A Matter of Honor

by wingkia

A story that developed from a Reddit challenge 'A Mother Like No Other' (I go by MetusR there), this one follows a Commander as he discovers his past and builds a future for himself.

12. Chapter 12

A/N: Well I'm glad I managed to sandbag a bunch of you last time with NC, I had some amusing reactions to it, and some of them actually made me laugh out loud too, egan3426, you take the cake for making me laugh really hard.

Part Twelve – Horseshoes and High Explosives

I couldn't believe that Christmas was in three days… my first Christmas with my mom. I took a breath to center myself as I looked out at the range, some dummy targets had been set up and this was my first real test of firing my guns with my rigging. This stuff was still heavy, but I could at least stand upright with it out now.

I look over my shoulder to see my mother and aunts all gathered and they were congratulating Washington for managing to sink her target with just three shells. Washington turned her attention to me as she said, "I needed three to sink it. Can you do it in less?"

I closed my eyes and let my senses find my target, letting my A turret track it and lock on to it, it was a dummy cruiser. I willed my rigging to load AP rounds while I braced myself, once I had a firing solution. As I was finishing the calculations I noticed that it went bow in to face me, perfect… I knew it had a fairly decent bow armor plate, but my guns are massive… I wonder…

From behind me, I hear my Aunt Howe says, "Careful Mitchel, its bow in… you might bounce."

I shake my head and let out my breath just as I feel a rush through me just before the sound of thunder rings out over the range. I was surprised that I could feel the heat from the muzzle flash, more surprising however was the fact that I was pushed back on the sand from the recoil. I couldn't see anything since I kicked up so much sand from the blast, I looked down and saw a perfect arch that extended outwards from me in the sand and I knew that was from the shockwave.

After a moment I hear some whistling behind me and I turn to see my mother nodding with approval, Washington looking shocked, my Aunt Howe covering her mouth with a hand, my Aunt George giving me a look of approval, and my Aunt York giving a toothy grin as she said, "I doth believeth thee both did cook and did clean t with yond did shoot."

Once the sand had settled I looked out in the water to see the dummy ship sinking, a massive gaping hole where its bow had been.

From behind me Washington managed to recover as she moaned out, "It had a thirty-mil bow plate, my shells bounce at that angle…"

I dust some of the sand out of my hair as I call up the beach, "Four-fifty-sevens, remember?"

I watch as she puts a hand into her top, taking out a roll of notes and handing them to my mother as she says to me, "Fine, you win… best guns in the port."

Washington came down the little embankment and put a hand on my shoulder as she said, "I'm envious. And that was a heck of a shot… right down the middle of it being bow in…"

I close my eyes and imagine putting my hull back in the water before I feel so much lighter. Once I open them again, I bend at my hips as I say, "Oh that was exhausting…"

Washington slid my arm across her shoulders as she asked, "Still not fully up to using your rigging yet?"

I nod as I say, "It's only been four days since I used it for the first time… at least I didn't fall over this time."

"Well with guns that powerful, I'm not surprised…" she says to me before adding, "Oh, by the way, Carol was asking me if you might be busy tonight."

I shake my head as I say, "Not that I know of…"

Washington nods as she tells me, "Good. I'll tell Carol your free and that you'll meet her at the pub tonight around five."

I blink a couple of times and say, "Wait, what?"

"What nothing, I'm helping my sister get a date." She says to me.

I sigh and hang my head as she continues, "Just have her back in the dorm by lights out, unless you are planning on locking her in."

She laughs and adds, "But in all seriousness, the red of the Royal Knights looks good on you… though I'm surprised they were able to find pants for you."

I can't help but laugh as I say to her, "Well it's not like any of my family are Scottish… So it'd be sort of strange for me to wear a kilt."

She laughs again and says, "I don't know, I think you've got the legs for a dress."

I sigh again and get myself upright as I say to her, "Thanks Washington, but I'm good now… and I'll be there for five."

"Good, don't disappoint my sister." She says to me with a playful wink and heads back up the hill.

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The nice part about getting a new uniform was now I had some new clothes that actually fit… this time however I had the window closed as I finished getting ready, I don't want a repeat of what happened last time I was getting ready for a date. As I finished my final checks I hear a knock at my door, followed by my Aunt Howe asking, "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, I'm decent." I call back to her.

I heard the door open and watched in the mirror as she entered the room, looking at me with a big smile on her face as she hugged me from behind and said, "Good luck… and do try to have a good time, North Carolina is a good girl… so don't go getting any lewd ideas in your head."

I pat her arms that were across my chest as I ask, "Where does that concern come from?"

She gave another squeeze before telling me, "Your mother has been known to get a little handsy with a few drinks in her…"

I give a hearty laugh as I say, "Right, my prim and proper Mother… Somehow I doubt that…"

Howe steps out from behind me and takes on a serious look as she says, "I've seen things… things that make me wonder about other things…"

Huh… I wonder if things had been completely consensual between my mom and father than… Then again I thought my father was a good man… and that he had died before I actually killed him for sure.

I smile at her as I say, "I'll be a good boy, I give you my word on that."

She gives me this warm smile before giving me another hug and saying, "Good…"

She pauses for a minute before looking back to my door and asking, "But what about miss Gneisenau? I heard you two spent some time together at the anchor the other night…"

I sigh inwardly before I say, "That's complicated… everything surrounding her is complicated."

Howe tilted her head to the side and asked, "How so?"

I shrug and sit on the end of my bed, propping my arms out behind me as I say, "Everything is easy with her, but I also know that I was an assigned task by Bismarck and I know that she'll give that task her all… so it leaves me wondering how much of things with me is work and how much isn't."

Howe sat down beside me, nodding as she did so and she said to me, "Well, I can see how that could make things complicated with her, have you tried talking to her about it?"

I sigh again and look off to the side at the floor as I admit, "Honestly, no… Not since we last saw one another the other night."

She nodded again, and then bumped her shoulder against mine as she said, "Well, for now, don't worry about it, go and have a good time with North Carolina, see how things go there."

With another sigh I push myself off of the bed as I say, "Thanks Aunt Howe, I'll try to have a good time."

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It didn't take me long to get to the pub, checking my phone I saw that I was a little early… Well good to know that I've kept that habit from my past life, always showing up before the date was to start. That was when it hit me; it'd been months since the last time I actually dated anyone, I wonder if this would be different? Then again, I know holding hands with Gneisenau didn't feel any different than holding hands with a girl, same thing when I kissed North Carolina… well then again kissing her was kind of exciting. I run a hand through my hair and let out a breath to center myself as I look out over the water and see some dark clouds approaching.

Ah well, nothing I can do about the weather.

Leaning my head against the side of the building I aim my face skywards and enjoy some of the sun's light on my face. After a few moments I hear that sweet voice of North Carolina saying, "Sorry I'm late, I had a hard time finding something to wear to this…"

She paused and gave a nervous-sounding laugh as she added, "It's my firsts date."

I feel a smile on my face as I recall my first date, I had been so nervous… I bring my face back down from facing the sky as I say to her, "No problem, I got here early."

As I open my red eyes, I'm nearly rendered speechless at her, I see her in a white button-up dress that went to just above her knees, her hair was tied back in a simple ponytail, when she felt my eyes on her I saw her cheeks get a little red and she looked down to look up at me through her eyelashes with her big beautiful blue eyes.

It honestly took me a minute to process what I was looking at; once I had I smiled and said to her, "You look fantastic, I'm kind of worried I'm underdressed now…"

She shook her head and swung her arms forward, that was when I noticed the basket and she said, "Nonsense, I think you look fantastic too, in your shirt and shorts combination…"

After a moment she bit her lower lip and said, "I was thinking, since the weather is nice, maybe we should do a picnic on the north hill… I brought sandwiches and a blanket."

I give her a warm smile and extend my arm to her as I say, "To the north hill it is."

Our walk up there had been mostly pointless small talk or shy glances at one another. We were almost there and well out of earshot of anyone when she asked me, "So is what Washington told me true?"

"Is what true?" I ask her back.

"That you are kansen?" she asks me with a whisper.

I sigh inwardly and nod as I confirm to her, "Yeah… It's a long and painful story."

She nods before looking around and saying to me, "Well that makes sense why I'm being used like this then."

Wait, what?

I cough in surprise and ask her, "How so?"

She shrugs and says to me, "It's no secret that you are the son of Prince of Wales; that already made you an attractive prospect. Proof that kansen can be independent of humans… mostly. But now that you are one… that makes you the only male kansen, which means that if another one can be produced through natural means…"

I sigh inwardly as I say to her, "I get it, believe me… I've been getting an ear full from everyone about it."

I pause to look up at the sky and add, "Truth is, that was the last thing on my mind… and to a degree it still is. I'm still getting used to my life as it is now."

She gives me a radiant smile as she says, "I imagine you're getting pushed in different directions right now, but for now, I get you to myself and I'm going to show you that I could be a good partner."

I watch as she slips her arm out from mine and lays out the blanket on the hill, I take a moment to take in the view. That was when I noticed that you could see my hull still, but from here it looked like it was anchored next to… I really need to learn the ship silhouettes…

"We look good next to each other, don't we?" she asks me.

I blink a couple of times as she comes to stand next to me, pointing at her hull, and says, "From this angle, my hull looks like it's anchored next to yours."

"Yeah, we do." Say to her as I turn to really look at her, she is really pretty.

She notices that I'm looking at her and she blushes a little before moving to sit on the blanket and patting it beside her as she asks, "So, do you have any questions for me?"

Sitting beside her, I start to wonder about what to ask, but I'm not sure what to ask first, so I decide to just go with it, "I'm not going to lie about it, it's been suggested to me that I explore options that are being put before me… before I bring my choice in front of Queen Elizabeth for her final say."

To my surprise, North Carolina only nodded as she took a bite of her sandwich before saying to me, "A prudent course of action, especially for such an unusual circumstance. Well, I'll lay down my ground rule then, I'm not going to, as St. Louis would say, give up the goods… at least not without any assurances. Sorry, but that is just who I am… I hope it's not a disappointment to you."

I shake my head while taking a bite before I say to her, "Not at all, if anything it makes me feel less pressure."

With another smile, she seems to relax more and scoots a little closer and that was when I noticed her brow twitch slightly as she looked out over the water just as I hear the sound of thunder crack overhead and I asked, "Everything okay?"

She shakes her head and sighs as she says, "We should get this packed up, it's about to…"

She paused and sighed before saying in time with the rain starting to pour down, "rain."

We hurry to get everything squared away and I look up and notice that her dress must've been really thin as it has gone nearly see-through in the rain. When she noticed me looking she went bright red and tried to cover her chest and between her legs as said, "Not exactly what I was expecting to happen…"

I give her a playful smirk as I say, "So much for not feeling any pressure…"

She blinked a couple of times as we pulled the blanket over us and waited out the rain, her cheeks still bright red and she huddled close to me as she said, "To share body warmth…"

I smiled at her and placed an arm across her shoulders, while I used the other to help hold up the blanket, she looked at me and bit her lower lip as her eyes drifted to my lips, her cheeks still bright red. I think I understood the message and I leaned in while she leaned in, bringing our lips into contact again.

The kiss this time felt tenderer, less forced. It felt… good like this was right. She pushed forward with her body, pushing me over while she deepened the kiss and pulled the blanket over the both of us.

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I had to admit, my date with North Carolina had gone really well, we had walked back to her dorm hand and hand and even shared a 'good night kiss'. I found that I really liked kissing North Carolina; her lips were so soft…

When I got to the Commander's residence I saw my Aunt Duke of York on the porch swing, enjoying the rain in the dark, she looked at me with that toothy grin she has and asked, "Is the lady still a maiden?"

I felt my cheeks get hot as I dashed under the porch and sat on the swing before I said, "No, we didn't play hide the AP shell. We had a date on the north hill and did a lot of kissing when the rain rolled in."

York nodded at me and pushed the swing to start swinging as she said to me, "Beest careful nephew, not ev'ry mistress hast thy most wondrous int'rests in mind. I wouldst misprise to seeth thee straddl'd with a burden thee couldn't shouldst'r."

I nod, but my attention turns to the house and I ask, "Thanks, what's going on in there?"

She sighed as she said, "Sadly, we needeth to cleareth out bef're Christmas, f'r we art expecting a new base commandeth'r sh'rtly th're aft'r."

I sigh as I say, "That was fast…"

"T wast indeede." She said looking out at the rain.

That was when it hit me and I asked with a groan, "Where am I going to sleep?"

She shrugged and said, "Thee can catch but a wink on thy ship-self 'r in the d'rms."

I give a bit of a laugh, enough to draw attention from the house. The door opened and I saw my mother standing there, she smiled at me and asked, "Mitchel! How did your date go?"

York shrugged and said, "I oweth thee wine, that gent didn't taketh h'r maidenhood."

The two of us looked at York and blinked at her while she said, "What? t's true, thee didn't taketh h'r. Thee only fool'd 'round with h'r"

I felt my cheeks get hot, my mother, however, started to laugh as she said, "Come, Mitchel, we need to finish packing."

I sigh and hang my head as I say again, "Where am I going to sleep now?"

My mother stopped on the stairs, looking over her shoulder at me as she started to say, "In the dorms nat…"

That was when she clued in and said, "Oh… That could be problematic…"

I sigh as I say, "Yeah… going co-ed might not be something that was planned on…"

She shrugs and says, "Well, the doors do have locks… So I guess you should just lock your door then."

That took me a moment to process, she was suggesting I lock my door, rather than the other kansen lock their own doors… it really put things in perspective for me. I rub the back of my head and get started packing my new uniforms and clothes to be ready for moving in the morning I guess.

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I put the last of my boxes into what was my new room on the fourth floor of the Royal Navy dorm and I heard a knock on my door. I wipe my brow with the back of my left arm and open the door, to see a girl with long brown hair and red eyes that went wide at seeing me and she asked, "Commander? I thought this was Thunderer's room…"

I sigh and nod as say, "I'm not your Commander anymore Swiftsure, just Thunderer."

She gives a nervous laugh and says, "No…"

I sigh again and affirm, "Yes… That black monster is me."

Her cheeks go bright red and she fidgets with her hands in front of her before clearing her throat and saying to me, "Her Majesty asked me to track you down then, she has demanded your presence…"

I give her a nod and as I toss on my uniform jacket and leave my room as I say to her, "Best not to keep her waiting then."

As the two of us walked down the stairs to the main floor, Swiftsure asked me, "So… do you…?"

I nod as I say, "Yes, I've got rigging, yes I've got the best guns in the port."

She flushes a little before brushing some hair behind an ear and saying, "That's not was I was asking… rather I was asking if you thought this was how coming here was going to turn out?"

I laugh at that one as I say, "Not at all. I had no idea I'd get abducted by my thought dead father, forced to become a central processor for a ship to be his vengeance against my mother, die and be reborn as kansen."

I was kind of thankful that she didn't ask anything else as she took me to the throne room and opened the door for me. Once I was inside I saw the half-pint queen sitting there, Warspite just behind her to the left, looking surprisingly menacing for such a tiny girl, when the Queen's eyes fell on me, I saw a slight smirk on her lips as she said, "Thunderer, do take note that we do not appreciate being left to wait. Next time, do be more punctual…"

"Yes, Your Majesty." I say to her as I bow once I'm at the base of the throne.

I watch as she gets off of the throne and steps down to me, her scepter just avoiding the floor as she takes each step, she leans in to whisper, "If we are to put more weight in your preferences when we put you out to stud, you will do as we demand."

Well, I'm so glad she made that clear…

She leans back upright as she says in a louder voice, clearly meant for those around the hall, "Thunderer, you are being tasked with greeting the new Commander when they arrive this afternoon. You were human; you will likely understand them better, perhaps even make them feel more comfortable… You will also personally extend our welcome and provide them with an invitation to the New Year's gala."

"Yes, Your Majesty." I say again, I kept my eyes on the floor, I had learned that when I'm being instructed on what to do, to not look her in the eyes.

I hate this part, but as Belfast had said, there is a hierarchy in the fleet… I'm higher than most, but she is above me. After a moment I hear her in a pleasant-sounding tone of voice, "Good, off with you then!"

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When I got to the airport I can see that a lot of work has been done to repair the damage I did. Some of the damage was still there, but thankfully it was empty hangers that still needed repairs. When I spot the transport plane, I make my way over to it and call up into it, "Commander?"

From behind me I hear a voice I hadn't heard in what felt like a lifetime ago… in a way, it kind of was a lifetime ago now, "Mitchel?"

I start to turn slowly; I kind of hope my ears were playing tricks on me, but when my red eyes land on that athletic frame, with the way that skirt hugged her hips, the tight-fitting uniform jacket… I feel my heart rate pick up as I ask, "Julia?"

She smiles at me and runs over to me, wrapping her arms around me before leaning up to kiss me as she says, "Fancy meeting you here… What are you doing here?"

"That's a long story…" I say to her.

She smiles up at me as she takes her cap off of her red hair, stepping back a little as she says, "God you look amazing…"

I rub the back of my head as I offer to her, "Let me get your bags, I'll walk you to your quarters."

She smiles at me and hands me her duffel as she says, "I've got more coming on the next transport, I had to get things moving a lot faster than I would've liked… this is an amazing posting, I'm kind of surprised you didn't get it."

I sigh and say to her, "Again, that's a long story… but let's just say I'll be under you."

She smirks and bumps her right hip against me as she teases, "As I recall, you've done some of your best work like that."

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A/N: Chapter twelve done. Now I'm going to be in my winter break slowdown, due to real life commitments, but I will try to get stuff posted between now and the New Year. That being said, Mitchel's/Thunderer's old life just ran headlong into his new one… this will be interesting to sort out.