Joint Base Hickam-Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii.

KAN-SEN Sector.

Two young girls with a different appearance from the others appeared to be standing in the harbor and looked at Zumwalt with a curious gaze. One of them who had pink hair and held a spear said. "She's bigger than they say!"

"Hmhm... Big..." The girl with rabbit ears and a sleepy look joined in.

"What do you think her hull is made of?" Asked the pink haired one.

"I don't know... Steel, maybe?" Replied the white-haired bunny-eared sleepily and slightly sarcastic.

"Ehehe." The pink hair just laughed in embarrassment at her silly question.

"Hey young girls over there! What are you doing here?" The two of them then looked back, where the melodious voice was coming from.

They saw a beautiful woman with shoulder-length short blonde hair, wearing a dark green jacket and an office suit. She really looks like a goddess. Thought the pink haired one who was dumbfounded by the beauty of the blonde woman, while her friend seemed to be falling asleep in a few moments.

"I- We, uhhh... We were just curious about the ship that people were talking about." The pink haired one replied frantically.

"Hmm... You two have a different appearance than the others, you're shipgirls?" Asked the blonde woman.

"Yes! I'm HMS Javelin of the Royal Navy's J-class Destroyer!" said the pink haired Javelin cheerfully.

Meanwhile, Javelin's friend was really close to falling asleep. The blonde woman seemed to shake her head when she saw this, then she said.

"My name is Zumwalt, I am... The ship you are looking at. Why don't you join your other friends?"

"We missed dinner because Laffey fell asleep, it was hard to wake her up." Javelin complained to her friend who was somehow sleeping in a standing position.

"That's... an interesting story, how about you girls have dinner on my ship? I happen to be quite lonely." Zumwalt said with a smile.

"Is it all right, Miss Zumwalt?" Javelin asked reluctantly.

"Of course, the more the merrier, after all evening snacks sound delightful." Zumwalt replied with a smile.

Zumwalt then looked at Laffey and picked her up. Javelin said. "Is it really okay, Miss Zumwalt? We don't want to disturb..."

"Hahaha seriously, it's fine, I like little kids like you girls, after all your friend seems to need a break." Zumwalt said patting the back of Laffey who was asleep in Zumwalt's arms.

"Yeah... She had quite a fight this afternoon." Javelin replied softly.

Zumwalt then led Javelin and carried Laffey up to his ship through the stairs. As they were about to enter through one of the doors, someone suddenly called out to Zumwalt. When she looked, it was Francisco with Sandy.

"Oh hey, you guys, what's up?" Zumwalt asked the two shipgirls.

"Can we join you? We missed dinner." Francisco said with a sheepish chuckle.

Sandy did the same while scratching the back of her head. Zumwalt laughed briefly before smiling a little. "Of course, as I told Javelin, the more the merrier."

They then entered the ship and Zumwalt then pointed the direction to the galley through the signpost in the hallway, while she went first to the officer's quarters to put Laffey who was fast asleep.

Javelin looked at the contents of Zumwalt's ship with admiration. "This is really amazing, ships from the future are different huh."

"Yes, but it seems a little messy." Sandy commented looking at some cables coming out of the ship's wall.

"Maybe before Miss Zummy appeared in this world she was under repair?" Francisco said offering her speculation.

"That could be possible." Javelin replied poking at one of the objects like a television but the size of a book, thin and stuck to the wall of the ship.

"What do you think this is?" Javelin asked curiously.

"Maybe to regulate the temperature? I heard that apartments in New York and surrounding areas already use this kind of thing to regulate the temperature." Said Sandy who was curious too.

"Girls, we should go straight to the galley, it's not nice to touch things that don't belong to us, after all Miss Zummy can see what we're doing in here." Said Francisco who was trying to be the adult in this small group.

"Oh come on Francis, I know you're curious too... And also, I've heard you call Miss Zumwalt 'Zummy' several times." Sandy said while pointing at Francisco.

"Her name is quite hard to pronounce on my tongue sometimes, so I just call her Miss Zummy." Francisco said while shrugging his shoulders.

"That's a good nickname anyway..." Murmured Javelin who agreed with Francisco.

They then walked following the signs on the ship's wall to the ship's galley.

While this was happening, Zumwalt entered one of the officer's quarters she had while carrying a sleeping Laffey in her arms. As Zumwalt placed Laffey on her bed and was about to leave, Laffey suddenly strengthened her embrace on Zumwalt's body.

Laffey slowly opened her eyes. "Where are you going?"

"To cook a meal for your friends, I'll be right here to bring your portion." Zumwalt replied softly.

"Mhmm... Let them cook it themselves. You smell nice and warm." Murmured Laffey who buried her head in Zumwalt's chest which was quite large but not excessive, especially since Zumwalt's clothes were quite closed which made it less visible.

"Laffey... Right? I haven't bathed yet, so there's no way I smell good... Maybe my body heat came from putting out the fire." Zumwalt replied gently while stroking Laffey's head.

"Mhmm... Okay..." Laffey reluctantly released her embrace and continued to lie on the relatively very soft mattress.

Zumwalt smiled a little before finally walking out and heading to the ship's galley as soon as possible before they did something really silly.

Once in the galley, Zumwalt let out a sigh of relief when she found San Francisco, Sandy and Javelin just sitting there casually. Francisco and Sandy appeared to be playing a board game and Javelin was reading a book.

"I'm glad you guys were able to find this place, it's pretty hard to maneuver in here." Zumwalt said with a smile.

Javelin looked away from the book she was reading. "We'll take your word for it, Miss Zumwalt, follow the arrow to the galley."

"Then I'll start cooking." Zumwalt then walked to the galley section and started cooking. Javelin saw this and marked the page she was reading, put the book on the table and walked to the galley to help Zumwalt.

Meanwhile, San Francisco and Sandy were serious about their board game. They kept playing until they didn't realize that the late dinner was ready.

"Hey Francis, Sandy, the food is ready." Zumwalt said gently patting the heads of the two people who were playing.

They both then came to their senses and saw in front of them a plate of Spaghetti complete with tantalizing meatballs.

Without thinking, they prayed and devoured the food. Javelin, who was washing the cooking utensils, shook her head when she saw their behavior.

Zumwalt sat in front of them and ate too, not long after Javelin came with her portion. They ate their dinner quietly.

After finishing the meal, Javelin took the plates and cutlery to be washed, while Francisco, Sandy and Zumwalt talked.

"The spaghetti was very good, Miss Zummy, what's your secret?" Asked Francisco curiously.

"There is no secret Francis, it's just ready-to-eat food, everything is from the production plant and we just heat it up." Zumwalt humbly said.

"The ready-to-eat food that normal soldiers use on the front lines can be this good? I can imagine how pampered American soldiers will be in the future." Sandy said while taking a bite of one of the crackers included in the dinner menu.

"So pampered that they can't even fight back against the bastards from Beijing when they're attacked." Zumwalt grumbled remembering one of the many causes of the Chinese-American War.

"Hmm? Why is that?" Francisco asked curiously.

"Many war equipment or even electronics that Americans use daily have chips purchased from Chinese companies. The reason why Chinese companies are chosen is because they are cheap and can be bought in large quantities." Zumwalt began to tell a story.

"So?" Francisco asked.

"Wait a minute, what is this 'chip'?" Asked a confused Sandy.

"Well, what is Chip, isn't it an English food?" Francisco recalled Fish and Chips.

Zumwalt laughed. "Not that kind of Chip, that just Fries and Fish."

"They're not." Javelin, who finished cleaning up, came in with a tray of tea cups and made a slightly offended face.

"Hahaha, I'm sorry Javelin, the urge to mock the British is always there." Zumwalt said with a laugh.

"I can't blame you though, I sometimes prefer food outside of England." Javelin said as she handed each person a cup of tea.

"Thanks Javelin and apologies for being a bit of a prankster earlier." Zumwalt said.

"It's okay Miss Zummy, no offense was taken." Javelin then sipped her tea.

"So, Miss Zummy... Can you continue the story?" Asked Sandy who was still curious and used the nickname 'Zummy'.

"The chip I'm referring to is a small electronic device the size of a coin, sometimes smaller, it's like a brain, but for computers." Zumwalt said.

"So what does this have to do with China?" Asked Francisco.

"Well, when China makes those chips, they take full control of them and when the war starts, they just push one button and they succeed in taking down all of America's digitized military assets." Zumwalt said with increasing anger.

"That sounds very... How do you say, ah yes, cunning." Sandy said.

"Yes, they are very cunning. It's very gratifying that we were able to win the war... But it doesn't feel like victory." Zumwalt said as she turned her face away.

"Why is that Miss Zummy?" Asked Francisco.

"The war ended with the status quo ante bellum, as it was before the war. How ridiculous is that? How can that be considered a victory? Thousands of American service men and women died in this war and they think they can treat it all as if it never happened? How annoying." Grumbled Zumwalt who then drank the tea Javelin had brewed to calm down.

"Oh... Oh yes, Miss Zummy, may I know what these are for?" Asked Javelin while showing the glasses she found earlier in one of the cabinets.

"Ah, it's a VIZ, a versatile thing. Try them on." Zumwalt smiled.

Javelin then put on the glasses and she almost fell backwards in shock, in front of her there were several floating screens with each screen showing a choice.

"Woah there's a floating screen." Javelin said in awe.

"Tell it where you want to go." Zumwalt said.

Javelin then tried to think she was in Stonehenge, England. And sure enough, she was already there and it seemed like there were many people there. Javelin tried to walk there and apparently she could. But in fact, Javelin just smiled incoherently while doing some hand movements.

Francisco and Sandy looked at this with amazement. Sandy asked curiously. "Miss Zummy! What's wrong with Javelin?"

"She seems to be sightseeing at Stonehenge, quite a good choice." Zumwalt said with a chuckle.

"Can we try it too?" Asked Francisco hopefully.

"Hmm... Of course, why not? You guys need some entertainment, get some more goggles over there and there's a guide on how to use them, I'm going to Laffey's place." Zumwalt stood up and went to the room Laffey was in while carrying her portion of food.

Meanwhile, Francisco and Sandy seemed to be scrambling to the ship's galley cabinet which was full of VIZ goggles left behind by the Zumwalt's crews.

Zumwalt entered the room where Laffey was sleeping and saw her sitting in front of the Television while watching a program there. It was one of the cartoons that had been downloaded on the TV, she didn't know who did it.

"Hey, you awake?" Zumwalt asked smiling.

"Mhmm... Couldn't sleep... Empty stomach." Laffey said.

"Of course, I can't sleep on an empty stomach either, this is for you." Zumwalt then placed the food container on the table and opened it.

The smell of the food immediately pierced Laffey's nose which made her attention distracted. Inside the food container, there was rice and several pieces of meat with teriyaki sauce.

"Delicious..." Laffey said with her saliva falling from the corner of her lips.

Zumwalt wiped Laffey's saliva with a napkin she took out of her jacket. "There, let's eat, then I'll tuck you in."

Laffey nodded her head and immediately ate the food brought by Zumwalt. Afterwards, Zumwalt cleaned the Crumbs from Laffey's face and led her back to bed. Once in bed, Zumwalt put a blanket over Laffey's body.

Laffey looked at Zumwalt and said. "No kiss on the forehead?"

Zumwalt immediately blushed a little, she did this all as her motherly instinct came out, so this is what it feels like to be a parent, maybe?

Zumwalt kissed Laffey's forehead and waited for Laffey to fall asleep. She didn't have to wait long because a few minutes later, Laffey was fast asleep.

Zumwalt nodded her head in satisfaction and went back to the ship's galley. She wanted to make sure the three Shipgirls in her hull didn't do anything stupid...

The next day.

Zumwalt was seen drinking coffee on the deck near her cannon dome. With her, there were Francisco, Sandy, Javelin and a semi-conscious Laffey.

"Miss Zummy, what are you going to do today?" Javelin asked curiously.

"Helping clean up the ruins around the base and also trying to figure out how to replenish my ammo supply." Zumwalt said.

"Hmm? You don't know how to do that?" Asked Francisco in confusion.

"Of course, not a few days ago I was just a ship, this is all still confusing to me." Zumwalt answered honestly.

"You can replenish your ammunition by using energy, the greater your energy, the faster the replenishment of ammunition." Said Javelin remembering the lesson given in the past.

"Huh? That's it? How does that even work?" Zumwalt asked in shock.

"I don't know Miss Zummy, it's still one of the mysteries of us shipgirls, even the scientists who until now continue to study us still don't know, what we know is that this ability greatly saves logistics and these funds can be used for other base needs, such as repair facilities for example." Sandy replied.

"Huh, surprising, let me try." Zumwalt then closed her eyes and imagined it happening. Suddenly the VIZ goggles in her jacket pocket beeped as she put them on, the statistics that appeared surprised her.

"All my ammo is actually replenished? What a terrifying ability." Zumwalt said while breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Yes, that was also the response of the top brass of the Royal Navy when they first saw our abilities." Javelin said scratching the back of her head.

Zumwalt took off the glasses and put them back in her jacket pocket. They then continued talking about other things, such as what fun things to do in their free time and so on.

In the middle of their conversation, Zumwalt saw in the distance two Aircraft Carriers that were about to enter the base. Zumwalt sharpened her vision a little and finally she could clearly see the ships.

The carriers were of the Yorktown class, USS Enterprise and USS Hornet. Not only the two of them, there were several light cruisers and destroyers as their escorts. Francisco who was looking in that direction also smiled.

"And over there is one of our best shipgirls, still a rookie, but she is very talented." Francisco said proudly.

"Ah her, the Grey Ghost I've heard so much about? Rumors of her legend reached Europe. A great shipgirl who sank so many Sirens single-handedly that many times the Navy declared her sunk, she appeared from beyond the horizon." Javelin said recalling the rumors she heard from the maids.

"Enterprise is quite popular, huh? Even though the actions she took were extremely reckless and could have cost her life, it became a propaganda field for the government." Sandy said with a long sigh.

"Huh? She's a workaholic?" Zumwalt asked.

"Very workaholic, it's a good thing she has her sisters and Vestal to keep her company at all times." Explained Francisco.

Zumwalt continued to stare at Enterprise's ship as it docked in one of the harbors, quite close to her ship. Zumwalt saw a woman with long snow-white hair in a black coat and an outfit similar to an officer's but with some modifications. If Zumwalt looked closely, the woman had a worried look on her face.

"Well, she's really pretty." Zumwalt complimented while nodding her head.

"She and her sisters are among the many beautiful shipgirls, it's not wrong that they are called supermodels in the State." Sandy said in an envious tone.

"Are you jealous, Sandy?" Zumwalt asked teasingly.

"Yes, I always wanted to be an actress and singer, but many entertainment companies rejected me in favor of other shipgirls, it's quite sad." Said Sandy sadly.

Zumwalt frowned slightly and patted Sandy's head. "Relax, Sandy, I'll help you as much as I can."

"Thank you for comforting me, Miss Zummy, but how can I compete with them?" Sandy gestured to Enterprise who was coming down the ladder on her ship.

"Beauty is relative, Sandy, in the future there are many artists with ordinary looks, but can make many outstanding songs, you can definitely do it." Zumwalt said seriously.

"If you believe me... I'll do it! And I'll make sure you get a front row ticket." Sandy's eyes were burning.

"That's the spirit." Zumwalt laughed.

Francisco and Javelin smiled as Zumwalt comforted Sandy, while Laffey kept trying to stay awake.

Then suddenly Javelin said. "Miss Zummy, Miss Enterprise is walking this way!"

Sure enough, the Enterprise was walking towards Zumwalt's ship with a woman with twintail yellow hair and wearing clothes that were quite questionable in terms of modesty.

Upon reaching the stairs that would lead up to the Zumwalt's ship, Enterprise said. "Permission to board the ship?"

Zumwalt then replied a bit loud. "Permission granted... Please board."

Enterprise nodded her head and climbed aboard followed by the blonde twintail woman in a rather revealing outfit. At the top, Enterprise met Zumwalt face to face.

They continued to stare at each other, trying to size each other up. Francisco, Sandy and Javelin watched from the side lines with concern, Laffey also seemed to be getting less sleepy.

"You're the mysterious ship that came to the Pearl's rescue when those bastards from Japan bombed it?" Asked Enterprise.

"Yes, I am." Zumwalt replied.

Enterprise extended her hand to Zumwalt. "I used to be a friend of the Japanese, but they bombed my house and killed a lot of people, one extra person in beating up those damn Japanese is very welcome."

"Thank you, Miss Enterprise." Zumwalt smiled as she shook Enterprise's hand.

Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

Dozens of black-colored ships appeared to be sinking with smoldering flames, dozens of jet planes also flew at high speed in the sky. Among the wrecks, there is a giant aircraft carrier with the hull number 77.

Standing on its flight deck, an adult woman with red hair, green shirt, black skirt, white robe like a doctor and black stockings seen drinking a coffee.

"It's obvious that these aren't the Directorate... So who are they?" The woman muttered as she watched one of the half-submerged Battleships explode after being hit by a missile launched from her plane, the F-35.

She then felt something and looked towards the south with a confused look. "Huh, the ATHENA system seems to be active there, there could be other American ships, time to set sail to find out."

The giant ship immediately turned around and sailed at full speed towards the south. Almost all the F-35s she had flown had landed and only three remained in the air for CAP.

TBC.

Should Zumwalt adopt Laffey at this point? Lol.

Let me know what you think of the story so far.

Adios.