Echo and Ayanami are sitting on some chairs in the Academy's entrance. Both of them are silently tapping away at their phones.

  Suddenly Graf Spee walks up to them. "Excuse me."

  Ayanami and Echo look up from their phones.

  "I was wonder..." Graf Spee grows nervous. "If that seat next to you... is free."

  "Go ahead." Ayanami says.

  Echo nods. "It's not taken.

  Graf Spee smiles and sits down on the couch next to the two Destroyers. They continue to tap away at their phones.

  Suddnely Javelin and Belchan walk around a corner.

  "Sorry about, that, Echo-chan, Ayanami-chan-" Javelin notices Graf Spee, and she goes back around the corner.

  "Hmmm? What is it?" Belchan asks as she peeks around the corner.

  "Ayanami-chan and Echo-chan are hanging out with Spee-san?" Javelin questions.

  Echo's, Ayanami's and Spee's phone all ring at the same time, and they tap on the screen. Then they gnce at each other and looks away in embarrassment.

  Ayanami and Spee look back to each other. "So..." They both stop.

  Echo snickers.

  "I'm sorry." Spee apologizes.

  "G-Go ahead." Ayanami says.

  Belchan smiles. 'Wow, they're so pure! ... I wish Echo was more like this.'

  Suddenly Z23 pops up behind Belchan and Javelin. "Javlein, Belchan, what are you two doing?"

  "Shhe!" Javelin shushes her mentor.

  Z23 spots Ayanami, Graf Spee and Echo. "That's an unusual pairing."

  Spee looks between Ayanami and Echo, as they tap away at their phones.

  "Spee-san is making her move!" Javelin whispers.

  Spee holds up a couple Bugles chips. "Want to try this?" She puts them on her fingers like a hat.

  "Is that okay?" Ayanami asks.

  "Oh, I like these chips!" Echo smiles.

  "Yes, here." Spee holds out the bag to Echo and Ayanami.

  "Thank you." Ayanami and Echo thank.

  The two Destroyers grab a couple chips from the bag and puts them on their fingers.

  All three then eat their chips with smiles on their faces.

  "They're not talking!" Javelin states.

  "How, Ayanami and Echo are so good at making friends!" Belchan comments.

  "Don't they have anything to talk about?" Z23 questions.

  Suddenly Ayanami's phone rings and they all go back to look through social media.

  "Is that Graf-san's timeline?" Spee asks.

  "Yes." Ayanami smiles.

  Ayanami shows Spee a picture on her phone. "Graf-san's timeline is fun, huh?"

  "Fun and amazing." Ayanami says.

  "Oh, you guys should look at Alicorn's!" Echo states.

  Echo flips her phone around to show a picture. In the picture Alicorn is sitting on the edge of her sub with the sun setting in the background. Alicorn is sniffing a yellow rose in her hand as a few petal fly away.

  "Ohhhh!" Ayanami is amazed.

  Spee sweats a little.

  "Go girls!" Belchan quietly cheers.

  The three go back to looking at their phones.

  "Navel networking is fun, isn't it?" Graf Spee asks.

  "Yes, I upload videos to my Ayanami channel, too." Ayanami informs.

  "I upload our test music on the Team Destroyers Channel." Echo informs. "And I post behind the scenes on my Echo channel, too."

  Echo and Ayanami show off their profiles.

  "Wow!" Spee looks between the two. She scrolls down on Ayanami's phone, before stopping. "Sorry for swiping."

  Ayanami lowers her phone. "I don't mind."

  They all look back at their phones.

  "I can talk just fine with the other Iron Blood girls, but I'm not so good at talking to girls from other factions." Spee says, and she looks up at Echo and Ayanami. "H-How do you become friends with someone?"

  "Want to try to become my friend?" Ayanami asks.

  "Yeah, I wouldn't mind either." Echo says.

  Spee gasps, while the three hiding around the corner smile.

  "But... But I don't know how to do that." Spee informs, and she looks down in sadness.

  "Javelin told me how." Ayanami states. "Say my name. From now on, Ayanami, Echo and Spee are friends."

  Echo sweat drops. "Uh... I guess it can work like that."

  "Thank you, Ayanami! Echo!" Spee grows a rge smile.

  The three smile at each other.

  "Want to follow my Ayanami channel?" Ayanami asks.

  "Yes!" Spee turns to Echo. "Can I follow your Echo channel?"

  Echo nods. "Sure! You can follow the Team Destroyers channel as well, if you want!"

  Spee smiles as she follows both Echo and Ayanami on social media. "I'm going to tell the others that I made two friends!"

  Spee stands up and walks off while waving. Echo and Ayanami wave back.

  Javlein, Z23 and Belchan walk around the corner and over to Ayanami and Echo.

  "Ayanami-chan, Echo-chan, you both made a new friend!" Javelin smiles. "That's great."

  Belchan runs over and hugs Echo. "Oh, I'm so proud of you!"

  "Uggghhhh!" Echo whines as Belchan hugs her tight.

  "You all were watching that?" Ayanami asks.

  Z23 smiles. "Gaining a friend is a good thing."

  Laffey walks over, while eating a donut. "You're all te.

  "Sorry, there was something good happening here." Javelin informs.

  "If you don't hurry up, Dunkerque-san's freshly-made sweets are going to be all gone."

  "Is that one of them?" Ayanami asks.

  Laffey nods. "Yes. I had a tone of them."

  Z23 gasps. "A ton, you say?"

  "We need to hurry!" Javelin shouts.

  "Yes!" Echo stands up. "The sweets are in danger of being eaten by someone that is not me!"

  Everyone, minus Laffey, runs down the hall. Laffey calmly walks after them while she continues to eat her donut.

  "Hey, did you hear that Northern Parliament got attacked recently?" A ship asks.

  "No, by what?" Another ship asks.

  "No one knows, all they know is that they got attacked by Drones."

  "Huh, that's weird."

  In the cafeteria area, Dunkirk is putting several dishes away. But then she hears foot steps and she turns around to spot, Echo, Laffey, Belchan, Ayanami, Z23 and Javelin. "Welcome!"

  The newcomers stand at a table where several ptes of sweets are at.

  "Oh, thank goodness!" Javelin smiles. "There are still some left.

  "Laffey told us that she ate a lot." Z23 tells Dunkirk.

  Dunkirk walks over to them. "Well, she definitely ate up the first batch. I had enough for ten, but..."

  Laffey picks up a macaroon. "Let's eat already." She shoves it into her mouth.

  "I'll make some tea."

  They all start to eat sweets.

  "That reminds me."Javelin starts. "What's everyone doing for the next break?"

  "I'll stay up all night to make a dent in my untouched game backlog." Ayanami says.

  "It's nice to do what you want, but you need to get some rest, too." Dunkirk states.

  Belchan throws a hand up. "Team Destroyers is finally gonna finish their new song!"

  "Spent a month working on it." Echo states as she shoves sweets into her mouth.

  "I'm going to find a new napping spot." Laffey informs. "And nap."

  "I need to prepare equipment and necessary materials." Z23 informs.

  "You're so responsible, even on your days off." Dunkirk sets the tea on the table.

  Z23 picks up a tea cup and pte. "Isn't it up to me how I use my days off?" She sips her tea.

  Echo starts to cough and she grabs her tea and downs it. She sets her cup down and takes a few deep breaths, before continuing heating.

  Dunkirk turns to Javelin. "What are you going to do, Javelin?"

  "I'd like to go somewhere. Maybe with my commander..." Javelin informs.

  "With your Commander?" Z23 questions.

  "You want to go somewhere with your commander too, right?"

  Z23 lightly blushes. "Well, that's..."

  Javelin smiles. "We'd go to a fancy pce or somewhere with a pretty night view." She day dreams a little, then grows a rge blush. "Oh, please, you're making me blush!"

  "Don't you also want to go to such a spot with a special someone, Niimi?" Dunkirk asks.

  Z23 looks down. "I don't really know of any spots like that, though."

  "You mean, restaurants with a nice night view and good atmosphere?" Javelin asks.

  "Are you going to have tasty food too?" Ayanami asks.

  "It would be better if you could." Z23 states.

  "Then I think that pce will be the best bet." Dunkirk speaks up.

  "Huh?" Everyone, minus Laffey, question.

  "It's a really good pce that I went to with some other ships. All the dishes and all the drinks were so refined."

  "Sounds like a pce for grown-ups." Javelin comments.

  "Yes, it was a nice and quiet pce. I had a lot of fun." Dunkirk says.

  "Sounds like a pce with a good vibe." Z23 says.

  "Oh, I wonder if they py cssical music." Belchan questions.

  Dunkirk speaks. "But there's another pce I'm thinking of."

  "Oh? What is it?" Echo questions.

  "It's new, but people are raving about the night skyline and dinner you can enjoy there."

  "Sounds marvelous." Z23 states.

  "Wow, I want to go, too." Javelins says.

  "Oh, I think Alicorn is taking Sheffield and Edinburgh there tomorrow." Belchan states. "So lucky, it sounds like a nice pce.

  "Hey, why don't we all go there together?" Javelin suggests.

  "Dinner with a nice view..." Z23 smiles. "I have to admit, that sounds nice."

  "I agree." Ayanami agrees.

  "I'm going, too." Laffey replies in a tired tone.

  "Then I'll let you know next time what the dinner was like." Dunkirk starts putting the empty tea cups on a tray.

  "What do you mean?" Javelin asks.

  "That I'm about to go there with my commander."

  "EHHHHH?!" Everyone, minus Laffey, shouts.

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  12-14-2023

  1526 words