In front of the sun does Svalin stand,

The shield for the shining god;

Mountains and sea would be set in flames,

If it fell from before the sun.

-The Grímnismál

Bayern was excited.

Well, you might say, she's usually in a good mood. That really isn't a change of pace, is it? And no. Not really. She was always the excitable sort, even if seeing her sisters split up around the world made her heartache.

But that ache only made her more excited for a reunion. She supposed there was something interesting about visiting Mittelafrika, considering how her efforts in the first war had helped win it… but the most remote waste imaginable would have been made bearable by Sachsen's presence.

(She had proved this. Sachsen was the sort to do cartwheels in wide open spaces, to twirl and whirl and dash. A colonial station for her more than the metropole, Bayern figured.)

How unfortunate that it took nothing less than a second Weltkrieg for the two of them to meet again. She appreciated sibling bonding time as much as the next girl, but if it required a war each time they saw each other, that was an issue. Well, maybe if it was a very small war?

No. Bad thought. The purpose she was made for wasn't good, even if she could live a good life in spite of that.

Back to Mittelafrika and her far-stretching shore, Bayern could see a harbor, a harbor where a familiar ship sat, alongside a retinue of escorts. When their fleets combined, they'd form one of the greatest forces on this side of the world. So incredible that only a wildly diverted Japanese fleet should be able to stop them.

Which, uh, shouldn't be happening. Intelligence had promised.

Intelligence had been… rather crazy about the mission, to be quite honest. And yeah, she understood that you needed operational security and whatnot, but at this point weren't they just drawing more attention to the issue? The total secrecy surrounding their mystery cargo only made the crews more curious. Only made Bayern more curious.

Sachsen was the girl who would be doing the moving of the cargo, so Bayern supposed she could pick her brain about it if she wanted to. Honestly, though? That was her last priority, compared to talking with her sister again.

She was shaking like a leaf (with excitement!) as they prepared to disembark, and she shot down onto the dock as soon as the big Bayern was securely attached.

There was Sachsen, just as lovely as she had been when she saw her last. Well, last time she wasn't wearing nearly as much khaki, but she wore it well. Not quite as well as the way she wore that smile, though.

"Sachsen!"

"Bayern!" Sachsen ran up and embraced her, nearly knocking Bayern over with her speed. Sailors grinned and chuckled around them.

"I missed you so much." Bayern breathed into her sister's ear.

"Not as much as I missed you," Sachsen whispered right back before pulling back so Bayern was at arm's length. She grinned. "Still the most beautiful girl in the empire, I see."

"Shut up."

"You can't silence the truth, my darling!" Sachsen laughed.

"I always thought Wurttemberg was the cutest of us all."

"And I think you are!" Sachsen laughed.

Bayern took a closer look at her sister. "Did you tan?"

"Mhmm. Horseback riding and safaris did me some good, huh?"

"Sounds like fun," Bayern said.

"Oh, there's a lot of the same old, you know? Like home. Bunch of little kings and stuff under the big government. People to impress, bleh." Sachsen stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"My poor baby," Bayern sighed, "Left to go on wildlife trips with rich people all day. How do you bear it?"

"I keep a stiff upper lip," Sachsen responded, her look grim. "But do you know what might help me? Some good old-fashioned Bayern beer-"

"Didn't bring any."

"Awww. Ruin my fun, why don't you? Do you want me to drink palm wine?"

"You don't like it?"

"Hate it, Bayern." They both laughed.

"Heya, Sachsen!" Someone stormed in from the side and practically snatched Sachsen away with the speed of her hug.

"Karlsruhe? Get off! Get off of me! Oi! I have rights!"

After a few more happy reunions, they retreated inside for a bit. Most of the packing had already been done, but everyone needed rest and resupply before heading back up to Europe.

(Bayern felt a little guilty, just fooling around like this. The Suez was being defended so fanatically… her time here was won by the sacrifices of brave German and Ottoman soldiers.)

The older girls broke out the schnapps and some local booze, stronger than the occasional beers Sachsen indulged in. Not that she needed any; lovingly, Sachsen was the sort of girl who got drunk on life.

Sachsen's quarters were filled with all sorts of curios: there were photos of Sachsen in all sorts of exotic climes, little figures carved in ivory, swatches of native-made fabric, accompanied by a Saxon coat of arms, photos of the whole fleet, and even…

A painting of them, the four Bayern siblings, walking down a pier. Based on photos, Bayern assumed? But it had to be someone who had seen them in person, to get those fine details, the way their hair and eyes shone in the sun. It was detailed down to their haircuts, back when Baden was so determined to copy Friedra she wore her hair the exact same way.

"Who painted this…?"

"One of my officers." Sachsen grinned. "He's brilliant."

After noticing all of those things, Bayern noticed a bundle of blankets in one corner. Surprisingly, it wasn't just a normal case of her sister being a bit messy: the nest of blankets was playing host to a dog, which stood up and rushed towards Sachsen.

"Ah, this is Prinz Rupert. Isn't he charming?" Sachsen leaned down and ruffled the dog's fur. "Who's my little cavalier? You are. You are!"

The dog's tail wagged fanatically, thumping on the ground at a steady tempo. Bayern grinned and rubbed the dog's head as well; it seemed to like her.

"Ship's mascot?" Bayern asked.

"I'm the mascot, silly! Rupert is just my sidekick."

"Maybe he's a bit cuter…" Bayern mused.

"Shut up."

"You can't silence the truth, my darling!" Bayern mimicked her sister.

"I don't sound like that."

"You do!"

"I won't accept this slander from a metropolitan."

"And I won't accept condescension from a colonial hick!" They both burst into laughter.

"God, I'm so happy to see you again, Bayern. Love you."

"Love you too."

For a few moments, they were silent, content to just enjoy each other's company, before Sachsen asked a question. "You know why you're in this neck of the woods exactly?"

"I'm here to look after my silly little sister, that's why." Bayern poked Sachsen's cheek.

"Yeah, but what am I doing?" Sachsen asked.

"You can't remember your orders? Maybe you should get your head checked."

"Hush. It's just… what could possibly be this important? Gold? Why ship it with such a big fleet, instead of just sending it through French Africa? It doesn't make sense."

"Something we wouldn't trust the French with?" Bayern sighed, trying to think.

"Cuisine!" Sachsen suggested.

She chuckled but kept on contemplating the problem. The cargo was going to be moving through allied territory, regardless; current plans called for offloading the shipment at Trieste, where it would presumably use rail to get… wherever. Assuming facilities somewhere in Germany proper, that meant a brief trip through a much stronger ally than Entente-aligned France…

If it was the sort of thing so incredibly sensitive that it couldn't be allowed anywhere near their circumstantial allies in France, it was a very big deal.

"Did you see the cargo?" Bayern asked.

"Yeah. Came rolling in on the Congo line in these big armored train cars. So many guards you'd think the Kaiser was in there…. Is he?"

"Of course not," Bayern scoffed.

"You want to see if we can sneak a peak?" Sachsen suggested, that familiar mischievous gleam in her eyes.

"We shouldn't."

"Come on, Bayern. What can they do? Throw us in prison? We're the boats!"

"Maybe just a look."

What she needed was some fresh air. She could have sworn that Sachsen's eyes had literally gleamed for a moment. An actual unnatural glow, not just a funny expression. Had she dreamt it up?

She couldn't be sure, now that Sachsen had turned away to get Rupert on his leash.

This mission was giving her a bad feeling.

Derfflinger watched a train car roll in and saw men scramble to unload the cargo contained inside. Despite the labels, she knew it to contain a special cargo, straight from Saxony. It was their local source, and while their supply would be supplemented by a shipment from Mittelafrika, this was what she had now.

She liked to hope that the Mittelafrika uranium industry produced more just because of local experts and better mineral deposits, but if… other means caused that success, she wasn't in much of a position to complain. They needed to win this war, and if the best work was being done in the Congo, that's where it was being done.

Amends could be made and Mittelafrika could be lifted into modernity when the syndicalists were handled. Better German rule than whatever farcical liberation the Reds promised.

Derfflinger's fight against the Reds was an increasingly scientific one: their repair crew had grown in both numbers and experience, letting her focus on the strange science of the cubes.

Cubes were already a strange sort of thing, interacting strongly with warships and nothing else in a way that made no scientific sense… Well, they were hopeful regarding uranium reactions. Any sort of reaction was notable, and the cubes did occasionally behave oddly around certain radioactive elements.

(There was clearly something more at play there, considering the general perception of uranium as a paint material. Was it her scientist's perception?)

She was about to start another day of testing when one of her aides ran up with a note. "Ma'am, an urgent report regarding Operation Tobit!"

Tobit was the codename for the Congo uranium pickup. Her stomach sank. "A sinking? Did somebody realize?"

"No, ma'am, but there are some urgent observations from Bayern…"

He gave her the paper and she read:

Our dear cavalier,

(That particular nickname stuck. She was practically chained to her lab, but she was forever the cavalier. Bold for all of a few brief weeks… girls like Bayern never meant offense by it, though.)

Sachsen is performing differently. Changes are good, as far as I can tell. Greater speed, lower fuel usage, better night vision, of all things. Her eyes glow, literally.

I can't say what the cause is. I know you're busy, but I'd like to know if she's alright. Is this unique?

It… it couldn't be that simple, could it? Derfflinger fought the urge to groan. Cubes could absolutely be that simple, just enough to keep you from ever getting comfortable with them.

If the simple presence of uranium intended for weapons made Sachsen stronger, then perhaps it could be exploited.