The Captain ran over with another member of the crew, both of them wearing a horrified look on their faces as they saw the body

of a siren laying on the cement next to the dry docks. They were about to write it off when the Captain saw the clothes that garnished the cadaver. The crewmate began translating in broken English.

"What happened to Franz?" The Captain said, knealing down next to the expired siren, holding the clothes that were soaked with a

thick black substance.

"Franz I'm afraid, never existed, my dear Captain." Azuma said as she tended to the shaking kitten that was sat at the computers.

"You murdered him?" The Captain asked. The crewmate looked over and gagged a bit seeing the dissection that Azuma had performed in her little show of power not even ten minutes prior.

"I did not murder anyone, Captain. I simple defeated my enemy in the most efficient way possible. That 'thing' was a siren. I

did my job, and dispatched it." Azuma said, her voice showing no sign of negative emotion. The bulins moved in and began cleaning

the drydock of the black liquid before taking what remained and carrying it into the lab for further research.

"You clearly murdered him!" The Captain spoke angrily.

"Are you a Siren too? You're empathizing rather hard with a creature that wants to enslave you and your family, nyaa." Akashi spoke up.

The Captain was sent reeling by her remark and made a move towards Akashi.

"I would watch your next move, Frenchie. You harm a hair on her head, and you will not live long enough to regret it." Azuma said,

her voice still not moving an inch from her usual friendly tone.

"I have a name, Mon Amie." The Captain said defensively, clearly put off by Azuma's casual remark.

"I see. And what is your name, Mon Amie?" Azuma said, clearly copying his snide remark.

"Howard Restar. My name is Howard Restar." Howard said, the crewmate still translating for him.

"Alright, Howard. Answer the kitten. Are you a Siren? Or what about a Siren empathizer?" Azuma asked, smiling with an air of innocence as she began to draw her katana.

"No! I am not a Siren. My name is Howard Restar. I was born in Champagne, France in the year of our lord 1889. I have served with Compagnie Générale Transatlantique since 1910. I escaped with Franz and my crew from the port of Taranto less than 4 weeks ago. I am Roman Catholic as is 90 percent of my crew. You can even scratch my arm to see that my blood is as red as the star on your sleeve, Mon Amie." Howard said as he extended his arm towards her.

"A spy would not have such a detailed backstory, and be willing to offer a test that could turn into death instantly upon a negative reaction. But can you vouch for the rest of your crew, Howard?" Azuma asked.

"I can personally vouch for about 55 of the 57 men that I have with me. They have all come with me from my previous ships during the war. We survived U-boats, bombers, and night raids together. But two men of questionable character begged me to join this voyage before we left Toranto." Howard said.

"Then shall we go and pay them a visit, Captain Howard?" Azuma asked as he nodded in response.

"Little kitten, please continue your work. I see a pile of cubes and a file. I assume those are the materials used to bring a ship like

me to life." Azuma said as Akashi nodded slowly as she went to the dry dock and flipped a switch, manually opening the drydock to release the Azuma into the harbor.

"Azuma-san will stay with Akashi. Shikikan would probably want that going forward, nyaa." Akashi said as Azuma looked at her.

"Of course. I saw a tiny tail running around a few minutes ago, so there must be another member of Sakura Empire here." Azuma said, her voice holding something akin to relief.

VVVVVXXXXXVVVVV

"Kommandant, Friedrich will escort you to the transport." Odin said as Isaac cocked his rifle.

"Norfolk, come in." Isaac ordered. Friedrich assisted him with climbing onto her rigging.

"I am here, Commander." Norfolk said as she appeared in the palm of his free hand. Isaac looked at her through his helmet.

"I'll be blind. You will need to alert me when we come across anyone suspicious in terms of energy reading. Keep an eye on that." Isaac ordered as the fleet continued to steam ahead at 20 knots, being sure not to outrun their submarine support.

"Understood, Commander. I will be in contact via your helmet and radio with your two... Gestapos." Norfolk tried her hand at humor.

"That might be the correct term, but I don't believe the girls would enjoy being called 'secret police'." Isaac said.

"I apologize girls." Norfolk said as Odin and Friedrich chuckled a bit.

"No harm done. It is technically correct after all. While I am ashamed of the Fatherland for such horrific crimes... I will not shy away from the fact that they did occur." Odin said in a slightly jovial tone.

"Ja. We play the part. From what Odin has told me, they were intimidating and powerful. I would say that describes the two of us rather well." Friedrich said as she looked at Isaac.

"Well... Then lets do some policing, ladies." Isaac said as they arrived at the transport ship. Friedrich assisted Isaac onto the deck as the two girls jumped onto the deck, flanking him on both sides.

"Is that you, Commander?!" Taka asked via radio. Isaac looked up and saw Taka watching the three of them through binoculars from the bridge.

"Yes. Is your crew ready for inspection?" Isaac asked.

"We have all of them performing their usual duties. They have no knowledge of this inspection." Taka said as the other three men joined him in the bay window.

"Good. Call it." Isaac said as he slung the rifle over his shoulder.

The siren on the ship rang out, alerting the crew to pay attention.

"All hands, prepare for inspection from the Commander. I repeat. All hands, prepare for inspection." Taka spoke over the ship's PA system.

Isaac began moving from the bow of the ship. Friedrich and Odin split off from him, taking different parts of the ship to begin their search.

XXXXXVVVVVXXXXX

"Hello? Hello?" Akagi's radio message was short and simple, repeating it on open channels as she began flying over the Island of New guinea.

There was nothing but static as she began heading inland. She was about to repeat her message again when she lost connection with her Zero.

"Shit. Shikikan, come in. It's urgent." Akagi spoke over the fleet radio.

"Akagi? What is it?" Isaac asked.

"Something is defending our landing point. I was flying over and my Zero was shot down. I was unable to reach MacArthur." Akagi said.

"I see. I won't force you to try again. We are going to need every fighter we have to fend off this incoming air attack. Odin, Friedrich and I are sweeping the transport ship as quickly as we can but we may not be back on the Norfolk by the time this battle commences. From here on, please defer to Norfolk for orders as she will be in constant contact with me." Isaac said.

"Understood. Just wanted to give you my report." Akagi said as she cut the line.

XXXXXVVVVVXXXXX

"We're here, Sister. Wake up." Phoenix said as they approached the island of Niue. She had stepped aboard the St. Louis to wake her sister after she refused to answer radio calls in regards to their arrival. She stepped onto the bridge to find St. Louis curled up in the Captain's chair, tucked up under a blanket.

"Sis. You can't sleep all day." Phoenix said. St. Louis stirred awake and looked at her sister.

"I'm guessing we're finally there?" St. Louis asked.

"That would be correct." Phoenix said as she rested a hand on her hip. St. Louis smiled, but the smile faded as she looked at her sister's bandaged arm.

"Are you feeling okay?" St. Louis asked.

"It hurts still, but it is getting better everyday. Vestal said that as long as I rest and keep myself fed, I should heal just fine." Phoenix said.

"I just feel bad that it happened. If I had been stronger, you wouldn't have been hurt." St. Louis said.

"Sister. Don't beat yourself up. This injury wasn't your fault." Phoenix said. She rubbed her arm gently.

"Still." St. Louis said as she stood and hugged her sister.

"We've been sidelined then?" Phoenix asked.

"Temporarily. Commander Isaac will welcome us back, but you are injured, and he told me to take some time to heal some of my own wounds." St. Louis said.

"Sister... I know about what happened to you. What you did for us. It should be me apologizing to you. You took so much pain and torment to protect us. Brooklyn is the only other one that knows. Helena was away from the fleet with Azur Lane, so she was spared." Phoenix said softly.

"What?" St. Louis asked, a horrified look creeping across her face.

"I found out about it from some of the men on base. In between sorties, they would tell me what happened." Phoenix said as she sat on the arm of the chair.

"I tried so hard..." St. Louis said as tears flooded her eyes.

"I know, sister. I know. And you did well to stand up for us. You always were the most protective of the bunch, Lucky Lou." Phoenix said as she grabbed her sister and hugged her tight against her.

"I heard from Vestal... you were going to detonate your powder stores when I was injured." Phoenix said softly as she too began to cry.

"I...I considered it." St. Louis tried to lie.

"No. Vestal said she had to tackle you to keep you from going up like a powder keg. What would I do? Sister. A death like that is not the answer. It's a permanent solution for a temporary problem. See? I'm fine. Our sisters are fine. You did in fact protect us. So please, value your life a little more than that." Phoenix asked softly.

"I... I'll take it under advisement." St Louis said as the two sisters sounded their horns, announcing their arrival.

XXXXXVVVVVXXXXX

"Almost done, Nyaa." Akagi said as the last bit of time ticked down on the destroyer that sat in drydock.

"Kitikaze-san is almost ready to launch." Akashi said to herself as the Bulins helped build a tank to help preserve the Siren that Azuma had dealt with earlier that day. As the timer ticked to zero, horns blared in the harbor, announcing the arrival of new ships.

"Nyaa? Akashi is curious." Akashi said as she stepped outside the lab to see two cruisers pulling into the harbor.

"Must be Union ships, nyaa." Akashi said as the two Kansens walked onto the pier, only to be met at the gates by Azuma.

"And you two are?" Azuma asked softly.

"St. Louis and Phoenix, Brooklyn class Cruisers." St. Louis said as she stepped in front of her sister.

"Wonderful. That is excellent. I apologize for my seemingly hostile attitude. We are currently dealing with spies on base. I am going through with Howard and collecting statements from the crew of his cargo ship." Azuma said.

"Then I guess we shall assist. Tell us where to start." Phoenix said, her joyful attitude lightening the conversation.

"We are headed to the dorms now. We have cleared the crew stationed on his ship, we now have to interview those who are stationed on the base." Azuma said.

"Then we shall assist." St. Louis said as they all walked towards the dorms.

XXXXXVVVVVXXXXX

"I guess I should report that to Observer Zero." A yellow eyed siren spoke to the air.

"Zero?" The siren asked.

"Alphy! Long time no see." Observer Zero said excitedly.

"How goes the Pacific?" The siren asked.

"Not good. There is a cockroach rapidly approaching Japan from the south. He has decided to take the Philippines from Tester first." Observer said.

"That's not good, Zero. Hey, I heard through the grapevine that your cockroach is operating out of Niue, the former Azur Lane base." Observer Alpha said, her tendrils wisping about.

"Where did you hear this?" Observer Zero asked.

"I pay attention to our losses, my dear Zero. All signs point there." Observer Alpha said.

"Understood. I'll mobilize a fleet to attack it." Observer Zero said.

"Please see to it you do. I'd hate to see you punished by Arbiter." Observer Alpha said.

"Goodbye, Alphy." Observer Zero said as she cut the line.

"Bye, Zero" Observer Alpha said as she turned in her chair. She looked at a screen and smiled.

"Another wave of 'Explorers' ready to be unleashed. Let's release them to South America now." Observer Alpha said as she began to chuckle to herself inside one of abandoned Ironblood Naval bases.