"You can have data without information, but you cannot have information without data." — Daniel Keys Moran

London, Great Britain - ONI Overseas Branch, Section One

Colonel Ethan Farris stared down at the document presented before him, it wasn't a moment ago that an MI6 agent waltzed into the building and handed over sensitive information that demanded his eyes only. He seemed to be deep in his thoughts after discovering the severity of the situation.

He ran his fingers through the strands of his dark hair, and audibly sighed. Ethan looked up towards the agent seated just opposite of him.

"How accurate is this information?"

"They're as accurate as they can be, sir. We're doing our best to gather more intel on potential sites and the bases where they'll deploy their assets." The Englishman's reply was calm and collected, possibly due to his profession where it's crucial to display as little emotion as possible.

This was bad. No, he wouldn't categorize this as that low, something such as this would be considered as a national security and yet that wouldn't cover the surface. This was a blatant declaration of war! Although such a declaration had not been sent, judging by the mass of activity happening within Nazi Germany and the flood of codes being passed around by the Enigma machine that the British had skillfully cracked and encrypted during the thirties, the fascist empire was mobilizing for war despite the deterrent by both British and the growing might of the Soviet Union.

The Colonel did a quick tilt of his head to dismiss the MI6 agent, who promptly left without a word to leave Ethan grimacing over this revelation.

A simple precaution. That was the mere reason why ONI had erected one of it's branches here in the capital of the British Empire, to cooperate with the Secret Intelligence Service or their simpler terms; MI6, in the case of suspicious movement happening in Germany and their supposedly secured network of encrypted messages. No one had expected this scenario, not even the War Cabinet themselves, believing that Germany would not risk starting a war, not with the Sirens constantly prodding for weakness in humanity's lines.

Ethan didn't waste much time, his arm already extending for the phone settled on his desk and he was immediately routed to Washington D.C by the operator on the other side of the line at the urgency of his voice. He composed himself and took a steady breath of air, waiting patiently before the voice of a man greeted him.

"This is Colonel Ethan Farris, ONI Section One in London. We have a problem…"

Washington D.C - 0933 hours

"It's the first time we've seen this much influx of information being tossed around, our codebreakers are having headaches just from the amount of data being received and passed for decoding and translation. But it just proves that they're making a move, a darn big one. Even the Free French forces in North Africa are getting nervous with the buildup of Italian and German troops at their border." the Secretary of Defense said.

The President rubbed his eyes as he glanced out the window briefly, then towards the documents and photographs that sat on his desk.

He looked at each and every man present within the room, men that he knew quite well who thought the same as him. He tried to speak as calmly as he could.

"This damned… escalation… how much time do we have by estimates before they're fully mobilized?" he asked, attempting to rub off the fatigue on his face.

"At their current steady pace? Quite possibly a week or several days if we underestimate their ability to reorganize, Mr. President. It's not their fighting capabilities that should be feared, but rather the wonder weapons that they hold so high in regard. We have little to none when it comes to intercepting those improved V2 guided rockets of theirs, maybe throw in enough lead and we might shoot a couple. I'm not sure if our current jet engines could even match the speed let alone intercept them once airborne and at such critical altitudes." one of the Generals replied, to which another added.

"We could try preemptive strikes to stop those weapons from launching from their silos. Though it's the U-boats armed with them that would prove to be an issue if they get past our picket lines and launch from the coast."

The President sighed.

"It seems like the world is eager to end during my first term… how do we solve this without using unnecessary force?"

"Well, there's an upcoming meeting between Azur Lane and Crimson Axis, we could probably work a deal so that a definite peace is signed between us and the Axis Powers. We simply signed an armistice back in '45, not a peace treaty. I can wager that there should be someone who's right in the head compared to the current Chancellor who isn't any different from their last Führer who either died from natural causes or the KGB poisoned him out of revenge." The Secretary of Defense informed him of the conference, although it seemed insignificant at first, the meeting between these two factions could actually benefit the current administration in avoiding this conflict.

The young President sucked in a breath of air.

He let it out.

"Who's the one in charge of Azur Lane at the moment?"

"Commander Caspian, Mr. President. She's currently in New York to welcome our guests from Britain scheduled to arrive sometime around this afternoon."

The President paused, glancing at his wristwatch and shook his head.

"And I've got to talk with the Soviet Union's Premier. We'll discuss this issue at a later date, gentlemen." he rose from his seat, and motioned for the door. The Secret Service agents trailing behind him and further outside of the room.

New York Harbour - 1149 hours

The whole base was lively as always, however when yesterday there was a festival of some sorts… today was a lot different. A series of explosions filled the air as shipgirls of many classes practiced their gunnery skills while maneuvering, from the smallest destroyers to the heaviest battleships and dreadnoughts.

Miniature aircrafts dotted the skies as they trained in many forms, the fighters were dogfighting in offensive and defensive conditions, the dive bombers practiced their dives and level-bombing while the torpedo bombers… went extremely low to drop their fishes. Even though it seemed hectic at first glance, St. Paul could discern the coordination displayed by the girls despite some who are carefree during their leisure time, in combat situations it was as if a switch had been flipped and those select shipgirls display skills befitting of the battle stars they received.

San Diego could be seen shooting down training aircrafts from different altitudes, the focus of flak barrages was something to be proud of for the Atlanta-class anti-air light cruiser and she wasn't defenseless either for surface combat as the rapid-firing 127mm guns could make short work of lightly armored targets, or the torpedoes that she possessed for close range fights.

St. Paul dismissed the enhanced sights that she utilized to view the training session happening down at the bay, her attention being grasped by her pair who was waving her hand in front of the mental model's face.

"Yes?"

Enterprise shook her head with an easy smile, "I couldn't help but notice that you're easily tunnel-visioned when focused. You can see that far out from here..?"

"Almost as if they're right in front of me, yes. Very clear."

"Right… mental model, got it." the white-haired carrier forgot that she's not speaking with a normal human or even a shipgirl. A mental model is very convincing if not for the lack of emotions that St. Paul has displayed so far, which are almost none. Enterprise took another good look at the silver-haired female, this time stifling her laugh when she caught sight of her companion's appearance.

Bremerton decided to give St. Paul a makeover earlier, and to see the mental model's straight silver hair being styled into twin-tails is a sight to behold indeed. Her nails were polished too, and yet the feminine addition didn't seem normal to Enterprise. She much preferred the look before the makeover, there was elegance and maturity to it that only those with keen eyes could see.

Well, she's one to talk when she also had the same thing done to her hair but instead of twin-tails, Bremerton thought that a ponytail would suit the Eagle Union veteran instead. Enterprise looked at her reflection on the glass window, she fixed her service cap and turned her face from side to side in order to view the ponytail.

Then a figure of a uniformed man appeared in the reflection, prompting the shipgirl to turn back and make eye contact with the man.

"New hairstyle, Enterprise? You look a lot more mature with it."

"...thank you, Lt. Commander Keyes." the white-haired shipgirl looked down towards the floor, embarrassed that the officer had to see her adorning her current appearance.

"And… Saint Paul." Keyes studied the mental model's appearance, same face, different hairstyle and colored nails this time. He decided not to comment on it, and cleared his throat. "The Commander would like to see you both in her office." the man turned to walk away but not before adding a bit more, "Oh, and Enterprise?"

The shipgirl raised her head, looking his way at the call of her name.

"Keep the hair up, I reckon you'd want the Commander to see it too. It really suits you, probably should keep the style." Keyes sauntered off, waving his clipboard until he was out from the two's sight.

St. Paul tilted her head at the sight of a red Enterprise who was covering her face and mumbling incoherent words, and she wondered what seemed to be the agenda for the Commander to ask for their presence.

Ayane took her time to digest a rare sight of a ponytail haired Enterprise and the stylish appearance of St. Paul whose stoic expression went against the purpose of the gal-like appearance. Must be Bremerton's work, she thought to herself.

The Commander dismissed her thoughts immediately in favor of discussing a development occurring up high and from outside.

"Alright, to keep things short, ladies. We're expecting an envoy sent directly from the Royal Navy very soon, and they're bringing in a foreign element or to be more specific; a shipgirl not of our reality or world. In this case… our world, Saint Paul. She has no allegiance to any Fleet of Fog nor does she know of it when questioned."

The mental model twitched albeit slightly from the information related to her, she kept her stoic expression but the female's attention was fully on the Commander.

"Not only that. She appeared on the same day you were found, Saint Paul. And I know how that sounds but… it's no coincidence that two separate ships from different realities are suddenly stranded in this world." Ayane took a much more serious tone, her training as a service-woman taking over and her fiery-red colored eyes studied the mental model for anything out of the ordinary that told the Commander that information had been withheld from her knowledge.

St. Paul had been made aware of the meeting beforehand, and briefly told that a shipgirl was found in the Royal Navy's backyard. However, she wasn't ready to accept that the shipgirl arrived from a different world, one such thing that occurred to her as well. The coincidence was uncanny. Could she possibly get her answers after meeting this shipgirl? She doubted that as that poor shipgirl would be as clueless as her.

"We have no evident trail to relate Saint Paul with this shipgirl, Commander. The distance between the North Sea and the Southern Pacific already too far to begin with. From what we have on our hands, Saint Paul has the data to prove that she's unaffiliated with the said shipgirl. The recordings and archives that she's generously supplied to us proved that." Enterprise took a step forward, speaking for St. Paul's side from a logical perspective and the information they have on-hand.

The Commander gestured a nod as she adopted a much friendlier expression, "I'm sure you've been able to obtain enough experience from conversing with Saint Paul, and from the way you've vouched for her meant that you two trust each other." Ayane allowed a light grin to appear on her features and rose up from her chair.

"At ease, you two. That was a test. I needed to be sure that you weren't fabricating anything, Paul. And that you can be trusted, which is why Enterprise is present for that."

The two were relieved in their respective ways, the nickname that the Commander eventually picked up slightly put her off guard from such a high-ranking official, St. Paul wondered how much of the things that the woman said were true and if it was really a test to begin with.

This person labelled as the Commander was an enigma to her, other than the standard information of her civilian life and introduction to the military, everything else was not available within the database or archives. It might have to do with the organization known as ONI; the Office of Naval Intelligence, taking up the role to guard the secrets of Azur Lane and the United States of America. And compared to its former self, the intelligence division had undergone major changes in both how they operate and the power they held over other agencies in the same field.

The reason being the leaks and exposures from the CIA and the FBI as well as the corruption that lingered within the agencies which dated back to the fifties. Particularly the CIA's illegal activities in South America and parts of South-East Asia. Commander-in-Chief of ONI; ADM Gerald Ulysses took the initiative to announce reforms and expose the corrupt officials, stripping power of the other intelligence agencies and integrating potentially talented agents or officers into ONI.

'It's a necessity for an intelligence agency to remain free from corruption as their duties include FIGHTING that corruption, not just gathering information or spreading false intel to the enemy, our duties vary hence why ONI must operate without anyone hindering it, and this includes the President himself.' Quoted from the speech made by Admiral Gerald Ulysses shortly after his campaign of eliminating corruption within the American administration and various agencies that answer to them.

An admirable effort, St. Paul understood why ONI had to do such a thing because competition is an unfair reality even in her world. But to cover up information regarding a person was something she thought to be odd, unless it was a sensitive subject that there was a need to have passages or sentences redacted from said person's profile.

In this case, it was the former Captain and current Commander of Azur Lane. Ayane Catherine Caspian. An ordinary officer and individual written on paper, or what they want others to see, at least. They did show her earliest service record in the Navy, but that changed when she was made Captain, heavily redacted digital pages were all she could find after that. Except for one major clue that they left in the file; Project LUCID.

"Now then, we should head on over to the bay to welcome our guests. They'll be arriving in a moment." The Commander fetched her service hat from the desk and walked over to the door, St. Paul silently watched the woman's gestures as Enterprise followed Ayane's footsteps before the mental model herself decided to fall in line to the company of the duo.

She breathed in the fresh air as the American mainland slowly came into view, it was a beautiful sight from the horizon but looking at the city and harbour up-close sent a thrill all over her.

Bismarck felt the warm breeze welcoming her as she took several steps forward, the thumping sound of her boots against the flight deck of the Ark Royal simply added to the background noise which was Manjuus doing whatever they were doing on the deck. The German battleship found them quite odd, but they could probably pass as Fairies that shipgirls from her world had. Bismarck had her own Fairy crew but they're probably still busy working on patching up her damaged rigging. The British were kind enough to allow her to bring her rigging aboard even before she could ask, finding them being maintained by Manjuus and her own Fairies.

It still baffled her. The fact that she was now in another world, stranded without the necessary means of a proper repair facility that her previous world had. Well, it was no more than a bathhouse but how else could you repair a shipgirl besides in a drydock? The only mechanical aspects were their rigging while the shipgirls are biological as proven when wounded or instances where their armor failed to protect themselves against enemy projectiles. They can bleed like humans, feel pain with the stark difference that shipgirls are much stronger in terms of strength almost to the point they could be called as superhumans. Her Admiral would often reprimand her for saying shipgirls are weapons of war, arguing that if they truly are weapons then why are they given emotions and the form of humans. Could a weapon feel happy when achieving a goal? Sad when something didn't happen as planned? Or anger when someone took something from them?

'If you are able to feel what humans feel, able to have thoughts as humans do, smile, frown, cry, and so forth… that is what makes you human. It's the feeling and consciousness that you are more than just your former steel hulls, than just a mere weapon. You are human, just like me and everyone else in this naval base. Remember this, even when this war is over and keep it in here at all times.'

Bismarck held up a hand to her chest, feeling her own steady heartbeat as she recalled back the words from her Admiral. And true to his words, she had kept that thinking even in another world, she's more than just a shipgirl, she was something much special; human.

The thought of the man saddened her, would she be able to see him again? It's not a romantic interest, but more of a profound respect for the Admiral because of his wisdom and leadership. He never picked favorites and would reward everyone equally, though he'd refrain from trying to form a relationship because if he did the war would have ended by then and the Admiral had made his choice of who to spend his entire life with. All the more reason for the girls to fight for that spot, through winning his heart but also not forgetting that war with the Abyssals had to be put to an end once and for all.

There's another matter that concerned her, how would everyone react to her disappearance? Are they searching for her at this moment? Scouring the open sea while the submarines search the bottom of the ocean for any signs of her wreckage? How would her fellow sisters-in-arms feel when word arrived that she left no trace from her last reported position? Then the dreaded report being relayed to the Admiral of said incident, what would he do..?

"You seem to be deep in your thoughts, Bismarck. Is something the matter? I figured you'd feel more free after the shackles came off." the voice of Admiral Hastings brought her out of her train of thoughts. The shipgirl pivoted to meet his gaze as he walked up to stand beside her, looking forward and admiring the view of the stronghold of a harbour that the Americans managed to build after the previous crippling siege that befell it.

Bismarck managed a wry smile as she replied, "Oh, I have so much freedom at the moment that you won't believe it, Admiral. With no one to command me and no chain of command to convey my report, I'm truly free in this world."

The Englishman chuckled.

"I figured as much. Don't worry though, your freedom is guaranteed unless you go over to the other side. Had you appeared within Iron Blood territory, I wouldn't know what they'd do to you despite your nationality. I'll try to sort things out for you."

"You'd go that far, Admiral Hastings? Am I that important of a guest to the Royal Navy?" the German battleship raised an eyebrow.

Hastings stifled his laugh, "An otherworldly guest, I should say. In this world, knowledge is dangerous in the wrong hands and you have a certain degree of knowledge that people would kill to obtain." the Admiral's face darkened briefly as something crossed his mind, he revolved then and walked off towards the bridge of the carrier.

"In the meantime, do think of responses to give when we meet the Eagle Union representatives. And please refrain from commenting on familiar names unless it's a private conversation."

Bismarck blinked at the mention of meeting the American faction and the possibility of her getting bombarded by questions, be it about her world or herself as a shipgirl from said world. The German battleship panicked, hands clutching on the service hat atop her head as she wallowed over this.

The Manjuus were looking at her weirdly, the shipgirl herself dramatically squatted and was speaking something incomprehensible; apparently in German.

...

… ...

Force Z and her fleet of convoys were hailed by the USMF, relieving Force Z of their escort mission and taking over leading the merchant vessels to a different part of the harbour. Only the Ark Royal was allowed to proceed further, the mass-produced ships commanded to hold their position on the perimeter leading into the important section of the bay. The ship-bodies of the corresponding shipgirls were dismissed as they returned and transformed into their rigging except for Ark Royal who was carrying the core members of the task force.

It didn't take long for the carrier to dock, everyone else disembarked with Ark as the last, leaving the ship under the care of the Manjuus.

Bismarck stared in awe at the welcoming party prepared for their arrival, American Marines in their ceremonial uniforms with old century rifles; the M1903 Springfield, and the Eagle Union representatives along with the Royal Navy attaché Prince of Wales waiting at the opposite end of the dock.

Admiral Hastings led his contingent, walking a step ahead of the girls as the Marines gestured their salutes one by one as the Admiral passed by each individual, it was rather pleasant for the German battleship to see such militaristic ceremony since Germany has a strong military tradition in her world to the point they've embraced it as part of their culture.

People often mistook that as intimidation and intent of waging war, which she wouldn't blame since nations performing extensive rearmament would make their neighbouring countries assume an invasion. Thankfully Germany is part of NATO and a major hand in Europe when it comes to protecting the Western interests from the Bear from the East. However, much of the attention had been at sea as shipgirls performed various operations in the English Channel, North Sea and the Baltic Sea while utilizing NATO naval bases belonging to Britain, Germany and Nordic countries. The Abyssal threat remained as the largest as they threatened shipping lanes and civilian vessels.

"Welcome to New York, Admiral. How was your trip?"

Bismarck traced back the voice to the blonde shipgirl, if the obviously decorated attire and sheathed sword indicated anything else, she spoke in a distinct British accent which probably meant she's a Royal Navy attaché of some sort. Maybe as a sign of friendship to Eagle Union? It wasn't weird for a Navy to have one of their representatives to observe and offer their own perspective of anything of interest.

"Heavy seas as per usual, Miss Wales. But it was fun while it lasted, I quite enjoyed being at sea." Hastings turned to meet the gaze of his counterpart and smiled, "Commander Caspian."

"Admiral Hastings." the woman said in turn, an easy smile decorating her features before the two shook hands.

Wales? And this would be the supposed Commander of Azur Lane that Repulse and Ark Royal told me about.

The German shipgirl then eyed on the last two individuals for the Eagle Union side, she'd guess they're shipgirls too from the way they were dressed and perhaps.. sisters? From how similar they were in terms of hair colour while noting one had white while the other a more silvery hue. She unexpectedly made eye contact with the silver-haired female, the almost soul-staring eyes opted for Bismarck to quickly avert her attention elsewhere. Unfortunately for her, the same could not be said by that "shipgirl" as she felt like it was important to keep her eyes on Bismarck.

Then she saw the white-haired shipgirl's mouth move slightly, speaking inaudibly from where she stood but guessed that the other "shipgirl" heard her and this ceased the staring in favour to look forward, acting like a statue with her stoic expression.

St. Paul laid her eyes on the aircraft carrier docked before her, identifying it as the HMS Ark Royal immediately and she listened in on the conversation the two officers were exchanging.

"I believe it's time that we introduce who each of our mystery guests are, and then our respective identities to them." the British Admiral said, earning a nod from the Commander who gestured for her to step forward.

The mental model took that step, startling the Royal Navy representatives since they weren't expecting her to be that mystery guest from another world. Her appearance had them fooled that she was a new addition to the Eagle Union while Bismarck's assumption was proven wrong as her jaw dropped, she was not the sister of the white-themed shipgirl.

Admiral Hastings turned his head towards her, indicating that was the queue for the German shipgirl to also step forward. There wasn't much of a reaction from the Eagle Union side except for curious gazes.

"Ladies, this might come off as odd and ridiculous but may I introduce you to Bismarck. The Bismarck, of Germany's Kriegsmarine as I will refer to her compared to our world's Iron Blood Bismarck."

She could feel the sharp gaze from the blonde called Wales by the Admiral, Bismarck didn't have to think long to deduct her as the Prince of Wales that she briefly met during the Battle of Denmark Strait and that intense look in her eyes says it all about the reception she would expect from the KGV-class short for King George V.

Then it was the Eagle Union Commander's turn to speak, and she cleared her throat beforehand before introducing the mysterious otherworldly guest.

"I'd advise the same thing for your side. Esteemed guests of the Royal Navy, meet USS Saint Paul from the Fleet of Fog. And to answer the question regarding her creation, no, she is not a shipgirl."

"Not a shipgirl? How can that be?" came the question from Renown, confusion dominating her expression.

"She might be an extraterrestrial case just like the Sirens. All I know is that her main body is the warship hull and she has a core just like our own Wisdom Cube. This form she's sporting on the other hand…" Ayane looked towards St. Paul to refresh her mind which the mental model acknowledged by speaking next.

"This vessel is made of Nanomaterial, the same could be said by my main body surrounding the vital aspect of my existence; the Union Core. Due to the versatility of such material, I am able to craft anything within my knowledge as long as there's an adequate supply of the resource."

Admiral Hastings raised an eyebrow, "Nanomaterial technology, eh? Humanity has yet to utilize such an advanced means of flexible building blocks, plus it's discovery is quite recent so we're severely lacking. Perhaps we can come to an agreement of providing you with them in exchange for some of the technology you possess. Even down to the most basic would do so our researchers have a base to start with."

"I'm afraid this is not the place to discuss agreements, Admiral. We should move to a proper venue first." Enterprise interjected before the conversation went further, earning a chuckle from the Englishman.

"Ah, yes. Of course… shall we then? I believe we can introduce our respective identities once we get there."

Two sides of a table occupied by Eagle Union with the addition of St. Paul and attaché to the EU; Prince of Wales and the other by the Royal Navy plus the Bismarck and HMCS Ontario who decided to stay behind to act as the representative of her faction.

Admiral Henry Hastings reviewed the documents prepared for him and the shipgirls of Force Z. And within such document entailed the very first report of St. Paul's discovery up to the point of her arrival in NY Harbour. Then the specifications that the mental model isn't afraid to disclose, down to the very details of how her armament worked in comparison to kinetic weaponry. Next came the history and timeline of St. Paul's world that she managed to obtain before being severed from her world's network.

The more Henry read, the more grim his expression became as his curiosity had been twisted by the mention of weapons of mass destruction and multiple breaches of the Geneva Convention even in a world so advanced compared to his own.

Even Ontario managed brief glances towards St. Paul, as she was reading the documents, the shipgirl was most likely skeptical of the mental model's allegiance since she did participate in the Great Fog War against the humans and nearly pushed them to the brink of extinction. A Fog Heavy Cruiser that can go toe-to-toe or outright destroy an entire American Task Force in her own world alone posed a much greater threat in this world.

As for Bismarck, she was dumbstruck by the information provided regarding this… Fog Warship? Mental Model? How should she address St. Paul's kind? Moreover, the fact that this ship carried multiple WMDs after her recent refit dropped the anchor on the German battleship. Not only that, despite the heavy arsenal St. Paul was classified as a second-line support ship? A support ship sporting this much firepower? She could of course excuse this with the explanation that the advanced world had countermeasures to counter various armaments which might prompt saturation attacks in the form of pure destructive capabilities. A sudden thought crossed her mind that St. Paul might even solve the Abyssal menace back home, the very definition of cracking an egg using a hammer instead of a spoon. Though she'd have to wait till a way back home is discovered for that to come true.

Henry sets down the papers on the wooden table, his face a mix of emotions from reading through the document.

"We're bloody lucky that Eagle Union stumbled upon you, Saint Paul. I fear that if you had fallen into the Crimson Axis' hands then with the knowledge of Siren technology along with your capabilities… this war would be meaningless. It seems we have a fighting chance. However…" he took a breath, and clenched his teeth. "I simply can't let the matter of WMDs slide so easily, if this amount is true within Saint Paul's arsenal."

That seemed to have ticked the female Commander.

"What-? Have you not seen the reports from your own intelligence, Henry?!" she threw away the formality before this, revealing how close colleagues the two were to be on a first name basis. And to the added factor that the group were inside a private meeting room.

"I have. And it doesn't mean we have to adopt the same aggressive stance as they are, we'd be no different than the fascists, Catherine."

"You say that when your own Empire has been following the route of Imperialism, you can't reason using ideology so easily, Admiral." The Commander emphasized that last word with a hint of venom in her voice.

"I understand the frustration within your administration, Catherine. But, I'm afraid Great Britain will remain adamant in banning America's use of nuclear weapons. Though we might tolerate Saint Paul here since she didn't know any better of our world's laws. The Crimson Axis on the other hand… we'll ask to strip off their nuclear programs. We know that Italy and Japan have been working on them so they can be easily persuaded… Germany would take quite a little bit of grilling before they agree to dismantle their WMDs."

The tension lingered within the room for a few moments, Ayane sighed as she leaned back on her chair.

"That should conclude this first meeting, we'll have more to talk about tomorrow and hopefully until the end of this week."

Both sides rose from their seats.

The door leading into the Commander's office locked with a click while the Prince of Wales waited just outside, watching and keeping the hallway clear of bystanders. She could faintly make out the muffled voices from within the room from where she stood.

"Hell of a meeting for the first time in a while, Catherine. How long has it been since we've talked face-to-face like this?"

Ayane took off her service hat, settling it on her desk and she sat down on her swivel chair with a sigh.

"If I can't remember what I ate for breakfast last week, how am I supposed to remember that? A year or so, maybe?" The reply was immediate as she added, "You look horrible as always, Henry."

"Why, thank you. Being British has its merits you see."

Ayane rolled her eyes at that.

"Now … about that MI6 report. Our agents are certain that Germany is on a path to war, however her allies are skeptical about it. Even Japan is divided between war and prolonged peace. It's mostly the naval officers complaining and refusing to risk their precious warships bestowed by the Emperor. Italy has been in Germany's shadow since WW2, but her people are exhausted and I'm sure they won't like it if their Great Neo-Roman Empire waged another bloody war." The British Admiral found himself a seat, explaining what the British spy networks have uncovered for the past few days following numerous minor activities which eventually escalated.

"You think the German Chancellor's delusional?"

Henry scoffed, "That blonde Aryan bugger and the whole entire Imperial Japanese Army are delusional, they think that war with us would be different now. Probably thought the stalemate during WW2 was just a setback for an eventual clash in the future; which is the present now."

"Then we need to reschedule the conference with Crimson Axis on a much earlier date. The more we wait, the more likely the chance of another war breaking out. We have the information in our hands… we can use them."

When it comes to espionage and intelligence gathering, the Allies have a better edge than their Axis counterpart and America with the British have worked side-by-side in the intelligence war to crack encrypted codes or utilize agents to conduct surveillance and sabotage.

The situation in the Eastern German-Soviet border was much more different, the KGB were ruthless in their methods of assassination and bugging almost everything to record conversations vital to them, anything that could help prepare the Soviet Union from being stabbed in the back again. Due to lack of evidence and usage of Polish nationalities, the German Abwehr and Gestapo were unable to link attempted assassinations to the Red Bear. Skirmishes were common on the border, it's just another day in the Eastern Front to see corpses of Soviet or German soldiers on the ground from being beaten to death or with a knife stuck in their gut.

"I can arrange for the meeting in three days from now, we'll hold it in Britain instead of here in the States to cut off the distance and time for all representatives of each faction. I don't have a hint of confidence meeting in Switzerland despite the neutrality. Bloody Jerries would be all over the place."

"Plan AS would have to wait for now then."

Henry nodded, "Indeed. It's not a priority presently, however the plan is important in the long run. We'll have to revise the plan after the meeting." the Englishman got up from his seat, "Well, it was nice chatting with you, but I have other matters to attend to. There's bound to be a surplus of questions coming my way once I go back to my group. I'll see you later, Commander Caspian."

Ayane wordlessly gestured her hand towards the door, watching the Admiral slip out into the hallway and the door closed shut behind him.

She tapped her index finger on the desk repeatedly as the Commander was seemingly lost in her thoughts, pondering at the possibility of other realities connected to her own like a door. If so, then it's not just St. Paul and Kriegsmarine Bismarck that can enter this world. What if the ones who entered are the rivals or enemies of these two? That would be catastrophic in the case of St. Paul's world where pure destructive weaponry is common.

What about more shipgirls like Bismarck? The Eagle Union only has so much for their own shipgirls, but facilitating a different kind of shipgirl poses as a logistical nightmare especially if they require different kinds of resources to function or remain in the fight. The Royal Navy won't accept more ships due to the lack of space from their vast armada in addition to the Dominion factions that came from Britain's colonies.

Azur Lane would have to undergo a major refit in facilities and structure, assimilating new means of harboring shipgirls and how to integrate them into the system. From the perspective of the Navy and Air Force, St. Paul is the only ship that they'll welcome with open arms due to the technologies she possessed that had researchers drooling and craving for.

Ayane shook her head to dismiss the thoughts, it'd be better to worry about them after Azur Lane and Crimson Axis had reached an agreement; subsequently delaying the war that Germany desired so much for who knows how many more days, weeks or months. Enough time for the industrial giant to awaken and American production lines to overtake the Axis Powers all combined.

For now, information will be the key to the success of the peace conference and information is precisely what's needed to be one step ahead of Germany.

But will it be enough..?

A/N: Cheers for another chapter done! I've decided to reply to reviews privately if they are long but there will be instances of me replying to them for public notes such as these. If I can.

My life on campus has begun quite recently so expect late updates and delays. There's a short semester break on September and then a semester break after the tenth of December.

I appreciate the follows and favorites so far! They mean so much to me. To those who are curious, this story will have a slow buildup towards tension and such. And it's also to do with my world-building, I need plenty of research to make this work.

That should be all, I guess? I'd like to thank user; Arpeggio GTA Collection for his detailed review (Bless his heart), which did help in a certain way and I appreciate them.

Have a nice day, folks!