Nighttime on the Atlantic

by Spazzcat-Katori

It's dark in the north Atlantic. Until Alfred sees a light in the dark.

Summary: It's dark in the north Atlantic. Until Alfred sees a light in the dark.

ooooooooooooooooo

Nighttime on the Atlantic.

It was dark. Very dark. Clouds obscured the moon and stars, and were themselves cloaked by dense fog. Only a subtle change in the quality of the surrounding blackness gave any indication as to where the fog ended and the tossing water began.

In the midst of the blackness floated a ship.

Her name was the Molly Balker, a powerful aircraft carrier, the pride of the American Navy. Her decks bristled with weaponry, and her crew cabins were filled with the best fighter pilots, maintenance personal, and officers her country had to offer. A small armada of support vessels sailed in her massive wake, following their flagship through the night.

High up in the control room, a young man fidgeted with a pencil.

He was Alfred F. Jones. Also known as America, the personification of the powerful country. A hand ran through messy blonde hair as bespectacled blue eyes pored over the charts and maps spread across the table. He pursed his lips, using one hand to lightly trace their projected course along the rugged Canadian coastline into Halifax Harbor. Glancing out the window at the darkness, Alfred wondered if this had been such a good idea. Flaunting the massive ship to see the jealous look on the face of his brother, Canada, would be great fun, but the waters amongst the northern country's Maritime provinces had some notoriously tricky stretches. And if anything happened to the Molly Balker, Alfred's boss would kill him. Nation or not.

A faint flash out of the corner of his eye distracted him from his thoughts. Frowning slightly, he turned to look out the forward window. After a moment there was another brief spot of light. Alfred raised his binoculars to his eyes, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him, and was rewarded with the faint strobing of a signal light. Another ship. The blonde realized.

He watched the light carefully. The light remained directly ahead of the ship, slowly becoming brighter. After several minutes' observation, Alfred could no longer deny what he was seeing: the other ship was headed straight toward them, and seemed to be closing fast. He lunged for the radio.

"Calling approaching vessel! This is the US aircraft carrier Molly Balker, we have you on a direct heading toward us. Please divert your course fifteen degrees north to avoid collision. Over."

There was a long pause before the radio crackled. "We read you, Molly Balker. Unable to comply. Please divert your course fifteen degrees south to avoid collision. Over." The radio operator on the far end, unmistakably Canadian in accent, sounded far too cheerful given the late hour and hazardous situation. Alfred scowled.

"Negative. Divert your course fifteen degrees north to avoid collision! Over!" He barked into the radio.

"Sorry, cannot complete such a maneuver. Please divert fifteen degrees south to avoid collision. Over." The light was getting brighter, but the Canadian seemed unconcerned about the imminent danger.

Alfred was fast losing patience. "I said divert your course north immediately! Over!"

"We repeat, please divert your course south. Thank you. Over."

That tore it. There was no way that he, America, would give ground to a meek Canadian ship.

"THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER MOLLY BALKER, THE SECOND LARGEST SHIP IN THE AMERICAN NAVAL FLEET! WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE DESTROYERS, FIVE CRUISERS, AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS. I DEMAND THAT YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE FIFTEEN DEGREES NORTH, I REPEAT, ONE-FIVE NORTH. FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL RESULT IN COUNTER-MEASURES BEING TAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THIS SHIP. OVER." Alfred bellowed, going red in the face. In the silence that followed, he panted for breath, smirking slightly.

There was a despairing sigh on the other end of the radio. "Alright, fine, your call...."

Alfred grinned and punched the air victoriously. None would stand up against the awesome power of the Molly Balker!

"...However, please be advised of the danger of your aircraft carrier, three destroyers, five cruisers, and numerous support vessels running aground if we move this lighthouse. Over and out."