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Chapter Text

My world stopped on June 7th, 7:01 AM.  

I had just sat down in the office when Northampton burst in, her face pale.  “We’ve got casualties incoming,” she panted, barely holding it together.  “It’s Lexington and Yorktown!”

An icy hand grabbed my heart and my breath was stolen away from me for a moment. I was on my feet in an instant, practically vaulting over the desk as I headed for the door .  “How bad is it?  Did you alert Vestal?”

“She’s already on her way to the docks with Perseus,” she replied as I grabbed my hat and all but ran down the hall.  “They didn’t give us details, just that they’re hurt bad and coming in hot.”

“What the hell happened?”

“Sirens hit us with a counterattack in the northwest,” Northampton answered breathlessly as we all but ran towards the docks.  “We pushed ‘em out, but Lexington and Yorktown got hurt bad in the process.  Anything more detailed is going to have to wait for the after-action report.”

Her curt tone of voice caught me off-guard for a moment until I remembered who had sortied with Yorktown and Lexington.  I slowed down and put my hand on her shoulder, waiting for her to look up at me.  “I’m sure Hornet’s fine,” I reassured her.  “And I’m sure Yorktown and Lexington will be alright.”  Oh, how wrong I was.  

Northampton took a deep breath and nodded.  “Thanks, Commander.  Now let’s hurry.”

I gave her a brief smile before we hurried down to the pier.  By the time we had gotten there, Vestal and Perseus were already waiting at the docks for us, along with several stretchers and a waiting ambulance.  I skidded to a halt in front of the two of them as I peered out into the distance.  “Any word from them yet?”

Both Vestal and Perseus nodded, tight-lipped and looking as concerned as I felt.  There was a thick fog hanging over the harbor, making it difficult to see anything beyond a few dozen feet.  All we could do was wait and listen for some other noise than the sound of the water gently lapping against the pier.  This was the memory I hated the most.  Waiting, staring into a grey void, not knowing how bad it was, if she’d be okay.  Just vast, unending uncertainty.

Then we heard the familiar sound of shipgirls skating on the water, followed by Enterprise’s strong voice.  

“Commander?” her voice echoed across the harbor.  “Commander, we need help!”

“Pier Three,” I called back to her.  “We’ve got Vestal and Perseus waiting!”

“Aye, sir!”  Even from a distance, I could hear the pain and concern in her voice.  When even the normally stoic Enterprise was shaken…

My worst fears were confirmed when I saw Enterprise emerge from the fog, Yorktown cradled in her arms.  Bruises, scratches, and burns covered her body, her clothes were in tatters, and her rigging was covered in what I thought was black soot.  Her head was resting on her sister’s chest, and her eyes were shut.  To see her in such a state, it was almost more than I could bear.  

“Yorktown!” I cried out as I rushed down the pier, Vestal and Perseus following behind with the gurneys.  Enterprise hopped up onto the dock just as I reached her, and together, we laid her out onto one of the stretchers.  I gently stroked her hair as Vestal began strapping her in.  “It’ll be okay,” I whispered to her softly.  “It’ll be okay, I’m here.”

I glanced up at Enterprise to see the stricken look on her face, the guilt and pain in her eyes as clear as day.  “Commander…Max…” she murmured, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright,” I replied, almost automatically.  We both know this was about as far from alright as it could get.  But recriminations, regrets, and reprimands, if any, would have to wait until after.  “We’ll talk later.  For now, let’s just focus on making sure Yorktown’s okay.”  

As we spoke, Hornet leapt onto the docks behind us, carrying an equally battered Lexington, who was helped into her gurney by Northampton.  Once both women were strapped in, Vestal looked between the four of us.  “Two of you can ride along,” she announced.  

“Northampton and Hornet,” I answered, gesturing for them to follow Vestal and Perseus.  The two women balked, sharing a glance between themselves, Enterprise, and myself.  “Want a minute alone with Enterprise, we’ll catch up,” I explained, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.  Northampton and Hornet share another uneasy look before they follow Vestal and Perseus down the dock, leaving Enterprise and me alone.  

As the ambulance sped off, I looked over at the white-haired kansen.  “You okay?” I asked.  

Enterprise straightened up, took a deep breath, and admitted, “No.  I’m not.  I almost lost her once before, I can’t lose her again.”  

I certainly understood how she felt.  While I didn’t know Yorktown prior to her recovery, I couldn’t lose her now.  “I know, I know,” I sighed softly, reaching out to give her hand a reassuring squeeze.  “She’s in good hands with Vestal.  I’m sure she’ll be okay.”

Enterprise regarded me coolly for a moment, a snowy-white eyebrow arched in my direction.  “I wish I had your confidence.”

“I wish I did, too,” I quipped, much to her surprise.  “Look, I’m terrified,” I admitted.  “She’s not my sister, but she’s the most important woman in the world to me.  I’ve got to stay positive because if I’m not, I don’t think I could take another two steps without curling into a little ball and weeping uncontrollably.  I am so far from confident it’s not even funny.”

Her violet eyes bored into me for a second before she nodded slowly, some of the tension flowing from her body.  “Thank you, Commander,” she said.  “I’ll try and keep that in mind going forward.  In the meantime, we should get moving.”

“You’re right,” I nodded, and we both started walking down the pier.  “So what happened out there?”

“Sirens counterattacked, came at us from the northwest in a rush.  We were holding our own, but they suddenly switched tactics and began focusing on Lexington.  They cut her off from the rest of us and took her down.  Yorktown lead the breakthrough to save Lexington, almost fought off the Sirens singlehandedly.”  Enterprise took a deep, shuddering breath.  “If she hadn’t fought as fiercely or as doggedly as she did, I don’t think Lexington would’ve made it.”  

“Sounds like Yorktown,” I chuckled.  “She may not be flashy or outwardly confident, but put a friend of hers in danger and she’ll punch the moon in half if she had to.”  

“That she would,” Enterprise smirked.  

“And what about the Sirens?”

“We pushed them back for now.  Essex, Intrepid, and Ticonderoga are on station now, they’ll make sure they don’t try anything again.”

“Good, good,” I sighed.  “Once we’ve stabilized Lexington, I’ll send Saratoga out there, have her take a look at what’s going on.”

“Aye, sir.”  

“And how are you and Hornet, damage-wise?” 

“A few dings and scratches, but we’re good to go.”

“All the same, I want you and Hornet to get refitted and get some rest now that you’re back in port.”  When Enterprise opened her mouth to object, I swiftly overrode her.  “You would have been back here for resupply soon enough anyway, and Yorktown is going to need you both here.  And if I’m being honest, so will I, depending on how this goes…”

While she still wasn’t happy about staying back, she begrudgingly accepted my arguments.  “Alright.”

“C’mon, we don’t want to keep the others waiting…”

By the time we made it to the hospital, Hornet was waiting for us, and I could tell by her expression, the news wasn’t good.  I rarely saw Hornet without a smile, and now her smile had not only vanished but had been replaced by a grim countenance.  What was doubly concerning was the fact that Northampton had also vanished.  

“You two should go up and see Vestal,” she coldly stated.  “Northampton went to go grab Saratoga, and I wanna meet ‘em here.  Plus I already heard from Vestal.  We’ll be waitin’ for you down here when you’re through, though.”

“Yeah, sure thing,” I said in a subdued voice, rattled by Hornet’s dour demeanor.  Enterprise and I shared a look and we wordlessly ascended the stairs towards Vestal’s office.  

A rather tired, haggard, and drained Vestal sat in her office, poring over several charts and medical forms.  When she heard our footsteps, she glanced up at us, before quickly gathering things up and getting to her feet.  Like Hornet, her smile had vanished, and I knew whatever news she was about to give us was going to be bad.

“Good news,” she began, “Yorktown is in stable condition.”

“That’s not a good news face, Vestal,” I bluntly stated.  “Give us the bad news.”

She hesitated a moment, then took the plunge.  “She was badly hurt, and her rigging seems to be compromised.  The damage we can repair and stabilize, but we found some kind of substance on her rigging that really concerns me.  We originally thought it was soot, but on closer inspection, it seems to be…something else.”

“Like what?”

“We’re not sure, exactly, but it seems to be resisting our initial scans…” She paused for a moment.  “...similar to META ships.”

My mind reeled as my heart plummeted.  “Are you telling me she’s going to become one of the Ashes?”

“We don’t know that,” she was quick to reassure me.  “We’re not sure of anything at this juncture except that she’s in stable condition.  I promise you we’re doing everything we can to get to the bottom of this.”

I took a deep breath as I struggled to get my emotions under control.  “Alright,”  I said slowly, nodding to myself.  “Alright.  Anything you need, any resource, no matter how scarce, no matter how hard to find, you let me know and we’ll get it for you, understood?”

Vestal nodded as she looked me in the eye.  “Understood, sir.  Yorktown means a lot to us, too.”  I could see the determination and resolution in her eyes that I knew were reflected in mine.  

I hold her gaze for a moment longer before I give her a nod and look down the hall, wondering which room Yorktown was in.  “Is she awake?”

“Not yet,” the repair ship answered with a shake of her head.  “She should be waking up soon, if you, Enterprise, and Hornet want to have a seat in the waiting room.”

“And how’s Lexington?”

“The same,” Vestal sighed.  “Heavy damage, covered in the same particulate stuff.  The diagnostic systems identified it as “Microlayer particles”, but beyond that…there’s nothing..  When you see Saratoga, send her on up.”

“Will do,” I nodded before I glanced over at Enterprise.  “You got anything?”

The stoic kansen merely shook her head, and I turned back to Vestal.  “We’ll be downstairs whenever Yorktown wakes up.”  

The repair ship gave us a tired smile before she went back to her charts and reports.  “You’ll be the first to know.”

“Thanks.”  Silently, Enterprise and I walked back downstairs, where we found Hornet and Northampton in the waiting room, seated together on a couch, both looking as dour as we did.  

Enterprise and I took up the chairs flanking the couch as we all looked around at each other in a painful silence.  After a few awkward seconds, Hornet finally blurted out, “Why’d she have to go and do that?”

“Because we would have done the same in her position,” Northampton answered softly as she took Hornet’s hand in hers.  

“Yeah, I know,” Hornet sighed, “but…she’s been through enough already.  It feels like things finally got on track…for all of us, y’know?  Hell, Yorktown just moved out a week ago!”

“We still haven’t unpacked all of her boxes,” I said with a wry smile.  “We got the essentials put up and the rest we’ve been taking out on an as-needed basis.”  I glanced over at the two kansen on the couch.  “What about you two?  You guys get all settled in?”

Northampton looked somewhat sheepish as Hornet chuckled softly.  “Kinda.  We got her all unpacked, but she’s having a hard time getting used to everything.  Keeps banging her foot against the bedframe every morning when she gets up.”

“I’m just not used to it, yet, that’s all,” the cruiser meekly protested, her cheeks flushed a deep crimson.  “You know it takes time for me to adjust…”

“Ah, don’t worry about it,” Hornet grinned as she nudged her with her shoulder.  “You’ll get used to it.”

“I know, I know,” Northampton sighed.  “Just worried about that bruise becoming permanent.”

“You’ll be fine,” I chuckled.  “Just don’t move the furniture once you’ve gotten used to it, though.”

“I’ll try not to,” she grinned.  

“Can’t believe it took you guys that long to move in together,” Hornet remarked as she shook her head.  “How long have you guys been a couple now?  A year?”

“Hey, in my defense, I spent nine months of that year in the Northern Parliament,” I countered.  

“Yeah, I know.  She’d look all sad and lonely throughout most of the day, right up until mail call.  Can’t believe you two wrote each other actual letters.  You know e-mail’s a thing, right?”

“We thought the handwritten approach was more…romantic,” I replied.  “Besides, you and I both know we still did things like videocalls, considering you photobombed more than your fair share of them.”

“Heheh, yeah,” Hornet grinned wolfishly.  “Had to make sure you two weren’t getting frisky on cam.”

“She was in the middle of your living room and I don’t think it ever got above freezing where I was, why would you even think we were up to something like that?”

“Because it’s fun to watch you get all flustered,” she confessed with an ingratiating smile.  

I sighed and rolled my eyes.  “Get caught in your girlfriend’s bed one time …”

“Oh, you can bet it’s gonna take you a long time to live that one down.”

Just as the tension finally started to bleed from the room, Vestal approached us, charts in hand.  “Yorktown’s awake,” she announced, and almost instantly you could feel the joy sucked from the room in a heartbeat.  “She’s still very weak, so I’m afraid it’s family only, I’m sorry.”  

Northampton and I glanced at each other, both of us seeing the hurt reflected in our eyes.  But before either of us could say anything, Enterprise grabbed us by the arm and dragged us up the stairs.  “They’re family,” she bluntly announced as I shot a last look at Vestal, shrugging helplessly.  

As soon as we were out of earshot, I leaned over to Enterprise and softly said, “Thank you.”  

“Nothing to thank me for, Commander,” she answered matter-of-factly.  “You may not be related by blood or by hull, but you’re family all the same.  You deserve to see her, and Northampton deserves to be there for Hornet.”  

I was touched by her honesty and her kindness, and to this day, I still am.  She wasn’t always the easiest to read, or the most emotional, but Enterprise was always there for you in a pinch.  “Still, my thanks are there, regardless.”

We quickly found ourselves at the door to Yorktown’s room, and when nobody made the first move to open it, I stepped forward, knocking lightly before slowly opening it.  “Yorktown?” I quietly called out to her.  “It’s us.  Max, Enterprise, Hornet, and Northampton.”

As we stepped into the room, I caught sight of Yorktown and I just barely managed to stifle a gasp.  Her skin was nearly as white as her hair, and she looked so frail and tired as she lay there in bed.  Even her smile, her faint, sad smile she’d always had, somehow looked more drained than usual.  “Do I really look that bad?” she asked.  

I gave her a rueful smile as I shook my head.  “Not bad, just…tired,” I answered, trying to keep my tone light despite torn up I was inside at seeing her like this.  “Had us all worried there for a bit.”

“Glad to see you safe and sound, though,” Hornet added as she walked over and leaned down to embrace her sister.  “Now you rest up, y’hear?  It’ll be tough without you, but we’ll hold the line until you’re fully recovered.”

“Thank you, Hornet,” she laughed softly as she returned Hornet’s hug.  Even that simple act seemed to sap more of her strength, and I tried to keep my despair and heartbreak from my face.  

As Hornet retreated to Northampton’s side, Enterprise stepped up and took Yorktown’s hand.  “Anything you need, you let us know.”  As she spoke, I heard a tremble in her voice, and for a moment, I was afraid she was going to cry.  It was hard enough as it was, and if even Enterprise herself was overcome with emotion, all of us would be going down with her.  

In the end, she managed to steady herself, and Yorktown simply smiled up at her and nodded.  Enterprise looked over at me, then to Hornet and Northampton, before she said, “We’ll give you two some privacy.”

Yorktown waited for everyone to file out and the door to shut behind them before she turned to face me.  “How are you holding up?  Honestly.”

“I’m terrified,” I admitted, feeling the tears starting to well up in my eyes as the day’s emotions finally surged through me.  “I don’t want to lose you, or see you become some sort of dark shadow of yourself.”

Her hand reached out for mine, and I took it in an instant, holding onto it the way a drowning man clings to a life preserver.  “I’ve spent so much time in darkness, I have no desire to return to it,” she whispered.  “I promise you, I will hold on.  For us.”

“For us,” I whispered back. “And I promise you, I will not stop looking for a way to heal you.  No matter how long it takes.”

We spent the rest of the day talking, catching up and just being there for one another until Vestal announced visiting time was over and sent me home.  

The last place I wanted to be right now.  

You know, it’s funny.  My quarters had once been a place of solitude and reflection.  Somewhere that I could shut out the outside world and just relax for a little bit before going to bed.  I’d spent the majority of my time in this apartment by myself.  And yet now, after living with her for barely a week,  it felt so very, very lonely.  I hoped that this would be temporary, a brief stretch that we could both look back on and laugh at, or at least roll our eyes at, but what had stricken Yorktown would last much, much longer…

A/N-And we’re back!  Off to a real fun start, too.  But don’t worry, I would never leave you guys without the good fluff.  …eventually.  >.>  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

Every day after work, I would visit Yorktown in the hospital, and we’d sit and talk until Vestal kicked me out to let her rest.  Day after day, week after week, and month after month, I’d be by her side every free second I got.  Hornet and Enterprise would stop by as well when they weren’t on missions, as well as when I occasionally was off on mine.  

No matter what was happening, she was never far from my mind, nor was my search for a way to heal her.  But so far, everything we’d tried hadn’t worked.  It was doubly crushing each time.  First in getting my own hopes up, only to have them dashed, second in having to go back to Yorktown and dashing hers by telling her I failed her.  Again.  Every time I came back with some new piece of intel on the Ashes, or METAmorphosis, or the Sirens, I would eagerly pass it along to Vestal in the vain hope that this time it would be the key to her recovery.  And every time, it proved itself to be a futile effort.  

Of course, things got worse once Operation Siren kicked off.  I didn’t know how long I’d be gone and I would be halfway around the world, to boot.  To make matters worse, both Enterprise and Hornet had also been assigned to the operation, meaning Yorktown would be left in that hospital room, by herself, for God knows how long.  To say I wasn’t happy to bring her that news would be the understatement of the century.  

She knew it wasn’t good news as soon as I walked in.  “That bad, huh?” she said, mustering up a faint smile for me.  

I couldn’t even fake a cheerful expression for her.  I was just so tired, so defeated, and now to leave her like this…it was almost more than I could bear.  “I’m afraid so,” I sighed as I slumped into the chair next to her.  “There’s a big operation going on in the Atlantic, and Enterprise, Hornet, Northampton, and myself are all going.”

“For how long?”

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly.  “Probably months.”  

Her face fell, and she looked down at her bedsheets.  “...I see.”

My heart went out to her, and I took her hand in mine.  “Hey.  I’ll write you every day, I promise.  And I’ll do everything I can to get back to you safe and sound.  Your sisters, too.  With a little luck, I’ll be able to rotate them out, maybe get one of them back here for a bit.”

“I could do with a little extra luck,” Yorktown smiled sadly, and although it was meant to be a joking gesture, I still felt the stab in my heart.  

“We all could,” I quipped, giving her a tight smile I didn’t feel.  

Yorktown nodded, gazing into my eyes for a bit before she spoke up.  “Max…could…could you do something for me?”

“Anything,” I answered without hesitation.  

She gingerly reached over to the other side of her bed and picked something up off the nightstand, pressing it gingerly into my hand.  I looked down as she withdrew her hand, revealing a blue rose.  The same blue rose she’d worn on her jacket.  “I’d hoped to go with you to the Atlantic someday, to see London and Scapa Flow once more, but…if I can’t be at your side, I’ll at least be with you in spirit.”

I wasted no time pinning it to my chest before I hugged her tightly.  “I love you so much, Yorktown.  One day, I promise.  One day.”

“I love you, too, Max,” she softly replied, her lips brushing against my ear.  “I’ll hold you to that promise.”  

Operation Siren, much as I expected, ground on for several months as we slugged it out with the Sirens and their stronghold at the center of the Atlantic Ocean.  I won’t go into details here as Operation Siren and its aftermath have been the subject of numerous books by better authors than I.  Suffice it to say, it was long, it was brutal, and in the end, we overcame the Sirens, securing a major win.  I kept my word to Yorktown, writing to her every single day, along with group vid calls between her sisters and me when we were all available.  

As soon as the operation ended, I sent Northampton and Hornet back to the Pacific, for much-needed rest and refit.  Enterprise and I stayed behind to complete the final stages of Operation Siren, and the…incident…at Scapa Flow.  While Enterprise’s contributions to our victories cannot be understated, I sometimes still wonder how it would have played out had I sent Enterprise back to the Pacific instead…

“Mayday, mayday, this is Northampton calling any available Azur Lane ships!  Urgent assistance is requested, we’re under heavy fire!”

Enterprise and I were en route to the base, finally looking forward to some much-needed rest and refitting when the call came in over the radio.  We both looked at each other, fear in our eyes, before we bolted for the bridge, the deck plates already vibrating as Enterprise ’s engines roared to flank speed.  

I quickly snatched the microphone from the holotable and answered her call while Enterprise began to triangulate Northampton’s signal.  “Northampton, this is Enterprise, we’re en route, calculating ETA now.  What’s your status?”

Her reply made my blood run cold.  “I’ve sustained heavy damage, and Hornet’s been knocked out of action.  Sirens jumped us, we managed to fight them off, but Hornet got knocked out.  I tried to tow her, but I can’t do it.  I’m sorry, Commander, I just…I just…” Her sobs filled the bridge, and I looked over at Enterprise as she rushed to plot our course.  “I’m sorry, I can’t get her to safety!”

“Hey, hey,” I reassured her, nevertheless keeping some steel in my voice.  “Don’t worry about that right now.  We’re on our way and we’ll help you out.  In the meantime, you’ve got a duty to carry out: keep yourself and Hornet alive.  Can you do that for me, Northampton?”

There was a momentary sniffle as she got herself under control.  “Aye, sir.”

“Good, we’ll be there in…” I glanced over at Enterprise, who had just finished crunching the numbers.  “Thirty minutes.  We’ll have air support overhead in fifteen.  Just keep doing what you’ve gotta do to keep yourselves afloat, okay?”

“Yes, sir,” Even through the static, I could tell she’d calmed down a bit more.  “I’ll do what I can.”

“See you soon.”  As soon as the communication cut off, I turned to Enterprise and said, “I’ll go prep the infirmary for their arrival.”

“I’ll let Vestal know we’re going to be coming in with casualties.”  There was a pause, and I could almost hear the unspoken word.  Again .  

“Thanks.”  

I turned on my heel and made my way through the narrow corridors and steep ladders until I found the infirmary, right where I left it.  I stepped inside, closed the door behind me…and let out a howl of grief and rage that echoed off the walls.  First Yorktown, now Hornet and Northampton?  It felt as though the Sirens were intentionally tearing this family apart, bit by bit.  They were done trying to kill me directly and they instead decided to take out my support one at a time.  And it was working.  

Despite our recent successes, I never felt more defeated.  I felt tired, frustrated, and helpless as I watched the people I cared about most go through an unbearable amount of pain.   Sometimes I wished I could stoically soldier on like Enterprise, followed quickly by the question of whether she was actually managing to ignore the pain, or simply hiding it like I had been.  

I took a deep breath and looked around the infirmary.  Despite the anger and despair swirling around inside me, it wouldn’t do anyone any good if we arrived on station and this place wasn’t ready for Northampton and Hornet.  With one last sigh, I rolled up my sleeves and got to work…

“Well, the good news is that it’s just regular battle damage and we’ll be able to get them fully repaired,” Vestal said with a relieved sigh.  “The bad news is that it’ll take a few months.”

I let out a sigh of my own as I leaned back against the wall.  “I’m not happy about it, but at this point, I’ll take what I can get.  How’s Yorktown?”

Her face fell and her eyes nervously darted from side to side.  I felt an icy hand wrap itself around my heart as I realized there was more bad news to come.  

“About that…” she began slowly as she set picked up Yorktown’s chart.  “There’s been no change thus far…and that’s becoming a problem.”

“I don’t understand, I thought you said she was stable.”

“And she is,” Vestal agreed.  “But stable is good for the short term, not long term.  While she isn’t getting any worse, her rigging is trying to work around the damaged sections, or just not working at all in some areas.  It means that she’s still having to put in a lot of effort just to go about her daily routine, and it’s beginning to take a toll on her Wisdom Cube.”

She stared up at me, her eyes full of sympathy and pain, waiting for me to make the horrible realization myself.  “...wait.  Are you…?”  My throat began to close up as if my body itself didn’t want to face the reality of what was happening.  “Are you saying she’s dying?”

Vestal’s answer was blunt.  “If we don’t find a way to repair her rigging, yes.”

I wasn’t ready for this.  Not that you’re ever truly ready to lose someone you love, but the timing of this seemed especially cruel.  “How long does she have?”

“I don’t know,” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.  “I’m sorry.  I wish I had better news.  But all I know is that at some point, and soon, her Wisdom Cube is going to start to deteriorate.  Slowly, at first, and then it’s just going to pick up speed until she’s gone.”  

I couldn’t accept this, I just couldn’t.  “And there’s nothing we can do?”

Her lips pursed tightly as she glanced down at her monitor.  After a second of soul-searching, she nodded.  “We have one option.  We can put her into a coma.  It won’t halt the degradation completely, but it will give us years instead of months, maybe even a decade.”

“How long would it take?”

“A few minutes.  But I would need her explicit consent beforehand.”  

“What about Lexington?”

“The Microlayer didn’t cover as much of her rigging, so she’ll be able to hold out for a lot longer, even without being put into a coma.”

I nodded slowly.  “I’ll go talk to Yorktown.  While I’m doing that, can you find Enterprise and bring her here for me?  And…let her know what’s going on.”

She eyed me warily, probably unsure about my mental state.  And I couldn’t blame her.  I knew I was already on a knife’s edge, and I’m sure it showed in my face.  After a few long seconds, she nodded.  “I’ll go get her.”

“Thank you,” I said softly before I headed down to Yorktown’s room.  As soon as I entered, she turned to face me.  

“Is Hornet alright?”  She asked without preamble, her expression one of grave concern.  

Even at death’s door, her first thought was of others.  I smiled softly at her selflessness and sat beside her, taking her hand in mine.  “She’ll be fine,” I assured her.  “No Microlayer particles, no permanent damage.  She’ll be laid up for a while, but Vestal will get her back on her feet, don’t worry.”  I paused for a moment, terrified to take the next step.  I couldn’t bear losing Yorktown, but…this didn’t feel much better.  Still, she had a right to know and a right to choose.  “Speaking of Vestal…she gave me an update on your condition…”

“Judging by your tone, it isn’t good news, is it?” she said, that faint, sad smile on her face.  

“If we don’t find a way to repair the damage, you’re going to die,” I choked out, trying to fight the tears that were building.  “She doesn’t know how long you have, but sometime soon, your condition is just going to get worse and you’ll…you’ll…”  I couldn’t bear to say the words again.  

Yorktown stared at me for a long time, that smile fading away into a look of grave concern.  “Is there nothing we can do?”

I nodded, still trying to tamp down my emotions so I could get a sentence out without sobbing.  “She can put you into a coma.  It’ll slow down the degradation long enough for you to last years.”

Her blue eyes widened.  “Do you think it could take years to find a cure?”

“At this point, I just…I don’t know,” I admitted, utterly exhausted.  “I promise you I’ll never stop looking, I’ll never give up hope, but…I don’t know how long this will take.  We’ve been looking for months now with nothing to show for it.  Something could fall into my lap tomorrow, or we could crack this open in a week, or a month, or a year.  Either choice you make, my heart will break knowing you’re not here with me, but…I would rather spend a year without you to get you back, than squander that time now, only to have an answer come when it’s far too late.”

Yorktown leaned back in the bed, staring off into the distance for a long time as she thought things over.  “I need to talk to Enterprise before I make any decision,” she finally said.  

I gave her a tight smile as I reassuringly squeezed her hand.  “She’s on her way.”

No sooner had those words left my mouth than Enterprise rushed into the room, Vestal following behind her.  “Vestal’s brought me up to speed,” she stated, trying to remain stoic, but there was no hiding the worry and pain in her voice.  “Has he…?”

Yorktown smiled at her sister’s concern, reaching out to her with her free hand.  “He’s told me.  About how much time I have left, and my options.  But I want to hear your opinion, Enterprise.”

A quiet gasp escaped Enterprise’s lips as she balked momentarily.  “I…I…I don’t know.  I don’t want to see you slip away from us again.” She paused, looking around at the rest of us before turning her gaze back to her sister.  “What do you want to do?”

“I want to be out of this hospital bed,” Yorktown answered with a grim smile.  “But I don’t want to feel as though I’ve abandoned you and left this terrible weight on your shoulders.”

“It’ll only be for a little while,” her sister smiled softly.  “Max and I will hold down the fort while you’re sleeping.”

My beloved carrier considered this for a moment before she nodded and looked to Vestal.  “I’ll do it.  How long will it take to get ready?”

“Not long,” Vestal said softly.  “I just need to get the drugs to do it.  Should give you time to…say your goodbyes.”  With that, she turned and left, leaving just the three of us.  

“I’m-” My words caught in my throat as the tears began to roll down my cheeks.  “I’m going to miss you.  So much.”

“It’ll only be a little while,” Yorktown said with a wisp of a smile, repeating Enterprise’s words.  “I’ll keep you in my dreams.”

“I love you,” I whispered.

“I love you, too.  Come here.” She pulled me forward and guided me to her for one, last gentle kiss.  When we parted, she turned her attention to Enterprise.  “Take good care of Grim for me, will you?  And I’ll want to hear all about your victories when wake up.”

The younger sister, barely able to keep the tears from her eyes herself, nodded.  “He’s in good hands, I promise.”  

Vestal returned, syringe in hand as she looked around at all of us.  “Are you ready?”

Yorktown nodded, still smiling despite the dark mood that had settled over the room.  “Yes.”

The repair ship nodded solemnly, walked over to Yorktown’s IV drip, inserted the needle, and began the injection.  “You’ll feel very sleepy in a few moments, and the next thing you know, you’ll be waking up.”

“Hope it’ll be soon…” the carrier murmured as her eyelids fluttered, trying to stay awake as long as possible.  Her eyes locked on mine as she said, “See you in a bit, honey…”

And with that, her eyes closed and she slipped into her coma.  For a long moment, nobody said anything, nobody did anything.  I held onto her hand, even as Vestal, then Enterprise, left.  Even as night fell and the hour grew late, I held on.  I thought back to that night of the party when she got drunk and held my hand the entire night as she dozed off in a drunken stupor.  She never let go of my hand.  Not once.  Now, her hand was limp in mine and part of me felt as though I’d lost her.  But I couldn’t help her by simply holding onto her hand and magically wishing her to get better.  

With a heavy sigh, I let her go, stood up, and headed for my painfully empty apartment.  I had a lot of work to do.  

And work I did.  I used the relative calm following Compiler’s destruction to search far and wide.  I went to the World Expo, saw what the other factions had to offer, and I even used back channels to swap information with Bismarck and the Iron Blood.  All came up empty.  I was beginning to lose all hope.  That’s when Memphis approached me with an offer.

I was at my desk, filing the usual mountain of reports when she poked her head in, knocking on the doorframe as she did so.  “Got a minute, Commander?”

“Sure,” I sighed as I put down my pen and gave her my full attention.  “What’s on your mind?”

Memphis peered around the room before she shut and locked the door behind her.  I raised an eyebrow at her but decided to see how this would play out.  “It’s about the Sea of Stars.  We’re experimenting with some new technology, and you’ve been invited to help test it.”

That certainly piqued my curiosity.  “Invited?  By who?”

“TB, actually,” she sheepishly admitted.  “She said you would be the perfect candidate due to your high Wisdom Cube resonance.”

My eyebrow arched even higher.  “So what is this glorious new tech I would be testing out for you.”

“It’s called the Reality Lens,” she began as she tried to explain.  “Ahem... You could kind of compare it to lucid dreaming, I guess.  First, it reads your brainwaves and analyzes what you're imagining in the form of data. Then, it feeds it back to you in a kind of lucid dream.”

“Sounds neat,” I remarked, “but what’s the end goal?  I’m not averse to some kind of super-VR experience, but I don’t see how this factors into Wisdom Cubes or why it would warrant dragging me away from my command.”

“Because Wisdom Cubes are tied into the thoughts and feelings of humans, the Reality Lens is a way to sort of…deep dive into a Wisdom Cube with the hopes of correcting any aberration or defect.”

That immediately got my attention.  This could be the answer I’d been searching for.  The way to save Yorktown.  “Alright, I’m in,” I blurted out as I got to my feet.  “Tell Saratoga she’s in charge while I’m gone.  I’ll be done packing and meet you at the docks in one hour.”

Before she could stammer out a reply, I was already out the door.  I thought I would find a way to cure Yorktown.  But what was waiting for me was something I could never have imagined…

A/N-In the darkening depths of despair, a faint hope glimmers...  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

“Alright, Commander, please take your seat and act like it was any other day.”

“Roger that,” I replied to the empty room as I sat down at my desk, looking over the mountain of reports.  Despite everything appearing to be in place, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this scene wasn’t right.  “Hang on, something’s missing…”  My eyes fell on the place where my mug would typically be.  “Ah, my coffee.”

As soon as I remembered it, a steaming hot cup appeared on my desk, just the way I liked it, with sugar and cream.  I took a sip, and much to my surprise, it tasted just as good as the real thing.  Of course, that made me curious.  “So…if I eat or drink anything in here, will it have any effect on my body?”

“Negative,” the disembodied voice of TB echoed throughout the virtual space.  “While you will feel the effects in the Reality Lens, it will not have any effect on your physical body.  Please refrain from any prolonged stays in the Reality Lens.”  

“Wasn’t planning on it,” I smirked as I took another sip.  “Shame though.  Damn fine cup of coffee.”

“It is reconstructing it partially from your memory, and I have selected flavors that your brain has pleasant associations with.”

“Much appreciated.  I don’t think a bad cup of coffee would be enough to jar me out of this thing, but I’d much rather remember the good cups over the bad.  How’re we looking on integration?”  

“Fifty-nine point four three percent.”

I raised an eyebrow at that.  I’d only been here a week and we’d already passed fifty percent.  And it already felt so real.  Strange to think that only a few days ago this entire place could barely muster simple geometric shapes.  Now I was sitting at my desk, drinking coffee, looking at the usual mountain of reports.  If I didn’t know any better, I could have sworn this was the real thing.  “Man, we’ve come a long way…but what are we missing?”

“The newspaper is only forty percent complete, the paperwork only shows the top sheet, the rest are blank, and none of your drawers will open,” TB answered succinctly.  “Among other things.”

As she mentioned each item, I checked them in the virtual space. Sure enough, she was right.  “Guess we still have a lot of work to do, huh?”

“Correct.”

A few more weeks passed, and while we were making progress, I felt like things weren’t going fast enough.  And one morning, I decided to confirm those suspicions.  

“TB, at this rate, how long will it take before we’re confident enough to try testing this integration with Wisdom Cubes?”

“Calculating.”  The holographic image of a pale girl flickered to life on my desk and turned her cold gaze to me.  “At the current rate, we will meet proper safety standards in one point five years.”

While I didn’t think things were going particularly fast, I had no idea they were going that slow.  “Are you serious?” I exclaim.  “What’s slowing us down?”

“We are entirely using theoretical models of data in a virtual space,” TB calmly explained.  “This makes data collection more time-consuming as we do not have any real-world evidence to compare it to.”

“I see…” I murmured, trying to find a way around that.  “So…if we had some actual experience using the Reality Lens in coordination with a real live Wisdom Cube, how much would that accelerate your original timeline?”

“One moment.  Calculating.”  Again, she stared off into the distance before she refocused on me.  “It should accelerate the safe and effective use of the Reality Lens to within two months.”  

That clinched it for me.  I finished my coffee, slammed the empty cup on the desk, and got to my feet.  “Get ahold of Vestal and Memphis and have them meet me in the briefing room.”

“Aye, sir.”

“You want to do what ?!?” Memphis exploded.  Vestal looked equally nonplussed, almost upset.  

“I want to use the Reality Lens to take a quick look at Anchorage’s Wisdom Cube,” I repeated, keeping my voice level.  “TB’s run the numbers, and even if we keep going at the pace we are now, it’ll take a year and a half before we can safely connect to a damaged Wisdom Cube.  But if we connect to Anchorage, get some data on her anomalous sections, it’ll shorten the time down to two months.”

Memphis looked over at Vestal, who in turn, took a deep breath and gave me a concerned look.  “Commander,” the repair ship began, “...are you sure about this?  Testing would be one thing, but we'll be connecting the Reality Lens to a shipgirl's cognition without a test run.  And once the connection starts, your consciousness will be stuck inside a ‘dream’ until it's over…”  She shook her head and shrugged helplessly.  “The Sea of Stars' technology may be advanced, but there are no guarantees that we won't run into any accidents...Worse, we don't know what might happen when you interact with Anchorage's ‘anomalies.’  Frankly, I can't even promise that our emergency protocols are enough to handle the worst-case scenarios…  Speaking from a professional's perspective, I'm still opposed to you doing this.”  

My response was probably a bit colder than I intended, but I didn’t have time to wait.  And more importantly, neither did Yorktown.  I fixed Vestal with a hard stare.  “From a professional perspective, can you tell me she’ll hold out for another year and a half?  If you can look me in the eye right now and guarantee that she’ll be okay, I’ll wait.  But if you can’t make that promise, I’m going ahead.”

For a second, Vestal and I stared each other down.  I could see her concern for me weighing against the cold hard truth that we both knew: she couldn’t make that promise.  Eventually, she relented, casting her eyes down at the table as she shook her head.  I let out a long sigh as I softened my stance, trying to be more receptive to their concerns.  “Look, I get where everyone’s coming from, and I know this isn’t without risks, including some we can’t mitigate.  I’d love to be able to wait, but we’ve seen how fast a Wisdom Cube can deteriorate and what that does to a shipgirl.  Besides, even if we could wait that long, I can’t stay here for a year and a half.  I know I’m going to get called back at some point.  So I would rather try now and assume the risk than play it safe and possibly lose anyway.”

While Vestal and Memphis still understandably looked uncomfortable with the idea, both of them nodded.  “Think so?” Memphis sighed as she got to her feet.  When I simply nodded, she shrugged and said, “Well, you're the boss. I'll start final checks on the Reality Lens now.”

Vestal likewise got to her feet, fixed me with a determined look, and declared, ”I'll call Helena and the others, too. We also have final checks we should perform on our backup plan.  Even if things take a turn for the worse, I swear that we will protect you and Anchorage, Commander!”

“I know you will, Vestal,” I smiled softly, but I didn’t want to leave it at just that.  “And, by the way, I know I haven’t…been the easiest to deal with lately, and I’m sorry.  I know I’ve got my reasons, but it’s no excuse.”

Vestal returned the smile with one of her own.  “Thank you, Commander.  It’s been hard on all of us.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go get things ready.”

“Of course.”

Once again, I found myself floating in total darkness. And once again, I really hated it.

“Commander, I've noticed that your heart rate is rising. Do you require medical attention?”  

TB’s voice filled the empty void and I shook my head as I tried a few breathing exercises.  

“I’m fine, TB,” I replied.  “Just…hate this part.  Make a note that we should set up some sort of waiting room while you’re establishing the connection so I’m not floating in an endless void.  It’s creepy.”

“So noted, Commander,” TB answered, her voice as emotionless as ever.  After a few more seconds, she spoke again.  “Heart rate stabilization confirmed.  Now summarizing the details of the experiment:  After connecting to Anchorage's hull, you will contact her through the simulated environment. After that, you are to follow my guidance carefully.  Throughout the operation, I will monitor you and remain in constant communication in order to keep you and Anchorage safe.”

I braced myself for what was about to happen and I nodded, even though nobody could see the gesture.  “Understood.  Activate the Reality Lens.”  

“Orders received. Activating Reality Lens.”

All around me, things began to form from nothingness, a nondescript blur at first, then sharpening until it became a classroom, lit by the rays of the setting sun.  As soon as everything came into focus, I did my usual check, making sure I hadn’t spawned in on anything.  Having your shoe clipped into the floor is not a fun experience, I can assure you.  Once I was certain I was intact and not merged with anything, I looked around the room.  It was empty save for one figure at the front of the class with her head down, no doubt taking another nap.  

TB’s voice crackled in my ear, startling me.  “Connection complete. Please wait while the verification sequence is executed.”  There was a brief pause which allowed me to catch my breath.  “Connection status normal... Resource domain secure... Deviations minor.  Beginning connection test. Commander, are my transmissions coming through clearly?”

“Loud and clear, TB.  Everything looks good on my end.”

“Feedback received, Commander. Connection status: normal. Algorithm iteration complete.  Requesting authorization to set Plan A as the recommended course of action.”

It looked like we were going with storytime.  “Go for Plan A.”

“Orders received. Commander, please awaken Anchorage. Through conversation, try to find the anomaly in her simulated environment.  In the meantime, I will both use the information received from her hull connection to stabilize the environment and analyze any information yielded by your conversation.”

“Copy that,” I answered.  “Wish me luck.”

“Good luck, Commander.”

I grinned wryly as I made my way to the front of the classroom.  “Thanks, TB.”

When I reached Anchorage, I placed my hand on her shoulder and gently shook her.  The kansen, who, by all outward appearances, was a rather well-developed young woman, looked up at me with bleary eyes, blinking the sleep away as she tried to see who woke her up.  

“Teacher!” she exclaimed in an excited voice.  “Anchorage has been waiting for you!”  She began excitedly bouncing up and down in her chair like a child.  “Teacher, Anchorage is so happy you came!”  Mostly because, despite her exterior appearance, she seemed to have the mindset of a young girl.  

“Anchorage brought you... a present!” she suddenly announced, reaching into her desk drawer and pulling out what looked like a drawing done in crayon.  She’d done more than a few for me back in the real world, so I didn’t think anything of it until I took a good look at it.  

Or rather, tried to.  For some reason, I couldn’t make anything out too well.  Everything kept shifting out of focus.  All I could make out were some human blobs.  And yet, the longer I stared at it, the more I felt this growing sense of panic and dread.  

“What the…?” was all I managed to get out before everything started going wrong.  

TB’s voice cut in, her normally cold demeanor now suddenly urgent and alarmed.  “Warning: Large quantities of unknown data observed.”

“Warning: Data analysis function overloaded.”

“Warning: Algorithm efficiency degraded.”

“Connection status unstable.”

“Confirmed overflow of unknown data. Sustainability of simulated environment greatly degraded.”

“Proposal: Stop the experiment at once.”

This was it?  This was the anomaly?  A child’s drawing of three people?  “No, keep going.  Just a little longer,” I hissed softly before I smiled back at Anchorage.  “You did great, kiddo!  Now, who are these people in the drawing?”

Anchorage beamed as she pointed to the one on the far left first.  “This one is you, Teacher!  And these two are…your…friends, I guess?”  She yawned as she laid her head back down.  “Anchorage is sleepy…and has to tell you things in the dream world, Teacher…”

Before I could open my mouth to ask what she meant by that, the entire world was consumed by a blinding white light…

I had shut my eyes to keep the light out, but when I opened my eyes, I found the white light had remained.  Instead of being suspended in a black void, I found myself floating in a white void.  

“TB?” I called out.  “Anchorage?”  

No answer.  

I looked down and saw my body was still there, and that I could still move, which I took to be a good sign.  As I continued to take in my surroundings, or lack thereof, I spotted something off in the distance.  With nothing else in sight, I moved towards it.  Floated?  It’s hard to explain movement when you don’t have a solid surface to walk and you’re propelling yourself solely through the power of your mind.  

The closer I got, I could see it was a door.  A red door.  As it grew bigger, I could see someone standing by the door.  Anchorage. She quickly spotted me in turn and began excitedly waving at me.  “Teacher, you’re here, you’re here!” she exclaimed, happily hopping up and down.  

“I’m here!” I said, putting on my best smile.  No sense scaring her if she’s relatively accepting of whatever’s going on.  “Where is here, exactly?”

“Anchorage’s dream!” she beamed, then paused, putting her finger on her chin.  “Or the Reality Lens’?  Anyway, let’s go!  There’s a really good story Anchorage wants to tell you!  It’s right in here!”

She grabs my hand and puts it on the doorknob, expecting me to go first.  I look over at her, puzzled by her actions.  “Aren’t you coming with me?”

Her expression became anxious as she emphatically shook her head.  “Anchorage can't...!  It's Anchorage's first time... so Anchorage wants you to do it, Teacher!”

I looked at the door, then back to her.  “You said there’s a good story in here.”

“Mhm!” she eagerly nodded.

“...but you’ve never been in here before.”

“Yep!  You’re so smart, Teacher!”  

If had been anyone else, I would have assumed her last reply was sarcasm.  Deciding to just let the matter drop, I took a deep breath, steeled myself, and swung the door open.  As soon as I stepped into the barely lit room, the door slammed shut behind me and I heard a voice speaking to me, almost as if the words were piped directly into my brain.  

Well, it looks like you've finally started to piece together the puzzle of the shipgirls' hulls.

It only matches my records by less than 1%, but this wavelength has to be yours.

The fact that you're playing this recording is absolute proof that it's you.

It also means that my very last gamble was successful.

I know you. No matter when, where, or who you are…

You could never abandon those girls.

Making you the final failsafe was the right call.

That voice.  I knew that voice somehow…  I peered into the darkness, making out the faint outline of a woman.  “Who are…” I slowly began.  

“Oh, calm down,” the figure admonished me.  “I'm just a recording. Or, well... More precisely, an AI that can play recordings.”  

I guess the recording was expecting me to be a bit more surprised or startled.  Nevertheless, she…it… continued.  

“I'll explain everything, so just be patient.  You may be wondering who I am. If referring to my outward appearance alone, I would be known as Anzeel.  But I suggest you call me Recorder.”

Anzeel .  That name felt familiar, and I found myself flashing back to that…memory…I experienced back at that underwater lab in the Northern Parliament, although I couldn’t quite say why...  

“As for where we are, this is a pseudospace constructed from data.  Specifically, it is a space made from the information found in the gaps of the metanetwork connecting Wisdom Cubes.  But you wouldn't understand much of that, would you?”  I numbly shook my head, completely lost by all the technojargon.  “Just consider this a place that can't be found by anyone else.”  Easy enough.  The program stepped into the light and frowned.  “Hmm... You did find me earlier than I'd expected, though.”  

“Uhh…sorry?” I offered, still trying to put everything together.  It felt like I was staring at a jigsaw puzzle that I just couldn’t figure out yet.  “Was I supposed to get here at a different time?”

The Anzeel/Recorder image frowned.  “Oh, how should I put this? It might be too soon for the ‘current’ you.  That you've found this place is like a... speedrun? Cheating through glitch abuse, perhaps?”  She shrugged and shook her head.  “Not that it matters. Anzeel did often say that a bit of randomness isn't always a bad thing.”

The current me?  What the hell did that mean?  How many “me”s are there?  I thought back to those flashbacks from the Northern Parliament.  They felt like memories, but I had never experienced anything like them before.  Were those memories from an alternate-timeline version of myself?  Whilst I was having this pleasant little existential meltdown, the AI continued unabated.  

“By the way, did you get here through that Anchorage girl?” it suddenly asked.  I glanced over my shoulder, then nodded to her.  “ Don't worry; she's going to be perfectly fine.  The... irregular patterns of her discrete data have just made her a little weird, is all. It's not necessarily a bad thing.”

“Oh.  Well, that’s good, I guess.”

“Now, what I can share with you depends on what records Anzeel left behind.  Let's see. The recording I needed to play…” She grunted for a moment, her face scrunching up like she was thinking really hard before she let out a gasp and shook her head.  “Oh, that's bad. Ahhh, I've really done it now…”

“What happened?” I asked, knowing full well I probably wouldn’t understand the answer anyway.  

“There's just a bunch of fragmented emotional data here. I can't find a single piece of real information worth playing! Teehee!”  

I stared at the AI for a long while, wondering what the hell I was supposed to do next.  “So…that’s it?”

“So I guess Anzeel created this recorder... just because she wanted to meet you?”  It shrugged helplessly before it changed its mind, shaking its head.  “No, this bit of sentimental data is far too vague. I don't think she'd do anything that simple…  Could it be that... it was you who wanted to meet Anzeel one last time?  Or was my appearance alone the true record that Anzeel wanted to leave for you?  Like she wanted to say, ‘remember me – even if you're not you anymore.’  I don't know the details. After all... I'm just an AI who plays recordings!”  

“But who was Anzeel to me?” I ask.  “What was my relationship with her?”  

The Anzeel/Recorder AI shrugged yet again.  “Can't answer that one. It's not in the records.  We might be having a conversation, but in the end, I'm just a fancy AI.  A program that can only follow the instructions given to it.”  She paused, her expression becoming deadly serious.  Wait. Something's coming this way.  Whatever it is, it's been following you for a while now.”

“TB?” I offered, then quickly added.  “I have an AI assistant who helps out, I think she may be looking for me…but how would she have been able to find me in a place nobody can…?”

Whatever it was, it must have been pretty bad because the AI went stock still, arms at its sides, and intoned,  “Warning: Category V threat detected nearby. Commencing removal of AI and records per security protocol.”

Before I had the chance to object, protest, or even say “Huh?”, I was swallowed up by the bright light again.  I heard Anchorage calling out for me in the distance, followed quickly by the most painful sensation I have ever experienced.  It felt like someone was digging into my brain, trying to suck my soul out through my eardrums, and I cried out as I tumbled through the empty void…

A/N-The Commander has become unstuck in time!  Wait, no, wrong franchise.  In any case, we’re moving into the Parallel Superimposition event for those who haven’t seen it before.  I normally don’t do event stories, mostly because it would just be the Commander reacting to it, but in Yorktown’s case, it’s essential to her character so we’re going in.  (This will also be the case with Gangut’s story to an extent)  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

I felt like I was falling, spinning, careening out of control until suddenly, everything stopped.  The pain vanished, and I felt solid ground beneath my feet.  Hesitantly, I opened one eye, quickly opening the other when I saw where I was. Somewhere I’d never been before.  

It was a city, a big one by the looks of it, but the designs were so futuristic, with holograms and television screens on the buildings.  I can only stare in wide-eyed wonder as throngs of people pass me on the street.  For a second, I wonder where I am until I try and focus on one of the signs.  It’s blurry, unfocused, and no matter how much I stare at it, it refuses to sharpen into a readable image.  Something characteristic of the Reality Lens.  

I must still be stuck in the Reality Lens, but…I’ve never seen a simulation of this magnitude before, let alone one so unfamiliar to me.  Is this the same Reality Lens that was having problems creating a replica of one or two rooms?  I couldn’t believe it.  

As I stood there, trying to figure out what was going on, I started to ring.  Or, at least, something on me did.  I glanced down, trying to find the source of the noise when I realized I was wearing a suit and lab coat like a scientist rather than my regular uniform.  Why am I a scientist all of a sudden?  This question was put on the back burner as I searched through the coat’s pockets, pulling out a cell phone just in time to see I missed the call.  However, whoever it was had left a voicemail.  Hoping to God that it wasn’t about my car’s extended warranty, I hit play and held the phone up to my ear.  

To my relief, it’s a familiar voice on the other end of the line.  “Hello, Professor. This is Memphis.  I've been trying to reach you for the last few days, but haven't been able to get through. I figure you're still busy on your trip, so I'll just leave this message here for you.  So, at the time of this message, Dr. Anzeel and Yorktown have just arrived safely.”  My breath caught and my heart skipped a beat at the mention of Yorktown, but it was quickly dashed as I remembered this wasn’t real.  “She originally planned to pick you up and take you to the university herself, but…uh...her flight got delayed.  In any case, she was a bit short on time as a result, so she had to head there first to get ready for the presentation.  But don't worry, Northampton will be there to pick you up instead.  Anyways, I'll see you soon at the usual place.”

I let out a sigh of relief.  At least Northampton would-

Wait.

What’s the usual place?

Why is Northampton out of the hospital?  

Why is Yorktown with Dr. Anzeel?

How is Dr. Anzeel even here?

Where is here ?

What’s going on?!?

I took a deep breath and tried to get my emotions under control.  Even if this was still the Reality Lens, people would react as they would in the real world, and me having a panic attack in the middle of the street wasn’t going to be good for anyone.  I decided to try and reach out to see if TB could still hear me.  Keeping the idea in mind that shouting two letters into the sky would, again, attract unwanted attention, I pretended to dial a number on the phone and held it to my ear.  

“TB?” I called out.  “TB, can you hear me?”  No answer.  “TB, pick up, it’s Max.  Really urgent that I speak with you.”  Again, silence.  “Alright, well, when you get this message, call me back immediately.”  

With no other options left, I sighed, put the phone back in my pocket, and began walking aimlessly, hoping that either Northampton would call me or I’d stumble onto the “usual place” through sheer dumb luck…

As I walked down the busy streets, my mind went back to wondering how I got here.  Assuming that I was still in the Reality Lens, and at this point, that was a fairly big assumption, what’s the source for all this?  It draws from the consciousness of those who are plugged into it, but the only two were Anchorage and me, and Anchorage, quite frankly, wasn’t capable of imagining anything this complicated.  But these certainly aren’t my memories, either…or are they?  What was it that Recorder AI said?  I was only a one percent match for whoever it was looking for, but I was definitely that person.  

I thought back to the Arcana Sanctum in the Northern Parliament and those flashbacks I had.  They felt like memories, but I couldn’t remember experiencing anything like what I saw there, either.  And now, this Anzeel…person…has an AI of her embedded in shipgirls’ Wisdom Cubes looking for me…or someone like me?  I’m beginning to wonder if this isn’t some fever dream brought on by too much work and stress…

A car horn suddenly startled me out of my reverie, and I looked over to see a sleek, black, futuristic-looking car, with Northampton at the wheel.  

Or, at least, I thought it was Northampton.  It certainly looked like her, but her attire was a lot more modern, and she’d added an officer’s cap to her wardrobe as well.  

“Hey there,” she smiled up at me as she leaned over to look at me.  “You wandered off to a pretty interesting place. The fact that I even found you means we really are two peas in a pod, huh?”  I looked at her, then around at my surroundings.  I realized that behind all of the holographic billboards and futuristic buildings, the layout was the same as NYC.  I turned my attention back to Northampton, who was giving me an apologetic grin.  “Sorry 'bout that. Did I keep you waiting?”

When I didn’t immediately answer, her smile faded, and she gave me a concerned look.  “You okay, Professor?”

I put on a fake smile and nodded, something that had become remarkably easy for me as of late.  “Yeah, yeah,” I sighed.  “Just…tired.”

“Don't blame you,” she chuckled as she reached over and opened the passenger side door.  “Coming all the way over here must've been a pretty long drive, huh?  Just hang in there a bit longer, alright? We still need to head over to the university and meet up with Dr. Anzeel.”  

Well, that was the “usual place” question answered.  “She there now?  Is, uh, Yorktown still with her?” I asked as I got into the car.  

“Yup, that's what Memphis said,” Northampton nodded as she pulled back out into traffic.  “Apparently, her flight was delayed so she went straight over to prepare for the presentation.  Though, by the time we get there, the presentation will probably already be over.  But Yorktown and the rest will be waiting for us, too.”

“A shame I’m going to miss the presentation,” I said, not sure if it actually was or not.  “But it’ll be good to see Yorktown again.”  

As we drove down the streets, all of the holographic billboards began playing a trailer for some new movie I’d never heard of.  I could hear some of the lines spoken by what sounded like a young woman.  

"This is the captain. I'm addressing every man aboard this ship"

"In the last few hours, many things have happened."

"I believe what we have stumbled across is not man-made, but a phenomenon of nature."

"One that can't be explained."

"This storm has some effect on time as far as we know."

"It created a portal, a door into another era."

"We're about to fight a battle that was lost..."

"Before most of you were born."

"But this time, with our efforts, it's going to be different."

"The established past will be rewritten."

"––May God watch over us."

I didn’t know just how important the speaker would prove to be later on, nor the impact the film would have on me, personally…

“Here we are,” Northampton announced as she pulled into what looked like a university parking lot.  I looked around, hoping to find something my mind would register as familiar.  

“Dr. Anzeel said she’d meet us here?” I asked, not seeing either another car or anyone standing nearby.

“Not quite,” she answered as she put the parking brake on and swung her door open. “There's a no-car zone up ahead, so we'll have to walk the rest of the way.”

“Ah.”  I got out of the car and stretched a bit as I looked around.  Out of all the places I’d been so far, this one seemed the most…normal, I guess?  It looked like any prestigious university you’d see throughout the Eagle Union.  Except for one small thing…  “Where are all the people?”

That seemed to amuse Northampton somewhat.  “Hah, good question. That was the first thing out of Dr. Anzeel's mouth too.  Maybe people just don't feel like leaving home on a weekend. The latest model of virtual entertainment devices just came out too, you know?  On the other hand, that means parking's easier to find, and I absolutely consider that a dub.”  She was distracted by a sudden buzzing noise, and she pulled out her phone to check it.  “Oh, Dr. Anzeel just sent me a message,” she announced, slipping her phone back into her pocket.  “She says her presentation is over and she's waiting by the entrance on the first floor.  Let's get a move on. It's easy to get lost here, so stick close to me.”

“Roger that.”  

While the path wasn’t terribly difficult to follow, I could see how one might get lost if there were more people here.  Or any people.  Before long, we reached the building and Northampton ushered me inside, following close behind.  

There was a crowd of people outside the lecture hall milling about, and as I grew closer, I recognized their faces, but their outfits were different.  Almost like a more modern take on what they wore back in my world.  Before I could greet them a less familiar face spots me and breaks out into a broad smile as she throws out her arms in a bright greeting.  

“Heya! Good to see you again, my assistant!” The woman cried out as she rushed over to me and wrapped her arms around me in a welcoming embrace.  

“Doctor Anzeel…?” I ventured a guess as I returned the hug.  

She stepped back and peered up at me as if I’d asked her what color the sky was.  “Who else would it be? Jeez, did you hit your head on the way here or something?”  I numbly shook my head as I took in this woman I’d heard so much and yet so little about.  I felt like she was important, and my memories from the Aracana Sanctum seemed to confirm this and now, seeing her here before me in the cold light of day…well, let’s say I was somewhat surprised.  

She had an overall disheveled appearance, as if she’d just gotten out of bed, half thrown on her labcoat and shuffled on over here.  Even her shoes, if you could call them that, were mismatched.  One was a flip-flop and the other a sandal.  Despite the streaks of grey in her hair and half-rimmed glasses perched halfway down her nose, she still had a youthful exuberance about her which I found infectious.  And on a deeper level, to an extent I still couldn’t quite explain, I felt some sense of kinship…a bond between us.  Something told me we were close, almost like siblings.  

As I took her in, she continued, still peering at me.  “Anyway, sorry about ditching you, but my flight got delayed and that ended up screwing with my schedule. Totally out of my control, okay?”  When I still didn’t respond, she put her hands on her hips and gave me a mock scowl.  “But look at you, all stony-faced like the other faculty members. You're gonna make me feel bad here!  Seriously, I would've tried a bit harder to accommodate you, but the circumstances really didn't allow for it!”  At this point, I could have said something, but I was curious to see how long she’d go on if nobody spoke up.  “What, are you giving me the silent treatment now? It's not like I was the one piloting the plane,” she argued, throwing her hands up in the air in an overexaggerated gesture of helplessness.  Behind her, I could see the shipgirls sharing knowing looks and grins.  It would seem there’s more to this than what Anzeel is telling me.  

“Yeah, but…didn’t you charter the plane?” Hornet called out from behind her.  

Anzeel somehow managed to look shocked and offended as she was outed by her own kansen.  “Hey! I thought we all agreed to keep it a secret from my assistant here?!” she exclaimed.  

“Well he was gonna figure it out when both of y’all have to take the plane back!” the carrier shot back.

That mollified the doctor somewhat as she stared down at the floor for a second.  “Right,” she muttered, tapping her chin thoughtfully.  “I hadn’t thought of that…”

“It’s alright,” I said with a smile in an attempt to defuse the situation.  “Unexpected things happen, and I made good use of the time.”

Anzeel beamed as she gestured to me with both hands.  “See?  All’s well that ends well!  Now, you’ve met Hornet and Langley, obviously, but what about Hamman?”  She looked around before she spied the destroyer peeking out from behind Hornet.  “Hamman, you’ve been avoiding us the entire time, come out here and say hello!”

The girl wearing Hamman’s face nervously stepped forward, giving a painfully shy wave.  “I-I haven't been hiding at all! H-h-hello, Assistant…”

A shy, bashful Hamman?  What wires did the Reality Lens get crossed to come up with this version of her?  

“The Professor is Dr. Anzeel's assistant, Hammann, not yours,” Langley admonished.  “How do you refer to all your other teachers?”

“T-Teacher? Really?” Hamman looked up at me, wide-eyed.  Seriously, who was this girl?  

Hornet got in on the conversation, playfully nudging Langley. “We should call you "Teacher" too, then. You teach, and you assist the doctor, too.”

“I beg to differ!” the smaller carrier huffed indignantly.  “There's a world of difference between the Professor's work and mine.”

As the three of them began playfully bantering…or bickering, depending on your viewpoint, I heard someone speak up behind me.  Someone I hadn’t heard in months.  “Ahem. It's been a while, Professor. How goes your research?”

Yorktown .

My breath catches in my chest and my heart stops at the sound of her voice and for a half second, I freeze.  My mind flashes back to the last time I saw Yorktown, the real Yorktown, in the ICU, in that damn hospital bed as she gave us a brave smile, knowing it might be the last time she ever saw us all.  I knew this wasn’t her, that this was a simulacrum of her created by the Reality Lens.  Yet, to hear her again, after all these long, lonely months, I couldn’t help but turn to face her.  And what I saw took my breath away.  

She had been transformed, uplifted, her appearance downright angelic.  Gone was her navy blue jacket, leaving only her petticoat and stylized corset as the only dark pieces of clothing against a sea of white cloth.  A fake collar and blue silk women’s bowtie replaced her simple choker, highlighting the clear sky blue of her eyes.  Two pairs of snowy wings emerged from her lower back, the smaller pair hugging her hips while the larger gently swayed back and forth.  But the most beautiful change was her smile.  My God, that smile.  In the real world, her smile always had a tinge of sadness to it, of regret.  But here it was so genuinely happy, blissful, without the slightest hesitation.  Nothing but warmth and joy radiated from her, washing over me like mana from heaven.  I was so awestruck by her change, it actually helped me keep myself from bursting into tears.  

My gawking did not go unnoticed by Yorktown.  “Professor?” she asked as she peered searchingly at me.   “Is something the matter?”

I finally snap out of my reverie and shake my head, giving her, ironically, a sad, soft smile.  “I’m fine, Yorktown, thank you.  I’m just tired.  It’s really good to see you again.”

“Yes, it's been a while,” she agreed.  “I've missed you.”

“Me, too,” I affirmed.  It took everything in my power not to take her in my arms and hold her tightly, and I had to keep reminding myself that this wasn’t real, that I was in a simulation.  But God, did I want nothing more than to hold her, even if it was for just one moment.  

As if she knew something was going on between us, Anzeel stepped in, promptly killing the moment and leaving me equal parts relieved and infuriated with her.  “Okay, that's enough pleasantries. Let's get down to business.”

“Ah yes,” Yorktown smiled, “You two have that meeting tomorrow with Admiral Garfield, right?”  

“That's important business,” the doctor answered with a dismissive wave of her hand.  “I was talking about another kind of business, namely, sightseeing. I've delayed our meeting with the general until tomorrow, so my schedule is totally free until then!  And since the gang is all here, I say we go paint the town red!  We can go wherever and do whatever. We're the masters of our own destinies! For today, anyway.”

That went over well with shipgirls, all of whom smiled.  Of course, Hornet was the most vocal in her approval.  “Aw hell yeah! Way to go, Doc!”  She paused and uncharacteristically showed some forethought.  …wait, how did I know that was uncharacteristic?  “Although I think some sort of plan would be good to have. Where are we going, exactly?”

“Let me think…” she murmured as she pulled out her phone.  “Oh, hey, it's almost lunchtime! I know a good cafe Aoste told me about years ago.  I dunno if they're still around, but if they are, we'll grab something to eat!  After that, we could do some window shopping, then go to the movie theater.”  While she was checking to see if the cafe was still open, I looked around at all the familiar faces, wondering what else was different about them.  I noticed Hornet and Northampton, normally thick as thieves, even before they started dating, were on opposite sides of the crowd.  Had the Reality Lens gotten things mixed up with my memories?  Were these even my memories?  Maybe this was part of…whatever it was the Recorder wanted to show me.  In any event, I could only play along until the Reality Lens decided to end the simulation, or TB and the gang back in the real world figure out how to unplug me without killing me.  

“...Granate…Granate…” Anzeel was repeating as she scrolled through the search results on her phone.  “Ah!  Here it is!  Yep, same place!  Huh, who knew they’d still be open after all this time.”  She signaled for everyone to follow her as she began to head out.  “Let’s go, everyone!”

As we all filed out the door, I overheard Yorktown say to Hamman,  “Remember to stay close to us. We don't want you to get lost.”

“Get lost? I-I would never!” Hamman indignantly replied, and it was all I had not to laugh.  Well, at least the Reality Lens was getting a few things right…

A/N-Ah, Yorktown II.  But not the real Yorktown II.  Yet.  Still, I have to say, Yorktown got one hell of a glow-up.  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

We managed to find our way to Granate, with Anzeel telling us about the time she trained a cat to answer and send emails.  While I couldn’t be sure, I couldn’t help but shake the feeling that this was the beginning of our Meowfficer Corps program.  As it turns out, we’d all been so engrossed in the tale that we’d nearly walked right past it.  Fortunately for us, an eagle-eyed Yorktown had caught it and brought it to the good doctor’s attention.  

“Doctor, Professor, I believe the entrance to Granate is over there,” she said, pointing over at a small, unassuming restaurant with a flower above its entrance in lieu of a name.  

“Huh? Let's see…”  Anzeel stopped in her tracks and looked where Yorktown was indicating for a half second before she excitedly nodded.  “Anzeel Yeah, this is it! I'm glad it's still here.  Looks like they've modernized quite a bit. Guess they've been doing well for themselves since I last visited.”  She shrugged and gestured for us to follow her.  “Anyhoo, let's talk inside. You can't come by this campus and NOT pay a visit to Granate!”

We all filed in after Anzeel, with Yorktown and I bringing up the rear.  I couldn’t help that she’d been…well, not quite by my side, but she was certainly spending more time in my general vicinity than with the other shipgirls.  Was it due to some unspoken attraction she and I(or at least, the “me” that inhabits this simulation), was it the Reality Lens reading my love and devotion for her and having this Yorktown respond in kind, or was she simply staying behind to make sure none of the group got lost along the way and her proximity to me was merely coincidental?  

If you asked me two hours ago if would I have been happy just to see her again, I would have immediately told you yes.  And yet this is almost torturous.  She was here, right in front of me, in arms reach, and I had to exert every single ounce of self-control I had because if I just declared my undying, eternal love for her, I could have broken this simulation.  And considering I was currently trapped in it, that wouldn’t bode well for me.  So all I could do was watch from afar.  And it was killing me .  

I sighed quietly as I followed everyone in.  Perhaps having a quiet meal with everyone would help me figure out where I stood with everyone.  Or at least one person in particular.  In retrospect, I should have been more specific with that wish.  

While I don’t know how Granate looked back in Doctor Anzeel’s college days, to us, it was a rather upscale, but cozy restaurant.  She flashed a card to the woman at the door, and we were all ushered into a private room, which was elegant, bordering on luxurious.  

As we gawked at our surroundings, Anzeel slipped the card back into her jacket and grinned.  “I'm amazed they still accept my old membership card!  Now this is why shops that've been around for a while are the best.”

I couldn’t argue with that, but still…”Doesn’t it seem a bit too high-class?”  I could hardly picture a struggling college student affording a place like this, emailing cat or no.  

“Hmmm?” Anzeel glanced over at me, snapping out of the memory she seemed to have been caught up in.  “Well, that's exactly what it's supposed to be. Or so I think, anyway…” She shrugged helplessly as she began checking around the table, even the back of her chair for something.  “By the way, umm... does anyone know where the menu is?”

The rest of us begin to look around, trying to help her find it.  After searching for a few seconds, I mutter, “You’d think with a place as posh as this they’d have enough funds for-”

Without warning, a loud, metallic, monotone voice blared across the table.  “GOOD EVENING. DO YOU NEED SOMETHING?”

All of us let out a general cry of surprise and alarm as we looked at the robot that seemingly appeared from nowhere.  Doctor Anzeel was the most startled out of all of us, clutching her chest as she tried to catch her breath.  “Whuah?! Where'd this thing come from?!”

Unbothered by our sudden shock, it proceeded to hand us each a menu as it continued to boom out its greeting.  “WELCOME TO GRANATE. I WILL BE YOUR WAITER THIS EVENING. PLEASE HAVE A LOOK AT OUR MENU.”

“Well, it's dressed to look the part…” Northampton remarked as she eyed it up and down.  

But no mere vest and bowtie could placate Anzeel, who gave it a long hard look.  “Sheesh... Modernizing the shop is one thing, but this is ridiculous.”  Her eyes narrowed as her stare intensified.  “I think I've seen you guys before. Aren't you, like, the fourth generation of E-Cube-powered service bots?”

The waiter-bot’s response was less than helpful.  “THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMPLIMENT. YOUR PRAISE MOTIVATES US TO CONTINUE IMPROVING OUR SERVICE.”

“That wasn't a compliment in any... Meh, whatever,” she sighs as she looks down at her menu.  “At least they've kept their uniforms the same.”

I glance over at the robot, eying it up and down.  “I hope the human waiters wore a bit more than a vest and tie…” I quipped, much to the amusement of the shipgirls.  

Anzeel shot me a brief scowl before she returned her attention to the menu.  “To hold on to tradition, or to embrace modernity... Looks like the owner has thought about both.”  A small, nostalgic smile crossed her face.  “Coming here again sure brings back some fond memories.  So I'll have the usual for old times' sake. Seafood paella and a cappuccino, please.”

“COMING RIGHT UP. WOULD YOU LIKE ANYTHING ELSE?”

The shipgirls began their orders as I waited my turn.  Yorktown surprised me with an order of pub fries and an herbal tea, something I don’t think I’ve ever heard her express an interest in.  When it came to my turn, I couldn’t decide to just…follow the doctor’s orders.  Or order, in this case.  “I’ll have a seafood paella and cappuccino as well.”

The waiter-bot gathered up our menus as Yorktown smiled over at me.  “Scallops still your favorite food, Professor?”

I was stunned by the question.  How could this Yorktown have possibly known that? “Y-yeah,” I weakly smiled back.  “A rare treat-”

“-growing up,” she finished, again, to my great surprise.  Her smile grew even further, and I felt a blush cross my cheeks.  

Time to see how much of this Yorktown is like my Yorktown.  “And what about you, is your favorite still Beef Wellington?”

A soft gasp escaped her lips before she could get her hand over her mouth.  “How did you know, Professor?”

Oops.  Guess I wasn’t supposed to know that yet.  “Uh, must’ve heard it from Enterprise,” I muttered.  

Fortunately, Yorktown seemed to accept this answer.  “I don’t know why my favorite meal came up, but yes, that’s correct.  And I’m impressed you remember something trivial like that.”

My next words came flying out of my mouth before I had time to realize their implications.  “Anything about you isn’t trivial to me.”

There was a pregnant pause, followed by a chorus of oooohs led by Hornet, and Yorktown and I flushed beet red.  “Not like that!” I snapped, trying to backtrack and failing miserably.  It was exactly like that.  Nothing about Yorktown was trivial to me because she was so unbelievably special to me.  

In an unexpected twist, it was the waiter-bot who rode to my rescue.  “WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ORDER, MA’AM?” It barked at Yorktown, distracting us all with its booming query.  

“Oh, uh, I’ll have the loaded pub fries and an herbal tea,” she said as she handed back the menu.  

The robot gathered up our menus and bowed.  “THANK YOU FOR YOUR ORDERS.  THEY WILL ARRIVE SHORTLY.”  With that, it left us to our private room.  Before anyone could say anything else, Hamman piped up from across the room.  

“Hey, come check out the flavors on this ice cream machine!  They’ve got everything, even pepperoni and jalapeno!”  

All of the shipgirls got up and crowded around the machine, talking to themselves excitedly.  I decided to stay seated and try and collect my thoughts, but then I noticed Anzeel sitting and watching them as well.  "You're not going to take a look at the ice cream machine?"

“Did you know that it didn't always use to be a self-serve? You used to have to wait for people to bring out your ice cream.”  She sighed and shook her head before she shrugged.  “But, that's one thing I don't miss about this place. Those flavors aren't something you come back for.  Like, pepperoni and jalapeno. Who came up with that anyway?”

While it didn’t sound like my cup of tea, I wasn’t going to knock it.  "I don't know about you, but that sounds like it could work.  There was that chef who made fish ice cream taste good, after all."

Anzeel shot me a look that suggested I had gone completely crazy.  “Are you serious?” she asked.  When I simply nodded, she shrugged and said, “It's your funeral.  At any rate, only kids would get fired up over an ice cream machine. Do I look like a kid to you?”  As I opened my mouth to answer, she dropped her bombshell.  “...Or, should I ask, how does the current ‘you’ perceive me?”

Uh-oh .  

Her carefree demeanor vanishes as she leans in, becoming the serious scientist that had always been there.  “You've been acting odd this whole time. Something about you just doesn't sit right with me  Maybe you're just having a bad day. Maybe I’m just having a bad day. Or maybe…”  Her eyes narrowed.  “You've been replaced by aliens.”

At first, I was trying to keep my poker face up, to make sure she didn’t realize just how close to the mark she was getting.  I had no idea what would happen to this simulation if someone pulled back the curtain, but I wasn’t ready to take that chance just yet.  And then she mentioned aliens and I let out a raucous laugh.  I may have had a burgeoning identity crisis, but I knew I wasn’t an alien.  “Oh, come on, isn’t that a bit far-fetched?”

She simply gave me a fatalistic shrug.  “It's a non-zero possibility, so it could theoretically happen. Heck, it'd take an alien to enjoy pepperoni and jalapeno ice cream.  So... Let's have a little pop quiz just to see if you're an alien imposter or not…”

I stared at her for a long moment, waiting for that grin to split her face again as she tells me it was all a prank.  “...Are you serious, or are you just messing with me?"

“Do I look like I'm messing with you?” she shot back.  Honestly, I had no idea if she was or not, considering I knew next to nothing.  When I didn’t answer, she pulled out the chair next to her and patted the seat.  “C'mon, just take a seat right over there!” 

That nervous feeling suddenly returned, and I could see no easy way out of this.  If I objected, she’d know something was wrong.  But when I inevitably get the questions wrong, she’s going to realize the same thing.  However, as I sat down, I got this…strange tingling sensation in the back of my head.  Almost as if something had…awakened inside of me.  

Either oblivious to or ignoring my growing nervousness and confusion, she begins her interrogation.  “First question. Who am I?

The words came out of me automatically, as if it were a natural reflex.  "You're Dr. Anzeel. You discovered Wisdom Cubes and pioneered their application, and now lead the Oceanic Federation's Wisdom Cube Research Team..."

Wait.

Her eyebrow raised up as she gave me a concerned stare.  “Uhh... I said I wasn't messing with you, but you also don't need to recite my whole CV…Next question. What am I currently researching?”

"Practical applications of Wisdom Cubes, and the effect of nurture on KAN-SEN."

How do I know all this ?

“What's the reason I came back to my alma mater?”

"To test the effect of Type II hull-fusion rigging on KAN-SEN combat capabilities."

What the hell is going on?!?

“Who's the general I talked about earlier?”

"The vice-admiral of the Eagle Union Navy, head of Division 13, and supervisor of Cube weaponization research."

WHO AM I?!?

“Finally, who is Dr. Aoste?”

"Your colleague at the university, a leading expert in the fields of Energy Cubes and artificial intelligence, as well as head of the 'Antiochus' project."  Wait.  I knew that name.  Antiochus.  That was the name the Ashes Enterprise said, that we were all Antiochus’ pawns or something like that.  Before I could ruminate any further, I was startled by Anzeel’s laughter.  

“You actually answered everything!” she cheered, almost as surprised as I was.  

“We good?” I asked as I caught my breath.  “No more questions?”

I immediately regretted that as she began to tap her stylus against her chin.  “Hmm... Actually, I have one more question, but my gut tells me it's not a good idea to ask it right now.”

Despite my earlier reluctance, I couldn’t help but wonder what she meant by that, and despite my better judgment, I pressed her.  “No harm in being extra thorough…”

Her eyes bored into me for a few more seconds before she shook her head.  “Forget I said that. You're in the clear.  I can safely say that you have not been abducted by aliens. We all have those rough days, huh?”

“Yeah…” I chuckled weakly as I tried to wrap my head around what the hell just happened.  How did I know those answers?  Some, like Dr. Aoste I recalled from the events in the Northern Parliament, and others I knew them in name only, but this level of detail…was this the Reality Lens overriding my brain and answering for me, or…or was this something else?  Were these my memories?  Was I really this…Professor?  If I was, then…who am I now?  Or…me now when I’m not trapped in a simulation created entirely in my brain.  God, this was getting insanely complicated.  

“Guess who's back with ice cream!”

The sound of Hornet’s voice derailed my train of thought, and I looked up to see the girls returning with ice cream in their hands, and in Hammond and Yorktown’s case, two ice cream cones in each hand.  

“We got something for each of you as well!” the carrier beamed as the others giggled and whispered behind her.  Although not so quietly that I couldn’t hear them…

“She's really gonna do it?”

“If Yorktown said it's fine, no harm to it, right?”

“Oh boy...I suppose it'll be fun to see how they react.”

Anzeel’s nose wrinkled as she already knew what was coming.  “The colors on those cones... Ugh, those are nasty flavors.”

Hornet grinned as she doffed her hat and motioned to the ice cream cones as if she were a carnival showman.  “Allow me to tell you your choices!  The one with the yellow cone is yogurt beef flavor.  And the red cone, that's pepperoni flavor!”

“Pepperoni?” Anzeel chimed in, fixing me with an impish smile.  “Wow, that's the Professor's favorite!”

Hamman looks surprised, but nevertheless thrusts it out towards me.  “I-it is? Okay, it's yours!”

I reluctantly take the ice cream cone from Hamman before shooting Anzeel a dirty look.  Her impish smile broadened as she playfully patted me on the back.  “Come on, chow down! Don't let perfectly good food go to waste!”

I was about to say something biting and acerbic until my eyes fell on the other ice cream cone.  “Of course, but before I do, dear Doctor, I hope you realize your fatal mistake…”  When she fixed me with a puzzled look, I smiled wolfishly and said, “You’ve got to eat the yogurt beef flavor.”

Anzeel’s eyes widened as she realized she’d just played herself.  “I-you-we…ah, drat…”

I took a triumphant bite of my treat and immediately learned two things.  One, pepperoni ice cream is not , I repeat, NOT , a good flavor.  And two, eating really bad food will not eject you from the Reality Lens. 

After rinsing my mouth out repeatedly to get the taste of that awful ice cream out of my mouth, we all finally sat down to a delicious meal.  Anzeel had been spot on, that seafood paella was delicious, and it seemed like the shipgirls all enjoyed their lunch as well.  

As I looked around the table, I saw Yorktown put her phone down and she addressed Anzeel.  “Random question, Doctor, but I just looked up the name of this café.  Apparently, it comes from granatum , the pomegranate flower. Do you think that has any special significance?”

Doctor Anzeel pursed her lips and let out a long sigh before she answered.  “I mean, the meaning of a flower changes from country to country, so it depends on who you're asking.  That said, I have heard the granate symbolizes ‘yearning for happiness’ and ‘a chance about to be missed.’  It also symbolizes abundance and the blessings of life. Put that together, and you probably have something like ‘a hearty meal not to be missed out on.’”  She shrugged.  “It's been around for a long while, and their food is the best for miles around.  Then again, I can't remember the last time I ate at any other café or restaurant in this area…”  Suddenly, her eyes went wide and she began pawing at her coat pockets.  We all looked strangely at her until she fished her phone out of her pocket and stood up.  “...Hang on, I'm getting a call.”

Her jovial expression had vanished, replaced by that serious, almost brooding look as she walked out of earshot of us and put the phone to her ear.  

With Anzeel temporarily out of the conversation, Yorktown turned her attention to me.  “What about you, Professor?  Are you very knowledgeable about flowers?”

I chuckled softly as I shook my head.  “Not at all, I’m afraid.  Just a few rose colors, and that’s about it.  Never been one for horticulture, on the grounds that I’ve killed just about every plant I’ve ever had.”  

“You do get pretty wrapped up in your work sometimes,” she acknowledged with a soft smile.  “I remember days where you’d forget to feed yourself, so it’s no wonder you’d have problems with plants.”

“Getting better at feeding myself,” I grinned.  

“And plants?” she asked with a teasing smile.  

“One miracle at a time.”

The table broke out into laughter until Anzeel came striding back, her face still serious.  “I'm back. Sorry that took so long.”

“Big news?” I asked.  

She let out a long sigh and nodded.  “Yup. Change of plans – General Garfield is going on an urgent mission tonight, so our meeting has to happen now.”

There was a chorus of disappointment.  Hornet was the most vocal, putting words to the general discontent.  “Now? But we're not done eating yet…”

Anzeel looked pained but stuck to her guns.  “I know, but there's nothing I can do. It's an emergency situation.  Must be pretty serious too, because he sounded like he was in a pretty bad mood.”  She glanced over at me, looking at me as if she was still weighing me up.  “Professor, I was originally planning on bringing you along. But I don't think I should put you in front of the general's fury while you're still…’not fully awake.’”  So she must have realized I wasn’t truly the Professor on some level but still trusted me.  Maybe because I’m that one percent, whatever that meant.  “I'll deal with him myself. In return, keep these girls busy, will you?  Oh, and take my credit card. Take them on a shopping trip and go watch a movie or something.  I'll go take care of the bill first. Enjoy your day off, girls!”

She tossed me her card, and I barely managed to snatch it out of the air before I turned to the assembled kansen, all of whom were looking expectantly at me.  “So…where to, ladies?”

A/N-Don’t mind Max, he’s just having an existential crisis while trapped inside a computer simulation that may or may not be based on his own memories of himself from either the past or an alternate dimension.  We’ve all been there.  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

Still undecided as to where to go, we wandered out of Granate and down the street, eventually making our way back to the hustle and bustle of downtown NYC.  As we walked, the conversation quickly turned to our missing man.  Or woman, in this case. 

“The doctor is quite the busy bee, isn't she?” Yorktown asked.  I kept quiet, not certain of the answer and not wanting to blow my cover any more than I already had.  

“Always has been,” Northampton confirmed.  “She comes and goes at the drop of a hat.”

Langley agreed with a nod of her head as she gestured in my direction.  “Thankfully, we have the Professor here, or our day off would've been cut short.”

“It's much more than a day off now,” Hornet said with a huge smile as she hip-checked Yorktown into me.  “It's a group date with the Professor now!”  

At the mention of a date, Yorktown and I locked eyes before we quickly looked away, our cheeks flushed a deep crimson.  Did this Yorktown feel the same way as the one back home?  I dismissed the hopeful thought almost as soon as I thought it.  While she may act and look like the Yorktown I knew and loved back in the real world, she wasn’t.  She didn’t have the months of long conversations, inside jokes, and tender moments that the real Yorktown and I did.  As much as I wanted to hold her, to tell her I loved her, deep down, I knew this wasn’t really her.

Back in the Academy, my classmates and I discussed the “ugly truth versus the beautiful lie.”  As the name implied, we weighed the pros and cons of a lie that is far easier to swallow and live with compared to a truth that is damaging, or even devastating.  Like marrying the woman of your dreams only to find out she never loved you.  Would you live in blissful ignorance that you’re trapped in a sham relationship, or would you rather face the truth, no matter how much it would break you?  I had answered, with the confidence, speed, and folly that only youth can bring, that I would easily take the ugly truth.  But as I looked at Yorktown’s blissful, embarrassed smile, I understood the appeal of the beautiful lie…

“Let's not call it that,” Northampton sighed, bringing me back to the present.  “Professor, is there any place you wanna visit?”  

As she asked the question, she handed me a small device the size and shape of a hockey puck.  No sooner than I’d taken it, a hologram flared to life above it, showing the entire city, along with a blinking light to identify where we were.  I marveled at the sheer scope and size of the image it was projecting.  This was well beyond the Reality Lens’s capabilities.  Just trying to render half of this at the lowest setting would’ve burned out every computer in the Sea of Stars.  That meant this was either pulling from someone’s memories…or I wasn’t in the Reality Lens anymore.  And to be honest, both prospects were equally terrifying.  

“Let’s check out the downtown area,” I said, not wanting to venture too far for now. 

“Sounds good!” Hornet replied approvingly.  

“While we're at it, we can buy some souvenirs for our friends,” Langley quickly chimed in, which seemed to lift Hornet’s spirits even further.  

“Hell yeah! Let's buy a literal boatload of stuff with Anzeel's money.”

Langley, however, was quick to veto that in her strict, no-nonsense fashion.  “I'm going to veto that. The doctor's going to have our heads if we max out her credit card.”

“Don't worry,” Hornet said in a familiar tone of voice that suggested I should start worrying more .  “I know just the perfect way to plan out a great date on a budget.”

“I know what you're thinking. You may NOT use your aircraft to get a better view.”

“C'mon!” Hornet protested as we got moving.  “I might've thought about it, but I wasn't gonna do it for real…”

After a short, aircraft-less, stroll, we came upon a souvenir shop and headed inside.  While the exterior gave it the appearance of a small, hole-in-the-wall kind of shop, the interior was surprisingly spacious, with multiple stories.  Almost immediately, everyone took off in different directions.  

“Wow, they have a lot of stuff you don't see every day,” Northampton said as she ran her fingers along the row of rare movies.”

“Yeah, like this!” Hornet exclaimed as she snatched one of the films from the shelf, nearly taking Northampton’s hand in the process.  “The collector's edition of A Fistful of Molars! I've been dying to get my hands on this!”.

I heard Hamman say, “These cat-ear headphones are pretty cute…” and I smiled as I knew she’d probably be wearing those out of the store.

Langley, Yorktown, and I stayed back towards the entrance, with Langley and I keeping an eye on everyone while Yorktown was going through her phone.  “It sounds like everyone's having a whale of a time,” Langley commented as she glanced over at the other carrier.  “What do you have there, Yorktown? A shopping list?”

“Yes,” she nodded without looking up from her device.  “We need to buy souvenirs for Enterprise, Memphis, and Dr. Anzeel.”  There was a pause, and the now-familiar blush returned to her cheeks.  “And something for the Professor, of course.”

Somehow, Hornet managed to hear that and gasped, her head popping out from the row of shelves.  A broad grin split her face as she practically raced back to us.  “I think I just overheard something juicy!  Yorktown's gonna buy something for the Professor, eh?”

Without warning, Hornet draped her arm around my shoulders and led me a few paces away from Yorktown and Langley.  “Hey, come over here for a sec!”  She leaned in, her eyes alight with mischief as she said in a stage whisper, “So, anything you've been wanting to get your hands on lately? Asking for a friend.  It’s Yorktown.  She’s the friend.”

“Hornet!” Yorktown admonished before she let out a defeated sigh.  “... It was meant to be a surprise!”

“It’s alright,” I smiled as I extricated myself from Hornet’s overly chummy grip.  “And since you asked, a blue rose.”

Both carriers gave me a puzzled look.  “A blue rose?” Yorktown repeated.  “Isn’t that supposed to represent mystery, secrecy, and things that can’t be had?”

“Ah,” I smiled softly, “It’s said one who can obtain a blue rose will have their wishes granted.”

“And what would you wish for, Professor?”

Of course, I couldn’t tell her what I truly wished for, so instead I smiled a little tighter and answered, “If I say it out loud, it won’t come true.”

“Ooh, being secretive for a reason?” Hornet teased as she linked her arm in mine and began to drag me away.  “C’mon, tell big sister Hornet all about it…and give Yorktown time to shop for your present…”

Souvenirs acquired, we headed back out onto the city streets to determine our next destination when suddenly, a nearby screen flickered to life.  A white-haired girl with bright blue eyes and an infectious smile popped into view and began speaking.  

“Hey, everyone! It's me, Bon Homme Richard. The Final Countdown is in theaters now!  I had a lot of fun in the starring role. Be sure to check it out!”

The screen cut away to shots of jets, ships, and some sort of vortex as a narrator dramatically announced, “Welcome to the paradox of time, where past and present become one and history is actually changed! The Final Countdown... now in a theater near you.  Buy a ticket today and you have the chance to win a three-day guided tour of…”  My attention was quickly grabbed by Hornet, who excitedly pointed toward the screen.  

“Did you see that?” she gasped.  “That was Bonnie up there!”

Northampton looked up at the ad as it began to play again.  “She's really featuring in a movie?”

“Apparently! I asked her what she's been up to the other day, and she said she's involved in a top-secret project…”  She shrugged.  “ Guess this is what that was.  I wish I was a cultural ambassador like her. She's got it easy.”

“It's harder than it looks,” Yorktown interjected.  “Having the eyes of the world on you comes with a lot of pressure.  Imagine having to choose your every word carefully. I really don't think any of us are cut out for that.  And while we're enjoying ourselves as tourists, she's probably rehearsing for her next public appearance.”

I nodded along with her.  That kind of constant pressure would drive me insane within a week.  

“You got a point,” Hornet conceded after giving it some thought.  “I didn't think about that.  Whaddya say we buy her a souvenir too, while we're here?”  Before anyone could answer, she blurted out, “Wait, first, let's take a group selfie! Northampton, you do the honor with your drone.  Make sure you get all of us, Bonnie included, in the frame.”

As she began rounding up all the other shipgirls, she observed, “Y'know, she'd probably be livid if she learned we went on a date with the Professor without her… But if her face is in the picture, you can at least say she was there in spirit, right?”  Hornet turned to face me and beckoned me over.  “How does that sound, Professor? Over here, you can stand in the middle. Hammann, Langley, scoot over a bit. Yorktown, you can stand right beside the Professor.”  Apparently, no matter the timeline or reality, Hornet is always going to be my number one wingman.  Or wingwoman.  

“And I'll be riiight here,” Northampton said as she took her place and lined up the drone to take the shot.  “Everyone ready?  Say ‘cheese’ on three. One, two…three!”

We all said “Cheese!” and smiled, holding it long enough for Northampton to check the picture on her phone.  “Yup, looks good,” she nodded, satisfied with her handiwork.  

Hornet shot her a thumbs up before holding up her own phone.  “Thanks!  Send it to me. I wanna show it to Bonnie right away.”  As she began typing, she glanced up at us.  “Oh, I just got an idea. Why don't we go watch that movie she's in? She did tell us to check it out.  I know you wanna. Especially you, Professor.”

…I did?   While it’s possible the Professor had some sort of rapport with this Bon Homme Richard, I’d barely heard of her.  I’d gotten a few files from the Northern Parliament and Royal Navy, but nothing substantive.  None of what I’d heard was good, though.  Perhaps this would give me some new insights into her character.  “Sounds like a plan. Let's do it."

“Sweet. Yorktown, go ahead and book some tickets for us.”

For the past few months, I had been in a pretty dark place.  Yorktown, Hornet, Lexington, Northampton, all of their injuries haunted me, and my inability to find a cure for Yorktown and Lexington ground down what little hope I had left.  The Reality Lens had restored some of it, but as time passed, that, too, had faded.  I didn’t find joy in much of anything as my life had been distilled down to either work or finding a cure for Yorktown.  But now, here, trapped in the Reality Lens, I had no choice but to sit back and at least try to relax and watch this movie.  

I don’t know if this is really the movie from whoever’s memories that they saw on that day, or if this film was selected specifically by the Reality Lens because I needed to see it.  Whatever the reason was, it wasn’t nearly as important as the effect it had on me.  While the plot itself was nothing special, the actors, and Bon Homme Richard herself, did a decent job of it, the real stars of the show were the ships and aircraft.  I wasn’t familiar with these jets, but as I watched those “Tomcats” dance in the sky with those Zeros, I felt a stirring in my chest that I hadn’t felt in a long time.  I remembered what it felt like to fly, to soar on eagle’s wings with Yorktown by my side.  I felt joy, I felt wonder, I felt…hope, renewed.  

As we all filed out of the theater, Hornet was the first to voice her opinion.  “I can't believe they really got Bonnie to play the captain. The movie was surprisingly gripping, too.”

“She did a great job of it,” I agreed.  “I got a chill up my spine when she said ‘Splash the Zeros’.”  

“That whole sequence was amazing!” Hornet enthusiastically gushed.  “You know, I think my Hellcats on the new rigging I got have the same name as that squadron, the Jolly Rogers.  Different number, though.  Think they’re the same ones?”

“Worth looking into,” I shrugged.  “If so, that’s one hell of a history they’ve got.”  

“I read that the troops, warships, and locations featured were also real,” Langley added.  “Apparently, the movie was produced in collaboration with the Oceanic Federation.”

Northampton chimed in.  “Even the mass-produced ships were real. I recognize 'em from a previous naval exercise. They must've pulled them in for filming right after.”

“Is it wrong I felt bad for Commander Owen?” Yorktown sighed as she glanced at the movie poster.  “Trapped in the past with nothing to his name…it just seemed…very lonely.”

“He didn’t have anyone before, and at the end, at least he had Laurel.  In my experience, where you are, or when you are, doesn’t matter nearly as much as who you’re with,” I said, looking over at Yorktown with a soft smile.   

Hamman, who had finally finished her popcorn, put in her own two cents.  “The ending was a bit of a letdown though. Just as it seemed like something major was about to happen, they just got pulled back to their original timeline…”

“I suppose that's just the nature of the genre,” Langley said with a shrug. “Time travel is one of the hardest things to pull off convincingly in literature, with time paradoxes and all that stuff.”

“Wasn't the whole premise of the movie going back in time to prevent disaster? The screenwriters should've done a better job if you ask me!” Hornet shot back.  “Hornet II Well, at least Bonnie got some awesome lines. ‘We're about to fight a battle that was lost before most of you were born.’ I'll bet you, if Enterprise were in that same situation, she'd have been all like, ‘the enemy's in range. Strike first and wipe them out.’  If you ask me, the folks in the movie were way too hesitant to do anything that might've influenced the past.”

“It's an understandable concern, as you could inadvertently erase yourself from ever having existed.  As for me, I'd be happy enough to just sit on the sidelines and watch history unfold. That alone is a golden opportunity we don't get in real life.  In any case, the stakes are way too high, and there are some decisions you can't make on impulse.”

Hornet pondered Langley’s words before she nodded slowly.  “Hrmmm... Fair enough. How about you, Yorktown? What'd you think about the movie?”

The Fighting Lady seemed pensive as she answered.  I've been thinking about it since the ending, and I'm still not sure.  Changing the past means changing everything that happens after it.  The past shaped us into who we are today. Changing it would change us as well.  That's not even mentioning the fact that the future we know may not exist anymore when we return to it.  And much like the butterfly effect, our actions may not result in the outcome we wanted.  Doing what feels like the right thing at the moment may lead to greater problems down the line.  Of course, changing the past could create a better future, or a worse one, as could doing nothing.”  She sighed heavily and shrugged helplessly.  “All that is to say... I don't know what I'd do.”

“‘I don't know’ means someone else has to decide,” her sister countered.  “People's lives would be at stake.”

“I know,” Yorktown nodded as she stared at the poster again, her mind a thousand miles away as she continued to consider the question.  “I suppose I'd do what the captain did and take it step by step.  If you can't predict the future even when you can influence its course, the best thing to do is minimize the potential repercussions.”

Hornet regarded her sister with a look of respect and admiration.  “You know... That answer fits you, actually.  In the end, that decision isn't even for us to make. Professor, if you had a chance to go back in time, what would you choose to change?”

Hoo-boy.  

I let out a long, drawn-out sigh as I ran my fingers through my hair.  If she’d asked me that question a few months ago, my answer would have been the same as Langley’s: change nothing.  But I’ve been going back and forth between Yorktown and Hornet’s answer.  If I could go back, and nothing else would change, I would save Yorktown and Lexington in a heartbeat.  But nothing exists in a vacuum.  What if, by sparing Yorktown, I condemn Enterprise to her fate?  Or Saratoga?  Or Essex?  Could I live with myself, knowing I doomed an innocent soul for the sake of my own selfish heart?  What if that never came to pass?  What if, bolstered by Yorktown and Lexington, we pushed through Operation Siren with ease?  What if, what if, what if.  Nothing but uncertainties.  However, assuming I didn’t have the luxury of pawning this off to someone else, I decided that the best option would be to tread carefully.    

“I would take it slowly, one step at a time,” I finally answered.  “I would try and analyze any possible repercussions of my actions, work to minimize them and change things if I could.  Because even the simple act of being in the past changes things in the future.  When you get back, if you get back, it won’t be the same world.  So you have to proceed carefully, try not to overthink things, and take it, as I said, one step at a time.” 

While the girls all nodded, it was Yorktown who spoke up.  “I agree. Not making decisions you might regret is what's important.  When you don't know what you're supposed to do, do what you feel is right.”  

It was a damn good life lesson, and one I would take to heart.  “Good advice, Yorktown, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she said shyly as a blush returned to her cheeks.  “Now come, we’d best get back to Doctor Anzeel before it gets too dark…”

A/N-So for those who don’t know, The Final Countdown was a real movie, filmed aboard USS Nimitz with actual US Navy aircraft and personnel.  It’s worth a watch, or at least watching the F-14s dogfight the Zeros.  The most recognizable squadron was VF-84, the Jolly Rogers, who had a history of shooting down Zeros going back to WW2, when they were established in 1943 as VF-17, flying the F4U Corsair from land bases(the Corsair would not be a carrier-capable aircraft until 1944).  They would later fly the F6F Hellcat off of none other than USS Hornet(CV-12).  Now, in Azur Lane, they’re listed as the Jolly Pirates, but I stuck with their real name because, well, I like it better.  Strange I was so specific about Hornet having Hellcats from VF-17.  I’m sure I won’t bring that up again.  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

As the day passed to night, we returned to the campus, only to find we had gotten there before Doctor Anzeel.  

“Can’t believe it’s dark already,” I quipped as I looked around the nearly deserted parking lot.  Only two cars were parked there, Northampton’s and what I presumed to be Anzeel’s.  

Hornet merely shrugged, her bags full of souvenirs rustling as she did so.  “Time flies like a fighter jet when you're having fun, I guess.”

“True,” Northampton agreed and glanced around the campus.  “Dr. Anzeel should be back any minute now.”

With nothing left to do but wait, we began to mill about, each looking around for any sign of our wayward doctor.  “We DID have a lot of fun and bought all the gifts we wanted to,”
Langley spoke up.  “I'd say we made excellent use of our time.” 

“Yeah, I'm just worried about being addicted to shopping now,” Northampton replied with a chuckle.  

“Don't think I didn't see you stowing it all away inside your rigging,” Hornet piped up.   Good lord, nothing was getting by this girl today… There was a momentary flash of panic as I wondered if she would be the one to realize I was an impostor, but it passed almost as quickly as it arrived.  If she were going to catch on to me, she would have done it by now, and the fact that she hasn’t announced it means she either hasn’t, and wouldn’t, figure it out or she has, and she’s decided to keep it to herself for whatever reason.  

“Hey, it's not a crime if you don't fully deploy it,” Northampton’s protest snapped me out of my reverie.  I thought it was interesting that deploying their rigging is illegal here.  It seems kansen are much more integrated with society in this reality than back home, where they exist in something of a legal grey zone.  

“That's not the problem, it's that your bags aren't in your hands!”  Hornet shot back, waving her own bags around to emphasize her point.  “You can't call it shopping if you're not flaunting your loot.  I mean, just look at the rest of us! We're walking around like queens!”

“Yes, and you stand out more than you would with your rigging deployed…” Langley grumbled.  

“Won't hear me complaining. It's all part of the experience, baby!”

As the trio continued to debate the merits of shopping bag visibility, Yorktown’s worried voice caught my ear.  “Oh dear, which bag did I put the food in...?”

I opened my mouth to volunteer, only to be cut off by Hammann, who was just a second quicker.  “I'll help with your bags!”  After a few seconds of searching, Hamman located the bag with the snacks we’d picked up.  “There... Hey, Yorktown, do you want some donut holes? Say ‘ahh!’”

Before Yorktown could even lean down to take Hammann’s offering, Hornet objected.  “Not fair! I wanna feed her too!”

“Hornet, for goodness' sake…” Yorktown sighed and rolled her eyes, exasperated with Hornet’s shenanigans.  “ We're not kids anymore.”

“No, but the Professor's totally raring to do it as well!”

Oh God Hornet why.

As much as I would have loved to, I was still very conflicted.  I didn’t know this Yorktown, and I would be using her as a proxy which didn’t sit right with me.  Thankfully, an unlikely hero came riding to my rescue.  

Anzeel sighed heavily as she appeared next to Hornet, resting her head on the kansen’s shoulder.  “Woe is me, the lady with too much to carry and nobody who'll help…”

Without missing a beat, Hornet grabbed a donut hole and popped it into the Doctor’s open mouth.  “I got you, lemme just…”  Then it clicked and Hornet let out a sudden shout of surprise.  “Wait, when'd you get here, Dr. Anzeel?”

“Like, a minute ago?” she mumbled around the pastry as she chewed.  “The same as you all.”

Memphis popped out from behind Anzeel and gave us all a little wave.  “I'm here, too, finally free from the layer of hell that is my job.”

I was surprised by her appearance.  Unlike all of the other shipgirls here, she looked like she did in the real world.  And she had been overseeing the Reality Lens when it malfunctioned.  Was this an avatar of her coming to get me out?  

If she had, she gave no indication as she mingled with the other shipgirls.  I tried to get her attention, but I was inevitably overshadowed by Anzeel.  “What did you girls get? Please tell me you bought food. Memphis and I are starving!”  As she began to rifle through the bag with the donut holes, she quickly looked up and shot accusatory fingers at two of the kansen.  “Hammann, Hornet, don't you try to hide anything. Bags and hands where I can see 'em!”  

The two shipgirls, who were trying to hide their loot, sheepishly held out their bags, keeping them in plain view for Doctor Anzeel.  I couldn’t help but notice the smug smiles on Northampton and Langley’s faces, their own hoards safely tucked away in their riggings.  

“Don’t worry, Doctor, I came prepared,” Yorktown smiled as she pulled out a pair of takeout boxes.  “I thought you might have forgotten to take time to eat.”  

“You’re a lifesaver, Yorktown,” Anzeel declared as she quickly snatched the boxes out of her hand, handing one over to Memphis before she hopped up on the hood of Northampton’s car and began to devour her meal.  

"I take it your meeting with the general went well,” I mused as I watched her inhale her food.  I don’t think I saw her chew even once…

“Eh, as good as it could've gone,” she shrugged as she took a breath, washing down her food with several gulps of water.  “Turns out he was stressed out because of pressure from his superiors, not anything I did.  When you're someone of his rank, the problems of everyday people stop fazing you. But having that said, the impact of said problems always has a way of trickling down to us.  That pressure on him forced me to make drastic changes to my plans.  Particularly those surrounding the Type II rigging test scheduled for tomorrow.”

“There's also the naval exercise,” Memphis added.  “The Reality Le– I mean, the reality of the situation is that we'll need you to assist.”

My heart stopped in my chest and my blood ran cold.  What did she just say?  Was this the real Memphis?  Was she trying to get me out of here or had she been dragged in here with me?  "Were you about to say 'Reality Lens'?"

“Uhh…” Memphis floundered, her eyes darting left and right as she realized I caught her.  “What I meant was, you'll be playing the role of the commander for the red team in tomorrow's rigging test.  I will play the role of your opponent, leading a fleet of Federation mass-produced ships.”

While I wanted to press Memphis on the Reality Lens, something else had once again not escaped Hornet’s impeccable perception.  “Yo, rewind! What naval exercise? Nobody said anything about that!”

That certainly got everyone’s attention.  The entire group of shipgirls began nodding and muttering between themselves.  “Indeed,” Yorktown spoke up.  “That wasn't exactly part of the plans we received.”

“That's putting it mildly,” Anzeel groused.  Whatever this was, she clearly had no part in it nor was she happy about the change.  “It totally came out of left field.  They turned what was supposed to be a simple benchmark test and target practice into a full-blown naval exercise, completely unannounced.  Whoever green-lit the decision also deliberately omitted a combat script, saying that the exercise's scope depends on actual combat performance.

“In other words, we don't know a damn thing. Nothing about what enemies we're going to be up against, what equipment they're going to have, what ‘unexpected situations’ we'll need to prepare for, nada.  Apparently, they're also installing equipment to simulate certain combat environments, and we can expect state-of-the-art weaponry to be in play.  Given the scale of the exercise, expect it to be unlike anything you've ever seen before.”  When she finally finished, I looked around at all the shipgirls.  They all looked a little unnerved by what had just been foisted on them.  

“Mm... I get the feeling that there are gonna be a lot of unknown variables and unpleasant surprises thrown in,” Northampton stated.  “I wonder why they're in such a hurry to push out all this new equipment that hasn't even been listed on the registries yet. It must be a really big deal to them.”

Langley was next to say something, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose as she spoke.  “The cutting-edge Type-II hull-fusion rigging hasn't been perfected yet, but it's apparently able to draw out a lot more power than before even in an unfinished state.  Therefore, it makes sense to want to get a benchmark of our new power as soon as possible so they have some ballpark numbers they can reference.”

“Now that's music to my ears” Hornet grinned wolfishly.  “It's been a while since I've gotten to flex my muscles.  Plus, I really want to see what I'm capable of after all that sweat, blood, tears... and new gear!”

Hornet’s enthusiasm was infectious, and I could see the other girls nodding along with her.  Yorktown, in particular, was quick to support her sibling.  “Agreed. This is a good opportunity to challenge ourselves and test our mettle.  Knowing your strength on paper is good. Knowing your strength in practice is even better.”

“Heh. I had a feeling you'd all be on board,” Anzeel smiled as she looked around at the assembled group.  

“Oh right, Doctor. Did you say something about the Professor participating in this exercise as well?” Yorktown asked.  

“Well, naturally. Since the whole timetable got pushed up, that also necessitates some staffing changes.  After all, can you name a single person more fit to be a commander than my assistant here?”

I stayed quiet, wondering what was going on.  Was the Reality Lens imposing my memories as their commander on the world or was this how this really went down?

“I see! Thanks, Dr. Anzeel, that works out perfectly then!” Hornet grinned and gave her a thumbs up.  

“You can repay me by putting on a stunning performance, then,” Anzeel chuckled.  “Who knows, maybe you'll get to participate in more projects in the future as well!  If you impress the evaluators, maybe you'll get to spend more time working with the Professor here, too…”

“Alright then,” Yorktown nodded decisively before she turned to smile over at me.  “Since we're all on the same page, I guess we'll be calling you Commander from now on.”

Anzeel laughed, almost as if she were aware of what was really going on.  “I like the sound of that! Maybe I'll have to jump on the bandwagon as well.  What do you say to that, my assistant?

"Just had to get one last assistant in there, huh?” I grinned over at her.  “But I think it fits me.  Commander.”  And that wasn’t a lie.  It felt comfortable, reassuring at this point.  While I may be trapped in an unfamiliar world, leading these women into battle was something I knew I could handle.  

“‘Commander’ it is,” Anzeel proclaimed with a clap of her hands.  “We'll go through the exercise in greater detail later. For now, we've got another hour to ourselves before it's time to head to our accommodations for tonight, and there are some places I still have to show you, Commander!”

I sighed as I realized even in a dream world, I wasn’t going to get any rest…

The exercise was a complete success.  While the opposing ships looked different, and the girls had new riggings, at the end of the day, it was the same thing I had been doing for the past few years: leading the kansen to victory.  The only thing that was really noteworthy about the entire battle was just how powerful the Type II riggings were.  All of the kansen had received a serious upgrade to both firepower and defensive abilities, putting them well ahead of their real-world counterparts, none more so than Yorktown herself.  

While she’d always been a capable fighter back home, here her capabilities were nearly off the charts.  Her strikes hammered her opponents, and she managed to easily weather whatever resistance they had put up.  She was like an avenging angel, striking down her foes.  What was this Type II rigging?  And could it be the thing I need to save Yorktown?

Fortunately, after the battle, we’re all whisked away onto Anzeel’s private plane to go to some island destination on the thinly veiled premise of “vacation”.  This vacation island also conveniently doubles as Doctor Aoste’s research lab.  Needless to say, none of us expected to get much vacationing done.  

As soon as everyone is aboard and the hatch shuts, Anzeel flops into a chair next to me and lets out a long sigh.  “Ooh, that's nice... I tell ya, there's no place like home.  I did a full day's work. Finally, time to kick back and relax…”

"Speaking of home, I've been wondering about this plane's name."  Who names a plane “WFH and Chill”?  

Her head lolls towards me, an eyebrow raised.  “Hm? You got a problem with the name I gave it?”

I was about to say something when it suddenly occurred to me that “and chill” may not have the same connotations.  So I backed off.  “No, not really…?”  I would be an absolutely terrible spy.

Anzeel gives me another strange look, and I brace myself for another quiz when she reaches back behind her seat and grabs a travel mug, shoving it into my hands.  “What's with that look on your face? C'mon, grab a coffee and take it easy.”

I numbly stare at the coffee in my hand before I look back up at her. She’s already got her nose deep in some research paper, poring over every line.  Not quite what I was expecting when she said “take it easy”, but maybe that’s how she relaxes.  Or maybe she’s the “do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do” type.  Sort of how I had become the “stare at the woman reading research papers like a creep” type.  

She must have felt my eyes boring a hole in her head and she glanced up at me.  “What are you staring at me for?”  Before I could answer, she nods to herself.  “Oh, I get it. You're part of the tea faction, aren't you?”

“What?  No, I just…” I sighed and tried to both collect my thoughts and come up with an excuse for staring at her like a weirdo.  “I was just lost in thought there.  We were discussing the new movie, The Final Countdown yesterday and we were unpacking some of the ethical dilemmas of time travel.  Still on my mind.”

Anzeel set aside her research papers and sat up.  “The one where the fleet travels through time?”  I nodded.  “Pretty crazy how Bonnie got the lead role in that movie, huh?  I already knew though, since I got to sit in on their internal screenings.  Y'know, I would've at least liked to be one of the extras…”  A sigh of regret escaped her lips and she shrugged helplessly.  “But it just didn't mesh with my schedule, so I couldn't.”

Her head snapped up as she got back on course.  “Oh, right. You wanted to ask me about something, huh? Maybe time travel?”  Without waiting for my response, she immediately continued.  “I'm the kind of person who'd try to change the past, no doubt about it.  Sure, it might cause the preordained future to unravel, but that's not a bad thing, is it?  If anything, doesn't that mean there's a chance to create a better future? In the end, isn't that what humans are always trying to do, with or without time travel?  For the sake of creating a better future, I think changing the past is perfectly reasonable. Maybe even morally correct.  But, Aoste probably wouldn't agree with me on that one.”

I’d heard that name before, back from the Northern Parliament.  Now would be a good time to find out what I could.  "Speaking of Aoste, what has he been up to recently?"

“That guy…” she scoffed and rolled her eyes.  “What doesn't he research? His team has gotten so big these days that he has his hands in every cookie jar at once.  After all, he's now our prized Renaissance man, master-of-all-trades.  I think he's been focusing on AI research these days though.  You've already met his favorite. Does ‘Zero’ ring a bell?  She's part of Project ANTI-X. They seem to be next-generation humanoid weapons.”

The only Zero who comes to mind is Observer Zero, but…she couldn’t possibly be talking about that one…could she?  “I think it rings a bell, yeah,” I cautiously ventured.  

Before the conversation could continue any further, Yorktown walked up to us, a tray of pastries in her hands.  “Doctor, Commander. Would you like some sweets?  The new instant mechanical confectioner is working very well.”

“Sweets, huh?” Anzeel licked her lips as she reached for a cookie, then suddenly stopped.  “Wait, come again? An instant mechanical confectioner?  I said I'd pay for souvenirs, not whatever that is!”  She hopped to her feet, adorably upset.  “Spill the beans, Yorktown! Who did the deed?! You? Hornet? Or maybe the Commander?”

“Hey!” I objected.  

Yorktown, somewhat chastised, looked back towards the front of the plane where the other girls had gathered.  “Hornet bought it. Erm, she said it seemed like fun to make sweets in a chartered plane…”

“And she got you hooked, huh?”  Yorktown nodded slowly and Anzeel let out another long, tired sigh.  “I get it. What's done is done, and if it tastes good, maybe it's not all bad…  You two hold down the fort here, I’m gonna take a look at this contraption.”

As she slides past Yorktown, the kansen smiles at me as she slips into the seat across from me.  Despite all my misgivings, that blissful smile dispels my fears, my doubts, and my worries.  I wonder how much pain she’s had to go through to get where she was, or had she led the same charmed life as her elder sister in this reality?  I pushed those questions aside, not wanting to stare at her for too long, so I decided to try and keep the conversation casual.  

“Since when does a government researcher make enough money to afford their own plane, let alone one this nice?”

She laughed softly as she shook her head.  “The military provided this plane for the doctor.  As I recall, some corporate alliance from the Union used cutting-edge Energy Cube technology to make it. It can fly smoothly in any weather.  This is my first time riding, too, Commander.”

“And how are you liking it so far?”

“Smooth sailing,” she smiled warmly.  “Although I think that’s more to do with the company rather than the plane…”

It looked like she was about to say something more when Anzeel promptly ruined the moment.  “Commander, this mechanical confectioner is awesome!” she shouted from the front of the aircraft.  “It's seriously so cool! You gotta try it out! I mean, it can make anything!”

With the moment lost, Yorktown sighed and smoothed her skirts before she got back to her feet.  “Shall we, Commander?”  

I smiled up at her as I got out of my chair.  “Lead on, Yorktown.”  As we made our way up the aisle, a question ran through my mind.  “Say, did Doctor Anzeel tell you where we were going?”

“Samos Island.”

A/N-Ooh, Samos Island and the answers within!  The end of the event portion of the story will be here soon enough and then we can get into the REAL meat of the tale.  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

Samos Island.  

A name I was familiar with.  

Friederich de Grosse’s words echoed through my head. “ Before I go, let me leave you with a gift. You'll want to pay a visit to Samos Island.   All I can say is that you'll find something of intrigue there. ”

Of course, I never got the chance to go.  Between Hornet and Northampton being knocked out of action and the Reality Lens experiment, I didn’t have a lot of time, and Naval HQ shot down any notion of an expedition when we were still recovering from Operation Siren.  And now, I guess I’ll finally get the chance to find what Friederich wanted me to see.  Assuming that this Samos Island and the one in reality are the same.  

Again, I found myself wondering if this wasn’t some sort of massive fever dream on my part that the Reality Lens was simply feeding into…or from.  We knew so little about it, had my interactions with Anchorage caused it to overwhelm me, render me unconscious, and then interpret my dreams as a memory?  It made an odd sort of sense.  It would explain why Hornet, Northampton, Memphis, and Yorktown were here, along with my Fighting Lady’s angelic glow-up.  How my mind perceived her, rather than her actual appearance.  And Samos Island was my next stop on my quest to cure Yorktown, but…some things I don’t have an easy answer for.  Like why Langley’s here, for starters.  Hammann, I could draw a connection from Yorktown, but Langley…she and I don’t interact on really any level.  

In any case, I was clearly still trapped in here, and aside from the brief slip-up, if one could even call it that, by Memphis, I had no way of knowing what was going on back in the real world.  I could only hope they were doing their best to get me out without turning me into a vegetable.  

“Bright sunlight, sandy beach…” Northampton’s voice brought me back to the moment.  “Now that's a vacation island for you.”

She was right.  Samos Island looked more like a tropical resort than a secret weapons research lab.  Tourists, beautiful beaches, clear blue water, colorful birds overhead…it looked fantastic.  

“It's like an island resort!” Hornet gasped, putting voice to my thoughts.  

Anzeel grinned and looked up from her tablet.  “Right? I told you we were gonna party.”

Hornet grinned right back before she looked around.  “You also said this place had a secret military research facility. I don't see anything like that, though…  Should they be letting tourists get so close to a military facility in the first place?”

The disheveled woman gave Hornet a curious look before it dawned on her and she let out a quiet breath of understanding.  “I forgot that this was your first time here. This is how some secret research facilities are.   It's not the facility that needs to be hidden; it's the research.”  She shrugged.  “You never know. Maybe that university had a lab where they conduct secret experiments right under the café!  Anyway, it's not like this facility isn't hidden.  Outsiders think it's just the Samos Marine Research Institute, though.  A long time ago, they actually used to research marine life here.  One day the military took over, and it became Dr. Aoste's research facility.  I think he had his reasons for picking this place.  But hey, it's a tourist destination. Maybe he just picked it so he could hang out on the beach when he feels lazy.”  Her head snaps toward me with frightening speed.  “Ooh! Commander, did everyone bring swimsuits?”

“Uh, no,” I answered slowly.  “We didn’t have time to buy any in NYC.  We barely had time to get on the plane with you rushing us outta there!”

“Oh yeah…”  she tapped her tablet pen against her lips before she shrugged and began trekking towards the treeline.  “Oh, well.  The facility's just through these woods. Make sure you keep up! We don't want anyone getting lost.”

We all looked at each other before I gave the girls a helpless shrug of my own before I trudged after the Doctor to…wherever she was leading us. 

After a few minutes walk, we found ourselves staring at a run-down-looking building.  It might have been some sort of research lab at one point, but it hardly seemed state-of-the-art, or even well-maintained.  But despite the dilapidated appearance, it seemed to have a brand new security scanner next to the door.  Doctor Anzeel strolled up to the scanner, pushed her glasses down her nose stared into it for a second, then punched in a code.  “Authenticating access, aaand... Done.”  There was a buzzing noise, and she flung the doors open dramatically.  “Heheh. Open sesame!  Welcome, one and all, to Aoste's own research center: the Samos Marine Research Institute!”  

Again, we all looked at each other, wondering if the Doctor had finally gone completely crazy before we slowly filed into the building.  Hornet spoke up for us as we passed by her.  “Th-thanks…”

Anzee rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.  “Geez, temper your excitement. This is THE secret research facility! Aren't you excited at all?”

“It's kinda plain,” Hornet shrugged.  “Like, it's just... a research facility, like you'd expect.”

“If you're gonna camouflage your secret research facility, then go all the way! That's basically Aoste's motto.”

“Is that... a room full of fish tanks?” Hammann interjected, tugging on Anzeel’s lab coat.  

“Yep!” the doctor cheerily confirmed.  “That's a remnant of when this place actually performed marine research.  This one time back at university, Aoste and I visited the aquarium together.  The exhibits were, well, okay. But their restaurant's specialty was grilled squid!  So you'd see squids in the exhibits, and then you'd have to eat their relatives…”  I wrinkled my nose at the distaste of the idea. “Let me tell you, I remember crying while I put lemon on it more than I remember the aquarium itself!  Yorktown, you ought to take the Commander and Enterprise out on a date there sometime!”

Yorktown and I caught each other’s eye and quickly exchanged a frantic shake of our heads.  Whatever internal conflict I had going on, and whatever this Yorktown’s feelings for me were, that wasn’t my idea of a fun time.  “Eugh... They didn't cook the squids from the exhibits, did they...?”  Yorktown asked. 

“Of course they did! They had other stuff like that, too.”  She paused, tapping her pen against her chin thoughtfully.  “Now that I think about it, maybe Aoste chose this Marine Research Institute because of the trauma…  Anyway, the boring building up ahead is our destination.  You'd never know what kind of research is going on here unless you went in there!”

As soon as we set foot inside the main building, a hologram flickers to life, resolving itself into a familiar face.  

“Welcome back, Dr. Anzeel,” TB intoned in her usual dispassionate voice.  For a moment, I thought I had been saved, that she finally managed to regain control of the Reality Lens.  And then Anzeel unwittingly dashed my hopes.  

“Lookin' cute as ever, Zero. Is Aoste in?”

Zero?  This was clearly TB.  But nobody else, even Memphis, seemed to recognize her as such.  

“Yes,” the not-TB answered, “He has been awaiting you.  Unfortunately, the doctor is currently preoccupied with work. You cannot meet him quite yet.  So for the time being, I will be your guide around the facility.  Subject for Artificial Navy Transformational Intelligence, Class X is ready for testing. Will you be observing?”

“Yes, please lead the way. Also, that full name is too much of a mouthful. Just go with Antiochus, alright?”

Antiochus .  I’d heard that name before…  It couldn’t be…no…

My mind raced as I numbly followed along with the group, trying to wrestle with what I’d just heard.  Surely it can’t be the same Antiochus…could it?  Then again, how many people or organizations would even have that name?  Am I walking into the belly of the beast itself?  

“Hrmm... I figured something like this would happen.”  Doctor Anzeel’s comment dragged me back to the present, and I looked around, hoping she hadn’t noticed me spacing out again.  

Fortunately, it seemed that nobody else knew what she meant, either.  “Knew what would happen?”  Yorktown asked.  

Anzeel sighed as she looked around.  “More often than not, having the backing of the military isn't a good thing.  I can tell, that guy's under a ton of pressure right now.  He not only has his own projects to attend to but also has to deal with the whims and never-ending demands of the military folks.  His project team has gone through several rounds of expansion, fragmenting, and reorganizing, all the while their workload continues to grow.  With deadlines to meet and confidentiality levels to balance, keeping this place running must be an absolute nightmare.  Basically, there's a laundry list of reasons why the facility looks the way it does. Try not to take it out on the staff, alright?  Having that said, we're not some formal government delegation either. Just follow me and don't go running around, and we shouldn't have any problems.”

“I see…” Langley mused.  “Everyone has their own share of troubles, huh?”

“I can manage that,” Hornet conceded with a smirk.  “Not like this is my first choice for a date spot either, heh.”

“Thank you for your understanding in this matter.” Zero flatly acknowledged.  We're almost there. Please stand behind the yellow line while the doors open.”

We followed the instructions as a warning claxon sounded and yellow lights began to flash.  With a rumble, the massive set of doors ground open, revealing something that seemed like a cross between a hangar bay, a workshop, and a research lab.  

“The assembly workshop is open. Standing by pending further directives.”  The hologram gestured towards the bay.  “The experimental ANTI-X vessel scheduled to participate in the upcoming test is just ahead. Please wait for further instructions from Dr. Aoste.”  After speaking, she vanished, and one by one, we all slowly stepped inside.  

“Whoooa!” Hornet marveled, tipping her hat back so she could get a better view of everything.  “This place is huuuge!  Look at all the equipment hanging from the ceiling... I can't even imagine how much that must've cost.”

Northampton wandered over to the left side and pointed out towards something in the distance.  “Look over there. That corridor seems to lead to some kind of... harbor?  Even though we're deep underground, they even dug out an underground waterway.  I wonder where it leads…”

“Must be some sort of cave on the surface that allows them to discreetly enter or exit,” I hypothesized.  “Although I don’t know how they’d keep some of this secret.  Pretty sure a tourist would’ve gotten a picture of this stuff leaving the cave or popping up on the horizon…”

I looked back up at the sheer volume of machinery that hung above our heads, or on the walls around us.  Somehow, despite never having been here before, I felt that these pieces of equipment looked…familiar, somehow.  

“Woah, look at that, my assistant! Isn't that freakin' amazing?”  Anzeel calls out to me, pointing to a girl sitting on the railing, a huge machine strapped onto, or into, her back.  Almost as soon as I turned, I could feel a familiar, unsettling aura about her, and I instantly knew what she was.  “An Arbiter…”

Of course, nobody else felt or saw it.  If anything, Anzeel seemed even more excited than usual.  “I can't believe my eyes! Her hair... isn't white!!”  She quickly spun around, looking for the nearest hologram emitter.  “Zero, come here! I need to know this girl's name!”

The white-haired girl flickered to life and she immediately answered.  “Zero? Acknowledged. This is a vessel for "The Devil XV."

“Another Major Arcana name, huh? Aoste, you edgy lad,” she grinned, and whatever else she had to say was lost as I flashed back to another time and place.  

A hot wind whipped across my face, the smoke and soot stinging my eyes as I looked out at the kansen standing before us, a hard and resolute expression on her face.  “The attack on NY City... was no more than a ploy devised by the Antiochus. Its true purpose was for us to meet one another.  As for us, we are but Ember and Ash in the wind. You need not concern yourself with our names…”

Antiochus.  Sirens.  The Sirens’ true name was Artificial Navy Transformational Intelligence, Class X.  Antiochus .  My God.  After years and years of war and struggle and all our best efforts to uncover what the Sirens were or where they came from…all of a sudden it just walks into the front door and falls in my lap!

But is any of this real?  Is any of this true ?  Why is the Reality Lens showing me this?  Assuming this is someone’s memories, why these memories, why now?  And what good is knowing all this if I can’t get back and tell anyone?  I needed to find out what was real, I needed to get out of here, I needed to tell them, I needed-

“Commander, are you okay? You look pale…”  My head snaps over to Memphis, and she catches the look in my eye and takes a sudden half-step back.  

"Memphis, about the Sirens––" I gasp, still trying to avoid being caught in an endless downward spiral.  

Her eyes went wide, and I could see the flash of recognition in them before it was quickly buried as she feigned confusion.  “Huh? Commander, what are you saying…”

My sudden shift in mood caught Anzeel’s attention, who wandered over to me.  “Are you alright? And what are these "Sirens" you keep talking about?”  

I looked back over to Memphis, who was still playing dumb.  I needed her, I needed to know I wasn’t going crazy, but she decided to act like she didn’t know what was going on.  

When I realized she wasn’t going to help, I closed my eyes and shook my head, trying to come up with some plausible excuse.  “Sorry, I mixed something up in my head."

Doctor Anzeel wasn’t having it this time, pinning me with a focused stare as she placed her hands on her hips.  “Hey, I'm not gonna let you squirm your way out of an explanation after you said all that.  You said something about "Sirens" and some "Arbiter Program." Never heard of those things before, but they definitely sound like Aoste lingo…”  She lets out a sudden gasp as she’s hit with a realization.  “Have the two of you been secretly working on a project behind my back?!”

“What?!? No!” I blurt out, grateful her guesses have all been wrong so far.  I rue the day she guesses correctly because I don’t think I’d be able to deflect.  “I just…I’ve been having a dream lately…the name Antiochus and Sirens keep coming up…”

Fortunately, that seemed to placate Anzeel, who relaxed slightly.  “So... Those words just came to you in a dream?” I nodded, and she tapped her pen against her chin.  “I suppose that's not too unusual in this line of work.  See, while dreams are usually reconstructions of your memories, sometimes they'll hit you with something you've never even thought of.  Dreams follow their own rules. Sometimes they can't be logically explained, other times they can't be explained at all.  The brain has a tendency to mash things together and recombine them into things that you perceive as entirely new information. Happens to me all the time.  For all we know, these "Sirens" could be a mishmash of mythology, horror, and sci-fi…”  

Oh no.  It seems I accidentally triggered her TED Talk.   Fortunately, the girls had experience with this sort of thing.  As Anzeel droned on, I heard Yorktown and Hornet whispering with each other.  

“Psst, Hornet. Why is she giving the Commander a lecture on dreams?”

“Beats me. All I know is we have to step in, or she'll never stop.”  There was a momentary pause.  “Hey, Zero. Can you power up that Antiochus vessel?”

Much to my amusement, which I had to hide, Zero responded in a whispered tone.  “Yes. The Devil is in standby mode and ready to be activated whenever desired.”

“Then do me a favor. Wake Devil up and tell it to draw the doctor's attention.”

“Understood. Initiating program.”

A low hum began to fill the room as the Arbiter’s rigging began to power up, and a few seconds later, the girl attached stretched languidly and opened her eyes.  

“Hmm...? Who woke me up?”  Her heterochromatic eyes, one red, and one yellow, gazed around the room until she spotted us and she gave us a bright smile.  “Oh, must've been you guys. Guessing you're with Dr. Anzeel.  Welcome to the Samos Marine Research Institute. I'm The Devil XV. Just ‘Devil’ is fine.  I've received the plans for our test and am ready to get started.  Lemme know if you need something.”

For several long seconds, Doctor Anzeel stared at the Arbiter, her dream dissertation forgotten.  Then a massive grin split her face.  “Dr. Anzeel ...Holy shit.  She's so cute I'm gonna get diabetes!”  In a heartbeat, she darted over to the girl with a speed I’ve only ever seen kansen achieve and began taking pictures with her phone.  “Awwwww! You're the sweetest little devil ever! Let's see a smile! Look into the camera!  Yeah, that's perfect!  Three, two, one!”  Picture after picture as she tried to capture the new Siren from every conceivable angle.  

Memphis stepped forward and placed a hand on Anzeel’s arm.  “Doctor, everything in this facility is absolutely top secret.  Any pictures you take will be deleted on the way out.”

“Dammit, I forgot!”  Despair crossed the doctor’s face for a moment before she snapped her fingers and smiled.  “Aww... Wait, I've got it!  I can send these pics to Aoste before they get deleted…  Then after we've left, I'll ask him to send them to me, citing communication between project members. I'm a genius!”

“That's not a solution, Doctor. That's leaking classified material.”

“No, it's not! It's perfectly within the rules!” Anzeel argued, looking offended at this pink-haired member of the Fun Police.  

Before the disagreement could grow into a full-blown row, Zero, strode into the room.  Not the hologram this time, but a real girl in the flesh.  “Commander, Dr. Anzeel. Dr. Aoste's work has concluded. He is waiting for you in his office.”

Her attention now focused on Zero, who she took several pictures of immediately.  “Uooooh! She's even cuter in person!”  Her photo collection sated for now, she slipped her phone back in her pocket and gestured to me.  “Anyway, come along, Commander! It's time you met Aoste.”

I nodded and followed along, hoping I would finally get some answers…

A/N-All aboard the Exposition Express, next stop, Aoste’s office!  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!  

Chapter Text

It’s a short walk to Doctor Aoste’s office, and Anzeel spent most of her time ogling Zero, leaving me alone with my thoughts for a few moments.  I was on my way to see a man who, quite possibly, created the Sirens.  What would I say?  What could I say?  Could I divert the course of history, convince him to abandon his work, and spare everyone a bloody conflict?  I quickly dismissed the idea.  Unless the Reality Lens had somehow overtaken and overwritten the world back home, anything I change in here wouldn’t affect out there.  Perhaps there was something I could learn from him.  Some hidden weaknesses of the Sirens that I could exploit.  In the end, what I was about to discover was beyond what I had hoped…

We came to the end of the hallway and a nondescript door that automatically slid open as Zero approached.  We stepped inside, and what I saw took my breath away.  The entire place looked like it had come from the far future, with holographic displays hovering in midair, marking areas where it was safe to walk, robot arms trundling back and forth as they carried out important tasks, and above all, a massive glowing orb hovering in the center of the room.  Even the Sea of Stars, the Eagle Union’s most advanced facility, fell far short of this.  

At the far end of the room, a man in a lab coat stood from his desk and turned to face us.  His white hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and while he had a few errant strands, they framed his face in a deliberate, artful way.  Compared to the disheveled Doctor Anzeel, Aoste seemed to be the total opposite.  

He strode towards us and gestured to the ersatz TB.  “That will be all, Zero. Go work on something else.”

“As you command,” the pale girl bowed and walked away.  

Aoste waited, watching her leave before he turned his cool gaze to me.  “So, Commander, what do you think of the new Antiochus?  They put Anzeel's silly puppets to shame, wouldn't you agree?”  His voice was controlled, dispassionate.  I was beginning to see where the Sirens got their robotic charm from.  Well, except Purifier.  

I bristled at the comment, but before I could say anything, Anzeel quickly chimed in with her opinion.  “All I have to say is that they're leagues cuter than the previous ones. I was getting tired of the white hair.”

If Anzeel wasn’t going to rise to the bait, I would try to limit my response, but I still wasn’t going to let a slight against the shipgirls slide, real or not.  “I wouldn’t call the kansen ‘silly puppets’, given all that they’ve accomplished thus far, but I have to admit, this one is an improvement on your previous S-...Antiochus designs.  I take it the running themes regarding appearances was deliberate?”

Anzeel gave me a grin and a wink as Aoste responded.  “Yes. Reusing a tried and tested design is efficient. Unlike someone here, I don't concern myself with frivolous appearances.”

“Bite me,” Anzeel snapped and stuck her tongue out at the other doctor.  “Anyway, let's get to the point.  You didn't call us all the way here just to show off your new Antiochus, did you?  Be honest with me here. You dabbled in some tech you don't understand, didn't you?”

Aoste took a deep breath and nodded slowly.  “Indeed... The newest Antiochus model has something that the prior ones did not, something akin to your Wisdom Cubes.  Just as the two of you have been trying to incorporate Wisdom Cubes into the Type II rigging, I have been applying a similar technology to the latest generation of Antiochus vessels.”

“You... You made these Antiochus with Wisdom Cubes?!” Anzeel finally blurted out after staring at him for a good minute.  “How is that even possible? They don't even have hull data to pull from!  Hull data stores the embodiment of human emotions associated with the conceptual existence of a warship... You can't just reach into a magic hat... How can you use Wisdom Cubes to give form to something from pure fiction?

Aoste patiently waited for Anzeel to finally calm down before he nodded curtly.  “You're correct. Allow me to explain – the Antiochus are fundamentally different from your KAN-SEN.  KAN-SEN draw information from the Wisdom Cube and are embodied as individuals with personalities based upon the concepts and emotions imprinted in their hull data.  On the other hand, the Antiochus are simply androids with an anthropomorphized personality installed. In that sense, my creations are closer to puppets than yours.  But that isn't important. What matters is that the Commander developed the Type II rigging using Wisdom Cubes not to create KAN-SEN, but to make a conceptual weapon capable of augmenting their hull data.

“That inspired me to devise a similar process. Using Energy Cubes, I tapped into the concept of a weapon that does not rely on core data, and manifested that instead.  Just as the Commander managed to add information to hull data through the Type II rigging, I used a similar process to add information to the Antiochus using Energy Cubes.  Furthermore, these new weapons are modular in nature and not locked to any particular individual. One of your more worthwhile ideas to borrow, Anzeel.”  He gave Anzeel a grateful nod of his head before he turned his attention to me.  

“Commander, as you already know, I am more interested in technology than playing with Anzeel's dolls. No offense to you, of course.”  Again, I bristled at his dismissive attitude toward the girls but kept my mouth firmly shut.  “At a fundamental level, the Antiochus are built with a sophisticated AI program at their core. These vessels, just like your riggings, can be freely replaced.  All in all, I suppose you could say that I took advantage of a little loophole.”

When he finally finished, Anzeel seemed thoroughly impressed.  “Wow... Have to hand it to you – well done, Aoste.  I presume Devil back there has gear made from E-Cubes. She must be a lot stronger than the previous generation.”

Aoste nodded curtly.  “That goes without saying. The last technical obstacle to their mass production will soon be solved, too, once I've finalized my theory.  I can't tell you how close I am, I'm afraid. You'll see for yourself later during our joint experiment.”  In what seemed like a rare moment of carelessness on his part, he started slightly and said, “Oh, forgive me, I never addressed your initial question, Anzeel.  The reason I asked you both to come is that I need your help with this upcoming experiment. There's a risk I want to eliminate at all costs, you see.”

“I thought you'd forgotten after you went on that admittedly enlightening tangent,” she teased.  “I will say... If you're actually able to get the Antiochus to the mass-production stage, they will without a doubt define the next era of warfare.”

“When that day comes, the true nature of their name will be realized.”

“Might go from eXperimental to Xenotermination if they'll be fighting aliens. Commander? You look like you have a question.”

Indeed, I did, but I felt like asking about aliens wasn’t the one I should be asking.  Assuming that this is some sort of memory, and if I’m really talking to the creator of both the Kansen and the Sirens, then there was only one question I could ask.  But was I ready for the answer?  What if they tell me no?  What if I’m told my quest is nothing but a fool’s errand, doomed to failure?  I felt like I had just gotten hope back, to have it crushed again would destroy me.  But that same hope pushed me on.  "If a Wisdom Cube is damaged…”  I began slowly, “Or a shipgirl is born with a defect in her hull data... Is it possible to cure those conditions using this technology?"

I managed to garner a look of surprise on both of their faces.  “Wow, THAT came out of left field,” Anzeel commented before she gave it some thought.  “I mean, theoretically, it should be possible, but would depend on the nature and quality of the damage.”  She shuffles over to Aoste’s desk and taps in a few commands, the massive orb winking out and replaced by the rigging used by the Yorktown in this reality.  “The Type II fusion-hull process pulls information out from a secondary ‘mainframe,’ embodies that information in the form of a rigging, and, as the name implies, fuses it with the original shipgirl's hull data.  The presence of a secondary ‘backup’ Wisdom Cube not only strengthens the existing hull but also provides a way to bypass certain levels of damage to the primary Wisdom Cube.”

“Think of it as using a cloned liver to treat someone with renal disease,” Aoste added, much to Anzeel’s disgust.  

“Eww, gross!” she exclaimed, wrinkling her nose in disgust.  “Although, that is a pretty apt comparison.  For example, take Yorktown, who was given the Essex-class Type II rigging. That managed to postpone the issues we were experiencing with the original Yorktown-class hull.”  Suddenly that dim flicker of hope roared to life.  This was it.  This was what I had been searching for this entire time: a cure for Yorktown and Lexington.  

That good vibe was somewhat dampened by Anzeel’s next words.  “Unfortunately, this method is only a stopgap measure. It cures the symptoms, not the disease itself.  Just as in the case of humans, backups can fail. Under normal conditions, the sub-Cube will be able to compensate for damages caused to the main Cube.  But if this damage becomes too severe, we likely won't be able to use this trick twice.  Furthermore, it's best not to kick the can down the road too much. Once a Wisdom Cube has been irreparably damaged, even the Type II rigging won't be able to reverse its course.” As I listened, my excitement was tempered.  While it wasn’t a full cure, at least it would get Yorktown back on her feet.  It was a start, at least.  And then Anzeel said something that set my hope soaring.  “To truly rid ourselves of these aberrations requires nothing short of a miracle – and an enormous amount of Wisdom Cube resonance.”

Wisdom Cube Resonance.  I’d heard it mentioned before, back during my time with the Northern Parliament.   I don’t know if the me from this timeline had that, but I knew I did, or something close to it.  But did I have enough?  "Wait... So with enough Wisdom Cube resonance, there might be a way?"

Surprisingly, Aoste continued as if he hadn’t heard my question.  “Which is a serious drawback compared to my Antiochus. They're only programs inhabiting artificial bodies.  Their bodies and weaponry are expendable and replaceable ad infinitum.  All they need is a functioning mainframe to take control of a new vessel.  And if their mainframe is destroyed, they only need a replacement to reboot the program.  Should an individual program suffer an error, it will be swiftly corrected as long as they're connected to another terminal.  If a program is not connected, its access to key equipment is restricted. Moreover, rogue actors can be swiftly identified and neutralized.”

“Okay, but back to my-” I found myself quickly cut off by Anzeel.  

“‘Neutralized’... Sheesh, that's extreme.”

“If I could just-”

“‘Neutralize’ is not always a euphemism for "kill," Anzeel. It simply means taking measures to ensure the safety of it and other programs.”

“Getting back to my-”

It’s like they were just recordings of that point, completely unaware of my existence.  “Losing connection to the network in and of itself is an error. This expedites search and recovery efforts for programs in danger.  Are you convinced by the Antiochus' potential yet, Commander? I'd love to have you on the project. I could even put you in charge of your very own team.”

Finally!  Acknowledgment!  Now I could-

“Hey! Stop trying to poach MY assistant!” Anzeel groused.  

Or not.  

If Aoste was disappointed, he didn’t show it.  “Very well. Then, let's move on to the next order of business – the experiment.”

“Sure, but I want to have a few words with you. Can we leave the experiment to my assistant here?”

“Maybe you could-”

“That was my original plan. As I told you before, I won't interfere with the KAN-SEN in any way. Devil will manage things on the Antiochus' end.”

“Good,” Aoste nodded before he looked at me once more.  “Commander, show us how it's done.”

Both of them waved and headed out through a side door that led deeper into the laboratory, leaving me shouting, “ QUESTION!!! ” after them.  

Neither of them responded or even acted like they heard me screaming like a lunatic.  Suddenly, that feeling of deja vu came over me again, as if I’d heard this conversation before.  As if I’d been here before.  But…that’s impossible, right?  I was able to account for every second of my life, and I knew, with absolute certainty where I’d been.  And yet…I couldn’t help but feel I’d been standing here before.  That I’d heard this conversation before.  It was unsettling, but I pushed it out of my mind.  I had more pressing matters to attend to. 

I rushed over to the desk and looked up at the Type-II rigging data being displayed above it.  Here it was, the answer to all my prayers, and possibly, the cure for Yorktown.  Even if it couldn’t completely cure her, it would at least allow her to live a somewhat normal life while we worked on completely fixing her.  “TB, are you there?” I called out to the empty room.  “TB, now would be a really good time to give me a sign you’re listening.  I need this data uploaded to the Sea of Stars immediately .  Priority One.”  Only silence greeted me.  She was either unwilling or unable to respond.  “Fine,” I sighed as I looked around.  “Want something done right, gotta do it yourself…”  

Knowing my phone would be wiped upon exiting the lab, I looked around Aoste’s desk, hoping to find something I could smuggle out in my pocket.  “Surely they’ve got thumb drives in the future…” I muttered to myself.  Then I remembered what Anzeel said earlier.  I whipped out my phone and began downloading the Type II data onto it, then emailed it to myself.  I thought back to my discussion with Yorktown about time travel, about being careful, treating it like a minefield.  But at this point, minefield be damned .  This was my moment, and I wasn’t going to let it pass by due to an overabundance of caution.  I didn’t care about the potential repercussions, I didn’t care about the security breach I just caused, I didn’t care about anything beyond getting this data back to the real world.  Yorktown’s life depended on it.  

Once the data was successfully on my phone and sent to my email, I slipped the phone into my pocket and looked up at the door Anzeel and Aoste went through.  Somehow, I hadn’t noticed it before, but this door was red, a stark contrast from the pristine, sterile white that dominated the lab.  I also felt a sense of…familiarity.  Not the strangle, tingling-in-the-back-of-my-mind sensation I felt when I was “remembering” things from here, but a sense that I, personally, had seen this before.  

Then it hit me.  This was the door to the room with Recorder inside.  Was this my way out?  I placed my hand on the door and pushed.  Nothing.  It doesn’t budge.  It felt like I was pushing on a wall.  Before I can try anything else, to pry the door open, shoulder it ajar, or just plain kick it down, I hear a voice from behind me.  

“Commander? Dr. Anzeel told me she put you in charge of the experiment.”  I turn to find Memphis looking expectantly, and I can’t help but get the feeling she’s here to stop me from going too far.  But is this my Memphis, trying to subtly guide me, or some sort of program the Reality Lens has put in to make sure I don’t stray beyond the bounds of its capabilities?  Or maybe I’m just being paranoid as I slowly slip into insanity.  “Everyone's ready to go. We're just waiting on you now.  Come on, I'll take you there!”

I glanced back at the Type-II rigging display, wanting to stay, to burn those schematics into my mind as one final backup.  But I had what I needed, what I had been searching for, and arguing with Memphis, real or not, wouldn’t help me with my next step: getting back to reality.  So I played along and smiled at Memphis.  “Lead on.”

We headed back through the research lab and up to the surface where we found all of the Type-II shipgirls waiting for us, along with the Arbiter, Devil.  For a program hell-bent on wiping out Humanity, she seemed almost deceptively cheerful.  

“So, before we get this thing started, a quick self-introduction,” she smiled and pointed at herself, striking a pose some people would call cute.  “My model ID is The Devil XV, but you can just call me Devil.  I'm a second-generation Antiochus specializing in battlefield support. Frankly, taking head-on fights isn't my forte.  The purpose of today's experiment is to gauge how Antiochus and KAN-SEN fight both against and alongside each other. Mostly the former.”

“In other words, we do some target practice first, then we shoot at each other?” Hornet asked.  

“Yep,” Devil nodded cheerfully.  “Thanks for summarizing that for me.”

Yorktown glances around expectantly as if she were looking for someone else.  “Are there any other Antiochus coming? Surely you don't mean it's all of us against you alone...?”

“I've got mass-produced weapons on my side, but apart from them, I'm the only second-generation vessel,” Devil shrugged.

“Guess we'll have to hold back. We don't wanna damage Dr. Aoste's beloved vessel.”  There was a definite tone to Hornet’s voice.  Guess I wasn’t the only one bothered by Aoste’s dismissive attitude toward shipgirls.  

If it bothered Devil, she gave no sign.  “Oh, don't worry; nobody wants you to take it easy on me. This is a test of my combat abilities, so give me everything you've got.  I sent you data on the test plan as well as the specs of my vessel and weapons, so give it a peek if you want.”

That piqued Hornet’s interest immediately.  “Ooh, let's see... Huh? Why isn't my communicator working?  It's, like, overloaded or something... Northampton, can I have some space?”

Northampton looked at Hornet quizzically before she tapped a few commands on her own communicator.  “Is it that much data? Okay, I've given you storage permissions.”

“Goodness…” Langley breathed, adding her own insight into the conversation.  “I'm not exaggerating when I say that this is an enormous amount of data.  I only glanced at the data headers, but it does indeed seem to be a detailed specification of Devil's vessel.  No offense, but it seems a little difficult to estimate your strength on the spot with this…  There isn't much reason for us to know every little detail about you, either.”  She glanced up at Devil from her communicator.  “We're just helping with the experiment anyway, and knowing too much might unduly influence the results.  As for the drill plan – I consider it more of a drill than an experiment... Ah, there it is. Likewise, it's totally unreadable.  The file's pretty big, sure, but this isn't an amount of data that should be exceeding your storage, Hornet. Northampton and I didn't have a problem with it.”

Hornet frowned and tapped a few more times on her communicator.  “Huh, wonder what the problem is then. Maybe I downloaded too many of those movies Shangri-La recommended to me.”  We all gave her a look.  “I mean, we're on Dr. Anzeel's network. Might as well use her bandwidth while we still can!”  When the stares of judgment continued unabated, she defensively blurted out, “Look, I didn't even pirate them!  Aren't you proud of me?”

“Excuse me, Commander? Can we strike that from the record? If Dr. Anzeel hears…” Yorktown’s voice trailed off and I gave her a wry smile as I proceeded to trim the logs.  

“I’ve got her covered.”

As I worked, Hamman rushed over to her and pulled on her skirt.  “Y-Yorktown! Help me make sense of this data!”

I realized it would be a little while longer before the test got underway in full…

A/N-To quote Freespace 2: "From our long odyssey into Hell, we return with a gift..." A cure for Yorktown!  Of course, he has to return from that long odyssey, and he’s not out of the woods yet, not by a longshot.  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!  

Chapter Text

After a few demonstrations, we got on with the tests.  The initial exercises weren’t anything I hadn’t learned from earlier: that the Type-II ships were incredibly powerful, and the Devil certainly was as powerful as any Arbiter I’d previously faced down.  With the test data now successfully submitted back to Anzeel and Aoste for their review, we prepared for the real combat exercise: the shipgirls versus the Arbiter.  

“Man, I thought we'd be here all day, but those drones made things a piece of cake!” Hornet grinned as everyone began to get into their assigned positions for the fight.  “Despite your name, you're a real angel when it comes to buffing us up!  Lemme tell you, if I ever find myself on the battlefield, I'd want you behind my back!”

“Sure thing. I don't mind having meatshields like you,” Devil grinned, well…devilishly.  

I caught sight of Yorktown as she moved to stand beside me, a worried expression on her face.  “I just hope... it never comes to that. War never accomplishes anything in the end.”

“Relax! It's just a bit of friendly banter,” Hornet laughed with a dismissive wave of her hand.  

But her words did little to assuage Yorktown’s fears.  “I understand you're just joking, but that is also our duty as shipgirls.  If war truly were to break out, I would proudly carry out that duty.”

She looked out at the sea, and I could see the look of resolve on her face, hear it in her voice.  That familiar determination I so often saw on Yorktown’s.  Once more, I wondered, how much of the real Yorktown was in there.  

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time.  Everyone was in position.  "Devil, are you ready to begin?"

She gave a winning smile and a thumbs up.  “Ready whenever you are.  Now, let's see how you fare in an actual battle against me.  Let me remind you that I'm not a frontline fighter. Supporting from the backlines is what I do best.

“Having that said, my vessel is no slouch in a direct engagement.  In addition to my arsenal of support drones and defensive weapons, I obviously have the mobility to get out of dangerous situations.  Speaking of those drones, they will be used to strengthen the mass-produced ships to make your job harder.  While I do not hit as hard as my peers on my own, you will find it difficult to approach me.  My win condition is simple – I will isolate you, and pick you off one by one.”

The way she looked at Yorktown, then at me, sent a shiver running down my spine.  If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear she knew what happened to the real Yorktown and was trying to unnerve me.  

If Yorktown caught the glance, she gave no notice.  “You oversee and coordinate the state of the battle then... Much like the Commander...but the difference is, you are already isolated to begin with. Once we take out your mass-produced ships, there's nothing to protect you.”

“That's right!” Hamman piped up.  “ I bet I could take you out single-handedly!”

Devil seemed amused at the destroyer’s pluck, raising an eyebrow in her direction.  “Oh yeah? We'll see about that. Remember what I said about mass-produced weapons at the start?  Well... Just take a look around you.”

Suddenly, the radar lit up with dozens of new signals, none of them identifying as friendly.  We peered out at them as they came into view.  They looked similar to Devil, but as they got closer, I could see the lifeless stare in their eyes and I recognized them as Enforcers, albeit a type I hadn’t seen before.  

“Are these... also your drones? But, they look humanoid, just like your vessel…”  Yorktown asked, her voice trailing off as she got a good look at them.

Devil shrugged.  “They're technically both at once. Unlike me, however, they are not controlled by a mainframe.”

“How did you manage to produce that many vessels in such a short period of time?”

“I didn't, actually,” the Arbiter admitted.  “My current vessel does not have the ability to mass-produce Enforcers, so I hid them beforehand.  As for why you didn't notice their presence... It's because I hacked into all your electronics before we even began.”

We all glanced at each other, trying to figure out how we were compromised.  Hornet was the first to figure it out.  “When did you... Oh, I bet it was when you transferred all that data to us!”

“No wonder her communicator acted up,” Northampton said with a groan.  “Here I thought she really had downloaded too many movies.”

“Purge your communicators and switch to alternative encryption,” I ordered, already putting my words into action.  

As we all reset our devices, Devil smugly grinned down at us.  “Hmph, make sure you take this lesson in electronic warfare to heart. Whoever controls information also controls the flow of battle.  Now, allow me to introduce my little helpers.”  Two of the Enforcers stepped forward, one with carrier rigging, and the other bearing the guns associated with a battleship or heavy cruiser.  “Enforcer XV: Temptation. Aircraft carrier. Specialty: using aircraft to harass targets and support allies.  Enforcer XV: Restriction. Battleship. Specialty: blowing targets to bits in head-on engagements.  This is the Antiochus force you'll be fighting. It's our integrated combat systems versus you and your Commander's wits.  Just so you know,” she sneered, “this is probably not going to be a very fair fight.”

“I know, dear, but you’ll just have to play the bad hand you’ve been dealt,” I smirked back at her.  “I’m used to this kind of pressure, and I know what these girls are capable of.  We’ll overcome any challenge you throw at us.  

“Well said, Commander. Let's give it our all.” As ever, Yorktown was behind me.  

“Thank you, Yorktown,” I smiled over at her.  

The Devil merely rolled her eyes.  I wondered, did Aoste program in the dismissive sarcasm, or was that something they had learned on their own?  “So, any final questions before we start?”

Hornet raised her hand.  “I have one. Two, actually.”

“As long as it won't affect the experiment results, shoot.”

“Question one: your support drones can't buff us by mistake, can they?”

“Nope. They're calibrated to only empower Antiochus units.”

A disappointed look crossed Hornet’s features.  “Figures. Question two: are we using live ammunition or blanks?”

That caught Devil off-guard, who fixed Hornet with an incredulous stare.  “Do you want to use live ammunition?”

“Oh, absolutely not,” Hornet emphatically denied with a smug grin.  “Dr. Aoste would cry if I kicked your asses and left you full of holes.”

“You'll be the one crying at the end of this, KAN-SEN,” Devil snarled.  

“Big girls don't cry, and I'm bigger than you in more ways than one. I'll show you why I'm worthy of inheriting the title of Grey Ghost!”  

Devil let out a laugh as she began to depart.  “Those are fighting words! This will be interesting!”

By the time Devil had gotten her fleets in position, the sun had begun to set, casting a blood-red hue over the water.  I quietly hoped it wasn’t an ill omen as I heard someone approaching.  I turned to find Yorktown standing behind me, a familiar, expectant look on her face.  “Hi, Commander.”

I was so preoccupied with everything else, that I simply answered automatically.  “Hey, Yorktown.  You’ve got something to tell me, don’t you?”

She giggled and nodded.  “You read me like an open book.  I wanted to thank you again for all you've done for me.”  There was a momentary pause, and she nervously glanced down at the deck, trying to find the courage to say what was on her mind.  “For the longest time, sorrow formed a chain around my heart…” she began slowly, softly, and my heart skipped a beat.  “Then you came into my life. Spending time together with you released my heart from the clutches of grief after so long.”

Oh God.   

It was her.  It was really her.  This was Yorktown, my Yorktown.  

“But a while ago, I started getting anxious. I feared that the wonderful moments we shared would come to an end.  You showed me the light. What would happen if I fell back into the darkness? My anxiety grew worse and worse.  You are still just as kind and gentle as you have always been, but...something about you feels more distant...I can't exactly put my finger around it, but... It feels almost tragic.”  

I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes as I fought to keep my composure, to let her finish as she looked off into the distance.  “I'm sorry, Commander. Please forget I brought this up...It might just be my own doubts and insecurities speaking.  Thank you for always being so kind to me. Sometimes, I feel like that... is the true power behind the Type II rigging.”

While I didn’t know how the Commander of this…timeline, dimension, reality, whatever, felt, I knew, in my very soul that this was Yorktown, deep down, the same as the one back home.  And she’s shown me the blissful, happy smile my Yorktown was capable of.  If for no other reason, she deserved to hear the truth.  

“Y-Yorktown, I…”

Before I could finish, our communicators crackled to life and Hornet’s voice echoed across the deck.  “Hey, Yorktown, Commander, hate to interrupt, just wanted to say you really should give your present to the Commander after this!”

My tears immediately dried up and I felt all of the blood leave my face as I realized she’d heard everything.  Yorktown was still piecing things together, however.  “H-Hornet? How did you...?”  And then, horror crossed her face as it dawned on her and she gasped.  “Oh no... I forgot to switch off my communicator!”

Hornet’s wolf whistle carried through the communicator.  “You sure as heck did!”

“Don't tell me you heard everything I said…”

“I sure as heck did!”

“Oh... my goodness…” Yorktown groaned and covered her face with her hands, looking as red as a tomato.  

“So you gonna give him your present or not?”

“What present?” I asked, not sure what Hornet kept referring to.  

“P-please ignore that!” Yorktown stammered with a shake of her head.  “You know how she can be with her pranks sometimes...Hornet, you should know better than to say stuff like that before an important exercise!”

Suddenly, Memphis’s voice cuts in, although she sounds different, a tremor in her tone that has nothing to do with the quality of the call.  “Yorktown... What's done is done...Nobody else is here. Nobody else can see us. Nothing is going to change...So, let's just say what we need to say…”

The distress in her voice didn’t slip by Yorktown, even in her distressed state.  “Memphis...? Is something wrong?  Your voice is shaking... Did I say something I shouldn't have?”

There was a sniffle on the other end before she responded.  “Sorry, I'm a bit worn out. I've just been going through a lot lately…Once we're done here, I'm gonna get a good night's sleep. I'm sure everything will be fine when I wake up.  Yes, everything... will go back to normal…”

I recognized the tone in her voice.  It was the same tone I’d been hearing for the past few months.  The tone of despair, buried just under a layer of false hope.  The same tone I’d been using.  This Memphis, whoever she was, knew this was just something created by the Reality Lens.  But she still wasn’t acting quite like the Memphis I knew…

“Ditto,” Hornet chimed in, oblivious to what was going on.  “After this is over, I'm taking more than a few days off!  I'm gonna go to the beach, binge-watch movies, and go full Bunker Hill mode and turn my sleep schedule on its head!”

“...Right. That's why we have to finish the work in front of us first.”  I could hear Memphis sniffle a bit more before she composed herself, her voice flat and businesslike when she spoke again.  “Commander, radio Devil and tell her we're in position.”

I looked over at Yorktown, wanting to tell her everything, to explain what had been going on, but Memphis left me no choice.  “Roger, standby.”  I took my finger off the communicator and reached out to take Yorktown’s hand.  She looked over at me, concern and hope in her eyes.  “When this is over, I’ll explain everything, I promise.  But know that, I have never stopped caring for you, that my feelings for you are just as strong now as they were then.  If anything, they’ve gotten stronger, seeing your smile after so long.” 

Yorktown rewarded me with that heavenly smile.  “Thank you, Commander.  Now, let’s get going before Hornet begins catcalling us again.”

I chuckle and nod, withdrawing my hand from hers as I thumb the communicator back on.  “Commence the exercise.”  

The battle had been hellish so far, with the Enforcers putting up heavy resistance, but Yorktown and the others had managed to punch through them and attack Devil directly.  Unfortunately, while she wasn’t terribly combat effective, she was quite nimble, and managed to take to the sky somehow, dodging torpedoes and bombs with ease.  

“How the hell is she so mobile when she's gotta haul that huge rigging around?!” Hornet shouted over the comms, “What kind of power source did Dr. Aoste put into these second-generation Antiochus?!”

“It's as if she's using her sheer volume of Energy Cubes to brute force her way into the air,” Yorktown observed, frustration tinging her voice.  “Our torpedoes can't hit her and our bombers can't lock on to her. That leaves us with only fighters…”

And that’s when Langley cut in with an excellent suggestion.  “Yorktown, I still have these jets with experimental anti-air missiles. Do you want to give them a try?  If we can disable that pesky flight system, she'll be an easy target.”

Yorktown turned to me.  “Commander, I'd like to request an aerial feint attack to give me an opportunity to coordinate with the missile fighter jets to strike Devil's power system.”

I didn’t even have to give it a second thought.  “Do it.”

Yorktown nodded and signaled to Langley.  Her Avengers and Helldivers dove in on Devil, forcing her to redirect her defenses as she maneuvered directly into the path of the Langley’s fighters.  Multiple contrails filled the sky as they unleashed a pair of missiles each toward the Arbiter.  While she tried to dodge, she wasn’t fast enough, and multiple explosions blossomed along her rigging, wreathing her in smoke.  

“A direct hit!” Yorktown cheered.  “Commander, six of our missiles landed! That should be enough to…”  Her voice trailed off as Devil burst through the smoke, looking angrier than ever.  “Wait, it still didn't work…”

“She's still in the air!” Hornet helpfully observed.  “If anything, she's moving even faster now!”

She shook her head and double-checked the readouts as I did the same.  “That doesn't make any sense. The module should've automatically shut down after the dummy warheads hit... Is something wrong with my sensors?”

I was reading the same thing on my board, six impacts directly to her power sources.  She should be forced down to sea level by now.  In fact, it was flashing on my board as if it was disabled.  And yet, she was very clearly airborne.  And enraged.  

Northampton’s voice cut through the chatter with an urgent warning.  “Commander, Enforcer aircraft incoming! I think those missiles pissed them off!”

"Hammann, don't let them hit Yorktown,” I barked, and the plucky destroyer leapt into action.  

“On it! I'll shoot every last one of them down!”  Almost as soon as she got moving, she disappeared in a cloud of smoke as she was targeted by an Enforcer’s volley.  “Ow! Oww!  Wait, no! Those are NOT blanks! Commander, Yorktown, they're using live ammunition!”  

Yorktown gasped as I called out to the destroyer.  “Hammann, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, just stings a little,” she groused.  “Stupid Antiochus, breaking the rules once they start losing…”

“Langley, can you confirm they’re using live rounds?” Yorktown asked.  

The reply that came back was not what I wanted to hear.  “They are. I sent out planes to intercept theirs, and they went up in smoke. That couldn't happen if they shot blanks!”

I took a look at the image of Devil on the monitor, and even over the video feed, I could feel the malice pouring off of her.  This was a Siren Arbiter at full power, I realized, as a chill ran down my spine.  

I looked up to see Yorktown staring expectantly at me.  “Commander, what should we do now?”

“Switch to live ammo and regroup around the command ship while we work on our next course of action,” I said as I glanced down at the image of Devil.  “She seems content to stay where she is, for now, just defending herself.  It’s possible this is a malfunction in her programming.”  

She nodded emphatically and began barking orders.  “Understood! Everyone, group up!”

“The exercise can't go on like this. Should I call it off, Commander?” Memphis suggested.  

In all honesty, I had momentarily forgotten that this was an exercise we could just end.  “Good idea.  Tell her to stand down, and then patch me through to Aoste and Anzeel, I want to know why she switched to live ammo.  “

“Roger.”  Memphis switched to the open frequency.  “Devil, you've violated the rules of the exercise! I order you to immediately disarm and return to the surface.”  Nothing happened.  “...She's not responding? Why isn't my override working?”  Another pause, followed by a sudden cry of despair and alarm.  “What?! My hacking attempt failed! How? The Arbiters here can't have developed countermeasures already…”

Then everything clicked.  This was the Memphis from reality.  Somehow she’d hacked her way into the Reality Lens.  And if she was able to get in, then so could…

That wasn’t a simulacrum of an Arbiter.  That was the real Devil from our world.  Somehow she’d gotten in here as well, and now she didn’t need to pretend anymore.  We were all in mortal danger against a foe who could possibly alter the very reality of this world against us.  

“Everyone, regroup on me and get ready to head back to Samos Island, on the double,” I ordered, trying to keep the fear from my voice.  

As we turned to flee, the words of Shakespeare’s Tempest sprung to my mind, unbidden.  “Hell is empty and all the devils are here.”

A/N-Uh oh.  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

We were falling back in good order as another Enforcer transformed into another series of fireballs.  

“I've downed another Enforcer!” Hammann crowed victoriously as she dumped another spread of torpedoes at another foe that dared to stray too close to her.  “How'd you like my Type II Edsall-class rigging, you big ol' tin can?”

“The Enforcers have much stronger defenses now than before. Be careful, everyone!” Yorktown warned as she coordinated the fighting withdrawal.  Despite her extra duties, I still saw her bombers get crippling hits on a pair of Enforcer battleships.  “Engaging them rashly will only lead to unnecessary casualties!”

Things were going well, but we couldn’t hold out forever like this.  “Memphis, what’s going on at Samos Island?”

“I can't reach Samos Island…” she all but wailed.  “The doctors aren't picking up, either!"

“Are we being jammed?”

“No, our comms systems are running fine. We simply can't reach them.”  Noting my grim expression, she quickly reassured me with, “But it's okay, Commander! I'll think of another way!”

Northampton suddenly called out, her voice almost lost against the constant thunder of her guns.  “Several vessels of unknown affiliation have appeared at close range! Where did they come from?!”

“Identify!” I barked as I looked down at the holomap.  A sudden cluster of flashing yellow blips off of our starboard bow.  They were hidden by the island, but at their speed, it wouldn’t be long before they were within range of us.  

“Our recon planes just sent an image!” she called out before suddenly becoming very quiet, even her guns pausing for a moment.  “Wait a second...What the...? I can't make anything out!”

“Show me.”

The holomap pulled up the image she sent, and what I saw froze the blood in my veins.  Even through a photograph, I could see them swimming and twisting, as if they defied reality itself.  I knew what these…mist creatures were.  I’d faced them before, in the Arcana Sanctum beneath the arctic waves.  A relentless swarm of malice and evil.  “Mother of God,” I gasped softly.  

My words must have been picked up by the microphone, because Northampton immediately asked, “Commander, do you know what these enemies are?”

I nodded, my jaw working up and down as I tried to find the words when Memphis suddenly let out a distressed cry.  

“...Why?” she wailed.  “Why have these things appeared here?  Those should have been excluded from the components of this world!  Even if everyone inside this space has awoken, there still shouldn't be any way for them to get inside...!  Does Devil somehow have memories of that battle?!  Or does the Tower? Or the Natural Calculation System itself?  How... What have I done?!  Who could have awakened these memories?!”

As she sank to her knees with tears running down her cheeks, Yorktown stepped over to her.  “Memphis, what's wrong?! Get a hold of yourself!”

But Memphis was lost to despair at that point.  “The memories of that battle... They belong to me...It's my fault for observing the Commander and Anchorage!”  I suddenly realized I had been wrong.  This wasn’t my Memphis, this was a META.  That’s why she’d been keeping a low profile and leaving me high and dry.  She can’t get me out any more than I can.  And now, she thinks she’s invited disaster to both our doorsteps.  “It's my fault for making the Commander flee here!  It's my fault for connecting to the Natural Calculation System!  The Tower already noticed that these memories of ruination were here! ...And that's why I can't control the Reality Lens or access the Natural Calculation System anymore!  There's no escaping this place now!  We can't free the Commander's consciousness!  And if this world is destroyed, the Commander's consciousness will die with it!  I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It's all my fault... I've...I've doomed... the Commander…”  She lets out a huge sob that wracks her whole body.  “What have I done?!”

“Hey,” I soothe as I kneel down next to her, wrapping my arms around her in a comforting embrace.  “It’ll be okay.  We’re gonna figure something out, I promise.”

By now, Yorktown was standing over us, looking at Memphis with a mixture of alarm and confusion.  “Memphis, what are you going on about?!  Nothing you're saying makes any sense! What's going to happen to the Commander?!

Memphis, however, was either unable or unwilling to explain as she clutched onto my labcoat and wept.  “I'm sorry... *sob*... I'm sorry!  Commander... I…”

Suddenly a voice rang out, clear and commanding.  “Memphis, Commander! It's not over yet!”

We all looked around for the source of the voice as Yorktown called out, “Who's there...? And where are you?”

The voice didn’t respond.  “Reality Lens connection confirmed. Removing data lock.”  The air next to me shimmered and rippled as the META version of Helena materialized and looked down at Memphis and me.  She smiled softly as she held out her hands to us.  “This burden isn't yours alone to bear, Memphis.”

When I looked down at Memphis, I realized she had changed from the Memphis I knew to the META version of herself.  As we were assisted back to our feet, Yorktown cautiously approached us.  “Who... are you two?”

“Explaining would take too long, so maybe another…” Helena stopped mid-dismissal with a stern shake of her head.  “No. I'll try to make it as brief as I can now.”

“I'm listening,” Yorktown replied.  

“I am Helena, but I am not the Helena you know.”  She gestured at Memphis, who had moved to stand by her side.  “Likewise, she is Memphis, but she is not the Memphis you know.  Like you all, we are loyal to the Commander.  Sorry to keep this introduction so brief, but we're going to do everything in our power to save the Commander.” She gave Yorktown a rueful smile before she turned to face me.  “Is that a satisfactory explanation, Commander?”

“I think so, for now.”  I turned to face Yorktown, who still looked unsure.  “Commander, can we trust them?”

“They’re friends,” I answered with a reassuring smile.  

That mollified her somewhat and she nodded hesitantly.  “Okay. If you say so.”

I smiled at her again before I took her hand in mine and squeezed it reassuringly.  Yorktown relaxed a bit further and she gave me that blissful smile as we turned our attention back to Helena.  

“Long time no see, Commander,” she smirked, and I couldn’t help but grin back.  

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” I quipped, “If you want to talk, you can always just swing by the base, have a cup of coffee instead of waiting for me to be in mortal peril.”

“Keeping an eye on you is a full-time job, Commander,” she said, only half-joking.  “You’ve got a knack for getting yourself in trouble.”

“I’ve got issues, I know,” I shrugged.  “I could tell Memphis wasn’t from this virtual space, but you, I’m surprised you’re here.  How did you even get here?  What happened?”

“Things went awry when you used the Reality Lens to connect to Anchorage's hull,” she said as she began to lay it all out for us.  Instead, you got connected to the Natural Calculation System – the origin of the Reality Lens – by mistake. That's where you saw those memories of Dr. Anzeel.  Unfortunately, the Arbiter caught wind of this and came after you.  When Dr. Anzeel's failsafe detected this, it erased the entire virtual space, flinging your consciousness into limbo.”

“And that’s when Memphis showed up,” I said slowly, trying to make sure I understood everything correctly.  “She pulled me into a virtual space to keep me safe, but the Arbiter kept coming so she had to create this giant virtual space that’s…a hodge-podge of different minds?  And all the while, I’m still out cold on the table in the Sea of Stars?”

She nodded.  “That's why Memphis blamed herself for what happened here. This place is a simulacrum of all the consciousnesses connected to it.  Yours, hers, the Devil's, and even the records buried at the foundation of the Natural Calculation System.  The reason she hosted the virtual space from the Devil's mainframe was to prevent your mind from being contaminated by the aberrations you just saw.  Incidentally, when your consciousness melded with the existing data in the Natural Calculation System, your compassion for your shipgirls provided the last missing piece of data needed for the completion of the Type II rigging.   Memphis superimposed your memories with the existing memories of the Type II rigging, creating a world where these shipgirls would temporarily be freed from their fates.”  I had so many questions, but I knew we didn’t have the time, even if Helena had the answers.  “Our only miscalculation was, the Devil found some way to forcibly connect into this space at the same time.  That was why her vessel went berserk and started attacking us with live ammunition.  And that brings us to the present moment.”

“So until she started using live ammo, this was all…someone’s memories?”

“Correct.”

“Who’s memories are whose?  I know things, knew things, I had no way of knowing.  Was that the Reality Lens overriding my consciousness or were those memories I had buried away?  Are they even mine?”

Helena gave me a sad smile.  “Sometimes, Commander, ignorance is bliss.”

“What?”

“Don't worry about it,” she said.  I’m not sure what it was like in her world, but where I’m from, telling someone not to worry about something is a guarantee that they’re going to worry about it.  A lot .  And I would, but not right then.  There was no time.  “What's important is that the situation isn't as bad as Memphis thinks.  The other Helena and I can regain control of this virtual space and extract you from the Reality Lens. To do that though, you'll have to boot out the other intruder.  You know what to do, right? You said it yourself: ‘Please fight until-’”

“‘-the last light has faded,’” I finished with a grim smile.  "Yorktown, prepare for battle."

“Aye aye,” she said softly, and I released her hand as she got to work organizing the other Type II ships into formation.  As we began to prepare, Helena stood beside me at the holomap and began assisting me with strategy.  

“The Devil's formation is already in place. Under these conditions, don't even bother trying to attack the main vessel.  We'll need to eliminate her ‘eyes’ first – the Temptation-type carriers.”  She glanced over her shoulder.  “Memphis. Requesting intel support.”

Memphis, who was standing behind us, with what looked like a dozen screens surrounding her, answered immediately.  “Understood. I've sent information on their location, stats, and weaknesses over the data link.”

“How did you tap directly into our data link?” Langley asked an annoyed tone in her voice.  Can’t exactly blame her considering it’d happened twice in one day so far.

“That's not important,” The META shipgirl deflected.  “Commander, order a synchronized attack on these coordinates. Just as you did with my mass-produced ships in the previous exercise.”

“Anti-jamming measures and communication network reinforcement. I'm already on it,” Helena added, pulling up several of her own screens.  

“Now or never, ladies,” I called out over the communicator.  “Time to knock the pins out from under the Devil.  All ships, attack, attack, attack!”

“Leave it to us, Commander!” Yorktown sang back as her strike wings roared from her flight deck.  

“Ol' Hornet's ready to get her revenge!” her sister added, her bomber wings joining Yorktown’s as they descended upon the Siren carriers.  Multiple explosions rippled across their hulls, and they heeled hard over before sinking beneath the waves.  

“Target confirmed sunk! We did it, Commander!” Langley cheered.  “Our aircraft have improved in speed, power, and more. Helena, did you do this?”

“Of course!” Helena answered.

Even better news was on the way, courtesy of Yorktown.  “The Devil is losing altitude! She's about to land in the water!”

Helena’s expression hardened.  “That means she's getting serious. Being in the air restricts what weapons she can use.  Don't let her Restriction-type battleships distract you. Fighting them is a trap people fall into when they don't know about her tactics.  Without air control, her battleships are nothing more than clubs to be swung around indiscriminately.  Now, let's slip in and strike at her vessel before the Enforcers have time to readjust their formation.”

“That’s going to take time,” I said as I watched the aircraft returning to the carriers.  “Even with you super-charging them, it’s still going to take a while for Yorktown and the others to get their planes back in the air.”

“Don't misunderstand me. We're not sending in aircraft – we'll be getting up close and personal ourselves.  I can hack into her system and disable most of her weapons.  I would normally do that remotely, but Helena hasn't gained full control over this virtual space yet,” she grumbled as she pulled out something that resembled a black syringe.  “So instead, we're going to go in and stab this into the Devil's heart.”

“Oh.  You weren’t kidding when you said up close and personal, but…that’s got to be insanely dangerous.”

“You're right,” the blue-haired kansen grimly agreed.  “We'll have to shake off the Enforcers defending her, avoid the hail of bullets coming from Devil's close-range defenses, and scale her enormous rigging.”  She let out a long, slow breath as she looked out at the Devil.  “It's a lot to ask for... but it's also our only chance.  If the Enforcers manage to regroup, it'll become a battle of attrition. And by that point, we've already lost.  Also, don't forget that she's still a floating manufacturing plant with the ability to call in limitless reinforcements.”

Just then, the most unlikely of heroes stepped forward.  “So you just need someone with the speed and agility to get in there, right?” Hammann piped up as she hopped up onto the deck of the command ship.  “That's a piece of cake for me!  Commander, leave it to me! Let me do it!”

“Allow me to help you,” Northampton volunteered, her voice crackling over the radio.  “This job is too big for one little Hammann to handle.”  When I hesitated, she added, “I'll do whatever it takes to protect her along the way and deliver her to Devil's heart.”

With a long, drawn-out sigh, I took the syringe from Helena and handed it over to Hammann, looking her in the eye.  “Be careful out there, okay?"  Hammann nodded solemnly and I turned back to Memphis.  “Plan a route. Everyone else, shift your attacks to clear a path for Hammann!"

She was more graceful than I’d ever seen her before.  Hammann practically danced along the water as geysers erupted around her from the Devil’s ineffectual gunfire.  No matter how hard the Arbiter tried to hit her, the little destroyer skated and skipped past her volleys.  

“Keep trying, and maybe you'll hit me in a hundred years!” Hammann taunted her opponent, and even from here, I could see the words hit home with the Arbiter.  

Her dander well and truly up, the Devil unleashed a full salvo in a straight line across Hamman’s path.  It would have hit home, too, had Northampton not charged ahead and taken the hit for the destroyer.  

“Northampton, are you alright?!” Hammann called out as she sped past the cruiser, who had sunk to her knees.  

“I'm fine!” she yelled back as she unsteadily got back to her feet.  “Hammann, focus on your mission!”

“I know! I've got this!”  Without missing a beat, she hopped up onto the Devil’s rigging, evading the swinging gun barrels and drones.  “This is what you get for messing with my friends and the Commander, Antiochus!!”  She pounced on the Arbiter with a fierce cry, driving the syringe deep into her chest.  

The Devil stared down in disbelief at the sudden unwelcome addition to her torso.  “... What...?!” she murmured.  “How…how did you…”  Her voice trailed off into a tortured, digital scream as Helena began to force her out of the virtual space.  

“It's working! Yorktown, did you see that?!” Hammann shouted as she hopped off the Devil and made her way to Northampton.  

“Well done, Hammann!” the carrier applauded.

The diminutive destroyer bowed theatrically before she called out to me.  “Did you see how awesome I was, Commander?”

“Hell yeah, I did!” I cheered.  “Great job!”

Meanwhile, Helena was hard at work kicking the Arbiter from the network.  “I'm hacking her now... Done!  I've disconnected Devil's vessel and her Enforcers!  Commander, it's time to focus our fire on the Devil's vessel and destroy it.  With the Arbiter's connection severed, I'll be able to bring the Sea of Stars and the Reality Lens back under our control.”

“And then it's time to go back home,” I said softly.  I turned to the white-carrier beside me.  “Yorktown,” I began, but she cut me off with a soft smile.  

“It's okay. I know,” she replied, her hand finding mine.  

There was a sudden cry of surprise over the communicator.  “Wait, what's going on up there? It looks like...the sky's tearing apart?!” Hornet shouted.

We all looked up in horror as a sudden blue-white rift opened up in the sky and a massive mechanical creature forced its way through.  It resembled Siren rigging in the shape of a massive serpent, although I couldn’t see any humanoid figure attached.  “What the hell is that?” I muttered.  

“Damn it…” Helena swore darkly.  “This entire virtual space is about to get purged…”

"Is that what happens when you forcibly shut down the Reality Lens from the outside?" I asked.  

“No. This is something else…”

Before I could ask what she meant by that, beams of light burst forth, eliminating everything in their path.  The Enforcers, the mist enemies, anything and everything in their path was simply erased.  

Hammann’s voice crackled over the radio.  “Commander! The Devil's stopped moving, too!  Do you think this is a superweapon the doctors developed to help us?”

“It definitely isn't!” Hornet’s panicked voice interjected.  “Those rays of light are going to swallow us up too!  We have to run–”

Her voice cuts off in a sudden squeal of static and my blood runs cold as her icon vanishes from the holomap.  “ RUN! ”

But it’s too late.  One by one, the others vanish beneath the beams, winking out of existence, as if they never were until it’s just Yorktown, Helena, Memphis, and myself.  We begin to sprint for Samos Island, hoping to find some relief there.  

“Yorktown! Stay close to the Commander!” Helena barked as we ran.  “Forget about the others, it's too late for them!”

I took Yorktown’s hand as we fled, almost dragging her along as she called out for our friends.  “Helena? What's happening?  ...Hornet? Are you there? Answer me!  Northampton! Do you read me?  Langley! Where have you gone?  ammann! Please... Please talk to me…”

All that answers is an eerie silence, an unnatural stillness as if the very sound had been removed from this reality.  “Helena, what’s happening?” I call out to her.  

Helena stops and turns to face us as we skid to a halt.  “Calm down. Let me explain.  The Devil isn't the only Arbiter connected to this virtual space. The Tower is, too.  Though limited in scope, the Tower has the ability to access the Natural Calculation System.”

“So, what, we’re in her backyard and she’s just purging us?”

“Not quite,” she answered with a shake of her head.  “The rays of light are part of the Reorigination System. More accurately, she's trying to wipe the slate clean altogether.  When I first hacked into the Reality Lens, I made sure that the Tower would not be alerted.  While the Devil theoretically had access to the Reorigination System, she would not have been able to use it without purging herself in the process.  However, now that she has been disconnected and the aberrations are running rampant in this space, there's no way we would continue to avoid the Tower's gaze.  And what do the Sirens do when they encounter a bug in the Natural Calculation System? They eliminate it.  For the Tower, that's just as easy as you stepping on a bug.”

“Can we stop her?  Shut her down, lock her out, press pause, anything?”

“Sadly, no.  The Tower is different from other Arbiters. She is not some kind of program you can hack or a person you can talk to.  Commander, you've been aware this whole time that this world is nothing but a replicated virtual space, right?”  

I nodded.  

“No matter how interconnected our lives may be within this world, no matter what experiences we might have, everything in this space is nothing more than an array of data for the Tower.  We are but programs within this data space. When bugs appear in the data or programs malfunction, you go in and fix them.  After all, you wouldn't sit down and try to talk it out with a computer bug, would you?”

Yorktown spoke up, her voice as tiny and as soft as I’d ever heard it.  “Helena... So you're saying that...I'm just a bunch of data created by this world?”  I could feel a pain in my chest as my heart began to break for her.  

Helena gave her a sympathetic look.  “I'm afraid so. To the best of my knowledge, the real Yorktown's hull is not connected to this space.”

“What about Hornet, Hammann, and the others?”

“Same story.”

“What about Dr. Anzeel then and Dr. Aoste?”

“Same story.  With the exception of me, Memphis, the Commander, and Anchorage, wherever she is... Everything else is a fabrication.”

“My feelings... My memories... Are they all fake?” she whispered.  “Everything I know... is a lie?”

“I... I'm sorry,” Helena apologized, looking down at the deck.  “I don't know what to tell you.”

When Yorktown turned her gaze to me, I could see the question in her eyes.  “I was going to tell you when the exercise was over,” I said softly, my voice wavering.  “When you said something about was distant, tragic, you weren’t wrong.  Back where I’m from, you and I are in a relationship.  We love each other very much, but a few months ago, she was hurt pretty bad and she’s…” I felt my throat close up and I had to blink away the tears that threatened to spill down my cheeks.  “She’s dying.  But I’m hoping that the Type II rigging will save her, heal her, because you showed me what a truly happy Yorktown looks like.”

Tears had begun to flow down Yorktown’s cheeks, now as she took a step towards me.  “Commander, I-”

Memphis cut her off as she shouted a warning.  “Helena! The Reorigination System is about to catch up to us!”

The beam descended on us, there was a sudden flash and I cried out, “Yorktown!”

As the light faded, I was surprised to find all of us still here, and Yorktown had that blissful, happy smile on her face.  “Don't worry, Commander. I'm just fine.  Thanks to Helena and the Type II rigging you gave me, I'm able to move a little now.”

Helena eyed her up.  “You met her, didn't you? The other you.”

I looked between the two of them.  “The other you?  My Yorktown?”

Helena simply shook her head and neither of them elaborated any further.  “Helena, how's the progress on your end?” Yorktown inquired.  

“Everything's on track. I've linked up with the Helena on the other side and have secured an escape route.  Memphis will lead the way. Yorktown, you and I will keep the enemies from pursuing.”

“Did you hear that?” Yorktown smiled brightly.  “It's time to go home, Commander.”

An empty feeling clawed at the pit of my stomach as I realized what she was doing.  “You can’t-”

Yorktown cut me off with a smile and a shake of her head.  “Didn't I tell you not to worry?  There's still time before the reset gets me. Besides, Helena is here with me too.  We won't let the enemy pass. Not until you've made it home. ‘Fight until the last light has faded,’ right?”  Her cheery tone, her brave demeanor, it was nearly too much for me.  

"But..."

“It's okay,” she soothed, placing her finger on my lips.  “Don't say a word.  The Yorktown you desire has the strength to see this through. Please... Honor my decision.”

I felt Helena’s hand on my shoulder, and I tore my gaze away from Yorktown to look at her.  “The entrance to the Marine Research Institute on Samos Island. That is your escape route.  Hurry, Commander.”

“Yeah. I'm gonna go fast, so make sure you keep up,” Memphis added.  

“Farewell, dear Commander,” Yorktown said, that blissful smile still on her face.  “I hope we'll meet again—as the Yorktown you desire.”

I nod, waving goodbye as I take off running after Memphis.  As we run, I hear the sounds of a furious battle, and I occasionally look over to see how they’re doing.  Lit up by the lightning that streaks against the sky, I see Yorktown battling furiously, darting through the air like an avenging angel, almost singlehandedly holding off the apocalypse.  It was a sight I will never forget, permanently engraved in my head and on my heart.  

After a long, tense run, we make it to the extraction point, the research lab leading to the underground bunker.  Memphis stopped and gestured for me to get inside.  “The extraction point is just ahead, Commander. Just keep following this path and you'll be out.

"What about you?"

“I'm going back to help Helena. Need to cover your retreat, after all.”  When I open my mouth to object, she emphatically shakes her head.  “Don't worry about me. We have our own way of getting out.  Hurry and go. You'll be in danger if you stay here long.”  She gives me a shove into the passage along with one final comment.  “...I'm sorry. I won't let this happen ever again.”

I take two steps forward before I suddenly find myself tumbling through the endless void once more.  As I righted myself, I realized I’d escaped whatever program I’d been trapped in, and I hoped that this meant I would be waking up soon back in the real world.  

Suddenly, I felt someone push something into my hands, and a voice, somehow familiar, but hard-edged and full of regret and loss, echoed from all around me.  “She wanted you to have this.”

I looked down at a long, slender box, with a tag written in Yorktown’s graceful script that read, “To my Commander”.  With trembling hands, I opened the box and gasped softly as I saw what would have been her present to me: a blue rose.  

A/N-Almost out of the event.  Hell of a prologue, huh?  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

The darkness slowly gave way to a growing light, along with an incessant beeping noise.  I squinted at a bright spot in the distance, trying to hold up my hand to ward it off, but I found my body would no longer respond.  While this should have engendered panic or at minimum, some sort of concern, I found it oddly reassuring.  It meant that I was finally being extracted from the Reality Lens.  As the light grew closer, I could hear something beyond the beeping, something muffled at first, but getting clearer by the second.  

“...mander?”  It called out to me.  “Admiral Buckmaster, can you hear me? Max?”

I blinked, squinting as the harsh light resolved itself into the fluorescent lighting of the Sea of Stars’ Reality Lens interface chamber.  “Yeah,” I croak, my throat suddenly parched and painfully dry.  “Water,” I managed to rasp as I slowly began to sit up.  Everything was still blurry, but I could make out the silhouettes of three people around me, one with blue hair, one with pink hair, and one with light lavender hair.  

“Here, Commander, drink.”  One of them thrust a water bottle into one of my hands while grabbing the other one, taking my pulse as I drank the entire thing in one go.  Another few blinks of my eyes and everything finally swam into focus, revealing Vestal, Memphis, and Helena, all of them looking at me with a mixture of relief and concern.  Vestal finished taking my pulse before she checked the readouts on the monitor behind us.  “Vital check complete,” she announced, no small amount of relief in her voice. “The Commander's mind and body seem to be in perfect shape.”

“Oh, this is wonderful news,” Helena smiled.  “Welcome home, Commander.”

“Thanks,” I gasped as I finished chugging the water bottle.  “Nice to be back.  How’s Anchorage?”

“She's fine,” Memphis answered.  “She woke up before you and is doing perfectly fine.  The aberrant data in her hull is all gone now too.  But seriously, when are you going to worry about yourself before you worry about other people?”

“When I’m dead and not a minute sooner,” I quipped.  

Memphis scowled, and it looked like I had a lecture incoming, but Vestal quickly spoke up to keep the conversation on track.  “A lot has happened here while you were in the Reality Lens, Commander.  Someone gave Helena the access code to the Sea of Stars, allowing us to halt the Reality Lens.”

“Helena META, right?”

They all looked at me in shock, and I was somewhat surprised by their reaction.  “We met in there,” I explained.  When they continued to stare at me, I asked,  “Weren’t you guys monitoring?”

The three of them shared a nervous look before Memphis sheepishly answered.  “We…ah…we weren’t able to monitor it after you encountered Recorder.  There was a time dilation effect and it was moving just too fast.  It’s all there,” she quickly added, “but it was going by too quickly to make sense of it and we haven’t had time to review it.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said with a tired smile.  “We’ll worry about that later.  How long was I out?”

“About 4 hours,” Vestal replied.  “How much time had passed for you in the Reality Lens?”

I gave it some thought before I shrugged.  “Not sure.  Maybe two days.  But as crazy and as perilous as that trip was, I think it was worth it because…”  My voice trailed off as my hand went to grab my phone from my lab coat, only to find it was gone.  In fact, my entire outfit had changed, and I was wearing my regular uniform once more.  “Oh no…”I gasped as I began frantically searching for the phone, not wanting to accept what I immediately knew.  The phone had been a part of the Reality Lens, and when I woke up, it was lost.  “No no nonononononononono NO! ”

My sudden, frantic outburst started the trio of shipgirls, who all took a step back.  “Commander, what’s wrong?” Vestal asked, a concerned expression on her face as I leaned back against the wall and tried not to weep.  

“I found it, Vestal,” I groaned.  “I found a way to save Yorktown.  I saw it with my own two eyes, I stole it and put it on my phone.  But it was the phone the Reality Lens gave me, and now it’s gone!”  I couldn’t believe it.  I had it in my hands and now it was lost!  If only I figured out some other way to record-  Inspiration struck light lightning as I straightened back up and shouted excitedly up at the ceiling.  “TB!  TB!  Are you there?”

There was a brief electronic chirp and her hologram flickered to life beside us.  “Online.”

“Memphis said we had recordings of my time in the Reality Lens, is that correct?”

“Correct.”

“Do you have anything on Type-II riggings?”

“Searching.  One moment.”

I leaned forward, my heart in my throat as I waited for an answer.  

“Found analyzed data regarding Type II rigging.  The data is broken up into five blocks based on the current naming schemes: Yorktown, Hornet, Langley, Northampton, and Hammann.”

Elation flooded over me as I let out a long peal of laughter and punched the air with my fist.  “TB, you’re so goddamn awesome I could kiss you!”

“That would be inadvisable as well as impossible, given my entirely virtual nature,” the AI flatly stated, the emotion going straight over her head.  

“Never stop keeping me grounded,” I grinned.  “Send a copy of the designs to the briefing room.”  She nodded dutifully, and her form dissipated as she got to work.  I turned excitedly to the trio once more, a broad, almost manic smile on my face.  “Helena, get on the radio and have Saratoga bring Yorktown and Lexington here as fast as possible, priority one.  And then begin making arrangements for Hornet, Northampton, Langley, and Hammann to arrive as well.  Vestal, Memphis, you two will accompany me to the briefing room.”

All three of them were still looking at me as if I’d completely lost my marbles, but Helena complied, nodding slightly as she hurried from the room.  After a second, Memphis spoke up, “Commander…what’s a Type-II rigging?”

I hopped off the table and began removing the sensor inputs from my body as I said, “It’s how we’re going to save Yorktown and Lexington.  I’ll explain in the briefing room, c’mon.”

“Fascinating,” Vestal mused as she walked around the hologram, studying the designs from all angles.  “Power output seems greatly increased across all sectors.  And the reinforcement would allow it to bypass the damaged sections of Yorktown’s rigging…While this doesn’t look like a full cure, at the very least, it will get her back on her feet.”

“How quickly can we get this on her?” I asked, cutting straight to the point.

Vestal peered at the designs for a bit longer before she answered.  “With Memphis’ help, I should be able to have something ready by the time she arrives.”

“Good.”  I paused, then took a deep breath.  What I was about to suggest was highly irregular, against every known medical and repair procedure in the regulations, and I knew Vestal likely wasn’t going to take this very well.  “This could also permanently cure Yorktown.  But there’s a catch.”

She looked over at me, a hopeful note to her question.  “How?”

I took a deep breath and tried to explain it as best I could.  “According to Doctor Aoste, this could repair her Wisdom Cube, but it would take, and I quote, ‘a miracle and enough Wisdom Cube resonance’.  I dunno about miracles, but I know I’ve got the most Wisdom Cube resonance here, so…I think I have to be the one to finish the rigging installation.”  

Vestal glanced over at Memphis, who simply shrugged helplessly, and stared at me for a long time.  I could see the wheels turning in her mind as she weighed the possibilities.  “Alright.  When the time comes, I’ll let you put the last cube in.  But there are conditions.” She fixed me with a stern glare that left no doubt that she was being deadly serious about this.  “One: Until we need you, you’ll wait just outside.  Two: Once we call you in, follow my directions to the letter.  And three: Get some rest beforehand.” Her expression softened and she gave me a soft smile.  “I know this is going to be stressful, and I can’t even begin to imagine what you just came through but you need to get some rest before you do this.  It won’t help anyone if we make a mistake because of exhaustion.”  

I could see there was no arguing with her on this, and to be honest, I was feeling a bit run-down, despite all the good news.  “Done.  How long until she gets here?”

Memphis glanced down at her tablet and answered.  “Five hours.”

“Alright,” I clapped my hands together once and nodded.  “I’ll be in my quarters, come get me when you’re ready.”

Despite how tired I was beginning to feel, I doubted I was going to be able to sleep with the prospect of Yorktown’s recovery on the horizon.  But I resolved to at least try, and to my surprise, as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light.  The next thing I knew, Memphis was gently shaking me.  “Commander, it’s time.”

I was immediately wide awake, throwing the covers off and swinging my legs out of bed.  “Alright, gimme a minute to get dressed and splash some water on my face.  How’s it going so far?”

Memphis nodded as she took a step back to give me room to get up.  “Rigging’s ready to go, and it looks like it’s fully compatible with Yorktown’s existing rigging, even in its damaged state.  Once you’re ready, head to the surgical and repair suite.”

“See you there.”

Five minutes later, I was standing in the antechamber to the surgical and repair suite, waiting for Vestal and Memphis to call me in.  I had scrubbed up, and I had put a hazmat suit over my uniform just to be safe.  I’ll never forget how nervous I was at that moment, staring at the bulkhead as my mind raced with questions.  Would this work?  How well would this work?  Would Yorktown still be the same person afterward, or would this fundamentally change her?  Was this just the first step in a long road to recovery, or would this be the only solution needed?

“Commander?” Memphis’s voice snapped me out of my reverie.  “You can come in now.”

I nodded and followed her through the door and into the suite.  My blood thundered in my ears, and I felt as though every breath was a ragged gasp.  Yorktown lay on the table, her eyes closed and a sheet was draped over her body.  She looked peaceful, at least, and I resisted the urge to reach out and caress her hair, to tell her it was all going to be okay.  Her new rigging dominated the room, even in its unfinished state, and I wondered how I was going to get around it if I needed to.  If I felt the weight of this moment in the antechamber, it was nearly crushing me now.  Someone placed their hand on my forearm and I nearly jumped out of my skin, my head whipping around to find Vestal there, looking up at me.  

“Relax,” she said, patting me on the forearm.  “You’re going to do fine.  Memphis and I are here with you every step of the way.  First things first, though.  Take this.”  Vestal held out the final Wisdom Cube.    

I numbly stared at it for half a second before I reached out to take it from her with a trembling hand.  It was lighter than I imagined it would be, and I held it up to my face, watching the dancing energy vortex inside before I turned to Vestal.  “A-and where do I put this?”

Behind her mask, I could see Vestal smile warmly as she gestured to an empty slot on Yorktown’s rigging.  “Right there.  Just fit it in and the rigging will do the rest.”

“Plug and play, got it.”  I took a deep, calming breath, and said a quiet prayer as I prepared to insert the Wisdom Cube.  “God, I know our conversations haven’t been…pleasant lately, but if you’re up there, we could really use a miracle right about now…”

It was now or never.  I slotted the glowing cube into place.  And then all hell suddenly broke loose.  Alarms began blaring as Memphis rushed over to the monitors.  “The rigging’s reacting to the resonance,” she shouted as more alarms began to blare.  “Something’s going on, power levels are going off-scale!”

Yorktown still looked as though she was simply slumbering peacefully as her rigging began to glow with a brilliant blue-white light.  It filled the small space, blinding us with its intensity.  “Commander, we need-” Vestal began, but I cut her off.  I couldn’t be accused of disobeying her order if she never got the chance to finish it.  

“I’m not leaving her!”  I barked over the increasing number of alarms echoing throughout the space.  I wouldn’t leave her again.  Not now, not ever.  This was it, one way or the other.  “She’s got this, I know it!”

Meanwhile, deep in Yorktown’s consciousness…

I had a long dream.

A very...

Very...

Very...

Very...

Very...

Long dream.

In the dream, I saw Enterprise and Max, giving it their all.

They fell again and again, but stood back up each time.

Even when they were covered with wounds, even when they were exhausted and at the edge of despair.

Yet, all I could do was watch.

There was nothing I could do for them.

How did it end up this way?

If only I could wake up again. If only I had one more chance.

Wait…what’s that light?  N-no…I’m not ready to go…

…Hornet

….Enterprise

…Max

“How’s she doing?”

Vestal glanced over at me and gave me a comforting smile.  “Everything looks like it went well.  We’ll need to see how she’s doing when she’s awake, but she’ll be alright.  Just need to wait for the drugs to wear off.  And how are you holding up, Max?”

If I was being honest, I felt like I’d been hit by a truck.  The stress of the past few days, of the past few months, really, left me feeling drained.  “A little out of it,” I admitted.  “Are surgeries always this dramatic and stressful?”

Vestal laughed as she finished checking Yorktown’s vitals.  “Dramatic?  No.  Stressful?”  She shrugged.  “Admittedly, this one was more stressful than most, but it’s never just a routine procedure.”  She peered at me a little bit longer.  “Maybe you should go get some rest, lie down for a bit.  We can come get you the second she’s up.”

I emphatically shook my head as I took Yorktown’s hand in mine.  “No.  I want to be here for her when she wakes up.”

When Vestal replied, her voice was soft and empathetic.  “Alright,” she smiled.  “I’ll be back to check on both of you in a little bit.  If she wakes up before I get back, let me know immediately.”

“Absolutely,” I smiled.  “And Vestal?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you.  For everything.”

Vestal’s smile grew a little bit brighter.  “Always happy to help, Commander.  I’ll be back in a bit.”

I nodded as she left the room, gently shutting the door behind her.  As soon as she was gone, I turned my attention back to Yorktown, who still slumbered peacefully.  “I’m here,” I said softly.  “And I’m not going anywhere.”

It had only been a few minutes before I felt my eyelids growing heavy.  I tried to stave off the exhaustion, but no matter what I did, I felt sleep beginning to claim me.  I looked over at Yorktown, her hand still in mine as I finally lost the fight and succumbed to sleep…  

My dreamless slumber was interrupted by someone calling my name.  “...Max?” the voice softly called to me.  I was vaguely aware of the amused tone as she said, “Rise and shine, sleepyhead.”

I was so tired, all I wanted to do was sleep, but the voice…something about it was familiar, important.  It compelled me for reasons my unconscious mind didn’t quite grasp.  My eyelids flickered open and I looked up to see Yorktown, in that same angelic outfit she’d worn in the Reality Lens, standing before me, that blissful smile on her face.  I gasped as I stared up at her, dumbstruck.  “I-is…is it really you?  Am I still dreaming?”

She reached down and cupped my cheek in her hands as her clear blue eyes gazed into mine.  “Even the darkest night must always give way to the resplendent dawn of happiness,” she smiled.  “It’s me, Yorktown, the same Yorktown you’ve always known.  I’m back.”

The joy, the relief, the elation, it was nearly too much.  My heart felt as though it would burst as I all but leapt from my seat and wrapped my arms around her, holding on tight.  “I missed you so much,” I whispered as the tears, held back over the past few months, came out in a flood.  “You have no idea how glad I am to have you back.”  

“It’s okay, Max,” she soothed, returning my fierce embrace with one of her own.  “I missed you, too.  It feels like it’s been so long since I was awake.  I kept having a horrible dream of you and Enterprise struggling without me.  I’m sorry I wasn’t there to be with you.”

“It’s alright,” I whispered, sniffling softly.  “You were always in our thoughts and in our hearts.  Getting you back makes all the struggles worthwhile.”

“Thank you.”  There was a pause as Yorktown stiffened slightly, bracing for the bad news.  “How…how long was I asleep?”

We released one another and dried our tears as I took a deep breath.  “About four months,” I answered softly as the guilt roiled inside me once again.  “I’m sorry I-”

“Hush,” she smiled as she placed a finger to my lips.  “I know you did all that you could as fast as you could.  And in the end, four months is a small price to pay for a lifetime of happiness with you, wouldn’t you say?”

Words failed me, and try as I might, I couldn’t find the right ones to describe exactly how I was feeling.  Instead, I simply smiled and nodded.  “I would indeed.  I love you, Yorktown.”

“I love you, Max,” she smiled back.  And in that smile, I saw no pain, no regret, no timid reluctance nor grief, only the resplendent dawn of happiness.  Yorktown had not just returned, she had been reborn.  A new chapter in both our lives was about to begin…

A/N-SHE’S BACK!  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

“Don’t keep us in suspense, Vestal.”

Vestal smiled up from her charts as she transcribed a few things from Yorktown’s diagnostics.  “Patience, Commander.  Just finishing up my notes.”

Beside me, Yorktown giggled as she patted my hand.  “Patience, Max,” she playfully admonished.

“Sorry,” I sheepishly apologized.  

The repair ship chuckled as she made her last entry, then set the charts to the side.  “You got your miracle, Commander,” she beamed.  “From what I see here, it looks like her damaged rigging was completely repaired and integrated into her Essex -class hull.”

Both Yorktown and I let out a huge sigh of relief before we embraced one another for what felt like the thirtieth time in as many minutes.  Not that I minded, of course.  After spending so long without her, every little touch was something to be treasured.  

Vestal was quick to temper our enthusiasm, however.  “Now, these readings were all done in a low-stress environment,” she quickly added.  “I’d recommend thorough testing before she’s ready for front-line combat duty.”

“I agree,” I concurred,  looking over at Yorktown who likewise nodded.  “I think all the Type-II riggings should be tested before they’re certified for combat.  Given the source, I want to make sure there are no hidden faults.”

“What do you mean, ‘given the source’?” Yorktown interjected, a note of worry in her voice.  “Where did the rigging designs come from?”

Vestal and I shared a look of concern before I let out a long sigh.  “It’s a…long story,” I finally answered.  “The short answer is we got it from the Reality Lens.  Sort of.”

“Sort of?”

“That’s the long answer.  One I’d prefer to give in private.”  While I know Vestal and the others would be reviewing my time in the Reality Lens, my time with the other Yorktown I felt was something best discussed between Yorktown and myself alone.  

While it wasn’t my intention to drive Vestal from the room, she smiled at both of us and said, “I’ve got to make some checks on the other Type-II riggings before the others get here.  I’ll be back in a few minutes if you want to talk.”

“Uh…o-okay,” I stammered, caught off guard by her sudden departure.  

“You’ll be fine, don’t worry,” she reassured me, and with that, she left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Now alone once more, Yorktown peered at me, her eyes searching for answers I hadn’t quite prepared to give.  I ran my hand through my hair as I tried to collect my thoughts, my heart racing.  How was I going to even begin ?  

Then I felt Yorktown’s warm hand take mine, and I looked into her sky-blue eyes and immediately knew whatever I was about to tell her, we would get through it.  I took a deep breath and started at the beginning.  “While you were comatose, we began to use a device called the Reality Lens that allowed us to go inside the Wisdom Cubes of kansen in order to try and correct errant data.  The hope was to find a way to repair your rigging and keep you alive.  But before we could begin with you, we needed to try something safer.  Or so we thought.  

“I went into Anchorage’s Wisdom Cube, and in it, I found an AI that was based on the creator of the kansen, a Doctor Anzeel.  But in doing so, I attracted something else, some sort of Arbiter that existed within the Reality Lens.  It deleted itself, and in doing so, it almost left me caught in limbo.  But I wound up in a virtual world that was created from the memories of multiple people…including mine.  And in that world, I wasn’t the Commander of Azur Lane, I was a researcher, someone who helped create the kansen…and the Type-II rigging.  TB pulled the schematics from my memories, along with those that were already in the Reality Lens.  That’s why I’m a little unsure of this rigging.  I don’t know if this really existed, or if this is some memory, or…or what.  So far everything I was told in there has proven to be true, but…I don’t want to take any chances.  But there’s one more thing you should know.

“I met you.  Or a version of you.  She wasn’t real, but she looked exactly like you do now.  Helena META told me she was a compilation of someone else’s memories, but there was something else.  I think…there was something between her and the…other me, the me who I was ‘inhabiting’ for lack of a better world.  Or at least, that’s what the memories seemed to imply.  But…in the end, I…I had to leave her behind.  She stayed, sacrificing herself to give me time…”

Yorktown was silent for a long time as she processed everything I’d just told her.  Finally, she spoke, her voice very soft.  “Did…did you and her…?”

“No!” I emphatically denied.  “I didn’t know if that was the real you, so I didn’t do anything to give her the idea we were together.  But from what she’d said to me right before the final battle, she seemed to allude to the fact that other me and her were quite close.”

“I see,” she said quietly before she graced me with her smile.  “In that case, I find that quite comforting.”

Her words caught me off-guard.  “I-wait, what?”

“You and I find each other in every universe,” she explained with a happy smile.  “We find our happiness in one another.”

A smile slowly spread across my face as she explained herself.  “When you put it that way, it’s very comforting.”  

Yorktown nodded as she got to her feet.  “Indeed.  Now, let’s go get final clearance from Vestal, I want to say hello to our friends.” 

Hornet, Northampton, Hammann, and Langley had arrived only a few hours ago and were milling about the briefing room wondering why they’d been summoned to the Eagle Union’s top-secret research lab.  

“Think they’re gonna ask us to be part of some super-secret research team to help Yorktown?” Hammann’s voice echoed down the hallway.  Yorktown and I shared a grin as Hornet replied.  

“I dunno.  I’m not much of a sciency-type.  I tend to act first, consequences later.  Makes sense for Langley, but me?  Nah.”

“You are Yorktown’s sister, hon,” Northampton noted.  “Maybe they need someone from her class to get a baseline.”

“Well, that explains me and Langley, but what about you and Hammann?”

Even from outside the room, I could practically hear the shrug.  “Moral support?”

“It’s a nice idea, but I’m afraid that’s not the case,” I announced as I entered the room, with Yorktown right behind me.  “As you can see, Yorktown is officially cured.”

Hornet, Northampton, and Hammann, all let out excited gasps as broad, delighted smiles crossed their faces. Even the normally stoic Langley cracked a grin and gave an approving nod.  

“Welcome back, sis!” Hornet cried out as she barrelled past me to embrace Yorktown in a fierce bear hug.  “We’ve missed you so much!”

Yorktown let out a soft laugh as she wrapped her arms around her sibling.  “And I’ve missed you, too.  It’s been far too long.”

“I gotta say,” Northampton said as she moved in for a hug of her own, “You got one hell of a glow-up to boot.  You look fantastic!  Did the Commander pick that out for you?”

“It’d certainly explain the top,” Hammann grumbled.  “Pervert.”

I coughed somewhat self-consciously as Yorktown came to my aid.  “He didn’t pick out the outfit, this was the result of what Max did to cure me.”

At that point, I was pointedly not looking at Hammann, who I could feel staring daggers at me.  I was grateful I had the foresight to use the clip-on tie that day.  “So this is his doing…”

“Not intentionally,” the carrier answered, forestalling Hammann’s tantrum for a bit longer.  “This change is more than just a new outfit, it’s a new me altogether.  Yorktown reborn as an Essex -class.  Which is why you’re all here.  There were upgrades for more than just me, namely, the four of you.  If you’d like, you can all be refitted with this Type-II rigging.”

Hornet took a step back from Yorktown, eyeing her up and down.  “And you said you’re still the same person?  How do we really know that?”

Yorktown smiled sweetly.  “Galveston, shore leave, mechanical bull.”

“Yep, that’s her!” Hornet quickly announced, her face flushing beet red.  “No need to elaborate any further, sis.”

Laughter filled the room as any lingering tension was washed away.  “In all seriousness,” Northampton said as the room finally died down, “How do you feel?”

“I feel wonderful,” Yorktown smiled.  “I think I’m going to have to have my old clothes resized in a few places, but that’s something I’ll get used to in time.”  I thought maybe it had just been the new outfit, but that seemed to confirm what I’d already suspected.  

“So we get a bump in power and a shopping trip?” Hornet laughed.  “Sign me up!”

More laughter, but I noticed Hammann wasn’t joining in this time.  I crouched down next to her and whispered softly to her.  “Something bothering you?”

She scowled at me, but it lacked her usual levels of derision.  Her eyes flicked to Yorktown, then back to me.  Finally, in a small voice, she asked, “...will it hurt?”

I glanced over my shoulder and caught Yorktown’s eye.  As she took notice of me, I mouthed “Did it hurt?” before gesturing to Hammann.  She smiled warmly and shook her head.  “Guess not,” I answered the destroyer as I turned back to her.  

Hammann wavered for a few seconds more before she finally gave in.  “Alright, fine.  Only to better protect Yorktown, though.  And you better not put me in anything lewd!”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I chuckled as I held my hands up in mock surrender.  “Langley, what about you?”

The carrier looked up from her tablet and nodded.  “Of course.  Anything to give us an edge against the Sirens.”

“Well, then,” I said as I got back to my feet, “Sounds like everyone’s on board.  If you’ll all take a left out the door and head down the hall, Vestal will get you all ready to go.”

“Let’s go, girls,” Hornet grinned as she headed out, stopping to give Yorktown one last hug.  “See ya soon, sis.  Got a lot to catch up on!”

The rest filed out behind her, each one wishing Yorktown well until it was just the two of us.  “Think we’ve covered all the major topics we needed to get to…what do you want to do?”

Her lips pursed slightly as she thought for a moment.  “There is one thing…”

The doors of the elevator hissed open and together we stepped into the golden light of the setting sun.  Yorktown took a few paces and stopped, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath, savoring the sea air.  “Oh, how I’ve missed this,” she sighed happily.  “To feel the sun on my skin, the wind in my hair…”

“I can imagine, being cooped up in that room for months on end,” I said, torn between watching the sunset and watching her bask in it.  There was a quiet hiss behind us as the elevator retracted back into its hidden alcove, giving the appearance that we were on the jetty of a quiet South Pacific island.  “Didn’t think to bring swimsuits, but you wanna at least get your feet wet?”

She turned to look at me and smiled.  “I’d love to.”

Together, we walked to the end of the jetty, kicked off our shoes and socks, and let our feet dangle in the cool, clear, calm blue water.  I put my arm around her waist, holding her tightly as she rested her head on my shoulder.  “I wonder…am I still dreaming?” she softly mused.

I chuckled quietly.  I’d been wondering the same thing myself.  It almost felt too good to be true.  “If you are, I’m dreaming with you.”

“A shared dream, blissfully entwined forever…” she smiled.  “Not a bad way to spend eternity.”

“Not at all.”

We sat in silence for a long while, just content to listen to the waves lapping against the shore, watching the sun slowly slip beneath the horizon.  Eventually, Yorktown sighed, “I’d love to take a dip, but I’ll definitely need a new swimsuit.”

“We’ll get you one as soon as we’re back home,” I reassured her.  

“And you’re sure you didn’t have anything to do with…this?”

I looked over at her to find her pointedly staring at her bust and laughed as I shook my head.  “I swear.  This is how the Reality Lens projected your Type-II rigging, I promise!  As far as I know, it didn’t draw anything from me.  Although, I do like the wings.  Very angelic.  Are they, uh…part of you, now?”

She glanced behind her at the two pairs of pinions sprouting from her back and shook her head.  “I don’t think so.  I don’t feel them, and when I pull on the outfit, I don’t feel anything tugging.  Strange that they respond to my thoughts, though…”

I watched the wings extend and retract before they returned to their resting position.  “Must be part of the Type-II interfacing with your outfit, I guess.  It’ll be interesting to see if other outfits work the same way when we get back home.”  

“And how long will that be?”

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before I answered.  “Hopefully, soon.  I know Vestal’s going to want to keep you and the others here for at least a few days for observation, make sure there aren’t any problems with the rigging.  But for any sort of in-depth testing, I’d like to be able to do it back at HQ.”

She nodded slowly, her head still on my shoulder.  “Max…do you think it’ll make me as strong as she said it would?”

“Without a doubt,” I grinned.  “I watched a simulation of you fight an Arbiter to a standstill in her own program, and I know the real you is even stronger than she was.  It might take a while to get used to your new rigging, but I know, one day, nothing will be able to stop you.”

“If that’s true, it’s because of you, Max.  You’ve been by my side since we met and I cannot thank you enough.  I love you…so much.”

“I love you, too…” I breathed softly before our lips met in a tender, passionate kiss and we held one another in a loving embrace.  One that would not end until the moon hung high in the night sky…

A/N-Ah, back to the fluff!  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

The SB2C Helldiver slowly descended towards the deck, flaps and gear extended, tailhook ready to catch on one of the arresting wires.  There was a slight wobble as the wind over the deck, but it quickly smoothed itself back out, continuing its controlled descent.  I watched with bated breath as it gracefully sank in the sky. Finally, its wheels kissed the deck, the tailhook caught one of the cables…and all hell broke loose.  

The tailhook was violently wrenched free from its mounting on the aircraft, flung back as the arresting wire snapped back into position.  Without anything else to slow the Helldiver, it barrelled forward into the crash barrier, the wheels catching on the upraised cabling and causing the dive bomber to flip onto its nose.  It hung there for half a second before continuing forward and crashing down belly-up, crushing the cockpit.  I grimaced as I watched the entire thing unfold, grateful that Yorktown’s aircraft were unmanned.  

“At least it was the last one,” I offered, although I could already see that would be of no comfort to Yorktown.  

“Seventeen,” she sighed as she surveyed the wreckage on her flight deck.  “Seventeen out of thirty-six total Helldivers.  Maybe I’m not ready for this.”

I wasn’t having any of that.  “If that were true, you’d have had just as many problems with the Hellcats and Avengers, but you didn’t, did you?”

Yorktown slowly shook her head, the dark cloud swirling above her lightening somewhat.  “No, I didn’t. If anything, they handled much better than the Wildcats and Devastators I’m used to.”

“So if you’re two out of three on aircraft handling, that would seem to indicate it may be an issue with the plane, right?”  She nodded, slowly, and I pushed the issue just a bit more.  “When we get back home, how about I take up a Helldiver, do a few practice landings on the tarmac, get a feel for it, see if we can’t figure things out?”

She looked over at me with a hopeful smile.  “You wouldn’t mind?”

“Hell, no!” I grinned.  “Anything to help you out, and besides, it’s been far too long since I’ve logged any serious flight hours.”

Her smile quickly vanished, replaced by an upset look.  “Max, have you been neglecting our SBD?”

“No!” I emphatically denied.  “She’s in mint condition, I promise.  But…” I sighed softly and shrugged, “...without you, it just…it didn’t feel the same.  So I put in a few hours, just to keep the engine running and make sure I didn’t forget the basics, but aside from that…haven’t been in the air much.”

“And now that I’m back?” 

A slow grin spread across my face.  “Feels like I’m flying already.”

The SB2C was a beast of an aircraft.  While not as large as the TBF Avenger, it was still much bigger than the old SBD.  It looked like a truly impressive airplane as I did a pre-flight walk around.  

“I really wish you’d let me come with you,” Yorktown insisted as she walked with me, repeating her earlier concerns.  

I stop my check and turn to face her with an empathetic smile.  “I know, and I’d love to take to the air with you again, but right now I’d feel a hell of a lot better with you here, in the tower.  Something goes wrong, you can do a lot more from up there than in the back seat.”  When that didn’t convince her, I put my arms around her waist and pulled her close to me.  “Hey, how about this: I do a few test landings, get a handle on whatever’s going on with these planes, then take you up for a nice long flight over the island.  Sound good?”

While still clearly nonplussed about the entire situation, it seemed a bit more palatable.  “Alright,” she finally conceded with a quick nod.  “But don’t forget Enterprise will be arriving this afternoon.”

“I haven’t forgotten,” I chuckled as I gave her a quick kiss and returned to my pre-flight inspection.  “She’s going to be very surprised when she gets here.”

Yorktown’s blue eyes widened.  “You haven’t told her yet?”

“I feel like this is the kind of news you want to deliver in person,” I quickly explained.  “Telling her, ‘Hey, come back, your sister’s been not only miraculously cured but stronger than ever before’ via a coded message seems wildly impersonal, and we’re not risking our strategic positioning by recalling her anyway.”

Her expression softened and she nodded.  “That’s fair, I guess.  And this way, I’ll be able to see the look on her face when she gets back.  Now, are you ready to take this thing for a spin?”

I looked up at the monster of a dive bomber and let out a deep sigh.  “As I’ll ever be.”

“Then pilot, man your plane,” she quipped before she pulled me in close for a tender kiss.  “For good luck.”

“I’ll take all the luck I can get,” I grinned as I clambered up onto the wing.  “See you soon!”

The first thing I noticed when I lowered myself into the cockpit was just how roomy it was compared to the SBD.  While I doubt crew comfort was a major factor in the design of the aircraft, I nevertheless appreciated it.  I quickly ran through the preflight checklist and warmed up the engine.  While the sound was familiar, I did note that I didn’t get blasted with exhaust smoke when I started it up like I did with the SBD.  So far, all fairly positive traits.  I hoped this continued as I taxied to the runway.  

I took a deep breath and thumbed the radio.  “Bombing Five to tower, requesting takeoff clearance.”

Yorktown’s gentle voice crackled in my ear.  “You’re cleared for takeoff on runway one-zero, Bombing Five.  Godspeed.”

“Bombing Five copies.”  I pulled the goggles over my eyes, placed my hand on the throttle, and slowly pushed forward.  The Helldiver rumbled as I accelerated down the runway, feeling the aircraft beginning to level out, and then lift off as I had enough speed.  I began to pull up and away as I slowly ascended into the sky.  Very slowly.  Even the Slow But Deadly didn’t feel like she took as much time to get altitude.  

Once I was at the pre-discussed height, I radioed Yorktown.  “Bombing Five at angels three.”

“Tower copies, Bombing Five,” Yorktown replied.  “How’s it handling up there?”

I put the Helldiver through a few slow, gentle turns, trying to feel the aircraft out.  In my mind, it seemed a bit sluggish, but it could have been due to my inexperience in this particular plane.  “Feels a bit underpowered, to be honest,” I replied.  “You didn’t have any problems with general flight characteristics, did you?”

“Negative.”

“Probably just me, then.”  I sighed and took a look around, seeing the island splayed out around me.  The sooner we got this landing thing sorted out, the sooner I’d be able to take Yorktown up here.  “Alright, gonna go ahead and set up a landing pattern, go ahead and get the arresting cables ready, and give me the approach when you’re ready.”

“Tower copies.”  There was a brief pause.  “You’re cleared for landing on runway zero-one, approach from the west.  Windspeed, zero-five miles per hour across the deck.”

“Bombing Five copies.  Sounds like a nice, easy run.”  Oh, boy, did that line come back to bite me in the aft end.  

The long, slow descent down to my landing approach was relatively uneventful, and I easily lined up the SB2C with the runway.  And that’s when the problems began.  As I dropped my speed, it became even more unwieldy and unresponsive.  I wound up overcorrecting on multiple occasions before I finally managed to get things under control, and even then, it was still a struggle.  I could feel the sweat beading on my forehead as I tried to maintain the glide slope, and it seemed I wasn’t the only one who was getting nervous.  

“Bombing Five, you look like you’re having trouble,” Yorktown’s concerned voice cut in.  “Do you need assistance?”

“Negative,” I grunted as I continued to fight with the Helldiver.  “I’ve got it.  But damn, is she fighting me the whole way down.  How’s my approach?”

“Still a bit high.  Ease back on the throttle.”

“Negative,” I repeated.  “I ease back any further and I don’t know if I can control her.”

“Then wave off and come around, I’ll have a new vector for you for a higher-speed landing.”

“Copy that,” I answered.  It was at that point I made a nearly fatal mistake.  In order to wave off, I gunned the engines, trying to get enough power to climb.  In most other aircraft, what would happen is that the plane would begin to gently climb into the sky.  The Helldiver didn’t get that memo.  Instead, the nose rapidly pitched up, nearly putting me into the vertical.  At that speed, I would have immediately stalled and crashed.  Only by jamming the control stick forward and fully opening the throttles did I manage to quickly level out the aircraft and avoid a stall.  And even with those emergency measures, I still dropped a hundred feet, the ground now worryingly close as I got the SB2C’s speed back up.  

My sudden unexpected maneuvers had not gone unnoticed by Yorktown.  Unsurprising, considering I was now at tower height when I flew past.  “Max, Max, are you okay?!?” Even through the crackle of the radio I could hear the concern in her voice.  

“Yeah,” I lied as I tried to get my nerves under control.  “This thing is a death trap at slow speeds, that’s all.”

“Do you want to circle around and just do a regular landing?  We don’t have to do a carrier landing if you feel it’s unsafe.”

I thought about it for a long few moments, looking down at the runway as it grew smaller and smaller.  “Give me the updated vector for carrier landings, and we’ll do one pass.  If I don’t get it, we’ll do just a regular approach.  And have the emergency crews on standby, just in case.”

“Tower copies.  Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

My heart was hammering in my chest and wanted nothing more than to get out of this plane and onto the ground.  But I also knew if we didn’t at least try and figure out what was going on with this damned thing, I’d be back up here again.  Since I would rather get this all over and done with now, I’d give it at least one shot.  

Once more, I lined up on approach as Yorktown guided me in.  And once more, as I dropped my speed, the Helldiver became less and less responsive.  At least I was expecting it this time, and while I was using the stick, rudder, and throttles frantically, I managed to keep her on course.  

The nose slowly pitched up as Yorktown continued to talk me down.  “You’re good on approach, Bombing Five.  Glide slope looks good…good…cut power…now.”

I cut power to the engine right as I felt the wheels hit the tarmac, and I let out a sigh of relief.  That relief would be very short-lived.  The tailhook caught one of the arresting cables a second later, and I felt the aircraft jerk forward as it was brought to a sudden stop.  Or it should have been.  Instead, the entire fuselage aft of the gunner’s seat violently detached from the rest of the Helldiver, the tail assembly whipping back while the rest of the aircraft hurtled forward, with me still in it. Not realizing what had happened, I slammed on the brakes, but now perilously unbalanced and still carrying a lot of forward momentum, that was precisely the wrong thing to do.  The SB2C pitched forward, the rotating propeller blades shattering against the tarmac as the nose touched the runway.  I heard the engine roar and grind, and I quickly killed it, shutting off the fuel supply as well.  The last thing I needed was a fire.  To my right, I could see the emergency crew manjuus racing towards me, fire equipment at the ready, and I let out a sigh of relief as I quickly unbuckled myself from my seat.  

Getting out was a bit more perilous, considering the Helldiver was on its nose, but I managed to slide down the wing and trotted away, giving myself some space in case any leaking fuel were to ignite.  Once I was sure I was safe, I turned around to see what had happened.  I was both shocked and horrified to see the Helldiver’s tail nearly fifty feet from the rest of the airframe, tailhook still on the arresting wire.  

“Max!”  Yorktown called out to me, and I turned to see her running towards me, the worry visible on her face.  “Max!”

“I’m fine!” I called out to her as I ran to meet her.  We practically crashed into each other as we held each other in a fierce embrace.  “It’s okay,” I soothed as I stroked her silvery hair.  “I’m alright.”

“Please tell me you’re not going up there again,” she whispered.  

“Not in one of those things,” I answered, glancing back over my shoulder at the wreckage.  “Landing that thing was a menace and I do not want to do that again.  In fact, I’d recommend we scrap all SB2Cs and send them back to the drawing board.  Let Sara and her team work on them until she’s got these issues ironed out.”

Yorktown sighed and nodded.  “I think that’d be for the best.  Shall we use the SBDs in the meantime?”

“Yeah,” I said after a moment’s reflection.  “Still a damn good aircraft and your rigging should push it even further.  I’ll pass the order on later today, but in the meantime, you can go ahead and swap whenever you’re ready.”  I looked back at the manjuu working to clear the wreckage of the Helldiver.  “Guess Hornet was right.”

“Right about what?” Yorktown asked, giving me a perplexed look.

“She said she found an old nickname for the Helldiver from back during the war.  Said they called it the Son of a Bitch, 2nd Class.  Having flown one, I think that name’s right on the money.”  I sighed as I realized something and felt a pang of regret.  “I don’t think they’re gonna get the runway cleared in time for us to take up the SBD.  I’m sorry.”  

To my surprise, Yorktown smiled and shook her head.  “No need for apologies.  I have an even better idea.”  

I found Enterprise waiting by the entrance to the hospital.  While she was trying to keep a stoic expression on her face, I could see in her eyes that she was worried.  “Commander, why have you recalled me?”

Right to the point as usual.  I should have expected that.  “It’s about Yorktown, she-”  I didn’t even have time to finish before she took off into the hospital.  “Wait, Enty!  She’s not-Enterprise!”  I called out after her, but her stubborn streak had locked in and she would not be deterred by anything I had to say.  I followed her up to where Yorktown’s hospital room had been, catching her just in time for her to see that it was vacant.  When she turned to face me, I gave her a soft smile and jerked my come back the way we’d come.  “This way.”

I led her back out of the hallway and down towards the air station where a single angelic figure waited by a tree.  Enterprise looked quizzically at me, then over at the figure.  “Go on,” I smiled.  “She’s waiting for you.”  

She looked at me once more before nodding and walking towards the stranger.  As she approached Yorktown, I turned to where Hornet and the others were hiding, silently gesturing them over.  With big grins, Hornet and Northampton hurried over, followed by a less amused-looking Hammann and Langley.  

“She figure it out yet?” Hornet whispered conspiratorially.  

“I think she’s about to,” I whispered back as we crept a bit closer, straining to hear Yorktown’s soft voice.  

“...I've slept for far, far too long. Long enough to miss so, so many things...Long enough to make you carry the weight of the world by yourself for all this time…”

If she hadn’t figured it out before, Enterprise’s next word removed all doubt.  “Yorktown…”

“Enterprise, I'm back.”

“I…”

“Welp, good enough for me,” Hornet suddenly announced before she rushed over to her sisters.  

“Hornet!” I hissed not wanting her to ruin the tender moment between siblings, “Hornet, get back here!”

But by that point, it was too late.  Hornet had already gotten next to both of them as she boisterously asked, “Enty! Did you come all the way from the front lines?!”  Before she could even answer, Hornet showed off her new flight deck, striking several enthusiastic poses.  “Look! Check out my new rigging!”

As the rest of us approached, Northampton let out a sigh that suggested this wasn’t the first time she’d had to rein in her overenthusiastic girlfriend.  “It looks like you're the dense one this time, Hornet.  Even I know this isn't the right time to be barging in…”

Hornet fixed Northampton with a confused look, completely oblivious to her social faux pas .  “...Huh?”

“Yeah, not the best look,” Hammann chimed in, her hands on her hips.  “You're such a blockhead, Hornet!”

At this point, Hornet was totally lost, looking around at everyone as she tried to understand her offense.  “Wha?! What'd I do?”

“Now, now. It's okay,” Yorktown chuckled as she pulled her siblings in for a tender hug.  “Yorktown, the Fighting Lady, has returned to you once more.  Bathed in the resplendent dawn of happiness born from the darkest night...I am here to fight alongside you all.  And I’ve missed you so much, Enterprise.”  

Enterprise stared at Yorktown for another moment before she wrapped her arms around her tightly.  “I missed you, too, Yorktown,” she whispered.  “I’ve missed you so much.”

“And I, you, dear sister,” Yorktown smiled as she stroked Enterprise’s hair.  “But I’m back now, and I have one more surprise for us…”

A/N-So, historically, when the USS Yorktown(CV-10) first got underway for her shakedown cruise in May of 1943, she had 36 brand new SB2C Helldivers aboard.  They had problems almost immediately, and in dramatic fashion.  For starters, they had real problems getting airborne.  During the shakedown, one was lost immediately on takeoff.  A film crew was aboard filming “The Fighting Lady” and “Wing and a Prayer”.  While this sort of thing did not befit a wartime propaganda piece like The Fighting Lady, it would be used in Wing and a Prayer(it’s at the 53 minute mark if you wanna watch it on Youtube).  Another problem the SB2C initially had was the nasty habit of going nose up during low-speed operations, causing a sudden stall.  But by far, the worst problem the SB2C had with the Yorktown was landing.  Of the 36 SB2C Helldivers, 17 suffered catastrophic tailhook failures and wound up plowing directly into the crash barrier and getting wrecked.  While I can't find in the historical record if any from Yorktown had the same catastrophic failure as Max's here, that was a common enough occurrence with the airframe.  The air maintenance officer, one Lieutenant Joe Tucker, brought his concerns to the CO, Captain Joseph “Jocko” Clark.  Clark, sympathetic to Tucker’s plight, asked, “If you were me, what would you do?”  Tucker thought about it, and replied, “...I’d turn this ship right around and head back into Trinidad, and I’d put these SB2Cs ashore and leave ‘em there!”  After giving it some thought, Jocko calls in the navigator and tells him, “Set a course for Trinidad!  Cease operations!”  When she sailed for the Pacific, she left with 36 brand new Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers instead.  

Chapter Text

She was doing it again.

“It really bothers me when she does that.”

“She knows what she’s doing,”  Yorktown said reassuringly, although I failed to take much if any, comfort from that.  

“I know,” I sighed, “but still…does she have to stand right on the cowling like that?” 

I glanced back over at Enterprise, still standing on the engine of her SBD as we cruised over the island at five thousand feet.  Behind me, Yorktown giggled.  “She’s always been daring like that.  Just try not to worry about it.”

“He still frettin’ over Enterprise?” Hornet cut in as she formed up on her sister’s wing.  Unlike Enterprise and myself, who were flying SBDs, Hornet had taken up one of her new F6F Hellcats.  

Just how in the hell did Hornet know that?  “Did you cut in on our private channel?” I asked in an accusatory tone, looking over at her aircraft.

Her laugh filled my headset as I saw her shake her head.  “Naw.  But you’ve been staring at her this entire time, kinda figured you were either concerned or you’d slipped a disk and couldn’t move your neck.”

“Ha ha,” I drolled.  “But yeah, it just bugs me when she does something that dangerous.”

“Says the guy who almost got turned into a vegetable.”

“There was a reason for that!” I shot back.  “It wasn’t like I was doing it for fun.”

There was a pause on the other line.  “Would you ever go in there for fun?”

“Hell, no,” I emphatically denied.  “I almost got turned into a potato and I don’t think that really qualifies as an acceptable risk for ‘fun’.  I can have plenty of fun out here, with real people.  Besides, everyone knows potatoes don’t have rights.”  My eyes lingered on her Hellcat for a moment.  “Speaking of people to have fun with, I’m surprised you aren’t up here with Northampton, Hornet.”

“Ah, she decided to stay on the ground and keep Hammann company,” Hornet sighed.  “She’s not much one for flying.  Besides, unlike y’all, I don’t have an SBD just lying around for joyriding, and after hearing about your troubles with the SB2C, I sure as hell ain’t gettin’ in it.  So I decided to take this beauty up for a spin.”

“And how’re you liking it so far?”

Even over the radio, I could hear the grin in Hornet’s voice.  “Handles like a dream!  Haven’t properly put her through her paces yet, but just feeling her out on takeoff and landing, I think we’ve got ourselves a first-rate warbird on our hands.”  

“Good to hear.”  I stared at the Hellcat for a bit longer, focusing on something just below and ahead of the cockpit.  A black flag with the skull and bones on it.  “Say, Hornet…your Hellcat, that wouldn’t be from VF-17, would it?”

There was a moment of radio silence as I saw Hornet looking frantically around the cockpit.  “Y-yeah,” she finally replied, a touch of amazement in her voice.  “How did you…?”

“Reality Lens,” I answered.  “The Hornet there mentioned her Hellcats were from VF-17, and their insignia is the Jolly Roger flag.”

“You been studyin’ up on me, Max?” Hornet teased.  

“Nah,” I laughed.  “In the Reality Lens, we all went to a movie featuring VF-17’s successor, VF-84.  Same logo, but on jets.”  

“Whoa, they had jets?!?” Hornet exclaimed.  “How come we don’t have jets?”

“These were manned jets, not the automated ones you can control with your rigging,” I explained.  “Back when our navies needed people, not kansen, to crew them.”

“But…you said there were kansen in that world, too, right?” Yorktown interjected.

“Right,” I confirmed.  “And mass-produced ships, too.  But it was also…in the future, too?  The day-to-day levels of technology people utilized was ahead of our own.  They had holograms and robot waiters and all kinds of fancy stuff.”

“That sounds…rather anachronistic…and very confusing.”

“It was,” I wholeheartedly agreed.  “I can’t help but wonder how much of that was based on someone’s memories, and how much of it was the Reality Lens trying to plug the gap.”  And that’s what really bothered me.  I’d been able to put it out of my mind for a while, dealing with Yorktown’s return and just enjoying our time together, but now that things had started to slow down again, it came creeping back in.  

Who was this Doctor Anzeel, and who was I to her?  Hell, who was I?  This wasn’t the first time I’d had these memories of her, along with this other world.  But were they truly mine?  And if they were, which me is the real me?  That Recorder AI said only less than one percent of me matched the…me I’m supposed to be?  The me I was ?  But what did that mean?  Was that a genetic match, a memory match, a mental match?  Hell, it could have been a comparison of our credit scores for all I knew!  I needed to get this off my chest, but I still didn’t quite feel comfortable telling Yorktown just yet.  She had just recovered from a traumatic, months-long experience, I didn’t want to burden her with this just yet.  

“...that movie?”  I suddenly realized Hornet had asked me a question, and lost in my own head, I almost completely missed it.  

“Say again, had a bit of static on my end,” I lied, trying to play it cool.  

“Said, anything else cool about that movie?” Hornet repeated.  

“Yeah, there’s a-” An idea suddenly popped into my head, and I grinned to myself.  “You know what, it’d probably be easier to show you.  I think I can get TB to give me a copy of the film from the Reality Lens data.  How about we do a double date?  Movie night at our place.  You bring Northampton and we’ll watch it together, the four of us.  If that’s alright with you, Yorktown.”

“I’d love that,” Yorktown happily replied.  “We’d need to finish unpacking and get a few things ready, but we’d be more than happy to have you guys over.”

“It’ll take a day or two at least before I can get the data from TB, so there’s no rush.  Besides, didn’t you two mention a shopping spree earlier?”

Hornet’s enthusiasm was nearly palpable.  “Hell yeah!  All of us Type-II gals are gonna go find some new outfits that fit us a bit better.  You wanna come, Commander?”

“Not gonna lie, the thought of getting to watch a Yorktown fashion show is way more interesting than the mountain of paperwork that’s waiting for me back at the office, but I’m afraid I can’t put that off anymore.”  While Saratoga and the others had done a marvelous job holding down the fort for the month and a half I was at the Sea of Stars, there were some things they couldn’t do.  

“You sure you don’t need me to help out?” Yorktown asked for the thirtieth time.  

“Absolutely positive,” I chuckled.  “Enterprise and I can hold down the fort.  You guys need new outfits.  Besides, you’ve been cooped up in a hospital for months now, get out there, stretch your legs, have fun!”

“Speaking of Enterprise,” Hornet said, “someone should get her attention for a fuel check.”  

“I got it,” I answered as I pulled slightly ahead of her, waggling my wings before falling back into formation with her.  When I was sure I had her attention, I tapped on my headset, indicating I wanted to talk to her.  

Her voice came through the radio, nearly unrecognizable with the sound of the engine and wind blowing past her.  “Everything alright?”

“Everything’s just fine back here, making sure you’re okay up there and doing a fuel check.”

“I’m fine.”  There was a momentary pause as Enterprise checked her tank levels before answering.  “About half a tank left.  I think I’ve got another thirty minutes of flight time before I need to head back.  How about you?”

I quickly looked at my fuel gauge and did some quick calculations.  “About the same.  Stay up for another twenty, then start heading back, sound good to everyone?”

There was a chorus of affirmations before Hornet spoke up.  “Honestly, it’s been too long since we’ve done this,” she sighed happily.  “Come to think of it, when was the last time we all flew together like this?”

“Oh…since…since before the war, I think,” Yorktown said hesitantly, then answered more confidently as she remembered.  “Yes.  It was right before Max was assigned as our Commander, and we wanted to spend at least one more day together, relaxing, before things changed.”

“Afraid I was going to break the band up, huh?” I smirked.

“We didn’t know anything about you,” Yorktown somewhat defensively blurted out.  “We didn’t know if you’d separate us, keep us together, or completely upend the structure.”

“Well, I’d say I’ve well and truly upended things around here,” I chuckled, “but in my defense, it wasn’t by choice.”

The girls laughed, and Enterprise spoke up.  “True, but I think you’ve done an excellent job holding things together, Commander.  I don’t know if we’d still be together like this if it wasn’t for you.”

“High praise, coming from you, Enterprise.  Thank you.”

We fell into another long, but contented silence as we flew together into the setting sun…

After a long day of paperwork, I finally made it back to our apartment where Yorktown was waiting for me.  She’d changed out of her angelic outfit and was wearing something more comfortable, pajama pants and a long-sleeved shirt with the words, “The Fighting Lady” emblazoned on the front.  “Welcome home, Max,” she smiled as she wrapped her arms around me.  “How goes the battle against paperwork?”

“We were victorious,” I grinned as I leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on her lips.  “Between Enterprise and myself, we managed to get all of it knocked out.  If you want, you can take over as my secretary as soon as tomorrow.”

“I’d like that,” she agreed, her smile becoming brighter before faltering for a moment.  “However…I still need to train, get used to this rigging.”

“And you will,” I reassured her.  “And I’ll be right there with you, I promise.”

She thought about it for about half a second before she nodded.  “Very well, then.  It’ll also make it easier to schedule your flying lessons.”

I gave her a quizzical look.  “Flying lessons?” I repeated.  “There’s more to learn?”

“There’s always more to learn,” she giggled.  “Besides, I was talking to Hornet while we were out shopping and, well, I have a surprise for you.”  She paused, and her cheeks flushed.  “Actually, I have several surprises for you.”

“Oh?” I asked, eyebrow raised.  “What kind of surprises?”

“All in good time, Max, all in good time,” she said with a somewhat flustered smile.  “In the meantime, would you like to see some of the things I got on our shopping trip?”

“I’d love to.”

Her smile broadened.  “Take a seat and I’ll show you.”

As she disappeared into our bedroom, I sat down on the couch and got comfortable.  Whilst I waited, I looked around the place and realized we’d almost completely unpacked.  My life and hers, nearly fully comingled.  Just a few small boxes to go through and we’d be all set.  It felt good to get everything set up, too finally.  For too long I’d been living with my personal life on pause, waiting as I searched for a cure.  It was worth the wait, though, to see Yorktown so happy.  

Speaking of Yorktown, she returned faster than I’d expected, wearing an eye-catching number that looked more like an autumn outfit rather than the middle of summer.  It was a beautiful black coat with gold buckles and buttons, along with a white overcoat.  Black boots and stockings completed the look, and, as always, left me breathless.  “So,” she began with a shy smile, “What do you think?”

“I think it’s gorgeous, and it perfectly suits you,” I answered with a bright smile.  “Although…this looks more like something for fall.  I think you’d overheat in about ten minutes in our current weather.”

“Correct,” she agreed.  “This is more for fall on a special…” Her voice trailed off and she looked nervous.  “Max, can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” I said as I patted the seat next to me.  “Anything you need to talk about, I’m right here.”  

Yorktown smiled softly as she walked over to the couch and sat beside me, keeping her distance.  “I…I don’t want to impose, but…well, with everything that’s gone on, I would really like to take you to the Royal Kingdom for a vacation.”

It seemed sudden, but I understood why she wanted this.  If the past few months were proof of anything, it was that we didn’t know how long we’d ever truly have together, so we might as well make the most of it while we could.  “Getting the leave could be tricky,” I murmured as I thought it over.  “But I think I have an idea.  In a few weeks, they’re going to be closing down the World Expo, and they want me there to oversee the closing ceremonies.  And while it wouldn’t be leave, I think I could convince Naval HQ to allow us to swing by the Royal Kingdoms for a week or two under the guise of ‘strengthening our partnership’.”  And this would also give me some time to finish a little surprise of my own.

“That would be perfect,” Yorktown smiled.  “Thank you.  I just…after everything, I don’t want to let things slip away.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” I replied.  “Was that one of the surprises?”

Yorktown’s smile turned into a sly grin.  “Oh no.  For a few days, at least.  But don’t worry, I think you’ll like them quite a bit.  In the meantime, I think there’s plenty to keep us busy…”

With Yorktown back at my side, things finally fell into a normal rhythm over the next couple of days.  The monotony of paperwork, running a base, and an entire Navy was a welcome return compared to the drama, panic, and angst that had permeated my life over the past months.  I never thought I’d be so happy to see fuel consumption reports, but there I was, smiling like a lovestruck teenager as I filled them out.  Or more likely, happy to be filling them out with Yorktown once again.  Then TB sent me a copy of The Final Countdown and things suddenly took another interesting turn…

“So, how good is this movie anyway, Commander?” Hornet asked as she and Northampton cuddled up on the couch across from where Yorktown and I were snuggled together.  

“Ehhhh…” I began, trying to put things into words.  “I dunno if you guys are gonna get the same enjoyment out of this that I did.  I was in a dark place when I saw it, and it gave me hope when I needed it most.  This is always going to have a special place in my heart.  I’m hoping you guys get something out of it, too, but I’m probably not the best one to judge this film on the merits.”  

“Fair enough,” Hornet nodded.  “No sense wastin’ time then, let’s get going!”

Even watching it a second time, I still enjoyed the movie.  Although the actions of Bon Homme Richard would eventually cast a shadow over the picture, I’m able to watch it from time to time and still feel that sense of hope, of wonder, that I did the first time I saw it.  Only now, I could share it with the real Yorktown.  Before we knew it, the credits were rolling and I reached up to turn the lights back on.  “So,” I ventured, “How’d everyone like it?”

“I liked it,” Hornet offered, “But it kinda sucked that they had to turn around and go home, though.  I wanted to see more of those planes kick ass!”

“I get why they had to go back,” Northampton said, “But yeah, watching those jets dogfight those Zeros was the best part of the film.”

“Agreed,” I nodded. “Those Jolly Pirate pilots were all top-notch, you’re lucky to have their predecessor’s planes on your ship, Hornet.”

“I think my favorite part was Commander Owen and Laurel’s relationship,” Yorktown added, her hand finding mine.  “Finding a love that transcends time and space…it’s very beautiful.”  I smiled over at her before giving her a tender kiss.  

“Awwwww,” Hornet and Northampton cooed in unison, much to our embarrassment, but before either of us could object, Hornet steered the conversation in a new direction.  

“Now that it’s just the four of us, there’s something I wanna discuss,” she announced as she leaned in, a conspiratorial grin on her face.  

My curiosity well and truly piqued, I looked over at Yorktown, then to her sister.  “You’ve got our attention, what did you have in mind?”

“Double dates are fun and all, but I think we need a triple date.”  The rest of us looked at each other in confusion   “In short, we need to get Enterprise a girlfriend.”

A/N-Hornet’s on a one-woman crusade to ship ALL her sisters!  Also, very important to remember, kids, a potato doesn’t have rights.  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

“We need to do what ?”  

“Get Enterprise a girlfriend,” Hornet repeated, grinning like the cat that had eaten the canary.  “Or boyfriend, whoever.  But I’ve already got my eye on someone.”

Northampton, Yorktown, and I all shared a puzzled look before we looked back at Hornet.  “Who?” we all asked in unison.  

“Vestal.”

“Vestal?” Northampton repeated before she reached up to place a hand on Hornet’s forehead.  “Hon, are you feeling well?”

“Knock it off, I’m fine,” Hornet scowled as she batted her girlfriend’s hand away.  “I’ve got my reasons.”

“I think we should hear her out.”  

Northampton and Yorktown both looked at me as if I had joined in Hornet’s madness.  “Look, she picked Northampton,” I quickly explained, “and she helped us get together, so she’s clearly had some success.  I say we let the crazy lady make her case.”

“Thanks, Max, I-” Her smile died as she realized what I’d just called her.  “Hey!”  She scowled at me for a half second but made her pitch all the same.  “Over the past months, she’s been spending a lot of time at the hospital, and I don’t mean the time she spent with me and Yorktown.  She hung around Vestal quite a bit, too.”

“Yeah, but Vestal was your doctor,” I countered.  “She could’ve been talking about your repairs.”

Hornet nodded slowly, but there was a smug grin on her face.  “Maybe…but every so often, she’d stare at Vestal for a good couple of seconds and smile.  I’m tellin’ ya, there’s something there, we just need to create the right opportunity for them to realize it.”  

I hadn’t noticed, but on the other hand, Hornet presumably knew her sister better than I.  I glanced at Northampton and Yorktown, who both shrugged.  “Alright, Hornet, what did you have in mind?”

Hornet’s grin returned as she leaned in conspiratorially.  “So here’s the plan…”

“A shakedown cruise, sir?”

Enterprise seemed perplexed at the proposal, which, given the rather sudden and random nature, was understandable.  

“Yes,” I confirmed as I leaned back in my chair.  “A shakedown cruise.”  Before she could object, I held up my hand.  “Now, I understand that you’ve just come back from combat duty and your refit has just started, but I want to try out a new way to try and identify the problem areas faster.  So what you and Vestal are going to be doing is taking a cruise around the local islands, doing a few full power tests and maneuvers while she takes readings in real-time.  This way, she gets to get a good understanding of you and your rigging.  An almost…intimate understanding, you might say.”

Her cheeks flushed slightly, and her violet eyes suddenly broke away from mine, telling me that Hornet just might be on the money with this one.  I did my best to suppress my grin as I continued.  “So you’ll get underway tomorrow, take a few days, and then once you’ve returned, report back to me.  Any questions?”

Enterprise earnestly shook her head.  “No, sir.”

“Very well, then,” I nodded.  “Dismissed.”

With a sharp salute, she spun on her heels and headed out of my office, pausing briefly to give Yorktown a friendly nod.  She and I waited until we heard Enterprise’s footfalls fade down the hallway before we decided to compare notes.  

“So, you think it’ll work?” Yorktown asked as she hurried over to my desk.  

I looked over at the door, thinking it over before I finally answered her.  “Maybe.  Hornet was definitely onto something,” I grinned up at her.  “She blushed and averted her eyes when I said ‘intimate understanding’.”

“Interesting,” she mused.  “Although you did overplay your hand a bit on that one.”

I shrugged helplessly.  “Subtlety’s not my strong suit.  Why I’m an admiral, not a spy.”

“You would look quite dashing in a tuxedo, though,” Yorktown smirked as she leaned down to kiss me.  

“Mmm, I’ll keep that in mind,” I grinned back.  “In any case, I think we’ve created the perfect conditions for those two.  Either they’ll figure it out or we’ll go to plan B.”

Yorktown’s brows furrowed as she tried to recall our backup proposal.  “What was plan B again?”

“Lock them in a room together and tell them we won’t let them out until they sort their feelings for each other.”

“Ah, yes,” Yorktown sighed.  “Effective, but it seems so unromantic.”  

“Which is why we’re going with Hornet’s plan first,” I agreed.  “So what’s next on the agenda for today?”

An unusually coy look crossed her face as she strode over to her desk and picked up her planner.  “Paperwork through the rest of the morning and a bit of the afternoon, but at three o’clock, you have a surprise.”

That perked me up.  “I do?  What is it?”

“Not really sure you can call flying lessons a surprise,” I said, buttoning up my flight suit as we strode towards the hangar.  

“Perhaps,” Yorktown cryptically answered with an equally cryptic smile on her face.  “I’ll let you decide once you’ve seen it.”

“Well, alright, but-” I swung open the door to the hangar and came to a dead stop.  Our SBD was gone, and in its place were a pair of F6F Hellcat fighters.  “Oh.  Okay, this is a surprise…”

“Told you,” Yorktown giggled as she rested a hand on my shoulder.  “But that’s not all.  Take a closer look at them.”

I took a few steps towards the fighters, my eyes roaming over every inch of the warbirds until I spotted a familiar skull and bones pattern just forward of the cockpit.  “Wait…are these…VF-17’s?” I turned back to face her.  “How’d you get these, I thought they were Hornet’s?”

“We traded Hellcat squadrons,” she smiled, clearly enjoying the look of surprise on my face.  “I was going to teach you some dogfighting no matter what, but after watching The Final Countdown with you, I had a little chat with her about swapping them out.  She thought it was a fair trade for going along with her plan.”

It warmed my heart to see how much effort Yorktown had put in just to surprise me.  “Thanks, hon,” I smiled, not realizing I’d said the pet name.  “It means a lot to me.”

Yorktown’s expression changed to one of surprise as she blinked at me.  “Hon?”

“Huh?”

“You called me ‘hon’,” she explained, still looking quizzically at me.  

“I did?”  When she shook her head, I simply shrugged.  “I guess it just slipped out.  Hon not work for you as a pet name?”  Honestly, it was a bit strange we’d been together so long without picking up pet names for each other.

Her hair swayed from side to side as she emphatically shook her head.  “That’s Northampton’s pet name for Hornet.”

“Darling?” I offered.

“Hornet’s pet name for Northampton.”

“Honey?”

“I keep picturing New Jersey when you say that, for some reason.”

“Sweetie?”

“Too sugary.”

“Shnookums?”

“Absolutely not.”

I stopped and thought for another moment before it finally came to me.  “My blue rose.  Or my rose, for short.”

She thought about it for a second before a soft smile graced her face.  “I like it.  And what about a pet name for you?”

“I’m not opposed to the idea,” I replied.  “What’d you have in mind?”

Her eyes peered into me for a long couple of seconds until it clicked.  “My light.”

Immediately, my mind flashed back to our first night together.  No, not that one.  The first night when she was drunk and wouldn’t let go of my hand.  She called me her light then, too.  “I love it,” I smiled.  “Now that’s out of the way, are we ready to start my lessons?”

“Absolutely.”

“How’s she handling?” Yorktown’s voice crackled in my ear.  

“Outstanding!” I answered as she formed up on my wing.  “Really responsive and smooth.  Honestly, this may be the best airplane I’ve flown, no disrespect to the SBD.”  Granted, I’d only flown three different airplanes at that time, but still, the Hellcat was a very forgiving fighter.  

“Good!  Hornet and Enterprise said much the same thing about their replacements, and I have to agree with all of you.  Excellent handling characteristics, and extremely easy to land, even on a carrier deck.”

“Oh thank God,” I muttered, much to Yorktown’s amusement.  I still wasn’t quite over the appalling low-speed characteristics of the SB2C.  “Maybe we could try a simulated carrier landing to wrap up the day?”

“If you want,” she replied with a hint of mischief in her voice.  “We’ll see how tired you are after I’ve put you through your paces.”

“Don’t like the way you said that…uh…be gentle?”  I playfully pleaded with her.  

Her laugh, even through the static, was melodious and heartwarming.  “No promises.  Now, there are a few major differences when it comes to flying a fighter like the Hellcat versus flying bombers or torpedo planes like the SBD and Avenger.  Beyond the obvious things like maneuverability, speed, and fire arcs, there are two big ones.  The first is to fly offensively.  If you try and play defensive, you’re just going to get worn down by your opponent and shot down.”

“Makes sense,” I nodded to myself.  “And what’s the second.”

“Learn your ABCs.”

Did I hear that right?  “ABCs?  Pretty sure I covered those back in preschool…”

“Not those ABCs,” she giggled.  “The ABCs of air combat: Altitude, Bracket, and Concentrate.”

“Oh.”

“The first, altitude, is the most important one.  It allows you to more easily gain energy in a dive to attack an enemy, and then easily escape any counterattack by using that energy to climb back up and out of his reach, while he’ll have to struggle and climb just to get within gun range.  Never give up the advantage of altitude unless you’re diving down to attack from an advantageous position or for a necessary gain in speed.”  To prove her point, she pushed the Hellcat into a steep dive, then quickly pulled out of it, easily climbing back up and re-forming on my wing in just a few seconds.  It probably would have taken double or triple the amount of time if she had just begun a climb from level flight.  

“The next one, bracketing, is important and ties in with concentrate, so I’ll just go over both at the same time.  Ideally, you want to bracket the enemy and get in on his tail to shoot from behind.”

“Hard to bracket someone if it’s just me,” I noted.

“Precisely,” Yorktown agreed.  “As I said, this is why it ties in with concentrate.  You want to concentrate as much firepower as you can on one target, and that’s why you need to work together.  With your wingman, with your section, and with your squadron.”

“Sort of like formation flying?”

“Yes and no,” she answered.  “There are times when staying in formation is the right move, and other times, you want to split up.  But you always want to be in contact with each other so one can force the enemy into a position where someone has a clear shot.”

“Got it.  So I take it we’re going to be working on some of these maneuvers together today?”

“Precisely,” she said as she pulled ahead, moving me into her wingman position.  “I’ll lead, you follow, and once you’ve gotten the hang of things, you lead and I’ll follow.”

“Copy that.  And when do we start?”

“Right now.”  Without any further warning, she shouted, “Break right!”  Her Hellcat immediately banked hard to starboard, and I threw the control stick to the right as I followed her.  This was going to be a fun day of lessons, I could tell.  

Over the next few days, Yorktown put me through my paces as we practiced flying together.  The way she handled her Hellcat was nothing short of breathtaking, especially with how clumsy and inexperienced my own efforts must have looked in comparison.  But little by little, day by day, I managed to learn how the Hellcat handled, what she could and couldn’t do.  I still couldn’t make it dance like Yorktown could, but I was confident enough in my abilities now that I knew I’d get there someday.  

That Friday, we’d gone up for another lesson, but I was surprised when Yorktown leveled off at just five thousand feet instead of the usual fifteen thousand.  Just as I was about to ask what was going on, her voice cut through the radio.  

“I decided we’d try something a little bit different today,” she announced.  “We’re going to put your dogfighting skills to the test.”

“Sounds fun,” I grinned, “What did you have in mind?”

Ahead of us, another Hellcat materialized, this one painted a bright orange-red.  It immediately began diving down and pulling away from us.  “We’re going to engage this test fighter in a mock dogfight.  It’s unarmed, however, you and I will be using live ammunition, so watch where you’re shooting.  It will descend to three thousand feet, and from there, we’ll pounce in a simulated attack.  I’ll lead the formation, so you take my wing and follow my lead.  Are you ready?”

“You wouldn’t ask if you didn’t think I was ready, right?” I grinned over at her.  

Her melodic laughter echoed in my ears.  “Exactly.” 

Yorktown pulled her Hellcat into a gentle turn to port and I followed, staying tucked in behind her as her wingman.  We slowly circled until she leveled out, then banked back to the starboard, dipping her wing so she could get a better view of our prey.  Once she had him sighted, she called out.  “Tally-ho!  Bandit, two o’clock low!”

“I see him,” I confirmed, “Bandit two o’clock low.”

“Rolling into the attack, stay with me,” she commanded as she rolled her fighter into a dive.  I followed suit, keeping my eyes locked on the enemy as I dove after Yorktown.  I watched her, waiting to see when she was going to take the shot.  Then, when we were five hundred feet above the target, she squeezed off a burst, smoke trailing from her wingtips as her six .50 caliber machine guns spat fire.   I could see the tracer rounds slicing through the air, just missing the F6F.  The drone immediately reacted, snap-rolling to the right and diving to gain speed.  “Break right and follow him, I’ll try and set up for another diving attack.”

“Roger.”  I gunned the engines and pushed the nose forward, slowly rolling the fighter as I fought to keep the enemy in my sights.  Against the deep blue of the Pacific and bright green of the island’s lush jungle, it was easy to spot him, at least.  As the drone began to level off, I pulled the nose up and squeezed off a burst.  The airframe shuddered as the Brownings all barked in sync, filling the air with lead.  Obscured by the engine, I was unable to see if I’d hit anything at first.  But as I pitched down, I could see several bullet holes and fuel trailing from his wing.  

“I got him!” I eagerly exclaimed, “I got a hit, he’s trailing fuel!”  While I knew the Hellcat’s self-sealing fuel tanks would correct the issue, knowing I’d managed to get a hit was very encouraging.  

“Nice job, Max!” Yorktown commended me.  “I’m coming in from above, keep him busy.”

“Roger that,” I grinned as I lined up the F6F in my sights.  I squeezed the trigger, but this time, I only hit empty air as it unexpectedly rolled to the right.  I swiftly followed, my Hellcat shuddering and rattling as I tested the limits of the airframe.  “Think he’s trying to turn-fight me.”

“Agreed,” Yorktown grunted.  Even over the radio, I could hear she was struggling to keep her aircraft in control.  I wondered what she was doing, but I dared not take my eyes off the enemy in front of me.  “On my mark, break left.  One…two…three… break left !”

Without hesitation, I snap the stick to the left and disengaged, just in time to see Yorktown’s Hellcat dive by, guns blazing.  I continued to turn left and saw the aileron of the drone twirling away towards the ground.  “Got him good, but he’s still got some fight in him.”

Below me, Yorktown was pulling her fighter out of the dive, using that energy to climb back up into the dogfight.  “Copy that,” she acknowledged.  “Go ahead and finish him off.”

“With pleasure.”  I brought the Hellcat around, bringing the enemy aircraft under my guns.  Without an aileron, the drone was wounded, and with limited maneuverability, there wasn’t much it could do to avoid what was coming.  I lined up my shot and fired off a long burst.  The first rounds went wide, but then I saw the rest hit home, chewing up the armor and biting deep into the aircraft.  Finally, one of the rounds found its mark in the engine, causing thick black smoke to billow from the front of F6F as it plunged towards the ocean.  I watched it begin to tumble out of control, the nose now fully engulfed in flames.  “Splash one,” I announced with more than a little excitement.  

“Great job, Max!” Yorktown cheered.  “Form up on my wing and we’ll head home.”

“Roger that.”

Sweat was still running down my back as I lined up the Hellcat on its final approach on the runway.  While the Hellcat was remarkably responsive, it was still one hell of a workout when you were in the middle of a dogfight.  Still, my experience with the aircraft had been and would be a positive one, even during simple procedures such as landing.  Even at low speeds, she was easy to control, keeping a gentle glide slope as I kept an eye on the landing signal manjuu.  Just before the wheels hit the tarmac, he signaled me to cut my engine, which I did.  A second later, I felt the Hellcat bump as it kissed the ground, followed a half-second later by the sudden jerk forward as the tailhook caught one of the arresting wires.  With another excellent landing under my belt, I leaned back and enjoyed the cool breeze that blew through the open canopy.  

The sounds of boot steps on the wing got my attention, and I turned to see Yorktown climbing up to greet me, a proud smile on her face.  “Well done, Max!” she congratulated me as she leaned in for a kiss.  “How do you feel?”

“Fantastic, confident, wonderful,” I answered honestly.  “Thank you for this wonderful surprise.  We doing this again tomorrow?”

To my surprise, she shook her head, a blush forming across her cheeks.  “No, tomorrow, you’re taking the day off and I’ll show you the other surprise…”

A/N-Oh what could this other surprise be?  Something that begins with an S and and ends with a t?  If you said sweatsuit, you’d be right!  Everyone in sweatsuits!  Big, formless, shape obscuring sweatsuits!  I kid, I kid.  Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving for all who celebrate it!  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!  

Chapter Text

“Here we are!” Hornet gleefully announced as she parked the car.  I looked around, wondering where the surprise was.  

“This is the beach,” I unhelpfully stated.  

“I see nothing escapes your keen eye,” she grinned as she got out of the vehicle.  “C’mon, Northampton and Yorktown are waiting for us.”

I scrambled to unbuckle my seatbelt and open my door.  “Uh, I’m not exactly dressed for the beach,” I protested.  

“Don’t worry, Big Sis Hornet’s gotcha covered,” she answered with a grin as she tossed me a duffel bag.  

I caught it with a whoof as I felt something heavy inside.  “..the hell’s in here?”

Hornet’s green eyes sparkled mischievously.  “Stuff you’ll need, like a swimsuit, and something you might want, just in case..” 

“Something I might want…” I numbly repeated.  “What are you all up to?”

“You’ll see,” she said as she playfully pushed me towards the changing rooms. “Now go on, she’s waiting for you!  And you’re welcome!”

Still wildly confused, I stumbled into the changing room and shut it behind me, shaking my head.  Hornet was an amazing wingwoman, but sometimes her “secret plans” damn near drove me nuts.  “Let’s see what sort of ‘essentials’ she’s packed for me…” I muttered to myself as I set the bag down on the bench and carefully unzipped it.  

Inside were my swim trunks, likely liberated from our apartment by Yorktown herself, along with sunscreen, a ballcap with “The Fighting Lady” emblazoned on it, clearly a “gift” from Hornet, sandals, sunglasses, and…another bag?

This one seemed a bit sturdier than the duffel bag, and I opened it to reveal a rather expensive-looking camera.  “What in the hell does she expect us to be doing out there?” I asked the empty changing room.  When I inevitably received no answer, I simply shrugged and began to change.  “Guess there’s only one way to find out…”

Once I finished packing my clothes into the duffel, I tossed it into the car, the camera bag slung over my shoulder as I made my way down towards the beach.  It looked pretty lively, which made sense, given it was a weekend.  I could see shipgirls from the Eagle Union, Dragon Empery, and Royal Navy spread out across the golden sands, either frolicking with one another, splashing in the surf, or just relaxing and getting a tan while enjoying the gentle sea breeze.    But who I couldn’t spot was Yorktown, Hornet, or Northampton.  I looked around for another moment, confused until I heard her voice behind me.  

“H-hello, Max,” Yorktown murmured, her voice barely audible above the sounds of the sea.  I turned to face her, wondering why her tone was so hesitant until I saw her and realized just what my surprise was.  

My beloved Fighting Lady had changed into a swimsuit, but not just any swimsuit.  The broad-brimmed hat certainly suited her, as did the almost sheer, detached sleeves and silken choker.  However, the fabric of just one of those sleeves could easily be used to make the rest of the swimsuit.  There was just enough ruffled fabric on top to keep her modesty, and strings crisscrossed her belly, pressing gently into her skin as they traveled down to her bikini bottom, which again, left very little to the imagination.  It was unbelievably racy, especially by Yorktown’s standards, but it suited her perfectly, showing off her ample curves and soft physique.  It was everything I could do not to simply gawk at her.  Or so I thought.  

“Max?”  Yorktown repeated for the third time as she waved her hand in front of my face, snapping me out of my trance.  So much for not gawking.  “Are you okay?”

“S-sorry,” I smiled sheepishly, feeling a heat creep across my cheeks that had nothing to do with the summer heat.  “I, uh, I wasn’t expecting to see you in a swimsuit like…that.”

“O-oh!” Yorktown softly exclaimed, her expression turning to one of worry.  “Do you not like it?”

“No, no!” I emphatically blurted out.  “I love it!  It’s sexy and you look absolutely breathtaking in it, I just…this isn’t something I’d expect you to pick out.”

Her smile returned, albeit with a blush to match mine as she glanced down at the revealing attire.  “Hornet picked it out,” she explained.  “She said I should be forward with you on our beach trip, and that an ‘equally forward swimsuit’ would help with that.”

“And is it helping?” I asked.

Without warning, she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around my waist and pulling me in for a sudden, passionate kiss.  I froze for just a moment before melting into her tender touch, my arms embracing her, feeling her soft skin beneath my fingertips.  When we finally broke, both beet-red and gasping for air, Yorktown smiled sheepishly and asked.  “Was that forward enough?”

“Mhm.  Yep,” I eagerly nodded, my brain dangerously close to a complete meltdown.  “That was very forward.  I have been forwarded.”

She giggled at my reaction and reached out to gently stroke my arm.  “Are you going to be alright?”

“Y-yeah,” I stammered as I took a deep breath.  “I’ll be good.  Just, ah, getting used to this new side of you.”

Her smile grew more confident.  “Good,” she nodded before her eyes fell on the camera bag.  “What’s that?”

“Camera,” I answered.  “Hornet gave it to me before sending me to go get changed.  Speaking of, where’d she go, anyway?”

“Oh, she and Northampton took a jetski and headed off to give Enterprise and Vestal a warm welcome when they get back.  I think that’s them over there.”  She pointed out to see, and I followed her finger to a fast-moving blue-and-white blue out on the water.  As I focused on the blur, I could barely make out two distinct figures on a watercraft of some kind.  

“I’ll take your word on it,” I shrugged.  “Think she’ll manage to convince those two to come down to the beach?”

“I think that’s going to depend on how the trip went,” Yorktown sighed.  “If everything worked, I think she’ll be able to talk them into it.”

“And if it didn’t?”

“Then it’s going to be very awkward around both of them for a while.”

“Hope this works, then.”  I turned back to look at Yorktown, a plan forming in my head.  One Hornet had been hoping for, no doubt.  “Since we’ve got this camera, feel like doing a little impromptu photoshoot?”

A worried frown pulled the corners of her mouth down as she looked around the beach.  “I don’t know if I’m comfortable doing that in front of all these people…” she softly stated.  “Besides, if you start taking pictures, then everyone’s going to want to get in on it.”

“Good point,” I conceded as I looked around at all the other shipgirls on the beach.  While I doubted any of them would intentionally break up what was intended to be a shared moment between a couple, I could see them very quickly butting in just out of curiosity and things escalating out of control from there.  “I think I know a place where we can be left alone…”

A few hundred yards away from the main beach, just out of sight of everyone, the sand gave way to rocky outcroppings, and wrecks could be seen, their hulks dashed upon the stone decades ago.  While it didn’t make for a fun time at the beach, it would serve as a beautiful backdrop for the photographs, and it would also give us the privacy we desired.  

“Not exactly the most comfortable location, but should make for some good pics,” I said as I turned to look at Yorktown.  “What do you think?”

“I think you’ve picked out a very tasteful backdrop, Max,” she smiled as she took a step forward.  “Where would you like me to stand?”  

I glanced up from the camera bag and looked around for a good spot.  After a few seconds, I settled on a spot.  “I think…there, on that little outcropping right there,” I said, pointing to it.  “Should be able to get some good shots there.”

“Just tell me when you’re ready, my light,” she smiled, her fingers trailing down my arm as she passed.  

“Of course, my rose,” I smiled back, blowing her a kiss.  

It had been a while, but I was relatively familiar with the camera Hornet had loaned us, and after a minute or two, I felt comfortable enough to start taking pictures.  “Alright,” I called out to Yorktown, who had sunk onto her knees, resting as comfortably as she could while she waited patiently.  “Ready when you are!”

“O-okay!” Yorktown shakily called back as I lifted the camera to my eye, bringing her into focus.  Tried to strike a pose a few times, but abandoned each one almost as soon as she began.  I lowered the camera and took a few steps for her.  “You okay?” I asked.  “You seem a little nervous.”

“I don't feel nervous, I just don't know how to pose in a bikini…”  She sighed heavily, lowering her head as she did so, her hat obscuring her face.  “Give me a minute to compose myself and I'll figure it out.”

“Sure thing.  You’ve got this,” I reassured her.  “Let me know when you’re good to go.”

I took a step back as Yorktown tried a few different poses, watching her work her way through it until at last, she nodded to herself, gave me a confident smile and a thumbs up, and said.  “Ready!”

I brought the camera back up and peered through the eyepiece.  “Alright, gimme what you got!”

What she had was absolute fire .  She leaned back, placing her arms on the rock as she leaned her head forward and gave me the blissful smile I’d quickly come to love.  “God damn , Yorktown,” I cheered her as I snapped a few shots.  “Killing it!”

Her confidence buoyed, she shifted positions, sprawling out on her side and lowering her head to obscure her eyes, keeping that dazzling smile in focus.  Or tried to, at least.  “Head up just a teensy bit, my love,” I called out, taking a few more pictures as she moved just enough.  “Outstanding!”

More poses and more pictures ensued, Yorktown’s confident smile beaming from each one.  As the photoshoot continued, the wind began to pick up, to the point where we had to pause briefly so Yorktown could keep a hand on her hat, lest the wind snatch it away.  That’s when I noticed one of the shoulder straps was beginning to become undone.  “Yorktown, your-” I began to warn her, but it was too late.

Just as she glanced down, the movement caused the knot to become undone, and half of her bikini top was taken by the wind.  With an embarrassed shriek, she quickly caught it, but by then, well, let’s just say I was glad I was the only one around to see what had happened.  Almost as soon as the wardrobe malfunction occurred, the wind immediately died down.  It was so fortuitous, in fact, that I almost expected to find Hornet nearby with a wind machine.  But after a quick check revealed that we were still the only two out here, I turned back to Yorktown, a reassuring smile on my face.  

“I’m so sorry, Max,” she inexplicably apologized.  “Are you alright?”

That was a new one.  I’d just gotten an unexpected eyeful of her buxom body and she was asking me if I was alright?  “Yeah, I’m fine!  You okay?  Nobody saw us.”

She visibly relaxed, her hand still holding the loose part of the bikini top to her breast.  “I-I’m fine.  Just a little surprised, that’s all.”  She smiled, a soft, confident smile, and I suddenly knew this was the shot I’d been waiting for.  Without another word, I quickly framed her in the eyepiece and took the picture.  While there were other, better ones I had taken, this one was the one that stayed with me, the one I kept on my desk with the other family photos wherever we were stationed.  “Did…you just take a picture?”

For a second, I thought maybe I’d gone too far.  “I-I did,” I answered honestly.  “If you want, I can delete it.”

“No!” Yorktown quickly called back, her cheeks flushing slightly.  “I want to at least see it, first.  A-and besides, m-maybe…maybe we could take some more… intimate shots?”

Before I could ask what she meant by that, she lowered her hand, making her intent crystal clear.  “I think we could do that,” I smiled as I focused on her once more…

As we were getting dressed and putting the camera equipment away, we saw Enterprise and Vestal heading in towards the docks, with Hornet and Northampton beside them on the jet ski.  “Looks like they’re back,” I stated, pointing to the figures entering the harbor.  

“Think it went well?” Yorktown asked as she stepped beside me, tying up the last string on her bikini.  

“Hard to say,” I shrugged.  “Vestal and Enterprise aren’t holding hands, but maybe they’ve just decided to take it slow?  Or they don’t want to announce it like that?  Guess we’ll find out in a little bit if they show up at the beach.”

“And if they don’t?”

“Then I’m sure Hornet will fill us in.”

From across the water, we both jumped as we heard Hornet holler, “ WOO-HOO!  TRIPLE DATE! ”

We shared an amused grin before I shrugged again.  “Guess we’ll see them on the beach then.”

We made our way back to the beach, and I stowed the camera bag back in the car after I made sure the pictures had been moved to the memory card, which I put into my duffel bag.  While I was getting that handled, Yorktown had set up a beach umbrella and laid down a single large towel for us to lay on.  

No sooner than we had gotten comfortable we heard a familiar voice.  “Hey, Yorktown, Commander!  Got room for one more under there?”

We turned to see Vestal, wearing a black bikini, a broad-brimmed white hat with a blue ribbon, and a beach towel tucked under one arm.  “Just one?” I asked, looking her up and down.  

“Enterprise will be along in just a minute, but she’s gonna go scuba diving anyway,” she smiled and gestured to the empty spot in the shade.  “May I?”

“Be our guest,” I answered as Enterprise rounded the corner.  She scanned the beach before finally spotting us and heading over.  As I expected from Vestal’s comment, she was wearing a wetsuit and full scuba gear, with the flippers held in her hand.  

“Max, Yorktown, good to see you again,” she nodded to us in turn.  

“Hey, Enterprise,” I replied, unable to keep the grin off of my face.  “How was the trip?  Anything to note?”

For a second, she looked surprised, then it clicked and she gave me something of a dirty look.  “I take it you already heard Hornet.”

“I think everyone heard Hornet,” I chuckled.  “But I think Yorktown and I were the only ones on the beach who understood what she meant.”

That seemed to mollify her a bit, and she nodded before she glanced out at the ocean.  “I’m going to go take a dip while the light’s still good, but I’ll let Vestal fill you in on the details.”

“And I’m sure we’ll be able to catch up later, as well, sister,” Yorktown smiled as she leaned over, resting her head on my shoulder.  

The corner of Enterprise’s mouth twitched upward in a grin.  “Later.”

As she walked away, Yorktown and I turned our attention to Vestal, who was looking at us with an amused smirk.  “You know, I realized what you were up to from the second you gave us that assignment, Commander.”

“It was Hornet’s idea,” I said, perhaps a little too quickly and defensively.  “My plan was way less subtle.”

Vestal’s eyebrow rose as she fixed me with a quizzical stare.  “Less subtle than putting two people on a cruise to islands that all looked like romantic vacation getaways?”

“Indeed,” I nodded.  “My plan was to lock you both in a room and tell you that you couldn’t leave until you hashed out your feelings.”

“When you put it that way,” Vestal sighed, “This was a very subtle option…”

“Mhm,” I agreed eagerly, “But don’t leave us in suspense, tell us everything.  How long did it take before you two…confronted your feelings?”

“Two days.”

“Two days?” Yorktown repeated incredulously.  “Even though you knew what was going on?”

“Your sister had something to do with it, I’m sure,” I surmised.  “She’s not exactly the kind of person to wear her heart on her sleeve.”

“Yep,” Vestal confirmed with a rueful grin.  “We had our fair share of quiet moments together, times when things got…not quite intimate, but exceptionally close.  And I could see she felt some sort of attraction, what with that blush every time we got close to each other.  But I wanted to see if she’d make the first move.”

“She didn’t did she?” Yorktown sighed.  “I guess that’s something we have in common…”

“Guess Hornet got all the forward genes in the family,” I quipped, prompting a chuckle from both shipgirls.  “So I take it you had to make the first move?”

Vestal smiled softly at the memory.  “I did.  We’d finished up for the day, and we were about to have dinner.  Enty was going to have ration bars, again , you know how she is about those.”

“We know,” Yorktown and I answered in unison.  

The repair ship grinned before continuing.  “Well, I decided enough was enough so I hid the ration bars and with a few candles, turned the officer’s mess into a beautiful, romantic dining room.  Once she came and asked where her food was, I brought her to the mess and said to her, ‘We have been dancing around this for months now, and I think we need to just face this head-on.  I have feelings for you, and I think you have feelings for me.  If I’m wrong, then we can forget this ever happened, your rations are in the enlisted mess.  But if I’m right, then I want you to sit down with me and have a proper, romantic dinner.’”

“Awww, that’s so sweet!” Yorktown cooed.  “I wish I could have been that forward…”

“I dunno, I thought your drunken confession was very forward,” I smiled up at her, kissing her on the cheek.  “But that does sound like an excellent romantic gesture.”

“Thank you,” Vestal smiled with a bow of her head.  “Now, if you don’t mind, I think I’d like to relax and enjoy the calm before Hornet springs whatever’s next on us…”

“Good idea,” I chuckled and we all got comfortable, watching the waves roll in and out, Yorktown snuggled up beside me.  As far as surprises go, I could hardly think of anything better…

A/N-Alright, whoever guessed swimsuit, give yourselves a cookie!  Oh, but what’s coming NEXT  week?  I’ll leave you with a little clue.  <Not every king is just.>  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

Whatever Hornet had in mind, she was certainly taking her time on it.  We fully expected to, at the very least, hear from her regarding her plans for a triple date, yet it had been all quiet on her end.  Of course, this has done little to assuage our concerns.  After all, what could she be planning that’s taking so much time?  How much prep work is she having to put into all this?  But with nothing to do but wait, we decided to carry on with our lives.  Which, at the moment, included fleet exercises.  

“It feels so great for us to be back on patrol!” Hornet enthusiastically declared.  “Back together, better than ever, I am so pumped and ready to go!”

“Might wanna reel it in just a tad, hon,” Northampton giggled over the radio.  “We’re just doing testing for now.”

There was a soft sigh as Hornet’s exuberance was tamped down.  “I know, but still, when was the last time all of us were out here on a mission?  A year?”

“Sounds about right,” Northampton agreed.  

“I’m just glad we’re all together, even if this is just for a quiet cruise,” Yorktown spoke up, smiling at me from across the holomap. “Besides, unlike you two, I’ve been out of practice for a little while.  I’d prefer to get back into the swing of things when I’m not under fire.”

“Fair enough,” Hornet conceded.  “But for what it’s worth, I think you could kick any Siren’s ass right now.”

Yorktown blushed and shook her head, “Thank you for the vote of confidence, Hornet, but I’d still like to get some practice.”

“It’s always a good idea to train yourself to become stronger!” Essex eagerly agreed.

Before I could say something, Enterprise cut in and changed the subject.  “Will you be taking part in the exercise, Commander?”

“Yeah.  I’ll be up there to get a feel for the Hellcat with Tiny Tims under the wings and to help Essex with data collection.  And of course, with the breathtaking Fighting Lady on my wing.”  I glanced at her from across the holomap, returning her blissful smile with one of my own.  

Even through the comms, I could hear Hammann rolling her eyes as she let out an exasperated sigh.  “Would you two get a room already?”

Chuckles and laughter echoed over the radio, and Yorktown and I shared a bemused grin.  “We have several, I’ll have you know,” I teased.  

“ Ugh , I know!” she groaned.  “Just…keep your pants on when we’re working, pervert .”

I cut the microphone and laughed uproariously.  Yorktown grinned over at me and slowly shook her head.  “It’s nice to know she hasn’t changed a bit.”

“That she hasn’t,” I agreed with a smirk.  “Wanna go suit up and join the mile-high club?”

“Max!” she half-heartedly protested with a laugh.  “No!  You’re lucky Hammann didn’t hear that.  She’d probably have an aneurysm.”  She shooed me away with a playful grin.  “Now you go and get changed, I’ll go ahead and coordinate the launch from here.”

“How’s the view from up there, Commander?” Hornet crackled in my ear.  

“Out-damn-standing,” I grinned as I circled the assembled fleet.  Four fleet carriers, one cruiser, and one destroyer all steaming at full speed is an impressive sight and one I’ll never forget.  

“And how’s the Hellcat handling?” Essex inquired.  

“Little sluggish on the turn, but nothing too bad,” I answered as I banked right and set a course for the target area.  “I’d be at a disadvantage during a dogfight with these things, but I’m still more maneuverable than an SBD.”  

“Good, good,” Essex replied somewhat distractedly as if she were taking notes.  Knowing Essex, she probably was.  Fifteen minutes had passed in relative quiet, simply enjoying the view and the flight before Essex spoke up again.  

“Alright, let’s go ahead and get started.  Looks like you’re already heading for the target area, let me go ahead and summon a-”  Her voice cut out so quickly that I initially suspected my radio had failed.  Then she came back with a concerned tone that wasn’t there before.  

"We've got a Siren battlegroup on radar, Commander," Essex's voice crackled over the radio.  "Looks like four carriers plus escorts."  There was a brief pause.  "They've launched a squadron of fighters, headed your way.  Think you might wanna head back home."

While part of me bristled at the thought of turning tail and running, I also knew I wasn't about to take any unnecessary risks with my life and Yorktown's.  "Understood,” I complied, trying to keep the disappointment from my voice as I turned the aircraft back towards the friendly carriers.  “On our way back."

As we headed back for the relative safety of the task force, I glanced up at the rearview mirror and saw the black dots of the approaching enemy aircraft.  The longer I stared at them, the closer they got, and I suddenly got an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.  "Hey, Essex, can you do a little math for me?  Are we gonna make it back to you guys before those fighters overtake us?"

"One sec,"  Essex answered before she fell silent as she ran the numbers.  I glanced up again at the black dots, which were rapidly growing in both size and definition.   "Uh, negative.  Looks like they'll be on you before you get to us."

"Then it's a dogfight," I concluded.  "Have Enterprise launch fighters and form up on us ASAP."

"Already on our way," Enterprise cut in, and ahead of me, I could see Enterprise wink out of existence in a flash as she summoned her rigging and began launching her F4F Wildcats.  

Almost as soon as Enterprise’s fighters took to the sky, Essex made another announcement, worry beginning to creep into her voice.  "They just launched another squadron."

My answer was immediate, although I had a suspicion this was going to provoke a further escalation.  "Hornet, get up here."

"Hang in there, Commander, cavalry's on its way!" Hornet cheered, and once again, Essex took the radio.  

"Uhhhhhhh..." She sounded downright anxious at this point.

"This is not a sound that fills me with confidence, Essex.  What's going on?"

"They launched more fighters."

I expected as much, although one more squadron shouldn’t worry her that much.  Unless…  "How many?"

"All of them?  Looks like at least three squadrons worth"  

"Oh boy," I muttered.  "Launch every fighter we've got and have them form up on me.  Full scramble.  You’re going to be our Fighter Director Officer for the day."  

“Copy that,” she coolly replied as she began to settle into her new duty.  “All fighters, form up on the Commander.  Should give you just enough time to get sorted before the Sirens reach you.  ETA is three minutes.”

“Understood,” I replied, followed quickly by acknowledgments from Hornet and Enterprise.  I switched over to my private channel with Yorktown.  "Gonna be one hell of a furball.  Think you're up to it?"

"You wouldn't ask if you didn't think I was ready, right?"  Even through the static, I could hear the playful grin on her face.

I laughed.  “Exactly.”

Her tone grew softer, more serious.  “What about you?”

“A little nervous,” I answered honestly.  “But this would hardly be the first time I’ve been in danger and at least this time I have an effective way to fight back.”  

“Good point.”  There was an awkward silence as we watched the other fighters begin to climb to our altitude.  Yorktown was the first to break it.  

“Remember, let me know when your machine guns have run dry and I’ll get them reloaded,” she helpfully offered.  “The Tiny Tim’s can’t be reloaded mid-flight, I’m afraid.  For that, you’ll need to return to the ship.”

“Thank you,” I smiled grimly as I glanced over at her on my wing.  “I’m fine with not having the rockets reload.  Less weight means more maneuverability.”

“Precisely.”

I looked over my shoulder at the approaching squadrons, now looking like an angry cloud of flies.  “So, do you think we should try and out-climb them?”

“Not in this case,” she answered.  “Siren fighters can match our climb rates, and we’re clearly the target so any change in altitude would be pointless.”

“So how do we wanna engage them, then?”

“In this case,” she sighed, “We’d have to go head to head.  Unless we’ve got a way to break up the formation.”

That was a rather daunting and uncomfortable process.  Sure, I had six .50 caliber guns at the ready, but it was still one hell of a gamble.  Fortunately, I had an unexpected idea.  “What about the Tiny Tims?”

Yorktown was caught off-guard by the suggestion.  “What?”   

“We could use a rocket salvo to scatter them,” I elaborated.  “Yeah, I know they aren’t accurate, but a squadron’s worth of Tiny Tims should at the very least get them to break formation.”

There was a moment’s silence while she thought it over.  “That might work.  Good way to drop the added weight and if we can get them to break off, it gives us an extra edge in the merge, too.  Good thinking, Max.”

I smiled at her compliment.  “Thank you, my rose.”

“What’re you two lovebirds chattin’ about up here?” Hornet teased as her squadron formed up around us.  

“The Commander here had an idea,” Yorktown explained.  “We’ll break up the incoming formation with a volley from my squadron’s Tiny Tims.”

“Good thinking, Commander,” Enterprise complimented me.  “That should give us a good opening to exploit.”

“Hate to interrupt,” Essex interjected, “but those fighters are going to be on you in sixty seconds.”  

“Understood,” I acknowledged as I banked left, bringing my nose around to finally face our pursuers.  “Guns charged, safeties off.  Ready for rocket volley.  Call it, Yorktown.”

If there was any surprise at me handing off the shot to her, I didn’t hear it in her voice.  “Keep your nose above your target when you fire,” she instructed.  “Wait…wait…fire full volley!”

“It’s away!”  I repeatedly squeezed the trigger, feeling the Hellcat lighten as a muffled whoomph came from beneath.  The rockets leapt forward on smoky contrails, headed straight for the enemy squadrons.  There was a moment, a pregnant pause when the contrails disappeared and the enemy kept coming at us.  I suddenly felt a flash of doubt.  Had the rockets been duds?  Did the Siren fighters just not care about losses, willing to potentially sacrifice themselves for a killing blow?  And then it happened.

The aircraft at the front of the formation suddenly scattered like a startled school of fish, breaking off in every direction to escape the rockets, leaving the fighters behind them with little to no time to react.  While most rockets completely missed, some found their mark, explosions blossoming along the back line of fighters, sending them tumbling towards the sea wreathed in flames or simply vanishing in massive fireballs.  

The rest rocketed past us and each of us broke off into our own sections as the dogfight began in earnest.  “Taking the bandit as ten o’clock low,” I announced as I pushed the Hellcat into a dive, lining up for a shot.  

“I’m on your wing, Commander,” Yorktown responded as she and two other Jolly Pirate Hellcats followed suit.  The Siren fighter, somehow sensing I was on his tail, broke left in an attempt to shake me.  And had this been my first time, he might have gotten away.  But after the rigorous training Yorktown put me through, I maintained a steady hand on my F6F and stayed right on his tail.  When he tried to break right, a burst of fire from Yorktown’s Hellcat forced him back to the left…and right into my crosshairs.  I saw the tracer rounds connect with the airframe, chunks of metal hurled from the aircraft until the bullets connected with something both volatile and vital.  The Siren’s left engine burst into flame and it tumbled from the sky, leaving only an oily-black column of smoke in its wake.  

“Confirmed kill!” Yorktown cheered over the radio.  “Nice shot!”

I couldn’t stop smiling, even as I pulled up and back into the furball.  “Nice job setting him up for me, by the way.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” she demurred.  “Got a straggler, two o’clock- break left NOW !”

I instantly followed her instructions, snap-rolling to port as I saw a black shadow fly past, enough to violently rattle the Hellcat.  “Where’d he go, where’d he go?” I called out as I continued in a tight left turn, looking for the bandit who’d almost splashed us.  

“He’s at your nine o’clock, pulling up for another run.”

I looked to my immediate left as I banked, finally catching sight of him as he was pulling up in a high-G maneuver no human could survive, the vapor contrails trailing off the edges of his wings like a dancer’s ribbons.  “Not if I’ve got anything to say about it.” I grimly quipped.  “I’m going after him, cover me.”  

“Got your back,” Yorktown responded as she pulled up and away, keeping an eye on me from above as I dove down on the Siren.  While pulling a high-G climb like that is certainly impressive, and one no human could follow, it also caused the aircraft to bleed a lot of energy in exchange for altitude.  If I could figure out where he was going to slow down, I would have a nice, broad target.  I aimed just above where he was and fired off a short burst.  When I pushed the nose down, I saw I’d missed completely, and at the rate I was closing, I’d only have one more shot to get him.  I fired again, glancing behind me as I soared past.  No smoke, no fire, and now I was in trouble.  

“He’s on your tail,” Yorktown stated, the faintest bit of worry creeping into her voice.  I immediately tried to shake him loose, snap-rolling left, catching a glimpse of tracer rounds to my right as I did so.  While none of his shots connected, the enemy fighter stayed right on my tail, refusing to be dislodged.  

“I can’t shake him!” I called out as I slammed the rudder hard right, slewing the Hellcat so hard that I thought I was going to stall out.  “I’m entirely defensive!”

My lover was quick with a response as she dove down from above.  “Thatch weave, go.”

“Copy that, banking right.”  I pulled the F6F to the right, trying to keep an eye on the bandit behind me, where I was going, and Yorktown’s Hellcat all at once.  I suddenly envied chameleons and their ability to independently swivel their eyes.  After a few tense seconds, I spotted her off my nose, closing in dead ahead.  

“Head straight toward me, I don’t want him to see me coming until it’s too late,” Yorktown instructed and I quickly leveled out.  At our rate of closure, Yorktown and I would be much more intimate and intermingled than either of us would care to be in about fifteen seconds.  “On my mark, bank hard right.”  Five seconds passed.  “Mark!”

I rolled the Hellcat onto the starboard wing just as Yorktown rolled to port, our aircraft passing within inches of each other as she roared past me, guns blazing.  The Siren fighter had no chance.  He erupted into a massive fireball, debris hurtled in all directions.  “God damn , but that’s one hell of an impressive kill, Yorktown!”

Before Yorktown could say anything, Hornet cut in.  “Y’all practice that or something?  Glad I caught that on camera!”

“Little bit,” I smirked as Yorktown formed back up on my wing, and we climbed into the dogfight once more.  All around us, we could see black pillars of smoke heading towards the sea, or massive, inky clouds indicating defeated aircraft.  Friends or foes, I couldn’t say, but I was starting to notice the Navy blue fighters were beginning to outnumber the Siren’s black craft.  

I spotted a pair of fighters disengaging from the battle, and it looked like they were going to try and gain some altitude.  “Yorktown, fighters, eleven o’clock.  Looks like they’re going to try and jump the group from above.”

“I see them,” she replied.  “Ready when you are.”

“Roger.  I’m taking the one on the right, the other half of the section can get the one on the left.”  

I pulled in behind the fighter as it began to point its nose skyward.  Having learned from my previous mistake, I pulled the nose up just enough and squeezed off a burst.  This time, the shot was perfect.  I could see the tracers arcing through the air just as the Siren pulled up into my sights.  One of my rounds must have found something good because he erupted into a massive fireball, one that I had no time to dodge.  

Smoke and flame surrounded me, and I heard metal clattering off of my aircraft.  I closed my eyes as I passed through and silently prayed I didn’t hit anything large enough to take me out.  As soon as the rattling stopped, I opened my eyes and looked around for any damage.  

“Max, are you alright?” Yorktown called out to me, the worry clearly in her voice now.  

“I’m good!” I reflexively answered as I checked all the dials and gauges.  “Yeah, yeah, I’m good.”  My eyes flicked up to check out the tail in the rearview mirror…only to find it wasn’t there anymore.  “Well, mostly.  My mirror’s gone.”

“I’ll stay extra tight on your tail, then,” she responded as she formed up on my wing.  “The other section is still on the other fighter, let’s give them a hand.”  

“Roger tha-” Suddenly, I caught movement in the corner of my eye and turned to see a Siren fighter falling out of the sky.  A wing was gone and it was consumed in flame, but it was still firing away with its guns in a vain attempt to take someone down with it.  “Yorktown, break right!”

She rolled right and managed to dodge most of the incoming fire, but one of the rounds punched clean through her wing, leaving a gaping hole that ignited almost immediately.  Even with self-sealing tanks, a fire that size was going to consume the entire wing in seconds.  

“Your left wing is gone, Yorktown, bail out!  Bail out!” I called out to her over the radio, but I didn’t hear any response.  My heart leapt into my throat as I watched her Hellcat suddenly climb.  “Hornet, Yorktown’s in trouble!”

“On it!”  There was a brief pause as Hornet’s fighters surrounded us to check on her sister.  “I’ve got movement…she’s bailing out.”

I let out a soft sigh as a wave of relief crashed over me.  It would be short-lived.  There was a confused noise on Hornet’s end before she exclaimed, “What the hell is she doing?”

I looked back up at Yorktown’s stricken fighter, almost completely obscured by thick black billowing smoke and angry flames when suddenly, she burst through, running along the wingtip until she leapt off of it, arms outstretched.  

“Oh my god,” I muttered as I realized where she was aiming.  As she fell, her Hellcat finally detonated in a massive fireball behind her, framing her perfectly mid-swan dive before she tucked into a roll and landed on my starboard wing.  Feathered the Hellcat, making sure her landing didn’t send me into a roll and that I didn’t overcorrect and send her flying.  Once we were stable, I looked over at her and activated my radio.  “When I said you were my wingman, I didn’t mean literally,” I quipped.  

This woman had the audacity to blush and shrug her shoulders before she blew me a kiss and backflipped off the wing, dropping down into another fighter as she summoned it.  

“God, I love her,” I sighed as I watched her form back up on my wing.  

“Uhh, sir, you do know you’re still transmitting, right?” Essex’s voice cut in.  

Oops .  “Hell yeah, I do!” I confidently lied.  “I love her and I want that on the record!”

There was a momentary pause, a quiet sigh, and then, “Aye-aye, sir.  Documenting your love.”  There was another pause, and then.  “Hold that thought, Commander.  I’ve got a Siren attack force coming in low and fast.  Looks like they’re trying to slip past us and hit us while all our cover is tied up.”

“We’ve got this, Commander,” Enterprise volunteered.  “You and Yorktown go handle them.”

“Copy that,” I acknowledged.  “VF-17, on me.  Essex, vector me in.”  

As the other eleven Hellcats formed up behind me, I dove out of the furball and back towards the carriers.  “Come to heading one six zero, enemy formation is at angels one, fifteen miles out.”

“One six zero, angels one, copy.”  I brought my fighter on the new vector, scanning the sea ahead of us as we continued our descent.  “Move up Northampton and Hamman ahead of Enterprise and the others.  And let’s start preparing a strike package of our own.”

“Roger that, sir.”

Today was going to be a very busy day.

A/N-Okay, sure, your shipfu is cool, but is she “swan dives off of an exploding Hellcat and onto your wing” cool?  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

“Enemy strike group still closing, range, ten miles.”

I could see the Siren bombers ahead of me now, the glow of their engines and running lights a stark contrast to the dark blue of the Pacific Ocean.  “I have visual,” I reported.  “Looks like about three squadrons of bombers.  Gonna hit ‘em from above and try and scatter them.  Have Hamman and Northampton ready with AA for anything that may break through.”

“What about hitting you?” Northampton interjected.

“Or Yorktown?” Hammann added.  

“Don’t worry about us,” I answered with a small smile.  “We’ll break off as soon as we’re in range.”

“Alright, if you say so…” I could hear the concern and doubt in Northampton’s voice, but I also knew she’d stay the course.  

As much as I would have loved to further reassure her, there was no time.  “VF-17, into the attack,” I ordered as I rolled into a dive, followed by Yorktown and the rest of the squadron.  The Hellcat shuddered and rattled as I swooped down on the bombers, who had yet to spot us.  I lined up a shot on the lead aircraft and pulled the trigger, sending bolts of tracer fire dancing along its surface.  The bomber quickly erupted in flames and tumbled out of formation before detonating in a brilliant fireball.  

Not hesitating for a second, I brought the nose around and fired off another burst at another bomber, this one scoring a lucky shot on the control center.  Its running lights and engines cut out and it too fell away in a slow, gentle glide toward the waves below.  A surge of elation raced through me as we roared through the enemy formation, sending most of them scattering in all directions.  

As I glanced behind me, Essex gave a helpful update.  “That got most of them, but it looks like we’ve still got a squadron approaching.”

“On it,” I grunted as I pulled the Hellcat out of the dive, feeling the g-forces pressing me down into the seat.  My vision turned grey, and darkness crept in around the edges as my heartbeat thundered in my ears, a counterpoint to my roaring, ragged breaths.  “Yorktown, have the squadron start hunting the stragglers, but stay on my wing.”

“Right with you, Max.”

As I leveled off, and then pulled back into a climb, the pressure lessened, and I found color returning to my world.  I scanned for the bombers that hadn’t broken off from the attack, spotting the mass of arrow-shaped craft still homing in on the task force.  Despite their lack of turrets or rearward-facing weaponry, they maintained a tight formation, making them easy pickings for us.  

But first, I needed to make a request of my wingwoman.  “Yorktown, top me off, would you?”

“Reloading,” she curtly replied as she settled onto my left wing.  “Ten seconds.”

By my estimation, that meant I’d be ready to fire by the time the bombers were in range.  “Copy that.  I’ll get the ones on the right, you get the ones on the left.”

“Understood.”

In my head, I counted down as we slowly closed the distance.  I waited for more of them to break off, to try and evade, but they stayed locked on course.  Whether it was simplistic programming, or the Siren commanding them had decided to simply gamble that they’d get into weapons range before we downed them all, I’ll never know.  But at that moment in time, I really didn’t care.  I had a fleet to defend.  

Just as I reached zero, I felt the Hellcat tremble ever so slightly and heard the familiar clicking of the guns charging as the reload completed.  I wasted no time in pulling the trigger, and a half dozen machine guns barked in unison as I watched the bomber on the far right of the formation break apart.  Shrapnel was hurled in all directions, and in two thick black puffs of smoke, both engines died and it fell away.  I wanted to focus on it and make sure it was dead, but there was no time.  I needed to move on to the next target.  

I swiftly slid the Hellcat into position behind the next bomber, opening up as I went.  The first bursts went wide across his nose, the next tearing into the armor plating and biting deep inside.  Without warning, the Siren went into the vertical, standing on its tail for a half-second and I had to push the stick forward into a last-second dive to avoid slamming into him.  As I dove below him, I prayed he didn’t stall and crash through my rear fuselage.  With my rearview mirror gone I had no way of knowing what happened to him next.  When I didn’t feel any bullet impacts or see any tracer rounds whizzing by me, I assumed he was at least out of the fight.  

The next bomber wasn’t as lucky as the first two.  With a single burst of my guns, the rounds hammered into something juicy, and the Siren came apart in a brilliant fireball.  I sideslipped around it and continued firing, catching the next aircraft in the left engine.  It flamed out, and the plane tumbled out of the sky as it burned out of control.  Three down, three to go.  

By now, I had fully expected them to break, to try and evade, to do something, anything to try and avoid being splashed.  And yet, they bravely charged on.  If a Siren could even feel anything akin to bravery.  Then, as I was lining up the fourth bomber, they all suddenly dipped, using the dive to give them an extra burst of speed.  

At first, I thought they were about to take evasive action, but when they continued on the same heading, I became confused.  Fortunately, Yorktown answered my unspoken question.  “They’re getting ready for their attack run.  It’s now or never.”  

“Roger that,” I grimly replied as I squeezed the trigger, walking my fire across the wing and towards the engines, watching as the rounds stripped chunks off of the bomber.  Like the others before it, the craft caught fire, lost speed, and hurtled towards a vast and unforgiving sea.  “Two to go on my end, how about you?”

“Same.”  

“They’re going to be within range in ten seconds,” Northampton warned us.  “Better make this quick!”

“We’re on it!” I called out as I poured fire into the second-to-last bomber.  Thick smoke burst from the engines just as my guns fell silent.  I squeezed the trigger again, but nothing happened.  I glanced over at Yorktown to see her take down her own second-to-last Siren.  Out of ammunition and out of time, I pulled back on the stick to get clear of the inevitable flak.  “Guns are dry, last two are all yours!  Yorktown, break!”

“Get clear, Commander, we’re going loud!”  Northampton wasted no time, laying down a withering barrage of AA fire, swiftly joined by Hammann.  Black bursts of flak, mingled with the glowing lines of tracer fire, made short work of the two remaining bombers.  They barely lasted three seconds before they were reduced to burning hulks.

“Nice shooting, you two!” I cheered as I continued the turn, looking for the rest of the squadron.  I saw the massive columns of smoke that dotted the sky first, then after a few more seconds, spotted them.  It looked like they were in the process of mopping up the last remaining Siren bombers.  “Looks like that’s the last of the enemy strike force.  Essex, can you confirm?”

“Wait one.”  There was a pause as Essex cross-checked the data feeds she was getting from everyone in the fleet.  “Confirm, that’s the enemy strike force out of action.”

“We just finished up here,” Enterprise added.  “And our strike packages are prepped and ready to go.”

“Same here,” Yorktown’s voice crackled.  There was a brief pause, and then she asked, “How’s your fuel level, Commander?”

I glanced down at the gauge and felt a pang of disappointment.  “About half.”  If my math was correct, if I joined the strike force, I would run out of fuel somewhere on the return leg.  “Not enough to make it there and back.”

“Well, then we’ll just have to shorten the return journey,” Yorktown all but giggled.  

It took me a second to realize what she was hinting at.  “You mean meeting me halfway back?”

“Or sooner, if we head that way now,” she replied.  “I think between the four of us, we can make short work of a few mass-produced Siren carriers, don’t you?”

I chuckled to myself before thumbing the radio back on.  “I’ve seen you fight the Devil herself to a standstill.  You could take all four of these by your lonesome.  These poor Sirens don’t stand a chance against all of you.”

“Hell, yeah!” Hornet whooped.  “Let’s kick ass!”

“Well, Essex,” I grinned.  “Let’s get this show on the road.”

“Aye-aye, sir!” Even over the radio, I could hear the enthusiasm in her voice.  “All ships, come about to course two-three-five.  Launch all aircraft and rendezvous at Point Charlie, angels seven.  Yorktown, Hornet, and Enterprise fighter squadrons, climb to angels ten for cover.”

There was a chorus of acknowledgment, and I pulled the Hellcat up into a gentle climb as I watched plane after plane roll off the decks of the carriers, heading to their squadron assembly points.  As we began the long, slow ascent, I heard Yorktown’s voice come in on what I thought was our private channel.  “How many did you get?”

“Uhh…seven, I think so far,” I answered after tallying them up in my head.  “Two fighters, five bombers.”

“Ace in a day, an impressive achievement, Max,” she proudly complimented me.  

I felt a blush creep across my cheeks as I grinned.  “I had one hell of a teacher.  And wingman.”

“You’re too kind,” she demurred, and I could hear the embarrassed smile in her tone.  “By the way, about this ‘Devil’...what did you mean by that?”

“Oh!” I started, feeling somewhat foolish that I didn’t explain this earlier to her.  “Back in the Reality Lens, at the end, the Arbiters found us and began…deleting the entire virtual space.  But they couldn’t fully delete it while one of them, the Devil, was still in there.  So the…you…from the Reality Lens stayed behind to fight her, to keep her there.  To save me.  She fought an Arbiter on her home turf and still managed to fight her to a standstill.  That’s how I know just how powerful you’ll be one day.  I watched a weaker version of you fight the unmaking of creation to a standstill.  I know what you’re made of.”

There was a long silence on the other end.  “Max…” she finally said softly, her voice almost drowned out by the engine.  “I…I…don’t know what to say.  I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I smiled over at her.  

“D’awwww,” Hornet suddenly interjected, startling both of us.  “I’m such a sucker for a love story.”

“H-Hornet!”  Yorktown stammered, “Th-this is a private channel, how did you get access to it?!?”

“Bad news, sis.  You didn’t switch channels.”

“Does…does that mean everyone just heard all of that?”

“Yes.”

“Yep!”

“Affirmative.”  

“Unfortunately.”

I’ll leave it to you to decide who the “Unfortunately” was.  

Yorktown, meanwhile, made a noise that sounded like an upset tea kettle, and I looked over to see her with her head in her hands as she tried not to die from embarrassment.  Even though I couldn’t see her face from where I was, I knew she would be as red as a tomato.  

“So, Commander,” Hornet continued, clearly taking joy in her sibling’s mortification.  “Ace in a day and the love of a good woman.  Not bad, huh?”

I knew what I was about to say was going to make things way worse, but I just couldn’t let it pass by.  “Not a good woman, Hornet, a great woman.”

“Ooh, you silver-tongued devil, you,” Hornet grinned as Yorktown made another strangled cry of embarrassment.  “But we may wanna ease off a bit.”

“Roger that,” I chuckled before glancing back at the Fighting Lady.  “You okay, Yorktown?”

“Uh-huh…” came the muffled response before she lowered her hands and shook her head.  “I can’t believe I did that…”

“Ah, it’s alright,” I reassured her.  “We’re all family and friends here, and we didn’t discuss anything terribly salacious.”

“If you say so…” she replied, although she didn’t seem very confident.  

“What I wanna know is what sort of badass stunt digital me pulled in the Reality Lens, Commander!”  Hornet enthusiastically declared.  

“Ahhh…” I awkwardly began. “You…fought really hard?  Sorry, Hornet, but you were kinda the first one to get deleted from the Reality Lens….”

“Are you serious?!?”

“I’m afraid so.”

There was a pause on the radio before I heard her sigh.  “Damn.  Well, I guess I’m gonna have to make it up by being doubly badass in the real world!”

“That’s the spirit,” I smirked.

Another voice, less bossy than it usually was, cut in.  “Commander…” Hammann hesitantly started, “Did…did I do anything brave?”

“You were the bravest,” I smiled as I recalled her digital exploits.  “You took on an Arbiter, dodging and weaving through her fire before jumping onto her rigging and stabbing her in the heart to defeat her.”

Hamman’s voice was both awed and subdued.  “...whoa.”

“Damn, Hammann, that’s metal,” Hornet commented.  

“Hate to break up the party,” Essex interrupted, “But you’re approaching the Siren fleet.  Game faces on, people.”

I tightened the straps on my harness and settled in as we moved into the attack.  Flak bursts and tracer fire began to erupt from the Siren ships, but it was relatively ineffectual, with only one or two Avengers or SBDs being downed or forced back.  These vessels relied on escorts or fighters to defend them, and without either, they were sitting ducks.  

“Looks like they’re trying to get last-ditch fighter squadrons launched,” Enterprise observed.  

I looked down and saw tiny pinpricks leaping from the bows of the carriers like fleas leaping from a dog.  “I see them.  Let’s pounce ‘em and rack up some free kills.”

“Yee-haw!” Hornet hollered as all four fighter squadrons dove down on the carriers.  With the Sirens focused on trying to shoot down the incoming SBDs and Avengers, they had no guns left for us, and we set upon the helpless fighters as they struggled to gain speed or altitude.  

I lined up on a fighter that had just launched, its afterburners leaving a column of blue fire behind it as it desperately tried to gain speed.  A single burst from my guns punctured the left engine, spraying fuel that quickly ignited and blew the aircraft apart.  I pulled up and circled back around, joining the queue of fighters that were now taking their turns shooting the Siren planes down as fast as they were being launched.  Not that there were many left to launch.  The bombs of the SBDs and torpedoes from the Avengers began finding their marks, blowing huge rents in the deck or blasting out portions of the hull.  

In a display of piloting excellence, all of Yorktown’s SBDs managed to hit the carrier she was targeting right as her TBF’s torpedoes slammed into its side.  The vessel disappeared in clouds of smoke and geysers of water and when they dissipated, the Siren was simply no longer there.  

Enterprise’s target had been reduced to a drifting hulk, aflame from stem to stern.  I thought she would leave it like that until I heard her cry out a familiar, “ It’s over! ” and finish it up with a well-placed energy arrow from her bow that snapped the ship in half.  Hornet had similarly finished off her opponent with a strike from her B-25s that carpet-bombed the carrier out of existence.  While Essex’s hadn’t been as flashy as her seniors, when I looked at her target, it had already capsized and was down by the stern.  

“We clear?” I called out over the radio as I glanced at my fuel gauge.  I still had for the trip back to Yorktown , but just barely.  

“Wait one,” Essex replied.  “All scopes are clear, you are cleared to return home, Commander.  Vector zero-eight-four, angels two.”

“Copy that,” I smiled, letting out a sigh of relief.  “Great work out there, everyone!”

Even with the relatively short flight back, I found myself watching the fuel gauge with an ever-increasing sense of anxiety.  As soon as I made out the beautiful shape of an Essex -class carrier with the number “10” painted on her deck, I felt that anxiety lighten.  But only a little.  

“I’m cutting it a little too close for comfort here,” I announced as I moved into position for landing.  “I think I’ve got enough fuel for one pass and then I’m gonna have to ditch.”

“Let’s make sure you make it on your first pass, then,” Yorktown said, still on my wing.  “You’re on a good approach, go ahead and drop flaps and landing gear.”

Immediately, I responded, muscle memory kicking in as I obeyed her orders.  “Flaps set to landing, gear down and locked, tailhook extended.”  I kept my eyes locked on the pitching flight deck ahead of me, growing ever closer.  

“Excellent.  Cut power just a little bit.”

I throttled back, the Hellcat dropping a little bit quicker now, and I pitched the nose up slightly to keep on the glide path.  The Yorktown was almost out of my sight now, with only the island visible.  I was entirely reliant on Yorktown to talk me down.  “Still good…still good…almost there…now cut throttle and prepare for landing.”

I pulled back hard on the throttle just as I felt the Hellcat’s wheels hit the deck, followed shortly by the tailhook catching one of the wires, jerking me forward against the harness as it came to a sudden stop.  

“On the deck!” I called out, sliding the canopy open as I raised the tailhook back up.  “Taxiing forward to give you room.”  

While I slowly rolled forward, I folded the Hellcat’s wings up, making it ready to be stowed below deck for refit and maintenance.  And it turns out I hadn’t been kidding about cutting it close.  As soon as I cleared the crash barrier, the engine sputtered, coughed, and then died.  I made it back just in the nick of time.  

After ensuring the breaks were engaged, I unbuckled my safety harness and clambered out of my aircraft just in time to see Yorktown’s picture-perfect landing.  I waited until her engine had stopped before rushing over to her Hellcat, waiting for her to climb out.  

“Max!” she beamed as she made her way down the wing, all but jumping into my arms.  “How are you feeling?”

“A bit shaky, to be honest,” I grinned exuberantly.  “Adrenaline’s starting to wear off.”

“Let’s get you inside then,” she said before she gave me a tender kiss.  “You’ve earned a break and besides, we need to celebrate your ace status.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“You’ll see…”

A/N-Whew!  So much combat it took two chapters!  And for your fun history fact for the day, Max’s kill total is just one shy of the all-time record for kills in a day in the US Navy.  That current record holder is Captain David McCampell, with nine kills in a single day.  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

Three days passed after our little skirmish with the Sirens before Hornet finally made her move.  Or rather, Hornet made her move through an unlikely cat’s paw…  

“Just as a reminder, Commander,” Yorktown smiled sweetly as she set the day’s commission reports on my desk, “You’ve got an appointment with the tailor tonight at six o’clock to make sure your suits still fit.”

I gazed quizzically up at her as I tried to recall having a conversation with her about getting fitted for a suit.  “Did…we talk about this?”

“Not directly, no,” she coyly admitted.  “But I figured we should get this out of the way before our trip to the Royal Islands.”

I glanced down at my uniform, tugging on it, checking to see if it was too tight in places it hadn’t been before.  “Saying I’ve put on weight?”

Her laugh was melodic as she shook her head, her silvery hair swaying in counterpoint.  “Not at all.”  Her laughter fades as her expression becomes a bit more serious.  “If anything, you seem to have lost weight.  But somehow, I don’t think it was through healthy living…”

“No,” I sighed as I leaned back in my chair and looked up at her.  “No, it wasn’t.  I was burning the candle at both ends, doing everything I could to try and find a way to save you.  I think at one point, Enterprise admonished me about my eating habits…”

“Max!” Yorktown gasped in horror.  “I know you won’t agree with me on this, but you can’t do everything all the time.”

“I wasn’t concerned about everything,” I blurted out, “I was concerned about you .  If I couldn’t find a way to save you, then every second I spent not looking was going to haunt me.  There was always going to be that doubt, dragging me into darkness like an anchor chain, asking me, ‘Did I do enough?  What if I looked harder, worked more?’  If I couldn’t cure you, I was damn sure going to make sure I could tell that doubt to piss off.”

Her expression softened, and she reached out to take my hand as she gave me a soft smile.  “I don’t think anyone, will, for one second, doubt that you did everything you could.  And I know I wouldn’t.  Even if I couldn’t find some way to cross the veil of death and tell you, know that I would never blame it on you.  I love you, I will always love you, and I will wait for you on the other side should I go first.”  

My heart stuck in my throat and I blinked back tears as I smiled back up at her.  “I love you, too.  I always have, I always will, and I’ll wait for you, too.”  Without waiting for her response, I pulled her into a tender kiss, our arms wrapping around one another in a tight embrace.  

When we broke, she gave me that angelic smile and patted me on the shoulder.  “We should probably get back to work,” she said softly.

I reluctantly agreed, giving her one more kiss before releasing her.  As she was walking back to her desk, I felt the need to ask one more thing.  “Hey, uh…when you first woke up again, I…I didn’t look that bad, did I?”

She giggled and shrugged.  “You looked…very tired…and a bit haggard, if I’m being honest.  But don’t worry,” she reassured with a bright grin, “you’re looking more and more like your old self day by day.”

“Oh, good,” I smiled sheepishly.  “In any case, time to get back to work.”

“Agreed.”

The rest of the day blurred into the usual mix of paperwork, idle chit-chat, and warm smiles as we went about the business of keeping an entire fleet running smoothly.  Until five o’clock rolled around and Yorktown reminded me of my appointment.  

“Best get going,” she chided as she shooed me out of my own office.  “Don’t forget to pick up the suit at home, too.”

“I’m going, I’m going,” I groused, wondering why she was eager to get me out of there.  “Still don’t think it needs that much adjusting, but alright.  I’ll see you at home once I’m done?”

“Mhm!” she smiled and nodded quickly before she gave me a quick kiss and shoved me out the door.  “See you soon!”

“Love you!” I said just as the door shut in my face.  That was certainly odd behavior from her, but I didn’t have a lot of time to ponder it.  With a sigh and a shrug, I headed for home, not realizing I was walking right into a trap…

My suit in hand, or rather, in my garment bag, I opened the door to our apartment, ready to head to the tailor’s.  Only to find Hornet standing in front of me, grinning like the proverbial cat that ate the canary.  “Hey, Max!” she beamed.  “Yorktown sent me.  Said the tailor’s running late with a house call, but the good news is that they’re on the base.  They’ll see you in the hangar since you can use the pilot’s locker rooms to get changed.”

I blinked at the sudden change of plans that had landed in my lap, but I nodded automatically.  “Uh, sure thing, Hornet…thanks for the heads up.  Say, when’s this vaunted ‘triple date’ of yours going to happen?”

Hornet’s smile only broadened as she gave me a playful wink.  “You’ll see.  Later, Commander!”

I watched her go for a second before shaking my head and heading off towards the hangar.  Something was off about her and Yorktown today, I just couldn’t put my finger on it…

I made it to the hangar with just enough time to get changed.  At least there was one upside to getting changed here: I had my own locker here and it was big enough to hang my uniform in while I was getting my suit fitted.  As I checked myself out in the mirror, I didn’t understand why I needed to get anything adjusted, everything looked like it fit right, and it felt comfortable.  Still, I might as well let them have a look since we’re here, and it’ll allay Yorktown’s fears to boot.  Or at least, so I thought…

As I opened the door to the men’s locker room, the locker room on the women’s side opened up, and Vestal and Northampton stepped out.  We all stopped short, looking at one another in surprise, both at our presence as well as our dress.  I’m honestly not certain if either kansen had seen me in a suit before, and I’d never seen them wearing evening gowns like that before.  Vestal had a beautiful blue and white off-the-shoulder dress with a ruffled skirt, and Northampton wore a stunning, slit-thigh emerald green number that matched her eyes.  

We stared at each other for another few seconds before I finally spoke up.  “Tailor?” I asked.

Both girls nodded.  “Hornet said they were on a house call,” Vestal answered, “but they had just enough time to-”

“-see us in the hangar,” we all said in unison.  I sighed and patted down my jacket pockets, seeing if my suspicion was correct.  “Ladies,” I announced as I thought I felt something in my right jacket pocket, “I do believe we’ve been had.”

“What makes you say that?” Vestal asked, giving me a curious look.  

I fished out a dark blue tie, a clip-on, of course, and a tie pin from my pocket, one of Yorktown’s favorites.  And attached to the tie was a little post-it note with the word “Surprise!” written on it in her delicate script.  “This note, for starters,” I replied, holding up the note as I buttoned up my shirt collar and carefully attached the tie.  “But I think it’s no coincidence that we all ran into Hornet, telling us to come here, at this exact same time.”  

Northampton and Vestal shared a look before they both nodded in agreement.  “But why?” The cruiser asked as she looked around.  “Why bring us here?  Now?”

“For the triple date!” Hornet exclaimed as she burst into the hallway with a dramatic flourish, startling the three of us.  Much to my surprise, she was similarly attired, wearing a beautiful black-and-gold dress that managed to seem both elegant and playful.  “My sisters and I have come up with a brilliant and cunning plan to gather you here so that we can give you an evening like no other!”

“This is what you’ve been working on for the past week?” Northampton grinned as Vestal and I caught our breath.  “Your ‘super duper secret project’?”

“Yep!” Her lover cheerfully confirmed.  “We had to make sure everything was juuuuuust right.  Sorry to keep you in the dark, darling, but I wanted this to be a surprise.”

“You’ve certainly surprised us,” I chuckled.  “What’s next?”

“Right this way,” she gestured towards the hangar, offering her arm to Northampton.  

“Ooh, so smooth,” Northampton grinned as she took Hornet’s proffered arm, pausing to kiss her on the cheek before allowing her to be led into the hangar.  Vestal and I shared a look before we shrugged and followed them.  

What we found waiting for us took my breath away.  The hangar had been transformed, with twinkling lights strung across the rafters, bathing the entire space in a soft, warm glow.  An aircraft sat in each corner of the hangar, one of Hornet’s B-25s, one of Enterprise’s SBDs, and two of Yorktown’s Hellcats; mine and hers.  And in the center, a dance floor, a manjuu band, and just off to the side, a large banquet table with six chairs.  

“You did all this in a week?” I asked as I looked around at the sight.  “Without anyone catching on?”

“She had help,” a familiar voice interjected, and I turned to see my beloved Yorktown, wearing the dress she’d first worn to that fateful Royal Navy ball, over a year ago.  And beside her was Enterprise, clad in the same regal evening gown and cape she’d worn as well.  “We took turns, and the lights were set up by the manjuus.  Enterprise and I both felt it would be a bit too risky if we climbed up there ourselves.”  

We all turned to look at Hornet, who gave us all a confused look until it clicked for her.  “H-hey!” she protested, her cheeks coloring as she became flustered.  “I woulda known what I was doing!”

“Hon, your safety plan was tying a rope around your waist,” Northampton softly replied.  

“Yeah…well…it would’ve worked…” she pouted for a moment before she put her smile back on and gestured to the place.  “In any case, we got this place set up bit by bit over the past week and we’re really excited to finally show it to you!  What do you think?”

After another pause as we took another look around the hangar, Vestal said, “I love it!  It’s a fun, ingenious setup.  It feels intimate, romantic, and like we’re going to a big party all at the same time.”  

“You aren’t the only one who can be devious from time to time,” Enterprise smirked as she pulled Vestal into her arms and gave her a quick kiss.  

“Ah, nothing like a relationship based on deception, a foolproof start,” Hornet teased her elder sibling, who gave her a dirty look before returning her attention to the woman in her arms.  

“I agree,” I declared, my eyes finally settling on the Yorktown, who was beaming with pride.  “You guys really outdid yourselves here.  And you managed to pull it off without any of the three of us picking up on it, I’m impressed!”

“Thank you, Max,” Yorktown blushed as she stepped towards me, taking her hand in mine.  “You did so much for me on our first date, I thought it was high time I finally returned the favor.  Although, sadly, we were unable to procure George’s services this evening.”

“I’m sure whoever you got will be up to the task, my rose,” I smiled, leaning in to kiss her softly.  

Her smile returned and she tugged on my hand.  “Before we sit down, come here, there’s something I want to show you…”

“A-alright…” I stammered as she led me to one of the Hellcats.  Once we were close enough, she pointed to the cockpit, or rather, just below it.  She had stenciled “ADM M. BUCKMASTER” in white lettering, and below that, eight Siren insignia.  

“In honor of your first combat flight,” she said softly, wrapping her arm around my waist and pulling me close.  “I’m proud of you, Max.  I know it wasn’t exactly planned, but you kept cool, put what you learned into practice, and not only survived but excelled.”

Now it was my turn to feel my cheeks burn at the sudden compliment.  “You’re too kind,” I demurred, glancing away.  

Almost as quickly as I turned my head, my Fighting Lady reached out and turned my face back to her.  “No,” she emphatically stated, her crystal blue eyes boring into mine.  “You have risked your life, your well-being to save me, to bring me back.  How can I even begin to repay that?”

“By being happy,” I answered, reaching out to cup her cheek.  “All I’ve ever wanted is to see you happy.  To be the best, happiest version of yourself.  And when you smile nowadays, that beautiful, angelic, blissful smile…I don’t need anything else but that.”

“Max…” she whispered, tears welling in her eyes, “I love you.”

“I love you, too.  So much.” 

Our lips met in a passionate kiss as our arms encircled one another, holding on as if we’d never let go.  It was a moment I never wanted to end, but eventually, our need for oxygen overrode our need for each other and we finally parted, panting and red-faced as we both gulped down lungfuls of air.  

“So he liked it, then?” Hornet called out to us.  

The redness, which had been dissipating, suddenly returned with a vengeance, and for an all-new reason as I held my hand up high and gave her a thumbs up.  “Yes, Hornet, I really liked it,” I sardonically replied, glancing over my shoulder as Yorktown buried her head into my chest.  

“Well, c’mon back, then,” she answered, waving us over.  “Dinner’s about to start.”

I gave her another thumbs up before prying Yorktown loose, noting her face wasn’t quite as red as it had been a few moments ago.  “Shall we?”

Yorktown took a deep breath, composed herself, slipped her arm around my waist, and nodded.  “Lead on, my light.”

“As you wish, my rose…”

A/N-God, I love these two.  Sadly, their time is coming to an end.  But with an ending, is a new beginning.  That’s right, a new character poll is out now!  Ending on January 6th, 11:59 PM, EST.  Characters are Formidable, Gangut, U-47, Chikuma, Alabama, and Royal Fortune!  You can find the link to the poll via my Reddit profile(u/brotherfluffy) or my Bluesky(admiralfluffy.bsky.social).  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

As we all sat down, I looked over at Hornet, who was still very pleased with herself, and asked, “So what’s on the menu tonight?”

“You’ll see,” she smirked in response as the manjuu waitstaff hurried out with everyone’s orders, all hidden underneath silver cloches.  We all patiently waited until all the dishes had been set in front of us, and then we looked to Hornet.  “Alright, gang, let’s see what you got!”

As one, we lifted our cloches off the plates and saw what Hornet had cooked up for us.  Or at least, had someone cook up for us.  Under mine was beautiful scallop risotto, and across from me, I saw Yorktown got her own favorite, beef wellington.  

“New York strip steak!” Vestal excitedly gasped, beaming over at Hornet.  “How’d you know?”

“Insider information,” the youngest Yorktown grinned and tilted her head in Enterprise’s direction, whose face suddenly turned an embarrassed shade of red.  “She mentioned you two had the same favorite dish.  Well, favorite dish that isn’t ration bars.”

“It’s just…something we both enjoyed from our time in NYC,” Enterprise said softly, “And…it was what she made us the night she made her feelings known.”

“That’s really sweet,” Northampton said, looking down at her own dish of coconut shrimp before glancing over at Hornet’s unconventional choice.  “Gotta say, hon, I’m a little surprised.  Cioppino?”

“Eh, felt like doing something different tonight,” she shrugged as she looked down at the hearty seafood stew sitting in front of her.  “Something a bit fancier than pineapple pizza.”

“Also would’ve been a disaster to try and eat pizza with those gloves on,” I grinned.  

Hornet grinned right back as she picked up her spoon.  “Yeah, I don’t think satin and pizza grease would make a good match.  Much better for a more casual date.”  She paused momentarily, then her eyes lit up as an idea came to her.  “Hey, how about next time we just all hang out, have ourselves a barbecue, just the six of us.”

“I think that’s less of a date and more just spending time with family,” Yorktown giggled.  “But I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”

Family.

The last time I’d heard someone call us a family was when Enterprise took my hand and dragged me to see Vestal.  In the anxiety and grief of the moment, I really didn’t have time to let that soak in or even register what she’d said, and later on, I dismissed it as a convenient excuse that she used to get me in there.  But here, now, sharing each other’s grief, joy, and everything in between, I realized Enterprise had been right.  The six of us had come together and become a family.  A warmth suffused me, and I smiled, a smile that did not go unnoticed by the rest of the table.  

Northampton’s voice snapped me out of my reverie.  “You alright, Max?” she asked, and I looked around to find everyone looking at me with some degree of bemusement.  

“Y-yeah,” I stammered sheepishly, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks.  

“You had one hell of a goofy grin on your face there,” Hornet chimed in, only to be quickly chided by Yorktown.  

“Hornet!” she admonished.  “You don’t just call people out like that!”

“It’s alright, it’s alright,” I chuckled.  “I was, ah, I was just thinking about family.  I know Enterprise called me family months ago, but honestly, I was just too stressed, too scared about the future for me to realize it.  Now that everything’s finally calmed down, it just kinda hit me.  It hasn’t always been easy, it hasn’t always been fun, but we’ve leaned on each other, depended on each other, shared grief and joy together.  We’re a family, and that’s something I haven’t had in a long time now.”  

They all shared a smile for a moment before Northampton spoke up.  “What about your parents?  I don’t think you’ve ever talked about them.”

I sighed softly and shrugged.  “My parents had me late in life, and they were both only children.  They passed away just after I graduated from the Academy, leaving me on my own. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t begrudge them for having me when they did, and I love and miss them dearly.  But I have missed the feeling of having a family for a long time now.”

With a soft smile, Yorktown reached across the table, resting her gloved hand atop mine.  I looked up at her, into her crystal-blue eyes as we shared a knowing look.  I smiled back at her before blowing a kiss and withdrawing my hand.  “As much as I’m enjoying baring my soul for everyone tonight, we’d better eat before this delicious food gets cold,” I quipped, and together, we all dug into our food.  While the small talk was the same as it ever was: life, the war, what crazy event would be next to surprise us, it felt different this time, like we were more connected than ever before.  Like a family.  

Once dinner was concluded, Hornet signaled for the Manjuu band to start playing and we all wandered onto the dance floor for the second part of the evening.  I slipped my arms around Yorktown’s waist and pulled her close to me as the band struck up a slow, mellow tune.  

Together, we began moving in time with the music, slowly dancing around the floor and with the other couples.  “Haven’t done this in a while,” I remarked.  “Not since-”

“Our first date,” Yorktown finished, smiling wistfully.  “That was a very memorable evening.”  Her cheeks flushed before she added, “And night.”

“The best,” I smiled.  “Although, if you want to recreate that tonight, just be careful.  I’m wearing a clip-on tonight.”

Her look became downright devious as she smirked.  “I’m sure there are other things I can lead you to the bedroom with.”

I let out a low chuckle at her implications and shook my head.  “God, I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she replied with a quick kiss.  We continued to dance around the hangar, enjoying our company, until she let out a soft, happy sigh.  “I know this peace won’t last, but I hope it will at least hold until our little vacation is over.”

“Me, too,” I softly agreed.  “I think after all we’ve been through, a week of rest, relaxation, and sightseeing is certainly deserved at this point.  Hell,” I chuckled, “probably a whole month off.”

Her soft giggle barely carried over the sound of the band.  “True.  Somehow, I doubt the Sirens would let things stay that quiet.  Do you think they’ll try something during the end of the World Expo?”

To be honest, I had some concerns, but nothing I could put my finger on.  Instead, I went for something of a noncommittal answer.  “I wouldn’t rule it out.  It’s a tempting target, with a lot of faction leaders and representatives arriving for the closing ceremonies, not to mention having so many kansen in one spot. However, that also means whatever Siren force shows up is going to be facing off against one of the biggest combined fleets that’s ever been assembled.  I don’t see that going well for your average Siren fleet or even any of the Arbiters we’ve seen so far.”

“I’m sure whatever happens, you’ll be able to handle it,” she smiled.  

My reply was immediate and heartfelt.  “Of course I will,” I smiled back.  “I’ll have you at my side.”

Her cheeks flushed and she quickly buried her head against my shoulder to hide her face.  “Flatterer,” she whispered.  

“And a damn good one,” I grinned.  “So, any places you’re looking forward to seeing while we’re in the Royal Isles?”

Yorktown lifted her head, a hint of a blush still on her cheeks as she answered.  “Glastonbury Tor.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it.”

“It’s a site with some pretty rich history, including a connection to tales of Arthurian legend.  Some have even said it’s the basis for Avalon.”

That got my attention.  “That does sound like an interesting place.  When would you want to go, at the beginning or the end of the trip?”

Yorktown’s silvery-white eyebrows furrowed as she thought it over.  “The beginning,” she finally concluded.  “I think it would be a nice way to cap off the vacation, but considering the Sirens have proven themselves to be very efficient when it comes to interrupting things, I would be a little heartbroken if I didn’t get to see it.”

I made a mental note and nodded.  “Easy enough.  We should probably start working on an itinerary with Enterprise and Hornet for shared activities.”

“Oh, Enterprise already sent over a detailed plan,” she smiled.  “Hornet, on the other hand…”

“We’ll work with Northampton on that front,” I finished.  

“Mhm.”

I sighed and looked around the hangar at everything and felt…relaxed, happy.  “I think this is going to be a memorable trip,” I declared.

“Oh?” Yorktown arched a curious eyebrow.  “How memorable?”

“You’ll see.”

The next day, I made a little detour on the way home from the office.  I knew Yorktown was going to spend some time with Hornet and Northampton, so I used the opportunity to check in on my little vacation surprise.  I headed out into town, towards a small, unassuming little Mom-and-Pop jewelry store.  

As soon as the bell announced my presence, Mister Clark, a bald, middle-aged man with tan skin that spoke to a lifetime outdoors rather than cooped up in a shop, greeted me with a smile and a wave.   “Good evening, Mister Buckmaster!  I beginning to worry you weren’t going to make it today.”

“Good evening, Mister Clark,” I smiled back.  “So was I.  Fortunately, things have been going smoothly for a change.  Hoping that holds up?”

The older man simply smiled broadly as he produced a small box from under the desk.  “It most certainly holds up, sir.”

I lifted the lid and shared the old man’s smile.  “That it does,” I agreed wholeheartedly.  “You’ve outdone yourself, Mister Clark.”

“That’s what you paid me for,” he grinned.  “Nice to work with sapphire for a change, too.”

“Glad I could help keep things interesting for you,” I chuckled as I shut the lid on the box.  “I owe anything extra?”

He shook his head.  “Just what you’ve already paid.  Now go on, and good luck, young man!”

“Thanks!”  With a wave, I pocketed the box and headed towards home.  With a little luck, the visit to Glastonbury Tor would be one of the happiest moments of our lives…

A/N-Oh what IS he planning?  Only one chapter left!  Until next time, fair winds and following seas!

Chapter Text

“So those are the famous White Cliffs of Dover,” I said as I dipped the SBD’s wing to get a better view of the world-famous landmark.  “Thought they’d be bigger.”

“Things tend to look a bit smaller when you’re three thousand feet in the air,” Yorktown giggled from the gunner’s seat behind me.  “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if you dipped down for a closer look, I don’t see any seagoing traffic.”

“Alright.  But if we get in trouble for this, I’m telling them it was your idea,” I playfully grinned before I thumbed the radio.  “Yorktown and I are going to descend and get a better look, you’re both free to come along if you want.”  

“We’re with you, Max,” Hornet cheerfully responded from her SB2C, the bomber now returned to service after extensive refits in the Sea of Stars.  When Hornet first volunteered to take the bomber aboard, I thought she had gone mad.  But as she explained it, she “lived for a challenge”.  Me?  I was going to stick with the tried and true SBD.  At least, until the Sea of Stars pushed out the next attack craft out, something called a “Skyraider”.  Only a single-seater, but the stats looked very impressive.  

“On your wing, Commander,” came Enterprise’s no-nonsense reply.  As one, we dove down and circled back around, this time at masthead height, soaring just over the waves as we passed by the cliffs once more.  And this time, they were much more impressive from a lower angle.  

“Beautiful,” I marveled, keeping one eye on the altimeter and the other on the cliffs.  “Interesting to think that this has been around for tens of thousands of years, and it will be here for millennia to come.”

“You’re not about to go all existential on us, are you, Max?” Northampton teased from her seat in Hornet’s SB2C.  

“No,” I quickly answered.  “I think I’ve had enough questions about life, fate, timelines, alternate dimensions, and all things well and truly above my paygrade.  I’m here to be a tourist, sightsee, and spend time with family.  Any philosophical or existential dilemmas are going to have to wait until the next catastrophe.”

“Sounds like a good plan,”  Northampton chuckled, then paused for a moment.  “Strange to think we’re so close to what’s technically enemy territory…”

“Yeah,” I muttered, glancing off to my left, seeing the green coastline that had once belonged to the Iris Orthodoxy, but was now in the hands of the Vichya Dominion.  “They’ll come around, in time, I think.  Richelieu’s made some big strides from what I’ve heard, along with the cease-fire and the World Expo.  The sooner everyone remembers we’re all in this together, the sooner we can turn our full attention to our real enemies; the Sirens.”

Enterprise’s voice cut in, soft, guarded, but with an undercurrent of hope.  “Do you really think we’ll be able to join forces, Commander?”

“Why not?” I replied.  “We did it before when we destroyed Compiler, didn’t we?  And before that, when we had that little bit of help from the Iron Blood during Operation Siren.  It’s happening, bit by bit, tearing down these walls that we’ve all built up.  Sooner or later, all it’ll take is one good push and we’ll tear them down.  Climbing back up to angels three,” I announced as I pulled back on the stick.  

“I hope that comes sooner rather than later,” Vestal’s voice crackled over the radio.  

“I think we all do.  Now let’s get back to the carriers, should be docking at Portsmouth soon.”

“Roger,” came the chorus of replies as we soared into the clouds once more.

By the time the three carriers had moored, King George V was already waiting for us on the pier, a warm smile on her face.  

“Her Majesty welcomes you all to the Royal Isles,” she announced with a bow.  “And I would like to extend a special greeting to Miss Yorktown.  Words cannot express how wonderful it is to see you back in our waters once more and in such fine shape.”

Yorktown smiled broadly and returned the bow with a brief curtsey before wrapping her arms around the Royal Navy battleship in a warm hug.  “It’s good to see you, too, George.  It’s been far too long.”

“Likewise,” George said as she returned the affectionate embrace.  “And it would see the rumors of an upgrade for Hornet and Northampton were true as well.  Your new riggings suit you, I must say.”

“Hell yeah, they do!” Hornet exuberantly declared, making a show of flexing her muscles until Northampton softly elbowed her in the ribs.  The carrier quickly put on a serious face and nodded solemnly.  “Ahem.  I mean, yes, it’s been quite enjoyable.”  

Everyone stifled, or at least attempted to stifle, a giggle at Hornet’s enthusiasm until George cleared her throat.  “In any case, I have been assigned to be your liaison during your stay, and the Commander has sent your itinerary ahead of your arrival.  As I understand it, your first stop is Glastonbury, correct?”

“Correct,” I confirmed with a nod.  

George smiled once more as she waved forward a veritable army of manjuu.  “Excellent.  I’ve secured a cottage at the base of Glastonbury Tor itself, if you’ll follow me, please, we’ll get you on your way…”  

It felt like we had gone back in time.  The way to the cottage was a tiny one-way road, and barely one at that, practically swallowed up by the bushes and thickets on either side.  On more than one occasion, we heard the sounds of the tree branches brushing along the car as we drove past.  Eventually, we came to a picturesque scene: a modest stone house, with smoke rising from the chimney and lights in the windows, all set against the backdrop of the Glastonbury Tor and Saint Michael’s Tower, illuminated by the setting sun.  

“This is breathtaking!” Vestal gasped as we all piled out of the van and lined up to admire the view.  “George, how did you manage this?”

George gave a small, satisfied smile and a modest shrug.  “It’s a bed and breakfast, and there just happened to be an opening for the days you were visiting.  Quite serendipitous, really.”

“Indeed,” I agreed.  Part of me wondered if she or Queen Elizabeth had flexed some royal muscle to ensure we had a place here, but I quickly dismissed it.  That may be something Elizabeth would consider, but the gallant and virtuous King George V wouldn’t partake in it.  Especially not someplace as special as Glastonbury Tor.  “Thank you for finding such an excellent spot, George, it’s perfect.”

“All part of Her Majesty’s gratitude,” she said with a slight bow.  “Now, let’s get you settled in for the night before dinner.”

“Will you be cooking?” Hornet eagerly asked.

“I will, with some help.”

I opened my mouth to volunteer, but before I could say anything, Yorktown spoke first.  “I’ll help.  I’ve been meaning to get a few pointers from you.”  

“Damn, beat me to it,” I grinned, to which George replied, “If you’d like, Commander, you could help out tomorrow.”

“Deal,” I nodded resolutely.  “Now, let’s get inside so we can start to unpack.”

We managed to get settled in just in time for dinner, and no sooner than Yorktown had headed downstairs to give George a hand, than Enterprise, Hornet, Vestal, and Northampton all appeared in the doorway to our room.  

“So what’s the plan?” Enterprise asked without any sort of preamble.  

“Tomorrow,” I grinned as fished the jewelry box out of my luggage and tossed it over to her.  “I was thinking sometime when we’re up on the Tor, near the tower.”

“You don’t have an exact time?” Vestal seemed somewhat incredulous.  

“Gonna play this one by ear,” I smirked.  “Wait for the right moment, y’know?”

Enterprise nodded in satisfaction.  “Sometimes you just have to wait for the right shot,” she concurred before she opened the box, holding it out for the others to see.  “Max, this is…”

“...perfect,” Hornet said with a bright smile.  “Oh, she’s gonna love this.”

I certainly hoped so.  Now all that was left was to wait for the opportune moment…

The next morning, we all woke up, enjoyed a nice, leisurely breakfast, and then got ready for our hike up the Tor.  There was a bit of a chill in the air, so Yorktown finally got to wear the black belted number and white coat she’d shown me a few months ago.  As George led us up the hill, giving us the history of the famed location, I could practically feel four pairs of eyes boring into me constantly, waiting for the moment.  Maybe I should have gone with a prearranged signal…

Yorktown, fortunately, hadn’t noticed everyone’s gaze focused on me, as she was too busy enjoying the sights and George’s tour.  She was constantly taking pictures, that blissful, angelic smile on her face as we climbed higher and higher up the Tor.  Finally, we reached the top and George bid us to take a look around on our own.  Eventually, the others wandered off, but I could tell they still kept their eyes on me.  

“This place is so beautiful,” Yorktown sighed happily as she looked up at the tower, taking a picture of the ancient edifice before turning back to me.  “I quite like it here. All the places we visit have quite a unique atmosphere, whether in the Royal Isles or in the Eagle Union…”

“It is beautiful,” I agreed as I looked around.  “I wonder what this place would have looked like in its heyday, with banners fluttering in the wind, stone new and unblemished by time…”

“I’m sure it would have been quite the sight,” she replied.  “Perhaps we should ask George?  She is quite knowledgeable, isn't she? Quite befitting of a Royal Knight, I'd say.”  A sly grin crossed her face as she strolled over to me.  “Max, why don't you tell me a bit about this place too?”

“Testing me to see how much I remembered, huh?” I grinned back.  “Well, I think the most interesting thing is that it’s believed to be a possible inspiration for the legendary Avalon.  That utopia King Arthur went to at the end of his story.”  Suddenly, I was seized by a flash of inspiration and I realized this was it, this was the moment.  “What would be your utopia, my rose?”  

She pondered the question for a moment before she slowly answered.  “My true utopia... is the port that Enterprise and the others can call home. If there's ever a place that can bring me eternal peace... I'd think that it would be by your side, my light.”

I smiled at her as I reached into my pocket and pulled out the jewelry box.  “I think that’s my utopia, too.”  In the distance, I heard Vestal gasp, and I knew that all eyes would very quickly be on us.  “By your side, from now until the end of time and beyond.  And that’s why I want to ask…”  I sank down on one knee and held up the jewelry box, opening the lid.  “Yorktown, will you marry me?”

Tears welled up in her eyes as she let out a surprised gasp, taking the ring from the box with a trembling hand.  On the platinum band, carved from sapphire, was a blue rose.  Her smile falters for a moment, then returns, bright as the morning sun.  “As the light of the dawn of happiness, what should I do for the Commander who reached out to take my hand?”  she whispered softly, punctuating the question with a giddy giggle.  “We'll live happily ever after, right? I understand now – that is how we can share this joy with everyone.  That is to say, yes, Max, I will marry you.”

I blinked tears from my own eyes as I slipped the ring on her finger and got to my feet, pulling her in for a joyous kiss, both of us nearly deliriously happy.  When we broke, we found ourselves surrounded by our family, congratulating, cheering us, and sharing in our profound joy.  All of us soaring on broken wings, mended once more.  

~Fin~

A/N-And thus ends Broken Wings, vol 2.  I hope you enjoyed it!  Just as a heads up, the pool is still open and Gangut’s got a sizeable lead, but she hasn’t passed the mathematical point of no return yet.  Safe Harbor Chapter 18.5 is the next up, after which I’ll be able to tell you who won the poll.  Until next time, fair winds, following seas, and Happy New Year!