The Siren smiled as Y/n stood before her with a hand on the grip of his plasma pistol.

Siren: "Fufu... So you're the one who's been causing us so many problems. Now that I actually see you close up, I can see why the Arbiters are interested."

Y/n frowned, as much as he wanted to go full Necromunda on the creature before him. He had to resume his demeanour as Lord High Admiral. Professionalism seemed to be the more intimidating force in these situations after all.

Y/n: "Explain the reason for your intrusion here, creature. And make it quick, I have a meeting soon."

The Siren giggled again as she reached out to touch him, only for the barrel of his plasma pistol to be held against her chin.

Y/n: "I suggest you don't push your luck. I'm in a particularly foul mood right now, so I may be more likely to pull the trigger."

Once again, his threat was met with that giggling. As such, he began to charge the plasma pistol. The Siren's smile widened before a figure crashed through the window and deployed a rigging to eliminate the Siren.

Y/n leaned back and avoided a shot being fired at the Siren.

Siren: "Boo... Of course you had to show up now of all times."

Y/n looked and saw that the figure who had entered was someone he didn't recognise. She stood tall with long blue hair. Her outfit was singed and tattered, likely from years of combat.

???: "Damned Siren."

Siren: "You people always ruin the fun. Learn to live a little, would you?"

???: "Not while you still exist, Observer."

Y/n raised an eyebrow as the unknown shipgirl named the Siren in front of them.

Observer: "Aww... You remembered my name! I'm honoured."

???: "And yet we are beneath your notice."

Observer: "Well, of course. Buuut... This one is different."

Observer turned back to Y/n as he readied his plasma pistol.

Observer: "It seems even you Ashes have never encountered him either."

???: "That means nothing."

Observer: "Fufu... Oh well. I suppose I should be going. Don't want any of those Imperium ships to-"

Observer turned to the window and found Macragge's Honour sitting on the window ledge with her rigging fully deployed.

Macragge's Honour: "Oh, don't mind me. I'm just waiting to hear what else you were going to say."

Observer: "... Ah."

Observer stood silently for a moment before suddenly vanishing.

Y/n: "Oh joy. They can teleport."

Macragge's Honour: "Lord High Admiral. Are you unharmed?"

Y/n: "I am."

The unknown shipgirl sighed and moved to leave, only to find Y/n's hand on her shoulder.

Y/n: "Hold on a minute."

???: "... Take your hand off of me."

Y/n: "I believe I'm owed some answers. You aren't leaving until I get them."

The unknown shipgirl turned with a glare that could freeze hell before she spotted all of Macragge's Honour's weapons aiming at her.

???: "... Tch. Fine."

Y/n: "Good. Take a seat. The others will join us shortly. I imagine this meeting is going to be broadcast back to the other nations, Macragge?"

Macragge's Honour: "Indeed. I shall have the maids bring the faction representatives in."

Y/n nodded and took a seat at his desk. The unknown shipgirl shifted around as she took a seat. She wasn't used to the comfort of the couch she had sat on. The door soon opened and the maids brought in a group of ships.

HMS Queen Elizabeth, Hood, Warspite, Javelin and Illustrious were representing the Royal Navy.

USS Enterprise, Hornet, Laffey, Cleveland and Washington represented the Eagle Union.

IJN Nagato, Mikasa, Akagi, Kaga and Musashi were representing the Sakura Empire.

The next group to enter froze up upon seeing the unknown shipgirl.

Sardegna Empire had Giulio Cesare, Marco Polo, Zara, Roma and Trento as their representatives. Though now Y/n saw a striking similarity.

Zara: "T- Trento!?"

Trento: "Y- You are..."

Trento was in a state of shock as the apparent doppelgänger stood and walked to her.

Trento: "... You're one of the Ashes."

???: "... I am. You may call me Trento META."

Y/n: "Okay, take a seat. We're still waiting for Iron Blood I assume?"

Macragge's Honour: "Divine Right has gone to pick their fleet up."

Y/n: "Good."

The Norther Parliament walked in next, their attitude was vastly different from the other factions he had met so far. While the others were mildly proffessional, the Northern Parliament ships were far more casual. Their members consisted of, Chapayev, Kiev, Kirov, Gangut, and Kronshtadt.

Y/n: "There's already a lot of people here..."

Macragge's Honour: "Perhaps we should split up the meeting into two groups? It may prove to be a better way to hold it."

Y/n: "Agreed. Send a message to Iris Libre, Vichya Dominion, Dragon Empery and Iron Blood and tell them that we shall hold a second meeting shortly after we have finished up here."

Macragge's honour nodded before motioning to her left. A few of the shipgirls present shuddered when a servo-skull hovered over to her.

Gangut: "T- The hell is that?"

Y/n: "A servo-skull. Don't worry, he isn't in any pain. Well, not anymore."

Nagato: "He?"

Y/n: "Macragge, what's the name on its head?"

Macragge: "Valadus Kiron. Oh, I know him. He was a rather notorious murderer before the Arbites caught up to him."

Y/n: "Huh, cool."

Akagi: "T- That was a person?"

Y/n: "A criminal, yes. This is how they're dealt with in the imperium. If not being reduced to a servo-skull then they're usually put to work as servitors in other fashions, none of the pleasant. Don't even get me started on the penitent engines."

There was a collective sense of shock as the Servo-Skull left the room.

Macragge's Honour: "You seem disturbed by the imperial justice system."

Hood: "They can't exactly be blamed. Such punishment is... Barbaric."

Y/n: "... I've already told this to the Royal Navy, but I suppose you should know as well. The imperium is... Draconian? Is that the right word to use?"

Macragge's Honour nodded to the lord high admiral before he continued.

Y/n: "Humanity has fallen far compared to what I see here. Our technology and firepower are superior in every convceivable fashion, but in terms of morality we fall far short."

Y/n took a sigh before moving round to the front of his desk and taking a seat.

Y/n: "... The imperium is a religious cult. That's the easiest way to describe it, though I myself have faith in our Emperor, growing up on Necromunda has taught me the value in the original view of the Emperor."

Kronshtadt: "And what might that be?"

Y/n: "There is no force above humanity. No gods shall chain us to a predetermined delusion like heaven or hell. Science, reason and logic. These are the only things humanity needs to rely on. Unfortunately I am one of a very small number of Imperial loyalists that believe as much."

Marco Polo: "Loyalists?"

Y/n's expression took a dark turn.

Y/n: "I'll write a more extensive dossier later if you want to understand more. Just know that traitors are one thing the imperium takes extremely seriously."

Macragge's Honour: "Indeed. The punishment for betrayal is usually death. Though sometimes you would wish you were so lucky."

Enterprise: "What about Sword of Sacrilege. She is a traitor to the imperium, no?"

Y/n: "No, you're right to be confused. Sword is a Chaos ship and is an enemy to the imperium. However it is by Imperial Flame's request that she has not been destroyed."

Trento META was surprisingly quiet until the Sardegna Empire's attention returned to her.

Zara: "So... What about this one? Trento META I think you said your name was."

Trento META: "That's right. You often refer to us as Ashes."

Y/n: "If I had to wager a guess, you META ships are specialised Siren hunting vessels."

Trento META: "That's certainly one way of seeing things."

Macragge's Honour: "Hm, there's something familiar at work here."

Y/n: "Agreed. For some reason I'm reminded of a Necron Chronomancer."

A few ships blinked before Cleveland raised her hand.

Cleveland: "The fuck's a Chronomancer?"

Y/n: "Another thing to be written about in a dossier. Though I think Macragge's Honour may be more qualified to do so. But to sum it up, Chronomancers can manipulate historical events to benefit their Dynasty."

Trento META: "I suppose my existence can be seen like that, yes."

Y/n: "Hm. We'll discuss it privately later. For the moment, we should get back on topic. Everyone is gathered here because they want their respective nations to survive. My view on the matter is that all of you are fools for allowing yourselves to be split into sub-factions when your common enemy is still very much knocking on your doors."

There was a shared look of acknowledgement from the nation representatives present. Ultimately Y/n was right, but their were too proud to admit it outright."

Musashi: "So, what do you propose?"

Y/n: "An ultimatum."

A sense of dread filled the shipgirls as Y/n spoke plainly.

Y/n: "If you cannot come to an agreement to ally yourselves oncemore against the Sirens, then I will give the command that any nations outside of Azur Lane are to be considered hostile. I'm sure I don't need to tell you what that means."

Giulio Cesare: "... You'll attack our homelands outright."

Y/n: "Attack? No, I'll have them reduced to nothing more than voids in the middle of the sea."

Kronshtadt: "I assume we have a time limit?"

Macragge's Honour: "Yes. When Phalanx arrives, the decision shall be made."

Y/n: "No, that is too short notice. You have until Imperator Somnium enters Terra's orbit."

Macragge's Honour froze up at the mention of that name."

Queen Elizabeth: "Imperator Somnium?"

Roma: "It's Latin for The Emperor's Dream."

Y/n: "Correct. She is the Command Carrier that served as the Emperor's personal flagship. Naturally, she may hold even more authority than me."

???: "All due respect, you are the Lord High Admiral. I take my orders from you, not the other way around."

There was a brief moment of stunned silence until Y/n turned to the terminal on his desk. On it was the image of a white-haired woman, reminiscent of the Sororitas.

???: "I do hope I'm not interrupting, Lord High Admiral."

Y/n: "Imperator Somnium. How long have you been listening to this meeting?"

Imperator Somnium: "Since it started. I must say though, I agree with your reasoning and ultimatum. But I would like to add an additional clause to it."

Nagato: "D- Don't tell me..."

Imperator Somnium spoke with a voice that was both sweet and venomous at the same time.

Imperator Somnium: "If you do not form the alliance at once, I will take aim and fire upon your home nations with Every Volkite Storm Accelerator and Nova Cannon I have aboard my hull the very moment I enter firing range."

The palpable venom in her voice told the nation representatives present that she was entirely serious.

Y/n was about to say something when Nagato stood up and suddenly did a full ninety degree bow towards him.

Nagato: "The Sakura Empire shall abide by this notion to reform the Azur Lane Alliance effective immediately!"

Akagi, Kaga, Mikasa and Musashi were all stunned by Nagato's lightning fast decision.

Kaga: "N- Nagato!?"

Musashi: "I- I must say, I agree with the motive, but at least wait for the other nations to definitively make their pledge first."

Giulio Cesare: "Truth be told, I would have done the same. I am glad that one of the larger nations did it first. *sigh* Sardegna Empire also wishes for the alliance to be reformed."

Kronshtadt: "I suppose this leaves us with little choice. Very well, we shall also abide by the alliance."

Imperator Somnium: "See? All problems can be solved with the threat of immense and immediate violence!"

Y/n: "Well, it certainly got results. But I will not complain about that. Enterprise, Queen Elizabeth. Are there any concerns you'd like to raise?"

Enterprise: "None."

Queen Elizabeth: "Hm. How shall we go about signing this alliance? Not just in terms of Azur Lane, but with the Imperium as well?"

Kirov: "Surely a signing document will be fine."

Macragge's Honour: "Hm... Admiral, may I make a suggestion?"

Y/n: "Shoot."

Macragge's Honour: "Have each nation produce a purity seal and adorn a document of alliance with them."

Y/n: "... Actually a good shout. How about it?"

Kiev: "What's a Purity Seal?"

Y/n leaned back over his desk and reached into one of the drawers where he pulled out a large, leather-bound book with the Imperial Aquila adorning the front cover. Several strips of parchment were attached to the front cover with wax. The crimson wax bore the markings of several Astartes chapters.

Y/n: "The parchment attached with wax. Those are purity seals."

The ships took a moment to look at each other's reactions. Some were fine with the idea, others still looked a bit confused.

Y/n: "I'll allow you the rest of the day to speak with other members of your nations, but do try and get something to me ASAP. Iron Blood should have arrived by now and I want to get the next meeting over and done with."

The others excused themselves and they got up to leave. As Trento META stood, Macragge's Honour stopped her.

Macragge's Honour: "Wait until Imperial Flame and Divine Right arrive. I wish to speak with you one-to-one if you will accomodate me."

Trento META knew this wasn't a request, but rather a statement of what was going to happen. Not wanting to be annihilated entirely, she agreed and when the other two Imperial Ships arrived, she and Macragge's Honour left together.

Trento META: "What is it you want to discuss with me?"

Macragge's Honour: "You've been through a lot, haven't you?"

Trento META was surprised by the Imperial Ship's question.

Trento META: "... It's not something I would like to discuss."

Macragge's Honour: "I understand. Then allow me to hypothesise for a moment. You come from an alternate timeline to this one."

The META ship's eyes shot wide open at that statement.

Macragge's Honour: "In your timeline, the Sirens have completely decimated humanity and you Ashes are all that's left to face them. You've seen friends being slaughtered and you've been mentally scarred by the things you've seen. Every sleep you have is restless because you're haunted by visions of your allies being mowed down by Sirens-"

Trento META: "ENOUGH!!"

Macragge's Honour frowned as the Ashes ship held her head as if she were in pain.

Trento META: "... Enough. I- I cannot. I will not falter to this..."

She was brought apruptly out of her thoughts by Macragge's Honour embracing her. The META ship was almost comically short compared to the eight-foot tall imperial ship.

Macragge's Honour: "I did not mean to cause you any distress."

Trento META: "... Why? You seemed so ready to destroy all of us earlier."

Macragge's Honour: "When the situation calls for me to act as a ship of the Imperium, then I shall do so. Outside of that though, I am free to act how I wish. This is simply how I am."

The two walked quietly through the base for what felt like an eternity until an explosion went off at the academy building.

Macragge's Honour: "What was that!?"

Trento META: "Sirens. Let's go!"

Macragge's Honour nodded as the two ran towards the academy building. Upon their arrival, they found a few ships injured and a few that were out of action completely. Standing amongst the wreckage with the black wisdom cube in her hands was a Siren.

???: "Oh? Whoops, looks like you're too late!"

Trento META: "Purifier!"

The Siren laughed as she took off at near blinding speeds. However Imperial Flame and Sword of Sacrilege emerged from the base and began to chase her down at an equally blistering pace.

The Siren tried to lose them in caves, mountains and even under the sea. However the Imperium was not an enemy one could lose easily. She knew she had to teleport out of there, but Sword and Flame were keeping her more than preoccupied.

As such, she led the two to a fleet of mass produced Siren ships. While they were preoccupied with the mass produced ships, the elite Siren teleported and made her escape.

Frustrated, Flame shot a single round at a mountain and reduced its size by a considerable margin.

The two returned to the Azur Lane base shortly after.

Y/n stood with the representatives from the remaining factions as Flame gave her report.

Bismarck: "So she was able to evade you?"

Sword of Sacrilege: "She used mass produced ships to distract us for long enough that she was able to get away."

Jean Bart: "This is troubling. But, it certainly could have been worse."

Y/n: "Jean Bart has a point actually. No doubt the Sirens are going to return. By which point, Phalanx will likely be either here or coming into orbit."

Imperial Flame: "Indeed, do we know who the other vessel is?"

Y/n: "I got confirmation a while ago, she's an Imperial Fists Strike Cruiser. Vengeance Incandescent."

Sword of Sacrilege zoned out of the conversation for a little while before picking something up through the warp.

Sword of Sacrilege: "Hey, admiral? I'm getting a comm signal from... The warp?"

Y/n: "There's someone in the warp? Is it Phalanx?"

Sword closed her eyes before her face went pale and her eyes widened in shock.

Sword of Sacrilege: "I- It's another Chaos ship."

Y/n: "Oh, joy. This should be interesting. Do tell me who it is so we can knock them out of the sky."

Sword of Sacrilege took a deep breath before adopting a suitably serious demeanour.

Sword of Sacrilege: "The message says: I have returned with newfound power and a new form. If any corpse worshipping fools can hear this message, heed my name and despair...

... For the Vengeful Spirit has returned."

End of Chapter.

Next Time: She Who Felled The Angel.