Chapter 20 SOUTHAMPTON ENGLAND DECEMBER 1901
Die Gratia was dead. After Germanic had taken her body away to the waiting scrappers she returned to face us.
"Someone has to tell Acorn what has happened." She said. "If she doesn't know already." Victory muttered.
"What do you mean?" I asked. "Die Gratia may've stepped down from the post of leader but she was still very much in command. She and Acorn merely shared their authority. Acorn would feel it when she died. I know I did." She explained. I nodded.
"I'll go." I said. My vision became blurry again and I blinked. "I'll tell Acorn." As I turned to go a wave of nausea overtook me and I staggered.
Victory quickly righted me. "You alright?" She asked. I nodded. "Yes, I'm fine." I replied.
Before she could say that I wasn't I sailed out. Victory looked back at Atlantic. My leader nodded.
"Go." She ordered. Victory dipped her head and followed me.
Atlantic knew me well. She knew just as well as I did that I was not alright.
The wind had stirred up a blizzard and Victory had a hard time seeing but she located me easily enough by the sound of my coughing.
I staggered to a halt, hacking and spluttering as I tried to clear my lungs. Nothing I did was working.
I felt as though I was drowning, an ironic feeling for a ship to have. It was becoming harder for me to breathe.
"Oceanic!" Victory cried. She raced over to me, seeing my condition. Thinking quickly, she gave my decks a good smack with her bow.
With one last hack I managed to clear my lungs and airways of phlegm.
"Thank you." I rasped. She nodded. "I don't usually impose my will on anyone anymore but in this case I'll make an exception." She replied.
"I must insist that you come with me to Cowes. Lyone can treat you properly there." Feeling the weight of her order, I obeyed.
Reaching the main gates, there was a young sentry on duty who, upon seeing Victory, stood at attention and saluted smartly.
"At ease soldier." Victory ordered gruffly. The warship relaxed. "What's your name?" Victory asked.
"HMS Dreadnought ma'am." She replied. Victory nodded. "Take this merchant ship to HMS Lyone." She ordered.
"I relieve you of this post." Dreadnought saluted again and took Victory's place at my side while the latter took up Dreadnought's position at the gate.
The main harbor inside the fort was deserted spare a few ships who were conducting a few odd jobs.
Apparently the navy was just as eager to avoid the bad weather as the merchant fleets.
Dreadnought and I approached a large group of sheltered berths. I assumed this was the healer's dock.
"HMS Lyone!" Dreadnought called into the shelter. "I've got another one here for ya."
Victory's most experienced apprentice stuck her head out through the curtains. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous of the navy's accommodations.
"HMS Dreadnought, wha?" She broke off when she saw me. Her demeanor changed at once. "Oh, bring her in quickly." She ordered.
Dreadnought did as she was told and gently guided me inside. There was one other ship in there besides Lyone, the fleet's deputy HMS Boadicea.
"She cut herself pretty good on training maneuvers and the wound is refusing to heal." Lyone explained.
Dreadnought nodded, giving her deputy a worried look. I could sympathize.
Boadicea looked up sleepily at Dreadnought. "Did someone relieve you?" She asked.
Dreadnought nodded. "Yes, HMS Victory did while I took this ocean liner to HMS Lyone." She replied.
I was coughing when she said this but I soon stopped and looked up to meet Dreadnought's gaze.
"My name is Oceanic." I snapped. Dreadnought gave a low growl but Boadicea looked amused.
"Stand down HMS Dreadnought." She ordered. Dreadnought reluctantly ceased her muted growl.
Boadicea looked at me. "This one has an attitude, I like that." She murmured.
"South Africa?" She asked. I nodded. "Yes, Cape Town for 7 months." I replied.
"I heard of your efforts with HMS Long Shadow, well done." She praised me. "Thank you ma'am." I replied.
"Oh stop that!" She exclaimed. "The name is Boadicea and it'd be nice to hear it once in a while." She gave Dreadnought a pointed glare.
"Oh!" The younger ship yelped. "You can call me Dreadnought." She said quickly although her expression clearly said "Not on your life."
I chuckled, not the least bit offended by her stiffness. "Oceanic, not RMS or HMS just Oceanic please." I replied.
Boadicea nodded. "Aye, I think that'll do just fine." She agreed. "Alright then, Oceanic just do what Lyone tells you and you'll be out of here that much sooner." She instructed.
"You should really follow your own advice Boadicea." Lyone added. Overhearing the whole conversation, she now reemerged from the depths of the herbstore carrying a few poppy seeds.
"I've been telling you for the past hour to sleep. Now I'm making it an order." She growled. Boadicea sighed.
"Fine." She grumbled. She curled up in her corner, keeping one sleepy but curious eye on me while Dreadnought just glared.
I ignored her fish eye and let Lyone guide me to my own rack. "You'll need to stay here for at least a week while I try and treat that cough." The healer ordered.
"But my fleet, they need me!" I protested. "Is there not another ship that could handle your duties?" Lyone asked.
"Um, Atlantic's sisters Britannic and Majestic could split the tasks." I replied. She nodded.
"We'll send a message to them. No doubt they've heard of your condition by now but we'll tell them their jobs so they can be sure." Lyone said.
"Thank you." I replied. "But until then, you are to stay on the fort grounds, Dreadnought will act as your guide should you need anything." Lyone said.
"Oh WHAT!" Dreadnought exclaimed. "You heard me." Lyone replied. Was that smugness I heard in her voice?
Dreadnought muttered a vile curse under her breath. I raised an eyebrow.
From her place in the corner, Boadicea, apparently feigning sleep, now spoke up. "Hey, I hear language like that again and you're on barnacle duty for a month." She growled.
"Boadicea, don't make me come over there." Lyone threatened. Looking slightly miffed, Boadicea shut her trap.
Lyone turned back to Dreadnought. "You expect me to escort this, this merchant ship around a naval base!" The latter asked.
"I can hear you, you know." I said. She ignored me as I expected. Lyone's voice was icy calm as she replied "You will do as you are told Dreadnought."
Growling, Dreadnought whirled around and left without giving me a second glance.
"She likes you." Lyone said. "I can see that, how?" I said sarcastically. "She didn't blow you to bits for one thing." Lyone replied.
"She a hot head." I asked. "Worse, she's more like a left wing really." She replied. "Phew." I whistled. "Well with guns like that she can be just about anything she wants to be."
"Never a truer statement has been made Oceanic." Lyone agreed. "She's young," Boadicea said. "She's ambitious, Ancients know she's been after my job since the day she was launched, but she's got a lot to learn before she's ready for a leadership position."
"Ok, that's it!" Lyone yowled and rushing forward, tied a leaf around the deputy's mouth to keep her from talking.
"I've heard enough from you today now it's time to go to bed." She growled. My whole body was shaking from laughter.
I'd always thought naval ships as well disciplined but clearly I was being proven wrong by the fleet's deputy and healer no less.
"And what pray tell is so funny?" Boadicea mumbled through the leaf, ignoring Lyone's death glare.
"You," I gasped. "Just, naval ships, behaving like sailboats. I never thought this was possible."
Boadicea rolled her eyes. "We may appear to be stiff but thanks to Acorn, we've relaxed a little." She said, nudging the leaf off her mouth.
Lyone had had enough and promptly shoved a batch of poppy seeds down the deputy's throat.
Boadicea yawned and within minutes she was asleep. "I usually don't resort to such measures but there are times where she needs to learn her place." Lyone said.
"Well I can't say I'm too surprised." I sighed. A few stems of tansy were set down in front of me.
"Eat these, they'll ease your cough." Lyone ordered. I looked uncertainly at the stems, thinking about all the other ships in my fleet who were surviving on only one leaf.
"Lyone I can't." I said. "Don't give me that, if you want to help your fleet you're going to help them healthy, now eat." She ordered.
Sighing, I knew there was no point in arguing and dipped my head to eat them while outside, Dreadnought groaned at the prospect of playing babysitter.
Little did she know that our encounter would change her life forever.