In a world where some ships are not as they seem, Hyperion must race to save her mate as global catastrophes threaten to destroy life.

"Normal"

"Comm"

Black Ladies Chronicles Presents:

Magma Volcanic Disaster: Hyperion's War

Hyperion was new to the position of flagship. Since Virginia had moved up to fleet deputy, she'd been chosen to lead the submarine force. It was a big job, one that she was still getting used to.

"You look like your head's going to explode." Hyperion turned to see Kilauea coming towards her, her dark amber eyes thoughtful. "And you look as insightful as always." Hyperion chuckled. She nodded to the patch on her friend's fin. "Vent bothering you?" She asked. "Nothing you don't already know." Kilauea smirked. "So, what's on your mind?" She asked. Hyperion shot her a look. "You never give up do you?" She said. Kilauea shook her head. "Ugh, well its just I wonder how Virginia did it!" Hyperion grumbled. "New position's bothering you. Virginia complained about the same thing." Kilauea said. "Leadership is a difficult thing. You have to grow into it, adapt." "But I don't feel like I am." Hyperion sighed. "I've got Reprisal up my stern nonstop. Kentucky's asking for me to push congress into building more Ohio's. Need I say more?" "I think I get the picture." Kilauea said. "Of course you would. You've heard it over and over again since this navy was founded." Hyperion grumbled. "Oh far beyond that." Kilauea winked. "Rub it in why don't you." Hyperion sniffed. "Aww, don't be like that." Kilauea nuzzled her. "I'm just poking fun." "I know." Hyperion licked her. "Hmm, you're warm." She said. "When am I not?" Kilauea reminded her. "Good point." Hyperion chuckled. "Come on, we should get back." Kilauea pouted. "And here I was hoping you'd have something more interesting to offer." She whined. "Not here, later." Hyperion growled as the older sub whined her protest.

The pair docked at Pearl and Kilauea wasted no time getting into Hyperion. She shoved the other sub against the dock, tongue probing deep into her mouth. Hyperion moaned. "Gently, Kia." She mumbled. "I know your limits, darling." Kilauea purred as she moved her fins down Hyperion's rib cage. Hyperion shuddered, letting her mate set her down on her back. With what she knew had to be tremendous restraint, Kilauea lightly held her head as she worked her slit. Hyperion's eyes slipped closed as pleasure built within her. But just before climax, Kilauea's weight vanished. Curious as to why her mate retreated, she opened her eyes, seeing Kilauea leaning against the far side of the berth, panting. She righted herself. "Kia, what's wrong?" She asked. "I-I don't know... STAY BACK!" She roared when Hyperion made to approach. The younger submarine stared at her mate. They'd agreed when they first chose to mate that Kilauea would work with Hyperion's disadvantage as she was mortal, Kilauea was not. Not in the same since anyway. Kilauea agreed to be careful and Hyperion likewise agreed to respect her mate's space if she felt it necessary. But Hyperion also knew that right now, Kilauea would not have backed off, nor would ever back off like she did, unless she was certain that something was wrong or was about to go wrong. "Kia?" Hyperion began again, keeping her distance. Kilauea raised her head, amber eyes dark. "I don't know what that was, but I really didn't like the feeling I got just now." She said. "What kind of feeling?" Hyperion asked. "I don't know. Something shifted and I don't like it." Kilauea replied. Hyperion relented, her mate would tell her more if she knew.

They chose to forgo sex and settled in for the night. Kilauea took the shore side, Hyperion the sea. That way, if anything went wrong during the night, Hyperion could escape. It turned out that arrangement would be necessary.

Sometime around 3 in the morning, Kilauea's hull started to sweat. The increase in heat woke Hyperion who smartly moved clear of her mate. Seconds later, Kilauea's hull ruptured in several places, producing fountains of blood. The water turned red with it. This was more than just a vent, this was a full on eruption. "Help!" Hyperion wailed. "Someone help me!"

Arleigh Burke came racing in. "Hyperion? What's the matter?" She asked. "It's Kia. I don't know what went wrong. It's sudden and I..." The sub was hyperventilating. "Easy, easy." The destroyer licked her. "Is she conscious?" "I don't know." Hyperion answered. "Kia?" A groan was her response as Kilauea's eyelids flickered. Her amber eyes opened. "H-Hyperion." She coughed. "Don't come any closer. I could hurt you." "Not in this form you can't." Hyperion reminded her as she moved alongside, licking her muzzle lovingly. Kilauea managed a shaky purr, breaking it off as she convulsed. Her hull rippled and shuddered as she coughed. Hyperion used a fin to rub across her back, ignoring the blood she got on her. Kilauea moaned. "I've had bad ones before but not this bad." "You said earlier you felt something shift. What was it?" Hyperion asked. "Something in the Asthenos. I don't know what exactly. But there was a massive spike in pressure. Right now that's trying to be relieved." Kilauea replied. "Here in Hawaii?" Hyperion asked. Kilauea shook her head. "Worldwide." She corrected, seeing Hyperion's eyes widen in horror. Kilauea was of a unique breed. She was a ship and not a ship. A personification of the mountain she was named for. Same could be said for 1500 others around the world. Just one going off could be devastating enough, but all at once? To make matters worse, over half of the navies around the world were made up of these ships. Losing their capabilities now would be a tremendous blow.

"Hyperion, you know the consequences as well as I." Kilauea rasped. "Something's shifted that shouldn't have. If you don't find a fix for it, you very well could become the last of your kind." Hyperion swallowed hard. "Tell me what to do, Kia. I can't possibly begin to fathom what's going on..." She whimpered. Kilauea's breaths were coming in shallower now. More blood collected in her lungs, making it difficult to breathe. But her voice was steady as she answered. "You can't rely on me to help you. Not this time. This part of the equation you must do alone." Hyperion whimpered, pressing her muzzle to hers. "I need you." She whispered. "I'm still here." Kilauea promised. "I always am." "Whatever it is, I will fix it. I promise." Hyperion whispered. Kilauea kissed her. "Fix it and come back." She rasped. Hyperion nuzzled her cheek as her eyes closed.

By morning, Arleigh had Kilauea in the medical berths. Her siblings were showing the same problems. "Medical facilities at Bremerton and San Diego report the same symptoms to our Cascade-class. Yellowstone's showing the first signs as well." Arleigh gestured to the massive aircraft carrier, lying on her side in her own berth nearby. "And just an hour ago it came in that both Fuji and Hirashika are down. Indonesia's been hit hardest though. Nearly 3/4 of their entire naval fleet are volcano ships. All are showing signs of eruptive illnesses.""Damn." Hyperion growled. "This is getting out of control." "The USGS contacted Missouri this morning. She wishes to speak with you." Arleigh said. "Understood, I'm on my way." Hyperion set sail for Ford Island.

Having a one on one meeting with the United States Supreme Flagship was intimidating to say the least but Missouri was welcoming to Hyperion. The submarine could practically hear her desperation as she gave her briefing. "The USGS determined that these changes in pressure were caused by human industrial activity at the surface. It's causing massive fluctuations in the earth's inner and outer cores." She said. "How do we stop it?" Hyperion asked. "We don't." Missouri shook herself free of her mooring lines, and turned her bow to the sea. "What we can do however is determine where the pressure is released." "I don't follow." Hyperion answered. "Its simple really and goes against everything we've been taught. But by opening cracks in the ocean floor we can allow the magma to escape there instead of on land." Missouri said. "Even if we could break open the crust, the only weapon that could possibly have a hope of doing so is..." Hyperion's eyes widened as the realization struck her. Missouri nodded grimly. "I've been in contact with the UN. Each nation with a nuclear arsenal has dispatched a fleet of submarines to the Pacific and the Atlantic trench zones. Hyperion, you'll be heading a multinational task force in the Marianas. You leave in 1 hour." Hyperion dipped her head. "Understood, Missouri." She answered. She kept her voice calm but the prospect of leading the British, the French, the Germans, the Russians, and anyone who had nuclear submarines, terrified her. What if she made a mistake? Now was the worst time for that to occur. Missouri seemed to know what she was thinking for she said "You'll do fine. Just keep focused." "Thank you Missouri." Hyperion saluted, then left for the medical berths. There was one last thing for her to do.

Kilauea was practically covered in bandages, tubes, and wires. She looked more like a mummy. "How is she?" Hyperion asked Arleigh. The healer sighed. "The stresses being placed on her are immense. She can't take it." "You mean she's dying?!" Hyperion cried. "In our sense of the word, yes." Arleigh replied. "But as you know it isn't "death" as she understands it. I fear she'll only continue to "die" and come back until this is resolved." Hyperion shuddered at the thought, for the first time grateful that she could only die once. Once could be painful enough but multiple times. It was no wonder some of Kilauea's breed went mad! "Keep me informed, Arleigh. I mean it." She growled. "You have 5 minutes." The healer said and left. Hyperion was left alone with her mate. "I don't know if you can hear me." She began. "I don't know if I'd want you to. I've been chosen to lead a multinational task force to the Marianas Trench. We can't stop the plumes but we can divert them. The ocean floor seems reasonable." She paused. "I'm not going to lie to you. It will be dangerous. But then you would know that, wouldn't you." Hyperion's voice shook, her eyes filling with unspilt tears. "I need you Kia. Now more than ever. This is your field of expertise not mine." She leaned down, grabbing her mate's fin and gripping it firmly. When she let go, her diamond ring was placed on one of Kilauea's webbed fingers. "I'm trusting you with this. Keep it safe for me okay." She kissed her cheek. "I love you Kia." Leaving the berth, she met Arleigh outside the curtains. "You watch out for her!" She growled. The healer dipped her head. "I will." She promised and Hyperion left for an uncertain fate.

The Marianas trench was one of the deepest places on the planet, the bottom was 7 miles down. Hyperion hovered at the edge of it, looking down into the featureless black crack below. It was completely dark, none of her lights could penetrate it. Hyperion almost felt as though that darkness was creeping out, feeling along her hull like little fingers and she shuddered. "You're not afraid are you?" teased a Russian. "Are you?" Hyperion growled, shooting her a glare. "I am, concerned." The Russian managed, looking away. Hyperion snorted. "That's what I thought." She muttered. In a louder voice she added "It's okay to be scared." She looked around her at her fleet. "It's okay for all of us to be scared. There's no shame in admitting it. What we are about to do is dangerous and may get us killed without it ever working. If any of you have objections, you may speak them now without fear." There was a brief murmuring among the different subs as the translators explained Hyperion's words. Then for a moment, all was silent, until one submarine, a Russian, spoke up. "If we do not do this, we are all dead anyways." "I have 2 friends at home, who are suffering because of this." said a Japanese sub. "I owe them." Hyperion dipped her head. "We're dead if we don't do this and we might be dead if we do. I'd rather go down fighting, suh!" finished a British sub. Hyperion's smile widened. "Well then, as none of you have any objections. Let's get to work!"

As Hyperion got into position, she kept in constant contact with Reprisal in the Atlantic. "For your sake, this better work." The other sub growled. "This will work, for all our sakes. Because if it doesn't, it'll be the end of us all." Hyperion growled and fired her first set of nucs. The first flew of course and impacted with the trench wall. "Dammit!" Hyperion swore, cussing out the mechanics who made these things. Fortunately the second flew straight down, opening the trench to the mantle below. Thermal readings spiked, then dropped as the erupting magma came in contact with the ocean. Hyperion continued on, firing her remaining two nucs. This time, both worked. As the magma erupted, the trench walls became unstable and crashed down. Hyperion was just able to pull out in time. In the Atlantic, Reprisal was not so lucky. Hyperion had an open link with her and could hear what happened. Her fellow sub had been hit by debris, she was stunned by the blow and taking on water. "Reprisal for god's sake pull up! Get out of there!" Hyperion roared over their comms. "Steering's been disabled, I can't." Reprisal answered. "I'm heading for the trench wall. For what its worth Hyperion, I am sorry I criticized you so much. I just.." "You wanted to see if I had chinks in my armor, I know." Hyperion answered gently. "Every good leader knows they have one and works to better themselves with it. And you Hyperion, are a great leader." Reprisal said. "Reprisal please." Hyperion begged. "I did my duty Hyperion. Just let me go." Reprisal whispered. "You have served your country with distinction and honor. I, USS Hyperion, Commander of the United States Submarine Forces, hereby promote you USS Reprisal to the rank of Cruiser and dismiss you from active duty with an Honorable Discharge." Hyperion could practically hear Reprisal's smile as she whispered "Thank you, Hyperion..." The line went dead. Hyperion blinked back her tears as she rose out of the trench and rejoined her fleet. "All ships report success, sir." the British sub reported. "Thank you." Hyperion wasn't quite able to bring the cheer into her voice and the British sub took notice. "Something the matter, sir?" She asked. "I just got word from the Atlantic fleet. The cost of their success was higher." Hyperion sighed. "Reprisal?" Hyperion nodded. The British sub bowed her head. "I'm sorry." Hyperion nudged her. "She did her duty, as we all did today. Now its time to see if this crazy scheme actually worked. Let's go home."

After a week layover in Guam for minor repairs, an additional 2 days of lecturing from the bases' CMO, 4 days of attempted escape, and 2 more days of endless checkups to make sure everything was running smoothly, Hyperion raced into Pearl 3 weeks after her success at the Marianas. She was going so fast, she nearly ran into Arleigh who was just emerging from the medical berths. "Whoa there." The destroyer steadied her. "I assume you want to see Kia?" She asked. "How is she? Is she alright?" Hyperion practically screamed. "Easy. She and the others still have a long way to go before I'd say they're 'alright'. But they are on the mend. Your crazy plan worked, Hyperion. Maybe because it was just that, crazy." Arleigh chuckled. "Oh go on, don't let me hold you up." Hyperion vanished in a shower of spray. The destroyer laughed and continued on.

Hyperion stopped just outside Kilauea's berth, taking several deep breaths to calm her frayed nerves before tapping the curtains. "Come in." said a weak voice. Hyperion gently pushed them aside as she entered. Kilauea was lying on her side, still connected to several machines but Hyperion was pleased to see her breathing mask was gone as were a majority of the bandages that had covered her sides. The only things in her now were an IV drip and an Oxygen tube that fit to her nose. "I was wondering when you'd come around." She said with a grin. "I came as fast as I could. Sorry it took so long." Hyperion answered. "It only took so long because you gave Guam's CMO a lot of trouble. I read her report. How did she put it "Irresponsible and reckless"?" Kilauea shared her mate's laugh. "Good to see you're on the mend." Hyperion murmured, kissing the top of her head. She felt Kilauea's fin grip hers in a surprisingly strong way. But what seemed strong to Hyperion, was likely just a light squeeze for her mate. When she let go, Hyperion's ring was back on her webbed finger. "You left that here. Why?" Kilauea asked. "Don't you know?" Kilauea swallowed hard. "You didn't plan on coming back." She sighed. "Hyperion, I knew the risks when I mated with you. I knew that, one day, you would leave me. I knew that one day, my heart would be broken. I thought I could be ready for it." She looked up to meet Hyperion's gaze. "I now know that no amount of time or preparation could ever ready me for that day." "So what are you saying? You don't want to be with me anymore?" Hyperion asked. "I also came to another conclusion. Even though one day it will hurt me in ways I can't even begin to fathom, you are not just my bane but my life. I cannot live with you but I cannot live without you either. Leaving you now would be." She searched for the right word. "Unbearable." She managed at last. "Oh Kia..." Hyperion buried her muzzle into her mate's side. "I wish I could be immortal. For you if no one else." "It can be a pretty lonely existence." Kilauea told her. "Guess I'll just have to hope then that someone finds and names a Mt. Hyperion. Then I could be with you."

Hyperion backed off a second later, shaking her head. She raised a fin to her ear, still in shock as she felt the blood collecting there. Kilauea stared at her, her fin still raised, pants intensifying. "Don't say that. Don't you ever say that." She growled. "Being a mountain is a terrible, terrible way to live." She leaned forward, her muzzle mere inches from Hyperion's. "First you witness everyone you love die from disease and age. Then, when all them are gone and their descendants have forgotten you, you exist merely to exist. Your purpose is forgotten, everything you ever were becomes meaningless. All you want is to die. You seek death around every tree, beyond every wave, every island. And when it finally does come, you no longer care about anything. Not even how much it may hurt. Such an existence, it's maddening!" Kilauea turned away. "But only if you spend it alone." Hyperion murmured softly. Kilauea kept her back to her. Hyperion sighed. "You're right, I do not understand what that existence can be like but I do know that even in the mortal world, being alone is never a good thing. I cannot promise immortality, but I can promise you I will be here for as long as I can. And I will never, ever forget you!" She curled around her, relishing in her warmth.

"Oh Hyperion..." Kilauea sighed, leaning into her. "I'm here. Focus on that. For now and for as long as you need me, I'm here." Hyperion whispered, leaning down to kiss her cheek. Kilauea twisted at the last second, mashing her lips to her mate's. Hyperion adjusted her angle, fins working to grab Kilauea's shoulders. When the volcano broke off for air, Hyperion's lips trailed down her throat, teeth nicking her shoulder. A moan escaped her before she came to her senses. "No, Hyperion." She rasped. "No." She gently pushed her mate away. Hyperion understood. "Your right, that was stupid of me. You're vulnerable right now." She sighed. Kilauea could hear the disappointment in her voice and nuzzled her neck. "Later." She promised. Hyperion smiled as the two settled back in the berth. She snuggled up to her mate as Kilauea placed a fin over her, pulling her close. "Later." She agreed as the pair rested in each other's warmth and love. Their future, whatever it was, would be faced together.

THE END