The sounds and smell of the sea – crashing waves and seagulls calling in her ears some distance away and the unfamiliar sting of salt – had been gentle at first, when she was still a half-mile away from the ocean, but they were now becoming overpowering as she hopped out of the truck that had taken her to her newest assignment.

Tanya stared at the entrance to the High Sea Naval Station, feeling a kind of minor trepidation she had not felt in several years. Once again, she was starting her new life in the military… only this time, she had even more knowledge than she had when joining the army.

Considering the… history of the organization she was joining, she was glad to have even that advantage.

She paced towards the checkpoint guarding the entrance to the base, her papers in one hand and a suitcase carrying her belongings in the other. She had refused the assistance offered in the letter detailing an order for her to report to the base – she'd rather not be indebted to some faction because she didn't feel like carrying around her luggage.

The guard was almost as nervous and jumpy as some civilians would get when they heard the 'Great White Silver' was in front of them, but she was allowed through quickly and professionally and given directions to the building she was ordered to report to – before even being allowed to set down her luggage. She hoped that his professionalism was a sign her worst fears were unfounded.

Those hopes were not high.

She stared across the vast network of roads between the various buildings of the base, idly wondering if she would catch sight of the Emerald Bay the city was built at the entrance of while going over the history of the Empire's Navy she had been forced to accept as fact.

And she had tried, so very hard, to disprove the facts that the books she read laid out, because what they told her, over and over, couldn't possibly be true-

She shook her head and suppressed a groan. But no.

She had known, before starting her research, that the Empire had formed in the flames of war – part of the common knowledge of the people around her, a basic history class during her initial training, and required reading for her classes during her time at military college.

Norden had been annexed by the Kingdom of Prussy during the Brothers war between it and the Ostian Empire. It had formed the North Germanic Confederation soon afterwards, incorporating land she knew was independent in her own timeline. She assumed the area hadn't become culturally distinct in this timeline, perhaps because the dykes and land reclamation projects the area was associated with in her own timeline weren't started until after unification in this timeline.

A royal marriage had fused the faltering Ostian Empire and the Empire declared in the wake of the defeat of the Second Francois Empire. The state had to be reformed to ensure it didn't collapse under the weight of its competing ethnic, religious, and economic groups, and the meritocratic Empire that had ensured she could rise through the ranks without having even hit puberty was born.

Her attempts to learn about the Empire's navy gave her some more context for the events she knew had played out… but they had also painted a fantastical tale as to why, precisely, the Empire's navy had actual, living, honest pirates in it.

She glanced around, paranoid that she'd see a Jolly Roger flying somewhere, and shook her head. How it was possible…

The Norden Royal family had not taken kindly to their country being invaded, but they had found little help. Their most powerful potential allies were distracted – the Albish and Francois were competing over territory in Afrika, while Imperial Russy was attempting to cement its control over newly gained territories in the Caucasus and Syberia. Meanwhile, the Legadonians refused to help them due to some ancient feud between their ruling families and the Ostians were barred from allowing them asylum in the peace negotiations. She assumed the Prussy had wanted them to swear fealty or marry in…

Only for the family to uproot itself and spirit away all those who didn't wish to live under the Prussy, including their navy and mages, to their Caribbean colony. She didn't have any idea how that had happened, but reading that little tidbit only made her more incensed that her attack on Brest had been denied all those years ago if there was historical precedent in this world too!

Of course, their colonial subjects hadn't taken kindly to the increased taxes needed to keep the navy afloat and the royal family pampered. One revolution later, Norden's colonies closer to the arctic were sold to Legadonia, the family got enough money to live comfortably in Albion, and the Caribbean islands declared a new republic…

She could have accepted all of that easily enough. What she had had such a hard time accepting was that the revolutionaries decided that the best thing to do with their newfound independence and navy was to turn to piracy.

She honestly didn't have the foggiest idea of the why's and how's of the situation, and maybe, when she finally managed to secure a position in the rear, or maybe once she was retired, even, she would visit the place to figure out how in the world that had happened.

They'd terrorized the Caribbean for a few years until the Unified States had declared war on the Ispagna Collective to 'liberate' their Caribbean colonies. The Republic tried to offer their services, was denied, raided the American's supply convoys, and subsequently found themselves at war with the Unified States as well.

The war for those islands had taken longer than the war against the Ispagnans, but they still lost. Rather than allowing themselves to be captured, the pirates had fled. And, when it looked like they might either starve or start trying to raid the shipping of other countries, the Empire offered them a safe haven.

While their skills, experience, and historical ties were the stated reason they were brought to the Empire, the Empire's navy was neglected heavily so that every resource that could be spared was directed towards ensuring the Empire wouldn't collapse. Getting a few dozen ships of varying quality and thousands of sailors for free was seen as a good deal.

Once more, she shook her head as she continued to trudge around the base, familiarizing herself with its layout. She had been sure she was reading some very weird kind of fiction book, the first time she'd read the words 'the Empire's navy was partially founded by pirates.' The more she had read, the more she was forced to conclude that either a lot of people were in on this joke, or… it wasn't a joke.

What Tanya was sure of was that there was more going on than met the eye. The meritocracy the Empire was known for was, in the words of one of the books she'd read, 'unfortunately lacking' in its navy. The Emperor held 'massive influence' according to a few.

She shook her head again. Pirates?

She was startled out of her musing about her current job by a gaggle of people rushing from one building towards the hospital. She might have let them pass without incident…

"I can't believe that… insanity-driven idiot! No matter how groundbreaking his discoveries-"

"Sigmund, you and I both know he is driven by only two things: God and cocaine."

…if they hadn't said something that sounded so very familiar.

She stopped one of them. "Are you, by chance, speaking of a Doctor Schugel?"

They stopped as the group continued on, and he looked down at her imperiously, until his expression shifted to confusion, understanding, and then fear. "W- White Si-"

"I am Maj… Tanya von Degurechaff. Please refer to me as such."

He nodded quickly. "Yes, the doctor did mention you'd be joining us. How he knew is a mystery-"

"Schugel is here?" she asked, cutting him off again.

He nodded. "Is he… important to you?" he asked.

Tanya scoffed. "Oh, in a sense." It was important that she knew where he was, at least. "Why?"

He stuttered. "Well, he happens to be in critical care. He broke into the base yesterday with a bunch of alien technology he was apparently working on and-"

She resisted the urge to glower at the man – she still had one last question. Still, she couldn't help but let her displeasure leak into her voice. "Where is he?"

He pointed at the hospital his coworkers were walking into in the distance. She nodded, thanked him for the information and turned on her heel.

Her inspection of the base could wait for later. She was putting as much distance between herself and that puppet as she could, immediately! Who knew what would happen to her when he started hooking her up to alien technology?

Well, he certainly wouldn't know. Or if he did, he wouldn't have determined the effect through any kind of rational, scientific method, but through Being X!

-OxOxO-

Captain Grän Glein held, as most nobles did, somewhat… complex feelings about the current affairs of the Empire.

Oh, not their transmigration across worlds, of course. That he felt was quite the shame, considering how well the Empire had been doing in the war. No, his feelings had much more to do with the structure of the Empire. It was wrong, for families of old, who had been held in the esteem of the Emperor, entrusted with power to protect its people, to be seen as equal with the hordes of uncultured, ambitionless men and women that made up their country.

That was not a complex feeling.

No, instead, his ideas had been forced to contend with… aberrations. He'd come into the navy happy that at least this branch ensured the aristocracy was given its due respect, only to find himself put out of sorts by the whining of the men in the boiler rooms and other officers…

And then the pirates had been allowed in and proven… contrary to his expectations.

They were loud, wouldn't know good taste if it introduced itself to them firsthand, and eschewed almost all forms of propriety at the drop of a hat. In all these ways and so many more, they irked him and the rest of the nobility.

But.

He had been stationed in the North Sea Fleet – the one Pirates had the most influence in – which meant he had to learn to get along with them. He had learned to pinch his nose and had found himself confused, of all things, when they proved themselves his equal in skill. He never would have admitted that he was proud to call any of them his friends – the only faster way to ensure he was exiled from the aristocracy would be to insult the Emperor – but it was impossible not to respect their skill.

And then he'd met the next aberration.

A little girl, a patriot, who not only served as the tip of the Empire's naval invasion of Norden, but had then managed to serve the Legadonian's crumbling fleet to them on a platter – even if the North Sea Fleet bungled the execution. She had even demonstrated, on his Basel no less, the need for reform of the navy's doctrines in the face of increasingly potent Aerial Mage forces.

So. Perhaps his father's complaints about the 'peasants getting uppity' should be taken with the same grain of salt as he did about his mother's complaints that he should get around to providing her with grandchildren when he still had plenty of time to live his life before settling down. If the so-called peasants could produce people like Degurechaff, perhaps the Empire was not on the wrong path after all.

He glanced around the opulent meeting room to gauge the four others in the room with him awaiting the arrival of the White Silver. He was not there as a representative of the aristocrats in the navy, but as a representative of the North Sea Fleet. His cordial relations with the Pirates, as well as his relations with the White Silver herself were probably the only reason he'd been chosen over one of their own pirates.

He wouldn't dare ignore his own faction just because he was here on business, of course, and he'd met the Commander of the High Seas Naval Station a few times before – Admiral Harthy wasn't yet Grand Admiral only because of his age and continued focus on turning the Inner Sea Navy into something comparable to the other two because of its proximity to his homeland in 'Imperial Dacia.' He was dressed more conservatively than usual. Perhaps he'd heard of the White Silver's own disdain for superfluous displays of pride?

The Commander of the Wilhelmshyaven Naval Base was technically part of the aristocratic faction in the same way he was technically part of the navy. Everyone at the table knew Leopold Jackson was split between his aristocratic upbringing and the training he had received in the army before he was reassigned. His hair was cropped short to the army standard, and even his naval uniform was ever-so-slightly closer to the army's standards than the navy's.

Edward Wilhelm was dressed as shabbily as he expected someone representing the lower ranking officers to look, and though he didn't know why he was here, he was at least being quiet.

Lucas Anker was managing to make enough conversation for all five of them, and even he was having a difficult time taking the man entirely seriously when he was wearing an eyepatch and an honest-to-goodness flintlock pistol. And the less said about the clothing that was two decades out of date, the better.

Mercifully, a knock on the door interrupted the man's boisterous retelling of yet another stealth mission aboard his 'pride and joy' – some inglorious metal coffin no doubt – and the woman they were there to meet was soon shuffled in.

In the years since they'd last seen each other, she had managed to shoot up a whole foot, even with the rather dire situations faced due to supply shortages… or perhaps in spite of her rumored addiction to coffee.

As they introduced themselves, it was easy to gauge some of her reactions – resignation upon seeing Anker, recognition upon seeing himself, and a brief moment of confusion upon glancing at Harthy.

"Firstly, I must once again thank you on behalf of the North Sea Fleet for your support during the Norden invasion," he began. They'd been thanking her – apologizing for failing to exploit the opportunity she'd gifted them – for years now, and she continued to accept their thanks every time it was offered.

This time was no different. "And I must once again tell you that it has been years since then. Please, at this point it's liable to become a habit."

He simply smiled as the main meeting got underway. She was asked if she knew of the history of the navy and told them yes – she'd been up all night studying. He only nodded to himself at that pronouncement. No doubt she'd been studying late in order to ensure a good impression. A good trait to have in a subordinate, but considering why the Navy had given up their demands for an additional two battleships for her, it wasn't likely to be necessary.

Still, she was as thorough as ever, and her assessment of the navy as being the most important branch in their current situation was completely true. Not even the army could argue against that anymore.

Edward Wilhelm spoke up, and he remembered why the man was there – he was technically a scientific doctor. "We had initially planned to present you with a few options for you to decide where and how you desired to work – you would have been stationed in Kopenhyagen if most of the naval infrastructure weren't currently in flames."

He cleared his throat. "However… your file said you were familiar with Doctor Schugel?"

Her expression visibly soured and he hid a chuckle. It seemed that even the vaunted White Silver could have her hackles raised.

They all got abortive chuckles out of her expression and her attempt to course correct. "Don't misunderstand me, I have no warm feelings for the man, but your repeated requests for transfer speak for themselves."

"Still. He has, once again, managed something quite… miraculous. It is… possible your skills will be of use, though the specifics are top secret. Until such a time as you can be assigned more concretely, you'll be given the rank of Lieutenant and transferred to-"

Harthy cleared his throat. "Murwik, where you will be put through an accelerated officer course-"

He braced himself. This was where it started.

"My apologies, Admiral, but the Kial School was rather insistent that-"

"I really do think that Amstreldam should be given more consideration-"

"The White Silver won't be servin' below the decks, ya coal-stained sod! Submarines-"

"Sneak attacks are hardly befitting of a woman of her renown-"

He stood without a word, hardly noticed by the bickering men. Degurechaff seemed to be on the verge of visibly panicking – did the men in the army not know how good they had it, to have a resource like her at their disposal, or was their control self-assured enough they didn't feel the need to argue openly?

Still, as he passed, she did grab his attention. "Is this-"

"Always how it is? Sometimes… but I've been seeing a lot more of it whenever you are involved."

She muttered something about blackmail under her breath, and he fought the urge to visibly react. Perhaps she was better prepared for the shenanigans the navy participated in than he gave her credit for?

Eventually she let out a sigh. "When am I going to get my retraining? While there will be some crossover between the branches, I do not believe being thrown into the deep end would be productive when we're facing an alien threat to our nation."

He nodded as the argument behind him continued. "The North Sea Fleet will provide you with an instructor in Naval Magecraft, at the very least. In fact…" he checked his watch and took note of the time.

He closed his pocket watch with a click and a nod of his head. "We actually have another meeting to attend soon. I'll have you escorted to your room. Expect a decision soon."

She glanced around his figure at the bickering figures and he looked back as well – Harthy and the army man had snuck in their parade sabers, the pirate had a cutlass he'd undoubtedly smuggled into the country from God-knew-where, while the scientist had snuck in an oversized wrench – and he cleared his throat. "Well… soon may mean within the week. The debate has been… fierce."

Though her face looked unchanged, he got the feeling she was unimpressed.

Still, he got her squared away with the men standing outside the door in good time. After a short fifteen minute break, they returned to the room to find a few more representatives present – a few from the Imperial Naval Administration, and even someone from the Inner Sea fleet. They all sat down, took a moment to familiarize themselves with the papers sitting in front of them, the residents of the High Sea Naval Station fended off looks of incredulity, and another woman walked through the door.

If he were but a babe born yesterday and was asked, between the two women who had been in the room that day, which of them was the 'White Silver,' he'd probably guess this woman nine times out of ten based only on her silver hair and white clothing.

The senior most representative of the Imperial Naval Administration – the Vice-Admiral of the States department – looked between the papers on the table and the woman in front of him, took a deep breath, and then began to speak.

"Miss… you claim you are-"

"I am indeed Emden, at your service."

There was a moment of silence.

"I kill him. I'll kill that motherfucking scientist if it's the last goddamn thing I do!"

-OxOxO-

As they walked through the park, her ears twitching at the sound of birdsong and the wind flowing through the trees that had been planted but a year ago despite the war ending almost four before that, Amagi could not help but feel melancholy. Despite being returned to life, she had been feeling that way since almost the moment her death had been reversed.

She had died. Her last moments were muddled, but she remembered how taxing it was to even breathe. For over a decade, she had been dead and gone.

And then, an instant later, she had been returned to life.

As she had expected, Kaga and Akagi were able to lead the Sakura Empire expertly, avoiding becoming entangled in the politics of the army and navy…

For a time, things had been… fine.

But Akagi's goals extended beyond safeguarding her homeland. She could not bear to live without the hope of getting her back… and she could not find any way to do that. Kansen who were scientifically inclined could not produce the results she desired, no matter how much she yelled, and if the human military knew, they weren't willing to tell her.

So.

Her sisters had led the Sakura Empire in the name of the Sirens. They'd begun actively participating in the army's misadventure on the mainland and assisted in the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, with the promise that if they managed to 'win' against the United States and the Eagle Union, she would be returned to life.

The pendulum seemed to swing in their direction as victory after victory was had, and ever-more resources could be poured into the war…

And then…

She sighed once more, her parasol shifting in her grip. Nagato glanced towards her, but Amagi merely shook her head and smiled sadly. "I was merely reminiscing."

Nagato nodded, and they continued their stroll.

And then Midway happened, and her sisters died. All of their skills had not been enough to save them from the might of the United States.

And though she had often heard, both within the Sakura Empire and Japan as a whole, that the whole of the Eagle Union and United States's forces could have been rolled up if only they had been given a chance to fight, no one with any sense thought a prolonged conflict could be won.

Not even those military men at the top thought that a prolonged conflict could have been won. That was part of the point of launching the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Amagi frowned, her tails and ears lashing about. Oh, even just thinking about the war…

It lit a fire within her, aimed squarely at her sisters. Sending dozens of their friends and fellow Kansen to their deaths, just to get her back? No matter the awesome power those two fools held, whether obtained through hard work or gifted to them by the Sirens, they were not invulnerable!

She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Even five years later, she could not believe them!

She shook her head as the anger drifted away and the melancholy began to creep back in. In the end, she doubted the Sirens would have helped. Even if her sisters had managed to kill the Grey Ghost, at Midway or at Pearl Harbor, or even the entire 'Eagle Union' or the entire US Navy, would that mean they had 'won?' What did the Sirens consider 'victory?' How far would her sisters allow themselves to be strung along based on false promises?

Regardless of the Siren's definition of victory, though, they could not have won without capitulating to the Sirens completely. The reports she had gone over claimed they might have been able to get some 30, maybe 40 Kansen carriers by 1945, and she found that very doubtful. The number of people who had reason to lie about such things was as disheartening as it was large. The quality of the designs for many of them she also found suspect, not helped by the fact that they weren't allowed to incorporate their best technology into them for fear of having to give important information away to the public – and in turn, the enemy.

Not that they had much choice in the matter – if the navy was unwilling to share, then they could do little about it.

By contrast, the Americans had been much more willing to reveal and incorporate more advanced technology into their Kansen, to say nothing of the sheer number of hulls and Kansen they could put in the water. And, there was always the drastic notion of revealing the records and schematics of any number of the more advanced ships in use by the conventional navies to churn out Kansen en masse.

In the end, she felt her melancholy was justifiable, although perhaps less so after five years. The only reason her country had not been utterly destroyed for waking the giant was because the Sirens had betrayed all expectations by returning in force after decades of near-total silence. They had threatened every combatant of World War Two, and threatened the mainland of the United States in a way Japan could never hope.

To add insult to injury, all those who had died during the war had only been returned to life thanks to the efforts of the Eagle Union and their commander. She would not be enjoying life again if not for him, and neither would her sisters. The Kansen at Azur Lane often spoke of how he had gotten majorly chewed out for 'giving away' the secrets of the Type II rigging that had pulled her from beyond, despite the need for every ship that could stand against the Sirens.

She sighed once more. "Are you sure you are well, Amagi? I would not mind putting off this meeting until tomorrow."

She smiled. "No, I feel fine, Lady Nagato, and it would be best if our superiors did not have the opportunity to leave us in the dark about their plans."

If there was one thing she was happy about in regards to the war, it was that with the army humbled by the Chinese and the navy humbled by the Americans, the Emperor had begun casting a wider net for advisors, which included civilians not tied up in either branch and a Kansen or two.

They needed to settle on the Sakura Empire's official stance on the latest revelation – an entire continent seemingly copied out of Europe and placed in the southern Pacific. Information was scarce at the moment, and considering the delicate domestic political situation and the fact that she was only-

Their tranquil meeting in the park was interrupted with a crash as four Kansen piled up on the locked gate. She heard some violent swearing from an unusual source – these four were well known for their diverse personalities and camaraderie, but she had never known Takao to be one to swear.

She managed to undo the lock on the gate in no time and pushed two of her sisters forward while one of them kept the gate open. Amagi began to greet them and ask what was so urgent… until she saw the look in Atago's eyes.

That look was never good.

Takao quickly bowed to them both. "Amagi, Lady Nagato. I have information on our mission that must be reported to you immediately."

Amagi raised an eyebrow. "Mission?" she asked. She was too far up the chain of command to plan every patrol, reconnaissance, and escort mission, but she did authorize them and make sure she knew if any of their more skilled Kansen, which certainly included Takao and Atago, were absent from their homeland. She hadn't seen any of them-

Takao stiffened. "Akagi ordered Atago and I to escort a ship to meet with the otherworlders."

Amagi's curious smile flattened immediately. Oh sister…

She sighed. "I understand." She really didn't. "Please, what was so important that you felt the need to barrel through the entrance? I doubt Kawakaze let you through without a fight."

Indeed, the monochrome ship was standing to the side of the gate, next to… Maya, she thought her name was, looking… conflicted?

Takao glanced around, looking more nervous than Amagi had ever seen her. "It is… sensitive information. Very sensitive."

Amagi looked between Atago – who hadn't even bothered to bow and was standing stock still, staring into space with that look in her eyes, and the nervous energy pervading all three of the other Takao-class ships.

Amagi nodded slowly. "Well, we can take this to my private quarters, then. There shouldn't be any prying eyes there."

Takao breathed out a sigh of relief, and she and Choukai stepped forward, all but dragging Atago forward as Kawakaze and Maya ran ahead of them.

Amagi felt intensely curious… and also a budding sense of trepidation. There weren't many things that made Atago look like that.

What had they found?

They navigated the base quickly and entered Amagi's room. She assured the four of them that her room was indeed secure, and Takao began to speak.

"We found an… old ship. It seemed to be at least three decades old and resembled some German ships from that time, but we left rather quickly."

"Why leave-"

"Their Kansen were flying."

Amagi blinked. "Flying? Using… their rigging?"

"I presume so," Takao said with an informal shrug, and Amagi's puzzlement only grew. There was exactly one Kansen capable of flying that she knew of, and she did it using her own airplanes.

Did these people have something to do with the Sirens after all? They were capable of such feats.

"Amagi, it… if they were utilizing their rigging, they do not have much to speak of. All of them looked much more uniform than any Kansen I know of – although I didn't get the best look at them, they all appeared to have rifles."

"Oh, sister. Don't you think Kansen is a bit of a misnomer?"

Amagi blinked as Atago's gaze suddenly sharpened. What?

"They weren't girls, after all."

Amagi blinked rapidly and looked between both of them rapidly. "Truly?"

Takao nodded. "From the quick look we had at them, they did appear to be… men."

Amagi chuckled nervously. Nagato whimpered.

Uh oh.

Kansen of every nation had quite a bit of leeway regarding their freedom – they formed their own navies within their countries, after all. Partially, it was because they appeared to be women and children in a few cases, and some of it had to do with a Kansen's ability to run away with valuable military intelligence if their superiors tried to push things on them.

One of the few rules that their superiors were able to enforce was seen as a prudent one. It was completely sensible in almost all situations.

That did not mean everyone liked it.

There were longer names for the rule. There were euphemistic names for the rule. There were bureaucratic names for the rule. There were derogatory names for the rule.

The simplified, crass version of the rule was: "Don't stick your dick in military property."

Amagi could understand this, from a certain point of view. At the end of the day, Kansen were created by the military to be weapons.

Despite being weapons created by the military, they were also part human, and their superiors acknowledged that fact by ensuring every Sakuran Kansen had a decent discretionary budget for 'superfluous' things during peacetime.

Akashi and Shiranui ran their shops, others participated in hobbies, like sports or clothing. All nice and above board.

However, that acknowledgement did not extend towards sex.

While there were times when the military hierarchy had been completely unable to exercise authority over the Kansen of their nation – during the war being the most recent example – they could still threaten any man brave enough to even contemplate breaking The Rule with a fate worse than death for engaging in an activity with a non zero chance to land a piece of 'military hardware' with maternity leave.

How they'd managed to keep it going for decades straight was anyone's guess, but the publicization of the rule and the recruitment of those that disdained their human part to speak against the idea of doing such a thing were large parts of it.

As far as she was aware, this situation was mirrored in other navies, even if the threats and consequences were only slightly less steep.

"Did anyone else find out?" Amagi asked after having a small meltdown. Who couldn't be told?

Well, Atago was very high up on the list of people who shouldn't know about this, but unless she wanted to give the girl brain damage, that was unfortunately unavoidable.

Takao shook her head and Amagi and Nagato let out twin sighs of relief. What…

What could they do with this information?

They discussed it quickly. They could try to stop the flow of information, they could do nothing, or they could, theoretically, speed up the spread of this fact. Stopping it completely…

She fought the urge to growl petulantly. The increasing proliferation of the internet was making military secrets harder and harder to keep. Atago and Takao had been the first, but now their sisters knew, as did Amagi, Nagato, and Kawakaze. That ship they had been escorting had to have seen them as well. She could try and stop them before they reached home, but what would she do with them?

And could she even trust the other factions to keep a lid on things? The Japanese, British, and American governments were currently debating on how this new continent should be treated, but she had information on the Russians and Chinese both trying to send envoys the other major and minor factions were undoubtedly doing the same.

Did these new nations even have The Rule, or did they have different policies? A ship…guy would hardly need to worry about maternity leave, though STDs were still a possible threat to-

Again, Atago seemed to come out of her fugue. "Our government certainly can't extend their rules to try and force them not to," she said. Clearly not, if The Rule was applied to the country's men rather than its Kansen.

Amagi groaned. What to do, what to do. This information wouldn't be secret for long, not from Kansen who would have to work with these otherworlders to fend off the Sirens. If they couldn't keep it a secret anyway…

Amagi looked at Atago's placid gaze again. Perhaps-

"Hello? Amagi? I've got news from the Admiralty!"

Her eyes widened.

Oh no.

Amagi felt her insides shriveling up as the door she had locked was unlocked from the other side. She had just changed her locks and she already-

Amagi felt a façade of warm cordiality rise over her face even as her frustration and panic grew. Nagato did the same, while Takao, Maya, and Kawakaze retreated into themselves. Choukai seemed visibly nervous, while Atago-

Was looking directly into Amagi's façade, smiling expectantly.

She nodded her head imperceptibly as the one person she was absolutely certain was higher up on the list of Kansen not to tell about Atago's discovery walked into the room.

Taihou wore a self-satisfied smirk on her face, only for it to fall as she realized Amagi was not alone. "Oh, I… is this a bad time, Amagi? I could always come back later-"

Takao shot up. "It's fine. My sisters and I were just leaving."

They all shot up and left, and Amagi hoped she was making the right decision, nodding to Atago like that.

They couldn't keep it a secret forever, or probably even for a few months. If something was going to happen, getting as much out of it as possible was important.

"What did you need, Taihou?"

She cleared her throat and began. "High command has seen fit to have me relay to you that they want me to have more experience leading the Sakura Empire. In line with that, they want me to lead the delegation to this new continent."

She felt Nagato stiffen next to her, but Amagi acted quickly. "How wonderful, Taihou."

Taihou preened while Nagato glanced at her, a quizzical eyebrow raised that likely belied how dumbstruck she really was. Amagi listened as Taihou began to go over the details of her journey as laid out by their superiors.

For as shocked as Nagato was… they couldn't avoid this. Someone needed to lead the Sakura Empire, and Amagi's time had long passed. The fact that she was still the 'temporary' leader after five years spoke to the truth of the situation: there were few who could lead.

Akagi and Kaga would never be allowed to lead again after disgracing themselves and allying with the Sirens – though that wouldn't stop Akagi's scheming if her order to Takao and Atago was anything to go by. Shoukaku and Zuikaku were uninterested in leadership after their time at the helm in the wake of Midway, while Nagato and Mikasa were seen as relics of another age, much like Amagi herself.

Considering Taihou had been born to act as the flagship in the wake of the losses at Midway, she was the favored candidate. She herself often lamented never getting a chance of leadership thanks to the Sirens.

There was just one slight, tiny problem.

Now, Amagi did not usually disparage her fellow Kansen. Even those that her superiors frowned upon – like the adorable Mutsuki class – she found reasons to champion them. All of them were her sisters in arms.

No one could deny Taihou's strengths. Her raw power was a match for Akagi or Kaga, and her potential for growth seemed just as immense. She was resourceful and, above all, driven.

All that being said, Taihou was a bit crazy. Her hull had only had a few months of active service before it had been turned into a Kansen, and the less said of the accidents her relatively inexperienced crew experienced prior to her awakening, the better. Those facts had translated into an… unstable personality which wasn't helped by the fact that her leadership role was usurped at the last possible moment by Amagi's miraculous return to life.

And all of that raw power, potential, resourcefulness, and drive resulted in her doing things like lockpicking the door to Amagi's room and meeting with their superiors behind her back and obtaining secret intelligence.

For five years, she had gained the experience denied to her before her awakening, and their superiors were ever more insistent that she be allowed to lead. That they found her much more easily controlled because of her instability was unmentioned even though everyone, even Taihou, knew it.

Amagi had her doubts. She feared that Taihou, seeking to prove to those around her and herself that she was worthy of her position, would attempt to restart the war.

However, with every other current candidate being unqualified, untrustworthy, or unwilling, the only possible leader other than her would be a ship that wasn't yet awakened, and Amagi felt Taihou's personality would grow yet more unstable if she were passed over for a battleship like Yamato or Musashi.

Taihou finished her rundown of their superior's plans, and Amagi clapped her hands together. Her superiors wanted a clear picture of the situation and wanted Taihou to prove herself one last time. Sending her would accomplish both – both in the sense that she would give them information Amagi might not, and in the sense that she was resourceful enough to steal information these otherworlders might not be willing to give up.

Of course, the elephant in the room was that Taihou wanted The Rule completely demolished, and although her exact reasoning often varied, there a wasn't a Kansen on the base who could claim to be ignorant of just how… 'frustrated' she was getting with the fact that there was at least one rule she hadn't managed to wiggle around yet.

Really, she had doubts even the innocent Mutsuki class hadn't cottoned on, with how loud that woman got…

Amagi glanced at Taihou's confident pose and smiling visage. Their superiors clearly weren't aware of what Takao had relayed, if Taihou was still this… placid.

She steeled herself internally, praying that she would be making the right decision.

"Everything sounds good, though I noticed you didn't mention who will be going with you from the Sakura Empire. We will move past that for now. Is there a reason they wanted you to tell me now?"

She nodded. "They've decided the civilian government is taking too long -"

"Then I am afraid I'll have to bar you from leaving yet."

Taihou seemed blindsided. "What? But why?"

"You do recall our governments have made an agreement? And that the Sakura Empire is beholden to the government?"

Taihou's confident mask cracked, and her mouth crept open to rebuke her.

"Please, Taihou, keep in mind that while I do not control whatever foolishness the navy and army engage in, I am still the leader of the Sakura Empire."

She saw as Taihou calmed herself and nodded stiffly, and Amagi could only sigh internally. She wished that she could snap her fingers and fix their relationship – bickering like this aided no one.

"Once the civilian leadership agrees, however, I have no qualms with the plan they've laid out. Gaining another member of the Crimson Axis would be welcome, and every ally we have against the Sirens is another nail in their coffin."

Taking a delegation of Kansen and protecting the human delegation from their nation, showing the flag to potential allies; it all made Amagi sigh wistfully. It had been quite a while before such efforts had been undertaken in earnest.

In the meantime…

"I'll go over who will be sent with you at a later date."

She saw a flash of indignation. "I won't be allowed to choose who I want?"

Amagi resisted the urge to sigh, only for her mind to flash back to how she forced her sisters to make up.

She shook her head. "Partially. There are three I feel you must take, but the others will be suggestions only. This is your opportunity for leadership at the highest level."

Taihou's crackling anger quickly cooled. "Oh. You have my thanks, Amagi."

With a farewell to Nagato, she left the room, and Amagi felt an ear twitch as she heard the door lock. Nagato rounded on her, panic in her eyes.

Amagi held up a hand and motioned towards the paper. If Taihou hadn't left a listening device or two behind, she'd eat her tails.

Nagato stewed in her panic and began writing, thrusting the paper towards her.

"Are you insane? She'll cause an international incident if she does what she's been wanting to do for five years!"

Amagi smiled widely and wrote her response back.

"Not if she wants her leadership position, she won't. Even she won't be blind to that possibility, so she'll have to keep things discrete, at least."

Nagato's eyes widened, and then her brows furrowed.

"But… don't you want to continue leading?"

Amagi smiled at Nagato's hopeful look. Though her perception was of an instant switch from her death to her rebirth, her sisters were not the only ones to miss her. Nagato had missed her dearly and had argued with Akagi and Kaga frequently.

"I cannot be the Sakura's leader forever. The flaws in my construction mean I cannot wield a Type II rigging to make up for how out of date I have become, and even fighting may cause me to become undone once more."

That it was Azur Lane's commander who told her that, rather than some flunky from the US or the Eagle Union, convinced her it was the truth rather than an attempt to limit the Sakura Empire's power. Even using her rigging in friendly gunnery practice winded her greatly.

Nagato read… and then she sighed. "Well… who are you sending with her?"

Amagi sighed back. "We'll have to send Atago…"

She trailed off and began to write again.

"Takao will be sent to ensure her sister doesn't cause an international incident as well. The other spot I will think on. Taihou has had a few years to learn how to lead, and I want to make certain she is ready. I will suggest that she take as many people who are opposed to The Rule as possible."

Nagato's eyebrows rose as they reached her final sentence.

"Do the words 'international incident' mean nothing to you?!"

Amagi grinned.

"Do you think the other factions are bereft of Kansen who despise The Rule? Hopefully, our Kansen will get it out of their system… or at least demonstrate the futility of trying to enforce The Rule in this day and age."

Eventually, Nagato spoke again. "Alright. I trust your judgment." Amagi smiled and began to think.

Who would be best to advise Taihou about leadership?

-OxOxO-

He was just starting to enjoy his coffee when Minneapolis barged into his office, a smirk on her lips as she brought out that giant knife that always gave him the heebie-jeebies. "Portland's run off again!"

He sighed. "Why do you always have to be so happy about it?"

She chuckled nervously. "I mean… you wouldn't believe how good she's gotten pretty wily. She's keeping my skills sharp!"

He sighed once more. "Alright. Chase her down."

She smirked and ran off, and he shook his head. Portland's orders were to stay on base, as they had been for five years. Minneapolis was the latest in a line of ships assigned to Azur Lane's Caribbean outpost, but one of her orders was the same as all of the others:

Keep Portland on the base.

And, as much as he often wanted to change those orders, they weren't his. Despite them being representatives of the Eagle Union, they had a few standing orders he couldn't countermand.

He wondered, for a moment, if Minneapolis would ask any of the others for help. He had at least a few shipgirls from every faction on base – though many of them were far from the best anyone had to offer.

Especially since he'd let the secret of the Type II rigging loose.

He gulped down his bitter coffee, almost wishing the Sirens were a threat again. Everyone had worked together for the three years after the aborted end of the Second World War that it had taken to drive them back into the arctic circle.

He had held dominion over close to a thousand shipgirls. He wasn't being stonewalled by his own country in regards to everything, including supplies. Just about the only thing he ever got without a fight were orders.

And after being shipped back here, his superiors had decided to stop giving him even those. They told him to simply keep the lights on.

He took another drink. He was just… a seat warmer for the next person they found to run the operation.

The Sirens, too, were extremely quiet. They had been since an entire new continent had shown up… a move he still couldn't wrap his head around.

If they wanted to cause chaos, they had far easier ways of doing that… though if they ever did manage to beat them, adding a whole new continent to the map was one way to ensure chaos would persist long after they were gone.

"Well, aren't you just a sad sack of shit."

Jonathan Smithe curled his lips back as the man dressed in black entered his office – he was soaked in sweat from the Caribbean sun, which was one of Jonathan's few consolation prizes whenever Agent showed up.

He gave a different name every time he asked, so he'd simply resorted to calling the man 'Agent,' in his head. Despite his efforts over the years, he hadn't been able to find out which department he worked for – it was need to know, apparently.

"Well, turn that frown upside down, because today's your lucky day. Your bosses are worried about this new continent. It seems to be one unified country, based on satellite data."

Agent picked at one of his nails. "They're highly militaristic too, though everyone's envoys are supposed to be making contact in a few hours."

He lamented internally again about how he was being kept out of the loop.

Agent continued to speak, laying out how exactly that was supposed to go.

Everyone wanted a new ally, especially one so far south. The goods they could produce, relatively separated from the Sirens by thousands of miles of barren ocean, could help bolster anyone's economy. Learning why they had been transported here was equally important.

But most of all, Azur Lane and the Crimson Axis wanted to deny the other side access to the boons of having them as an ally.

"As for why they've decided to bother you," he said, "the major and minor countries have decided to send a set number of shipgirls. Ten for major powers and three for minor powers."

He sighed tiredly. From the giddy tone of his voice, he already knew what was coming.

"Let me guess," he began, not even needing to count out on his fingers the things Agent was inevitably going to say. "The minor powers are upset as being characterized as minor, as usual. The Free French and the French State are both indignant, the Russians claimed they had better thing to do, the Italians made scathing remarks related to their inevitable ascendency, and the Chinese agreed they should be seen as equal while insulting each other repeatedly."

Agent sighed happily. "So you do listen."

Jonathan just rolled his eyes. "Well, you missed one thing. The Italians also managed to admit that the World Expo is taking longer to finish preparing than expected. But other than that…"

"Nothing new?"

"Nothing new."

The room was quiet for a moment until the Commander sighed. "I assume the brass want me to release someone in particular?"

He shook his head. "No, actually. Azur Lane agreed that their joint command would be allowed to send their own delegation," he said, smirking.

His brows furrowed, and he finally put down the cup of coffee and began to look over the reports on his desk. "And the Crimson Axis?"

"They were told that, as soon as they set up the joint command they've been claiming is nearing completion, they could pick their own to send. So, don't expect anyone else anytime this century," he said, taking a moment to glance at his watch. The Commander resisted the urge to twitch – far be it from him to impose on Agent's oh-so-precious time.

Still, he began looking over the files, attempting to look like he was considering who to send.

Another unenviable choice for him to make. He could please his superiors and only shipgirls who's home countries were actually in Azur Lane, or in the spirit of cooperation, he could send some of the few Iron Blood and Sakura Empire ships who were technically there as representatives of the Crimson Axis, pleasing those who favored cooperation.

Another way to look at it was that either his superiors would be cross with him or the Crimson Axis could use his choices to demand more from Azur Lane or to decry it.

Of course, he already knew who he was sending.

He nodded his head slowly. "Alright, I'll put together the best team I have for representing us."

Since the brass hadn't technically specified having a preference, he could assume they didn't care without worrying about more potential accusations of being a spy.

Agent smiled. "Of course you will," he said, getting up to leave. He paused in front of the air conditioning unit, and the Commander's eyes narrowed.

"Any word on Indianapolis's schedule?"

As he was expecting, Agent shot him a wide, fake smile over his shoulder. "Not yet. She's a very hard worker, I'm told."

He tried, one last time. "Portland's getting-"

"Jonathan, you know our superiors don't care. You know what that means, right?" he asked, bored.

He kept his face blank. "Not at all."

Agent shook his head, falsely pitying. "And I'd thought you were starting to listen to me. Well, if they don't care, that means I sure don't! You know your orders; since Portland simply 'can't help herself' in trying to find her sister, she gets to stay here, and you get to keep her here."

The Commander nodded, and Agent left. As soon as the door clicked closed, he shot up from his desk, closing the blinds and locking the door. If his superiors hadn't expressed a preference, he could build the delegation however he wanted.

And if he could build it however he wanted, he could go himself.

He hurried around the room, filled with a new purpose, the ghost of a grin forming on his face as he began pulling out files. If there was one thing he always looked forward to, it was a good fight. With so many foreign shipgirls around each other, it was inevitable that someone would want to spar, and the relative simplicity of battle was something he longed for while wading through military politics.

Of course, he couldn't just leave all his work behind. No, that would be a travesty! So, who could possibly be trusted to run the place?

Why, Portland, of course. She was certain to remain at their base if he allowed her access to all of their documents and gave her his credentials so she could pull files using his authority, for all the access he was still allowed.

Not that anyone was likely to notice. Agent would be sent after him the moment he showed up on this new continent, and his decision to include himself as part of the delegation would certainly distract his superiors from caring just who was in charge of Azur Lane's headquarters.

He took a deep breath. Once upon a time, she had been flighty and absolutely obsessed with her sister. But as the days stretched into months and years, the chipper girl who couldn't help but tell everyone just how great her sister was retreated into herself. Her memories of her sister were not of her softness or power, but of the time they had spent together.

He knew she cried herself to sleep at night.

He took in another deep breath. No, despite how much she had changed and how much she might have seemed like a ditzy airhead, she had never been an idiot. If she was in his position…

She might be able to do what he could not and find her sister. Maybe that would make up for the lies he'd been ordered to feed her.

Finally done collecting files, he laid them out across his desk. Of course, ensuring she could find her sister would require removing certain pieces from the board.

Minneapolis and La Galissonnière were too good at what they did, so they had been shipgirls he knew he needed removed to give her a chance. Kinu and Hardy were too by the book to look the other way. Unfortunately, Leipzig couldn't be relied on to keep a secret, and leaving her for Portland to entrust her secrets to would doom her venture. Ning Hai or Ping Hai were better confidants, but An Shan in particular reported on their activities to her faction of the Chinese Civil War, so she was coming with him. Émile Bertin might distract her for long enough for his superiors to catch on, Alfredo Oriani would report on her, not out of duty but in search of a good scoop…

And then, the last slot. Scowling, he rose and began to pace. He had to take a girl from the Northern Parliament with him to ensure everything was even, so who stood in her way from that faction? Arkhangelsk wouldn't, she'd even assist Portland… but she'd also steal any secrets she found.

He sighed again. Even if she did make off with the few secrets Azur Lane kept from the factions that had formed it, he could just release them himself to ensure the Russians didn't get a leg up on everyone else.

There was one project he didn't want to leak… but considering his career was probably going to end up torched if he did have to leak sensitive information, it wasn't like that project's secrecy would matter anyway.

He nodded to himself as he began to plan on the human elements he would take while he considered Arkhangelsk . Portland would have a much better chance of succeeding with her help… he just had to put his career on the line.

He weighed his options. His career was already on a precipice. If he tried something this flagrant, he might be booted from the service entirely…

He blinked as he looked up from the files, at a picture on his desk.

Sam…

He grit his teeth. Enterprise, Hornet, and Yorktown. Amagi, Akagi, and Kaga. Hiryuu and Soryuu.

When he'd discovered the Type II rigging, he'd sworn he'd reunite everyone with their family. If he could turn back the clock, even for just a few people who had lost their loved ones…

He looked again at the picture of Portland on his desk. She was cuddling Indianapolis incessantly, and while the smaller girl was trying to push her off, they were both smiling and laughing.

Portland hadn't been that happy in years.

Now that the war was over, there was still one family he had yet to fix.

He nodded to himself as he made a note – he needed an excuse to have her trained on the bureaucracy she would nominally be heading, and his latest human secretary had asked for reassignment upon realizing how much of a dead end this job really was, which meant she could do it while he trained her.

If there was one thing he could take solace in, it was that he probably wouldn't end up executed for all of this.

-OxOxO-

A/N 1: If you'd like to donate to support me monetarily, search for Sugarcane Soldier on the website of the Patrons.

A/N 2: Thank you to WarmasterOku and Afforess for supporting this story and everything else I write.