The morning found me well-rested and refreshed, which was a rare occasion. Pleasantly surprised by this turn of events, I hoped it was a good sign of things to come for the day as I got out of bed. On the way to the bathroom, toothbrush and shower kit in hand, I suddenly heard a mandolin start to play from somewhere outside my window. At first, I didn't think anything of it, simply enjoying the tune until I remembered my conversation with Littorio from last night.
"...she wouldn't," I muttered in disbelief. Just then, I heard a familiar voice begin to sing an old, familiar Sardegnian love song. "She's not. There's no way." I immediately changed course and headed for the window, throwing open the curtains to find her standing in the courtyard, a mandolin in her hands and a song on her lips.
Littorio simply smiled up at me as she saw me, turning to give me her full attention as I swung the window open to hear her better. I have to admit, the acoustics in the courtyard was fantastic, and I wondered if she had serenaded someone in this building before me. I heard the sounds of other windows opening and managed to tear my gaze away to see others enjoying the show as well. Warspite was leaning out the window, head resting in her hands and a smile on her face as she looked on, and Prinz Eugen was watching from her own room with a knowing smirk. To my surprise, I even saw Enterprise stick her head out, ration bar in hand, and listen for a few moments before going back inside.
When the song ended, Littorio flourished and bowed as we all applauded her. "Brava, brava!" I shouted down to her with a laugh. "I cannot believe you actually did that!"
"I did warn you, did I not?" she grinned back at me.
"Alright, alright. Clearly, I'll have to take you at your word more often. But that was genuinely touching, thank you."
"It was the least I could do. I have duties that require my attention, so sadly, I must be off. But I will see you this afternoon," she announced and gave me a brief wave. "Ciao!"
"Ciao!" I waved back before leaning back into my room and closing up the windows. Today was going to be a good day.
After a hot shower and a change of clothes, I wandered down to the mess hall, grabbed a bite to eat, and made my way over to the conference room designated for the negotiations. I found Hood and Eugen were already there, coolly eyeing each other from opposite ends of the table.
"Ladies," I greeted them each with a nod as I took my seat. Both smiled back at me; Hood's was elegant and warm, Eugen's was teasing and mischievous.
"Herr Kommandant," she began, her tone playful. "Do you have someone sing you awake every morning or is that something you only do with Crimson Axis girls?"
I smiled mock-sweetly at her as I answered, "Only with Crimson Axis. I have you booked for tomorrow morning. Do you have a song picked out yet?"
Hood snickered softly into her tea, interrupting whatever witty retort Eugen had planned. We both looked over at her as she got her smile under control, then back to each other. Before Eugen was able to speak again, the doors to the conference room opened up and Vittorio Veneto walked in.
"Good morning, everyone," she greeted us as we got to our feet. "I hope everyone found their accommodations to be satisfactory."
"Yes, quite. Thank you," Hood answered.
"Very satisfactory," I replied.
"Indeed, very nice accommodations," Eugen began, casting a teasing glance in my direction. "Although it would seem some guests warranted a special wake-up call this morning."
Vittorio looked askingly at me before it dawned on her and she sighed heavily. "Did Littorio out serenading people this morning again?"
Well, that answers the question of whether she'd done it before.
Hood was the first to speak up. "I believe the Commander was the subject of Littorio's affections exclusively this morning."
"In her defense, she did warn me that she was going to do that last night," I added.
"I see…" Veneto said slowly, eyeing me curiously. "She didn't bother you, did she?"
"No, not at all! I-" I tried to catch myself, but it was too late. "I rather liked it."
"Interesting," Eugen commented with a wolfish grin, and I felt the blush return to my cheeks.
"Well, as long as it isn't a bother, and others don't complain about it, then I see no reason to dwell on it. If there's nothing else, we can get down to business…"
For the sake of brevity(and your sanity), I will gloss over the negotiations. Most of it was hammering out the finer points-where ships could dock, for how long, payments for repairs and resupply, etc. Important work, but unbelievably boring. In the end, though, we managed to make a good deal of progress and wrapped things up by mid-afternoon.
After bidding everyone else good day, I made a quick trip to my quarters to drop off the paperwork, then made an immediate beeline to the docks. On the way there, I was intercepted by a worried-looking Enterprise.
"You're headed out on Littorio?" she asked without preamble. Her concern was always touching, if as blunt as a brick.
"Just for a quick jaunt around the sea," I reassured her, "shouldn't be too long. Vittorio Veneto's supposed to be coming along, so if you wanted to double up with her, you could come with. Keep an eye on things."
That seemed to relax her somewhat and she thought it over for a second before she nodded in agreement. "Very well. I'll make preparations to get underway. See you out there, Commander."
She saluted smartly, which I returned in kind before she spun on her heel and took off towards her berth. I watched her go for a moment before I continued towards Littorio's dock.
Precisely at the dock Littorio had said, sat her battleship. A massive, towering steel structure that was practically bristling with guns. And it would seem what parts of the superstructure that weren't given over to firepower were dedicated to rangefinders. Despite all of the weaponry and additions to her superstructure, however, she still seemed...elegant. As if as much care had been put into making her streamlined and beautiful as she was deadly. Much like Littorio herself, I thought.
On the opposite side of the pier sat her sister, Vittorio Veneto. Identical to Littorio in nearly every way, if it wasn't for the directions Littorio herself had given me, and the nameplates on the stern of the ships, I don't think I would have been able to tell the two apart. I continued to inspect the two ships as I slowly strolled down the pier, taking in as much as I could of the pride of the Sardegnian Navy.
I was so focused on inspecting the Littorio, in fact, that I failed to see or hear her kansen approach me. "Like what you see, Comandante?" she asked playfully to get my attention, and it was all I could do to not jump a foot in the air.
"S-sorry," I muttered sheepishly as I rubbed the back of my neck. "Got a little lost in thought there. First time seeing a Sardegnian ship up close, you know."
"I understand, Ammiraglio," she forgave me, her tone sympathetic. "You wished to bask in the glory of Littorio, now that you can do so. It is perfectly reasonable and natural to do so. It's a shame that those we are at war with cannot experience the pure beauty of such a wonder as you and I can now." She sighed dramatically and looked at me wistfully. "Isn't it lamentable, Comandante? There are so many places in the world that yearn for light, but there is but one Littorio."
"Truly tragic," I wryly answered, trying to keep the grin from my face. If Littorio noticed, she let it pass unremarked.
"Indeed," she sighed, "I shall have to endeavor to work harder so that all may experience my glory. In the meantime, I would be more than happy to show you, personally, Comandante. If you'll just step aboard and we'll get started with the tour."
Littorio led me up the gangplank and into the ship, and at first, it didn't seem all that different from any other warship I'd been on. Different color paint and deck, but there were still stanchions, bulkheads, hatches, and all the other accouterments one expected from a warship's interior. That is, however, until we got to the officer's quarters.
When she opened the hatch and swung it open, my jaw hit the deck. Now I understood why she found Enterprise's fittings so sparse. The first compartment, the officer's mess, although it would be more accurate to call it a mess and lounge, was full of polished hardwood tables, each with a crystal light set in the center. Surrounding the tables were padded leather seats, the armrests, backs, and seats looking very soft and inviting. On either side of the mess were little alcoves with much larger, much more plush looking high-backed chairs. Even the portholes, which allowed the soft sunlight to pour into the room, had curtains that were tastefully tied back.
"Would you like to take a seat, Commandante?" Littorio teasingly whispered into my ear, and I realized with a slight start that I had been staring at those chairs a bit too longingly.
"I probably shouldn't," I answered softly. "I get the feeling once I sit in that, I'm not gonna want to get up for a long time, and I want to see the rest of what you have in store for me."
She ran her gloved finger over my shoulder before beckoning me to follow her. "Then come with me, Ammiraglio…"
I dutifully followed as we passed through a full-length curtain that separated the mess from the rest of the officer's quarters. We passed by several officer's bunks, each one more luxurious than my admiral's quarters on any warship I've served on. Littorio's own admiral's quarters, however, were better than any ship I've ever been on, period, civilian or military. Spacious, with a separate office and a sizable desk, and a bed big enough for two, I honestly thought about asking Littorio if I could stay here for the rest of the trip.
"So, what do you think, Inigo?" she purred softly.
"I think I understand now why you seemed so...underwhelmed by Enterprise's furnishings…" I uttered, my voice barely above a stunned whisper. "These are the most...magnificent quarters I've ever seen on a warship. Better than most civilian ships I've seen, too."
"Only most?" she asked playfully, arching an emerald eyebrow in my direction. "I will have to raise my standards. But come, there is still so much more to show you…"
The rest of the tour was much more in line with what you'd see on a warship. Everything was immaculately clean and top of the line, but still what one would expect. Sickbay, engine room, magazines, the usual. We concluded our tour on the bridge, and as soon as I followed Littorio through the hatch, my eyes went to the unique piece of furniture positioned against the back wall.
"Well I'll be damned," I chuckled. "That's definitely a couch." And not just any couch. It was an ornate, exquisite-looking couch, with a beautiful, hand-carved frame that shone in the light and embroidered couch cushions. It was a wonderful anachronism, this elegant and luxurious bit of furniture amongst the cold steel of a warship.
Littorio smiled proudly as she turned to face me, her hands on her hips. "Of course! Why wouldn't you have a couch on a warship?"
"Probably because the original ship designers didn't have romantic interludes on the bridge in mind when they built them."
"A pity," Littorio sighed dramatically. "Just because we are meant for war does not mean we are incapable of love." For a moment, her dramatic mask slipped, and I saw a genuine look of loneliness and longing in her eyes. Then the mask fixed itself back into place and I saw the confident, dashing Littorio again.
She must have caught me staring, and realized what was happening because she quickly grabbed me by the arm and guided me to the window. "But now that the tour has been completed, are you ready to set sail with Littorio? To see all the glory and splendor that Sardegna has to offer?"
As much as I wanted to go back, to ask her about the look she had a second ago, the moment had passed, and I simply let her move things along. I smiled over at her and nodded. "Let's get underway and see what you can do."
"Magnifica! Prepare to get underway, Commandante, you are in for the voyage of a lifetime!"
Oh, if she only knew how prophetic those words would be…
We had been underway for about an hour, with Vittorio Veneto and Enterprise following at a respectful distance, the two of us enjoying the view, our arms wrapped around each other's waists.
"It is a beautiful view, is it not, Comandante?" Littorio asked wistfully.
I had to agree with her, it was a magnificent vista. "Absolutely gorgeous," I sighed. "I had forgotten just how beautiful the seas were in the Mediterranean."
"Perhaps you should come by more often," she suggested, a sly grin on her face. "And be sure to bring Illustrious and her sisters along with you."
At that moment, a sound trilled from behind us, sparing me from a potentially awkward conversation. I turned around to see the holomap lit up, with a red dot pulsing high above the table. "What's that?"
"An enemy contact," Littorio answered as she disentangled herself from my grasp and strode towards the floating dot. "Did the enemy wander here by mistake?" she asked herself, staring intently at the blip. "That's too bad for them."
I stared at the contact with her, watching as her systems began to identify the unknown intruder. "A single Siren aircraft," I read aloud, perplexed by its appearance. "Even if it got lost, how'd it get out here on its own? Is there a Mirror Sea in the Mediterranean?"
"Not anymore," she cryptically answered as she tapped a few keys into the console. A line ran between the icon for Littorio and the Siren before it began to pulse red and disappeared.
"Damn. It's out of range." She turned to me and put on her best diplomatic smile. "Could you be so kind as to ask Enterprise to send up a fighter or two to dispose of this interloper?"
"Yeah, good idea…" I absentmindedly mutter as I reach for the radio, my eyes still fixed on that red dot. As I thumbed the radio, the holomap issued another, more insistent warning trill and the red dot began to flash rapidly.
"Power spike, it's opening fire!" Littorio cried out, and immediately the ship began to heel to port. But a ship as big as Littorio takes time to turn, and in the half-second between the weapon charging and the weapon firing, the battleship had barely begun to move.
A brilliant beam of light lanced down from the sky, filling the bridge with its brilliance and striking Littorio just forward of her first turret. The beam speared through the ship, punching a hole like a hot knife through butter and pulsing once before dissipating. Just as the beam vanished, there was a rumbling from beneath the ship, and suddenly the entire bow was lifted out of the water in a massive explosion of steam, sea spray, and smoke. We were both thrown off of our feet, and Littorio cried out as she felt the damage done by the unknown weapon.
I managed to grab hold of the holotable with one hand and reached out with the other, catching Littorio as she fell and pulling her towards me. Her arm grasped mine and together we regained our footing on the deck. She pulled me close to her, leaning heavily against me as she tried to catch her breath. Droplets of sweat beaded on her forehead, and she had taken on a pallid look.
As much as I wanted to get her comfortable so we could check her wounds, I knew we had to do something about that Siren before it fired again. I snatched the radio up and quickly thumbed over to the pre-arranged frequency set between Enterprise and myself. "Littorio's hit and we need air cover, immediately," I ordered without preamble. "Target is a single Siren fighter at eighteen thousand feet. Be aware it possesses a powerful beam weapon that will easily vaporize a fighter. And send Veneto over here immediately."
There was a brief pause, then the radio crackled back to life and Enterprise's voice filled the space. "Understood. Launching fighters now for search and destroy as well as CAP. Veneto already en route."
Already I could see the blue dots representing her Wildcats taking to the sky with half of them vectoring directly towards the Siren and the other half moving to cover us. The Siren fighter began to turn tail and while I wanted to watch it burn, I needed to see to Littorio.
"Alright, looks like we're safe for the moment, so let's get you over to the couch so we can lay you down."
In spite of the pain she was in, she still put on a brave, playful smile and managed to get out, "Comandante, it's understandable that you would fall for me... but... this is not the time nor place for debauchery."
It took me longer than I'd like to admit to realize what she was implying before I chuckled and shook my head. "Glad to see your sense of humor wasn't hurt. C'mon." We hobbled over to the couch and I helped ease her onto it, laying her down and making sure she was comfortable.
"Stay right here," I ordered, "I'm going to go take a look at the damage. Veneto's on her way."
Littorio shifted slightly, winced, and nodded, that charismatic charm gone from her. And honestly, that was probably the most worrying part. I quickly darted back to the bridge windows and stared out at the bow. Water was pooled all over the deck, but it wasn't awash, and the only sign of damage was the melted hole just forward of the forward turret. It wasn't very large, and if it hadn't been for the melted, still-glowing metal around it, one could have easily mistaken it for an open hatch.
Confident that the bow was relatively intact, I headed out onto the bridge wing to make sure she wasn't trailing oil. When I peered over the side, what I saw wasn't oil, but a deep red stain that was seeping out from Littorio's bow. I hurriedly ducked back inside and went to Littorio's side.
"How is it?" she languidly asked.
"Doesn't seem to be too bad structurally, but...you seem to be...bleeding?" She shot me a disbelieving glance. "There's a large red...slick...stain...discoloration that seems to be coming from the bow."
She closed her eyes and let out a long groan of frustration. "Manache," she swore under her breath. "The wine stores…"
"You have a compartment just for wine?
She fixed me with an incredulous look. "You don't?"
"We're a dry navy."
She let out another groan and shook her head slowly. "Comandante, you are so lucky to have met me, so that I may now begin to instruct you on how to have a proper fleet…" She lifted her head and pointed in the direction of the holotable. "Should be able to get a readout of the damage there."
"On it. Just hang on, alright?" She grinned weakly and nodded, and I headed to the holotable. It took me a few seconds, but I found the controls to pull up the diagnostics, and the map vanished, replaced by a three-dimensional representation of Littorio. Overall, the ship seemed to be relatively unharmed up to the point where the weapon hit. Everything forward of that was outlined in an ominous, pulsing red. One large compartment on the lowest possible decks was completely filled in red, and when I tapped on it, more information was displayed.
"Looks like the wine stores are a total loss," I announced. "I'm sorry. Severe flooding, structural warping and buckling. The good news is that it seems to be holding up and the flooding is contained to that space. The rest of the bow is showing a lot of structural damage, though. I wouldn't recommend any sudden maneuvers or we could do some potentially serious damage, even lose the bow."
She nodded weakly, gesturing out towards the window. "I've already set a course back to Taranto, we should be alright as long as we aren't attacked again."
I followed her gaze, and looked up at the escorting Wildcats, hoping they would manage to keep us safe on the journey home...
A/N-Uh oh! Looks like the love train's been slightly derailed. Bonus points for anyone who knows what historical event this was based off of. Until next time, fair winds and following seas!