Harvey put 2 cubes and a BB blueprint at the cube matrix as admiral Nimitz and Toichi observed what he was doing. He then looked at the timer and nodded. "In 4 hours and 5 minutes, there will be a completed ship sitting in the drydock," he said as he turned to face them, noticing that both were still a bit skeptical, even though they saw, and talked with, the end result of whatever reaction the Wisdom cubes start, when applied to a damaged ship or a ship blueprint.
"I know it sounds weird, but I saw the Bulins being made this way," he added, just as Cleveland, Z23 and Jessica came into the room, all of them clearly wanting to talk with him about something important. So, he gestured to them to come and tell him what they needed to discuss with him. The trio complied and formed a single line with Cleveland at the front and a nervous-looking Z23 at the back.
"Commander, admiral, I found some blueprints of my sisters, one of which was remade into a CVL," she said as she addressed both Harvey and admiral Nimitz who seemed to think for a moment, before speaking himself.
"What is your class?" He asked her and she made a pose and grinned in response, making Z23 mutter something that Harvey couldn't quite catch, and even if he did, he wouldn't understand it, because he wasn't very good at German.
"Cleveland-class CL, Cleveland. It's a pleasure to meet you, admiral," she replied and Nimitz nodded at that with a smile on his lips, no doubt happy about the answer, all the while Harvey was confused about what he heard.
A CVL based off of a Cleveland-class CL? I didn't know about this… he thought and decided to ask the admiral about it later. After all, if someone would have unrestricted access to information surrounding new ship designs, it would definitely be him, or the president himself.
"Wait until the BB is finished constructing and leaves the drydock. Then, it's up to you, which one of your siblings you'll awaken first," Harvey finally said after he realized that everyone was looking at him, waiting for an answer to Cleveland's unasked question, which made the small blonde smile, run up to him and hug him as she thanked him for a good minute, before finally releasing him, both blushing bright red from embarrassment.
"Commander, admiral, I have read through the folder's contents and found a few points of interest. First is that someone or something blacked out a significant bit of the text, even parts that normally shouldn't be," Jessica said and Harvey exchanged a worried look with the admiral and Toichi. After all, that was a worrying revelation.
"And what exactly wasn't blacked out?" Toichi asked the question that she was most likely waiting for, due to the excited gleam in her eyes that made her look like a mad scientist for a second, which sent shivers down Harvey's spine.
"Apparently, as long as a blueprint exists, any ship can be built with the cubes. Also, the ships' weapons can be changed by altering some kind of code in the cubes, but I don't have the equipment to test that… Oh! And CVs and CVLs are an exemption from that, because they most likely can use any plane they see and familiarize themselves with their controls."
As Jessica rambled about her discovery, Harvey and admiral Nimitz exchanged another look, this one full of intrigue. After all, if it was true, it opened a few more opportunities for surprising the enemy and striking back at them.
"Well done. You can resume your research on the Wisdom cubes," Harvey eventually said and Jessica went out of the room, grinning like a loon. Give her something to focus her research on and she's like the stereotypical mad scientist… he thought and shivered a bit again, before looking at Z23 with a raised eyebrow.
"Herr Kommandant, I thought about what I was told before and what I saw… I don't like being lied to. That and the way you and your men treat me and my companions napped to make up my mind. I wish to officially join Azur Lane."
To say that Harvey, Toichi and admiral Nimitz were surprised by what she said, would be the understatement of the decade. No. They were shocked. And in Toichi's case, furious as well. It made them wonder, how many lies and how rough treatment was there in the Iron Blood and also, why didn't she desert earlier? But, they knew better than to ask her about it now.
"If this is what you want… I accept and welcome you to Azur Lane," Harvey replied in his most formal tone and once again, blushed bright red as he was hugged tightly for the second time in under 5 minutes by a grateful Kansen, the blush deepening as he saw both Toichi and the admiral chuckle at his situation.
"Go to the others and tell them that they can join too, if they wish," Harvey said to her as he tried to ignore the embarrassment he was currently feeling, making the blonde DD blush, release him from the hug and nod, before she ran to where the other Iron Blood Kansen were, the brightest and most genuine smile on her lips.
"Anyway, let's go find Enterprise and see if she'll be able to convince the fly boys to lend her that new dive bomber," he shifted the subject and walked out of the storeroom, passing by the slowly building BB in the drydock, towards the Essex.
John Duffy was skeptical that the woman with white hair was, in fact, the Enterprise herself. However, Jap defectors? That was far more believable than ships capable of turning into humans. Even the idea of aliens was not as crazy to him, thanks to the Sirens' appearance.
But then, he remembered that the Cleveland-class CL, that escorted the Essex to the base, had no crew at all. Suddenly, even the idea of ship-women, or whatever they were called, wasn't a load of dung anymore for him. But, he still didn't believe that she could fly a flight of planes, or more, at once.
But, why does she only need the Helldiver? I know that she was sunk before the Hellcat and Avenger entered production… This doesn't make much sense, he thought as he watched her open the canopy and slowly look over the controls, familiarizing herself with the layout of the cockpit, before her first flight with the plane.
He watched her climb into the cockpit, close the canopy, and soon, the SB2C taxied off the deck with minor mistakes here and there, but soon, it was like an experienced pilot flew the bomber, not a complete newbie. And then, came one of the hardest parts of her trial run.
John watched as the plane gained altitude, only to start a mock bombing run a minute later, once again executed nearly perfectly. He couldn't believe his eyes. And the same could be said about his fellow pilots. It also made him wish not to fight against any other CV, or CVL, that had a human form.
"At least against normal CVs, we stand a better chance…" he muttered as he imagined a full flight of Helldivers operated by her at once, which sent shivers down his spine. He then shook himself and walked towards the so-called "brother of the base" - James Mason, intending to ask him some questions, about those ship-women, plaguing his mind, since the admiral was the one talking with the commander.
Arizona froze in mid-step as she saw the eerily familiar keel being constructed in the drydock. It took her only a moment to realize why and she ran towards the almost halfway constructed ship with tears of happiness in her eyes.
"Penny…" she whispered as she hugged the ship under construction, both happy and sad at the same time. Happy that she was near to be reunited with her sister and sad that her sister was sunk, while she was unaware of it.
"I won't leave you, sis. Never again," she vowed and didn't leave her spot, until her sister was finally awake.
Sorry, Ari… I failed to get revenge for you. I'm the worst sister, aren't I? First, I let you die and then, I am unable to finish my vow… feel free to hate me. Even though I know that you're practically incapable of it, I deserve it.
Huh? Why is a bright light above me?! I am unworthy of going into the same place as Ari… I should burn in hell instead. And why is it getting bigger?! This is seriously messed up… Why am I going to the place I shouldn't be in?!
"Penny… I won't leave you, sis. Never again."
You're too kind, Ari. You don't deserve hell, unlike me. You're what I cannot be: a gentle female. I am a brute, compared to you. Let me go, please. My resting place shouldn't be yours as well, sis.
And then, she opened her eyes and gasped in surprise.
Blücher watched Arizona from afar as she hugged the slowly forming BB and she couldn't help, but simply watched as the surprisingly kind Kansen didn't move from her spot at all, as the ship, that looked very similar to her, slowly finished construction.
And then, she pouted, when she saw almost a carbon copy of Arizona, but with a much more serious face and her hair was tied into a sidetail. The duo then warmup hugged each other and Blücher pouted, a bit jealous of that display of sisterly love.
If only Hipper wasn't so rude and violent and Eugen wasn't… well, Eugen… she thought as she imagined the scenario in her mind and tried her hardest not to squeal at how nice it looked and how warm it made her feel.
And then, she was brought back into reality by the sound of a dive bomber squadron launching off of the Enterprise, the design completely different from the SBD Dauntless that the CV used just a few days ago in a mock battle against Cleveland, Helena and Laffey, the latter showing a surprising degree of fighting prowess, despite her being always tired.
Looks like they found a way of enhancing their power, without Siren tech… Blücher realized and practically ran into Z23 who was looking for her for some reason. And when she heard what the DD wanted to tell her, she suddenly couldn't decide. After all, it was either abandoning her sisters, whom she loved, despite their flaws, or remain as a POW at this base, albeit well cared for.
But in the end, she decided to join Azur Lane, hoping that her sisters would do so soon as well, when they get the chance.
Mitchell Moss sighed in relief, when he saw the Liverpool docks drawing near, but his smile fell, when he saw the sorry state of most of the buildings, instantly reminding himself about the bombardment attacks the Jerries had done, in order to break the fighting spirit of the Royal Navy. But, much like the naval blockade, it did nothing to their fighting spirit and Mitchell, along with Mark, as his boss wanted everyone to call him, deeply respected that.
"That encounter with those two DDs was strange, am I right, Will?" Mitchell asked his 1st mate as he remembered what happened about 3 hours ago. Normally, the enemy ships wouldn't stop their assault and wouldn't retreat, until they sunk their target, so that strange behavior was new to him.
"Indeed. I thought that the Jerries would never let such a juicy target, that is our fleet, escape with such minor damage inflicted. And they definitely weren't Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, or, God forbid, Bismarck, to boot. Guess, we got lucky today," he answered and Mitchell nodded at that and looked back at the fast approaching docks.
Maybe they are planning a full-scale attack, or an invasion, Mitchell thought and shivered in dread as he imagined the Iron Blood invading the practically defenseless eastern shore of the Eagle Union, slaughtering millions of civilians in the process. But, he was brought back from that train of thought by a flight of Supermarine Spitfires passing them by and then returning to form a protective circle around them.
"We finally made it…" Harold Pearce, operator of the 127mm gun, muttered and soon, the air was filled by both the engine sounds from the fighters and the shouts of happy sailors.
Somewhere in the Denmark strait
"Are you sure she's here?" Jack Churchill asked Foxhound with doubt in his voice as she stopped her ship at a seemingly random place, which made his only other human companion, Adrian Carton de Wiart, roll his only remaining eye in annoyance. After all, how could someone doubt a witness, albeit indirect, to such an event like the sinking of Bismarck was.
"I'm sure of it. Prince of Wales did report her sinking at these cords," Foxhound replied as she gestured to Jack to drop the Wisdom cubes in his hand, which he did reluctantly, believing it to be a waste of time and resources. I'd rather skewer a Jerry with my sword, than throw cubes into the sea, he thought as he watched the duo of glowing cubes slowly sink into the depths.
"Jack, while I don't like this mission very much either, it is still better to live and fight another day, than charge foolishly into the enemy lines. Also, it was a request from her majesty," Adrian commented as he sipped his tea, somehow knowing what the younger commando thought. And both were the best pick for the mission anyway. With Adrian's experience and Jack's willingness to fight, most Kansen would rather think twice before approaching.
"And now, we wait," Jack muttered with a small hint of annoyance in his voice as the cubes' light was consumed by the depths of the abyss, before sitting next to his elder companion and took the last cup of tea and sighed in relief as the warm beverage slid down his throat. That made him look in surprise at the tea and he tried to examine it, making the elder man chuckle.
"Surprised? That's jasmine tea. Part of one of the last batches received before those Sirens attacked. They say it's good at calming people down," Adrian revealed with a small smile on his lips.
"It kinda works, but I still have this bad feeling about this mission. The Jerries love to ambush our ships around here," Jack admitted after he took another sip and his eyes darted around, trying to pierce through the thick fog about 13 nmi south from their current position and look out for any signs of submarines around them.
And right after they finished their tea, a foghorn suddenly came to life, both men and the Kansen recognizing that sound almost instantly. It was using German codes, but only for a short duration of time, before falling silent again.
"Speak of the devil…" Jack muttered just as Foxhound moved her ship around to gain some distance, but at the same time, not get too far away from Hood's location. After all, there was a danger of her being captured and they needed to lower it to as close to zero as possible.
And then, the sound of very high caliber guns firing, compared to Foxhound's puny four single 120mm Mk IX guns, came in, followed soon by four giant splashes of water erupting around the poor DD and her two companions. And then, they began to sweat as they knew that only three Iron Blood ships, four in-fact, but the last one was locked in the North sea, could cause this big splash. And only one of them hunted alone.
"I knew it!" Jack grumbled and quickly went for his bow and arrows, not caring that his enemy is far too away from his range, while Foxhound aimed her cannons at the enemy hidden by the fog and Adrian picked up a Lee Enfield rifle, all three determined to fight, in order to protect Hood during her revive.
And then, a shape first appeared in the mist, which slowly started taking form into a lone figure. She was clad in a black dress-like uniform with golden accents and black knee-height boots with white trim and had a Kriegsmarine officer's cap on her head, her long blonde hair swaying slowly in the light breeze. The rigging with all 4 of her twin 380mm guns and the flag of Iron Blood in her arms made her even more menacing. But, the scariest part was her bright golden eyes.
"Who's that?!" Jack yelled as the woman seemed content with just standing there and watching Foxhound's attempt at making distance and not attacking them again… for the time being anyway.
"That… that's Bismarck…" Foxhound muttered and froze in fear, knowing that if she had her rigging deployed, there was no escape for them. And no mercy as well. She'll end it with a single, well aimed shot, most likely going for the same spot she hit, when she sunk Hood over a year ago, when there were no Kansen to be seen.
"Dang it… and she looks like a hot babe too…" Jack muttered and received a slap from Adrian who was prepared to die, if it meant that he and Foxhound would still have a chance at finishing the mission.
"No distractions. An enemy is before us and a battle is near. Focus," Adrian said and Jack nodded, reaching out for the second Lee Enfield rifle and stood beside the older man with a matching grim face, his sword and bagpipes laying forgotten a few feet behind him.
And then, a bright white light erupted from the sea in front of them, blinding the two men and their adversary for a few moments, just as the sound of several squadrons of Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers suddenly appeared from behind.
