Chapter 4: The Other Side.

There's limit for everything.

A fundamental belief in life was that there always a limit for everything. Nothing was infinite, no such thing as endless, what lied on the end was the very limit itself. Afterall, the phrase 'edge of universe' did exist, the vast expense of space wasn't spared of the prospect either.

And for mere human like David himself, the said limit was something more simpler.

As Cleveland came to docking and the emergency team hastily dispatched with Vestal leading them, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of dream he had last night to suddenly receive this much of responsibility and burden so suddenly. If someone was to ask him about his thoughts regarding the occurance, he would answer with a tone full of disbelief;

"I'm gonna need a lot of Whiskey to deal with it"

The amount of surprises in that day was a bit too much for him, what was supposedly a normal Thursday turned into a hectic one in just a few hours. He should have known anything coming from HIGHCOM could either be too good or too bad, but the bad usually outchance the good most of the time.

Today's a good example for it.

"Pardon me, Commander, did you say something?" Prince of Wales asked him from his side, clearly concerned. She must have caught on his distressed expression.

David sighed, running a hand over his face. "No, nothing. It's just a bit unexpected, today that is"

"That is an understatement, Commander"

"That is, Wales, that is"

Arizona and Nevada finally emerged from the ramp leading to a now docked Cleveland steel form, both Battleships carrying a stretcher with a single person on it. David walked towards them, towering above most ship-girls accumulating on the area, in that moment the Commander finally got a glimpse of the space ship human form as they carried her through the crowd of curious ship-girls.

To think there wouldn't be another surprise, he should have known better.

"She looks like our Enterprise" David commented after getting a good look out on the unconscious girl, watching both Battleships went to the base medical ward.

"The resemblance is... Uncanny" Said Wales in agreement, she then gestured toward his side when Cleveland and Vestal finally made their presences known.

The Light Cruiser was engaged in a deep conversation with Vestal, motioning wildly with her arms as she answered whatever question Vestal gave her. She seemed distressed, worried beyond anything as she explained the situation.

"It's clearly a reaction of her immune system, the gradual worsening of her condition I mean. It is possible it was caused by the multiple breaches on her hull she then exposed to a radiation of space"

"C'mon now, it mustn't be that bad"

"It's a possibility we can't eliminate so no reason to not believe it either. Is there something that might clue us? Her antics while she was with you people? Odd behavior or maybe a complaint or some sort?"

"I'm not really sure either since she spent most of her time during our travel isolating herself, as a matter of fact she only talked when Hornet initiated the conversation a few hours prior"

"So no complaint?"

"She didn't strike me as a kind of person who would even if there was something bugging her, she did seem tired though"

"I see, so aside from distressful gesture whenever she moved her abdomen area she didn't show any other symptoms?"

"That's what Hornet saw and told me"

"Right. Then that is that, I'll see what I can do. Hopefully her condition isn't as bad as I thought. Thank you, Cleveland, I'll be on my office if you need anything"

"Sure, Vestal"

The Repair Ship smiled, patting Cleveland on her back reassuringly, apparently the gesture was enough to ease Cleveland a little bit because she let out a deep relieved sigh afterwards.

Vestal was one of the oldest ships in Eagle Union Navy, naturally she had the motherly charm and was looked upon as a figure the younger ships could rely on. The fact she was responsible to keep everyone healthy also played a big role.

"Vestal" The Commander called out when Vestal passed his position, catching her attention. "How's our guest?"

"I yet to determine the extent of her injury, Commander. However initial examination revealed she suffers a severe burn wound on her abdomen, again I still have to make sure what the cause since honestly I have never seen anything like that"

He frowned before asking again. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure, Commander, but the wound itself... Well, let's just say it's completely burned it's like the area around it is deprived of any moisture usually found in similiar injury" The pink haired girl shuddered, mind flashing back to her earlier inspection. In her years of service, fixing and patching countless battle-damaged ships, it was the first time she saw burn damage to that extent. "It's like charcoal, a horrendous wound really"

David grimaced at the thought. "I see. I don't think I need to say this but you know how important she is"

Vestal hummed in acknowledgement. "Yes, Commander, I'll do my best to fix her up"

"Good, inform me when she's better"

Vestal nodded, picking up her pace to the base medical ward. David watched her go for a few more seconds before diverting his attention to the remaining ship-girls presented. "What you see today must not leave the base, it's a direct order" He said, eyes narrowing into a dangerous slit. He needed to make his girls understood the gravity of their situation. "Starting from now the base will be put on alert, all personnel must be armed until further notice. The usual patrol will also be tripled, understood?"

"Yes, Commander"

"Understood"

"Alright"

"Leave it to us, Commander"

"Good" David smiled appreciatively, he knew he could rely on them. "Do me proud, girls"

As the crowd quickly dispersed to start their duty, Prince of Wales stayed behind along with Warspite, Helena and Cleveland. The former then asked "Commander, what shall we inform HIGHCOM?"

"The intel about the anomaly was coming from top-brass itself, there was no way to keep them in the dark. Someone will start to ask a question or two" Cleveland piped in, staring at her sisters as they maneuvered near the port's entrance in obvious devensive manner. Ever since the giant vessel's sudden fall they had been rather dead set keeping their distance close to her.

Talk about overprotective sisters.

David waved the concern off, running a hand over his short hair. "You don't need to worry about that, I've got a plan" He said reassuringly in hope to drive their thoughts from what basically his job. "Cleve, can you please give me the full recollection of the first contact?"

The Light Cruiser shook her head, an apologetic smile adorning her face. "Sorry, but the one who actually did it is Enterprise, I'll tell you what I know though"

"Please do, we all curious about it" The Commander urged, gesturing toward the other ship-girls who nodded in return.

"Right" Cleveland straightened up, her façade morphed to that of a soldier when facing her superior, serious and void of any emotions. "Five hours after our departure from base, at approximately zero-six twenty hours of local time, we detected a sudden anomaly of Mist Sea a few miles from the possible crash site, much or less confirming our suspicion that Siren was indeed present in the area, following this their influence to the weather kept on getting stronger until a storm was created. Three minutes after the initial anomaly, Enterprise ordered general quarters and the five minutes following it were spent with Hornet launching her aicrafts to patrol. The rough sea condition made it impossible for Hornet to spot the enemy or the mission objective but at zero-six forty-five Hornet reported of an enemy flotilla consisted of fifteen vessels"

Cleveland paused, closing her eyes in concentration to recall the freshly acquired memory. "Enterprise ordered Hornet to conduct an attack run to enemy group, meanwhile Hammann and I were left to provide cover for them both. Enterprise then took an unprecedented action and rushed forward, leaving our group in full speed. We tried to catch up but the storm prevented us and we lost sight of her due to it, we looked for her in the next twenty minutes and when we found her she already met the other Enterprise who was actually responsible for taking out the enemy fleet, in contrary to our earlier belief"

Warspite tilted her head questioningly at Cleveland's last statement. "Earlier belief?"

"We thought Hornet's airstrike eliminated them, but there was a lag of information from her flight group"

"She still capable of offensive action despite her damage?" Prince of Wales asked with a small nod toward the fallen vessel, addressing it.

Much to their surprise, Cleveland snorted cynically at the question, a far off look on her red orbs telling a silent story. "You would be surprised. She claimed she took them out with a single salvo of her missiles" She directed her gaze to the others, her usual cheerful and carefree expression was gone, replaced with a grim realization. It was enough to send shiver down everyone's spins including the Commander's when their eyes met. "She destroyed them without lifting a finger, Commander, and that firepower she possessed is enough to tear the Siren apart they couldn't disappear, if their burning debris said something"

"How frightening..." Helena mumbled but thanks to the silence permeating in the air it was heard clearly.

"The eggheads would be howling in excitement if they find out there was Siren debris in the ocean" David mused to himself, trying to push the implication of what Cleveland said away. One of the reason many couldn't acquire Siren's technology was because whatever left of them would disappear in a specific period of time after their 'deaths'. It's a rather morbid occurance with almost no scientific explanation and it had been pinning a lot of scientists' heads to the table for long time now.

The only way to get a hold of a Siren, was either by capturing them while they're still operational or by completely destroying them to pieces like the case Cleveland was saying, in other word it could be a catch and snatch or blow and tow depending on the situation, both scenarios were also on the same level of difficulty which was near impossible.

"And you believe this claim?" Prince of Wales queried to Cleveland, only to have David cut it off.

"Her appearance speaks power, whoever built her clearly intended to emphasize it. A space ship capable to overcome the danger space possesses must have the best offensive and defensive capabilities, she obviously the finest ship in this planet and probably one of amongst her peers"

It was believed that the Siren was the most advanced being on earth, they had weapons beyond what human understood the grasp of such as laser and other energy based weapons. Their ships were made of an unknown material, light enough to be aluminum yet its durability surpassed that of steel, it's so resilient the Research and Development group had to create a special composite rigid ammunitions for smaller warships to be able penetrating the armor plating.

Their more conventional weapons used a type of shell that was like a combination between High Explosive and Armor Piercing, it couldn't over-penetrate thin armored ships like Destroyers and Escort Aircraft Carriers yet it had enough power to punch through thicker section in Battleships. They managed to capture a few of this 'Super-Shell' and after a bit of work it was revealed the round had some sort of program that automatically determined the explosion timing, controlled by a small computer chip, unlike the usual shell which used fuse to trigger the explosive matters contained.

Siren excelled in both Naval and Aviation engineering, but they didn't have ground unit. Perhaps the only comfort humanity had was that they could live safely in land without the constant death threatening them, relatively speaking. It was just like a terrible joke, human were robbed of the places beyond their reach and were forced to stay on land where they supposed to be.

At least, that was until this other Enterprise's emergence. A ship powerful enough to take out Siren with single shot, carrying with her a complement of aircrafts with performance above Siren's. Her form was also big enough to probably house the whole base and her range included a whole planet if not inter-planet which was the most likely.

She, no doubt, might be the finest ship for the next few centuries.

"That's been said, we must do something to ensure her safety. We can't let her fall to enemy hands" The Commander turned to address the ship-girls present. "I have a new order, form around"

The sudden change of tone caused the four ship-girls to straighten up, they moved closer to the Commander while cautiously watching their surrounding for any unwanted listener. "What is it, Commander?"

"First, I want a group of patrol near that giant vessel for security purpose, nobody goes in anywhere a kilometer sort from her, she's kind enough to not shoot at us but who knows what would happen if we start sticking our nose close. I don't want to lose anyone because of unnecessary reason and thus no touching no matter how curious you are" The Commander turned towards Prince of Wales. "You'll be in charge of this unit, take whoever you need for this operation, the Cruisers, Destroyers, Battleship, hell even the tugs are on your disposal"

"It will be done, Commander"

David nodded "Good". He then addressed Cleveland "Are you good for another deployment?"

"I'm ready as always" She replied, her confident self returning in full force.

"Then take CruDiv 12 along as a screening party, I know how anxious they were so it'll be better if you show your sisters around"

Cleveland smiled sheepishly in response. "Yeah, they always been like that too"

"What about me, Commander?" Warspite asked with tone filled with nothing but seriousness. "Is there something I can do to help?"

"Actually yes, you'll be responsible for security team. I want you and Belfast to guard the medical ward where our guest is" The Commander paused as a loud rumbling sound tore the sky, he watched as the unknown aircrafts previously scouting his base made another fly-by in an extremely low altitude as if looking for something before they disappeared once again into the clouds overhead.

No, it's not something, but rather a someone now.

David had never seen a Kansen-based aircraft act like they did, as a matter of fact he never seen Kansen-based aircrafts still operational when the Carrier they were from was incapacitated. Usually whenever a Carrier lost consciousness they would also lose the control of their summoned aircraft, and that in turn would make the said aircraft disappeared. But these aircrafts instead of disappear they seemingly acted on their own accord to protect their Carrier.

It was... Eerily unusual.

"Helena, hand me the headset back will you?"

The Light Cruiser blinked as if to awaken from a stupor, Helena quickly recovered and put on a professional image when she noticed the Commander was waiting for her. "Ah, sorry. Who do you want me to connect the line to, Commander?"

Positioning the borrowed headset onto his head, David adjusted the volume first before answering. "Get me in line with Hornet"

Helena silently complied, mentally switching the required frequency. The Commander meanwhile gestured towards the remaining girls that they were dismissed all the while listening to the buzz of static, patiently waiting for Helena to do her job.

It didn't take long.

"Hornet here, Commander, something you want me to do?"

The Commander went straight to the point. "I'm appointing you as the lead ship of the Carriers, I have Prince of Wales assembling a group of patrol to protect the fallen vessel, cooperate with her and the rest of the ships and provide cover until further notice" David paused, mentally calculating the remaining distance between Enterprise's group and the base as Cleveland blew a horn to signal her departure from dock on the background. "I'll have someone to tow Hammann back to base, Cleveland has told me what happened to her"

David would have found it humorous at Hammann's rather comical reaction when she saw the giant vessel had he not felt related to her, it's rather understandable for the Destroyer to pass out like that when she had the said vessel looming above her like a titan. He would feel uncomfortable too if the vessel was above his base.

"Um, actually, she just regained her consciousness now, we're preparing to detach as we speak"

There was a grunt from the other side of the line, most likely from Hornet as she tried to secede Hammann from herself. The Commander waited until she was finished to relay his next order but before he could speak a familiar voice cut him off from Hornet's side.

"Who are you talking to?" An unmistakable female asked with tone void of any emotion other than mild curiosity, earning a frown from David.

Hornet yelped in surprise, a muttered curse left her mouth before she replied. "Geez, stop scaring me like that, big sis, were you trying to live up your nickname or what"

"You should be more aware with your surrounding"

"Nobody would notice it when someone soundlessly appears on their back"

A pause, David could picture Enterprise staring at her sister with her emotionless but calculative eyes. "Who are you talking to?" She repeated to Hornet, this time the curiosity was replaced with annoyance.

Hornet must have detected it since she practically blurted out her answer. "It's the Commander! He asks me to be the lead for the Carriers!"

"For what purpose?"

"He is ordering the girls to patrol near the cooler you grounded steel form... Can you even call it grounded? Since she's a space ship?"

David ignored the last comment so did Enterprise. "The Commander orders another operation? Is he still in line? Can he hear me?"

The sudden urgency in Enterprise's tone caught Hornet off guard, David of course was still connected on the line and had been listening both sisters' squabbles since the beginning, still, he kept his silence to see what was Enterprise planning.

"Uh, yeah? He's still there, right Commander?"

"Affirmative"

"Yeah, he still there alright"

"Well, Commander if you can hear me then I would like to propose myself in Hornet's stead as the Carrier lead ship on this operation, I have the experience of working in joint-operation too and more than qualified for night operation"

She said it in a tone filled with nothing but facts, and David had nothing to deny it. He was fully aware with Enterprise's abilities in battle, about her greatness and seemingly never ending luck, but luck was not a solid deciding factor in combat and it tended to run out sooner or later. Judging with her current condition, Enterprise was getting closer to that limit.

Helena seemed to think about the same thing, she also had been listening to the conversation since she was the one relaying his message through her communication suite. The blue haired girl averted her gaze from Enterprise's approaching form as if the mere thought of looking was hurting her, shuffling an inch away from the Commander.

David patted her shoulder reassuringly, giving Helena a slight smile that worth his answer before returning his attention to Hornet.

"Hornet, relay this next message to Enterprise word by word. Your proposal is denied, I deemed your damage is deleterious for this operation, the fact you need your sister to communicate with base suggests you also lost your communication suite and how impaired your performance is. Return to base immediately for repair and debriefing" David let out a deep sigh, rubbing his face tiredly. "I need a full recount of the preceding events and nobody is suitable enough for the job other than you, the one who did the first contact. Fill me a report and finish it tonight, Home Base, over and out"

There was a muffled 'wait' from the other side but David ignored it as he handed the headsets back to Helena. The Light Cruiser was staring at him with wide eyes full of surprise. "You refused her proposal?"

"With her current condition, Enterprise is nothing but a hindrance to the others regardless how good she usually was. Besides, I know she can't stay doing nothing, that's why I have her compiling the report" The Commander chuckled dryly. "That would keep her busy for a while, at least enough to give her enough rest"

This time, it was Helena's turn to smile upon hearing his reason. "Thank you, Commander"

"... I know we are together here, untied by nationality, and I have sworn to put aside mine when I accepted the rank as Commander for Azur Lane. However, Enterprise is still our nation greatest fighter and a friend for many, I don't want to be the one sending people out into unnecessary death"

"But it was all to us"

David frowned at the cryptic statement, the way it was spoken, so matter of factly, bugged him. "What do you mean?"

At first, Helena didn't answer, she once again averted her gaze away from him to stare at her boots instead. David had resigned himself to believe she had refused to answer his question when she suddenly whispered "We are just a machine, originally built for war and fighting, the very existence of our being is created for those purposes. We would... Never be human"

The confusion swelling inside his mind morphed to anger and disbelief. "Why all of sudden?" David asked through gritted teeth, barely containing his emotions.

Helena wasn't they type to think of such odious thoughts as far as he knew, she had her moment of contempt but low esteem of existential value wasn't her area of thinking. There must be something that started it.

"... When we back at the Union, Hornet invited me to go out from the base we assigned to at that time" Helena began, wrapping her arms around her body in an attempt to comfort herself. "It was the first time I went out of the base since my arrival, you know? She said it would be great for me to look around and get my bearing so I agreed"

David silently listened to her story, keeping an utmost attention to it. He knew where it was heading before Helena finished but to hear it from someone under his care directly felt different than reading from a report or news. It felt more outrageous, so to speak.

"Hornet took me to this cafe just near the downtown, a place called Sky Kid I think. It's a nice shop, the owner and his daughter are kind and there's this kid who would play harmonica on the corner along with a pilot from the Air Force who is also a custom there. They sell sweet and it tastes good, Hornet and I spent almost the entire evening on that place" A distant gaze settled on Helena's purple eyes, along with a ghost of genuine smile filled with sheer happiness on her lips. It's rare for her to have such expression and David was honestly taken aback for a second, but when her content expression changed to nothing but her usual solemn look it also pulled him from his surprise. "It's maybe our fault too, you know? Maybe if we hadn't stayed longer it wouldn't happen in the first place"

"What happened?" The Commander asked softly, in the corner of his mind he knew the question was useless but he wanted to make sure Helena understood he was paying attention and that he cared.

Helena visibly shivered and with each sentence she spoke next David felt his jaw tightening. "I don't know who he was, but a man suddenly came in to the store and started yelling tantrums to us. Hornet told me to ignore him but he suddenly yanked me off my chair by hair to the floor and started kicking and punching me while screaming about me being an abomination and inhuman, how I am nothing but tool and have no right to live. I was so confused and surprised I couldn't do anything until Hornet came to my rescue, she shoved him away but apparently she miscalculated her strength and ended up breaking the guy's ribs, I honestly don't understand what Hornet meant with miscalculated though since I can control my strength just fine, maybe it has something to do with being a Carrier?"

David opened her mouth to explain before promptly closing it again after a second of consideration, instead a sinister grin appeared on his face before he realized the situation and wiped it away. He made a mental note to treat Hornet a drink later however.

"Don't worry about it" He assured in exchange before continued. "What happened to that guy afterwards?"

"The shop owner called the Police and the pilot I mentioned earlier contacted the base to send MPs, he was put under arrest from what I heard"

"Did you file in a charge? There's a special law about this and it requires a ship-girl's testimony"

"No but Hornet did" Helena frowned, a look of contempt adorning her face. "What do you mean with special law?"

David sighed. "The truth is, there's been a lot of assault case on ship-girls in civilian areas, you might have never heard of it since you were stationed on a detached place like Pearl which happened to have a very tolerant residents but in the mainland such occurance happens quite frequently" The Commander explained bitterly to the Light Cruiser, no point to sugar-coat it so he gave her the blunt truth. "There's also a group of extremists with goal to eliminate you guys, they believe you're a part of Siren and the military is being deceived to work together with KANSEN, saying 'they'll strike us in the back when we finally turn our eyes away from them' or something"

"But why would we do that? I'd never want to hurt innocent people"

"I know you wouldn't" David began with a reassuring smile, gesturing toward Helena to accompany him in a walk back to the Command Center, the Communication Station was nearby so they could walk together for a while before having to secede. "If you don't mind me asking, why didn't you tell me about this problem earlier?"

"I was conflicted whether I should or not, I didn't want to bother you with such small matter"

A scoff. "It's not a small matter by any chance, and that's a nonsense you are talking. Tell me, Helena, how long have we known each other?"

Helena hummed, putting a finger to her chin in a thinking posture. After a brief moment she replied. "It's been more than a decade since the attack, so I guess around 12 years?"

"Correct, it's been 12 years since we met during the attack of New York City. You know you can share your problems with me, if not as your Commanding Officer then as your friend, please don't hesitate, Helena"

Her gaze fell, guilt filling her heart. Helena nodded stiffly in acknowledgement to his offer and in an instant the burden she had on her shoulders lessened considerably. "I'm sorry" She added in quivering tone, a stray tear falling down her cheek which she hastily wiped.

David shook his head, averting his own eyes trying to give the blue haired girl a moment for herself. "Don't apologize, you did nothing wrong" He came to a halt directly on the sections separating Command Center and the Communication Station, heaving a sigh before taking the route leading to his office. "Well, this is where we go our separate ways"

He only managed to walk for a few steps when Helena suddenly called him, gaining his attention back. "Wait!"

The Commander stopped, turning around to give Helena his full attention. "Yes?"

A breeze washed over the area, ruffling the green leaves of trees sitting on the sidewalks positioned beside the paved road they were in. Helena's long hair fluttered, caressed by the gentle blow of wind, it helped to ease up her mind as she worked on the word in her mind. "I could say the same about you. You've been helping everyone since I can remember, strangers or not, regardless how you done it" Helena paused, mustering the best determined look she could as if she was heading into a battle. "That's why if you need help, especially about her, please don't keep it for yourself! I know how much you love her, Commander!"

The statement caught David off guard for a second but he quickly recovered, of course Helena knew about her, someone might told her about it and it also possible she was not the only one know about it. The subject was rather sensitive and the only reason nobody in base mentioned it sooner was because they respect him enough and decided to keep their silence, or maybe they were too afraid to do so. Still, this was the first time someone offered him such help and he was honestly grateful for it.

"Thank you, Helena, I will consider it" David replied sincerely after what seemingly a very long silence, giving Helena one of his now trademark smile. "Man your station, this is a rather consequential operation we are having and I cannot afford my staff to slacken"

Helena straightened up, a pang of disappointment seized her for a second but she quickly squashed it. "Yes, sir" And with nothing but a mere nod, the Commander left her alone to her own devices. Helena stood on her place watching him disappeared into the Command Center before taking her own direction, a silent whisper leaving her lips, a whisper too small to be comprehended and too weak the wind carried it away before a living being could catch it.

"You shouldn't push yourself too hard either, Dave. She wouldn't appreciate it"

The walk inside the Command Building was rather uneventful for the Commander. With everyone practically went out to do their duties, the area was a definition of vacant as he could imagine. Still, it was rather welcomed as he finally granted the quiet he needed to gather his thoughts especially after his conversation with Helena.

The attack in New York 12 years prior, how could he forget it when it was the day his world crumbled for the second time?

He thought he had had the happiness he yearned since the day his mother passed away in the hand of Siren attack another decade before it, he thought he could finally live peacefully with a loving family. But of course, nothing worked perfectly in this broken world they lived on, and when everything seemed just fine it was then everything became not fine so suddenly.

When he was 4, his mother was killed during a Siren air raid on his home town, almost everyone on his neighborhood fell victim to the attack including his friends and the people he considered his own family. It was the first time he saw such devastation with his own eyes and it was also the first time he saw a person got killed. For a 4 year old like him, of course it was a traumatic experience especially when that person was your own mother and he ended up living with his father for the next years.

His father was a Naval Officer, when the attack occured he was currently away doing his job almost half a country away. David thought it was troublesome having his father working in such distance since he barely met him back then, but he never felt so grateful for it since the attack could have killed him too had he been home, or he could have saved his mother. It was a big if for kid of his age so he settled with having a living dad and not a possibly living dad quickly.

Life in a military complex was not as difficult as many would say, there were also other families and it almost identical to that of civilian neighborhood, it was just that some certain rules were added to the occupants but other than that it's almost indistinguishable. It's not the environment per say, but rather the silence in the Allenforth's household that followed after the tragedy which got him pressured for the next few months.

He tried to act strong, his late mother told him he was a strong kid, but that was it, he was just a kid and there was only so much he could do.

Of course his father acknowledged this, it's not like he wouldn't since he was also drowned in his own sorrow. There were times when he would return home late reeking alcohol, and there were times when the light in his father's eyes would suddenly go dull as if lost in his own thoughts. That man biggest regret was probably his inability to save his wife and for damaging his child.

No, David never blamed his father, he understand duties and responsibilities, they're practically drilled to his head since he could comprehend letters, how they're the very top of things he must done first.

He was surprised, though, when his father decided to marry again.

It was just another afternoon like today when his father suddenly announced he would marry again, his exact word was; "Dave, I met someone and she'll be your new mom"

And of course, his reply was the most suitable a sane person would give.

"Wait-what?"

The Commander chuckled mirthfully, thinking back it was a rather absurd situation one could imagine. His father had always been a straightforward type and it often led to a lot of misunderstanding, but a redeeming quality of it was that he also had good reasons backing it off.

His father explained that they needed someone to take care of him, since he couldn't always stay on his side with works basically hounding his butt, how his father wished for someone to fill a mother's duty his late one left behind, still it's ironic how his father met his new mother during work.

Apparently, the woman in question was a part of Sakura Empire Special Force Group, and when he said 'during work' it's actually when Eagle Union and Sakura Empire held a Joint-Exercise together a few years back when his father was an XO of a Destroyer. She had been a good friend to his parents since then, and he even said she and David had met several time when he was still a baby. He of course didn't have the memory but the way his father spoke of her it almost like she was an aunt for him and it made him uncomfortable at first.

David was reluctant, but he decided to trust his father's judgement, and it turned out to be one of the best things in his life that had ever happened. His new mother was a kind person in addition to her love to him as her friends' kid, she even confessed she had considered him as her own child since the day he was born. Of course it's just an exaggeration, she just loved children in general so much, a fact David found out later on.

Although she couldn't fully replace the spot his real mother left she still filled the gap the best she could. That gap however was fully patched when that fateful day his sister came to the world.

Frankly speaking David didn't know he could love someone on the first sight, and he didn't know he could consider that someone so precious he was willing to give everything for her, even his own life, to protect and make her happy. He thought such things were silly and shallow, but he was proven wrong when he was faced by those mesmerizing blue eyes his sister had, eyes full of wonder and radiant innocence.

The day Yukina Allenforth was born, David vowed to keep her safe, even if it was the last thing he done.

People said time flew fast when you enjoyed life to your very core, but to David such thing was not correct. He enjoyed the time he spent with his sister, more than anything even, the reason time never flew fast for him was because he cherished every single second of it and recorded it to his memory. People only felt that way because they forgot of the time passed by.

When his sister talked for the first time, it was neither mama or papa she said, it was brother. He didn't understand the significance of it until his mother explained it for him, to say he was proud would be an understatement.

The first time his sister scrapped her knees during her first step, David took it upon himself to be the one responsible bringing her back to her feet and guide her the right path.

He taught her how to read and write, he taught her how to hold spoon for herself, he also was the one to tuck her under the blanket at night and was the one whispering comforting nothing when she was scared. His mother jokingly remarked in various occasions how he probably overdid the role of being a big brother and at that rate his sister wouldn't need her mother anymore. Of course he dismissed it with an embarassed chuckle, not knowing what the future had in store.

It was years later when the tragedy struck.

12 years, huh... The Commander mused to himself silently. It took him a few seconds to realize he had been standing in front of his office door for a while like a lost child, a vague prospect for him since it was his own base.

Must be the fatigue...

David scoffed, mentally composing himself inside and outside. He couldn't let his staff seeing him in his moment of weakness, not when everything was still disorganized with recent events and all. The fact his base was a new one wasn't helping on the slightest and being the Commander meant being the person responsible for extra chores regarding the operational status.

He had superiors he needed to report to.

The door across his office creaked open, a flash of white filling the corners of his eyes. The Commander turned around, surprised and curious with the presence since he thought he was alone, usually such sight was pretty common in the Command Center but with most of his girls gone doing their assignments at the open sea it was rather unexpected to meet one inside.

"Oh, Master! Pardon me, I didn't expect to meet you here"

"That makes the two of us, Bel"

Belfast stood there, a tray of empty white plates on her hands, smiling warmly to the Commander. "I was in the middle of cleaning the Secretary Office when the base went full alert, so I figured I'd finish it first since I dislike leaving unfinished jobs unattended"

"I see. Well, I cancelled the previous order for you anyway, go meet Warspite and she'll enlighten you of the new one"

"Understood, I'll go see her" Belfast said with a nod, her smile which seemingly etched with her years of experience as a maid never wavered. She excelled in putting a façade and despite the sudden change of instruction she barely showed any surprise or bafflement. "Is there anything you need, Master? If I were so bold I'd assume you could use a cup of coffee"

... And she definitely excelled in reading other people.

The Commander grimaced. "No, I can get it myself, thanks for the concern but you may go now"

The Light Cruiser blinked, a look of understanding flashed on her face for a second before it morphed back to her usual smile. "Excuse me then"

She began taking her leave, the heavy footsteps of her heels slowly fading in the background until it disappeared entirely when Belfast rounded a corner. Now alone once again, David vaguely wondered about his own expression that had Belfast noticed his exhaustion despite his best to mask it.

Works kept piling up it seemed.

With an aggravated push, the double doors leading to his office burst open and the Commander marched inside, barely sparing a glance around him before he snatched his phone off the desk with a little bit of too much force than needed.

He was about to input the dial when he suddenly hesitated.

The situation he was in... However he looked at it was different.

Reporting an attack and sorties were to be directly delivered to the Central, it's a mandatory rule Command made especially when the reports were tied with Siren somehow. But this emergence of the other Enterprise that wasn't either a Siren or registered ship from known nation wasn't part of the roster. Usually when a newly emerged ship-girl appeared it was up to the nation or organization she was on to fill in the registration whether she fit or not for combat mission, and not just for military purpose but they had a full administration of citizenship too in case when the said ship-girl was retired due to reasons.

But it didn't apply on this Enterprise, she came not from a nation, hell she was not a part of any global organization to begin with, at least not this world they lived on. There was a big chance if he revealed she's a part of United Nations then the UN would lay claim on her, and God knew what kind of things they would do to her if they got her in their grasps. It's not Enterprise David was concerned of however, but rather the UN itself, they might tick her off and the last thing he wanted was to lose a possible powerful ally.

Even though Azur Lane was technically a part of UN, he couldn't fathom all the deeds UN did as good. He hated it when military affairs were overshadowed by political ones, and UN was one of the worst place where those two could mingle together like oil and water after violent shaking, the result? it was neither of both and it only caused headache especially for the cleaning.

Besides, he had enough headache already with recent raid on his base, he definitely didn't want his front yard be littered with civilians in fancy clothing known as politicians, they had a bad tendency to dive first when they found something of their interests afterall, ignoring the warning more suitable people gave them only to blame the said people when they found themselves in deep trouble.

They might scare this Enterprise... or piss her off and get blown by some laser gun or some sci-fi crap she has. Judging from what Cleveland said about her character it's definitely the latter though...

No matter how he saw it, it's still too soon for her to meet government officials. The Commander knew he needed to discuss it first with the person in question and do things slowly according to her own pace, and right now what she needed the most was to recover of her wounds and damages. He would take her under his care for the time being until they figured out their next move, and then they could think about the other trivial stuff.

But still, there was no way he could just leave HIGHCOM in the dark with recent events. Just like what Cleveland said, the intel about the anomaly was coming from the Central itself and they would start asking a question or two if he failed to report back, the result of such outcome might be equal if not worse than letting the politicians know of the situations, and lying could only get him so far.

No, he still needed to report back, preferably to someone with high enough stars on their shoulders so to console HIGHCOM was an easy feat. Someone he could trust that wouldn't ask too much and more action than word.

There was only one person capable enough he knew who filled the criterias.

Resolved, David began to punch in the dials, bringing the device close to his ear when he finished. The Commander's gaze idly set over the horizon where many of his ships dutifully conducting their given tasks, various silhouettes of ship classes could be seen but they didn't even hold a candle compared to the giant metal construct protruding from the sea, he barely recognized Hornet's shape on the frontmost of the fleet he sent much less Hammann's. The lone Destroyer probably had gone along the rest of Destroyer Division 23 since she didn't actually have a fleet of her own after what happened to Yorktown.

It's a bit sad, really, Sims-class were already limited in number to begin with, but due to her experience operating with the Yorktowns David decided to let Hammann be a screening vessel for Hornet, they considered the catgirl as an unofficial sister anyway so no hurt in doing so.

The steady tone coming from his phone came to a sudden halt and David vaguely aware how he stiffened unconsciously when a female voice replaced the tone.

"Norfolk Naval Military Base, how may I assist you?"

Ever since the end of Old War and Siren's appearance to the world many military bodies in various countries had opened a more flexible services by bettering their Public Relations Agency for the civilians in case of escort request and private protection, in fact his base also offered the same service to anyone in need regardless their nationalities, the ships providing commissions to civilians were protected by the international law regarding Siren and public safety as long they stayed in international water. Not yet to mention it was not rare to have a sudden call of distress so it's paramount for the military to keep on close eyes.

Thirty years ago being a soldier meant you had a low life expectancy, nowadays the fishermen and sailors were practically lower in the scale. The seas were teeming with unforeseen dangers that could kill you the moment you sailed off of the coast so your choices were limited to either go in number or pack enough firepower to drive the threats away. Better if it was both.

The Commander inhaled, mustering the most neutral tone he could at the moment. "Azur Lane Pacific Base identification code Charlie Omega Dash Delta Alpha Dash Eight-Four-Nine-Two-Zero-One-One. Requesting urgent call to Admiral Allenforth, COMINT and SIGINT protection Priority One"

"... Confirming request..."

The dial tone changed, replaced with a steady beeping of computer program, somehow it had a soothing effect for the Commander so he let himself eased up a bit. Finally after what seemingly an eternity someone picked his call, someone with a deep and gruffly voice that somehow told David the owner was most likely annoyed by his intrusion.

"Yeah?"

David smiled. "What, not even a hello?"

"This is a military channel you are using, son"

"I'm aware" Replied the Commander, his grin turning into a frown. "Dad, something happened here in Pacific and I need your help"

"Didn't I teach you to get your ass of the mud by yourself? If you're not competent enough to do it I'll have to reassess your position as a Commander"

It was an empty threat, David knew his father was concerned and it just one of his way to cheer him up to deal with his problem so he didn't let himself be bothered by his rather harsh reply. "No, sir, please this one goes beyond my authority"

"... I'm listening, Commander"

This was it, the moment of truth. David actually hated dumping his problems to his father but he had no choice at the moment, it's probably involved the safety of humanity as a whole and his actions would determine it.

Oh boy, what a crazy Thursday.

With a sharp inhale of breath, David began. "Do you believe the idea of a second humanity?"

Night arrived surprisingly rather quickly for the base occupants and the silence permeating in the peaceful sea surrounding it almost lulled Vestal to deep slumber countless time already. After the rush of the situations hours prior, everything fell to a normal pace and routine was restored almost immediately in the base despite the obvious tense atmosphere around thanks to military discipline taking effect.

The world might as well falling apart and they couldn't care less unless it involved the military. As if the Navy hadn't had enough jobs already.

The Repair Ship supressed an undoubtedly large yawn, shaking her head to get the blood rushing and keeping her awake for at least a bit longer. She just finished taking a shower, once again having to use the bathroom installed in her office to do so. It's almost become a routine too with many girls often returned wounded but that didn't mean she had to like it either, especially that girl with the title Lucky E.

The source of her headaches and many restless nights was none other than Enterprise, a long friend of her and battle buddy in war. Vestal had spent many hours repairing Enterprise, more than any other ships in her service in fact, so she had a rather intimate knowledge of her insides. There was no bulkheads she never touched and no corridors she had never ventured to, repairing her became so frequent Vestal could be blindfolded and she would still do her job just fine.

Probably.

She was not complaining though, despite the pain and troubles she had gone through. Vestal had made a vow to keep Enterprise safe and healthy after seeing the state Yorktown was in, and how Enterprise acted when that particular tragedy struck.

Vestal never thought Enterprise could be broken, but that day proofed Enterprise was nothing but a human inside. Regardless her combat prowess, she's still a frail being in the inside at least emotional-wise and she couldn't cope even to this day, if anything she's getting reckless and reckless.

It was as if she had a death wish...

The pink haired woman stopped mid-motion from grabbing her clipboard, a horrified look crossing her face before she quickly shook it off. She mentally scolded herself for having such horrendous thought.

No, it's not like she wishes to die either. She fights because she is confused.

Enterprise's dream was to protect her people, even she went so far to oppose a nation alone once. It's true she had no choice but she showed nothing but steeled resolve in the gloomiest of days and that inspired many to pick up their fallen spirits, her hard effort granted her a great title and acknowledgement in the past.

But what's good in it when you couldn't even protect your own sisters? What's the purpose in fighting when you didn't even have a family to greet you back and to tend your wound? Physical wounds would heal but some wounds required the support of your dearest people to heal. For Enterprise, returning home and seeing her incapacitated sister served as nothing but a painful throb of reminder about her failure in keeping her own family safe.

Even a ghost longed for a tender touch once in a while.

A knock on her door caught Vestal's attention, she stood from her chair and maneuvered through the desks positioned near her little workplace. Her office was directly conjoined with the patient wards so there were only one way in and out from the said ward and whoever going in or out would have to pass through her station as a part of security measure. Not like she'd need it since usually a Cruiser would provide her security and company, and if there was an intruder Vestal would be too busy covering herself too anyway with her being a Repair Ship and unfit of actual combat.

Today however was different.

The door swung open, a headful of silver hair greeted Vestal from the other side, its owner smiled a warm and friendly smile albeit a rather peculiar one since it came with her job.

"Miss Vestal" Belfast began, squaring her shoulders. Vestal briefly glanced at Belfast's rigging, fully equipped on her body as if ready to sortie. "Routine per-hour check-up, if you don't mind"

"Sure" Vestal replied, peeking through to the hallway only to see Warspite leaning against the wall with her arms crossed not so far, she too had her rigging on her. The blonde Battleship gave her a nod of greeting which Vestal acknowledged with a small wave of her hand. "To be frank there is not much to report, it's the same as an hour ago"

The Light Cruiser hummed, stepping inside to the room, her rigging barely passed through the door sill. "My apologies for intruding at this late of hour, I understand you must be tired but Commander Allenforth is very specific in enforcing the security for Miss Enterprise"

Vestal grimaced. Right, her cause of problem this time was still a girl named Enterprise, but it's not Enterprise her friend and partner but rather an unknown spaceship capable of reducing the whole base to rubble with just her sheer size.

"It's alright, orders are orders and we're expected to follow them not to complain about them". Vestal led the Royal Navy Light Cruiser to where this Enterprise was currently on, It's not really necessary since Belfast had been to the place for like 6 times already but she felt obliged to do so. "As you can see, she's still unconscious. Her fever has gone down though and the inflammation on her wound has also started to lessen"

"Do you expect her to wake up soon?" Belfast queried, staring at the woman lying on the inframary's bed.

"She will probably wake up tomorrow's morning" Vestal replied, taking a step closer to Enterprise. "Her fever wasn't solely caused by her wound, she also suffered a mild dehydration and malnutrition, in addition I detected a symptom of salt poisoning in her blood system. I honestly don't know the cause of the last one since salt poisoning rarely happens to us ship-girls, some cases where we got it however was due to a long exposure of sea water inside our hulls but even so we have better resistance compared to human" She explained, checking the IV tube connecting to the unconscious girl.

"Long exposure? But she barely spent hours on the water?"

"Yeah, that's what baffled me exactly. Seems like she's filled with so many delicate equipments and the water damaged her somehow inside, she suffered quite a beating afterall"

"Doesn't that mean she'll continue to suffer with her steel-hull being in the water right now, Miss Vestal?"

There was a hint of concern in Belfast's tone, Vestal however merely shook her head. "No, that's not how it work. This form of hers" She gestured toward the girl on the bed then somewhere out of the window. "And that form are connected. When her steel form received a damage, her human body wouldn't suffer from it, the same goes the other way around. However when you activate your rigging, you become one with your steel form and the strain your equipments received will be transmitted to your human body in many ways, salt poisoning is just one of those ways. But there's a special circumstance when the two would connect"

Belfast tilted her head sideway, truly interested in the subject. This kind of knowledge was usually only limited to Repair Ships, they're akin to medical personnel and in many ways would act like one, learning new things was also one of her interests anyway. "Please elaborate, Miss"

"Well, for starter in repair attempt it is paramount to keep both forms at best health and integrity. We can't nurse one and neglect the other or otherwise the repair will slow down significantly, it is also noteworthy how the steel form takes a great effect on this prospect" Vestal explained, taking a seat beside the occupied bed. "When the human form is in good condition, the damages on the steel form will be repaired on its own you can even say magically. When the human form is wounded, repairing the steel form will help in the recovery greatly, it's a symbiotic relationships we are having with our steel forms. Of course, like I said, repairing both forms at the same time would be better"

"So that's how it work"

The pink haired girl jumped from her seat in surprise when a voice suddenly piped in from her back, turning around, she was faced with a sight she wasn't prepared for.

"Y-you don't suppose to wake up until the next morning! I gave you enough medicine to keep a normal person out cold for a whole day!" She cried out in a mix of confusion and shock, conflicted between feeling impressed and horrrified.

The bed creaked as its previously sleeping occupant sat up, her maroon eyes scanning the area around her, pausing on the IV tubes running down to her hand and Belfast who had her guns pointed toward her. "Well yes but apparently it's not enough" Enterprise replied casually, sparing Vestal a glance before her gaze settled back to Belfast. A look of warning flashed on her face when the headmaid still had her weapons out. "Relax, I don't bite. I knew someone who did though"

Vestal grabbed Belfast's shoulder to gain her attention, there was something off about her antics which Vestal didn't quite understand. "I have to inform this development to Commander Allenforth, can you please accompany her for a second?"

The Light Cruiser nodded stiffly, not even giving Vestal a look. Her eyes dead set on the sitting Heavy Carrier and although her main battery had returned to stand-by mode her posture was still too tense it's seemed she was ready to jump into action at moment noticed. "I will manage"

Her reply made Vestal hesitated but she quickly resolved herself into trusting Belfast. "Okay, I'll be quick"

With that, she made her way out, pretty much jogging to her destination when she vaguely heard Belfast muttering 'please do' in return. Vestal practically barged through her office's doors, startling Warspite who guarded the hallway outside.

The Battleship made a confused look after she composed herself. "Miss Vestal? Is something wrong?"

"She has awoken, I have to inform the Commander"

In an instant, a switch seemingly flipped inside Warspite, she quickly entered the medical ward without even a word. Vestal who just finished rounding a corner frowned at her action, the fact Warspite had her hand resting on the hilt of her sword when she entered made her worry. Something was off about the Royal Navy ships and that something was telling her she needed to talk to the Commander ASAP.

They wouldn't try to harm her, right?

For once, David found himself staring not at the open sea but to the countless stars on the night sky.

Their pulsating lights, the infinite number, and the seemingly never ending vastness between those lights... He never paid them much attention previously. But now, after knowing what lied beyond those distance and the possibilities in them it's only befitting for him to look up instead of forward for once.

He was sitting on what probably was his favorite spot in the base; exactly behind his office's large window. It offered him unobscured view to the outside world, also probably his only source of entertainment when he's on his office, things could turn boring fast when all he had to look onto were nothing but plain walls.

Still, he'd look at the see every now and then, ever since he was a child he liked to stare at the stretching blue nothingness, maybe it's because he had an attraction to sea or perhaps it was just a mere effect of living on Naval Base half of his life. Either way, this time he had a good reason why he looked at it.

Powerful shipboard searchlights illuminated the area near the fallen vessel, some of them were pointed at the vessel itself courtesy of the Battleships and Destroyers. The giant metal construct had stopped slipping under the waves after a third of its form went submerged, a sign it was pretty much designed to retain buoyancy and not just to operate in space, the Commander couldn't fathom just how much thought her designer put she seemingly capable to outright withstand every scenarios possible for a military hardware.

Simply put, there always a plus and minus which sometimes were due to limitations in construction, for example the Iowas were considerably had weaker torpede protection and low resistance against underwater explosion thanks to their armor layouts, a layout the Navy was forced to use because of the beam limit Panama Canal had. So designing a spaceship with such configuration was just sound surreal, usually the engineers would just focus on the main function while omitting other possible scenarios especially the unlikely ones.

Like a badly damaged starship with enough holes on her hull to make her a Swiss cheese taking a dip to the ocean.

He had to ensure that ship was on his side, and even if not at least not on his opposite. There was only so much they could do if she decided to go into rampage.

David's peaceful moment was broken away when his office doors suddenly flew open. In an instant, military training took control and he just jumped out of his chair and kneeled behind his table, his Personal Defense Weapon issued since the start of his service out and pointed toward the person who just suddenly barged in.

"Commander! She-" Vestal stopped abruptly mid-sentence, her hands shot upwards almost instinctively when she noticed the handgun on David's grasp. Such weapon might never pose a threat had she had her rigging on her but when she hadn't just like now it was just as lethal when used to normal human.

KANSENs weren't superhuman, they were but being with enhanced capabilities when they had their rigging on, no more and no less. It's true some of them might have strength above that of normal people depending on their ship classes but without their rigging even a handgun could kill them and all it took was going to be a well placed shot to vital area such as head or heart.

"Goddammit, Vestal, I could have shot you!" David bellowed, storing his weapon back after he realized it wasn't threat standing before him. "You better have good reason to barge in so suddenly"

The pink haired Repair Ship exhaled her shock, mentally willing her racing heart to stop pounding rapidly inside her chest. It's pretty unusual for a Commanding Officer to just pull a weapon out of blue like that but considering recent events it's normal for David to act like he did, Vestal didn't blame him for it. "Commander, she has awaken"

In an instant, a switch seemingly flipped inside David's head. He stopped abruptly from organizing his desk, eyes focused toward Vestal. "I thought you said it'll take her a full day to wake up"

"I did say that, and I did give her enough medicine to make even a Battleship asleep for a whole day"

"Well then this is truly unprecedented" David muttered, taking his naval cap and put it on his head. "Not that I expected any less though" He swiftly moved besides his desk to exit his office with Vestal following in trail. "About her condition?"

"Right, you didn't really get to read the latest report but all I can say is that she's definitely getting better, it just that I didn't expect her to wake up so soon"

"And what about that odd substance you found on her wound? Any clue?" During her earlier report, Vestal mentioned something about a weird yellow-ish substance on Enterprise's abdomen precisely on her wound. It's hard like ceramic but the composure suggested it wasn't entirely like that before, it's probably liquid or gel-like which later hardening.

"Apart from how it seemingly acts like a sealing and patching agent? Not much. This is just my theory, Commander, but I think it's used to seal her hull in case of breach so to not inflict further damage to her interior. I mean, she's a spaceship, the consequence of hull breach doesn't stop to just having water flooding in"

"More questions we need the answers of" He muttered to himself, rubbing his face tiredly.

Well, on the hindsight they would probably get the answers soon with their subject of conversation finally regained her consciousness. He just hoped things wouldn't be too complicated than what already were.

That was the only thing he could hope on.

TBC

Well, crap.

First of I want to apologize to you guys for this very very late update, I could write 10k of words in just one week but recently I was not really in the mood to write stuff. I just finished highschool and needless to say I'm currently confused with what I should do from now on forward, the anxiety is killing me lol. But don't worry, I'm fine.

To be entirely honest here, this chapter was actually only a half of what I originally planned, sometimes when I enjoy what I write things would just... stretch out. I decided to separate it to two chapters because I have certain scenes I would like to add, and bundling it in one chapter would be too much (I've written a chapter consisted of 17k of words before and my phone was so laggy it become too difficult to complete one sentence).

I'll try to finish the next chapter sooner but no promise.

Also here are my replies to the reviews you guys left behind on previous chapter, I can't thank you enough for your supports and critics so the least I can do is to reply them, fair warning though some of these might contain a little bit of spoiler.

- There is no way the Epoch Enterprise going to let foreign military personnel roaming aboard her freely, assuming it's completely safe in the event of her Manifestation for them to be inside her.

- I don't plan to add any Covenant vessel to the story but there's going to be a surprise and depending on you guys you probably going to like it, this is a crossover story afterall.

- I fixed the Northern Parliament part in the previous chapter, I wrote it before the event and I didn't exactly know the name of Azur Lane USSR equivalent. Thanks for the heads-up, I deeply appreciate it.

- I'll try to not write the same things repeatedly too excessively, but sometimes to achieve the 'realistic' feeling I just have to do it you know?

- The main theme of this story is 'value of a name'. I feel like, this prospect has greater meaning for ships because unlike human the only way we keep ships alive is by preserving their names. When people talk about Bismarck it's his name they would recognize first, and then his actions during the war. The same goes for Enterprise, Yamato, and many other great ships. When people talk about ships, it was their services people remember the most not their nationalities. Of course, the bravery and sacrifce of their crew were also an important factor because no ship sails without her sailors.

- I'm afraid I can't do anything about the error in loading my third chapter, could be the site's fault.

Thank you for your reviews and as always please keep them coming, they're what motivated me most of the time.

See you guys later on the next chapter.

Cipher032 out!