A/N: Hello, and thanks for reading. I have been wanting to write something on Azur Lane for a while now, but I just couldn't figure out a good way to start, so I put the project off for several months. I've also already written a Kancolle story, and since that has ship girls as well, I didn't want to write two stories on the same topic because that would be kind of boring for me. However, I think this approach of 'ship girls in space' could be interesting, mainly because it's so different from anything I've written before... Well, we'll see where this goes, I guess, but hopefully it will be interesting for you as well. Thanks again for reading, and now on with the story...

11/26, Galactic Calendar Year 320

1500 hours

Unknown Location, Soviet Satellites of Saturn

A man dressed in a dark red military uniform sat at his seat in the bridge of his ship, a small space cruiser by the name of Soyuz. His unruly black hair, lightly tanned skin, and handsome features made him seem like some sort of exotic prince, but his unnatural, pale yellow eyes overshadowed any of his other features, leaving an uncomfortable feeling with those who gaze upon them. He also wore his uniform in an unorthodox manner, with his officer's coat being unzipped and only his right arm actually properly inside the coat. The rest of the uniform hung loosely off him, revealing a black t-shirt and his well-muscled left arm. At the moment, he was resting his cheek on his fist as waited around, bored. It was a routine patrol, and no other ships had been spotted in the blackness of space so far.

However, that was about to change.

"Captain Rackham, we've spotted a vessel to our starboard. She should be within visual range in a few minutes," a lieutenant reported from his position below.

The black-haired officer, Captain Rackham, sat up at that. "What sort of ship is it?"

"It appears to be a Committee cargo ship. No escorts," the lieutenant replied.

"No escorts?" Rackham's eyes lit up. "That's very good for us… But it doesn't make sense. Who sends out a cargo ship without escorts, especially in this sector?"

"Actually, sir, it seems that this cargo ship was relying on stealth technology to sail by, but it looks like it malfunctioned. They suddenly appeared in the middle of our radar out of nowhere, which is why I believe this is the case," the lieutenant said.

Rackham furrowed his brows in confusion. "That's unusual to say the least. Is Commander Bonnet here? No? Call him up to the bridge."

Before the lieutenant could start on that order, the automatic doors to the bridge slid open and a tall man with red hair and sleek glasses entered. He had cold green eyes, and his face was pretty yet sharp and unfriendly at the same time. Like Captain Rackham and the lieutenant, he also wore the dark red uniform issued to officers of the Saturn Space Fleet, though unlike the captain, he wore his properly, no signs of ruffles or dirt anywhere on his spotless shirt.

"You called for me, Captain?" Commander Bonnet, the ship's first mate, greeted as he glanced at the hologram in the center of the bridge which gave the crew an estimation of their ship's distance from the enemy vessel.

"Just in time. As you can see, it looks like we've got something today," Rackham smirked. "A good thing too. I wasn't looking forward to the lecture we were going to get from Admiral Read if we returned from our voyage empty-handed."

Commander Bonnet narrowed his eyes as he looked at the hologram in greater detail. "Just one cargo ship with no escorts? Is this a trap?"

Rackham explained what the lieutenant had told him about the stealth technology.

"Hm… That is strange," Bonnet agreed with his captain. "I've never heard of the Joint Galactic Committee using stealth technology, at least not for their cargo ships. Either way, I suppose that makes it easier for us. Shall I issue the surrender order?"

"Go ahead," Rackham gestured towards the main console, a monitor and a computer set up at the top of the bridge.

Bonnet went over to it and typed in a few commands, then leaned into the speaker. Though they had been speaking Russian up until now, he switched to English for his announcement. "Committee cargo ship, this is the Soyuz. We are hereby ordering you to surrender and give up your cargo. If you do so, your crew and ship will not be harmed. If you refuse, we will have to employ potentially lethal force. Please send your answer back within the next minute, or else we will consider you as hostile."

"These guys would have to be suicidal not to surrender. Not like they have any escorts to protect them," Rackham assumed after Bonnet finished the message.

"Indeed," Bonnet simply said.

Rackham glanced at him. "Hm? You don't sound so sure."

"I suppose, though you're well aware why that's the case, sir. If this cargo ship took the gamble of using stealth technology instead of the standard military escort, it is possible that they are carrying some precious cargo that they can't afford to lose," Bonnet explained even though he knew that Rackham already thought of all this. "The Saturn Satellite's privateers are the best in the galaxy, and cargo runs typically have a very low success rate in our sectors, even with a military escort. The fact that they didn't even bother with a military escort this time and went straight for new stealth technology may indicate that they need to transport this particular cargo at all costs."

Rackham smiled. "Yes, and if that's the case, then we've got quite the haul on our hands this time. But there's also the possibility that this cargo ship contains nothing, and that it's just a dummy test run for the stealth technology that they're using."

"You're right about that, sir," Bonnet admitted.

The lieutenant then interrupted their conversation. "Captain! The ship, it's fleeing!"

Rackham stood up from his chair and leaned on the railing as he looked out the big windows that gave the bridge crew a clear view into outer space. Sure enough, he could see the dark green cargo ship zipping away as fast it could, its blue burners rapidly jetting out of view.

"Should we pursue?" the lieutenant then asked, glancing around at the other bridge crew, who looked completely nonplussed by this development.

"What's your name again? Lieutenant Roberts, right?" Rackham asked. "This is your first cruise with us, but there's a reason why we always patrol from this position when we come into this sector. Check your map."

Roberts glanced at his computer screen and zoomed out of the map. There were two blips on the radar, one indicating the position of Soyuz and the other of the cargo ship. However, there was also a chain of small dots that created a barrier in the direction that the cargo ship was heading.

"An asteroid belt?" Roberts read. "But… That wasn't there a minute ago…"

"Because electrical interference from a nearby satellite obscured it," Rackham explained. "That satellite belongs to the Saturn colony, so usually only our ships know about it. It's why we mark the asteroid belt manually when we approach it instead of relying on our computers to do it for us."

"So this cargo ship is running straight into an asteroid belt?" Roberts surmised.

"Basically. That ship now has three options: come back the way it came and run into us, risk going through the asteroid belt, or go west, which would lead it directly into the territory of the moon Rhea, which would also mean certain death or capture for them."

"I see… So we are using a geographic barrier to entrap them," Roberts concluded.

Rackham nodded. "This is the way we always do it when we reach this area on our patrol route. Enemy cargo often comes through this sector thinking they have an easy straight route to the Jupiter colonies, but the interference from our satellite is what gives them that false impression. The satellite interference is actually a pretty easy fix, but we've purposely left it broken so we can take advantage of the enemy like this. They fall for it every time, heh."

"Now we are going to give chase," Commander Bonnet picked up where the captain had left off as the ship's automated system was put into acceleration. "Typically the enemy dashes all the way to the asteroid belt without realizing it is there, and then they freeze up in confusion, allowing us to pick them apart quite easily even though we are only one cruiser."

The Soyuz cut through the vast emptiness of space, speeding after the escaping cargo ship. In a matter of minutes, they came within sight of the asteroid belt. Massive rocks hurtled through the blackness, creating a sort of vortex that promised destruction to any who entered. The lone cargo ship could also be seen stopped in front of the belt.

"Well, it's not as big as the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, but it does its job just fine," Rackham said with satisfaction. "All right, prepare the main guns for -"

Rackham stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the cargo ship suddenly take off at full speed into the asteroid belt.

"What the hell?! Have they lost their minds?" the captain shouted, bewildered. The rest of the crew were equally shocked. "Damn it! Main guns, fire at their thrusters! Stop them before they kill themselves!"

"Acquiring firing solution… Complete. Target in sight. Preparing main cannons," the automated voice of the spaceship's AI said over the comms system. "Firing main cannons."

A blue beam shot outwards from the Soyuz and tore through space in an attempt to catch up with the cargo ship. However, it was too late, and the cargo ship had already disappeared into the asteroid belt. The beam shot smashed into a small asteroid, shattering it and sending debris flying in the zero G environment.

"That was… Unexpected," Commander Bonnet managed, pushing up his glasses.

"They… They flew into the asteroid belt?" Lieutenant Roberts stated in disbelief. The other members of the bridge crew began muttering among themselves as well.

Rackham clenched his fists in frustration. "That cargo must have been so important that they would rather have completely destroyed it than let us get our hands on it."

"It appears so. What now, sir?" Bonnet asked.

Rackham sat back down. "Not much to do other than sail around to the other side of the belt and hope that they made it out. In case they didn't, let the Rhea Fleet know. They may be able to send someone over to help search through the belt."

The Soyuz spent the next hour or so sailing around the small asteroid belt, cutting through Rhea territory and letting the moon's fleet know what had just happened. Someone from the Rhea Fleet said they would be sending over a couple minesweepers to try and search through the asteroid field, but there was only so much that they could do.

Either way, it would take some time for those ships to be ready to sortie, so the Soyuz waited alone in front of the asteroid belt, Rackham and the rest of the crew watching eagerly for any sign of the cargo ship.

"Ridiculous," Rackham spat after another hour had passed. "What could have been so important that they had to destroy it and lose their own lives in the process? Now I'm even more curious."

Commander Bonnet was seated at the main console a few feet away, a cup of tea in hand. "State secrets, I suppose. More likely a secret that only the most upper levels of the Joint Galactic Committee are allowed to know about."

"... Do you think it has something to do with the Sirens?" Rackham wondered, glancing over at his first mate.

"The Sirens? We haven't seen any sign of them in two years," Bonnet frowned. "I think most people have assumed that the Sirens just got bored of tormenting our fleets after realizing that humans were no match for them, and so they sailed away to a different galaxy in search of more worthy opponents. Would the JGC leadership really be guarding information on an enemy that is no longer a threat so closely?"

"Hah, you can't tell me that you seriously believe the Sirens are gone for good?" Rackham challenged.

Bonnet took a sip of his tea. "It's not about whether I believe it, it's about what the Committee believes. Neither the Joint Galactic Committee nor our own Outer Reach seem to think that the Sirens are going to attack again anytime soon."

"That could just be because they want to avoid scaring the public. We all saw how everyone reacted when the Sirens first arrived three years ago. Aliens who possess technology far superior to ours and who have no goal but to kill all humans would frighten anybody," Rackham pointed out.

"That may be true, but if our governments' only goal was to avoid frightening the public, then why keep the fact that they believe the Sirens are going to reappear from the military, the very people who are going to be fighting when that happens?" Bonnet countered.

Rackham shrugged. "Why bother telling us? It's not like we can come up with any new tactics that will suddenly allow us to defeat them. If anybody needs to know, it's the scientists and engineers who develop our technology. The only military personnel they'd tell are high-ranking officers like Admirals and Generals, probably."

"I suppose you do have a point there, sir…" Bonnet admitted. If there was one thing that annoyed him about his captain, it was that he never seemed to be able to win these arguments against him. As much as he hated to admit it, Rackham was always a step ahead.

"Do you think the Committee is collaborating with the Sirens?" Rackham asked.

That nearly made Bonnet spit out his tea; perhaps this was one of the few times were Rackham was not, in fact, a step ahead.

"S-Sir, that's ridiculous," Bonnet sputtered, setting down his cup. "You just said it yourself: the Sirens' only goal was to wipe out humanity. They also always attacked any human fleets they could, regardless of whether those fleets belonged to the Joint Galactic Committee or the Outer Reach. Why would they ever decide to help one side over the other?"

"I don't know, but it kind of makes sense. That would explain their secrecy," Rackham crossed his arms, his yellow eyes curious.

Bonnet sighed and shook his head. "I will have to disagree with you on this one, Captain."

"Captain, look!" Lieutenant Roberts' voice interrupted them. "It's the ship!"

Sure enough, the battered JGC cargo ship slowly emerged from the asteroid belt. It was still functioning, but there were massive dents in it, and parts of it were falling off and fading away into the vacuum of space.

"Damn, it actually survived." Rackham was impressed. "By the way it's sailing, it doesn't look like it has much power available. Bonnet, contact the crew to determine if anyone is still alive. Also, check to make sure that they're not emitting any distress signals. We're much closer to Committee territory now, so there's a possibility that an enemy patrol could pick it up."

"Roger," Bonnet said before turning to the console and inputting various commands. He then began speaking into the mic, again in English. "This is the Soyuz. Is anyone there? Your ship is in no position to escape from us. Slowly sail over to our portside and attach your connectors. We will treat any injuries your crew may have."

About a minute passed in silence, and there was no response. The cargo ship continued to drift aimlessly, not heeding Bonnet's words at all. In fact, it looked as if no one was even in control of the ship.

"It's possible that their crew was killed. Even if they had strapped themselves in, heading into an asteroid belt like that one could cause some serious injuries," Rackham said. "All right, let's pull up next to them. We're going to board them. Also, tell Chief Kidd to prepare his raiders to head out."

The Soyuz maneuvered beside the cargo ship, mainly done through the ship's own AI but assisted at some points by the bridge staff. As a certified privateer vessel, the Soyuz was equipped with machinery that allowed it to board other ships, even when that other ship was not willing itself. A hole opened up on the Soyuz's exterior and a large connector emerged from it, slowly pushing outwards until it attached to the cargo ship. A mechanism within the connector then began tearing open a hole in the cargo ship's hull, a process that went by remarkably quickly. After a few minutes, the connection was stabilized.

"All right, I'm going in. I want to see what's in there for myself," Rackham decided, standing up. "What about you, Bonnet?"

"If the enemy crew is wiped out, then it is probably safe enough. I'll accompany you," Bonnet decided.

"Okay. Lieutenant Roberts! You're the ranking officer. Take care of the ship while we're gone," Rackham told him.

"Roger that, sir," Roberts saluted from below.

Rackham and Bonnet headed out of the bridge and began walking towards the center of the ship where the connector was. The interior of the Soyuz had light purple flooring and walls and ceilings colored a darker shade of violet, and neon pink lights lit up the corridors. Most Outer Reach ships followed this same design pattern, though the ships from the Saturn fleets differed slightly because of the numerous Soviet propaganda posters and paintings hanging on the bulkheads throughout the ship.

Finally they arrived at a large, open room where they saw Master Chief Kidd and numerous other space marines standing around, waiting. They were geared up with tactical equipment like bulletproof vests, helmets, belts, and all the like, and they looked very different from Rackham and Bonnet, who just came in their standard officer uniforms. The marines carried sleek-looking black assault rifles with them, along with a few other things like stun grenades, knives, and gas masks hanging from their belts.

Master Chief Kidd saluted as the two officers approached. He was a tall, burly man with a clean-shaven face and sharp, gray eyes. Unlike most of his soldiers, he didn't wear a helmet, allowing his dark, unkempt hair to hang out freely.

"Sir. We're ready to move out," Kidd stated in his deep, strong voice.

Rackham saluted back. "Roger that. As you were told and as you probably saw already on one of the consoles, the enemy ship does not appear to be in any position to offer resistance, but just be prepared anyway. Let's go."

Chief Kidd and the marines led the way through the connector, advancing through the sterile white corridor until they reached the opening into the cargo ship. They raised their weapons and fanned out as they entered, searching for any signs of enemy contact.

The Committee cargo ship was small, much smaller than Soyuz, even, so there was not much to search. The inside of Joint Galactic Committee ships were different than Outer Reach ships, and unlike the purple-hued inside of Soyuz, Committee ships had white and gray interiors,

Chief Kidd grabbed one of his marines by the shoulder. "Take half the men and go right. Comb out the rest of the ship, and radio in if you run into anything. I'm going left up to the bridge."

The marine nodded and departed with half of the soldiers, leaving Kidd, Bonnet, and Rackham with the other half. Chief Kidd led the way to the bridge, stepping past shattered machinery and chunks of metal and wiring that lay on the floor due to the cargo ship's rough trip through the asteroid belt.

They did not encounter any people, but when they got to the bridge, they saw why. The small crew of the cargo ship had all gathered in the bridge, probably in a last-ditch effort to maneuver through the asteroid belt as best as they could. All of them were dead, many of them lying on the ground with twisted limbs and necks while others had their skulls or chests smashed in. Most of the consoles and machinery on the bridge had been completely destroyed.

"So they died after all. Not surprising considering they tried to get through the asteroid belt," Rackham observed, moving his hand away from the handgun on his belt.

Commander Bonnet glanced around the bridge, which was much smaller than the Soyuz's. "I don't see anything here worthy of going to such lengths to protect. It looks like a normal cargo ship's bridge to me."

Rackham rubbed his chin. "Then maybe it's not in the bridge? Or could it be something digital, in which case it would have been in these smashed-up consoles?"

Chief Kidd's radio flared to life. "Chief, we've cleared the ship. No hostiles detected, but we did find something weird. You'll want to check this out yourselves…"

"Got it," Kidd simply replied before turning to Rackham and Bonnet. "Looks like they've found whatever it is you're looking for. Let's head over to their coordinates."

Chief Kidd led the two officers and the marines back to where the other marines had called them. They went all the way to the back of the ship, entering into a storeroom. There, they saw the marines standing around two containers, as well as a woman who was passed out on the floor. She had long, blonde hair and was dressed in a black and red military outfit, though her cap had fallen off and was lying a few feet away from her.

"What is this?" Rackham wondered aloud, blinking at the woman.

"We just found her like this, sir. We think she came out of that container over there," one of the marines said, pointing to a third large container that had tipped over.

Rackham was about to ask why she was in a container, but he stopped short when he saw that there were two other containers that still remained standing. Inside each of the containers was another woman.

Both were tall and exceptionally beautiful, just like the girl lying on the ground, but their appearances varied. The first had long, green hair, and she also wore what appeared to be a military uniform, though it was white in color. She had black tights over her long legs, and a forest green cape was slung over her shoulders. The second girl had brown hair tied in a ponytail, and she wore something more similar to a pirate's attire from the old days. Both women had their eyes closed and their arms folded over their chests, clearly in a state of hibernation.

"Androids?" Bonnet hypothesized, narrowing his eyes at the women in the containers.

"No military android I've ever seen looks like they do," Kidd said.

Rackham knelt down beside the passed-out blonde. "They're not androids. This one is breathing. However, there is the fact that they survived the ship going through the asteroid belt while the human crew didn't, so they're clearly not normal humans either. Were these women what the crew was trying to keep from us?"

Rackham knew he wouldn't get any answers from the crew, and his curiosity was even more overwhelming now. Unable to resist, he shook the blonde girl lightly, hoping it would wake her up.

The woman muttered in her sleep as Rackham shook her, but then her icy blue eyes snapped open. Disoriented, she sat up and looked around the room, then shot to her feet as she scowled at the numerous strange men surrounding her. She stumbled slightly, but she quickly recovered as she sized up the marines.

Rackham stood up as well. "Hello. You're awake now."

The woman turned her cold gaze to him, looked him over, then frowned even harder. "Kommunistich. Bleib mir fern."

The crew glanced at each other in confusion.

"What did she say? What language is that?" Chief Kidd wondered.

"It's German," Rackham stated. "I don't know what she just said, but I assume that first word was 'communist.' Does she know who we are?"

The woman made no reply to that, and her blue eyes began to show signs of panic as she tried to look around for an escape. Rackham picked up on this and realized that if they didn't calm her down soon, she would probably turn hostile.

"Maybe she doesn't understand Russian," he guessed. "I don't suppose anyone here speaks German?"

The marines all shook their heads.

Well, fuck. English it is, then. "Er… Hello, comrade. How are you? My name is Jack Rackham."

He spoke with a slight Russian accent, but apparently the woman understood him because her harsh gaze softened a bit. "... Hello. I am Bismarck. Where is this place? Are we in the Soviet Union? What is going on?"

She also spoke with a German accent, but Rackham was glad to see that they could actually communicate now. "This isn't the USSR. We are in the space of the Soviet Satellites of Saturn. As I said, I'm Captain Rackham, and this is my crew. We found you passed out on the floor of this Committee cargo ship."

Bismarck looked supremely confused, and the untrusting scowl returned to her face. "Excuse me? I don't understand. You said we are in the Soviet, but this is not the Soviet Union? What is it, then? And what am I doing aboard a cargo ship?"

Rackham could see that she was beginning to regress into her panicked state. "Well, what is most important is that we are not your enemy, Bismarck. Do you know what year it is, at least?"

Bismarck paused, her eyes now showing some recognition. "... Right. This is no longer the period known as 'World War II.' This is the year 320 of the Galactic Calendar."

"That's correct…" Rackham confirmed, though he had no idea why she just mentioned World War II. That happened almost two thousand years ago.

"If I remember correctly, there are two warring factions in this time period: the Joint Galactic Committee and the Outer Reach. One of the factions of the Outer Reach is based around the planet Saturn. That is where you are from?" Bismarck asked.

"Yes," Rackham answered, though now he was the one who was getting confused.

Bismarck looked thoughtful. "Hm. I wasn't aware that the Saturn colonies were so similar to the Soviet Union. My apologies. Your attire and the Russian you spoke made me believe you were in fact Russians."

"No, the Soviet Satellites of Saturn don't have anything to do with Russia back on Earth, other than the fact that we have adopted the Soviet system from their past," Rackham explained. "Where are you from, Bismarck? Are you from Germany? What are you doing on this cargo ship?"

"I am from Germany, yes. As for what I am doing on this ship… I do not know. In addition to my own memories from back in the War, I can tell that my Wisdom Cube has been supplemented with some contemporary knowledge, such as the fact that humans have now colonized outer space and the history of what happened during and after World War II. I also know about the state of the war between the Joint Galactic Committee and the Outer Reach, and I know about the existence of the strange beings called 'Sirens.' Aside from that, I do not know anything else about my situation," Bismarck said.

"If I may, sir," Commander Bonnet interjected in Russian, and Rackham nodded to him. Bonnet then faced Bismarck and switched to English. "Miss Bismarck, I am Commander Stede Bonnet. Why do you keep bringing up World War II? That war ended two thousand years ago. What relevance does it have here?"

"I suppose I forgot to mention that, yes," Bismarck realized. "I am the battleship Bismarck of the Kriegsmarine. I was sunk in the year 1941 where I remained at the bottom of the Atlantic until recently, when my Wisdom Cube was recovered and I manifested this body."

The crew stared at her dumbly.

"... Did you just say you are a battleship?" Rackham asked in disbelief.

"Yes, I am the KMS Bismarck," Bismarck replied in a tone that made it seem as if it he were an idiot for not understanding. "As I said, my Wisdom Cube has now manifested in this body, which is why I appear as a human."

Is this some sort of joke? "And are you not questioning how a battleship suddenly became a young woman?"

Bismarck seemed unbothered by that. "No. My soul is the same as it was back then, but now I simply have the mind and body of a human. How that happened is none of my concern, nor was it programmed into my Wisdom Cube, so I have no way of knowing the answer regardless. All I know about my purpose in this form is that I have a new enemy to fight: those known as the Sirens."

The marines began talking among themselves excitedly at that declaration, and Rackham was too engrossed in what Bismarck was saying to tell them to quiet down. "Wait, what? You were built to fight the Sirens?"

"No, I was built to defend the Fatherland. This is simply my current mission," Bismarck replied, annoyed.

"And who gave you that mission?" Bonnet asked.

"That I don't know," Bismarck admitted. "I just know that it is my duty at the moment. Since you said I am aboard a 'Committee cargo ship,' I assume it is the Joint Galactic Committee who found my Wisdom Cube."

"What's a Wisdom Cube?" Rackham questioned.

"It is the core of my body and it contains my warship soul," Bismarck simply said.

That answer did not satisfy Rackham at all, but it was clear that Bismarck either didn't know anymore than that or that she didn't feel like sharing.

The captain pointed to the other two women in the containers. "Do you know them?"

Bismarck turned to look. "Littorio and Jean Bart. Though I did not know them personally, I know they were battleships of the Regia Marina and the French navy. Did they also come here with me? Are they asleep?"

"How should we know? We just found you lying on the floor when we got here," Rackham told her. "So you're all battleships, is that what you're saying?"

"Is it that hard to believe? Surely it can't be more ridiculous than the concept of humans living in outer space," Bismarck shot back.

Rackham actually did think it was a lot more ridiculous, but there was no point in arguing. Instead, he turned to Master Chief Kidd and the marines. "Can you get those containers open?"

"We can try," Kidd shrugged as he headed over the containers with the marines.

Rackham watched Bismarck as the marines pried at the containers, curious as to how she would react. To his surprise, she seemed to want to know what would happen once those containers were opened as well, and she made no move to stop them.

The containers opened rather easily, either having been weakened by the rocking and smacking of the ship in the asteroid belt or because they were built that way in the first place. When the glass door to Littorio's container opened, the green-haired woman tumbled out, falling over and landing almost on her face. Rackham thought that maybe she was passed out like Bismarck had been, but Littorio quickly recovered and stood up, blinking as she took in her surroundings.

"Hm? Che posto e questo?" Littorio asked, glancing around.

"Hello. Do you speak English?" Rackham asked her as the marines got started on the other container, though some of them lagged behind as they gawked at her.

"Yes, I do. Who are you? You're cute," she smiled at him. She was tall for a woman, and with her high-heeled boots, she was just as tall as Rackham, who himself was about six feet in height.

"Oh? Thank you," Rackham replied, grinning at the unexpected complement. He held out his hand. "I am Captain Rackham of the Soviet Satellites of Saturn. It is nice to meet you, Littorio."

"The pleasure is all mine." She took his hand and kissed it.

"It seems this one is quite strange," Bonnet noted with a frown, making sure to say that comment in Russian.

Littorio then turned her gaze to Bismarck. "Ah, and you must be the famed Bismarck. You are more beautiful than I could have ever imagined."

Bismarck looked unamused. "Is that so? I just hope you are not as useless as your country was during the War."

"What stinging words! But I suppose even the prettiest of roses have thorns," Littorio smirked at her.

Rackham watched them with a mixture of fascination, unable to believe that these were actually World War II-era battleships like Bismarck had said.

The final container was opened. Unlike Littorio, the woman (or battleship) known as Jean Bart remained in her container, then slowly reached out a hand, grasped the side of her container, and pulled herself out. She held a hand to her forehead as if she were having a headache, squinting as she looked around the room and tried to figure out what was going on.

Rackham quickly made his way over. "Hello, Jean Bart. I am Captain Rackham. Do you know where you are?"

Jean Bart regarded him warily with her blood red eyes but ignored his question. She turned to watch Bismarck and Littorio, who were still chatting with each other, much to Bismarck's chagrin.

"Maybe she's mute," Chief Kidd suggested in English to Rackham after Jean Bart didn't speak.

The French ship glared at him. "I am no mute. I simply have nothing to say to the likes of you."

"'The likes of you'? Do you even know who we are?" Rackham asked.

"... I suppose you are the ones who commissioned me to fight these 'Sirens'?" Jean Bart guessed. "If the enemy is here, then I will fight. Otherwise, I have no interest in speaking with you."

"All right, then," Rackham threw his hands up, amused. He didn't bother telling her that they were not actually the ones who built her.

The phone in Rackham's pocket buzzed. He took it out and answered it. "Hello? Lieutenant?"

"Sir, the minesweepers from the Rhea Fleet have arrived. They are requesting to speak with you," Lieutenant Roberts informed him over the phone.

"Okay. I'll be back on the ship soon."

He hung up the phone and turned to his crew, speaking in English so that the battleship girls could understand as well. "All right, everyone. It seems our work here is done, so we're heading back to the Soyuz. Let's escort our new guests back, and then we will figure out what to do from there."

The group began heading back to the connector, with the ship girls following without any complaints. It seemed that they had no issues in working with Outer Reach personnel even though it looked like they had been constructed by the Joint Galactic Committee.

Rackham still didn't know exactly what they were… They looked and acted more human than any android he had ever seen, but the things Bismarck said about Wisdom Cubes and how she was a World War II battleship were not at all things that a human would ever say, at least not a mentally-sound human. There was also the fact that the JGC seemed to want to guard these girls closely and avoid letting them fall in enemy hands at all costs, and that made him think that they were in fact some type of weapon. Given that they said their purpose was to fight the Sirens, their being weapons or special soldiers was the most likely possibility.

Rackham walked behind the ship girls, watching them closely with his yellow eyes. Well, whatever they are, I think things are about to get a lot more interesting…