"The air fleet of an enemy will never get within striking distance of our coast as long as our aircraft carriers are able to carry the preponderance of air power to sea." — Rear Admiral W. A. Moffet, Chief of the US Bureau of Aeronautics, October 1922

The naval base was sound asleep with the sound of waves lapping against white sand and the rock-face of the shores. Then it was jolted awake as if someone had banged on a door, a jeep screeched to a halt in front of the Eagle Union HQ and Lieutenant Commander Jason Keyes rushed into the building with a paper in hand. It didn't take long before the lights were switched on, and several shipgirls gathered at the assembly point when their presence was requested.

Ayane fast paced down the hallway with Lt. Keyes trying to keep up with her, the Commander was still in her pyjama, but her service white dress adorned the outer layer though still unbuttoned as she proceeded to adjust her attire and buttoning up with the pyjama being the inner layer. She tied up her hair before putting on the service hat that she had been carrying.

"Has there been any other message sent by Captain Halifax?"

"No, ma'am. This was his only message, and we have every reason to believe that his situation is dire. A message as short as this would explain that." Keyes passed the decrypted message to her.

She took a glance at it.

HELP.

"What's the USMF's response?"

"A sortie order has been issued for Maritime Patrol aircraft; they should be in the air about half an hour from now. I took the courtesy to gather the girls who are fit for this situation. Washington will be leading the QRF."

Ayane responded with a nod at that, arriving at the assembly point with Keyes; briefing the girls on the situation, and selecting those who are suited for the quick response fleet.

"Fleet flagship, Washington. Baltimore and Bremerton will serve as additional fire support. Backline support, Enterprise, and Independence. Fleet escorts, San Diego, Birmingham, Allen M. Sumner, and Mullany. Prepare to sortie, Task Force Q."

The chosen shipgirls rushed in a mannerly fashion to get their riggings ready while Enterprise remained at the assembly point. The Union veteran walked up to Ayane and Keyes, gesturing a salute.

"Permission to bring Saint Paul along for this sortie, Commander."

The female Commander gave Keyes a side-glance, then returned her attention to Enterprise.

"For what reason, if I may inquire?"

Enterprise replied instantly, "She's the fastest warship in this naval base. Maybe even faster than any shipgirl in this world."

Ayane didn't doubt that one bit, she had a first-hand experience being on-board the said Fog heavy cruiser, and 'fast' is considered an understatement to categorize a ship with such incredulous speed. And speed is precisely what they needed for this matter. As much as she didn't want to rely on St. Paul it was hard not to use the best course of action, especially with human lives on the line.

"Permission granted. I want you and Independence on board Saint Paul, to provide air support whenever needed. However, I advise you not to depend on Saint Paul for everything. She is not to engage anything or anyone unless the situation calls for it."

"Understood, thank you, Commander."

…

… …

"Accessing hull gantry locks remotely. Purging connection."

The ship shuddered briefly as it was freed from its shackles, water flooded the drydock and the large double doors cranked open.

"Thanatonium reactors, all green. Ship-wide armaments, posture yellow. Engaging anti-ship and ultrasonic radar. AEGIS Integrated System, standby. Wave Force Armor activation complete."

St. Paul stood within her ship-body's CIC, digital rings circling her, and various displays were being monitored virtually as she made the final adjustments.

"CA-73, USS Saint Paul, launching."

The thrusters engaged and the heavy cruiser was propelled forward, sailing past the drydock doors easily towards the open sea. The remainder of Task Force Q had already departed with Washington's lead, Enterprise and Independence were standing on the deck of the Fog warship, counting their complement of air groups, particularly Independence who was equipped with ASW-capable TBM-3 Avengers. The duo braced as the ship increased her speed well over forty knots in a matter of seconds, the acceleration startling Independence while Enterprise showed little reaction as she had experienced it. The phenomenal speed that could overtake speedy destroyers was a danger itself on how Fog warships could tactically position themselves in better flanks or routes for interception. The Union veteran feared the implications of other Fog vessels threatening the Allied Forces itself, power, one that shouldn't exist in this reality but it, unfortunately, does in the form of Saint Paul.

A flight of two Lockheed P-3 Orion flew overhead the Fog heavy cruiser, their destination being the general direction of the convoy to stave off threats that could be loitering to harass the merchant ships.

"Flagship Washington to all members of Taffy 'Q'. Even though there have only been reports of submarine activities attacking convoy routes passing the Pit, we must maintain high alert in the case of a larger Siren fleet. That is our purpose. The Sirens will undoubtedly try to wipe out the convoy with everything they have. But not on our watch."

St. Paul observed the vanguard formation with Washington bringing up the rear, flanked by the two Baltimores and the escort ships as front echelons. Her long-range surveillance radar didn't pick up any hostile surface ships, but she had to guess that her sonar would eventually sniff something the moment she was within range of the convoy.

Even then, she wasn't allowed to engage but syncing information was still as vital. Hopefully, this would just be a simple rescue operation.

"Rockets in the convoy!" shouted the after-lookout. "Two white rockets astern!"

Captain Thomas Halifax stiffened at the given information, a single rocket meant trouble; two white rockets meant a torpedoing, lest it was a false alarm made by a panicking captain. Arrow was somewhere nearby to where that distress alarm had been reported.

"Commodore signals general alarm to the entire convoy, sir," someone from signal bridge relayed that to him.

"Very well."

He was reluctant in turning back as night would have already arrived by the time he's there; stuck in the rear of the convoy and delayed before he could hope to re-join it, especially if said convoy were to be sent into disarray. Whatever that U-boat was up to had been done by now; he couldn't hope to redo that. He could attempt to pick up survivors—but the Recovery and Arrow should be able to do that.

He walked up to the TBS. Kidd and Cooper answered immediately; both were aware of the trouble in the convoy and asked for orders. He ordered them to stay and resume their stations with their respective shipgirl pairs. But he didn't get a response from Arrow on the circuit at all.

"Autumn to Arrow. Autumn to Arrow. Do you hear me?"

No reply.

Arrow was about ten miles away—could be more by now—and it's possible that she couldn't hear him. It's possible that her Captain and crew had their hands full, but that was unlikely. Halifax stood holding the handset praying silently that a single word could be uttered from the other side of the line. The commodore of the convoy was blinking his light directly for the Autumn; a message for him. And for it to be done in the dimly hours where Morse messages could be seen indicated its urgency. That commodore took his chances by transmitting in such conditions and he knew that the man was not that kind of person to take chances.

Someone from the signal bridge came rushing down with a notepad in hand.

COMCONVOY TO COMESCORT. RECOVERY REPORTS ARROW HAS BEEN HIT.

"I'll take the conn, Mr. Myers."

"Aye aye, sir."

"Right full rudder. Steer to course two eight four. Mr. Myers, the commodore told me Arrow has been hit and her last position is somewhere astern of the convoy. We're going back for her."

"Steady on course two eight four, sir." the helmsman reported.

"Very well. All engines ahead full, flank speed."

He took the time to reach for the TBS, addressing both Kidd and Cooper on what he was doing.

"Autumn to Kidd. Autumn to Cooper. Do your best to cover the front and the flanks, tell your pairs to take up individual stations while I approach Arrow to her aid. And go easy on your fuel, girls."

"Aye aye, sir."

"Yes, sir!" Cooper chirped.

The Autumn passed by rows of merchant ships, there was still light in the sky enough to silhouette the ships against it, but the sky towards the aft was already dark and it's possible that the ships beyond wouldn't be able to see Autumn's approach. Not that it would help. The rear of the convoy was in a state of disarray, countless ships slipped out from their stations, and the lanes were precarious to cross as the ships were steaming on with erratic courses to escape from imminent danger or re-join the convoy. He needed to keep moving despite all that, the Arrow was hit. He was saddened at the thought even as he was standing ready and knew that the sadness would be cast aside should there be urgent matters to attend to. That came to fruition not long after he had such thoughts.

The corvette plunged for the gap beside the commodore's ship, snaking past her, and the gap widened.

"Right full rudder!"

The ship behind steamed past as the distance became clear when the dark shape was beyond. Autumn leaned over as she turned. The ship sped across the bows of one ship and the stern of another, and then alongside the dark shape of a merchant vessel. They were finally through the hazards of collision.

"All engines, standard speed."

Time was of the essence, but he needed his ship to go slow enough that sonar would be effective and able to pick up underwater threats.

"Sonar, commence sweep."

"Object on the starboard bow! Close!"

A periscope? Halifax sprang into action with binoculars to his eyes. That object belonged to a ship's lifeboat, now a mere fragment, three or four feet of the shattered bows, nearly awash. He could see a man lying on it, arms outspread and his face facing upwards, fortunately alive; Halifax noticed that the man attempted to lift his head and looked for the source of the noise he heard. The Recovery was a dim shape ahead for the men aboard the Autumn.

"Arrow on the TBS, sir," said Myers.

Arrow on TBS? There was a sliver of hope; Halifax picked up the handset.

"Autumn to Arrow. Go ahead."

"We've been hit on the engine room, sir," the corvette captain's voice lacked any form of enthusiasm or emotion of any sort. "Recovery is standing by. She'll be towing us."

"I have her in sight," responded Halifax.

"We're beside her, sir. Our engine room is flooding, and all power is lost. We had to rig this circuit in exchange for several of our electrical equipment."

"One moment. Mr. Myers! That over there is Recovery taking Arrow up for a tow. Circle them about half a mile.

"Aye aye, sir."

Back to TBS.

"I'll be patrolling around you, about half a mile."

"Thank you, sir. We're doing our best to save her."

"I'm sure you are."

"The bulkheads are holding up well, sir. However, there are many more leaks in the other compartments and we are working on them now."

"I see."

"We sent a surplus of men aboard the Recovery. There are about a hundred on board her. We've sustained thirty casualties in the engine room."

"Understood."

"We have a six-degree list to starboard and we're down by the stern, sir. But we'll tow all right up to five knots."

"Very well."

"The Northway was hit before we did. The merchant ship was hit by three fish at short intervals. It might have been a spread fired at close range."

"It would seem so."

"She sank in minutes. The Recovery fished up her captain and some of the crew, sir. And we got hit while she was sinking, our Asdic couldn't pick up the shots. Too much interference from propellers."

"Nothing you could've done to prevent that, I understand."

"We had only one depth charge left, sir. We set it for safety and dropped the charge."

"That's good."

"I would like to thank you, sir, for all you've done. We had a great hunt out here."

"I could've done more," Halifax bowed his head.

"I want to say goodbye, sir, in case I can't see you again."

"Very well. But I look forward to seeing you in NY Harbor."

"Aye aye, sir. The towing process has begun, and we'll be underway soon."

"Very well. Report the results. Over."

It was dark now; the light had faded but it wasn't completely dark. It was still possible to see towards the starboard beam, and over there were the dark shapes of Recovery and Arrow. Autumn circled them, sonar searching the deep and radar sweeping the surface. The corvette covered the two ships as effectively as she could despite the chance of having a U-boat creep up to launch another spread to finish off her prey. Corvettes are precious. He needed to bring Arrow back to port. And the ship would be seaworthy once more than waiting for a new one to be built, plus her equipment is valuable and irreplaceable.

The TBS demanded his attention once more.

"We're moving now, sir. The tow is up to three knots, and we'll slowly move up to five, but I'm worried that the bulkheads won't hold if we make speed."

"Very well. Course zero eight five."

"Oh eight-five. Aye aye, sir."

Myers saluted in the dark.

"Mr. Collins will be relieving me, sir. He has the deck, sir."

"Very well, Mr. Myers. Goodnight."

The TBS.

"Four knots is the best we could muster, sir. The list gets worse if we make any speed. There's a flap of plating sticking out from the hole and scooping up the sea. It won't do any good for our aft bulkhead."

"Acknowledged."

All was quiet back in the Autumn. The crew was aware that there were men out there working desperately to save their ship, in the darkness where the faint light of flashlights was their only guide.

"Mr. Collins!"

"Sir!"

He carefully explained to the lad of the situation, the Recovery's course and speed, the importance of maintaining sonar around her.

There were more pressing matters at hand. With every passing hour, the convoy would be four or five miles ahead of them. It would take more grueling days before the Arrow could be brought into port. The Autumn herself was running low on fuel. He'd have to ask for help from New York, and that meant breaking radio silence. It was a bitter decision. He'd have to do it sooner or later. But—that would also alert the Sirens and the U-boat Pawns, exposing the position, course, and even the amount of escort ships available to the convoy. Should it be discovered that the escort ships are not fit to fend off submarine attacks… whoever the puppeteer of those U-boats is, she'd divert every available submarine against the convoy. It would also tell the Pawn that fired on Arrow that the torpedo struck true, and the corvette was not a threat anymore. If the convoy steamed along in silence the Sirens and the submarine Pawns wouldn't be sure what had happened to the convoy and presumed that it was still an effective force. That was important, a minor intelligence detail.

At the same time, the convoy is effectively unguarded, and with Arrow far from the safety of home; help is becoming crucial. He's doubtful that Kidd and Cooper would have enough fuel to reach New York; though perhaps the Iron Blood destroyers could bear the burden of supporting them back to port. Autumn herself could do nothing to ward off a determined attack towards Arrow and Recovery. He needed help. To swallow that pride, take the risk and gun it. If he were to transmit the message now the Siren could use the entire night to direct her Pawns to attack. About seven or eight hours of darkness ahead of them, hours where New York could do little to help him. It'd be better to send the message later, around one or two in the morning. That should be enough time for the USMF to get birds in the air and the Eagle Union to respond with a dedicated task force, preferably arriving by dawn. This could probably cut down the interval as far as possible during which the Sirens could concentrate all their available submarines against him. Two in the morning would be early enough to allow his message to reach the highest authority, he knew that well. Half an hour for the USMF's Fleet Admiral to send out an order, an hour towards preparation. An hour and a half for the flight of those Maritime Aircraft; the air cover that he badly needed when dawn breaks. He'd send the message at two in the morning, or perhaps at one-thirty.

He had made his decision whilst standing in the bridge with Collins directing the ship as she patrolled around Recovery and Arrow. He had to remain standing because he knew that should he sit down he would be lulled to sleep. It was unbearable, yes. His muscles and joints were crying out in agony. He had to bear with it.

The whole time he occupied his mind on what kind of message should be sent, perhaps something like "Help needed urgently." They would know that he would not send any message otherwise; they could guess what was wrong. There was no need for the word "urgently." It wouldn't be urgent if he wasn't contacting them. Maybe he should discard "needed" as well? The singular "help" was quite enough already to send as distress. And there was the slim possible chance that a single word sent as such might slip unnoticed by the Sirens. That was too wild of a hope, but that message could be a handicap for the Sirens trying to break the code. He'd forgotten that by cryptographic regulations all short messages must be "padded" with indifferent material up to a minimum length, Sarah would know about that. He'd send out the message and leave the padding to Sarah.

Now that his thoughts were free to roam the urge to sleep crept up on him, something had to be done about it. He took the ladders for the head; to wash his face and he forced himself up the ladders again.

It was a relief to have the TBS crackle alive when he got up to the bridge.

"Arrow to Autumn. Do you hear me?"

"Autumn to Arrow. I hear you. Go ahead."

"Permission to abandon ship, sir." the skipper of the other corvette gravely said. "I'm very sorry, sir."

"What happened?" asked Halifax.

"The collision mats weren't big enough, sir. Our pumps weren't helpful either. We now have a fifteen-degree list, and the main deck is underwater abaft the bridge, sir."

"You've done what you could. Permission granted."

"Well, goodbye for now, sir, and thanks for the great hunt."

Halifax pivoted away from the TBS with a frown. And he was starting to like the captain of the corvette, his presence would be missed.

There was enough brightness within the bridge to notice the change of watch shifts, the crew members exchanging their respective posts, and here was Collins.

"Mr. Patterson has the deck, sir."

"Very well, Mr. Collins."

"Goodnight, sir."

"Goodnight, Mr. Collins. I'll take the conn, Mr. Patterson."

"Aye aye, sir."

He watched as the dark shape of the Recovery approached the battered Arrow and commenced a rescue operation for the entire crew. A fine and brave ship lost to the ocean. The Arrow had overtaken missions in the Mediterranean, under constant watch from the Luftwaffe and the Italian Air Force to ensure the corvette was not a threat to the Wehrmacht and Italian Army in North Africa. It was the Sirens that proved to be the most formidable foe for the corvette. Avoiding Pawn ambushes and airstrikes from the Siren through day and night until she reached Gibraltar. For her entire service, Arrow had fought valiantly under pressure, and she was home to many of her precious crew. And now the sea threatened to swallow her whole, to embrace her and put her to sleep eternally.

"Messenger! Bring me a pot of coffee."

His appeal for help became necessary now, with the loss of an escort ship, that was sure. He and Recovery should be able to catch up with the convoy at dawn, and there's still the issue of fuel for the entire escort flotilla. Should he break radio silence now, to prepare for the worst that is to come which he had debated and come through unscathed? He paced around the bridge to weigh his options, the consequences, and the advantages. The coffee should help in that regard.

"On the table, messenger."

He poured in the darkness of the bridge, having enough practice doing so, and enjoyed the first cup as it energized him.

The ship-comms beeped; Halifax went off to answer it.

"Captain here."

"Skipper, there are pips ahead of us."

"Pips?"

"Pips or a pip, sir. My screen is fuzzy most of the time and the range unit is acting up."

"Any idea what you're seeing?"

"It's something, sir. I thought it was two pips, but I'm not sure now. It's right ahead of us, zero eight five—zero eight seven at times."

"These pips aren't the convoy?"

"No, sir. The convoy's out of range. This pip is around the edge of that limit."

"Alright, thank you."

There was a possibility of the pip being stragglers if they were overtaking them in terms of speed, but one can never be too sure so having constant sonar pings could alleviate those worries. He hoped that his message could warrant a sizable force to reinforce his flotilla.

Task Force 'Q' – Fleet Flagship Washington

It had been quite some time since they've sortied, and at cruising speed they could only do so much to pinpoint where the convoy is from the last transmitted message by the flagship of that flotilla, the Autumn. Quite the amusing name for an escort ship. The Maritime Aircraft had already gone ahead of them to scout and look for the submarines harassing the convoy and establish contact with the officer in command of them. If they kept their course, then it'd be no time till—

"Large formation detected; they're approaching us from several directions!" San Diego let her profession as an anti-air cruiser take over, the 5-inch dual-purpose main batteries swiveled in multiple directions as she reads out the information from her SC Search Radar. It didn't take long for the main guns to bark, several times in a row and the results of those were clouds of flak forming in the morning skies.

As expected, the Sirens may have taken notice of such a quick-reacting fleet and went ahead to intercept it, but not before slowing it down with airstrikes.

At least, that's what Washington had initially deduced. But she was bewildered when the Siren aircrafts changed their course simultaneously and ignored them, even flying through the cloud of flak unleashed from the shipgirls and losing several flyers from that maneuver.

"They're just gonna ignore us like that?" Bremerton voiced out her thoughts.

Washington realized only after San Diego reported the bearing those aircraft took, "They're going after our carriers. Pass the word to Enterprise! With that many Siren aircraft, she's going to need more than luck."

"We're not turning back to help?" Baltimore questioned her.

Washington glanced at the heavy cruiser, "The convoy needs urgent assistance. Human lives are on the line, we need to keep going. Let's pray that Enterprise can handle that swarm… besides, we might see her in action." the Union battleship hoped that the rumor about this Fog warship was correct, she was entrusting a good companion of her to this unknown faction.

Lines of digital coding surrounded her as countless information rushed in, feeding her the necessary intel such as the temperature, wind speed and… radar contacts. St. Paul fully snapped out from her thoughts and switched into a different optical sight, allowing her to see through the steel hull of the CIC and spot the oncoming swarm of aircraft. The lighting within the ship shifted to red and she sounded the klaxons to alarm both Enterprise and Independence who were on the deck.

The mental model summed up the chances of the two shipgirls on intercepting the swarm, there was a chance however it's slim as their fighter complement could only lessen the tide but not completely close it. If anything, the two carriers might just lose their entire fighter squadron and judging by the size of the Siren air group, it's not difficult to guess that there might be more than four carriers; more than enough to keep reserves of strike groups as the second or even a third wave.

St. Paul dialed up the range of her surface radar in exchange for auxiliary power, only then did she detected the Siren fleet and the composition was quite worrying for this world's standard. Dozens of escort ships, around ten capital ships and the most important intel of all would be the aircraft carriers; eight of them shielded in the center of the formation. The balance of power was clear as day, and the Sirens weren't even utilizing their full force of strike aircraft if she counted right for the attacking group angrily buzzing towards her direction.

She had been given the rules of engagement by the Azur Lane Commander, and this might warrant her to act depending on how dire the situation is. But waiting for it to happen is precisely what could lead to disasters, and she knew this fact from her own world's events, the friction that lasted for mere moments could set off the entire fuse, spreading far and wide. Many lives would be lost by the time you reacted at the last second, she wouldn't know if the Sirens sent another group to attack the convoy or perhaps, they were preparing one for that exact purpose. There was no time to ask for confirmation, if she was to do this, it was now.

"Track numbers 1-1 to 1-8, targets are Siren aircraft carriers. Opening cells 1 to 16."

From the deck, Independence could view the missile cells cranking open and the tip of a grey shape came to her view, she voiced her confusion at that.

"What in the world-?"

Enterprise pulled the escort carrier by her wrist, dragging her away from the vicinity of the missile cells as plumes of smoke and heat were ejected from within the cells one by one. The Union carrier recognized those pencil-like shapes, she saw the exact same thing before meeting St. Paul in the Pacific. They raced off into the air and arced towards the supposed direction of the enemies marked by the Fog heavy cruiser, and to use missiles at that, it could mean that the threat is high. At least, for this world's standard.

"Enterprise, are those...?"

"Guided missiles. Like the ones that Nazi Germany possessed, but far more advanced if the information given during the briefing was correct."

Independence's eyes followed the trail of the missiles, watching as they disappeared past the horizon and readied her composite bow.

"Should we launch a CAP squadron?" she directed the question to Enterprise.

To which the white-haired Union carrier responded with a simple shake of her head, "We need to keep the strength of our air group. Our priority is the protection of the convoy, we'll let Paul cover us in the meantime." she adjusted her service hat and took in the combat atmosphere aboard the Fog warship, feeling the steel hull shudder up to combat speed and the vibrations from the main guns swiveling towards the direction of the hostiles in preparation for future surface combat should they come.

St. Paul glanced left and right at the readings and flow of data, her face void of expression as she swiped and tapped at the digital interface while keeping track of the missiles she launched earlier, they were skimming the ocean by now and fast approaching the Siren carriers in pairs but spaced apart in case she needed to re-direct them to a different target should the hostiles sink in one hit.

"No change in Siren Fleet, maintaining weapons courses. Anti-Air Warfare engaged; small caliber armaments set to auto, dual-purpose secondary guns—switching to photon beam. Marking Siren air group as triangles, priority orange. Setting optimum engagement range on various altitudes."

Her main guns charged up as the barrels split to reveal energy rods, discharging focused photon beams towards the swarm of Siren aircrafts. From her radar, a large chunk of the formation faded away to display their destruction and the rest separated to avoid making the same mistake as the cloud became spaced tiny dots.

It was a fascinating experience for the shipgirls, attacking the enemy beyond visual range before they could even launch their own armament was something they coveted as aircraft carriers but to take out multiple hostiles in one sweep was nothing short of a miracle by their standards. However, that wasn't the only trick possessed by the Fog heavy cruiser. As soon as the Siren aircraft were in visual range, the secondary and anti-aircraft guns barked and mopped up the rest that weren't shot down from the first and second salvos.

Steam puffed up from the barrel of various armaments as water splashed onto them from the intensity of the barrages presented towards the Siren air group, the high seas did nothing to hinder the accuracy from said guns and they struck true until not a single piece was left flying in the air. It wasn't even a battle; it was like duck shooting.

On the Siren main battlegroup's side, the escort ships were suddenly alarmed as they detected the approaching unknown contacts at blistering speed and it didn't take long before one of those magic arrows landed a blow on a carrier, another one dropped down onto the flight deck like a hammer and this snapped the Siren carrier into two. The rest followed as arrow after arrow slammed down onto the carriers, but one fortunate carrier had been saved by her escort, a destroyer forced a collision to the starboard side of the carrier and took the brunt of the arrow that skimmed the surface of the ocean. However, the one that dropped down on the flight deck permanently placed the Siren carrier out of commission from launching anymore aircraft. It was a strategic victory, but not enough to eliminate the general threat of the battlegroup.

It was still not enough.

St. Paul swiped her interface aside, leaving the CIC and went up to the main deck to meet with Enterprise and Independence, the two were discussing and the light carrier seemed to be full of questions. The white-haired Union carrier spotted the mental model, and she crossed her arms.

"Not pulling any punches on the Sirens, huh?"

St. Paul shook her head, "The carriers were priority targets, they could pose a much bigger threat if left to wreak havoc in this part of the ocean. Therefore, the plausible option is to sink them and push the Siren operations back a few steps." she looked towards the horizon, pillars of smoke could be seen rising from the direction of the Siren battlegroup and the mental model brought up her radar interface to see the next move. After losing most of their flat tops, instead of turning tail the Sirens changed course to head for the convoy and the vanguard of Task Force 'Q'. The final carrier limped with help of her escorts towing her, repairs were underway to bring flight operations back running and the fleet's formation switched to have the wounded warship in the very center protected by layers of armored belts and a canopy of anti-air from the cruisers.

Very persistent.

"They're heading straight for the convoy." St. Paul remarked as soon as she dismissed the radar interface, swiveling the main guns towards the general direction of the Sirens and calculated the distance needed before elevating the gun barrels. Instead of photon beams, common shells were ejected from the ends of the 8-inch guns with hyper velocity and as soon as they were above the Siren battlegroup, the shells detonated; releasing red dust particles which glowed immensely. These were visible from miles away and could serve as an early warning to the vanguard currently speeding to aid the underequipped convoy.

An arrow of light launched up into the sky and a trio of F6F Hellcat fighters materialized as the arrow dispersed, followed by another and dive bombers took off from Enterprise's rigging, Independence herself nocked an arrow before shooting it. The arrow turned into a pair of F4U Corsairs. They formed up to make their respective squadrons and flew off to fulfil their various missions, splitting into two groups tasked with defense and offense.

"Then we'll give them a nice warm greeting." the light carrier let loose another arrow, creating another layer of air defense with the fighters as CAP in addition to the Fog heavy cruiser's already formidable anti-air dome. With the threat in the air already neutralized and air superiority regained, all that's left was contending on the surface. At least, that's what the two carriers thought as they were sending up their strike aircraft.

St. Paul's attention snapped to the sensors as a glitch suddenly happened to her interface, it was only for a brief second before the sensors returned to normal. The mental model didn't feel right about the short event, she cycled through her radar arrays, air, surface and underwater. There were no other blips or even radar signatures aside from the Siren battlegroup. She stared at her interface for a good minute to see if the glitch would return, but there was none.

The heavy cruiser cranked up speed to catch up with the rest of the shipgirls in Task Force 'Q', already aiding the convoy and relieving the escorts from their stations. The patrol aircraft had already detected the Siren submarines loitering behind the flock of ships, both Maritime Aircraft dropped depth charges onto the underwater contacts and made multiple passes with their active sonar to pin the submarines while the convoy punched on the pedal.

A barrage of ASW from the Autumn's RBU mount plunged into the tortured waters, creating a line of underwater explosions to disorient the submarines further. She had been dismissed from her duties to hunt for the wolves, knowing well already the likely tactics they would employ as she had been dancing with the enemy for days. With all the firepower brought upon them, it was clear as day that resuming the convoy raid would end in miserable failure if not complete elimination of the wolfpack. The Siren submarines disengaged to a deeper depth, attempting to lose contact and inch away from the contested waters. They'd have to rely on the surface fleet now to deal as much damage as they could towards the Allied convoy.

The Siren Fleet came within range of the Union's surface radar as soon as the batons are passed, Washington and the two Baltimore-class sisters left formation to confront them; with the Union battleship opening her gunports as soon as she had firing solution on the nearest Siren warship. Baltimore and Bremerton were next to fire on the hostiles due to their lower firing range, scoring grazing hits on the Siren escort ships. The three Union girls separated as soon as the Sirens returned fire, to divert the major focus into smaller groupings. The escorts aimed for the Baltimore sisters while Washington took on the capital ships.

"Keep your speed up! Don't slow down for anything or anyone!" the Union battleship ordered, dodging a stray shell and blasted a Bishop with her 16-inch guns. Her secondaries started to pepper the Rook-classes approaching her, damaging modules, and knocking out several secondaries.

Bremerton huffed as she skated in zigzags, "Easier said than done...!" the heavy cruiser waited for the right time when the escort ships had to adjust their elevation and fired multiple 8-inch shells since she didn't need to worry about accuracy due to the tight formation of the Siren Fleet. She looked towards her elder sister, watching as she rapidly closed the distance towards a nearby Pawn and slotting a few shells before turning tail to drop smoke canisters, she didn't need to worry about visual targeting since her radar had already locked onto the Siren warships. Several more were sunk before Baltimore had to disengage when the capital ships tried to reinforce the line.

Streaks of white passed by the younger Baltimore-class, the wakes from torpedoes combing the surface of the ocean as they raced like dolphins towards the Siren formation, scoring multiple hits as the spreads were apart from each other to make sure that at least one of them reaches their target.

"Thanks!" Bremerton keyed into the fleet-wide comm, getting multiple affirmatives from the Union escort ships that were herding the convoy away from the combat zone while supporting their fellow compatriots using torpedoes, they soon dropped smoke canisters to screen the convoy ships from Siren bombardment.

Loud humming sounds registered to her senses, turning her attention towards the flock of Siren aircraft breaking the cloud cover into attack formations. Bremerton clicked her tongue as she prepared herself for anti-air combat, "They were waiting for the right moment to strike, huh?" she performed evasive maneuvers amidst the chaos from Siren shelling and aimed towards the Siren strike aircraft, firing at them with a combination of 8-inch and her secondary batteries. She downed one of them while the rest unleashed their pylon-launched rockets towards the shipgirl. They barely connected as splashes sprouted all around Bremerton, she shielded herself and cranked to flank speed to disengage while the aircraft tried to make another pass.

They were shot down in the process of banking for another run, the source of their bane breaking through the cover of smokescreen. San Diego went guns blazing with help from her search radar and skated towards Bremerton.

"Sandy!? I was wondering where'd you went!"

"Sorry, I had to give instructions to the cuties while they brought the convoy away!" the light cruiser made her idol-like pose and held up her hand along with the trigger for her 5-inch guns, "I don't know what we're supposed to do now, but I'll shoot down as many of the planes as I could."

Bremerton sighed, "Just keep up with me, alright?" she glanced towards the Siren warships reorganizing and bringing their capital ships forward, Baltimore and Washington lured a portion of them away to lessen the risk of being surrounded.

"Aye!" San Diego saluted and followed the heavy cruiser as the Siren onslaught began once again, this time with renewed vigor after learning that there were only a few of the shipgirls present to challenge them head-on. The occasional torpedo strikes would hit the Sirens as they were charging forward, allowing the Union escort ships to drop their fishes without worrying about the range effectiveness of their torpedoes when the enemy is heading towards said underwater weapons. A flight of Siren aircraft would swoop down, and San Diego would play on the defense by downing nearly all of them while Bremerton finishes off the stragglers with sparse gunfire from her main and secondaries.

A stray bomb splashed near the heavy cruiser as she shielded herself, the geyser of water momentarily blinding her vision as she skated through and trying to regain back her senses of the surroundings. She was greeted with a volley of rocket fire from a Siren aircraft skimming the surface of the ocean in the effort to avoid flak fire from the anti-air light cruiser blasting away into the blotted sky.

Bremerton gritted her teeth and shot down the aircraft before wincing, feeling the rockets burn into her armor. She continued pushing forward as the chaos intensified, two sides came into knife-fighting range, this time with Baltimore and Washington coming from the other flank to reinforce. The two had taken the brunt of the main force, seen from the soot and blast marks on their armor plating; with Washington affected the most. The battleship grinned, exhilarated with the amount of action she's having and wiped off the blood on her cheek before rushing towards the nearest Siren capital ship and blasting it to pieces with her 16-inch guns at point blank range.

More aircraft registered into the Union warships' search radar in the form of a large mass of dots, it seemed that the last carrier was sending everything it had for the final wrath onto the shipgirls. San Diego was concerned about her ammunition as she had been expending most of them trying to shoot down the first wave, the Baltimore sisters grimaced while Washington cracked her knuckles and mumbling to herself a faint "bring it on". Before the Siren aircraft could reach them however, a photon blast decimated the center of the swarm and Union fighters pounced onto the remainders from above, destroying a large group in a single pass with their cannon and heavy machine gun fire.

Washington glanced back, a wide grin on her features as she spotted the cavalry coming for their aid. St. Paul and the two carriers operating their air group on the deck of the Fog heavy cruiser, with Enterprise launching more of her air complement and Independence nocking another arrow onto her bow before firing it off to materialize another fighter squadron.

St. Paul accessed the fleet-wide comm as the superstructure of her ship body shifted and gears grinded to reveal a rectangular module, with mechanical capsule-like objects protruding out of the module, "Allied ships, stand back. Close your eyes if you are willing to."

The capsules began to spin violently in their storing chambers, electric current forming on the tips as they glowed a bright blue before being launched towards the air and levitated above the formation of Siren warships. The capsules' glow intensified to a much darker hue before a loud pitch shattered the silence, unleashing the fury within them in the form of lightning bolts in a large area. The lightning projectiles seemed to be attracted to the steel hull of the Sirens instead of hitting the water or any other object available in the surrounding area of its effects.

This display of power came as a shock for both sides, even Enterprise herself who was aware of what the Fog heavy cruiser could do. Within seconds, the large formation was reduced to a mere single digit of escort ships but even they were not spared as the lightning bolts sent them ablaze, to float lifelessly on the surface surrounded by the flames of death that had been ignited from the oil from nearby shipwrecks. Some of the Siren capital ships even snapped into two before imploding from within, the fearsome lightning weapon had the fortunate chance to strike deep into magazine storage of the Rook-class.

From the Autumn, one Captain Halifax was glued to his spot and eyes wide from witnessing a miracle—yet it also seemed like a nightmare from a different perspective. This amount of firepower from a single warship if it was to be fully unleashed onto this world. He feared for what that could mean for those at the end of the spear.

The St. Paul turned her heading to screen the escort ships while the shipgirls rallied behind her, with the Baltimore sisters looking back at what their supposedly "sister ship" was capable of. Bremerton was at a lost for words and Baltimore felt conflicted at this much destruction that a ship from another world could do.

Men from the convoy rushed to the decks and sides of their ships to grace the St. Paul with their attention, the Fog heavy cruiser calmly steamed on just beside the group of merchant ships and they could barely see the mental model standing on the wing of the bridge. Her calculated eyes studied the reactions from the humans, a mixed of emotions could be seen from where she stood.

Enterprise stared at her from below, pacing for the starboard side of the main deck. "I guess we know what's in the Pandora's Box now."

"Hm?" Independence tilted her head at the remark.

"It's nothing. All that matters is after what we saw here, today… it'll change the course of this senseless war against the Sirens." the Grey Ghost closed her eyes, clutching onto the railing of the ship and felt the trembling of the hull against the water.

'We will win this war. One way or another.'

ZmLoRD: Your welcome and thank you for sticking around to read this personal project of mine.

DcWestby: I can agree on that, Myoko sounds great though I haven't heard Maya's yet for WoWS since it's been a long time since I've touched the game.

DCWestby: Yeah, that's generally how she'd feel being in a familiar yet foreign environment. A good observation on your part in regards to Germany, the views on conflict is quite split in half for them since the cabinet either wants to continue the war they dropped or just focus on the Sirens, seeing as how fighting the Allies and if they won, they'd have to fight the Sirens, alone to add more insult should they lose their war industry from bombing and such. And the Sirens using Pawns to escalate the said conflict is expected since the Pawns can just mimic the ships from the factions (WW2 variants, at least) since both Azur Lane and Crimson Axis kinda still use Pawns as cannon fodder and defensive plays.

Thank you for adding this to your follow list, should make it easier for you to be notified when an update is out. I really wish I could update often but life is really testing me, I can't thank you enough for sticking through and if you still are.

A/N: My sincere apologies for the extended delays. Things weren't very appealing to me with all the problems sprouting up and campus has been tying me down most of the time with assignments and whatnot. I did manage to write bits during such busy hours and I managed to finish this today, 17 of September 2022, just after I've done and sent my assignment yesterday. Needless to say that this story has not been abandoned, I'm just bombardment by a busy schedule. Once again, I'm sorry if it took too long. I'm not sure when I'll be working on the next chapter but pray that it'll come this year, or by the start of next year. Who knows? Thank you for the support so far.

I was thinking of transferring my work Girls' Frontline from Wattpad to here but I'll see if I could or maybe re-edit the content so it fits my writing style at the present since at the time of writing that work, my style was waaaaaay too... I'd say unsatisfactory? Anyways, that's all from me. Thank you and have a nice day, week and month.