt comfortable at both ship girl-owned restaurants. Surprisingly, they were pretty friendly with him, which was unexpected because most of the ship girls outside his fleet tended to avoid him because he was American. Mamiya and Houshou didn't seem to mind that, though, and they treated him pretty well for a foreigner.

He usually ate lunch alone, but strangely enough, he had been joined by Rear Admiral Genji a few times. The IJN officer didn't really speak much, which was fine with Drake since he wasn't excessively talkative either, but for some reason, he never felt like the silences were awkward. Though Genji served a different government than he did, Drake felt a sense of camaraderie with his fellow rear admiral, and he suspected that Genji did as well. When they did eat together, their topics of conversation were limited to how to combat the Abyssals and the training of the ship girls, but that was interesting enough for Drake.

Today was not one of those days, though, so Drake ate by himself at Mamiya's restaurant and then headed back to the beach. As per usual, he walked around the base for a bit before returning, and when he got there, his fleet was assembled on the beach.

However, what was new was that another group of girls had joined them. From their appearances, Drake recognized them as members of the Sixth Fleet who had returned from Sasebo and would be the final six ships under his command. One of the girls appeared to be embroiled in some sort of argument with Kaga, but the stoic carrier didn't seem to be taking her seriously at all. When Drake arrived, Kaga promptly saluted, causing the other ship girl to whirl around in confusion and then hurriedly salute as well once she saw that her admiral had arrived.

Drake returned the salute. "You girls must be the Sixth Fleet. I'm Rear Admiral Richard Maximilian Drake, your new commanding officer. Nice to meet you."

The girls all returned his greetings and introduced themselves, though Drake already knew who they were from the information in the file he was given on the first day. The six new girls were: Zuikaku, a carrier with a twintail hairstyle and the one who had been arguing with Kaga; Shoukaku, Zuikaku's sister ship; Suzuya, a heavy cruiser with seafoam-green hair and a confident smile; Yahagi, a serious light cruiser with silky black hair tied up in a long ponytail; Yamakaze, a timid but exceptionally cute destroyer with green hair similar to Suzuya's; and finally, Kashima, a light cruiser and training ship with a kind smile.

The six additions didn't add much bulk to the fleet, but the new carriers further cemented Drake's fleet as the one with the most concentrated air power on the base. Once again, Drake felt a bit of disappointment at not getting another battleship to assist with the long-range shelling duties and destructive power, but he supposed his four carriers somewhat made up for it.

"Right then," Kaga spoke up when the introductions finished. "We will resume training now. The Sixth Fleet will use this opportunity to observe and learn what is expected of them."

"Admiral! Why is she the Secretary Ship?!" Zuikaku demanded to know, pointing an accusing finger at Kaga, who looked nonplussed.

"Huh? I don't know. She just is, I guess," Drake replied, recalling how he made Kaga the Secretary for no real reason other than the fact that she was a carrier and looked like she could handle the position.

"What?! I don't know how you do it in America, but in the IJN, we value skill!" Zuikaku proclaimed. "This is outrageous! We of the Sixth Fleet didn't even get a chance to show up before you made that decision!"

Drake sighed. He could tell already that Zuikaku was going to be difficult. "All right, fine. If any one of you wants to prove that you're better than Kaga both at fighting and at filling out paperwork, then I'll make you flagship instead. For today, just shut up and watch."

That caused Zuikaku to scowl and skulk in silence, and Kaga took that as her cue to lead the fleet back onto the water to finish the day's training. As the Fifth Fleet started up their individual training again, Shoukaku, Zuikaku's sister ship, approached Drake.

"Admiral, please forgive Zuikaku. She doesn't mean to be so abrasive," the white-haired carrier apologized.

"That's all right," Drake assured her. Based on Amatsukaze's and Sendai's reactions when he first made Kaga the Secretary Ship, he assumed there would also be some blowback from the rest of the fleet once they finally returned from Sasebo. "So I take it Kaga and Zuikaku don't usually get along?"

"Unfortunately not," Shoukaku confirmed, her tone disappointed. "Kaga enjoys taunting Zuikaku about how she wasn't part of the First Carrier Division, and Zuikaku isn't one to back down from such slights."

Kaga actually enjoys doing something? And that something is making fun of her fellow carriers? "I see… Are they like rivals or something, then?"

"I suppose Zuikaku sees Kaga as her rival. As for Kaga herself, I think she sees Zuikaku as a nuisance more than anything," Shoukaku replied as she watched the Fifth Fleet train.

"Why doesn't Kaga like the Fifth Carrier Division? That seems unlike her," Drake asked, voicing his thoughts out loud.

Shoukaku sighed. "It's because of Midway. Zuikaku and I were unable to participate in that battle because of the damage I took at the Battle of the Coral Sea, and so Kaga resents the Fifth Carrier Division for that."

That made sense. If Zuikaku and Shoukaku had been at Midway, the outcome of the battle could have gone very differently, and Kaga and the rest of the Kido Butai would not have sunk. Drake decided that he would have to talk to Kaga about this. Though he could tolerate the petty disputes that Amatsukaze and Sendai often had, an actual grudge between fleetmates would be detrimental to everyone involved.

Still, it's strange to think that Kaga of all people even has those she doesn't get along with, the rear admiral thought to himself as he watched his flagship loose an arrow towards a target, her short, brown hair dancing in the sea breeze. Well, I guess everyone has their own personal trauma. Kaga's must be her memories of Midway.

This new information caused him to wonder again if Kaga resented him for being an American, an admiral from the very same country that sunk her in the first place. If she did, then she certainly didn't show it the same way she did with Zuikaku, so Drake assumed that she had no grudge against him. He guessed it was probably because she was mature enough to understand that he wasn't even born when WWII happened, and so she didn't blame him personally. However, for Kaga, it was different with Zuikaku because Zuikaku was essentially the same ship she was back during the war.

"Hey, Admiral! Are we trainin' today?" a loud voice called out, snapping Drake out of his thoughts. He turned to see Suzuya, the heavy cruiser.

"Not today. Since you just got back, it's better if you just observe for now," he answered, causing Suzuya to deflate.

Zuikaku then stood up and walked over to the trio, apparently not wanting to be left out of anything important. "Admiral! At least make me flagship of the Sixth Fleet if you're not going to make me Secretary!"

"Oh, right, this fleet needs a flagship as well, doesn't it?" Drake said, more to himself than to anyone else. Though the Secretary Ship would still be in charge of the combined fleet, he still needed to have someone to lead the Sixth Fleet when they went on sorties without the Fifth Fleet. But who to choose…? I kind of want to pick Zuikaku just to see what Kaga would do, but I'm sure that would end up backfiring.

"No! I want to be the flagship!" Suzuya protested. "I'm this fleet's only heavy cruiser, so I'm special. Right, Admiral?"

"The Admiral will choose whoever has the most skill," Yahagi, one of the light cruisers, interjected. "Begging for the position won't strengthen your case."

"Exactly; just saying that you should be Secretary won't land you the position. The least you could do is bribe me so I can get something out of it too," Drake added, though after seeing Yahagi's horrified expression, he quickly corrected himself. "But in all seriousness, yeah, I'll need to see all of you in training first. You can make the strongest argument for yourself there."

The rest of the training session went by relatively smoothly. The Sixth Fleet got to watch as Drake and the Fifth Fleet went through their training maneuvers, and the rear admiral also got to spend some time talking with the newest members of his fleet.

They all seemed like capable girls, even if some of them were a bit strange. Shoukaku was kind and respectful, though it was obvious that she also had some troubles of her own hidden within herself. Zuikaku was the complete opposite, as she was boisterous and confrontational, her insecurities clear as day. Though she said numerous times that she refused to lose to Kaga, Drake could see that she looked up to the calm carrier and perhaps even agreed with some of the things Kaga said about her. Suzuya was cocky and loudmouthed as well, though unlike Zuikaku, she seemed to have no personal problems with anybody else in the fleet. Even so, Drake was sure that the heavy cruiser (along with Zuikaku, probably) would eventually join in with the daily clashes that Sendai and Amatsukaze had just because of how their personalities were.

The final three members of the fleet were like Shoukaku in that they were more mature or quiet. Yahagi had a professional and dutiful attitude, and though Drake sensed that she, like most of the ships in his fleet, was a bit uncomfortable serving under an American commander, she seemed resolved to carry out his orders either way. Yamakaze was very shy, and Drake go the feeling that she was trying to avoid him. He didn't see the point in making her uncomfortable on the very first day, so he left her alone for now. Still, it took a lot of willpower to resist reaching out and pinching her cute cheeks… Finally, there was Kashima. She seemed relatively normal, and she was pretty friendly and polite with him, which he liked.

Since the girls had gotten the hang of training by now, they usually finished about an hour earlier than they had on the first couple days, so it was only late afternoon by the time they were done. He dismissed the fleet and headed towards his office, where Kaga would join him after she took a quick bath. They would then do paperwork and finish sometime during the early evening or night depending on how much work there was, and afterwards, Drake would go to the base's gym and do his daily workout before eating dinner and heading back to his house, giving him a couple hours to do whatever the hell he wanted before he turned in for the night.

This schedule didn't leave him that much free time, but to his own surprise, he found that he didn't really mind. Training the fleet didn't feel like work, and he was actually beginning to enjoy it. After all, how many people could say they were in charge of an elite fighting force composed of WWII warships reincarnated in the form of beautiful girls? However, the threat of the Abyssals still loomed on the horizon, and Drake knew that he would have to face it eventually. So far he hadn't heard much regarding the alien enemy, but as he had known from the moment he was sent to the base, that would change soon enough.

Drake arrived at the office to find Ooyodo, Nagato, and Rear Admiral Genji hard at work. He wasn't surprised in the slightest to see them there, as those three seemed to be competing for the position of most dedicated officer or something. The other two office regulars, Fleet Admiral Miiro and Nagato's sister, Mutsu, were absent, but he was sure that they would be in eventually if they hadn't already finished whatever they needed to do for the day. Kongou, Genji's Secretary Ship, was also supposed to be there, but she almost never showed up. In fact, Kongou seemed to spend more time around Drake than her own admiral, as she seemed fascinated that Drake's native language was English and about how America differed from Britain, the country where she had been born.

"Ah, Rear Admiral Drake," Nagato greeted as she noticed him enter. "It's good that you're here. Is Kaga with you?"

"She should be here soon," he answered, and sure enough, the carrier walked through the office doors just as he finished his sentence. Her hair was slightly damp from her short trip to the bathhouse, and she smelled of shampoo.

Nagato nodded. "There is some important information that you need to know. The Sasebo Base's recent expedition into the Pacific and Indian Oceans has revealed the location of structures on various islands that are believed to be Abyssal bases."

"Abyssal bases…?"

"Yes. They were spotted by Indian and Chinese UAVs initially, and the fleet was sent to confirm the sightings. Sure enough, when the Sasebo Base's fleet got close to these islands, they were fired upon by Abyssals," the battleship explained.

Drake's frowned. "So the fleet wasn't able to take out any of these bases?"

"No. It was primarily a scouting mission, so the fleet was under orders not to engage any hostiles. That will come later."

"I am assuming we will be part of that?" Kaga asked, her voice monotone but her expression hard.

"We will. The Sasebo Base will handle most of the bases in the Indian Ocean and south of Japan, but we will need to attack the bases to the east. Right now, International Fleet Command has designated the elimination of these bases as a high priority for the Japanese ship girl fleet. If we strike first, we can prevent the Abyssals from catching us off-guard."

So we're finally going to fight…

"When will this operation take place? And how many bases are we supposed to attack?" Drake asked.

"All the details have not been determined as of yet, but there are four bases that pose an immediate threat to Japan and the coasts of other Asian nations," Nagato replied as she handed a folder to Drake. "There is more information in there. Tentatively speaking, it seems that the Fleet Admiral's fleet will take the two most heavily-defended bases while you and Rear Admiral Genji each attack one. The operation is scheduled for some time next week at the earliest."

"Understood," the American admiral said as he flipped through the folder and took a seat at his desk, letting Nagato get back to her work. With Kaga looking over his shoulder, Drake glanced at the various maps in the file and reports on the estimations of Abyssal strength.

"They're building airstrips," Kaga said once they finished looking through the maps. "Though it looks like they've only completed one so far, with the other three still in progress."

Drake rubbed his chin. "Yeah… But I really think our fleet should lead this sortie since we have the most airpower. Sure, the surface ships can bomb the strips from the sea, but what happens if enemy fighters or bombers manage to launch from the islands? That's a possibility for all of the islands, and a definite for the one with the completed airstrip."

"IJN Fleet Command will not give leadership of the operation to an American," Kaga pointed out bluntly.

"Yeah, but the ship girl fleet is technically an international force, right?" Drake countered. "Though the IJN probably won't relinquish control of an operation so close to Japan and involving only their own ship girls, so…"

"More importantly, we need to make sure the fleet is ready for this sortie," the carrier said. "This will be the first time that most of us will fight an actual battle with the Abyssals, and judging by these reports, it won't be an easy fight."

"I'm sure we'll be ready. That's the whole point of my training, after all."

Kaga didn't seem convinced. "And what about the Sixth Fleet? They have barely been back for a day."

"Well, whatever. We'll have to sortie either way."

"I understand that, but… An unprepared fleet is never a successful one."

"Yes, but this won't be anything like Midway," Drake said, causing a look of surprise to briefly flash across the carrier's face. "The two situations are completely different. We have more than enough information in this case, and there's very little chance of a surprise attack. Trust me, we will be prepared."

"If you say so, Admiral." Kaga's expression was slightly downcast, which was strange considering her usual aloof demeanor.

It seems she really does have some pretty bad memories of Midway…

They spent the rest of the time in relative silence, just filling out the day's paperwork. Most of the paperwork was logistical things, such as how much resources were needed for the day's activities. One of Drake's primary responsibilities was to determine how much resources his fleet used up, and since they hadn't gone on any sorties yet, it was mostly training rounds that he logged. However, even if they didn't sortie, the fleet still used up some basic resources to sustain themselves, and Akagi in particularly consumed a heavy amount of bauxite.

There was also the matter of the weekly reports Drake needed to write. Firstly, International Fleet Command (INFCOM) required the base to submit a summary of its activities, resources, and all that stuff at the end of each week. Since there were three separate admirals at the base, each one wrote his own report and then submitted it to Fleet Admiral Miiro, who, along with the help of Nagato and Mutsu, compiled it into one comprehensive report that he then sent to INFCOM. The Japanese and US governments also wanted a separate copy of the report despite both of them having representatives at INFCOM, so Miiro had to send one to each of them as well. Finally, the US government wanted a specific report written by Drake himself, presumably so that he could talk more freely about his progress at the base and how it pertained to US interests. Kaga seemed capable of handling the INFCOM report, so he had her write that one last week while he just did the one for his own government.

Speaking of Kaga, Drake found that the carrier was as diligent and skilled as he expected, both in training as well as secretarial duties. She wasn't very warm and friendly, but she never complained and she was a quick learner. He supposed he had been right to trust his gut instinct and appoint Kaga as his Secretary Ship.

"Hey, Kaga, who do you think I should make the flagship of the Sixth Fleet?" Drake asked, remembering that he needed to appoint someone to that position as well.

"Anyone but Zuikaku," she curtly answered as she continued reading through a report.

"You don't seem to like her much, do you?"

Kaga frowned. "I don't hate her, but she is irritating and clearly unfit for command of anything. Someone who fails to deliver on the battlefield and yet talks so arrogantly demonstrates a complete lack of understanding about her own flaws."

"Is this about Midway again?"

"So what if it is?" the carrier replied, a hint of annoyance biting into her tone. "You may not think it was a big deal since you Americans won, but it is different for me. You could never understand."

"Maybe not, but I do understand how it feels to fight a battle against a superior enemy and be destroyed by them," the rear admiral said, recalling how he narrowly escaped with his life at Tangier. "I don't mean to imply that Midway isn't significant. But don't you think that you shouldn't hold a grudge for something that happened so long ago?"

Kaga shut her eyes in frustration. "As I said, you could never understand. You weren't even born when the Battle of Midway took place, but for me, it feels as if it were yesterday. Before I came to this time period, my last memories were of the agonizing flames slowly roasting my body as I slipped into the dark sea. Do you seriously think that I would be able to forget such a thing?"

Drake sighed. "Fine, I see your point. But still, it's not Zuikaku's fault that any of that happened. Back then, she was just a ship. She couldn't make decisions for herself, and so she isn't to blame for not being at Midway."

"I know that. My issue is that she speaks as if she is equal to the Kido Butai, who fought, burned, and sunk at Midway. Even if the past wasn't her fault, she is directly responsible for her actions and words in the present."

"But maybe she only speaks that way because she wants to make up for Midway. If she acts like she's strong, then she thinks you'll see her as worthy ally you can rely on in the future."

"I doubt that," Kaga scoffed. "You don't know her. She is a cocky, conceited brat."

"Or you're just confirming your own biases," Drake parried, twirling a lock of his black hair between his fingers. "I'm just saying that you should give her a chance. Now that you're the Secretary Ship of the fleet she's in, you need to be the more mature one and try to work together."

"... If that is your command, Admiral."

Drake sighed softly as he shook his head and returned to his paperwork. This might be a bit harder than I thought…