A Festival of Stars (IC, OPEN)

[AHSCA]

SDFS Cailín.
I smiled, but Maighdean pre-empted me with a reply: “When making vacation plans, you two, please don't forget, that Cailín is a warship on active duty.”, she told us, not sternly, but softly, “Most governments don't really like active foreign warships entering their waters for vacations unannounced. So make sure to tell the people responsible... and Admiral Curadh!”
“Oh, don't worry, Maighdean!”, Maor said with a grin, “With how cute she is, Amy's gonna allow her to bring half the fleet along, if she wants to!”
Maighdean stopped. “That is, to some extend, what I am worried about...”, she admitted.

SDFS F-4 Roc.
Old Lady Rhi smiled slightly.
“Well, it would only be fair.”, she said and leaned back, “Name and Type Ship of the Rhiannon-class Light Cruisers, SDFS Rhiannon – vintage 1928. I am a museum ship in Wembury nowadays, built back to my original condition. I specifically am of the Female Group, my sisters, Abhcan and Carman Fea, and I differ in several small ways from our male siblings, Lodan Lir, Ladra and Gavida.” I let a beat pass. “Upon commissioning, I was a bit over seven thousand tons in weight, 170 metres in length, could go at 34.4 knots at maximum and was armed with six 135 millimetre guns in three turrets. 70,000 shaft horse power, three turbines, three shafts and... well, that's the long and short of it.”
“In her day...”, I added, “...Rhi was the largest warships the Selkie had ever built.”
“And, in order to trump us, the Lutetiians laid down nine battlecruisers and eighteen heavy cruisers.”, she added and then shrugged, grinning: “We invested in long-range naval aviation.”

Uta

Yeah that was a good point, Uta thought, maybe she was getting carried away but she couldn't help it, Cailín was just so cool. The fact she was hanging out with a military grade ship girl was just rather amazing. She never had done so back home, and really that was always down to her own insecurities, which she let on her full embarrassing display in front of her new pal. Maybe it was time to make a change, "Perhaps...Perhaps I should try talking to some of the Gals in the UISDF Navy." She did a quick inhale exhale, she had to trust the gals back home would be just like Cailín, happy to spend time with any fellow ship, and not worry about all the techno-what-its but what the spirit is all about! "Maybe some of them would like to meet some of their fellow Defensive gals from Across the Seas. "Plus plenty of my other friends in the civilian lines always appreciate a good sight of the mighty ships that keep us safe on the high seas." They do! That's right they do! Uta had to remind herself, they were all supposed to look out for one another. Yah! No reason Uta couldn't stand proudly before her fellow ship girls! She's earned it!

Otome

Otome listened with her eyes beaming towards her. She always looked up to the older gals, be it her mother or anyone really. She always felt she had more to learn. "Amazing, absoltuley amazing you are! I have a little sister too!" Come to think of it, she hadn't seen Uta in some time or her mom, they were probably fine but one can worry just a tad. "And well strange as it is, kind of a mother too. It's because we were essentially built from her specs with a few things added or subtracted here and there but otherwise a family of ocean liners! You were built rough and tough for combat, I was built to handle the rough and tough seas. Kenzaki United Steamer Class, Otome is my name, built not long ago 2006, can you believe it?" She giggled "Anyway, 2 × 95-inch cylinder (2.4 m), 9-foot stroke (2.7 m) side-lever engines, auxiliary sails. So I get to really enjoy the wind at my back at times! Actually my specs are quite similar to a friend of mine, back home though she's with another company so does that make us half-sisters? Well anyway, we're built from a bygone era but it's so awesome! We stand out and everyone takes notice of us. I'm truly proud of. I imagine you're proud of your long history of service My good Lady! Now people get to marvel at that with your status as a museum ship. Funny now that I think of it, I'm starting to wonder if we're the only civilian liners here? We heard a ship festival so we just set sail with hardly a second thought." She again laughed "Well it is what it is, everyone here's really nice!"

[Okayanos]

ONV Northson-Nakagi, ONV Sada, and ONV Seiki
Sailing from the West

(I decided to make my shipgirls the Azur Lane style who can either wear their rigging or summon their entire hull)

"We're going to be late," said Sada. It was the fifteenth time she'd said so after the mismatched trio of Okean ships had left Tamarimizu Bay. The one-armed destroyer had been an incurable worrywart ever since she'd taken that bomb hit in '43. Northson-Nakagi wished that her escort would get over it, but professionalism kept her from voicing that particular opinion.

"We were caught in a storm. They will understand," Northson-Nakagi said. From her ship's flight deck, she could look down over Sada's hull and see the destroyer girl on deck, staring wistfully out over the water as she often did. Sada made a face at Northson's mention of being caught in a storm. Granted, it was a slight exaggeration to call the rainfall they'd sailed through a storm, but it had thrown them off course nonetheless. Northson could tell Sada was holding back another objection, but the destroyer did not continue their conversation. And so Northson-Nakagi returned to the front of her flight deck, looking out over her ship's bow and the pair of triple 16-inch turrets that marked her as a hybrid ship- a freak, to some foreign navies. Of course she had never been called that directly, but she could hear it in the way international guests talked about her. 'What a curious vessel', they had said. 'How unorthodox'. Northson hated the way they veiled their distaste behind pleasantry- but more than that, she hated how their poisoned words affected her, hurt her as much as any shell, bomb, torpedo, or missile.

Whatever opinions the foreigners held about her design, none of them could deny its seakeeping. The mighty aviation battleship's bow cut through the waves like a blade through silk, leaving a near-perfect V-shaped bow wave behind. Sada kept perfect pace with her, the smaller ship riding gracefully over the waves while Northson-Nakagi simply powered through them. A finer pair of vessels could not have been chosen to represent Okayanos' shipbuilding prowess. And yet, they travelled at a mere 18 knots- only slightly over half of both ship's top speeds. The one to blame for that was the third member of the group. Even with Northson and Sada slowing to match his maximum speed, Seiki still managed to lag behind. He was out starboard of Northson's stern, smoke puffing out of his stacks in great black clouds. While Northson-Nakagi sailed with power and Sada with grace, Seiki almost appeared clumsy at times. Northson had heard every story about him, about how he had been around the world, clashing with the old Keslands navy at every turn. History gave her no reason to doubt Seiki's seakeeping abilities. And yet, appearances were clearly deceiving. Northson-Nakagi raised a hand-held radio to contact Seiki- the only way for her to communicate with him, since he otherwise relied on carrier pigeons and wireless telegraphs.

"Northson-Nakagi to Seiki, politely asking that you keep pace with the fleet," She said.

"You folk need to cool your boilers, I'm keeping up fine!" Seiki's voice replied. "Just taking my time and enjoying the trip. It's been a good long while since I've taken to sea, you know!"

"Falling any further behind schedule would be impolite to our hosts. We aren't here on vacation- we are representatives of Okayanos. Need I remind you that this is the first time our country has chosen to enter the international floor since the Cold War?"

"No reminders needed here. Pushing to maximum speed, m'am!" The smoke from Seiki's stacks intensified, billowing an obsidian column into the sky. His hull moved less awkwardly, still limited to 18 knots, but now with a degree of determination. Northson-Nakagi figured that the exercise would be good for him. If it left him too tired to cause trouble once they reached the Free lands, all the better.

"Land on the horizon, Northson," Sada reported. Northson-Nakagi leapt down from her ship's flight deck, moving past her turrets, right to the upturned point at the very front of her bow. She saw it, directly to the west- a dot of emerald green breaking up the sea's endless blue. Northson had been to other nations before, and yet she couldn't help but feel something close to nervousness. The faces of warfare, politics, technology- all had become almost unrecognizable since the 1990s, the last time she had seen active duty- the last time she had been alive, as a ship. Sada and Seiki at least had the luxury of being museum ships, they had gotten to watch the world change around them. Northson only remembered giving herself up to the scrapyard, then reawakening in a very different Okayanos. President Maruyama had won election on the promise of bringing Okayanos back out into the world, and the Kansen-only invitation from the Free Lands came at the perfect time. "I hope they aren't going to be angry about us showing up behind schedule..." said Sada.

Northson-Nakagi quelled her nerves. She was put in command of this diplomatic operation, and so she would have to put on the appearance of bravery for her subordinates. "They won't be angry. We'll explain ourselves, and that will settle the matter," She said.

"What if they don't like our explanation?" came Sada's reply. There was her habit of over-concerning herself, rearing its head once again.

"I may have a flight deck, but I am still a battleship. I can be persuasive." Northson could feel Sada's discomfort at the implications. "But it won't come to that. Trust me, Sada. We would not be visiting the Free Lands if their people were so uncooperative." That seemed to quell the destroyer's worries, at least enough that she didn't voice them anymore.

Cartreffa Island grew larger and larger as the three Okean ships approached, until the moment of landfall finally came. Their ship's hulls vanished in three flashes of blue light, leaving the three Kansen in their rigging, skating across the water's surface in that peculiar way only their kind could. They glided inland, until the sea under their feet was replaced by glistening white sand. Northson-Nakagi looked upon the Free Lands for the first time, and saw.... shipmen and shipwomen in swimsuits, as far as her eye could see. While the three Okeans stood in naval bluecoats, or a button-shirt and hat in Seiki's case. Oh, Northson-Nakagi thought. This might have actually been a vacation.

"I think we're overdressed..." Sada mumbled. Her eyes flickered downward toward her coat's tied-off left sleeve, fluttering slightly in the coastal breeze. Northson had no doubt that the many, many female bodies on display were leaving the destroyer with a sense of inadequacy- less about her lack of curves and more about her.... lack of physical ambidexterity, to put it politely. She glanced at Seiki, who was happily taking his time to enjoy the many sights the Free Lands were offering.

"I, for one, intend to go out there and personally apologize to all of these fine shipgirls for our tardiness," He said. Northson's own strength of resolve and what respect she still had for the old pre-dreadnought were all that kept her from swatting him. Instead, she settled for taking Sada's travel bag, and shoving it into Seiki's chest, perhaps more roughly than she needed to.

"You-" Northson said, hoisting her own bag over her shoulder. "-will carry Sada's things for her while we find a cabin, or tent, or wherever it is we'll be staying during this trip." Seiki looked ready to complain- but a look towards Sada silenced any objections he might've had.

"Of course I will! Anything for our fleet's little sunset," He said, playfully poking the destroyer with his elbow. Sada's ears turned red while she half-heartedly tried to defend herself, muttering about how she wasn't a child anymore. Northson breathed a sigh of relief- at least Sada wasn't mentally beating herself up anymore. "You know, once we're settled, I think a round of swimsuit shopping's in store!" said Seiki. Northson ground her teeth together. Just because his idea made sense didn't mean she had to like it.

"We can plan once we're settled. Start moving," Northson said, taking her first steps into the Free Lands at last.

[The Selkie]

Hamburg stood there silently, the Ironblood logo visible on her bikini, she wondered who that woman was, and why she would help her, a member of the somewhat changed Ironblood, Hamburg muttered ¨Danke...whoever you are¨ under her breath, her rigging appeared again, this time, the outline of missile pods could be seen, as well as torpedo tubes, and strangely enough, 3 170mm cannons, what was a submarine doing with cannons?, well Hamburg was a Hamburg Class Hunter Submarine, a submarine specialized in hunting sirens and enemy warships, the cannons were for surface fighting, as were the missiles, which could actually be launched when she was a few feet below the surface, there were also tick marks on her hull, someone would have to ask her what they were for, then her rigging disappeared again ¨That was strange¨

Hamburg kept standing there, also strangely wondering about that Ship-girl´s tentacle hair, then, Hamburg looked at her own past...

After the war with the sirens, the fleets reunited, and the Azur Lane was whole again, Ironblood was a leader in technology, because of this, no sanctions were placed on the Ironblood, some genius 1936A class destroyer came up with an idea, an idea for a submarine partially made of siren technology, but that idea had to wait until the 80´s, the Hull for Hamburg was designed in the 60´s and 70´s, with help from the Northern Parliament, The Submarine was laid down in 1988, due to tensions, Hamburg was not imbued with the wisdom cube until the 90´s, she was asleep, the siren tech had to get built onto her, which meant a more modern retrofit, she was finally launched in 2006, in time for the second siren conflict.

¨i´m not sure the tentacle hair means she is a siren...¨

One thing was for sure: Ochtapas was not a Siren.
Neither was she an Abyssal.
She was a unique research submarine of the SDF-Navy.
Of course, as she hadn't introduced herself to Hamburg, the latter could only guesstimate that, but she was right about one thing: It had been strange for any observer.
And while one could think, that there were none, there was one, SDFAS Launceston, a redhead in a red bikini with golden borders, a fleet oiler, who noted the guns on the rigging of the submarine. Last she had seen guns on submarines, it had been in a naval museum, but her designers must have had an idea about it.
She shook her head, smiled and turned back to what she had been doing not too far away, reading a journal.

Rogavis

Rogavis followed slowly, not wanting to overwork his motor systems. The pain and exhaustion from earlier had subsided, so walking was slightly easier for the destroyer. He was silent, more focused on his thoughts than anything. The topic of magic did make him somewhat curious as to how the Empire actually created him and the other ship-warriors of the Grand Western Imperial Navy. Another thing to ask Emperor's Light when they met again. However, getting a straight answer about that topic would probably be difficult. Emperor's Light rarely gave away anything about questions like where ship-warriors came from, despite seeming to know the answer full-well. So deep was Rogavis in his thoughts he nearly bumped into Seraphiel. Nearly. He stopped before his torso hit her back.

The bath-house looked better than the shower rooms of the Grand Western Empire. Those were in a dull gray building with individual showers that were only separated by a elbow-high curtain. There was always a very awkward and slightly tense air in that room, Rogavis remembered with a shutter. The door to the men's room had many languages on it, but Rogavis only recognized one. The Imperial Dialect was absent, unsurprisingly. Only about seventy million people used the official language of the GWE. But what caught Rogavis' eye was the threat, which caused him to shift a little uncomfortably. Caja's explanation didn't prompt a reaction from Rogavis until she mentioned it was co-ed, which immediately mde his eyes widen and face redden slightly. "Yeah, see you in a bit," he mumbled as Seraphiel left.

He silently stepped into the male changing room and simply stood there for a moment. He exhalely sharply and gathered his courage. He was built for war, but got embarrassed about this. Kind of embarrassing for a warship. Before undressing, he decided to take a moment to manifest his rigging and strech it real quick. With a bright glow, a pair destroyer bows, each with a large double-barreled cannon on it, appeared. The rigging was in pristine condition, the polished steel reflecting the light. It looked brand new and it essentially was. Each cannon had only been fired once and Rogavis cleaned them a lot to stave off boredom. Upon the right prow, the letters "SOLA" were written in faded blue. Beneath it, the word "ROGAVIS" was crudely scrawled on. Satisfied that his rigging was in fine condition, Rogavis took another minute before silently entering the sitting area, the towel expertly wrapped around his waist. The heat did slightly bother him since it was so humid. He was used to the dry heat of his home.

GWIS Emperor's Light

Suddenly, Eli got the feeling Million Virtues and Lunar Tide, the only two carriers the GWE possessed besides Eli, were already having a fiery argument over something stupid. Both hated the other and only worked together when Eli forced them to shut up and carry out their sworn duty. The idea of leaving them together made Eli hate being forced on leave. He'd rather stay there and ensure the Imperial Navy didn't collapse in on itself than sit on a beach doing nothing.

The aircraft carrier classes listed by Kyra were all unfamiliar to Eli. He knew he was some sort of Nimitz-class with a few augmentations, but that was it. Most other aircraft carriers he saw, like the ones from the Federation of Gelh, were also Nimitz-class with a few exceptions. "I will be glad to meet the other carriers here. The Imperial Navy only has three, including myself, since an incident two years back when the other two were sunk, so I rarely get a chance to interact with my own kind from other nations." He said with a dismissive hand gesture.

Eli once more noted the bizarre speaking of Foiche. It seemed more likely she was an AI uploaded into an android body than the manifestation of a warship. "No, don't bother. He is fine, no reason for me to raise Cain about him. I taught him a lot, he won't do anything stupid. Plus I don't want to make him think something bad happened back home." Eli shrugged and straightened his back since he had regained his composure. Ten years of experience and training for war, but was caught off-guard by a compliment, Eli chuckled to himself when he thought of that.

RKN Seraphiel.
I smiled as Rogavis entered, true to the orders with a towel around his waist.
He seemed to be bothered by the heat, but I was getting up and stopped as I looked at him – damn, he looked cute. Not in the sense of chiselled abs and muscles the size of tree trunks, but more in the sense of good looks... it almost made me forget, that he was not well, the reason why we here here.
He was also nervous, which also looked cute on him.
Caja smiled in a more professional way, but kept back.
“Hey, there.”, I told Rogavis as I came over, offering him my hand to take, “You look like you need a minute or two to get used to the heat... wanna sit or go right for it?”
The fact, that I wore noting but a blue towel, as usual for me when in a bath house, did little to embarrass me.

RKN Kyra.
Eli politely declined Nead's offer, but we all noted that he spoke of there once being five carriers in his navy – two sunk in an incident recently. Not much interaction with his own kind.
I softly took his hand, gave it a comforting squeeze.
Karkadann nodded as well.
“I'm sorry to hear about your friends. May they rest peacefully.”, she told him, nodding once more, “I have lost many friends as well over the years, so believe me, when I say, that it never gets easier, Eli.” She let a beat pass. “If you want to meet your own kind, however, you certainly came to the right place. From the ancient wisdom I possess to the newly commissioned fresh faced carriers, we have quite a lot. And...” She looked at my hand in Eli's. “...maybe a new friend or two as well.”
Her grin made me blush.

MRS Mahine (D43), MRAS Majestic (A246)

---

Naval Yard Cartreffa Island

Mahine's eyes immediately dropped at the mention of the word 'Ministry', almost as if they were prepared to roll out of her head. Majestic gave an amused chortle at the antics of her escort. "Eeeh, just let the pencil-pushers worry about that noise, wontcha? They're supposed to work over all the details anyways."

"She says that, but she's still to write the paperwork for an entire carrier task group's worth of anti-aircraft missiles that she fired off a few hours ago." Majestic would tease, earning a quick point from the destroyer.

"Maybe I should've just let them hit you on that raid;" she scoffed to Majestic's amusement. Mahine coughed to clear her throat and re-directed her attention to Hammacker.

"Missile cruisers, huh? We were supposed to get some of those, way back in the day when they were arguing about the future of our capital ships. Eventually the concept was scrapped and we ended up with Lady Sistine and her quintet of fleet carriers. Was a big argument in the Senate, I hear, was a big ticket election item in the 1980s. Well before both of our times, though.."

"I remember hearing somewhere about a gunnery contest, right? I still think I have some four and a half left."

FFS Hammacker.
I nodded.
“Caja indeed planned one for the midday.” I looked up for the sun. “So an hour or two out.” I turned back to Mahine. “There is a gunnery range on this island and to my understanding, she forbade the use of modern targetting radars... or electronic aids in general so that old ladies like me have a chance.” I threw a wink at that. “But yes, I plan to compete as well.”
I thought for a moment.
“I wonder where Caja is at the moment...”, I wondered, then looked at the two, “...I think she mentioned something about making an international competition in the future. Different tournament classes, broadcasts, concession stands, the whole nine yards.” I shrugged, as the bar came closer. “It would certainly liven up this place.”

Uta

Yeah that was a good point, Uta thought, maybe she was getting carried away but she couldn't help it, Cailín was just so cool. The fact she was hanging out with a military grade ship girl was just rather amazing. She never had done so back home, and really that was always down to her own insecurities, which she let on her full embarrassing display in front of her new pal. Maybe it was time to make a change, "Perhaps...Perhaps I should try talking to some of the Gals in the UISDF Navy." She did a quick inhale exhale, she had to trust the gals back home would be just like Cailín, happy to spend time with any fellow ship, and not worry about all the techno-what-its but what the spirit is all about! "Maybe some of them would like to meet some of their fellow Defensive gals from Across the Seas. "Plus plenty of my other friends in the civilian lines always appreciate a good sight of the mighty ships that keep us safe on the high seas." They do! That's right they do! Uta had to remind herself, they were all supposed to look out for one another. Yah! No reason Uta couldn't stand proudly before her fellow ship girls! She's earned it!

Otome

Otome listened with her eyes beaming towards her. She always looked up to the older gals, be it her mother or anyone really. She always felt she had more to learn. "Amazing, absoltuley amazing you are! I have a little sister too!" Come to think of it, she hadn't seen Uta in some time or her mom, they were probably fine but one can worry just a tad. "And well strange as it is, kind of a mother too. It's because we were essentially built from her specs with a few things added or subtracted here and there but otherwise a family of ocean liners! You were built rough and tough for combat, I was built to handle the rough and tough seas. Kenzaki United Steamer Class, Otome is my name, built not long ago 2006, can you believe it?" She giggled "Anyway, 2 × 95-inch cylinder (2.4 m), 9-foot stroke (2.7 m) side-lever engines, auxiliary sails. So I get to really enjoy the wind at my back at times! Actually my specs are quite similar to a friend of mine, back home though she's with another company so does that make us half-sisters? Well anyway, we're built from a bygone era but it's so awesome! We stand out and everyone takes notice of us. I'm truly proud of. I imagine you're proud of your long history of service My good Lady! Now people get to marvel at that with your status as a museum ship. Funny now that I think of it, I'm starting to wonder if we're the only civilian liners here? We heard a ship festival so we just set sail with hardly a second thought." She again laughed "Well it is what it is, everyone here's really nice!"

SDFS Cailín.
I smiled.
“That's the spirit!”, I cheered and my fellow shippeople did as well.
Her finding self confidence to approach her fellow shippeople outside of her own comfort zone, be it Navy or other civilian vessels, was always good.
Maighdean smiled as well.
“Go for it, searrach.”, she softly said, as we came onto a small clearing on our hike. A fallen log, a small puddle, long grass and all around us, the palms of Cartreffa Island. Maighdean smiled at us. “Anyone up for a little break?”
“I have water and ice cream.”, Miúil said, which caused heads to whip around, mine included, “Only for good shipgirls and shipboys.”
Maighdean chuckled as she sat down on the log.

SDFS F-4 Roc.
Rhiannon blushed lightly as Otome gushed over her, then compared the two of them, including her steam engines – considering, that Rhi ran on steam as well (though via water tube boilers and geared turbines, not side-lever engines), she could certainly emphasize.
A family of cruise ships like her, built to older specifications... I thought of Screamh and her sisters of the Majorie-class, a very similar principle, built to ancient, analogue specifications for specific purposes, although they were by the sounds of it larger then her.
But Otome was proud of herself and her specifications, despite more modern ships ten times her weight most likely making circles around her with ease. She was such a cheerful young woman, self-confident and, quite honestly, a pretty one as well.
I was an old submarine, though.
A young corvette might have a chance with her, not an old rustbucket like me.
Rhi smiled at the comment about her long service history, about everyone being friendly here and then commented: “As a matter of fact, you are not the only civilians here.”, she told Otome, “And depending if you count coast guards as civilians or not, there might be even more then you might think.” She shrugged. “It's hard to differentiate between one and the other without riggings, though. If you want, I can introduce you to some?”
I smiled at the thought.

ONV Northson-Nakagi, ONV Sada, and ONV Seiki
Sailing from the West

(I decided to make my shipgirls the Azur Lane style who can either wear their rigging or summon their entire hull)

"We're going to be late," said Sada. It was the fifteenth time she'd said so after the mismatched trio of Okean ships had left Tamarimizu Bay. The one-armed destroyer had been an incurable worrywart ever since she'd taken that bomb hit in '43. Northson-Nakagi wished that her escort would get over it, but professionalism kept her from voicing that particular opinion.

"We were caught in a storm. They will understand," Northson-Nakagi said. From her ship's flight deck, she could look down over Sada's hull and see the destroyer girl on deck, staring wistfully out over the water as she often did. Sada made a face at Northson's mention of being caught in a storm. Granted, it was a slight exaggeration to call the rainfall they'd sailed through a storm, but it had thrown them off course nonetheless. Northson could tell Sada was holding back another objection, but the destroyer did not continue their conversation. And so Northson-Nakagi returned to the front of her flight deck, looking out over her ship's bow and the pair of triple 16-inch turrets that marked her as a hybrid ship- a freak, to some foreign navies. Of course she had never been called that directly, but she could hear it in the way international guests talked about her. 'What a curious vessel', they had said. 'How unorthodox'. Northson hated the way they veiled their distaste behind pleasantry- but more than that, she hated how their poisoned words affected her, hurt her as much as any shell, bomb, torpedo, or missile.

Whatever opinions the foreigners held about her design, none of them could deny its seakeeping. The mighty aviation battleship's bow cut through the waves like a blade through silk, leaving a near-perfect V-shaped bow wave behind. Sada kept perfect pace with her, the smaller ship riding gracefully over the waves while Northson-Nakagi simply powered through them. A finer pair of vessels could not have been chosen to represent Okayanos' shipbuilding prowess. And yet, they travelled at a mere 18 knots- only slightly over half of both ship's top speeds. The one to blame for that was the third member of the group. Even with Northson and Sada slowing to match his maximum speed, Seiki still managed to lag behind. He was out starboard of Northson's stern, smoke puffing out of his stacks in great black clouds. While Northson-Nakagi sailed with power and Sada with grace, Seiki almost appeared clumsy at times. Northson had heard every story about him, about how he had been around the world, clashing with the old Keslands navy at every turn. History gave her no reason to doubt Seiki's seakeeping abilities. And yet, appearances were clearly deceiving. Northson-Nakagi raised a hand-held radio to contact Seiki- the only way for her to communicate with him, since he otherwise relied on carrier pigeons and wireless telegraphs.

"Northson-Nakagi to Seiki, politely asking that you keep pace with the fleet," She said.

"You folk need to cool your boilers, I'm keeping up fine!" Seiki's voice replied. "Just taking my time and enjoying the trip. It's been a good long while since I've taken to sea, you know!"

"Falling any further behind schedule would be impolite to our hosts. We aren't here on vacation- we are representatives of Okayanos. Need I remind you that this is the first time our country has chosen to enter the international floor since the Cold War?"

"No reminders needed here. Pushing to maximum speed, m'am!" The smoke from Seiki's stacks intensified, billowing an obsidian column into the sky. His hull moved less awkwardly, still limited to 18 knots, but now with a degree of determination. Northson-Nakagi figured that the exercise would be good for him. If it left him too tired to cause trouble once they reached the Free lands, all the better.

"Land on the horizon, Northson," Sada reported. Northson-Nakagi leapt down from her ship's flight deck, moving past her turrets, right to the upturned point at the very front of her bow. She saw it, directly to the west- a dot of emerald green breaking up the sea's endless blue. Northson had been to other nations before, and yet she couldn't help but feel something close to nervousness. The faces of warfare, politics, technology- all had become almost unrecognizable since the 1990s, the last time she had seen active duty- the last time she had been alive, as a ship. Sada and Seiki at least had the luxury of being museum ships, they had gotten to watch the world change around them. Northson only remembered giving herself up to the scrapyard, then reawakening in a very different Okayanos. President Maruyama had won election on the promise of bringing Okayanos back out into the world, and the Kansen-only invitation from the Free Lands came at the perfect time. "I hope they aren't going to be angry about us showing up behind schedule..." said Sada.

Northson-Nakagi quelled her nerves. She was put in command of this diplomatic operation, and so she would have to put on the appearance of bravery for her subordinates. "They won't be angry. We'll explain ourselves, and that will settle the matter," She said.

"What if they don't like our explanation?" came Sada's reply. There was her habit of over-concerning herself, rearing its head once again.

"I may have a flight deck, but I am still a battleship. I can be persuasive." Northson could feel Sada's discomfort at the implications. "But it won't come to that. Trust me, Sada. We would not be visiting the Free Lands if their people were so uncooperative." That seemed to quell the destroyer's worries, at least enough that she didn't voice them anymore.

Cartreffa Island grew larger and larger as the three Okean ships approached, until the moment of landfall finally came. Their ship's hulls vanished in three flashes of blue light, leaving the three Kansen in their rigging, skating across the water's surface in that peculiar way only their kind could. They glided inland, until the sea under their feet was replaced by glistening white sand. Northson-Nakagi looked upon the Free Lands for the first time, and saw.... shipmen and shipwomen in swimsuits, as far as her eye could see. While the three Okeans stood in naval bluecoats, or a button-shirt and hat in Seiki's case. Oh, Northson-Nakagi thought. This might have actually been a vacation.

"I think we're overdressed..." Sada mumbled. Her eyes flickered downward toward her coat's tied-off left sleeve, fluttering slightly in the coastal breeze. Northson had no doubt that the many, many female bodies on display were leaving the destroyer with a sense of inadequacy- less about her lack of curves and more about her.... lack of physical ambidexterity, to put it politely. She glanced at Seiki, who was happily taking his time to enjoy the many sights the Free Lands were offering.

"I, for one, intend to go out there and personally apologize to all of these fine shipgirls for our tardiness," He said. Northson's own strength of resolve and what respect she still had for the old pre-dreadnought were all that kept her from swatting him. Instead, she settled for taking Sada's travel bag, and shoving it into Seiki's chest, perhaps more roughly than she needed to.

"You-" Northson said, hoisting her own bag over her shoulder. "-will carry Sada's things for her while we find a cabin, or tent, or wherever it is we'll be staying during this trip." Seiki looked ready to complain- but a look towards Sada silenced any objections he might've had.

"Of course I will! Anything for our fleet's little sunset," He said, playfully poking the destroyer with his elbow. Sada's ears turned red while she half-heartedly tried to defend herself, muttering about how she wasn't a child anymore. Northson breathed a sigh of relief- at least Sada wasn't mentally beating herself up anymore. "You know, once we're settled, I think a round of swimsuit shopping's in store!" said Seiki. Northson ground her teeth together. Just because his idea made sense didn't mean she had to like it.

"We can plan once we're settled. Start moving," Northson said, taking her first steps into the Free Lands at last.

SDFS Maor.
Hi. It's me again.
You might remember me from the Opening, when I enjoyed a morning with my Squadron, the Maor-Group, but regardless... Caja had asked me to receive a few new arrivals and for a modern Sealgaire-class Helicopter Carrier, there was nothing simpler. Adhbaile had joined me as well, as did Srublao and Lahadar, the calm and gentle girl holding onto the blonde shiplad's hand.
His crush, SDFS Bruineall, had not taken him as her Champion for the gunnery competition later, mostly because she was participating herself.
He was brokenhearted, but his sister had hugged him into a more manageable state. That she offered him the position as her Champion as well had certainly helped as well. Lahadar had a lavender-coloured silken band in her hair, a similar one in Srublao's hair, bound there by her, marking him as her Champion.
I smiled at Adhbaile, who smiled back – the two were cute together.
Regardless...
“Alright, you two...”, I said, “...I see 'em.”
I indeed did. Three hulls dissolving into riggings, their holders coming into view.
A guy, a bit older, like appropriate for the pre-dreadnought I had seen, but still quite hale and happy to be around, if a bit exhausted, a stern looking woman with considerable fuel tanks (and a nice cleavage to along with it) and a brunette woman with a tied-off sleeve. I noted their riggings, too, a pre-dreadnought, a... I wanted to say either a corvette or a small destroyer and a battleship with quite extensive aviation facilities.
I smiled.
The last one reminded me a bit of Fikra and her siblings, Kyrenaian 'Aircraft-Carrying Cruisers', a.k.a. helicopter carriers with pretty big guns, but that was neither here nor there.
“Hey, there!”, I called over, approaching them, “Welcome to Cartreffa Island. Caja, that's the local Installation Type, is currently busy elsewhere, so she asked us to receive you.” I bowed my head lightly as it was Selkie Custom, then offered my hand for a shake, as it was internationally more usual. “I am Maor, this pretty lady is Adhbaile...”
“Hey, there!” If my compliment had any effect on her or not was not visible on her cheeks.
“...and these two Corvettes are Srublao and Lahadar.”, I finished.
The girl waved. “I'm Lahadar, he's my brother – we're both Scoth-class.”
I nodded. “You won't find better escort vessels anywhere in the world right now, those two and their sister Lusachinn.”, I added with some pride, putting a hand on Srublao's shoulder. The lad brightened a little. Turning back to the three new arrivals, I motioned to the bags the old gent held and added: “Before we come to drinks and food, how about we get you settled in? The Settlement isn't much to look at, but it is nice there.”
Indeed, beyond the beach, one could easily make out the assembly of wooden, one storey high buildings, in which we were housed for the duration of our stay in case we didn't have our hulls along or didn't want to stay on them.
“Uhm, Sir?”, Srublao asked the pre-dreadnought, “If you want, I can take one of the bags off your hands.”
I nodded with a smile. “Not a bad idea, Srublao.”, I praised him, then turned to the battleship lady, “If you want, I can take yours.”
Adhbaile rolled her eyes with a smile.

[Legatia]

FFS Hammacker.
I nodded.
“Caja indeed planned one for the midday.” I looked up for the sun. “So an hour or two out.” I turned back to Mahine. “There is a gunnery range on this island and to my understanding, she forbade the use of modern targetting radars... or electronic aids in general so that old ladies like me have a chance.” I threw a wink at that. “But yes, I plan to compete as well.”
I thought for a moment.
“I wonder where Caja is at the moment...”, I wondered, then looked at the two, “...I think she mentioned something about making an international competition in the future. Different tournament classes, broadcasts, concession stands, the whole nine yards.” I shrugged, as the bar came closer. “It would certainly liven up this place.”

MRS Mahine (D43), MRAS Majestic (A246)

---

Naval Yard Cartreffa Island

"No electronics aids~?" Mahine whined almost singsongedly. "Man, I haven't shot optically with this thing for over a year... Well, no time like the present, huh? Might as well use up the GP rounds I've got." Resting a hand at her shoulder, the trio arrived at the bar where Mahine wasted absolutely no time ordering.

"House beer!", the destroyer would call out to the barkeep with a toothy smile. It took a second for her to glance over to Majestic, who more politely requested a margarita.

"Now if you really wanted your run for your money, I'd give you won of the Taga-class frigate girls. Maybe La Pesca or Crobay. I heard they had some action with pirates in the Indian. They run a lot of counter-piracy ops in the region with the frigates, they usually keep us destroyers busy in escort duties." Mahine gave a glance from her side to Hammacker.

Majestic, on the other hand, recalled her earlier conversation with Caja, and turned towards their companion. "I recall her giving us permission to have supplies delivered here.. shot in the dark, I'm sure, but are there runway facilities here? Pray tell, do you know how long?"

[The Grand Western Empire]

RKN Seraphiel.
I smiled as Rogavis entered, true to the orders with a towel around his waist.
He seemed to be bothered by the heat, but I was getting up and stopped as I looked at him – damn, he looked cute. Not in the sense of chiselled abs and muscles the size of tree trunks, but more in the sense of good looks... it almost made me forget, that he was not well, the reason why we here here.
He was also nervous, which also looked cute on him.
Caja smiled in a more professional way, but kept back.
“Hey, there.”, I told Rogavis as I came over, offering him my hand to take, “You look like you need a minute or two to get used to the heat... wanna sit or go right for it?”
The fact, that I wore noting but a blue towel, as usual for me when in a bath house, did little to embarrass me.

RKN Kyra.
Eli politely declined Nead's offer, but we all noted that he spoke of there once being five carriers in his navy – two sunk in an incident recently. Not much interaction with his own kind.
I softly took his hand, gave it a comforting squeeze.
Karkadann nodded as well.
“I'm sorry to hear about your friends. May they rest peacefully.”, she told him, nodding once more, “I have lost many friends as well over the years, so believe me, when I say, that it never gets easier, Eli.” She let a beat pass. “If you want to meet your own kind, however, you certainly came to the right place. From the ancient wisdom I possess to the newly commissioned fresh faced carriers, we have quite a lot. And...” She looked at my hand in Eli's. “...maybe a new friend or two as well.”
Her grin made me blush.

Rogavis

'I was not designed for humidity...' Rogavis could feel a bit of sweat on his back. At the very least, the heat eased his pain a bit. His relatively tight leg muscles were loosening some. Heat helped with tight muscles, he'd heard from someone in the Imperial Navy. Probably the aircraft carrier Lunar Tide since Lunar Tide has been just about everywhere in the world. He'd even been to places Eli hadn't stepped foot in. Every time he returned to port, Lunar Tide would end up telling hours worth of stories in the lounge of Imperial Fleet Base Pontus and sometimes would mention useful tidbits of wisdom and knowledge. Turning his thoughts away from tales of Lunar Tide, Rogavis rolled his shoulders while casually looking at the wall next to Seraphiel. Rogavis, along with most Imperial ship-warriors, lacked experience in awkward situations involving people from outside the Imperial Navy. They were forbidden from going into cities, so they rarely interacted with humans who weren't naval personnel.

"Uh...." Rogavis briefly pondered Seraphiel's question. "Go right for it. I was built for war, I can take some humidity...I think." He mumbled the last sentence to himself to avoid worrying Seraphiel. To emphasize the lie that the heat didn't bother him, Rogavis mustered a slight smile to make him slightly easier to trust.

GWIS Emperor's Light

Eli smirked in mild self-deprecation. "One of them, Imperial Shield, is resting peacefully, I know that for sure. He never let anything bother him, not even severe injuries. He could be in the midst of combat, shells whizzing by him, and he'd be smoking a cigeratte like he was relaxing in the lounge of Fleet Base Pontus. I doubt he is different in the afterlife. The other one..." Eli frowned and crossed his arms. "I don't know if he got any peace. Eternal Phoenix, the other carrier, was always a hothead. He was the only member of the Imperial Navy who started a physical fight with me. I had to knock him out and send him to the brig for a week to get him to calm down. I have a feeling he blamed me and Lunar Tide for his and Imperial Shield's death since we were both away on leave when they died. Maybe he is right. I haven't requested leave since then, not even for a day. Doesn't help I can't forget their deaths since another carrier, Million Virtues, lost an arm on the day. Every time I see him and his prosthetic arm, I get reminded..." Eli shook his head. "Sorry, I shouldn't have bogged you three down with the laments of me and my fleet."

"Though, may I ask why Foiche talks the way she does?" Eli asked with a quiet chuckle at how quickly he switched topics.

[NewOrderOfGermany]

Hamburg sat down on the towel she put on the beach, she soon fell asleep again, this time, she was wearing earmuffs to drown out the sonar pings
which made it extremely obvious:Hamburg could hear very well, and she hates being woken up by small sounds, being a nuclear submarine, she could usually spend months at a time underwater, but the reason she was here, is quite unknown, there could be many reasons, the others would just have to find out.

[Okayanos]

SDFS Maor.
Hi. It's me again.
You might remember me from the Opening, when I enjoyed a morning with my Squadron, the Maor-Group, but regardless... Caja had asked me to receive a few new arrivals and for a modern Sealgaire-class Helicopter Carrier, there was nothing simpler. Adhbaile had joined me as well, as did Srublao and Lahadar, the calm and gentle girl holding onto the blonde shiplad's hand.
His crush, SDFS Bruineall, had not taken him as her Champion for the gunnery competition later, mostly because she was participating herself.
He was brokenhearted, but his sister had hugged him into a more manageable state. That she offered him the position as her Champion as well had certainly helped as well. Lahadar had a lavender-coloured silken band in her hair, a similar one in Srublao's hair, bound there by her, marking him as her Champion.
I smiled at Adhbaile, who smiled back – the two were cute together.
Regardless...
“Alright, you two...”, I said, “...I see 'em.”
I indeed did. Three hulls dissolving into riggings, their holders coming into view.
A guy, a bit older, like appropriate for the pre-dreadnought I had seen, but still quite hale and happy to be around, if a bit exhausted, a stern looking woman with considerable fuel tanks (and a nice cleavage to along with it) and a brunette woman with a tied-off sleeve. I noted their riggings, too, a pre-dreadnought, a... I wanted to say either a corvette or a small destroyer and a battleship with quite extensive aviation facilities.
I smiled.
The last one reminded me a bit of Fikra and her siblings, Kyrenaian 'Aircraft-Carrying Cruisers', a.k.a. helicopter carriers with pretty big guns, but that was neither here nor there.
“Hey, there!”, I called over, approaching them, “Welcome to Cartreffa Island. Caja, that's the local Installation Type, is currently busy elsewhere, so she asked us to receive you.” I bowed my head lightly as it was Selkie Custom, then offered my hand for a shake, as it was internationally more usual. “I am Maor, this pretty lady is Adhbaile...”
“Hey, there!” If my compliment had any effect on her or not was not visible on her cheeks.
“...and these two Corvettes are Srublao and Lahadar.”, I finished.
The girl waved. “I'm Lahadar, he's my brother – we're both Scoth-class.”
I nodded. “You won't find better escort vessels anywhere in the world right now, those two and their sister Lusachinn.”, I added with some pride, putting a hand on Srublao's shoulder. The lad brightened a little. Turning back to the three new arrivals, I motioned to the bags the old gent held and added: “Before we come to drinks and food, how about we get you settled in? The Settlement isn't much to look at, but it is nice there.”
Indeed, beyond the beach, one could easily make out the assembly of wooden, one storey high buildings, in which we were housed for the duration of our stay in case we didn't have our hulls along or didn't want to stay on them.
“Uhm, Sir?”, Srublao asked the pre-dreadnought, “If you want, I can take one of the bags off your hands.”
I nodded with a smile. “Not a bad idea, Srublao.”, I praised him, then turned to the battleship lady, “If you want, I can take yours.”
Adhbaile rolled her eyes with a smile.

Northson-Nakagi accepted Maor’s handshake, nodding along as the other three Selkie ship’s names were given in a rapid-fire series of introductions. She would’ve guessed they were civilian craft at first glance, but when she saw them up close… these were definitely military vessels, even the smallest of them. Of course, this was how the world had changed since her decommissioning in 1994- outside of carriers, large ships were less and less of a necessity. Even a pair of little corvettes could carry enough missiles to threaten a battleship (or aviation battleship) many times their size. This must be what it’s like to feel old.. Nonetheless, Northson gave Maor a small, polite smile.

"Okayanos sends its warmest greetings to you all. It is an honor to be guests of the Free Lands- I’m Northson-Nakagi, Miyagi-class Aviation Battleship. This is Sada, a Deshi-class destroyer. I'd dare to say a match for your Scoth-class' quality, in her time." The one-armed Kansen in question gave a shy wave, but her face seemed to fall at Northson's praise. Sada's inability to accept compliments was a mystery that Northson-Nakagi had yet to unravel. I'll have to talk with her about that once we're settled, she thought. "...And last is our oldest vessel still afloat, Seiki." The old pre-dread gave a wave of his own, without any of the insecurity of Sada's. Unsurprisingly, his eyes lingered on Adhbaile for the longest amount of time that could still be called respectful, before grinning down at Srublao.

"Ah, you're too kind!" Seiki said, more than willing to hand his own travel bag off to Srublao while keeping ahold of Sada's. "I wish the new young ships of Okayanos' navy had half as much respect for their seniors! Why, I had to hear these two complaining about having to go only 18 knots for the whole trip over!" Though his words were truthful, Seiki's cheerful tone and wide smile made it clear he wasn't at all upset. When Maor made the same offer to Northson, however, she had options to consider. If she accepted the offer, it would be a clear display of trust in the Selkies. But, it could also be taken as a sign of weakness, hinting to the Free Lands that Okeans would easily roll over and accept their demands. Northson knew it was best to show strength in these matters. That was why she had sailed in the years of the Cold War, before Okayanos' choice to cut itself away from the outside world for years. Despite her design flaws, ONV Northson-Nakagi had made herself the single greatest symbol of Okayanos' power. She had to continue to be that symbol- if not for the Selkies, then for her fellow Okean ships. Sada and Seiki needed to know that their flagship had not weakened despite her decommissioning.

I may be overthinking this.

"Thank you for the offer, but I can handle it myself." Though Northson-Nakagi's pleasant expression remained, she debated whether or not she was taking this entire exchange too seriously. It was an issue that had been brought to her attention before. She had been built during wartime, remained in active wartime service for 51 years, and was scrapped after the end of the latest war. War had been her purpose for all her long life, and it had affected her view of the world deeply. In other words, Northson-Nakagi had a habit of taking everything far too seriously. She opened her mouth to continue, and ask Maor to show them to their dwelling. Northson assumed that the wood cabins up beyond the beach were said dwelling, but why disrespect their gracious host? Unfortunately, Northson's question died on her lips as Sada was unable to contain herself any longer.

"We're sorry for arriving late, please forgive us!" The destroyer blurted. Sada was the same as Northson-Nakagi at times, taking many things too seriously. However, when it happened, Sada did so in a different way. Where Northson was stoic, stern, and tactical, Sada was anxious, distant and pessimistic on her bad days- right up until this trip, her bad days had been less frequent. It really was something Northson needed to talk to her about, sooner rather than later. "We were caught in a storm, but I know that's no excuse, we should have left sooner-" Sada continued on.

"Sada." Northson-Nakagi cut her off. The warning in the battleship's voice was as sharp as any knife. Luckily, Sada still had the same instinctive response any sailor would when a superior speaks in that voice- to immediately mutter a 'sorry m'am' and shut up. The destroyer's gaze turned downward, her arm folded across her body and gripping her coat's loose left sleeve tightly. Northson felt a small pang of concern. I really, really need to talk to her about that, she thought.

[The Selkie]

MRS Mahine (D43), MRAS Majestic (A246)

---

Naval Yard Cartreffa Island

"No electronics aids~?" Mahine whined almost singsongedly. "Man, I haven't shot optically with this thing for over a year... Well, no time like the present, huh? Might as well use up the GP rounds I've got." Resting a hand at her shoulder, the trio arrived at the bar where Mahine wasted absolutely no time ordering.

"House beer!", the destroyer would call out to the barkeep with a toothy smile. It took a second for her to glance over to Majestic, who more politely requested a margarita.

"Now if you really wanted your run for your money, I'd give you won of the Taga-class frigate girls. Maybe La Pesca or Crobay. I heard they had some action with pirates in the Indian. They run a lot of counter-piracy ops in the region with the frigates, they usually keep us destroyers busy in escort duties." Mahine gave a glance from her side to Hammacker.

Majestic, on the other hand, recalled her earlier conversation with Caja, and turned towards their companion. "I recall her giving us permission to have supplies delivered here.. shot in the dark, I'm sure, but are there runway facilities here? Pray tell, do you know how long?"

FFS Hammacker.
“Coming right up!”, the barkeeper, Badinerie auf den Wellen – or Badi for short – replied upon the request and went to work. She was a yacht-shipgirl, a pleasant lass, who did not take long to put two Humpen onto her counter. The huge stoneware beer mugs were filled with two Teressian Seidel, or 0.7 litres of beer. Krönchen Hell, as I noticed, cold, a maize beer. A margarita followed not too long afterwards. “There you go!”
I smiled, as I had finished listening to Mahine and Majestic.
Asking Mahine for a moment, I turned to Majestic: “To my understanding, there is a runway on the other end of the island, it is 1.7 kilometres in length and a bit bare bones, if you ask me. Your other option would be...” I motioned to the ocean. “...seaplanes.”
Then, it was Mahine's turn.
“Taga-class... can't say I heard of them, but then again, I haven't been as up to date as I could have. We have our own corvettes, though. A few of the Lattenzaun-class should be here.”, I explained, “We run anti-piracy operations as well, in accordance with WAR-20, sometimes with hard contacts, but I must admit, that I was rarely involved in them. A 14,000 tons large cruiser isn't exactly a suitable vessel for normal patrols and escorts. I did participate in a few operations against pirate bases, though, back in the day. 17-Faden shells make quite a bit of a kablowie.”

Rogavis

'I was not designed for humidity...' Rogavis could feel a bit of sweat on his back. At the very least, the heat eased his pain a bit. His relatively tight leg muscles were loosening some. Heat helped with tight muscles, he'd heard from someone in the Imperial Navy. Probably the aircraft carrier Lunar Tide since Lunar Tide has been just about everywhere in the world. He'd even been to places Eli hadn't stepped foot in. Every time he returned to port, Lunar Tide would end up telling hours worth of stories in the lounge of Imperial Fleet Base Pontus and sometimes would mention useful tidbits of wisdom and knowledge. Turning his thoughts away from tales of Lunar Tide, Rogavis rolled his shoulders while casually looking at the wall next to Seraphiel. Rogavis, along with most Imperial ship-warriors, lacked experience in awkward situations involving people from outside the Imperial Navy. They were forbidden from going into cities, so they rarely interacted with humans who weren't naval personnel.

"Uh...." Rogavis briefly pondered Seraphiel's question. "Go right for it. I was built for war, I can take some humidity...I think." He mumbled the last sentence to himself to avoid worrying Seraphiel. To emphasize the lie that the heat didn't bother him, Rogavis mustered a slight smile to make him slightly easier to trust.

GWIS Emperor's Light

Eli smirked in mild self-deprecation. "One of them, Imperial Shield, is resting peacefully, I know that for sure. He never let anything bother him, not even severe injuries. He could be in the midst of combat, shells whizzing by him, and he'd be smoking a cigeratte like he was relaxing in the lounge of Fleet Base Pontus. I doubt he is different in the afterlife. The other one..." Eli frowned and crossed his arms. "I don't know if he got any peace. Eternal Phoenix, the other carrier, was always a hothead. He was the only member of the Imperial Navy who started a physical fight with me. I had to knock him out and send him to the brig for a week to get him to calm down. I have a feeling he blamed me and Lunar Tide for his and Imperial Shield's death since we were both away on leave when they died. Maybe he is right. I haven't requested leave since then, not even for a day. Doesn't help I can't forget their deaths since another carrier, Million Virtues, lost an arm on the day. Every time I see him and his prosthetic arm, I get reminded..." Eli shook his head. "Sorry, I shouldn't have bogged you three down with the laments of me and my fleet."

"Though, may I ask why Foiche talks the way she does?" Eli asked with a quiet chuckle at how quickly he switched topics.

RKN Seraphiel.
He smiled, but he could not fool me.
He was unsure of how to proceed, uncomfortable and had no idea about how to act. Considering he seemed to have not much experience in interacting with others of his kind, let alone humans, it was a very novel experience for him.
Well, weren't vacations for new experiences?
He decided to go right for the bath, though.
I smiled and took his hand, slowly led him to the rows of one-man pools and motioned for the first one.
“Climb in.”, I instructed him with a smile, offered him a hand to help. “There are stairs leading down and allowing to sit, but be careful, some find them a bit slippery.” I smiled. “If you fall, I'll catch you.”

RKN Kyra.
Maybe he should have – maybe he shouldn't.
Either way, Karkadann's face mirrored, that she knew, what he was talking about. I knew, that she knew, what he was talking about. The regret of loosing ships one was close to – sisters, cousins, escorts, yard-siblings... be it to the scrapper's torch or by other means, the old carrier knew it all.
I did not.
It has been three years since my commissioning, I simply did not have the experience – not yet, at least. I hoped, that I'd never make it.
Then Eli asked about Foiche's particular way of talking.
Karkadann and I turned to the blonde Selkie Drone Carrier.
She looked at us with a blank expression. “Statement. It confuses people. Smug Statement. That is fun.”
I looked at Eli and Karkadann, then back at Foiche. “...so, you are basically trolling people.”
Foiche's eyes seemed to shine. “Statement to the negative. I do not troll. I have my fun with people.”
I chuckled.

Hamburg sat down on the towel she put on the beach, she soon fell asleep again, this time, she was wearing earmuffs to drown out the sonar pings
which made it extremely obvious:Hamburg could hear very well, and she hates being woken up by small sounds, being a nuclear submarine, she could usually spend months at a time underwater, but the reason she was here, is quite unknown, there could be many reasons, the others would just have to find out.

There was one major problem: Those who noticed Hamburg snoozing on her beach towel saw a shipgirl dozing off in the sun. They did not wonder why she was there, at most, they wondered, if she had sunscreen on.
As she was not bothering anyone, and no one was bothered by her, they left her alone.
Even Launceston nearby had long-since returned to her novel, Fearbán and Tiúilip were playing with a beach ball and a few of their siblings nearby, while she got to the part, where the dashing Selkie-Mercenary got closer to the beautiful Kyrenaian Princess, their lips nearing, his tunic long discarded as he had just used his magnificent muscles to carry something or the other when she had called him to her and...
BONK!
...the beachball hit Launceston.
“Sorry!”, Fearbán called over, “You alright?”
“Yeah, yeah...”, Launceston replied and threw the ball back, “...be a bit careful, though!”
Fearbán saluted and went back to the game.

Northson-Nakagi accepted Maor’s handshake, nodding along as the other three Selkie ship’s names were given in a rapid-fire series of introductions. She would’ve guessed they were civilian craft at first glance, but when she saw them up close… these were definitely military vessels, even the smallest of them. Of course, this was how the world had changed since her decommissioning in 1994- outside of carriers, large ships were less and less of a necessity. Even a pair of little corvettes could carry enough missiles to threaten a battleship (or aviation battleship) many times their size. This must be what it’s like to feel old.. Nonetheless, Northson gave Maor a small, polite smile.

"Okayanos sends its warmest greetings to you all. It is an honor to be guests of the Free Lands- I’m Northson-Nakagi, Miyagi-class Aviation Battleship. This is Sada, a Deshi-class destroyer. I'd dare to say a match for your Scoth-class' quality, in her time." The one-armed Kansen in question gave a shy wave, but her face seemed to fall at Northson's praise. Sada's inability to accept compliments was a mystery that Northson-Nakagi had yet to unravel. I'll have to talk with her about that once we're settled, she thought. "...And last is our oldest vessel still afloat, Seiki." The old pre-dread gave a wave of his own, without any of the insecurity of Sada's. Unsurprisingly, his eyes lingered on Adhbaile for the longest amount of time that could still be called respectful, before grinning down at Srublao.

"Ah, you're too kind!" Seiki said, more than willing to hand his own travel bag off to Srublao while keeping ahold of Sada's. "I wish the new young ships of Okayanos' navy had half as much respect for their seniors! Why, I had to hear these two complaining about having to go only 18 knots for the whole trip over!" Though his words were truthful, Seiki's cheerful tone and wide smile made it clear he wasn't at all upset. When Maor made the same offer to Northson, however, she had options to consider. If she accepted the offer, it would be a clear display of trust in the Selkies. But, it could also be taken as a sign of weakness, hinting to the Free Lands that Okeans would easily roll over and accept their demands. Northson knew it was best to show strength in these matters. That was why she had sailed in the years of the Cold War, before Okayanos' choice to cut itself away from the outside world for years. Despite her design flaws, ONV Northson-Nakagi had made herself the single greatest symbol of Okayanos' power. She had to continue to be that symbol- if not for the Selkies, then for her fellow Okean ships. Sada and Seiki needed to know that their flagship had not weakened despite her decommissioning.

I may be overthinking this.

"Thank you for the offer, but I can handle it myself." Though Northson-Nakagi's pleasant expression remained, she debated whether or not she was taking this entire exchange too seriously. It was an issue that had been brought to her attention before. She had been built during wartime, remained in active wartime service for 51 years, and was scrapped after the end of the latest war. War had been her purpose for all her long life, and it had affected her view of the world deeply. In other words, Northson-Nakagi had a habit of taking everything far too seriously. She opened her mouth to continue, and ask Maor to show them to their dwelling. Northson assumed that the wood cabins up beyond the beach were said dwelling, but why disrespect their gracious host? Unfortunately, Northson's question died on her lips as Sada was unable to contain herself any longer.

"We're sorry for arriving late, please forgive us!" The destroyer blurted. Sada was the same as Northson-Nakagi at times, taking many things too seriously. However, when it happened, Sada did so in a different way. Where Northson was stoic, stern, and tactical, Sada was anxious, distant and pessimistic on her bad days- right up until this trip, her bad days had been less frequent. It really was something Northson needed to talk to her about, sooner rather than later. "We were caught in a storm, but I know that's no excuse, we should have left sooner-" Sada continued on.

"Sada." Northson-Nakagi cut her off. The warning in the battleship's voice was as sharp as any knife. Luckily, Sada still had the same instinctive response any sailor would when a superior speaks in that voice- to immediately mutter a 'sorry m'am' and shut up. The destroyer's gaze turned downward, her arm folded across her body and gripping her coat's loose left sleeve tightly. Northson felt a small pang of concern. I really, really need to talk to her about that, she thought.

SDFS Maor.
While Srublao took both the praise (with a slight blush, most likely trying to formulate, that it was alright) and the bag from Seiki, I watched Northson-Nakagi.
I did not know her service history, her time during the cold war or her station. That she was quite an important vessels, being an aviation battleship and all, certainly made clear, that she had a lot of thoughts running through her head.
I did not know these.
My offer came not out of considerations of strength, weakness, trust or mistrust.
It came out of politeness. I was, after all, not a shipgirl, but a shipman and while the Navy had taught us many things, manners were among them. And while Adhbaile certainly did not seem to mind, that Seiki was ogling her, our opposite numbers certainly had manners as well.
Northson-Nakagi refused politely, but firmly.
I nodded, about to tell her, that if she changed her mind, I'd be there, when Sada blurted out an apology. The one-armed destroyer, who had been introduced as equally as good as our Scoths way back when, explained, that they had been in a storm, delayed and...
...and Northson-Nakagi cut her off courtly.
Sada folded in on herself, gripping her empty sleeve.
Even I saw, that Sada had psychological issues and when I had to bet, it had to do with the time, when she had lost her arm. No time to theorize.
Adhbaile put a hand on her good shoulder, softly, channeling her Big Sister Energy. “It's alright, searrach, no need to worry.”
“She's right.”, I confirmed with a smile, “The arrival schedule was 'You arrive, when you arrive, as long as you come on the right day' anyway, if we believe Caja, so no harm done.” I motioned for the three to follow me. “Come. Let's get you settled in and comfortable... and maybe a few drinks as well.”
Lahadar took out a thermos from somewhere.
“If you want, I have tea – lavender.”, she offered to the three. I chuckled – sure, it was lavender tea, her namesake flower. Her eyes fell on Sada. “A calming tea.”
She was a gentle girl and a good listener, maybe exactly what Sada needed.
I turned to Northson-Nakagi as we began our walk towards the Settlement.
“So... a storm.”, I said seriously, “Any damages or injuries?”
In my experience, especially older shippeople were prone to damages in harsher weathers and Seiki was, with all the respect one had towards older shippeople, not exactly fresh from the yards.

[NewOrderOfGermany]

Hamburg had actually curled up, like she was cold, it was confusing, to say the least, having a cold shipgirl on a warm summer day, Hamburg also had a small box near her with the ironblood logo on it, by the design of the box, it looked very important, the box even had gold inlays.
Hamburg made small snoring noises, and then woke up, ¨I forgot sunscreen¨ She quickly opened up the box and pulled out sunscreen, and then started to put it on

[Okayanos]

SDFS Maor.
While Srublao took both the praise (with a slight blush, most likely trying to formulate, that it was alright) and the bag from Seiki, I watched Northson-Nakagi.
I did not know her service history, her time during the cold war or her station. That she was quite an important vessels, being an aviation battleship and all, certainly made clear, that she had a lot of thoughts running through her head.
I did not know these.
My offer came not out of considerations of strength, weakness, trust or mistrust.
It came out of politeness. I was, after all, not a shipgirl, but a shipman and while the Navy had taught us many things, manners were among them. And while Adhbaile certainly did not seem to mind, that Seiki was ogling her, our opposite numbers certainly had manners as well.
Northson-Nakagi refused politely, but firmly.
I nodded, about to tell her, that if she changed her mind, I'd be there, when Sada blurted out an apology. The one-armed destroyer, who had been introduced as equally as good as our Scoths way back when, explained, that they had been in a storm, delayed and...
...and Northson-Nakagi cut her off courtly.
Sada folded in on herself, gripping her empty sleeve.
Even I saw, that Sada had psychological issues and when I had to bet, it had to do with the time, when she had lost her arm. No time to theorize.
Adhbaile put a hand on her good shoulder, softly, channeling her Big Sister Energy. “It's alright, searrach, no need to worry.”
“She's right.”, I confirmed with a smile, “The arrival schedule was 'You arrive, when you arrive, as long as you come on the right day' anyway, if we believe Caja, so no harm done.” I motioned for the three to follow me. “Come. Let's get you settled in and comfortable... and maybe a few drinks as well.”
Lahadar took out a thermos from somewhere.
“If you want, I have tea – lavender.”, she offered to the three. I chuckled – sure, it was lavender tea, her namesake flower. Her eyes fell on Sada. “A calming tea.”
She was a gentle girl and a good listener, maybe exactly what Sada needed.
I turned to Northson-Nakagi as we began our walk towards the Settlement.
“So... a storm.”, I said seriously, “Any damages or injuries?”
In my experience, especially older shippeople were prone to damages in harsher weathers and Seiki was, with all the respect one had towards older shippeople, not exactly fresh from the yards.

One of the many, many missions Sada had been assigned to during her long career was overseeing the recovery of Okayanos’ first satellite. She remembered how small it had been, small enough to fit on her drone deck. The later ones were bigger, too big for a destroyer to recover, but it didn’t matter- from that point on, Sada had been fascinated by the stars. After becoming a museum ship, she had all the time in the world to sate her curiosity. Sada remembered how terrified she’d been when she first learned about black holes, and how the gravity they generated was so strong that it would make her body crumple and collapse in on itself until she blinked out of existence.

When her outburst was cut off by Northson-Nakagi, Sada decided that collapsing into a non-existent speck wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. At least then she’d escape the endless recursive loop of worrying herself into a fit, then worrying about worrying, repeat ad nauseum. She was ready to fall back into it, to blame herself for ruining Okayanos’ first sort-of diplomatic mission, for not being the perfect, flawless ship that everyone in the Okean navy seemed to think she was- but then she was yanked back out of it by a gentle hand on her shoulder and a warm voice. Sada looked up at Abhdaile- she didn’t know what searrach meant, but it sounded kind. Or at least, the replenishment ship's undeniable Big Sister Energy made it sound kind. At least these four aren’t angry, Sada thought.

“Sorry, I’m just… a little frayed, I think…” She said to Adhbaile and Lahadar both. “Lavender tea would be very nice, if it’s not too much trouble.” Sada accepted the offered thermos, using the stump of her left arm to clamp it against her body so she could unscrew the top. She wasn’t a big tea drinker, but Lahadar had been so sweet to offer it that she really couldn’t find a way to refuse. The calming effect wasn’t a lie. Sada could feel it, as if the knots in her stomach had finally been untied- or, at least, loosened. “Oh, that’s really good,” She said, walking beside Adhbaile and Ladahar in the loosely-organized clump of Okean and Selkie Kansen. “Thank you- and again, sorry for the… bad first impression, I guess- Adhbaile and Ladahar, right?” Please, god, let me pronounce those right, Sada thought.

While Sada tried not to butcher the beauty of the Free Lands’ native tongue, she could hear Northson-Nakagi and Seiki ahead, conversing with Maor- about the trip, evidently. Sada almost wished she could deafen herself to it, pretend that her extended fit of anxiety had never happened- but alas, Sada’s ears remained in working order.

“-No damage.” Said the stern voice of Northson-Nakagi. “Okean storms tend to have a bark worse than their bite.” The aviation battleship kept pace with Maor, every step measured and even. It spoke to Northson’s rigid professionalism that her walking could make Sada feel inadequate. The destroyer was awkwardly stuck between trying to keep up with Adhbaile, whose legs were a fair bit longer than hers, and trying to hand the thermos of tea back to Ladahar, who was shorter.

Seiki, meanwhile, had no intention of trying to seem professional. He could easily speed-walk fast enough to catch up to Maor and Northson.
“We were lucky, really! Every few years, Okayanos gets hit with a storm that ain’t all bark. Like the Typhoon of ‘22- 1922, I mean- now that was a kick in the stern. Lost a good chunk of my pigeons that year, god rest ‘em,” The old battleship said, taking his hat off and holding it over his heart when he mentioned the pigeons- “-but enough reminiscing!” -and was immediately back to his usual self. “You say drinks, I say where and when. And since we’re planning- what else is worth doin’ around here? What’re the must-sees of the Free Lands- aside from its ‘natural beauty’, of course.” He shot a wink back toward Adhbaile. Sada could feel Northson rolling her good eye. Sada knew Seiki wasn’t serious- he rarely was- and even she couldn’t deny that every Selkie ship they’d seen had been exceptionally attractive. The pre-dread was simply too old to care what anyone else thought of him. “Oh, before I forget- if there’s a place to buy swimsuits around here, that’d be a lifesaver. Our esteemed flagship insisted that this trip wasn’t a vacation and that we wouldn’t need to bring any. Funny how that worked out, huh?”

Sada could feel Northson rolling her good eye even farther.

[Legatia]

FFS Hammacker.
“Coming right up!”, the barkeeper, Badinerie auf den Wellen – or Badi for short – replied upon the request and went to work. She was a yacht-shipgirl, a pleasant lass, who did not take long to put two Humpen onto her counter. The huge stoneware beer mugs were filled with two Teressian Seidel, or 0.7 litres of beer. Krönchen Hell, as I noticed, cold, a maize beer. A margarita followed not too long afterwards. “There you go!”
I smiled, as I had finished listening to Mahine and Majestic.
Asking Mahine for a moment, I turned to Majestic: “To my understanding, there is a runway on the other end of the island, it is 1.7 kilometres in length and a bit bare bones, if you ask me. Your other option would be...” I motioned to the ocean. “...seaplanes.”
Then, it was Mahine's turn.
“Taga-class... can't say I heard of them, but then again, I haven't been as up to date as I could have. We have our own corvettes, though. A few of the Lattenzaun-class should be here.”, I explained, “We run anti-piracy operations as well, in accordance with WAR-20, sometimes with hard contacts, but I must admit, that I was rarely involved in them. A 14,000 tons large cruiser isn't exactly a suitable vessel for normal patrols and escorts. I did participate in a few operations against pirate bases, though, back in the day. 17-Faden shells make quite a bit of a kablowie.”

MRS Mahine (D43), MRAS Majestic (A246)

---

Naval Yard Cartreffa Island

Mahine looked unpertubed by the large quantity of beer. Large beer mugs like these were common across the blue-collar pubhouses found in every corner of Meridon, and the girl made an exaggerated sigh of relief as she upended and replaced the drink with half of it gone in a single swig. She used a finger to wipe the malt from her upper lip, while Majestic amusedly watched as she took a decidedly more couth sip from her own drink.

"A runway like that... 1.7 kilometer's probably doable, I'd hope. Mahine here's the only escort in a few hundred nautical miles for me after we leave, so command is talking about getting her resupplied with a few flights. I'm sure the Air Forces will figure that one out.

Mahine responded to Hammacker with a nod of her own.

"Man, that's some good beer you guys got here...! Ah, the Taga-class girls? They're about the oldest we've got in terms of surface ships, they're due for retirement coming up here soon. They're our largest class of ships, too. Workhorses of the fleet. You spend any amount of time operating with the Merrie fleet you'll run into one eventually. They can do pretty much everything, but they're mostly used as our anti-sub specialists. The one that was with us was Lahaina."

[NewOrderOfGermany]

Hamburg got up, packed her things and walked into the water, it didn´t look like she was leaving, she was just standing in the water, she began to walk under the surface until she stepped on something "OW, GODDAMMIT " Hamburg exclaimed, she kneeled down to look at something, and she picked up a beautiful seashell. Hamburg came out of the water, holding the Seashell, she noticed a hole in one end and she blew into it, the noise it made sounded like a bugle horn, and it could be heard from far away. "Hopefully no one comes to investigate that noise" Hamburg said under her breath.

[The Grand Western Empire]

RKN Seraphiel.
He smiled, but he could not fool me.
He was unsure of how to proceed, uncomfortable and had no idea about how to act. Considering he seemed to have not much experience in interacting with others of his kind, let alone humans, it was a very novel experience for him.
Well, weren't vacations for new experiences?
He decided to go right for the bath, though.
I smiled and took his hand, slowly led him to the rows of one-man pools and motioned for the first one.
“Climb in.”, I instructed him with a smile, offered him a hand to help. “There are stairs leading down and allowing to sit, but be careful, some find them a bit slippery.” I smiled. “If you fall, I'll catch you.”

RKN Kyra.
Maybe he should have – maybe he shouldn't.
Either way, Karkadann's face mirrored, that she knew, what he was talking about. I knew, that she knew, what he was talking about. The regret of loosing ships one was close to – sisters, cousins, escorts, yard-siblings... be it to the scrapper's torch or by other means, the old carrier knew it all.
I did not.
It has been three years since my commissioning, I simply did not have the experience – not yet, at least. I hoped, that I'd never make it.
Then Eli asked about Foiche's particular way of talking.
Karkadann and I turned to the blonde Selkie Drone Carrier.
She looked at us with a blank expression. “Statement. It confuses people. Smug Statement. That is fun.”
I looked at Eli and Karkadann, then back at Foiche. “...so, you are basically trolling people.”
Foiche's eyes seemed to shine. “Statement to the negative. I do not troll. I have my fun with people.”
I chuckled.

Rogavis

Rogavis took Seraphiel's hand and took a reluctant step, still a little uneasy with the idea of putting too much weight on his engines. The warning about the stairs being potentially slippery didn't do much to make him feel safer. Slick steps and a broken engine system was far from a winning combination, in his opinion. Falling was not something he particularly enjoyed. However, Seraphiel's reassurance did make him feel a little better, though he still wouldn't admit the heat bugged him. Not a thousand years. "Uh...Thanks. For giving me a hand and helping me wih Caja and all that. I owe you one."

GWIS Emperor's Light

Eli briefly wondered why he was talking so much. At Pontus, he was usually more reserved and less into pouring his heart out. He blamed it on the fact relaxing was difficult when hauling a train's worth of troubling baggage. He momentarily adverted his eyes from Karkadann, he noticed he may have drudged up bad memories, which if he had, he hadn't meant to. His thoughts were pulled from that topic when Foiche answered his question with a...slightly underwhelming answer. "...That's it?" He raised an eyebrow and nodded to agree with Kyra. "What an interesting definition of fun." Eli said through a deep chuckle. "Ship-war...Ship-people from here are certainly different from Imperial ones."

[The Selkie]

Hamburg had actually curled up, like she was cold, it was confusing, to say the least, having a cold shipgirl on a warm summer day, Hamburg also had a small box near her with the ironblood logo on it, by the design of the box, it looked very important, the box even had gold inlays.
Hamburg made small snoring noises, and then woke up, ¨I forgot sunscreen¨ She quickly opened up the box and pulled out sunscreen, and then started to put it on

Hamburg got up, packed her things and walked into the water, it didn´t look like she was leaving, she was just standing in the water, she began to walk under the surface until she stepped on something "OW, GODDAMMIT " Hamburg exclaimed, she kneeled down to look at something, and she picked up a beautiful seashell. Hamburg came out of the water, holding the Seashell, she noticed a hole in one end and she blew into it, the noise it made sounded like a bugle horn, and it could be heard from far away. "Hopefully no one comes to investigate that noise" Hamburg said under her breath.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on Hamburg's mood, the seashell had been heard – only a few people took note, however, one of them being the redhead, who had been reading her journal, as well as the two smaller corvette-shipgirls, who had been playing nearby.
Tiúilip and Fearbán, SDF-Navy Scoth-class Corvettes, met Launceston, fell into natural escort positions for the redhead in the red bikini, who remarked: “Then I wouldn't have made the noise.”, she said flatly, then a note of concern entered her voice: “Everything alright? You hurt or something?”
Tiúilip and Fearbán, meanwhile, kept an eye on the unknown submarine girl, ready to protect their Big Sis Launceston at all cost. But they were also ready to provide assistance, should that be necessary.
There was a reason why Launceston took the lead.

One of the many, many missions Sada had been assigned to during her long career was overseeing the recovery of Okayanos’ first satellite. She remembered how small it had been, small enough to fit on her drone deck. The later ones were bigger, too big for a destroyer to recover, but it didn’t matter- from that point on, Sada had been fascinated by the stars. After becoming a museum ship, she had all the time in the world to sate her curiosity. Sada remembered how terrified she’d been when she first learned about black holes, and how the gravity they generated was so strong that it would make her body crumple and collapse in on itself until she blinked out of existence.

When her outburst was cut off by Northson-Nakagi, Sada decided that collapsing into a non-existent speck wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. At least then she’d escape the endless recursive loop of worrying herself into a fit, then worrying about worrying, repeat ad nauseum. She was ready to fall back into it, to blame herself for ruining Okayanos’ first sort-of diplomatic mission, for not being the perfect, flawless ship that everyone in the Okean navy seemed to think she was- but then she was yanked back out of it by a gentle hand on her shoulder and a warm voice. Sada looked up at Abhdaile- she didn’t know what searrach meant, but it sounded kind. Or at least, the replenishment ship's undeniable Big Sister Energy made it sound kind. At least these four aren’t angry, Sada thought.

“Sorry, I’m just… a little frayed, I think…” She said to Adhbaile and Lahadar both. “Lavender tea would be very nice, if it’s not too much trouble.” Sada accepted the offered thermos, using the stump of her left arm to clamp it against her body so she could unscrew the top. She wasn’t a big tea drinker, but Lahadar had been so sweet to offer it that she really couldn’t find a way to refuse. The calming effect wasn’t a lie. Sada could feel it, as if the knots in her stomach had finally been untied- or, at least, loosened. “Oh, that’s really good,” She said, walking beside Adhbaile and Ladahar in the loosely-organized clump of Okean and Selkie Kansen. “Thank you- and again, sorry for the… bad first impression, I guess- Adhbaile and Ladahar, right?” Please, god, let me pronounce those right, Sada thought.

While Sada tried not to butcher the beauty of the Free Lands’ native tongue, she could hear Northson-Nakagi and Seiki ahead, conversing with Maor- about the trip, evidently. Sada almost wished she could deafen herself to it, pretend that her extended fit of anxiety had never happened- but alas, Sada’s ears remained in working order.

“-No damage.” Said the stern voice of Northson-Nakagi. “Okean storms tend to have a bark worse than their bite.” The aviation battleship kept pace with Maor, every step measured and even. It spoke to Northson’s rigid professionalism that her walking could make Sada feel inadequate. The destroyer was awkwardly stuck between trying to keep up with Adhbaile, whose legs were a fair bit longer than hers, and trying to hand the thermos of tea back to Ladahar, who was shorter.

Seiki, meanwhile, had no intention of trying to seem professional. He could easily speed-walk fast enough to catch up to Maor and Northson.
“We were lucky, really! Every few years, Okayanos gets hit with a storm that ain’t all bark. Like the Typhoon of ‘22- 1922, I mean- now that was a kick in the stern. Lost a good chunk of my pigeons that year, god rest ‘em,” The old battleship said, taking his hat off and holding it over his heart when he mentioned the pigeons- “-but enough reminiscing!” -and was immediately back to his usual self. “You say drinks, I say where and when. And since we’re planning- what else is worth doin’ around here? What’re the must-sees of the Free Lands- aside from its ‘natural beauty’, of course.” He shot a wink back toward Adhbaile. Sada could feel Northson rolling her good eye. Sada knew Seiki wasn’t serious- he rarely was- and even she couldn’t deny that every Selkie ship they’d seen had been exceptionally attractive. The pre-dread was simply too old to care what anyone else thought of him. “Oh, before I forget- if there’s a place to buy swimsuits around here, that’d be a lifesaver. Our esteemed flagship insisted that this trip wasn’t a vacation and that we wouldn’t need to bring any. Funny how that worked out, huh?”

Sada could feel Northson rolling her good eye even farther.

SDFS Adhbaile.
The pronunciation needed work, but it was alright. I was more bothered by Seiki's flirtarious attitude and he received an bemused smile for his trouble, so one can imagine, how much flak Sada received from me.
Nothing.
“You're welcome, Miss Sada.”, Lahadar told the frayed shipgirl with a smile, almost unconsciously falling into a position, which would allow her to act as our escort. “And it's no problem at all, right, Adhbaile?”
“She's absolutely right.”, I agreed with a nod, happy that Sada was at least looking as if she was feeling better. And it was better then to be all too well aware of an old Pre-Dreadnought ogling me. It seemed to be almost international norm, that older shipboys were perverts. “With the long trip and the storm, it's only natural, that you are a bit on edge, searrach. You are in a harbour now, so don't worry. No storm is stupid enough to challenge this harbour!”
I smiled, matching pace to something more closely to what I thought Dasa would feel comfortable with, Lahadar, as our escort, following suit.
The lavender-haired girl took the thermos back with a smile and a short bow, tucking it under her arm while she walked.
“Miss Sada, if I may ask...”, she began respectfully, “...what is Okayanos like?”

SDFS Maor.
I nodded as Northson-Nakagi very professionally told us, that there have been no damages, as their storms tended to look viscous, but rarely were – rarely being the important word here, as Seiki regaled us.
As professional as Northson-Nakagi was, Seiki was... not. For an older ship-person, he was quite free-spirited and a huge contrast to the aviation battleship, which seemed to be in the lead.
I chuckled.
“Careful, pal, don't feast your eyes too much on just one beautiful sight, these lands have enough to offer!”, I told him with a grin of my own, “Though I do understand, where you are coming from. Be that, as it may... one thing after the other.” I pointed out into the pontoon harbour, to a black hull with a white superstructure, two funnels, which had little function, an ancient form hiding a very, very modern luxury liner. “That is the Fio, a liner from Lutetii. I know for a fact, that she has a swimsuit shop aboard. And a bar.”
I smiled slightly as I pulled out my smartphone.
“If you want, I can contact her via the local battlescape network.”, I said, opening a messenger app, the first group's title being, in English, Cartreffa Island Battlescape Network. “She has invited Adhbaile, me and the kids for a drink later anyway and the more the merrier.”
Everyone with good optics, like a pre-dreadnought battleship, was able to see movement on the aft deck, a number of figures moving about near the rails. The pontoon quay, which connected her to dry shore, was also being used by a small group of ship-people, some of which I recognized even at this distance as fleetmates of mine.
It should be noted, that despite the Fio being a high-class luxury liner, they all wore swimsuits (or, in case of Nocht, trunks).

MRS Mahine (D43), MRAS Majestic (A246)

---

Naval Yard Cartreffa Island

Mahine looked unpertubed by the large quantity of beer. Large beer mugs like these were common across the blue-collar pubhouses found in every corner of Meridon, and the girl made an exaggerated sigh of relief as she upended and replaced the drink with half of it gone in a single swig. She used a finger to wipe the malt from her upper lip, while Majestic amusedly watched as she took a decidedly more couth sip from her own drink.

"A runway like that... 1.7 kilometer's probably doable, I'd hope. Mahine here's the only escort in a few hundred nautical miles for me after we leave, so command is talking about getting her resupplied with a few flights. I'm sure the Air Forces will figure that one out.

Mahine responded to Hammacker with a nod of her own.

"Man, that's some good beer you guys got here...! Ah, the Taga-class girls? They're about the oldest we've got in terms of surface ships, they're due for retirement coming up here soon. They're our largest class of ships, too. Workhorses of the fleet. You spend any amount of time operating with the Merrie fleet you'll run into one eventually. They can do pretty much everything, but they're mostly used as our anti-sub specialists. The one that was with us was Lahaina."

FFS Hammacker.
“Uhm, excuse me, Miss?”, Badi suddenly spoke up, addressing Majestic as she got a second mug ready, “I am not sure, if I am free to propose this, but if your bearings are similar, we could depart together – the Teressian Kanmusu and you two, I mean. And anyone else, who wants to tag along. Plus, the Free Lands assured safe passage out of their EEZ, so that might also be an option.”
I nodded.
“That's actually a good idea – strength in numbers and all that.”, I complimented the yacht-shipgirl, who blushed lightly at the praise. “And if everything else fails, we can take you along to Raycbuchthafen or something, resupplying there would be even less of a problem.”, I agreed, then added: “If the powers that be agree, of course, but I doubt, that Prinz Alrich or Admiral Findehoof would oppose it. Diplomacy, port call and all that.”
“Or you come up to Wembury with us Selkie Boys and Girls.”, another shipgirl chimed in, then showed Badi a one, as in A Humpen, please. She sat down, black hair, red eyes and despite her own shortness, she carried an air of self-confidence (not to mention, that her black bikini with a silvery floral pattern left little to the imagination about her considerable 'fuel tanks'). “I am a bit of a technician, being a Gabhdán and all, and I overheard your considerations, Miss...?”
She glanced to me.
“Mór, these are Mahine and Majestic of the Meridonian Navy.”, I pointed the two out, introducing them, “Mahine, Majestic, SDFS Mór... and I feel a bit left out.” Mór raised an eyebrow, I pointed at every one of them one after the other. “M, M and another M.” Then at myself. “H.”
Mór laughed.
“B.”, Badi chimed in with a smile of her own.

Rogavis

Rogavis took Seraphiel's hand and took a reluctant step, still a little uneasy with the idea of putting too much weight on his engines. The warning about the stairs being potentially slippery didn't do much to make him feel safer. Slick steps and a broken engine system was far from a winning combination, in his opinion. Falling was not something he particularly enjoyed. However, Seraphiel's reassurance did make him feel a little better, though he still wouldn't admit the heat bugged him. Not a thousand years. "Uh...Thanks. For giving me a hand and helping me wih Caja and all that. I owe you one."

GWIS Emperor's Light

Eli briefly wondered why he was talking so much. At Pontus, he was usually more reserved and less into pouring his heart out. He blamed it on the fact relaxing was difficult when hauling a train's worth of troubling baggage. He momentarily adverted his eyes from Karkadann, he noticed he may have drudged up bad memories, which if he had, he hadn't meant to. His thoughts were pulled from that topic when Foiche answered his question with a...slightly underwhelming answer. "...That's it?" He raised an eyebrow and nodded to agree with Kyra. "What an interesting definition of fun." Eli said through a deep chuckle. "Ship-war...Ship-people from here are certainly different from Imperial ones."

RKN Seraphiel.
“No problem.”, I replied as I helped him down. There was a short moment, when I feared for his safety, and to be honest, he looked a bit uncomfortable, but the hot water, both its healing effects and the simple fact, that it was hot, should make him feel comfortable soon enough. It was a bit murky, a milky sort of white, too, so I felt safe in telling him: “If you want, you can take the towel off.”
I let a beat pass and then, on a whim, added: “I know I will, once I got settled into my tub.”
I even threw him a wink.

RKN Kyra.
“That makes life interesting, doesn't it?”, Karkadann remarked with a grin, “I mean... I've been in the Decolonization Wars. I met other nations' ship-people, sometimes as a friend, sometimes... not.” She looked at us, an expression in her eyes making it clear, that she might share a few stories once we had gotten a few strong drinks into her. She continued, however: “But those who I met as friends, they were all different. It was interesting and fun to see... and let's be honest, since I am a retiree, I travelled a lot more with peace on my mind.”
She grinned, winking at us.
“I would be boring, if it was the same everywhere, now would it?”, she concluded.
I nodded, smiling slightly.
Nead Foiche, however, spoke in her robotic tone: “Statement. Fun can have many different forms. You have found yours, Miss Karkadann.”

[NewOrderOfGermany]

"I needed to see if it could be used as a foghorn, and i stepped on this exact Seashell" Hamburg said, standing on one foot and began to laugh, "at least it is not getting hit by multiple siren torpedoes" Hamburg suddenly got quiet and looked down, "My sister ships got destroyed in that fight" Hamburg began sobbing profusely.