"Stay low and keep the hoodie on." Ferdinand Walther, Walther, instructs the white haired 1st ship of the Shoukaku class Aircraft Carrier, Shoukaku with a low voice.

"Y-Yes." Shoukaku does as she is instructed to do, doing it in an instant the moment she hears Walther's commanding voice.

The two sneakily emerges from the underground storage unit and into the hall where Walther killed the guy who he encountered right outside of the elevator. His plan is to use the elevator he took downstairs to find Shoukaku and return back topside and make his escape. His primary escape route is the hangar, where he'll have to hijack a two seated aircraft and regroup with the carrier at sea. He leads the white haired girl, senses to the max.

"Um… sir… are you my officer?" in the middle of their walk, Walther hears Shoukaku speak.

"No I'm not." Walther replies with a quick end. "I used to be a part of the Emmiridian military, but I consider myself free from duty when there's really nothing else to do."

"What do you mean nothing else to do?" Wearing the hood of Walther's jacket, Shoukaku manages to tilt her head. "Don't the military usually give tasks to enlisted soldiers?"

"Yeah, but you should know that ever since the war that happened eight years ago, the Bulkan-Auropos War, when they dropped all the freaking nukes right on top of Emmeridia, the military is a whole new kind of mess that even words can't describe." Walther speaks, keeping his voice as low as possible. "I enlisted after the war, thankfully, and all the military brass had us fresh graduates do were either radiation cleaning, bandit extermination, peacekeeping in the South and those kinds a' boring nonsense. What's worse, I signed up for the air force, and trust me when I say that we had nothing to do… so it was a literal waste of three years of my life." They ascend the staircase and finally entering the hall where the elevators are at. "Not to mention, after the war, there's still the potential threat of getting invaded by the former Skolivia Union and caught up in the middle of their civil war."

"Ah…" Shoukaku lets out a vowel of surprise, her eyes widening. "But the war… we were constructed during the war, then… what happened?"

Walther pauses, stopping his pace in order to turn and give Shoukaku a stern look.

The hoodie wearing girl finds herself flinching when she is subjected to his flat stare. "S-Sir?"

Walther sighs, and at the same time, his features soften. "All that you need to know is that you girls are lost property to the Fianese and Emmeridian government. You girls were meant to be used during the war, but the nukes and Skolivia Civil War ruined it all; throwing whatever plans the Emmeridians and Fianese out of the window and into the bin."

The helmet wearing young man turns his direction back on track. "Now, I'm tasked with the job of gathering you girls, uniting you with the rest of your kind. And hopefully, the pay for this will be worth the hard work." He takes a step forward, but delays it, saying, "And don't tell anyone that I was a part of the military, I don't want them to conscript me back."

Shoukaku nods wordlessly, tailing after the man quietly.

Walther sees the elevator he used earlier to get down here, glad to see that no one has used it. He presses the button with the arrow pointing upwards to hail for his lift. The two waits in silence until a resonating ding triggers their attention back into the elevator. The door automatically opens, and Shoukaku yelps when she sees a person lying in a pool of his own blood. The lights are also busted, showing no signs of lighting up.

"Yeah… about this… I did it, he surprised me." Walther mutters a little awkwardly.

Shoukaku can only stare at the dead body of the still bleeding corpse with her eyes wide. She doesn't speak. She cannot. The sight of the body spangled like a lifeless ragdoll on the elevator's floor is enough to render her ability to speak useless. She does not say anything when Walther presses the ground floor's button and when the door fully closes.

Since it's dark, Shoukaku can relax a little bit without having to see the corpse, but once they've reached the ground floor; she is forced to see the corpse again due to the light coming in from the outside.

"Okay, let's move out. And stick close, there're several raiders patrolling." Walther exits the lift with Shoukaku following him in a much quicker pace than before, still a little shaken from having to stand inside the same elevator as a bleeding corpse.

"Do you have anything that you can use to defend yourself with?" Walther asks, all the while leading Shoukaku through the back halls he used to get to the main lobby of the building.

"N-No… I am unable to activate my rigs whilst on land…" she takes a deep breath, to make up for the one she wasted inside the elevator. "But I will try my best to not get spotted if that's what you're worried about, sir." Her voice is a lot firmer than before, knowing that her inexperience with how things have changed must have been a little bit annoying for Walther.

"Alright, that won't do." They stop, crouching. Walther takes out the Walther P99 from his thigh holster, he checks the magazine by pulling it out before snapping it in again. He hands it towards Shoukaku, pointing the butt of the gun towards her. "Here, use this."

"Wha-Wha?" Shoukaku's back to stammering, her eyes going wide at the sight of the gun that's handed to her. "S-Sir, with all due respect, I can't use your personal weapon! And I have no knowledge on how to operate human firearms, my database does not provide me with any instructions on how to use them."

"Then I'll teach you, simple as that." Walther brings the gun up close to their eyes' level. "Look at the gun closely, and my hands closer. This thing has twelve rounds, you aim and pull this tiny thing called a trigger backwards. Pull once to fire one bullet, and shoot twice if you're aiming for the chest and once if you're going for the head. If the thing's out, press this small button that'll release the magazine and shove a fresh one inside, and pull back lightly on the slide until it locks back in place. Understand?"

A bit hesitant, Shoukaku takes the handgun regardless. She understands the instruction, but there's a huge difference between understanding them and being able to apply them into using the tool. The fact that Walther has instructed her to shoot twice when aiming for the chest and once when aiming for the head suggests that they might be doing some fighting. And that is what worries her.

Shoukaku grips the gun in her hand, feeling it a little bit weird and off. It's safe to say that she can't quite put her grip into it, literally.

"If we're lucky, we won't have to shoot our way out of here." Walther tells her as he resumes their exit, making it outside of the building.

"Where exactly are we heading?" Shoukaku asks, both of her grip on the gun she is currently holding.

"The hangar." His answer surprises the Ship Girl. "Command says to return via a jet that was left over at the base ever since the war. If my guess is right, there's going to be at least a fighter jet that I can use to regroup with the carrier at sea."

"A-A jet? We're going to fly in an aircraft?" As if like a young child, Shoukaku cannot control her excitement. "And we're going to return to a carrier?"

"Yes, that's true. Might seems weird for you eh? Since you're designed as a carrier and all…" Walther has just successfully lead the both of them halfway through the field and nearing the air station. "So you're a ship girl, how does that work anyway?"

"We are identified as such, it is the name of our project too." Shoukaku starts. "I am designed to act similarly as a normal aircraft carrier vessel, as in the sense that I'm able to launch planes and maneuver around the ocean's surface. To put it simply, think of a person being capable of skiing through waters while doing things that a warship could do."

"Hmm… I get it." Walther sees the air station just a few miles ahead, its runway clear of anything and functional for taxi. "Heads up, runway's ahead." He spots a huge half dome like structure placed neatly just beside the runway, next to a flight tower that's no longer functional. "Okay, let's head in there."

"Wait a minute sir!" Shoukaku halts Walther's attempt of advancing. "My radars are detecting signatures in the airfield, I advise to proceed with caution."

Walther breathes out, ignoring the bead of sweat that trickles down his chin. "Whew, good thing you told me. Alright, let's proceed with caution and remember what I told you. If there're hostiles, let me take care of the ones further away, you'll watch our six so that no one sneaks up on us."

Shoukaku affirms the order wordlessly, choosing to raise her gun to an eye's level. She is not familiar with aiming down the small sights of the firearm or any at all for that matter, but it seems that it's her only choice should a fight happens. They've entered the airfield and are nearing the first hangar. Shoukaku reacts in alarm, immediately saying, "Sir, hostile signatures inside, what should we do?"

"Let's check first, if they're scattered, we'll take 'em out one at a time, but if they're together, we'll take 'em out directly." Walther peers from the corner of the hangar's opened entrance, peering inside. "I spot four hostiles in total, two by that aircraft over there and two more on the elevated platforms attached to the walls of the interior, can you confirm?"

"Affirmative." Shoukaku nods. "How should we do this?"

"…Shit." They're out in the open, and thinking won't help their case. "I'll sneak in and take out the hostiles inside, can you go up the stairs on to the platforms and eliminate the rest there?"

"S-Sir?" Shoukaku is surprised by his orders, retracting her head. "Are you sure? I-I'm not confident if I could do it…" she whispers quietly. "To kill a person is just…"

"Look, if it helps, know that these people here are probably rapists." Walther states with a cold tone, losing its warm. "They've probably hit a small settlement somewhere before hitting this place, pillaging, killing and enjoying the 'spoils' of their little campaign. They've done bad things; think of it as doing the world a favor by ridding it off two beings that shouldn't even call themselves human."

Shoukaku's fingers got cold, a noticeable lump bulging on her throat. She swallows the nervousness down, Walther's suggestion echoing inside her head. She closes her eyes shut, wincing as her consciousness, or at least what she thought is one, start whispering. She decides.

"…Moving in to eliminate enemies."

Walther does not say anything; he quickly moves to his position, separating from Shoukaku for a brief time to take out the hostiles that are currently admiring the aircraft parked inside of the hangar. Now that he's up closer, he identifies the aircraft to be a Grumman F-14 Tomcat, or simply known as the Tomcat. It appears to be in pristine condition, but the lack of missiles attached to the wings suggests that it is not equipped with any ammunitions.

His weapon is unsuppressed, and he has no time to put it on. He takes aim, putting the raiders' head in between his sights. The loud sound of his gun going off echoes loudly due to the natural dome shaped structure of the hangar, he also hears two more gunshots fired off shortly after his two shots, telling him that Shoukaku has managed to get the deed done. He signals over to Shoukaku, telling her to come to him immediately. He is impressed, more on surprised actually, when he sees the white haired woman who is wearing his hoodie jumped over the railings of the platforms instead of heading back down by using the stairs.

"Sir." He notes the lack of nervousness and anxiety in her voice when she chooses to acknowledge him.

"Good work." He praises, it's the least he could do for now. "Good news, I've found our ride."

Shoukaku is shaken off from the feeling of having just killed two raiders the moment she pays full attention to the aircraft that is before her. She marvels at the sight of it, in disbelief that such a beautiful aircraft could ever exist. "Marvelous… truly incredible." She breathes out, unable to contain the awe in her voice. The Tomcat's sleek form is unlike anything her database can provide her, the aircraft's wings are swept back, unlike the normal straight and unswept ones that she knows of.

"It's a two-seater fighter jet," Walther grunts as he checks the dead bodies of the two raiders he killed earlier for ammunitions. To his contentment, he manages to scavenge several 7.62×39mm round magazines for his Bravo 18 AKM. "Since this thing's left out in this base without proper maintenance, system's bound to be rough, and fuel at a minimal level… wouldn't actually count on it, but this will have to do." He switches to the built in radio in his helmet. "Command, I've secured a jet for evac."

"Noted, Freedom. Can you confirm that it is in good condition for flight?"

Walther hops on the left wing of the aircraft, balancing his way to the glass cockpit with the intent of opening its canopy. When he manages to get it opened, he is not surprised to see the cockpit untouched, with two pilot helmets as well as oxygen masks still in good condition left seated on the seats of the aircraft.

"I'm checking the plane." He hops on into the front cockpit, wasting no time in flicking switches and pushing buttons in order start the aircraft's engine. He flicks the lighting switches for the aircraft, just so that he could see them more clearly. He begins with turning the anti-collision lights on, and then setting the engine crank before moving on with the rest of the buttons and switches necessary in order for takeoff. The aircraft's engine hums loudly, indicating that is on. Walther has already turned on the lights outside and inside of the jet, and he's finally sure that this plane will be able to be used.

"Command, aircraft's good for flight. Fuel's surprisingly at max, but there's no missile ammunitions." He rechecks everything. "But integrated gattlings are loaded to the max. Everything's fine since we're just using it to regroup with the carrier."

"Roger that Freedom and good luck."

"Freedom out." He shuts off communications. "Hey Shoukaku!" his Emmeridian accent is bleeding through as he pronounces the Ship Girl's name. "Hop on in the back, we're getting outta' here!" the jet's engine begins to hum louder, telling the pilot that it's ready for liftoff.

"Y-Yes!" both anxious and nervous, Shoukaku hastily climbs onto the wing of the aircraft, clumsily hopping into the back seat of the cockpit. "I-I'm in sir!"

"Good!" Walther calls out. "Make sure that your hands are not outside of the plane cuz' I'm closing the canopy." The canopy slides down, snapping shut. "Canopy, closed! Now put on your helmet and oxygen mask, I won't have to put on a helmet cuz' I have one already!" Shoukaku raises her hood, switching it for the pilot's helmet before putting on the oxygen masks, snapping it shut on her face. "Good! Now hold on, I'm gonna' make this thing fly in the air."

The engine hums at the max, and the plane's wheels begin turning, moving the plane forward. Walther maneuvers the plane out of the hangar and into the runway, where he's taxiing it in order to attain speed in preparation of liftoff.

"Shou, can I call you that, you'll be my co-pilot. Watch the radar for anything unusual like a—RPGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Shoukaku shrieks when a rocket propelled grenade warhead whooshed past them, disappearing in a trail of smoke before exploding several feet away in the air behind them. "Shit! Shit! We've been had quicker than I anticipated, hold on Shou, I'm going full throttle!" he pushes the throttle on the panel all the way to the max, increasing the plane's flight speed. Several more warheads zoom past them, failing to hit their target.

"FUCK C'MON!" Walther curses loudly, losing his cool. "If this keeps on then we're gonna' get splashed before we even hit the sky!" as speed begins to build up, the plane is ready for flight.

Walther pulls hard on the stick, manipulating the flaps by raising it so that the plane can lift. "We're off the ground!" the plane is steadily increasing altitude, and making its way into the sky and towards the open sea.

Shoukaku breathes in deeply, thinking that holding her breath may help deal with the sudden change in force. This is when Shoukaku notices one crucial detail. "S-Sir! You are not wearing a flight suit, are you not?"

"I'm not." Walther replies, his voice considerably calmer since they've escaped the RPGs' firing range. "But don't worry about it, I'm… 'engineered' to fly even without a flight suit on." He can understand Shoukaku's concern when flying a jet without proper equipment on. Basically, a flight suit will protect him from the physical stress of acceleration when inside a jet, pretty important equipment. "Just sit back an' relax; hell you can sleep if you wanna'. The carrier's not that far away, and I'll even tell you when we're going to land."

"No, I'd rather not sleep." Shoukaku immediately answers. "To be inside a flying aircraft… it certainly opens up the mind!"

As weird as it is, an aircraft carrier flying inside a carrier based aircraft is not really impossible; not impossible when the aircraft carrier's a Ship Girl like Shoukaku and the plane being a two seater aircraft like the F-14. Shoukaku peeks out from the cockpit, leaning onto the glass hatch to view the ocean from above.

"We're flying at normal altitude, Angels 20." Walther smirks, an idea slowly forming inside his head. "Why not do several tests while we're on the air, eh?"

He flicks his stick to the right, changing the direction. "Right, check." He then does it to the left. "Left, check." He ascends, pulling the stick backwards. "Ascend, check." Then he goes for a descent. "Descend, check."

"A flight check, sir?" Shoukaku questions, her head tilting slightly.

"Yeah, can't be too sure." Walther replies while leveling his aircraft, returning to his previous altitude. "I'm gonna' resume to the thrusters next, so hold on." He slowly pushes the throttle on the left panel of the cockpit, putting it to the max. The Tomcat's retractable wings sweep backwards, allowing the plane to accelerate faster. "Acceleration, check." Then he does the opposite, causing the plane to decelerate. "Deceleration, check." The airplane's wings extends, spreading apart due to the decrease in speed.

"Next, machine guns." He fires off the red hot fury being delivered in the form of a repeatedly fired 20mm M61 Vulcan Gatling gun sprays forward and into the water. "Can't use missiles since we have zero payloads, but it's not like we're hoping to use 'em anyway."

"Simply amazing…" Shoukaku breathes out, still not believing that she's sitting inside of a flying carrier based aircraft.

"Oh yeah, wait 'till I do this…!" the plane suddenly makes a sharp turn, causing the passenger in the back to shriek in surprise. The sudden change of direction puts a lot of pressure for the both of them, but Shoukaku has no need for worries due to her being a Ship Girl.

"W-W-W-Wait! Don't suddenly turn!" Shoukaku shrieks loudly, being caught by surprise.

"Hah! That's not even sudden." He suddenly decelerates, quickly trading altitude for airspeed, doing a perfectly executed aileron roll. "Yeeehaw!"

"Pyaaaaah!"

Shoukaku's screaming is music to his ears.

"Unidentified aircraft coming in from the west, this is the flagship Highlander. State your purpose or we will have fighters shoot you down."

Walther grimaces at the mention of being shot down by fighter jets. "Whoa, what's with the threat already?"

It's exactly 1523 and it seems that they are within the carrier's radar range. Walther has been flying the Tomcat, and with the plane going at supersonic, it didn't take long to reach the fleet he's supposed to rendezvous with. "Command, I'm in contact with the flagship carrier Highlander, and they're threatening to send fighters to shoot me down, can you clear things up with them?"

"On it Freedom. Flagship Highlander, this is Central Command speaking. Unidentified aircraft is to land and report with the carrier's commander in order to complete a vital assignment under the mission code CRANE." Central Command responds in Walther's stead. "That should give them a heads up, Command out."

"Thank you Command." Walther replies, circling around the fleet below him. "Wow… to think that they have a functioning fleet… unimaginable."

"You do not know, sir?" Shoukaku asks, wondering how Walther could not know of such thing.

"Yeah." The ex-military replies quietly. "When I got hired by my employers, who I assume to be a joint organization between what's left of the Emmeridian government and the Fianese, they only told me to follow whatever orders they have for me; and that means retrieving other ship girls like you. You're the first one I've retrieved, so this is technically my first mission. I don't exactly know how big they are, but since they have a fleet… wow."

Shoukaku watches at the fleet consisting of no more than six vessels on the water from her place. She identifies the large aircraft carrier to be the flagship Highlander. The fleet has three more frigates and a battlecruiser, a pretty diverse combination but it fills all the blank spaces with the required requirements. Firepower from the battlecruiser, fast interceptors from the frigate escorts and air superiority from the carrier.

"Freedom, Central Command has just identified you. You're clear to land on the Highlander, please assume the optimal landing point we've highlighted into your HUD." The operator pauses. "And sorry for before, can never be too careful."

"Apology accepted Highlander." Walther replies coolly, before switching course and heading towards the landing point identified on the HUD. "And roger that."

Naturally, the Tomcat slows down, its retractable wings spreading apart to help with air resistance as it dives down steadily in order to make a land. "Wheels, deployed." Walther steadily keeps the plane balanced. "Resistance minimal… and shutting off the engines."

After getting the landing procedure cleared, several airmen or sailors runs up to the plane with ladders. Walther opens the canopy, letting himself breathe fresh air once again. He takes off the oxygen mask, and Shoukaku does the same. Since they are technically in the middle of the ocean, the heat of the sun is far more intense than on land. Walther is already building up a sweat, and Shoukaku too no doubt since she's wearing his hoodie. With the help of several airmen and sailors, the two exit the aircraft and is escorted to the stairs that leads them into the ship.

"Contractor under the codename Freedom." One airman, dressed in a flightsuit like several others on deck, approaches him and Shoukaku. "I'm Major Harper, the Commander will want to see you. Sorry for not letting you land immediately, we just got word from Central Command that there'll be company joining us." a tall man, dressed in the olive drab colored flightsuit, short brown hair and an overall older face. He smiles as his eyes trail towards the Tomcat. "To think that they left a Tomcat to rust… what were we thinking?"

Walther says nothing, other than saluting the officer before him. He may not be affiliated with the military, Army, Navy or Air Force for that matter, but he's still speaking to a Major; and he's a freaking contractor, these people pay him. "Major, precious cargo retrieved." He says without gesturing to Shoukaku.

Harper switches his gaze at the standing Ship Girl, who stiffens the moment it landed on her. "M-Major, Sir!" she does a salute, legs straight and posture similar to an icicle, straight and stiff.

"At ease you two," Harper laughs at both of their reaction of meeting him. "Let's get to the lower decks asap, we have another operation coming up. And EFS Shoukaku," the white haired ship girl blinks at the acronym. "it stands for Emmeridian-Fianese combined forces Ship. Anyway, Shoukaku, you'll be happy with the lot waiting for you downstairs."

And so, the three descends the stairs and into the lower deck.

"Shoukaku-nee!"

"Shoukaku-san!"

"Shoukaku!"

Several female voices simultaneously cry out at the sight of the white haired ship girl, who is still wearing Walther's jacket, entering a cabin through the metal hatch that is opened midway. A flash of white, red and dark green crashes onto the white haired hoodie wearing ship girl; emitting a small cry of surprise from the former.

"Shoukaku-nee!" the pigtailed girl with the same manner of clothing as the one that Shoukaku is wearing cries into the latter's armored bosom, crying softly as she rests on the girl's embrace.

Taken aback at the sudden greeting, Shoukaku can't register things quickly. She glances down, staring at the form of the girl that is currently crying onto her. "Z-Zuikaku…" her voice breaks, and her chest becomes heavy yet light at the same time. "ZUIKAKU!" Shoukaku returns her sister's fierce embrace with an equal amount of fierceness, the fire of sisterly love and passion burning brightly within their hearts… or internal batteries, depending on who's asking.

Walther wisely watches the exchange and flocking of more weirdly dressed girls some of them who appears to be in their early teens. The Major walks over to him, eyes also fixed to the group of girls.

"Strange isn't it?"

"Huh?" Walther utters in surprise at being caught staring.

"It's so strange that robots or machines like them can act like normal human teenagers, huh?" The Major asks, crossing his arms. "I have a girl back home; she's starting high school this year. It's a good thing that my family evacuated the north for the south before the bombs were dropped… I have friends who weren't as fortunate as me, God bless them."

Walther shifts uncomfortably on his legs, lowering his Bravo 18 AKM and holding it with one arm. A brief feeling of guilt washes over him, like the shore of a small lonely beach. The sounds of multiple footsteps causes Walther to throw away the feeling immediately, and his attention to them.

Walther sees Shoukaku and another girl who he assumes to be her sister approaching him walking side by side.

"Who's this loser, Shoukaku-nee?"

Walther's lips ceased to look neutral. He expresses annoyance by expressing a small frown, his eyes unreadable due to them being covered by the visor of his helmet. The Major grins in amusement over how will the nosy Ship Girl upon learning that Walther's in fact the one who retrieved her sister.

"Zuikaku!" Shoukaku shouts in a reprimanding tone. "Don't be rude, Walther-san is the one who retrieved me, activated me and delivered me back here! Apologize, Zuikaku!"

"What really? But he looks like a thug!" As if to prove her point, she rudely points a finger right at the male 'thug' who is frowning even deeper and more obvious. The pigtailed girl is then put under the pressure of Shoukaku's disapproving glare, prompting her to sigh. "Fine…" she then begins to contradict her earlier point, as she bows politely to the aforementioned 'thug'. "Thank you for reuniting my sister with me, I really appreciate it."

Thankfully, Walther's eyes are hidden underneath the visor he's wearing, otherwise she might've seen the rolling he does with his eyes. But he at least mutters a small utterance of acknowledgement at her thanks. He'd talk back if she actually apologized to him first before thanking him.

"A-Ah! That's right!" To the rest's, even the Major's, curiosity, Shoukaku begins to unzip the grey hoodie she is wearing.

"S-Shoukaku-nee?! What are you doing?!" Zuikaku is quick to get on her sister's case, demanding why she is suddenly taking the piece of clothing off.

"W-Walther-san, thank you for the jacket…" albeit a little shy, Shoukaku still manages to outstretched both hands that are holding the piece of clothing that is Walther's hoodie. Audible 'oohs' and 'kyaas' come from the rest of the girls, sans Zuikaku and the Major's sporting a large smirk he doesn't even bother hiding.

Walther's annoyance dissipates quicker than a spray of perfume into the air. "O-Oh yeah…" he awkwardly reaches for his rightful property, draping it over his free arm singlehandedly since his other one's occupied with holding his AKM. "You're welcome." Now Shoukaku's not the only who's red on the face.

"It's really reassuring for us to know that we have another carrier on board the… carrier." The Major chuckles at the irony. "Let the rest introduce themselves to you then."

Another girl who looks younger and noticeable shorter than the two carrier sisters walks in, letting all her attention to her. Unlike Shoukaku and Zuikaku, she is dressed in a far less complicated attire to describe. Walther is reminded by the uniforms that middle school girls in Fianese animation wear, with it designed to look like a sailor's uniform and probably called the same thing. But those are white and navy, the one she's wearing is black and red. The core color is black, embezzled with white linings as well as a long red ribbon-tie hybrid tied underneath the collars of her uniform. The sleeves of her uniform is colored white with a red line circling around it, she wears a black short thigh length skirt with a the upper part circling her waist colored in white, a pair of tall black socks, two brown shoes, a pair of black gloves with white wrist parts and a unique hairpiece clipped to the bangs of her oddly styled hair. The twin flaps remind Walther of dog ears, and no one can sue him for that. Her black hair also has a cowlick that sticks out of her head like an antenna, she seems pensive and quiet but seeing as she's the first one to step in for introduction, maybe that's not true.

"I'm Shigure, the 2nd ship of the Shiratsuyu class Destroyers." She does a light but nonetheless formal bow.

Another one wearing the same type of apparel like Shigure practically bounces in, making it easy to tell who the more active one out of the pair is. Unlike Shigure who has black hair, this girl has a straight platinum blonde hair with a black ribbon tied in a loop around her front bangs, her eyes are jade green instead of Shigure's cerulean blue.

"Hi I'm Yuudachi, a Shiratsuyu class Destroyer, the 4th one. Nice to meet you mister, poi."

"Wait, 'poi'?"

Yuudachi quirks her eyebrow, tilting her head a little bit. "Yeah, poi. A problem with that, poi?"

"No…" Walther says slowly, not really finding Yuudachi's strange habit triggering his pet-peeve. "Unless you want me to?"

Yuudachi looks even more confused, a troubled expression showing on her face. "No, I don't think I want you to, poi…"

Brushing the awkward atmosphere off the place, a taller girl who appears to be within the same age range as Shoukaku and Zuikaku steps forward next. She has a light green colored and long sleeved sailor uniform on, with a white line circling the collar area, a black ribbon tied underneath the collar, a green skirt which is actually a darker shade of green than her upper uniform, a pair of black naval socks with a white anchor design printed on them, and a pair of brown loafers. Her hair is long, colored in brown; her eyes are wide and have the similar color as her hair.

"Hello, I'm Ooi." She starts her introduction. "I'm the 4th Ship of the Kuma class Light Cruisers." A sinister smile suddenly appears on her face, a sickeningly sweet yet sinister smile. "We won't have any quarrel if you leave Kitakami-san and me alone."

Walther shrugs, not really finding her term unreasonable.

Another girl dressed in the same clothing as Ooi lazily waltz in. this one has a long braided black hair, and her eyes practically shows that she's an easy going person.

"Name's Kitakami, howdy." She flicks him a lazy salute, taking her position beside the brown haired girl.

"Right back at'cha." Walther flicks back a salute in the similar manner as Kitakami did. He turns over to the Major, wanting to bring out why he's here. "So where's the commander?"

"She'll be right here in a moment." The Major assures him. "If my guess is right, then she's confirming things with central command right now. So relax for a while." Walther shrugs, placing his pack down, tying his hoodie around his hip. "So where're you from kid? Out of all the contractors central could've hired, why you?"

"Dunno." The helmet wearing young man says honestly, shaking his head. "I was in the South, doing a boring job as a security for a private owned company whose name I didn't really care cuz' it don't really matter to me. A good buddy o' mine heard the rumors of some government peeps hiring ex-law enforcements, soldiers and even security guards like me for a position some'ere. I got interested and did a little bit of digging." He lowers his head, narrowing his eyes at the metal floor. "The three days later, you people knocked on my door offering me this job."

"O' course, I didn't accept it at first; too freakin' shady. But they gave me the details, and I see no reason to not sign up. 'sides, I was inches away from being killed by boredom." The hired contractor summarizes his explanation.

"That's it?" The Major asked, his tone a little bit amused and more incredulous. "Jus' cuz' you're bored?"

"Yup." Walther confirms with a thumbs up. "That and money problem. Jus' being a security guard isn't enough to keep me fed; pay's terrible, working place's terrible and the job's not worth doing now that I think of it."

"So, so!" Yuudachi butts in, interested in the conversation. She hops over to Walther, enthusiasm diffusing out from her. "What then?! How did you find Shoukaku-san, how did you bring her back here, and what's that gun?"

"Then… I got hired. Central told mere where to go in order to find her," he points his thumb at the white haired carrier. "I used a jet to get here, otherwise how else will I get on this ship and this gun is a hybrid between two famous guns." He answers the excited destroyer's questions in order.

"Hmm…" the Major hums out loud, examining the Bravo 18 that Walther is holding. "That's a rare gun you got there son, central lent it to you?"

"Nah," Walther shakes his head. "Found it while I was making my way to the military base, it's dapper as fuck; ain't gonna lie." He then looks at Shoukaku. "Speaking of which, Shou," 'Shou' reacts, her face turning red. "I lent my Walther to you, right?"

"A-Ah yes!" Shoukaku is reminded of the handgun Walther lent her while they were still in the base. She takes it out from the rather baggy pocket that is stitched into her hakama. "Here you go, Walther-san."

"Welcome." He receives the P99, holstering it in its rightful place. "Now I feel complete." He grins.

"Shoukaku-nee… I can't believe that you're letting him call you something as crass as that…" Zuikaku mutters disbelievingly at her sister after hearing the nickname Walther has given to her sister. "It sounds cute though…" she's now more upset at not being the first one to call her sister that.

"Z-Zuikaku!" Shoukaku hisses embarrassedly. "It's embarrassing as it is for me… and I understand that Walther-san isn't very familiar with Fianese names so…" she trails off, getting lost in her own embarrassment.

"All of you are here, good."

A curt, strict but attentive female voice suddenly enters the room; the speaker herself having just stepped inside. Major Harper assumes a straightened standing pose, standing at attention with his arms doing a salute at the woman. The woman is no doubt the officer that Walther's supposed to give his debriefing to. He can see that she's an important figure in the ship, maybe the entire freaking navy. She has four silver stars circling the embroidery on her CO uniform, with the black and gold color palette contrasting to the white background. She wears a naval officer's cap, with the golden anchor motif stitched right to the front of it. She looks strict, acts strict and sounds strict; so she is strict. Her black hair is tied to a single ponytail that is not too long or too short; and judging from the folder she's holding in one of her gloved hands, she means business.

The girls followed Major Harper in standing on attention at the presence of the superior officer. They are hasty, but their reaction time is faster than several of some freshly released graduates that Walther can think of.

"Admiral Yoko!" the girls and the Major salute as one with an equally loud voice.

Walther merely stands straight, both hands on his gun. He does not react when the admiral solely places her attention on him, narrowing her already narrow eyes on him. "You are operator Freedom." Not a question. "And you have brought Shoukaku back with you too, good. That means I can start briefing you guys earlier than planned." She brings a gloved fist to her lips, coughing. "All of you here will participate in the invasion that will be conducted tomorrow morning at exactly 0100 hours. All ship girl personnel will be aiding the fleet in taking out the Eastern faction's naval assets and invading forces so that they can land on the beached. We will regroup with the 2nd Emmeridian-Fianese fleet later today; their roster consists of amphibious ships that could transport ground units into the beach."

She pauses.

"At the same time, Major Harper and his squadron, Arjuna Flight, will be using the F-15s to aid ground forces during the operations. The Easterners will do everything in their power to stop us, so expect a lot of anti-air resistance Major. And you…" her eyes scan the hired operator. "What should I do with you? Central command told me that you are allowed to choose whether you want to participate in the invasion or not. So, what's your answer?"

Walther relaxes, even if he knows that he should not be in the position to do so. "I'll join."

The Admiral raises an eyebrow of subtle surprise. "Are you sure? You will not be forced to participate, nor will your pay increase if you participate in this operation."

"I'm sure."

It's the longest she's gone with a tense moment of silence lingering in the air. "Very well, you can choose on which division you want to partake in. If you want to join the ground units with aiding the invasion advancement, I will have to send you behind enemy's line for us to get a head start for this op. If you want to take the fight in the air, I'll have you join the Major's squadron as a temporary member. Or if you prefer on staying here, I can have you help the sailors."

Walther lowers his gun, holding it with one hand. Normally, he'd choose to participate in ground combat. But being all sneaky-like isn't exactly his best forte. And he's not looking to be ordered around by vulgar sailors. "I'll spread my wings and fly."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Hm… Major, do we have any extra jets for him?" the Admiral asks.

"No, but he has his own wings, admiral. He secured an F-14 in order to get here. Though it isn't exactly suitable for the type of the operation, he can keep enemy fighters off our backs while giving us more chance to focus in aiding the ground units." Major Harper reasons logically. It makes sense. Though having a multirole ordinance capability, the F-14's better off being a fighter instead of doing air support runs. "Depending on how heavy anti-air resistance is, we can let him help." The older man throws a cocky smirk. "If he's good enough."

Walther openly scoffs, stretching his neck sideways before returning it to its natural position. "Why don't we take it to sky right now and I'll show you just how easy it for bogeys to get splashed, ol' man."

Determined to end the growing rivalry between the contractor and the Major, the admiral steps in, her stern voice stopping both men. "The two of you, quit it." They respond quicker than lightning. "Walther, I'll approve of your decision in joining our air units for this fight. Your job is as simple as making sure that the Major and his squadron are safe and capable of returning back here safely. I'll inform the boys on duty to rearm your plane with the necessary load outs. Is that enough?"

"More than enough ma'am." Walther says with a mix of honesty and coolness in his voice.

"Then welcome abroad, operator." The admiral smirks, tipping her naval cap lightly right at the tip. "From now on, you're as good as any other sailors and pilots under my command; so I expect you to treat me the same way as they do. Understood?"

With a grin on his face, Walther performs a full-fledged formal salute. "Aye aye ma'am!"