Chapter 17

"That pub looks nice, maybe a few of us could go for a drink there later." Hood spoke as we walked back to the ship.

"I've been there once before. It can get a bit packed but it's a good place, and it comes with the bonus of only being a ten-minute walk from where we are docked." I replied. Both my arms were full of bags packed with all the mechanical and medical supplies we would need. We figured it was best to get multiples of everything and spread them across the ships so we wouldn't be stuck without anything again.

Hood looked at how many bags I was carrying, and my apparent struggle with the weight, most of the stuff we had purchased would be delivered to the ship, yet there was still a large amount to be carried, she clutched the singular bag she held against her chest. We had visited an old bookstore where the lady working there had helped Hood find a collection of books that she would be interested in, from a collection of old novels to a few cookery books. When she had gone to pay the woman waved her hand away, claiming that she wasn't long for this world and both her sons had been lost at sea, meaning when she passed the books would just end up discarded anyway and she was just happy to see people still have an interest in reading.

I had picked out a few books I found on naval warfare. Even in this old bookstore the sirens had somehow censored history as most of them were from the age of sail, with only a few being about the first iron hulled ships. Hood had said that even with the difference in technology, battles were fought in a similar manner albeit at much longer ranges. So the books would still hold some value.

There was also a collection of threads and clothing materials in her bag. Apparently, she had found repairing Warspite's clothing rather enjoyable. And with the girls only having one set of clothes, she wished to try and make some for everyone, starting with nightwear so they would be more comfortable when sleeping.

"Are you sure you don't want me to carry anything? Those bags look rather heavy."

"There not as heavy as they look." I lied. "Were almost back at the Javelin anyway, I need to show that I actually have a use other than being a tour guide."

Hood gave a rather annoyed look. "You diminish yourself. None of us would be here if it wasn't for you. And not just because you suggested to come here. Had it not been for you, Javelin's cubes may have been destroyed or worse taken to that dreaded university, and Z23 would still be trapped in that machine. For heaven's sake you fought a siren directly and saved Warspite's life." She moved her bag to one hand and held mine with the other. She didn't directly take the weight, but I could feel her helping. "Now, the next time you downplay your actions I will punish you by making you clean my deck. Does that sound fair?" While her tone had showed she wasn't joking, the smile she gave after was enough to tell me she did it in the best of spirits.

"I will try and do better." I returned her smile and we continued walking.

When we returned to the ship, Elizabeth and Warspite were already back, they had been able to get most of what was on their list plus a few extra personal items. Elizabeth had somehow found a rather ornate tea set with small golden crowns painted around the cups. she told me that I hadn't lived until I have experienced a proper lunch of cream tea, and that when we set off it shall be first on the agenda. I couldn't find it in me to tell her I have had cream tea before, on several occasions.

With the evening already starting to draw near, I decided to wait until tomorrow before trying to find the convoys leader. Instead, Hood and I went down to the mess and started preparing dinner, thankfully due to U-556 needing to burn off the energy from the oil most of the hard work was done and only a few final preparations needed to be made. With the spare time I helped Hood go over what I had written along with a few parts from her cooking books.

"You really are a man of many talents." Hood had commented. I almost replied saying that what I knew was just a bit more than the basics, but the threat of cleaning her deck just made me smile and agree.

Javelin and the others would return shortly before dusk. They too had been able to get most of what we needed, along with some stuff for themselves.

Dinner came and went and everyone went off to do their own things. "So how about that drink?" Hood asked as I cleaned up after dinner. "I've asked everyone else, only Warspite sounded interested."

I looked at the small mountain of cleaning up that still needed to be done. "I need to finish up here and do some other stuff, you two can go on ahead. I'll be down in an hour or so."

"Are you sure? I can be of assistance."

I waved a hand dismissively. "No no, I insist. This really shouldn't take me any time at all, and with everything she's been through Warspite needs some time to relax. Here." I handed Hood a few quid. "First round is on me."

After making me promise I would come down, Hood left to go grab Warspite. One of the reasons I had wanted them to go on their own was to hopefully allow the girls to build some autonomy. Javelin's outburst about her being scared of losing me had made me realise, that while the girls were very durable, I wasn't. I just needed the peace of mind that if the unthinkable happened they would be able to carry on.

With everything cleaned I made my way over to the bridge. Night had fallen, the last week of seeing the sky filled with starts was now replaced with a horizon filled with artificial light. While the sun had gone down, the work at the port continued nonetheless.

Sitting at a small desk to the side, I found myself staring at a blank piece of paper. I had been contemplating sending a letter home to let my family know of my health.

In the past I used to send a letter roughly once a month just to let them know I was doing fine. I had now missed that mark by well over two weeks, which on its own isn't too big of a deal. But they would have undoubtedly heard of the endurance never arriving at port and that none of her crew had survived.

Then one of two possibilities existed, either they believe me to be dead and were now planning a funeral, or have had the police come knocking asking for my whereabouts after what happened in London.

I tapped my finger against the metal. And what would I even write? That I'm travelling around with girls that are the personification of old warships, and I'm off to the new world to try and unravel the mystery of their existence.

"It's not polite to keep girls waiting on you James." A voice spoke out from behind me. Turning I saw Elizabeth standing by the door to the bridge. She walked over when our eyes met. "You told them you would only be an hour, that time passed nearly thirty minutes ago."

"Ah." I rubbed my eyes, they felt sore from staring at blank paper for so long, my back also ached slightly. "I didn't mean to, just lost track of the time."

"What could be so important." She leaned to look at the table. She was holding a cup of tea in her hands. From the looks of it she was just about to go to bed. "Ah writing a letter home. Fair enough."

I looked at the letter, she had somehow figured out its purpose, even when there wasn't anything written on it. "How could you tell? "

"I used to spend long stints away from a home port. My sailors would spend a lot of their free time writing letters to their loved ones. Or constantly re-reading ones they had been sent." She leaned against the table and looked out to the port. "Be it letters from parents wishing them well, siblings writing to say what they've been up to. And most importantly ones from wives and sweethearts, letting them know how much they love them, and yearn for the day they can be together again. They would always keep them those letters in their chest pockets, close to the heart."

I sighed. "Well, I don't have any siblings, nor a girl back home waiting for me. But the last letter I sent to my parents was ages ago, with everything that's happened they either think I'm dead or have been arrested. I'm stuck on what I should tell them, and if they'll even believe me."

Elizabeth's eyebrows had eased when I mentioned not having a partner, and I couldn't help but notice a slight blush on her face. Clearing her throat, she put her hand on mine. "You should write to them. No matter what they've been told or believe, you're their son. Just knowing your alive and well will bring them great joy." Letting go of my hand she took a drink of her tea. "I am one of five ships in my class, and while I have Warspite my heart yearns to be reunited with my other three sisters, as does Warspite's. And I'm sure the other girls feel the same with their sisters. However, what hat we feel probably pales in comparison to your parents."

She was right, I had to let them know. "Your right Elizabeth, when I next get some free time, I will finish off the letter and send it to them."

Tilting her head, she hummed. "And yet I have a feeling you will just stall and pretend to forget until we set off." She putting a hand under her chin she looked to be thinking. "Tomorrow we shall be far too busy, but they day after we should be mostly free." I could almost see the idea pop into her head. "You seem to have knowledge of the local area, so you shall be taking me out to a fine establishment for a spot of lunch, on our way there you can drop off your letter at a post office."

"Do I have any choice in this?"

"Your queen demands it." She replied, rather smugly.

With a sigh I nodded. Smiling she gave me a pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, doing it will be good for you. Now, you are already late as it is, so I shall retire for the night and not keep you any longer." She moved over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight James." Her face stayed close to mine for a while, even in the darkness of the bridge her bright blue eyes shone radiantly, I could even see the slightest reflection of my blue eyes in her pupils.

Her face started to turn red and my voice got caught in my throat. Quickly backing away Elizabeth hurryingly made her way out of the bridge. Only stopping for a second at the door. "Please try not to cause a ruckus when you return. I know how spirited sailors can be when it comes to the drink." she promptly left after that.

I was hurryingly making my way down an old cobbled road, the growing volume of people talking and laughing indicating my proximity to the pub. Rounding a corner I saw the old building, the lights inside spilling out onto the street through the windows. There were a few dockworkers standing outside, smoking and continuing conversations.

Walking past them I made my way inside; it was obvious there was a fleet at dock by the sheer number of people there was. Looking around I tried to find the two girls, Warspite with her shorter frame would be nigh impossible to spot in this crowd, I tried to find the distinct blue of Hood's dress or the top of her hat.

A waving hand caught my attention. In one of the booths Hood was sitting and waving me over. I promptly went over to her. She sat at a table that was practically filled with all manner of drinks. Warspite was nowhere to be seen. "Trying everything they have?" I asked as I sat next to her, practically yelling so she could hear me."

"Nearly every gentleman here has bought me a drink and introduced themselves. They were very polite, but I knew it was all an attempt to get under my skirt so while I thanked them for a drink, I let them know I was already spoken for and was just waiting for him to arrive. I said they could take the drink back, but most just apologised and let me keep them." She grabbed one of the drinks and passed it to me.

I mentally kicked myself. "I'm sorry, it completely skipped my mind the amount of attention a woman with your looks would get."

"Then you should have been here earlier. It's bad manners to keep a girl waiting." After repeating what Elizabeth had told me she moved herself as close as possible and slid her arm across my back until letting it rest on the side of my hip. To add insult to injury she even began playfully touching my leg with her shoe. Leaning in she whispered. "Consider this punishment."

I knew what she was doing, I could feel everyone around us staring daggers at me, Jealous that in their eyes, I was the one who had seemingly caught the fancy of such a bombshell. And from the way she was smiling, it was obvious this was exactly what she wanted. I took a large swig of the drink in the hopes that the alcohol would eventually calm my nerves. "I really am sorry, I just got caught up with something, I hope nobody gave you too much trouble."

"Don't worry about it. Most of these boys here will soon be departing in the fleet. You can't see it, but they are all terrified that this may be the last time they set foot on land, so they drink and be merry in the hopes of holding off the dread for at least one more night" She sighed and looked at her drink. "I guess in all this time some things never change."

"Well, at least this time, we will be there to protect them." I finished my drink. I only occasionally drink and probably have a lower tolerance than most, but even with that I could tell the drink had a high alcohol percentage. I was already starting to feel myself starting to relax more, was this also part of Hoods plan? It was nigh impossible to tell with that woman.

Somehow, she moved herself even closer, even through her clothes I could feel the softness of her body. With it still being July the walk from the ship had been a cold one, but her body heat was starting to warm me more than the alcohol, that and combined with her occasionally moving her fingers along my hip made me swell with pride in the knowledge that despite everyone who had propositioned her this night, she had just respectfully declined and continued waiting for me. I knew it was wrong to have such a thought, but I found myself relaxing more than I had in a long time and allowed this one comfort to continue for just a little longer.

Eventually I looked as she finished taking a sip of her drink. She noticed my gaze and just smiled in return, this wasn't her teasing smile, nor was it the normal one she always had. This one was soft, warm and more intimate, for some reason I could tell this was one she would only show to me.

A thought appeared in my mind, bringing me back to my senses. A certain dreadnought was currently unaccounted for. "You wouldn't happen to know where Warspite is? She was supposed to be with you."

"It seems she inherited more of her crew's communal spirit than I. What do you think the source of the ruckus is all about." She pointed across the room. Following where she was pointing, I could just about make out a table next to the bar.

On one side of the table sat a sailor, he was holding a pint glass up to his lips and drinking it as fast as he could while the crowd cheered him on. And on the other side was the dreadnought in question, she was doing exactly the same, but had already drunk way more than him. By the time he was halfway done she held the empty glass up into the air and cheered her victory. With a quick shake of hands, he gave her the money that was obviously the bet for the game and walked off to finish his drink.

"Ah, I see." Hood hummed in agreement.

Warspite stood and started calling to the crowd about who else wanted to play, it was obvious from the way she looked and moved, that she was already very drunk. I tuned to Hood. "I should probably..."

She moved her hand from my side. "Yes, you should. Go, I will finish up here. I have already got what I wanted." she sourced a few notes and handed them to me. "It is unfortunate that this will probably cut our night short, but you should have some fun and play her game. You're probably the only person here who can beat her."

I started to stand. "I doubt it, you girls can drink oil like its noting. She could probably down three pints in the time it takes me to have one." Hood Just winked and nodded for me to go.

"Anyone else want to try their luck, I can keep going all night." Warspite drunkenly spoke, looking for another opponent. She shook her head when nobody seemed to volunteer, the action making her loose balance slightly. "Back in my day sailors could easily handle a bit of light drinking. You lot can't even hold a candle to them. She noticed me as I just finished making my way through the crowd. "Ah! Commander." She stumbled over, walking into me slightly as she misjudged the distance. "Finally, a man worth his salt. I was wondering when you would turn up. These boys here were just starting to bore me."

She continued to sway, I put a hand on her shoulder to try and keep her steady. "Sorry I'm late Warspite. But from the looks of things, you've been keeping busy. Hope there hasn't been any trouble.

"Nah, it's been fine." She waved a hand dismissively. "Just a simple game I've been playing with this pub's fellow patrons." She held up a rather sizable bundle of notes. Showing that she had been playing the game for a long while, and that the girls biology obviously made them resistant to alcohol. Splitting the amount, she handed half to me. "As a ship under your commission, you are entitled to any monetary gains I might make."

"Oh? Thanks, but you don't have to." She pushed her hand forward pressing me to take the money. There was obviously no arguing with a drunk Warspite, so I took the money for now.

"Now, onto business." She shoved the other half into the top of her uniform. She started speaking louder, ensuring the people around us could hear. "None of the sailors here have been able to drink a pint faster than I. But you are my commander, care to show these boys how it's done?"

Her goading had the desired effect, everyone around us started calling me out, either to finally show her up or that nobody stood a chance against her. Warspite had done this on purpose, even in her drunken state she knew peer pressure was her best bet. "Fine, but you should know I'm not in any way a heavy drinker."

Warspite grinned and started pulling me over to a table. "Don't worry it's just one drink." She promptly left before returning with two drinks in hand. "Here you are." One was placed on my side of the table. "Rules are simple, drink as fast as you can without spilling it anywhere, first one with an empty glass gets the prize."

Raising the glass to her mouth she motioned for me to do the same. When I was ready someone gave us a countdown. The moment he reached zero I started drinking as fast as I could.

It was a week beer so the alcohol didn't burn much, but with how cold it was and the strong flavour it started to become a struggle to keep drinking. Eventually the need to breathe also started to grow but I just pushed it aside and kept drinking.

Eventually there was only a quarter of the pint left, risking a glance I tilted my head to see how far Warspite was with her drink, she still had half a glass left. Her eyes focused onto me; I noticed a slight upward curve of her lips causing a few drops of beer to spill out.

A second later I felt air fill my mouth. I had somehow finished my drink before her, the pub erupted with the noise of people cheering. Warspite Finished her drink and wiped her mouth dry, she stood and looked to the crowd. "And that's why he is our commander. Now James, would you like to come here and claim your prize."

"But we didn't put any money down?" I stood, confused at what she meant.

"Oh, they were putting down money as the bet, I was offering something far more valuable." Her voice had become even more slurred, I was worried that drink had finally pushed her over the edge.

"What could you be offe-" Before I could finish, she grabbed the sides of my coat and pulled me down into a kiss.

Due to the sudden shock I instinctively tried to pull back but to no avail, one of her hands had already moved to the back of my head and she started running her fingers through my hair. My mind calmed, I noticed that her lips were still cold from the beer, but they were still incredibly soft.

Eventually the need to breathe pulled us out from the kiss, we looked into one another's eyes, both of us unable to say anything. "Wait! The kiss was from her, I thought she said it was from her friend." someone from the crowd called out.

Warspite looked over to where he had called from. "I said it was a kiss from a beautiful maiden, you're the one who made that assumption." Warspite shook slightly. "Ah, look like it's end of watch. James, can you ring eight bells for me."

"What?"

"Night." She started falling forwards, the sheer amount of alcohol in her system finally catching up with her. Acting quickly I was able to stop her falling and hold her up.

"Looks like it's time for bed." Hood spoke from behind me, watching as I carefully picked up her semi-conscious body. I could already tell she had known this would be the outcome.

We were making our way back to the ship. Warspite was being carried on my back with her legs under my arms, she had wrapped her arms around me to prevent falling backward. She would occasionally mumble something, but it was mostly incomprehensible.

"I think it's probably best she takes a separate room to her majesty for tonight." Hood spoke from my side; she was ready to catch Warspite if she fell.

"Yeah, I'm surprised she drunk this much though."

Hood looked at Warspite. Her head was drooped over my shoulder, one of the ornaments that held her hair was slowly bouncing off my chest. "it's as you said. after what she went through, she probably needed to relax a bit."

I hummed in agreement. Whenever I saw Warspite around I would feel an icy chill run down my spine as I remembered seeing her laying on the floor, covered in blood and begging for her sister. It was a sight I wished I could forget.

When we eventually arrived at the Javelin, I wished Hood a good night and made my way to one of the unoccupied cabins.

"Right here you are, try not to roll out of bed." I placed her on the bed, she promptly kicked off her shoes and fell backwards, spreading herself out on the mattress. "My room is only two doors down, try not to disturb anyone if you need something."

With no reply I stared to leave. A hand reached out and grabbed the edge of my coat, I turned to see what she wanted. "Please stay. I don't... I don't like sleeping alone." She looked at me with pleading eyes.

"Fine, scoot over then." I had made my mind up far too quickly, but I was tired and slightly drunk. I removed my coat and shoes and laid down next to Warspite. She promptly pulled me into a hug and started lightly snoring.

Getting as comfortable as was possible I started to drift off, having a pleasant night's sleep for the first time in days.

The day had begun with a heavy fog over the port, but eventually it lifted and left a clear sky and shining sun. Breakfast hadn't been organised as everyone woke up at separate times, after having a light meal of scrambled eggs with U-556 I left everything out so anyone who came could easily make themselves something. With it still being early I went and sat out on deck using one of the torpedo tubes as a backrest.

I had taken out one of the books I had gotten yesterday and was just casually reading through it while keeping an eye on the ramp anyone would use to get on the ship. Yesterday Javelin had assured me that nobody could get into the ship without her knowing, but I still felt uneasy about it.

"Morning James!" The girl in question called out as she left the ships interior and started walking over.

"Hey Javelin, sleep well?"

"Yep, out in Scapa flow I would constantly drift around my anchor, however here I'm all tied down so it's nice and comfortable. I noticed you came in late last night, from what Hood has just told me, Warspite ended up drinking a bit too much." Javelin knelt beside me so her eye level was the same as mine.

When I had woken up, Warspite was still deep asleep. After some careful manoeuvring I was able to get out of her vice-like grip and leave her to have a lie in. "Yeah, she challenged half the pub to drinking competitions, ending up with her needing to be carried back. Do you know if she's finally woken up?"

Javelin nodded. "She got up around twenty minutes ago, but she's just been standing in a shower for a long time now. I'm worried she might have fallen asleep again."

"Anything you can do to get her moving."

She rubbed her chin and hummed. "Maybe, don't know how effective it's going to be though, give me a sec."

I waited to see what she was doing. Suddenly a blood curdling scream echoed out from inside the ship. Javelin giggled. "Yep that's got her blood flowing."

"What did you do?" I asked, but I had a morbid guess of what Javelin had just done.

"Turned the boiler off and made the water in the shower turn ice cold. She immediately jumped and got out."

While it was an effective way of waking someone up, I was now worried about what Warspite would do if she found Javelin right now. I got out a bit of the money she had given me last night and handed it to Javelin. "Why don't you go find Z23 and take a trip into the town, we have got most of what we need now, so you two can go exploring if you want."

Seemingly agreeing that it was probably best for her to be off the ship. Javelin gave her thanks and offered to find something nice for me while she was out. After taking the money she quickly went inside the ship to find her friend. Both of them exiting soon after and making their way off the ship.

Deciding to leave an irate Warspite alone I returned to my book. Roughly half an hour later an old looking man walked into my field of vision, he promptly stopped at the ships ramp. "I was told I would find a strange looking ship here; Didn't know this is was what she meant." He called out to me.

"And you are." I spoke back, putting the book away.

He tipped his cap, the thing looked to be as old as him. "Richard spence. I was also told the commander of the ship had some business to do with me."

"I may do." I got up and leaned against the railing. I had hoped to find him today, but I was surprised he had just wandered over to the ship. "And who was it who told you to find me."

"Last night I spoke a lovely young lady who claimed to be under your employ."

I went to reply only to see his gaze to move to my side. "Ah, mister Spence. What a fine morning to be seeing you again." Hood spoke as she moved next to me. Obviously, it was going to be her.

He fully took his cap off this time and held it against his chest. "Morning ma'am. And you are more than right, any morning is finer with you gracing it."

Hood giggled into her hand and waved dismissively with the other. "You jest. Now stop standing there and come aboard, I have just made tea and there is much to discuss."

I was starting to wonder if I really was the commander of this fleet.

(A/N)

While this isn't the quickest turnover for a chapter I'm still glad I was able to get this one out so soon. doing this project I have noticed a massive improvement in my writing speed and I no longer need to spend as much time editing and proof reading.

The next chapter should be out soon as well, as there may be something special planned for that one.

Be sure to let me know what you thought about the chapter and even what you think of the story in general, I always read every reply and review I get and they motivate me to work harder on the project.