Part Thirteen – Kiss the Cod

I had sent the rest of the ships I sailed with from the UK to the Monarchy ahead; I wanted to take a few moments to just get myself ready for this. I move out to deck and go to stand at my bow and look at the landmass off my bow, at the very edge of my vision. If I was honest about it I felt a little sick, not that I had caught anything, more nervous than anything else. I take a deep breath of the crisp North Atlantic air and let it out slowly, trying to get myself centered. I didn't get that much time to do that before I sensed the approach of another battleship from my south, a familiar profile of an Iowa class. Doing up my jacket a little I walked to my port side and waited for her to get close, that was the problem with these Iowa sisters, until you got close enough to see the hull number or their body you couldn't tell them apart.

It wasn't that long I had to wait, that was a blessing with that class; they are fast, faster than I was anyway. Looking in the direction of the ship I saw a tall frame standing at the end of the bow, and my head tilted to the side as I saw a long coat flapping in the wind with long hair. So that meant that it wasn't going to be Mo. Once she was finally close enough to see me standing against my superstructure, she started to wave and slow down so that we didn't collide, as I waved back, I heard her call out, "Hey there Big Guy!"

"New Jersey!" I call back as she comes to a stop and hopped over to my hull.

When her feet landed on my deck and she slid a little on it, causing me to catch her out of reaction. She gave me this playful look before she teases me with a wink at the end, "It's pretty rare, I get put on the defensive, but do keep in mind the time and place, 'kay?"

I look down to where my left hand was and felt my cheeks get a little hot as I take my hand back and mumble out, "Sorry."

She laughs as she walks around to my bow and looks over her shoulder with a wink at me as she says, "So are you providing escort to the new ships like I am? Or were you just getting practice on feeling up Momo?"

It takes me a second to follow along before catching up as I say to her, "What? No! Actually, I'm one of the new ships being transferred over."

I hurry around to my bow and tease me, "You're right, you'd never get a handful of Momo." She pauses and turns to put her back at the water and puff out her bust a little as she adds, "So what did you do, or maybe who did you do to get this to happen to you?"

Rubbing the back of my head I go to stand beside her, leaning forward over the railing as I sigh out, "I'm one of four Conqueror class hulls, with only three detachments."

"So? I'm on the east coast with Momo, Iowa and Whisky are both on the west coast, not to mention the SoDak sisters and the NorCal sisters." New Jersey says as she gives me a playful look before adding, "So it's got to be, who did you do?"

Hanging my head I sigh out, "Not so much, more like who I refused to do."

Her mouth drops open before she asks, "Were they trying to get you to do your sisters?"

A loud laugh escapes me before I tell her, "No, no, god no. I refused to be sold for an alliance and be locked into something I didn't want, with someone I barely knew."

"That's gotta suck, why would they do that to you?" she asks me.

Blinking a few times my mouth drops open and I ask her, "Did Mo not tell you?"

"Momo talks a lot, but I don't listen a whole lot." She says with a shrug and adds, "Something about how you were attached to someone called Busty or Lusty?"

With a laugh, another deep laugh, and a shaking of my head I correct her, "Illustrious."

Making a dismissive gesture with her hand she said, "Whatever."

Folding my arms and resting my chin on them I sigh out, "I was forced into it, and looking back at everything now, I'm not sure it was entirely consensual, at least I know on my end I was forced into it."

New Jersey reaches over and squeezes my left bicep as she says, "Yeah, I have a hard time buying anyone forces you to do anything, unless?" When I nod my head she takes on a mortified look before calling out, "No!"

"Yes." I confirm.

New Jersey pushes herself off of the railing and stomps around in a little circle before she says, "That is complete bull crap! Why, why would Dominion even do that to you?"

I shake my head as I turn around to watch her and say, "It wasn't Dominion, it was Queen Elizabeth."

She blinks at me a couple of times, tilting her head to the side, and asks, "That old dreadnaught? Who in their right mind let her still be a flagship? I mean, she's like old, old!"

With a shrug, I answer, "Seems like the pacific detachment at the time was the forgotten detachment."

New Jersey walked back over to the railing and bent at her hips as she rested her elbows on it and said, "That must've sucked, taking orders from a brat like that."

I move and mimic her stance as I confirm, "It was horrible. About the only saving grace was my Mom and aunts."

New Jersey brushes some hair behind her right ear as she looks at me and says, "Yeah, I'm still having trouble wrapping my brain around that one, Wales actually gave birth to you?" I nod and she blinks a couple of times before making a sound of surprise before she asks, "So enough of that, why are you hanging out here, and not heading into Halifax?"

I shrug as I say, "Honestly?" she nods and I continue, "I'm scared, once I sail in there, this is even more real."

New Jersey grins at me as she says, "Why? Halifax is great! I spend a lot of time there."

"You do?" I ask and I can't keep the surprise out of my voice.

She nods as she stands upright grinning broadly as she says, "Sure do, the Eagle Union and Maple Monarchy fleets work really closely together, a lot. Halifax is almost like a second home to me." She pauses and starts to head to her hull as she adds with a wink, "Come on, follow me in and I'll show you a good time."

As she lands on her hull, I see how graceful she lands and I tilt my head to the side as I ask, "Did you slip on purpose when you came over?"

She winks at me and calls back with a grin, "Maybe!"

XXXX

After a quick meeting with an admiral at the docks and being told to show up at the HQ first thing, I had been let free into the city with a charge card and I currently found myself sitting in an Irish-style pub in a booth with New Jersey. She was leaning forward a little, resting her chin in her right palm as she looked at the menu and said to me, "They've got some of the best fish and chips in the city here."

I feel a slight smile on my face as I ask her, "Are you trying to make me feel comfortable here? I grew up eating Fish and Chips from street vendors, you know."

She shrugs and gives me a playful look as she says in a tone that makes it clear she's having a go at me, "I had no idea."

"What would you recommend here then?" I ask looking at the fish menu, I see Haddock, Atlantic Cod, and Atlantic Halibut, all of these options seem really good.

New Jersey is quiet for a moment before saying to me, "I prefer the beer-battered Halibut, personally, and you got to go with the Onion rings though."

Raising an eyebrow at her I tease, "That's not fish and chips then, that's fish and onions."

She playfully sticks out her tongue and asks back, "Alright, alright, don't get your panties in a bunch. But don't knock it till you try it."

I was about to say something when the waitress came over, she was all smiles and asked me in what sounded like a strange accent, "And how are you all doing this evening? Are you ready to order?"

New Jersey closed her menu and gave her order before I asked, "Could I have the cod and chips with a pint?"

The girl scribbles it down and asks, "What kind of beer?"

I blink a couple of times and New Jersey answers for me, "Alexander Keith's IPA."

The girl nods and winks at me as she says, "Alright, I'll be back in a bit."

When she was gone, New Jersey shifted in her seat to look around the pub as she asked me, "So, is this what pubs look like back home for you?"

"Almost, but this is Irish, I'm English." I answer looking around at the decor.

"What's the difference?" she asks me.

"A lot and it'd take a long time to explain it all." I say as I start to watch the other patrons of the pub, after a moment I clue in that there are a lot of kansen and humans in here and I add, "Doesn't it seem a little odd, that so many humans and kansen are in here, together?"

She shakes her head as she says, "Not really, the Monarchy has actually been really accepting about kansen, here and in Victoria on the other coast, kansen and civilian humans have been interacting since the Monarchy got their first one."

"Really?" it even surprised me how my voice picked up on that one.

She nods as she says, "Yeah, the Union's been doing our best to mimic it, but we were a bit slower on the draw than they were."

"Huh." I say as I turn my attention back to her and see that she's looking out the window at the street, so I ask, "What's on your mind?"

A playful look comes onto her face again as she asks, "I'm wondering if you dance."

"What kind of dancing?" I ask with a bit of hesitation.

"Not stuffy stuff, but like going to a club." She says with a wink.

"Hasn't been something I've done before." I answer shortly before our food arrives.

She gives me this broad grin and adds, "Then that is going to be our next stop!"

XXXX

XXXX

My alarm went off and I was startled awake in the bed I was in, looking around I found my clothing was all over the room, but I was alone in the bed at least. I turned on my lamp and looked over to the bin, hoping that I didn't have a night raid with someone only for her to sneak out in the middle of the night and I let out a sigh of relief, no condom wrapper or used condom. Getting out of the bed I went to the bathroom, turning on the light I saw a set of three pictures like you'd get out of a photo booth stuck to the mirror and they were torn at the bottom almost like I spilt them with someone. As I got close I saw a note was attached to them, a phone number, and some text saying they had a good time last night. But it was the lip impression that had my head tilted to the side, looking at the bottom picture I had I saw New Jersey kissing my cheek.

I had rushed to get to the HQ as fast as I could and as I entered the meeting room a wonderful aroma hit my nose, taking a deep breath of it I happily sighed out, "Coffee."

From a chair in the office, I hear a woman say, "It's decent stuff, and their doughnuts are pretty good too."

Looking in the direction of the voice I see a woman with brown hair, red eyes, and a tight blue dress with black ankle boots. In her hands, she had a mug and on the table, beside her chair, I could see a half-eaten doughnut. I take a mug full and walk over to her extending a hand towards her, she looks at my hand then to my eyes and says, "No way, you're real?"

With a sigh and a nod, I say, "Yes, yes I am. I guess now, I'm HMCS Thunderer, and you are?"

Her brow knits together for a moment before going a little sour as she says, "I was USS Independence, but who knows now."

Sipping my coffee I lean against the wall and shrug, "I don't know if they'll rename us, but can I ask your class? Or would that be rude?"

She shrugs and reaches over to grab her doughnut, and after taking a bite and licking her fingers clean she says, "Light Carrier, why were you worried I'd be a destroyer or something?"

I shake my head and sip more coffee before looking out the window as I say, "No, just trying to get a feel for who I'm going to be working with now."

She was about to say something when I heard the door to the room open and I saw a kansen standing there in a white blouse and black slacks. Her figure reminded me so much of someone, but it was the red eyes that nailed it for me and I ask, "Swiftsure?"

She blinks at me a couple of times before stepping into the room, her heels catching on the transition and she stumbles forward a little, dropping a datapad on the floor as she says, "Shoot."

I go over and pick up the pad for her as I say, "You've got to be at the very least related to her."

This new kansen flushed a little and she looked down before mumbling, "HMS Mino-" She bonked her head and stuck out her tongue a little before correcting herself, "HMCS Ontario, the lead ship of the Minotaur class also known as the Swiftsure class, sorry I get a little confused about that sometimes, still. I've asked them to restore my name, but command still likes me being named for a province." A frown comes to my face and she shakes her head quickly before adding to me, "Oh gosh, no. I requested the minister of defense personally to avoid having any of the new kansen renamed! I have his assurances that it won't happen."

I look to Independence and say to her, "Well, that's not so bad then."

As I stand and hand back the datapad, Ontario looks up at me, her cheeks going bright red as she asks, "And you're him, right? Thunderer?"

I nod as I go back to my coffee, sipping from it as she continues, "Wow, to think I got to meet you before the Minster himself!" the look on her face reminds me so much of Swiftsure before she tucks the datapad close to her bust she adds, "I'll be serving as your right hand for a little while, at least until you're comfortable picking a new right-hand girl."

Leaning against the table with the doughnuts and drinking more coffee I get right to the point, "So, do you know what fleet I'll be heading up?"

Ontario blinks at me a couple of times before looking at her datapad and telling me, "Independence will be the flagship for the Atlantic fleet. We've already made arrangements with Hood to go to the Pacific." She pauses and her eyes go wide before she looks up at me and says, "I'm not sure, I'm really qualified for this."

Independence tilted her head to the side as I crossed the room to look at the datapad to see the assignment myself as I ask, "So, where am I being sent?"

Ontario shuffles around a little before turning the pad for me to say as she says, "The Flagship of the RCN."

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Independence push herself off of the chair and she comes over to Ontario and asks, "Do you have my orders then?"

I watch as Independence holds out her mobile and Ontario swipes on her datapad before she says, "There you go."

Independence looks at the data on her mobile before nodding and looking at me she says, "Maybe we can go for a drink later, Thunderer."

Before I can respond she is out the door, Ontario comes over to me and hands me the datapad as she says, "The rest of the information on this one is for you, you've got a pretty easy today." She snaps her fingers and asks, "Is there anything you'd like me to arrange for lunch? Do you have a favorite food or would you be willing to try some local fare?"

Taking a look at my schedule it seemed kind of light, just several meetings with human officers and government officials, waving my hand a little dismissively I say, "Anything's fine."

"Oh, okay." She says before looking around and asking, "Can I take you to your office?"

XXXX

After Ontario left me in my office I started to look around, everything was made out of red oak. I'll admit it was a really, really nice-looking office. Just as I went to my window, my mobile rang, lifting it I see it says: mom. Lifting to my ear I say, "Hi Mom."

"So? How is it there?" she asks.

I smile and open my window to let in the cool air as I say, "Not bad so far, I've been made the flagship of the Navy here."

"That's great to hear." She says pausing before asking, "Have you met anyone interesting yet?"

I give a hearty laugh as I dig in my pocket and take out the string of pictures of myself and New Jersey as I say, "Yeah, I think I have."

"Oh? What's she like?" my mom asks as I hear her move around the room she's in.

I weigh my options but since I'm not entirely sure where I stand with New Jersey I go with, "I met Swiftsure's sister, Ontario, she's been assigned as my right hand while I get everything down here."

"I always figured she had a sister, but I never understood why she never talks about her." My mom says back in a puzzled tone.

"I think it has to do with her being renamed for her service here." I say. I hear my mother take a deep breath and I quickly add, "Don't worry Mom, they aren't renaming me."

"I'm glad to hear it, would you mind if I came for a visit? There is a supply convoy headed to the Monarchy next month with ammunition and spare parts for the ex-Royal Navy kansen there, enough to keep everything running right until local shipyards can be brought up to speed." She asks me, clearly hinting that she already missed me.

Turning to look at my office I smile as I say, "I'd love for you to visit, Mom."

"Then I'll put in the request as soon as we hang up, I love you my sweet boy and I miss you already." She says to me.

"Love you too, Mom, and I miss you too." I respond before hanging up and taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

A heartbeat later my door opens and Ontario sticks her head in and says to me, "Sorry, your thirteen hundred got in early, do you want to take this meeting now?"

With a nod, I answer, "Sure, let's get this done."

"Right away, Sir." She says to me before ducking back out of the door.

XXXX

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A/N: Woo! I managed to get this done today!