A/N: Two chapters in one week?! What madness is this?!

Well, consider this a Christmas present. Merry Christmas everyone.

As always, I hope you enjoy, leave a review if you want, and don't forget to check out Touhoufanatic's 'daemons of the fog' for the other side of this story!

Silence, and serenity. A peace like no other.

Purpose, and strength. Feeling like the biggest, baddest motherfucker in town, being able to talk the talk and walk the walk.

'Is this what power feels like?'

Before I even open my eyes I know where I'm at. I lay on the forward superfiring sixteen-inch turret. Below me on the fore turret sits my sister, grinning up at me.

"It worked!" I cheer, launching myself at her. Our collision feels like a simple tap, and we hug each other on the turret for a moment before we're both sent a concept comms invitation by Montana.

We both instantly accept, and find ourselves seated across a diner booth from Montana and Maria, both seeming greatly pleased.

"Hello. I see the transformation went smoothly." Montana hums happily, sipping at a glass of coca-cola.

"How do you both feel?" Maria asks.

"Like I'm ready to take on the whole human fleet. This feeling is amazing." I respond, clenching and unclenching my fists.

"I feel… I guess thoughtful would be the word. I can think of something, and it doesn't hold all of my attention."

"That's good. That means everything went smoothly. There are two things that need to be discussed at this moment, so shall we begin?" Maria asks, taking a drink of what looks like coffee.

"Of course ma'am, whenever you're ready, we are too."

The two of them smile at that, showing teeth in a fiendish grin that would normally, if I were still human, send a shiver down my spine.

"First order of business, you will now be the permanent Fog liaison of H-26G. That isn't all that difficult, be there, make sure they follow protocol, and punish them if they break any rules." Montana starts, looking bored. "You'll still be able to go hunt the human battleships, just keep the raiding fleet in mind. I may have you go visit other fleets too."

After I give a nod Maria speaks up. "You also have a new name! From here on in the Fog database you'll be named Missouri. You have full access to the database, and can figure out a name for the ex-Samoa later."

The two of us give nods in response, and Montana claps her hands together.

"Splendid! You're dismissed!"

I disconnect and get up off the gun turret roof, walking confidently up the length of the center 16 inch gun until I reach the end. Then I turn around and visually examine my… body, grinning at the powerful visage laid out before me.

"Gotta admit, I'm so used to seeing the modern version that the 40's version looks kinda weird." My sister mutters, standing on the gun beside me.

"Personally, I like the 40's version more." I respond, jumping down from the gun to the deck. "Plus, the 40's version actually gives you something to do."

"Hey! The phalanx is better than any anti-aircraft system we have on here!"

"And? We're stuck with the 40's version, the code prohibits modern versions of ships."

She pauses for a moment, and I can tell she's verifying what I said on the Fog network. "Dammit…" she groans, slumping her shoulders. "Maybe we could ask Montana for an exception?"

"Right, because that'd go over well. Do you want to end up patrolling the Arctic Circle?"

"...Fair enough."

"Yo, you two look like you had some fun while I was gone!"

I look over to find Scylla walking over on some panels, a stupid grin covering her face.

"Yeah, something like that." I respond with a shrug and a smile. "How was the mission?"

"Pretty good, I got seventeen scientist kills to Mobile's eight, and seventy four army kills on the way out. Took out about six possibly dangerous projects and have leads on a couple prototypes that are out and about that my splinter fleet will have to hunt down in the coming weeks."

"Your fleet? Congratulations." I say with a smirk, giving her a thumbs-up.

"It's just a splinter fleet. Still part of Brisky's but can take independent action." Scylla says with a shrug. "The Pacific special actions and support fleet. Special ops and backup basically. You look like you've gotten quite the upgrade too. What made you finally go Foggy?"

"Nobody hurts my family and gets away with it. And… well it's kinda complicated. If you're interested just look up the Seydlitz incident. Pretty much I was ready, and we went ahead with the procedure to prevent... that."

In seconds her eye flashes its brilliant green and I know she's looking up the files. Out of curiosity I access the Fog network and look it up too, finding a dozen different files on it. One in particular catches my attention, and I start scrolling through it.

Journal entry #1,

7/14/2053, 2147 hours

I just woke up after the mission a little while ago, and after talking to Mercy we came to the conclusion that I should keep a journal regarding the voice in my head who claims to be Nürnberg, my sister. When I asked what happened to her she said that the army soldiers who captured her raped her, and she withdrew her psyche into her core. The bastards, I'll kill them all, even if I have to hunt them down!

Noting the sheer number of journal entries I scroll through them a bit, selecting one at random.

Journal entry #126,

12/25/2053, 0120 hours

Merry fucking Christmas. Nürnberg won't shut up! I haven't gotten anymore than two hours of sleep each night since the beginning of the month, and no matter how much I beg her to shut up she just keeps talking. I just want her to give me a break.

Finally, I scroll to the bottom, reading the last entry.

Journal entry #145

2/17/2054, 0512 hours

Nürnberg's right, I'm no longer allowed on missions, I'm no longer allowed to leave Spee's side. I'm not a member of the fleet, I'm a prisoner. I'm leaving, and if they think they can stop me, they're welcome to try.

Mütter, we're coming home. Both of us.

"Hey, earth to Missouri. Get your head out of the tactical network."

"Hmm?" I look around to find Scylla standing there impatiently, with Danielle beside her.

"Getting lost in lala land much?"

"Nah, just reading up on what Seydlitz went through." I respond, walking up the side of my superstructure like I saw Scylla do when she first became a mental model. "Okay, this is really weird."

"Yeah, ain't it great!" Scylla asked with a smile. "So, both of ya are one now, how's that feel?"

"I'm not gonna lie, I feel badass." I giggle, opening up my systems and sensor arrays.

"Same here. I never realized an Iowa-class had so much anti-aircraft. Plus being able to think about so many different things at once… It's awesome!" My sister cheers, jumping up and grabbing one of the 16-inch guns, pulling herself up onto it with complete ease, as if she were as light as paper.

"Well that's good. Your increased processing power, even split between two of you should be nice." Scylla says with a smile, that suddenly turns strange. "Say, there was one piece of information I heard on my mission, about your old man actually."

"We actually haven't split it. We both have our own processors from what I understand. And what about our old man?" I correct, then ask.

"Well it seems one of the leads of the academy I broke into was interested in his, dealings with you and the fact that he was spared by you, twice. He's losing some minor rank, but being moved to some sort of research group that is soon to be formed. It's on my future hit list if it makes anything dangerous." Scylla explained, sounding completely uncaring as she did.

"Shit… guess I need to cover my tracks then, eh?"

"Meh, depends, I'd just say screw it myself and stop caring." Scylla shrugs. "I've got something to look into, so I'll talk later!"

"Alrighty, later Scylla!" I cheer, giving her a friendly wave as she walks off.

"So how about we go talk with people and get caught up on what happened while we were out?" Danielle asks, looking over at Tryon, Worcester and Roanoke.

"Sure go ahead. I'm gonna go chat up Salem."

When I step off my deck and walk over the water I don't feel the disconnect. I continue to feel energized, and I love it. When I step onto Salem's deck I even feel a link with her ship, telling me her status, the status of the ship, and the status of her klein field. I know just by standing there that she's on her bridge, and walk up a staircase to her.

"Hey! What're you up to in here?" I ask, opening the door to find her laying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She looks over and shrugs in a bored manner.

"Nothing really. Just waiting. So what happened to you? We weren't allowed to talk to you or anything."

I close the door behind me and walk over, sitting down beside her. "It's complicated. Put simply, I've got a new name and I'm a mental model."

She sits up and looks me over. "O-oh sorry ma'am."

I laugh and pat her on the back. "Relax, I'm not gonna be getting on your case. I'm Missouri now, just try to get that down, alright?"

"Okay…" She sighs in relief, laying back down.

"So… have you tried talking to your sister yet?" I ask, knowing it's a sensitive subject.

"Yeah. That other sub, Shest, she stepped in before I got too far along, and they went out for a patrol."

"Oh, bummer. Well, how about we get some people together and go for a raid?"

"Yeah sure."

"Sweet. I've got some loose ends to tie up inland, but when I'm done we'll blow some shit up."

"Alright, we'll stage away from the fleet."

I give her a thumbs up and walk out, towards Intrepid, watching the deck of the carrier for any movement as I near. I walk across the deck and down into the lounge, eyeing the passed-out hybrids throughout the room. I pick out a couple and wake them individually, getting strange looks but acceptance, but having my requests be obeyed.

I roust Augusta, Fall, Pasadena, and Savannah, then send a message to Enterprise telling her I'm borrowing the hybrids for a bit before we all set out. At seventy miles out we drop anchor, and I make a copy of myself, changing the appearance drastically before saving it in my files and turning the nanomaterials into an RQ-2 drone.

I navigate the little drone over the water, up an empty fjord, and up over the Oregon countryside, more than a hundred miles inland.

The view from the gimbal ball of the small drone is downright nostalgic, looking down at the town I'd lived in my entire life. Everything's right where I remember, from the little family-ran convenience store, to the burger joint my friends and I used to go to every Friday after school. Then there's the low-key mechanic's shop where I would spend nearly every weekend with my uncle.

I easily locate my old house and bring the drone into the alley, crash-landing it and forming my model. I confidently stride up to the door and knock, knowing I won't be recognized.

My mother pulls the door open, and I compose what I'm going to say before speaking.

"Good day ma'am, could I have a few minutes of your time? It's regarding your two daughters."

She instantly stands up a little straighter and moves on the doorway. "Of course! Please, come in."

I enter and try to act like I don't know the interior, looking around and recalling all my childhood memories. To the left inside the door is the stairway up to our bedrooms, and directly ahead is the hallway leading to the kitchen.

"Please, follow me." My mom mutters, leading the way down the hallway, taking the first opening on the right into the living room. I sit down on the couch, and she starts towards the kitchen. "Would you like something to drink?"

"No, thank you. I had plenty of coffee on the way here."

"So have you found them? Are they okay?" She asks, returning with a cup of coffee.

"I know where Danielle is. She's understandably happy, and she's even got help with her PTSD from the bombing outside her work."

"And what about Mikka?"

"She's less happy, however she's planning a couple things. Some of which should provide more opportunities to visit."

"Where are they?"

I shake my head in response. "I can't disclose that at the moment."

"Why not?! I have a right to know where my children are, especially considering one is under 18!"

I pause for a moment, running an idea through my processors, then how to go through with it. "May I use your restroom really quick? I'll make a call to my superiors."

"Of course. Down the hall, door on the left."

I nod and walk down the hall, into the bathroom and closing the door behind me. Then I revert back to my usual appearance and voice, changing my clothes to match my physique, all the while listening to make sure I'm not being listened in on. I link up with the wifi router and patch into the internet, shuffling through information until I find what I was hoping didn't exist.

A news link, simply titled 'Fog Using Humans'. I save the link and disconnect, but not before linking up with my dad's computer and leaving a backdoor in through the firewall.

Once I'm done there I finish up, check my appearance in the mirror, and head back out, down the hall to the living room, walking in shyly.

"Hey Mom…"

Her head jerks up when she hears my voice, and she stares wide-eyed at me for a moment. "Where have you been young lady?! You've had me worried sick! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"I know mom… it's complicated. I can't go into details, but I've been traveling the coast. I'm going to have to leave soon, but I'll keep in touch. I promise."

She falls silent for a moment, staring at me. "W-what? You can't leave! You just got here!"

"I know… believe me, I know. But I really can't stay."

"What is so important that you can't stay?! You haven't even been home for ten minutes!"

"I know! It's…. listen, I'll tell you, but it doesn't leave this room. Understand? Dad knows, but I made him swear to secrecy as well."

"Yes. I promise."

I take a deep breath and process how to break it to her gently. "You know… the news just did a report on the Fog using humans to add to their ranks…"

Her jaw goes slack, and the look she gives me is one of confusion, then fear, then understanding. "So you're..."

I nod slowly. "Yeah...Truth be told though… it's not that bad."

"Destroying our infrastructure is 'not that bad'!?"

I put my hands out and shake my head. "No no no! That's the part that sucks! The health care and camaraderie is awesome!"

"Health care? How…?"

"Fleet doctor. Another hybrid."

"..." She watches me for a moment before pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm sorry. This is a lot to take in."

I nod, leaning back in my seat and crossing my arms. "Yeah. I know."

"How…. How many ships have you sank?"

"Two. USS New Jersey, and a guided missile cruiser."

She gasps and stares at me. "There weren't any survivors from the New Jersey."

I hang my head and shake it. "There was one. I brought her back to the fleet."

"What did they name you? I heard from your father after he went up to Seattle that there was one named Alaska that they'd captured."

"Alaska was me. But I recently got a promotion of sorts. They call me Missouri." I respond, using one of my secondary processors to send my sister a message. She responds several seconds later, and I smile. "Don't be freaked out, but someone wants to say hi."

I open a window, displaying footage from a camera that my sister constructed in the bridge.

{Hey mom!} My sister cheers, waving from the captain's chair.

"Danielle?!" My mom yells, looking at the holopanel.

{Yep! I miss you!}

"I miss you too… How are you? Your sister said you were getting help for your PTSD."

{Yep! I love it here! I get to be around ships, and I'm totally in my element when I nerd out!}

"And she nerds out alot." I add, teasing my sister as always.

{The only thing I don't like is not being able to go home. But everyone here is really nice! Oh, by the way Sis, you might want to hurry up. The Navy knows where we are.}

"Alright. I left my core on the ship, so…. Yeah, be there in a minute."

I close the holopanel and stand up. "I won't actually be completely gone. There's a thing we can do once we get our promotion, we can use a certain type of material to make copies of ourselves, which is what I'm doing now. I'll simply stash the materials in the house somewhere and I'll be able to visit whenever."

"O-okay… What kind of material?"

"It's kinda like sand."

"Then how about the big vase in the basement?"

"That's perfect."

I get up from the couch and offer her a hand up, hauling her to her feet after she takes the offer.

"Geez, you've gotten stronger." She mumbles in surprise as I walk down the hall.

"Yeah, I know. That's a part of the program. I've gotta leave some instructions for Dad, I'll be up in his office for a minute."

She looks at me strange for a second before I run up the stairs, passing the two rooms belonging to myself and my sister to go into my father's office. On his desk there's already a notepad, and I take the time to write legibly before leaving the notepad on his keyboard and heading back downstairs, down the hall to the stairway to the basement.

"Bye mom, I love you, and I'll be back sooner or later!"

I descend down into the dark basement, easily finding the empty large vase and dissolving my solid form, moving all of the nanomaterials into the vase before changing priority control back to my regular body containing my core.

"I'm back~!" I yell, walking out of the bridge.

"Four frigates, forty-three miles, coming out of the Columbia River!" Danielle yells back.

"Hmmm… Should we use the super graviton cannon….? Nah, we'll take 'em down the old-fashioned way."

I give the small task force the order to move out and get myself moving, turning to meet the four frigates head-on just as they fire Harpoon anti-ship missiles.

"Right, because that's worked in the past." I laugh, launching a trio of ABM's and raising the klein field.

"Hey Sis! Missile plans coming your way!" Danielle yells, just as I receive the file and open it up.

"... That's brilliant! Why didn't you think of that sooner?!"

"Dunno, just had the idea!" She says with a shrug.

I convert half a dozen of my missiles into the modified Tomahawk-style missiles, adding a sort of gimbal ball to the nose so I can bring in the missiles on targets far further inland than I could hope to target.

As soon as I finish making the new type of missile my sister sends me another design.

"... You hooked up to the internet didn't you?"

"Maaaayyybe. I might already be through the Navy firewall." She hums, walking over and sitting down beside me. "We can hit them at this range with those if we want."

I look over the design and convert two missiles, transferring control to my sister. "Under your assignments."

"Two, on the way!"

The deck hatches for the two missiles spring open and the Harpoon-copied missiles leave the tubes in a cloud of smoke, arcing towards the radar signatures in the distance.

{Missouri, Salem. Should we engage?}

"Yes. Sink the ships, leave any survivors alive. I want them to tell the story of how badly they got their asses kicked."

{Aye aye raid leader!} Pasadena cheers, just as the four frigates spread out, using their Phalanx CIWS to shoot down the two Harpoons.

"Good idea in theory. Not in practice." I sigh, referring to the harpoon missiles.

"Yeah. Oh well, scrap the plans." Danielle sighs.

{Range to contact, thirty-six miles.} Savannah reports. {Requesting independent action.}

"Granted. Take Pasadena with you. Augusta, Fall, Salem, come with me."

Acknowledgements ring out as we all set out at full speed to meet the frigates, our decks getting soaked from spray, but we don't slow. During our headlong charge the frigates fire repeated volleys of Harpoons, and each volley is intercepted by ABM's from both myself and Fall.

At twenty miles, we retaliate with everything we have. I fire the fore turrets and obliterate a frigate, while Salem scores her first kill on a second frigate. Savannah and Pasadena both score hits on a single frigate, and at 14 miles Danielle finishes off the last one with our 5-inch guns.

"They've had it. Everyone cease fire. Disengage and head back to the fleet. Salem, you stay with me."

{Aye. Savannah taking command, raid returning.}

I cut everyone but Salem from the comms net as we continue forth, nearing the stricken hulks of the frigates while sailors frantically abandon ship. We slow to a stop near them, and as I look among them Salem gives a sigh over the net.

{The water's forty-two degrees. They have roughly half an hour to make it to shore before people start facing exhaustion and start drowning.}

"I know. But there's nothing we can do. If we help them we're violating the code. They can kill you for that, and I could get assigned to patrolling the arctic, or worse."

"...Sis…. look…" Danielle mutters, showing me a zoomed-in view of a small group of sailors swimming towards us. At the front of the group is a face I know all too well.

"God damn it Dad… do you have a deathwish?!" I shriek furiously, jumping down to the deck, making a cutlass and scabbard out of nanomaterials.

The group of sailors fearlessly swim up to my hull and climb up a set of rungs onto the deck where I meet them, sword drawn and pointed at my father's throat.

"Are you all committing suicide? Because that's the only reason I could see that you'd board a Fog ship." I say while glaring at my dad. "Especially you. Are you out of your damn mind?!"

In response he raises his hands, breathing heavily from the swim. "We figured it would be a better choice to reason with a Fog than take our chances with the water."

I stare at him for a moment, sword unwavering, and then lower my cutlass, putting it in the scabbard on my hip. "I'm putting not only myself in danger by doing this, but also I'm risking the life of my escort. Get everyone aboard quickly, I'll take you to shore. Nobody boards the cruiser, understand?"

He slowly lowers his arms and nods, looking back at his comrades. "Gentlemen, I hope you understand that no matter how groundbreaking this may be, should you be asked, this never happened."

The four others nod reluctantly, and I start slowly sailing towards the sailors in the water, stopping amidst them as those on my deck call out to them. I move to stand on my superstructure, and once everyone is aboard I call them all to stand on the fantail, jumping down to stand on the center gun of the aft turret.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the US Navy and Coast Guard, lend me your ears!" I yell, looking around at everyone while elevating the gun. "I understand many of you have questions, especially those regarding why I am helping you if I'm a Fog. Many of you will likely be ecstatic to tell your friends and family of your experience when you get back. However, I'm asking you to keep this the best well-kept secret in the history of secrets."

Many of their faces display even more confusion than already existed, and as Danielle jumps down from the bridge I look to my dad, watching him stare in shock as she stands atop the aft AA gun director.

"The reason why I'm asking to keep quiet is relatively simple, your reports get put into your system, and eventually one of us will see said report. They'll report to a superior, and when it's discovered that I'm the one who helped you, I get shut down." I continue, being rewarded by more than a few slow nods of what I hope is understanding. "Who needs further clarification?"

Unfortunately, after my query multiple hands go up, numbering more than fifty. I sigh and run multiple possibilities through my main processor, opting for one that's so stupidly simple even a child could understand. "I need you to keep this a secret so I can not die and help you more."

That seems to get through to them all, because they all start nodding. I point to my dad as I get ready to go to the bridge. "I need to talk with you."

He gives a quick nod, and I start walking towards the bridge, jumping down off the turret to the deck. I walk slowly enough that he can catch up with me, and we walk side-by-side in complete and utter silence, even when I start to walk up to the bridge on holopanels. He steps up without any hesitation, making me smile a bit at how much he trusts me.

Once inside my relatively barren wheelhouse, I sit down at one side of the table and motion for him to sit on the other side.

"You can't keep trying to board Fog ships. What you did today would've been suicide if it had been anyone else." I state firmly, making it clear in my tone of voice that I'm not happy.

"I know, but it was that or swim seven miles back to shore in forty-degree waters, while pulling wounded people."

"... A swift death as opposed to a slow and miserable one, eh?"

He gives a grim nod and leans on the table, a smirk spreading across his face. "I guess we're even after Seattle, hmm?"

I snort and shake my head. "If you say so, old man. Now there's six hundred and twelve people that owe me big-time."

He laughs and nods while leaning back in his chair, scratching at his stubble. "Yeah I guess there is. Thank you for taking such a risk."

I start to answer, but a video request from Salem interrupts me. I accept it and move the panel so it's off to the side, as if she were sitting with us. "Yes Salem?"

"Permission to come aboard?"

"Sure. Come up to the bridge."

"Be there in a second or three."

Salem terminates the video, and I look back to my dad. "You're all quite welcome, but don't let it happen again."

He gives me a snappy salute and we both laugh as Salem steps into the wheelhouse, walking over to sit down to my right. She rubs her eye and adjusts the eyepatch slightly before smiling at us both. "Hello."

"Hey Salem, meet my father." I hum happily, motioning towards the old goat.

She straightens up her posture immediately, holding out a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

He shakes her hand and smiles. "It's a pleasure to meet you too. Please, just call me Rich…. I could almost swear I've met you somewhere before… Are you by chance related to Marcus Lee, from Garibaldi?"

Salem nervously looks at me, then giggles slightly. "Yes. As a matter of fact, I was Marcus Lee."

"Yeah right! You're clearly a woman, nice try."

"Uhhh…. no… she's actually telling the truth," I state nervously, "If you don't believe me, I can prove it."

"... I…. what? I'm so confused. There's no fucking way she's Marcus." He mutters, looking at Salem, who leans back in her chair and kicks her feet up on the table, arms crossed.

"Salem, also known as Marcus Lee, was picked up floating in the water along with their sister roughly two and a half weeks ago. Both had multiple shrapnel-induced lacerations to the face, neck, and torso. Since the hybrid program doesn't allow males, Salem overwent a full body modification to make her fully female, inside and out."

"... The Fog are capable of that…?" He mutters in awe, looking over Salem with wide eyes.

"Yep. I was up and about in three days too. My question though, is am I the only one who's had this happen?" Salem asks, looking over at me.

"I don't know… let me look…" I mutter, accessing the network and running multiple keyword searches.

I get the results back in mere seconds.

"Holy shit…. Scylla used to be a dude as well! There's a couple dozen others but… only three are listed as being active."

"Three? Who are the others?" Salem asks, sitting up.

"Graf Spee with H-13P and Graf Zeppelin with H-09G. Both in the Atlantic."

"... I am so lost right now. The Fog have entirely different task forces?" My dad asks, looking between us.

Then, the bulkhead opens, and my sister strides in, looking confident as hell. "If we told you, we'd have to kill you."

His head snaps around to look at her with wide eyes. "What…? You're…"

"Alive? No, not technically. It's complicated." She mutters, hauling him to his feet and hugging him.

"Do you think you could simplify it for your dear old man?" he pleads quietly, hugging her back.

"Not right now, no. Because you've got about two minutes to your disembark point, and you need to go rally everyone."

"I'll keep in touch Dad, I'll explain later, but everything you heard here is a secret. Good luck with your new assignment too." I slap him on the back while heading for the bulkhead.

"How do you know about that?" He challenges. "I only found out about that this morning."

"As I said, we can access your database in seconds." I lie, "You probably won't be very successful, but there may be a certain battleship who'll sing over the radio." I add with a wink over my shoulder before walking out, jumping up onto my superstructure.

From there, I watch all the humans on deck as we reach their disembark point. They jump off the side and swim the mere hundred yards to shore, gathering there and watching as we reverse. Some wave, others just stare, but as we start to turn around, all of them salute, even the wounded.

My only response is to give a blast of the ship's horn, and to give a quick salute back, simultaneously checking myself to ensure none of the sailors managed to stow away.

'Just Salem, Sis, and I. Perfect… Though I wouldn't mind having a crew...'

[Concept communications system request: Montana]

I instantly accept the request, finding myself in the Diner booth again, with Montana sitting across from me, sipping happily from a glass of coca-cola.

"Hello flagship Montana. What can I do for you today?" I ask before sipping from the glass in front of me.

"I need you to go check on a couple fleets in the Atlantic. No hurry, but they need to be surprise visits. Preferably sooner rather than later."

"Understood. Am I allowed to bring escorts along?"

"One or two, sure. Don't let them slow you down though."

"I can set out immediately then. I've got my escort of choice with me on a raid."

"Excellent, I'll send you the designations of the fleets I want you to visit once you're through the Panama Canal. You're dismissed."

I stand up and give Montana a salute before leaving the concept comms room, moving down to the wheelhouse, where Salem and Danielle are talking. They both stop talking and look at me when I enter.

"Hate to end the chat, but Salem get to your ship, you're coming with us to the Atlantic."

"What're we doing there?" Danielle asks.

"Visiting some fleets to make sure they're behaving." I respond, getting us turned around and oriented south as Salem heads back to her ship, falling into formation behind me.

I send Enterprise a concept comms request and wait in the room for her to pop in, having based the room on my living room from home. When she accepts, I motion towards the recliner across from me, and she shakes her head politely. "What do you need Missouri?"

"Do you need Salem for anything?" I ask.

"Not that I'm aware of."

"Good. I'm taking her with me on a mission. We'll be back anywhere between a week and two months time. Behave yourselves while I'm gone."

"Understood. Good luck." She responds with a salute. I stand and salute her back before ending the comms room.

Settling in for the journey, I spend lots of time on the tactical network, reading up on what's allowed and what's not allowed. We sail down the coast to the Panama Canal, and cross it completely unchallenged. Once we're in the Caribbean, Montana sends me a short list of fleets, along with their locations. Checking the locations, I find the closest task force and set a course for the Bahamas, where they routinely patrol, being a ground-attack fleet, that are currently on R&R. Salem mostly keeps to herself, only talking to my sister and I when it's dark out. Having changed her grey light scheme to the fleet's black, she seems to prefer the night more. I don't really blame her either.

The first view of the task force that I get is not very impressive. They're anchored in a defensive position above an old mangrove swamp, with people lounging on deck or swimming in the water. Among the small group of ships, I see a trio of Independence-class escort carriers, multiple destroyers, most being Mahan and Fletcher class, and only a few light cruisers. The task force numbers only fifteen strong, and given the shocked looks I receive as I anchor outside of their formation, they had no clue I was coming.

Salem anchors beside me, and I walk over to the carrier in the center of the formation, where multiple aircraft sit on the flight deck, not being used.

"Who's in charge here?" I ask the hybrid who's still obliviously tanning on the flight deck. She removes her sunglasses and looks up at me with a scowl.

"'Scuse me, who the fuck are you?" She snips, sporting a New York accent.

"Fog battleship Missouri. I'll ask again. Who. Is. In. Charge. Here."

She goes wide-eyed and jumps up out of her chair, snapping to attention and saluting me. "I am ma'am. Fog Hybrid suppression vessel Gambier Bay."

"At ease. I'm sorry to interrupt your well-earned R&R, but I'm here for a simple inspection to ensure you all are within the boundaries set by the Admiralty."

"Of course ma'am. It's not a problem at all. Where would you like to start?"

"You'll be first. Give me the low-down on your armament." I order, looking towards her AA weapons and aircraft.

"Standard-issue point defense weaponry. Four flights of aircraft, carrying corrosive bombs and rockets, with sixty missile tubes under the flight deck."

"Any humans on board recently?"

"No ma'am. Destroyers handle the survivors that we take to Mercy."

"Splendid. Who are the other two carriers?"

"Kwajalein and Attu. Both are Casablanca-class suppression vessels."

"Attu is next. If we make this quick, I'll be out of your hair before the day's over."

Throughout the next few days I manage to scratch three task forces off my list, and together Salem and I head north-east through the atlantic to find the last two, who seem to have joined together for whatever reason. The Atlantic turns out to be a complete and utter mess, with the winds reaching almost ninety miles an hour at times. Of course, it doesn't bother me one bit, but by the time the second day of the horrible weather, Salem is exhausted, and really showing it too.

I go over to her ship to check in on her and find her sitting in her captain's chair, hair a mess, with bags under her eye.

"Jesus Christ Salem! Get your ass in your bunk and lay down, Danielle will take care of your ship."

"But-"

"No, no buts! That's an order. You are to lay in your bunk until you fall asleep. I need you coherent. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am…" She mutters, getting up and walking over to her bed, climbing up into it and closing her eyes. I nod in satisfaction and go back to my bridge, sitting down across the table from Danielle.

"Slave Salem's ship to follow us. She's practically dead on her feet."

Her eye flashes our shared sigil and she smiles. "Done! I locked her out of control too. I'll give it back to her after she gets some sleep."

"Perfect. We're only half a day away, and the weather's starting to improve, so we might get there sooner than I anticipated."

"While we're there, are you gonna let Salem talk to the carrier?" She asks.

"Sure, it might help her come to terms with herself a little more if she talks to someone who's going through the same thing."

As I'm combing through the tactical network out of sheer boredom I get a message from Montana, simply detailing another thing to do after I'm done inspecting the last two task forces.

"I guess we're going to be awhile until we get back to the fleet." I inform my sister, looking at the tactical map of the entire globe and finding the location of the battlecruiser mentioned in the message.

"Why's that? Montana give us more work?"

"Yep, we've gotta go meet up with Fog battlecruiser Repulse in the Indian Ocean. Looks like we've been volunteered for a meet-and-greet."

"Yay… How are we gonna get there?"

"Probably around the horn of Africa. It's shorter than going back through the Panama Canal."

"What about the Suez?"

I shake my head in response. "There's a report on the network that the Suez is built up with some pretty heavy defenses. It'd be a waste of resources to try to destroy them all, and I'm pretty sure Salem wouldn't make it if we tried to run the gauntlet. Not to mention we'd have to pass by Gibraltar, which is also built up pretty good."

Danielle grumbles quietly while looking in the network, and eventually she scuffs her foot on the floor in frustration. "Damn stubborn humans…"

I giggle at her frustration, then stop when four contacts show up on radar, changing my carefree attitude on a dime. "Contact, four-ship, zero-two-six at forty miles. Altitude is ten thousand."

"Yeah. I've got them. Want to launch a plane to meet them?"

"Nah, let's see what they do. Those signatures match up with those from Graf Zeppelin."

Watching the slow-moving planes as they get closer I get a quick glance at them through a break in the clouds, and Danielle squeals in excitement. "Those are Stukas! I wonder if they have Jerico Sirens mounted…?"

A minute after her musings, we get the answer confirmed as a quiet yet familiar wail starts above, increasing in volume and pitch as the gull-winged aircraft break through the clouds and drop their bombs. The large bombs whistle through the air as they fall, and they bracket me, leaving a neon green tint to the water where they hit instead of the towering columns of water I expected.

"Somebody's got a lot of nerve using a Fog battleship for target practice…" I grumble.

"At least they weren't live." Danielle snorts, watching the planes fly away as she giggles like a schoolgirl. "That sound is so cool!"

"Unless you're a human ship. Then it's the most terrifying sound you could ever hear."

"True… Though… how did they miss? We're not exactly a small target."

"Good question…" I hum back, looking at Graf Zeppelin's file. "Oh. She's only ever done ground attack. She has no confirmed Naval engagements."

"None? Like, at all?"

"Nope. She's sank ships at anchor, but that's it. She's never engaged a moving vessel."

We both look at each other and fall into a giggling fit, unable to hide our amusement at the failure of the hybrid's naval 'supremacy'. I even send the carrier an anonymous message reading 'You missed. Would you like to try again?', and receive a 'yes' in return.

Ten minutes later, another flight of Stuka's shows up on radar. Same bearing, altitude, and speed as last time, but instead of trying to attack from abeam, they maneuver to bomb along the length of the ship.

Again, the infernal wail of the small propellers on the undercarriage starts up and gets progressively louder as they pick up speed in their dive, breaking through the clouds one by one. They drop their bombs at a lower altitude this time, and barely have enough time to pull out of the dive to avoid smashing into the waves as the dye-filled bomb-shaped capsules smash into the deck and superstructure, spraying green dye everywhere.

Once the Stuka's are gone I contact Zeppelin again.

[Three hits that time. Good job. This shit better wash off easily.]

[Yep, just spray down the areas with seawater and it'll come right off.]

[Vielen Dank.]

Four hours after giving Graf Zeppelin some bombing practice, we arrive at the location of the two task forces, having washed off the dye, and gotten Salem to finally go to sleep.

I perform my usual inspection of each ship, checking out their armament and 'interviewing' each hybrid. Due to the U-boats not being there and the sheer amount of hybrids, it takes longer than it normally would. I discontinue after dark and give everyone a chance to sleep before continuing with the interrogations.

Come morning, Salem wakes up just as 'Zeppy' sends out a flight of planes for recon, and walks over to my bridge, where Danielle and I are playing a game of 'battleship'.

I'm the first to notice the rested hybrid, and put a white peg down where my sister missed before smiling at Salem. "Good morning. You look much better."

"Thank you. I feel much better too. Can I have control of my ship back please?"

"Yes you can." Danielle confirms, her eye flashing black for a moment. "It's yours again."

"Thank you."

I close my board for the game and stand up, doing a quick sensor scan of the area before looking to Salem. "Today's gonna be an interesting day for you."

"Uhh… why?"

"Because you're gonna be meeting the other two hybrids that are like you."

"W-when?"

"Roughly ten minutes."

She fully wakes with a bit of a start, then looks at herself in the mirror at the back of my bridge. "Shit um… okay, I'll go make myself presentable. Comb my hair and all that shit."

"I can help! I've got nothing better to do than observe everyone, and I'm perfectly capable of multitasking." Danielle chirps, closing her game board.

"O-okay. That'd be appreciated."

Danielle happily jumps up and follows Salem out as I make a copy of myself and send it over to the six U-boats, starting the interviews on a secondary processor as the model with my core goes over to Graf Zeppelin, finding the hybrid in her wheelhouse, reading away at old naval attack doctrines from different nations.

"Those don't work anymore."

Her head jerks up at my voice with a small gasp and she closes the window, standing up and saluting me before speaking with her German accent prominently displayed. "Ma'am. My apologies. I was merely trying to learn the basic principles."

I salute her back out of respect and sit down across from her, a smile on my face. "I understand. I was originally with a task force consisting of a Yorktown-class aircraft carrier as the flagship. I've been used as a practice target more times than I care to admit."

"Uhh… don't you mean Suppression Vessel, ma'am?"

"Yeah. Carrier, Suppression Vessel, the terms are interchangeable to me. That's not what I'm here for though. I know you used to be a guy."

She visibly stiffens and sits down, resting her elbows on the table and staring at her hands for a second before looking at me. "So this is it then?"

I laugh and shake my head. "No. Quite frankly I couldn't care less. I'm here to let you know that there's more like you."

"Mein Gott, machst du Witze?" (My God, you're joking?)

"While I am perfectly capable of making jokes, I assure you I am not joking."

"...How many others are like me?"

"Two. Both are close enough that we can have a face-to-face meeting without concept comms."

"W-wait, really?"

"Yep! I've sent summons for them. They'll be here in a moment."

The brown-haired hybrid jumps up and grabs a comb, starting to brush her misshapen hair. "Scheisse! Why didn't you tell me that sooner?!"

I fix her clothes for her and take the brush, running it through her hair gently while Salem and Danielle walk over, setting foot on the flight deck just as Spee reaches the deck. The bulkhead opens a few moments later, and Spee leads the way in, followed by Salem and my sister.

"Thank you for joining us." I hum happily, motioning towards the other chairs. "Please, sit."

They all sit down, and after making another chair for my sister I sit down, addressing the three. The two Germans look really nervous, while Salem waits patiently.

"Spee, Zeppelin, I would like you to meet Salem." I say happily, starting things out casually before dropping everyone into the deep end.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Salem. How have your travels been?" Spee asks, shaking hands with Salem.

"Quite restless. The Atlantic is much rougher than the Pacific. Otherwise, things have been great."

"It takes some uh… how would you say… getting used to?" Zeppy says with a smile, shaking hands with Salem.

"Still not used to speaking English?" Salem asks.

"N-no. I have been a hybrid for only three months."

"It gets easier over time. We still use German in my group." Spee giggles lightly before everyone recenters their attention on me. "So what have you called us for?"

"I figured while I was here, we could help each other out. To put things simply, you three are the only hybrids in the fleet who were previously male."

Spee goes wide-eyed as she looks at Zeppy, then looks at Salem. "I thought I was the only one."

"So did I." Salem mumbles. "At least… until Missouri told me there were others."

"How… did you all get captured?" Spee asks, looking between them.

"I was painting inside one of the lighthouses and a cruiser spotted me. Due to the weather I couldn't get away when the lighthouse came crashing down, so I got captured." Zeppy murmurs, looking down at the table.

"Sounds more pleasant than what happened to me." Salem starts, motioning to her arms and eyepatch. "I was a charter captain and a pair of destroyers found me. The explosives I had aboard for whaling detonated. Blew the boat apart and crippled both my sister and I."

Spee cringes at Salem's story, and sighs softly. "I was part of the first batch of hybrids. They came ashore and kidnapped me while I was sleeping. Unlike you both, I was perfectly healthy when they changed me. They simply did it because my body would be most accepting of the Core like this."

They all take on a gloomy mood for a moment before Spee looks at Salem. "So, how long have you been a hybrid, Fräulein Salem?"

"Only about four weeks. I'm still getting used to all this…" Salem motions to herself with a sigh, and the two Germans exchange a glance between each other before Spee speaks again.

"How about we help?"

My sister and I grin in success before we both get up. "Excuse us please. We've got something to attend to."

They all look at us and nod while we walk out and return to our bridge, giving them some time to themselves while we catch up on any events in the Pacific.

After a solid half-hour of scrolling through hybrid attack reports and the like, I find an interesting bit from Fog Battleship Kongo.

"Hey, look at this. Apparently there's a Sen-Toku class submarine from the Oriental fleet that's sided with the humans."

"Yeah, I-401. Apparently she's got a human bridge crew." Danielle hums.

"First Nagara, then Hyuuga. Not to mention I-501, Haruna, and Kirishima…. this is a very competent crew she has.."

"Think H-26G and H-19P would stand a chance?"

"... Maybe, but it'd take everyone working seamlessly, and even then…"

"Aye. It'd be a close fight."

The conversation tapers off there, and I delve deeper into the net as I finish up interrogating the U-boats, recalling the model and dissolving it.

Minutes then turn into hours, and it's an entire day before Salem stumbles into her wheelhouse and sends me a message saying she's good to go. Her ship is slaved to follow me a moment later.

"Off we go. Setting course for the Indian Ocean."

[Concept Comms request: Montana]

[Accepted]

"Yes Montana?"

"Missouri, I need you to return to the Pacific immediately."

"Aye ma'am. Changing course. What for, if I may ask?"

"I-401, a human-allied Fog submarine, is heading towards America. I need you to coordinate your hybrids as a second line of defense. Return quickly."

I give Montana a salute after getting up from the Diner booth. "Yes ma'am. It'll be done!"

[Disconnected]

"Change of plans. Full speed ahead, we're going back to the fleet."

"What? Why the rush?" My sister asks, looking over at me.

"That scenario we were talking about with I-401? It might just happen."

"I'm not sure I follow."

"The humans are on their way to America."

-5 days later-

Pulling into anchor at the fleet, my priorities immediately change to setting up patrols to catch I-401 and her human crew before they can reach the mainland. Knowing they'd likely go to a more secure port, I set up patrols near the mouth of the Columbia River, as well as near San Francisco and San Diego. Due to our limited numbers, the patrols are few and far between, but it's the most I can do.

Brisky does her best to fill in the gaps, but with Scylla having her task force off doing their own thing, the numbers are slightly diminished.

Tryon even sends Roanoke, Worcester, and Tang to help out with patrols while she stays with Intrepid and Enterprise. Wanting to lead by example, I take Salem and Kako on patrol with me to the section of ocean outside of the Juan De Fuca Strait, leading to Seattle.

We continue to patrol day after day, hoping to find the submarine, or to hear from the Fog interception force that they sank it, but no call comes.

At all.

"I'm sorry that I was so rude to you Salem." Kako apologizes, "If I'd have known you were an experienced sailor, I would've kept my mouth shut."

"No worries. I wouldn't call myself experienced either… my dad was a much better sailor, but he died on the Salem."

"Your father was on the Salem? I was the lieutenant-commander."

"Yeah. He was the bosun." Salem mutters before giggling. "It's a small world, ain't it?"

[Concept Comms request: Montana]

[accepted]

Instead of the small diner I was used to seeing with Montana's concept comms, this room is like an auditorium, and I can easily see why.

Dozens of hybrids and Fog fill the rows in front of me, all looking around in confusion before Montana jumps up onto the stage.

"Hybrids and Fog of the East Pacific Fleet, there has been a development which requires a full fleet movement." She says calmly, her voice broadcasting across the auditorium. "The Fog submarine I-401 made contact with the interception force that was sent to sink them. All ships have completely dropped off the network. So the question is, has anyone seen I-401 in the last three hours?"

The numerous people look around at each other, and two people stand up, one of them with bandages over her eyes.

"Ten minutes ago I picked up a surface contact fifty-six nautical miles from America, making forty-five knots towards San Diego." Kraken reports. "I have been monitoring it since then, and I believe they have detected me."

Montana nods slowly. "What about you, Hybrid submarine Tang?"

"I can confirm Kraken's claim. A large surface contact, appearing to be some sort of combination between a submarine and a cruiser is currently forty nautical miles from America, making forty-five-point-six knots towards San Diego."

"Have you been discovered?" Montana asks.

"Yes. I've received multiple flashing light signals requesting that I surface and lock down my weapons."

Montana turns to Kraken. "Have you received any similar messages?"

"I wouldn't know, ma'am. I rely on ESM to 'see'."

"... I see. Tang and Kraken, you have my permission to engage if an optimal situation presents itself, but otherwise simply observe."

The two salute and disappear as Montana looks at the rest of us. "Missouri, I want you to direct H-26G to patrol around San Diego. Everyone else, carry on as normal. Dismissed!"

Once I'm disconnected from the concept comms I send the two with me orders to regroup, having withdrawn my mental model to my bridge. Then upon checking the fleet roster, I finally notice a new addition, anchored next to Enterprise.

"Welcome to the fleet Ayanami. I do hope you'll work hard." I say over the entire fleet net.

{Thank you Missouri.} Comes the answer of the woman who decked me a couple weeks ago. {I'm awaiting a patrol assignment.}

"Stay where you are for now. You won't be joining any patrols until you get more training."

{Understood Ma'am.}

"All units who have been on patrol, regroup and return for R&R."

{But what about I-401?} Roberts asks.

"What about them? We're outclassed, and a random encounter on the open ocean wouldn't do us any good."

My question is met with reports of everyone returning, and I smile as I set a course for the ocean off San Diego.

{Kraken here. Me too?}

"Yeah. We know where they're going. Come on back and rest up. You did good work."

Hours later, once everyone has returned to the fleet, I call up the Nanomaterials in my home inland and form them into a Mental Model, walking up out of the basement and up to my father's study, where the glow of his computer monitor casts his outline on the hallway wall.

I push the door open and lean in the doorway, whistling softly to get his attention.

"Hey Dad. I need a favor."