And then strange motions will abound,
Yet let's be content, and the times lament,
You see the world turn'd upside down.
SS 'Pennsylvania'
"You can call me… Pennsylvania. You want to know more about me…? I want a world without tears."
Skills:
Undimmed by Human Tears: When this ship fires her main gun, there is a 50% to restore 3% (8%) HP to vanguard. Any leftover after healing vanguard to full is multiplied by three and boosts gun damage, up to 27% (72%).
Just Like Sis: Every 22s: 30% (60%) chance to fire a special barrage.
Till Selfish Gain No Longer Stain: Increases FP and RLD of all Syndicalist or Communist ships in same fleet by 4% (9%).
Otherworldly Perseverance - 'Pennsylvania'/A Bulwark of Diamond: (Operation Siren) The ship with the lowest health in the fleet takes 5% (15%) less damage.
There was always some time investment involved in making kansen, but usually it was 'just' hours. Assembly was certainly faster than the months that a real life warship would have required for construction – even research ships didn't take that long – but the process of dragging a shipgirl over from another world was slow.
Weeks of drafting theory, months of preparing hardware and doing interdimensional math, eventually getting something workable… they pulled out a stream of 'data', if you could even bring yourself to call everything that made a person them data. It was the life story of a shipgirl, incomprehensible to everyone and everything except a wisdom cube. They seemed to stay the same, even if their mystery alternate universe was wildly divergent.
(Funny, some things stayed the same and some barely did. Their earth circled the sun just as theirs did, but the petty drama of human affairs had gone off the rails in some way. It was… hard to tell how exactly it was different, but the Sirens had meddled.)
Hopefully, if the shipgirl proved cooperative, she would prove willing to explain the differences. It was a historian's (or perhaps an alternate historian's) wildest fantasy, and more importantly it was extra information for their fight against the Sirens. This may have been the optimist in the Commander talking, but it also seemed like a chance to meet a new friend. Hopefully she'd prove a friend. The world wanted good news from this other timeline, not more Siren depression.
After all their preparation, the cube finally came to life, its gentle flow growing and growing until it seemed as if they had plucked a star from this other universe and not just some data…
A figure took shape in the midst of that brilliance, a dark silhouette with long hair. There was something familiar about that build, but with the way the cube was stabbing his eyes it was hard to pick out specifics. Dimming, dimming, the first thing he saw the lab lights reflecting off of brilliantly green eyes. Eyes like hers.
Eyes like hers, accompanied by more similar features. The hair had the same color, even if it was a little shorter, and it framed a face he had seen many a time. Well, he had never seen it with that scar, a jagged cut over the eye that seemed like a mirror of her sister's. Did her Pennsylvania have her own scar, the Commander wondered….
"Hello?" It was like meeting Arizona META again. A second Ari… "I'm… I'm sorry, where am I?"
He was almost hesitant to say it, for fear of bad memories. "The Azur Lane base at Pearl Harbor."
Thankfully, she didn't get caught up on the part of the sentence he worried she would. "Azur Lane? And… I assume you're an officer?"
"Commander Hunt at your service, Miss…?" Arizona would be the obvious assumption, but she was from an alternate world. He didn't know if the differences went beyond thick stockings, a strange military uniform, and a scar. Perhaps they reached her name.
"SS Pennsylvania." What? His surprise seemed to show on his face. "Is there a problem, Commander?"
"Pardon. There's… I suppose I should start with this: you – a copy of you, rather – were dragged from your world to ours."
"A copy?" Compared to his Arizona, she was a little more restrained, but that look of shock and surprise was enough to prick his heart.
"Whatever you were up to is getting done." He reassured her.
"I'm glad to hear someone is getting to enjoy my retirement."
"You're retiring?"
"Was," 'Pennsylvania' said. "I assume you didn't bring me here just for the pleasure of my company?"
"I'm sorry…"
"If you need my help, then I'm obliged to offer it, Commander Hunt."
On some level, Pennsylvania was aware this probably wasn't how a normal military base was supposed to operate. Being your superior officer's sister-in-law added a dimension that was probably antithetical to typical military operation, but Azur Lane had never really been a typical military. It didn't particularly matter to Penny, though. The Commander called, and so she, Arizona, and Enterprise were to answer.
"Do you think she's American?" Penny asked.
"It would make sense," Enterprise said, "But there's no point in idle speculation."
"I hope it went well." Arizona smiled.
After passing no small number of guards – both kansen and human – they made it to the isolated, armored corner of the research lab where their experiments with other timelines were underway. This was where Seattle and Friedrich and all the rest had been born, and Penny honestly found it a bit too clinical. Maybe it was the smell of antiseptic drifting in from the more medical portion of the labs…
Pushing the laboratory door open, they heard the Commander talking to someone who the door obscured. "Ours was about four years later…"
Before Penny could wonder what the difference between their timelines was, the door swung open far enough to reveal the person the Commander was speaking with, and she saw her sister, despite her sister also being right next to her. Some part of her almost felt a bit of revulsion – who was this not Arizona who had marred her sister's face with a scar – but when the other Arizona turned to her and smiled, all of that went away. That brilliant grin… that was Arizona.
"Penny!" The other Arizona embraced her, and Penny vaguely realized that she had more muscle than her Arizona while she hugged back. "Oh, Penny…"
Looking up over the other Arizona, she gave the Commander a questioning look. He mouthed something like 'long story' before Arizona – her Arizona, she really needed a way to differentiate the two – joined the hug. (Enterprise didn't intervene in the hug, but she seemed glad for them.)
Pennsylvania felt something suspiciously like tears on her front, but she wasn't quite sure what to say. Sometimes, Arizona just liked company, and this was a situation with a lot of unknowns… the other Arizona had a strong emotional reaction to her, and she shouldn't go lodging her foot in her mouth. Pennsylvania rubbed her other's sister's back – was that the strap of a chest holster she felt under the unfamiliar uniform? – and just gave her time. She really was the same, wasn't she?
Once she had called down a little, the other Arizona pulled herself out of the hug and dabbed at her eyes with a blood red handkerchief. "I'm sorry… I don't usually get emotional like this…"
"It's fine. You're…" Pennsylvania wasn't quite sure what she was, exactly. "A third sister, I suppose."
"Oh, I wouldn't wish to insert myself–"
"I wouldn't mind," old Arizona – maybe just think of her Ari, since she was more familiar? – smiled. "I imagine this must have been a terrible shock…"
"You're too kind," Arizona smiled before turning to Enterprise, "And I beg your pardon, miss. We haven't been introduced."
"Yorktown class' Enterprise, at your service."
"Enterprise…" Arizona murmured. "Commander Hunt has told me a little about you. It's an honor."
What followed was a fairly typical exchange of pleasantries, but something snagged in Pennsylvania's mind. Had she never heard of Enterprise? Hunt had said it was a different world, but that different? Pennsylvania supposed she could just ask…
But Enterprise asked a question first: "I hope we get to work together in the future. Is there a name you'd prefer to go by…?" Enterprise knew name confusion well, given the girl in the Royal Navy…
Arizona gulped. "Ah… the girls called me Pensy."
What. The confusion showed on all of their faces, Penny was pretty sure. That was… that didn't make sense. Maybe if this alternate Arizona – no, she said she was called Pensy – this Pensy was much closer to her Pennsylvania, so much under her wing that she was practically considered Penny Junior? That would be a confusing name, though…
The silence was broken when Pensy chuckled. "I always remembered you being taller."
Always remembered?
It made a sort of sense, didn't it? Mournful Arizona, the Arizona who still wept for her deceased crew… wouldn't she be the type to take a name in memory of someone? If the other her was anything like Pennsylvania, she would have moved heaven and earth before letting someone scratch her sister, much less leaving a scar like that.
The thought of it was intertolerable. Sure, if you gave Pennsylvania a choice, she would lay down her life for her sister – she couldn't live like that again – but leaving Arizona alone to face the world on her own, to shoulder the same burdens Penny bore…?
She embraced Pensy. "I wish I could have been there for you…" she murmured.
And then she started crying again. Woops.
Once Pensy had called down again, she proved Pennsylvania's guess right. She took on the name of her deceased sister… without really elaborating on the cause. None of them were cruel enough to open that wound up straight away, and they already had a lot to wrap their heads around. A world where the Germans won the first World War due to a lack of American intervention – and a constellation of other factors, she was sure – and where revolution came west instead of east…
It was like a fantasy, except the battered Arizona (Pensy) who that world produced walked alongside them. This was her first introduction to the public – or rather, the 'public' of the naval base – and she got no small amount of double takes, considering she was walking right next to her doppelganger.
Enterprise and Pennsylvania walked a little to the side, letting the two talk about whatever. She supposed they would understand each other pretty well…
"I suppose I got the better part of it." Penny mused.
"How so?"
"Well, I was alive for a while, over there."
One of the Japanese girls, a white-haired little sprite with fox ears and a charm in front of her eye – which just seemed to invite disaster, what if she tripped – took a look at the two Arizonas and jumped, leaning over to whisper to… Erebus? Strange friends, huh? Maybe it was the white hair.
"I wonder if I would have made that world better if I had existed."
"I can't say," Pennsylvania admitted. She could have prattled for a bit about the Grey Ghost doing great across timelines, but she wasn't so sure. Without getting too caught up in the death of her alternate self, it seemed that Old Falling Apart had never come to be. Without discounting whatever impact she left on Pensy, she simply didn't have the story Pennsylvania did.
Knowing that a lot of it was probably bad luck coming from the butterflying impact of the Germans winning seemed… well, it was a little comforting and a little annoying at the same time. You could be made for glory and get a fat load of nothing, or destiny could conspire to give you enough fights to make you the most decorated ship of the Second World War.
She wasn't sure if she'd call it fate in some grand sense… but Lady Luck was certainly a slippery one. Well, inconstancy wasn't just part and parcel, but more the definition of luck. Speaking of luck, Yamashiro nearly ran into Pensy and then turned to walk straight into Arizona. Her confusion was met with a warm smile on Pensy's part, a bit warmer than the one she gave the base as a whole.
Had they met before? Hmm. Who would Pensy recognize? Maybe New Jersey? She and some of the other bigwigs in the other factions had been called up for a meeting, so they could talk to Pensy. (Pennsylvania would have words if they tried to make it some sort of interrogation.) Maybe those famed faces would persevere across the timelines, or maybe they faced fates similar to those of the other Enterprise. Suddenly, the past that she knew so well seemed less concrete. Unchangeable, sure, but really just a pile of coincidences.
The next big Pensy reaction came from an unexpected place: Saratoga. Honestly, she needed to update her routine; honestly, the jumping out to surprise someone routine was well-worn at this point… but it spooked Pensy something fierce. Like, jumping back and reaching into the folds of her jacket fierce.
"Woah! Arizona, what the hec–" Saratoga turned and saw the original Arizona. "Wah?" She caught on quickly enough to hop behind the Arizona she knew, so that she stood between Saratoga and a shivering Pensy.
Arizona took her doppelganger's free hand, her touch doing something to calm her down. "Easy. Saratoga didn't mean any harm."
"Yes. Right." Her hand exited her jacket, but it was in a tight fist. "I'm sorry, Saratoga. You startled me."
Saratoga skedaddled pretty quickly after that, not wanting to be around when her sister caught wind of that particular joke. Speaking of…
Pensy's reaction to Lexington was stronger than Saratoga's, although they were fortunate enough to not see the pistol leave its holster. There was some shock about the outfit, but that came after a moment when she just froze.
"I hope your trip over wasn't too much trouble," Lexington got a brief introduction and a wooden handshake before she realized that Pensy wasn't appreciating her company and extricated herself. She'd deserve an apology of some kind for that later, but it was probably Arizona or Pennsylvania who would have to give it: Pensy clearly had some history with their other selves, and it probably wasn't pleasant.
The setting was one of Azur Lane's classrooms, and yet it still managed to feel like an interrogation. Sure, Pensy was meet with nothing but polite greetings from each table – Littorio and Veneto, Avrora and Soyuz, Elizabeth and Warspite, Riche and Jean, Nagato and… you get it – but it seemed like everyone in the room was staring at her. Pensy bore it well, and Pennsylvania had to wonder if she had taken up a leadership role in her old world.
She sipped at some water as Commander Hunt explained the history of this other world as they knew it. Bismarck seemed glad to hear of the Germans refraining from unrestricted submarine warfare, but she wore a complex expression when she heard of Germany's victory in this other world (she knew loving your country while hating what it did historically more than Americans did).
Jean Bart and Richelieu were both shocked to hear of their country's fall to syndicalism, but it seemed to do something to cheer Avrora and Soyuz after Lenin's revolution failed. The pride on Elizabeth and Warspite's faces when they heard their country stuck to their guns and allies turning into disappointment when they heard 'Peace with Honor'...
By the time the Commander had explained what Arizona had told him so far, everyone barring the Japanese had been in for a terrible shock. America hadn't joined the war, there was an early Great Depression, and Western Europe fell to the Reds. This world was already sounding strange, and the other Pennsylvania wasn't even dead yet. They certainly weren't lacking for questions.
"Were any shipgirls involved in the revolutions?" Avrora asked, her eyes alight with interest.
"It took some of the countries a while to get cubes. The Socialist Republic of Italy liked to say Dante was on their side before she was scuttled… I don't know." Pensy shrugged. "The French and Italians got the cubes they needed from Britain. Renown, Repulse, Nelson…"
Nelson? Nelson was a Red? That almost seemed more unbelievable than the Germans winning… Elizabeth gave Warspite a look like she wasn't sure she was hearing properly.
"Rodney, Anson," Elizabeth and Warspite shared another look. The British had been hoping for Anson for a long while. "Retribution and Ramillies, Malaya–"
Elizabeth fell out of her chair. Warspite extended a hand to help her up, but she seemed equally shaken. Pensy had paused her speech, and no one in the room dared open their mouths. This was personal. Warspite broached the subject: "Malaya was…?"
"Malaya and Barham were with the Syndicalists, yes. You two and Valiant were in Canada." That had to hurt. The thought that your mystery sister, someone you had been thinking about for years at this point, might part from you? Horrifying. Wouldn't it almost be worse knowing that your sister lived and that she chose to leave you?
Elizabeth spoke, uncharacteristically timid: "Were they alright?"
"They're fine." Present tense? "For what it's worth… they regretted it. They both loved you three very much, even if they couldn't always say it."
"A-and… and how do you know?"
"Malaya said as much. We wrote letters."
"Really?"
"Really." Pensy answered with a perfect Arizona smile. She chuckled a bit. "She even bought this for me." Pulling the pistol from her jacket – fingers away from the trigger – it looked to be a Webley, although the usual grip had been replaced by custom work. A carved tiger in rich, dark red stretched across the dark black of the grip, surrounded by a collection of red stars. It was beautiful work…
And if it came alongside letters from a Sydnicalist Malaya, then logically, Pensy must have been in some state that smiled upon communication with the Reds, unlike the America Pensy described. Perhaps politics had changed in a couple of decades, compelled by the stresses of an early Great Depression. Or perhaps…
Perhaps Pensy found herself in America's Red camp, unlike Lexington and Saratoga. Perhaps the struggle had ended the other Pennsylvania. Perhaps.
Just Like Sis is rather obvious, but the other skills take their names from America the Beautiful and the poem the original song, O Mother Dear, Jerusalem, used.
The first describes America's alabaster cities as being undimmed by human tears. The latter describes Jerusalem with walls of gems and "bulwarks diamond square". Till Selfish Gain uses an older version of America the Beautiful with more of cynical tone re: war.