A Matter of Family

by MetusR

A return to the world of A Matter of Honor, picking up a while later, dealing with the challenges life can throw at us sometimes.

12. Chapter 12

Part Twelve – Raptors

Wales sat at a desk in the Atlantic HQ just as a knock came to the door, looking up from behind the desk she called out, "Enter!"

The door opened and her eyes went wide as she saw a woman with short red hair tilt her head to the side and speak with an Irish accent, "Where is my brother?"

Wales adjusted her coat and waved the woman in as she said, "Dominion, how unexpected."

Dominion crossed through the door and closed it behind her, looking around the room before asking, "Well? Where is he? I've heard rumors he's been on a world cruise with sightings as far away as the Sakura Empire!"

Wales sighs and folds her arms under her bust as she says, "He's doing what he needs to do, to get the help he needs."

"Sailing around the world is good and all, but he has a job to do and I'm getting questions now!" Dominion says as her arms shoot up into the air before she runs a hand through her hair and adds, "Including three different requests for his hand in a union!"

"Three?" Wales asks, her head tilting to the side.

Dominion pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed out, "Yes three, one actually came with terms for a treaty. What is he doing, fucking his way around the world?"

"If you don't mind me asking, who sent forth a request?" Wales asked as she moved to stand beside Dominion at the window overlooking the port.

Running a hand down her face Dominion gave Wales a sideways look as she said, "Bismarck, Richelieu, and Vittorio Veneto. I'll let you guess who sent terms."

"Bismarck." Wales said as she leaned forward to open the window and get some fresh air before asking, "And who would he be expected to be with in all of these?"

"Two of them were for themselves, one was not." Dominion said as she moved to sit on the couch at one end of the room.

Wales moved to sit in a chair across from the couch as she thought for a moment and said, "I would expect Richelieu sent the request on behalf of her sister, Jean Bart."

Dominion's brow knit together for a moment before she said, "You seem to know more than I would expect about these, what are you not telling me?"

Wales looks off to the side and brushes some hair behind an ear as she admits, "I speak with him once a week, just to get an update and avoid worrying."

Dominion ran her hands down her face again and let out a slow breath as she asked, "And when are you due for another call?"

Wales took out her mobile and looked at it as she said, "Today, actually."

"I'm staying here till it happens and I expect to be put on with him, Wales." Dominion demands.

Wales nods as she says, "Of course."

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The waves were breaking over my bow; I had cut through the Panama Canal and was already sailing north towards the Atlantic HQ, I had really grown to love this sea and the storms I always seemed to hit in it. Lightning flashed in the sky, it was hard to believe that it was already heading into fall and I knew I needed to return home, I couldn't keep asking my mother to keep covering for me any longer, speaking of my mother, it's about time for my weekly check-in. I move over to my communications hub and place my mobile on it and activate the link and wait for it to be picked up on the other side of the world.

As soon as it stops ringing, I say, "Hi Mom."

"Where the hell are you this time?!" I knew that voice, it wasn't my mother's, and I ask, "Dominion?"

"Yes! Now where are you?" she all but yells into the mobile on her end.

"Did I call you by mistake?" I ask in a bit of confusion while I look over at my mobile to see it says: Mom.

"I'm here." My mother pauses before adding, "Dominion came by my office this looking for you."

With a slow nod, I answer, "That makes sense."

"Now where are you?" Dominion keeps pressing for that information.

With a sigh, I say to her, "About three days south from the Atlantic HQ."

I hear her sigh before asking, "Are you on your way back here, at the very least?"

"I am, why?" I ask with a puzzled tone.

"Good, good. When you get back here, you and I need to have a chat." She says in a tone that leaves me a little worried.

"Is it bad news?" I ask with a hesitant voice.

"Depends on how you feel about it, but it's not something we should discuss over an open line." Dominion pauses before asking, "Are you doing better though?"

"I am; I feel more at peace with myself." I answer back while I move to watch the storm.

I hear her sigh and say to me, "Good, just hurry back, alright?"

With a nod I say, "I'm working on it, currently cutting through a storm."

My mother laughs a little as she says, "You seem to be better at finding those than finding partners."

Taking on a wounded tone I say, "Hey now!"

"Just be safe, Mitchel. I'll wait for you at the docks in a couple of days." My mother says pausing to add, "I love you, my sweet boy."

There is a long pause before Dominion adds, "Godspeed little brother, hurry home."

"I'm working on it, big sister number two." I answer with a little smile on my face just as I hear the line go dead.

Hitting the button on my bridge coffee maker to fill my mug before I sit back in my chair and watch the storm bluster all around me.

XXXX

With the rolling in of the sunlight, I'm startled awake as I sense the approach of a long slender hull, closing on me at around thirty knots and then I spot a second one! I close my eyes again and focus my gun sights on them and I feel myself relax in the shoulders before I move over to my communications equipment and dial up the lead ship as I say, "Mo!"

There is silence for a minute before I hear a familiar voice ask back, "Thunderer?"

"Aye, it's me, how are you?" I respond as I recall the last time I saw Missouri when she did a tour in the pacific a year or so ago and we went drinking together on Midway.

I hear her laugh a little before she says, "We've got to stop meeting like this, do you mind coming aboard when we're close enough?"

"I can do that Mo, why?" I ask as my brow knits together.

"I owe you some down-home barbecue, remember?" she says to me in a light tone of voice.

A smile creeps onto my face as I look at my plotting chart and plan the intercept path and say back, "I wouldn't miss it."

XXXX

It only took about half an hour before we intercepted and I found that I head one Mo on my starboard and her sister on my port side. With a quick jump, I landed on Mo's deck by her B turret and looked around quickly to spot her stepping out of her hull, arms wide open as she called out, "You tea-loving monster!"

With a laugh, I go over and wrap my arms around her tall slender frame for a good hug before I step back and say to her, "Missed you too, Mo."

She brushes some hair behind an ear and says to me, "Sorry about what happened between you and Illustrious, I heard about it and I'm kind of glad I didn't see it in person."

Running a hand over my head I sigh and nod before stating, "Yeah, it was pretty brutal."

She was about to say something when I heard a new voice call out, "Momo!" seconds before Mo let out a cry of surprise. I lean back slightly to see someone had cupped Mo's small bust from behind, looking over Mo's shoulder I see a very pretty face framed with long, long blue hair. As this new person gave a mischievous look she locked her blue eyes on me and said in a teasing tone, "Momo, who's the guy? Is he you secret boy-toy?"

Mo went bright red as she tugged at the hands, spinning around as she hollered out, "NJ!"

This NJ took a slight hop back and let me get a good look at her, I knew both ships around me were clearly sisters, the hulls looked too much alike to not be the same class. But this woman had curves whereas Mo didn't. Then again, this new girl's outfit sure didn't leave much to the imagination, it hugged her frame tightly and the wind blew at this large white coat she wore like a cape. She grinned at Mo and hopped back again as Mo tried to reach for her as she teased, "Come on Momo, you can tell me! I won't tell Iowa or Whisky."

Mo stopped trying to grab hold of her and sighed out, "Thunderer, my older, but not oldest, sister New Jersey. NJ, this is HMS Thunderer."

New Jersey tilted her head to the side and looked me up and down for a second before she came up to me and poked me in the chest as she said, "Holy crap! He's real?!"

"Yes, I am thank you very much." I state as I adjust my jacket.

"You got all the boy bits right? Were you summoned with them?" NJ asks me, leaning forward and into my space a little.

Pinching the bridge of my nose I sigh out, "I was born with them, I wasn't summoned."

"I don't get it." New Jersey says looking back at Mo.

"He was born, like a human. His mother is HMS Prince of Wales." Mo says in an exhausted tone of voice.

"Oh! That's cool! So do you really control that hull?" New Jersey asks me gesturing to my hull.

Rolling my red eyes I rotate my A and Y turrets towards Mo with my B and X going towards New Jersey as I say, "Yes."

"Neat! Hey, how big are those guns?" she asks moving past me and leaping over to my hull.

I followed her back over and found her putting her thumps tip to tip and spreading out her pinkies as far as she could while trying to measure the bore of the guns. To save her a little time, I answer, "Eighteens."

"Huh, big shell." New Jersey says as she looks over her shoulder at me and winks.

I felt my cheeks get a little hot as I mumble, "I've never had any complaints."

"Oh?" New Jersey says as she spins on her heels and looks to Mo as she asks, "Momo, what do you think?"

"NJ!" Mo protests again, going bright red as she hollers out, "I wouldn't know how big it is! I've never seen it!"

New Jersey laughs and hops back over to Mo's hull, putting an arm around her shoulder as she winks at me and says, "Maybe you can show Momo a good time later Big Guy."

I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose and shake my head back and forth just as I sense their hulls starting to pull away. Looking up I hear New Jersey yell out, "Catch!"

Sticking out my hands I managed to catch a package of butcher's paper tied with butcher's twine and I yell back, "What's in there?"

New Jersey takes on a playful look as she says in a teasing tone, "Your dinner, made with loooooove by Momo!"

A second later Mo went an even brighter red as she let out a groan so loud I thought it might've been the horn on her hull.

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After I had docked at the Atlantic HQ and gotten off my hull, I saw my mother standing on the dock, her arms out wide and a smile on her face. On my shoulder, I had a duffel bag, but I dropped it to the dock before I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her up a little as I said, "Hi Mom."

As her boots hit the dock again she rubs my back and asks, "How was your trip?"

Letting her out of the embrace and picking up my pack I rub the back of my head and admit, "Good, I got some help, learned a bit about who I am, but I've still got a lot of work to do."

My mother puts an arm through mine as she says, "Well, it was only three months that you've been away, it would be a bit much to expect you to be fully better in that time."

My mother took on a look of concentration and I knew she was trying to figure out how to ask something without setting off any alarm bells, so I asked her, "What's up mom?"

She sighs and says to me, "Am I that easy to read?"

Shaking my head I tell her, "The last time I saw you working that hard on how to say something, I was forced into an engagement."

She lifts a hand to her mouth and clears her throat as she mumbles, "I guess I am that easy to read."

I feel a chill run down my spine as I say, "You can't be serious, another one, already?"

She looks off to the side as she says to me, "Dominion has gotten several requests."

Running my free hand down my face as I groan out to her, "You're pulling my leg about this, right?"

"No, Mitchel, I'm not." She says as she looks at me and adds, "Dominion is in a tough spot, she knows you've been away for months now, she's had reports of sightings of you around the world, and she's gotten several requests for you."

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly I say, "Mom, do you think any of them would be suitable? I don't want something that would be held up by just sex."

Her cheeks went a little red before clearing her throat again as she said, "Mitchel, as your mother, thinking about you doing that, isn't something I want to think about. But I'm not stupid so I know you will engage in such acts." Looking off to the side she added, "All three that have been put forth are viable options, but I'm not sure the level of connection you have with all three."

"Who are they?" I ask, I wanted to know so I could be ready to turn down any of the options.

"Jean Bart, Vittorio Veneto, and" my mother pauses her and her lips compress before she gets out between gritted teeth, "Bismarck." When I raise an eyebrow at that last one she looks at me and adds, "You will not make me call her my daughter-in-law, will you?"

I blink a couple of times at my mother before I start to laugh and say, "No, Mom. I won't make you call Bismarck your daughter-in-law." Taking her free hand and touching the upper part of her chest she lets out a relaxed-sounding breath and I tease her by adding, "I'm sure you'd just call her Bismarck."

My mother looks at me, and slaps my arm as she warns with her tone, "Mitchel!"

Laughing harder I tell her, "I have no intention of being given to any of them."

My mother relaxes a little and gives me a sideways look before saying, "Then I'm sure Dominion will try to force something as she is in a difficult spot."

Nodding with a shrug I say, "Then, I'll force her to show her hand."

XXXX

When we made it to the command office for the RN detachment here and into the office, I saw Dominion standing with her back to the door, looking out the window and without looking at us as soon as the door was closed she asked with her Irish accent, "Did you have a good trip?"

Blinking a couple of times before answering, "I did, thanks for asking."

"You don't need to sound so surprised, little brother." She started to say before turning to look at me before running a handover and through her bob of red hair and added, "You've put me in a difficult position."

Looking behind me I see my mother slip out of the room as she says, "This is really a conversation for you two."

Once the door closes again I start to walk towards Dominion and she starts walking towards me, I'm expecting a bit of a tongue lashing, but to my surprise, she hugs me, tightly and whispers, "I'm glad you're doing better."

This took me by surprise, I always figured Dominion didn't like me that much, better than Sovereign did, but less than Conqueror did. Rubbing her back as she leans out of the hug she smiles at me as I answer, "Thanks."

Dominion nods at me and walks over to the couch and takes a seat, crossing her knees and pointing to the chair across from her as she asked, "Aside from Vittorio, did you sleep with anyone else?"

Taking a spot across from her I felt my cheeks get hot and I say, "No, why?"

I watch as she picks up a teacup and takes a sip before telling me, "Just wondering if I should expect more requests for you or not."

Shaking my head a little as I say, "I don't think so."

She sighs and puts down the tea before saying, "As I said, you've put me in a difficult spot. Conqueror is due back here in a couple of weeks, she has more than enough battleships here, I cannot send you back to Midway, that is just asking for trouble, and I have too many Battleships in the home fleet." She paused and took out some folders from a bag she had as she added, "Not to mention I have a certain carrier in the Home fleet now that I think having you around would be problematic."

It wasn't lost on me that Dominion placed three of the folders far enough apart that she could open them without overlapping each one, but a fourth one sat beside her, closed, on the couch. I watch as she opened all three and I saw pictures and profiles for Vittorio, Jean, and Bismarck. Pressing my lips together I ask, "And what are those?"

"Requests for an alliance that includes you," she says in a matter-of-fact tone before looking off to the side as she adds, "The Crown likes all three of these options; they advance the crown's interests."

I nod slowly, I get it. I'm the brother of the not quite queen to be, a very, very valuable bargaining chip. I run a hand over my head as I ask, "How do you feel about them?"

"They're good, the one from Germany offers a lot of concessions we've been trying to make them give us over the years." She says, biting her lower lip before adding, "But I don't want to force you into something, you've had enough of that."

Rotating the files around I see that Bismarck's is the most complete with tendered offers for the crown, the offers looked really, really good. After a moment I ask, "Which do you think I should take?"

Dominion reaches over and touches my arm as she says, "Part of me wants to say all of them are good, but Bismarck's is the most complete and would require the least work from us." She pauses for a moment to add, "But, what I or the crown wants doesn't matter here. What matters, is what you want, little brother."

My brow knits together for a moment and I say, "None of them, I don't want to be used as a political tool, again."

She nods and leans back, picking up the last file before handing it to me and saying, "Then I have one option left."

Opening the folder, I see it's a request from the Maple Monarchy for kansen to be transferred to their service. As my head tilts to the side, Dominion says, "They want at least two battleships and a couple of cruisers from us. They are also looking at getting a carrier and some destroyers from the Eagle Union."

"So I'd be exiled?" I ask in a slightly surprised tone.

She shakes her head and says, "No, they are still part of the Commonwealth, but this would let you have the room to grow and be who you want to be, without the Crown breathing down your neck."

I close the folder and lean back in my chair, looking out the window as I ask, "Four less than great options, huh?"

She leans back on the couch and says, "As much as the Crown likes the idea of getting an alliance, James likes this last option the best, because I like it the best."

"When do you need an answer?" I ask as my eyes look back down at the folder.

"Sooner rather than later, I can't keep stalling on these requests." She says sipping some tea.

I open the folder with the request from the Maple Monarchy and read over it again before I say, "I guess I better get used to maple syrup."

Dominion nods as she gets up and starts to pack away the folders she says to me, "I think that's the smart choice. Once I get home, I start on the paperwork that's going to be needed for this."

"Thanks." I mumble as I look off to the side.

Dominion comes over to hug me as she says, "It's not the end of the world, and you'll either be stationed in their Pacific or Atlantic fleets, never more than a few days' sail from me, Conqueror, or Sovereign, so it's not like you won't hear from us again."

I nod and rub my sister's arm as I say, "True." When she lets go of me I add, "And say hello to James when you get back."

She nods and just before she leaves she snaps two fingers and says, "Before you leave for the Monarchy, do stop by, James would like to go on a hunting trip with you this year."

Tilting my head to the side I ask, "Wouldn't that draw a lot of attention, the soon-to-be kansen transferred to the Maple Monarchy, out hunting with the King of England?"

She shrugs and says, "That's one way to look at it, the other is to see it as the King getting to know his future brother-in-law better."

With a nod, I say to her, "I'll see what I can do."

Dominion smiles at me and says before leaving the office, "You better."

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A/N: And now we move into the new arc!