This is a work of fiction that follows real historical events. This does not seek to promote anything about war and is just a what if kind of scenario. Any similarity between people, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Some aspects have been changed to form a better story.

These are their stories…

There is nothing more beautiful than the port of Kiel on a bright day like today. The birds had been singing about the weather since early morning and the beautiful ocean contrasted magnificently against the bright blue sky. A slight breeze blows in, covering the entire port city in a rush of blowing leaves as Spring comes around to wrestle with the fleeting winter.

It was a winter I would not soon forget. Iron Blood had been escalating troop counts and producing machines of war faster than they could create the steel. Though war had been declared some time ago, neither side wished to take action. Being a Military leader, I can see exactly what the nations of the world were doing.

They were keeping their eyes on us, waiting for us to make the first move while watching us create weapons of war. All the while, we stared right back at them, daring the allied nations to make a move.

That is none of my business though. I had a much less important role to fill, it is the reason I am here at this port today.

The Führer had requested this personally of me, I had no right to say no. My name is Adol Fischer, I am a navy commander for the glorious Kriegsmarine. However I am no ordinary captain. I am the first and only aircraft carrier officer in the entire Iron Blood Navy. I had received news that the newest creation of the Iron Blood had finally come to fruition.

I cross the bridge onto the island which houses all of the port's capital ships. It is there where I receive my first glimpse of the aircraft carrier.

I thought I might have died and gone to heaven. I have never seen something so magnificent in my life, even the Sakura carriers do not hold a candle to the beauty of the unfinished hull which lies before me.

Her decks were empty and her island incomplete, however I knew they were going to be just as visually stunning as the rest of her. I haven't given her Kansen a second thought as I walk closer to the magnificent aircraft carrier. Her hull meets just against the port as it sways back and forth ever so slightly.

I reach out and touch the carrier, feeling the heavy steel which slowly bobbed up and down, allowing my hand to graze across her beautiful hull. I never thought my fascination with vessels would get me into trouble one day until that very moment.

"Pervert."

A cold voice cuts out at me.

I turn around quickly where I am met face to face with the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She had long white hair and light red eyes. Her clothing was tight around every section I could possibly examine as I felt a flush in embarrassment at being called, "pervert."

I slowly take my hand off the hull, trying to see if that eased the flaring intensity in her pink eyes.

To my surprise, she throws the black cap she was wearing at me. It quickly lands on my face and falls to the ground where the woman leans down and picks it back up, tightly putting it back on her head before storming off. She humphs in defiance.

"W-what the hell?" I say to myself, completely shocked.

I watch as the beauty walks down further and makes a hard left into a storefront, the bell announces her entrance. She closes the door behind her.

I check parts of my body to make sure my uniform was not too out of shape. I tuck in a part of my shirt that had been sticking out and straighten my collar. It is the only thing I can think of that someone would be even the tiniest bit upset about.

I look back to the store the woman had entered and stare a moment longer. Finally, I decided it was time to board the carrier.

Her decks are far more beautiful than I could have possibly imagined. Though they are wood, like most flight decks were, they are reinforced with thick steel which runs underneath the entirety of the runway. The deck is an odd shape but it is pretty in its own right. A long cable runs along the flight deck as it links up with two plane catapults down at the bow. Iron Blood science was truly amazing.

At the bow and stern of the ship is the proud flag of the Iron Blood, it's red paint contrasting beautifully against the grey outline of the ship. Though she is not finished, I can still see the magnificent carrier in all of her glory.

Speaking of which, I had been told that a Kansen would be accompanying me. I had been warned about her, she had a most foul attitude and greater ambitions than even the Führer himself. I honestly could not wait to meet this carrier who seemed to be so passionate about what she was. I had hoped to finally meet someone who shared the same passion I did.

A door on the uncomplete island opens and I turn around to introduce myself. However, instead of a Kansen, I am greeted by the yard master. Or as we called him, "The Jerk."

"You look disappointed."

"I would not say that, I was expecting someone."

"Sorry to let you down but unfortunately there is going to be a lot of that in your near future."

"I am aware as to the current status of Graf Zeppelin's teetering future. It seems Iron Blood is still not sure on the usefulness of an aircraft carrier."

"You hit it right on the head. If you ask me, this is a huge waste of time. This metal could have been used to support a real campaign not this floating propaganda."

"I believe that the abilities of an aircraft carrier are invaluable in a fleet destined to conquer all of Europe."

"Of course you would. If I had spent years training to become an officer of one, I would think so too."

I sigh. It was no use talking to him about anything. What did he know, he was only the dock master. He would go back and report to the Harbormaster just as soon as he was done talking to me.

"What is it that you need, dock master?" I say, still trying to remain friendly.

"I came here to introduce you to someone. You can come on up sweetheart."

From seemingly out of nowhere, a figure jumps from the port side of the Graf Zeppelin. I jump and shift my body to prepare for an attack but the figure jumps down and lands in front of me.

I slowly remove my arm from my face and watch as the beautiful woman from before comes into view. Her pink eyes slide over my body, I can feel her calculating gaze judge me.

"Really? This one?" She says harshly towards the dock master.

"Well he is the only aircraft carrier commander in all of Iron Blood."

"And also a pervert, he was touching my hull earlier."

"Was he now? You know it's illegal to have relations with Kansen my dear boy."

Suddenly it clicked in my head. The stunning woman who I had seen earlier was the Kansen of this aircraft carrier. The KMS Graf Zeppelin.

"Indeed. Perhaps I should give him some lessons in manners." Graf Zeppelin's rigging appears behind her back as two metallic sharks try to bite my hand off. The same hand which had touched her hull just moments earlier.

I yelp in fear and back away slightly. The dock master laughs. "Give him a break, Graf Zeppelin. He does not know the protocol when dealing with Kansen."

"And that is the only reason I do not tear his hand off right now."

"You threw a hat at me, as your commanding officer, that can be a punishable offence without the threat of biting my hands off!"

Graf Zeppelin remains quiet for a moment as I finally gain the courage to speak up.

"Just because you are my commander does not mean that I should respect you. Touching my hull without my permission is inexcusable whether it was intentional or not."

"I didn't know, okay? I was just admiring it!"

Graf Zeppelin's cheeks turn just the slightest bit of red. I had unintentionally called her pretty. However, just as quickly as it appeared, she turns back to intense.

"It does not detract from the fact that it still happened. You have dug yourself a large hole in terms of gaining my respect. My trust is not so easily earned."

Graf Zeppelin sashays away, into the doors of the bridge and returning deep into her own hull. The dock master seems far too amused.

"Did you really not know? Touching a ship's hull is akin to touching their body. In a sense, they are their hulls. I thought you were taught all of this at the academy." He says sarcastically, walking off of the Graf Zeppelin with a laugh, leaving me all by myself on top of her flight deck.

The first day is already going great. I sigh audibly into the wind which blows the cool breeze of early spring across the port. I guess I have to start building our relationship now…

I walk through the lower decks of the Graf Zeppelin looking for her Kansen after she had stormed off. On my journey, I find a lot of little things that I am curious about. Her floors are completely empty but look as though they could fit an entire crew inside. She even came equipped with sleeping quarters, a cafeteria, and bathrooms as if there were to be an entire crew catering to her needs. I learned that Kansen did not need an entire crew to run their ships perfectly in the Academy when we covered our short lesson on the topic.

I am suddenly beginning to regret not learning more about Kansen when I had the chance outside of actual experience. I finally find a room on one of the floors (I lost count far too long ago) marked KMS Graf Zeppelin on a gold plate handing on her door.

I debate on what I should do with this small tidbit of information as I stand out in the cool hallways of her barely furnished floors. I hold my fist just in front of her door, contemplating the repercussions if I could not get her to change her mind at least a little about me.

I swallow my fear and knock on her door.

"Oh… It's you again…" I hear from the opposite side of the door.

"What do you want?"

I was not expecting her to respond.

"I just wanted to come down and say I'm sorry. I truly didn't know and I'm sure I deserved to have a hat thrown in my face for what I had done. I promise you if I knew I wouldn't have done it. I know that doesn't make it any better but I hope we can start new."

I take a deep breath. "My name is Adol Fischer. It's nice to meet you."

There is nothing but silence on the other side of the door. I silently wait for a response, but with the growing amount of time between when I had spoken and now was beginning to get uncomfortable. I sigh aloud once again and turn to walk back towards the deck.

I hear the lock on Graf Zeppelin's door come undone as she slowly opens the door. She stands in the doorway at exactly my height, our eyes meeting each other as we try to read each other's pupils.

"Graf Zeppelin. Though this name is worthlittle, you may call me by it if you wish." Her cold stare shoots daggers at me.

"Graf Zeppelin. I look forward to working with you."

She does not respond back. I take that as my que to leave.

"If you have need of me, I will be in my quarters." She says. I nod in acknowledgement.

Though it was little, it was something. I walk up to my quarters and open my door, the insides remind me of my old dorm at the Academy. Cold, blank, and small. There is a small desk, a mirror, and a bed as well as a toilet all in the same room. There is a table leaned against the wall, placed there so that workers could move in and out of the room easier.

Most of the ship felt incomplete. Some rooms still did not have electricity running through them. Mine included. I light a candle and make my way to my drawers. I unpack as my new place of residence would be on the Graf Zeppelin until I was relieved of my duties. I set out all of my belongings onto the desk, I give extra care to the black and white photograph as it is already torn and singed.

It was a picture of me and two dear friends of mine, all three of us had attended the Academy and all three of us had gone our separate ways after our days there were over. I miss them dearly, without them I didn't have anyone to talk to. Only they shared the same love of the sea as I did.

I feel the bed, it is more comfortable than it looks which is relieving. The candle illuminates some of the writing left on the walls by the construction crew.

"Armor plating, three inches. Wow…"

I could not deny the fact that despite everything that had happened up until this point, she is still the most impressive thing I have ever seen in my life. Half the day has already been spent as I make my way back up onto the carrier deck to make further inspection of the aircraft carrier.

Peering into her hangars, I find they are completely empty except for a single squadron of airplanes in the very back consisting of Bf-109s and ju-87s respectively. They obviously had no plans of putting her into action any time soon…

I rarely saw Graf Zeppelin for the rest of the week. We would occasionally be walking out at the same time and I would let her pass each time. She had a dominating aura which told you to move or be moved. She looked angry at the world, for what I did not know. I didn't try to strike up a conversation with her the entire week. We would respect each other's privacy.

That was up until the incident…

"What do you think you're doing!?" I hear Graf Zeppelin roar as I rush out onto her decks.

The aircraft carrier desperately clung onto one of her secondary batteries as a crane attempted to peel it away from her. Graf Zeppelin is strong, she holds onto the chain with all of her might and tries to force the crane to move back around. She is so strong in fact that she almost tears the crane from the ground doing so.

"Woah woah woah! Everyone stop!" I shout which gets both the beautiful aircraft carrier and the crane operator to turn their attention to me.

"What is going on here!?"

"Commander, these ill mannered bastards are trying to steal my armament!"

"Do not listen to her, commander. We have direct orders from the Admiral himself!"

"Slow it down, do you have anything to prove this?"

"Yes sir, we have all the paperwork in the hands of the dock master."

Dammit, not him again. "What are you doing with her battery mounts?"

"They were needed in the defense of Norway. Surely you've heard of the fall of Norway."

"I have, but why do they require Graf Zeppelin's mounts?"

"The Admiral himself requested it to the Führer. Graf Zeppelin's progress has been put on hold."

I look back at the aircraft carrier who looks as though her heart had just shattered. Her grip loosens on her secondary battery and she retracts her rigging. However, other than that she does not seem to be phased. The crane pulls away from her grip and places her secondary battery on a platform truck which would take it away afterwards.

I approach the detached carrier.

"Are you alright?" I ask her.

She turns her head away from me. Her white hair covers any part of her face.

"Easy come, easy go… Aren't things like that just better off not existing in the first place?" she responds.

I put a hand on her shoulder and try to move myself in front of her, however she does not wish to see my face or she does not wish for me to see hers. I felt terrible. Imagine being built for a purpose, told you were one thing and that you had only on goal. Then they took that away from you. Her construction had been paused. For all we could know, maybe indefinitely.

"I think it is because they are fleeting that they bloom the brightest. Just like the spring. The prettiest flowers do not stay for long but they leave the biggest impact."

"A sweet sentiment, commander. But foolish. This was the right call to do for the nation of Iron Blood. A mostly landlocked nation has no need for an aircraft carrier like myself."

"I know it sounds dumb, but trust me. One day, they will see just how much they need you."

"Trust. You humans use the word as if it has meaning."

The crane continues to remove both her secondary batteries and her Anti-Aircraft capabilities. I see what she means. She was promised honor and glory but instead she was being stripped, violated of her resources.

"It's true, we are all hypocritical and liars. If I had any sway I would stop them but even the Führer has made his point clear. I suppose empty promises are another defining trait of humans."

"If only strength alone would be enough to determine everything."

"I suppose there is no beating you in the category." I laugh lightly, to my surprise so does Graf Zeppelin.

"Thank you, commander. Compared to the other humans… you are not so bad."

My curiosity begs to let me see her face but my respect for her will not allow me to. I remove my arm from her shoulder. She clears her throat and turns around.

"I don't know what to do now. All my life, I have been made only for war. But now that I exist and I cannot fight…"

"Maybe you can finally start living. Try out what normal humans do for a change. If you don't like it, I'm sure there will be some chance for you to sortie in the future."

"Living? Is it truly alright for me to have such a thing?"

"Of course, you look human enough."

"I meant as a machine of war. My thirst for blood unquenched and my lust for death unfulfilled."

She is serious. I should have expected no less of an Iron Blood aircraft carrier. Who knows what they may have done to her… Just thinking about it makes me sick.

"Have you tried human food? I guarantee it will satisfy just as much as blood would."

"I suppose… I could give it a shot…"

…

In my entire life, I have never seen someone eat as quickly and as much as Graf Zeppelin did in the span of a few minutes.

"Slow down, you're going to choke."

"Dogh not telh me to shlow down, I will eath how I whant." Her mouth full of food as she attempts to speak. She clearly had never had human food before.

"Alright alright, Just try not to attract so much attention." Graf Zeppelin stops chewing with a mouthful of food still in her mouth. She looks around at the customers whispering while eyeing her. Her cheeks turn a little red as she finishes chewing and swallowing her meal. She dips her head lower to hide her face in her cap.

Despite being inside, she refuses to remove her black jacket. The two of us seem to stand out in our uniforms but that was not uncommon these days now that the war was in full swing. I wait for Graf Zeppelin to finish eating her meal to begin speaking with her. To my surprise, it is her who speaks first.

"Thank you, commander. I had no idea how delicious human food was."

"It was my pleasure. We have many different kinds of food if that is what you wish to do."

"You humans have an entire culture around the food that you eat. It is fascinating…" She says, poking my food with her fork.

I push my food towards her, she nods in thanks before eating all of mine too.

"It occurs to me that we do not know much about each other's races." I state to her as she swallows the last bite.

"Which is precisely why your kind ran so many experiments on me…" Her face turns dark. I throw up a little in my mouth. I did not completely agree nor understand all that we were doing. But doing experiments on live people is completely wrong, even if they are bad. It's even worse if they are people like Graf Zeppelin.

"If you do not wish to discuss it, you do not have to. I was simply just curious about who you are."

"I could say the same thing about you, commander. You seem to be a special case for the human race. Everyone I have met has treated me with disdain and disgust. But not you, commander. Why is that? Are you expecting something from me?"

"Of course not. That is simply who I am. I had some good friends back at the Academy who act the same as I do. I may have adopted some of their personalities if I'm being honest." I laugh at how ridiculous that sounds.

"Humans can adopt each other's personalities?!" She says with a mild hint of surprise in her otherwise monotone voice.

"I wish it were that easy. Sometimes when you are around someone you admire long enough, you start to act like them. It's sort of our way of improving ourselves."

"So I see. Is it possible for Kansen to learn this as well?"

"I am not sure, but if you are anything like us…"

"I understand. Kansen and humans are similar but not identical. We need leadership, you humans can become your own leaders if you truly desire. What I would give for that freedom…"

We sit in silence as we watch a younger couple try to contain the sound of their children. Graf Zeppelin watches with great interest.

"Those… little humans. What are they?"

I had a bad feeling about where this conversation was going.

"They are our descendants. We reproduce to keep our legacy alive. Most find enjoyment or satisfaction in raising children."

"Chil-dren. What a peculiar species you are." She looks out at the children who had finally settled down after their parents pleaded with them long enough and threatened to punish them if they did not behave.

"How do you make a children?"

"You don't want to know the answer to that…"

Graf Zeppelin's brow furrows but she shrugs. "If that is what the commander thinks."

"I'm really sorry about everything, Graf Zeppelin. I cannot ever hope to understand how you feel…"

Graf Zeppelin crosses her legs over each other as she snags a small crumb from the plate.

"I despise everything…" She says with utmost seriousness.

I cannot blame her. She has been through so much and she hasn't even been commissioned yet. I would curse the heavens too if I was in her position.

"Except for your exquisite taste in food. I may get addicted to this kind of food."

I smile slightly. "If you wish, I can cook you food on the Graf Zeppelin so if you ever get hungry you can just come find me."

"You can cook!?" She quickly clears her throat. "Sorry about my outburst. Yes I would like that greatly."

"I will just have to do some shopping first."

"Shopping, another human luxury. Tell me, what do you humans do when you shop?"

"Well, we buy things we want or need. That's basically what it is."

"Do humans truly need so many different clothing?"

"You must have noticed how many different outfits I have. No we technically do not, however it is considered rude to where something informal to a formal event and something formal to an informal event. It is complicated."

"Just as all humans are. While I enjoyed this conversation commander, I believe you have an appointment in 5 minutes with the dock master."

"Oh shit. I completely forgot, thanks Graf."

I do not notice her blush when I only use her first name as I set the money down onto the table and run out of the building towards the dock master's office. It takes Graf Zeppelin a few moments to collect herself and leave as well.

"What do you mean terminated?!" I shout at the dock master.

"I mean, the aircraft carrier program has been scrapped. Canceled. Ended. Any other word to describe the end of the line."

"That's not fair, you didn't even give her a chance!"

"Uh uh uh, it's not my call. It's the Führer's. If he doesn't like it then it has to go."

"Then I demand to speak with him!"

"What do you think I am, a Telephone? I don't even know the guy."

I rub the bridge of my nose between two of my fingers and sigh.

"I'm going to find a way to get him to change his mind. Just watch."

"You seem to be going pretty far for your aircraft carrier Kansen. Are you sure there is not something more going on there?"

I pause for a moment, trying to formulate a coherent sentence. "There is nothing going on between us, I just don't feel it is fair to treat her like this."

"You and your sentiment. It'll get you killed someday, kid."

"At least I will know I'm right."

"War does not determine who is right, only who is left."

I twinge in frustration. He is not wrong but there needs to be something said that is not being said among them.

"If this is all you came here to do then I suggest you go find someone who cares."

"No. We're done here."

"Great, then stop wasting my time."

He basically shoves me out of the room as he locks the door behind me. I stare at the door before bashing it with my fist as if to prove a point. All I prove is how weak I am in comparison to a solid oak door.

I return to the Graf Zeppelin after buying just a few of the basics for cooking. I didn't want to buy an entire refrigerator full of goods if she wasn't going to like them. I find the view from the top of her flight deck astounding as the sun just sets below the horizon and allows for the stars to come out. It was almost surreal to see her without any armaments next to her island and strapped to her sides. It felt as though she were just a bare cruise ship.

If it felt like that for me, I can't imagine how it felt like for Graf Zeppelin.

I walk down into the cafeteria and place the goods into the refrigerator, leaving some out for me to cook dinner tonight with. I can not say I'm a good cook, however everyone else tells me otherwise. I hope they weren't lying to spare my feelings as I begin to chop up the ingredients to put into a soup. I place a tea kettle on the stove and begin boiling the water inside.

I take out some coffee beans and begin to grind them down into a fine powder as the water continues to boil. The kettle starts whistling at me, pleading for me to take it off. I pour the boiling water into a pot and continue to let it simmer. I pour in some pasta and set aside the remaining water.

I hear the clacking of Graf Zeppelin's shoes coming from down the hallway as she makes her way towards the cafeteria. I pour the coffee beans into the boiling water and mix it around with my utensils, banging on the cup of coffee to rid my fork of the coffee droplets which desperately cling to it.

I throw the rest of the soup together after the pasta has become limp and set the heat on to low to let it simmer out. I stir it together and hope it tastes alright. I grab a bowl and pour two bowls, one for each of us. I also set aside a cup of coffee.

Graf Zeppelin turns the corner just as I was finishing up. Her breasts wish to bounce with every step but her uniform desperately holds them still. She steps in and takes a few sniffs of the air. I could tell she liked the smell by the way she looked at the food.

"It's almost done, take a seat wherever you like."

She nods and looks around the empty cafeteria. She chooses one of the seats closest to me and throws her hair behind her so that she does not sit on it. She waits patiently for me to finish. She is rewarded quickly as I set a lid over the soup and bring her a bowl. I also hand her the coffee.

"What is this?" She asks, swirling the black liquid in her cup.

"It's coffee. It's supposed to keep you active. I thought you might like the taste though."

"It smells funny."

"Everyone says that at first."

She swirls it around a couple more times before taking a small sip. "Ow! Damned drink! It's hot!"

I try to hold a chuckle in for fear Graf Zeppelin might kill me if I let it out. "Yes, it has to be very hot for the coffee beans to dissolve in the water. Sorry I should have warned you."

She cutely blows on the drink to cool it down, a light blush comes to my cheeks as she does this. She does not seem to like being watched and turns away with a serious look on her face. I cannot see her drink the beverage but I see her arms go up and hear her satisfied sigh afterwards. She then raises it again but higher this time, drinking all of it quickly.

She turns back around and sets the cup back onto the table. "That was fantastic, commander. I have never had something that tasted so bitter yet so sweet." A small smile creeps onto her face. It was quite obvious she did not have much experience in showing her teeth.

"Don't get too hooked on it. Too much coffee can be bad for your health… at least for humans."

Graf Zeppelin looks towards her soup and points at it.

"That's soup. It's easy to make and has a very distinct taste from other things you have had so far."

"It looks like a drink?"

"That's because the main ingredient is water, however you may find some pieces of pasta and meat in there."

Graf Zeppelin dives her fork into the soup as if she were eating a salad. I laugh heartily at her attempts.

"You're supposed to use a spoon." I say, wiping my tears of laughter away.

Graf Zeppelin looks genuinely confused at the mention of a spoon. She grabs the knife and tries to use that instead. I burst out into laughter again.

"Like this." I pick up my spoon and show her how to hold it. Her pink eyes never leave my hand as I lower it into the bowl and pick up a large amount of soup and blow on it to cool it off. Graf Zeppelin does the same. I put the spoon into my mouth as Graf Zeppelin attempts to do the same. She seems shocked by the taste at first but then slowly melts into it.

"I see, that is much more different. But it still tastes fantastic. I could eat this all day."

"While that is flattering, I only have so much. But you can have all that is left in the pot."

"Thank you, commander."

I may have just imagined it, but I swear I can see a slight blush on Graf Zeppelin's cheeks. We rarely spoke the rest of the night. She wasn't very good at holding conversations. Her coffee allows her to keep going but I end up falling asleep at the table as Graf Zeppelin was finishing her fifth bowl of soup.

When I wake the next morning, I find myself in my bed, covered in blankets. Too many blankets, I begin to overheat as I gasp for air, launching the blankets off of myself. I laugh to myself at Graf Zeppelin's attempt of kindness. It was nice to see her starting to warm up to me. I couldn't help but feel myself starting to warm up to her too...