"I'm Christian." Mariam said, sounding somewhat annoyed even through her covered face.

"Really?" Honor asked, all the while struggling to not accidentally walk past the small-strided German captain.

"Yes. I was born in Dresden, and I usually don't cover my face. This place is just...special." the captain spoke with practised fluency. Honor got the feeling that she had to explain this to people very often.

"I can see that." Honor put her hand over her mouth and breathe. After five minutes or so walking along the ice corridor, even her bulk had started to fail her. She began to feel cold.

Mariam pulled an old-looking Nokia out of her pocket and began speaking in German. She spoke with such speed that it made Honor realize how rusty her German was. She only managed to pick up 'where are you' before the captain put the phone back in her pocket.

"Hm. This way."

Mariam made a sudden sharp turn at an intersection, forcing Honor to perform a minor acrobatic feat to keep up. Having so much momentum behind every little movement you made had their disadvantages.

Honor continued to follow the German captain as she walked with purpose along the frozen path. The woman seemed to know the labyrinthian corridors like the back of her own hand. She never once slowed down or hesitate. This made Honor wondered how long the captain had spent in this facility.

Olavsvern...Honor was pretty sure that this name was used before for another Norwegian Naval Base. Perhaps they used the same name to confuse enemy espionage?

Captain Mariam suddenly slowed down, almost causing Honor to crash into her. On the other end of the corridor, a woman in white walked around the corner in a hurry.

The woman was huge, walking towards the two of them with a sense of urgency in each step. Honor suddenly realized that the ceiling of this facility was awfully high, probably designed specifically to cater to shipgirls. Honor was very thankful for this, of course.

"I'm sorry. I encountered an unexpected delay." the girl said in English while saluting.

"Doesn't matter. You're here now." said Mariam, returning the salute. "Commander, this is Graf Zeppelin."

"The aborted carrier?" Honor asked while also returning the salute. Then she realized what she had just said. "Oh, fu-"

"It's alright, commander." The girl said.

The girl was tall, although still shorter than Honor herself. Her skin, hair, and eyes were all greyish white, nearly to the point that they had no colour at all. At first, Honor though that she was an albino, but then she realized that the girl's skin was actually monotone white, not transparent. Honor couldn't find any imperfection anywhere, not even a sign of blood vessels under that skin of hers.

"You've managed to summon a carrier?" Honor asked.

"Yes, but even when we have to keep her a secret otherwise the Russians throw a fit, we can't even equip her with planes."

Honor knew about Zeppelin, of course. Nazi Germany's only attempt at naval aviation. The war was over before they had even decided whether her planes would be under the jurisdiction of the Luftwaffe or the Kriegsmarine. They tried to scuttle her, but then the Soviets refloated her only to use her as a target practice.

"We're currently negotiating some arrangement with your Fleet Air Arm, but for now she's practically useless."

If Zeppelin took offence at that statement, she hid it well.

"So I think she'll do the most good as your secretary, at least for now."

"Excuse me?" Honor asked, not sure if she heard the captain right.

Zeppelin tilted her head, causing her two long twintails to wave in the air. "Am I unsatisfactory?"

"Er, no." Honor shook her head awkwardly. "I'm just surprised."

"Anyway, she'll show you to your room." Mariam said lazily. It's almost as if she was glad to be rid of Honor. "We'll have a staff meeting just before dinner. Zeppelin will remind you. Now, if you excuse me…"

Without waiting for Honor to answer, Mariam turned and started walking away with quite the impressive speed for someone looking like she's wearing an entire zoo.

"Yeah, see ya later, furball." Honor said when Mariam was already out of sight.

"Pfft."

Honor turned her head and saw Zeppelin desperately trying to hold back a massive laughing fit.

"S-sorry."

"It's okay." Honor shrugged. "Alright, Miss Zeppelin, show me my room."