"I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way." — John Paul Jones
It was on fire, the sea. The raging flames were covering the surface as far as the eyes could see, and explosions made ripples on the water as numerous warships were exchanging fire, blue and red bright beams reflected off the surface. A steel hull suddenly cuts in, disrupting the ripples and reflections.
St. Paul watched as the carnage ensued, like a brawl in a bar; brutal and bloody engagement replaced by extremely volatile weaponry, devastating blows that snapped the hull and keel of the warships present into two. She spotted her flagship; Albany currently battling out an enemy battleship with Rochester, the two working in tandem to weaken the Klein Field of the battleship while tanking hits of their own. Albany's mental model turned towards St. Paul's direction, she could make out the look in her eyes and the expression on her face. It was an order to escape, St. Paul knew that she would be essential to the world once this civil war had resolved itself, there were still uncertainties as to how the battles would end… but hopefully, she would receive news of her comrades currently fending off the ambush set up for them later.
St. Paul turned her heading towards a squall that was forming in the area, she felt her hull shudder as the squall swallowed her and rapid bright flashes of light illuminated the interior of the said brewing storm. The ship rocked violently from the high seas condition, waves crashing into the hull and a lightning struck the ship's foremast's top antenna before the vessel disappeared into the squall.
It's unfortunate how quickly the Fleet of Fog broke down into various factions, the Atlantic and the Pacific erupted with fury, each side clashing and some even turning their backs against each other. The sinking of the Yamato after dealing a mortal wound to Musashi broke the Admiralty Code that bound the Fleet of Fog together, igniting rivalries that already existed. Humanity could only watch the battles between sisters and former allies shake the world to it's very core, seeking refuge inland and surviving on any necessities they carried with them.
However, what would happen next… may be unexpected, even for St. Paul. Of all the instances in her service, never have she embarked on a journey that would permanently shape her, and teach her the values that she never had the privilege to discover in the Fleet of Fog or the short record of serving with the US Navy.
Have you ever heard of the Butterfly Effect..? It is said that the tiniest actions will influence the course of the rest of your life or the others and you cannot control it. So many factors are in play: a delayed train, an extra cup of tea, or even going back home to fetch a pencil that you left for an exam. This is chaos theory. Sensitivity. Mathematics. You are here. And every choice you have ever made has led to right now, reading this too. While you exist, every movement and moment matters; those bad choices led you to the best days of your life, if you were to play it all in rewind. Change comes nevertheless. Even if you're just standing where you are, sitting comfortably and laying down while reading someone's work or a book that you love. Butterflies will keep flapping their wings and causing hurricanes. And if you ceased to exist? Oh, the Universe would notice. The mess that would make, and the great things that are missed.
...
... ...
War.
War never changes, no matter what era or reality you live in. Where there is civilization or any hint of human presence, war will follow. For centuries, men have sought to conquer the seas and utilizing various technologies, they wrestled for control over the ocean. As humanity sets on a path to dominate the vast ocean, the Sirens appeared, and with what seems to be advanced technology beyond comprehension ... mankind was pushed back to land.
However, after many tedious research and technological breakthroughs ... a solution was brought forward in the form of girls possessing the soul and ability of warships. Finally, mankind had the necessary means of fighting back.
"Taffy* 14 to Taffy 16, we have arrived at the designated coordinates of the spotted Siren carrier fleet. Requesting further instructions."
"The Commander's orders are to sweep a wide area of the Southern sea, if there are signs of Siren activity then we are to eliminate them. Do as you see fit, Essex."
"Affirmative. Begin launching CAP* and attack squadrons..!" the Union fleet carrier rallied the order, taking up the front as waves of aircrafts took off from the flight deck of her rigging. Following them were more of the blue themed fighters and bombers, two more shipgirls were sailing behind Essex and launching their own complement of air groups.
The aircrafts soared the clear sky while several fighters remained to protect the fleet, Taffy 14 consisted of the three carriers, three light cruisers and 6 destroyers as escort. Despite the overall low firepower, the fleet makes up for it with their aviation strength with the carriers' modernity and in addition, speed was essential to get in and out of combat areas.
"I don't like where this is going, Essex." Shangri La stared towards the horizon while coordinating her air groups, "If you're worried about an air attack, there's a reason why I'm here." San Juan crossed her arms, as an Atlanta-class anti-air cruiser she had a reputation to keep and if there were doubts then she needed to know about it.
The carrier shook her head, "I don't mean to offend you, San Juan. But having sightings of Sirens in the Southernmost part of the Pacific... there's nothing for them here."
"Whatever it is they're doing, we need to find out, Shangri La. And Bunker Hill, sync up with my fighters for a spread sweep... there has to be something out there." Essex narrowed her eyes, the fact that even her senior is involved with this large-scale sortie means something is happening. The Commander is always right with her intuition, any doubts would have gone the drain by now at how much they've accomplished. With the Sakura Empire laying dormant after a series of encounters and the lifted blockade on the Northern Parliament... that only leaves Iron Blood as the only problem, and the Royal Navy would resume its efforts to wage it's crusade against the lead faction of Crimson Axis.
"Enemy aircraft to the horizon!" San Juan shouted and pointed towards the swarm of Siren aircrafts charging straight for them, luckily her anti-air radar managed to pick up the oncoming approach before it was too late.
"All stations, prepare for anti-air operations! We'll leave the command of the destroyers to you, San Juan. I'll be preoccupied with handling my fighters." Essex recalls back a few groups of her aircraft to combat the new threat, since they were sent out beforehand then it's possible to ambush the Siren aircrafts, F4U Corsairs and F6F Hellcats drones in from every direction as flak filled the air to mask their whirring approach, the Siren jets spun and moved out of the flak barrages' way, lowering their altitudes and exposing themselves.
A flight of Corsairs dove straight for them, opening up with their 12.7mm machine guns and shot down a considerable amount of the jets with a single pass. No longer having the element of surprise, the dogfight began and the Hellcats applied the knot as they surrounded the Siren jets, shooting down more of them before they could retaliate. Even if they managed to escape from the cage set up by the Union aircrafts, they'd have to go through the wall of fire that the cruisers and destroyers were maintaining. The jets were swatted from the skies like flies, outnumbered and eliminated without landing a single hit.
[ Taffy 16, USS South Dakota ]
South Dakota scanned the surface of the ocean as a Manjuu crew sat on her shoulder while holding out a binocular, not even the radar could make out any Siren signature. She turned her head to face the most decorated aircraft carrier of Eagle Union as Enterprise glanced her way.
"How is it on your end, Enterprise?"
"My scout planes aren't seeing anything yet, there's nothing as far as the eyes can see. How about you, Hornet?"
The other Yorktown-class carrier tipped her hat up and shrugged, "No luck here either, sis. Maybe it's just a wrong intel."
"It can't be wrong, perhaps we're not searching hard enough..." Enterprise looked down towards her rigging, a transmission from one of the scouts. "There's a large formation, main fleet. Bearing 1-5-6!"
"Taffy 14, this is Taffy 16! Siren fleet located! Divert all efforts to destroy enemy formation." South Dakota keyed in the report and sped up ahead of the two carriers, "It seems like we didn't have to look for them. They're coming straight towards us!" The battleship adjusted the elevation angle of her main guns, the gunports opened and fired the hard hitting 16 inch shells, creating geysers of water as they landed all over the Siren warships.
"We've just taken care of their air attacks, our bombers are in the air and approaching the designated coordinates. Standby for allied airstrikes."
"Make it quick, Essex." the 16 inch guns barked once more, this time scoring a hit on a Bishop-class Siren and blasted it into a ball of fire.
"Hornet!"
"I know, sis! Let's get this show on the road!" The younger Yorktown-class sails next to her sister, SBD Dauntless dive bombers taking off from her flight deck while Enterprise fired an arrow of light, and soon emerging from it were her own flight of Dauntless.
"Since they've taken the courtesy to show themselves now, that means they're really hiding something in this part of the ocean. We can't afford to back down now," the white-haired carrier moves to the side, avoiding a near hit from a Rook-class as her dive bombers dropped their payloads on it, setting it ablaze while Hornet's flight of B-25 Mitchell heavy bombers makes a quick bombing run over the lines of Siren warships and scoring multiple hits, followed by her Dauntless flight group to confirm the kills.
The volume of fire from the Sirens never let up, and one of it happened to get caught by one of the escorts. Pensacola winced, moving out of the way before opening up with her 8 inch guns, and followed South Dakota along with the other lightly armoured ships.
"Standy, Taffy 16."
A droning noise could be heard overhead, and small shadows of the SB2C Helldivers covered the Sirens, the dive bombers started their attack and distracted the enemy while the Avenger torpedo bombers approached from both sides. The combination from allied shelling, and the endless bombing finally broke through, the remaining Sirens either fought back or turned away to escape. Enterprise wouldn't allow that, her Dauntless' chased after them and unleashed their fury with bombshells.
As fast as the battle had started, it ended just as quickly due to the tactical superiority in maintaining and operating aircrafts. Aircraft carriers are the lifeline for the Eagle Union, forget the battleships and the heavy cruisers as they serve as fast escorts and artillery support. Union Carrier-based aircrafts are the main workhorse that fuels the strength of Azur Lane whilst the Royal Navy possesses outstanding firepower with their advanced gunnery and experienced capital ships, having ruled the seas for many years made them a formidable force to be reckoned with.
"Thank you for the assist, Taffy 14. We'll remain on our course to investigate the area ahead, keep your fighters up in the air until further notice."
"Godspeed, Taffy 16. We'll maintain communication every 30 minutes, so in the case either of us enters a Mirror Sea, we'll head straight to the last designated position to help."
South Dakota turns her head to gesture nods towards the destroyers escorting the task force, "Copy that, Taffy 14. Talk with you in 30 minutes." she picks up speed, watching the destroyers skate past her in a single file formation and utilizing their surface radars.
Fletcher raised her hand to wave towards Enterprise, and pointed forward to which the Union aircraft carrier turned her head, spotting a storm brewing ahead. "Do you think it might be a Mirror Sea?" Hornet questioned her, feeling the breeze against her skin even though the squall hadn't hit the fleet yet. Enterprise kept her guard up and her hand ready on the bow, "There's a slight chance. Or it could just be a normal storm… we won't know for sure until we're inside."
South Dakota puts up a hand to her ear, "Should I inform the Commander?"
"No, the Commander strictly told us that under no circumstances should the main fleet break radio silence, she won't make contact with us until then. This operation relies on our ability to maintain secrecy, I'm sure Georgia understands that."
"Our Commander assembled most of the big guns for this, a fleet of that size would be found immediately if the Sirens take notice… you'd wish you weren't a Siren if you had to stare down at Georgia's gun barrels." Hornet chuckled whilst holding her hat, "And there's only two ships as for now that could perform like or better than Georgia."
"Those two, huh..? The Sakura Empire won't be making much trouble now that their war potential has been cut off, they should be sending someone to take command of the disorganized fleets." Enterprise shook her head, facing forward with a stern gaze, "Be ready, everyone! We will now advance into the squall, proceed with a double line formation and look out for each of your partners! Anything suspicious must be reported to me or South Dakota!"
"Aye aye." Hornet pairs up with her sister, following South Dakota's wake who was paired with Pensacola. The fleet dashed for the squall, hoping to get in and out of it quickly, a multitude of bright flashes could be seen from the outside, mixed with blue and red lights.
[ 1st Battleship Division - Onboard the USS Georgia ]
The Commander stared down at a pocket watch, the item seemingly looked like a relic with the cracked glass and the rusting appearance. Nevertheless, it was still working and the hands of the clock were moving as expected of it. She gripped it tight before storing the belonging into her uniform pocket, then she studied the plotting chart spread in front of her and observed the position of 3 miniature ship models, supposedly representing all 3 fleets that she sortied for the operation. Taffy 14 and 16 would work together to lure out any Siren from the area, bringing them into the stage of the battle while the 1st BatDiv* would use their heavy guns to bombard and annihilate the enemies, striking from extreme distances without getting into the heat of the firefight.
"Commander, we're nearly at the checkpoint and the girls are awaiting their next set of orders." Georgia stood by the door, updating the Commander of their current status in the operation. "There's still no word about any Siren facility or their main fleet, should we keep waiting?"
"We keep heading South. There's no guarantee that the Sirens will take the bait, and we're still locked with radio silence… without carrier support, we'll be sitting ducks. Our best bet right now is for both Enterprise and Essex to expose the Siren assault fleet."
"Aye aye, maintaining heading Southwards."
A manjuu handling a spotlight aboard the Georgia flashed several clicks with the equipment, signalling the other shipgirls who were around the flagship and the escorts making up the outer ring. Due to the presence of a commanding officer, Georgia restricted the use for her rigging and kept them in their ship form to transport the Commander. Several more battleships around her did the same, making up a diamond formation to shield the flagship from any means of damage. They didn't want to risk any torpedo attacks hitting the Georgia or a stray shell from any hostile vessel to land anywhere near, the secrecy of the mission meant they would be the only fleet to respond to any sort of danger.
Just miles away, Taffy 16 was having a brawl inside the squall and disorganization soon set in as some of the pairs splintered from the main group to deal with the Siren menace, countless destroyers supporting the humanoid entities that South Dakota and Enterprise identified as both Explorer and Tracker.
"The whole party's here..!" Hornet dodged countless barrages directed for her, baiting the Siren warships into South Dakota's crosshairs and blasting them with the lethal 16 inch shells, the heavier ships were crippled or listing from the flooding damages. Enterprise was focused on pursuing Explorer and Tracker, the two Siren humanoids working in tandem and firing their main guns to slow down the white-haired carrier.
"It's over..!" she pulled back the arrow of light on her bow, ready to let the projectile spring forward when a blue beam blocked her view. The humanoids got out of the way, shifting their aim the other way and instructed the rest of their fleet members to do the same. Enterprise was as confused as her fellow Union shipgirls, the Sirens weren't targeting them anymore as they fired towards the other side of the fog that covered the battlefield.
Three bright blue beams screamed towards the row of Bishop-class heavy cruisers, cutting through them with precision and detonated all of them. Then metal arrows rained down from the skies, fires spouting from their back as they tore through the hull of the Sirens except for Explorer and Tracker that managed to avoid the attacks. Explosions sprouted from the impacts of the said metal arrows, they seem to have a mind of their own when the Sirens tried to maneuver and the arrows flew true on their targets. For the Union shipgirls it was like witnessing a miracle, they had never seen such a weapon before and with such accuracy to home in on their designated targets.
Tracker was in a state of disbelief, "... it can't be. Such a weapon shouldn't exist in this world aside from our own creation..! How—" she then realized it, the blue beams that destroyed her artillery support also didn't belong to this world as they have no similarities to the kind of beam that her fellow Siren humanoids possess.
"A new Drifter?" Explorer glanced her way, spotting the silhouette of their attacker. It was easy to identify the enemy as a warship due to the large size of her silhouette, Tracker narrowed her eyes and ordered for a retreat and the two Sirens made a beeline for the nearest exit out of the Mirror Sea. The squall gradually died down when the humanoids escaped and quite possibly due to the destroyers' task in finding the source of the phenomenon, the members of Taffy 16 finally had visual on the mysterious ship that held its ground against the Siren forces.
There was confusion written all over Enterprise's face, one that shifted into realization upon studying the design and appearance of the ship. Hornet was the one that voiced her opinion on the matter, "Isn't this… an Eagle Union ship?" and while it was true that the ship had the same design as their fellow Union compatriots, however the sigil markings on the vessel was the only difference to them as parts of those seemed to glow a bright blue before sunlight overpowered it.
"Enterprise, this design…" South Dakota looked towards the Union carrier for confirmation.
"It's a Baltimore-class. While I do want to believe that it's an Eagle Union ship, the things that she did back there isn't something that we can do."
Hornet tipped her hat up, skating off to view the ship from the side, "Then… if it's not an Eagle Union origin, could it be a rogue Siren? Or one of the Ashes?"
"None of the above, Hornet. We'll have to ask her ourselves." Enterprise steeled herself to sail forward, hopping onto the vessel once she was within reach before South Dakota could finish her sentence to tell her to return back. The white-haired shipgirl looked around as she ventured further, glancing back to find South Dakota and Hornet getting onboard and her little sister whistled in awe. "It really does look alike to Baltimore and her sisters."
"Who are you?"
The three shipgirls were alarmed by the voice and traced it back to a female standing atop the bridge of the ship. Her glossy medium-length silver hair was fluttering in the light breeze from the aftermath of the squall, her turquoise hued eyes stared at the three present on the ship deck. The female had an average body proportion, not too lacking nor too overboard and one could easily say that it was an ideal form. That was hidden underneath the formal Navy white officer uniform that she wore.
"We can ask you the same question here, lady!" Hornet replied after getting a good look at the female, "You're currently trespassing on Eagle Union waters!"
"Eagle Union..?" the silver-haired female was perplexed by the mention of an unknown faction, "Identify yourselves."
Enterprise stepped forward to represent her side, "I'm Enterprise of the Eagle Union, you've spoken with my little sister Hornet over here and this is South Dakota." she gestured towards the duo.
"Are you part of the Fleet of Fog? I have never heard of the Eagle Union before, is it a new faction? It appears you don't have your main vessels with you…" the female looked around, only to spot the three shipgirls and the rest of Taffy 16 regrouping to a distance.
"Hold on, Fleet of Fog? And you don't have any idea what the Eagle Union is..?" Hornet interjected, "Your ship is an Eagle Union design..!"
"Enterprise…" South Dakota didn't say anything further, and the said carrier understood what she was trying to convey.
"What year is it for you..?"
The female immediately replied in a heartbeat, "It is the year 2057, according to the human calendar."
Hornet and South Dakota stood still, speechless by the revelation while Enterprise fixed her service cap and took a deep breath. "We're bringing her back to Pearl with us." As the white-haired shipgirl pivoted, a radio transmission arrived to bring news about the operation.
"All stations, you are to halt all naval activities and return back to Pacific HQ. This is a direct order from the Commander."
"What impeccable timing." the blonde shipgirl nervously laughed, "I wonder what's happened on the other side? It's such a tall order to be recalling these many ships back on such an important operation."
Enterprise didn't give any comment on it, but she had suspicions that whatever went on must be correlated to this ship's appearance in the Pacific.
South Dakota stared at the female for a good few seconds before asking her aloud, "You have a name?" There was a brief pause in between as both Hornet and South Dakota anticipated an answer, even Enterprise paused halfway as she was preparing to disembark.
"Saint Paul."
[ Pearl Harbor, Eagle Union Pacific HQ ]
A line of ships were parked alongside each other at the bay, from the smallest of destroyers to the fully armored dreadnoughts and their much faster but lightly armored counterparts. The amount was a logistical nightmare for any Navy in the world, but supplies weren't at all an issue for the Eagle Union due to the steady supply line that came from the mainland.
The Commander watched the proceeding happening down at the harbor as ammunition and fuel were being ferried to every ship that needed them, some were at the drydock being refitted and repaired from their respective sorties. She revolved to face her desk, walking over and placed down her service hat on it before taking a seat. The Eagle Union flag adorned the space alongside a desk name plate that reads; CDR Ayane C. Caspian.
She looked towards the door as the faint sound of footsteps could be heard from the other side, and three knocks queued in. "Enterprise reporting in, Commander." The shipgirl didn't have to wait for an answer, swinging the door open and took a few steps as she stood at attention in front of the desk. "I received the after-action reports from South Dakota. This individual… Saint Paul, which I assume is the ship herself as it would be for you shipgirls. She's from the future? A different future world?"
"That seems to be the case, Commander. She said it herself with confidence that it was the year 2057. It didn't seem like she was lying back there, not with how serious she looked. Also… she made it clear that she's not a shipgirl."
"What?"
"Saint Paul clarified that the ship itself is her, but the human form she took is a mere projection of some sort… used for espionage. She has a core; the Union Core which might be similar to the Wisdom Cube, a source for us shipgirls. It seems ridiculous, though when have we ever not encountered ridiculous situations?"
Ayane puts up a hand to her mouth, pondering and processing the information that she received. "Right, there's no use being surprised at this point. She has no problems complying to you?"
"When we told her to come with us, she complied without any issues. Moreover, it seems like she's curious about this world."
"I see. Then I'd like to speak with her later on, for now you should get her accustomed to this naval base. Make sure she doesn't get into trouble or cause any. Good work out there, Enterprise."
The white-themed shipgirl gestured a salute, pivoting on her heel and paced off for the door. She paused to speak, "Commander, may I know why you decided to abort the operation?"
"Of course. Essex found out that the Sirens packed up and fled the operational area, leaving behind their facility and caches."
"All of them?"
"Not even a whale in sight at the Siren facility, it was abandoned in a hurry."
Enterprise nodded slowly, excusing herself and exited the office to leave the Commander to her own devices. The woman sighed silently, "The Sirens are that afraid of a single ship..? Or could it be something different?"
St. Paul observed the nightly environment of the naval base, it was oddly familiar yet foreign to the same harbor that she called home, to see these many ships brought back memories of former comrades who were taken as casualties of the civil war. What was happening back in her own world? Does time still move on without her present there? She felt alone amongst all these new 'allies' that she managed to make by simply following their demands, would she see the light of day to see Albany and Rochester back? It was clear that she needed to find a way to return, but even with all the technology of this world that would prove to be impossible.
A silent thud caught her attention, she didn't have to turn around to see who it was as the guest sat down beside her on the deck of the ship.
"How is it..? Your world?" Enterprise started the conversation first, St. Paul glanced sideways at the Union carrier whose white hair nearly looked like it was glowing under the moonlight.
"From the very moment of the Fleet of Fog's existence, we only knew conflict and war. First with the humans, and then amongst ourselves. It's a bleak world, the humans resorted to nuclear weapons at the late stages of our war, unbeknownst to them… that they were ending the world by themselves."
Enterprise furrowed her brows, "War with the humans? You weren't created by them?"
"I don't know." St. Paul shook her head, "Our creation wasn't written when, nor do we know who was behind our existence. But when we came to, the order was clear, humans were the enemy. The Admiralty Code bound us to that idea."
Enterprise smiled solemnly, "I guess we do have something in common. We're struggling ourselves here against the Sirens."
"Those odd looking ships today?"
Enterprise responded with a simple nod.
"Their aggressive nature reminded me of the old Fleet of Fog before breaking free from the Admiralty Code. It was easy to deduce who were the aggressors. I'm glad I made the right choice."
"That you did, and I'm thankful for it. You saved us. Oh yes, my Commander would like to talk with you, if that's alright with you."
St. Paul took a moment for herself, no doubt trying to collect her thoughts and stood up as her answer. The two disembarked from the ship soon after, walking towards the main building and passing by the many Manjuu crews waddling about with several shipgirls to monitor logistics and repair crews at the drydock. The silver-haired female seemed interested at the Manjuus, eyes sparkling at their movement and some of them even saluting to Enterprise, there's no denying that the Manjuus are indeed adorable as useful as they are as ship crews and personnel.
The walk took about 15 minutes to reach the Commander's office, and once the duo arrived they were greeted by the sight of Georgia; the Commander's personal adjutant currently speaking with Prince of Wales; the Royal Navy attaché posted in Pearl Harbor to represent her faction. Ayane stood up to meet St. Paul face-to-face, she offered a formal smile and extended her hand. "Excuse me for the late greeting, welcome to Pearl Harbor, the Eagle Union's Pacific HQ. I'm Commander Ayane C. Caspian." St. Paul took the gesture and shook hands with the woman.
Georgia stood by the Commander's desk while Prince of Wales took the opposite side, her arms folded under her clothed breasts, the blonde shipgirl was eyeing on St. Paul from top to toe silently and Enterprise couldn't help but notice the look that the Royal Navy battleship was giving to the silver-haired female.
"A pleasure to meet the person in charge of this naval base." St. Paul's reply was short and simple as she retracted her hand.
"Oh, not just Pearl Harbor though. Most of the Eagle Union facilities are under my supervision, but I do report back to the US government. It's just that most of our naval assets have been allocated towards shipgirls in each primary naval base while the top brass stays back at the mainland. All US warships are now serving for the Coast Guard."
"I believe we're not here to discuss our world to Miss Saint Paul, Commander." Georgia finally spoke up firmly, though she did manage a soothing smile towards the woman. "I know, I know…" Ayane waved her hand as she returned back to her seat, staring at both St. Paul and Enterprise.
The Commander cleared her throat, "First of all, I'd like to ask you about yourself. What are you, Saint Paul? You said you're not a shipgirl, could you elaborate?"
"This form that I'm maintaining is a Mental Model, composed of nanomaterials from my main body and Union Core. The original purpose was espionage and reconnaissance, however with the installation of emotional plugins and watching human video archives we are able to understand human nature even more. While I am here at the moment, my true body is the ship, my core at the other hand is similar to that of the human heart. Whatever happens to this form will not affect me unless my core is present in this body."
Georgia blinked, turning her head slightly to see that Prince of Wales was also in the same state as her, confused but interested. If anything, the blonde shipgirl was much more interested than her.
"That's quite a lot to take in, Saint Paul. And we've yet to hear about the rest… could you make a summary or a timeline and send it to my office?"
"How about a digital copy? Do you have a device with you?"
"Ah, I do have this tablet with me. Wait, you can send data to any network..?"
St. Paul made a swiping gesture as blue holographic rings surrounded her figure, various codes and digital data could be seen making up the rings. Enterprise was startled at the event happening in front of her, both Georgia and the Commander stared with wide eyes, as for Prince of Wales, she appeared calm but the amazing sight further piqued her interest over the silver-haired female. In a matter of seconds, the woman's tablet notification ringtone dinged and she unlocked it to receive the data. The timeline for St. Paul's world as she knew it, the human archives and video feeds that were saved by her. The amount of information made Ayane lean back on her seat, speechless by the difference in history and technology.
"Missiles…" she muttered under her breath, it was a new word to her as such technology didn't leave Germany and the V2 Project that Iron Blood worked on during the 40s. Even Georgia and Wales were curious, peering over to watch the videos and the battles that were fought. One such clip even showed the use of a Super-Graviton Cannon, a weapon that uses gravitational waves that are condensed into a narrow beam to inflict lethal damage to a target. The effective range of the weapon is limited to the vessel's engine power so a distance of 100km or more could be achieved depending on the class of warship. And the fact that no existing armor or barrier that could beat the weapon made it a fearsome arsenal in the Fleet of Fog against humanity.
The horrifying details and effects of the weapon horrified the three, if it's true then this mental model standing before them could very well stand her ground against an entire armada. Better yet, end this world just by her presence alone if she's allowed to use her potential to the maximum. She was still a heavy cruiser, but just imagining what a battleship could do or a super battleship sent a shiver down the Commander's spine.
"... Thank you, Saint Paul. You are dismissed for now. Escort her back, Enterprise."
"Yes, Commander." The Union carrier complied with the order, dragging St. Paul outside while the three were immersed in the surplus of information.
"With her on our side, we could easily overpower the Sirens. She's just the trump card that we need, Commander." Georgia stated her opinion, ecstatic from the knowledge she gained of a Fog warship.
Ayane shook her head, "We can't be brash about this, Georgia. With Saint Paul's capabilities… we've obtained the forbidden Fire of Megiddo, if we use such power without restraint… we'd be no different than the Sirens."
"I agree with the Commander. We need to be smart about Saint Paul, and if possible… she would make an effective bargaining chip against Crimson Axis. We still need them to fight off the Sirens. And speaking of a ship from another world…" Wales brought up a finger to her chin, "I received a transmission back from the Royal Navy HQ in Liverpool this afternoon."
"Is it from the British Admiralty?"
"Yes, Admiral Henry Hastings sent the transmission himself. The Royal Navy engaged the Sirens in a skirmish at the North Sea nearby Scapa Flow, after disabling the Mirror Sea and sinking all the Sirens, a recon fleet was sent out to patrol the coasts. They found a shipgirl beached at the coastline of Scotland."
Georgia huffed, "You think it's a similar case to Saint Paul?" and Wales smiled to this, "Perhaps. You don't just find a shipgirl that far out from the Royal Navy's patrol zones. Plus, it's impossible that Iron Blood would send one of their own alone Northward. We'll be able to know more once they investigate or interrogate her."
"Whatever the case may be, let's focus on our side of the table. You two are dismissed, I'll finish up my work and get some shut-eye after. Oh, and Georgia, handle the paperwork for Saint Paul. She might need a dorm of her own. As for you, Wales… I'd like you to stop ogling at our guest next time. I could tell that you were interested in her."
Wales chuckled, "I can't promise anything, Commander. A fine lady is a fine lady to me, it'd be a shame not to look at them freely."
"You're such a handful for an attaché, Wales. And I'll handle the paperwork, don't worry, Commander." Georgia felt her lips curve up into a light smile, she tapped on Ayane's shoulder before heading for the door and exiting.
The blonde shipgirl placed a hand on the desk, leaning down slightly and looked towards the woman. "If I can't stare at her, in exchange… how about you, Commander?" she playfully whispered.
"Don't even think about it, Wales. As admirable as that sounds in your head, I don't swing that way— You're too close." Ayane pushed the Royal battleship's face away gently, hearing the blonde shipgirl snicker from the action. Wales stood straight and went around to the front of the desk, "Goodnight, dear Commander. Don't stay up too late or I'll be tucking you to bed tonight." she teased.
"Wales."
The shipgirl laughed, raising her hands to show that she meant no harm and finally excused herself. But not before flashing a wink before she closed the door, Ayane facepalmed and sighed with a flustered face. She had been warned beforehand about Wales, as dependable as she was, it didn't change the fact that the teasing from her often bothered Ayane. Maybe it was also a way to lighten the mood since being a Commander is stressful as it is, and managing a fleet on your own puts a huge strain on your mentality.
[ Scottish Coast - Royal Navy 3rd Recon Fleet, HMS Icarus ]
The lone destroyer skates in a straight line along the coast of Scotland, skimming the area while her other fleet members did the same miles away from her, using a comb-like search radius that extends to the middle of the North Sea where the heavier ships are posted. It wasn't long before she found debris and part of a rigging she hadn't seen before, it was a piece of a gun turret. Icarus inspected it, the weapon design was familiar and she could easily identify it as a 5.9 inch secondary gun. Not many possessed such an equipment other than Iron Blood, the destroyer followed the trail of debris heading for land and there laying on the beach was a shipgirl. She was heavily damaged judging by the state of her rigging and tattered attire, the main theme of them being the color gray while hints of black and red could also be seen on several parts of her clothing. Just a few steps away from her laid a gray peaked cap, Icarus couldn't help but comment about the shipgirl's beauty in that state to pair with the pure blonde hair known to Europeans.
Icarus called the rest of her fleet members about the finding, most of them light cruisers and destroyers, they tried to lift the shipgirl up but to no avail even with their combined strength. She must be a battleship if they can't even get her up together and only when the battlecruisers Renown and Repulse arrived, were they able to haul the beached shipgirl back to Liverpool.
Taffy - The term is a shortened word for Task Force, mainly used by the USN during WW2.
CAP - Combat Air Patrol, designated duty for fighters be they naval or army aircrafts, to patrol and secure the airspace of any hostile aircraft.
BatDiv - A short term for Battleship Division, the same can be done for destroyers, cruisers and so on.
A/N: Thank you for reading through this chapter, I am aware that this is kinda ambitious to have a crossover between three worlds but I have been working on this project for at least half a year, I think? I never really got to put my whole attention on it due to personal issues. I have a rather random schedule so do forgive me in advance, I just needed to get this out since I've kept it to myself for so long.
I will publish the same story on Wattpad (hopefully), and yes, the book title will be the same. This is my first work on so I'm hoping that this story gets a warm welcome no matter how small it is. Leave any reviews should you want, any feedback that I should be aware of and I'll try to read them through. I'm a non-native English speaker so I'm sorry if there are errors in the making of this story.
Thank you once again, and have a great day!