Ben arrived on the deck of the California to meet Shinano on the bow.
"Three women and yet you look like you managed a full night's rest. Makes a girl wonder." Shinano spoke softly.
"Never took you as one for jokes, Shinano." Ben replied.
"Usually I like to stay on the straight and narrow. My position within the Sakura dictated it. Most times for jokes were ill timed and most certainly not necessary. However, I still have a part of me that enjoys such trivial endeavors." Shinano replied in her usual stoic tone.
"I see. I guess one can never truly know the culture of one another." Ben lamented.
"Agreed. Either way…" Shinano reached into her kimono and removed three small blue boxes.
"...These are yours to do with as you please. My dear husband has already given you three permissions to use the rings if the time comes." Shinano spoke.
"Three?" Ben inquired.
"Yes. You, Jager and Michael have all been granted access to the safe where my dear husband stores these rings. Jager and Michael have already taken some in the aftermath of this last battle." Shinano said.
"Jager did?! That Nazi bastard still has a heart?" Ben asked, earning him a slap on the back of the head from Shinano.
"It is unwise to speak ill of one's crewmate. He may just come to save your life one of these days." Shinano said as Ben rubbed his head.
"Who'd he bag?" Ben asked as Shinano smiled softly.
"Bismarck and Tirpitz are the first of his merry band. Apparently, they had held a long-standing bet on who they'd get him to fall in love with first. I find it quite comical the way he managed to get them both at once." Shinano tittered.
"He got BOTH?! And to think you know a guy…" Ben said as he looked to the sky.
"Well. My duty is done for the morning. Perhaps instead of going to the Norfolk, I shall join my Husband and several others in the bath." Shinano said.
"How do you know he's there?" Ben asked.
"He's still onboard my vessel… not that it would matter. I always have an innate sense of where he is." Shinano replied.
"That's… scary." Ben said.
"How so?" Shinano asked.
"He can't hide. Not that he has reason to. But if I ever had to hide, it would be very unsettling to know that someone knows where I'm at at all times." Ben said.
"He doesn't know. And he won't if I can help it. I have just managed to get very good at acting surprised when I find him." Shinano said softly.
"You Yamato sisters are something else…" Ben said.
"We are?" Shinano asked.
"Yes." Ben said as he stood and refused to elaborate further.
"Be that as it may… I shall be off. Good luck, Ben." Shinano said as Ben watched her skate across the waves towards her own vessel.
Ben then shivered as a gust of wind blew across the Archipelago.
"I guess that's my cue to go back inside." Ben murmured as her turned back and went below deck.
XXXXXVVVVVXXXXX
Ben found himself unable to bring himself to wake the girls in his quarters. Some quick thinking on his end led him to a small desk with a pen and some paper. For the next hour he wrote his feelings onto the paper before him, pouring his soul into every line.
When he was done, he took the three rings from their boxes and tied a note to each of them. He stood from the desk and quietly entered his quarters.
Into the hands of each sleeping maiden, he delicately placed a ring with the corresponding note.
Satisfied with his job, Ben turned for the door.
"I guess I should get something to eat. I should also head over to the Norfolk to see if I'm needed over there." Ben said as he closed the door and walked down the corridors towards the galley.
California was the first of the three to wake up. Stretching her arms and sitting up in bed. She could still feel Ben wandering around her vessel. She was about to get up and go after him but an odd sensation in her hand drew her attention. Opening her hand, she saw a beautiful diamond ring with a note tied to the band. California smiled. This was just like Ben. He never could muster the courage to do something like propose in person. California did not mind, however. She knew this was just who Ben was. Untying the note, California read its contents while lightly grasping the ring.
"Cali, I know that what we had was something meant to be temporary, but after I was captured during the Normandy invasion and all the terrible experiments done to me and my friends, the only thing that kept me sane and gave me the strength to survive where the memories I had from our time together. I think it is pretty clear that I made it out alive thanks to you. Your beautiful smile, your laugh, and your tender hugs, all those things gave me a reason to keep going; and now that we are together again all I can say is, I love you. I love you with all my heart, with everything I have. I never want to leave your side no matter what happens. In life and in death, I will love you forever and this ring represents my eternal love for you and the promise that I will stay with you always. California, Will you marry me?" The note read.
California began to tear up as she read the letter. Slipping the ring onto her finger as an answer to her new husband.
"Yes. I will remain with you until the day we both leave this world, Ben." California whispered as she kissed the ring on her finger. She quietly got up and got dressed in a nightgown. It was getting dark, but Cali knew Ben was in the Galley.
"Let's get you something to eat, Honey." California said as a blush crossed her face. She quietly left the room and ran through the corridors towards the galley.
Kashino was the next to awaken. Her hand immediately went to her stomach. The warmth that she had felt the night before was still there.
"I… might need to see Miss Alice…" Kashino spoke quietly to herself before realizing the ring that was now resting on her stomach. A fierce blush crossed her cheeks. She saw a note tied to the ring and decided to open it.
"Kashino, I know it may be too soon for this, but I can't ignore the feelings in my heart. When you were training me, I saw your determination and your strong will. I know how hard you work and how much you push yourself not only to be better, but to be useful for the fleet and how much you care for your friends. But I want you to know that I am here for you, come hell or high water I will be by your side if you allow me to. And I hope you believe in me as much as I believe in you, my love. Will you allow this man to make you the happiest woman in the world?" The note read.
Kashino smiled while looking down at her stomach.
"I… I think I'd like that. Don't worry, Ben… we can get to know each other more… but I think this is the right move." Kashino whispered as she slipped the ring onto her finger.
Kashino slowly got up and dressed herself.
"I still need to go see Alice. If what Lady Shinano told me is correct…" Kashino said as she shook the thought away. She quietly left the room and made her way above deck and headed towards the Norfolk.
Gangut was the last to wake up. The moment her eyes opened, the bottle of vodka on the bedside table met her lips. She took a swig and sat up, seemingly fueled by the influx of alcohol.
"Damn… where is everyone?" Gangut asked softly as she felt something jabbing her right hand.
"Hmm?" Gangut asked as she opened her hand and saw a ring. Attached to it was a note.
"Is he too nervous to ask me in person?" Gangut asked with a small chuckle.
"So cute." She said as she opened the note.
"Моя красивая бабушка, heh I know you hate it when I call you that and that you probably want to smack me in the head, but you also know that I like to joke a lot. But in all seriousness, few people can understand me as well as you do, and I can safely say no one could withstand what we do! Alright… jokes over and physical stuff aside, I never thought I'd find someone with whom I could relate so much, you understand my pain, my suffering and why I am the way I am; you understand all of me, and coincidentally I've come to understand all of you, and over the past few weeks I've come to realize the connection I have with you is something that goes beyond the concept of friends. I think what I want to say is that я тебя люблю, and I want to give you this ring as a symbol of the bond we have formed and that I hope that we can walk the path forward together until the end of times. Will you marry me?"
Gangut laughed.
"You're right, American. I want to slap you across the head for calling me Grandma… but… it's also true that I may have let my defenses down a bit too far… now you're inside my heart… and I can't drive you out. Not even the men at the battle of Stalingrad would have the strength to push you from my heart… and with you putting up such an offensive… I fear I must concede. I will marry you." Gangut said as she slipped the ring onto her finger.
"If I know you as well as you think I do. I'll bet you're in the galley. I still owe you a whack to the head." Gangut said as she left her bottle on the bedside table as she got up and dressed herself before heading empty handed to the galley.
Akashi scampered around the decks of the Jean Bart and the New Jersey, ensuring that everything was wired correctly to allow New Jersey to have some semblance of functioning radar in the coming battle.
"Range?" New Jersey yelled over the sound of her AA guns still pounding away against the sky.
"Thirty Nautical miles. They'll be in range in ten minutes!" Jean Bart yelled.
"Akashi?" New Jersey yelled.
"Fire up your radar, Nyaa. You should be fully connected to Jean Bart's radar array." Akashi replied.
New Jersey focused on her radar. Words in French flashed on the screen before the screen rendered out a slightly outdated radar image.
"It's in French?!" New Jersey cried.
"Ah… fuck. I guess we didn't think about that… Look. I'll send over my fire control data. Just mimic my firing patterns and we should be pretty much on target. You might get confused trying to target on my radar since my metrics are in kilometers and not yards." Jean Bart said.
"Thanks… trying to learn Italian for Vittorio is hard enough. I don't think I can handle a crash course on French." New Jersey spat as Massachusetts chimed in.
"The Aircraft are retreating. Prepare for an enemy push." Massachusetts said as her AA guns stopped firing. New Jersey looked over to see the barrels of Massachusetts's AA guns glowing red. New Jersey silenced her own AA, seeing the orange barrels cool rapidly send a chill down her spine.
"Those will need to be replaced… that last bit warped the barrels…" New Jersey sighed.
"My hull was completed in 1942… how is 3 years enough to deteriorate my equipment this much?" New Jersey asked.
"I don't think it's you, nyaa." Akashi said as she entered the bridge.
"How so? I can feel it, my gun barrels are warped." New Jersey said.
Akashi shook her head.
"Akashi checked on her way up. All of New Jersey-san's guns are in proper working order, just like the radar. Akashi has a theory." Akashi said.
"Let's hear it… I feel like I'm going crazy." New Jersey said.
"Akashi can't see a Siren Elite leading the fleet ahead, nyaa. Akashi believes there is one about, causing all of this, nyaa." Akashi said.
"An elite?" New Jersey asked.
Akashi nodded.
"Akashi believes that it is below the water. Akashi is picking up a faint signal coming from 10 miles ahead, nyaa. It is crawling on the seafloor, nyaa." Akashi said.
New Jersey's eyes went wide.
"We have no defense for underwater enemies. And we can't just plow through these drones to attempt to outrun the enemy. What do we do?" New Jersey asked as she began to breathe faster.
"Calm down, nyaa." Akashi said as she looked around the bridge.
"Calm down?! We're doomed at this rate!" New Jersey cried, wishing she could be back with Vittorio.
"Akashi can help. Akashi has a matrix onboard, remember?" Akashi asked.
New Jersey looked at her.
"You can't activate it without power. You can't produce enough to power it!" New Jersey said as she discounted the cat's words.
"Well… what about the submarine that followed us, nyaa?" Akashi asked.
"What?!" New Jersey asked.
"Hai. I-19 decided to follow us, nyaa." Akashi said.
"How do you know that? And why hasn't she responded to my orders?!" New Jersey cried.
Akashi shrugged.
"Submarines don't like to talk when they are on a mission, nyaa. I-19-san is no exception." Akashi said as a Japanese submarine surfaced right next to the New Jersey.
New Jersey watched as a red-haired kitty jumped aboard and made its way towards her bridge.
I-19 opened the door and was immediately laid into by New Jersey.
"Why didn't you respond to orders?" New Jersey asked.
"Vittorio-san sent me. She realized you are lacking in Submarine defense, but since we can spare no destroyers, you get me. Apologies." I-19 said.
New Jersey breathed.
"God Bless that beautiful Italian woman. We have an issue." New Jersey said.
"So I heard. I have sonar active, and I am tracking a single target crawling across the seafloor. It is not a vessel. It is too small. But it is heading this way." I-19 laid out all the info she had.
"Akashi, hail the Admiral. I know you still have that communication device you created." New Jersey said. Akashi nodded.
"Akashi will get on that right away, nyaa." Akashi said as Jean Bart interrupted on the radio.
"Enemy fleet is within range. Opening fire now." Jean Bart said as all eight of her main guns fired in succession, streaming heavy shells towards the enemy fleet. New Jersey radioed Massachusetts.
"Massa. Open fire with your main guns. I will commence firing once I manage to ascertain the threat of our underwater enemy." New Jersey said.
"Understood. Please hurry. This is a big fleet, and your firepower would be nice." Massachusetts said as all nine of her sixteen-inch guns opened up on the enemy fleet.