"Mothers all want their sons to grow up to be president, but they don't want them to become politicians in the process." – John F. Kennedy

It was a hectic morning for her, having woken up from her slumber shortly after hearing commotion happening at the docks and the urgency from several shipgirls that she saw running by her room.

Bismarck ran her fingers through the locks of her blonde hair, groggily getting up from the bed and looked out the window while rubbing the fatigue off from her left eye. She had been given a personal accommodation shortly after the meeting from yesterday, the shipgirl looked down at the attire she currently wore and tugged on the fabric. The blue from the Navy fatigues did not suit her at all, she wondered if the US Navy—Eagle Union had other hues other than blue.

"Slept well?" Ark's voice startled her as she spun around to face the carrier standing by the door while holding onto a cup of tea.

"I think so. At least better than sleeping on a rocking ship."

Ark chuckled, "Oh, my bad. I'll keep that in mind when you get onboard of my rigging again."

Bismarck looked around for something in the room, but her Royal Navy friend had beaten her to it before the battleship could ask. Ark held up her service cap and tossed it towards her.

"Repulse insisted that she clean your BDU, as well as fixing it since you took quite a beating before arriving in this world. Your rigging is being handled by the Manjuus with directions from your… Fairies? Eagle Union repair ships are also studying it while thinking of a better way to repair your equipment."

The battleship hastily caught her service cap and nearly stumbled down in the process, holding the headwear close to avoid dropping it. She sighed and lazily placed it atop her head and took a seat on a nearby chair.

"Hmm… is that so? I'm guessing that I'll be staying here then for a period or so?"

"Not definite. But we want as many of you 'travelers'' in one place."

Bismarck snorted, "Travelers… yeah, that would suit our current predicament. I am still a bit shocked from discovering about that… Fog warship. I can tell that she has killer instincts if what the information packet is showing to be true."

Ark raised a brow, "Killer instincts?"

"Yeah. I know the look in her eyes anywhere, and I have seen the same from my world. People like her have seen the hideous side of war and are the ones who did the most killing in said war." the battleship shared her experience, leaning back on the chair and casting her gaze towards Ark Royal.

"Does that make her dangerous?" the British shipgirl inquired.

Bismarck did not reply immediately, weighing the possibilities from just meeting the mental model and the packet that described how the Fleet of Fog was before the integration of several factions into human navies. It is safe to say that St. Paul had taken countless human lives and crushed her former sisters-in-arms when the Fog Civil War ignited. But that also meant that she has seen enough conflict to know that it is a meaningless struggle over trivial or unknown reasons.

"Dangerous, yes. But I believe that she does not want any harm to humans judging from her interactions with them. Perhaps she still feels guilty from the aftermaths of the Human-Fog War, and by aiding the humans… she can redeem herself, in some way."

Ark hummed for a moment before asking, "You are speaking from your own experience… or?"

The blonde shipgirl felt her lips curve slightly, "Maybe… I've long casted away the deeds from my past and the girls back in my world accepted me as one of their own in the struggle against the Abyssals. When there is a common enemy, even rivals are bound to mend their wounds."

"That is… true." Ark trailed off; it was the same back then for Azur Lane when the members of Crimson Axis were still allies. She wondered if things could ever be the same once the flames of war are extinguished.

The carrier shook her thoughts and addressed another matter for the morning, "I nearly forgot to tell you. One of the repair ships asked for your presence, and I'm here to pick you up once you're ready."

Bismarck was instantly on her feet, "Why didn't you tell me that earlier?!" she fixed her service cap and made sure that her appearance was appropriate.

Ark simply shared a light laugh, "Fret not, it's not an official meeting or anything. Vestal just wants to talk with you about a couple of things, mainly on how repairs should be done since our current facilities aren't suitable for you."

"That's considered important to me though!" the battleship fast walked out the door and the British carrier took one last sip of her tea before placing the cup on a table, going after the German shipgirl who was in a hurry.

"Do you even know where to go?" Ark hollered from behind.

"No, I'm relying on you to tell where I should go."

The dark-haired carrier chuckled, "To your right, not left."

The German shipgirl changed her direction just as quickly and stomped off while Ark Royal tried to keep up with her, the two sharing a conservation on their way to meet with Vestal.

Washington D.C. – 0957 hours

"These are images taken from our maritime aircrafts after the convoy is within our territorial waters. We suspect that it has to do with the massive Siren activities happening all around the world, in addition to Germany's build-up of military actions and… the appearance of these two into our world."

The young president looked through the photographs and documents with mixed emotions, the images taken from the P-3 Orion photographers were alarming for the Allied Forces as unknown variants of warships are being directed towards the Southern Atlantic. There are currently two types seen from the images, one was bulky in size and could be classified as capital ships while the other being sleek, smaller in size, but their appearance were ominous enough to warrant that size is the least of the problems here.

The next set of images were much tame with the Germany Army consolidating their positions on the borders of the Soviet Union and much less movement were spotted on the Allied positions for some reason.

He then looked towards the documents and photographs of another Bismarck and St. Paul, there were detailed documentation on the origins of the otherworld shipgirl which seemed decent enough for him. But the last one regarding this ship; classified now as a Fog heavy cruiser intrigued him to no end.

He would ask questions about the two on a later date as he addressed the elephant in the room with his subordinates.

"Any ideas what the hell are these, Frank? Siren superweapons?" he directed the question to the Secretary of Defense, who was eager to provide his answer.

"Well, Mr. President… our analysts have looked through the images of these new variants, the larger one seemed to be a new type of capital ship and we believe that it is a battlecruiser but that is subject to change unless we see them in action. As for the smaller vessels… we initially thought of them as simple escort ships or submarines, but now we are not so sure. Like the other one, we've yet to classify them into our usual threat assessment unless we see their performance in combat."

The President tapped his finger on the photograph of the small warships, processing the information currently laid down on the table while the men around the room were nervous at their leader's silence.

"What are the thoughts of our British friends?" he finally spoke, eyes scanning around the room to view the faces of his staff.

The Secretary of State raised his hand to get the President's attention before answering the question provided, "The British have shared their concern with us since the heading of those warships could be anywhere nearby Anglo-Franco forces in North Africa or even threaten British Gibraltar. Seeing as how merchant ships often use the route there, it's highly possible according to the British that the Sirens plan to blockade Gibraltar."

Frank offered in his input on the matter, "If the Sirens are able to threaten supplies from Gibraltar, it would severely undermine our already stretched merchant fleet. Seeing as how the Sirens often raid our convoys trying to reach the West Coast and the Panama Canal, it would make sense for them to strangle our economy even further… although it won't do much for the American economy, I can't say the same for Britain who is reliant on foreign trade."

"Then we have a serious issue on our hands here, gentlemen. We need to find out what the Sirens are planning with these new types, as soon as possible before they could deal any damage to our allies. Hell… they would probably try to attack during the meeting between Azur Lane and Crimson Axis. If given the chance, I want you to formulate a plan to sink these damned weapons, whatever the cost." the President looked towards Frank, the Secretary of Defense and placed the task into the man's hands.

Frank gave a slow nod, inputting notes into his tablet for the task ahead. The Secretary of State presented another issue into the meeting while at it, "Mr. President, things are beginning to ramp up in Southeast Asia. In just a few days, a Communist uprising has taken Vietnam by surprise and divided the nation into two. There have been no responses from the Japanese so far, but I suspect that they will try to quell the uprising. Though there have been reports that the insurgency is much more equipped towards the North, it is speculated that they have been supplied by Communist China."

"It seems the Chinese have taken a different turn after the Nationalist "defeat" during the Sino-Japanese War, I didn't expect the Chinese Communist Party to take over that quickly. Then again, we have not been paying attention to that region after the Philippine's desire for more autonomy." the President was surprised but it was expected for him, he rested his elbows on the table and supported his chin with his two hands.

"We have seen that the Japanese are slowly splintering off from the Triparte Pact seeing as how their cooperation between the two nations have been less. Other than offering outdated technology, the Germans have refused to give the Japanese any ground in terms of advanced weaponry, particularly the coveted missile programs. How should we approach this, Mr. President?"

He gave a glance towards the military officials within the room before replying to the Secretary of State, "Keep a neutral stance with the Japanese government, I want to see how the situation in Vietnam is handled by the Japanese. If possible, try to look for means that would allow us to mediate the escalation and get a foothold in Southeast Asia."

"I suggest that we send special forces to British-controlled Borneo to train with their SAS, it would make sense to prepare for combat in the jungle since we have less experience in it than the British. They've dealt with countless "emergencies" in their colonies during the 50s." Frank gave his suggestion in preparation for intervention in the region, they might not be necessary, but anything is better than doing nothing from the side-lines when the situation does worsen when a response comes from the Japanese military.

The President weighted the implications of preparing special forces in the region, not only would the United States have a subtle part in the conflict, with said special forces it could even aid in the stabilization of Vietnam. As much as the United States felt that Japan is a threat to the security of the Pacific, as the Supreme Commander of all the military for the United States of America, the President believed that Communism has been out of control ever since their supposedly "victory" in the Great Patriotic War against the Axis Powers. This was brought up during the meeting call with the Soviet Premier, the argument being that Germany and Japan had larger influence over vast territory. The expansion of communism is essential in containing and preventing the Axis Powers from obtaining more territories from other regions.

Whether it be the Russians or the Germans, they are both tyrannical and stemming from the same branch. The threat of Imperialism had been an issue during the 20th century and the United States had been adamant in the prevention of anymore colonizing, the Monroe Doctrine was the result of this to keep the British, French, and Dutch in check. The same should be applied to Southeast Asia seeing as how the Philippines became independent with the United States' blessings, much to the Japanese's disappointment in letting go of the archipelago.

"Alright, I'll let you handle the rest in that regard, Frank. Now, onto the next agenda with these…mysterious travelers...?" the President slid the photographs of the other Bismarck and St. Paul to the center of the desk, his eyes scanning the various angles taken by onsite officers from ONI.

Someone within the room cleared his throat, all eyes turned to the individual sitting at the very back as he stood up and walked up towards the President's desk. The man's calculated and cold demeanor demanded authority as he presented more recent photographs depicting St. Paul's after-action report.

"The blonde shipgirl is classified as an alternate Bismarck, not to be confused with the Crimson Axis' own Bismarck. There is no need to be worried about her. What we should focus on would be…" the man tapped on the image of St. Paul, both her mental model and her unique ship-body. The sigils and marking distinct from the color schemes and designs of American camouflage, one of the photographs even depicted the moment where she fired her photon beams from an aerial view. The next set of images displayed the Fog heavy cruiser launching her complement of anti-ship missiles, the destruction of one Siren aircraft carrier and a wide view of the total casualties in the form of thick black smokes from the wrecks of the Siren warships.

Frank rubbed his chin as he finished viewing all the photographs as the man from before took a step back after sharing the information, "Well, I'll be damned. A warship equivalent to the strength of our World War Two era's largest carrier task force, perhaps maybe even beyond Germany's current advanced fleet of surface warships." the Secretary of Defense glanced at the man, "And you are?"

"Erickson. ONI Section One. We have been tracking the progress of these girls ever since their arrival, it is sufficed to say that it has something to do with the Sirens. We initially classified them as a threat to our national security, however their cooperation with Eagle Union and the Royal Navy respectively shifted our stance towards them. We may be able to profit from the much-advanced warship of the duo, seeing as how she possesses missile technology."

The President leaned back on his seat, "How willing is she in sharing her world's technology? If we're considering that she'll be performing independently as her very own faction?"

Erickson smiled ominously, "There's no need to force her, Eagle Union will do the work for us and if things go through smoothly… we might be able to get our hands on not just one, but much advanced armaments." as he said so, he thought back to the one photograph that he did not show for this meeting. It was when St. Paul fired off her cluster of 'thunder capsules' and decimated much of the Siren battlegroup.

ONI was in favor of getting their hands on weapons of mass destruction, very much so since they were trying to revitalize the old Manhattan Project under the guise of providing better energy towards the entirety of North America with fusion nuclear technology. The breakthrough was phenomenal after discovering that fusion was safer than fission reactors by ONI's R&D Department. Thus, the Aurora Project came to fruition under ONI's supervision away from the prying eyes of the American administration, their reason being the personal safety of the American public from annihilation by Germany in favor of mutual destruction from nuclear fallout. If America could not win, then she simply must make sure no one does and never will be by wiping off everything off the map.

St. Paul watched the digital interface with a steel gaze, she had spent the entire morning trying to conclude on what happened during the rescue operation and that came in the form of data collected by her sensors. She had regarded the short event as a glitch in the system, but she had already calibrated them, so it was impossible for a mere glitch to surface during combat operations. The fact that it was a subtle reading made her question it more.

With radar already focused on tracking the Siren Fleet, it was her sonar that picked up such a weak signature. For the humans, it would be insignificant as a whale or anything small but for it to get past a Fog warship's sensors?

This was terrifying for the mental model as she processed the data of what could be the source of that faint reading. The Siren Pawn U-Boats were easy to detect given that they make a certain noise to the sensitive ears of the Fog cruiser, St. Paul ganders that it would be rather similar with the human's newer submarine classes as her own world's submarines. And yet, this mysterious thing that was briefly detected by her sensors were near impossible to detect if she had not focused on her sensor array's range and strength.

She kept playing the recorded audio, listening to the constant white noise and garbled sounds that were captured. A brief bloop could be heard, like a bubble forming and surfacing from the depths. St. Paul replayed that bloop, twice… thrice and for the fourth time. She was not sure what it was despite her complex sensors, leaning back on the captain's chair, slightly frustrated by the results of her investigation. The mental model did not have much reference material to compare to her current bank of data, and the fact that this was a different world meant that she has limited options and sources of information other than relying on Eagle Union as a medium for the United States government.

She got up from the chair, exiting the CIC and went out onto the deck to see the lively atmosphere of the port as Manjuus and shipgirls alike were moving back and forth to ferry crates and equipment. The men were on machines as they helped their counterparts with the heavy lifting using cranes and trucks. St. Paul took in the familiar scene, allowing the gentle breeze to tousle with her silver hair while she descended from a set of digital stairs that she created and paused at the concrete ground of the port.

She was now playing a part in this war against the Sirens whether she liked it or not, the siesta of an engagement during the convoy rescue proved that and the Sirens would acknowledge the side that the drifter had chosen of her own accord. St. Paul looked up towards the sky, the clouds were like cotton candy and spread as far as the eyes could see. This was a sight that she was not privileged to see back in her world since it had long been a nuclear winter and the skies were blotted by the smog of war, the world—her world, as it seemed was dying and at its last ropes before she was transported to this world, one that is much younger than hers and had the potential to become better.

The important question of them all remained, however.

Will I be able to go back?

The mental model was worried that without her, the sisters that she left behind would not be able to hold back the onslaught of Fog remnants who were fanatical in nature. Then again, the Blue Fleet cell had support from the United States Navy, but she was doubtful that the humans would be able to stand up to the Fog warships designed to neutralize humanity's most prestigious armada.

She shook her head to dismiss the thoughts, heading off to the Eagle Union HQ.

Ayane eyed the two Ironblood "delegates" if they could be called as such since they are destroyers and practically the first time shipgirls from the said faction set foot on American soil.

Wales was staring them down like a hawk, likely cautious of what could be so important to send two destroyers and aiding the Allied convoy, she guessed that there would be an ulterior motive behind the mission. This was not how Ironblood operated and it sure will not be the first time if she had to deduct from their demeanor, and that they have a letter from the German Kriegsmarine's Grand Admiral to prove themselves.

Enterprise was reading the said letter with the Commander, trying to make sense of what is going on and why is a German in charge of the whole darn Kriegsmarine and to an extent the Ironblood reaching out to them. Ayane felt familiar with the name, but she could not remember where or if she had met the German or not. And as the Union carrier was nearly at the end of reading the letter, she was perplexed and had a look of concern on her features.

"Commander, we need to hasten our schedule on that meeting in London. By this week."

"Enterprise? For what?"

Enterprise folded the letter and looked at the woman in the eyes, "Germany is set to attack by this month if they don't have satisfactory results in the meeting between the shipgirl factions. A full-scale invasion with everything they have."

"That's insane." Wales commented from her spot while keeping her eyes on the Ironblood destroyers, the two were quite uncomfortable from the Royal Navy battleship's demeanor towards them.

The Commander pondered on it, she had already discussed with Henry to move their schedule forward and this discovery might have repercussions on their preparation which are already underway. No one liked last minute changes from their superiors. This was certainly unprecedented, the higher up might have caught wind of it before her and the rest of the officers in the Navy. It was a race against time at this point, they would have to hold the meeting ahead of its chosen timeframe while also preparing agreements that would satisfy both sides; in this case it was the British since the meeting is set in London. The Germans would no doubt try to secure a non-aggression treaty and reject any demands for concessions of former Allied territory, this was fine for the United States, but the French and many more exiled nations would have complaints for the inability to return part of their lands.

Ayane sighed, "We'll have to listen to what Ironblood wants in the meeting then, if it's something minor then we can let it go. Otherwise, there is still room for negotiations, I'm sure they'll send someone who can maneuver through the treaties and lay down compromises."

"The Admiralty wouldn't like that." Wales commented, concerned about the stubborn British Admiralty and their views of appeasement.

"What else can we do? The American people does not want another war, the Sirens have dealt enough damage and casualties that parents are against sending their boys to die and sink to the bottom of the ocean. The United States could survive, but without our Allies… we will not last against the Axis, delay perhaps but not a final victory."

The battleship opted another ridiculous option, "Then we use Saint Paul against them. If modern warships in her world cannot destroy a single light cruiser, what can the Axis do against a heavy cruiser?"

"You're forgetting another factor in this conflict." Enterprise chimed in with her reply. Wales looked towards her, "The Sirens would definitely want a piece of Saint Paul. While we are busy fighting Germany, the Sirens can intervene or even throw everything they have at us, in our weakest moments." The British battleship let her hands hang freely by her sides and did not have much to say on that.

Ayane cleared her throat, "Wales, I think you've forgotten that we have shipgirls from Ironblood here when you mentioned about Saint Paul." She looked towards Z2 and Z23, the latter being taken aback by the statement while the former didn't mind as she was aloof in nature.

Wales crossed her arms as she looked towards Enterprise for her input to which the white-haired Union carrier responded, "There's a chance that Ironblood and this German Grand Admiral does not view war as the first option on the table, Wales. If anything, the Kriegsmarine is more worried about the Sirens being so close to their coasts."

The British battleship sighed.

"We'll have to listen what our esteemed guests have to say on that." Ayane turned towards the Iron Blood destroyers, with Z23 being the more responsive as Z2 seemed to be spacing out from the current conversation.

"Even if we have differing ideologies and certain rivalries, it still stands that the Siren threat is larger than the whole of Azur Lane combined. The Grand Admiral has expressed his concerns multiple times in favor of mutual cooperation with the Allies seeing as how the Sirens have become more active in the surrounding sea regions of Germany. The Kriegsmarine has already pulled away the majority of their combat ready vessels in preparation for a Siren assault."

The Commander snapped at that given information, "What...? An assault? When?"

Z23 replied immediately, "A large task force was detected last week in the upper region of the Atlantic and they were heading Southwards, we weren't sure where they were heading but it could either be Germany or Africa. The Kriegsmarine U-Boats happened to be in their sea route, so they were directed to shadow the Siren task force. There hasn't been any news yet regarding that."

This was a major discovery, if there had been a large Siren task force then they would've been detected by Allied pickets and radar stations in the Atlantic, the fact that they've been steaming onwards without getting detected meant that the Sirens are planning something big enough to warrant spoofing or hiding their fleet signature from radar detection. Ayane tapped her finger on the wooden desk several times, the intricacies that would crop up if Navy Command found out about this would spur another panic and she guessed that the Sirens were planning exactly that to happen.

"Thank you, Z23. You two are excused for now, I need to discuss with my subordinates regarding this new information." She gestured her hand towards the door, to which the Ironblood Destroyers gladly exited the room to leave the three inside to mull over the imminent threat of a Siren attack on any of the Allied installations in their paths.

"How fortified is Gibraltar, Wales?"

The British battleship took a moment to recall back the effectiveness of the fortress guarding the entrance to Allied Africa, "With the current garrison and warships stationed there, I'd say they could hold off an invasion or direct assault enough for a nearby naval base to respond. Even then, we have significant air power in the region to challenge the Sirens as well as a carrier task force that serves as a deterrent for Italy. However," Wales trailed off, both Enterprise and Ayane looked at her in anticipation for the worst-case scenario.

"This all depends on the size of the attacking side, and there are many variables at play if it were to be applied to a real-life scenario. If the Sirens throw everything they have during the opening stages of the attack, then Gibraltar would no doubt suffer heavy casualties before they could mount a solid defense. Then again… they wouldn't target Gibraltar that easily, not with how risky that plan would be."

The Commander sighed, "So we're still back to square one then. With no way of finding out their objective, we can't just tell Navy Command to fortify Allied positions that would take the already dwindling resources in Africa." She settled a hand on her mouth and leaned back on her chair.

"Then we'll have to find that Siren task force and if possible… intercept it before they could deal any damage to Allied bases." Enterprise laid down her suggestion, intent on preventing attacks to reach vulnerable Allied positions in the Southern region of the Atlantic.

"And how are we supposed to do that? We're too far to catch up with any Siren task force that would be reaching their destination by the time we've even arrived at Gibraltar." Wales argued against the suggestion but before she could retort further, the Commander interjected by inquiring what Enterprise was planning.

"Enterprise… don't tell me…"

"I just need several of the flat tops and escorts for this, our focus is on naval air power against the Sirens since that's the most effective way against a large task force. With Saint Paul, we can catch up to the Sirens and deal with them effectively." The white-haired carrier was determined in her plans, placing her hope in the Fog heavy cruiser which had displayed tremendous results during the last sortie.

"Commander." Enterprise rested her hands on the woman's desk, staring down at Ayane who was also returning the same gesture, no doubt trying to consider the plan or even improve it.

"I'll ask Keyes if he could spare any of the girls from Taffy 7 and Taffy 20, we're gambling our naval air power on this daring operation of yours, Enterprise. Lieutenant Commander Jason Keyes will be the commanding officer for this combined air fleet, and he will remain aboard Saint Paul as the flagship, he and his subordinates will be coordinating with all of you to make sure that this operation runs smoothly."

The woman stood up from her chair as Enterprise stepped back and stood at attention before gesturing a salute, "Godspeed, Enterprise." She walked past the two shipgirls and exited the office to meet with the Lieutenant Commander for the abrupt naval operation.

Wales took a deep breath after what seemed like an eternity for her, this was suicidal seeing as how they're trying to bring the fight outside and against the Sirens in open waters without possible reinforcements.

"I know that most of you agree that this Saint Paul would be unscathed and invulnerable to any attacks that the Sirens might throw at her, but… if you hit a reinforced glass enough times, it'll break at the end of the day. Don't let the Sirens corner her since this task force might just be a diversion to draw her out, you know how these bloody weasels operate by now." She advised the Union carrier.

"Regardless of what the Sirens are planning, Wales. We still need to do something about this and that means taking things into our own hands with every available resources that we have and that includes Saint Paul. If we don't do this now… when?"

The two conversed briefly about their thoughts on this operation, they were both confident that the Fog warship was capable in defending herself while still dishing out attacks against her foes but even Wales has her reservations when it came to the Sirens that seemingly adapts to their tactics or bring out even harder adversaries to face against.

A/N: A much shorter chapter as compared to the previous one. Oh yes, I'm still around and kicking, just occupied by campus and its my final semester before I move on industrial attachment for 3 months.

I just wanted to get this chapter out since its been sitting in the draft for like months and I only polished it when I'm free in campus. I have a new draft up but still need to make sure that I won't be occupied with industrial attachment this coming April. I'm not sure if there are still people reading this since it's on the crossover section so it might not appear when people go into the main section. Don't worry though, I'll do things slowly and post the next one when I can.

A big thanks to those that are still here to read this and for your patience.

Till next time!