Upon my arrival back at the fleet I help Tryon get the woman I picked up onto Hope's ship. They take her into a room and make sure she's stable before we all go into the hall and shut the door. Then, Tryon's face lights up as Hope looks at her.

"Hope! Goodness gracious c'mere! It's been so long!" Tryon cheers, pulling the older woman into an embrace.

Hope simply sighs and smiles, hugging her back. "Indeed it has. It's good to see you. You've certainly been busy."

After a few seconds they break from the embrace, and Tryon stretches her arms above her head. "Yeah. Forty in just the past three months. Most recent three were from Juneau."

"Forty? Forty what?" I ask, feeling like I probably know the answer.

"Hybrids! It's my primary job to take captured humans and implant them with a core!"

I stare at Tryon for a second before it clicks in my mind. "So… any ships take humans to you, then you turn them into hybrids and… then what?"

"Well, if the Fog has a mental model, is willing to stick around, and I'm not in danger, then I pass the new hybrids off to her. Or in some cases if I am in danger my escorts and I boogy out of there and leave the hybrid in some obscure place so they can be picked up later, like what happened with y-mmph!" Tryon's mouth is quickly covered by Hope, but she's already said enough.

"You're the one who captured me?" I ask, a hint of anger in my voice.

Tryon's eyes widen and she quickly pulls away Hope's hand. "N-n-no i-it w-was technically Tang, b-b-but I was th-the one that gave y-you your core. Please don't hurt me!" She stammers, sounding legitimately afraid.

I stare at her in surprise for a second before laughing. "Why the hell would I do that?! You've opened up so many possibilities for me!" Her fear instantly turns to confusion, and I loop an arm over her shoulder. "Come on, let's go get your ship built and I'll explain over a beer."

"O-okay… you're… not mad at me?"

"Maybe a little, but it'll pass I'm sure." I giggle, walking with her down the corridor towards the deck. "See you in a bit Hope! Let me know when she wakes up!"

I hear Hope hum an acknowledgement behind us and move to the deck, transferring over to my ship before setting sail to Atascosa and Victoria. There, the three hybrids have their ships remade, and anchor a small distance away from the fleet before they all come over on a motor launch.

Together we wander over to Intrepid and descend into the lobby to find everyone passed out. As we navigate the maze of passed out hybrids I notice Tryon nodding and pointing at some people from both fleets. Augusta, Vallette, Guam, Fall, Helena and Juneau, just to name a few from our fleet. The only people she points at from Brisky's fleet are Intrepid, Hammann, Lake, and interestingly enough Topeka and Mobile. Upon passing the latter two she stares at Mobile for a few seconds too long, not watching where she puts her feet, and trips over Mobile's feet, waking her up in one hell of a hurry.

"Watch where you're fucking step...ing…" Mobile's hushed snarl tapers off when she sees Worcester. The intense blonde's serious expression softens before she offers Mobile a hand up.

"Hey there. It's been a while."

"Y-yeah…" Mobile responds, accepting the hand up off the floor as she stares at Worcester, as if in a daze. "Since Santa Maria."

"Yeah… I'm sorry I couldn't have gotten there faster."

"No it's alright. Just…. Thanks for saving us." Mobile responds before hugging Worcester, surprising most of everyone. Then from behind us I hear a familiar voice before the person in question slumps on me.

"Mornin' Sis. How'd the patrol go?"

"Went good. I sank an Iowa-class and rescued these three along with a woman from the ship." I respond, motioning to Tryon and her two cruisers before yawning. "I was up all night looking for it though."

Samoa puts her head on my shoulder and looks at the three. "Oh, hey Tryon, Roanoke. 'Sup Worcester."

Tryon looks over towards us and chuckles. "Heya kiddo. Alaska's your sister?"

Samoa sleepily hums a confirmation before I look between her and the medical ship. "Wait, y'all know each other?"

"Yeah we know each other. Your crazy-ass little sister literally rowed a boat three miles out to my ship and climbed aboard while I was sleeping." Worcester giggles.

"Oh really?" I slowly turn my head towards Samoa, and she gives me her nervously innocent 'oh-god-please-don't-hurt-me' smile.

"I really wanted a closer look at a Worcester-class cruiser… and the markings were all dim, so I figured the Fog ship was on a standby mode or something…"

I sigh and flick her on the forehead before starting towards the bar. "Did she at least behave herself while she was with you Tryon?"

"Oh yeah. She was like a kid in a candy store. I don't think I've ever seen someone be so enthusiastic about getting turned into a hybrid." Tryon responds with a giggle, sitting down in a stool before being flanked by her escorts.

"She made a game out of how fast she could get from the deck to the top of my superstructure without using holopanels. It was actually rather entertaining." Worcester giggles, patting Samoa on the head. "What was your fastest time again?"

"One minute, eighteen seconds." Samoa boasts, puffing out her chest.

That drives all of us into a round of giggling, and I poke my sister in the ribs. "Why am I not surprised?"

Then, she scowls at me. "Wait a second, you said you sank an Iowa-class. Which one, and how?"

"I dunno, and essentially a Naval drive-by." I respond, sending her the video file before I get up and head around the bar, retrieving an energy drink from an open packet on top of an entire pallet of them. "And I'm gonna have to ask Intrepid how she got so many energy drinks. If she can get this many energy drinks then I have a supply run for her to do."

"What do you need? I can ask Tang if she can pick some up." Tryon asks as I hand her a can.

"Y'know, just the usual commodities. Coca-cola, alcohol, coffee."

"I'll see what I can do."

With that the conversation seems to taper off. Having lost any reason to really be mad at Tryon for simply following orders, I listen in on Worcester sharing stories of their recent adventures with Samoa and Mobile. Roughly half an hour into a story Tryon receives a message and practically jumps off her barstool. "Tang has a critical candidate. C'mon you two, we've gotta meet her halfway or she's not gonna make it."

Worcester and Roanoke stop mid-sentence and get up, apologizing to Samoa and Mobile before starting towards the stairway to the deck.

"You guys mind if I tag along?" I ask, getting on my feet.

"Keep up. If you fall behind we're not going to slow down." Roanoke responds, nimbly jumping over any unconscious people in her way.

I knock back the rest of my energy drink and leave it on the bar before jogging to catch up. When I get to my deck I find Tryon and her escorts already moving, and motor to catch up, pulling Into formation behind the white-marked hospital ship just as she adds me to their communications network.

{How bad is she Tang?}

{Pretty bad. The shore guards near New Garibaldi intercepted a modified PT boat that was set up for fishing sometime this morning. I found her floating right before I messaged you. Right leg severed below the knee, but thankfully the wound is cauterized. Her eyes are both shredded by shrapnel. Skull fracture. Multiple shrapnel-related lacerations, and given where her skull fracture is, I'll be amazed if she hasn't lost any memories. Hell, I don't even know how long she's been like this or how much blood she's lost, she might not even make it to the rendezvous. You're the doctor though, not me.}

{What are her vitals like?}

{Weak, but stable. I've got her suspended right now.}

{Good. Keep her that way. If there's any fluctuation in her vitals let me know immediately.}

{Yes ma'am.}

Among the three hybrids I can tell they all have a dead-serious attitude. No-nonsense, with an unrivaled dedication to their jobs. None of them speak except to exchange information regarding maintaining formation and not colliding with each other, which I participate in as well, not speaking unless spoken to.

Eventually a small blip on the radar brings my attention to a submarine on the horizon, and the voice of the one in control of it comes over the comms.

{Hey, who's the battleship?}

"Introductions later. You just worry about getting that girl into Tryon's care." I respond as the three adjust their course. "I'm going to set up to discourage anything that might've followed you."

{Normally that's my job, but you can if you want.} Roanoke interjects before slowing like Tryon and Worcester.

I sail past the sub and set up on the horizon, waiting and watching, yet as expected nothing followed Tang. I linger on the horizon until Tyron declares the transfer is complete.

{Wait a minute… Tang, why is there another person in your hold?}

{Ummm… well I may have found another floater, but… listen, there's hardly enough of him left to tell if he's a guy or a girl. Just… give him a big shot of Estrogen and do what Hope did.}

{I can't do that! Montana will kill me and you know it!}

{Maybe not! Look how that hybrid turned out!}

{...Put him in Supplementary Suspension, I'm lowering a container of everything I want you to give him. If I get killed for this I'm going to haunt you for the rest of your life.}

{Understood. Thank you.}

{I'm not doing it for you. Setting a course back to the fleet that Hope's in. Don't bother me, I'm taking the woman into surgery.}

{Roger that.}

Once Tang transmits her acknowledgement Tryon disconnects from the network, and even across the quarter mile of water between my ship and hers I can see all the bulkheads slam closed and lock, denying any access to the inner workings of her ship.

{So… How about that introduction now?} Tang asks, pulling up alongside me.

"Course. I'm Alaska. I used to be an Alaska-class, but I've since then upgraded. Alaska, South Dakota-class hybrid battleship, at your service."

{Pleasure to meet you… again. I'm Tang, Balao-class hybrid submarine. I was the one who secured you for the Hybrid program. No hard feelings… right?}

"None at all. If anything, you made my life better than it was. Thank you."

{You're quite welcome. By the way… the guy in my hold? It's the guy you were with, in case you were close or anything like that.}

"Are you sure?"

{Positive. I got a good look at him when I hauled you aboard.}

"We weren't close. I paid him to take me fishing, and that was it. I'd only met him the night before. How bad is he?"

{He looks like he caught a grenade or some shit. Right arm is shredded, left arm isn't much better, his left leg is there but… I don't think he'll be walking without a prosthetic. Strangely enough his right leg is fine. Same shrapnel problem as the girl Tryon is working on, but he's at least got one working eye. Broken jaw, collarbone, and I'll bet he's got a broken rib or two. On the bright side though, he's got stronger vital signs than the girl. What makes me curious though is how the hell both of them got this much shrapnel in them.}

"He carried a small stash of explosives aboard his boats. Something about using it for whaling if he ever got the opportunity."

{That… actually makes sense. He probably stored it down below, right? That matches up with how the shrapnel is spread and the type of shrapnel. It's mostly wood splinters and plexiglass. My guess is that one of the shots from the destroyers hit down below, detonated the explosives, and sent the instrument panel flying in pieces. He was probably at the helm, with the girl standing somewhere behind and off to the side.}

I stand there for a moment, running the scenario through my mind, then I chuckle. "How do you figure? That's awfully detailed."

{I did forensics for the Washington State Police before I got captured. I was heading between New Port Townsend and Seattle on a call-in when Roanoke found us.}

"Yikes. Well, at least you're still putting some of those skills to work, eh?"

{No kidding. Well, the adrenaline is wearing off. I'm going to go take a nap.}

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea to be honest." I agree, starting towards my bed.

For the first two days or so following the buzz of activity, things are quiet. Tryon takes care of the two new recruits with the occasional advisement from Hope, and I get permission from Montana to take a few days off from hunting battleships. I spend most of it hanging out with my sister and a couple others like Guam and Astoria, mainly just fishing and working on Samoa's gunnery skills.

Then, early in the morning before dawn, Hope calls for me. Being still in bed I throw off the covers and change into my 'uniform' while I sprint across a holopanel bridge to her ship. I practically clear the entire flight of stairs down into the recovery ward, and a holopanel sporting an arrow pops up in front of me, directing me into a room to my right. I take a moment to catch my breath before knocking on the closed door, and Hope's voice sounds from inside.

"Enter please."

Cautiously, I turn the door handle and push on the door, opening it just enough to slip inside before closing it behind me. Inside, Hope sits on an office chair beside a hospital bed, which is occupied by a very distressed woman belonging to the battleship I sank.

"You called?" I ask, leaning against the wall by the door and crossing my arms.

"Yes, I did. I believe you have yet to get properly introduced to the woman you brought in."

I nod and push off the wall, walking over to the woman's bedside before extending my hand. "Name's Allison. Pleasure to meet you."

She doesn't say anything, but slowly extends her hand towards mine. Then, right before we shake hands she clenches hers into a fist and swings up, catching me under the chin in an uppercut. I see stars and stumble backwards, hitting the wall before bracing myself against it. By the time I can see straight Hope has the woman restrained, and the latter glares at me with a look of pure seething hatred in her eyes.

"Jesus, is that how people greet each other nowadays? How things change in a few months." I joke, rubbing my jaw. "I take it you already know who I am. Can I know your name?"

She continues to silently glare at me, occasionally tugging at her restraints, but otherwise doing nothing else. After a few minutes of waiting I look to Hope. "Did you call me in here just so I could get decked?"

"As amusing as that was, no. She was talking plenty before you came in. She's Amura Yohita, Bosun of the USS New Jersey."

"New Jersey huh…. Well, it was a pleasure meeting you Amura… I think. I hope our next meeting can be more enjoyable, for both of us." I glance back at Amura one more time before opening the door and walking out, closing it behind me.

"Fuckin' A that woman can punch…" I grumble, rubbing the sore spot on my chin.

"Oh, good morning Alaska."
I look over to my left to find Aurora standing there in a naval uniform, the cap tucked under her arm.

"Hello Aurora. Here to try to convince the new arrival to join us?" I ask, stepping to the side for her.

"That was the idea. Anything I should be worried about?"

"Nope. Good luck though, you're gonna need it." I step past her and start walking towards the exit, uttering the last sentence over my shoulder before ascending the stairs. I hardly reach the deck before Tryon contacts me, and I almost instantly know it's going to be a long day.

{Good morning. Could you come over to my ship? I'm taking your fisherman friend off anesthetic, and I think it'd be best if you are here to try and keep her calm.}

"I'm on my way."

I jump the railing and jog over the water to Tryon, waving at Roanoke and Worcester as they play a game of blackjack with Topeka and Mobile. They all wave back before I duck through a bulkhead and descend into the infirmary of Tryon's ship. The interior is completely different from Hope's modified interior. The infirmary is one big room, with cloth dividers keeping the patients separated.

I find Tryon walking towards me at the other end of the infirmary, walking towards me in a white labcoat.

"She should wake up in a few minutes. Here's a bag containing some clothes. You might need to help her get dressed. Call me if anything needs clarification. Any questions?" She says while passing me a backpack.

"If she asks about the other gal what should I tell 'er?" I ask, looping a strap over one shoulder.

"She's right down the way." Tryon points down the aisle between the two rows of enclosures.

"Alright, where's the skipper?"

Tryon simply moves towards the nearest partition and pulls it aside, revealing a pale woman in the bed, her long auburn hair reaching under the sheets. Her curvy form is clearly identifiable under the sheets, with two moderate mounds on her chest that are roughly the same size as mine.

The right eye is covered by a black eyepatch, and as I step into the enclosed space I can see that she has two metallic prosthetic arms. I sit down in the chair and place the bag at my feet, then wait in silence.

…

…

"Mmmhhnn…"

The groaning causes me to jerk my head up, to find that Skipper has her eye open, and is looking around.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." I say with a grin.

"Hmm? Oh, howdy there Miss." She responds before furrowing her brow. "Why does my voice sound weird?"

"It's a long story, but long story short, you're a girl now."

She stares at me like I just grew a second head. "I-I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

"You nearly died, a Fog ship found you floating, and now you're a girl. If you don't believe me just look down."

Slowly she looks down and lifts the covers enough so she can get a look under them. "WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"Hey, relax. It's not all bad news. On the bright side, at least you don't have a bad knee anymore."

"How is that supposed to be comforting?! I… just… This isn't fucking possible!"

"With Fog technology and nanomaterials nearly anything is possible. You're in better condition now than you were when you first got transferred aboard. It's only been three days."

Suddenly Skipper's eye widens, and she sits up. "My sister! Where is she?!"

"Relax. She's right down the ward. Let's get you dressed, and then you can go see her."

Skipper takes a few deep breaths and looks down at herself, the covers having slipped off her chest. She looks up at me and blushes, covering herself, much to my amusement.

"Umm, could you… y'know, just toss me the clothes and head out?"

I giggle before throwing her the backpack. Then I jump to my feet and walk out of the enclosure, hearing the sound if the zipper several seconds later along with the sound of fabric shuffling about.

I wait patiently for several minutes before I hear Skipper quietly cursing, then chuckle to myself and head back in to find the redhead struggling with the bra, but dressed in a pair of cargo pants.

"Turn around." I order, brooking no argument. She turns around and I put the hooks in the loops, then toss her a shirt and socks before closing up the bag and grabbing a pair of boots from outside the enclosure.

"Damn things are a lot easier when you're taking them off someone else…" she grumbles, slipping on a shirt before sitting on the bed and pulling the socks on.

After some teasing of her I've managed to get Skipper dressed and moving, and we walk down the way to the only other closed canvas partition. The redhead pushes the partition open just enough to look inside and gasps before entering slowly.

"Ah, you're awake!" Tryon's voice sounds from inside. "How are you feeling?"

"To hell with me Doc, how is she?"

"Do you know her?"

"She's my sister." Skipper says with a nod, looking at the bandaged girl in the bed.

"I see… she was awake for a little while earlier. She doesn't remember people, dates, or anything really. My deepest condolences."

"Christ… this is all my fault. I shouldn't have taken her out with me." Skipper sighs, looking at her feet for a second before looking to me. "Alright, well… now what?"

"Now, we go see a Fog ship and get you a ship assignment." I explain, waving her along.

She glances over her shoulder at her sister before following, and once we get up to the deck she stops me. "I've got a question."

"Shoot away." I respond, leaning against the railing.

She looks around nervously before leaning in. "Are you still thinkin' 'bout… y'know, fightin' them?"

"... I don't know anymore. Probably not. Not after seeing what happened to Nashville."

"What? So what about over east? We've got problems of our own out here."

I shake my head. "Not the town. Nashville was a Brooklyn-class cruiser that was part of our fleet for a while during our time in the Atlantic. She eventually decided to try and fight against her Fog handler." I shiver at the memory, but continue. "Her handler sent her core the kill code. Within a minute the nanomaterials in her blood had ground through most of the blood vessels near her skin…" When I start to feel sick I stop and take a breath. "She didn't just die, she was tortured to death by her own heartbeat."

"Jesus Christ. And that could happen to anyone here?"

I nod. "As long as you're connected to the network. Which all hybrids have to be."

"... Well fuck."

I giggle and straighten up. "You said it. Come on, let's get you introduced to Scylla. I'm positive she's the best choice."

"Ooookay? And where is she?"

I stop and point at the green heavy cruiser near Brisky. "That one over there. She's the least intimidating of the three Fog we have here, but do your best to avoid pissing her off."

"Alright. How are we supposed to get over there?"

"Well, there's two ways." I begin, "One is this way."

I vault the railing and land on one of my holopanels, turning around to face her. "Every hybrid can do this. And if you haven't taken a pounding from any enemy ships these are as solid as concrete."

"Umm… what's option two?" She asks, looking very uncomfortable.

"I can call one of the PT boats over here and they'll give us a ride."

"Let's go with that." She responds immediately.

I giggle and pull up a net link with Lightning before sending her a request to come meet me. She responds immediately, and after a minute she roars around the end of one of the LST's, going about as fast as she can without removing any safety features. When she gets near Tryon's ship she spins the boat around once to kill her speed before idling up to the side of the ship.

"Someone called for a cab!?" The cowboy hat clad hybrid asks jokingly.

I nod at her and turn to Skipper. "Come on."

"How exactly am I supposed to get down there?"

"Simple. Jump." I state plainly before jumping down onto the deck of the PT boat. I turn around and look up to see the redhead shake her head and laugh before jumping over the railing, landing on her feet beside me.

"I'm gonna guess that when the Doc rebuilt me she strengthened my bones. My knees should be shattered from that fall."

"Yup. Lightning, to Scylla please."

"Next stop, crazytown!" Lightning laughs before we suddenly accelerate. I grab hold of Skipper to keep her from falling off the boat, and sit down on one of the four torpedo tubes as we weave through the formation of anchored ships.

"All of these black-marked ships… Y'all are the ghost fleet!" Skipper exclaims in surprise.

"Ghost fleet?" I ask, intrigued at the name.

"It's a name I heard getting thrown around at the Marina. Y'all disappear and then reappear at a completely different place! The Navy is scared to death you're gonna dedicate everything to their strongholds! All of the fishing fleets stop going out when you're in the area, because there's never any warning!"

"Ghost fleet huh... I like it." I say with a smirk.

As we pull up alongside Scylla's ship I stand and grab Skipper's arm, pulling her onto my shoulders into a fireman's carry before running up a holopanel staircase to the deck. Once my feet touch the deck I place the redhead on her feet, and Lighting accelerates away, leaving us to find the Mental Model.

"Oi Scylla, where are you? I've got a new girl with me." I ask through a comms channel, leaning back against the wire railing until I get an answer. We stand there for a minute, then two, and Skipper straightens up.

"Why don't we just walk around until we find her?"

"Because this ship is her. Us being here is already like a hand on the shoulder for her, so it's best not to wander. So stay right where you are until she comes around."

"Could've swore I just heard something by the fantail though." She mumbles just as a line of holopanels sporting arrows pop up, pointing towards the fantail.

"Well, I guess we know where she is now." I groan, getting up and starting towards the aft end of the ship.

When we walk around the end of the superstructure I find Scylla standing by her aftmost turret. The Mental Model looks over the redhead behind me before leaning against the side of the turret. "So, who's the Francis Drake cyborg?"

"Don't know yet, that's why we're here. She needs a ship assignment." I reply, not understanding whatever reference she's making.

"Oh? I was just giving Shest a missile rundown with Gato, so all I noted was you came aboard." Scylla's eyes look Skipper up and down as she talks. "I'm the Minotaur Custom Class Heavy Assault Cruiser Scylla."

The Skipper salutes Scylla as she sits down, then speaks. "It's an honor to meet you ma'am. I'm Marcus Lee."

When Scylla raises an eyebrow I realize his mistake, using his name, which was clearly male.

'Oh God he just signed his death warrant.'

I get ready to jump away in case Scylla makes a move to vaporize him, and tensely wait for a turret to traverse. The few seconds seem to pass by like minutes, and then Scylla bursts into laughter. "Oh hahahahaah, oh my, I wonder who screwed up? It was probably that Fog medical ship again. Oh, Hope is going to have a hayday with them!"

Fearing for my life I start slowly backing away. "I'm…. gonna go talk to Samoa about something… Bye!"

"Oh no you don't!" Scylla calls out, blocking my retreat with several holopanels. "I saw that look, you know this one from before yeah? Details!"

"He… She… They, were a fishing boat captain. I was aboard their boat when I got snatched for conscription." I struggle to figure out the proper pronoun before giving up and simply describing the situation.

"Okay, that I can work with! If you wanna go nag your sister, now you can go, but you'll be back in a bit, trust me!" Scylla cheers with a grin as three information rings surround her.

"O-of course. I'll be taking my leave." I stammer before turning around and sprinting towards the railing. "Bye Skipper!"

I jump the rail and run across the open water to where Samoa's anchored, disassembling and reassembling her small-caliber guns as is necessary to clean them.

"Hey." I snip, grabbing her attention.

"Oh, hey Sis. What's up?" She asks, not turning away from her task.

"Back at the island, what the hell was that missile design?"

"Oh, that? It's… umm… it's a dust bomb of sorts." She answers, sounding nervous.

"Yeah, I gathered that, what else does it do?" I ask, knowing she's going to start to try and avoid the question.

"It attacks the lungs, the victim suffocates. Happy?" She replies with a sigh. "Now go away, I'm trying to focus on this and you're distracting me."

I'm so shocked at her blunt reply that I can't even form a logical response, so I raise my hands to my shoulders and walk off her ship, crossing over to Enterprise and sitting down on the edge of her flight deck. She comes out a minute later, sitting down beside me.

"What's wrong?"

I lean back so I'm staring at the sky and shield my eyes from the sun with my arm. "I just got told off by my sister. She used some new missile design during our fight at Hawaii. I tried to confront her on it, and she straight up told me it was designed to attack the lungs. I didn't know how to respond so I just left."

"...Damn. I don't even know how to respond to that."

"Me neither. That's the problem." I groan.

"Maybe go talk to Mobile. She's always having to reign in Topeka."

I close my eyes and sigh. "To hell with it. If she wants to create weapons of mass death, that's on her. Gotta let the bird outta the nest sometime."

"You sure about that? I mean… she's your sister. Don't you want to protect her?"

"Of course I do E. I'm just not willing to fight her on it. So long as she doesn't go completely buck wild with it I don't really care anymore."

The conversation falls dead, and we both sit there for a minute before Atascosa contacts me.

{Hey Alaska, there's a new girl over here saying that Scylla wants you to train her.}

"Roger that. I'm on my way. Thanks for the heads-up." I grumble before ending the communications network and sitting up. "And now I get to go train the new girl. Lovely."

"She part of our fleet or Intrepid's?" Enterprise asks, getting up.

"I don't know. Check your roster."

I begrudgingly get to my feet and start towards Atascosa, noting the huge heavy cruiser on the other side of the tanker.

On the top of the superstructure sits Skipper, watching me approach.

"So what's your new name?" I ask once I'm close enough to be heard.

"Salem. Des Moines-class heavy cruiser." She responds, standing up. "Why the gloomy look?"

"It's nothing. Here, accept that request. It'll temporarily transfer your controls to me. I'll configure them for you and get the ship out of the formation without running into anyone."

A small panel pops up in front of Salem, and she presses on it, accepting the request. Instantly the controls are transferred to me, and I slowly maneuver the ship out of the formation of ships while changing the controls settings so Salem has the preferred amount of controls to change, from speed and rudder controls to guns, to radar and sonar controls.

Finally we get out of formation and I put the ship on station keeping before transferring controls back.

"Wait here, I'll be back. I've gotta have my ship with us too." I say before running to my battleship and getting it underway. When I reach the edge of the formation I pull up alongside Salem and open up a communications net, preparing myself to explain the plethora of controls at her fingertips. "Alright, I'll try to keep things simple at first..."

After training is over, Salem and I sail back towards the fleet, her previously red markings changed to a deep battleship grey. Compared to others with their first practice session she did reasonably well using the modified kinetic armament. Her surface warfare needs work, but as far as AA she's perfectly fine.

{I guess all those guide trips chukar hunting are really paying off!} She laughs heartily, rolling her shoulders. {Lord knows the clients weren't worth the trouble.}

"Well, we're not done yet. You've still got your cherry."

{Pardon?!}

"Not that cherry, you haven't sank a ship yet."

{Oh okay. You had me worried for a second. I ain't ready for that!}

I can't help but laugh. Despite all that's happened to her lately Salem's definitely taking things well. Her rough-and-rowdy attitude hasn't changed at all, and in training she even displayed her prowess of naval maneuvering, including lowering an anchor in the water to increase drag, allowing for a gentle turn without changing the rudder position.

"Pervert."

{Yes ma'am! Guilty as charged!}

'Well at least she's honest.'

"Alright, come on then. We've got business to attend to."

{Would it be alright if I took some time to go and wait for my sister to wake up?}

"Your sister's already awake, and I'll say she's got one hell of a namesake to live up to."

{She does? What assignment did she get?}

I grin. "Balao-class submarine. Kraken."

{...Can I have time to talk to her?}

"Once she finishes her training sure. As Tryon told you though, she doesn't even know who she is."

{I'm… hoping I can help I guess. Maybe she might remember something.}

Knowing it's pointless to argue with her on a subject like this I sigh in resignation. "That's understandable. I'd probably do the same thing."

{Is Samoa your sister?}

"Yeah."

{She seems like a nice girl. I saw her looking all starry-eyed at my ship while I was waiting for you.}

"She's a big naval nerd, so I'm not surprised."

{...Off-topic question. Are we allowed to tune in to radio stations?}

"Yeah. What, don't like talking with me?"

{You're great to talk to, but I like having the radio on. The silence has always unnerved the hell out of me.}

"Oh. I guess that makes sense. Whatcha listening to?"

{That country station I had going when I took you fishing.}

"Put it on."

{Alaska, fleet meeting in ten.} Guam contacts me after Salem and I get back.

"Copy that. Where at?"

{Intrepid's lobby. New patrol routes and raid orders.}

"Alright, I'll grab the new girl and bring her."

Getting up from my bed I leave my wheelhouse and walk over to Salem's ship, easily finding the redhead snoring away in a chair her wheelhouse.

"Salem, up and at 'em. Day's not over." I say while shaking her.

"Mmm?" She grunts, looking at me before looking down at herself, then letting her head fall back against the headrest. "Fuck. I was hoping all that was just a bad dream."

"Tough luck. Get up, there's a fleet meeting and you need to come along."

Getting out of the chair she stretches her leg and absentmindedly reaches up, grabbing at empty air below her chin before pouting. "Damn it, I miss my beard."

I laugh and smack her on the back. "Come on, let's get there early and I'll introduce you to the fleet flagship."

"Alright I'm comin'." She grumbles, rubbing her one eye.

I walk out of the wheelhouse and step up onto a holopanel, erasing the one behind me so I'm standing on a single panel away from the ship. Salem gets out the door and looks at me. "Umm…"

"Make your own. It's easy, just imagine the path and will it to happen. Just like your Klein Field."

She glares at me for a second before sighing in resignation. A few seconds later a grey walkway of panels appears parallel to mine, and she reluctantly steps up onto it, testing the strength on them.

"... Hey, that's pretty neat."

I laugh and start walking towards Intrepid, watching as all of the other hybrids start doing the same. As we step onto the flight deck a trio of submarines breach the surface in an open spot in the formation, and two hybrids climb out of two of them, one of them taking the other by the arm and guiding her. As they get closer I can identify Shest, and the second as Salem's sister, a wrap of bandages over her eyes. Shest guides her by the arm, talking to her the entire way to Intrepid's deck. Once Kraken's feet touch the deck Shest releases her, and the two of them walk normally to the conning tower, as if the new girl could see through the bandages.

Salem and I follow close behind, watching them chat casually as the supposedly blind hybrid traverses the stairs with the ease of a person with perfect vision. Once they reach the bottom Salem and I start down, and when we get into the lobby Kraken turns to us.

"Hello."

"Hello Kraken. I'm Alaska, the second in command of the fleet you've been assigned to. It's a pleasure to meet you." I respond. "This is Salem, the other new hybrid to the fleet."

"H-hi Kraken." Salem stammers.

"Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you both. I look forward to working with you both once my training is finished." The young redhead responds with a small bow before turning and rejoining Shest. Salem starts to follow before I put a hand on her shoulder.

"Not now. Give her time to get to know the others first."

"But-"

"If you tell it to her now while she doesn't hardly know anyone she'll have to come to terms on it without any help, and you might not like the result." I insist, staring into her one blue eye. She stares back at me for a moment before nodding slowly and sighing.

"Alright. You've got a point."

"Of course I do. Now put your sigil on you somewhere visible and go sit down."

"Yes ma'am." Salem responds with a salute, thinking for a second before her eyepatch glows, then dims back to its normal state, sporting a jagged and grey sigil that looks akin to staring down the gaping maw of a Great White shark. She looks to me for approval, and I give her a thumbs-up.

"Flashy. I like it. Go sit and I'll bring over the flagship."

"Aye ma'am." She says with a nod before turning and walking to one of the big cushy chairs, promptly flopping down in it.

I look around the room and note how many people are coming it, easily finding Enterprise's red mane by the pool table.

I walk over and tap her on the shoulder after she takes a shot. "Hey E. New girls."

"Oh, right. Be there in a sec, uh… hey Fall! Use my turn!" She waves over the short-haired brunette and hands her the pool cue before following me over to Salem.

"Enterprise, this is Salem, Des Moines-class heavy cruiser." I introduce Salem as she stands up, extending her hand.

"Pleasure to meet you."

Enterprise smiles and shakes Salem's hand. "Enterprise, Yorktown-class suppression vessel, and flagship of this fleet. For future reference, when it's official fleet business we salute."

"Oh, sorry. What fleet is yours? I notice there's two groups here."

"We're the ships with the black markings. Raiding fleet Hotel two-six, Golf."

"Is there a meaning behind the designation?"

"Yeah. Hotel, phonetic alphabet for H, identifies the fleet as a Hybrid fleet. Two-six is the fleet number by creation order, and Golf, phonetic for G, identifies us as intended for raiding ground installations."

Salem mulls over the information for a second before nodding slowly. "Huh. Makes sense, the Grey Ghost being the flagship of the Ghost fleet."

"What?"

"Oh, this fleet got the nickname Ghost Fleet by the fishing fleet. Y'all disappear, then reappear out of nowhere. Your namesake got the nickname 'The Grey Ghost' during the war."

"Hmmm… 'ghost fleet' huh? That's got a nice ring to it. Where's the other new girl?" Enterprise looks around, and I point over to where Shest and Kraken are talking.

Enterprise starts over towards them, and I make a move to follow her, just before someone in my peripheral vision catches my attention. I look over to find Scylla walking towards us, a big grin on her face.

"Hey Scylla. What's up?" I ask, leaning on Salem's chair.

"Not much, heading on a special operation inland and figured I'd grab someone as backup before I leave. Going to go blow up a university research center."

"Oh. I hope you aren't here for me. My track record with shore excursions hasn't exactly been good." I joke lightly, whilst praying that she isn't actually here for me.

"No, I figured you'd rather stay away from such places. Its noted in the new orders, so Intrepid or Enterprise will mention it near the end." Scylla says with a snicker and a shake of her head before looking over towards Kraken. "So, who's the monk reject?"

"My sister." Salem responds. "The same shrapnel that took my eye took both of hers."

"Wow, someone didn't read the warning labels!" Scylla says with that sadistic chuckle of hers. "I'll be back, I think Intrepid has something to ask me."

After Scylla walks away Salem clenches a fist. "What's her fucking deal? That's not something to joke about."

"Just leave it be. That's how she is. She's rude at times, but I wouldn't want anyone else in a battle."

"That Mental Model is a fucking nutcase!" Salem hisses, glancing at Scylla. "Why would you ever want to team up with her?!"

"That Mental Model used to be a hybrid just like you and I. Sure, she's a bit eccentric, but when I got into a tight spot she came and bailed me out."

"What… how?"

"That was my exact reaction. I don't know, but before she got conscripted her life was pretty shitty so I'm told. She got treated like a maid, and even when she was hospitalized with a shattered shoulder her mother wouldn't pay for her bills. She was beat on by humans her entire life, so why wouldn't she hate them?"

"... Alright, I suppose she ain't that bad."

"Hey Alaska. Who's the new girl?" A voice asks behind me, and when I turn around to find Guam walking up.

"Hey Guam. This is Salem, her and her sister Kraken over there are part of our fleet."

"You in charge of training her?" Guam asks, giving Salem a friendly nod and a smile.

"Yup, though I was wondering if I could turn her over to you for some lessons in missile deployment."

Guam shrugs and extends a hand to Salem. "I'm Guam. Alaska-class large cruiser and third-in-command of our fleet."

Salem takes Guam's hand in her own and grips it, giving it one pump before letting go. "Salem, Des Moines-class heavy cruiser. Pleasure to meet you. Erm… if I may ask, I've met Enterprise, and now I've met you… so who's the second-in-command?"

"I am!" I chirp, giving Salem a grin. In return she stares at me in realization, jaw slightly agape.

"Oh, that's right."

"Heads up, here comes Scylla." Guam warns before the mental model walks past us, over to Enterprise. She momentarily talks to her before the two walk over and stand by the bar, where Intrepid joins them. Enterprise presses two fingers in her mouth and gives a shrill whistle, grabbing everyone's attention in a hurry. Then everyone's attention is quickly drawn to Mobile, who holds Topeka's wrist, keeping a knife mere inches away from her throat. After a tense few seconds the rabid look in Topeka's eyes fades, and she drops the knife, tucking her head in the crook of Mobile's neck while mumbling apologies to her. Coddling her sister, Mobile then looks up and gives Enterprise a nod to continue.

"Alright! Due to our different objectives, we'll be keeping our two fleets apart for these patrols and raids. I'll start with assigning the raids, and Intrepid will assign the rest 'a y'all your patrol routes." Enterprise starts, pulling up a holopanel with a map on it of the western seaboard. "Starting up top in Alaska. Oakland, Roberts, and Pasadena, you three are to hit Anchorage and Juneau. Any fishing villages in between are up to your discretion. Next up, we have a section of shoreline between Juneau and Victoria. Healy, Hailey, that's yours. There ain't much there, but if they've got boats I want 'em destroyed. Any questions so far?"

After Enterprise looks around she nods in satisfaction and continues. "We're going to stay clear of Seattle for now, so the next raid is going to be the mouth of the Columbia river. Helena, Fall, Vallette, Taylor, and Samoa, that's you guys. I want Samoa to lead this one, but if things start to go pear-shaped then Helena can take over. We'll half our PT fleet between Oakland's group and Healy's group. Turner, Cheyenne, Savannah, Augusta, and Astoria, I want you five to hit anything between Seaside and Fort Bragg. Once again, if they've got boats, sink 'em. Any questions, comments, or concerns?" Guam raises her hand, and Enterprise points at her, giving her permission to speak.

"What about me? Do I just get to sit here?"

"Glad you asked. Anyone remaining except Alaska will be helping train the new girls Salem and Kraken. Stand up would'ya please?"

At Enterprise's request Salem gets up and waves. "Pleasure to meet everyone."

After she sits down Kraken gets up. "Hello everyone. I can't wait to work with you all!"

After Kraken sits down Enterprise points straight at me with a big grin. "Also while my mind is on it, let's give Alaska a big round of applause for sinking the USS New Jersey!"

Within seconds the room erupts in applause and cheering. Guam slaps me on the back and congratulates me before Enterprise gives another shrill whistle to bring our attention back to her and Intrepid.

"Are there any more comments, questions? If not I'll let Intrepid have the stage."

To my surprise Salem stands up and raises her hand. Enterprise points at her with an intrigued expression, and she raises her voice so everyone can hear her.

"Since I was only recently inducted, I have a piece of information that may be of value to us all. As of eight days ago I was out fishing and saw the Iowa-class battleships Missouri and Iowa heading south along the coast."

"Thank you Salem. The southernmost raiding party, I want you guys to be on high alert. If you meet those battleships let me know and I'll send Alaska your way. This goes without saying but do not engage them if possible, the only hybrids that are allowed to engage them are Intrepid, myself, and Alaska." Enterprise lectures, looking around the room for a moment before motioning for Intrepid to speak.

"Alright! For simplicity sake I'm going to send everyone the patrol roster. A few simple things to say though. As enterprise said, it's of utmost importance that you don't engage the human battleships. You won't get close enough to fire before they've already taken down your Klein Field. Follow the orders of your patrol leader or you'll be given picket duty. Stay away from the coast until all the raids are completed, and stay out of the way of any raiding parties. Any questions?"

"Yeah, I'm not on the roster, what gives?!" Mobile yells.

"You're not on the roster because you're helping me with a special operation on the mainland." Scylla responds with a sadistic grin, sending shivers down my spine as we all stare at her in surprise, with the exception of Enterprise and Intrepid. "We're leaving this afternoon in all likelihood, once our transport is ready. So make sure you're ready by then!"

Mobile sends Scylla a nod. "I'll grab what I need when the meeting is done."

"Good, and make sure you have some extra nanomaterials on hand, we'll need them!" Scylla chuckles.

"Any other questions?" Intrepids asks with a sigh, scanning the room for any raised hands.

Samoa raises her hand, and Enterprise points at her, permitting her to speak.

"Do we have a designated time to launch our raids? Or is it up to the raid leaders?"

"Everyone will begin their raids after dark. Earliest time is twenty-two-hundred hours." Enterprise responds, rolling her shoulders. "Stay well away from the coast until then. Any other questions?"

"Mines. Are we allowed to lay any? Or no?" Oakland asks without raising her hand.

"Subsurface mines sure, but make sure they can't be seen and mark where you put each one. If anyone has any further questions feel free to ask me or Intrepid. These orders are effective immediately. Dismissed!"

As everyone starts talking with each other, some people like my sister and Oakland set out. I find Enterprise, and pull her aside. "So, aside from QRF, what do you want me to do?"

"You'll be handling the raid reports. Document what's destroyed, damaged, or otherwise, and keep it organised."

"You got it. What about Salem?"

"Let her sleep for now. It's been a long day and a half for her, and if your reports are correct she's been going like hell during training. As a matter of fact, make sure she goes to bed."

"Alrighty, I'll drag her to her ship."

"Cheers." Enterprise chirps as I walk back over to where Salem's sitting.

"Up. You've got six hours to sleep, and you're going to want every second of it."

"But-" Salem starts to argue, but I grab her by the wrist and haul her to her feet, not in the mood to argue.

"No buts. You're going to bed, or I'm going to knock you out and put you there."

"At least let me-"

*WHACK!*

After everyone leaves for their assignments I wait in my bridge as it gets dark, watching the weather steadily deteriorate into a lightning storm, the swells steadily growing to twelve feet after the clock hits midnight. Reports steadily stream in from all of the raiders, and I document them all while relaxing in my chair. Eventually as the night starts to come to an end the raid groups all report in one by one.

{Alaska, Oakland. We've laid mines near Juneau, I've sent you the coordinates. Commencing our second raid.}

"Roger that, good luck and happy hunting." I respond, staring out at the torrent of rain.

{Healy here. Tally up four fishing boats and a trawler. Concluding our route and returning to the fleet. Have Hope on standby, Lightning got hit by her namesake again.}

Suppressing the urge to sigh I send Hope a message requesting she be on standby, and acknowledge Healy before contacting Helena. "How's the raid going?"

{The raid's gone to shit! Samoa's trapped in the river mouth and we're being headed off by two battleships inbound from the south!}

"What?! How is Samoa stuck?!"

{She's run aground on the old bridge! There's shore guns firing at her, and none of us can get close! If we don't get out of here though we're going to get shot up by the battleships!}

"Have Samoa scuttle and try to hide along the coast. Get out of there and withdraw to a safe distance. I'll be there in two hours." I snip, raising my anchor and applying full power to the engines.

{She's set scuttling charges and is halfway to shore already. I can confirm that there's two battleships, they're fighting together.}

"How likely is your escape?"

{Very. Samoa ordered us all out of the river mouth when she ran aground. We've got a significant head start on them, and we're faster.}

"You were going to leave my sister behind?!"

{No! She ordered us out, and was going to take a skiff out to one of us. Then the battleships showed up on radar, and she told us to just get out of dodge! I swear, I wouldn't leave Samoa behind.}

Taking a breath I calm myself and think for a moment before formulating a response.

"Thanks Helena. Bring everyone back to the fleet, I'll try to find the battleships. Samoa knows the area, so she should be able to find a good place to hide."

{...Roger that. Samoa reports she's on dry land, and she'll contact us if anything happens.}

System alert: Lvl 1 Distress beacon, Samoa(H), Alaska-class large cruiser.

Seconds after Helena cuts her communication with me Samoa activates her locator, and then her movement on a small map stops. After a few minutes it gets moving again, but much more slowly, and it's headed towards a road that I know she knows is there. I send her a request to speak, and mere seconds later another panel pops up in front of me.

System alert: Lvl 2 Distress beacon, Samoa(H), Alaska-class large cruiser.

{Hey Sis. Sorry, I fucked up. The Army was waiting for me.}

"Don't worry about it. I'll get you out. Everyone else will gladly help too. Keep me updated."

{Will do.}

My search for the battleships ends up a bust. Upon my arrival the seas are a churning mess, the winds reaching upwards of fifty knots and spraying salt water all over my deck from the caps of the waves. Any sort of gun battle would have to be at close range due to the decreased visibility, and that wouldn't benefit anyone. And despite the advanced Fog technology filtering out most of the interference, the rain is coming down so hard that it's showing up on radar in places.

By noon I give up on my hunt for the two battleships, and I proceed curse the weather all the way back to the fleet. Upon my arrival I find all the PT's loaded up in the LST's, riding out the awful weather, along with most of everyone keeping their bulkheads closed and locked so the water washing the deck doesn't get in.

{Alaska, we're in my ready room trying to formulate a rescue plan. Feel free to join us.}

"Got it E. I'm on my way."

I drop anchor beside Enterprise and sprint across the open water, almost making record time into the ready room at the base of her conning tower. Once inside I dry my clothes and look around to find very few people there. Enterprise, Guam, Intrepid, Vallette, Helena, Kako, and Aurora all stand around a map on a holopanel, with the latter two primarily dominating the discussion.

"What do we have so far?" I ask, quickly striding over.

"Not much. We know where Samoa's being held, but other than that we've got nothing. The weather is making it impossible to do any recon without putting boots on the ground, but we do know that the security where she is will be tight." Enterprise responds, being backed up by several nods from everyone else.

"Meaning there's almost no way of doing this quietly." I mutter, looking at the blip on the map.

"I wish I could be of more help, but we never went to a base that far inland. Only the battleships did." Kako grumbles.

I stare at the map for a moment before jerking my head up. "Wait, did you say the battleships went there?"

"Yeah. For refueling and rearming."

A few seconds later it clicks in my mind, and I wheel around, jogging out the bulkhead, across the flight deck, then running over the churning water to Hope's ship. Inside, I find Hope casually talking with Amura.

"Oh, hello Alaska. How can I help you today?" Hope asks, setting down her cup.

"Hi Hope. It's actually not how you can help me. I need to borrow Amura for a moment."

"Why so? She has no core yet." Hope inquires with a raised eyebrow.

"She has info that will help with Samoa's rescue, and I'm not taking no for an answer."

"And what makes you think I'll tell you anything?!" Amura bristles.

"Because if you don't, I've got a cinderblock and some rope waiting for you up on deck. Now, come with me, or we'll do things the hard way." I threaten, grabbing her arm.

"I can't allow you to just take her like this Alaska." Hope warns, starting to stand up.

"I'm taking her, and if she tells me what I want then I'll bring her back. As you said, she doesn't have a core. Therefore, she's just another human, and you know what our orders are if humans resist."

Hope freezes, then sits back down, a regretful look on her face. "I understand. Very well, go ahead."

I yank Amura to her feet and pull her towards the stairs. Eventually she gets her footing and jerks her arm out of my grasp, walking herself over my holopanel walkway to Enterprise. Once we get inside the ready room I steer her towards the map.

"You've been to the Portland naval facility before, haven't you?"

"Yes, I have." She growls through clenched teeth.

"Good. Identify any key buildings. Headquarters, munitions stores, hospitals."

"I'm not tell-" Amura starts, but freezes when I pull her confiscated pistol from my waistband and stick it against her temple.

"Choose your next words carefully, because they might be your last." I snarl, glaring at her.

Everyone else takes a shocked step away from the map, and Kako is the first to speak up.

"Woah woah! Wait! Alaska, isn't this a bit extreme?! You don't need to do this!"

"Amura, please God just tell her what you know." Aurora pleads, looking between me and the woman at gunpoint.

"I… Alright, I'll tell you what I know." Amura stammers, stepping forward to the map. "This large building here is the area hospital. The HQ is across the street from there. Down the block where that black dot is was a high-security zone, so I don't know what's in there. These small buildings by the dockyards are the access elevators to the munitions bunkers. That's all I know. We were restricted pretty heavily."

Each location she points to on the map leaves a labeled marker, and once she's done I stuff the pistol back in my waistband. "Thank you. Kako, bring Amura back to Hope."

"Got it. Come on." Kako mutters, steering a highly-motivated Amura towards the door.

Once the two of them are gone Aurora glares at me. "That was unnecessary."

"No, I'd do the same thing if Juneau was in Samoa's place." Helena says before I can respond to Aurora. "And I know that Mobile would do the same for Topeka."

Aurora looks like she wants to continue her criticism, but she gives a sigh of resignation and turns her attention towards the map, choosing to end the conversation.

"The best idea I can come up with is that both Intrepid and I launch a wave of bombers, and then you and whoever you're taking with you ride along on the second wave, jumping out before the bombs are dropped." Enterprise proposes after a couple hours of debate.

"That's a risky idea… we'll have to get closer to Portland to do it, but it can be done." Intrepid mutters, nodding her head.

SYSTEM ALARM: Lvl 3 Distress beacon, Samoa(H), Alaska-class large cruiser.

"That plan's going to have to work. Oakland and Roberts, we're setting out. You'll both be going ashore with me to get Samoa." I order, running out into the torrent of rain.

{Roger that!}

{Lead the way!}

{Alaska, we're all setting sail, even the rookies. We'll wait offshore for you.} Intrepid informs me as I get my ship moving.

"Oh… okay."

{Don't forget about us! We're coming along too!} Tryon cheers.

Before long, almost the entirety of the two fleets are in a defensive formation, with a couple people staying behind to protect Mobile and Hope. Scylla's ship, Brisky, and Gato all stay behind, with Shest and Tang being Kraken's tutors for the mission. Salem sticks near Helena and Juneau, her assigned tutors.

The closer to shore we get the more the rain clears up, to the point where we can actually see each other's ships, if only barely.

After what seems like an eternity, but was probably only an hour or so, Enterprise orders a fleet halt. Everyone slows to a dead stop and Intrepid starts materializing bombers on her flight deck.

{Alaska, Oakland, Roberts. If you want a ride, get to my flight deck now. The rearmost bomber has accommodations for you three.} Enterprise orders, having started prepping her planes when we started moving out.

"Roger E. I'm on the way." I respond, slaving my ship to follow her movements.

{Wolfpack, moving out to perform security.} Tang reports just as I start running over to Enterprise.

As my feet touch down on the deck Roberts runs over, followed shortly behind by Oakland, and we all climb in the bomber via the open bomb bay. Once inside, we head into the fuselage to the rear of the bomb bay, and find some extra nanomaterials, along with parachutes, a couple rifles that sort of resemble a polymer-clad AK, and a vest for each of us.

"Whatd'ya say we go for the 'spec-ops' look on this op?" Roberts jokes, changing her clothes to all black, sort of like our uniform, with a black jumpsuit, helmet, and balaclava to top it all off.

"Sounds good. The less people that see my face, the better." I grumble, copying her look before throwing on the vest and parachute. Once I'm sure everything is fitted correctly I attach the rifle to the front of my vest and take my father's pistol, stuffing it in a holster on the vest.

After we're all kitted up I take the last of the extra nanomaterials and store them as a drop-bag, then I sit down in one of the three seats, just as the engines on our bomber start up.

{Travel time will be roughly one hour. Feet-dry in forty-five minutes. First wave is off, second wave launching.} Enterprise reports as a clap of thunder can be heard.

"Roger that E. We're counting on you."

{I recommend you guys make some sort of goggles with those extra materials. It's gonna be a wet drop.}

Changing the drop bag back into the sand I form a third of it into a full-head helmet, the different shades of gray and black on the front of it looking almost exactly like the punisher skull. Then using holo panels I make a heads-up display of sorts, allowing me to see through like a visor.

Oakland and Roberts follow my lead, exactly copying my design as our plane lurches forward. I can feel us accelerate, and then there's a stomach-churning drop as we clear the end of the flight deck.

{All planes away. Good luck, keep in touch.}

"Will do. I'll send you a message when we have her."

"So what's the plan?" Roberts asks, checking her rifle.

"We go in quiet at first, using the bombing as a distraction, and when we get busted we go loud. We grab Samoa, and get out of dodge."

"Sounds like a solid plan, but how do these parachutes work?" She asks, holding a thick strap with a sturdy carabiner on one end, the other end being part of the parachute pack.

"These are static line parachutes. You clip that end onto the plane, and when you jump out it deploys your chute just like a glorified ripcord." Oakland explains, resting the line on her shoulder. "We used to use 'em when I volunteered as a smokejumper."

"What do we do if our chute doesn't deploy?"

In response Oakland chuckles behind her helmet as she leans back in her seat, relaxing for the ride.

"Start praying."

"If we get any lower we're not going to need parachutes!" Roberts yells, looking down the bomb bay towards the ground below.

"We'll be fine! Shut up and hook up!" Oakland yells back, her hook already secured on the frame of the bomber. I shuffle up to stand beside Roberts and hook her static hook on the frame before shuffling back to my spot and hooking up, waiting for the four bombs in the bomb bay to get out of the way.

"Once the bombs are out, don't hesitate!" I yell, checking to make sure my rifle is secure.

{Oakland here, switching to comms for jump.}

{Roberts here, good idea.}

"ETA 'till drop… ten seconds."

{Time to dance!} Oakland cheers as the first bomb falls out of its rack, followed shortly after by a second, then the third.

Oakland jumps once her side is clear, and after the fourth bomb is out on our side I jump. The deployment of the parachute is like getting thrown off a horse, and by the time I've caught my breath my feet hit the ground.

I cut loose my chute and turn all the nanomaterials into a small backpack, storing it out of the way while keeping the materials with me.

"I'm on the ground, no contact."

{Oakland, I'm on the ground. Moving to you Alaska.}

{Roberts here, all clear. Moving to rendezvous.}

Just as I hunker down in an alley the bombs all go off, shaking the ground as they destroy the ammunition elevators.

{Alaska, Samoa's beacon has moved, she's in the hospital now.} Enterprise reports.

"Roger that, We're on the ground and getting ready to move."

{Be fast. I've got a bad feeling.}

After she cuts the comms I hear footsteps behind me and glance over my shoulder to find the other two raiders running up. Oakland gives me a nod, and I adjust my grip on my rifle before standing up and walking out into the empty street.

Down one block, over two, through an alleyway, and we're behind the hospital, having noted a heavy presence of sentries around the whole building.

Peeking through a bush I watch four soldiers as they stand by the rear entrance. All are heavily armed, but they don't seem on high alert, instead they stand in a circle, casually chatting and laughing. I raise my rifle and peek out of the bush down the street, noting the reason for their lax attitude, a tank, blocking the road, with at least half a dozen guys standing near it.

"No doing this quietly. Let's take the door guards and storm the place." I mutter, receiving two beeps on comms as acknowledgements.

Forming a shield of sorts that covers my full front around my rifle I step forward out of the bushes, hitting the two soldiers that are facing us. Oakland drops the other two, and we all run forward, out of the firing line of the other soldiers and the tank. Roberts bursts through the door and drops two more, receiving a hail of bullets in return that she blocks with her klein field. I follow shortly behind, with Oakland right on my tail, and she seals the door closed using nanomaterials before we move on, now following the beacon.

{Down to the basement?} Roberts asks in disbelief, looking down a stairwell.

"The beacon's down there, so yeah." I grumble, leading the way down. Once we're at the same altitude as Samoa's core beacon I notice a sign above the door that makes my blood run cold.

[Morgue and Autopsy]

After Oakland kicks in the door I storm through to find a hall full of soldiers. Roberts fires over my shoulder and decimates half of them, while my klein field takes all of the return fire. Then she shoots the other half, and I rush forward, stepping over bodies to the door of the morgue.

"Roberts, Oakland, check the morgue."

{Roger, kick it in on three.} Oakland mutters before they privatize their comms. I move down to the end of the hall, where the beacon is, and raise a full shield around myself before opening the door.

On the center of three tables lies a body, bruised and bloodied, but that's not what angers me, my limbs shaking as I stare at the group of people in scrubs. No, what angers me is that one of them, closest to me, holds a black Union Core, his rubber gloves covered in blood. Everyone looks my way and freezes, most with a completely terrified look in their eyes.

Holding the rifle at my hip so it's aimed at them I raise my left arm and point at the doctor holding Samoa's core, then I turn my hand over and curl my index finger repeatedly in a 'come here' gesture. Slowly, he moves forward, and I extend my hand for him to give me her core, in return he freezes in his tracks, not moving another inch.

At his reluctance to give me the core I flip the fire selector on my rifle to 'full' and speak to him for the first time, talking slowly to emphasize my point. "Give me her core, or everyone here dies. Right here, right now."

One of the doctors grabs a scalpel and puts it near my sister's throat, threatening to cut it. "You start shooting and she dies!"

"She's already dead. She was as good as dead the second you removed her core." I respond, looking at him for a second before returning my gaze to the doctor holding Samoa's core. "Give that to me, now."

Reluctantly, he steps forward and places her core in my hand just as Oakland and Roberts walk in behind me, raising their rifles and aiming at the rest of the doctors. I motion with my rifle barrel for the doctor in front of me to move, and he raises his hands above his head, stepping to the side.

"Oakland, Roberts, round everyone up and line 'em up against the wall."

{Got it boss.}

{Roger.}

Oakland grabs the doctor closest to me and gives him a rough shove towards the back wall as Roberts moves over to Samoa's corpse, herding them away from it at gunpoint as I slowly walk over the examination table, letting the rifle hang by my side as I hold her core tightly in my gloved hand. I use some nanomaterials and close up her chest cavity, holding back tears while I use the backpack of materials to clothe her, in preparation of moving her. As I look at her the hand holding the core starts to tingle, and I look down to find it crumbling, dissolving almost. I watch curiously as the black-tinted powder moves to the cuff of my glove, then into my sleeve.

"Is that what Scylla meant by devouring Des Moines…?" I wonder aloud before my whole body erupts in the worst pain I've ever experienced. Every bone feels like it's shattering, every millimeter of flesh feels like I'm being burned alive, and as I collapse to the floor I can't even scream. My head feels like it's splitting open, and when I suck in a desperate breath of air it feels as though I didn't take a breath at all.

Then, as quickly as the pain started, it stops. I gasp for air, and take a moment on the floor before Roberts rushes over, helping me to my feet.

{Hey, you alright?} She asks, and I know she has that incredibly worried look in her eyes, despite not being able to see her face through the helmet.

"Y-yeah, I think so. Everything just… I don't know, it felt like I got thrown into a fire or something. I'm good now." I huff, grabbing the edge of the table.

{What are we going to do with the doctors? They know about the hybrid program.}

Steadying myself, I shrug off Roberts and walk over to Oakland, feeling oddly weak in the muscles. "Why do you think I had you line them up?"

Roberts moves to stand beside me, and I hear clicks as they both flip their fire selectors to 'full'.

"Ready."

All three of us put the stocks into our shoulders, and a look of realization spreads across the faces of the doctors, some muttering prayers under their breath.

"Aim."

We raise our rifles, and most of the people close their eyes, knowing what's going to happen next. Strangely, I don't feel anything but a serene warmth. A feeling of purpose I guess.

"Fire."

In the enclosed space the roar of automatic fire drowns out the screaming as we gun down the half dozen or so people, completely draining our magazines before we lower our weapons and reload.

Turning away from the bloody carnage I start towards the door, pulling security to make sure we don't get snuck up on. "Roberts, grab Samoa. Let's go home."

{Copy that.}

Once Roberts picks up my sister I lead the way out of the autopsy room, followed close behind by Roberts, with Oakland in the rear. We climb over the bodies in the hallway and head up the stairs, into the ground floor hallway. When we exit the stairway and I step into the hallway I jerk my rifle up aiming at three Navy personnel, all in dress uniforms. The trio freeze in their tracks, and I stare at them for a moment before lowering my rifle. I reach up and pull the pistol from its holster, decocking it prior to sliding it towards the tall man in the center as Roberts and Oakland walk out into the hallway, attracting their attention, especially that of the man in the center.

Oakland aims at the three, and I motion for her to lead on, motioning with my arm behind us. She nods in turn and lowers her rifle, spinning around and jogging down the hall, Roberts hot on her heels. I look at the center man before sighing.

"I'm sorry. I broke my promise. I couldn't keep her safe."

With that I back away, pivoting on one foot and jogging to catch up with my partners, a quick glance over my shoulder as I round a corner reveals him with his foot on the pistol, preventing the other two from grabbing it and shooting me in the back. We run to a side entrance, killing two more inside and three more outside before we make our escape into the town, using alleyways primarily as a way around patrols until we reach the river.

"Enterprise, Alaska. Objective secured, awaiting pickup."

{Roger that. Tang, that's your cue.}

Within seconds the Green-accented submarine breaches the surface and the deck gun traverses, looking for targets while a green holopanel walkway materializes, allowing us access.

Roberts runs onto it first, followed by me, then Oakland. All three of us climb onto the conning tower and drop down into the hatch, with it shutting once Oakland is in. Inside the dimly-lit submarine interior Tang rushes down a corridor, motioning for Roberts to follow her while the sound of water rushing over us can be heard through the hull. Oakland and I sit down and wait for several minutes until Tang's dread-filled voice can be heard through the fleet comms.

{Subject suspended… vital signs null. Testing mental functions… nothing. She's gone.}

Still feeling a buzz in my head I unclip my rifle from me and place it on the floor next to me, slumping forward to rest my head in my hands as tears roll down my cheeks. "God… damn it!"

[Communications request:]

[ERROR;NO_UNIT]

"Who are you and what do you want?!" I yell in frustration.

{It's me. I figured we should talk.}

My head jerks up at the voice. "S-sis?"

{Yeah… kinda. This is going to sound really strange… but I think something happened with my core before I got drugged and taken into that autopsy room.}

"What?"

{I'm seeing everything through your eyes. Like, no shit.}

"How?"

{I don't know, but when we get back I think we should ask Brisky about it.}

"Glad we agree on something."

Upon our arrival back at the rally point, there's a solemn mood that accompanies us all the way back to the fleet anchoring point. The further out to sea we get, the calmer the waves get, and by the time we've all anchored around Brisky and Hope the seas are dead calm. The overcast skies stay gloomy, but they no longer dump rain on us. I drop anchor and almost immediately head to Brisky to make my report. The second my feet hit the deck I'm sucked into a Concept Comms, standing in front of the mental model, who for once doesn't look all that intense.

"I heard the news. Are you sure you killed all witnesses?" She asks, motioning for me to sit.

"All on-site witnesses were killed." I confirm, sitting down. "However, due to the sheer size of the situation, there may be more that know."

Brisky stares at me for a moment before sighing. "I suppose it was inevitable. You have your operational recording, correct?"

"Yes ma'am. Sending it to you now." I pull up the saved recording and send it to her, waiting for a moment while her vastly superior processor looks it over.

"You absorbed Samoa's core?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Did you get a contact request from an unnamed entity, who had the same voice as Samoa?"

"I did ma'am."

"I see… Once we are done here I want you to report to Hope. This has happened once before with another hybrid, and the result was not good."

"I-if I may ask, what happened?" I inquire nervously, somewhat wary of the situation now.

"The personality of the entrapped individual slowly degraded over time into a state of rampancy, which quickly drove the hybrid who saved her insane. Seydlitz eventually turned on her fleet, and they were forced to kill her." She responds, pouring herself a cup of tea.

"O-oh… Is there any way to prevent that?" I ask slowly, feeling like I've signed my own death warrant.

"Not for certain, there may be one way, but I need you to visit Hope first. Now go, and report back to me once you're done there."

"Yes ma'am."

I'm kicked out of the concept comms, and I jump the railing, running over to Hope's ship and heading belowdecks. As I did last time, I find Hope having tea with Amura, and the both of them scowl at me upon my entrance.

"Hello Alaska. My sympathies for the loss of Samoa. What do you need?" Hope asks.

"First off, Amura, I'm sorry for what I did. Thank you for the information, and once everything calms down I want to start fresh. Secondly, Hope, I'm here on orders from Brisky. I'm to report to you for a medical and psychological evaluation." I huff, out of breath and slightly panicking.

"How urgent is it and why so soon after your loss?" Hope inquires with a raised eyebrow.

"...Does the name Seydlitz ring any bells?"

Hope's posture stiffens, and she sets her cup of tea down before quickly standing up. "Follow me, now. Amura please wait here until I'm done."

"Got it, Hope." Amura responds, looking slightly confused.

I follow Hope into one of the examination rooms, and she closes the door behind us, pointing at the examination table. "Sit."

Following her order I sit down as she swarms over me, using several fancy machines that I don't bother trying to understand the purpose of. She asks me a few questions while she works, and makes notes on a holopanel several times before relaxing.

"I'll send the results to Brisky. Please head back to her immediately."

With a sigh I stand up and open the door, getting through the threshold before pausing. "Thanks Hope."

"Don't mention it, now get going."

I nod and jog down the hall, taking a shortcut up to the deck before running back over to Brisky. Again, I'm pulled into another concept comms, but this time it's different. I'm sitting, and across from me are three people, two of which are Montana and Brisky, but I don't recognize the third.

"Hello Alaska. Skip the formalities this time please, we have business to attend to." Montana says with her usual smile.

"Of course."

"I have received the medical report from Hope, and I'll say it is exactly what I was expecting. Montana, Alaska is ready, and given the circumstances I believe proceeding with the final stage would be the best course of action." Brisky reports, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"We've received it as well, you don't need to tell us. Look at Alaska, you've confused her. Explain it to her, it's her choice after all." The mystery woman scolds Brisky, tilting back in her chair and resting her bare feet on the table.

"Of course. Alaska, in your current state there is one thing that could preserve the mental quality of you and your sister." Brisky begins, looking me in the eyes. "The pain you experienced during the mission was your core preparing your body and mind for the main goal of the Hybrid Program, which is to create Mental Models. Your body is converted completely into Nanomaterials, and your psyche is stored indefinitely in your core. In this situation, not only would you be preserved, but Samoa would as well, and the two of you would control your ship together."

"For instance, Alaska." Montana begins, motioning to herself, then to the mystery woman next to her. "I have two Mental Models. The two of us can run processes separately, but during combat I control the directioning of the ship and the primary armament, and she controls the auxiliary functions."

"Hello Alaska, it's a pleasure to meet you. Please, just call me Maria." The mystery woman finally introduces herself, sending a friendly wave my way.

"So… what you're telling me… is that I've got the option to become a mental model, and that I'll be able to fight together with my sister?"

"That is exactly what we're telling you." Montana giggles. "And given that only large capital ships can support two mental models, you'll be given an upgrade to an Iowa-class, as well as you'll also become one of my lieutenants. Should you accept, of course."

"I… um…." I start, only to be interrupted by a message.

[Message from: ERROR:NO_UNIT]

[Oh for the love of pete. YES! SAY YES! Do you really want us both to go crazy?!]

"I accept your offer." I say with a smile. "On one condition: I get to keep my kinetic armament."

Maria and Montana both look at each other while Montana holds a finger to Brisky's lips, keeping her silent, and then they both look at me, uttering one word simultaneously. "Deal."

"Oktyabrskaya, I'll be sending four liberty cargo ships your way with nanomaterials for the procedure. The activation codes are uploaded and on standby. Do not disappoint." Montana snips before I'm kicked from the concept comms. Without any orders I shrug and walk over to my ship, changing into some pajamas before lounging around on my bed, 'talking' with my sister.

A few hours pass, and just as four ships register on radar on the horizon Brisky contacts me.

{Alaska, sit in your captain's chair. Once the nanomaterial ships get close enough we'll be beginning the procedure.}

"Roger that. How long will this last?"

{Given that we are linking two cores to one ship, Simulations show ten days minimum. Fifteen days maximum.}

"Oh… alright." I mutter, sitting down in the soft and cushy chair. The wait is short, and as they slow a half mile away I can see the decks of the ships are covered in what looks like wooden crates, which I know are a simple way of storing extra nanomaterials.

{Are you ready? I need you to say it.}

Leaning back in my chair I take a deep breath and put my head against the headrest, closing my eyes. "I'm ready."

In an instant I feel a small buzz in my chest, and my world plunges into a silent darkness.

A/N: So that's what I forgot to upload... sorry y'all. There's more coming. I got burned out on writing but I'm slowly getting back into the saddle.

Hope y'all enjoyed!

Thanks everyone for the reviews! Keep 'em coming!