"So you both shot each other at the same time?"

Shoukaku nodded. "Yes. Commander Keats concluded that the training exercise ended in a tie."

Drake smirked. "Sounds like you guys had fun."

"It was… An interesting experience, no doubt."

Drake was seated at his desk in the main office of the Administrative Building, now back in Japan. Kaga and Shoukaku were also with him, as they were trying to finish up some of the logistical work that accumulated in the Admiral's and Secretary Ship's absence.

"Admiral, what about those of us who were not present at the base for the past few days? Will we also need to undertake this 'firearms' training?" Kaga asked, glancing up from a report she was reading.

"Uh… No, probably not. It's not that important, to be honest. I just thought it might be useful for certain specific situations."

"I see. I only ask because now I am sure I must tolerate Zuikaku's boasts about how she is finally better than me at something."

This caused Shoukaku to giggle, and Drake grinned slightly as well. "Yeah. You know what, you should ask Zuikaku to teach you how to shoot, actually."

"Yes, I am sure that would a great experience for the both of us," Kaga replied as she frowned, her sarcasm obvious even in her relatively toneless way of speaking.

"Excuse me!" Ooyodo suddenly yelled, making all of the room's occupants look at her. "U-um… It looks like there is an incoming transmission coming from an unknown source."

"What?" Genji asked with a scowl.

"Er… It's exactly as I said, sir," Ooyodo replied, not sure what else to say. "Should we answer it…?"

"Oooh, maybe it's a prank caller," Mutsu threw out.

"A prank caller? Just what kind of security does this base have?" Genji spat. He then turned to Fleet Admiral Miiro. "Well? Are we going to answer it?"

Miiro looked unsure, as he almost always did. "Ah… I think we should."

Genji nodded to Ooyodo, and the ship girl pressed a few buttons, putting the transmission on speaker. Everyone in the room gathered around the speaker, waiting for the strange caller to begin talking.

"Hello?"

Drake froze. He recognized that voice.

"Ah, hello?" Miiro answered back. "May I ask who is calling?"

"Who are you?"

"We asked first," Genji growled.

"... Very well. I am the Abyssal Fleet's Battleship Princess."

Genji's frown deepened. "The hell? If you think this is some kind of joke -"

"She's telling the truth," Drake stated, his eyes cold.

"Yes, Admiral Drake's report did say he communicated with her before," Miiro pointed out. "Er, Miss Abyssal Princess, may we help you?"

"Fleet Admiral, why the hell are you speaking to her so nicely?" Genji demanded, then turned to glare at the speaker. "You bitch, listen to me. Come out and stop trying to -"

"Where is Admiral Drake?"

All eyes in the room turned to Drake.

"I'm here," he replied apprehensively. "What do you want?"

"Ah… Just the sound of your voice makes my blood boil… Admiral Drake, you truly are marvelous."

"Still sore after the spanking I gave you, huh?"

"Yes… You could say that. But regardless, I am not here to fight. Instead, I would like to extend an 'olive branch,' as you humans put it. I want to meet with the admirals of this base."

That stunned everyone in the room.

"You're… Ready to give terms?" Nagato asked, confused.

"Do not take this as a surrender. I merely offer a chance at diplomacy, and a momentary break from the fighting. Do you accept?"

"Mmm, yeah, this sounds like bullshit," Drake rejected with a deep frown. After all the senseless killing they've done, they're now willing to sue for peace?

"Agreed," Genji nodded. "Listen, Abyssal scum, if you think we're dumb enough to fall for something like this, you're mistaken. Go fuck yourself."

"Haha… You humans are quite bold, aren't you?"

"Sir, perhaps we should be a bit less blunt," Nagato cautioned. "Battleship Princess… What are the conditions for this meeting? Where do you propose and when? And for what purpose exactly?"

"My conditions are that all admirals from this base attend, and that they bring with them only one ship girl each. As for the time and place, I will leave that up to you."

"You're just going to let us decide that?" Genji raised an eyebrow. "What if we suggest holding the meeting in the middle of Tokyo with all our armed forces right outside?"

"If you're willing to endure the political fallout that will result from bringing an Abyssal Princess into one of your major cities, then please do so," Battleship Princess said, amused. "However, I would advise against it. I also asked that you only bring yourselves and your ship girls, so the middle of Tokyo would not work. Perhaps a more isolated area would be better? Hachijo-jima, for example?"

Drake narrowed his eyes. "That's still disadvantageous for you. Japan could easily deploy a strike force from port and get to that island in no time. Also, there are people living there, if you've already forgotten."

"That matters not. The small population on that island is irrelevant, and as I said before, if I see that you brought any forces other than yourselves, then the meeting is off."

"Are you going to be attending by yourself?" Genji asked the Abyssal.

"I will bring two other Princesses, but that will be all. We will also come unarmed, as we have no intention of harming you at the meeting. Is that satisfactory?"

The ship girls and admirals glanced at each other. While a diplomatic meeting with the Abyssals was unprecedented and could lead to a major breakthrough in the war, there was also a very real possibility that the meeting was a trap of some sorts. In total, there would be three Princesses and three ship girls at the meeting, which was not a good balance considering the fact that one Princess was far stronger than the average ship girl. But then again, the meeting would be taking place close to Tokyo, and Japan would undoubtedly have an overwhelming force (including the rest of the ship girls) ready to sortie at any moment if things went wrong.

"Um, please give us a moment to decide," Miiro asked the Battleship Princess before stepping back from the speaker and lowering his voice. "Well, what do you all think?"

Genji scowled. "I still think this could be a trap. Why would they suddenly want to meet with us?"

"Well… Admiral Drake did sink one of their Princesses," Nagato pointed out. "Perhaps they realized that we are stronger than they previously thought?"

Genji looked unconvinced, but he turned to Drake. "What do you think?"

Drake was unsure himself, but now that the Princess had explained things further he felt that an opportunity like this was too rare to pass up. He explained his thinking to the rest of the group, as well as the fact that the meeting taking place so close to Japan meant that the humans could sortie friendly forces if they really needed to.

"So it appears we are going to accept their offer, then?" Miiro concluded. When the other admirals nodded reluctantly, the group moved back to the speaker.

Miiro cleared his throat. "Miss Abyssal Princess… We have decided to accept your offer. We will plan to hold these talks a week from now at Hachijo-jima if that is acceptable for you."

"That is fine. I will see you then, in that case."

The transmission cut off.

"... So that's what she said."

Drake finished explaining the Battleship Princess' message to the rest of his fleet, who were all gathered outside on the beach after the afternoon's training had finished.

"Don't tell me you're actually going to go," Bismarck said in a disapproving tone from where she sat on a rock. "This is obviously a trap."

"Possibly. We'll be able to detect if there are any other Abyssals in the vicinity aside from the three going to the meeting, though, so we'll know if she has violated the conditions."

"But… Even if they just brought three Princesses like they said, that would still be dangerous, no?" Haruna asked nervously.

Drake grimaced. "Yeah… I guess they could kill us all if they really wanted to."

"So you're sending three admirals and the three secretary ships to their possible deaths?" Bismarck spat in disbelief. "I thought you were supposed to be smart, Admiral."

Drake shrugged lightly. "I don't know what you want from me. The Abyssals have never been known to use duplicitous tactics before, so I don't know why they'd start now. Why wouldn't it be possible that they really do just want to talk?"

"Huh? The Abyssals have made it clear that all they care about is murder and butchery!" Zuikaku countered, also frustrated with her admiral. "Big fat fucking chance they suddenly changed their minds and are hoping for a peaceful solution!"

"Admiral, Zuikaku may be right," Shoukaku piped up. "I hate to bring this up, but… At the Battle of Tangier, the Abyssals were very eager to cause as much damage to human settlements as they could. I don't think their bloodlust has been sated just by the passage of time."

Drake was beginning to have second thoughts now, especially since he knew all of that in the back of his mind. Could it really be true that this peace meeting was a trap?

Kaga then spoke up. "Even if the Abyssals were to kill the six of us, that would not mean they will have won the war. There are still many other ship girls and admirals who can replace us, and all the Abyssals would achieve by going back on their word is to make sure that they can never be trusted again, and that any further diplomatic and communication attempts by the Abyssals will be ignored. It also does not seem likely that the Abyssals have suddenly decided to change their strategy from fleet-versus-fleet battles to assassinations and betrayal. Perhaps if the Abyssals were on the brink of defeat or if they lost many of their ships I would agree with the idea of rejecting this meeting, but right now, when the Abyssals still technically have the upper hand in terms of warships? It doesn't seem likely that they would try and set a trap at this meeting."

Drake nodded, thankful that Kaga was able to articulate the reasons why he accepted this meeting. "There you have it. Any other questions?"

Zuikaku shook her head in disappointment. "Fine, do what you want. Just don't say I didn't warn you."

"If you're right, then I won't be able to say anything because I'll be dead anyway," Drake countered.

"I-I don't want the Admiral to die!" Yamakaze yelled, but then flushed red and hid behind Shigure when she realized everyone was staring at her.

Drake couldn't help but smile at that. "Relax, I'm not going to die. I hope."

"Is this a joke to you?" Bismarck growled as she stood up. "Like it or not, but this fleet relies on you to make sound decisions and lead them. What do you think would happen to morale if you or the secretary ship were to die?"

Drake was a bit taken aback by Bismarck's outburst, but he couldn't deny that it felt good to know that she cared.

"Bismarck, I promise I'll be back here for you. Don't know what else I can say to reassure you, but I won't leave you so easily."

The German blushed. "I wasn't talking about myself!"

"Huh, maybe Ark Royal was right when she said you were a tsundere."

"She told you that too!?"

"Don't worry, sir, we'll avenge you if you die!" Kiso proudly declared, puffing out her chest.

"Yeah!" Suzuya agreed. "Never thought I'd be fighting for an American commander, but we'll give those Abyssals an ass-kicking in your memory!"

"Right. Let's hold off on that for now, though," Drake cautioned with an amused smirk. "Well then, training is done for today. You're dismissed."

The fleet began packing up their equipment, and Drake walked over to Bismarck. The blonde battleship looked up as her admiral approached and frowned.

"If you're here to make fun of me, then -"

Drake held up his hands. "No, no. I just came to talk to you. Can I do that?"

Bismarck narrowed her blue eyes suspiciously, but she acquiesced regardless.

"Are you getting used to life on the naval base?" he asked as Bismarck strapped her big guns back on, preparing to sail towards the Equipment Building.

"I suppose," she curtly replied. "Why are you asking this right now?"

"You just seemed so much happier when we were in London, I guess," Drake told her. "You're not getting homesick, are you?"

"London isn't my home," Bismarck scoffed.

"But it's where all your German buddies are, isn't it?"

"... Yes. And?"

"That's obviously what I meant by 'homesick.' Don't you miss them?"

Bismarck turned away. "It is my duty as the Third Reich's greatest battleship to carry out my orders wherever and whenever. The time and the location does not matter."

"Sounds like a scripted answer," Drake smirked.

Bismarck glared at him. "Then what do you want me to say? 'Yes, I miss them so much, I'm so sad?' Would that make you feel better?"

Drake sighed. "Why are you always so hostile? Why would hearing that make me feel better?"

"... Then I told you that I am fine. Leave me alone."

The American admiral glared at her. Normally he never went out of his way to talk to anybody or make sure someone was all right, but he still remembered the day when he found Bismarck crying out on the docks, and so he felt bad for her. However, if she was going to continue acting like a brat, he wouldn't bother to put in the effort.

"Fine," he simply said to her as he stormed off.

Kaga, who had been spectating the conversation from a distance, sighed internally as she watched her admiral leave in a huff. The aircraft carrier also glanced at Bismarck, who wore a sour expression as well. Before the German could get back out onto the water, Kaga approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Bismarck jumped slightly, then turned around and scowled.

"Can I help you, Secretary?"

"... Is that the kind of tone you use with the Admiral as well?"

Bismarck smirked at her. "So what if it is? Are you going to punish me?"

Kaga was unperturbed by Bismarck's taunts. "You're already punishing yourself with this, so there's no need for me to do so. I personally do not care how you talk to me, but the Admiral is more sensitive, I think. Perhaps you should watch your words around him."

"What, so I should try not to 'hurt his feelings'? He's a grown man, and he can deal with it. Not my problem that he's 'sensitive.'"

Kaga stared at Bismarck for a bit, causing the battleship to fidget uncomfortably.

"Perhaps it is true what the Admiral said? That you are missing your German comrades?"

Bismarck frowned. "Where did you suddenly get that from?"

"You seem to be acting quite prickly today," Kaga observed. "I assume you are stressed out because of that. Your visit to London may have reminded you of how good it felt to be back with your old sisters-in-arms, and now that you are back in Japan, that feeling of loss has returned."

"Oh, so you're some sort of psychologist now?" Bismarck asked, edge in her voice.

"Am I wrong? I am quite sure that I am not, but if you want to continue fooling yourself…"

"Fine, you're right!" Bismarck snapped, her ice-blue eyes filling with frustration. "Yeah, you're right, okay?! Now shut up and stay away from me! Go tell your beloved Admiral that too!"

Luckily most of the other ship girls had already left to return their equipment, so the yelling did not draw in any bystanders. Kaga herself did not even flinch at Bismarck's harsh words.

"You seem ashamed to admit this."

Bismarck stared at her as if she were stupid. "Of course I am ashamed! Why wouldn't I be?! And yet you and the Admiral continue to pester me about issues like this. Do you really enjoy humiliating me that much?"

"Maybe the goal is not to humiliate you, but to help you. Did that thought ever cross your mind?" Kaga bluntly riposted.

Bismarck grit her teeth. "Yeah, right. I'm sure the Admiral is so eager to listen to the complaints of his subordinates, especially ridiculous ones like mine."

"If he wasn't, then why would he come over and ask you? Would he really brush you off if you had told him this?"

"Why wouldn't he?"

"I asked you first. Has the Admiral ever done or said anything to you before that makes you think that he wouldn't care about your problems?"

"... No."

"Then why…"

"Because if I were in his position, I would think that a warship missing home is ridiculous!" Bismarck shouted. "We are supposed to be soldiers! There isn't any room for this kind of nonsense…"

"... But as a commander, don't you think the Admiral wants his soldiers to be in peak condition?" Kaga said. "Perhaps you should give him a chance before you assume the worst."

Bismarck continued to scowl, but she said nothing more.

"Also, I think you should go and apologize to him. You were being a bit rude earlier, weren't you?"

Bismarck glared at her. "Me? Apologize? I refuse."

Kaga fixed her with a disapproving stare. "The last time you two got into an argument, the Admiral apologized to you, didn't he? So why can't you do it this time? Or are you incapable even of that?"

"'Incapable?!' Of course I can do it!"

"Then do it."

"But… Fine."

The German battleship wore a look of defeat as she stepped out onto the ocean, sailing in the direction of the Equipment Building. She sailed into the hangar that connected to the water and packed away her equipment, then walked upstairs and exited through the Equipment Building's front entrance. Reluctantly, she began making her way towards the Administrative Building, where she assumed her admiral was.

This is embarrassing, she thought with frustration as she entered the base's main building. She checked the main office but didn't find Drake there, so she headed to the private office. There she found her admiral, reclining in his chair as soft classical music played in the background. His eyes were closed, but he flicked one open as he heard Bismarck enter.

"Great. What is it now?" he asked with a frown.

Bismarck bristled at his tone, but she tried to remain calm and do what she came here to do. "I… I…"

Drake straightened up and leaned on his desk, peering over at her. "... Are you all right? You look like you're going to be sick."

"I'm… Here to apologize. I am sorry I was rude to you," Bismarck managed.

The Admiral wore an expression of disbelief, then smirked. "Oh? Who put you up to this? Kaga?"

"Dummkopf! Is this how you treat someone who is apologizing to you!" Bismarck fumed.

"Calm down. Do you even know why you're apologizing? Or are you just here because Kaga told you to come?"

Bismarck looked away. "Yes… I am sorry that I was cold to you when you were only trying to help me. The truth is… I do miss my comrades from Deutschland. It just pains me to admit it…"

Drake's expression softened. "I see… Well, it's only a natural feeling. Do you remember what I said to you months ago? Both of us are foreigners here, and I have the same feelings you do, to be honest. There's nothing wrong with admitting that, especially not to each other. Right?"

"Yes… I am sorry."

"Yeah, don't worry about it. Just remember," Drake smiled at her, "you're not alone here. All right?"

Bismarck returned his smile, her blue eyes the color of melting ice.

"Hm…"

A girl with light brown hair tied in a short ponytail stared out at the waters in the Gulf of Aden, looking down the iron sights of her navy-blue rifle as she leaned against the railing of the ship. She wore nothing save for a black bikini top and a pair of small jean shorts, her bikini bottom clearly visible at her waist as her pants were unbuttoned. Light beads of sweat trailed down her fair skin, the heat giving her curvy but toned body a sheen to it. Her sky blue eyes turned away from the ocean and glanced back behind her as she heard the door to the deck of the destroyer she was stationed on open.

Joining the girl out on the deck were two more women. The first was a black officer in a short-sleeved white admiral's uniform. She had lustrous dark hair that was also tied in a short ponytail, and her almond-colored eyes had a focused edge to them. Accompanying her was a girl with long, messy blonde twintails and a scared look on her face.

"Ah, there you are," the officer spoke once she sighted the brown-haired woman. "Have you been here all morning, Intrepid?"

Intrepid smiled at the two other women. "I have, Rear Admiral Blake. Not much else to do around here."

"I suppose that's true…" Rear Admiral Blake looked over Intrepid's scantily-clad body. "Um… What happened to your uniform?"

"Oh, that? Way too hot for it," Intrepid said with a casual shrug of her shoulders. "Glad I brought these along, huh?"

"Gambier Bay seems fine with her uniform," Blake pointed out, turning to the blonde carrier, who looked anything but thrilled to be singled out.

Intrepid frowned. "And? Unless you have a problem with me being dressed like this?"

Blake sighed. "Not me personally, but the Navy does have a dress code for a reason…"

"I'm sure they do," Intrepid smirked. "Anyway, did you need me for something?"

"I'm just here to let you know that we've detected activity in this sector," the rear admiral explained. "We're heading there right now, so be prepared for battle."

"Ah, is that why Gamby looks so scared?" Intrepid asked with a grin as she turned to her fellow carrier.

"I-I'm not scared!" Gambier Bay feebly denied.

Intrepid laughed. "Relax! It's not as if we're facing Abyssals, remember? This should be easy."

"Y-yeah…"

"She's right, you know," Rear Admiral Blake told the blonde. "Pirates don't stand a chance even against our conventional warships, so against ship girls? This is overkill, but hey, I guess the higher-ups wanted to give you some live targets for training."

Gambier Bay nodded nervously. "Understood, ma'am… I won't fail!"

Blake smiled. "Yeah, I don't think you girls could fail against these opponents even if you wanted to, but just remember that all of us on this destroyer will be here as backup just in case. There's nothing to be afraid of."

"I'm going to go get changed," Intrepid then said, shouldering her rifle. "Let me know when we sortie."

The American carrier went down below decks to the hangar where the ship girls' equipment was stored and put her uniform back on. Just as she finished, Gambier Bay came down as well.

"Admiral Blake said we should sortie now," the light carrier timidly told her comrade. "She said we should be able to see the enemy on our radar…"

"Sounds good," Intrepid simply said as she headed over to her rigging. The hangar door leading out to the gulf also opened, indicating that the ship girls could leave. "Anything special we need to do? Or can we just kill them all?"

"Um… I think we can just sink them…"

"That's what I like to hear," Intrepid grinned as the machines attached her rigging to her body. "All right, then, I'm off. Try not to fall behind!"

Intrepid sailed out into the Gulf of Aden, Gambier Bay hurriedly following behind. The standard carrier quickly spotted the enemy combatants on her radar systems, and she immediately began sailing in their direction.

"Looks like there's only three hostile ships!" Intrepid called out to Gambier Bay. "Two of them seem like they're just skiffs, while the big one is probably the mothership!"

"U-understood!"

"You wanna take the mothership? Chasing down the faster boats seems like it'd be more fun for me personally," Intrepid said.

"Um, yes, that's fine with me," Gambier Bay nodded, so the two carriers split up to go fulfill their respective objectives.

After a couple more minutes of sailing, Intrepid finally got her sights on the two skiffs. They were small but fast crafts, and as they got closer, she could see that they were loaded with dark-skinned pirates who were wielding an assortment of weaponry.

Heh, they must be wondering what a girl is doing standing out on the water, she mused to herself as the boats approached, now having sighted her.

At first, the pirates were bewildered by Intrepid's appearance and were thus unable to react properly. However, they quickly realized that she could not possibly be friendly considering the gun and the equipment she had on her, so they began shouting to each other in a language Intrepid did not understand, and a couple of them began readying their weapons.

Without waiting for the pirates to get their shit together, Intrepid aimed her blue Springfield rifle and fired at one of the pirates. Her aim was true, and the bullet from the gun planted itself into the dead center of the pirate's forehead, spraying blood onto the other pirates in that skiff. As Intrepid pulled the bolt handle back, the other pirates began to fire with their much more modern guns, forcing Intrepid to back off after being pelted by a few bullets.

"Shit, those damn bullets still hurt a bit," she complained as she noticed that she was lightly bleeding in some spots where she was shot. The bullets were not powerful enough to embed themselves in her armor-like skin, but the projectiles still caused shallow cuts and punctures.

Deciding to fight more like a conventional aircraft carrier, Intrepid continued to sail backwards, though the skiffs were fairly fast themselves and were able to keep her in their range. Intrepid fired her rifle again, but this time, the bullet that she shot out transformed into four planes midway through its flight. The three Hellcat fighters and single bomber flew towards the two skiffs, causing the pirates to shift their fire over to the planes in confusion. However, the planes were far too agile for the pirates to hit, and even if they did manage to shoot any one of them, their small arms fire would barely damage the planes. One of the Hellcats made a strafing run on a skiff, pumping a pirate full of holes as the others all ducked. The other two Hellcats fired upon the second skiff, but these pirates were smarter and outsped the planes. Intrepid could have easily had her fighters catch up and destroy the skiff, but she decided to let them run for now; she would hunt them down at her leisure.

The remaining boat's pirates had more or less recovered and began firing at Intrepid again. The aircraft carrier used her flight deck as a shield against the bullets, as it could take the fire better than her skin could and would not be significantly damaged by the guns. Intrepid then had her bomber circle around and approach the skiff from behind. Before the pirates could react to the plane, the Corsair bomber dropped its payload by the skiff, sending the boat flying into the air with a marvelous explosion. Metal, water, blood, and various human body parts spiralled around the sky like some sort of macabre fireworks show.

Intrepid smiled as she admired her handiwork, but she did not have much time to rest as she suddenly heard something coming towards her. Whirling around, the American carrier saw the second pirate skiff approaching again, but what worried her more was the rocket that was heading straight towards her.

Where did they get a weapon like that?!

Nevertheless, Intrepid still managed to outmaneuver the RPG shot, and it sailed wide as the carrier raised her Springfield again. She fired another shot, but this time she forced it to transform into a plane almost as soon as she shot it, resulting in only one fighter being produced. Even so, she still had her two previous Hellcats in the air, so three total was more than enough. Before the pirates could get into accurate firing range for their own guns, Intrepid's fighters approached the skiff from three different directions and lit it up with their machine guns. As the fighter planes' guns sang, the small skiff was completely torn apart by the combined fire, and after a few seconds, the boat began rapidly sinking, now thoroughly chewed up. Blood coated the interior of the small skiff, and the humans who used to be inside were nothing more than unidentifiable piles of pink and red mush.

A faint explosion sounded in the distance, and Intrepid turned away from the dilapidated boat to see something burning not too far off on the horizon.

Guess Gamby is done as well…

Intrepid sailed off in the direction of her fellow carrier, and sure enough, she was met halfway by the blonde.

"Hey! Have fun?" Intrepid asked with a cheeky grin.

"Um… It wasn't too bad," Gambier Bay admitted. "Better than fighting the Kurita Fleet again…"

Intrepid slapped Gambier Bay on the back heartily. "Haha! The Japs are on our side now, aren't they? Don't tell me you're still afraid of them too."

"I-I'm not!" Gambier Bay weakly rebutted.

"Mmm, yeah, sure you aren't. I heard you tried to hide when you saw Yamato in London."

"Who told you that!"

Intrepid merely laughed, sailing away with a teasing smile as Gambier Bay chased after her.