AN: Sorry for being a month late with the update. It was mostly writers block along with school work and I'll continue to do my best to maintain a reasonable schedule.

Thank you very much for the review, Centurion1711. I'm happy to see that you believe my combat scenario writing has improved. And I'm happy that you like my writing style, which I'm doing my best to improve further. Again, thank you for the review.

Also I'm happy to see more than 1k views on the fic. Thanks to everyone who's still staying with me.

(North Pacific - 08:00)

"Ma'am, the captain will see you now. She's sorry she kept you waiting."

Moeka had no problem with waiting even longer, if it meant that Amelia was fine. If she was capable of coming to meet her, then most of her former worries had been unnecessary. It was hours since they got away from their enemy. But leaving the ship at night had not been an option.

"Good morning, China-san."

Moeka looked up to see Amelia who now stood before her, with her right hand bandaged and hanging from a sling. "Putting on a dress uniform is not easy with this."

Moeka now noticed that the black coat which was part of the RNSF dress uniform hung across her right shoulder, while being perfectly worn along her left side. It was impossible to miss, but Moeka had been too worried to notice that.

"I'm really sorry."

"Not necessary." Amelia replied quickly. "It was a pathetic display of skills from my side. Allowing the French and the Italians to get one over on the true Mediterranean power." She was smiling, though it didn't improve Moeka's feelings.

"Besides, I think I had it coming"

"What do you mean?"

"I hit quite close to the Bismarck's bridge in our battle with them, when I commanded the Rodney. I think our shells shook the bridge a little too much, and Captain Oels broke her leg falling down a deck."

"That's not your fault."

"Doesn't matter. It was too much of a burden to bear anyway."

Moeka shook her head. "Are you always like this?"

Amelia didn't answer.

"What happened last night was my fault." Moeka continued, before being cut off by the British captain.

"Our mission last night was a success. We achieved our goals, even if the situation deviated from our plans."

"My goals didn't include our ships getting damaged so heavily. You could've been killed. Captain Darlan and her crew could've been killed."

"We've accepted all dangers when we swore to become Blue Mermaids in the future and protect the seas."

"That doesn't forgive my negligence. I overestimated my ship, and underestimated the danger I put you in."

"Still, we accomplished our plans." Amelia said, firmly. "The information we gathered last night is extremely valuable. We didn't have a safer way of going ahead with that recon."

"I don't want to put my friends in danger."

"You didn't. The plan wasn't perfect, but no one really can think about all the variables before coming up with a plan. You'll improve over time."

"If we're talking about experience, then I should've let you command instead."

Amelia chuckled. "That's a bad idea. I'm a former captain in the Mediterranean Fleet. We have a bad habit of underestimating the Italians and the French."

"I don't believe you."

Amelia smiled. "I can't make you believe anything, but I think you'll make up your mind sooner than later. In the meantime…"

Reaching into the left pocket of her coat, she drew an envelope.

"...I'll let you have this."

Moeka took the envelope and carefully tore it open. But before she could read its contents, Amelia said,

"It's a formal invitation to lunch on the Queen Elizabeth. I know Captain Darlan planned on giving lunch on the Dunkerque. But that ship isn't in a good shape right now."

While Moeka stood, somewhat stunned, she continued. "And don't worry. Our food isn't as bad as Darlan pretends it is. So do you accept the invitation?"

Moeka bowed. "Of course."

"That settles it then. I can't deliver a written invitation like this to Captain Darlan, so a radio message will have to do. It's a pity our destroyers had to leave. Or I would've been able to meet your friend."

Moeka nodded. "I would've liked to see her too, after everything that happened last night. The Americans should be really worried if they want to bring us back home this soon."

"Anything that worries them should worry everyone. But let's forget that for now. Goodbye China-san."

"I'll see you at lunch, Captain." Moeka said, smiling. "And I hope your arm heals quickly. I'd hate to see you like this for long."

"hard to starboard!"

The helmsman of the Hood steered frantically as the battlecruiser avoided another round of shells fired by the Bismarck. In the bridge, Emily tried to remain calm while giving her orders.

"Those were too close for comfort."

The Hood fired a salvo in return from her fore-turrets.

"Full speed ahead." Emily commanded. "Steady as she goes. We need to close our range a little more."

Everything seemed to happen too quickly as another round of shells straddled the Hood, with the shells fired in return missing their mark again. But those were close misses, and that was a good sign. Emily could hear her crew cheering all around her. Too many voices. Too much noise. And it didn't seem to come from anyone around her.

"Hard to port!"

Still things weren't as half as bad as Emily would have thought. The Hood had closed in on the Bismarck now. They were out of danger now.

And that was when it all went wrong.

Emily couldn't remember the shell hitting the Hood, or the explosion that followed a while later. All she could remember was that the disembodied voices around her had shifted from cheers to screams and shouts of panic.

She had probably hit the floor from the shock, since she now stood up, or tried to stand up, again. The Hood was going down.

"Captain, your orders?"

Emily couldn't identify the face of the person who had called her just then. Was it Amelia? No, it couldn't be. She was not on the Hood with her. But while she failed to identify the face, she didn't fail to understand the tone of the voice. It was full of panic.

"Abandon ship!" The command had only left her mouth before she lost her balance again. Her ship was probably halfway down Davy Jones's Locker by now. Too fast, too soon.

Nobody's going to get out alive. Emily was trying to get up again. She was the captain. She had to take control. She couldn't afford to stay down. But the truth hit her like a fifteen-inch shell, causing her to lose balance again.

Wait, was that water? Yes it was. There was water everywhere now. Water all around her. This was all too fast. There hadn't been enough time for anyone to get off the ship.

And then the water began to reach over Emily. She had to swim. She couldn't afford to die like that. But her limbs were frozen, and all she could do was take a last breath of air before the sea water clouded her vision.

She had to hold her breath. The Hood was going down, and she was going down with her. But Emily couldn't feel whether she was holding her breath or not. It was all confusing now. Was she holding her breath, or was the water already entering her lungs.

She decided that it was the later situation. She was drowning. She was dying. Now it seemed to take too long. Why did it take so long?

(Yokosuka Marine Girl's High School - 11:20)

Emily couldn't remember whether she slowly opened her eyes or if she jumped out of bed.

I saw that again? Her method of waking up was probably the former. She was getting used to this nightmare now.

Now she wondered why she even went to sleep, an hour ago, in the first place. She hadn't been particularly tired after the morning piano session. But here she was, in one out of several dorm rooms provided for her and her crew.

She lay in the bottom bunk of her bunk bed for some time, trying to get over the drowsiness she felt after her morning nap. The upper bunk belonged to her X.O, who was rarely seen these days. She was an early riser who came back to bed late at night.

Emily decided to get out of bed. After all, she had lunch to attend in a couple hours. As she sat up on the bed, her eyes again settled on the framed photo placed at her bedside table.

It was a photo of a happy family, taken years earlier during a visit to Clydebank.

Instructor Fraser stood dominating the left side of the photo, dressed in his Royal Navy dress uniform. Two little girls stood in front of him, laughing at the camera. The smaller one of the two was Amelia, while the somewhat taller girl next to her was Emily. At that time both of them were too young to enter marine training school; Emily was still nine, but that hadn't prevented Instructor Fraser from taking them to Clydebank as much as he could.

The right side of the frame belonged to the beautiful woman who sat on a wheelchair. Anyone looking at the photo would've said that Amelia Fraser inherited her mother's looks, and that would've been true. Both had the same brown hair, and the same blue eyes.

This woman was who Emily considered as her second mother, and she could remember the time when she was still capable of walking perfectly and serving in the Blue Mermaids. But the greatest crime of the pirates had intervened.

Nobody knew exactly whether the pirates deserved the lion's share of the blame for the great mutiny. But they were definitely the ones that sparked the flames, and Emily could never forgive them for that. Only a small faction within the Blue Mermaids and White Dolphins had participated in the mutiny, but the damage they caused was enough. Only two Royal Navy Blue Mermaid frigates had been caught up in the fighting, but both were damaged badly, and the loss of life had been significant.

Amelia's mother was lucky to escape with her life and the lives of most of her crew, even if her injuries caused her to retire early from the Blue Mermaids. She had spent two years on a wheelchair before trying to walk again.

The second frigate was also fortunate enough to survive the fighting. But the ship's survival had come at a terrible cost, that being the life of the captain and half the crew. Emily had only met Jude Somerville a few times, and she had always felt sad seeing how much she resembled her mother who died a hero.

As past memories surfaced and sank into her subconscious faster than the Hood had sunk in her nightmare, Emily got out of bed.

(Floating Shopping Mall - 13:00)

"You'll go to the moon some day…and still eat sausages."

Wilhelmina smiled sheepishly. When you find something good, you stick with it."

It didn't help that all of the remaining three had chosen Japanese food, even though the mall offered a much wider variety than just German and Japanese. They seemed to have the notion that when in Japan, you had to eat as Japan does.

And it wasn't just that she loved German food. She also loathed Japanese food, and she had her reasons. A not-so-fond memory of eating raw sushi with extremely hot sauce in a Japanese restaurant in Germany, during her first year as a student, kept surfacing in her mind. She had tried less spicy versions of that nation's food on board the Harakaze. But it had only increased her dislikes.

Fortunately for Wilhelmina, Alene continued to be the only person objecting to her choices. Emily had remained quiet most of the time. As for Kalum, being the only boy around three girls was becoming quite awkward for him, and he was silent.

This annoyed Alene. "So Kalum, anything you did to kill time back at home? Apart from piano and badminton?"

"Eh, I liked both of those things. But they weren't really stuff I did to kill time."

"Then what?"

"A bit of this, a bit of that."

"No hobbies? Mina here has an unhealthy obsession with Japanese gangster movies…"

"Hey!"

"Too many hobbies…I guess. Reading, watching movies or documentaries, collecting stamps, building Lego warships…"

"Excuse me?"

Kalum looked embarrassed, and also offended, "It's not that different from building model ships. When you do that, everyone thinks you're cool. But if you say you do the same with Lego, people laugh at you."

All three girls laughed, even Emily joining in a bit. Kalum was fortunate physically incapable of turning red.

He only mumbled, "this is exactly what I was saying."

"Ok stop." Emily said, after finishing laughing. "Don't embarrass him. As he said, it's not that childish."

"I know, it's really not that different from actually modeling ships. I've done that. Yes, just because I like something, doesn't mean it's my entire personality." Wilhelmina said as Alene raised her eyebrows. "I think most of us like model ships. It helps when we're away to confront the perilous depths of Davy Jones's Locker."

"And how many ships have you made?" Emily asked, as Kalum continued to look away.

"About thirty."

"You sir, will be paying for our lunch today."

Kalum began to reach into his left pocket. "How much?"

"There's no need for that. This is on me." Emily said quickly, but added with a smile, "but you can pay for anything else we have here. You all can."

"Then I'll go check things out." Wilhelmina ssid, standing up.

"Already done? No time for dessert?"

"I'm full. A little walk should solve it."

A few minutes later, Alene stood up. "And I'll be going to the restroom." She had hardly left the restaurant area when Emily asked,

"So, what do you think about Alene?"

"Er what? Sorry ma'am, but what do you mean by that?" Kalum asked, suddenly fumbling with his chopsticks.

"Firstly, that's not how you use those." Emily said, demonstrating. "And secondly, no need to call me ma'am or Captain or anything like that when we're out of duty. I'm Emily, and you're Kalum."

"I've been told that before." Kalum murmured.

"And thirdly…I think my question was quite simple."

"Then…I think she's…quite the character, to say the least."

Emily smiled playfully. "I guess that's the first impression everyone get when they see her for the first time. But you guys from cruisers see her as a role model or something, so it must be surprising."

"Not exactly a role model. But she's quite famous."

"She probably hates how she became famous. The Solomon Island incident. "Anyone else who went through that would've been traumatized for life. Having to fight off actual pirates…And do many of them…"

"And she wasn't?"

"Not exactly. I've known her briefly before all that; I mean before we were both on ships, and she was quite the different then. The Solomon Island incident was during her first year, when she was just fifteen like me. I only met her again last year during…during one of the Hood's world tours. She was such a splendid ship…she was the go to ship in the RNSF for international training exercises…"

Kalum almost winced as she spoke now,sounding almost as if she had a flu.

"Sorry, I trailed off. As I was saying, I met her again last year, and then she was the girl you see now. I don't know whether it's all genuine, or whether she's putting up a show. But, just watch how she fights, because you'll get that chance soon."

"I have to go up north?"

"Yes, and No, I didn't recommend you. I don't know why Instructor Somerville chose you for the job. I mean, you're not bad in any way. But the environment up there is so different compared to where you've been before. But if you get through that…well I won't be there to see."

"You won't?" Alene had chosen that moment to return from the washroom.

"You're not joining us? Why?"

"I don't have a ship."

"You could borrow someone else's. Like Amelia's doing now."

Emily shook her head. "It's best to let Harry have fun this time. I'm sure he'll do a good job in my place, or even a better job."

"Don't say that."

"It's the truth. He's a good captain and…and he has the best ship in the RNSF. I'll say she was always better than the Hood."

By this point, Emily had tears in her eyes and Alene shot an accusatory glass at Kalum, as if he was responsible for this. He replied by shaking his head a couple times more than necessary.

"Guys, this place is awesome. It's a shame we didn't come here…earlier." Wilhelmina had chosen that moment to return from her tour and she froze right on her tracks seeing what was going on.

While Kalum and Alene remained on mute, Emily managed a smile.

"I guess that means there's a theatre for old movies here. Maybe we can return here again another day, once you're back from the Arctic."

"When we're back from the Arctic…wait, you're not coming."

Emily shook her head. "I know you and Thea probably hoped to see me in action. But instead you'll get to meet the nightmare of the Regia Marina."

"Hmph."

"I'll miss the chance to see Thea in action too."

"I don't think we'll do well there. We've never had experience close to the poles before. The Sharnhorst is the best choice, but she's still getting repaired. The Tirpitz is also good, but after…" Discussions about that battle were better kept for later.

"It's quite the interesting choice of course. But everyone probably isn't worried much because of the odds we'll have against them. We're going to have the Musashi as well as the Vanguard and the Sovetskaya Rossiya. I wonder who'll be commanding the whole thing."

"Russians and Japanese don't go well together." Wilhelmina said. "Well Russians and Germans don't go well together either, and I don't know about Russians and the British." She looked at Emily, quizzically.

"They still hate us for building ships for Japan back in the day, while they were forced to go to war in French hotels. And we didn't make things easier for them in 1905."

"Then leadership will be an issue. Captain China is really good, but since she's a first year, she won't be getting the job."

"Moeka China." Emily thought for a moment. "She's with Amelia these days. I wonder how they're getting on."

(North Pacific - 13:15)

"Captain Fraser…I can't believe…I didn't even think you'd do something like this…for me."

Moeka couldn't figure out whether Captain Darlan's emotional response came from the presence of French dishes for lunch, or the absence of English ones.

Amelia just smiled. "Enjoy."

And enjoy, they did. Their meal consisted of a mixture of French fishes that were all devoured by all three of them. That was until Amelia faced the beef. Till then she had displayed her skill at eating using just the left hand, but cutting the beef was a challenge.

"Captain Fraser, let me do it."

Before Amelia could reply, Moeka had pulled her plate and cutlery towards her, and was cutting the beef into neat pieces. Once this was done, the plate was once again passed to its owner.

Amelia was blinking rapidly the whole time, and now she stopped.

"Thank you, China-san."

"You're welcome."

By then even Captain Darlan had gotten over her initial shock.

"So here we are again. Enjoying a fancy meal, and putting last night behind us. I think it's the right thing to do. We…"

Here she was interrupted by a yawn, which she swiftly covered with her fist. "I'm sorry."

"Couldn't sleep?"

"That's part of the reason. We had to do a lot of emergency repairs the entire night, and still we couldn't repair the major damages. Our rudder's still broken…"

Now Moeka could see how weary her eyes looked.

"So you stayed awake all the time?"

"I refuse to sleep till I'm sure my ship's fine."

"I really don't think any of us slept much last night." Amelia said. "Of course for me it was my arm…"

"You had some really bad luck yesterday."

"Only me?"

"I won't say it was all bad luck, since I'd be ignoring my mistakes if I say so." Moeka said. "We did meet a formidable opposition we didn't plan for. But that was my mistake."

"Always prepare for the worst case scenario." Amelia nodded. "I should've thought about that."

"Dammit. A minute ago, we were putting yesterday behind us. Both of you have to agree that meeting the Nagato and Missouri was just bad luck. Not even a Blue Mermaid would've expected that."

"I still can't believe we met the Missouri."

"What's so special about the Missouri? She's another Iowa, and I know they're really strong. But is she that special?"

Moeka put down the glass of lemonade she's been drinking. "It's not about her. It's about where she was before yesterday. Pearl Harbour."

"So now the Americans are worried their entire Pacific Fleet is infected?"

"That's quite a stretch, since someone would've found out earlier if that was the case." Amelia said. "But as I said…"

"Yes, yes, prepare for the worst case scenario. If anyone can comfortably do it, that'll be the Americans."

As if to prove her point, the French girl took her own glass of lemonade, finishing it in one gulp.

"I'll have to pay back the Nagato for what they did to my ship. But can we all agree that the Roma and the Richelieu were responsible for ruining our entire plan?"

"Surprising to see the French blaming themselves. But I agree." Amelia said.

"I won't be blaming any French ships either. But since we have one of the twins here…"

"Twins?"

"Marie and Eleanor Villeneuve. The captains of the Richelieu and Jean Bart."

"Marie? Like Marie Antoinette?"

"If I get a say in things…exactly like Antoinette." Darlan's tone left no questions about what she meant by this.

"She's not that bad, from what I've heard." Amelia said.

"Her sister's worse. Just because she has the Jean Bart…It's unfortunate that battleship's still considered as our best, even if we have three more just like it."

"Or maybe you just hate how the Dunkerque isn't the center of attention in the French Student Fleet anymore."

Darlan looked as if she would strangle Amelia, but you can't really hate the person who went out of their way to make you happy with a perfect meal.

She sighed. "That's part of the reason. Till a couple years ago the Dunkerque was the best ship in the fleet. Of course they aren't particularly strong, but they were fast."

She took another sip of lemonade and continued. 'When I was younger and planning to join the student fleet, I made up my mind to get the Dunkerque. I got the ship I wanted halfway into my first year. But the next year she lost flagship status. And soon after she lost flagship status, Emily happened."

"Emily happened?"

"Mers-el-Kébir." Amelia explained to Moeka. "It was a training exercise between the French and the Mediterranean Fleet. Our group was outnumbered so Emily avoided the direct combat scenario in the exercise by attacking the French while they were still in port and had no idea they were supposed to fight."

"That is allowed?"

"It was a cowardly move."

"It worked."

"Yes, so I don't blame Captain Kerr. But overall that incident didn't help the Dunkerque's reputation."

"Don't worry. You'll be able to get the Dunkerque the recognition she deserves." Moeka said.

Darlan shook her head, smiling sadly. "This is my last year as a trainee. I don't think I'll get the chance for that. And the reputation just dropped even further last night. We lost the battle, and now we're running away."

"Well yes, it hurts when you put it that way. Think of the shame; the third best captain and crew in the entire RNSF was outsmarted by the Italians." Amelia chuckled unexpectedly. "If I were you I wouldn't fret over it."

That seemed to lighten the mood up a bit. "I'd only be disappointed if we don't get a chance for another round. This time they took us by surprise."

"Is round two a possibility?"

"Who knows. I'm not assigned to go north once we get back to port, and I don't think you are. So with some luck, we'll be able to meet our friends back here one more time."

"I'll have to go on the northern expedition." Moeka said. "So, I wish you good luck."

Amelia sighed. "That's disappointing. But I look forward to fighting with you again."

Moeka nodded. "I will face the Missouri properly the next time."

(Mediterranean sea - 12:00)

"What are these for?" Alisa asked while handling the assault rifle Nikolaus had handed to her.

"They're only for the worst case scenario." The latter answered. "You admiralty seems to believe that we might have to fight off boarding attempts."

"Oh. Well then…"

"You're not getting one." Nikolaus said, pulling the gun from her hands.

Alisa glared at him for a moment. But then again, she wasn't in any condition to use a gun yet. She was temporarily seated on a deck chair during one of her walks with clutches that were taking place under her mother's…and her doctor's…instructions. Today she had nearly managed to climb up the ladder to the deck without any help. A major improvement. Not that she couldn't walk, but the breathing difficulty caused by her injury meant that she had to rest a lot during the walk, and the clutches came in handy then.

"Hopefully we'll never have to use these." Nikolaus said. "It's not like pirates can approach a fully armed warship. They won't risk it."

"But there are pirates, where we're going?"

"By now, most certainly yes. There were a couple attacks on ships in the Red Sea, but still no one knows their objective. They attack…and disappear off the face of the earth."

"I hope they do disappear off the face of the earth."

Nikolaus pretended not to hear her mumble. "We don't have anything to worry about. Convoy duty is quite simple if your enemy only has boats."

"Torpedo boats."

"But they're not Japanese torpedo boats."

Alisa ignored him, so Nikolaus shrugged. "I've dealt with worse in training."

For a moment, Alisa could see the Nikolaus she knew and she liked. Not the Nikolaus who seemed to hope against even a rough wave now that she was on board.

"I think I'll go back to my room now. It's too hot out here." She tried to stand up on her own, but had to sit down again with a groan.

"Here, let me." Nikolaus held out his hand which she clutched, allowing him to pull her up.

"Can't even stand up properly. But wants to fight pirates."

Alisa was not amused, and tried to decide on whether to reply to the insult with a scowl or a punch. She decided on the latter.

Nikolaus had not been expecting this response. While quick reflexes avoided the full force of the attack directed at his stomach, he had no way of taking his left arm away from the path of the fist.

"Ow, Okay that wasn't necessary."

Alisa was about to scowl at him, but she was stopped when someone cleared their throat behind them.

"Captain, am I interrupting something?"

"Not at all, sir." Nikolaus answered as a young man in White Dolphin uniform came forward.

"Then I believe you'll like to know that we're done with the loading. You're good to go. And Captain Cunnigham, in the future, just push him overboard."

That idea seemed to amuse Alisa, but she decided not to entertain the White Dolphin.

"Thank you for the suggestion, sir. I'm afraid you weren't introduced to me."

"I'm Captain Sakellariou. Currently the test captain of our new large cruiser. Those ten inch guns need a lot of trials."

"So a new student ship. I didn't know the Greek fleet got a new one. Wait…Sakellariou?"

The White Dolphin nodded. "Sophia was my cousin."

Alisa was now quite interested in the cruiser's wooden deck. "I'm sorry. I couldn't even attend the funeral. But I'm going to make sure to avenge her."

"I hope you don't try that."

"Huh?"

"You should leave that to us. Currently your job is to just patrol the Suez Canal and make sure everything goes smoothly there. That's all."

"Now you sound like my brother." Alisa murmured.

"I was your brother's captain in his first year, on this same ship. So it might be the other way around. But Harry has his ways, and in this case he's correct."

Alisa stayed quiet so he continued. "You signed up to save lives. Stick to that. But anyway, we'll make sure you trainees don't meet any pirates if we can help it. Don't need another Solomon Islands incident. But if you do meet them, just let us know unless they really want to fight. And if they get to boarding range…the rifles fire our taser rounds."

Alisa looked as if she was about to protest, but then she decided to give in with a simple nod.

Captain Sakellariou smiled. "Then you're good to go, unless you want to see my ship first."

Chapter two will be quite long so if it's all smooth sailing we can meet again in about two months or one and a half. Cheers!