Preparation Week

by Baalo

Summary:

The Bermuda Base starts gearing up for their first major operation

Chapter 1: What's the First Major Mission?

A warm breeze blew in through the open window, the curtains fluttering as I set my pen down and stretched. The clock on the wall said it was almost eight am, my secretary for the week should be in soon. I had gotten an early start to review my notes and fleet assignments that I was going to bring up at the meeting with the faction leaders in two hours. A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts as an enthusiastic cruiser bounded up to me. 

"Yo, Commander! Let's take a photo celebrating our first day of working together!" 

I smiled and stood up to stand beside her, putting bunny ears behind her head as she took the photo. Reviewing it she laughed and posted it to Juustagram, my own phone buzzing from being tagged in the post.

My new secretary asked, "So Commander, why are you in so early today?"

"Well I wanted to make sure my notes and fleet compositions were good to go for the meeting today." I replied, "And I like being here to greet my new secretary for the week."

I held out my hand, she clasped it in a handshake. "Good luck Marblehead, may the craziness of the job not drive you insane."

“Hehehe it’s not that bad here, Commander. If anything, you and your pranks are half the craziness here.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Marblehead picked up the clipboard set aside for the secretaries, “Tiiiime to get serial!”

The next couple of hours went by in a flash, Marblehead was an amazing secretary. I was glad she volunteered to try it out for a week, in all honesty I wouldn’t be surprised if she told me she had done this job before. Whatever file or paperwork I needed, Marblehead had already grabbed it and placed it into my hand before I could finish asking for it. Before we knew it, it was time to head down the hall to the meeting with the other leaders. 

As we walked down the hallway, Marblehead asked a question. “So was there any particular reason you assigned me as secretary this week? I applied for a try a while back.”

“You mean besides wanting the smartest girl on hand for the first meeting with the faction leaders?” I said, “Who knows~”

Marblehead grinned, “Come on Commander, that’s uncool keeping it a secret.”

“Oh look, we're here already.” I said, ignoring her teasing complaint and walking ahead faster.

Reaching the conference room I zipped through the door and placed my papers on the table. Thankfully no one else had arrived yet, giving myself and Marblehead time to prepare some refreshments for everyone. The insistence on having a space to prepare food and drinks in every room on the command floor was very handy, and probably why my predecessors didn’t leave the building often. I set out a pot of coffee and a pot of tea while Marblehead set aside a platter of sweets she had grabbed from Howe. A commanding voice came from the doorway to chastise us. 

“What is the meaning of this Servant? I brought Belfast here specifically to take care of the refreshments for everyone.”

I turned to the Queen and bowed, “Sorry Liz, I had some spare time and wanted to keep busy while I waited for everyone’s arrival.”

“If I may, what kind of tea did you prepare, Commander?” Asked Belfast as Elizabeth took a seat at the table.

I gave her a shrug and a smug smile, “Maple tea of course, what other kind would I make?”

A slight sound escaped the queen’s lips, none of us acknowledged it as Belfast shook her head at my choice of tea. Jean Bart and Richelieu entered the conference room, Jean nodding to everyone and taking a seat on the other side of the table while her sister sat next to Elizabeth. I walked over and stood behind my chair as everyone else filed in, Belfast stood in a corner waiting to be called upon while Marblehead grabbed the papers and did the same in the corner near me.

“Good morning everyone, glad you could make it. Help yourselves to the refreshments.” I greeted as I grabbed a cookie for myself. Taking a seat I continued on, “Does anyone have anything to bring up before we get into the planned topics?”

Everyone shook their heads. “Alright, first up I have the fleet compositions for your review.” 

As Marblehead handed out the sheets to everyone I continued on. “Based on everyone’s input over the last couple of weeks, I’ve come up with eight fleets of twenty-four. Four battleships, four carriers, six cruisers, seven destroyers and three submarines per fleet is our composition. This will leave each faction leader along with Enterprise, Friedrich and Warspite free to join any fleet as necessary, while also leaving the option for you to stay at base to oversee operations. For the Iris and Vichiya, I have both of you separate from the fleets, luckily we have enough battleships to not need either of you in one. Vestal and Akashi will also be free to roam between fleets and offer aid to anyone in need or kept back at base. Any questions so far?”

Bismarck spoke, “Who will be the leader of each fleet?”

“I am going to leave that up to each fleet, ideally I would like everyone to have a chance to be fleet leader during practices. Being prepared for anything is key to tossing the Sirens out of our waters.”

“These are our permanent fleets then?” Asked Elizabeth next. 

“Yes, once everyone knows what fleet they are a part of then they’ll know what their duties will be when specific fleets are given their orders. Efficiently and swiftly responding to any problem or crisis that may arise will let us deal with the issue that much faster.”

Vittorio posed the next question, “How many fleets do you plan on leaving back at the base for defence?”

“That will depend on the situation, if we’re launching our own operations and aren’t expecting a retaliatory strike then just one fleet should be enough. If the base is under attack then up to six fleets will be deployed on defence with the other two kept in reserve to reinforce wherever is necessary. At least for now, if HQ approves of my request then the base defences will be heavily upgraded, allowing for more fleets to be deployed at a time.”

“What upgrades to the defences do you have planned? We don’t have any here and no one to man them if we did.” Questioned Yat Sen, a slightly confused expression on her face.

“Several dozen anti-air batteries consisting of forty millimetre quad Bofors backed up by a couple of eighty-eights. The coasts will be protected by several batteries of the tweaked three-hundred and eighty millimetre cannons. Thanks to advancements in our armaments brought on by cube-tech, we will be able to hide our defensive batteries when they aren’t needed. Deployment takes up to two minutes for anti-air and around ten minutes for the heavy coastal guns. As for who will be manning all these defences, well those guys of course.”

I pointed at the yellow interloper that had climbed onto the table while everyone stared at it as their minds raced, determining the possible effectiveness of these defences. The Manjuu however found itself plucked off the table and carried back out the door by Belfast, where it, as to be expected, attempted to bury itself into the maid’s cleavage. I still have no idea why the girls on base haven’t thrown all the Manjuu off the island.

Bismarck gathered her thoughts first, "What do you mean by the tweaked cannons?"

"Oh you know, the same tweaks we did to the ones on Zieten. The firepower of a Bismarck class battleship with the reload speeds of a Scharnhorst class battlecruiser"

"You got your ship to have the same firing rate as the Ugly Sisters?" Elizabeth exclaimed in shock, while Bismarck shot her a glare for using that nickname.

"About three and a half shots per minute, compared to the two and a half of the Bismarcks. We needed a way to make up for dropping from nine guns to six, and Iceland showed how desperately we needed that. The schematics have been handed over to the shipyards already and…" I trailed off and looked at Bismarck.

"Yes, I've submitted them to the homeland and they've agreed to allow the modifications for everyone."

“Perfect, so until we get the go ahead from HQ and they actually get shipped out to us, we’ll be stuck doing the defending the old fashioned way. Now onto the next major topic, and the one everyone has been itching to hear: our next major outing.”

Jean sat up slightly straighter in her chair, I couldn’t blame her much, she looked so comfortable sprawled out sideways over the arms. Everyone focused their full attention on me while I turned to the board behind me and pulled down the relevant map. Pointing at a spot in the middle of the Atlantic, I explained our next mission.

“According to our scouts over the last few months we know there is a Siren stronghold located here, roughly fifteen-hundred klicks out from Bermuda. As the closest known enemy stronghold to the base, this is our first target to take out. The plan is to spend this week preparing and getting used to our new fleet formations before we head out at sunrise on Saturday. We should reach there by Monday when we begin our assault on the stronghold. Six of the fleets will be deployed for this mission with the remaining two defending the base; the leaders of the defending fleets will be running the base in our absence.”

“You're coming along with us Commander?” Asked New Jersey as she leaned forward.

I nodded, “It’ll allow me to see how effective the fleet compositions are right away, which is also why I would like for all of you to join as well. Getting your feedback will help me refine the fleets and fix any issues.”

Nagato had a frown as she voiced her concerns. “Commander, it is not safe out there for you, fighting a regular fleet of Sirens is one thing but strongholds are extremely dangerous for humans. Us shipgirls have a great deal of difficulty in dealing with the sheer amount of Sirens defending it, we won’t be able to do that and keep you safe as well.”

I looked around the table at everyone's expressions, a few nodded in agreement with Nagato, while the others waited to hear my rebuttal.

“It’ll be my third attack on a stronghold, with most of our forces there as well, it will be safer than the other two stronghold attacks I’ve been a part of.” I looked between Bismarck and Elizabeth, “We had what, forty the first time and sixty-two the second time?”

“Forty-eight, you forgot the wolfpacks I had shadowing us in case you screwed up.” Corrected Bismarck with a slight smirk, “I am glad you proved my faith in you wasn’t misplaced, as reckless as you can be.”

“Well thank you for the vote of confidence, Herr Biscuit.” I teased before turning back to Nagato, “A hundred and fifty-six shipgirls plus one modified mass produced battlecruiser. Other than staying here, what else would you like to have done in order to keep myself safe during the stronghold assault?”

Nagato thought it over and nodded, “I still dislike the idea of you being there, but seeing as you’ve done this before with less support I will withdraw my protest. But I do have an uneasy feeling about you going.”

“That’s fair, there’s always a risk but that is part of the job. Hopefully I don’t die, or at least not until my schemes are complete.” 

Several eyebrows were raised at that statement.

“What? Did you think I wouldn't have any crazy schemes?"

"And what do you have planned, Commander?" Lazily asked Jean.

"Well in addition to everything already mentioned, I would like to find volunteers for being dropped on the enemy from a plane.” I said staring directly at Bismarck while she ignored me. “And then for Enterprise to teach her riding on top of the planes trick. The faster we can get people to crisis zones, the faster we can get people free of them.”

Everyone looked surprised at that last statement.

“What do you mean crisis zones? Why does this sound like you are trying to take on multiple targets at once?” Demanded the diminutive queen, standing up and accenting her questions with a fist hitting the table.

“Well that is a far off future goal, but more realistically I want to be prepared and able to handle whatever the Sirens throw at us. If they decide to throw a couple of mirror seas at us to divide us up, for example, that is a big part of why I want everyone at this base able to handle working solo and with anyone they happen to run into. Getting too reliant with your usual group of fleet mates is going to be our downfall in the chaos of mirror seas and other Siren nonsense.”

A mixture of stares and headshakes assailed me as Avrora said, “Comrade Commander, aren’t you supposed to make life a little easier for us and not more difficult?”

I turned to Marblehead, “I don’t recall seeing anything about that in the Commander’s handbook, do you?”

Playing along she tilted her head to the side and thought it over. “Not that I saw, I seem to recall though that the higher ranked you are the more difficult you have to make everyone’s life.”

“Whatever do you mean Marblehead?” I feigned ignorance, “All the Admirals only want what's best for the fleet, they would never make life difficult.”

“Your sarcasm needs work, Commander.” Jean called out, sipping a cup of tea.

Shaking my head with a slight smile I continued, “Anyways, getting back on track, yes it’ll involve a lot more work but the eventual pay off is going to be worth it. That said, is there anything else anyone would like to bring up?”

Headshakes from all around the table. “Perfect then I shall call this meeting adjourned, thanks for joining everyone.”

Everyone stood and filed out of the room, Nagato paused by the door as the last one to leave. She closed the door and turned back to myself and Marblehead, looking as if she was unsure about something. 

“Commander, I…” She paused and took a breath to calm herself. “There’s something I need to tell you, something we’ve kept secret for the last few months from yourself and HQ. Although I suppose it has been much longer than that.”

I quirked an eyebrow and walked towards her, taking a seat on the edge of the table. “What is it you want to tell me, Nagato?”

Taking another breath, she resumed her story. “We have been working on a new blueprint ship, I’m sure you’ve already gathered that much from the resource allocations to an unspecified project.”

Seeing my nod she continued. “The secretive part of this project is that we’ve been looking into reviving a fallen comrade as a blueprint ship.”

"I’d say that’s an interesting idea, but even my limited knowledge on Wisdom Cubes knows that idea has been tested and failed.”

Nagato nodded her head as Marblehead watched in interest. “It is true but I have faith that this will work.”

“Why would this time be any different from the other attempt?” I asked, not sure why she was feeling confident this would work.

“There is someone I met a while back, I can’t say when exactly, but they told me to trust that this will work. They also told me something that only my most trusted friends know about.”

“This is all kinds of vague, Nagato. Can you give me more to work with?”

The small fox gave a wry smile, “They said you’d be this stubborn and I just have to tell you one thing. Think about your favourite movie.”

I cocked my head to the side, “Oh?”

A moment passed. “Oh.”

“OH! I GET IT NOW!” It soon clicked and I smacked my leg with my right hand. “Hahahaha! Yeah that would explain everything. Ok I can work with that, after all, who else but me would trust your friend the most~”

Marblehead looked extremely lost by this conversation. “Uh, does anyone mind filling me in?”

I turned to her with a cheeky grin, “I’d love to but we can’t. I think.”

Nagato shrugged, “I don’t know who else was involved, as such I cannot advise you one way or the other.”

“Hmm, I think they would know that Marblehead would be here. Plus we all know she’s a pretty smart gal.” I mused aloud to myself, stopping before the cruiser in question. “Ok, I can’t tell you this straight up so you’ll have to figure it out on your own. I will tell you to go talk to Lexington or Enterprise or any of the other Eagle girls that worked with me before. They should remember what my favourite movie is and you should be able to piece it together from that.”

“Sure, because I needed more work today.” She shook her head and laughed, “Ok I’ll do that later, but we need to be ready for any questions on how this was pulled off.”

I nodded, "Like I said earlier, my knowledge on Wisdom Cubes is pretty basic and I've seen some of the theory behind blueprint ships. My understanding is that when the shipgirl in question is being brought into existence, it's been theorised that it is based on people's hopes and thoughts on said ship. Blueprint ships are all ships that never existed except on paper, a much more difficult process since there is or was no ship to think of really. But it's also a blank slate in terms of, well everything. So theoretically you could take that and have everyone focus on a specific person and create a blueprint ship and see if that would reconstitute the wanted person, kinda just brute force them into existence. At least that was the original theory.”

Marblehead looked at me with an impressed look, "It's more complex but you have the basic idea of it, more or less. No one has tried it more than the one time since gathering the resources to bring a blueprint ship into existence is a lot of work to begin with, let alone use it in a resurrection experiment."

Nagato nodded, "Agreed, that's partly why we've kept it secret. It has been an enormous expense in materiel and time to make sure my friend’s confidence in this working would not be misplaced.” 

I nodded slowly as I thought it over, wondering what her friend had done to make this successful. "Who is it you are trying to bring back to life anyways?"

"Amagi."

The room was dead silent for several moments. "Do those two know?"

"Yes, they have possibly the strongest memories and love and hope for her return."

"Then we'll have to bring everyone on base into this." I held a hand up to stave off Nagato's question, "The more people that focus on her, on bringing her back to life, the better chance of success we'll have. I think part of the reason why the scientists failed at this before was there were too few of them, nor did they have any actual connection to her. Do you have any images of her remaining?"

"There is one I have kept all these years, may I ask why?" Asked Nagato.

"We'll get it sent to everyone, probably a photo of it on Juustagram so we don't damage it. We'll also need to tell everyone about her, and when it's time have everyone picturing her and imagining that she was back with us once more."

Nagato thought it over and looked over towards Marblehead, who nodded in agreement. "As far as we know in theory, this should work. A large group collectively thinking about Amagi should do the trick."

The battleship's eyes watered as she smiled, "Thank you both for hearing me out, I have hope that we might succeed in this mission."

I slid off of the table and walked up to the Sakuran leader, giving her a light head pat. “Anytime Nagato, I would love to meet your dear old friend.”

I turned to Marblehead, “Get that image up and out to everyone on Juustagram, then get Akagi and some of the others that knew Amagi well together. Story time over the PA system will suffice for teaching everyone about her, it’ll be easier than cramming everyone into one room for an assembly with little notice. Once that’s all done then we should conduct the process right after while everyone has it fresh in their minds still.”

“That probably wouldn’t take long to set up, when do we want to do this?” Asked Marblehead as she jotted it all down on her clipboard.

I shrugged, “How about we do this over dinner, that’ll give everyone time to get ready.”

Nagato and Marblehead nodded their agreements. I hit my radio and set it to base wide broadcast. “Attention all personnel, this is Commander Davidson. Over dinner time tonight we will be having a story broadcast over the PA system for your enjoyment. Your participation will be mandatory and explained in more detail at the planned time. Davidson out.”

The cruiser and battleship shook their heads at me and sighed. “You really do like making life interesting, Commander.” 

“A curious mind is a more attentive mind, this will ensure everyone pays attention to the story.”

“Either way, I thank you for your help Commander.” Nagato gave a bow.

“No problem, always glad to help out however I can. Now go get ready, I’m sure you have a few of your own stories of Amagi to share tonight.”

With another bow Nagato exited, Marblehead followed her after I gave her a couple other quick tasks. I returned to my office and the pile of paperwork for the day, tonight is going to be very interesting one way or another.

Notes:

I would like to note that this was written long before the game brought back Amagi. Akagi has finally gotten it through her thick skull that people are willing to help her attempt to bring Amagi back. That said and as been previously referenced, Akagi did do the whole Orochi nonsense as depicted in the anime.

As for the Commander's favourite movie, sadly I don't think there's many hints and it won't be for a fair while. But hey, enjoy another reference to Iceland~

Chapter 2: Amagi?

Summary:

The time is drawing near, will the experiment work?

After several hours of working, interrupted for lunch and a couple of snacks throughout the day, Marblehead and I finally completed our work for the day. I filed away the last of the paperwork while my secretary did some stretches to loosen up after sitting for most of the day. I walked across my office towards hers, locking the door behind me.

“Great work today Marblehead,” I said to her, sitting on the couch. “We managed to get everything done with plenty of time to spare.”

Flashing me a grin she replied, “Glad to help, Commander. Who do you think will be joining us today for snack time?”

“No idea, it’s always a surprise to see who comes along each day.”

“Well until they show up you can join me for some stretches, come on Commander! Up and at 'em!” Came her enthusiastic order.

We spent the next several minutes going through Marblehead’s stretching routine, from simple quad and tricep stretches to seated forward bends and knee-to-chest. Once we had done enough stretching, at least according to Marblehead, a quick knock came as the door opened. The Mutsuki sisters entered followed by Ark Royal, who was carrying a basket on one arm. 

“Comainder! We brought lots of candy~!” Squealed Mutsuki as she tackled my leg in a hug. 

“Haha, what kind of candy did you girls bring?” I asked, giving her a head pat and greeting her sisters as they sat on the couch and chairs. 

“There isn’t any left!” Declared Minazuki bouncing on her chair, “I ate them all, so tasty!”

“Aww, but I’m hungry…” Mikazuki gave a despondent whine as she gazed at the basket Ark still held onto. 

“Now now, there is plenty of candy and other snacks left, but only for good girls who sit still quietly.” Said Ark with a smile, babysitting the Mutsukis had become one of her favourite activities. 

The destroyers that hadn’t grabbed a seat yet quickly sat down while their sisters waited with eagerness for the food Ark had in the basket. Marblehead took a seat on the floor between Uzuki and Kisaragi’s chairs, Ark set the basket down and started setting the contents onto the table. Seeing what the snacks were for today, I headed into the kitchenette and grabbed some milk for everyone. Ark had managed to get her hands on a large batch of Howe’s freshly made sandwich cookies, a favourite of anyone who’s had the joy of eating them. 

We sat in a circle, the little destroyers sitting on the couches and chairs, while us “old ones'' sat on the floor. Marblehead showed off dunking cookies in milk to the excitement of the Mutsukis, it tasted as good as they hoped it would. They told us about their day and their plans for the rest of the day, getting distracted by my new milk moustache from drinking improperly. 

“Commander, what’s the story you are gonna tell us at dinner?” Asked Nagatsuki after a couple of cookies. Her sisters and Ark turned to me, all curious as to what it was going to be about.

“Well I think you all have heard of this story or at least parts of it.” I said, stroking my milk ‘stache pretending to think to the youngling’s amusement. “I won’t tell you what it is about, at least not until dinner time.”

“I-it's not a ghost story is it?” Asked Kisaragi, shivering on the couch. 

“Or about Stookuhs?” Added Mutsuki, also shivering beside her oldest sister. 

“No it’s not about Stookuhs, not really a ghost story. But it is about someone who isn’t around anymore.”

“Now I am really curious what this will be about,” Said Ark as she wiped Fumizuki’s face clean of crumbs.

“All will be revealed in a couple of hours, think you all can wait that long?”

Everyone nodded, including Marblehead with a smirk. We finished off the remaining cookies, Marblehead and I hugging each of the Mutsukis as they left, Ark following behind them after getting her own hug from Marblehead. I turned to Marblehead once everyone had left.

"What do you have left to do to prepare?"

"Nothing, just have to send the image out to everyone." She replied, giving a thumbs up. "Nagato has invited us to the lab to witness the results first hand."

"That sounds great, hopefully we'll have the opportunity to meet Amagi."

"You mean you will finally have the chance to.” Said the cruiser with a smirk, “I met her once or twice before she passed.”

I stared at Marblehead for a moment before remembering her history, “Right, you were part of the original Azur Lane lineup. She ended up going home to the Empire soon after the formation, right?”

She nodded, “Yeah, as soon as the higher ups realised her cough was getting worse they sent her home for tests. Well you know the story, she ended up dying that September. Gods, when Akagi found out her sister died, I never want to hear that ever again.”

Marblehead shook her head as if trying to dispel the memory, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. I placed a hand on her shoulder, nodding my understanding. I had heard the story a few years back when I first heard about Amagi’s story. Akagi was out on patrol, the Sakura Empire’s Naval HQ kept her working despite Amagi’s worsening condition. Although no one expected Amagi’s health to rapidly decline as it did, predictions had her going on until the end of the year. 

Akagi and Marblehead were part of the same patrol group at the time. When they returned to port at the joint base in Sakura territory, the base commander was waiting for Akagi and gave her the news. She broke down screaming and crying, not accepting that her sister was dead, even after seeing her body. Having had to give the news of a crewman’s death to their family members before, I had a slight idea what Marblehead had heard from Akagi that day. I gave her shoulder a squeeze as she nodded that she was ok now. 

“This better not fail, I don’t want her to lose a sister again.”

Marblehead nodded, “We got two hours until the planned time, let's make sure we covered everything.”

~~~

The time passed swiftly and we found ourselves in the Wisdom Cube Labs located a fair distance away from the main docks. The large building housed the machinery to build shipgirls through both methods, as well as space for experiments to be conducted. A series of drydocks lined the coast nearby the building, places for the ships of the new shipgirls to be created along with them. 

The faction heads along with Akagi, Kaga and Akashi had already gathered in the observation room, a room separated from the main creation chamber by the strongest glass humanity had developed so far. The creation chamber housed a bed-like table that had five wisdom cubes glowing on top. Various other materials that I couldn’t readily identify sat nearby the table, from what I knew of blueprint ship construction, these were the materials needed to force a ship into existence. A strange device hung from the roof over the table, the key machinery in Kansen creation.

Akashi manned the controls while everyone took their seats, Akagi, Kaga and Nagato joined me by the side wall. With the intent to have multiple people talking on the broadcast system, using our personal radios wouldn’t work too well. Fortunately we had a hard line radio that would do the job perfectly. Nodding to everyone I grabbed the radio phone and hit the base broadcast button. 

“Attention all personnel, this is Commander Davidson. By now everyone should have received and seen the image sent out by Marblehead on Juustagram. As the caption stated, that is an old photograph of Amagi, who was lost to us shortly after Azur Lane was originally formed.”

“Tonight, everyone will hear all about Amagi and her life, what kind of person she was and how she brightened everyone's lives. I want everyone to listen carefully to what you hear and picture Amagi in your minds. Those of you that had the opportunity to meet her before, this will be much easier for you. And now for Lady Nagato.”

I handed the phone to the Sakuran leader who nodded as she took it from my hand. 

“Amagi was many things to us in the Sakura Empire, brilliant tactician, a powerful force on the battlefield, a reliable comrade, a mother figure to the younger girls. To myself she was something else, a great friend who I have missed all these years. Her council along with Mikasa’s eased the burden of leading the Sakura Empire’s forces, her motherly ways forcing us to take breaks and take care of ourselves. Her keen mind and sharp wit lead us from victory to victory against the Sirens, her love for her sister and adopted sisters rivaled none. There was a time that she was considered for my replacement as the leader of the Empire’s shipgirls.”

Nagato paused to wipe away some tears.

“For the many years I had gotten to know Amagi, she always held her head high, proud of what we accomplished in the war. Proud of the growth she saw in her sisters as they rose to the top. Nothing could keep her down for long, even her sickness did little to stop her work or taking time for the younglings. I miss my dear friend greatly.”

Nagato continued on, sharing some stories of Amagi and the antics she had to deal with from Akagi and Kaga. After she finished, she handed the phone off to Kaga, who shared tales of their rivalry back when they were all battleships. Tales of how despite herself and Akagi becoming carriers and the legendary first carrier division, Amagi was still able to be the most feared ship if they went overboard with their arguments. Tales of their family bonding, grooming each other's tails after a long day, Tosa included. 

Kaga handed the phone to Akagi finally, who stared for a moment, trying to decide what to say.

“My sister meant the world to me. Well, everyone who fought in the Pacific during the war with the Crimson Axis already knows that. I know it has been almost six years since that war ended, but I am sorry for my part in it. I was motivated to do everything I could to bring Amagi back, I didn’t think twice about the Siren’s offer. I don’t have any stories about my sister that you haven’t basically already heard yet, but I do have a request. Please listen closely to what the Commander tells you next, not for me but for everyone else.”

Akagi placed the phone in my hand and walked away, sobbing quietly. Kaga followed her and tried comforting her. 

“Alright, now everyone should have a solid idea of who Amagi was. Now to the why of the matter. Blueprint ships force a ship into existence when they have never existed before, or at least not beyond paper. Current wisdom cube shipgirl creation is theorised to create the shipgirl from a collective source of hopes and ideals for her. Now our theory that we want to test out with everyone’s help is whether it is possible to use that collective image of a specific shipgirl to manifest her. Even if she is already dead.”

I paused, allowing the implications to set in.

“We have told you all about Amagi and shared an image of her to everyone to prepare to test out this theory. Everyone will focus on your memories and thoughts of Amagi, we will try to bring her back to life as a blueprint ship instead.”

I waited a few minutes before continuing, watching everyone else in the room bowing their heads and thinking of Amagi. An electrified feeling filled the air, was this the power of our hopes and wishes? Akashi shot a thumbs up, ready to start the process.

“All right everyone, hold onto those thoughts and images of Amagi. Akashi, begin the process!”

“Aye, nya!”

The machinery hummed to life, charging up to full power. Everyone stared through the glass into the other room as the machine shot bolts of energy towards the cubes below it. The cubes started glowing brighter and swirling around, the piles of materials glowing as well. The brightness kept intensifying and we were forced to look away and deploy the screens on the windows. The humming intensified, the cubes rapidly spinning on the table while the materials slowly vanished from sight. 

“Focus everyone, focus on Amagi and wish for her return.”

Come on Amagi, live again for your sisters and friends.

The materials faded faster, the cubes floated off the table, dancing and swirling, moving so fast that they were only blurs. The machinery kept humming, everything was going perfectly so far. The cubes were moving too fast to make out anymore, what we could see looked like a human body starting to form.

“That’s it! Keep it up everyone, it’s working!”

Come back to our world Amagi, show death you’ve had enough. 

The humming reached a feverish pitch, the materials had all faded away, the human body had a completed outline and started growing larger. The glow increased again, trying to blind everyone through the protective screens while still intensifying its brightness even more. We watched as the figure on the table grew to the size of an adult before the light became too blinding for us to watch anymore. After a few minutes the machinery slowed down its humming and the light dimmed. We stared through the glass at the figure on the bed. 

She looked to be fairly tall, with long brown hair and a pair of fox ears on her head. A dark purple and red outfit covered her body, a folded red parasol held between her hands. She opened her eyes and slowly sat up, swinging her legs over the side. After a moment she hopped down onto the floor and turned to us, nine large tails fanning out from behind her. Everyone was in shock, not a word was said as she gazed through the window at us before finally speaking.

“Battlecruiser Amagi, reporting in. Akagi and Kaga, come say hello already.”

The sisters let go of their hold on each other, they raced to the door to the creation chamber, nearly knocking Amagi over as they embraced her. Several of the others wiped away tears before applauding and cheering. I remembered the radio was still broadcasting.

“It worked, it worked! Amagi is here, she’s alive!”

Notes:

There we go, thanks to some magical science and maybe a lil something else Amagi lives!

Chapter 3: New Friends?

Summary:

Can a tsundere make friends?

Hipper was in a foul mood. Her sister was up to her usual non-stop teasing and drove Hipper to snap and walk away. She stormed out of the Iron Blood dorms and wandered around the base, she wanted to make sure no one was following her before she ducked behind a warehouse and headed to her secret place. Towards the edge of the base near the south-western coast was a cliff edge that stretched on for a couple hundred metres. A mixture of foliage dotted the cliff top, one spot held a secret pathway down the cliffside. At the end of the path sat Hipper’s private sanctuary, a large sunny cave that Hipper had slowly turned into her personal garden. 

As she descended along the pathway to her secret garden, Hipper paused midstep. She held her breath and concentrated on the sound she thought she heard. Faintly it came again, the sound of someone grunting in exertion. 

Hah? Who the hell is in my garden? Thought Hipper as she resumed heading to the cave, her frown having returned. Towards the end of the path a couple of trees grew out of the cliff side, partially obscuring the view to the cave. Hipper crouched down and moved slowly through the foliage, straining to see who it was that had discovered her sanctuary. 

Hipper paused once she saw the cave entrance and the sizable ledge in front of it, completely surprised by what she saw. A tall woman with long dark hair tied into a ponytail had her back to Hipper. She held a wooden staff in her hands as she held a fighter’s stance before darting forward and battering the training dummy in front of her. Hipper watched in awe as the intruder leapt back, resumed her ready stance and charged forward again, repeating several times without a break. 

Damn, she’s good. Thought Hipper, mesmerised. I wonder who she is, I don’t recognize her in that outfit. 

Said outfit consisted of a long dress that ended just above the woman’s feet, it was a similar colour to her hair. A white top covered the rest of her, with sleeves ending just past the wearer’s elbows. Hipper finally stood and walked forward, noticing part of the woman’s hair seemingly twitch towards her. The mystery woman set her staff down against a rock and grabbed a water bottle, taking a drink before turning to Hipper. 

“Huh? Takao? What are you doing here?” Hipper asked, instantly recognizing the woman once she turned around. 

“Hmm? Hello Hipper, I didn’t realise anyone else knew of this place. Or are you the one that’s been growing these flowers?” Said Takao as she took another swig from her water bottle, her other hand holding open her top and fanning herself with it. A blue tank top kept everything mostly covered, something Hipper noted with an internal frown. 

“That depends, are you going to tell anyone else?” Hipper said, a bit of edge in her voice. 

Takao shook her head, “No it’s peaceful here, I come out here to get away from my sister Atago and enjoy some training to clear my thoughts.”

Hipper walked closer to Takao, taking a peek into the cave at her flowers. “Yeah, I can understand that. I come here to get away from Eugen and her endless teasing. Working on my garden is my way to relax.”

“I am sorry I intruded on your private sanctuary, I can leave if you would like to be left alone.” Takao picked up her staff, well sword now that Hipper had a proper look at it. 

“Y-you can stay,” Hipper said, “I wouldn’t mind having someone else around who has an annoying younger sister. I-incase you ever want to talk about it or something.”

Takao smiled, “Thank you Hipper, I love your garden by the way. Do you come here often to look after them?” 

Hipper started taking care of her flowers, continuing the conversation as she worked. “I come out here once a day at least, got to make sure they’re kept watered. How long have you been using this place as a practice ground?”

“About two weeks ago I discovered the path down here, the training dummy I brought over today. Normally I just work on my forms.” Takao replied, still trying to cool off.

“You can take that off, lean against the wall over there. It’s nice and cool and out of the sun.” Hipper said, feeling her face heat up slightly as she watched Takao strip off her white top. A slight sigh came from the Sakuran cruiser as she leaned her back against the cool cave wall.

“Ahh, that feels great. Thank you for the suggestion Hipper.” 

“N-no problem.” Hipper buried herself into her work to hide her reddening face. 

After a few minutes, Takao pried herself off of the cool wall and pulled her white top back on. She looked to Hipper and gave her a nod of thanks before heading back outside to resume her training. Hipper continued working on her garden, pulling some weeds out of the planters and watering the flowers as she went. A couple of them were already blooming, Hipper had purposely put in some early bloomers to brighten up the cave.

Hmph, not so bad having someone around I guess. Hipper thought to herself as she worked. She’s fairly quiet and not annoying, unlike Eugen.

She looked up from her current planter to Takao, watching her rotate through her forms. Even Hipper could tell how much effort Takao had put into her work, her amateur eyes could see no flaws as Takao flowed from one stance to another. Her movements were so fluid and precise that Hipper found herself mesmerised, unable to look away from the swordmaster at work. Hipper eventually came back to her senses with a start, shaking her head and turning back to her own work. The slight redness to her cheeks passed unnoticed by the pair. 

Takao returned to the cool cave wall as Hipper finally finished tending to her garden, joining her and leaning against the wall. The pair of cruisers closed their eyes and sighed in bliss, a smile creeping across their lips from the coolness. Keeping her eyes closed, Takao posed a question to Hipper.

“How do you plan on keeping your garden watered when you’re sent out on missions for multiple days? Such as our stronghold assault next week.”

Hipper thought it over and sighed, “I think I need to tell the Kommandant about this place and see if he can get some Manjuu to take care of the watering. No way am I trusting them with anything else.”

Takao nodded, not that Hipper could see with her still closed eyes. “Do you want to go with me to his office later on? I was planning on going by and seeing where he wanted me stationed in the fleet next week, I’ve been named as his secretary for that week.”

“Mmm I think I’ll go separately and meet you there, less chance of anyone being suspicious or trying to find this little sanctuary if we’re not seen together.” 

“Right, I don’t want Atago finding this place. And I would feel terrible if I ended up being the reason your secret garden was discovered.” Said Takao as she opened her eyes and looked at Hipper.

Sensing her movement, Hipper opened her eyes as well. “Yeah I’d rather no one else knows of this place. At least you understand its value and purpose, so t-thanks I guess.”

Takao nodded and pulled herself off of the wall, heading for the outside. “No problem, I’m going to clean up then head back. Thanks for letting me share in this place, Hipper.”

Hipper went around the cave cleaning up her own tools, pausing to help Takao find a place to stash her training dummy. Takao left soon after, carefully making her way back to the clifftop and avoiding drawing any attention to her. Hipper waited about a half hour, sitting amidst her garden and enjoying the peace and her handy work, before heading back herself. No one was around when she reached the cliff top, she made her way to the Academy to see if Nimi would be free for dinner later tonight. 

Later on at the Commander’s office, Hipper managed to swear the Commander to silence about her secret garden and get some of the Manjuu assigned to water the flowers whenever she was gone. She didn’t see Takao at the office and declined to mention that she also knew of the secret spot, no need for the Commander to know. After leaving the office, she encountered her sister on the way to meet up with Nimi. Eugen ran up and tackled her in a hug before heading off to find Wales, leaving Hipper slightly annoyed again. 

And for some reason I guess I might love my sister anyways. Hipper thought before shaking her head and banishing the thought away.

Notes:

If you were wondering, Takao's outfit is based on this image made by Hori~ https://x.com/horistarw/status/1516692451834331142

Chapter 4: Practice?

Summary:

The new fleets have been training hard and now its time to see how well two of them do in a match.

“Fleet Four versus Fleet Seven, begin!”

“Hipper, Eugen, Tallinn front and centre. Mainz left flank, Roon right. Graf, Strasser launch fighters, standby attack squadrons. Aquila, Chen Hai get those planes on recon. Destroyers fan out and keep an eye on sonar, Marblehead watch radar. Wolfpack, dive and advance, battleships standby!”

Tirpitz’ string of orders were carried out with ease, the fleet having meshed together well during their training sessions. Now that it was time for a proper match against another fleet, everyone was ready to carry out Tirpitz’ orders and bring home the win. 

“I have a contact at bearing twenty-eight, twenty klicks out.” Came Chen Hai’s voice over the radio. “Looks like one of Eagle’s Swordfishes. And there goes my seaplane, must be Perseus with some Sea Hurricanes in the area.” 

“Aquila, send out your full force and shadow Chen’s remaining planes. You two move in and see what you can find, keep an eye out for an ambush. Rest of the fleet, maintain formation and head out bearing three-three-five.”

A chorus of ayes from the fleet as everyone changed course and maintained watch for their opponents. After a few minutes Tirpitz got a report from Chen Hai.

“Tirpitz, we found some of the enemy, our planes took a beating. Eagle, Perseus, Dido, Sirius, Hermoine and Charybdis confirmed sightings.”

“They’ve split their fleet have they?” Mused Tirpitz, “Wolfpack have you encountered anything yet?”

“Negative, what would you like us to do next?” Came Parzival’s response. 

“Change course to bearing twenty, swing around and torpedo them from the sides. Aquila and Chen Hai keep harassing them with your planes, rest of the fleet adjust course to bearing five.”

Several minutes passed by with no sighting of the rest of the enemy fleet. Chen Hai lost her last planes while Aquila had launched the rest of hers to harry the small group still. By Tirpitz’ judgement the wolfpack should launch their attack soon. A fact that was quickly reported over radio to her.

“Tirpitz, the subs have taken out Eagle and badly damaged Perseus. No hits on the cruisers.” Reported Aquila, viewing the battle from her planes. “Wait, what was that? Chen do yo-.”

The radio cut to static, no response came from either carrier.

“Damnit, they found them. Wolfpack any eyes on the other enemies?”

“They’re coming from where they took out Chen and Aquila. They’re trying to surround us, gotta go!” Came the panicked response.

“Fleet, change course and full speed ahead, maintain formation. Graf, Strasser launch your attack squadrons and bomb them as soon as we’re in range.”

“Aye!”

They must have swung around from the opposite direction, I guess we should have went all in on the group we did find. Tirpitz thought to herself as she zipped over the waves. She shot a look towards Ulrich on her right, the battleship giving her a nod in return. Soon they reached the battle ground, the sounds of cannon fire reaching their ears. 

“Cruisers, shields up and smash us a path in. Destroyers find the enemy subs and take them out with the wolfpack. Everyone, fire at will!”

The planes zipped out ahead of the fleet, the Messerschmitts escorting the Junkers for their diving run. The shields of the cruisers flared to life, holding off the barrage of shells from the enemy. Tirpitz, Ulrich, Gangut and Dunkerque fired off their own shells, covering the destroyers as they peeled off to rescue the wolfpack. Marblehead’s anti air guns flared to life, cutting down the incoming Barracudas and Seafires from Formidable and Victorious. 

The enemy fleet’s anti air defence mowed down several of Graf and Strasser’s planes, the Dido family showing why they were among the best for anti air capabilities. Their destroyers changed formation to prepare for surface combat, abandoning their hunt for the wolfpack. A certain green haired destroyer, however, charged towards Hipper at full speed. 

“Oh no you don’t! You don’t get to ram me again Glowworm!” Yelled Hipper as she fired all her cannons and a few torpedoes at Glowworm head on. 

“Oww oww oww, you meanie Hipper!” Whined Glowworm as she was taken out of the match.

The remaining cruisers of Tirpitz’ fleet launched a spread of torpedoes at the enemy cruisers, forcing them to move away and break up their anti air formation. Graf and Strasser capitalised on the opening, sending in their Junkers screaming down. King George V and Howe rushed forward, trying to fill in the gaps while Nelson and Rodney tried to take out Gangut. 

Good, they're almost close enough. Thought Tirpitz, firing off another volley at Charybdis and Sirius.

Strasser suddenly weaved her way to the front of her teammates, stopping and bringing her left hand up and thrusting it straight down. The sword in her hand clanged off of a massive clock that appeared under her feet. With her right hand held next to her cheek she called out, "Your time is up!"

Shadowy, illusionary clocks and gears shimmered around Strasser as the enemies in front of her ceased all movement. Tirpitz and the rest of the fleet knew what to do, they all fired everything they could in the few seconds Strasser bought them.

Or so they tried.

A couple of volleys got fired off, landing hits among the cruisers and battleships. But no one was able to fire a second shot, no one could move.

"You're not the only one with that trick, Strasser." Came Formidable's voice as she gave a slight curtsy, "Now please don't move an inch."

Formidable's control over others' movement did not last as long as Strasser's control over time. Both sides found themselves freed at nearly the same time, the battle rejoined. The cruisers hastily brought their shields up to block the incoming shells, several making it past them and finding their marks on Dunkerque and Gangut. The battleships landed their own hits, taking out Hermione under their combined strikes. 

The destroyers, meanwhile, had a costly and chaotic battle in their attempt to save the subs. Having split into small groups or going in individually, Z1 went after Tashkent only to be taken out of the battle suddenly thanks to a couple of lucky torpedo hits. Z2 and Viersechs chased after Vampire, the former taking a fatal hit meant for Viersechs allowing for her to take down Vampire in retaliation. Elsewhere Le Téméraire and L'Opiniâtre duelled against the C-class sisters, exchanging heavy hits between the two groups. Tem and Opi launched a combined wave of torpedoes that took out Crescent and Comet, with Opi soon succumbing to the previous hits and a few more from Cygnet, who retreated away from Tem.

Elsewhere in the melee, Pompeo Mango and Carabiniere teamed up to fend off Le Malin, a difficult battle against the Vichya’s self proclaimed super destroyer. Out of nowhere a spread of torpedoes impacted into Le Malin, courtesy of the sole surviving sub, U-101. With most of their allies sunk, Tashkent and Cygnet tried to run back to the rest of their fleet, to no avail. Cygnet was taken down by the combined might of Pompeo, U-101 and Carabiniere; while Tashkent was unable to escape Viersechs’ well aimed volleys that slowed her down, quickly feeling the Iron Blood destroyer’s sword tapping her shoulder and ending the destroyer battle.

Dunkerque brought her sword up to block a swing from Howe, the baking masters intent on deciding who had the better swordsmanship. Gangut found herself sunk after one too many volleys broke through the shield wall, a gap having appeared when Tallinn was taken out by Victorious’ bombers. Roon, Mainz and Marblehead fought the enemy cruisers while Graf and Strasser attempted to land hits with their few torpedo armed Junkers. Tirpitz swung her banner staff at King George who blocked it with her sword, nearly stumbling back from the force of the blow. Ulrich swung her scythe at Nelson, battering her backwards as Hipper and Eugen took on Rodney. One sister deflected shells with her shields while the other launched shells and torpedoes at the battleship. Marblehead did her best to defend her fleetmates from the planes of Formidable and Victorious, who had nearly free reign over the battlefield. 

Viersechs took stock of the battlefield, she knew Tirpitz was unable to give out orders that wouldn’t be overheard by King George who was presumably the leader of the enemy fleet. Swiftly gathering up her few remaining comrades, they charged towards the back of the enemy formation where Victorious and Formidable were stationed. As Victorious danced around the torpedoes launched by U-101 and Pompeo, Formidable shifted her attention and glared at Carabiniere. A sense of impending doom came over her as Formidable launched her Fairey Albacores at the poor destroyer, promptly sinking her.

She’s never going to forgive me for that lumbering comment is she? Thought the Sardegna destroyer as she floated on her back, not bothering to get up and head back to shore.

Victorious launched several Barracudas and managed to keep U-101 occupied while her other planes harassed the other destroyers. Formidable joined in and the carrier sisters tore through their opponents with ease, soon returning their focus to the front of the battlefield in time to take a hit from Ulrich’s cannons. Nelson had surrendered before taking heavy damage on her rigging from blocking Ulrich’s scythe. Rodney finally fell before the tag team tactics of Hipper and Eugen, the heavy cruisers going to join in against the remaining Didos. Howe finally bested Dunkerque in their sword duel, before taking a couple of hits from Ulrich as she split her shots between Howe and the carriers. Dido and Sirius discovered that the shields from the Hipper class can defend against their massive swords, a strategy they swiftly abandoned as their anti air barrages weren’t as effective. 

Tirpitz decided it was time to take out George finally. She swung her banner staff and knocked George’s sword off side, quickly lunging forward and grabbing onto the bewildered battleship. “Graf, Strasser, send your Stukas at George. I need her out now!”

George’s eyes widened as she struggled to free herself, “You would sink yourself to take me out? Are you mad?”

Tirpitz laughed at the Royal battleship. “Not to insult my compatriots but I survived eleven attacks from the Royal Navy back in the old war, what makes you think I can’t handle a bit of friendly fire?”

“Victorious, Formidable!” 

The Royal carriers launched their remaining fighters, cutting down a few of the Junkers. The escorting Messerschmitts took the brunt of the attack, allowing the remaining dive bombers to begin their dives. Jericho trumpets screaming, the Junkers released their payloads, most missing the battleships but several found their marks. George took two direct hits and enough near misses to be put out of commission, Tirpitz took a couple hits as well but remained floating. As the sea spray settled she bent down and picked up her cap that had blown off.

“It’s too bad I never got to join my sister for Rheinübung, we would have given you Royals a good fright. I’ll see you after the match George.” Tirpitz said, holding out her hand to the fallen battleship. 

George shook her head and grinned, grabbing the offered hand and pulling herself up. “Aye, you two would have been terrifying. I’d wish you luck but I’d rather the rest of my team win.”

George sailed off for shore, Tirpitz looked around at the battlefield. Ulrich was focus firing on the enemy carriers, the Didos having been put out of the match finally. Hipper and Eugen were all that remained for cruisers, Graf had taken several hits and was out.

Two battleships, two heavy cruisers and a carrier against their remaining two carriers. This will be interesting. Mused Tirpitz before giving the order for an all out assault on the final enemies.

Being armoured carriers allowed Formidable and Victorious to take a beating, but there’s only so much damage a carrier can take before sinking. Losing only Strasser and Eugen, Tirpitz’ Fleet Seven took the win. 

Reaching the shore, the surviving victors found themselves surrounded by their teammates, cheering for their victory. Tirpitz quickly called order to her fleet, having them line up and shake hands with George’s fleet. Congratulations and promises of an even tougher match next time were shared, a shared comradery between the two fleets along with a dose of competitiveness. The Commander made his way over to the two fleets, commending everyone who fought on a job well done. 

“Tirpitz, George, that was a well fought battle. Congratulations.” 

Tirpitz finally posed the question that had been tickling the back of her mind for half of the match. “What happened to your cruisers George? By my count we never saw two of them.”

“Ahh, well Suffolk and Portland were part of the group that ambushed Chen Hai and Aquila. Before she was sunk, Aquila launched a desperate last wave of planes point blank at the cruisers. Suffolk and Portland took a hit from the first plane’s wings to the stomach and were sunk because of it.” George explained, shaking her head.

Tirpitz laughed, “Haha, she said she wanted to try that out after she saw Yorktown almost run over Warspite in their match. Those Yorktowns come up with some insane ideas.”

“Makes you wonder if the Commander is secretly a Yorktown as well.” Replied George, eyeing him up and down with a suspicious look.

“Shh, don’t worry about it.” Teased the Commander, earning some concerned looks from his fleet leaders. “More importantly, you two and your fleets go get your maintenance done and enjoy the rest of the day. I’ll see you tomorrow for the briefing before we head out to the stronghold.”

The Commander walked off, chatting with everyone that approached him, giving out headpats and words of praise to the fighters. Tirpitz and George headed off to the maintenance yard together, joined by Howe, Hipper and Eugen. The rest of the fleets eventually dispersed from the exercise area, leaving the beach calm and peaceful once more. 

Notes:

There we go, I promised a better fight scene and imo this is much better than the one at the end of story one~

Skills from the game exist here with some minor tweaks here and there, such as the Hipper class being able to project shields where they want and not just three rotating shield walls.

Chapter 5: Akashi Improves the Base?

Summary:

Akashi is many things, a minty kitty, a capitalist cat, but she is also handy to have for other things.

“Higher, higher! Ok set it down there, nya!”

The Manjuu operated their cranes and got the massive beam set in place, other Manjuu quickly hopping in and getting it bolted into place. A second and third beam soon followed, a sizable building was under construction under the direct supervision of Akashi. 

“Nya, good now get those joists put in place!” Commanded the minty green cat as the Manjuu carried out her orders.

Already the framework of the new building, or lodge as Akashi insisted on calling it, was mostly complete in the few hours they've been at it. Having an army of Manjuu cut down build times significantly, Akashi estimated that they should be done with the lodge by time the fleets returned home. Once completed the lodge would be home to the small creatures known as Meowfficers. Akashi had finally gotten approval to bring them over to the base, which had vexed her to no end given that she had used them for several years now. 

Meowfficers were small, round cat creatures that Akashi discovered back in the Sakura Empire. Like the Manjuu no one has any idea where they came from, but they were helpful in managing ships manned by Manjuu. And damned if they weren't adorable. Akashi had tried passing them off as a creation of her's, but it was quickly obvious she had no idea what they were either.

Who would have thought there were some Meowfficers that looked human. Or as human as us Sakura girls. Thought Akashi as she watched a group of Manjuu start placing plywood sheets for the flooring.

"Akashi to the supply docks, Akashi to the supply docks." A voice came over her radio.

"Nya, on my way." She replied, waving over the lead Manjuu. "I need to leave for a bit, I'm leaving you in charge nya."

The yellow bird puffed out its chest and saluted, turned around and strutted off trying to look important. The minty cat shook her head and headed off towards the docks. 

~~~

At the supply docks Akashi saw a few people had already gathered, three stood back and watched a married couple have their reunion. Akashi joined the trio, watching the scene further down the dock. 

"It's nice seeing Lord Bismarck being so lovey dovey with her wife, right Kommandant?" Said Parzival as she watched with a smile. 

"It is a nice change of pace from her usual seriousness, wonder if I can send the couple out together next time." Replied the Commander.

Kashino was the other member of the group, and was very embarrassed with a strong blush coating her face. "It's cute and all but could they do that elsewhere already?"

The Commander patted the munition ship's shoulder and looked at Akashi, "How's the lodge construction going?"

The repair ship shrugged, trying to ignore the blush creeping across her cheeks. "It's on track to being finished by the time you guys are back from the stronghold, nya. I'm not sure where the meowfficers are going to stay until then."

"Mmm, Jean suggested the Iris/Vichya dorms, the chapel has plenty of space. And Richelieu has a way with cats so it should be fine." Said the Commander, turning his attention back to the couple in time to catch them kissing. 

Akashi and Kashino blushed and looked away, Parzival cheered and the Commander rolled his eyes. "Alright you love birds, go get a room and let us get to work already."

Bismarck stepped back embarrassed and blushing furiously while her graceful wife tittered and kissed the battleship on the cheek. She turned and walked over to the group of watchers, giving an elegant curtsy to them.

"Oh my, Commander, you're not jealous now are you? I'm sure there's someone here for you on base if you're interested."

"Hilarious, I think Akashi and Kashino would like a break from their blushing. All the same though, I'm glad you finally made it. It's good to see you again, Lady Hood."

Hood smiled radiantly, "It is good to see you again Joshua, I'm sorry that I missed the first month of your command here. You haven't teased Bismarck too much now have you?"

"Lady Hood! I would never dream of teasing your adorable little wife, perish the thought!" Exclaimed the Commander, doing exactly what he claimed he hadn't.

Bismarck, having joined the group, frowned as Hood laughed, "What do you mean little?"

The Commander grinned before continuing on, “If you two would please excuse us, we’ll get the cargo unloaded and herded to the chapel. Have a good evening you two!”

Hood waved farewell as she slipped her arm around her wife's and led her down the beach for a leisurely stroll. Akashi had already rushed onto the battlecruiser, looking around for where the Meowfficers were hiding. She quickly spotted a couple hiding around the forward turrets as the rest of the group reached the deck. The round cats noticed Akashi's approach and promptly scattered to hide.

"Get back here nya!" Cried the repair cat to no avail. 

"How many of them are there? Asked Parzival.

"About two dozen nya, they're going to make this difficult." 

"Do the cats like milk, Akashi? I can grab some if that'll bring them out of hiding." Suggested Kashino. 

The minty cat thought it over, "It should work, they love milk despite getting sick from drinking too much of it nya."

She shot a sidelong gaze towards Kashino’s chest, a look that didn’t go unnoticed by the bovine girl as she swiftly brought her arms up. “D-don’t get any weird ideas Akashi!”

“Nya? But fresh is best, isn’t it?”

“N-NO! T-there’s some in the fridge in the warehouse, let me go grab it instead.”

Akashi hung her head sadly while Kashino hurried off of the ship. Parzival stared with a blank look, unsure what Akashi was trying to do, before she jolted back to reality when the Commander spoke. 

“Parzival, take one of your torpedoes out and give Akashi a bonk with it if she does anything weird to Kashino.”

“Uhh, okay? I’m really confused Commander.” Said the small sub girl.

“Mmm, don’t worry about it. When you’re older you can ask Bismarck to explain, or maybe Vestal would be a better choice…” The Commander’s voice trailed off before he shrugged. “Anyways, I’m going to go check on Jean and make sure we’re ready for the Meowfficers.”

Akashi shook her head as he departed, wondering why they now had less help to herd cats with. Several minutes went by before Kashino returned with a bowl and a large bottle of milk. It didn’t take long before the Meowfficers smelled the milk and came scurrying towards them and the milk filled bowl.

Unfortunately, Parzival pointed out the major flaw in their plan. “Uh, how are we going to get them off of the ship? They have the milk now.”

Akashi thought it over and came up with an idea. She quickly snatched the bowl away from the Meowfficers and ran away with it, splashing bits of milk everywhere. The Meowfficers bolted after her and their stolen milk, leaving behind a couple of surprised shipgirls. Kashino stared after Akashi before hearing a quiet nya from behind her. 

“Umm, Parzival, there’s more Meowfficers behind us.” She said when she turned at the sound. 

The sub turned as well and looked back and forth between Kashino and the Meowfficers. “I think they know what’s in that bottle, you should run too.”

The remaining Meowfficers chased Kashino across the battlecruiser and down the ramp, Parzival stared after them before following along. At least they got those cat creatures off of the ship. She thought to herself. 

~~~

Akashi and Kashino successfully led all the Meowfficers to the Iris/Vichya chapel, much faster than anyone expected. Unsurprisingly, Jean and the Commander were of no help, both of them were lounging in hammocks enjoying large mugs of root beer. Parzival soon arrived at the chapel and was directed to her own mug of root beer and hammock. Akashi and Kashino glared at the trio as they struggled to herd the cats into the chapel proper and shut the door on them. Once they finished the Commander got up off his hammock and walked towards the nearby cooler, placing his nearly empty mug on Jean’s exposed midriff.

“Ack! Don't put your damn ice-cold soda on me!” She cried out, grabbing the mug before it fell. “You're on thin ice, buddy!”

The Commander shrugged and pulled out two more mugs from the cooler and handed them to Kashino and Akashi. “Great work you two, enjoy a drink and a hammock.”

The pair happily accepted the drinks and downed a fair amount in one gulp, the cool soda cooling them off slightly from all their running. Kashino took the Commander's hammock while Akashi hopped up onto the last remaining one. 

"Where are you going, Commander?" Asked Parzival when she noticed the Commander walking towards the chapel.

"Saying hi to the Meowfficers, then back to my paperwork." He replied, "You ladies have a good evening."

He paused mid step and turned to Akashi, "Oh and go ahead with that request you submitted Akashi."

The minty cat's ears perked up as she yelled out her thanks to his retreating form. Akashi settled down into her hammock and relaxed with the others, looking forward to her next science project later on.

~~~

A couple of hours later, Akashi found herself in the Wisdom Cube Lab with Yuubari and U-73. The science team huddled over a table covered in various papers, Yuubari jotted down notes on all the ideas the trio came up with. A pair of girls sat off to the side, squirming in their seats as they tried to sit still. 

“How did you forget how you created them, Akashi?” Sighed Yuubari, setting her pencil down and finishing off her coffee before yawning. “You can’t build more or improve upon them if you don’t write down the steps.”

“Nya~ I was just tossing random junk through the machine and it worked suddenly.” Said Akashi, glancing over at the seated girls. “Do you two remember anything about how you were created?”

The shorter girl dressed all in white answered first, “I don’t know, I just remember waking up to the cat’s face, buli!”

“Purin! I remember the same thing too!” The golden dressed girl next to her said.

Yuubari sighed and laid her head upon the table as Akashi chuckled sheepishly, U-73 gave her long suffering friend a pat on the back. “So what if we tossed more junk through it and see if you can replicate it? All this guess work is getting us nowhere.”

“Nya~ fine, boot up the machine and toss something onto the table.”

Yuubari and Akashi moved over to the observation room with the Bulins, U-73 looked around and set some hammers onto the table before flicking on the machine and heading out. The Bulins stared with interest as the machine charged up. Akashi walked over to the controls and fired the machine, a glow came over the hammers to everyone's surprise. The glow matched to how wisdom cubes would glow when a shipgirl was brought into being. Everyone watched the machine do its work, hoping they finally figured out how Akashi made the Bulins to begin with. The machine powered down at last, the glow dying down to reveal a rainbow girl holding a large hammer.

“Bulin! It’s hammer time!”

Akashi stared at the new Bulin while Yuubari sighed and looked for somewhere to sleep. U-73 opened up the lab and ushered the new girl out to stand with her sisters. The other Bulins brought out their tools/weapons to show off to the newest member. U-73 stared at them before jerking up and bolting back into the lab, looking around for the tools she needed to test her theory. She found a box of wrenches and set it onto the table and ducked out after booting up the machinery again. 

Going through the process again, the machine powered down and left U-73 the proof she needed. Wrenches for the white girl, drills for the golden one and hammers for the rainbow girl. 

“Hey Akashi, how many are you making?”

The mint coloured cat pondered, “How about five of each?”

“...This is going to take some time. You better tell the Commander we got this to work.”

“Nya~ more help for all of us~” Purred the cat.

Notes:

Congrats on making it to the end of Story 3, have some macrons from Dunkerque~

Akashi as a mad scientist is pretty handy, now we have all three kinds of Bulins taking care of stuff around the base and the Meowfficers as well.

And Hood is finally here! Busy ferrying the Meowfficers to Bermuda and now she's here to stay.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 3 of The Road to Victory