I would really like to thank the people who have favorited, followed, and reviewed this story. You're the best. But enough I say. Let's get this show on the road.

Disclaimer: I don't own Azur Lane or any other properties I make references to.

"Pro Tanto Quid Retribuamus"

"For so much, how shall we repay?"

-Motto of the HMS Belfast

Chapter 15: The Guide

The remainder of the day went by in a blur that Nashville wouldn't be able to remember for the life of her. What had happened was as Sheffield was leading the duo toward the canteen, Nashville had taken to recalling the day. And when she arrived at the encounter with Cheshire, she came to a hard stop. Never. Not in all her life, had she been so angry. She's not an angry person. How is this possible? This wouldn't have been a problem even two weeks ago. The problem of how she reacts when someone gets close to her commander wasn't getting any better like she had hoped, it was getting worse. For the rest of the day, she tackled question after question without anyone to ask for help from. Answers were elusive and that was making her panic.

She was finally confronted with the cold hard truth; that she can't get the answers she wants unassisted. But the same ugly problem with that reared it's head. Who to ask? She didn't trust anyone within a thousand miles to talk to them about this, excepting, of course, the topic of her woes. But that isn't to say she was angry or even upset with Las Vegas. She didn't lay this fault at his feet. In fact, she couldn't help but feel funny whenever he looked at her. Truly, she didn't know—nor did she want to know—where she would be without Las Vegas. And she would give anything to keep him as her commander forever. But… She just… Can't ask him about this. What she needs in the immediate while she tries to find someone to talk to is a plan to keep her cool if/when they run into Cheshire again. Or maybe even more immediately, she needs some sleep.

But as the evening wore on into night and the duo found themselves aboard her hull again, he asked her if she was alright. He said that he could tell that something was bothering her. She said she was fine. And he didn't believe her and pushed his question just a bit further. She raised her voice to insist that she was alright. She was terrified that she may have offended him by doing so, but as they were about to separate for the night, he relented to her and said, "Okay then. But I want you to know that I'll be there whenever you need me."

"You promise?" she asked in barely concealed desperation.

He smiled at her and replied, "I promise."

Her fears were put at ease in a way that only he can. She smiled back and they wished each other good night.

Nashville would wrestle with sleep for what must have been millennia. She tried counting sheep, but she always seemed to miss one. After a few hours, she would finally fall into a dreamless slumber.

XXXXXXXX

The next morning Nashville felt a lot better. So now with a rested head she can start getting a strategy together so that she doesn't lose her cool whenever any other woman gets friendly or even touchy-feely with Las Vegas. After all, it isn't reasonable to expect to avoid women. So, now as she, "sparred," with Las Vegas she could come up with a plan. Sparring was a loose term anyway; it was more exercises of her smacking him around. But of course, Nashville would restrain herself, and besides, her not finishing any bout instantly allowed him to try things and occasionally put her on her toes. He was even getting better. And it allowed her to think. And think she did.

Eventually she found a band aid to keep herself from blowing a turret. She'll count to ten. Nice. Easy. And it didn't call any attention. And when anything happens, she'll make sure to pay more attention to Commander than anyone else. It wasn't perfect, but it might just work for long enough to find someone that she can trust and then talk to about this thing that has been happening to her. And more importantly, it'll hopefully keep her from doing anything that she might regret.

As they finished up the duo parted to get ready for the day. While he was getting ready Las Vegas had time to think about the state of his companion. He was relieved that she seemed better this morning than she did last night but he knew her well enough to see that she still wasn't at one hundred percent. He cursed his inexperience with women, and not knowing how to see a lot of their subtlety. Or maybe he was denser than armor piercing ammunition. How would he know? If he really was that dense, there's no way he'd notice that.

Well, as terribly inappropriate as it was do follow this methodology with another human being, he'd have to observe her under various situations to see if a pattern emerges. "God forgive me," he thought for even humoring the thought of approaching his friend, now one of the most important people in his life, like she was a code that needed to be broken, especially after all that big talk about ship girls being human. He hoped that hypocrisy wouldn't ever become his defining attribute.

Now finished, the pair deliberated among themselves as to where they would acquisition breakfast. The canteen didn't disappoint, neither did it impress, when they had eaten dinner at it the evening before so they decided that they would try out some sort of café or the like in the main plaza where the rest of the base's ship girls congregate.

On route to breakfast the duo came across and exchanged pleasantries with a few of the local ship girls. The most notable were that now Commander had faces to go along with Hunter and Ardent. They also attempted cordiality with Sheffield. But she was curt at best. They let her go. But the first interesting thing of the day was when they got into the grove of trees that separated the docks from the village.

About halfway through, Commander saw something off-white nearby the main trail partially hidden by the exposed root of a tree. He nudged Nashville's arm to get her attention and he pointed. She shrugged her shoulders but did nothing as he walked over to the white thing behind the root. He leaned over to see what it was, and seeing that it was harmless, he picked it up to show Nashville.

"A toy unicorn?" asked the light cruiser.

"Nah," he dismissed, "This has wings. That makes it an alicorn."

Nashville shot him with a look that showed how unamused she was at his revelation that a unicorn with wings is technically called an alicorn but suddenly something decidedly more unamusing occurred. It started to buck and struggle under it's own strength in his grasp. He dropped it with the expletive, "Sweet Jesus! It's alive!"

The alicorn dipped out quickly back into the grove leaving the path behind. Without thinking too hard, Nashville followed after the stuffed animal as quickly as she dared to without tripping. Las Vegas was close behind her, all the while making sure that they wouldn't get lost in the trees.

They followed the strange creature for maybe five or so minutes into the thicket when the subject of pursuit dipped behind a large fallen log. Nashville was the first around the corner to catch just as the toy jumped into the open arms of a young girl. Excepting purple hair, she looked kind of like a younger Illustrious at a glance. By the time that the toy was fully in her embrace, Commander came around the corner.

Nashville noticed tear streaks down her face as she looked toward the newcomers. This girl was in trouble. Nashville spoke before Commander, "Hi there. I'm Nashville and this is my commander. We were following your toy from the path from the docks. Are you lost out here?" The girl nodded and Nashville asked, "What's your name?"

If Illustrious spoke quietly in a reserved manner, this girl's quiet speech was driven by timidity. "I…I am…Unicorn…Can…Can I call you…big sister?"

Nashville couldn't/wouldn't fight the huge smile on her face right now in the presence of such cuteness. "Aaaahhhh. You sweet thing. You sure can call me big sister. Well, we know the way back to the path. Wanna come with us?"

Unicorn nodded and stood up with her toy still in her tight hug. She crossed the distance between where she had been sitting and came to stand beside Nashville more than Las Vegas. Nashville looked over to him and wordlessly confirmed that he did know the way back. But before they got moving, he took stock of Unicorn, inspecting her for any obvious injuries or the like. In retaliation to this act, she sidestepped to take cover behind Nashville. The foreigners exchanged a look of concern for the young girl.

Commander now had to rack his brain for how to handle this situation. He recalled how kneeling with Eldridge worked well with her. But doing it right now with Nashville in between him and Unicorn, he felt like it wouldn't work the best. He needed to coax her into being more comfortable around him. He of course, had the purest of intentions. So, to begin he said, "We never did ask if you were okay. So, are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Unicorn looked up to Nashville who was now looking down at her. Nashville answered the unspoken question with words of encouragement for Unicorn, "You don't have to be afraid. I've never met a nicer man than him."

Unicorn wasn't completely convinced. Even though big sister Nashville was very nice, and Unicorn could tell she was being sincere she recalled times when Commodore Smithers had feigned being sincere or kind. But even though she didn't want to respond, she recalled how big sister Illustrious had told her that it wasn't ladylike to not respond when someone, especially a gentleman, speaks to you. Unicorn barely whispered, "I'm not hurt anywhere."

"Okay then," replied the one she had heard was called, 'Calico Jack.' He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded-up bundle of white fabric. She recognized a handkerchief. He then said, "If you aren't hurt then it seems that the sniffles are the worst of it. Here. You can use it." He knelt with Unicorn peeking from around Nashville.

Unicorn saw as the man knelt and held out the handkerchief. She saw him smiling in a way like she would expect an older brother to do so. She felt a hand pat her back and she looked up to see Nashville smiling in a like manner. Only then did she begin to trust the duo, specifically Calico Jack, more fully. She went out from behind her cruiser escort and crossed the few steps to accept his handkerchief. She saw to it that it got well used, wiping her eyes and blowing her nose. Having then finished, she passed it back to the man, who folded it and returned it to a pocket. Hoping to put Unicorn even more at ease, he said, "Your toy did a good job of leading us to you. Does it have a name?"

She hugged the living toy a bit closer and replied, "This is Yuni. Yuni the unicorn."

As much as he would have named it, "Ali," or even, "Prince Ali—fabulous he," because it's an alicorn and not a unicorn, he didn't feel the need to enlighten the small girl, instead opting to say, "What a nice name for it. But do you know who we are?"

Unicorn was starting to speak more easily now that she was getting comfortable around the duo, "You two are the visitors from the Eagle Union. Nashville and Calico Jack."

He replied, "That makes introductions easy. But still, I think we've been out here long enough, Miss Unicorn. Don't you agree?" Unicorn nodded her head. "Then let's get going back to the path."

As they walked, Commander and Nashville were able to get the story about how Unicorn had been playing in the plaza that morning but got lost when Yuni decided to chase after a bird into the woods. Unicorn said that they had been lost for maybe an hour. The three of them—four if Yuni counted—came out onto the path and made their way to where Unicorn was playing, figuring that if anyone was looking for her, they would start there.

They approached to see that such was indeed the case. A party of about a dozen ship girls were assembled off to a corner with Illustrious in the center along with Duke of York. She looked absolutely frantic, while Duke of York provided the calm for the gathering. At a distance of about twenty-five yards Unicorn shouted, "Big sis Illustrious!" She ran ahead toward the gathering as Illustrious herself whipped around to the call. Commander averted his eyes out of respect the moment he saw jiggling. Fortunately, Unicorn drew everyone's attention away from his action. He brought his attention back to the scene to see Unicorn jump into Illustrious's arms. Job complete, the search party dispersed, some giving Illustrious and Unicorn well wishes and a few even thanking the foreigners.

Finally, Duke of York approached the duo who had stopped about five yards from the reunion. She began to speak, "We are grateful for thy service this morning."

"You're welcome," replied Nashville, "but it was a happy accident. We found her toy on the path which then led us to her."

"Good fortune, indeed. Nevertheless, we're set at ease to see such has come to pass."

Commander spoke up to inform, "She said that she was unhurt when we found her, but I think that it warrants a follow up from you or Illustrious."

"Methinks Illustrious has already done so, but regardless we'll follow thy wishes."

"Thank you, Duke of York." He looked over to Nashville, who looked like she wanted to say or do something, but a clacking of heels on concrete caught the trio's attention.

Relief was apparent on Illustrious's face. "Thank you so very much. The both of you," she said.

Nashville replied, "It was no trouble at all. Especially not for someone as sweet as Unicorn." Nashville smiled to the light carrier, who beamed back at her.

Illustrious offered, "We were going for breakfast when we noticed that Unicorn was missing. Would the two of you like to join us?" A glance and a nod later and Nashville agreed for herself and her commander.

The group agreed on and arrived at the same outdoor café where Commander had met Javelin the day prior. A cursory glance showed that Javelin was there again with her sister. They waved at each other in greeting and they found a table of suitable size for them all. A manjuu came and took the breakfast orders after a small menu was perused. Light conversation began and it gradually shifted to Unicorn's fascination with how things are in the Eagle Union. To her, the far-off land of her home county's allies sounded like some sort of fairy wonderland full of adventure and for all she knew, maybe unicorns. But as food was delivered and being eaten Unicorn felt to ask, "I've never seen a fleet so small before. What is it that big sister Nashville and Calico Jack do?"

Nashville answered, "Sadly, we can't tell you specifically what we do. But individually, I sail and fight, while he leads and guides us through stuff like submarines or raiders."

Limited by the understanding of a child, Unicorn didn't know how to avoid submarines beyond letting the destroyers take care of them. In fact, since the last war with the Crimson Axis that ended only a few years prior and the immediate resumption of war but with the Sirens, she didn't know what it was like to not have to worry about submarines. She asked, "How does he guide you through the submarines? Aren't they everywhere and see everything?"

"He's a codebreaker. He reads their orders," explained Illustrious.

Understanding spread across Unicorn's features. "Like Ultra from our war?"

"Precisely," answered Illustrious. She glanced toward Calico Jack to confirm. He nodded, and she continued, but toward the codebreaker, "In fact, we had been ordered by Her Majesty to transfer a code for your assistance earlier this morning before we discovered Unicorn was missing."

"Is that so?" he confirmed, "Then please, radio it over Navy VHF 15 at your convenience."

"Certainly," Illustrious paused, "It's done."

He took out Mr. Bond and booted it up. As it powered up and the hard-light screen and keyboard hovered in the air he explained, "I understand that it can be considered rude to bring work to the table, but I want to confirm that I received the message. Oh. And, uh, this here device was a gift from a friend in the Crimson Axis to help us in our mission."

"Thou art a collaborator?" asked Duke of York accusingly.

"Azur Lane and the Crimson Axis are allies against the Sirens now, Duke of York. You say, 'collaborator,' but I say, 'ally.' And besides, hanging onto distrust is a good way for things to spiral out of control just like they did last time which led into the last war with them."

Commander and Duke of York waged a battle of the spirit over a gaze. Commander was in the right, and she knew it, so she relented, "I concede the point. But thou hast never had to fight them, if thy face reflects thy age correctly."

"That's true. And I hope to never have to fight them. But I seem to recall an Eagle Union President once said, 'The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend.' So, perhaps we should finally pay attention to the wisdom of those who came before us?"

"Again, I concede," sighed Duke of York.

He turned his attention back to Mr. Bond's screen and he confirmed that he got the message. Unicorn asked, "Can you show how it's done?" Commander checked with those around the table if they objected to his working right now. Curiosity had overridden the desire for strict adherence to table manners, so he opened the code. A glance showed a submarine deployment order. He smirked. What a good thing to show his paces on.

He got to work and in the same exact way as the ship girls of Naval Station South Point were, the ship girls of Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport were blown away at the skill of the man in their midst. And just like from South Point his skills attracted the attention and amazement of those nearby.

It even gave pause to Cheshire, who was quietly sneaking up on Calico Jack to surprise him with a good morning hug. Her owner was super smart. Probably smarter than anyone she's ever met. Cheshire watched along with everyone else in the café until he finished his work a few minutes later. She had only caught him say that he would send the cracked message over the same frequency that he received it over. Okay! Now her time to make an appearance!

She got close enough and declared, "Owneeeeer!" and brought him into a big hug from behind with him still sitting down. With a glomp, a squeeze, a cuddle, a sniff, and an accusation of being over enthused to see him she defended herself by saying, "Well, that's just how excited I get when I see you, Owner!"

Nashville started to count to ten in her head and she made sure to pay attention to her commander more than anything Cheshire might be doing. Nashville saw him go red when he noticed how Cheshire's bosom was pressed up against his upper back. She could tell that this contact made him uncomfortable, but knowing him, he'll swallow it and then try his hardest to make Cheshire feel welcome in his presence. She wasn't mistaken.

Nashville watched his redness fade away as he got a hold of himself. He said, "Hey there, Cheshire. How are you this morning?"

"I'm even better now that I've found you, Owner! And you?"

"I'm doing pretty well actually. But could you do me a favor?"

She released him and took a small step back as he turned in his seat to properly face her. She replied, "Sure. What is it?"

"Could you please not call me, 'Owner?'"

Cheshire didn't look off put by the request. In fact, for a few seconds she looked deep in thought, like she was trying her absolute hardest to come up with a better alternative. Her inspiration came in the form of the realization that she didn't have to come up with ideas on her own anymore because she had an owner now. And since right now all ideas had disappeared like her namesake's namesake character, she'll ask him. "Okay then, Owner! What do you want me to call you?"

Commander had expected that she would insist on calling him, "Owner," but she had surprised him a bit. For some odd reason, this stoked his curiosity for the cat-woman. He wanted to know what made her tick, because at a cursory glance, he could tell that she was type that his father would call, "the sort that provides their own party," but Las Vegas got the impression that there was more at play here than simple pleasure seeking. He answered, "I'm fine with either, 'Calico Jack,' or, 'Las Vegas.'"

Cheshire beamed at him and sang out, "Calico Jack it is! But, uh, what's Las Vegas?" This highlighted the fact that inland geography wasn't very high on the list of things to teach ship girls as they came into being. As Calico Jack began to explain what Las Vegas was to Cheshire, Duke of York took glances at Nashville to see how she would react to Cheshire's appearance. Fortunately, Nashville seemed to be taking it much better than she had yesterday. But that wasn't to say that she was taking it well. Duke of York was honestly impressed, it seemed that Nashville had found a way to keep herself in control, but she understood that this was still a ticking timebomb in their midst. On her honor as a knight, she wouldn't let this danger slip by, especially when she considered how much she found herself liking the foreigners. And if this timebomb went off and a full-on no-holds-barred brawl occurred, Duke of York was certain that Cheshire would mop the floor with Nashville. In reality, it wouldn't be as clean-cut as Duke of York supposed, but who knew if this would ever come to pass?

Illustrious spent much more of her effort observing than making judgements like Duke of York. And while Duke of York was focusing on Nashville, she was paying attention to the interaction between the pirate and the PR heavy cruiser. She had seen in very little time just how infatuated Nashville was with her commanding officer and she could likewise tell that he didn't look at her that way quite yet but was on his way to reciprocate. Still, Illustrious noted that Calico Jack and Nashville had a way of interacting that showed their familiarity with each other. He looked at her differently and with more caring. He smiled brighter at the light cruiser, and while it was clear that Cheshire was in his good graces, she didn't enjoy the same treatment as Nashville in his eyes. Illustrious had to laugh a bit internally, she'd wager that he was completely oblivious to this. It must be hard being a nice guy.

Unicorn didn't much understand what was going on, but she was glad that Miss Cheshire seems to have found a friend. All in all, she was just glad to be there.

Cheshire was starting to have a constipation of ideas. There was so much that she wanted to ask and say but words were quickly starting to fail her. Unfortunately, this is exactly what often made making lasting friendships among other ship girls difficult for the heavy cruiser. But she was so very happy that Calico Jack was taking it in stride. He listened when she spoke, and he answered when she asked, and he was patient when words failed her. What a great owner he was. It made her want to shower him in hugs and kisses and ask for it in return.

She would love to carry on with this forever but there was a problem that was starting to arrive. Cheshire noticed that Nashville was gradually becoming more irritated. This made her sad because she very much wanted to be friends with her, especially given Cheshire's hopes to one day share an owner with her. So, before Nashville got super mad like she did yesterday, Cheshire was able to finish the conversation with Calico Jack. She could tell that now wasn't the opportune moment. She bade goodbye to Illustrious, Duke of York, and Unicorn all the while apologizing in her own way for interrupting their meal and she asked Calico Jack for a hug goodbye.

From his own experiences with women, it seemed that they enjoyed physical contact much more than men. And based on his own observations, hugging among friends seemed relatively common, so he decided to oblige the cat-woman. He stood and she bounded the step to throw her arms around him for a very close and friendly hug. She was humming happily. But as it broke off, he asked, "One more thing. Are those real?" as he pointed to her bow. He had noticed that it had much more dimension than one would usually expect from a bow, so he supposed that they might just conceal actual cat ears like Hamman's from Miami.

In a moment that was surprisingly jarring she lifted the accessory in question off her head and reported, "My kitty ears are a detachable hair accessory! You try 'em on too, Calico Jack! Just for a quick moment, please, c'mon!" She held out the accessory toward him expectantly.

Only now was Nashville amused by something Cheshire did. She giggled silently to herself and as much as she wasn't fond of the cat-like woman, she had to admit, seeing her commander wearing something like cat ears would be priceless to witness. From the look on his face, Nashville could tell he was seriously considering humoring Cheshire's request. He just needed a little push. She said, "Do it, Commander. You're not scared of some fake cat ears, are you?"

There it was. The challenge was set and now Nashville had another opportunity to see the geek she called, "Las Vegas," squirm for her amusement. This was a no-lose situation. She'd get to tease him for his cowardice if he refused or she'd get to tease him if he wore it and looked silly, which she expected.

From where he stood, this was a no-win situation. Might as well get it over with. He said, "Let's do it." He reached out and took the ears from Cheshire and mounted them atop his own head. Cheshire resisted her laughter for but a moment before she lost it guffawing. Looking for back-up he made the mistake of looking directly at Nashville, who then lost her own fight with laughter. Laughter started to spread among the café and that finally inspired him to remove the ears and return them to Cheshire.

He was slowly starting to die from embarrassment but Javelin, who was still in the café shouted, "Way to go, Calico Jack! That's how it's done!" The destroyer girl saved him from laughter as it was quickly replaced with cheers and clapping as if it was some performance. Confidence returned to the man as he started to smile and laugh at the occurrence too. It died down and he sat once again.

Before Cheshire left she asked Nashville, "You like cat-ears too? Wanna join the cat-ear revolution?"

Nashville had a moment to think that maybe she had been too harsh on Cheshire before seeing what happened over the past few minutes. Even though she still didn't like it when Cheshire got so touchy-feely with Las Vegas, Nashville had no right to hate her for it. So, the light cruiser decided to give her a chance and said, "Yeah. Maybe we could get that revolution started sometime. I bet they'll never see it coming."

Hearing that made Cheshire overjoyed. "I knew that we could be friends, Nashville! I'll get started right away on getting your own ears made! Bye everyone!" And she skipped away before Nashville could even think about retracting her statement.

Commander found it a form of karmic justice that while he only had to try on a pair of fake cat ears, Nashville was the first victim and recruit of the impending, "Cat Ear Revolution." He smirked wickedly at his friend, and the irony of it all struck her a few moments later. She had to admit that the table has turned. But that realization didn't stop Commander from saying, "Congratulations. You just played yourself."

"Yeah. Yeah," she dismissed sarcastically. Attention shifted back toward Illustrious who was silently giggling at the display from the two Unionists before her. Duke of York was smiling in a way that betrayed how funny she thought everything from the past five minutes was. Unicorn was still happy to be there.

Commander had one last bit of business before they would have to get going. He asked to both Illustrious and Duke of York, "We're going to have a meeting with a friend hopefully in the next few days. What's the easiest way to notify Queen Elizabeth when we'll be off?" He was referring to the call and then face-to-face meeting with Roscoe, but they didn't need to know the specifics.

Illustrious replied, "Radio over Navy VHF 00 and a member of the Royal Family, a Royal Knight, or a maid will fetch you for audience with Her Majesty. In matters such as this, she would prefer a face-to-face notification."

"Okay then," he said, "Thanks for letting us know. Nevertheless, there is some business that we have to attend to. Is there anything else that any of you would like to say before we're off?"

"Any words for thee flees recollection," said Duke of York.

Illustrious added, "I have nothing. But again, thank you both so much for finding Unicorn."

"Thanks for your help, Big Sister Nashville and Mr. Calico Jack! I'm happy that you both are nice!" chimed in Unicorn.

Final goodbyes were given, and Unicorn even gave Nashville a big hug. On their way out, Commander thanked Javelin for having his back while he had Cheshire's ears on. Then they left for Nashville's hull to notify Supreme Commander Roscoe that they were in the British Isles and could meet him at any time.

XXXXXXXX

When Roscoe picked up the phone, he seemed relieved to hear the voices of the duo. Since there wasn't much to talk about Roscoe dispensed with some simple instructions. They would tie in in the Pool of London where a, "Sub-Leftenant Talbot," should meet them and act as chauffeur to get them to his office in the Ministry of Defense Main Building in Westminster. It was decided that the duo would arrive in London the next morning, so taking into account Nashville's cruising speed and the possibility of submarines and raiders, it was estimated that the journey would take about fourteen or fifteen hours. They would set out tonight.

They radioed the instructed frequency, and they heard the somewhat familiar Welsh accent of Prince of Wales who said she would escort them from Nashville's hull to Queen Elizabeth's study to inform her of their intentions.

Prince of Wales was as prompt as one could hope from a fast battleship and this time as she led them to their destination, she was quite a bit friendlier than before. Questioning this shift made her cite her own perspectives from the day before, and how Duke of York had told her of their good deed with helping Unicorn that morning. The duo were happy for the shift because, well, more friends beats out less friends any day of the week.

They were led to the same palace as the day before but instead of going straight ahead for the main hall like last time, they ascended a flight of spiraling stairs onto a second story. There was brief confusion about how ascending brought them onto what Prince of Wales insisted was the first floor from the ground floor. That wasn't how it worked in the Eagle Union. There, the stairs would be helping them climb to the second floor from the first floor which was also the ground floor. They unfortunately couldn't settle the disagreement so it appeared as if the confusion would continue to plague international travelers for generations to come. But whatever the case may be, Prince of Wales stopped in front of an ornate door that while not as grand as the double doors below, left nothing to be desired in ornate workmanship. Prince of Wales knocked and was invited to enter by Queen Elizabeth's voice. She opened the door, announced the visitors, and stood aside as they entered. Commander noticed that Prince of Wales didn't enter, instead closing the door behind them.

"How lovely to see you, Calico Jack and Nashville. The mood was just starting to get a bit stifling in here," welcomed Queen Elizabeth. "Take a seat," she continued, gesturing to a low table with a few chairs around it in the middle of the large office. She stood from behind the desk she was seated at. The desk was covered in papers and the walls of the office were lined with bookshelves full to the brim. A grand chandelier complemented the carpeting and there was a large unstained window that permitted an unobstructed view outside.

As all three sat down, Commander greeted her, "It's good to see you as well, Your Majesty. If I may ask though, how was the mood stifling?"

"Incompetents are my bane," she lamented as she pointed over her shoulder to the piles of papers on her desk. "My incompetent just so happens to be a fat-man named, 'Smithers.' So, more often than not, I have to take a significant portion of his work."

Nashville had a moment of insight that increased her respect for the teenage looking monarch. She revealed, "And you don't trust anyone else to handle him. Do you? That's why you're here and not in London, say for instance."

Queen Elizabeth smiled. She admitted, "Jeremy Smithers is notorious for his strong personality. But so am I. So, when it became too much of a problem for my representative here, I moved my court from the banks of the River Thames to here in Devonport."

"That's quite generous of Your Majesty," lauded Commander. "What's his job anyway? I was under the impression that the Royal Navy's Ship Girl Forces enjoyed autonomy until I met him."

"To a degree," informed Elizabeth, "The spirit of his position is more political than practical. It's existence is a compromise meant to calm those who know of us ship girls, yet still question our loyalties to this land and her people. Though in practice his job should be assisting with logistics and strategy, both of which he neglects, so I have taken this burden upon myself. I was already doing both as fleet representative, so what is a little more work? But concerning Smithers himself, I don't know, nor do I care what he does to fill his time, so long as he isn't harassing my subjects."

Commander smiled in nostalgia for the occurrence of only the day before. He recalled, "I still remember how satisfying it was to send him packing yesterday. Say, was it unwise to alienate him?"

"Had you alienated him without a Writ of Commandeering in your hands, I would have said so. But since you did it with the writ, there is nothing he can do except fume silently." Now Queen Elizabeth smiled and said, "But I'd say glorious is a better word than satisfying." There was another moment of silence before she changed the subject, "Illustrious informed me that you had assisted Unicorn this morning. Thank you."

"Not a problem," said Nashville. "She's too cute to not help."

Queen Elizabeth smirked and remarked, "If I had enough authority on the matter, I'd have the two of you for servants, you've already convinced me of your character, and I could always use more of that."

Commander smirked back and retorted, "I'd only accept the position of knight. If Your Majesty asked politely."

Queen Elizabeth started to laugh. She finished by saying, "I'll consider it. But I suppose that's enough pleasantry. What business is on the agenda today?"

"We're setting sail in the early evening for London, and we simply wished to notify Your Majesty."

Queen Elizabeth started to think on this information. What could she benefit from this? He even informed the destination even though it wasn't part of the agreement. Perhaps this business of theirs wasn't that secret for now? She had been intending to send an inspection for the garrison in London for some time now, so she was left to conclude that there was no time like the present. "Very well," she replied, "I had intended an inspection for the garrison of ship girls there in London, so if I may, would you allow that Hood and Belfast accompany aboard your hull?" She had put these names in particular forward to help them in their assignments to gather the feelings of both foreigners in the possible love triangle that may occur with Cheshire. And besides, they were good inspectors.

But before Calico Jack or Nashville could answer she added on, "And this morning Illustrious informed me that you are able to actively serve as a guide through the submarine wolfpacks. I'd like to have a report of this process and your effectiveness at it. Such will no doubt assist us in the future should it prove as effective as you claim."

Nashville and Commander shared another look that came out with them accepting the request. He said for them, "Alright, Your Majesty, we accept the challenge. We're looking to set sail at 1800."

Queen Elizabeth smiled. Finally, she managed to get the pirate to agree to something beneficial to her alone. "Splendid. I'll arrange for them to meet you at Nashville's hull at 1730. But before you leave, could I offer you some tea?"

And so, they shared tea in Queen Elizabeth's office, and they departed after wishing each other farewell. The duo would be able to spend the afternoon making sure that Nashville was all stocked up on ammunition and other supplies before they left. But there was one glaring issue. Commander still didn't trust Belfast in particular. He couldn't think of a way she could do it—but that didn't mean there wasn't a way—for her to somehow get a hold of the secret documents from Roscoe and Hara still stashed in his safe. Well, they had outlived their usefulness anyway, so the duo saw to it that they were turned to ash in Nashville's engine room. Commander and Nashville only salvaged the photo of the fleet that took part in Operation Argonautica, agreeing that it didn't feel right burning it, in the same way that desecrating a grave didn't feel right. But they had to come up with a place to hide the files from Agent Johnson about the Heralds of the Deep. They found a place and finished up the resupply in a few hours and then got a bite to eat as an early dinner. The duo returned to Nashville's hull a few minutes before Hood and Belfast arrived alongside a few bags of their own personal affects. The Royals stowed their riggings in the same place that the ship girls from Miami did and they made themselves comfortable on the bridge as the group left Devonport to make the overnight sail to London.

XXXXXXXX

Commander and Nashville had expected that Hood and Belfast would be pleasant passengers but as it turned out, they also made good conversationalists. In the absence of anything to cook or clean Belfast busied herself with keeping a sharp eye out as watch and her along with Hood carried on with the conversation from the tea party the day before. But Belfast wanted to get to the source and find out what truly was the odd man's angle on everything. It seemed to her, that to get him to talk or to budge on anything, one would have to offer some sort of challenge to him. She began about two hours into the journey by saying, "If you'll pardon my saying, Mr. Calico Jack, you're not like other sailors that I've met over the years."

"How so?" he asked, apparently taking the bait.

"The most apparent thing would no doubt be your clean language, or your generally gentlemanly conduct."

Before he responded to Belfast, he shot a look over to Nashville that conveyed his smug satisfaction of standing out by not cussing all the time like would be expected by many English speakers. She rolled her eyes and then he responded to Belfast, "That means the expression, 'cursing like a sailor,' isn't just a stereotype?"

"From what I've seen of sailors from both the Royal Navy and the Eagle Union Navy, I'd say that it is accurate. But would you please explain yourself?"

He shrugged and said, "Would it be a surprise to say that I was raised that way?"

"Not at all," inserted Hood, "But I'd add on that there is more too it. I stationed sailors for decades and have seen them come in all varieties and qualities. And I'm of the opinion that while you are a generally competent fellow and are getting the swing of things, you do not seem the most accomplished seaman."

"You wound me Miss Hood," replied Commander from his workstation. He had been busying himself preparing the decoded messages that would allow them to navigate safely during the night while they all slept. "But I won't deny such a claim. What gave it away?"

"Your age," she said, "Never in all my years have I met a commander in his mid-twenties. Were you an Englishman I'd say you should be a sub-leftenant or a leftenant."

Commander chuckled for a moment and then recalled, "I won't deny, it was a pretty big shock to get such a large multi rank promotion, right before dying, that is. But I'm capable in my field, codebreaking, and to make up for my shortcomings, I was assigned alongside someone far better than any sailor. And despite being a strange outfit where our skills overlap little, if at all, we have yet for anything to go poorly for us." Nashville then affirmed what he had said with just as definitive language without giving anything away. They had answered the challenge without giving the Royals what they wanted; information about him or their mission. All he did was confirm what they knew, which in this instance, didn't help.

Conversation would begin to be less probing in nature as the next hour or two dragged on. But Commander got curious about the two regal women on the bridge so he at some point asked, "I'm curious, why do the both of you fight?"

"I was hoping to ask you the same thing," admitted Hood. "But since you asked, I will answer first." Hood sat up straighter and she looked out the window towards the setting sun to take a few seconds to formulate an answer. To Commander, it seemed as if she doesn't think on this very often, like fighting is more second nature than anything. She finally started to explain, "For Queen and Country is the easy part of it all. But I confess that there is a selfish part as well." This surprised Commander because he didn't think Hood to be selfish in any measure. She continued, "I aim to restore and maintain the glory of the Royal Navy, which I feel has been tarnished after years of war. But I also think that we have something precious to defend. Life is a beautiful thing, and we serve as the bulwark that defends it from those who would see that beauty defiled."

Commander smiled, "Even in what you call, 'selfishness,' I can't help but notice that you're quite principled."

"Fighting without principles would make us little better than those who would burn our cities and turn our homes in a wasteland," she responded. "And besides, principles are a must for the level of elegance I strive to maintain."

"I wish I could lay claim to such elegance as Lady Hood," interjected Belfast. "My own reasons are much simpler. I derive great pleasure in being a maid, and as such, I fight for what my queen does. But on a more personal level..." She paused. Commander could see something telling about the character of the head maid coming. "Well, neither of you have met her but I fear that without my continual vigilance, my elder sister, Edinburgh, would be quite lost. But what of the two of you?"

Nashville had a few seconds of confusion. Over the past few months her own reason has gotten so much more complex. Las Vegas noticed his companion struggling with her own words, so he spoke first to give her time. "I won't claim to serve higher powers or ideals but for the most part, my own reasons have been shifting from, 'because I feel like it,' to, 'because it feels right.' Furthermore, I have committed to this path and I won't back down now, not while there is still a job that needs to be done. And if possible, I'd like to foster a lasting peace that would bring people from all over the world together, regardless of any differences they may have." There was another part of his explanation that he omitted to the Royals. He fought so that he could make sure that Nashville made it through this war. Because when he considers his current lot in life, Nashville is the most valuable thing to him, and he wants to see her happy. But his thoughts didn't go much further than this.

After some approval from Hood and Belfast for her commander, Nashville was finally able to speak, "I've always wanted to serve my country and her ideals. But I also want to be with my sisters again. There are six of us right now and I've only been able to meet two of them." She also fought for her commander. Rather, he'd at the top of the list if she had the courage to speak her mind. He's shown her so much in the short time that they've known each other. He has shown her that being alive isn't a curse and he makes her want to be human. No small feat considering she had no desires to be human a few months ago.

Both Hood and Belfast were able to hear what wasn't said almost as easily as what was said. Calico Jack and Nashville fought for each other and that revelation helped the Royals in their task to ascertain the duo's feelings on the introduction of Cheshire into the question of their team-mechanic. There was still more to be found on the matter, but this was the first step that the they had been hoping for.

The conversation tapered off after that. But eventually, the group decided to retire for the night. He checked with Nashville outside of their quarters that both Hood and Belfast did indeed arrive at their own lodgings for the night before they parted with a mutual, "Goodnight."

Before going to sleep, Commander was finally able to get a good look at and get some idea of what the sonnet from the Heralds of the Deep meant. The implications were truly disturbing. But now that it was going to be shared with Supreme Commander Roscoe, maybe he could advise them on the matter? Or maybe he could snap his fingers with his position and magic them out of the picture. Commander doubted this. But still, he would be relieved once the secrets of the Heralds were known to more than just him and Nashville. Satisfied with the work of the day, he returned the file to it's place and went to bed.

XXXXXXXX

Morning came and the duo went about their normal routine. They were in the middle of the morning sparring sessions when for the first time ever, they were interrupted. It was Belfast, who, having observed the proceedings could make a determination that if it came down to it, Nashville might just be able to hold her own against Cheshire. But she saw something that made her kind of sad. So, she offered, "Miss Nashville. If I may, I'd like to demonstrate proper knife use to your commander."

Nashville looked over to her commander. To her eyes, he seemed intrigued with the offer. She quite liked the idea of getting him some new tricks. It would help both of them. So, she patted him on the shoulder and said, "It's for your own good," and she turned back towards Belfast to say, "Toughen him up for me would you please?"

"Gladly," replied the maid turned commando.

She approached and Commander was able to easily note her more athletic attire than usual. As she got closer, Commander was also able to notice that her eyes were in fact a light blue, instead of his supposed silver from the day before. But she still had on the rather odd broken chain collar-necklace thing. He'd have to ask her about that at some point.

She began by saying, "I can see that your knife fighting base is in fencing. But I can also tell that you've been lacking in any formal instruction so I would have you please forget much of fencing's finer techniques of parry then counter and it's sportsmanship mentality. A knife is a completely different matter." He responded plainly to the affirmative and then she explained, "There is nothing shameful of running away from a fight you cannot win, but if there are no alternatives, then you must approach a fight much more differently. There will be no flourishes and it will likely be a quick and dreadfully dirty matter. Now…"

From there Belfast would have a practice spar in which she put Commander through his paces to get a baseline from which to build off of. His reflexes were passable to the maid-commando's standards while his footwork and stance wasn't as bad as she had feared. She did what she could to rectify this. And then she went over targets for a slash or a stab. The main targets were arteries in the torso and arms. A slash to the radial artery in the wrist will make a man go unconscious in thirty seconds and make him dead in two minutes. While a stab to the heart will cause unconsciousness in a single second and death in another few seconds. From this, "slow," time to the fastest was ranked, the wrist, just above the elbow on the bicep, the carotid artery in the neck, an artery running just below the collarbone, to the heart. Most unpredictable would be a stab or a slash to the stomach, which depended on much more than simply cutting a major blood vessel, so Belfast discouraged this under most circumstances.

They would focus on drawing his knife quickly and striking with the same speed with a single, decisive finisher. After ten minutes of lecture and another ten on drawing the knife, they began another spar. Even though he still lost, Belfast could tell that he was on the way to becoming quite formidable with a knife. He just needed practice. Nashville stepped back in for a bout, and she lost, having underestimated the officer. Things just got more interesting. Belfast knew though that to take his skills to the next level, he'd need a different knife, one with a fixed blade and she had the perfect one in mind. She offered to help him more on the matter, and he accepted. This was good for the maid. It was the first step of gaining Calico Jack's trust.

Morning exercises ended and the group finished getting ready for the day and got breakfast. Belfast and Hood complemented Commander's cooking. He high-fived himself internally.

But as they were approaching the mouth of the River Thames, it became apparent how real the war was in the old world. London and the River Thames had become a fortress. Bunkers with overt gun positions lined the southern mouth of the river as they sailed for their destination. Hood assured with no small measure of sadness in her voice and face that the same was true of the north bank. Royal Navy vessels swarmed the place. Repeatedly, military channels went active on the radio as they ascertained the intentions and destination of the Eagle Union Light Cruiser. They would have had to submit to the searching by a boarding party if not for the intervention of Hood who had the proper clearances and permissions that would allow her and those accompanying her into the river that bisected London. They were allowed to proceed. Hood explained how while the city remained largely unmolested for the past few years, the British Government wasn't taking any chances. Commander got a little more context about Hood's desires to build up and maintain the glory of the Royal Navy. It must be hard for someone to see their own home in such a state.

As they got further into the city, Commander could see that where there wasn't military, people milled about for whatever business was on their minds. A thought occurred to the Eagle Union Observer. This wasn't the first time that the British had braved the possibility of their home being brought directly into war or even destroyed. They stood firm in the face of the Nazis and they would do likewise now for the Sirens. And who said that the cyclic nature of history was all bad? "God save the Queen," he muttered under his breath.

But that wasn't all. A man with a crazy look in his eye and evil zealousness in his heart stood watch on the banks of the river. He saw the cruiser coming and recognized it. He banged his partner's shoulder and said with a point of the chin, "Oi. Ain't that the ship we supposed ta look out for?"

"Looks like it. The bosses are gonna have a blast with this'un." They left unnoticed to report their findings to their nefarious cult leaders.

Meanwhile, Hood finally informed the officer that the ship girl garrison was stationed at their destination in the Pool of London. A question as to why they were so far from the mouth of the river exposed that politics must be the most difficult thing around here. For appearances sake and secrecy, the garrison was moved away from the mouth of the river, which was patrolled and guarded by the conventional Royal Military.

The Unionists reveled in the sights of the UK's capital city and Hood was pleased to point out every single feature. The Cutty Sark, the shard, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, and Belfast pointed out her past hull as it stood in it's moorings. They saw about a dozen other warships of the same vintage moored in different places, but Commander got the impression that this was the garrison of which has been spoken instead of other museums. After some maneuvering assisted by tugboat, they were able to dock at a recently made pier on the northern bank with Nashville's bow pointed toward the direction that they had come from.

Destination reached, Hood and Belfast thanked the duo for their hospitality and offered their compliments for being able to navigate the English Channel unmolested. Doing so was a very rare occurrence these days. As they were going down the gangway onto the pier itself, Commander noticed two women that had to be ship girls. They were quite similarly dressed to one another with short red dresses that had white fronts to them. The golden-blonde one with her hair styled in twin tails exposed cleavage while the ashen-blonde one did not. Hood greeted them, "Miss Nelson. Miss Swiftsure. What a delight it is to see you again."

"You as well, Lady Hood," repeated the one Commander assumed was Nelson. Greeting passed between the Royals. But eventually Nelson asked, "But who are these?"

Hood stood to Commander's side and said, "These are Calico Jack and Nashville. I vouch for them."

Nelson inspected the arriving duo. She wasn't impressed at a glance. She said, "You don't look very capable to me. But if Hood says so, then you can't be all that terrible. But step out of line and I'll give you a taste of my cannons. Got it?"

"We'll try to stay out of your way," assured the pirate. He then addressed both Nelson and Swiftsure, "Would either of you have by chance seen a Sub-Lieutenant Talbot around?"

Swiftsure answered, "I saw him a few minutes ago. I can call him up for you."

"Thank you," said Calico Jack.

The call was made, and the duo only waited a few minutes before a man in his early twenties arrived. After confirming that it was Sub-Lieutenant Talbot, he guided them away to a parked car with tinted windows. The got on their way for Grayson Roscoe's office in Westminster.

As the four remaining Royal Navy Ship Girls watched them go Nelson remarked, "I don't like him. He smells like trouble."

Belfast assured the super dreadnaught, "Perhaps, yet I find myself trusting him in spite of my better judgement."

Hood agreed readily with Belfast and for some reason, Swiftsure felt it safe to agree as well.

I don't really know why, but this chapter was harder to write than usual. And it's out a day later than when I originally aimed for, but that's what homework does for you. But nevertheless, I'm getting excited for the next chapter when stuff is starting to get moving for how I want this arch in the UK to go. I got some ideas, and this chapter set up a lot of those. But I got a lot of comments from the last chapter, so I best get on those.

Thanks for the review, ian9018. Thanks for letting me know how it was. I haven't been playing the game for that long, so I didn't know if there ever was any sort of canon for this.

Hi HeronLsL. Whenever I refer to Alice in Wonderland I typically try to use Lewis Carrol's work more than Holleywood's, so Johnny Depp crazy is unlikely. Thanks for the complements about the non-human attribute introductions. I'll definitely do something with that in the Sakura Empire. I'm glad that the Javelin and Cheshire scenes were up to snuff. As much as I like her character, Cheshire is a bit hard for me to write because her personality is the exact opposite to my own so it's hard to get in her head. The tea party was the main event of the chapter. I'm happy that you liked it and the Charlie Chaplin quote. And thank you for the complement about the references that I make, I just pick these up over time. It is safe to assume that the other PR girls are also awake.

Hey there, SafetyDoggo. Sorry for the longer wait this time around. Hopefully it's quality makes up for it? Maybe I'll incorporate a maid-in-training moment for Cheshire if pacing permits it. Belfast-chan? Maybe. Then concerning your summary. Well, it's a bit of an oversimplification, but I won't say that you're wrong.

It's good to see you, SomeRand0m. You judge correctly why Nashville is cool with Javelin but not others. The fourth wall has been broken. Really, thank you for your acknowledgement of the time and passion I put into this. I'm super happy that you like it. And I just heard the Charlie Chaplin quote one day as I was browsing the internet. I tried to look for a place to put it into an essay and never found one, so a fanfiction will have to do. I'm glad that you like Cheshire's inclusion. I had considered some royal maid (Edinburgh was the other candidate) but I must inform you Dido is one of the few named sunken ship girls in the story. She was part of Operation Argonautica. Belfast does have something in mind, she's already making her moves to get Las Vegas to trust her a bit more. I hadn't thought about it until you pointed it out, but I did write Nashville as a bit of a yandere last chapter. This is something that I want to avoid because in my mind, it seems out of character. So, I tried to compensate this chapter. Cheshire as a perma member? Doubtful. But I have a plan for this. I hope you did well on your exams. I hope that I can keep writing stuff worth looking forward to.

It's been a while, theberg. I'm surprised that you liked the chapter that much. The battle against Lusca is still my favorite, but a strong contender for that position is coming soon. I'm glad that you liked Cheshire. I'm probably going to include her more and more as the arch carries on. And while I want her to be a fun character, I'm also trying to make her believable in how she acts and reacts.

What's up, Zander22122. Yep, even though Jack is a legitimate name for someone, it's a common placeholder in some parts. The battle of wits was a fun part to write and I'm happy that the queen was handled to your liking. Thanks for the congrats for the battle of wits.

Thanks for the review, . I am most certainly going to give him more names for other factions. But as of right now, some of those names are coming to me easier than others. We'll see how it goes.

Thanks for the review, Guest. I'm glad that you liked the chapter. And I took another look and you're absolutely correct. Belfast's eyes are blue, so I corrected the misconception this chapter. Your comment makes me laugh a bit though. I think that you pointing that out is the first overt criticism that I've gotten for this story. It's hysterical really. I try so hard to get things like distances and timing and gun range and location correct, only to space out for something as basic as a description. Well, let's hope that stuff like these are the most glaring criticisms I get.

Thanks for the review, Touhoufanatic. I'm happy that you're enjoying the story and I'll admit, fanfiction is one of the few things that I can binge. I'm glad this one is bingeworthy. Thanks for complementing the idea that is the main plot of the story and I'm glad you approve of the pacing for the build up to each boss battle.

Well, I've said all that is on my mind and gotten it onto the computer screen. Take care, friends. If you are having a bad day I hope it gets better, and if you are having a good day I hope it gets even better.