Once she was satisfied with a lack of any Siren forces, Indomitable withdrew back to the fleet and met up with the two battleships as Sovereign took Revenge straight to Resource. The repair ship was there to receive them, and took Revenge to the officer's quarters onboard. "I won't ask you to leave, Sovereign" Resource said quietly as Revenge sat down on the bed and she covered her face with her hands.

"I didn't want to do it.." Revenge mumbled quietly as Sovereign sat down beside her and brought her in close.

"But doing it made the pain go away?" came Agincourt's voice. The three women turned to find Agincourt, Anson and Hector in the doorway.

"Y-Yes" Revenge replied. "It was agony either way"

Agincourt nodded silently.

"Is that how they do it with those cubes?" Sovereign asked. "They cause constant pain till you commit to orders given to you?"

Agincourt nodded silently.

"Well that matches my hypothesis." Resource said

"And somewhat explains your willingness to attack me" Anson remarked.

"Sorry about that" Agincourt replied as she looked up to the Battleship.

"It's alright. But, Resource. Where did you leave the cube?" Anson asked.

"It's in my quarters. Two doors down to your right" Resource replied as she attended to Revenge.

Anson and Hector moved to the room in question and as Resource said, the cube was in a small sack. Anson picked it up and examined it. "We've fought them for some time now. And yet we know so little about them." Anson commented. "Perhaps answers will come eventually"

"I'm sure they will. But for now, we tend to our friends and the civilians" Hector replied as he placed his hand on her shoulder before heading out to the main medical bay.

Barham was very much awake when Hector arrived. "Hector. What is going on?" She asked, somewhat confused.

"Phoebe reported that a group of civilians had turned up and many needed medical attention. So Resource had those in desperate need of attention brought onboard"

"I see. She's not looking after everyone on her own is she?" Barham asked.

"No. Some of the nurses we brought along with us are taking care of them. The other nurses are outside tending to the others who are in need of attention but have been luckier than others" Hector replied.

"I see. And where is Resource currently?"

"Attending to Revenge. There was an incident earlier" Hector replied.

"More like both of them were scared of one another" came a comment from one of the other patients, they'd just been brought in and had therefore been present for Revenge's altercation with the man who had previously encountered her in Coventry.

"Revenge was taken captive by the Sirens and much like Agincourt, was used by the Sirens. She mentioned before that there was a gap in her memory and for unknown reasons she wasn't able to remember what had happened. Seemingly, that gap has now been filled due to the incident earlier. So Resource is performing a psychological evaluation on her." Hector explained.

"Oh that poor girl. I hope she'll be alright" Barham said sadly.

"I hope everyone is going to be alright after this" Hector replied solemnly

Resource summoned Hector back to her quarters an hour and a half later. Sovereign was also present as Hector and Anson arrived. "What's the news?" Anson asked, concerned for her fellow ship-girl.

"Revenge's memory gap has fully returned to her, but unfortunately it's mostly the carnage she was forced to commit on the people in Coventry." Resource started, her tone serious but a hint of sadness was evident. "Therefore I am deeming her unfit for duties for the time being as I will need time with her in order to build up her mental strength again. I will be requesting Sovereign for some of these sessions as I know I cannot keep Sovereign from her own duties as Anson's second in command."

"This has also affected me to a degree I am unsure on if I can currently serve as second in command" Sovereign spoke up.

"I understand, Sovereign. And I accept your request to stand down from your role for the time being" Hector replied. "Take the time you need to heal"

"Thank you, Sir"

"It's no issue. Just be there for her"

"I wouldn't have it any other way" Sovereign replied as Agincourt stepped forward.

"If I may. May I also assist when needed?"

"Yes. I was planning on attending to you after I helped Barham recover, but this has accelerated everything. So I'd like you to be present as well" Resource replied.

"If you need more assistance with Barham. I can assign Phoebe here for the time being" Hector offered.

"No. If there's anyone I'd like It's Perseus. Please assign her" Resource replied.

"Very well then. Anson, could you make the call?"

Anson nodded and radioed for Perseus to come to the Repair ship. She was along shortly afterwards and was quickly helping to aid patients aboard.

Another meeting was held aboard Anson's ship, this time the tone was far more sombre. The incident had gotten around to everyone and they were worried for Revenge. Even the former Axis shipgirls were worried for her. There was no need to recap events so Hector got straight to the point on the matter.

"Revenge has regained the memory gap she had. But that gap had been something the Sirens hid from her as they ordered her to perform unspeakable acts upon civilians in Coventry. There appears to be more to her suffering but she's not been willing to open up about it. Only Sovereign knows the full extent of Revenge's suffering under the Sirens and she has declared herself emotionally compromised. That leaves us with a Battleship out of commission, and another unable to retain her position of second in command under Anson."

"It also reinforces the need to find more of our friends." Anson continued. "We may have a bigger fleet than before, but we are still vulnerable. They could wipe us out if they threw enough of their pawns at us. We've had a taste of a hard fight, it's only going to get harder."

"I volunteer myself to take up Sovereign's position" Sheffield spoke up, the maid taking a step forward from the others. Hector and Anson exchanged a look and nodded. Sheffield simply bowed before stepping back to her original position. A few further small conversations were had about recent events and moving forward before the gathered ships were dismissed to perform their daily tasks.

During one of her breaks, Sevastapol was sitting on the railing of her ship, once again looking up towards the sky.

"Thinking about home again?" Sovereign spoke, breaking the silence that had been around the other battleship.

"Da. I get what you must've felt like when you were up with us in the North."

"Yes… I felt a little out of place, even if Murmansk and Tallinn were in similar circumstances to me" Sovereign replied.

"But we enjoyed your company nonetheless"

"Only because you had someone else to drink tea with" Sovereign replied, attempting to crack a joke.

Sevastapol chuckled lightly before turning to face her friend. "I suppose that is true. I wasn't exactly allowed to drink with some of the others. You were the first to break that tradition."

"Didn't Gangut and your other sisters drink with you?" Sovereign asked

"Of course they did. Just.. Myself and Petropavlovsk were better to be heard and not seen with them when Soyuz and her sisters were around."

"Why? No-one ever told me what this so-called error you made was" Sovereign asked, confused by Sevastapol's comment.

"Back in 1921, I was involved in the Kronstadt Rebellion. Soviet sailors and Civilians rose up against the very government they'd just helped into power. Myself and Petropavlovsk were with our sailors when they signed a declaration against the government. And the Government did not like that at all. When it was all over and the Rebellion was crushed. Myself and Petro were taken into custody and were shunned by all our Comrades. We were given new names to atone for our crimes. Petro as you might recall is called Marat now."

"Goodness me…"

"Of course things changed following the invasion of our lands in the last war. So myself and Petro were allowed to fight in full again." Sevastapol continued. "Not like it was worth anything in the end."

"There's no point dwelling on the past now. What's done is done. You have to live with that." Sovereign replied, she was about to say more but instead looked down.

"Your Sister is strong. Behind that clumsy exterior there is a hidden strength. She may have just forgotten she had it." The White haired battleship commented before making eye contact with her friend. "Be strong for her, and when the moment arrives, she will return the favour for you"

Sovereign nodded in agreement before she departed to continue her duties, and Sevastapol knew she'd have to head off to do her own duties. But she was lost in her thoughts. Despite what the other battleship had said about not dwelling on the past, Sevastapol couldn't help but think about the past as she disembarked her vessel and headed off to perform her duties.

Bit of a shorter chapter this time around. Didn't exactly have the drive to write much. Hence the gap between posts. I have much more energy to pour into the upcoming chapters though.