The battle was over. Smoke still drifted from the wrecked shoreline of Wake Isnd, but the guns had fallen silent. The once-proud Sakura Empire strike force was now reduced to a huddled group of battered shipgirls kneeling in the shallows, their hulls beached along the shore as grim-faced U.S. Marines surrounded them with weapons at the ready.

  Georgia loomed over them, her massive frame casting a shadow as she folded her arms. Her steel like bck feathered wings flexed slightly, sending a ripple of dispced air through the gathered soldiers and prisoners alike. The silence was deafening.

  One of the shipgirls, her short pink hair matted with seawater and grit, lifted her head. Kisaragi. Bruised, battered, and still catching her breath from her earlier airborne experience courtesy of a angry battleship. Her amber eyes flickered with something between desperation and resolve as she swallowed hard and spoke.

  "Anno… if it would let you spare us… I shall sleep with you?"

  A few of the other Sakura shipgirls gasped, while the Marines exchanged baffled gnces. Georgia, meanwhile, tilted her head, gears practically turning in her mind.

  "Sleep with me?" Georgia repeated, blinking down at Kisaragi.

  Kisaragi nodded, her expression set. "Yes. If… if offering our bodies will ensure our survival, then…" She trailed off, her face flushing slightly from both exertion and embarrassment.

  Georgia stared at her for a long moment before her expression softened. Then, to the complete and utter bewilderment of everyone present, she reached forward and scooped Kisaragi up into her arms like a stuffed animal. The pink-haired cat-like destroyer let out a startled squeak as Georgia pulled her close, cradling her against her chest.

  "Aw hell, if you wanted cuddles, all ya had to do was ask, you kittens always act so angry but cant help and give in to my pets." Georgia murmured, rubbing Kisaragi's ears with a surprising amount of gentleness. "Could've just said somethin' instead of throwin' yourself at my guns like a damn idjit." Her southern accents slipping out, something that hasn't happened since she first arrived at Brockton bay what feels like a life time ago.Kisaragi, now thoroughly confused, remained stiff as a board for a few moments before hesitantly melting into the unexpected warmth.The other Sakura shipgirls exchanged dumbfounded looks, clearly not having anticipated this turn of events. One of them, Tenryū, grumbled under her breath. "That's not… what she meant, dammit."

  A Marine captain finally cleared his throat, stepping forward. "Ma'am, are we… accepting their surrender, then?"Georgia, still absentmindedly petting Kisaragi's head, looked up. "Yeah. They've had enough. No sense in killin' a bunch of girls who don't wanna fight no more."

  The captain nodded, then turned to his men. "Secure the prisoners. Make sure they're treated for injuries and moved somewhere we can hold them properly until our reinforcements arrive."

  The Marines moved swiftly, pcing cuffs on the still-kneeling shipgirls where necessary, though most of them were too exhausted to resist. Meanwhile, Georgia finally set Kisaragi down, giving the smaller shipgirl's ears one st scratch before standing to her full height."Now, someone tell me what the hell that assault was even about," she muttered, rubbing the back of her neck. "I wanna know why the Sakura Empire thought this was a good idea."

  A second Marine officer approached, saluting. "Intel suggests they were attempting to establish a foothold in the region before further reinforcements arrived. If they took Wake, they'd have had a staging point for future operations."

  Georgia scoffed. "Well, that sure as hell backfired on 'em. Intel huh? Does that mean we have reestablished communications with Pearl?""Yes Ma'am it is likely to be another month or so till we get a rotation and reinforcements, but they are happy we are alive… Although mad at you for leaving without expining anything."

  She gnced down at the prisoners once more, her expression unreadable. Most of them avoided her gaze, except for Kisaragi, who looked up at her with something that almost resembled a needy feline. Georgia sighed and shook her head, muttering under her breath. "Damn cat girls."Straightening up, she turned toward the commanding officer. "Alright, let's get these girls somewhere safe, patch 'em up, and then figure out what we're doin' with 'em. No unnecessary roughness, ya hear?"

  The Marines saluted. "Yes, ma'am!"

  Georgia sighed, stretching her wings as she took one st gnce at the beached, battle-worn shipgirl hulls before making her way toward the Marine encampment.

  At least the siren's hadnt shown.

  ===========

  The news hit like a bombshell. The once-promising Wake Isnd operation had not only failed—it had ended in a total rout.Nagato sat rigid in the command center, gripping the reports with a white-knuckled grasp. Beside her, Mutsu shifted uncomfortably, her expression a mixture of disbelief and frustration. Across the room, Yamato and Mikasa stood in silence, their faces unreadable as the information was read aloud.

  "Casualties… minimal, but all forces were captured," Shōhō reported, her voice uneasy. "The enemy, Georgia… she—looked to be as big as Lady Yamato and Musashi, with the guns to match."

  "I thought Georgia was a pre-dreadnought battleship?" Mikasa asked aloud, drawing the attention of the other shipgirls, who turned toward the old veteran for any additional information she might have.

  "We don't have much, Lady Nagato. The reports from I-25 describe her as… impossibly rge for a battleship, rivaling even Yamato or Musashi. And the firepower she brought to bear wasn't anything like what any reasonable person would expect from a pre-dreadnought," Shōhō answered.Mikasa frowned, her mind racing. "Last I heard, she was a secretary for the Admiralty in Virginia. If she had been refitted or rebuilt, why haven't we heard of it?"

  Yamato crossed her arms. "Could it be a Kaga-Amagi situation? The original Georgia remained, but a new version of her was created? A new hull built using the metal from the old one?"

  Nagato considered the idea. "That's possible. But if that were the case, the Eagle Union should have deployed her sooner. A shipgirl of this caliber could have turned the tide in any major conflict, yet this is the first we're hearing of her."

  Mutsu flipped through the reports again. "The way she fought… it doesn't match anything we've seen before. Her power, her tactics—it was like she knew exactly how to counter our forces. She appeared out of nowhere, beyond the range of our radar and spotters. And based on the reports from Akagi… she was at Pearl Harbor when they attacked and was heavily damaged. So how in the hell did she get to Wake so fast?"

  Mikasa's brow furrowed in thought. "A ship that massive, moving unseen across the Pacific? That's impossible. Even if she had some kind of high-speed propulsion, there's no way she could have avoided every scout and patrol between Pearl Harbor and Wake."

  "The Eagles don't have anything capable of such speeds," Nagato agreed. "Not conventionally, at least."

  Yamato's gaze darkened. "And yet, she was there. More than that, she appeared there—completely undetected. No long-range reconnaissance spotted her, no scout pnes, not even our radar picked her up. I-25 only saw her after the battle had already begun."

  Mutsu tapped the reports against the table. "And that's not even the strangest part. The battle wasn't just a defeat—it was a rout. She overwhelmed our forces in minutes. Not even the Eagle Union's best battleships should have been able to do that alone."

  Nagato sighed, rubbing her temple. "This raises too many questions and gives us no answers."

  Mikasa looked at the gathered officers, then at the reports. "If she was damaged at Pearl, then she should have been undergoing repairs, not engaging in combat halfway across the ocean."

  Yamato exhaled slowly. "So we're left with two possibilities. Either she was rebuilt with some unknown technology… or—" she hesitated, gncing at the others, "—she isn't a normal shipgirl at all."

  The room fell silent. The implications of that statement were unsettling.

  Mutsu looked back at the reports. "Did the Eagle Union also make a deal with the Sirens?"

  Nagato's expression hardened. "Right… anyway," she said, turning her attention back to Shōhō. "You're setting sail soon to prepare for Operation MO, correct?"

  The light carrier nodded in response.

  "Keep us updated on anything that occurs there," Nagato ordered. Then, after a brief pause, she added, "Ganbatte."