"Sam?"

Bismarck called out with a soft voice, which was probably detrimental to her effort to actually be heard, but she didn't want to cause a ruckus amidst the busy dockworkers.

Besides, it wouldn't do to have the mighty Bismarck screaming in panic for a lost cat.

Well, he's not really lost. He's a stray cat, after all. The base just had unofficially taken him as a mascot.

It was not Bismarck that had named the cat, it was the Japanese admiral. She noticed that she had both the Ark Royal and the Bismarck together in the same base, and thus chose to name the cat after the legendary cat that the two ships had historically shared as their mascot. Bismarck still wondered whether or not the admiral remembered that every ship the 'Unsinkable Sam' had boarded always ended up underwater.

Still, despite the possible risk of the entire base getting sunk by a massive tsunami, Bismarck had grown fond of the feline. She did not exactly remember the original Sam. The memory she had inherited from her long-dead crew didn't go that deep. But her crew were definitely a bunch of cat lovers and their feelings had definitely marked her soul since she just couldn't leave the cat alone.

"Here kitty." Bismarck whispered, rubbing the package of dry cat food in her pocket while her other hand kept a tight grip on a small bottle of water. Cats couldn't feel thirst, so you should always give them a lot of water so that they didn't get dehydrated. Bismarck wished she had a proper meat to give, but she just didn't have the time to leave the base to buy anything fresh lately.

How frustrating. The longer she spent walking around with no clear direction the more the chance someone was going to ask her about where she was going, and then she would have to lie. She could've done something better with her time, like calibrating her rigging, or reinforcing the optics of her rangefinders, but here she was, looking for a cat. That's not very disciplined, and thus, not very German.

Then again, what was 'German' anyway? Bismarck could barely recognize modern Germany today. She could still remember the controversies when the Bundeswehr started utilizing Kanmusu units for the first time. She was familiar with humanity's impressive capability to hate, but she had never experienced those hate being directed at herself, not even from the British. It was a learning experience, she supposed.

"Zivilunken…"

Bismarck kept on walking until she found herself near the edge of the base where there were barely any people. Without the distraction of a crowd, Bismarck eyes easily found the thing she had been looking for.

But unfortunately for her, her eyes also found the very thing she had been trying to avoid ever since she was posted to this base.

Superimposed over the drab grey color of asphalt and concrete, her white gown and pearly skin easily drew all attention, not to mention her dark pink hair. She was seated on a lonely park bench that seemed really out of place in the highly utilitarian environment of the facility, like someone had just brought it there one day for a picnic and then just forgot about it. Her hand was dancing, locked firmly in a mock combat with a certain animal that Bismarck had spent the better part of the afternoon looking for.

Sam's back was pressed flat against the wooden surface of the bench, with the top of his head tucked firmly against the girl's thigh. Cats' nature of being semi-liquid was fully observable with Sam almost looking like a partially deflated, black and white hot water bottle willed into life.

The girl was smiling as she toyed with the cat, her fast hand withdrawing just before Sam's extended claws could touch her nearly flawless skin. She didn't seem to care about the numerous amused stares given by the various personnel around her. Frankly, it made Bismarck felt somewhat silly about her own reservation.

The girl raised her pink head, and her eyes immediately darted towards Bismarck's location. Bismarck knew that she too wasn't exactly the most inconspicuous thing around, being about at least two heads taller than the humans around her. That's what you'd get for being the biggest surface ship of the Kriegsmarine.

Bismarck froze up for a second when the pink haired girl unexpectedly smiled and raised her white-sleeved arm, signaling for Bismarck to come to her. Bismarck was not sure whether the smile was a mockery or a genuine one, so she just stood there as she pondered how to answer this invitation. So far she had done a good job of not really interacting with the girl unless it was mission critical, but would turning her back now be seen as running away? Either way, it would be very rude.

Bismarck let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding as the pink-haired girl shrugged and turned her attention back towards the cat, seemingly losing interest in the German capital ship. The girl's continuing attention was immediately reciprocated and the cat began resuming their play with the utmost vigor.

An involuntary smile perked up on Bismarck's stoic face as she continued to witness the innocent display in front of her. She was not sure why, but her legs suddenly started moving towards the bench.

The pink-haired girl raised her head for a second to acknowledge that her invitation had been answered before returning her attention back to the cat.

"Good afternoon, Bismarck." she said, not moving her eyes away from the joyful cat.

"Ark Royal." Bismarck answered with what she thought was a deep and charismatic tone.

Ark Royal looked up. "Ah, the classic German greeting. Less of an actual greeting than merely acknowledging that your conversation partner exists."

Their eyes met. It was the first time that Bismarck noticed that Ark actually had blue eyes, a shade that was so faint that they almost looked grey.

"This is why your country had a hard time making allies, you know."

"Realpolitik has no concern for friendships, only interests."

"Still, the people do notice, and a smile on a pretty face could achieve more than dozens of international treaties."

Spoken like a true royal.

"Why did you call me?" Bismarck cut straightforwardly.

"Well, you were just standing there looking like a lost puppy, so I thought maybe you'd like some company."

"I did not look like a lost puppy." Bismarck barked, herself not sure of why she was so unreasonably offended by that statement.

"Indeed, you did not." Ark Royal smiled. This time it was definitely a mocking smile. "You actually looked more like a lost kitten."

"What."

"Yeah, actually you looked exactly like this little guy here just a minute ago, only smaller and more vulnerable." Ark Royal said as Sam failed yet again to put a scratch on her skin. "You looked really lonely, like you could really use a friend to play with. It's kind of adorable."

"I-I am not adorable!" Bismarck protested, uncharacteristically losing her composure.

"Would you have preferred 'cute' instead?"

And with those words, it was as if the air between the two girls suddenly froze.

"Honestly I can't tell whether you're angry or embarrassed, but your face do make a beautiful red hue." Ark Royal said, grinning at Bismarck's red face.

"You...you…"

Bismarck felt her face heating up, but even she wasn't sure whether it was rage or shame that made it so. What she knew for sure was only that she really wanted to punch the British girl right in the face, right now.

And then, Bismarck's field of view was filled in its entirety by the face of a confused, dumb-looking cat.

"So, what is it now?" Ark Royal asked, now standing up. Her arms extended forward, putting a very disoriented cat right on Bismarck's face. The way the girl was holding the animal, letting his body stretch down without any support, kind of reminded Bismarck of a lump of mishandled bread dough.

"What are you talking about?"

"Are we going to feed the cat or not?"

"Huh?"

"That cat food in your pocket. Would you not take it out?"

Silence fell as Bismarck's brain instinctively scrambled for excuses, only to be stopped flat when Ark Royal's hand grabbed hers.

"Maybe you should sit."

Once again their eyes met. Ark's silver-blue eyes stared unblinking, waiting. Somehow this made Bismarck felt uncomfortable, like she was a prey in front of a snake's hypnotizing gaze.

"Are you still afraid?"

Bismarck stood her ground, the only thing she could do with such a sudden attack.

Ark Royal smiled again. It was the same cheerful smile as before, but it was amazing how the way her eyes looked at Bismarck now could make her look less like a careless teen and more like a concerned mother.

"I'm an aircraft carrier, you know? I'm only dangerous at range."

The sound of purring could be heard as Sam began to snuggle against the arm that was currently holding him like a newborn baby. Meanwhile, Bismarck could feel Ark's other hand loosening her grasp on her.

"Do you feel that? I'm as fragile as an eagle in a cage. This close, you can break me easily."

"What makes you think I'm afraid of you?" Bismarck protested, though she was not sure of her own words.

"You're not?" Ark tilted her head.

"I'm not."

"Then you have no reason to not sit here with me, yes?"

And that's when Bismarck knew she had been caught.

"Tch, fine. If you insist."

"I do."

Bismarck grunted, not resisting as Ark led her to sit down on the bench.

Ark Royal took her seat by the right side of Bismarck, putting Sam the cat right between them. He immediately began snuggling up to Bismarck, demanding petting.

"Aw, he likes you better than me." Ark sulked, looking genuinely upset.

"He probably just sniffed the cat food."

Bismarck reached into her pocket. Her pocket was quite cleverly hidden given that her combat uniform, which allowed her to bond with her rigging, did not actually have that much fabric in it. Honestly, this fact got mentioned slightly more often than Bismarck would've liked.

"My goodness, that grey napkin you call clothes actually has pockets."

"May I remind you that your face is well within the range of my fist?"

"Are you always this hostile?"

"Only with certain people."

"Why, I feel so special."

Bismarck shook her read, refusing to play to Ark's tune. Instead, she tore open the package of cat food and began pouring its content on the bench. Sam was looking at the whole process curiously, like he wasn't sure what was going on.

"Yes, this is food, for you." Bismarck assured.

"He's not the brightest of cats, is he?" Ark commented.

Bismarck had seen pictures of the original Sam. He did have the same fur pattern and colors as this one, but he was definitely a more world-weary cat. This one was just...fat.

"Have someone bathed him recently? He looked clean."

"I did. He was just looking so miserable and dirty I just had to do it."

"He'd let you do that?"

"Not willingly he's not. Fortunately, his claws were no match for British steel."

Ark swished her hand wildly in the air for a second, showing off her pristine white skin. The Kanmusu units were gifted with outer skins that felt indistinguishable from that of normal humans despite being stronger than steel, but they're far from invulnerable. Even now Bismarck noticed the calloused digits of Ark's hand where the string of her bow had struck countless times.

"Huh, that's very kind of you." Bismarck said off-handedly.

"Whoa." Ark twitched her eyes, suddenly looking surprised.

"What? What is it?"

"Did you actually just say something nice for once?"

"You bathed a dirty stray cat. What did you expect me to say?"

"Maybe you'd say that bathing was unhealthy for cats? Just to spite me?"

"That's absurd."

"Well, some people do think that."

"Then I'm not one of them."

"Hm…"

The two watched quietly as Sam finally figured out what he was supposed to do and began munching on his food, filling the surprisingly quiet air with the sound of cracking kibbles. Bismarck looked around and realized that this area of the base had become desolate. She and Ark were the only souls around now.

"I really like this spot. It's always quiet and peaceful around this hour."

"Right...peaceful."

Alone with only Ark Royal by her side, Bismarck was as far away from the concept of peaceful as possible.

"You look quite stressed."

"No, it's just my normal look. You must be imagining things."

"Oh, is that so?" Ark Royal put one hand on her chin, while her other hand was resting on Sam's back. "Say, are you doing anything critical in the next few hours?"

"Critical?"

"Yeah, like driving a heavy vehicle and such."

"Can't say I will."

With more and more Kanmusu coming to the frontline, Bismarck had noticed a significant increase in her downtime. Most of the daily duties could be accomplished by the heavy cruisers and other smaller units, saving the capital ships for more critical missions. Still, being a purpose built 'fast-raider' Bismarck was considerably busier than other capital ships, often leading a small flotilla to engage in guerilla-esque warfare attacking the enemy's weakspots.

"Then, would you partake?"

"What?"

With a single fluid motion, Ark reached under her shoulder cape and pulled out what Bismarck first thought would be a hand grenade, but instead it was just a flask. An engraved glass flask. It was made so expertly that despite its transparency Bismarck could clearly make out what was engraved on it. A wooden boxship with no visible sail, with numerous doors and little portholes giving it a good sense of scale. Stylized letters were engraved right below.

THE ARK

Below it there was another set of letters, written in a smaller font.

Desir Na Repos, most likely the shortening of Desire n'a pas Repos, "Zeal Does Not Rest", just so that it'll fit on an emblem. Still, the craftsmanship required to make such small letters must be quite valuable.

"Is that custom made?"

"Oh, you can tell?"

"Our ships have very good optics." Bismarck said with a hint of pride.

"They are very fragile, though."

Bismarck flinched as she was suddenly reminded of how long the Royal Navy had needed to completely disable her guns.

"Anyway, you're right. It is handmade. The man who made this actually holds a royal warrant."

"Your Queen has a royal warrant for flask-making?"

"No, he's a regular glass-shaper. I had to pull a favor to get it made."

"What kind of favor?" Bismarck eyed suspiciously.

"Well, his daughter got to take pictures with me."

"Oh."

"What? What did you think I did?"

"Nothing." Bismarck shook her head unconvincingly. "You're going to offer me a sip?"

"Oh, right." Ark blinked. "That's what I was going to do."

Ark extended her arm towards Bismarck, offering her liquor, only for Bismarck to eye the flask suspiciously.

"Oh, come on, do I really look that evil?"

Ark shrugged, opened the cap of her flask, and took a single sip.

Her face immediately turned red, which was concerning. Generally, it's rather hard to get a Kanmusu unit drunk on normal human liquors. It's still possible, but it had to be a relatively strong alcohol and the girl had to be comparatively lightweight.

Bismarck had seen Ark outdrank a Yamato-class battleship.

"The hell is in that thing?" Bismarck almost shouted, sounding rightfully worried.

The liquid inside was clear, making the flask almost seemed empty. But near the top where the sun shined through Bismarck could see a glint of a rainbow, like an oil spill on a clear pond.

"Oh, just my own brew." Ark said nonchalantly, taking another sip. "That's why it has to be glass, you see. Any other material and the lining would just melt and ruin the taste."

"You know how to brew?"

"Picked the basic when I was stationed in Belfast, got some pointers when I was in New Jersey, and then some of the girls here gave me some amazing local tips." Ark said, managing to slip in yet another sip from her flask while she did so.

Ark's skin was now blossoming red, the color spreading from her cheeks to the rest of her face at a worryingly fast pace. Yet somehow she still managed to speak with clarity, her face not shedding even an inch of her usual poise and dignity.

"So, how about a sip?" she tilted her head, giving a soft royal smile.

Once again Ark raised her flask in an offering, but this time her movement was clumsy, so much that she nearly hit poor Sam right on the face. The cat finally stopped munching for long enough to realize the possible danger to society sitting right next to him and began to meekly inch towards Bismarck, eyes pointed carefully at the direction of the increasingly inebriated carrier.

"Hm? You don't want any?" Ark said, not even slurring. If it's not for her bright red face one could hardly believe the girl was even drunk at all. But even if her face was sober Bismarck could just barely see that her eyes were starting to get unfocused, like the girl was staring through her instead of at her. Meanwhile, the skin around her nose had started to match the color of her hair.

"You want or not?" said ark, her choice of words now considerably simpler compared to a minute ago.

"I'd rather not." said Bismarck sensibly. "I'm not sure, but I think public drinking is illegal in this country."

"Oh? Is the little cabbage-bellied Jerry afraid of a little alcohol?" Ark smirked, somehow still managing to look like a sneering royalty rather than a drunk sailor.

"I'm not playing your game." Bismarck resisted, starting to get up from the bench.

"Thank you for taking care of the cat, but I must excuse myself." the German said as she began to leave, putting the bag of cat food and the bottle of water she had been carrying on the bench. "Make sure he has enough to drink. Goodbye."

Bismarck managed to walk all of seven steps before Ark opened her mouth.

"Ah, yes, running away again are you?"

Bismarck stopped.

"Excuse me?"

"Guess that's all you can expect from a commerce raider, isn't it? Picking on the weak and then run away from anything even remotely resembling a fair fight? Like a glorified oversized submarine!"

Bismarck turned back.

"Actually, as a submarine you're pretty good at submerging, though your ability to resurface is questio-"

Ark's immediately shut her mouth when she realized that Bismarck was already standing right in front of her, looming tall with a terrifying expression. Her long blond hair fell like a curtain around her face, giving her a very dark look only broken by the shine of her bright blue eyes staring right into the British girl's soul.

"I'm sorry." Ark whimpered, suddenly feeling like she was deprived of all her liquid courage.

"You're really pissing me off, you know?"

"I'll stop. Please just let me live." Ark said, forcing an awkward smile on her face.

Sensing danger, Sam the cat jumped from the bench to the ground, knocking over the bottle of water Bismarck had left prior. The cheaply made plastic cracked as it hit the floor, soaking the bottom of Bismarck's shoes and creating adorable, wet paw-prints on the concrete as Sam ran away for his life.

"Give me that."

"Huh?"

Without waiting for any response, Bismarck snatched the flask away from Ark's now feeble grasp and wrapped her lips around the opening, before leaning back and letting gravity do the rest. Ark could only watch in a weird mixture of amusement and horror as the liquid whirlpooled into the belly of the German girl.

"I don't think that's a good idea…" Ark warned half-heartedly.

"Oh, quiet you. This is no-Oh."

Bismarck's legs suddenly wobbled, causing her to fall forwards. She tried to recover but failed, leaving her to fall on her butt right next to Ark and knocking what little was left of the cat food over the edge of the bench. The British carrier squirmed as she was suddenly squeezed between the bench's armrest and Bismarck's bare shoulder.

Bismarck shook her head, recovering her consciousness. She then looked at Ark and smiled devilishly.

"This is a fine craft." Bismarck said while glancing at the glass flask, sounding surprisingly dignified even with all of her exposed skin starting to flush red. "I think I'll keep it. You won't mind, do you?"

Ark shook her head very slowly, and very carefully, and very fearfully.

"Good."

Bismarck promptly put her challenge prize in one of her convenient pockets hidden in her tiny outfit, before gritting her teeth as suddenly a wave of pain struck her head. It felt hot, like a new boiler had just apparated in her head right under her conning tower.

"Ugh, that was probably a bad idea." Bismarck murmured, sounding deflated.

"It's a flask, not a mug." Ark spoke out, having recovered from her initial shock. "You're supposed to take a sip little by little and finish it up in a course of a whole day."

"Yeah, didn't know what came over me."

Ark sighed. "I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have said all those things." she said, sounding genuinely guilty.

"Nah, it's alright." Bismarck leaned back. "It's true, anyway. I was just useless. All that steel and couldn't even last a year."

Bismarck looked up to the sky, putting one palm over her eyes.

"Uh…are you alright?" Ark reached towards Bismarck, but before she could touch her she gently slapped her hand away.

"I'm okay. Just...just stop me if I'm about to do something incredibly stupid."

"Oh?" Ark gave a curious smile. "You're not afraid that I'm going to record you instead?"

Bismarck eyed the girl sitting next to her with her unfocused eyes, her expression dull and unreadable.

"Would you do that?" she asked in a neutral, completely non-threatening tone.

"Maybe..?" Ark answered coyly, probably against her better judgment.

"Hm…" Bismarck squinted as if she was considering something really hard, then she suddenly grabbed Ark by the hand.

"Wha-What are you-?!"

Ark jerked back in surprise, but then she winced as Bismarck squeezed hard on her finger bones.

"Ow!"

"Huh. You're right. You're not as hard as I thought."

"Ouch! Okay! Okay! I will not record you when you do something stupid!"

"If I do anything stupid."

"Whatever! Just let my hand go!"

Bismarck loosened her fingers slightly and Ark immediately exploited it, pulling her hand very quickly out of the Krupp-steel death grip.

"Sheesh, for such an elegant ship you are way too rough." Ark fumed as she shook her hand, grimacing in pain.

"Yeah, I guess...wait, elegant?"

"Yes." said Ark confidently, still rubbing her hand. "Even though you have a very outdated armor scheme, I really like your classic look. You have a very dignified silhouette."

"I...Okay?" Bismarck looked at Ark weirdly, clearly not expecting such nice compliments from the one that had so severely insulted her just a few minutes ago. "Thank you, I guess?"

"I-I mean I'm not the only one that thinks so!" Ark suddenly added, her face went slightly redder. "Many of the older ships in my navy think that your form reminds them of the old days."

"Do I really look that old?" Bismarck looked down, suddenly having a strong desire to look for patches of loose skin between her fingers.

"No! I do not mean it that way!" Ark strongly denied, perhaps a little bit too strongly. "I mean that you look regal and old-school and...and-"

"Okay, okay." Bismarck raised her hand, stopping the girl from rambling. "I will take your words as compliments. Just...calm down."

"Oh dear…" Ark Royal put a hand on her face, suddenly losing the ability to look at Bismarck in the face."That was...please just forget about that."

"Don't worry. A great headache will probably force me to forget in twelve hours or so." Bismarck said coyly, barely sounding like she regretted her drink. "You know, I've never noticed this before, but you're certainly...active."

"Well, I am just a bundle of explosives and aviation fuel…" Ark looked down, scratching the back of her head while smiling awkwardly, showing her pearly teeth.

"You really are different from when you're on the battlefield…"

"Huh?"

"You are a lot less terrifying. When at sea you look like a warrior, and here…" Bismarck paused.

"Yeah?" Ark prodded.

"Here...you're just a girl."

Silence fell upon the two ships. Ark looked at Bismarck like she was the strangest thing in the world before she broke into a massive grin.

"Of course I'm a girl. What else could I be?"

Hearing that, Bismarck let out a defeated chuckle.

"Apparently it's impolite to just assume these days."

Ark tilted her head. "I don't get it."

"Neither do I, but I was born in 1940, so what do I know, huh?"

Ark raised her eyebrow. "Well, do you consider yourself a girl?" she asked, her head moving slightly closer to Bismarck in a show of curiosity.

Bismarck leaned back on the bench, once again looking at the sky.

"I don't know...all of my crew and my namesake were males, so could it be that my soul is male?" Bismarck kneaded her(?) temple, looking pained. "My brain hurts. Do you have anything else to drink?"

"I think you have enough."

"I guess you're right."

Bismarck closed her eyes for a second, trying to regain focus.

"It's just...it's just that I'm not even sure if I can call myself a human."

Ark looked like she could barely believe what she had just heard.

"That's even sillier. Anyone that looks at you can instantly tell that you're a girl, just like me."

"I wonder…" Bismarck looked down, hiding her face behind a curtain of golden hair.

After Bismarck went silent for some uncomfortable seconds, Ark decided to speak up.

"Is something wrong?" she said, leaning forward to try to take a peek at Bismarck's face behind her hair.

"Hey, princess." Bismarck called out, still hiding her face.

"Princess?" Ark pulled back, surprised that she had suddenly received a new nickname.

"May I ask you a question?" Bismarck straightened her back, revealing a surprisingly composed face.

"Sure." Ark shrugged.

"How did your people react to you? You know, when you...came back."

"Oh?" Ark considered the question for a moment. "Well, I'm not bragging, but they do see me as a hero. I am rather famous, after all. The descendants of my old sailors often invite me to their houses."

"Is that so..." Bismarck said with a weak voice, her eyes looking sadly at the ground.

"And it's not only in my country, either. I often got offered free meals when I was in America." Ark continued with pride in her voice.

"I was actually surprised about how many Americans were so knowledgeable about the history of the Royal Navy. We talked about Trafalgar, Chesapeake, Quiberon, People like Nelson and Raleigh…" Ark continued, the look on her face clearly told that she was reminiscing a pleasant memory.

"That...that sounds very nice." Bismarck looked at Ark Royal sadly with a pained smile. "Being a hero...you should tell me how it feels sometime."

Facing the sad looking Bismarck, Ark could only stare in confusion. But soon her face lit up in understanding.

"Is your home giving you troubles?" she asked, trying her best to make a concerned smile.

Bismarck drew a deep breath and sighed. For a moment she seemed hesitant to continue, but perhaps the alcohol she took gave her all the push she needed to start pouring her heart out.

"That place isn't home anymore." Bismarck turned her eyes towards the sea, to the west, as if she could gaze upon Germany just across the water. "The way the people look at me, they do not see me as a countryman. Hell, they barely see me as a human. At best they see me as a necessary evil, a weapon to throw at the enemy at their convenience. At worst...well…"

Bismarck's voice staggered, her voice coming into a dead stop in her throat.

"I guess you would bring some bad memories for them." Ark said softly.

"What memories?" Bismarck scoffed. "The last of our generation died a long time ago. It's all just inherited guilt at this point."

Ark Royal looked at Bismarck, trying to establish eye contact, though the German seemed insistent on looking at the ground.

"Are you angry?"

"Angry?"

For a moment Bismarck looked unsure, like she did not actually know what she's actually feeling right now. Is she angry?

"Angry...no." she finally answered. "Just...I'm just confused."

Bismarck sat in silence as she waited for Ark to respond, but the British carrier made it clear that she wanted Bismarck to continue. So she did.

"Germany had nurtured a strong military tradition even before my namesake had united her. A unique breed of officer corps with martial culture passed down from father to son ever since the time when Prussia stood alone. All of these died when the last of the old Wehrmacht veterans retired from the Bundeswehr somewhere in the 1980s, and they will never come back."

"And does this upset you?"

Bismarck finally looked at Ark in the eyes.

"Upset? No. Modern Germany certainly has her merits. If I could choose, I would choose to be born today, but...but…"

"But..?" Ark prodded, not allowing Bismarck to stop.

"My Germany is dead, and the new Germany does not want me."

Bismarck suddenly looked back to the sea as if she had just realized something.

"Where can I go when all of this is over? I don't feel like returning."

Bismarck kept on looking at the sea, through the waves, and into the abyss.

"Perhaps it would be simpler for me to sink in battle, after a-"

Bismarck almost jumped when she felt something grasping her hand with a vice grip. She looked down and saw her fingers intertwining with another daintier, fragile-looking set of fingers, holding her hand with the strength you'd expect from someone that used a bowstring to launch warplanes.

"Don't say that." Ark said, her expression reminded Bismarck of a mother that just found out that her daughter is a suicidal wreck. "Don't ever say that."

"Easy for you to say." Bismarck mocked. "You're a hero. I'm just the result of a one man's ego, a waste of good steel."

"Then you must take this as a second chance." Ark said in a tone that was oddly close to begging. "If you think you were a useless waste in the last war, why not try to be a hero in this one?"

"My people now take pride in being a 'post-heroic society'." Bismarck shook her head. "They think that the very concept of 'hero' is an archaic idea only used by warmongers. I don't think I will be called a hero anytime soon."

"Your people can say whatever they want. The fact is that humans will always need something, someone to look up to. They might call them heroes, gods, idols, role models, champions, whatever."

"I'm neither of those. I'm just a war machine."

"M'lady." Ark said mockingly, now starting to look irritated. "When I was in America, I attended a funeral held for a broken explosive disposal robot. There were tears."

"What?" Bismarck looked confused, not sure whether Ark was joking or not.

"And he was just a pile of mangled metal. You've got tits. A magnificent pair, if I might add. So I'm pretty sure your existential crisis is just you exaggerating things."

"What?" Bismarck repeated, subconsciously using one hand to cover her breasts.

Ark sighed. "Let me make this simple. I think you're just being a proper German and is overthinking a bunch of useless shites." she said exasperatedly, briefly relapsing to her native northern England accent. "Trust me, you'll be fine. Just relax, okay?"

"It's hard to relax when it feels like everyone thinks you're evil."

Ark suddenly chuckled. "I know. I'm British. We know how it feels to have ancestors that had done very terrible things, but we don't get too obsessed over it."

"A lot of people are probably upset about that." Bismarck said in a deadpan manner.

"Oh, sure. Some folks in India are probably pretty upset that we do not spend every waking hour apologizing for strapping their great-granduncles in front of cannons, but we just ignore them. Things are a lot easier that way."

"People that forget history are doomed to repeat it." Bismarck said in an almost whisper, her face challenging Ark to come up with a response.

"Yet many had started a new war exactly because they remembered how they lost the last one." Ark swished her hand, symbolically knocking Bismarck's argument out of the air. "It's a great quote in context, but you must take care to learn from history, instead of just remembering it. Remember only the grudges, remember only the pain, remember every slight and humiliation and before anyone realizes, we've got another great war."

Bismarck looked down. She knew exactly of whose people Ark was talking about.

"Learn from it, respect it, but do not get bound by it." Ark added.

"So what, are you telling me to try to become a hero?"

"No, that'd be silly." Ark mocked. "A hero is not something you just try to be. Those who did try usually ended up dead. No, what I am suggesting is for you to try to become a person."

"A...person?" Bismarck repeated in disbelief as if Ark had just uttered an alien word.

"You don't need to be more than human to save the world." Ark smiled, her eyes looking up at Bismarck coyishly.

"Oh?" Bismarck raised her eyebrow challengingly. "And how do you suppose I do that?"

"Hmmm…" Ark put her fingers on her chin, thinking. "From what I've seen, your case is a difficult one. You'll need help."

"Why do I have the feeling that I probably wouldn't like this 'help' of yours?"

"Oh, you'd appreciate it. Probably not immediately, but you will."

"You're being overconfident."

"Maybe. But seeing how spectacular I could mess this up is part of the excitement. You are free tomorrow."

Her last set of words was a statement, not a question.

"How did you know?"

"I keep a close eye on the deployment schedule of every ship in this base. It helps with scheduling my free time. Us humans are social creatures, you know."

"I prefer doing more productive things. Alone."

Ark looked at Bismarck, looking confused.

"How do you even function in a team?"

"Professionals do not need friendships." Bismarck scoffed.

"Riight."

For a moment Ark looked like she was about to say something more, but she shook her head as if to stop herself before slowly standing up.

"I should go. I have a lot to prepare."

"Why do those words worry me?" Bismarck said as she watched Ark began to walk away from her.

"Oh, it'll be fine." said Ark nonchalantly, looking back at Bismarck while still walking, but then she suddenly stopped.

"Oh, and Biscuit?"

"Biscuit?" Bismarck squirmed, surprised by her sudden new nickname.

"If people won't accept you as a hero no matter what you do, you can always try to become my hero instead."

Before Bismarck could digest her words, Ark was already walking away fast, skipping with joy. Bismarck couldn't see her face, but she suspected that the British girl was smiling.

Bismarck was left alone on the bench, watching quietly at Ark Royal's back.

"Crazy Brit."