And we're back with another chapter.

Last time, Trigger helped Arizona cope with remembering the deaths of her crew and cheered her up.

But we also saw that when Arizona got drunk, she attempted to assault Trigger in her drunken state, only for Enterprise to knock her out with a bottle.

Trigger was also informed that Iceman has transferred control of the Darkstar Program to Azur Lane and the crew are set to be transferred. Ice even told him that the Top Gun Grads are now transferred to the Admiral Andersen for both combat as well as training.

At the Darkstar Test Site, Maverick and Light Carrier Bataan were also informed about this transfer. Mav also remembers how he failed to be a father figure to a young boy and yet, he succeeded at being a father to a kansen.

As for Trigger, before he left, Penny had told him about Maverick and Rooster's history and about Nick Bradshaw, callsign Goose.

Meanwhile at Yokosuka, a special detachment of kansen were dispatched to find Amagi's cube with the flagship being one of Sakura Empire's biggest battleships.

What's going to happen by now?

Will the cube be found?

Why is this titled 'Flight of the Raven?'

Find out in this chapter!

Iron Blood Port

Kyoten

0100 hrs

It was one hour past midnight here at the Kyoten port. Bismarck and Tirpitz were on the docks as a detachment of siren ships waited for departure. Bismarck said,

"You understand what I am trusting you to do for this mission, Tirpitz?"

The white haired kansen nodded, "My fleet will sneak into enemy territory and attack Azur Lane, even though it will be heavily defended now."

"That's why you have air support as well. Your mission is to inflict major damage on the port and airfield and put an end to Three Strikes."

Tirpitz asked, "What of Ägir's Rebel forces?"

Bismarck stated as she remembered the Iron Blood ships that refused to join Red Axis, just like those Sakura ships that remained with the JMSDF, "I will deal with them while you take care of Azur Lane and Three Strikes."

Tirpitz knew for certain that both sides threaten Iron Blood interests, but it's her current mission that she has to worry about,

"Sister, I must express concern about this mission. Even if we succeed in crippling the base, we will be surrounded by the modern fleets around Hawaii. This almost seems like a suicide mission."

The blonde battleship stated, "You must remember that we are Iron Blood and you are supported by the mass-produced ships and your air support."

"That is another thing I am concerned about - my air support. You remember that I advised against hiring them."

Bismarck glared and said, "If we did not hire them, then we would not have pilots on equal footing with Three Strikes! Let's not forget that with the siren technology that we have been researching in the Philippines and the special projects we have received from Crimson and Varcolac - it could help us in this war."

"We're losing ground in this war and you approved of the Golden Axe Plan and Project Wingman as a means of turning the tide of this war. You also intend to build and use the very weapon that nearly destroyed Tokyo. It may turn the tide, but is this weapon really worth the lives of innocents caught in the crossfire?"

Bismarck had a stoic look and said, "You may not like it, but I have no other options. You - my sister should know better than anyone. The Allied Coalition is going to push their way to Kyoten with Three Strikes leading them."

She closed her eyes, "I will do whatever it takes to research Siren Tech and ensure that the Coalition does not interfere, whatever the cost."

She opened her eyes as she asked, "Now do you understand why I put you on this mission?"

Tirpitz wanted to argue more until she decided, "I understand."

The Iron Blood leader said, "Good, set off as soon as you're ready. I'm also assigning Weser and Blücher to your fleet."

As Bismarck left the Lone Queen at the docks, Tirpitz silently said,

"I'm sorry, but the sister I know would never see civilians as collateral damage. I now know where my allegiances lie."

She placed her hand on her heart as she thought about how much her sister had changed and how she felt lonely afterwards. But that one spark of light in the white haired battleship's darkness were the three scratches.

After she knew what she had to do, the escort carrier, Weser and heavy cruiser, Blücher joined in. Weser's historical self was the fourth ship of the Admiral Hipper Class cruisers before being converted to an aircraft carrier which never fully completed construction. Upon her rebirth as a kansen, she retains the memories of her incomplete construction as well as her original name when she was to be a cruiser, Seydlitz.

Blücher was the second Admiral Hipper Class cruiser and at a glance, she looked similar to her big sister with the twin tails and blonde hair. But while Hipper has green eyes and a stern personality, Blücher has orange red eyes and a fun-loving personality.

But that personality wasn't what she was expressing when she and her carrier sister took notice of the battleship's sad expression on her face. Both had a look of worry as well,

"I hope our sisters are doing okay."

Darkstar Test Site

December 22nd, 2019

1050 hrs

Today was the day that the Darkstar itself took off for its new home. The staff were preparing the test pilot for his flight to Hawaii, first medical and physical examinations before being suited up in the Darkstar pilot suit before climbing the ladder and sitting in the cockpit of the SR-72.

For Captain Pete Mitchell, it was another means of testing the scramjet to go from Point A to Point B. As the canopy closed, he contacted the tower,

"Darkstar to Tower, aircraft preparations complete."

"Copy Darkstar, you are cleared to taxi."

The prototype rolled out of the hangar as a C-17 took off from the runway as Mitchell stated,

"Darkstar to Tower, Transport 3 is away."

"Copy, Transport 3 is away. Darkstar, the runway is yours."

The SR-72 taxied onto the runway as he waited with anticipation for permission to takeoff. Maverick saw the transport heading west to Hawaii and that's where he's going once he's off the ground. But he soon got a call from the tower,

"Darkstar, we got a problem. Admiral Cain's representative is here to ask why the Admiral's authority was revoked."

Maverick had a feeling that the drone-happy admiral wouldn't like that his authority was revoked, but Maverick didn't care and said,

"Tell them that Commander Cross has the authority over us now. Requesting Take-Off Clearance."

"Take-Off Clearance granted. Darkstar, you are cleared for take-off. Wind conditions are calm."

Maverick gently pushed the throttle lever forward as the SR-72's engines went full as the scramjet aircraft was building to take-off speed as the prototype lifted off the ground and into the skies as he climbed to its cruising altitude of 35000 ft.

He heard one last transmission from the tower,

"Darkstar, altitude restrictions have been lifted. Continue on to Hawaii. Good luck."

After that, Maverick soon set his destination for Azur Lane HQ in Oahu as he looked up at the sky as he said,

"Talk to me, Goose."

Azur Lane Airfield

Hangar #2

0750 hrs

The Sun had already risen above the airfield and it's a beautiful December in paradise. Some of the kansen were also remembering that it is going to be Christmas Eve in the next two days and Akashi's shop was receiving some customers, especially for Christmas outfits, no doubt to impress the commander.

And speaking of commander, we see Trigger entering the hangar where his XFA-27 was stored and he witnessed a Manjuu get strung up by a Nugget as he entered. He sighed knowing that there's always a rivalry between those birds.

But as he looked over his XFA-27 and the CFA-44, he remembered the plane that sat in the middle of the hangar - the ADF-11F Raven.

He approached the Raven as he remembered the damage that its unmanned siblings did in the closing stages of the war. But this one is the manned model that was kept within the Space Elevator's Undersea Tunnel; he and the Doc discovered it after they were able to open the shutters of the tunnel.

He also remembered Dr. Schroeder's offer to fly the Raven back in Selatapura. So he decided that it was time to take the good doctor up on his offer and see what this plane can do. So he took out his phone and dialed up Enterprise's number and upon her answering his call. He spoke,

"Enterprise, I need you tell Avril, Prez, Dr. Schroeder and Strider Squadron to assemble in Hangar #2 and inform Shinano, New Jersey, San Diego, Hakuryuu, Prinz Eugen and Hipper to prepare for an exercise."

She asked, "Why exercise?"

He responded, "It's the Raven's time to take flight."

"I see, I'll let everyone know, Patrick."

After he ended the call, he waited in the hangar alongside the Raven.

Ten minutes later

0800 hrs

All of the selected crews were in Hangar #2 as Trigger stood before everyone. Some of the pilots were suited up and ready to go while some showed up with a cup of coffee. The kansen on the other hand were well-rested, especially Shinano as she was ready for what is to come.

Dr. Schroeder was holding a datapad of the Raven as Avril and Prez were assisting the Nuggets in attaching something to the ADF-11F's wings. Trigger soon stated,

"It's come to my attention that we haven't had a combat exercise ever since the war started and since we have seen the unmanned Ravens in combat, it's time to test out this plane and commence air and sea combat training."

He soon stated, "As of now, Strider Squadron will be scrambling for this exercise, it will be Pilots vs Kansen: We go up against Shinano's fleet with me in the ADF-11F leading Strider Squadron. During this exercise, we will be fully armed in case of an emergency, but our FCS for the missiles will be locked. The kansen will rely on training rounds for AA and carrier-launched aircraft, but they can switch to live rounds and shells in case of an emergency. The only weapons we can use are our guns against carrier planes only."

He soon turned to his WSO, "Prez…"

The merc said, "Sir?"

"I'm assigning you to act as the observer for this exercise and you will be flying with Count in a MiG-35D Super Fulcrum that was recovered from the GIS Waldreich, the freighter that Illustrious captured."

Prez asked, "Why are you assigning me to your wingman?"

"Because you can observe the exercise and keep watch on the allotted time. I know you can also handle pilots who fly crazy, so Count is a walk in the park."

Count stated, "I don't fly as crazy like you, but I still have many tricks up my sleeve."

"That you do, pal."

He soon asked, "Since you assigned me a plane, what about my weaponry?"

Trigger had a thought, "You have your standard missiles, but the 6AAMs will do."

Jaegar spoke, "Since you picked his plane, Trigger, which plane do you have in mind for me?"

That made him think hard about which planes for his squadron since they were good with their F-15Cs, but he's in command, so he decided,

"Jaegar, you are flying the F-2A Super Kai and your special weapons would be the Long-Range Air-to-Ship Missiles."

The family man spoke, "Thanks Trigger."

Húxiãn spoke, "Hey Trigger, which plane should I pick?"

The ace stated, "The F/A-18E with the High-Capacity Air-to-Air missiles."

"Good choice."

Tabloid spoke, "Trigger, any plane and weapon suggestions?"

Trigger suggested, "The Mirage 2000-5 with LASMs."

The ex-con realized, "My old plane? Now that takes me back!"

High Roller asked, "Trigger, which plane should I use?"

Trigger suggested, "F-35C with the Stand-Off Dispensers."

The gambler stated, "That's a plane I like!"

Enterprise looked over the formation on her datapad as the image of the squadron appeared in the triangle formation and the colors signified their type which means Blue for Fighter, Purple for Multirole and Red for Attacker. The ADF-11F appeared blue while the MiG-35D, F-2A, F-18, Mirage 2000 and F-35C appeared purple. She stated,

"The multirole capabilities of this formation will ensure that you are ready for both air and sea combat. Are you launching in this formation?"

He stated, "Yes, we are."

Dr. Schroeder approached and said, "The nuggets have already fueled up the Raven, the pulse lasers are charged and both standard missiles and special weaponry are loaded."

Avril spoke, "I even buffed up the camera arrays with a nice shine, so you could really see the sky."

Trigger nodded as he turned to his squadron,

"Strider, Launch!"

Yokosuka Port

Sakura Mainland

0300 hrs JST

At the Yokosuka port, we see Shimakaze, Wakatsuki, I-19, Mikuma and the foxgirl showing their superior their finding. The battleship placed what they found on the table as the JMSDF Admiral looked it over - it was a dull blue cube, but he knew what this was as he said,

"It matches the description of a wisdom cube, but most cubes would glow and yet, this one does not."

The dark kitsune stated, "The cube had glowed briefly when Shinano's butterfly touched it. I do not know what it means, but it almost seems like the cube was missing something."

The Admiral asked, "This is new, what do you suppose would be missing from a wisdom cube?"

Mikuma spoke, "Admiral Mako, I believe I can answer that - the cube lacks a spirit since we were created through the thoughts, ideals and beliefs of humanity. When the first cube was discovered, humanity's thoughts created a soul for the first shipgirl - Constitution."

Admiral Mako remembers that name, "The Old Ironsides of Eagle Union herself, strong as a warrior and full of wisdom."

Mikuma continued, "After the second earthquake, Amagi was thrown from her ship and into the water. The result of that event was her death as she sank and her ship vanished. It's safe to assume that she actually reverted into a cube, but she did survive the earthquake."

"More likely her spirit had survived, but it wasn't stored in the cube which is why the SDF could not find it."

The battleship realized, "Because Amagi's spirit wasn't in the cube at all."

"That is correct, the glow of a wisdom cube is due to the spirit that humanity's thoughts can create. But how were you able to find it while many other searches for this cube had turned up empty?"

The kitsune decided to tell him about what happened, "It began after the butterfly pinpointed the location…"

Yokosuka Port

1300 hrs

14 hours ago

As the dot beneath them blinked because of the butterfly, the battleship stated,

"It's safe to assume that the cube is here." She turned to the submarine, "I-19, you need to dive down there to where the butterfly had marked and see if you can find it."

I-19 sat on her rigging as she looked at the blinking dot in the water, "So far, we are trusting Lady Shinano's information, but this could really be it. I'm also the only submarine in the fleet after all. I'll be right back."

The submarine soon submerged as she followed the trail to the endpoint. Yokosuka has a depth of 4.9 meters depending on where you are in the harbor, so getting to the bottom is easy. As I-19 reached the bottom and saw the blinking dot in the harbor floor, she figured,

"Something must be buried in the harbor floor."

She uses her hands to scoop the soft sand aside as she digs down to the dot. But soon enough, her hands hit something as she saw something peak above the sand - something dull blue was buried there.

Upon finally digging it up, she realized that the object was box-shaped, but she knew for certain that it was a Wisdom Cube. The sub grabbed it and returned to the surface to show the others.

Upon surfacing, the other kansen took note of the cube that she was holding. Wakatsuki noticed,

"Is this it?"

Shimakaze stated, "This was what the butterfly was pointing to. But usually Wisdom Cubes have a blue glow to them - this one is dull."

Mikuma realized, "You're right, the cubes have a distinct blue glow to them, but why this one isn't glowing is odd."

The battleship kansen asked the butterfly, "Is this what you were leading us to, little sister?"

The dream butterfly soon fluttered over to the cube and landed on it. Upon landing, the butterfly disappeared as the cube began to briefly glow in its regular blue before fading.

Unbeknownst to them, that glow was a signal that made a certain Battlecruiser who was bound to an Ace Pilot sense that her cube was found. The disappearance of the butterfly also let a certain battleship turned-carrier know that they have succeeded in their mission.

Mikuma, upon seeing the reaction of the cube, realized, "We need to call this in."

The kitsune knew this as activated her communications as she spoke via comm,

"SDF Command, this is Investigation Fleet 1, we discovered a wisdom cube in the waters of Yokosuka Port - presumed to be of the lost battlecruiser Amagi."

The SDF Command spoke, "Affirmative Investigation Fleet, it seems like Lady Shinano's information is good."

The kitsune stated, "The cube itself is dull blue, but it glowed briefly when the butterfly landed."

"That is an interesting development for a wisdom cube. As of now, your mission is complete, return to base immediately. Admiral Mako from Kure has been notified and wishes to debrief you personally at 1900 hrs."

She soon said, "Affirmative."

Present Time

0300 hrs

She finished her story as Admiral Mako took in the evidence as he already did in the official debrief when he arrived. But he soon asked,

"According to the briefing, Shinano received a message from Amagi's spirit, cryptic as it may be, but it did point us in the right direction. But the question is: Is Amagi a wandering spirit or is she bound to someone?"

The kitsune remembered, "She said that…Amagi was standing next to the Commander of Azur Lane…unaware of her holding his arm."

Mikuma recognized this person and asked, "Are you talking about Three Strikes?"

Shimakaze was curious, "The pilot with the three lines? Is he somehow connected to her?"

That's when the kitsune realized, "Three Strikes…THREE STRIKES! That's it!"

Wakatsuki asked, "What?"

"Amagi has bound herself to Three Strikes! It makes sense, Shinano stated that Amagi emerged from his body, bound to him until…until the cube was found."

Mako smiled and said, "That is an interesting revelation and if Amagi is bound to this ace pilot then the cube itself is the key."

He gave the kitsune the cube, "The reason I called for this meeting this early in the morning is to confirm that this is Amagi's cube and judging by its location - it is her wisdom cube. But her spirit is bound to Azur Lane Commander and Ace Pilot known as Patrick James Cross, callsign Trigger. If you find him - you find Amagi."

He added, "Which is why I am giving your fleet permission to bring the cube to Hawaii."

The kitsune nodded as she looked at her fellow kansen, "You four, go get prepared for departure. I will be with you in a moment."

The four nodded as the kitsune turned to Admiral Mako as he poured two cups of tea. She figured,

"You still make your tea, Mako-San?"

The admiral smiled and said, "Indeed, you and your sisters would always enjoy the tea. Shinano would often say that it would always help her sleep when she wanted to traverse her own dreamscape."

He placed a filled cup near her as she accepted it and said, "I must admit that you looked after us all this time. Even after…"

He soon had a solemn look, "I know…after what the Sirens did."

The Admiral soon brought up a picture of a young naval officer standing alongside the kansen. He sadly said,

"If only I could have helped him as I helped you and your sisters."

The kitsune knew about this since the man had always been compassionate around others and was like the kind uncle who saw the horrors of the Sirens, but gained wisdom in means of caring for the three kansen of the legendary class of ships of his nation.

As she noticed tears in Admiral Mako's eyes, he soon began to sing,

"Leaves from the vine

Falling so slow

Like fragile tiny shells,

Drifting in the foam…"

The kansen gazed at the picture of the young officer slightly smiling at the camera as he stood proud in his accomplishment. But she too, felt pain and sorrow upon seeing this young man as she started to sing,

"Little soldier boy,

Come marching home,

Brave soldier boy,

Comes marching home."

The admiral smiled as he said,

"Thank you for remembering him…Musashi."

The battleship, now known as Musashi, the second of the legendary Yamato-Class Ships, took a sip of her tea and said, "He was like a brother and you would think of me and my sisters as your own."

Mako sighed, "It's probably due to me being stationed in Kure which was where Yamato was built."

Musashi nodded as she remembered, "Our historical selves were built in three different arsenals."

She looked briefly out the window as she saw the port in the moonlight, "Yokosuka being Shinano's birth port while mine was the Mitsubishi shipyard in Nagasaki."

"Each of your sisters were built in different locations, you met your fates in the Pacific War, but when reborn as kansen - I was the first one that you met. Overtime, you and your sisters saw me as a father and ever since I lost my son - I would think of you as my own."

Musashi nodded and said while briefly gazing at the young officer in the photo, "But we will honor his memory."

"I know you will…" He brought up an additional datapad as he looked it over and smiled, "And I am also aware that a certain Black Dragon is at Azur Lane."

That caught the fox's attention as her eyes widened as she realized that the Eagle Union's best battleship is in the Pacific,

"She's there?"

He nodded as he gave her the datapad as Musashi saw the name, photo and rigging of the second ship of Eagle Union's last battleship class.

When she saw that name, she realized, "I may not be obsessed with beating a rival ship like Zuikaku, but the Black Dragon always eluded me during joint-exercises and neither of our class faced each other in the Pacific War."

Admiral Mako soon said, "It is true that neither ship class engaged each other in the Pacific War, but you remember that many historians ask the age-old question: who would win in a one-on-one engagement? Iowa or Yamato?"

The battleship chuckled as she stood up, "Only one way to find out."

She bowed her head before leaving with the cube to rejoin her fleet as they are now ready to depart for Hawaii.

10 miles west of HQ

0830 hrs

Even with a war going on, an exercise will always be a way to keep their skills up. As for the six aircraft in formation, this exercise will also test the capabilities of the ADF-11F and Strider Squadron's abilities as a team. The squadron consisted of the ADF-11F, MiG-35D, F-2A, F/A-18E, Mirage-2000-5 and the F-35C, but it was the Raven who had the three claw scratches as Trigger stated,

"This is Trigger of Strider Squadron, we are approaching the exercise area."

The AWACS for the exercise replied, "This is Magic, Roger. The Shinano Fleet is in position and ready to commence with the exercise. You may start when ready."

Trigger soon asked, "You got that, guys?"

Count replied, "Strider 2 Roger."

Jaeger replied, "Strider 3 Roger."

Húxiãn spoke, "Strider 4 Roger."

Tabloid stated, "Strider 5 Roger."

High Roller stated, "Strider 6 Roger."

Soon enough, Trigger contacted Prez, who was in the MiG acting as Count's WSO,

"Okay Prez, just like you rehearsed."

Prez soon stated, "Strider Squadron's goal is to evade the AA fire from the enemy ships, shoot down any carrier-launched planes and get a radar lock on the enemy ships, either two standard missiles or one LASM to take down a kansen. The Shinano Fleet's goal is to defend the fleet against the attacking aircraft, either they survive until the fixed time or they shoot down the enemy aircraft.

Strider Squadron, you can take at least ten hits from the dummy rounds, but anything above ten than that means you are 'down' and must pull back until the exercise is done.

The same applies for the Shinano Fleet, two standard missiles or one LASM or SOD lock-on would mean that kansen is 'sunk' and must pull back."

She reminded everyone, "This is still an exercise, but all of us are well armed in case of an emergency."

After going through the introduction, the WSO announced, "Now without further ado, Pilots vs Kansen exercise starts now."

She clicked the timer on her watch as she said,

"Allotted time is 20 minutes, good luck."

Trigger soon said, "All right Striders, listen up. Jaeger, Tabloid and High Roller are going to be the ones making the attack run on the fleet. Count, Húxiãn and I will distract the planes and keep the anti-air guns off the attacking group. We'll go in first and distract the kansen while Jaeger and his wing make their run. Remember if you feel like you have the tactical advantage, you take the shot on those ships with missiles. As for Jaeger, your team is equipped with air-to-ground weaponry, so if you get a radar lock on with the LASM or SOD, it counts as a kill."

There were a series of acknowledgments from his wingmen as he said,

"Let's begin."

As planned, Striders 3, 5 and 6 stayed back as Striders 1, 2 and 4 sped towards the Shinano Fleet.

As the Raven, Super Fulcrum and Super Hornet flew towards the fleet, the cruisers and the battleship fired their AA Guns while the carriers launched their A6M Zeros. The three attacking fighters weaved through the anti-air fire without a scratch as they went to engage the prop planes.

Count went after two zeroes as one attempted to maneuver and get on his six, but the pilot saw this and countered this as he pulled his plane upward towards the zero and fired his guns, destroying it.

The second zero took this opportunity to get on his tail and fire the guns at Count, but he was able to shake the prop job off by pulling a cobra maneuver and lighting it up with his guns.

Count stated, "Splash two hostiles!"

Prez stated, "That's two for individual scores."

"Wait, you're tracking our kills?"

The merc officer said, "Shinano and I are tracking the kills that all six planes have." Her com beeped as she realized, "And she informed me that Trigger got three kills."

Count stated, "Whether you are tracking our kills or not, as long as we keep our skills up in this exercise, I'm fine with it, now let's win this thing."

To Count, he could sense Wiseman smiling down on him as his old squadron leader/mentor said,

"Focusing on the mission rather than your score? You're all grown up, Count. I'm proud of you."

Count soon went after another group of zeros downing two more as Húxiãn did a counter maneuver as the F-18 barrel rolled over them as she fired her guns at three A6Ms, blowing them out of the skies.

Trigger was being pursued by two more zeros as he used his voice command on the Raven to pull a kulbit as he fired his pulse lasers at the two, blowing them to pieces.

Prez announced, "Strider 1 has five kills - we have an ace in this exercise!"

Count stated as he splashed one of the last zeros, "Make that two and I'm not bullshitting you."

"I'm sitting right behind you and I know that you splashed your fifth kill."

Trigger soon asked, "All planes, battle damage assessment."

Count stated, "Only a single hit and I'm still flying."

Húxiãn spoke, "One hit for me."

Trigger sighed, "Zero hits on my end. We're doing well so far."

Shinano soon contacted them, "Impressive, you were able to take down our Zeros, but this one has another trick up her sleeve."

Count noticed something about how she talked and asked, "Did she just talk in 3rd person?"

Prez stated, "She used to do that."

Trigger took it as a challenge and spoke, "Whatever you have, Shinano, we can take it."

Shinano had a slight smirk, "Hakuryuu, let us launch the second wave."

Soon enough, several silhouettes of planes launched from their riggings as they soon took the form of a familiar jet fighter. Húxiãn asked,

"Wait…are those?"

Count recognized them, "262s?!?"

The planes looked like the world's first operational jet plane, but Trigger looked closely at them and realized, "They are not ME-262s, but they look similar to the famous jet."

Prez spoke, "These are Kikka jets, they are smaller Sakura jets in comparison to the Iron Blood's 262s. The nose is also more rounded than the ME-262 and historically, these came as prototypes at the end of the Pacific War, never once saw action until the introduction to kansen in Sakura Empire."

Húxiãn figured, "Jets against Jets? I guess we're now on equal footing in the skies."

Trigger stated, "We're also fighting the kansen as well. Jaeger, Tabloid, High Roller, you guys are up! We'll take care of the enemy jets."

Jaeger stated, "Striders 3, 5 and 6 moving in to attack the fleet."

As the Super Kai, Mirage and Lightning II approached the fleet, New Jersey stated,

"Oh no you don't!" She opened up with her anti-air guns as San Diego followed suit while the two Hipper sisters were focusing on shooting down Trigger, Count and Húxiãn.

As the three aircraft evaded, Jaeger reminded his wingmen, "Remember boys, either two standard missiles or one special weapon and they're out."

Both ex-cons stated, "Roger that!"

"All right, spread out and attack!"

All three separated as New Jersey and San Diego were trying to get a bead on them. Hipper and Eugen were opening fire on Striders 1, 2 and 4 as the three fighters took on the Kikka jets which proved that despite the plane, it's the pilot that makes the difference.

Eugen switched to the attacking aircraft as Hipper heard a beeping sound as it turns out - her focus on the fighters left her open as High Roller announced,

"Missile launched. Hipper damaged."

She cursed, "Verdammt!"

Eugen smirked, "You got distracted by Three Strikes, haven't you?"

Her face went red, "Shut up and focus on the mission!"

As the exercise went on, Prez announced,

"Mission ends in 10 minutes."

It was after the last Kikka plane was splashed as Trigger stated,

"All enemy jets have been splashed. Any other tricks?"

Shinano sighed, "Not at this moment, but…"

She soon summoned a mass of dream butterflies as they went towards Strider Squadron. Upon seeing this, he ordered,

"All planes, evasive maneuvers!!"

All six soon increased their speed and ran as they avoided the butterflies. Trigger had to pull some crazy maneuvers to avoid the butterflies and the Raven itself proved to outmaneuver the weaponized insects. He even pulled the same maneuver that he used against the Siren planes with the training squadron.

But once things had calmed down on his end, he heard a voice say,

"That was a close one and that was one of Shinano's powerful attacks. But those butterflies must have been lowered to ensure that your planes do not take actual damage."

He asked, "What?"

The voice stated, "You are now responding to me? Impressive."

The pilot mentally asked, "Who are you?"

The voice chuckled, "I am Amagi and right now, you are getting distracted."

She was right as Trigger pulled away as a butterfly flew past him and slammed into the ocean.

As for the others, Count was pulling a series over barrel rolls and post-stall maneuvers as managed to evade them.

Jaeger stayed low to the water until he pulled up at the last moment as the insects hit the water.

Húxiãn was doing everything she could to avoid those butterflies and she was lucky enough to make it.

Tabloid and High Roller were going through tight turns and clever tricks as they managed to avoid the butterflies with a near-miss from High Roller.

Shinano was impressed by this as the six planes have proven themselves. But she was interrupted when she heard a beeping sound on her rigging as she looked up and saw the Raven flying above her as she asked,

"One or two missiles?"

Trigger stated, "One which means you are damaged."

At this moment, Jaeger got an LASM lock on San Diego, announcing her sunk, much to her shock and High Roller got a radar lock on Hipper, announcing her sunk.

The two sunk ships moved away from the battle zone to observe. Trigger told his squadron,

"One vanguard ship and three main ships left! Are you guys ready for another pass?"

Jaeger spoke, "Took three hits from the AA, but I'm ready!"

Tabloid stated, "I took a three-pointer hit from that butterfly, but not bad, I'm in."

High Roller spoke, "My bird took two hits from the guns and another two from a butterfly, but I'm still in this one."

Húxiãn spoke, "I'm still in this one since I'm at 3 hits to my plane."

Count stated, "My hit count is at 3, but I'm still good."

Trigger spoke, "I don't know how I was able to do it, but my damage count is still at zero."

Prez announced, "You have five minutes left in the mission."

He figured, "Five minutes? Well, it's time to end this. All fighters form up and attack the remaining ships - standard missiles only."

All pilots acknowledged this as they went towards the remaining ships.

They attacked in pairs of three as the kansen noticed this same move against the heavy command cruiser.

It started with Húxiãn, Tabloid and High Roller flying in and damaging Prinz Eugen, Hakuryuu and New Jersey as Trigger, Count and Jaeger finished them off.

It was just Shinano as she calmly bowed her head and stated,

"My escort ships were sunk and I am now defenseless. I hereby surrender to Strider Squadron because I know I have been beaten."

Trigger accepted the surrender, "I accept your surrender, Shinano."

As the fleet formed up as the squadron circled, Trigger made an after-action assessment, "As for your fleet, New Jersey was great in keeping us away from you. San Diego and Prinz Eugen, you both were focused on defending the fleet from Jaeger's wing which puts up a good defense.

Hipper, you were more focused on the fighters in the air battle, leaving you open to an attack by High Roller. It looks as though you were aiming for me specifically."

Hipper's face went red as she stated, "Why are you asking? It's not like…I like you or…anything…"

He soon told the flagship, "Shinano, that was a great deal of carrier power that you and Hakuryuu did. You started off with the A6M Zeros before launching those jets. Now if put against a hostile carrier, those jets would make for excellent bombing runs."

Shinano nodded as Hakuryuu spoke, "That was amazing flying and squadron commands - it looks like the stories about you were true since you were able to beat me in an exercise."

Now from the outside, she was satisfied knowing that the ace pilot had lived up to his stories, but deep down, Hakuryuu felt a burning desire for him,

"And has now earned him the right to be my mate..."

The PR Kansen's inner desire was interrupted by Prez chuckling as she said,

"You never know unless you see him in combat." She stopped the clock, "Pilots win with only 4 minutes to spare."

Trigger contacted Magic, "Strider 1 to Magic, Exercise is complete."

Magic spoke, "Copy that, Strider 1. We have also received word that three C-17 transports are inbound. Return to Base immediately."

"Roger that." He soon contacted both his squadron and the kansen, "Let's head back to base, we have an inbound transport squadron - it could be the crew from the project that we were briefed about."

All acknowledged this as they took vector 90 East back to base.

Unbeknownst to the team, as they were returning to base, they were unaware that their exercise was being watched as the Sakura kansen, Kaga was leaning against the submerged standing stones as she saw the squadron in action.

She eyed the Raven in particular since it had the three scratches. She noticed that it looked similar to the plane from the second battle, but it's entirely different. It made her curious since there could be similar aircraft like the Falken. She remembered how the three planes handled against the jets,

"The Kikkas would put them on equal footing, but it's the pilot that matters, not the plane."

When Shinano surrendered, ending the exercise, Kaga sighed, "It may be considered dishonorable to surrender, but in the tactical sense - it was the only way. Sometimes surviving is nothing to be ashamed of."

As she saw the six planes get into formation, she noticed something sitting in the wing of the Raven,

"Is that…"

The figure on the wing waved at her as the ethereal aura confirmed that it was the spirit of her half-sister - Amagi. The spirit spoke as if she were next to her,

"Your heart drew you here,

To witness him in battle,

You know where to go.

My guidance leads you,

To your heart's desire,

And to me, Kaga."

The white fox was amazed by this as the spirit stated,

"I sense my own cube,

It has been recovered,

My rebirth is soon."

Kaga was surprised when she heard this and more surprised that Amagi was also a haiku poet. After speaking with Amagi at the shrine, she knew that she's bound to him and that her wisdom cube is needed for her return. It all made sense, but she would know that Akagi wouldn't see it that way because she is seduced by the Observer and the promise of bringing Amagi back through the Orochi - but it wasn't the way.

The Battlecruiser even knew that because of her change of heart - Kaga wants to follow him, but she wouldn't want to abandon Akagi. She also thought about Mutsuki and her sisters, the little destroyers who admired Three Strikes and were happy around Kaga as well. She didn't want to leave them behind.

But like it or not, she would have to make a choice: stay loyal to her sister and her misguided ambition or take her half-sister's advice and Follow the Three Strikes.

Kaga placed her hand over her heart as she felt it beat fast whenever she thought about him, but also about the Mutsuki sisters, she recalled that the girls had a dream where Mutsuki and her sisters were walking alongside the ace pilot while one of them held a toy F-22 up like it was flying while Mutsuki was on his shoulder with her arms spread out. But it also had Kaga accompanying them as her arm was linked with his as she had a ring on her finger.

But her thoughts were interrupted when she saw a siren portal opening as she saw a siren fleet emerge from it. Her eyes widened when she saw siren aircraft emerge and realized where they were going,

"They're heading for the base!"

She realized that Azur Lane was going to be attacked soon.

Azur Lane HQ

0850 hrs

As Strider Squadron and the Shinano Fleet got into range of the base, they spotted two C-17s inbound as Wales' voice was heard,

"Transport planes, please state your squadron number."

The first plane spoke, "This is the 729th Airlift Squadron, we are inbound with the crew of the Darkstar Program. Commander Cross is expecting us."

The squadron saw the planes as Count asked, "Boss, are these it?"

Trigger stated, "Those are the planes that we were briefed about."

Húxiãn noted, "We were briefed that there were three, but there's only two."

High Roller sighed, "The third one must have taken off late."

Tabloid stated, "Well, it's just how it is."

He soon heard the voice of his secretary contact him, "Trigger, this is Enterprise, I'm in the control tower with Wales and the Transports carrying the Darkstar crew are looking to land."

The Ace asked, "How is the runway doing?"

"The airfield's been quiet ever since you took off. The taxiways have also been cleared in preparation for their arrival and Hangar #5 is set up for the Darkstar crew. But the aircraft itself hasn't arrived yet."

He smiled and said, "He'll probably show up later, but for now, give the transport planes clearance to land."

The carrier nodded as she acknowledged, "Affirmative - wait. Wales, there are multiple hits on our radar at vector 260 West. No Friendly IFF." The battleship checked the radar and confirmed this as she shouted,

"Commander! Enemy incoming! Siren aircraft are inbound to the base!"

That surprised them because of the prospect of siren aircraft attempting to attack the base again. But that was short lived as those little bogeys were in visual range and were going to attack the base. Count spotted a group of siren planes ignoring the base and determined their destination,

"I'm seeing a mess of planes heading for the transports."

Trigger soon ordered, "Wales, I need you and the battleships to get on the water and set up an AA screen, you and your sisters will protect the port while Nevada, Nelson, Rodney, Colorado and West Virginia protect the airfield!"

He soon ordered his secretary, "Enterprise, I need you and the carrier kansen to set up a defense around the port and airfield, You and Hornet will go with Long Island, Wasp and Independence to protect the airfield while Illustrious, Victorious, Formidable, Unicorn and Glorious protect the port itself!"

He contacted Shinano, "Shinano, split your forces and protect the base!"

She spoke in third person, "This one acknowledges your order. All ships, split up and protect the port and the airfield!"

Trigger soon informed the tower, "Scramble Cyclops, Ridgeback and Sol Squadron, get them into the air ASAP. We don't know if they are after the transports or the base. But we must assume that they are after both, your groups will protect the base while Strider Squadron escorts the transports for an emergency landing."

Wales spoke, "Roger that! We will be putting Ms. Mead in charge of the Control Tower."

Avril chimed in, "I'm not much for formalities, Wales. But my callsign is Scrap Queen - which is what I will be referred to during combat."

As they got up and left, Enterprise asked the mechanic, "Are you sure that you can handle this?"

She shrugged, "Air Traffic Control? Not really my strong suit, but this is an air raid after all."

Avril hit a button as the air raid siren went off as the base was alerted that an air raid was imminent. Avril contacted Trigger,

"Trigger, contact those transport planes, the squadron's callsign is Pegasus."

He thanked Avril as he contacted the lead plane, "Pegasus, this is Strider Squadron, we will provide escort to the base."

Pegasus 1 spoke, "Pegasus 1 copies, Strider 1. We're counting on you to get us down safely."

Pegasus 2 spoke, "We are running low on fuel as it is."

Trigger assured them, "Strider will handle the sirens, maintain your course and we'll get you down safely."

Pegasus 1 stated, "Roger, we're in your hands."

When the transport mentioned fuel, Trigger became concerned about the fuel status and asked his squadron, "Guys, how are we on fuel?"

Count stated, "I got enough to escort."

Jaeger spoke, "I have enough, but if we get into an extended fight, we could be in trouble."

Húxiãn chimed, "I have enough in the tank."

Tabloid stated, "I still have enough to help these guys get to solid ground."

High Roller replied, "I'm still good on fuel, but five bucks says that something else is going to go wrong."

Prez asked Trigger, "Is he always so pessimistic?"

The ace stated, "He is, but he is right sometimes. But anyway, let's go help Pegasus get to the ground!"

Strider Squadron soon engaged the fighters that were threatening the C-17s and Trigger unlocked the FCS allowing his squadron to use missiles.

At an instant, Strider Squadron went after the enemy planes as Trigger and Count teamed up against a couple of siren planes closing in on Pegasus Squadron.

Both flight lead and #2 took on at least three bandits as the drones were focusing on them and less on the transports.

Trigger used his pulse lasers to shear the wing off of the first Siren Jet while pulling a Cobra on the second one pursuing him before firing a missile at the drone, blowing it to pieces. The third one tried to blindly fire on the Raven, but Trigger was able to avoid its blaster fire, did a kulbit which made him get a radar-lock on the enemy plane as he fired another missile - blowing it up, he soon realized,

'This was the move Mihaly did when Champ was killed at Yinshi.'

He shook that aside and got back to the mission as he saw Count tie up his batch of enemy planes.

Count did tight turns and got on their tail as he locked on with Prez saying,

"Good tone!"

Count announced, "Strider 2 Fox 2!"

The missile launched as it connected with the enemy plane as it blew to pieces. Count did a Cobra on a plane that was on his six as he used his guns to destroy it.

"Got another one!"

Prez warned, "Watch out, there's one more bandit on our tail!"

Count stated, "I got it, hang on!"

He lowered his altitude as he brought his pursuer right into the path of Nevada's battleship group as he said,

"Have fun with the AA!" He broke off as the siren jet was hit by the AA guns of the battleships.

Prez sighed, "That was smart, driving it into the path of the battleships."

Count shrugged, "It's what Trigger would've done."

The merc agreed since she saw how the Ace operates his squadron.

Back with the transports, Húxiãn, Jaeger, High Roller and Tabloid were protecting the C-17s from any siren aircraft that ignored Trigger and Count.

Jaeger and Húxiãn went after two planes heading for Pegasus 1 while Tabloid and High Roller went after the planes going towards Pegasus 2.

But as the pairs shot down the enemy aircraft threatening the C-17s, they heard the pilot of Pegasus 1 say,

"Wait, what are you doing out of your seat?" There was a voice in the background as the captain realized,

"You want to join the battle?"

The voice spoke again as the Captain sighed, "We'll do it ma'am."

He contacted Strider Squadron, "All planes, keep clear, we're opening the loading ramp."

The C-17 soon opened its loading bay as a figure stood with her back to the open door. She was anticipating for the call as the Captain shouted,

"Light Carrier Bataan! Commence Drop!"

Upon hearing this, Bataan leaned back as she fell from the plane. As the g-forces rushed against her and the ocean came ever so close to her, she brought out her model Hellcat as it soon formed into a fully functioning plane. She mounted it as the prop job went after the siren aircraft threatening Pegasus Squadron.

She spoke, "This is Light Carrier Bataan, I'm now on station!"

Trigger stated, "Bataan, this is Trigger of the 124th Tactical Fighter Squadron and Commander of Azur Lane, it's good to have someone else helping us out."

The carrier was surprised, "The Three Strikes himself!? We were looking forward to meeting you!"

"No time to fangirl, we have a job to do."

The carrier agreed as she rode her Hellcat around the transports as they began to lower landing gear. Bataan summoned several Hellcats to shoot down a few siren jets until she spotted another group of planes that made it past her. But Trigger had an idea,

"Go, my hatchlings!" Soon enough, the objects on the ADF-11F's wings took flight as they flew towards the siren aircraft as they fired a series of pulse lasers on the alien craft, destroying them.

The kansen who spotted those two small aircraft were surprised as they dispatched an enemy squadron before remounting on the Raven, Enterprise had spotted this and asked,

"Wait, what are those?"

Trigger answered his secretary, "Those are UAVs exclusive to the Raven. They can be launched to dispatch a target before returning to the Raven."

The carrier realized, "Like a Mini-Arsenal Bird."

Trigger chuckled since this plane with the drones can be compared to the Arsenal Bird. Bataan saw this as she said,

"I never thought I would see that."

Trigger stated, "You'll get used to it, Bataan and this was actually my first time flying this plane."

The light carrier saw that the transports were going to land as she said, "The transports are landing. What are your orders?"

"Blow up as many Siren planes and protect the base."

The light carrier soon moved her plane towards the water as she leapt from the plane and skimmed across the waves while launching more Hellcats from her rigging while holding her small model,

"Best way of giving orders, sir."

Meanwhile at the airfield, Cyclops, Sol and Ridgeback Squadrons were scrambling for takeoff as Long Caster's E-767 was taxiing for takeoff. While the planes were making their way to the runway, several siren planes were fighting with both kansen launched aircraft and AA weaponry.

As they taxied, Avril informed them of Pegasus Squadron as she spotted Pegasus 1 with its gear down,

"C-17 making an emergency landing! Everyone keep clear of the runway!"

The transport plane was able to pull off a landing in the middle of an air raid as Pegasus 1 spoke,

"This is Pegasus 1, we are on the ground. Our thanks goes out to Strider Squadron for getting us through."

The second transport circled the base as the pilot said, "This is Pegasus 2, we still have fuel left and base defense has the sirens tied up. We'll hold until your squadrons launch."

Magic spoke, "This is Magic, Roger that. Azur Lane Tower, continue with launch."

Avril understood this and told all squadrons taxiing for takeoff,

"All squadrons, once you're on the runway, do a formation takeoff. I don't want any of you guys to get bounced while on the tarmac."

The squadrons acknowledged this as a formation takeoff is preferable during an air raid and continued with taxiing, Magic soon contacted the Osean AWACS, "Magic to Long Caster, once you takeoff, increase your radome to expand radar detection range in case of hostiles outside current detection range."

Long Caster acknowledged, "This is Long Caster, I hear you loud and clear with barely enough time for breakfast before this raid. Cyclops, Ridgeback and Sol Squadron, takeoff first and then we're going to launch the AWACS afterwards."

As the four F-15s taxied onto the runway, Fencer stated,

"Cyclops Squadron is on the runway, requesting Takeoff Clearance."

Avril spoke, "Takeoff Clearance granted, Cyclops. Take off immediately!"

The four Eagles fired up their engines as they sped down the runway as a siren aircraft attempted to shoot them while on takeoff. But Cyclops was able to takeoff before the drone could get a shot on them as the drone itself got shot down by Hornet's Wildcat fighters.

Fencer announced, "Cyclops Squadron airborne!"

Magic spoke, "Cyclops Squadron, assist the air defense above the base and protect the Stennis and the Admiral Andersen still docked at the port."

The Osean Eagles acknowledged this as they went to their assigned areas.

It was the Ridgeback's turn as they taxied onto the runway as all four ASF-Xs were in position.

Slash spoke, "Ridgeback is on the runway, requesting takeoff clearance."

Avril acknowledged this, "Ridgebacks, you are cleared for takeoff. Hurry!"

Once clearance was granted, the four ASF-Xs hit the throttle as they sped down the runway and lifted off the ground as they climbed and the landing gear folded up.

Slash spoke, "Ridgeback Squadron airborne!"

Magic acknowledged this, "Major, your squadron is going to provide support for the defense of the airfield. Do not allow the sirens to directly attack the airfield."

"Roger, let's do this!"

Edge spoke, "Ridgeback 2 Roger!"

As the Ridgebacks went to airfield defense, Sol Squadron had taxied to the runway as the four SU-30s were in formation. Wit requested,

"Sol Squadron ready for takeoff. Requesting clearance."

The mechanic stated, "Sol Squadron, you are cleared for takeoff."

Upon hearing this, all SU-30s hit their afterburners as they got to takeoff speed and lifted off at a steep angle. All four planes made it into the air as Wit announced,

"Sol Squadron airborne!"

Magic ordered, "Sol 2, there's a whole mess of siren aircraft heading for the academy and the command center. We have Light Cruisers St. Louis and Helena along with Battleship New Jersey to provide AA cover and Sakura PR Carrier Hakuryuu for air defense, but it won't be enough. Join up with the defense and stop those planes from damaging the academy and the command center."

Seymour realized, "Targeting a school? You gotta be kidding me."

Wit stated, "Let's show them how the Voslagian Air Force responds to targeting schools!"

Wit and Seymour went to protect the academy while Hermann and Roald went to protect the command center.

When all the squadrons were airborne, Long Caster's E-767 was going to taxi onto the runway as he spoke,

"All squadrons are airborne and are heading to protect the base."

Avril acknowledged, "Roger Long Caster…wait, what's this, I'm picking up eight signatures to the west."

"What's going on?" The Osean AWACS was curious as to what was going on and asked his Eagle Union counterpart,

"Magic, can you pick those up?"

Magic stated, "Hang on…" After a few seconds, he alerted everyone,

"Magic to all Azur Lane forces! We've got enemy bombers inbound from the west! I repeat, bombers incoming!"

Upon hearing this, Strider Squadron broke off as Trigger stated,

"Slash, look after the transport. Long Caster, get airborne immediately while we fly out to intercept!"

A series of rogers were heard as Strider Squadron flew out west to intercept the bombers.

As they flew into towards the target, Húxiãn sighed,

"Today started like a normal exercise and now we're dealing with this."

Jaeger admitted, "From what we can tell, we had no idea that these things were going to attack."

Tabloid stated, "My time with them, especially Observer - the naked girl with the tentacles, had only fueled my desire for payback for using me for an experiment."

Count was curious, "But where did all of these fighters come from? Even if they could teleport here and get through our defenses to destroy our base, there's not enough of them to actually occupy the island."

High Roller had a thought, "Maybe Red Axis is involved."

Trigger had a feeling of that possibility, he thought back to the first battle of HQ. There were siren aircraft and ships decimating the base until the 1st Carrier Division showed themselves and announced their betrayal.

That would mean that they need to be ready for siren aircraft, ships and enemy kansen. But there's also the danger of their fuel status since they burned most of it with the exercise and escorting the transports.

It wasn't until they reached the bogeys that they soon identified. The bombers were the usual siren heavy bombers from Point Mugu and Wake Island, but he noticed four fixed gear, piston engine aircraft with the cross insignia.

Trigger announced, "We have four siren heavy bombers…and four Junkers JU-87 Stuka dive bombers!"

There were a series of surprised gasps among them as they realized that Iron Blood aircraft were in the airspace. They realized that this wasn't just a siren attack - Red Axis is looking to destroy the base!

Trigger stated, "High Roller's prophecy came true. The Iron Blood is looking to bomb the base! We need to take out all bombers before they reach the base."

The six split off as they went after the bombers. But they were soon bounced by siren escorts and ME-109s as the alien jets and prop planes attacked Strider Squadron. But those unmanned prop planes were no match for six skilled pilots.

Trigger looked at the heavy bombers and dive bombers as he contacts Strider 6,

"High Roller, you take the lead heavy bomber and I will take the lead Stuka."

The gambler responded, "Roger that, Trigger. Let's get 'em!"

The Raven and Lightning II moved towards the bombers as the tailgun of the Stukas opened fire on them. But they evaded as High Roller got a radar lock on the siren bomber,

"Strider 6 Fox 2!"

He fired his missile at the bomber as it struck the engine as it fell to the ocean below. High Roller announced that one bomber was down.

Trigger lined up his shot on the Stuka as he fired his pulse lasers at the dive bomber, blowing it to pieces.

Count and Húxiãn went after a heavy and a Stuka as the Super Fulcrum and Super Hornet shot both planes out of the skies.

Jaeger and Tabloid went after their bombers as the F-2A and Mirage attacked the heavy and the Stuka with Tabloid getting a precise hit on the bomb bay doors, which penetrated the doors and detonated the payload - destroying the bomber as Jaeger blew the Stuka out of the skies.

But there were still two more bombers making a beeline for the base as Long Caster was taking off.

Trigger decided, "Launching UAVs!"

The UAVs launched as the little drones sped towards the last two bombers. UAV Alpha targeted the siren heavy bomber as it fired its pulse lasers as the lasers shot at the front where the control unit is, messing up its steering as the bomber fell out of the sky.

UAV Bravo made its way to the Stuka as the tail gun of the kansen-launched plane attempted to shoot the little drone down. Bravo was having a bit of difficulty than its brother as it swerved through the bullets and fired its pulse lasers on the Stuka, destroying the dive bomber.

The squadron soon formed up as Alpha and Bravo remounted onto the Raven as Trigger announced,

"All bombers shot down!"

Long Caster stated, "Excellent work, Strider. I'm already airborne and expanding radar detection range."

It took a moment before the radar expanded as more blips appeared on the radar. From what Trigger saw on his radar from the display on his flight helmet, eight were red arrows indicating aircraft while three were red dots, indicating ships.

Long Caster announced, "We're picking up an enemy fleet along with air support."

That caught their attention since the Stukas were too small to fly all the way here. So he asked,

"Any ID on the fleet?"

The Osean AWACS stated, "According to Magic, it's an Iron Blood fleet with Heavy Cruiser, Blücher, Light Carrier Weser and Battleship Tirpitz along with a dozen siren ships."

That caught everyone's attention, especially Hipper and Eugen when they heard about it. The blonde cruiser spoke,

"Long Caster, you're saying that our two sisters are here along with the Lone Queen of the North!?"

"Sisters?"

Eugen stated, "Blücher is an Admiral Hipper-Class Cruiser and Weser was going to be a cruiser of our class, but was converted into a carrier."

Upon hearing this, Trigger asked, "Are you two going to be okay with this?"

Hipper sighed, "I don't know, but we always had a deep connection with each other. Bismarck must've sent them to try and break us since they are our sisters."

"What about Tirpitz? We were briefed that she is Bismarck's sister."

Eugen spoke, "She is and if she's here, that means she intends to crush Azur Lane on orders from Bismarck herself. An act of desperation, it seems from her older sister."

That brought up an opportunity, the presence of Tirpitz would mark her as a High Valued Target. But he had a feeling that there was more to it since Tirpitz was here and not Bismarck, there wasn't even a hostile Sakura fleet nearby. Which means that the Iron Blood is acting on their own.

He decided, "All carriers, launch your planes against the Iron Blood fleet. Sink the siren ships first."

The carriers acknowledged this as their strike planes were heading towards the enemy fleet. But there was one other thing to worry about besides their fuel status reaching the red zone - the air support.

"Long Caster, what about the enemy air support?"

The AWACS checked and said, "Eight hostiles, four of each. Aircraft type: SU-37 and F-22."

Skald realized, "Terminators and Raptors? What are they doing here?"

Trigger had a bad feeling about this as he asked, "Are the aircraft flying red parade colors, Long Caster?"

The AWACS was curious as to why he said that until they were able to get a close up via satellite and stated, "Confirmed. Four red Terminators and Raptors, Trigger."

That brought a feeling of shock and realization of both Trigger, Tabloid and Slash as the news came in. When the Major heard this, he realized,

"It's Crimson!"

Iron Blood Fleet

5 miles from HQ and closing

0935 hrs

As the Iron Blood fleet continued their course to the base, the eight aircraft were in formation over the siren ships, they consisted of four SU-37s and four F-22s, all painted with the Crimson parade livery as the lead Terminator spoke,

"Crimson Squadron's on station. Tirpitz, do you see him? Azur Lane's Ace?"

The battleship heard this as she used binoculars to spot the plane with the three claw scratches, but she did take notice of how eerily similar it was to the Falken - the plane from the Sakura report. But she saw those scratches and said,

"Jawohl, I see Three Strikes, he also has Strider Squadron as well, Crimson 1."

"The Squadron from Oruma's report?"

The battleship stated, "Ja, those planes are the rest of his squadron. You are cleared to engage after you make it into the combat zone."

The former peacekeeper stated, "Roger. Tally-ho. Let's hunt this three-lined dog and his pack."

As the eight planes flew towards the island it was clear what was going on - Crimson Squadron were going to go after Strider Squadron once they arrived at Azur Lane.

A/N: The dreaded cliffhanger!

The Iron Blood of the Red Axis decided to strike at the heart of the Allied Forces by launching a raid on Azur Lane HQ.

But really, after the attack on the 7th by the 1st Carrier Division, they wouldn't think about a second attack, but it seems that the Iron Blood were acting on their own.

They use siren aircraft to attack the base while the Darkstar crew were just arriving - talk about rolling out the welcome wagon.

But now there's a dangerous situation with Strider Squadron - Crimson Squadron was coming in and the six Oseans were low on fuel.

Will they be able to land and refuel quickly before the former peacekeepers are on top of them?

When will the Darkstar itself arrive?

What's going on with Tirpitz?

Find out next time!

Nighthawk Out!