Fic probably messes around with coob order a bit, but hey, not canon.

Here comes the flagship (rise up), here comes the flagship (rise up), and her right hand woman!

Look not on his countenance, nor on the height of his stature: because I have rejected him, nor do I judge according to the look of man: for man seeth those things that appear, but the Lord beholdeth the heart.

-1 Samuel 16:7

In appearance, she wasn't that different from her sisters. They were all brought into existence wearing the same outfit: a black skirt, pleated; a fancy white shirt with their state's flag on the breast; brass buttons with the imperial eagle; and a stamped medallion of their particular state's coat of arms. Bayern and Wurttemburg's were tremendously complex, while Baden's had a simple angled bar. It wasn't a bad look, but the four of them ended up looking childish.

On the other hand, there was Friedrich der Große. She looked the part of a soldier with her heavy cape and rich coat. She… well, loomed felt like the wrong word once you actually came to know her, but she had intimidating looks. The height, especially, although perhaps that was just a matter of Baden's perception.

That was a bit of a problem, really. Friedrich, ("No, my dear, I insist that you call me Friedra,")... uh, Friedra was a fairly easy pill to swallow, once you got over the horns that scratched up the tops of your hatches. She was competent, caring– perhaps overly so– and most critically, a woman grown. She could stand eye to eye with her officers, and sometimes even cowed them into submission, in a sort of 'you're destroying yourself, dear' way.

Even now, Bayern struggled to accept Friedra as a flagship. Not that she disobeyed, or anything– she had tremendous respect for the Admiralty– just that she didn't view Friedra as a commanding officer.

Friedra was the woman who sang Bayern to sleep some nights, the one who patted her head after a long day of testing. She was aggressively maternal, tempering Sachsen's wildest instincts and urging Wurttemberg to interact with other people.

And then there was how she treated Baden. To her credit, Friedra could be a lot less cloying if she was simply told not to be. She respected Baden's boundaries in that regard, but was willing to push elsewhere, especially when it came to leadership.

Just about as soon as they had met, Friedra took Baden under her wing, beginning to groom her for the role of flagship. It was what she was built to do, after all (and Baden sometimes felt she was probably the most able of her sisters. She loved them, but flagship material?)

Honestly, Baden was grateful for it. Friedrich was something like a proven case for flagships: her work was good. If Baden could follow her example, her work would also be good, she would be respected like FriedrichShe wouldn't fail anyone.

She tried to style herself the same way. They already shared eye color– an inhuman, perhaps disadvantageous yellow that unnerved normal people– but Baden let her red hair hang loose in the same way and tried to stand tall and straight like her. Tried to behave like her, when it made sense to do so. She couldn't be motherly like her, she couldn't cow with a glare. Both just made her look a fool.

However, she could attempt to learn, and Friedra was very glad to let her be a tagalong. Well, hopefully not in an annoying way! More like an aide de camp, perhaps.

That was to be her job, in addition to routine training with her crew. She was to be Friedra's second, she was to take notes and help with paperwork and grow into the role Friedra handled with such grace. She was… like a conductor, and the Kansen fleet played to her tune.

And one day, that baton would pass to Baden. All she could hope to do was keep pace.

Up bright and early, but not bright and early enough. Friedra was already up, preparing ersatz chicory coffee for the older girls and powdered milk for the younger ones.

"Here's the sugar." They were quite fortunate to have the stuff, even enough to occasionally make into candies. The empire valued them very much, and they got first claims on luxuries like sugar beets.

"Thank you, Baden. Did you look at that book I loaned you?"

"It was very informative, ma'am."

"Friedra," The older flagship reminded her. "And I hope you didn't stay up too late?"

"Not at all." Baden laughed awkwardly.

"You do the nation a disservice by staying up late and exhausting yourself. I'll sing you to sleep if it would help…"

"I'm fine," Baden said. She respected Friedra, and Baden certainly didn't need storytime and lullabies from her.

"I'll always be here to help you, Baden. Even when you've become the flagship, you can always come to me." She smiled, but there was a bit of sadness in her eyes. "I know you'll outgrow me one day. You've… the admirals are proud. Very proud, Baden."

"Ah…" Words failed her.

"You'll play my part like a virtuoso, I'm certain of it."

It was a quiet night after one of Friedra's impromptu recitals, and Friedra had pulled Baden aside for a chat.

She knelt down and looked Baden in the eyes. "My child, I love you. I hope you know that." Baden couldn't really form a response to a statement like that. "I would like to say the world will love you the same way, but I don't wish to deceive you."

Friedra breathed in deeply, not seeming happy that she had to continue. "When the curtains rise, you will be subject to the eyes of the whole world. I know you're not the sort to chase fame, but it will be thrust upon you."

Baden gulped, recognizing her tone as deadly serious.

"My child, I've not always been the best woman I can be. The number of mistakes I've accumulated in this brief time I've spent here…" she shook her head. "I am not nearly as rational as I'd like to think I am. I'd appreciate it if you reminded me occasionally, and I'll do the same to you in kind."

She couldn't bear to keep on looking her in the eyes. Baden's view dropped, lingering on the medals that sat on Friedra's chest.

"I don't mean offense by it, my sweet. Your credentials as a flagship are so much more than just physical things in your ship, but you cannot let your judgment get clouded. Battleships and cruisers will march to the beat of your drum, and when you rally them for battle, some will die. That is fact, my child, as bitter as the thought may be."

Friedra lifted her chin up, so they were looking each other in the eyes again. "Your duty is to win and to send as many German sons back home as you can manage. You'll never manage enough, and people will hate you for it. This is a hard duty, my child. There are times I regret that you came to be like this… Ah, that is not to say I regret you, just that you were made to fight. You and your sisters have brought such joy to Wilhelmshaven…."

"Never forsake them. Promise me this, Baden. As Saxony, Baden, Bavaria, and Wurttemberg form parts of a greater whole, so you will. Your reason is limited. Your time is limited. You may outgrow my tutelage one day, but you will never outgrow the need for help. To think you can bear the whole fleet's burdens alone… I will not suffer such irrationality from any child of mine."

"The four of you will form a stronger whole. The fleet forms a stronger whole. Imagine an orchestra, one that sets the whole world dancing to their tune. And they will watch, always expecting your best. Do you understand, my child?"

(Once, the world danced to the sluggish beat of a European Concert. It was necessary, to keep France's wildest excesses at play, but now it was time for Germany to play her part, the bombastic crescendo.)

The drydocks were a curious sort of place, the greatest amount of (non-crew) social interaction Kansen such as themselves could get outside of occasional high society parties. From what Friedra had said, the security concerns had driven several officers insane; it was clear they wouldn't be secret forever. That was another thing that Baden was briefed on, one of the few things that seemed to be outside of Friedra's area of expertise.

They smiled at the workers who went to and fro, and the men would tip their hats or politely call them Frau Friedrich and Frau Baden. (Friedra had insisted on that one: "Whatever dignity Baden deserves, I deserve the same. I'm unmarried, just like she is, and she has a record to rival my own." Friedra would gladly treat her like a child, but wouldn't allow her to be called Fraulein when she was Frau? Part of the enigma that was Friedrich, Baden supposed.)

She'd have to handle people in a way Friedra never had. She would be a public figure– one without the unfortunate optics of horns– and she would have to learn how to navigate that particular mire. The Kaiser, the admirals, and her crew all watched her, but soon enough they would be joined by all of Germany, perhaps even the world.

("They will never forget your height and your age, my child. You know how hard you've strived to impress the men on the base, men who know your capacities as well as I. It will be harder still when all of Germany looks at you and sees a little girl. But you will exceed their expectations." She spoke like a prophet, as if the future was set in stone.)

They came to the ships, long hulls gleaming in the sun, and Friedra turned to her: "I would like you to speak with Derfflinger for me, Baden."

Baden blinked, and almost thought to ask why. She could guess… but it really wasn't her concern. She knew what Friedra needed, and she would hopefully manage to ask for it without offending Derfflinger's sensibilities.

"Thank you, Baden. I'm very glad your relationship with Derfflinger is not as strained as mine. Her expertise is invaluable." Baden nodded, and slipped away to meet Derfflinger.

The battleship Derfflinger sat at the bottom of the sea, but anyone who thought that would put the woman out of commission was dreadfully wrong. You could get repairs and construction done without her help– Friedra managed to stay operating– but a good relationship with Derfflinger kept things running very smoothly. Admirals offended her at their own peril.

Her most distinctive trait was the horns: one normal and pristine, sharp and curved, while the other was covered with a metal cap about halfway up. It was one of Derfflinger's side projects, measured and weighed and shaped down to millimeters and grams so that the horn was protected and her head was properly balanced.

"Baden. It's a pleasure to see you again. I presume Friedra sent you?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Friedra sends me somebody else to the do the talking… are going to the do the same when you get your flunky?"

"Ma'am?"

She shook her head. "Pardon me. I shouldn't make my issues with Friedrich yours. What do you need?"

"Friedrich was actually quite impressed with your rapid response plan…"

"I'll be damned."

The meeting was productive, even if Derfflinger had a tendency to go off and fiddle with something in the middle of a conversation. She'd still be talking, of course, but she would pore over engine diagrams or examine tools like Baden wasn't even there. Not exactly the most formal, but Baden had heard she could keep a surprisingly cheerful chat going as she repaired you.

Thankfully, Baden hadn't had to go through that quite yet. She returned to Friedra, who had just finished talking logistics with one of the officers, and Baden asked the obvious question: "Derfflinger said something about me getting a subordinate?"" Well, she used the word flunky, and it almost sounded like she was just talking about her general command in the future, but the idea just wouldn't leave her head…

"Yes," Friedra smiled, "We're hoping that one of the upcoming Konigsberg class girls might make a good aide to you. Perhaps Karlsruhe, if her name proves true."

Karlsruhe, the 'fan city', one of the fairest on the Rhine, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Baden, a city she would almost certainly visit if she got the chance. Also the name of a warship who was slated to get her cube very quickly, possibly even a cube provided by her sister Konigsberg. Speaking of…

"Why not Konigsberg?"

Friedra sighed. "In total honesty, my child? She's a hard worker, but not the sort of influence I want near you."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Baden asked.

"My dear, this war has already filled your mind with too many adult concerns, without her talk."

Baden frowned. What sort of adult matters were being kept from her? She was a battleship, the flagship in training of the Imperial Navy! "I don't believe I should have information hidden from me, Friedrich–"

She smiled in that slightly infuriating way of hers. "You're too sweet, Baden. I believe I have some caramels for you…"

Baden could recognize a Friedra misdirection from a mile away, but a conversation under her control was rather like a mighty battleship. It was practically impossible to redirect it.

"Keep on playing." That was what Friedrich said. "Keep on playing." She stuck to the music metaphors even when she was injured in battle–

(Admittedly, Friedrich 'said' that with flashing mirrors, but Baden could imagine the inflection perfectly.)

Thankfully, the battle was at a point where her incapacitation didn't completely knock the fleet out. Still, Baden's hands grew clammy and her stomach churned as she realized what the situation called for. For a few moments, she closed her eyes and just focused on sending out orders. She knew how the mission was supposed to conclude, Friedra had explained it in detail–

Friedra. Friedra was fine. Her crew had flashed as such, and they were trained enough to bring her home safely. They sent updates every once in a while, Baden picking them practically subconsciously. (Like a little whisper in her ear every few minutes. She's alright. She's alright. She's alright.)

No matter her state, Friedra would want her to stay calm and do her best. She docked just after Friedra herself, and caught a glimpse of her being carried away on a stretcher. There was something funny about it, her horns poking into the stomach of one of the men carrying her, but the rest of the situation was scary. Baden took a few deep breaths and went to talk with the disembarked admiral.

She wanted to sprint to wherever Friedra was, almost ready to harangue Derfflinger if that was needed. Their rivalry wouldn't go so far as to damage her chances of treatment, would it? But Baden's job was to stand by the command, to be the bridge between them and the shipgirls if it was necessary.

"Baden, Baden!" Looking up, she could see her sisters rushing towards her. Well, she could see Bayern, who was dragging Wurttemberg along as Sachsen kept up at a jog. Was she… shivering?

Bayern came to a halt and gave a quick salute. "What do you need us to do?" The question was directed at Baden. Her older sister was looking to her.

She thought for a moment. "Sachsen go talk to the other girls who went out, see how we're doing cube-wise. Wurttemberg, go and help Derfflinger. Bayern, I need you to check on the girls who stayed home. Tell them I'm temporary flagship."

"On it!" Bayern flashed a grin and rushed away. Baden looked at the admirals out of the corner of her eye, and they didn't seem disapproving. Thank goodness.

The day stretched, and it was hours before she could go and check in on Friedra. From what she heard, she was doing well, but Baden wanted to confirm in person, even if it was a completely indecent hour to be doing much of anything. Thankfully, Derf was still up late and pointed her in the direction of Friedra's room.

Some girls (and sailors, considering how popular Friedra was with her own crew) had stopped by, leaving little gifts and favors for the battleship. Baden couldn't say how much of that candy would actually be eaten by the intended recipient, but Friedra would certainly appreciate the gesture.

However, that wasn't the main thing that caught Baden's attention: it was the other person in the room, asleep in a chair. She sighed. "I can't believe you, Bayern."

Her sister had decided to camp out in Friedra's room, perhaps in hope of catching Baden when she came by, but she had fallen asleep first. There was no sound in the room, other than the two of them breathing gently. It was a blessedly peaceful ending to the day.

A book sat on Bayern's lap, spared from a little trail of drool by nothing other than grace. Carefully, Baden took the book out from under Bayern's hands and found a slip of paper to slip inside as a bookmark. She set it aside and sat down next to her sister, lowering her head so it sat in Baden's lap.

The particular passage she was on stuck in her mind, though. It had seemed a bit… grim, at least compared to Bayern's usual taste, but it was non-fiction, so that was just part and parcel.

"… and when the new Pope was crowned, it would be said: sic transit gloria mundi. Thus passes worldly glory."

Would this chapter qualify the fic for an FdG tag? Idk. Anyway, Friedra is 'Old Fritz', and her successor Baden is 'Young Fritz'.

I loved writing that Friedrich monologue. It was such a joy to wax poetic there.