Wilhelm sat on the flight deck of the Richthofen and looked out over the fleet.
"We were lucky. Without our numbers, we would have been eliminated." Wilhelm spoke.
"You're not wrong, Son of Germany." Richthofen said as she stood behind him.
"And to think… according to the Admiral, there's four of these Arbiters who are all on this level. We could barely hold out against this… how will we fare in a fight against them if they come for us in earnest?" Wilhelm asked.
"Wilhelm… I don't think we should think about that right now." A new voice spoke. Wilhelm turned to see Tirpitz and Bismarck approaching from the other end of the flight deck.
"Lord Bismarck. Lady Tirpitz." Richthofen spoke as she saluted the two battleships.
"At ease, Richthofen. No need for formalities. We all fight under Admiral Garner." Bismarck said softly.
"Respect is still due, Lord Bismarck. I may not have fought in the war, but I know enough to understand that you are our head." Richthofen refuted.
"I see. Well either way, I am head in name alone. I still receive orders from Admiral Garner. I am just here to see my husband." Bismarck said as she and Tirpitz sat next to Wilhelm.
"You two? Married? Color me impressed. From what I heard from Roon, you two were always so uptight." Richthofen said.
"Well… there's your issue. You got info about us from Roon. She may still be a bit upset at her treatment during the war. We weren't exactly the most compassionate." Tirpitz said.
"So I've heard. She said that you and Lord Bismarck left her to die. Not that it interests me, just found it to be intriguing." Richthofen said.
Tirpitz and Bismarck shuddered as sirens came blaring from the Akashi just before a deadly looking cruiser shimmered into existence.
"Such an odd looking vessel." Richthofen commented.
"It's Roon… and I see the Admiral gave her some… liberties." Bismarck said as they all looked at the sleek blacked-out cruiser in front of them.
One turret in front with two in the back, all packing heavy eight inch cannons in a triple configuration. A radar array similar to Bismarck's with enough secondary guns to put Iowa to shame. It was Tirpitz, however, that noticed the biggest change.
"She's added more torpedoes… and depth charges." Tirpitz said, drawing everyone's attention to the stern of the Roon where an extra pair of torpedo launchers and depth charge rails had been added.
"Her guns look a bit weird too…" Wilhelm pointed out.
"Oh?" Bismarck and Tirpitz replied in unison.
"The barrels are tapered slightly. Perhaps some form of extra compression?" Wilhelm asked.
"I've seen it done on tank cannons… but never a naval gun." Bismarck said.
"What purpose does it serve?" Richthofen asked.
"Increased shell velocity and penetration at range." Bismarck explained curtly.
"She wants to be even more deadly." Tirpitz spoke.
"You have described her as the perfect war machine, Frau Tirpitz. What machine of war would be fine with being unoptimized?" Wilhelm asked.
"You have a point… but those guns might have enough power now to pierce even our hulls. I would hate to see her lose control." Tirpitz lamented as they all saw the woman who embodied this new warship walk out onto her main deck. A familiar mechanized creature followed… but it too seemed to be different.
"Did… her rigging always stand like that? And did it have proper claws?" Tirpitz asked.
"No… but now I understand. Her rigging has finally been completed. This is Shrimpy in his properly finished form… He's a mantis shrimp. Those claws… and the extra pair of legs proves it. Roon has definitely gotten a lot stronger. This level of power is scary… even to me." Bismarck spoke quietly.
"Scary? Lord Bismarck, don't tell me you honestly fear her…" Richthofen said.
"It took both me and Heinrich to take her down in Bermuda. She has since been trained in combat by Warspite, the ship that spites Death itself. And with her upgrades and temperament… she could likely take on me and Heinrich and Tirpitz and we would still just barely come out on top." Bismarck spoke.
"What of me and my sister?" Richthofen asked.
"I have no doubt you and Friedrich could handle her… but even then… I don't know how much power she has been granted by that man." Bismarck said as another set of footsteps were heard.
"Tirpy… you came all the way out here and you didn't come say hello? I'm hurt." Illustrious's soft voice was heard.
"Tirpy?" Bismarck and Wilhelm asked before looking at Tirpitz who was now beet red.
"Illustrious!" Tirpitz cried as Wilhelm looked at Tirpitz.
"Oh right… sorry. I forgot I wasn't supposed to call you that." Illustrious said with a mischievous smile.
"And in front of my husband no less!" Tirpitz hissed.
"Oh? Your husband, huh?" Illustrious asked as she looked at Wilhelm.
"You're the German pilot that the Admiral placed his faith in. I see. So you were who Tirpy was talking about during our nights together. Interesting. Say, would you three care to join me on my vessel for some tea? It's just about noon." Illustrious said as she turned to walk away, giving Wilhelm and the Bismarck sisters no time to reply, forcing their hand into following the royal carrier.
"Looks like I have a nickname for you now, Tirpy." Wilhelm whispered in Tirpitz's ear as they took to the waves, following Illustrious.
Akashi walked into the medical bay of the Norfolk.
"Hood-san? Taihou-sama? Elizabeth-san? Roon-sama has exited the Matrix chamber, nyaa. Who will be next, nyaa?" Akashi asked as Taihou and Stefan stood up.
"I would like to have my body… and my vessel back, Akashi." Taihou spoke as she looked at Stefan.
Hood and Lizzy nodded and returned to their conversation.
"Alright, nyaa. Akashi will take you to the matrix. Do you have your cubes, nyaa?" Akashi asked as Stefan produced Taihou's cubes from his pocket.
"Right here, minty cat." Stefan said as Akashi pouted.
"Akashi may be minty, nyaa. But Akashi would still like her name to be used." Akashi said through her puffed cheeks.
"Right… my apologies." Stefan said with a small bow.
"Come with Akashi." Akashi said as she led the two of them down the hall towards the main deck.
"So… Stefan-san and Taihou-sama. How did this come to be? If you don't mind Akashi asking…" Akashi asked.
"Well… I was helping Ben transport Yamato to the medical bay after her rescue. I was about to leave when I saw this young woman sitting alone in the back of the medical bay. So… I figured I'd say hello. One thing led to another and now we have spent the majority of the last week talking about her life and my life and how things were during the war. She suddenly mentioned having a husband but Bremerton came in before she left and filled her in about his death. After hearing that, I sat with her longer and helped her try to cope with the loss." Stefan explained.
"And then I decided that there is no changing the past… what's done is done… and I decided to give Stefan a chance. He seems like a caring and compassionate soul. He's different… from Forrest Shikikan. I like him." Taihou said as she looked down at Stefan, who stood about a foot shorter than the towering Heavy Carrier.
"I see. Well… come along. It will take a little bit since we have to restore your body as well, Taihou-sama." Akashi said.
"Fine by me. I await the final result." Taihou said as the three made their way to the Akashi.
The siren known as Ania came up to Brooklyn with a soldier standing behind her.
"Get away from me, Siren." Brooklyn spoke coldly as she glared daggers at the Siren standing before her.
"Ania." The Siren spoke.
"Huh?" Brooklyn asked in an annoyed tone.
"My name is Ania. I would prefer if you would use my name… please." Ania spoke.
"And I would prefer if your kind didn't exist, and moreover wouldn't have subjugated my home. Yet here we are. Now get out of my face before you taste lead." Brooklyn said as she stood to face the Siren.
In a swift motion, Brooklyn's head was thrown sideways by Ania's backhand.
"I have done absolutely nothing to you, and yet you treat me like some kind of monster!" Ania screamed, drawing the attention of everyone present. Natalie moved to protect Ania as Cole reached for Brooklyn, only to be forced back by the activation of her rigging.
"You're a dead woman, bitch." Brooklyn ground out as a red mark appeared on her cheek.
Natalie struggled to keep Ania back as Ania too seemed ready for a fight. To Cole's surprise, Natalie flipped Ania to the ground and stunned her with a blow to the back of the neck.
"I agreed to help him! But not you… you stuck up bitch! So go ahead kill me. You do that and you lose your chance to leave alive! Unless you want to throw hands, you pompous Eagle Union brat!" Natalie spoke as she wound up to strike Brooklyn. Brooklyn readied herself to jump back as Natalie threw her punch, only for the sound of metal scraping on metal to be heard.
"Well now… what do we have here? Did your temper get you in trouble, cruiser?" Gneisenau's voice was heard, forcing Brooklyn to look up at the battleship.
"Stuff it, Gneisenau. That woman is with the Siren." Brooklyn snapped.
"So I can see. Her eye is unnatural as you described. And her strength rivals mine… if not slightly inferior." Gneisenau spoke as she moved her rigging to deflect the blow.
"Oh? Are you here to try this Dutch delicacy as well?" Natalie spoke. This taunt enraged Gneisenau.
Despite her sluggish speed, Gneisenau's strength enabled her to physically drop Natalie to the ground before punching her torso, each thud echoing through the fog as onlookers from both sides watched, unwilling to intervene.
The following moments were a blur of punches and kicks as Natalie's inhuman strength brought Gneisenau to the sand with her. Their difference in strength became apparent however when Gneisenau managed to land a kick hard enough to push Natalie back. This granted Gneisenau enough time to get to her feet before delivering a roundhouse kick to Natalie's face, busting her lip and sending her glasses flying.
Whatever Natalie was about to say died in her throat as she realized that she could not see and frantically began feeling around the sand for her glasses. Gneisenau, still angry from being taunted, picked up the glasses and crushed them in her hand. Natalie screamed when she heard the glass break.
"No! Stop! Stop, they're my mother's!" Natalie cried. Gneisenau stood quietly for a moment, taking time to reach into her pocket and pull out a black eyepatch with a pair of white chevrons on it.
Gneisenau put the eyepatch back and knelt in front of Natalie before gently tossing the broken glasses to the sobbing woman.
"Attempting to hurt my allies is not a smart move… not that I blame you for wanting to hit that cruiser. But the next time you attack my allies… you won't be walking away. You've been beaten, Dutchman. You have been beaten by Gneisenau or Azur lane… formerly of the Kriegsmarine. Do yourself a favor and don't forget it." Gneisenau said as she turned to Brooklyn.
"I'll be joining you on Admiral Nimitz's orders. Just do your best not to piss me off… I don't have a problem beating some sense into you either." Gneisenau said as the tension in the air evaporated, albeit slowly, in the aftermath of the brawl.