A/N: I'm sorry about the long wait, but I lost the will to write for quite awhile. Hopefully after writing this new chapter it will spark a light in me and get me writing again. I think I wanted to write gain because I have began reading and writing for uni, giving me inspiration for things to write. I do want to continue this story, so I'll try my best to write it and make it even better than before. Thank You.
There was a discussion between the Iron Blood and Royal Navy commanders after their exchange of envoys about an official meeting of various shipgirls to make peace. Hoping for ships involved with Operation Rheinubung specifically could come to terms with each other, but this event would be set for a future date, perhaps not too far. There were certain projects still needing to be seen to, as the Iron Blood priority ships would now be joining the main fleet in the North Atlantic. Led by Friedrich, the Siren-focused ships were formidable and deserved vast amounts of respect. Feared for their destructive powers on the open waters not only by the Sirens, but also by Azur Lane.
Despite the Iron Blood Commander's most vigorous attempts to gain the trust of the Royal Navy, Eagle Union and Iris Libre, mishaps, miscommunications and mistakes happen between the Crimson Axis and Azur Lane. From what the Kommandant can gather, Azur Lane is keeping close surveillance on Peter Strasser's Mirror Sea and the progress made with the priority ships.
Now that the Kommandant's skills is known personally by the Royal Navy's commander, their friendships become increasingly more likely. The Royal Navy envoys left the day prior to the allotted date for the priority ships to return to service, just in case Roon wanted to make a scene.
The Kommandant waited for their arrival in the cafe with a fresh cup of coffee, with Bismarck sitting beside him at the table. It was early morning, the skies were still dark and the air outside was freezing. The new meowfficers that worked the cafe had lit the fireplace and made sure to keep it going strong because of their patrons this morning. The Kommandant was glad he chose to keep growing out his beard though, a form of defence against the bone-chilling winds of the North. Sitting in silence together, the Kommandant and Bismarck felt anxious about the new arrivals, August von Parseval and Agir. It was great that the Iron Blood would be getting a new aircraft carrier, but how would the both of them get along with everyone else?
The questions will soon be answered, as the door to the cafe opened, with only two of the six girls who were expected walked inside. At first notice of the Kommandant, Roon's eyes glinted and she ran straight toward him. Bismarck quickly stood up out of her seat and made it known she would defend him, but Roon didn't want to hurt him. She chucked herself at him and wrapped her arms around him in a large, warm hug and pressed his face into her bosom.
"Hallo, Roon..." the Kommandant's voice was muffled, awkwardly placing his hands on her waist and waiting for her to break from him.
"My dear Kommandant, oh how I've missed you..." she paused, pulling back. Her glaring amber eyes staring lovingly at his face, her clawed hands cupping his bearded jaw. "You have no idea how much I've been fantasising about our reunion!" She was now sitting on his lap, giving the Kommandant no chance to react to her actions. A clawed hand ran through his brown locks, then slid down onto a shoulder.
"Roon, give him some space will you?" Friedrich sat down opposite the Kommandant, scowling at Roon but giving a warm smile towards Bismarck. The concerned Bismarck sat back down in her chair, but keeping a close eye on Roon.
"But I have hardly said hello yet! Please a little more time..." whining as if she were spoilt, Roon held the stalwart Kommandant to herself.
"What did I tell you yesterday?" Friedrich spoke sternly to Roon now, as if she were punishing her.
"That I've always got time to talk to Herr Kommandant..." Roon let out a heavy sigh, like a child having a strop. Before getting off of his lap, she kissed him deeply on the lips with an audible smack after. Not sure whether to be shocked at this, the Kommandant furrowed his brows and fidgeted in his seat. Feeling the icy glare from Bismarck, Roon grinned at her and sat next to Friedrich.
"So," the Kommandant began, "welcome to our new home in the North Sea. It's quite cold, ja? I can see that our new guests didn't enter with you, why is that?" He picked up his mug of coffee and took a short sip. In his peripheral while talking to Friedrich, Roon was unsettlingly staring at him, her chin resting on an arm and her body pointed directly toward him.
"I sent them to their rooms first, and they wanted to meet the other girls too." Friedrich explained, earning an understanding nod from the Kommandant. He then ordered more coffee for the table as they got deeper into conversation. Roon was the first to get up and leave after Eugen and Mainz - Eugen's recently arrived younger sister, invited her out to help them with a commission regarding Siren activity. Even the idea of destruction aroused Roon, but she was saddened by departing from the Kommandant so quickly. The Kommandant would have to thank Eugen later for saving him, again, from Roon's advances.
"I apologise for leaving too," Bismarck quickly finished her coffee and stood up from the table, looking at the Kommandant first, then to Friedrich, "I agreed to assisting Agir and August von Parseval settle in with the aid of Tirpitz." Bismarck took a moment after stepping away and glanced toward the Kommandant, she then bowed her head in respect to the two still sitting and left the cafe.
"She needs to learn to relax and take time off from work," Friedrich looked over her shoulder to the door, seeing Bismarck walk past the frosted window with a quickened step.
"Bismarck feels she doesn't need time to relax, because she thinks there's always something to be done. She isn't one for idleness..." the Kommandant leaned on his arms with his hands cupping his mug.
"Hm," Friedrich chuckled, "my dear child, perhaps she wants you to show her how to relax?"
"Well," the Kommandant raised his thick eyebrows "I was planning on taking her with me to Portsmouth soon, when I visit the Royal Navy Commander." He looked at Friedrich, her soft yellow eyes looking back at him. There was a calming smile on her lips, she looked relaxed now that she was with her family.
"That's a good start, she sees you as a role model as much as everyone in our family sees her as a role model," drinking some of her newly brewed coffee, Friedrich leaned back into her chair with a smile. "If she sees you taking a moment to relax, maybe she will too."
"Those sisters work too much, but not in competition. They never fight with one another, which - I suppose is a good thing, but they're still so distant from one another. You may see them walking together patrolling the base, but they are in silence with a huge emotional gap between them. It's difficult to be on the same page with the girls who... sank."
"My child, you worry too much. Your love for the Iron Blood is something incomparable to the commanders of the other nations," Friedrich reached out her hands and held the Kommandant's, "everything takes time, Rome wasn't build in a day."
The Kommandant nodded after heaving a deep sigh. There was still so much to do and what seemed like too little time to do it. He was getting pressured by his superiors to make striding waves in reducing siren activity in the North, but with the lack of ships he had at hand with lesser firepower (until now with the rather explosive addition of Friedrich and Roon) it rapidly became stressful. The weight of high expectations from the higher-ups and having to appear like everything is under control - which it mostly is - to the rest of the Iron Blood is beginning to take its toll on the Kommandant. Hopefully now, with Friedrich, Roon, Mainz, Odin, Agir, and August, life should be a bit easier in defending humanity in the North.
"Will you sit here with me?" The Kommandant asked, appreciating the help that Friedrich has given him. She calms him, like a mother would. It may be unexplainable how he feels when she's around, but his anxiety melts away like ice in the sun.
"Of course, darling," Friedrich adjusted herself in the chair and tucked a loose strand of hair behind an ear, "you know I'll always be there for you." A tabby meowfficer - recently employed for the finer jobs that need to be done around the port - brought a new big pot of coffee for the two of them as well as newsletters for the Kommandant. The meowfficer then waddled over to the fireplace and added more wood, stoking the flames. The Kommandant unfolded the newsletters and began reading; nothing pressing, but there was a small coverage of the Priority ships being moved to the North Sea to 'Help Win the War Against the Sirens.'
Friedrich fidgeted in her chair, then glanced around the cafe as if she were looking for something.
"What are you looking for?" asked the Kommandant, getting near the end of his coffee and the newsletter.
"Would you happen to have a music player in here?" replied the battleship with another question, standing up from the table and searching around.
"I believe so, I might have to ask the meowfficers to set it up for you though. Is there anything you had in mind you'd like to listen to?" He turned his torso to face Friedrich as she peered around the cafe. However before she could reply, two destroyers had entered the cafe to escape from the cold and take a break from morning exercises, and when they saw Friedrich they lit up like two small suns.
"Friedrich!" they exclaimed in unison, hanging up their thick winter coats to then run over to greet her. Friedrich wrapped them in her arms and said hello, asking them if they had grown and telling them how cute they both were. It was reminiscent of a genuine family reunion, and technically it was. The 'mother' - albeit one of the younger ships - greeting her children after a long time away felt strangely personal to the Kommandant as a heartfelt smile found itself on his lips. Once the destroyers had calmed down they ordered a small breakfast meal for themselves and sat at the table closest to the fireplace.
"Can I ask you something?" The Kommandant went to take a sip of his coffee before some cogs in his head started clicking together and moving as one. His mug was placed back on the coaster and he looked toward the battleship.
"Anything, mein Schatz," Friedrich had just found a record player and was flicking through a collection of vinyl's. The Kommandant took a moment to think about the question he was conjuring up in his head.
"What does family mean to you? And where do you draw the line between love for your family and the love you feel for a person?"
"Family..." Friedrich picked out a record from a tattered box and pulled it out of the sleeve. With incredibly light touch, she carefully placed the vinyl on the player and flicked a switch. The black disk began to spin, her fingers danced over the player as she moved the arm over the edge of the record, then gently put it down. The sound of a piano came from a speaker, it was slow and melodic. Perfect for a calm morning. "Family," she repeated, "It is a strange thing, and as someone who has probably the best family that has ever graced this planet; I may be a little biased."
She wore a small smile as she closed her eyes and listened to the piano. she put her hands together over her lap and thought deeply for a moment. The Kommandant chuckled, and nodded with what she said.
"I know it's not an easy question, but it's been swimming through my mind for a few weeks now. It gets more difficult to answer the harder I think about it." He put a hand through his hair, stopped at his neck and massaged it slightly. "I thought that maybe if I got a second opinion, it would help."
"It certainly isn't easy, I'll give you that." Friedrich returned to the table and now sat next to the Kommandant. She slowly brought a gloved hand up and moved a cascading length of black hair out of her face, both of her amber eyes set on him. "My family, the Ironblood, I would not be here if it were not for you and the hard work of the other girls. I consider many of them as my daughters, I consider you my son." Friedrich touched a hand to his face, caressing his cheek. "The closeness, the history, the experiences had together... Family is knowing people will be there for you when you're hurting, or at least they should or they're a rather terrible excuse for a family. Family supports you, Family holds pride for its members. If you need help, family should be the first thing you should think of." Friedrich faced him more directly now. "If you ever need help with anything, anything at all my dearest child, you know I will do anything within my power to help you. I assure you the same goes for the entirety of the Ironblood."
The Kommandant gulped, he felt a heaviness in his eyes as he reflected on what she said. "Thank you..." he spoke, low, like a whisper.
"Komm her, mein Kind, let me embrace you," Friedrich's voice was slow and quiet, her arms were outstretched for a hug - one he was ready to accept. She systematically broke down his walls, and with this hug she rebuilt them even stronger than before. He leaned toward her and felt the warmth of her arms wrap around him, a hand tenderly pulled his head into her chest and another rubbed his back. A loving kiss was planted on the top of his head. For a man who was into his forties, the Kommandant felt like a child in this moment, being consoled by his mother, being given reassurances and promises of love and affection. Friedrich helped him see what family meant, with his own ideas and her own. Is this how the rest of the shipgirls felt about 'family'?
The Kommandant and Friedrich spent the rest of the morning in the cafe listening to music and having idle chatter. Other shipgirls came and went for their breakfasts or a little later for early lunches. When the time came to roughly one in the afternoon, the Kommandant excused himself and went for a walk around the port, inspecting whatever he came across and talking to any of the girls who had something to ask from him. Friedrich went to meet with the rest of the priority shipgirls to make sure they were settling in calmly. Word had already spread about Roon and her tendency to make things disappear very explosively if her hunger for war wasn't sated.
Roon offered to do a commission by herself, one that would usually require six highly skilled girls for, but claimed it was 'for the Kommandant' and thus wanted to prove herself to him. He allowed her to go, but on the condition she took Viersechs and Nimi with her just to make sure nothing bad happened. The heavy cruiser was satisfied - for now. Once the raving-mad heavy cruiser and her destroyer supervisors left the port, The Kommandant took a long, meaningful breath.
"Wow, she's crazy about you, isn't she?" Eugen appeared suddenly by the Kommandant's left side, her right arm linked with his. He glanced to his side and saw her, looking up at him with a wide grin. He grunted with a small smirk and pulled his cigarette case out of a breast pocket and opened it. It wasn't anything special, a standard silver case with the crest of the Ironblood fixed to the front of it. Eugen took her free hand and picked out one of the few white sticks out of it and placed it between his lips. He watched her as she did this, then fished his lighter out to try and light it. The weather had other plans as the wind began to pick up, making the flame impossible to use even if he did cup it.
"Mein Gott, you two really should just fuck..." Hipper happened to be nearby when Roon set off for her commission, walking from the main building to the lecture halls. She passed when she saw Eugen fawning over the Kommandant, and felt the need to get revenge for how many times her younger sister had teased her.
"Hah?" Eugen unlinked her arm from the Kommandant and faced her sister. "And what if I have already?" After she asked this, Hipper looked as if she was trying her best not to laugh.
"You wouldn't be able to shut up about it, that's why!" Hipper put her hands on her hips and began to bicker with her younger sister. The Kommandant took this chance to slink away and avoid the potentially destructive conclusion to their argument, or rather petty squabble. He had better things to think about than to deal with their childishness. For starters having to write up about the priority ships and constant updates for Command so they know they're settling in alright, especially Roon.
Roon this, Roon that. She's already complicating things and she hasn't even been in the port for a day. Maybe a Kapitan could be employed from the Deutschemarine to be dedicated to the priority ships, it might take a long time to be sorted out, but it would make the work load far lighter. The Kommandant would have to get some serious results if he were to start making large requests like more staff that aren't cheap. A deputy sounds perfect, but it isn't something that would be happening soon.
The Kommandant took his time returning to his office, but made a short stop by the new additions to the base to say hello, ask if they needed anything or if they had any issues they could come to him for them. Odin was clear about her indifference, Mainz was busy calming her sisters down outside, Agir looked conflicted about meeting the Kommandant for the first time and August seemed nervous during the introduction. He would have to accompany them both when they go on their first few missions, and those missions might be sooner than he anticipated. They were eager to get going, not only to prove themselves to the Ironblood, but to also show off their abilities. Even Agir's presence was enough to tell the Kommandant that she was powerful, maybe as powerful as Friedrich. The only ship that can compare to Friedrich is USS New Jersey, and thankfully the Eagle Union and the Ironblood aren't at war anymore.
It was a new era, or at least the Kommandant believed so. The world had bigger fish to fry, the Sirens were a major threat that needed to be dealt with. Needing to set aside a global conflict should help realise that international conflict isn't worth the consequences.
From the Crimson Axis and Azur Lane, the Ironblood and Royal Navy were the best partners, returning to their historical alliances to combine their powers and fight together rather than against each other. The Royal Navy Commander wanted to set a date for a meeting with the Kommandant, and the Kommandant had yet to send a reply. Both individuals know that there is a landslide of things that they both need to keep on top of to make sure their respective factions function to their highest ability.
After the introductions, the Kommandant found himself at his desk making phone calls and writing up more reports and signing papers for supplies. Nothing more tedious and repetitive than the same old stuff that he's been doing for decades, but it's made up by the odd mission he gets to tag along with and the moments he gets to experience when he's with the girls rather than being in his office. He has dedicated himself to his family, and will do whatever it takes for them to succeed.