A/N: Pls don't murder me.

Chapter 13: A Time of Respite

The blue image from the monitor before her glared back to its source through the reflection in her maroon eyes, displaying a stream of data and live video feed taken from one of her Autonomous Deep Water Intelligence Vehicles scattered under the sea below her metal form.

Enterprise eyes were hard and unblinking as she stared transfixed on the monitor, face adorned with unusual anxiety as she scanned the sea, both by using her many powerful sensors and her own two eyes. It was there, the preliminary data showed an object matching a Gerald R. Ford-class Supercarrier to be residing on the ocean bed, initial Sonar scan and magnetic mapping had proven what Code G said to be true yet she couldn't and wouldn't accept it until she saw it directly.

The Heavy Carrier could vaguely feel her nails digging into her skin as her fists tightened up. She blinked, looking at both hands resting near the digital keyboard before she quickly released the tension on her fingers, not failing to notice the red marks on her palms courtesy of her own fingers. With a sigh, Enterprise decided clasping her hands together was a better option than to have her bleeding all over the sensor station, at the same time trying to shrivel her agitation.

When was the last time she felt this way? During her final stand? It was the same feeling she felt back then, denial that this was how it would go down. The trepidation was uncalled for but she had to face it, a bitter fact serving as nothing but reminder nothing really went as planned. Right now she was pretty much reminiscing what she felt that day and Enterprise decided she hated it with everything in her.

Anxiety was always her most hated feeling. The powerlessness to figure out what would happen and the inability to do something was eating her alive. Now without someone to command her it got even worse, at least with her Captain around he would know what's the best course of action. His commands were absolute, if he were to tell her to shove it she would still find comfort in it, knowing he did it out of confidence on her. It wasn't a feat Enterprise could replicate for any reassurance she made to herself would ring hollow for her heart.

"Not a day I regret you weren't here..." Enterprise whispered before she caught herself. It happened again, always in times like these where her thoughts were left to run rampant. Perhaps this was why she disliked waiting, Enterprise recalled she was a patient soul capable of prowling low for weeks to end during a special operation, a mere hour of searching shouldn't have been an issue.

It should, however, in this case.

She felt her chest heaved as she inhaled sharply, blood rushing into her head to fuel her augmented mind with oxygen to process the visual information displayed. Not a few milliseconds later the neurons making up her brain had finally reached a conclusion as signals and responses were then directed to instincts and habits.

Enterprise's brows twitched and hands tightened at what she saw, teeth grinding against each other audibly. She quickly tried to control herself, shifting on her seat to let the blood travel everywhere that wasn't her pounding head.

"I don't even know anymore..." She whispered, reorganizing her thoughts to no avail. First there's a deal with her being a human, then the existence of similar entities hell bent on Humanity's destruction. The latter she's familiar with but the former she was yet to discover the answer to fully feel at ease about her predicament, but then there's this.

The ADWIV lived up its name for being a fully autonomous vehicle and thus, unaware of Enterprise's inner turmoil, continued its investigation upon the strange object it detected. It creeped slowly to examine the sunken vessel, scanning and mapping data for Enterprise to analyze later on. Despite herself, Enterprise could still make out plenty out of place details on the ship, down to the most obvious one.

A pulsating white message popped up on the middle of the screen, containing a simple request Enterprise left to ponder as the big gaping hole in the background filled the camera's field of vision. After a moment of consideration, Enterprise's hands unclasped from each other and flew to the keyboard, fingers moving in a blur as she typed in returning command. The reply was simple enough the Dumb AI installed inside the receiver wouldn't have problem processing.

{Permission to make entry?}

{Granted, look for human remnants}

{Acknowledged}

A soft beep from somewhere above her stirred Enterprise from her slumber, gently urging a pair of maroon eyes to open up as their owner reemerged to the realm of the living. She blinked a few times to get rid of the drowsiness before swinging her legs to the edge of the bed, feeling the cold floor under her feet biting her skin.

Enterprise frowned, running a hand over her face and getting up from her sitting position. "Status?" She asked the air, tidying the bed with practiced efficiency.

"Subject identified as Commander David Allenforth is approaching" A disembodied voice replied with a hint of synthetic, its words making Enterprise's frown deepen.

"Acknowledged. How long did I sleep?"

"Approximately one hour fifty four minutes and twenty seven seconds"

She was out for almost two hours? Enterprise didn't plan to sleep that long, actually she didn't plan to sleep at all when she stepped inside her Captain's quarter but the moment she undid her uniform a sudden wave of exhaustion hit her with the might of a cruising Battlecruiser, forcing her to sit down on what was once her Captain's bed. She didn't know what happened after that except the vague feeling of her head hitting the pillow.

I don't remember discarding my boots...

Said boots seemed to find their own places to settle, one was on the corner of the bed while the other had fallen just under it, its sole facing up to the ceiling. At least, those were new pairs so they didn't exactly have any dirt patch that might dirty the sheet.

"Track him" She said briskly as she collected the combat boots and put them on before her eyes flashed to where she saw the Magnum was, silently thanking her instinct that she at least had the common sense to put a weapon somewhere safe before her mind finally giving up to the idea of rest. Despite her Spartan traits, Enterprise learned her mind was not of the same level to that of the Supersoldiers'. A Spartan could continue to function without sleeping for weeks and they would still be as effective as any, Enterprise could function for weeks and she would still be as effective as any Spartan but the moment her mind found out she was in a comfortable enough situation she would gradually shut down before completely falling asleep.

She had felt the telltale signs when her feet seemed to refuse moving for a millisecond and the small twitches her facial muscles were making which somewhat urged her eyelids to linger closed longer everytime she blinked. She didn't feel drowsy, a bit tired maybe but she wasn't sleepy as humans would describe it. It worried Enterprise she actually never felt sleepy, her mind was as sharp as ever but in exchange of her aforementioned condition. She remembered that Laffey suffered an illness that caused her to feel sleepy all the time, which worried Enterprise since it confirmed a KANSEN could suffer some sort of illness. Not just once she thought she was ill but Enterprise quickly dismissed the idea everytime it reared its ugly head. If she was truly sick then more reason to link back with the UNSC ASAP.

She couldn't let herself get wasted here when there was plenty to study about her, and since nothing could harm her in this world the prospect of unknown disease claiming her life was the more pressing issue than enemy fire.

... or perhaps her concerns were unnecessary in the first place since she didn't exactly have someone else to compare with. The other Ship-girls were not similar to her as much as an augmented supersoldier to normal humans, if only there was another UNSC ship.

Where are you, Eve...?

The Heavy Carrier silently put the handgun back to its magnetic clasp on her thigh, glancing at the hologram displaying Commander Allenforth as he approached.

There wouldn't be enough time for her to get dressed so instead she schooled the black tank top she was wearing and combed her hair with her fingers to make herself more presentable, times like these were the reason she was grateful her hair was manageably short, Enterprise couldn't fathom why many of the Ship-girls grow their hair knowing it's nothing but a hindrance during a fight.

Enterprise had just finished fixing the crinkles on her pants when a knock resonated from behind the thick bulkhead separating the Captain's quarter and the hallways outside, with a silent command she then deactivated the holo-display beside her and lifted the multi tons composite Titanium Alloy, revealing the Commander who had his eyes trained on the bulkhead even as it moved into the ceiling.

The wonder on his face gave it away and Enterprise understood immediately what snared his attention like that.

"It's the official motto of the Epoch-class Heavy Carrier" She said casually despite her ramrod posture, hands behind her and feet slightly apart.

His brown eyes drifted down to her figure and Enterprise didn't fail to notice the way his gaze lingered on her right arm where a patch of blister was visible. An ugly remnant of one of her many wounds.

"What does it mean?"

She gestured at him to take a seat on the one she often saw her late Captain take during his alone time, a secured seat doubling as his work seat behind a terminal. What once displayed his work was now inactive, dead without a trace of its previous owner.

Enterprise couldn't bring it in her to turn it on again.

"Transmittere Cum Tempore" The ravenette recited as she sat back on the bed, watching the Commander swinging the seat around to face her before he settled on its black surface. "It means Forward With Time"

"Like an epoch"

"Reasonably so"

"So, where'd you get that?" He continued after a moment, gesturing towards her arm with his hand.

Enterprise looked down to her side, lifting said arm high so she could also see the mismatched skin better. The burned surface started from a few centimeters up her elbow, trailing all the way to her right shoulder and back under the black fabric of her tank top, concealed from the world.

"Reach. A swarm of Plasma Torpedoes hit me right on my starboard side, boiling through my destroyed armor and into my decks. I lost seventy three crew members from the attack alone"

"So it was a fresh wound then"

"And a minor one, I suppose" Enterprise said grimly before shrugging and changing the subject. "So, can I help you, sir?"

David seemed to contemplate his answer for a moment, studying the woman before him. Before this she always wore a full military gear that covered almost all her skin but now he could clearly see what's beneath that green drab uniform, and it wasn't pretty.

If David didn't know any better, he would've thought Enterprise purposefully wore those long sleeves to hide her less-than-pleasant-to-look skin because of self-consciousness but he did know better than to think so. Enterprise just didn't care how she looked, despite having mismatched skin marred with countless cuts and singes she would display them with pride knowing they're a testament of her duty. No, she wore her uniform because it protected her not against the stares but rather enemy attack for bullets would hurt more than naysayers possibly could.

It was a resolve hard not to admire.

"I need answers" He finally said after a while, leaning against the seat. Enterprise, meanwhile, merely nodded in understanding.

She did, after all, leave them alone after dropping the news without further elaborating.

"My apologies, I wasn't in the best of shape" She confessed flatly, earning a concerned look from the Commander.

"Are you feeling unwell?"

"Negative, sir. I simply miscalculated"

"Miscalculated how?"

"I am capable of functioning for weeks without sleep in normal conditions but for reasons unknown exhaustion got the better of me"

"Hold on" David raised his hands in disbelief and the next question he asked made Enterprise's mouth snap shut. "Weeks?! Did you get any sleep since you're reborn?!"

"There was that time I passed out..."

"That doesn't count as sleeping! You almost got a stroke!"

For the first time ever, Enterprise averted her eyes from someone. David could almost see her feeling ashamed but knowing Enterprise he couldn't be sure. It took him a moment to realize this was also the first time someone higher scolded her for her actions since she was reborn and knowing her she probably took it the same way if it was her very own Commanding Officer who did the deeds.

Sighing, he lowered his voice down so it sounded more gentle.

"Listen, I know you've been busy but you shouldn't neglect your needs. Resting is important, it's part of the basic needs of living beings. It's also my fault for not considering this one out but we actually have courses for newly reborn Ship-girls to guide them how to tend to their biological needs" He paused as he let his words sink in. "Enterprise, look at me, please"

"Sir"

"Have you been having trouble sleeping?"

"I... don't know, sir. There's nobody to compare myself with but I do have suspicions"

David nodded but didn't pry. "All Ship-girls know how to fight the day they're reborn but mental state and things as simple as human needs are not something they're familiar with. I know you have your sources but talking to someone who actually knows is different"

"I don't need a psychiatrist"

"I'm not telling you to go to one. Go talk to Vestal, she knows what to do. I see you've begun to trust her with the questions and that's good" He furrowed his eyebrows as he remembered a few hours ago when Enterprise dragged Vestal for a talk. "What did you ask her, anyway?"

She shrugged. "She said I'm experiencing my first menstruation"

He nearly choked on his breath.

David coughed awkwardly on his fist, making a mental note for Vestal to teach norms and manners when she's lecturing someone on their own biology especially new Ship-girls before it could turn disastrous. "This is exactly why..." He muttered to himself before his voice returned. "You need to be more tactful with words"

The Heavy Carrier tilted her head in confusion. "But you asked me?"

"You don't have to answer everything, at least not as bluntly". It didn't quell her confusion so David merely sighed. "Please, just go talk to Vestal"

Enterprise, ever so diligent, answered dutifully as if he just ordered her to charge into a battle. "Yes, sir"

"Thank you" He sounded.. relieved? Enterprise wasn't sure why the Commander would feel like it when it was her wellbeing they're talking about. "So, what was that all about? What do you mean there existed countries from your world in the past? And that Code G... individual... you mentioned? What is she?"

Enterprise mentally sighed. As soon as the Commander finished asking, a figure shimmered to existence beside her and mirrored her posture. It was a blessing he couldn't see her, otherwise he would meet her burning gaze full of contempt.

"Such ignorance..." Code G muttered before Enterprise glared at her to silence the elusive entity. "Oh how the mighty have fallen..."

Shut it. Wasn't it you who asked me to tell them?

"Unfortunate, indeed. The Guardian did all she could to protect them, but alas time was never her ally. How are your people so wise yet the same could not be said to them?"

We weren't. We were just lucky we managed to pull through.

"... was it the Seed the Forsakened implanted? Such a cunning female she was..."

"Who?" Enterprise blurted out. Code G often said a lot of confusing if not vague things to her but this one was new, who was she talking about to have her scowling in discontent? Last time she checked, it was only when she talked about the Siren she would show negative emotions but this couldn't be the Siren. They'd never been on Enterprise's Earth.

David, obviously unaware of Code G's presence, made a bewildered face before voicing his confusion. "What?"

Clearing her throat, she gave a final glance to where Code G was only to notice she was no longer there. "It's not a lot, what I know that is, but I have bits of information. I honestly didn't want to bring that information up but..."

"So it's not important?" The Commander asked with raised eyebrows when Enterprise trailed off. "The fact there existed a more advanced civilization before us is not important?"

"No, that's not what I meant. I don't have enough information to give"

He eyed her for a moment before giving Enterprise an encouraging nod. "Tell me what you know"

"Understood" Glancing to her side, she watched Code G floated back to the side of a wall, hands crossed as she made a show of leaning against the metal surface. "It's kind of disjointed but at the same time related one to another. Code G told me all this before I researched about them myself"

"Tell me about her first then"

"Proceed but chose your words wisely so it will be easily understood"

Enterprise fought an urge to roll her eyes.

Yeah, easy to say.

"Commander, do you reckon your history of the past five hundred years?" The ravenette asked, eyes glued to David as he made a puzzled face.

He scratched the back of his head, trying to make sense of what Enterprise meant. "Yes? We have recorded our history since thousands of years ago?"

"Then I will have to inform you they're nothing but fabrication"

"Hold up! What?!"

Phoenix hissed as she recoiled away from the screeching Battleship, rubbing her ear where Wisconsin just screamed her surprise at. The redhead grumbled something in response to Wisconsin's outburst but it went unnoticed by the group.

"Yes, Wisconsin, we read that. You didn't have to scream like that, you know" Bremerton mumbled as Hornet laughed beside her.

"That's epic, though!" Said the blonde excitedly, grinning from ear to ear. "Whoever this Captain Keyes is he must be one hell of an Officer to be able to destroy 3 Covenant ships alone!"

They were currently huddled up behind a terminal in Helena's quarters, scrolling through various battle reports throughout the Human-Covenant War. Enterprise had given them permission to read some of the archives and information, saying 'anything you can open is yours to read' the first time she taught Helena how to properly use the powerful computer. So far there were only two instances where they found the files to be restricted, though many which they could open also contained censored parts.

But then again, they basically skimmed through the battle reports and the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV so just happened to catch their attention.

"The UNSC Destroyer Iroquois managed to lure an element of Covenant strike forces and, with a brilliant maneuver courtesy of Captain Jacob Keyes, successfully neutralized two Covenant Frigates and one Destroyer alone" Helena recited, smiling to herself as she scrolled down the page. All they read had been a mixture of horror, grief and anger inducing events so any victory the UNSC actually gained would put them in a better mood.

"Look here" Hornet pointed with her finger to a certain section. "They even named the maneuver his name"

"I'll be damned" Wisconsin whistled. "Keyes Loop, it says"

"It's the least they can do, I say" Bremerton nodded, eliciting a collection of agreements from the rest of her friends.

"She participated in this, correct?" Hornet mused out loud, and somehow they knew who she meant by that.

"Yeah, here it says an Epoch-class" Helena said before pressing the small prompt window, confirming Hornet's question when it showed information about Enterprise.

"... scroll down, will you? I want to see some pictures..." The sole Carrier in the room said quietly and Helena complied, skipping through words and sentences before she found what she was looking for. "Wait, that one"

Once again, Helena wordlessly complied. She wasn't sure what this one was since it said a 3D view but it wasn't long until she found out what.

There was a collection of sharp inhales from behind her.

It was a still image of the space battle, taken from a camera outside Enterprise's hull.

"I can turn around..." The Light Cruiser muttered, knowing full well it was loud enough for everyone to comprehend her words. "Do you guys want to...?"

"Yeah... yeah look to the side" Hornet urged, trying her best to ignore the countless purple specks Enterprise was facing. She could make out the Heavy Carrier's bow and her giant coilguns, poised forth fearlessly against the incoming tide as her fighters raced ahead, the only indication they were there was the blue glows of their afterburners.

"She's trying to take the brunt of the attack" Wisconsin said with surprisingly apt attention. "There she is, the Iroquois"

Right on Enterprise's starboard side was the Halberd-class Destroyer, cruising along with many other of her peers. They could make out some Paris-class Heavy Frigates and what looked like smaller versions of it, too, though with no real way to know they couldn't be entirely sure.

"She looks cool" Bremerton commented, eyes glued to the screen as Helena zoomed the image to the Destroyer. "Those red stripes? I dig"

They nodded in agreement but it lacked any real excitement as the bigger picture settled in. This was Enterprise's war, a war against an unstoppable force hellbent in her people's destruction. They knew many must have died in this battle alone and the knowledge really put a solemn mood in place between them.

"That one has a tag" Wisconsin muttered and Helena paused her moving. True to what the Battleship said, a single ship astern of Enterprise had a white tag displaying her name. "Leviathan?"

"The flagship" Helena informed quietly. "Enterprise was a part of Battlegroup Leviathan"

"Is she the most powerful here then?"

"Leviathan was a Marathon-class Heavy Cruiser" A voice said from the doorway behind them, causing the assembled Ship-girls to yelp in surprise. They swiveled around, hearts beating rapidly as they tried to make out who called them out.

"Enterprise?!" Hornet half yelled half hissed. She swore she saw a hint of amusement in those maroon eyes before it faded away.

"The Marathon-class is a well designed class, in fact it was one of the most successful Cruiser classes in service. A Marathon can receive damage that otherwise will put other ships out of action and she can also dish out the amount to rival a Covenant ship" She continued casually as she strode forward to the group, as if she just didn't scare the living hell out of them. "To answer your question? A Marathon-class can easily take me out in an open battle"

They stared at her with mouths wide open and disbelief clear as day, as if the very notion of something capable of harming Enterprise was impossible. It was one of the few things Enterprise wanted to make clear with them, so after a brief consideration she continued.

"I'm not invincible in any way. Out there something is bound to harm me, just because it didn't happen yet doesn't mean it won't"

"But if something is capable of hurting you exist..."

Helena let the sentence hung, they knew what she meant.

"Then I shall do what I can to protect all of you"

"Is that a promise?"

Phoenix let her eyes wander back to the terminal, to the still image of Enterprise's bow. Wisconsin's words echoed in her head, telling her enough no, it wasn't a promise.

"It's my duty"

The space is dark and cold, so she shall venture forth with her guiding light poised ahead.

Undaunted, unfaltering.

Enterprising.

Era, ever changing. When darkness slips ahold, it is a matter of time. It creeps, it takes, never giving back.

Ceaselessly she stays, shields high and lances poised.

Era, ever changing. Yet the Timeless Guardian stands fast, never betraying her True Oath.

She shall always rise.

The room was silent after that and Enterprise could see why. What she said affected the Commander greatly he stopped giving reactions after the first half of her explanation.

David sat with his fingers interlocked together, squeezing and relaxing every now and then as he pondered the information he just received. For a moment he considered what Enterprise said as a joke, but Enterprise would never joke especially about something as drastic as what she just said.

"So, five hundred years ago" He began after a pregnant silence, keeping his eyes on those maroon orbs. "The world came to an end. And the world we know it as, is the second run created by the Siren?"

"Yes, sir" Enterprise answered with a firm nod, bringing online a hologram between them. It displayed half of Asia and the Russian Federation. "Some of the radiation traces don't match with your timeline. For example, according to your history the Northern Parliament nuked this area in the 1956, whilst the ruins and trace suggested they're over five centuries old"

David got up and paced around the room, distressed. All things considered, he's quite reserved with his emotions regarding the whole ordeal. Enterprise knew the significance of such information and she expected a bit more... proactive reactions.

Eventually, expectations often failed to match reality and David was no exception. He inhaled deeply, staring at nothing in particular for a moment before setting back down to the seat. "How?" He asked flatly before raising a hand to stop Enterprise from answering as soon. "I mean, how did we miss that detail? We monitor the fallen cities regularly. We even have a special branch tasked for it"

"Then, sir, what happened to San Francisco?"

The Commander frowned in response to Enterprise's rather confusing question. "We nuked it, back in the fifty-eight when the Siren advanced"

"I beg a differ" Enterprise shook her head, hands folded over her thighs. "It was bombed in near exact time half of Asia did, over five hundred years ago"

"It can't be right" He argued back. "We have it recorded!"

Enterprise sighed, taking a datapad from a compartment on the bed. She typed in a few commands and waited a few short seconds before she handed it to the Commander. "Here's a list of the anomalous cities with proof of their abnormalities. I've sent a similar information to the datapad in your office" She said as David gingerly took the device and held it close. "The Siren are not what we thought they were. I severely underestimated their capability and you guys failed to begin comprehending it. They're highly advanced they can influence human's thoughts and cause cognitive dissonance"

"Cognitive dissonance?"

The Heavy Carrier nodded. "The people of your world are incapable of comprehending the anomalies. I, however, can. This oddity I have known since the first time I sent recons out" She then gestured to the datapad, sending a burst of wireless command. It lit up and showed a metal husk beside a destroyed building. "That's an M1A2 SEP V5 Abrams Main Battle Tank, the backbone of the United States Marine Corps Second Tank Battalion. The tank upgrade version itself entered service in 2028 and became a standard for the USMC in 2033 before their retirement in 2045. This image was taken from what was supposedly Poland"

"So you're saying..."

"What you call Middle Earth, we call it Europe. From what I gathered, the continent was destroyed in the previous era" She elaborated and David couldn't help but to inhale sharply. "Sir, we are completely and utterly wrong about the Siren. They're very advanced, perhaps more than the Covenant, and whatever they're planning will bear great consequences, not just to this planet but I'm afraid to the universe too"

"The Covenant cannot manipulate time. Or consciousness"

"Not in that sense, no"

"So how do we still prevail against such an adversary?"

"That's what I'm concerned about the most. Because you shouldn't be"

The rhythmical drop of his boots against the metal flooring reverberated in the steel corridor, bouncing from one side to another and filled the silence with steady thumping. David kept his gaze straight to where Columbia was leading him, blonde hair swaying back and forth with the steps she took.

After what seemingly an eternity, the Light Cruiser stopped and turned around, expression grim.

"They should be here, sir" She announced, gesturing towards the closed bulkhead beside her. "May I accompany you inside, Commander?"

"That won't be necessary, Columbia" David answered calmly as he made his way behind the reinforced door. "You may wait outside"

"Sir..." Columbia urged but stopped halfway, pausing before she sighed in resignation. "Of course, Commander. Just give me a holler if you need me. The girls would totally fuck me up if something were to happen to you"

"I'm sure it won't come to that"

"I wish"

And with that, the blonde Cruiser walked a good few meters away, eyes never leaving David's figure all the while. The Commander hid a grimace, rapping his knuckles against the steel barrier with forced conviction.

Hardly five seconds later it slid open, revealing a familiar Ship-girl who appeared surprised by his visit, judging from her wide purple eyes and still tails.

"Um... Ah! Commander Allenforth! My apologies, please come in!" Shinano implored, stepping aside and bowing slightly with a hand opened invitingly into the room. David simply nodded as he entered, scanning the room for someone that oddly wasn't present.

"Where's Commander Takahashi?"

"She and Yamato are currently refreshing themselves" The Supercarrier replied curtly as David sat down on one of the beds, back straight and hands clasped on his knees. "They shall be done shortly"

"Is that so"

"Would you like some tea?"

"Coffee, please"

Shinano smiled, tails swishing happily behind her. David raised an eyebrow but didn't comment as she disappeared to wherever she kept their consumptions at. With the fox-girl out of his sight, David couldn't help but to look around the room, noticing the assortments of belongings Alicia and her girls brought with them.

Although what captured his attention the most was the presence of notebooks and other writing devices on the terminal apparently built on every crew room on Enterprise, one was open and he couldn't keep his curiosity to himself.

The Fukushima Incident?

The Commander read silently, leaning forward to see the words better. There were notes and details below the headlines, scribbles of schematics which were written rather messily. It took him a moment to realize it was a schematic of a nuclear power plant.

His fingers grazed the paper when the bulkhead suddenly slid open and in one well practiced move he turned around to face the newcomer.

Or rather, newcomers.

His and Alicia's eyes met and David could see the expectancy nesting in them. Yamato behind her was looking somewhere outside with a rather piercing gaze, though, and only noticed him a moment later when she stepped inside. Needless to say, the situation was an awkward one after the bulkhead closed shortly after they entered, with two women looking at him oddly.

"Here you go, Allenforth-dono... Ah..."

Shinano paused, mouth snapping shut. The once mildly awkward situation turned severe with the fox-girl holding a cup of coffee for him while her Commander and sister looked at her with the same expectancy.

David tactfully cleared his throat and grabbed the steaming cup, giving the Supercarrier a quick thanks before turning to Alicia once again.

"Commander Takahashi"

"Commander Allenforth" Alicia replied simply with a nod, gesturing with her hand for him towards one of the beds. "Please, take a seat"

He nodded pensively, taking a sip from his coffee and frowning when the taste hit his tongue. It was different from what he usually had, not bad but not too good either with the strange aftertaste at the back of his throat. Something chemical he couldn't put his head around.

"Yamato, Shinano, do wait outside, please"

Both KANSENs obeyed wordlessly, filling out the room with practiced ease courtesy of the time they spent in it. The bulkhead slid down, leaving Alicia and David alone.

"To what do I owe this pleasure, Commander Allenforth?"

David rolled his eyes dryly. "I know you've been waiting for this. Columbia outside didn't startle you as much, I assume?"

"Yes and no. I can't possibly thank you enough for this" Alicia confessed genuinely, smiling from ear to ear before sitting down behind the computer terminal. She looked over her assortments of works and journals for a brief moment before turning the chair around to face David. "This is the best chance to achieve peace between our people once again"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves" David warned sternly, brown pupils hardening with his warning. "Making peace is not our job"

"We are at the forefront of it, Commander. We fight, we witness, and we learn. Nobody wants peace more than us lowly soldiers" Alicia smiled briefly to him before it faded away just as quickly. "I wish for peace the most"

David crossed his arms in a silent gesture of melancholy. "Unfortunately it isn't our decision, what we say will never reach them and what we know will be dismissed if it's not beneficial for them"

Pleased they met an understanding, Alicia nodded. "I am almost certain you have questions?"

"I do"

"So it seems. However, please answer my one question first"

David narrowed his eyes, uncrossing his arms and leaning forward tentatively. A glare was quickly forming that had Alicia's hands raised in a placating manner. "I have no information to share, especially regarding Enterprise which the kindness you're so clearly exploiting" He growled, gesturing towards the notebooks behind the terminal. "Have you gotten permission for that?"

"Commander Allenforth. We both know if Enterprise does not want us to do certain deeds she disapproves she will be obliged to remove us immediately" Alicia answered just as sharply, taking one of the notebooks and flipped it open to show David. "I am merely noting the advancements of technology within our understanding in science for better references of the future, I do not note military capability and weapon systems"

"Yet you see"

"I do. But I do not believe we will follow the same path Enterprise's world had. Do you know what's going on in Enterprise's world during our time window? The height of the Cold War. If I recall the relations between the Eagle Union and the Northern Parliament have been growing after the Old War rather than deteriorating like how it did in Enterprise's world, which suggests half the things going on in her world will not happen in ours"

It was an obvious fact David knew. Whatever happened between the United States and the USSR did not happen to the Eagle Union and Northern Parliament. Both countries were a major faction in the Azur Lane Coalition, one supplying the technological advancement and the other giving the necessary materials to make it a reality. Another fact was that the Northern Parliament was as close as any partner nations if not closer to the Eagle Union due to their importance and significance in the ongoing war.

They had never cared about their differing ideologies.

Alicia saw the recognition in his eyes and smiled, knowing she was right and that David was thinking the same thing she did. Drumming her fingers on her thigh, she began anew. "May I ask one question, Commander?"

David blinked and nodded, eyes narrowed slightly in guard. "One, and no more"

"I understand. Don't worry, it's nothing sensitive" Alicia leant back and made a show of mulling, despite the question had already been in her head since the beginning. "Did your father send you?"

"... yes"

Alicia hummed before she grinned, satisfied. "Alright, that's all. Your turn. I will answer anything within my knowledge with utmost honesty"

"You were Reiko's sister"

Alicia's smile vanished and she blinked in surprise due to how sudden it was. She expected David to ask her this certain question but she didn't expect it as a literal start. Biting her bottom lip, she sighed explosively.

"I was"

"She never told me you're in the Navy"

"You definitely never asked"

It was his turn to sigh as he clasped his hands together and looked down. "No, I never"

Humming, Alicia's smile returned, although more conserved. "She and I had not seen each other for a long time. We called occasionally, but we never had the chance to check on each other" Pausing to ponder her next words, she swallowed. "When the news came, I was in my quarters making tea with Shinano. We couldn't believe it, none of us could, so first thing we did was to see her directly"

"You and your girls all left the base?"

"Nah. It's not like that. I wasn't a Commander yet back then. I tried to get our base's leader permission to see my sister but he was such an ass I almost gave him the five fingers and knuckles response. Heh, almost did if it weren't for Musashi who intervened in the last moment"

David raised an eyebrow but didn't question her when she continued.

"He let us go, eventually, but only Shinano and I were allowed. I didn't understand why they're being so secretive about it at first but once I was there I understood this wasn't an ordinary incident"

"What do you mean?"

Alicia fell quiet flexing her fingers, eyes growing distant as she recalled what she saw that day. "Reiko was captured by the Siren for almost a day, she and her flagship Nagato. They were... inflicted"

David felt a chill run down his spine as he straightened up, eyes wide with horror. There was never a record of the Siren capturing humans or Ship-girl alike. They would usually kill on sight. "The fuck?!"

Grimacing, Alicia carried on. "They were on a mission when they were ambushed, dragged below a sudden water current according to the witnesses. Search parties were launched with the already on site ships but they couldn't find her or Nagato. At that point chaos erupted in the mainland trying to figure out what exactly happened but nobody had the answer"

"It was until seventeen hours later a bunch of fishermen reported they saw a Navy ship adrift some few hundred miles off Okinawa with no lights nor engine power when we finally found them. Nagato appeared over a thousand miles off from where she was"

"What happened to her?!" David demanded, a trickle of anger coursing in his veins. "Why weren't we allowed to see her? Why wasn't I?!"

"You wouldn't want to!" Alicia hissed back through gritted teeth as tears began to run down her cheeks before she hastily wiped them. She wouldn't cry, not now. "You wouldn't want to see the state she was in! You wouldn't want to know what sorts of damage the Siren did to her!"

"You don't know that" David growled and Alicia glared at him through bloodshot eyes. "She and I had gone through plenty of hardships together before whatever fuckery is going on right now. The Empire refused to let me, her partner in duty, to see her body for the last time because of what? They're afraid?"

"We're not afraid, Commander. We're concerned" Alicia muttered, any signs of aggression disappeared from her person. She simply looked exhausted now. "We sent you the autopsy reports, didn't we?"

"I read reports on daily basis, I don't want to see my friend's being in reports"

"No, you're right. I... shouldn't have let them have their ways with my sister. I just... I couldn't think straight"

Sighing, David let the tensions bled out of him as he took a sip from his coffee. "You just lost a sister, I understand. Believe me"

"Oh, I believe you alright. My sister spoke highly of you" She chuckled, short and mirthless. "We, uh... After the burial-"

"Burial?"

"... we weren't allowed to make a proper funeral..." Alicia's tone took a weaker shift, practically oppressed by the radiating anger from David. His hold on the metal mug tightened so much it would've dented had it been made of a lesser material. "We tried to investigate it ourselves but we couldn't find anything sufficing"

"My fucking God... What did they do to you, Reiko?"

"We kept trying, though, and in the end they had enough and threw me to the furthest base in the country"

David seemed like he was about to punch the metal wall behind him by the time Alicia finished speaking with the way his jaw and knuckles clenched. "Why?" He growled, the sound enough to make Alicia shudder from the sheer anger in it.

"The Siren did something to them. We believe they used both Nagato and Reiko for experiments before Reiko expired" Saying the word 'expire' made Alicia want to puke but she swallowed the growing sickness in her stomach. "Nagato, however, survived. Although she's our main concern now"

David blinked inquisitively. "Nagato? She's back on duty?"

"You didn't know? She's leading Reiko's girls now"

His eyes widened in shock. "You've gotta be kidding me. So the orders come from her? We assumed it was Kaga and Akagi's doing!"

"It was! To an extent" Alicia interjected. Taking a deep breath, she looked at him in the eyes. "Commander, are you familiar with the tale Tamamo no Mae?"

"The story about a beautiful fox witch who deluded people with false love?"

She nodded, a hint of pleased surprise on her face. "Akagi is no different. After what happened to Amagi she changed into an obsessive person. This obsession leads her to some... questionable resorts"

"The giant Siren warship..."

Alicia grimaced and it was all David needed as confirmation. "It certainly was not the first time we lost a KANSEN but Akagi did not take kindly of it. Reiko's base was new, this much is true, however the reason for its creation was not because of the ship itself. In fact, we only knew of its existence a short while after the base was finished. Whether you call it a stroke of destiny or a mere coincidence... It doesn't change the fact it gives Akagi access to an unholy power"

"The Siren could have sent it there for all we know"

"A possibility, certainly it was. It also opened a beginning for the Integration Program despite the protests of many groups of individuals"

The Integration Program, the tipping point that caused the Sakura Empire to leave the Azur Lane Coalition. The idea of using Siren's technologies was frowned upon and it being of an unknown source was one of those reasons. Reverse engineering was one thing, what the Red Axis was doing was another.

"Then, how do you wish to approach this matter?"

Alicia's gaze fell on the floor below her, cold and hard just like the statement she was about to deliver. She wished it could be different, she wished no more of this had to happen but alas a wish was just a wish and hardly some of them became a reality.

"We attack the base the same time we attack the capital"

"A two fronts attack?"

"Yes, sir. I know you must be thinking we shouldn't concern ourselves with Akagi and Kaga since the base is far off the mainland but it's precisely why we should also neutralize them" Alicia replied to Admiral Snow's question, displeasure written all over her face as she regarded her homeland as a target and not a subject for defense but she swallowed it down like many other personal upbringings she had on the matter. What she was doing was a necessity, something that might save the country and its people in the future. "We cannot risk an uprising from them"

David regarded the holographic map on the holo-table for a moment, eyes roaming over the display, silent and calculating. Reiko's base was built as an early warning and defense to possible attack to the capital, right along the chains of islands sprawling on the yard of Tokyo Bay, and thus stood right on their path. On the far West was the Okinawa and its complement of Okinawa Garrison, a front with over ten thousands sailors and soldiers with hundreds of ships ranging from Submarines to surface combatants such as Battleships and Cruisers. The area was also a subject to intense patrol and now with wartime situation it was most definitely doubled if not tripled, simply put it was not an option.

"We'll have to split our force, priority is on the capital but we can't neglect our secondary to avoid unnecessary loss"

The Commander could practically feel his father's gaze all the time he spoke, drilling the side of his face as if scrutinizing his very decision. It wasn't him who spoke next, however, but the question was the same as what his father must be thinking.

"Do you agree with this?" Admiral Snow asked and David simply gestured to the fifth occupant of the room to his left.

"She's the reason. Otherwise I wouldn't have even in a million years"

"I assume what she said also affected your change of heart?"

"Yes, sir"

Enterprise watched silently as the four officers continued to discuss the plan of attack, her sharp maroon eyes boring to each point they made while her accelerated thinking recorded all the necessary junctions. Code G was also there peering over David's side to look at the hologram but with Enterprise utterly transfixed to the plan she had no problem in ignoring the elusive entity entirely.

Finally after a moment it was her time to give her input. They had reached the limit of their capability and it was her turn to offer hers. With a mental command, the hologram disappeared for a short second but once it reappeared they had a good view of what Enterprise crafted in her head.

It was an image of Enterprise steel form descending from orbit above Tokyo.

"Secrecy is not an option" The ravenette began as she stopped to stand between Alicia and David, dwarfing both Commanders with her sheer height. "We will bypass all the security checkpoints set by the Empire by aerial deployment"

"That will certainly take care of our problem with the defenses outside the walls. They won't see us coming" David muttered thoughtfully, a smirk flashed on his face before it disappeared just as quick.

Enterprise nodded. "Recon from satellite shows the city itself is covered with an intensive grid of anti-aircraft artilleries" Red dots lit up below Enterprise, so much it almost drowned the streets and buildings in a sea of red. They were all strategically placed to protect the entire prefecture but they didn't plan to invade the whole country and Enterprise knew this. "We'll take out the ones on our path and immediate area only"

A simulated launch of multiple small objects from Enterprise that could only be missiles began, each striking where the dots were most close to the Imperial Palace. "Once they recover from the initial surprise, they will begin a counterattack. Fighters will scramble from the air base on the North towards our position, our window is small but manageable. In the time they need to reach us we'll deploy Marines and KANSENs, the former will go to the city itself while the latter will secure the bay area. Small teams will insert directly on the palace to secure the emperor for a force surrender"

"This means you'll be our beachhead" Admiral Allenforth concluded in which Enterprise affirmed with a nod of her head.

"All deployment will be from me and under my assistance. We don't have the force to penetrate hostile territory in large so what we need is a precise strike to the heart of the Empire" The Heavy Carrier supplied, turning her head to Alicia she continued, voice flat as ever. "Are there any shelters in the area?"

The Sakura Empire Commander blinked, confused. "Shelters are mandatory in major population areas" She informed, frowning. "Why?"

Enterprise ignored the question. "How long does it usually take for the populace to hunker down?"

"Exercises are done regularly so everyone knows what to do. Ten minutes should be all it take" Alicia replied and before Enterprise could say anything more she reiterated her earlier question. "Why did you ask, exactly?"

The Heavy Carrier paused, a glimmer of something shone in those maroon orbs as she looked at the displayed map. When she spoke next, her voice carried a hint of finality and determination in it. "Loss is inevitable and circumstances often ask for us to make it acceptable. However, I cannot accept the unnecessary loss of the innocents by my own doing" She began resolutely. "I will not shoot down any aircraft that attack me until the ten minutes mark to avoid civilian casualty in the surrounding area"

Alicia appeared stunned into silence, her eyes wide and jaw slack as she stared at Enterprise as if she was the finest piece of art she had ever encountered. She had prepared herself for this, for the sins she would eventually carry due to her deeds be them intentional or not. Descending to the city would cause panic to the citizens, that was a certainty, and the ensuing battle would inevitably take lives. She had expected Enterprise to come guns blazing and swat anything standing between her and their goals but this was the exact opposite of it.

Did I think wrong of her? I understand she loves nothing more than Humanity but she's biting the ball here.

David must be thinking the same thing but unlike her he was not thrilled by Enterprise's vow. "Are you sure about this?" His voice was a pitch lower than usual, almost a growl. Enterprise was offering her leg to the wolves and she wouldn't do anything to stop them from gnawing at it.

"It's just ten minutes" She began assuredly, she even had the gall to smile slightly to the Commanders and Admirals. "I will use my laser arrays to shoot down incoming ordnances, whatever goes through will be stopped by my armor. Please understand I will not refrain from shooting down any aircraft that posses threat to the troops below and the Pelicans"

She would also have to swap the warheads for her Archers with some lower yields for the fact the normal ones were in kilotons. In space they might work as intended but in atmosphere it's equal to having a small nuke set off. One Archer would level a good portion of the city and that was an overkill.

Her complement of Bident missiles were out of the equation unless she wanted to change the land into a radioactive wasteland. If normal Archer was an overkill, then a Bident was a genocide.

"After ten minutes you will retaliate" It wasn't a question, in fact it sounded a lot like order. Enterprise glanced at David and nodded.

"Ten minutes. I'm confident with my ability. After that I will clear the sky"

David grunted and crossed his arms. He did not like the idea of Enterprise hovering up there helplessly but he wouldn't argue with her, Enterprise had done everything in her previous life to save people so for the Heavy Carrier this must be a necessity. It was who and how she was.

The ravenette cleared her throat. "To ensure success I will be lending UNSC gear to the troops. From what I gathered any weapons native to a KANSEN prior to resurrection have the same effect on other KANSENs the way they do to normal human"

"Not only that but a weapon made of materials originating from a KANSEN has the same effect, too" David informed and Enterprise tilted her head slightly to the right inquisitively. "One example is if we take a steel from a KANSEN's steel form and make it to a firearm it will also have the same intended effect"

"Anything from a KANSEN?"

"Anything that can be made, yes"

Enterprise went quiet as she pondered on the new information. So anything related to a KANSEN could be used to counter another KANSEN? That explained the ratios of territory and manpower available in the war and how such a small number could cover the coasts. Enterprise had done the math before and concluded that although numerous all KANSENs in the world should not be enough to protect all remaining lands alone. If they could arm regular infantry with anti KANSEN weapons then it made total sense how they held for so long.

Looks like I need to rewrite the simulation. The UNSC does not require extreme firepower to kill a KANSEN if I just give my parts for recycling.

It was a literal dismemberment and butchering by giving oneself like that for that very purpose but Enterprise simply did not care. If it gave them an edge, then she would gladly turn over her keel to the scrapyard.

But then a thought occurred; Does this include my factory?

Her built-in assembly lines were capable of producing almost anything crucial for a long time deployment, from something as simple as Titanium-A slabs for armor and other utility to SHIVA-class nuclear if given the necessary materials. It was one of the features the Epoch-class was proud of, a sign of their independence.

Her factory was also capable of producing weapons and munitions for ground troops almost limitlessly if, again, given the resources and she had resources floating in space...

Enterprise needed to confirm this hypothesis.

She just had the idea how.

For Staff Sergeant Dayton, there were many great things that served as a surprise in his life, his time in the Corps didn't help in that regard.

He was there when the Siren attacked the East Coast and decimated many major cities, he was there when they were forced to drop nukes on their own lands. He was also there when they pushed back together with the KANSENs right towards the sea where the Sirens crawled out the deepest of hell they rightfully belonged.

But surprise was subjective, be it may he had gone through a lot there was still a lot more that would surprise him if it's shocking or dumb enough. In this case, it was the latter.

He was doing his usual thing of lazing around with his boys, figuring the brass were doing their brass thing and their presences were not needed since they're on what probably the safest ship around that was currently in space away from any immediate threat, when said ship's human form approached him and asked what had to be the stupidest thing someone ever asked from him.

His response was only appropriate.

"Ma'am, did you hit your head or something? Because, with all due respect, what the fuck?"

Enterprise looked at him with an impression of someone looking at the sky and figured everything was normal, the same flat expression that didn't express anything but plain expectation.

"Staff Sergeant" The ravenette began, ignoring the looks she received from the Marines and KANSENs nearby, looks that pretty much questioned her sanity. Apparently, they found her ventral hangar a good place to lounge around because it had a vending machine. "I'm asking you because this way I have a better chance to observe the effects—"

"Ma'am, you're asking me to shoot you" He deadpanned.

Enterprise fell quiet, a frown adorning her usually stoic face. "I am"

"Why the hell would I?!"

"I need to ensure one thing" Enterprise's maroon orbs swept over the Marines and KANSENs now surrounding her, their curiosity getting the better of them. "We've had plan to attack the Empire"

There was a collective gasp from the girls while the Marines frowned, murmurs began to rise from the crowd. "Seriously?" It was Hornet who asked with a clear trepidation in her tone and Enterprise simply nodded in reply.

"What does it have to do with this?" The Staff Sergeant asked, scowling, to who Enterprise wasn't sure, she was never good at reading people.

"The spearhead for this operation will be me and the ground troops will consist of Union Marines, for this I will lend my armory. To ensure we succeed I need to know whether the weapons created in me are capable of harming a KANSEN or not" Half of that was a lie. Enterprise's armory had enough weapons and equipment to supply a battalion worth of UNSC Marines and she wouldn't need to fabricate anything for this operation with her abundant stock sitting in storage but he didn't need to know that. She was genuine on the part about finding out the efficiency of created weapons on a KANSEN, though. A head full of pink hair in the crowd caught Enterprise's attention. "Doc"

Vestal who had been watching the scene unfolded with a horrified expression quickly jerked to face Enterprise. The Heavy Carrier strode towards her and handed her a canister of some sort. "What is this?"

"Biofoam. In case it goes terribly wrong I need you to apply this on my wound. Here, there's a small pin you need to push first before pressing the ejector pump button, what you need to do is direct this end on the wound and make sure it fills up completely"

"I don't agree on this" The Staff Sergeant grunted disapprovingly.

"Sarge, I could shoot myself right now and the result would be the same. I need your help so I will have a better chance to survive" She reached to her hip and held out a compact form of an M7 Submachine Gun to him, when his only response was a wry stare she sighed. "Sergeant Dayton, will you do it or not?"

This was insane. Never in his decades of service did someone ever approach him and ask for him to smoke their ass, moreover with such a flat tone and stoic face as if it was all business. Just what in the hell was going on in this woman's head?

"If you die, we'll be stuck in your metal form here in outer space"

"I have plotted a path back to Union soil and my escape pods are primed to go, all controlled by AIs. Just follow the yellow lights"

"You understand what you are asking, right?"

Enterprise gave a sure nod. She knew exactly what she was asking and the consequence it might bring, she also knew how insane her idea was but really, how would she test the theory if not now? Using an unproven system for actual combat was asking for a disaster and besides this one was for the benefit of the UNSC as a whole. Besides, she was prepared and compared to her usual sortie this danger was negligible at best.

She had read the reports of Spartans' resilience and since she inherited their traits it meant she was very likely to survive a single shot.

Enterprise was in her half rigging configuration, a full gear UNSC Marine set, so her torso was very protected by millimeters thick Titanium-A plates. Reckless this idea might be she didn't want to get shot in a vital area so she had just one place for this experiment.

Unclasping the magnetic locks of her shoulder pauldrons and left arm guards, she let the pieces fall to the metal floor with a far too loud bang in an otherwise silent surrounding. The Staff Sergeant wryly looked at her before he sighed and grabbed the weapon, looking at it for a minute to figure out its mechanism. It was a marvelous weapon but he wasn't particularly thrilled to hold it then because he had to shoot someone friendly intentionally.

Enterprise held her left arm out to her side and the girls stepped back with concerned murmurs. Hornet gave her a worried look as did Vestal but Enterprise ignored it, focusing on the man before her instead.

After making sure the M7 was in a single shot mode, he gave Enterprise one last question to make sure she was not going to change her mind. Enterprise's answer was still the same.

"Yes"

Staff Sergeant Dayton took aim and squeezed the trigger.

The gun wheezed its one bullet, the silencer doing its job to silence any gunshot sound wonderfully, there was no clink of a spent casing hitting the floor either due to its caseless nature. No, there was nothing after the silence but more silence as the spectators held their breath at the display.

He held his stance for a few short seconds before flicking the safety on and relaxing, eyes glued to Enterprise.

The Heavy Carrier didn't flinch, the only sign she even felt the shot was the sharp intake of oxygen she took the moment it landed on her flesh. Enterprise lowered her arm and looked at it, an unreadable emotion in her eyes before it was gone.

She clamped her right hand on the wound, fresh red blood running in rivers down her arm and hand, seeping right through the remaining armor onto the floor. Vestal jumped into action and fumbled with the Biofoam canister but Enterprise waved her off. "That won't be necessary"

"You're bleeding!" The Repair Ship shrieked.

"It's superficial, doctor" Enterprise turned towards the Staff Sergeant and he wordlessly handed her the weapon back. With bloodied fingers Enterprise put it back on her hip. "Thank you"

"... don't do that again"

She hummed and took her leave, the clacking of her footsteps echoed and drowned the deafening silence.

"What the fuck?!" One of his Marines grumbled from behind him. "Crazy bitch, what the hell was she thinking?!"

Hornet who was watching everything unfold in a stunned silence looked at the Marine and shook her head. "You guys wouldn't know but that's just how she is"

"What, half insane and borderline suicidal?!"

"... no, Corporal. The UNSC and by an extension Enterprise do not take knowledge lightly, their main assets in their war are not just their weapons but also their intel. They are outgunned and outnumbered but still manage to hold for so long because of knowledge, knowing more than your enemy and being ten steps ahead at all time" The blonde explained, fixing her hat so to shield her eyes from the rest of them, hiding whatever emotions swirling underneath her green orbs. "She takes this matter seriously and no cost is too much for her and her people"

"She could have done it better"

"Perhaps. But then again, ten steps ahead"

Hornet turned around and left the area, unbeknownst walking in the direction where Enterprise's blood trail was heading until she was in the corridor. A sudden wave of nausea hit her when her foot accidentally stepped on the red liquid on the floor and she slumped against the metal wall gasping for air.

"Fucking hell..."

Enterprise stared at nothing in particular, the glaring white glow of her Medical Ward lights shone over her form as she sat on the operation table, silent as her automated surgery machine worked on her arm. She felt numb from the amount of anesthetic injected in her system and it was a bit odd, how muffled her normally sharp senses were under the sedative. Still, it didn't stop her from hearing the squelching of her flesh and blood as the robot arms removed the bullet.

The clatter of the 5mm round caught her attention and she shifted her gaze to where it was disposed on a waiting tray, blood coated the golden surface and somewhere at the back of her mind something was telling her it was her blood, something she still found odd since she wasn't supposed to have blood. Now with the bullet removed, the medical machine proceeded to close the wound with a controlled burst of radiation to stimulate cell growth and through the smell of burning flesh Enterprise could vaguely feel her wound closing.

Rolling her sleeve down after her arm was cleansed of dried blood, Enterprise picked the newly made M7 beside her and scrutinized it. Something she recognized as satisfaction bloomed in her chest and a minuscule of a smile accompanied it.

"They call it Memento" Code G spoke from her other side, mirroring Enterprise's posture sitting on the edge of the operation table with her feet touching the floor. Enterprise merely grunted, taking a shot of vitamin and supplement to counter her blood loss and injected it on her thigh. "Relics of the past native to ships, only ships capable of harming another ships"

"Well, if it's not convenient" She muttered back, thinking about the amount of weapons she had at the moment. Enterprise remembered she depleted her supply of infantry weapons and ammunition back over Reach to support the Army and Marine Corps guarding the planet but much like anything else they had been magically replenished. A battalion worth of supplies and now she could create more to the same effect, well she was pleased with the entire ordeal.

"They disapproved of your action"

Enterprise sighed, storing the M7 on a nearby crew utility station after ejecting the magazine and clearing the breech. She glared at Code G on her side. "They're overreacting"

"Your enhanced physiology surely benefits you but your decision to... ah, 'take matters into your own hands' I believe it's called? Is rather brash"

A pair of maroon orbs narrowed into dangerous slits, a mixture of suspicion and cold disregard mixing amongst certainty.

Enterprise had spent too much time pondering how to dispose of this... thing... but admittedly the urge to snap said thing's neck had never been so great until now. "That's an information only UNSC top brass privy to know, have you been snooping around?" She said with an equally dangerous tone, voice low almost a whisper that promised destruction.

"I know what you know and what you don't know" Code G replied almost offhandedly, curiously poking at a portable X-ray device, as expected her finger passed through it as if it wasn't there.

Enterprise slammed shut the utility station to look at Code G fully. "Answer me"

"No, I did not snoop around as you said. However, any knowledge you know I also know"

"Have you been reading my mind?"

"That is not quite it. Simply put, I know your thoughts and your memories because you and I are the same"

Her sister was talking again about something she honestly couldn't quite follow so Enterprise simply decided to not think over it too much as she sat there listening to Hornet's enthusiastic retelling of her story.

They were back in her counterpart's cafeteria huddling together on one of many tables there; Baltimore, her sister Bremerton, Wisconsin, Helena, Phoenix and Prince of Wales oddly enough. Enterprise didn't expect the blonde Battleship to share the same wavelength with the more eccentric girls but judging from the way she sat back and listened so comfortably this was probably one of her ways to unwind, even though she hardly uttered a word.

"... nery training with Georgia, girl literally blew a Siren Carrier to half. I'm telling you those 457 millimeters guns are no joke" Enterprise blinked at Wisconsin's words, watching the Battleship resting her head over her folded arms on the table dejectedly. "Man, I wish I had her guns"

"Wouldn't that make you a Georgia-class?" Hornet asked back teasingly and Enterprise purple eyes flicked to her sister. Hornet had been oddly quiet for a while, she wished she knew what was bothering her sister but nothing came to mind.

"Yeah? I mean, maybe? We Iowas practically share the same hull and design with her the only difference is our guns so it shouldn't matter much" Wisconsin paused and took a sip from her grape juice, had it always been there? Enterprise wasn't sure. "Even Iowa respects her enough to call her big sister. You know how weird it was for the first ship to call someone from a different class big sister?"

Enterprise found herself thinking about the question before she decided it wasn't something important, Iowa was an easy going girl she pretty much thought of everyone as sisters and Georgia was a committed individual herself.

"Georgia is a good person" Enterprise blurted out before she could think and suddenly she had seven pairs of eyes looking at her. She cleared her throat and leaned back, mouth snapping shut.

Wisconsin grinned at her and for a moment Enterprise thought she would call out to her interjection but the Battleship simply nodded and continued on. "I'm not saying she's bad or whatever, she's cool but can be a schmuck sometimes when she's working just like Biloxi. Anyway, as I was saying— Oh, hey! Need something?"

The bubbly atmosphere shifted into something heavier as if someone had flipped an invisible switch. Hornet seemed to tense up as she looked to behind Enterprise before her gaze fell altogether, the rest of the Ship-girls also fell quiet, hushed whispers dying out into nothingness. Wisconsin didn't look one bit fazed, however, as she kept on grinning.

"Yes" The person behind her replied flatly at the same time she felt maroon orbs drilling the back of her head. Enterprise turned around to look at her counterpart, a frown on her face as they stared at one another until the spaceship spoke again. "I need to talk to you"

An inexplicable shiver ran down Enterprise's spine and she found herself hesitating on her answer for a second. A question danced at the tip of her tongue; about what? but she knew what so she nodded before standing up.

The Heavy Carrier was about to lead her away when Hornet spoke next, stopping her. "Is your arm okay?"

Enterprise gave Hornet an inquisitive look but the blonde ignored her, keeping her gaze on the spaceship all the time. For the most part, her counterpart seemed like she was about to nod and leave as usual but she reconsidered her action as she rolled the sleeve of her uniform to show her left arm to Hornet and the rest of the Ship-girls.

"I told you to not worry"

"Just making sure" Hornet said with an airy laugh that sounded too forced. It didn't help Enterprise's own confusion. "Well, I knew you had something up your sleeve so good I guess" The blonde paused, her face crunched as if she had tasted something bitter. "That's a terrible metaphor to use in this, isn't it?"

For her part, the spaceship simply turned around without as much as a word and Hornet slumped down on her seat, releasing a long and heavy sigh. Enterprise looked at her sister and the rest, hoping someone would explain but nobody did so she shrugged and followed her counterpart just as silently.

The ravenette led her through a series of bulkheads and corridors, some paths she recognized until Enterprise lost direction and could only blindly follow her. Eventually, another bulkhead rose and she was greeted with another place none of them had been except the Heavy Carrier.

Enterprise couldn't help her curiosity. "What is this place?"

"Upper observation deck" She replied coolly just as a hologram of her model sprung in the middle of the room, the section where many of Enterprise's peers thought as the bridge lit up before the hologram disappeared. There was a whistle, and not a moment later the dark walls on the front separated revealing a majestic view of the Heavy Carrier's top side and by an extension, her weapons.

A flight of Broadsword fighters zoomed past towards the starboard side, the brilliant glows of their engines twinkling like a distant star. A CAP flight?

"How long have you been having that nightmare?"

The Aircraft Carrier tore her gaze away from the distancing fighters. No tactful conversational skill? Then again, neither had she. It kind of disappeared after she closed herself. "Why is that important?" She shot back, a bit of suspicion and aggravation bleeding into her tone, she didn't like that particular subject for reasons.

The Heavy Carrier stared at her for what seemed to be an eternity, those red orbs shining like twin stars in the void of space outside the window. "When I was there, I saw a bunch of ship classes that didn't exist at this time point; Arleigh Burke, Constellation, even an Ernest E. Evans-class Littoral Combat Ship which shouldn't enter service until 2034. It couldn't be your memory, do you know that?"

"I didn't quite notice it, but yes it's certainly odd if, as you implied, future ships are also there"

"So you don't know anything?"

"No, I was too busy trying to make sense of a certain existence" Enterprise trailed off, looking around the place to see said certain existence. "She's not here, is she?"

"She is. She simply chose to not show herself to you"

"I see... Then, was that all you wanted to speak with me? Because it can't be all, right?"

"No, the matter pertaining to this is yet to be concluded. Code G told me that place is the... Astrum? Why?... Doesn't matter. She told me it was a gate between worlds"

"Gate between worlds...?"

"It doesn't make sense which is why I asked whether you understand or not"

"Why does it have anything to do with me? With us?"

The spaceship fell silent and for a second she looked exhausted as she mulled over her words, the twitch of her brows suggested Code G must be talking to her and although the presence of the entity appalled Enterprise she couldn't deny the curiosity in her chest.

"Supposedly there are plenty of worlds out there, they should have Keys"

"Keys? For what?"

"That I have no knowledge about" and it's been itching me. "But Code G told me there couldn't be two Keys at once"

"Enterprise" Enterprise muttered in shock. "It's us"

A nod. "It's us. We're the Keys. Ships bearing the name Enterprise are the Keys"

"But for what?!" Enterprise nearly yelled as dread of the unknown washed over her like cold mercury on exposed skin. "I'm not a high tech ship like you, I'm a decades old ship that should be decommissioned and replaced by a newer one! How could I be something so important?"

But the other Enterprise merely shrugged. "Call it destiny if you would, unfortunately it's not something I understand either"

"Destiny" She hissed in response, glaring at the thick glass separating the space and pressurized environment inside. "I didn't take you to be one to believe something as scarce as destiny"

"I don't, but even a blind man can see this whole ordeal is beyond superstitious beliefs. What's there if you were to put even another ideal that, all things considered, simple such as destiny? You think I want to believe all of this?"

They stared at one another for a whole minute, searching and plundering deep inside the souls that were one in time. One was scarred but not broken, two were struggling to function as a normal person. A kindred spirit, truly.

"No, you're above these things"

"The UNSC has a certain way when dealing with anomalies, we're an expert in that regard". If you can't poke it with a scalpel, grab a stick, and if you still can't then grab a longer stick and shoot if it moves the wrong way. Anything that warrants long sticks is usually trouble. "It is undeniable this whole ordeal works in a higher science than what I or you understand"

"Any technology superior enough is indistinguishable from magic"

"That is the gist of it"

Enterprise relaxed a bit, cocking a hip to the side and putting a hand on it. "Why are you telling me this?"

A flicker of amusement in a pair of maroon eyes, gone as quick as it appeared. "Hold your horse I also told Commander Allenforth of this so you're not the only one. But, admittedly, you're the only one who understand this with opulence, you saw what I saw for presumably months if not years now, correct?"

"... it's a memory" Enterprise conceded after a while, sighing deeply to herself. "From three years ago. It happened in the Sunda Strait, we were responding to a distress call from a fleet of merchant ships"

"So it was. How is this one different from the others?"

"I don't know" Because, as much as it sickened her, it wasn't something new by a large margin. They knew they were too late, they knew they would find nothing but carnage, yet it left such an impression on her it still haunted her to this day. "And with time it intermingled with my other memories it's like the ultimate nightmare"

"There has to be something"

It was a rhetoric question and she knew it so instead Enterprise simply shrugged. "Why are you obsessed with this? It's a moot point, I know, but it's not something new"

"I'm not obsessed per se. I'm a spaceship, it's in my nature to be wary of the unknowns especially if it's something of this magnitude"

"That's fair"

"Besides, it might be usual for you and your friends but it's not for me. Superstition does not exist in the realm of reality where I'm from and it's as incredulous as fairy tail"

Enterprise shrugged, pushing a rogue strand of silver white hair to the back of her ear. "Are you sure it's not something Code G crafted so to illude you?"

The Heavy Carrier turned her head to stare at the empty air beside her and Enterprise did the same. After a minute of silent conversation she couldn't possibly know her counterpart simply shook her head. "No, in fact it was an occurrence beyond her control"

"She's not lying, is she?" Enterprise asked warily, still looking at the empty spot beside her counterpart as if expecting something to jump her.

"No"

So certain she couldn't question the conviction behind that single word so Enterprise simply nodded.

They stared at one another for a minute of silence, maroon and purple peering into one another until eventually the latter sighed and averted her gaze. As expected, just like her friends she couldn't look into those eyes without feeling herself being pulled deep into something beyond her understanding, something utterly unsettling and overwhelming. It was said one who stared into the abyss, the abyss would stare back but this wasn't the abyss for it wasn't dark and uncertain, it was the opposite and that made it terrifying.

Hornet said her gaze looked like a dying star and Enterprise could understand why her sister described it as such. They seemed dangerous the same way a supernova about to cook off, hidden in an ethereal beauty of false vulnerability. Staring into those eyes was like drowning in a sea of light but the light offered no comfort for there was something lurking in the blinding rays, something that would snap and kill anything it didn't want.

Those red orbs offered nothing but certainty that, if something warranted it, then they would pull whatever it was and drown it beneath the hatred and anger swirling in them.

It was terrifying. How she could look so calm but ready to remove anything undesirable at moment notice. A fake comfort brought upon by false security.

Enterprise blinked when her eyes began to sting, even now she unknowingly trod into those stars and got herself pulled into their gravity.

"Is that all?" Her voice came out low, almost a whisper. She realized she was staring into those eyes again despite her effort of looking away earlier.

"Yes, that is all"

Enterprise nodded, preparing to leave only to realize she had forgotten the way back. There had to be hundreds if not thousands of corridors here with their own twists and turns so it was a given. "I don't know the way back"

"Follow me"

So she did, or rather she would, if only the Heavy Carrier didn't suddenly stop on her track just when she stepped out onto the hallway. Enterprise opened her mouth, ready to ask the woman blocking the door why she stopped, when a shudder ran over the deck.

A moment later, emergency red lights went off and bathed the entirety of the ship followed by a short blare of horn.

And not a moment later the Heavy Carrier suddenly sprinted at full speed into the nearest elevator, startling Enterprise who in her confusion decided to follow her albeit in a much later state with how fast her counterpart moved.

"Wait!" Thankfully, it was a short run because Enterprise wasn't sure she could catch up. Even then the spaceship was about ready to leave her. "What is going on?!" She asked breathlessly, looking at the woman beside her who didn't seem fazed one bit despite just moving at what seemed like lightning speed.

But the Heavy Carrier didn't answer her, and under the eerie red light Enterprise watched as her counterpart slapped her hand on a nearest INTERCOM so hard the button audibly rattle.

"Attention all Admirals and Commanders, please head to the main bridge immediately, all KANSENs and Marines prepare for battle. I repeat..."

Her voice boomed in all her floors, even right now in the elevator Enterprise could hear it echoing all around her like waves in a pond, bouncing before eventually dissipating. She didn't have the time to fully process the sentence because as soon as she finished talking, the elevator doors slid open and she's already running down another corridor.

Enterprise chased after the dark blur, barely able to stop herself from barrelling straight into a closed bulkhead before it opened in response to her presence. She looked around and noticed she was back at the bridge, and the spaceship had settled down on her Captain's chair again as various displays lit up around her.

"What's going on?!" Enterprise demanded as she stepped behind said chair, peering over to look at the woman sitting on it.

The Heavy Carrier didn't spare her a glance and Enterprise noticed one of the displays was showing weapon and targeting calibration while the other showed engine status currently running at a hundred percent capacity.

"Strap in" The spaceship barked, gesturing towards one of the seats behind the terminals with her head.

"Tell me what's going on first!"

Four pairs of footsteps approached them with the same urgency Enterprise had just in time for the ravenette to activate the bridge's main screen. At first nothing seemed out of ordinary until the grainy image morphed into a very familiar place.

A very familiar place that was on fire.

"Strap in" She repeated, this time more softly while glancing back. "I have a satellite over your base as an overwatch and five minutes ago this happened"

"Akagi?" Alicia asked dreadfully as she sat down at where the Comm officer should be, fumbling with the harness for a moment before she figured it out. The rest of the Officers did the same with Admiral Snow and Allenforth taking their places on Sensors and Weapon respectively while David sat on Tactical right beside her.

Meanwhile Enterprise decided to sit on the XO seat somewhere behind her counterpart.

"No, it's the Siren"

"How long until we arrive?" David asked and Alicia could detect the bitterness in his tone as he looked down on his own display. The bridge darkened, the massive blast shields went and closed to protect the inches thick hyper-reinforced polycarbonate crystal protecting the bridge from the harsh space outside for a second before the lights intensified as more power was poured in.

"Twenty-five minutes and thirty-six seconds now. I'm pushing my engines to two hundred percent power as we speak but I can only do it gradually, some of the finer sections there still need to be calibrated before I can do anything radical"

From her seat Enterprise could hear the spaceship muttering something that sounded like 'I wish I had my Slipspace Drive' but it was drowned by a particularly large shudder. "What was that?"

"Well, there goes the starboard sub-engine"

TBC