[A/N]: Back by popular demand! Check out 'Daemons of the Fog' by Touhoufanatic for the other half of this story. I hope you all enjoy! It'll be awhile until my next update. Work is getting in the way more often.

"Okay, so… please, walk me through this again? Why is this so important?" My Dad asks as we drive through the front gate of San Diego Naval Base.

"Because I want to meet the captain in command of this crew. Their achievements are outstanding."

"That's all?"

"No that's not all! I've got my secrets."

"And we had to drive all the way down here… why?"

"Because this needs to be off the record."

"Right…" He mutters, pulling into a parking space near one of the towering bunkers. "You realize that the area is being recorded?"

"Yep! That's the only record though, and I can easily hack in and delete it." I chirp cheerfully, opening the door on my old Ford and climbing out, shutting the door with a bang.

"I'll use my clearance to get you in, and then I'm out of here."

"Sounds good." I yawn, trying my best to act normal.

As we approach the large concrete structure, I note the two Iowa-class battleships anchored in the harbor, along with their contingent of frigates and cruisers, and turn to face the door just as one of the guards steps forward and checks my dad's credentials. They open the door a moment later and let us both through into the hallway, leading down into the large underground dry dock much like that which I saw in Seattle.

On the other end, is a huge blue-tinted vessel like none I've ever seen before. It's accurate to Tang's description, an odd combination between a cruiser and a submarine, and when I get closer I can see a couple of the women on the conning tower glaring at me.

"Hey Dad, I'll handle things from here. Get on out of here." I mutter, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll keep in touch."

"You got it. Take care of yourself."

He quickly leaves the area, and I close the distance between myself and the I-401, only stopping when a high-angle laser points directly at me. I raise my hands and wait for someone to speak, finally seeing a young man come out of the conning tower and stand with the women I now know are Mental Models.

"Who are you and what is your business here?!" He asks, his voice echoing across the building.

"I am the Fog Iowa-class battleship Missouri, and I come in peace. I just want to talk." I respond, keeping my hands up.

"How do we know we can trust you?" A mental model with long blue hair asks, crossing her arms while she glares at me.

"I could have had two task forces pounding the complete and utter hell out of this facility more than five hours ago. Instead, they are currently at anchor." I glare back at her, crossing my arms as the high-angle laser elevates to a non-threatening position.

"Come aboard Missouri. We'll hear what you have to say." The captain says as he waves towards the gangplank. I walk aboard and marvel at the armament of the vessel as I'm escorted below to the mess hall, where it'd appear that everyone else has gathered.

I sit down calmly at the opposite end of the table from the captain and wait as the Mental Models file in. Once everyone is seated I lean forward and interlace my fingers. "Firstly, I would like to say congratulations on reaching America. Quite the feat you pulled off."

The humans in the room all smile with the exception of the man with the odd helmet, and I continue. "Secondly, I am acting on my own accord. Officially, I would prefer if this meeting never happened."

The captain and the other humans nod, as do the mental models, so I end my turn to speak with the bombshell.

"And now I would like to state one thing: I am not completely Fog. I used to be a human."

"What?! Yeah right! That's not possible!" One of them with black hair pulled into three ponytails yells with a laugh.

"Oh give me a break, you really expect us to believe-" the model with long blue hair starts.

"You are a product of Montana and Oktyabrskaya Revolyustiya's hybrid program, correct?" A mental model in a big trench coat asks.

"Wait, that's a thing?!" The tanned man yells again.

"That's correct. Who are you, if I may ask?"

The captain stands up and bows to me. "My apologies. I should have introduced everyone. She is Haruna." He starts, motioning to the crew one by one. "Takao, Sou Oribe, Kyouhei Kashihara, Iori Watanuki, Shizuka Hodzumi, Hyuuga, Iona, Makie Osakabe, and Kirishima. I am Gunzou Chihaya."

"It's a pleasure to meet everyone. But I've gotta ask, what was the point of risking your lives to come all the way over here?"

"To deliver a weapon. One that could turn the tide of war against the Fog." Gunzou responds, earning my full attention.

"Well, That's rather assuming. You know how many weapons have completely flunked when confronted with field testing?" I chuckle, leaning back and crossing my arms.

"This weapon was tested successfully against Fog near Japan, and it was designed by our very own Makie here."

I look at the blonde girl sitting with the large teddy bear in her lap, then look back at Gunzou, making it very clear that I'm not amused. "Please don't insult my intelligence Captain, she's a child."

"He's telling the truth. Makie has an exceptional intelligence for her age. Possibly even surpassing that of some of America's best scholars." Hyuuga says from where she's leaning against the wall.

I have a complicated Geometry math equation set up before she even finishes her sentence, and I lay it down in front of Makie, watching as she picks up a pencil off the table and starts writing, stopping only fifteen seconds later.

"Done."

"What? There's no way…" I mutter, picking up the paper and scrutinizing her work. Everyone looks at me patiently, and after a moment I lower the paper and giggle. "Well, that settles that. I'm a believer."

They all smile and nod before I turn to Makie. "My apologies Makie. You're quite the talented girl if you can solve that problem so quickly."

"I expected something more difficult…" She murmurs quietly, tightening her grip on the pink teddy bear that is Kirishima.

"Sorry, math wasn't my strong suit. How about ballistics?"

She sits up attentively, looking much more interested. "Okay!"

I smile and pull up the numbers, such as initial muzzle velocity and how fast the one-ton shell loses velocity. Add windage, which increases the drag coefficient, and I give her the velocity upon impact.

Overall, if she's as smart as everyone says, it should be a breeze for her.

"Alright. Figure out the range to the target and how fast the wind is blowing." I instruct before turning back to the humans of I-401. "I'm sure you all have questions. Ask away, and I'll answer to the best of my abilities."

"I want to know about this 'hybrid program' you mentioned works." Sou says as he leans forward in his chair.

"Alrighty. The hybrid program was founded by the Fog battleships Montana and Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsiya. Human women caught on the ocean are captured and typically sedated before being transferred to a hybrid medical ship. The hybrid medical ship surgically implants nanomaterials and a hybrid core inside of them, and transfers them to a Fog ship with a mental model. In my case, I was put under the instruction of the Fog heavy cruiser Baltimore. They construct their ship and are given a new name corresponding to those of that ship class. Then, they are taught to control the ship, and are usually assigned to a task force."

Sou takes notes on a computer as I talk, and everyone except Makie listens intently. I give what I said a moment to sink in, and Kyouhei asks the big question I was waiting for.

"What's keeping them from revolting?"

"The threat of an incredibly painful death." I respond grimly, "The nanomaterials I mentioned earlier are injected into the blood, and flow freely due to the signal from the hybrid core. When the signal stops, either by core removal or by a termination code given by a Fog 'handler', the nanomaterials revert back to a fancy sand. You can imagine the complications with sand in the blood stream."

"Clots, ruptured vessels, that kind of stuff." Shizuka mutters.

"Exactly. The nanomaterials become incredibly abrasive, and most of the time a hybrid dies of shock or internal bleeding when they receive a termination code. I've personally seen it happen, and I'll say it's a very gruesome sight."

Sou continues taking notes, and pauses after I do. "You said you used to be a hybrid. How does the transition process from Hybrid to Fog work?"

"That's a headache and a half to fully understand, but to dumb it down a little, the core has synchronization rates to the body and mind. When both become fully synchronized, a Fog is advised and the two meet. The core is sent a code, and the hybrid is rendered unconscious while nanomaterials replace flesh and bone. All the while, the core is upgraded to the strength of a Fog, and the consciousness of the hybrid is withdrawn into the core thus creating a Fog."

For a moment, the only sounds in the room are those of Sou's keyboard and Makie's pencil. Then Kyouhei quietly taps the table with his finger.

"What happens to the guys that are captured?"

"Killed usually. Or, in very rare cases they're given full body reconstruction to change their gender to female."

Most of the humans sit up a little straighter, and Gunzou stares at me thoughtfully before clearing his throat. "Missouri, I'd like to extend an invitation for you to join Blue Steel, our group."

I smile and shake my head. "That's incredibly kind of you, however I've got thirty-seven hybrids under my command, and I can't just leave them."

"Why not bring them with you? We could use the numbers." Sou asks, looking up from his computer.

"I'd have to remove them all from the tactical network at the exact same time, and that's more processing power than I have available. Plus, a large task force like mine wouldn't be easy to hide, and the pursuit task force of the area would most certainly find us."

"There's different task forces?" Sou asks.

"Yes. Though I believe that's a subject for another time. I've gotta get back to the task force and make sure everyone's behaving themselves. I'll keep your offer in mind."

Gunzou stands up and pushes his chair in as I get up and start towards the door. We meet by the door and he offers his hand to me. "It was an honor and a pleasure having you here. I hope we'll be able to figure something out."

I take his hand and shake it, smiling at him. "So do I. I've planned on working with the Navy since I was first inducted, but the situation never permitted the option. I'll leave the nanomaterials for this body nearby so we can talk more in the future."

Makie walks over to me with the paper I gave her and hands it to me, smiling up at me. "I did every possibility I could."

I look at all the neatly organized equations and giggle, patting her on the head. "You're a genius kiddo. Keep it up."

She beams as she goes back to Kirishima and hugs her, and I walk out the door with Gunzou, heading to the deck.

"I'd also like to thank you for trying to get the two submarines that spotted you to surrender, instead of immediately sinking them. Both are hybrids, Tang and Kraken. They're both under my command for the time being." I say, walking side-by-side with him.

"We don't want to fight the Fog. Ideally, we'd like to co-exist with them, hybrids included. What was their responses to the request?"

"Tang was indifferent about it, but Kraken is by all rights blind, so she couldn't see the signal light."

"She's blind? Then how is she effective at all?"

"She uses a form of Radar and ESM to 'see'. I presume that's how you detected her."

"That's correct. We were being repeatedly hit with short-burst Radar, and Shizuka zeroed in on the periscope mast."

"I figured as much. Kraken is still relatively fresh to the hybrid program, so she's still learning."

We climb up the ladder to the conning tower, and I give Gunzou a short and snappy salute before jumping off onto the concrete, jogging away to hide the nanomaterials in a storage closet.

Once I've transferred back to my ship with my core I slow down and drop anchor off the coast from San Diego, quickly hooking up to the tactical network and starting to compile information of all the ships in the East Pacific fleet. An hour into digging, I'm forcefully pulled into a concept comms by Montana, who looks extremely pissed off.

"Why did you make contact with I-401 and the humans?"

I try my best to act confused. "What?"

"Don't lie to me. Maria has pictures and video of you approaching and boarding I-401 in San Diego."

She sends me copies of the pictures and video while she talks, and I sigh in resignation. "I made contact to learn why they came all the way across the Pacific, and to welcome them to America."

"And what did they tell you?"

"They came to deliver a weapon and plans. They claim it was already tested in Japan, to much success."

"Is that all?"

I nod. "Yes ma'am."

She stares thoughtfully at me, then nods slowly and calms down a little, leaning forward. "I have a new assignment for you, and I'm pulling you off your supervision duties. I want you to take four hybrids of your choice and I want you to spy on I-401 under the pretense of joining them to fight against the Fleet of Fog."

I sit up straight and stare at her for a moment, trying to detect if she's messing with me. The dead serious look in her eyes tells no lies, and I nod slowly. "Y-yes ma'am."

"Good. I expect bi-weekly reports. Do, not, disappoint!" She growls her last sentence before I'm abruptly kicked off the comms net.

"So what's the deal?" Danielle asks, sitting beside me on her captain's chair.

"Uh… well, I made contact with I-401, and got busted by Maria in doing so. I guess we're heading back to the fleet…" I respond, still moderately surprised.

". . . . How much shit are we in?"

"None. Montana's pulling us off H-26G and we're taking four hybrids to 'join up' with I-401. In reality we're spying on them."

"So who's gonna watch over everyone?" She asks, spinning her chair around.

"I don't know. Brisky probably."

She sighs and stops spinning. "Okay I guess. Let's get moving. . . . And who are we going to take?"

"Well… Salem is one. Maybe Kako. Roberts is a solid option too."

"How about Cheyenne?"

I shake my head. "Cheyenne helps keep morale up."

". . . Savannah maybe?"

Again I shake my head. "Savannah's too important to the group."

"Juneau and Helena?"

"A solid idea keeping the sisters together, but Juneau's a destroyer group leader and Helena's one of our best people for shore bombardment."

"Ayanami and Kraken? Both are pretty new, so we could train them and keep Tang and Turner in the fight with the fleet. Plus, Salem said Kraken's starting to remember things."

"Well if Kraken's starting to remember things…"

"She's still having trouble believing Salem is family, since. . . y'know, she remembers her as a guy."

"That's to be expected though. Once she remembers more maybe we'll be able to convince her." I respond, getting up and pacing the bridge. "Get in contact with Brisky and let her know I want Kako with us for this assignment."

"You got it."

"I'm going to ask Montana if we can get clearance to modernize for this mission."

After a heated but civilized discussion with Montana, lasting until we're nearly back to Brisky. Despite arguing every point I could, the answer is still a solid 'no', and I relay that to Danielle, much to her disappointment.

Listening to her lamentations all the way back gets boring after awhile, so I tune out and link up with my father's computer.

Sure enough the old geezer is online, so I give him a text popup that covers his screen.

You'll get a chance to do your job soon. 5 inbound to San Diego. 4 Hybrids, 1 Fog. Peaceful intentions, ETA 2 days. Make sure you get the assignment. - MO

After a minute or so I dismiss the popup and let him go about his business, watching as he pulls up a blank document and types.

Mikka?

Not wanting him to destroy his computer I avoid giving a smartass answer.

Yep. Thanks for driving me to San Diego by the way. I had a nice chat with I-401 and her crew.

Which Fog/Hybrid ships are coming?

Missouri(yours truly), Salem, Kako, Ayanami, and Kraken. Kako and Ayanami are ex-Navy.

Can you get me the ships they used to be stationed on, as well as their previous names?

Kako's name was Mio Nakamura, from the USS Salem. Ayanami is from the USS New Jersey, name is Amura Yohita.

Amura? I know her from Naval Academy. Feisty as hell.

She hasn't changed much. She punched me when I first met her.

Maybe she can shed some light on what happened to the New Jersey…

Well shit, all you had to do was ask.

I give him the video file via a special video player and give him control of it, reading his next message once he types it out.

The Fog keep video records of engagements?

Only Hybrids do. It's for verification purposes.

You'll have to school me on the hierarchy when you arrive.

Yeah, I will. Gotta go, take care of yourself old man.

I'M NOT OLD!

I laugh and put the connection in the background, kinda going on a 'sleep mode' while I continue on course towards the fleet. When I get there I power everything back up to full strength and drop anchor, walking over to Salem's ship first.

"Hey Salem! Wake up, we're going on a mission."

"Huh? Okay." Salem mumbles tiredly, sitting up and rubbing her eye.

"Form up on me when you're ready. I'm going to go get Kraken and Kako up. I know Ayanami's already up."

"Alright. Kraken might still be in surgery. Hope's trying to get her a working eye."

"I'll check with Hope. Thanks for the heads-up." I respond, walking out. I make my way over to Hope's medical ship and find her in what could best considered her office, reading a book.

"Hello Hope."

She looks up and smiles, closing her book and taking off her reading glasses. "Hello Missouri. How can I help you today?"

"I heard you took Kraken into surgery to try and get her a working eye. How did that go?" I ask, leaning in the doorway.

"Very well actually. She's resting in her submarine after some trials. She's got perfect vision in her left eye, if a little far sighted."

"That's amazing news. You're amazing, Hope. Could you send me any further tests you need to do?"

"Of course. Are you aware that she's slowly regaining memories?"

"I am. Is there any complications with her regaining her memories?"

"There is. Every time it happens she has terrible migraines. I would give her a sedative if I could, but it could possibly incur brain damage."

"So she just has to suffer through the migraines?"

"Sadly, yes." Hope sighs.

I straighten up and smile at her. "Thanks for the info. I'll keep you updated biweekly on how she's doing."

"It would be much appreciated. Who else do you need? I need to do psychological evaluations."

"Ayanami, Kako, and Salem."

"Okay. I've already done physical and psychological evaluations on them. I'd like to do a psychological on you, if you'd please."

I shake my head with a gentle smile. "Some other time. Once we get back I'll clear my schedule for any evaluation you want to do."

"Thank you."

I hum an acknowledgement and step into the hall. "Take care of yourself."

I close the door and head topside, deciding to save Kraken for last so I can let her rest. I head over to Kako and find both her and Ayanami in her bridge, sitting down and drinking coffee.

"Hello Kako, Ayanami. Glad to see you both."

"Hello Missouri. What can we do for you?" Kako asks.

"I need both of you to weigh anchor and gather around me. We're going on a special mission."

"What kind of special mission?"

"You'll find out on the way. The only thing I will say is you get to fly your old ensign. Now get moving please."

Both perk up and nod, with Ayanami running out while Kako sits in her captain's chair. I smile and head out, walking over to Kraken's sub and dropping down the hatch in the conning tower, noting how cramped it is. I walk forward towards the bow and find Kraken quietly snoring in a hammock.

"Kraken, wakey wakey."

She gently jolts awake and looks over at me, her one newly functional eye nearly glowing in the dark interior of the sub. "Oh, hi Missouri. New orders?"

"Yep. Cast off and gather by me with the others. We're going on a mission."

"Yes ma'am. Will we be given the details on the mission on our way?"

"Yep."

"Okay. On the move."

I smile and head back topside, heading back over to my ship and raising the anchor.

"All stores have been topped off and we've even got extras topside for a peace offering." Danielle informs me.

"Perfect. Get the ensign ready."

"Fog battleship Missouri hailing coast guard station San Diego, come in, over." I broadcast on the radio while watching the San Diego protective walls on the horizon.

The silence is long following my hail, but when I do get a response it's not what I expect.

{*This is Coast Guard station San Diego. Drop the farse immediately and identify yourself, over.*}

"I've already identified myself. I am the Fog battleship Missouri, and I'm requesting permission to enter San Diego with peaceful intentions, over."

The next voice is deeper, and more demanding.

{*I am Daniel Haggerty, commanding officer of Coast Guard station San Diego. I call bullshit on your claim. Identify yourself, with no bullshit.*}

"Mister Haggerty, I stand by my claim. If you don't believe me, we can talk face-to-face."

{*... Alright. Where do you want to meet?*}

"I'll be in the station lobby in ten minutes. Missouri out."

I turn off the radio antenna and call up the nanomaterials from my previous excursion in San Diego, turning them into a mental model and changing priority control over to it before changing the casual clothes into my uniform, complete with a cutlass on my hip. Once I'm presentable I walk out of the storage closet and close the door behind me before leaving the submarine pen. The guards give me a skeptical look, but otherwise leave me alone while I walk over to the coast guard building, simply walking past the guards into the lobby, where a grizzly old man with gray stubble and short silver hair stands in a coast guard uniform.

"Hello Commander Haggerty. Shall we move our conversation to your office?" I ask, resting one hand on the hilt of my cutlass when he puts his hand on his sidearm.

He eyes me cautiously, then nods slowly and jerks his head towards the door behind him, opening it for me to walk through with his hand still on his sidearm.

"Oh, a gentleman. Thank you." I say with a smile, walking down the hallway.

"Second door on the right." He snaps, closing the door to the lobby behind him. I reach the door to his office and open it. Casually walking in and sitting down at his desk, I lean back in the chair and cross my legs while he shuts the door, closing us off before sitting in his rather comfortable looking chair across the desk from me.

"You claim you're a Fog battleship. Why should I believe you, and why should I trust you?"

"Because if you don't, you'll be missing out on an opportunity to get back at the Fog. I'm here because I know that the I-401 and her human crew just recently delivered a weapon and schematics to mass-produce said weapon. I want to fight alongside the Navy, not against them."

". . . That is classified information, so there's no way you could've learned that through normal channels…" he mutters, "Suppose I believe you, why should I trust you?"

"Because I'm the Fog version of your Iowa-class battleships. I'm saying that I would like to join you to fight against the Fleet of Fog, and my four escorts want to join as well." I begin before uncrossing my legs and leaning forward, placing my arms on the desk with a grin. "Is that an offer you can really say 'no' to?"

He stares at me for a moment, and I can practically see the gears in his head turning as he weighs his options. Finally, he stands up. "I'll have to run it through my superiors. Is there any way we can contact you once we make a decision?"

I nod, standing up as well. "VHF channel sixteen. Standard hailing frequency."

He nods and opens the door for me, his hand no longer on his pistol. I take my hand off my cutlass and smile at him, walking into the hall, then seeing myself out.

Once outside, I walk over to the protective wall and walk up a holopanel staircase to the top, watching a group of soldiers raise a harpoon missile tube into firing position.

"Y'all don't want to do that." I warn, leaning against a crate.

"Wha-? Ma'am, this is a restricted area. I'm going to have to ask you to leave, now." The ranking officer orders, walking towards me with sidearm in hand.

"Alright, I was just leaving anyways. I wouldn't launch that harpoon though. The higher-ups'll have your skin if you do."

"Ma'am, leave immediately or I'll be forced to detain you." The Sergeant orders again.

"Alright, I'm going." I respond with my hands at shoulder-height, walking out towards the open ocean, out onto holopanels. "Have a good day gentlemen."

Bullets impact my back moments later, merely mushrooming out on the surface and falling harmlessly into the water hundreds of feet below. They keep shooting at me with their rifles and sidearms, but I ignore it and give them the finger over my shoulder while leisurely walking away.

They eventually stop shooting at around five hundred yards, and I keep walking until I'm out at the ships, dissolving the model and storing the materials as a pillow on the bed in my wheelhouse.

"So how'd peace talks go?" Danielle asks, sitting down at a table with everyone playing blackjack.

"Now we're just waiting on the chain 'o' command to do its thing. I'm monitoring VHF 16 for the coast guard to hail us. Can I get in on this game?"

"Next hand." She mutters, looking at her face-down card.

"So what are we betting?" I ask as I sit down.

"Just using chips, though some of us are betting IOU's." Kraken chirps, tapping the table as a motion for Danielle to deal her a card. My sister flips over the top card to reveal a three of clubs, sliding it across the table to her. "I stay."

Kako stays, and Ayanami hits, receiving a jack of spades and busting over the 21 limit.

"Hit." Salem yawns, receiving a six of hearts before pushing her luck and hitting again, receiving a two of diamonds. "I stay."

Danielle pulls another card off the top of the deck and groans when the ten of diamonds lands face-up on the table. With her face-up card being a four of clubs it pretty well narrows down what her other card is.

Sure enough, when everyone flips over their cards my sister's other card is a nine of hearts.

"Nineteen." Kraken yawns.

"Twenty." Ayanami groans.

"Sixteen."

"Twenty-one." Salem hums, earning glares from everyone before pulling all the chips from the pot towards her.

"Alright, cards in. New hand, and Sis' is joining."

{*Coast Guard Cutter Orion hailing Fog vessel Missouri.*} The call finally comes after nearly three days of sitting and waiting.

"This is Missouri, send your traffic Orion." I respond, looking out the windows of my bridge towards San Diego, filtering out the glare from the sun rising over the walls protecting the city to see a single ship sailing towards us.

{*Missouri, prior to your admission to San Diego, both you and your escorts must consent and submit to an inspection by Navy personnel.*}

"Roger that Orion. We have no objections here. We will be waiting for the inspection crew."

{*Orion copies. For any further communications use channel 12 VHF. Orion out.*}

I smile and turn to Danielle. "Go wake everyone and have them prepare for an inspection."

She smartly salutes me and runs out with a big grin on her face. Meanwhile, I create walkways below decks to stuff like the thanatonium reactor and the main gun magazines, where I construct the shells before they're sent to the main guns. All the while I run my radar at full power, searching both the ocean around us and the air over the mainland, making sure I'm not being tricked in any way.

By the time the Orion pulls up alongside me I've finished all the renovations, and both Danielle and I head down to the deck to help secure the small cutter to the starboard side, tying the thick ropes off to the bollards while being cautiously watched by heavily-armed Navy SEAL's. Once we're done tying off, a gangplank is extended over to my deck and the Special Forces soldiers lead several unarmed Navy personnel across before partially encircling both my sister and I.

"Good day ladies and gentlemen. Welcome aboard." I practically purr, one hand on my cutlass with the other on my hip.

"Thank you Missouri. I'm Rear Admiral Michael Chance." The ranking officer says as he smiles at me.

"It's a pleasure to meet you sir. Thank you for taking the time to come out and meet me. Where would you all like to start your inspection?"

"We'd actually like to meet all your escorts before we do any inspections."

I nod and blow the fog horn twice, making all the soldiers jump nervously, raising their rifles slightly. The fog horns of the other ships blow back twice before they all start making their way over, casually walking across on holopanels while laughing and talking. One of the officers turns a video camera towards them while another takes notes on a small notepad.

When they finally reach my deck they quiet down and act more official, brushing the wrinkles out of their shirts and standing at attention for the officers.

"I present to you all, my escorts." I say with a warm smile. "From right to left we have Ayanami, Kako, Salem, and Kraken. Feel free to ask them any questions that are appropriate."

"And who's this?" The Rear Admiral asks, looking over at my sister.

"I'm Missouri's second Mental Model. I handle secondary systems such as the anti-aircraft weaponry and the Radar. Please just call me Danielle."

"Fog can have two Mental Models?"

"Some can. Only the largest ship classes though. I believe Iowa-class are the smallest." I respond, rocking back on my heels for a moment.

The Rear Admiral smiles and nods while the woman with the notepad furiously scribbles down what I said. Then, he looks back at one of the Officers, and for the first time I notice it's my father.

"Say, don't these two look like your girls?"

He nods and smiles. "Yes Sir, they do."

"If you all would please follow me, I'll give you a guided tour, and I'll disclose some information regarding hierarchy and the like."

The Admiral nods and looks to the SEALs. "You gentlemen can stay here. I doubt any harm will come to us."

The team leader simply salutes, and I start walking fore, being quickly joined by the inspection team and the hybrids.

"As you can see from the large amount of anti-aircraft weaponry, we use the 1945 renovation, since we aren't permitted to use modern versions of any weapons such as your phalanx CIWS or Bushmaster autocannon. However, if we do begin working together, I'll likely change over to those systems." I say while we walk along the starboard gangway.

"Why aren't you allowed to use those systems?"

"The Fog have rules to abide by. I would gladly have begun using those systems ages ago, however the rules prevent it." I respond with a disappointed sigh. "While the high-angle laser systems work great, they leave something to be desired. For my previous primary role of shore bombardment, I changed all of my armament to their kinetic versions. Put simply, These guns sound, look, and function like any similar versions you could field."

"So you're part of the group that keeps raiding our ports and destroying any naval-related infrastructure using human-style artillery?"

"We were, yes. My sixteen-inch guns have a realistic range of just over thirty miles, with a maximum -albeit inaccurate- range of forty miles. The task force sporting the black markings, the 'Ghost Fleet' I've heard it called, is specifically tailored for shore raiding."

"Does this task force have an official designation?"

I smile and look towards him. "You ask good questions. Yes, it does. The official designation is H-26G."

One of the officers keeps the video camera on me the entire time this exchange goes down, and the woman with the notepad is furiously writing down what I say, while this is happening, the hybrids follow a short distance behind, quietly talking among themselves.

"H-26G? That sounds like it has more meaning behind it than just a designation."

"You're a smart man. Two-six means it's the twenty-sixth task force of its type formed since the Fog started blockading the oceans. G, or golf, stands for ground, meaning it's a land attack group. And last but most definitely not least, H, or Hotel, stands for Hybrid."

"Hybrid?"

"Several years ago the Fog started abducting women that were caught violating the blockade. These women were surgically implanted with Fog cores, giving them control of a ship. The four behind you are Hybrids. Half human, half Fog."

"These humans are forced to fight against their will?" The Admiral asks with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Some are. Other slightly less sane individuals actually enjoy it. After a while you just learn to enjoy the freedom of the ocean, and the fighting becomes a simple nuisance, like having to go to work."

He nods slowly and falls silent for a minute. I can tell he's trying to think of a related question to ask, so I give him an answer to one before he can ask it.

"The overall goal of creating hybrids is to create fully Fog individuals, like what you would think when you think 'Fog'."

That grabs his attention, because he looks at me with his brow furrowed. "Elaborate please."

I stop and turn to face him, motioning to myself. "You're looking at the finished product."

He looks at me for a moment, glancing back at the others briefly before looking at me. "Forgive me if I'm a bit skeptical…"

I roll my eyes and reach into my chest, pulling out my core and showing it off for a second before returning it. "Danielle and I look like his daughters because that's who we are." I snip with tons of sass lacing my voice, nodding towards our father.

"Is this true, Richard?"

"Yes Sir. I've previously been in contact with them both, and both of them correctly answer any of the questions that only my daughters would know the answer to."

The Rear Admiral gets a thoughtful look in his eyes, then asks me. "How many sinkings has he been in?"

I think for a moment, calling up old memories before putting them away and smiling at him. "Four, counting his most recent one."

He looks to my dad, and much to my amusement the old man counts off on his fingers before looking up at him and nodding. "She's right."

The Admiral grunts and looks at me. "Back to business. Please continue with the tour."

I nod and start walking again, heading to a bulkhead and opening it before we even get close. "Y'all already know what the bow of an Iowa-class looks like, so I won't bore you with that."

"Thank you. Where are we heading next?"

"Propulsion. More specifically, the thanatonium reactor." I hum as I duck through a bulkhead and start descending into the lowermost decks. On deck three, the lowermost level, I lead them along a narrow corridor towards the reactor. Deciding to share my 'ace in the hole', I walk backwards to look at them, pointing at the floor as I do. "Roughly seven feet below us is the Super Graviton cannon enclosed in my hull. With a theoretical power draw of more than three-quarters of the reactor's power output, I don't use it unless it's necessary."

"How many times have you used it?"

"I've never used it. I just don't see much of a point killing a fly with a sledgehammer." That draws a snort and a chuckle out of some of them, and I turn back around with a smile on my face, grabbing the handle of the bulkhead to the reactor room. "It goes without saying, but this is a reactor. Don't touch anything. If you do, I'm not responsible for any repercussions."

I open the bulkhead and walk in, walking into the center aisle between reactor banks, watching the small pods on either side arc what looks like electricity.

"Is that safe?" One of the officers asks, looking through the bulkhead.

"As long as you don't touch any of the pods, yeah. We can skip the reactor if y'all want."

One by one they all nod after getting a look through the bulkhead, and I gently nudge my way through the crowd. "Right then. I believe the only thing left to do is a visit to the wheelhouse."

"We're actually on a bit of a timeline. We'd like to interview your . . . hybrids . . . for a little bit. Then we have to return to San Diego. We'll leave a couple of our men aboard to act as liaisons, and after presenting our findings to the higher-ups we'll decide on what to do with you and your entourage."

I nod and lead them towards the deck. "A word of advice, Kraken has amnesia, so if you're trying to figure out their pasts, you'd best ask Salem for Kraken's past."

"We'll take that into consideration."

"I believe we're done here." The Admiral says after a half hour or so of interviewing everyone. "Is there anything any of you would like from the mainland?"

"Cigarettes. Camel 99's, please." Salem responds nearly instantly. "I haven't had a smoke for months."

Everyone else is fine, and one of the special forces guys from nearby walks over, fishing a tan pack of cigarettes from their drop pouch before offering it to her. "It's only 'bout half a pack, but it should last you until they make a supply run this evening."

"Thank you, sir." Salem says with a smile, taking one out and sticking it between her lips before the soldier holds out a lit lighter.

"Richard." The Admiral beckons my father forward, watching him stride up and stand at attention.

"Sir."

"You and the SEALs will stay here aboard Missouri. Continue to record any valuable information, and a boat will be out with some supplies in a couple hours."

"Yes Sir."

The Admiral nods in satisfaction and motions towards the gangplank, then looks at the SEALs. "Ladies and Gentlemen, get your packs."

All the Special Forces soldiers run across the gangplank and briefly disappear below decks before reappearing with large packs on their backs, walking back over as the officers congregate on the deck of the Orion.

"Ma'am, where should we put our stuff?" The team leader asks me.

"Oh, put your packs just inside the bulkhead there. I'll make you some living quarters in a couple minutes."

He nods and moves towards the bulkhead with the rest of the team following him, and they all place their large bags on either side of the walkway before spreading out again, most still on edge.

"So you're a spook now, Richard?" Kako asks, walking over to my dad.

"Hello Mio. I suppose I am. It's been a while."

"Yeah, since I worked under you when I was on my first assignment for the academy."

"Is Amura still a moody cunt?"

"Go fuck yourself, you prehistoric bastard!" Ayanami yells across the deck, earning some laughs from the nearby SEALs.

"I'll take that as a yes." He chuckles, walking with Kako towards the bow.

"Excuse me sir, it might not be any of my business, but… do you two know each other?" The SEAL team leader asks, walking with them. I follow along and jump up on the #2 turret, listening to them.

"Actually yes. She did some grunt work for me when she was an initiate in the Naval Academy. This is Mio Nakamura, ex First Mate of the heavy cruiser USS Salem."

The team leader extends his hand to Kako. "Commander Andrew Callaghan, SEAL Team 3. Pleasure to meet you ma'am."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, commander." She takes his hand and shakes it, giving him a little smile.

I smile and jump off the turret, landing on the deck on the port side. I walk aft to find a couple of the SEALs relaxing against the superstructure, listening to the radio with Salem.

I casually stroll past them and look around for Kraken, just as she contacts me.

{Missouri, could you please turn off your active sonar? My head really hurts again, and I can hear the sonar pings.}

"Sure thing Kraken. I hope your head feels better soon."

{Thank you.}

She hangs up, and I sit down near Salem and listen to the music, stockpiling as much information on fleet locations and compositions as I can.

I use a secondary processor to keep tabs on the conversation between Salem and the SEALs, and find some good amusement in it.

"Yo Salem, Missouri said you're part human. How old are you?"

"The fuck? Ah ain't tellin' you!" Salem yells at the soldier, earning him a smack on the helmet from one of his comrades.

"Ah damn. Can't blame me for trying."

"Besides, I don't swing your way." Salem huffs, getting up and pacing back and forth.

"Okay, so you'd be interested in Corporal Morez over there?" The same soldier asks, nodding his head towards the group's medic, who's talking to Ayanami near the fantail.

"Well . . . She's got the looks. . ."

"Hey Doc! Salem's got the hots for you!"

"Wha-?! I didn't say that!"

The medic merely giggles and waves at Salem before returning to her conversation. Salem groans and waves back, then wheels around and glares at the troublesome SEAL.

"Boy, you and I are gon' go rounds if you keep this up."

"I'd kick your ass."

"That sounds like a challenge."

The soldier gets up and grins. "It is. That is, if you're not chicken."

Salem looks at me, and I fully tune into the conversation, hopping off the 5-inch mount. "If you two want to fight, I'll marshal the fight. Take it to the fantail."

Salem works her shoulders and starts walking towards the fantail with the soldier close behind her. I wave the others along and jump up onto a 5-inch mount, then I jump to the aft 16-inch turret and slightly elevate the guns, walking up the length of it to stand at the muzzle of the center barrel.

"Alright you two. Here's the simple rules. No intentional strikes to the face, no weapons, and no throwing each other into the water. If we have to haul either of you to medical I'm holding you both accountable."

They both nod, and I make a timer from ten seconds, putting it above their heads in between them. The soldier takes off his body armor and passes it off before they both get into a ready stance. They both edge forward as the timer counts down, and when Salem extends her unclenched right hand the soldier does the same, tapping fingertips just as the timer runs out, starting the fight.

Immediately Salem jumps back, watching the other guy like a hawk as he edges forward.

I get pinged with a concept comms request and instantly accept, finding myself sitting in the center of a Gazebo with Takao and Hyuuga across the small table from me.

"Hello. How can I help you two today?" I ask, sitting up straight in my chair.

"We know that you and multiple hybrids are offshore. What are your intentions?!" Takao yells at me. "If you think you can intimidate our admiral you're wrong!"

Hyuuga sighs and sips at a cup of tea. "Gunzou wanted us to ask you to bring your hybrids along to a face-to-face meeting with him and some Navy personnel."

I nod at Hyuuga. "Sure thing. What time? One of them is having some migraines, so I'd have to wait until she's feeling better to bring them all along."

"Five o'clock. I've sent you the location."

I smile as I receive the address. "Alright. We'll be there. Might be a little early or late, depending on how Kraken is feeling."

"Very well. I'll let him know."

After the concept comms room is ended I look down at the two brawlers to find each standing a few feet from each other, breathing heavily, with their fists still raised. I decide to put an end to it before one of them get hurt, and jump down between them.

"The fight is over. It's a tie. Now both of you, shake hands. You both fought valiantly, and I believe this speaks volumes about both the hybrid program and the SEALs."

Both relax, and the SEAL steps forward as I move out of the way, extending a fist towards Salem with a grin. "Good fight."

Lowering her fists, Salem grins and steps forward, bumping knuckles with him. "After a fight like that, you're welcome to sail with me anytime."

"Thanks. Uh… your bandages are coming off."

Salem quickly grabs at her bandages and reties them, muttering a 'thank you' as the other hybrids gather, looking up at me expectantly while Danielle jumps down from the aft gun director.

"We've been asked by the captain of I-401 to meet with him and some Navy officials for dinner at seventeen hundred. I don't know if the SEALs would like to join us, but unless Kraken still has a migraine by the time it's time to go, all of us are going."

They all nod in acceptance, and I smile. "That is all. Carry on."

Slowly the hybrids fan out and I turn to my sister, talking quietly enough so that nobody nearby can overhear. "During the rendezvous I want two floatplanes in the air. If this is a trap, I want to know."

"It'll be done."

When the time for the rendezvous comes around, Kraken is feeling much better, and we load everyone onto her deck before setting out at full speed for San Diego. We're through the city walls without any issues, and we dock where we're told by the Coast Guard, snickering and giggling when we watch the SEALs walk down the gangplank and herd the naval law enforcers off the dock, taking over their guard duties.

By the time all of us are on the dock there's already a sizeable crowd gathered on land, and I put an officer's sabre on my hip, watching the others do the same. Kako and Ayanami even work with the nationality of their ships, putting Katanas on their hips while they follow me up the ramp.

"Make room! Make a hole!" One of the SEALs orders, shoving his way through the crowd ahead of us. Some people move more willingly than others, and as we push our way through the mob they start to get more and more rowdy, shoving back in some occasions, or yelling and screaming at us. I shield Salem and Kraken as people start throwing stuff. Coffee cups, pieces of rebar, bricks, all of it bounces off my klein field as I start to shield the soldiers too, and I even start using my klein field to clear a path toward the awaiting M35 trucks.

"You monsters killed my husband!" A woman shrieks with tears in her eyes, beating against one of the hexagonal panels with her fist.

I stop and let the others by before walking up to her, looking her in the eyes. "I know it's not much consolation, and I understand if you hate us, but we were given orders and told we'd die if we didn't follow them. I'm sorry for your loss."

I continue walking along the corridor as the others climb into the back of the truck, and once everyone is inside I climb in, pulling the flap down.

"Drive." I order, flopping down on the bench beside Salem as the engine of the truck turns over and rumbles to life. It idles for a moment, and then we start down the road, towards our destination.

We rumble through the streets for only a couple minutes before the truck slows to a stop. All the SEALs pile out with their weapons ready, and one drops the tailgate after a moment.

"The restaurant has been reserved by the Navy, so there's no civilians inside. The crew of the I-401 is waiting for you all."

"Thank you Lieutenant. Feel free to come inside with your men." I respond, climbing out and walking towards the front door of the restaurant. The hybrids all file in behind me, and my dad takes up the rear with the soldiers following him in.

Inside, a long table has been set up in the center of the room, with multiple high-ranking Navy officers sitting at the side opposite from us.

Taking the initiative, I stride forward confidently and take a seat at the end, smiling at both the Navy officers and the I-401 crew while the hybrids sit near me,

"My apologies for being late." I say cheerfully, looking towards the Navy officers, then the Blue Steel fleet. "Most of you already know who I am, but I'm the Fog battleship Missouri, and these are my Hybrid escorts, Kraken, Kako, Ayanami, and Salem."

"It's an honor, Missouri. I'm sorry the admiral couldn't make it today, I'm here in his stead." The rear-Admiral who had originally met us responds with a smile. "You'll be happy to know that the president himself has already approved the paperwork necessary to begin you and your escorts cooperation with the Navy. While we're all here, we'll be negotiating your future assignment."

"Respectfully Rear-Admiral, there will be no negotiating." I interrupt. "We'll be working under Gunzou's command with my father as our Navy liaison, or we'll be leaving."

He stares at me in surprise for a moment before standing up. "Please excuse me. I'll need to clear this with the Admiral."

"Of course." I reply with a nod, watching him walk into the back before smiling at Gunzou. "You've proved yourself as a very capable commanding officer. If you'll have us, I'd be delighted to serve under your command."

He smiles and looks to his crew, then looks back at me. "We'd love to have you."

"Wait a minute Gunzou! Shouldn't we talk about this!?" Takao yells, making some of the SEALs jump slightly before relaxing.

Salem scowls at the menu on the table in front of her, then scoots her chair back and makes sure her bandages are in place before starting towards the door. "I'm gonna go have a smoke. I'll be back in a few."

"Daniels, Althers, go with her." My dad orders two of the special forces, "I know you two need a smoke."

Both of them nod and stand up, taking their rifles with them as they follow Salem out.

"Missouri, if the Navy doesn't allow the arrangements you demanded, what will you do?" Gunzou asks, sipping at the wine in his glass.

"Most likely I'll just go through with it anyways…. minus my father of course."

"You'd go against your own government?" He asks with a grin.

"They ain't my government anymore. The only reason I'm even here is to put the SEALs and my old man into the deal. Otherwise I would've came straight to you."

He nods and smiles as the rear-admiral comes back and sits down, looking at me. "Your request is being granted, however the admiral wants you modernized."

I glance over at my sister to see her grinning from ear to ear, then look back at him. "That I can do. Phalanx CIWS, and bushmaster autocannons I presume?"

"CIWS in the least. It's at your discretion." He responds with a smile, turning to Gunzou shortly after. "The Admiral also wanted me to thank you on your delivery of the vibration warhead. There are facilities all over America that are preparing to begin production. The tide of war against the Fog is changing as we speak."

Almost as if fate wanted the man to eat his own words, a messenger came running in and urgently thrust a piece of paper in front of him, breathing heavily.

"Sir, urgent message from Astoria. They're requesting naval assistance."

He quickly grabs the paper and looks over it, then looks to all the Fog and Hybrids around the table. "How soon can you all mobilize?"

"Immediately." I respond, standing up. "Let me guess, Astoria is under attack?"

He nods. "This message says there's fighting going on inside the base, as well as the civilian areas, the Fog appear to be using napalm, Wisconsin has been sunk at her mooring, and the QRF offshore has been sunk too. Can I ask you to go repel whatever attack this is?"

"Of course. The SEALs come with us though."

"Deal."

Everyone else stands up as I start giving orders to the hybrids. "Kako, get a float plane up and get yourself back to your ship, take Ayanami. We're bringing in two float planes to the docks. Kraken, get down to your sub with the SEALs and get moving, I'll override the gates and let you out. Move with a purpose!"

"What's the plan Gunzou?" I ask through a video chat as we near Astoria.

"Missouri, can you launch two of your scouting planes? I'd like to know what we're up against."

"On it. I'm going to contact the nearest Fog too."

Before any of them can protest I reach out and hail the closest two Fog aside from those on I-401, finding myself seated in front of a cold looking woman in a dress, and Scylla.

"Oh fuck, it's you. Hi Scylla."

Scylla smiles in response. "And hello to you too. Come to join the fun?"

"Well, I think we'll be making our own fun . . . I've got 401 with me." I reply, glancing at the woman who's scowling at me

Scylla frowns. "So you're the ones coming up from the south then? Is 401 the one with the strange scans that Shest cannot understand?"

"Yeah, that's them. Didn't you get the heads-up?"

"Which heads up, the one that you've buggered off to the losers side, or the one that 401 would get in the way of my business?" Scylla asks coolly.

"The heads-up that I-401 and the Navy have teamed up. I sent the info to Montana, I kinda expected her to share it with the rest of the fleet."

"No, i didn't get anything like that. . . . . so, have you buggered off?" Scylla asks as she glances at the woman a bit. "If you did, you might find this becomes a problem, fast."

"No I'm not fighting for the humans. I got pulled off my liaison duties and Montana told me to spy on 401." I reply.

"So you are acting as a mole then," The mystery woman speaks up, her voice cold like ice, but her expression far calmer than it was a couple seconds ago.

"That's correct. I don't believe we've met before."

"No, we have not. I am Kongou, previous Flagship of the first oriental fleet!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you Kongou. I am Missouri, previously known as the Hybrid Alaska."

Kongou turns to Scylla with a slight frown. "Neither you nor Maria mentioned there being another success."

"Did we need to?" Scylla replies with a small smirk as she turns back to me. "So are you along with them to counter us, or to investigate what's going on then?"

"Well, they're here to counter you and drive you off. I'll do the same obviously, but I'll be pulling my punches."

"Oh, well shit, and here I was hoping they wouldn't have gotten a call out. They must've had a landline we couldn't mess with. Oh well, we're basically done here. Most you'll see is our aft's, maybe a bit more if you're fast!" Scylla says with a grin as she leans back in her chair.

"We're not that far and we're at full speed, so if you want to exchange some playful gunfire, it'd help cement their trust in me."

"Well it'd be playful for us, probably not so much for little blue," Scylla says with a smile and a glint in her eye, looking at Kongou. "Think you can pull some punches convincingly? At least on the hybrids and missouri?"

Kongou nods. "I-401 is mine."

"Fair nuff, maybe get Baku or Shest to throw some her way too," Scylla says while she looks at me again. "Two last questions before we get the fireworks started?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"Have you seen 401's capabilities?" Scylla asks quickly, turning to all business in the blink of an eye.

"Aside from her speed and maneuverability, no."

"Damn, oh well. Last question then. . . . What is Shihaya Gunzou like?"

"Chihaya… He's quite the calm gentleman. If he were a gambler I think he'd excel in Vegas. He's quite the tactician as well. Him and my father played some chess while we were in San Diego."

"Hmm, i see. I'll have to see them myself I suppose, but at least that means whatever happens will be fun!" Scylla exclaims with a grim snicker. "Anything else before we get to the fun?"

"Can we make a mutual agreement, no super-graviton cannons for this engagement?"

"Yeah i suppose i can agree to that. Still haven't had a chance to fiddle with its tactical possibilities anyway. See you on the water then. May the one with the best cheat codes win!"

After they disconnect I yawn and sound general quarters, feeling all the SEALs scramble below into the command center where the Bushmaster cannons are controlled.

"The contacts are Scylla and Kongou. They have some cruisers, a destroyer, and a submarine with them. Engage at will."

{Kraken submerging, transporting half the SEALs to land them at Astoria.}

"Copy that Kraken. Service on Kongou. Standby... On the way!"

The forward two 16-inch turrets lob corrosive shells at the distant radar contacts, and I wait for the results while my dad chuckles in the captain's chair. "Damn. I've never felt that before."

"Not many have. These guns are more powerful than those on the originals."

"Impact. Straddled. Adjust for five-point-six mile per hour wind from zero-five-three and fire again." Danielle informs me as Scylla and her group all open fire at the same time, sending streaks of light zipping past us. My klein field takes two hits, but they do little to saturate the field.

"Adjustment made. On the way."

Again the guns fire at the dual column in the distance, just as four missiles ascend from Scylla, detonating above us and covering all of us in napalm while a couple of the shells impact on Kongou and Molotov.

{Ah shit I'm on fire!} Salem growls.

"All of us are. Salem, go support Kraken. Ayanami, accelerate past us and launch torpedoes, then circle around and rejoin."

{Check fire on Scylla! She has what looks like a cage of women and children on her fantail!} Kako warns.

"All of them do. Just do what you can to aim further forward."

{Kraken here. Entering silent running in five seconds. Shest and Baku are focusing on me.}

"Gunzou, orders?"

"Call everyone off. We can't catch them, and we can't risk hitting the civilians. Everyone slow and come about."

"Aye. Slowing. Missiles inbound from Scylla. Sis', you're up. Let's see how the phalanx performs."

"CIWS engaging!" She cheers as two CIWS open up on the missiles as they broke into smaller warheads, followed shortly after by the remaining 40mm Bofors and the 25mm Bushmaster cannons controlled by the humans below. Most detonate high above us, but a handful make it through, only to harmlessly detonate on the klein fields of myself, Salem, and Kako.

{Scylla just dropped the cage of women and children into the ocean!} Kako gasps.

"Gunzou, orders?!"

"Everyone forward! Save as many as you can!"

"More missiles. Arc pattern says they're likely napalm." My sister says calmly while the CIWS opens up again, this time on both sides.

"Evasive maneuvers everyone. Kraken stay on your mission, but everyone else we're gonna try to rescue some civilians. Ayanami, get over to those survivors and lay a smoke screen. Everything you've got to spare."

I get a round of acknowledgements as I open up my numerous missile pods, firing a dozen at Scylla specifically, though they're low-yield Thanatonium warheads.

"Missouri, can you take on most of the survivors?" Gunzou asks.

"Of course. What are your plans?"

"We're going to dive deep and try to maneuver to get ahead of them. Once you've picked up the civilians remain in the area."

I acknowledge him and send a message to Scylla via the network simply stating '401 pursuing, diving and moving to head you off' while I slow down inside the smoke screen, walking out onto the superstructure and watching the SEALs drop ladders over the side for the civilians. As they start pulling people onto the deck, I use one of the RQ-2 Pioneer copied drones I'd launched to get a peek at what's going on, finding that Scylla and her entourage have made their own smoke screen.

"I think that concludes the fight. Kraken, status?"

{Special Forces deployed. Astoria is a mess.}

{Salem here. I'm sending 401 all of the charts of the bottom that I have, then moving to support Kraken.}

"Copy that. Gunzou, if you need help feel free to ask, but we're going to clean up things around here."

"Roger that. Meet us back at San Diego once you're done."

I acknowledge and disconnect from the video call, looking over at my father before the VHF radio crackles to life.

{*Dutchman this is Viper. Message, over.*}

"This is Dutchman, send traffic." He says into the handset of the radio.

{*Dutchman, be advised, we've found some humans that have some very interesting marks on their backs, like something was attached to them. Taking pictures for debrief and continuing with mission.*}

"Copy that Viper, Dutchman out."

As he puts the handset for the radio back I sit down beside him and smile. "Dutchman? Like the ghost ship?"

"Yeah. It seemed pretty appropriate." He chuckles, "Everyone thought you were dead."

I giggle and shake my head, stretching out in my chair. "There were a couple times I almost was. Had a close call near the UK with the RAF, then in Norfolk with a Harpoon land battery, then in New Port Hardy with a bunch of pissed-off fishermen. Seattle was the last close call."

"Fishermen? What happened there?"

"Did some shoplifting and got caught. Then they found out I was with the Fog and used my legs as target practice because I was careless with my klein field."

"Now I regret asking…" He sighs, running a hand through his hair. "I swear you're going to turn me grey before my time."

"If the Navy hasn't done it yet, you're fine."

{Missouri, where do you get your nanomaterials?} Hyuuga asks suddenly.

"Well there's an extraction platform by Hawaii. That's our primary source."

{And your secondary source?}

"I don't have a secondary source currently."

{Very well. We will all meet you at your current location. Gunzou wants to know if Scylla can be reasoned with if we hold a meeting.}

"Relay this to him word by word please. Absolutely not. Scylla is absolutely batshit fucking crazy, and meeting her would most likely result in one or more deaths. She would backstab you the first chance she could."

{I'll pass it on.}

"Thank you. What should we do with the civilians?"

{Gunzou says that falls under your captain's jurisdiction.}

"Right. Missouri out." I mutter before turning to my father. "You're the commanding officer here. What should we do with the civilians?"

"Uh . . . . take them back to San Diego with us I guess."

"You've got it. We're just waiting for them to meet up with us, then we'll head back."

{*Dutchman, this is Viper. We've secured two survivors, found them hiding in a dumpster. Bringing them back for questioning, over.*}

"Dutchman copies. Return to your taxi and let's get ready to leave. Dutchman out."

As my dad hangs up the radio set I start towards the door, stepping around the Lieutenant as he walks in, and walking down to the deck, looking at the numerous women and children huddled together against the superstructure away from the railing. I walk over to the SEAL's medic as she's splinting a broken ankle and crouch down beside her.

"Hey Doc, how can I help?"

She doesn't even look from her task as she responds hurriedly. "Check the kids for any lacerations. Gunshot wounds, cuts, anything seriously bleeding."

I nod and move to the closest kid, probably ten years old at most, and crouch down, giving her a kind smile while she quietly sobs. "Hey, it's gonna be alright. You're safe now."

The little blonde-haired girl looks up at me and shivers, sniffling while water drips off her small form. "W-where's my mom?"

'Aw crap.'

I wave over one of the SEAL's standing nearby. "Help this kiddo find her mom. She's unharmed." I stand up and lean in to his ear, "if her mom isn't on board bring her up to the bridge."

He nods and offers a hand to her. "Hey there. I'm going to help you find your mom, okay?" The girl nods and wipes her eyes, standing up before taking his hand, slowly walking aft.

I sigh in relief and move on down the line, checking kids for any injuries and doing my best to comfort them while Danielle follows up behind me and distributes thick blankets made of nanomaterials.

Those that are injured I mark with a simple red triage card, hanging the card on a lanyard around the person's neck. The simple system works, and before long I've gone through all of the survivors. The medic thanks me as she continues with her task, and I jump to the top of my superstructure, startling some of the people I'd just helped.

"Everyone form up. We're heading back." I order, watching 401 on the horizon.

{Kraken is shoving off from the dock. All Navy personnel and survivors aboard.}

{Salem moving.}

{Ayanami in position.}

{Kako in position.}

"Gunzou, we're ready to leave when you are."

{Thank you Missouri. Let's return to San Diego for now.}

"You've got it. Setting course for San Diego, recalling RQ-2 drones."

"Thank you for saving us Missouri!" The little girl who had gotten separated from her mother pipes, waving at me before she's escorted down to the dock.

"Any time Kaylee! Stay safe!" I yell back, waving at her with a smile until she's loaded up in the truck of people headed to the headquarters. Then I sigh and go down into the wheelhouse, sitting in my chair. "Just another innocent kid orphaned thanks to this damn war."

"Just a fact of life." Danielle sighs. "Two waves of bombers inbound from Intrepid and Enterprise. ETA is forty-five minutes. Forty-four now."

"Launch an RQ-2 just for prosperity sake. Have everything else on standby."

"Launching. What are we gonna do for now?"

I shrug and look out the window, watching Navy personnel rush about, bringing boxes of supplies aboard for the human complement of soldiers. I notice more soldiers boarding with what looks like full gear for a duration, and start out the door, jumping over to stand on a 5-inch mount. Most of the new arrivals completely ignore me, focusing instead on heading down below, where they file into the quarters made for the SEALs.

I continue to watch for several minutes until the forty-six soldiers are on board, then finally notice my father walking up the gangplank, his eyes fixed on a clipboard in his hands. I jump down to the deck and intercept him, tapping him on the shoulder. "Hey, what's with the new arrivals?"

"Hmm? Oh, they're MARSOC Marine Raiders. The president wants us to extract people from Hawaii, and they're gonna help."

I sigh and cross my arms. "I'm going to guess we don't have much choice in the matter."

"Not really, no."

I grumble and check the radar out of habit, then hear a cat call from by the superstructure and turn around, easily spotting a couple of Marines lounging against a gun shield for a Bushmaster autocannon.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" I ask, sticking a hip out and resting a hand on it.

"Aren't you a civilian, ma'am?" One asks.

"You wish." I scoff with a roll of my eyes, giving my dad a lazy salute before jumping over the heads of the Marines, landing on a 5-inch turret and sitting down with my legs hanging over the side. My sensory rings surround me as I take a reading of the current conditions, noting them for gunnery reasons and sharing them with my sister. Once I'm done taking measurements I jump up to the top of my superstructure and look over at the hybrids, checking in on them.

Kako, Ayanami, and Salem are taking on troops as well, the last of the three not bothering to interact with any of them, instead laying on her deck by the railing, jigging a line over the side with a highly uninterested look on her face. Kraken is asleep atop her conning tower, the brim of her straw hat pulled low over her eyes and her feet kicked up while she tries to catch up on lost hours of sleep.

For now, things almost seem . . . normal, but I know it's not going to last long. Not with the bomber raid inbound. I almost debate warning Gunzou, but realize that would bust me as a mole. I curse and sigh, sitting down atop the superstructure and killing time going through the tactical network until I get the lead bomber formation on radar.

I sound the general alarm and do my best acting surprised, opening up a link to Hyuuga, since she's by far the most official of the Blue Steel Fog in my opinion. "Multiple aircraft inbound, hybrid signatures, medium bombers. Forty miles, low altitude."

{Do you think they're after us?}

"It's a pretty safe bet. Thirty-five miles."

{Do what you can to buy time. Gunzou's orders.}

"I'll do what I can." My response is rushed as I disconnect from the voice network and raise all the hybrids. "General Quarters. We're about to be bombed."

Kraken sits up in her chair and lets all four feet drop to the deck, putting her hat on correctly before climbing down into the conning tower of her sub.

Kako and Ayanami go about helping the dockworkers load materials faster, while Salem reels in her fishing line and sounded her general alarm, her klein field going into standby mode as her AA weaponry angles skyward. Moments later the howling of the raid sirens on land slowly started up. The Navy ships around us sound their general alarms as well, and land installations prepare to knock planes out of the sky.

Navy communications networks that had previously been quiet light up like a Christmas tree as people try to figure out what the hell is going on, but by the time responses are transmitted the bombers rise from wavetop level and fly over the city walls, straight into a maelstrom of anti-aircraft fire. They fly so low that standard MANPAD's and static missile defense systems don't have enough time to lock on before their shot is obstructed by something, but my systems are anything but standard. I launch two pods of smaller missiles and raise my klein field as Danielle opens up with all the anti-aircraft weaponry we have. Almost instantly two planes go down and detonate with a corrosive field, followed shortly after by three more, one of which being downed by Salem. The second group of bombers crests over the city's walls a few seconds later, and all hell breaks loose as the first wave drops their payload over the city. Some of the bombs are of the normal variety, they explode and destroy buildings, leaving rubble. But other bombs are corrosive, and create a shockingly large corrosive field, leaving empty bowl-shaped craters.

I have Danielle hold back a little during the initial first minute of the engagement, until through the footage from the RQ-2 I see several bombs hit the headquarters building. The same building where all the people we rescued from Astoria had been taken, including the sweet little girl who had lost her mom.

I stare in shock for a moment, then pull my core out of my chest and submerge it inside the ship beneath me, jumping off the superstructure while yelling at my sister. "Open up! Don't hold back!"

"Where are you going?!" She yells, the AA gun's rattling and thudding becoming more prominent and consistent instead of short bursts.

I don't bother to answer her as I leap off the pier and run through the streets towards the headquarters, ignoring the chaos around me. I clamber over countless piles of rubble in the street, jumping over others, for a mile until I reach the headquarters.

I start immediately clearing rubble, surprising myself with my strength as I lift smart car sized chunks of concrete with complete ease, flinging them out of the way as I search for the girl. I dedicate my full attention to searching for survivors, losing complete track of time as I do so.

Time after time again I find somebody, but it's not who I'm looking for. Dozens of people lay on the sidewalk across the street, pulled out of the rubble by yours truly, but I keep searching, looking for the little girl who lost her mom.

When I finally do find her, it's dark. Other people search the rubble with me, staying out of the way. I pull up a couch-sized piece of concrete and shove it off to the side, and stare down at the broken body of that poor little girl. If I was still human, the grisly sight would definitely have churned my stomach, and probably would've made me lose what food I had eaten.

The phrase "scrape her up with a stick and a spoon" comes to mind.

I quickly turn away and wave over one of the rescue crew, the disgust evident in my voice. "We've . . . got one over here . . . !"

The soldier runs over, clambering over the rubble until he's a couple yards away. When he finally catches sight of the girl he pales and loses his dinner on the spot. Once his stomach is empty he wipes his mouth and curses quietly, calling over a stretcher.

" . . . I can't do this anymore." I mutter as I walk past him, starting to make my way back to my ship.

When I finally get back, Danielle looks at me quizzically, but doesn't say anything until I sit down in my chair and retrieve my core.

"So why'd you go to the headquarters?"

"To try and rescue that girl."

"Any luck?"

I shake my head and send her the picture, watching her expression nearly instantly turn to disgust. "Jesus…."

"I can't keep doing this." I mutter, locking all entrances to the bridge so Danielle and I can talk in private.

"Doing what?"

"Doing this!" I yell, motioning around us. "This spying business! We're here for that result!"

"Well what are we gonna do then? Tell Montana you 'just can't' and go patrol the Arctic?!"

"We could do that, or… we could leave the network, and fight with Blue Steel." I propose, looking hopefully at her.

"What about the hybrids?" She asks exasperatedly.

"We'll pull them from the network and take them with us, if they want."

She stares at me for a second, then nods. "Let's go ask them."

"Gunzou, we need to talk. All of us." I inform him forcefully, making it clear it's important.

"Okay. Meet on the docks." He responds through the video call as he stands up, having Iona end the call.

I turn to the others and nod, leading the way to the subterrain drydock where 401 is docked. We all meet on the dock beside the odd sub/cruiser hybrid, and I step forward, taking off my cap and tucking it under my arm. "Before I start this meeting, I would like to ask that you hear me out until the end, and that you don't do anything until I'm done explaining myself."

Every one of them nod, and I stand a little straighter. "Firstly, I would like to apologize for deceiving you. We were originally sent here to keep tabs on you, but after the recent attack we've chosen to reevaluate our decisions. If you don't want us with Blue Steel, we'll leave, but from here out we're siding with the humans."

I stand there for a moment as they stare at us, until Kyohei speaks up. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Digging bodies out of rubble, and finding a little girl smashed like a bug, still holding onto her teddy bear, will do that to you." I sigh, hanging my head.

Gunzou looks at me for a moment more. "Can we have a moment to discuss this?"

"Of course." I nod, "We'll be waiting outside."

I put on my hat and turn on my heel, walking to stand outside in the cool night air with everyone. Salem lights up and sits on a railing by the water while we wait, and Kraken moves to sit by her, not bothered by the smoke.

"Hey Salem, spare a cancer stick?" Kako asks, looking over towards the ginger.

"Hmm? Oh, sure thing."

Kako walks over to Salem and receives a cigarette, then Salem snaps her metallic fingers and holds her index finger against the end of it, a small flame spouting from her fingertip. "I gotta admit, these prosthetics are pretty handy."

It takes a moment for most of us to catch on, but Danielle groans and glares at Salem as the latter starts giggling. "That joke was terrible."

"I know. Can't blame me for trying."

"You're going to hell for that joke." Kako giggles.

"I'm going to hell regardless, so I might as well make the trip worthwhile. Besides, you laughed at it."

"I'm convinced we're all going to hell, so why not laugh at a cruel joke?"

"Amen to that." Salem chuckles around her cigarette, just as the door behind us opens.

"If you'll come back inside, we've got some questions." Gunzou says calmly, holding the door open for us.

I nod and start towards the door, hearing Danielle follow close behind me, while Kako and Salem snuff out their cigarettes before following, herding Kraken and Ayanami along. Inside, Gunzou stops in front of Blue Steel and turns to face us, arms crossed.

"We'd like to trust you, but we don't know enough about you to make a judgement call. Give us a reason we should trust you." Hyuuga says calmly.

I stare at them all for a moment, then huff. "We can talk about trusting each other until the cows come home. Talk is cheap, it's easier to just prove it." I turn around and start walking towards the door. "Come on, we've got a job to do."

All the hybrids fall in behind me, and I start walking across the bay once I'm out of the concrete submarine pen. The previous bustle of activity on the docks is through, and roughly thirty or so soldiers relax on my deck, weapons in hand and tactical gear still covering them. All the hybrids branch off to their respective ships as Danielle and I walk up to my bridge, finding our father sitting in his chair, reading a book to pass the time.

"Hey pops, are we ready to go?" I ask, sitting beside him.

"Yep. Full complement of MARSOC raiders, and enough supplies to support the entirety of the Hawaiian population for the trip back. We're ready to leave when you ladies are."

"Disconnecting the gangplank and mooring lines. Shoving off." I respond.

"Shouldn't we wait for the tugs?"

"Did you really just ask that?" I giggle, "You're literally talking to a pair of supercomputers capable of leveling the majority of this base from beyond visible range, and you ask if we need tug boats?"

" . . . Point taken." He mutters as I use side thrusters to shove away from the pier, applying just a little bit of power to get started towards the huge gate to the ocean. Ayanami shoves away from her mooring and pulls ahead of me, leading the way out. Salem and Kako both slot in behind me, abeam from each other, and leave plenty of room for Kraken to slip in between them with a comfortably large gap on either side.

As the gates of the sea wall open, Ayanami fires up her sonar and runs it at full power as she powers ahead, ensuring no Fog or Hybrid submarines have laid mines in our path before she turns about and returns to her spot in the formation ahead of me.

"Alright folks. Last chance to back out." I transmit over the flotilla's comms as I prepare to disconnect all the hybrids from the network.

{Not on your life.}

{Wherever Salem goes, I go.}

{I'm not going anywhere unless it's to fight for Uncle Sam.}

{Let's do this!}

I smile and transfer most of the propulsion functions to Danielle while I finish preparations. Then, I cut all their connections to the network simultaneously with mine, and launch a privatized network of my own, connecting them to it.

"Status report everyone."

{Kraken functions green!}

{Ayanami fully functional.}

{Kako all systems green.}

{Salem's still in business!}

I look to my father and grin. "Fog detachment at your service, Sir."

"Set a course for Hawaii, full cruising speed."

"Setting course for Hawaii. Full cruising speed, aye sir."

{Contact aft. Looks like 401 is following us.} Salem reports.

"Good. Maybe Gunzou saw the face of reason." Danielle mutters, "Same common enemy and all that."

"Ayanami, scout ahead, thirty miles, maintain that distance until we reach Hawaii."

{Ayanami copies. Scouting ahead.}

{Shore teams away. Standing by to receive civilians.} Kako reports, anchored in the dark just beyond the surf zone of the main island. I drop anchor further out, acting as support for all the landings, watching I-401 and Gunzou's group move over to the extraction platform, the other mental models starting to build their ships.

Salem, Ayanami, and Kraken all patrol around the islands as the shore teams make landfall, beginning to scour for civilians. We wait for nearly a half hour before we receive a report.

{*Dutchman, this is Alpha. Be advised… the main settlement has no signs of life. Multiple dead.*}

"Copy that, Alpha. Keep searching." My dad orders, rubbing his forehead.

Throughout the morning, the teams all keep searching the islands until there's nothing left to search. Finding multiple dead civilians, and even more dead National Guard soldiers, still manning the island's defenses.

As the Marine Raiders all return, Salem and Ayanami both visit the extraction platform, getting restocked on Thanatonium and Nanomaterials before they join up with Blue Steel, the small destroyer looking even smaller in the presence of hyuuga and the two Kongou-class battleships.

{Kako reporting. All Marines aboard.}

"Good. Maneuver to the platform and get resupplied."

"So what's the plan?" My father yawns.

"Resupply, then evade the recovery flotilla that I presume will be coming for us." I hum, getting up and looking at him. "You however, are going to sleep right now. You're no good as a captain if you're half asleep."

"But-"

"Right. Now." I interrupt him with a glare, changing my eye color to a glowing crimson to drive my point home.

"Okay, you win." He sighs, getting up and heading into his quarters just as I hook up with the extraction platform and start refilling on Thanatonium.

After my large stores of Thanatonium are sufficiently filled, I pull up alongside I-401 and open up a comms network with them, gazing out over the water in the mid-morning light.

"So what'll it be Gunzou? Are you gonna put some trust in us? Or should we part ways for now?" I ask with crossed arms, ignoring the loud rap music coming from Salem's deck.

"For now, we should split our forces. A pair of small groups are easier to hide than one large group. We'll keep in contact, but both groups should do our best to avoid any confrontations for the next day or so."

I nod slowly in understanding, not fully believing his response is fully backed by his claimed motives. "Alright. My group will head North to the Bering Sea. Once there, we'll attack any ships trying to intercept Human shipping. We'll remain there for one week, then we'll move to a dead zone in the central pacific."

"Very well. Blue Steel will remain near the coast to deter any would-be raiders." Gunzou says with an approving nod. "Hyuuga, go with Missouri."

"Eh? Okay."

"Missouri, do you have anything else to propose?" Gunzou asks.

"No Sir." I reply respectfully.

"We'll check in at regular four hour intervals. That is all."

"Missouri, setting out."

I cut the connection with them and put power to the engines, watching Hyuuga motor to keep up while the hybrids all join up and get in what vaguely resembles a protective sailing formation. Kako reluctantly launches a pair of floatplanes, and uses them for scouting in conjunction with Ayanami and Kraken, who both go a fair distance ahead of us, lingering just on the horizon.

We steadily head north, giving the Ghost Fleet a wide berth in the late afternoon. As night falls, we continue our steady trek through a growing storm, learning which of the Marine Raiders get seasick, and who can sleep through nearly anything.

Hours after we'd entered the storm, we split up into pairs and start searching for any Fog ships, reporting every hour.

{Salem and Kraken checking in. Nothing so far.}

{Kako and Ayanami checking in, we just engaged a Fog destroyer. Mahan class.}

"Missouri and Hyuuga checking in. Moving to attack position on a Fog contact."

{Happy hunting~!} Salem chimes before going into standby on comms.

I giggle and look at Danielle, who is surrounded by her sensory rings beside me, a predatory grin on her face as she sends me gun calculations. I put the calculations into the guns and traverse them onto target, loading simple AP shells as I surge up over a wave, onto the crest of another.

"Engage in T-minus five. Four. Three. Two…"

She pings me when it's time to fire, and the fore turrets roar as they belch shells into the raging storm.

"Recalculating, standby for new adjustments. Impact in fifty seconds."

"Not that it matters because we won't see the impacts anyways." my father yawns.

"Sure it matters. It makes us feel better to hear it." I respond with an added roll of my eyes.

. . .

"Aaaand splash. Radar indicates the Fog vessel is turning away. But… so is the human ship…? What the hell?" Danielle mutters.

"Everyone, converge on my location."

{What if it's a trap?} Salem asks.

"Your orders, Captain?" I ask my father.

"Disengage, run southwest and regroup. Have Kraken continue to patrol in the area."

"Aye sir." I respond to him before addressing everyone again. "Kraken, you'll remain in the area on a patrol route. Everyone else, we're disengaging to the south."

{Kraken copies! I'll send you my patrol route in a little bit!}

Kraken goes into standby mode on comms just as the bow slams down on a huge wave, submerging the deck for several seconds before the water flows off.

{Orders from Gunzou. We're to rendezvous at Hawaii again and loiter there to prevent use of the Nanomaterial mine.} Hyuuga reports, her ship taking a nosedive into a wave just like I did.

"Copy that. Moving at full speed to the rally point."

"So what do Fog do to pass the time?"

I raise my head and look over at the short-haired blonde Corpsman sitting in the moonlight, watching him peel an orange with a pocket knife out of boredom, carelessly kicking the peels off the deck into the water.

"Personally, I just keep running over past engagements, seeing what could have gone better. When I can't analyze it anymore, I move on to the next encounter."

"Huh…." he hums, eyebrows raised as he thinks about a response. "How many engagements have you been in?"

"More than I care to admit. Norfolk, New York, multiple places on the East Coast. Seattle, and a couple other places. I'm not proud of what I've done, but what's done is done."

"What about the other chick? The short one?"

"She's been in a couple. Not as many as I have though."

He raises an eyebrow at me and finishes taking the skin off the orange, eating a piece before shaking his head. "I'm not even gonna ask."

"That's probably better off. Saves me having to explain our situation. It's complicated."

He chuckles and puts his helmet back on, continuing to eat his orange in silence even as Danielle jumps down beside me.

"I'm launching a scout drone. Something doesn't sit right about the place being empty."

"'Kay then. We'll see what we see." I yawn dismissively. "Keep it kinda discrete, y'know?"

"Gotcha."

{Contact near New Honolulu! That's Scylla!} Danielle exclaims over the communications net.

"Is she alone?"

{Looks like it. I see movement on shore, but I can't keep the drone above the crest of the hill for too long.}

"Okay. Captain, your orders?" I ask my father, having been relaxing in his quarters while he read a book.

"Hmmm…. We'll use the islands to get as close as we can, then we'll take her by surprise and send her to the bottom or lock down her weapons. That's possible, right?"

"Very. You heard him everyone. Danielle, keep popping the drone up occasionally. Everyone else, column, full battle speed."

{Salem going to General Quarters.}

{Kako going to General Quarters.}

{Ayanami going to General Quarters.}

I jump up from my seat on my father's desk and throw open the bulkhead as the alarm sounds, drawing all the Marines inside, and calling me up to my favorite perch. "Let's go!"

I run up to the top of the superstructure and run my sensors on standby as to not alert Scylla, finding Hyuuga following directly behind us. We use the radar shadow of the islands to stay hidden for as long as possible, using Danielle's directions to bring our guns on target without using our sensors until I round the island, finding myself only a couple miles from Scylla.

"Fire a bracket of five-inch. Regular explosives. Let's get her attention." I order Danielle, the directive followed mere seconds later by the five Port five-inch mounts belching purple flame. None of the shells land anywhere close to her, but the rumble and the water geysers ought to do a decent job at firmly grabbing her attention.

"Firing calculations ready for main guns. Constant update." Danielle informs me as I fire up my sensors to full power, actively pinging the water with sonar while sweeping the air with Radar.

"Surprise, you sadistic bitch." I grumble, hearing klaxons from Salem and Kako that signify they're ready to fire.

{Scylla's colors just dimmed. Her weapons are locked.} Hyuuga reports.

"Good. Dani, bring the drone into plain view. Get eyes on shore."

"On it."

I maneuver to keep my guns on Scylla while putting her at a disadvantage, which puts me astern of her. I slow to a stop and cross my arms while I stare down the cruiser.

"Get all the raiders on deck. Full combat gear."

"They're all ready to rumble."

"Good. I'm leading; You have full control in case something goes wrong." I order my sister before jumping off the superstructure, onto the deck. "Raiders! It's time to play!"

The bulkheads swing open and the Marines file out, vests on, guns loaded, faces covered. Thirty of them assemble on my deck as I make a holopanel pathway, lowering the railing and walking across the water, feeling my entourage follow me all the way to Scylla's deck.

"Team One, moving aft!"

"Two, moving fore!"

"Three, bridge!"

The teams all split up into ten apiece and spread out along the deck, attempting entry at a couple of the bulkheads before the superstructure folds open and a bunch of armed sailors emerge, weapons raised.

"Weapons down! Drop your weapons!" One orders, being aimed at by the Raiders.

"Marines! Let's see some hands! Hands up! Drop your weapons!" One of the Raiders yells back.

The situation quickly dissolves into both sides yelling at each other, guns pointed at each other and fingers tense on the triggers. I shield the Raiders with klein panels and cross my arms, looking at all the unknown soldiers. "SCYLLA!" I yell above the soldiers, my voice traveling much further.

Seconds later I catch a glimpse of Scylla landing atop her superstructure. "Yo, you called?"

I watch as she slowly walks down her superstructure's side. "Breaking the rules again? You know you're not supposed to have humans aboard."

"My ship my rules. besides, they're my humans and it's for a project," She says as she casually sits down, defying gravity. "Besides, if we're talking about rule breaking, that'd be you with the whole network severing eh?"

I merely shrug and stretch my arms above my head. "Ain't my rules anymore."

"That so?" Scylla smirks and changes her bikini to her weird sporty ninja clothing. "Running around with ghosts are the new rules then?"

"Something like that. The bikini look was good by the way." I say with a wink before turning to the Raiders. "Stand down."

All the Marines slowly lower their weapons, keeping them at the low ready, still tense but not as hostile. Some flinch when Scylla snaps her fingers, and the odd sailors lower their weapons in one collective movement. "I suppose, but it hardly fits when night has fallen. So, decided to come have a little vacation in the islands?"

"Nah. All work and no play. Still better than what we were doing under Brisky's command though."

"I would disagree personally . . . but we already know that our opinions on that matter differ," She says with an indifferent tone as she drops to the deck. "So, if there's no play here, your work either must be very dull patrols, or your here for a reason, yes?"

"Can't say for certain. However, I've gotta ask," I say as I take several steps towards her. "What are you doing here? It's hardly the time for building sandcastles. With us running around and all that."

The smile that spreads across her face isn't a crazy or creepy one, for once. Instead, it's a warm smile that I've almost never seen from her. "I've been cleaning up a mistake of design . . . . and looking for information."

"Care to share in private?" I ask and nod pointedly towards the tallest point in her superstructure.

"I believe that is possible," She relays to me without speaking, using a short-range network connection. "Your other half and i had started work on a weapon to knock out human forces. It had gone rampant as it was not finished when it had been deployed. While waiting here for some information, I have been dealing with the bodies. For even if i hate them, the dead should still be buried."

"Well. I knew about the weapon and its intention. I didn't know about its unfinished state, or the fact that you somehow have a heart."

"Ha, having a heart and respecting your enemy are two different things. If they are alive they have uses, but the dead should be respected." She says with a simple glance towards Hyuuga before switching back to talking normally. "So, allied with Blue Steel and the humans then, eh?"

"Yeah. With Blue Steel it's a sort of mutual distrust. Having Navy and Marine personnel aboard feels liberating somehow." I nod slowly and follow her gaze, then revert my attention to her.

"Oh, that must be a nice feeling then being that your old man is there it looks like. . . So you've met Gunzou then yeah?"

"Yeah. I have. Smart feller." I respond vaguely.

"Good! Let me meet him!" Scylla barks, making some of the Raiders flinch from the raised volume.

I consider it for a moment, then send a message to Iona stating that Scylla wants to meet with Gunzou. "I'll run it up to him and see what he thinks."

"Excellent! I look forward to good news. And if there needs to be allowance, I am willing to come with, keep my weapons locked and my people will not leave the ship. Oh, but if I'm put under lock and key, thrown into an interrogation room or attacked, all bets are off. Sensible terms eh?"

"I do believe you have a deal." I say with a nod of approval. "We're just waiting on Gunzou's decision."

"Fair. Boys, get back inside," Scylla instructs her troops. In seconds they all withdraw into her superstructure, the openings closing behind them.

"Everyone back to your quarters." I order the Marines, making a walkway back to my body and following them.

{So what's the deal. We killing her?} Salem asks.

"Nope. We're waiting on Gunzou. Scylla wants to meet him."

{I get that I didn't know Scylla for very long, but my gut tells me that's a bad idea.} Salem mutters through the comms.

{Probably because it is.} Danielle yawns, {This politics shit is boring, can we just blow her out of the water already?!}

"No, we can't. We've at least gotta humor Gunzou."

As my other half groans and flops on her back atop the superstructure, I jump up to the bridge and enter, finding our father in a video call with Gunzou.

"What is your opinion, Captain?" Gunzou asks him, sitting in his captain's chair inside I-401.

"To be honest, I'm not sure what to think. I've encountered this Fog once before, and she seemed more than happy to gut me like a fish. I don't think she can be trusted, but…" our father shrugs and leans back in his chair. "Your show Mister Chihaya."

Blue Steel's leader stares thoughtfully for a moment, then straightens up and looks at me, nodding. "Tell Scylla we'd like to meet with her too. We'll meet in Astoria, if that's convenient."

"I'll let her know. Astoria is great. Less collateral if this meeting goes sideways."

"My thoughts exactly. We'll rendezvous there in two days. Take your time."

I nod and turn around, walking out of the bridge and jumping down to the water, walking across on a single panel walkway to Scylla's ship.

"Hey Scylla." I yawn as I drop onto her deck, seeing her straighten up from where she's leaning against her superstructure.

"You rang?" She asks with her trademark smile, not giving away anything.

"Gunzou's agreed to meet with you. We'll meet in relatively neutral territory. Fair warning, if there's any sign that you've backstabbed us, you'll be the first we blow out of the water."

"Aw, and here I was hoping for a home cooked meal and a fluffy bed," Scylla sarcastically remarks. "Just kidding, I'm fine with that, I was the one who suggested the equal terms in the first place, so as long as none of your little friends tries to off me, then I have no reason to go against my word, eh?"

"Fair enough. We're setting sail. You'll be positioned between and slightly ahead of Hyuuga and I." I instruct as I turn around and hop off her deck, walking back to my main body.

"Alright, I'll assume you'd like my weapons locked. And I'd appreciate if no one target locked me. The ringing is beyond annoying as it is." Scylla says with a grin.

"Sounds good. Keep 'em locked. I'll talk to Hyuuga about it!" I yell over my shoulder.

"Tell her thanks in advance!" Scylla calls back gleefully.

I wave over my shoulder and walk over to my main body, getting in contact with everyone.

"We're moving out. Scylla's in the middle of our formation. Klein fields up, but don't target lock her."

{Understood.} Hyuuga replies as her guns swivel back to traveling position.

{Kraken reporting. I have confirmed contact of multiple human ships sailing amongst Fog ships. What should I do?}

"Sink 'em."