Chapter 19.
As the mornings fog cleared, the waters around the dockyards were suddenly filled with ships moving about. Each one making their way out of the protective shelter of the port and into the dangers of the open sea.
Cargo ships sat deep in the water, their holds filled to the brim with everything from precious metals to exotic goods like spices and silks.
At the convoys core were the passenger ships. People from all over the continent willing to risk crossing the ocean to seek a better life in the new world.
A small ship could be seen darting around the larger vessels, its smaller size giving it the speed to overtake them with ease. A fresh white ensign, one from a batch that had been custom made the day before had been hoisted up the main mast. The first one to be flown on a warship in over a hundred years.
Javelin gave a sigh and held a hand to her head. "There isn't even a hint of radio discipline out there. Everyone's just chatting and arguing over every channel."
"Is there anything important?" I asked.
"Hmm." Javelin shrugged. "Unless you want to know about a captain failing to court a red-haired dockworker, or another complaining about how he can hear the ships engine rattle from his cabin. Then there probably isn't anything out there worth listening to." However, something drew her attention and she looked to the side, after a few seconds she put her hands over her chest and smiled. "Priority message from the harbour master. He called out a sailor onboard one of the cargo vessels. Apparently, his wife has just given birth to his son.
A chorus of ships horns rang out, filling the air with a loud low tone. "What's that about?" She asked.
"Its tradition. whenever a sailor becomes a father, every ship around will sound their horn, no matter what. It's to let the sirens know we will continue on surviving, no matter what they do." Javelin smiled and let her ships horn join in.
When the sound died down, I saw Javelin's eyes twitch as the radio chatter begun again. "Don't worry, it will spread out and die down once we reach open waters. In the meantime, would you like a cup of tea to help.
"That would be lovely, thanks."
Leaving her on the bridge I went out to make my way to the mess. Hood and Z23 were standing out on the weather deck. Hood was using my binoculars to record all the ships in the convoy and ensure the signal flags listed in the manifest matched. "In the heat of battle, we might not have time to confirm via radio. Flags can be used for instant recognition." She had told me.
Giving them a small greeting and thanking them for the work I continued my way into the ship. The fog had delayed departure slightly, but it was still early in the morning. I passed Elizabeth in a corridor as she carried a plate of sandwiches for everyone. She offered me one and then promptly left to find the others.
I felt proud at knowing how effective this ad hoc crew had become. U-556 was currently sitting up on the crow's nest. She was keeping an eye out for anything the radar might miss as with so many ships about it had become mostly ineffective.
"Ah hello commander." Warspite greeted me as I walked into the Mess. She was standing by one of the large metal tables, parts of her rigging where somehow laid out on the table.
"I'm surprised you can do that; I was under the assumption that stuff was connected to you." She had several tools and cleaning materials with her. I figured she was just doing some maintenance and walked to the stove to boil some water.
"Well, it's usually clasped to my torso and hips, but I can still somewhat remove it. It is rather uncomfortable not having it connected to me though."
"Then why do it?" I asked, leaving the pot to boil I walked over to have a look.
Warspite scratched the back of her head. "As you can see, it's in a rather dire condition. I know my ship would just repair over time, but if we could perform maintenance to get me seaworthy. Then maybe fixing our rigging might help speed along the process." With a sigh she placed her hands on her hips. "But it turns out I have no idea how to repair this stuff. It's all incredibly intricate and confusing."
As I went to open my mouth, she cut me off. "And before you say it. Let me ask, you were born able to breathe, correct? But you didn't atomically have the knowledge of how your lungs work." Warspite gestured to her rigging. "That's the best way to explain how we use our rigging."
"Fair point. Maybe we might end up coming across a ship who's a bit more clued in on this stuff. We don't even know how long you guys have been around yet." Something in the pile caught my eye, picking up the piece of metal I realised it was a piece of her chest plate. A large chunk of it was missing in the side and left sharp edges, we did have a look in town for someone to repair it, but with it needing to be perfectly fitted to her we were out of luck. "For now, we will probably just have to smooth down the sharp bits, until we can get it repaired."
"Yeah." Warspite sighed, she had been rather uncomfortable without it on. Her chest was rather loose without it and she was constantly pulling it straight. "Actually, there might be something I can try. Pass it here for a sec."
Passing it to her, Warspite seemed to look over the damaged parts before tightly holding it and closing her eyes. Her brow scrunched up as she begun to concentrate, I looked on, curious as to what she was doing.
Suddenly an incredibly bright light shone out from the metal, I had to take a few steps back as I was blinded. Once the spots had gone from my vision, I could see the parts of the breastplate that were missing had a blue light surrounding them. The light eventually died down and was replaced with metal.
"I can't believe that worked." Warspite looked at her work, surprised it had been successful. "I just concentrated on it like I do with my rigging and look at that, as good as new." She spun the plate around, proud of her work.
"Could do with a bit of a warning next time though, it nearly blinded me."
"Sorry, I didn't know that was going to happen." She offered me the plate. "Care to do the honours?"
Taking the plate back from her I looked over where it had been repaired, there was a slight line along where it had been broken, almost as if it had been wielded into place, would explain why I was nearly blinded. "Can do, lift your arms up." Taking the other half from the table I begun to affix it to her. The two parts covered both her chest and upper back, they connected at her sides and had a few straps that needed to be tied together.
Warspite noticed how close my face was to hers and tried to hide a growing blush. I didn't notice her blush as I was trying my hardest to tie the knots. However, I was also trying to hold back a blush as I became conscious about how close my hands were to her chest. When I was done, we both gave a sigh of relief that nobody had stumbled in.
A whistling noise from the stove provided a much-needed distraction. "Ah, waters boiling. You want a cup?"
"Huh?" She hadn't even noticed. "Oh! Yes, I would love one." Warspite looked over to the table. "I should start putting all this back together, we're probably about to hit the open sea."
"About that, do you think you'll be able to keep up with the convoy." I asked while preparing serval cups.
"Yeah, convoy ships move at a slow speed, especially when in a large formation like this one. My only concern would be if we hit rough seas, but if this weather holds, I should be more than capable of keeping pace. Walking over passed her a cup, after receiving her thanks I left her and begun walking back to the bridge.
I gave Elizabeth hers as she was heading back to the canteen and then Hood's and Z23's Just before I went into the bridge. It was interesting that Z23 had her tea completely black, as that was what U-556 liked to drink whenever she didn't have juice.
"Ah, Thank you." Javelin spoke as I finally got round to her. She took a few sips and visually seemed to relax from doing so.
"Any news?" I asked while looking out the window.
"Nothing much, It's still just a jumble of communication out there. A few ships have spoken about me while I passed them, mostly just confused about a ship covered in guns snaking her way around the convoy. Nobody has directly hailed me so I haven't responded."
"Probably for the best. No offence but your voice is probably the last thing these sailors expect to hear come out of a radio. Just keep moving your way up to the front. We need to get alongside..." I pulled out a piece of paper I had been given by a runner this morning. "The John Brown. It should be a large cargo vessel leading the formation. The plan is to keep by her until were in open waters. And then." I looked at Javelin with a sly smile. "And then we show him the true nature of our fleet."
The convoy reached the open seas without too many problems. Apart from an oiler that had to return to port. Including Javelin, there was now forty-five ships slowly making their way westward. The radio buzzed as Spence's voice came through. "So, we have hit the open sea, any idea of where this fleet of yours is?"
All the girls were with me on the bridge, I had briefed them on the plan. "They should be here in a few. I also have a rather pressing matter I need to speak to you with, do I have persimmon for Hood and I to come aboard your ship? Unfortunately, it can't be spoken about over radio."
He was silent for a moment. "It can't be relayed over radio? Fine, I see a small motor vessel on your ship. Guessing you want me to drop a climbing net."
"Don't worry, that won't be necessary."
"I really wish there was a more dignified way of doing this." I commented as we made our way over to the John brown.
Hood looked down at me and slightly adjusted her grip. "I find it rather nice, or would you prefer to swim? They say cold water is good for your circulation." She was carrying me the same way she had before, I knew there wasn't any subtle alternatives. But it was still uncomfortable being carried like a baby or a newlywed bride.
Only Hood and I were going over to the ship, the other girls were waiting for Hood to give a signal. The moment we had departed Javelin stated to peel off to make enough room for everyone. What I had planned would hopefully reaffirm the convoys faith in us.
I also knew that the first thing the sailors would talk about once we reached port would be the ships. I needed show them how powerful the girls were. As after this we would undoubtedly begin to draw unwanted attention.
"If you wish for peace, prepare for war." Elizabeth had told me. And I was going to show the world we were more than prepared.
Though, seeing the ships commander being carried around probably wasn't doing the best for our image.
"Here we are, Hold on now." Hood spoke as we approached the large grey ship. She jumped from the water up onto the main deck with ease. Her high heels making a soft click as she landed.
It wasn't long before Sailors begun to pour out onto the deck. Fortunately, Hood set aside her teasing mood and promptly put me down. I noticed her riggings guns had moved round to cover one side of me.
Finally, I spotted Richard Spence making his way over. When he could finally see Hood in her entirety, he joined his fellow crew and just stood there completely shocked by what he was seeing.
"I told you I wouldn't be needing a motor vessel."
My words seemed to bring him back to reality. "B-but how? That's impossible."
"Oh, that's not even the biggest surprise I have for you." Trying my hardest to hide a smug grin, I looked to Hood and gave her a nod. She brought a hand up to her temple and her eyes begun to flutter slightly.
Turns out the girls can use the ships radios through their rigging, I used this information when planning everything. After giving her the signal Hood had used morse code to communicate back to the Javelin. If anyone was looking at the ship, they would have seen three figures jump off the deck and begun to spread out.
"You wanted a fleet to keep your convoy safe right? Well then, how about this." I gestured out into the open sea.
With flashes of light the girl's ships appeared. Two large Queen Elizabeth class Dreadnoughts now leaded the convoy, the sister's ships looked almost identical, with only the heavy damage to the Warspite being the distinguishing features.
Z23 also slowly brought her ship into formation, while small compared to the bigger ships, she was still heavily laden with large guns and thick armour. The top-heavy weight causing the ship to rock a fair bit until she filled her ballast and sat lower in the water.
U-556 had remained on the Javelin. Though she was smaller than the destroyers I still asked if she wanted to join in. Her reply had been that a Submarine's greatest weapon was stealth, and it was best for her to remain undetected. I assumed it was just so she could spend more time napping, it isn't that she's lazy per se, as she does spend most of the night on watch. I figured it was probably just a trait submarine's have, but I wouldn't be able to prove it until I meet others.
"What the... How is that even possible?" Spence stood there, his mind struggling to comprehend the sight. I saw Hoods temple twitch slightly along with her rigging. She brought a hand to her ear as if to try and block out a loud noise. I felt sorry for the girls. The radio chatter had probably just gone through the roof.
"It's made possible thanks to these girls. Hood would you kindly give a demonstration."
She gave a curtesy. "Of course, my commander." Smiling, Hood turned to the crew. "You boys better brace yourselves." Her rigging begun to shine and broke down into cubes of light, they flew over to the side of the ship and begun to form.
Hood purposefully placed her ship close to the John Brown, the sudden displacement of water created a wave that rolled the ship heavily to the side, the sailors finally understood why she had said to brace themselves.
Though I had somewhat partially seen Hood's ship when I witnessed that dream, even I had to hide my surprise as the sheer size of her ship. Where Warspite and Elizabeth were only slightly longer than the cargo ships, Hood was easily double their length. Four turrets with guns similar to Warspite were at the fore and aft of the ship, with every type of secondary weapon running along the deck.
Where it was obvious with the design of the Queen Elizabeth class that practicality and efficiency had been the main values in their design. There was just something about how sleek the superstructure looked, or how the metal Panels were angled so the sunlight shone off them to give an almost radiant effect, that made me finally understand why the other girls held Hood in such high regard.
"So, I think that more than explains what we are capable off." I turned to the captain. "These girls here are able to fully control their warships, and come with guns that turn Sirens to scrap metal. While I can't promise complete protection, you can rest assured knowing that your convoy is in safe hands."
"W-what are they?" He was looking at Hood in complete shock, they all were.
Hood stepped forward and bowed. "I am HMS Hood. And we are the warships of old, reborn with these remarkable bodies and tremendous power. As my commander said, we are fully capable of fighting sirens, and you have my word we will do everything in our power to keep you safe."
"Warships?"
"All those old stories, about the navies of man being completely eradicated by the sirens. These girls are those ships. It can be hard to explain, as even I am still trying to fully understand it, but whatever the ship feels they can feel. And all the sensors onboard are just like our sense of smell or hearing. Your fleet is probably giving mine a headache with the sheer amount of undisciplined radio chatter you have going on." Hood closed her eyes and nodded, Javelin had said it calmed down after we left port, but I could imagine the radio waves were packed with people talking about ships suddenly appearing.
"Those two ships that saved you near New York were probably other girls like mine. So, you know all those guns aren't just for show."
Spence ran a hand through his hair. "In all my years, I never expected I would see something like this. These last few months I had a feeling that the waters were starting to shift, more and more reports of Siren activity, how every port I've been to has had stories about mysterious ships coming into contact with convoys and warning them to take alternative paths. I would have never guessed it was something like this." He looked over hood again. "She looks just like any normal lass."
"And will be treated as such." My voice had taken a darker tone. I crossed my arms against my chest. "Some of these girls have had a rather hard time, there's dangers out there that you don't even know about. I know the moment we reach port all the sailors will be talking about to what they have seen, and the they are free to speak as freely as they want."
I continued. "You seem smart enough to know what will happen once the powers that be learn of this, if they haven't already. They might even come to you to ask about us, all I want you to do is tell them that these girls and any others out there are free to live their lives as they see fit, and we will do everything in our power to make that happen." I put a hand on Hoods shoulder. "They are willing to fight for us and fix the mistakes of the past, they deserve to be treated equally."
It took a moment, I started to worry I had laid on a little too thick and made them too scared of us. But eventually Spence took a step forward and offered his hand to Hood. "It is not in my business to judge others, keep up your side of the deal and you have my word you won't have any issues from me or my crews."
Hood returned the gesture. "We will fight to keep you safe. And I am honoured to meet such a fine gentleman such as yourself."
We spoke for a little while longer, mostly explaining about my fleets ship rotation and to let the crews know that ships vanishing and appearing would be a common sight. After which Hood returned hers and begun to carry me once again across the sea.
"You really are worried about how the humans will treat us aren't you? What happened at the university was most likely and exception, not a rule."
I sighed. "I hope you are true, but I know enough history to know people covert power more than anything. They will want you for themselves, anyone who can control the seas controls the world."
"Well, they might find themselves surprised at just how strong we are. Anyone who wishes to control us will have a hard time doing so."
Hood started to turn slightly as we made our way across the water. "You know, all of us were wondering who was going to be chosen as flagship. I can't say I'm surprised at who you picked; it seems rather obvious if you think about it."
"Really. How so?"
"You two get along rather well, and with what you went through together there's definitely a shared trust between you." Hood giggled and gave me a sly smile. "And I've seen your eyes wander, you obviously have a thing for her."
My face begun to feel warm at her implication. "That isn't the reason." I quickly stammered out. "I made my decision after taking a long time to think about it. And yes, our shared experiences did play a part in that decision. Along with many other reasons."
She hummed. "I'm sure there are." The conversation ended as we reached the ship. With ease Hood jumped up onto the deck and placed me down.
The ship's owner quickly made her way over. "While I am honoured to be given the position of flagship, I do have to say I'm not going to be in any suitable position to fight for a while. The damage to my ship is still repairing, and it is taking most of what I've got just to keep pace with the convoy." Warspite spoke as she walked over to us.
"That's one of the reasons why I chose you. Seeing as whatever ship I decided to stay on would spend most of the time with her ship out, it was best for it to be you to allow your ship to repair."
Warspite shrugged and adjusted her scarf. "Makes sense, I guess." Something seemed to draw her attention and she looked off to the side. Following her gaze, I spotted the Javelin coming up alongside the ship. "Ah good. Have to say, resupplying at sea is going to be a breeze with our rigging. No longer will we have to worry about a wave coming and snapping a tether line."
"Well, don't you go using your rigging. I don't really want to end up taking a swim in the Atlantic."
"It would be funny to watch though." Warspite laughed. "But your right, I will go oversee the loading, we still need to load up both Hoods and her majesty's ship, and preferably while we still have the light. You can use the same cabin as you did before, I will get someone to bring up your stuff for you."
"Good." I scratched my head. "There really won't be much I can help with loading the ships, so I might as well get started on some food."
"Unfortunately, the one we used before is still in a state of disrepair so you will need to use the one on the aft deck." After speaking Warspite turned to go help with the unloading.
Without thinking my eyes drifted downward. From the rear Warspite's lack of legwear left little to the imagination. I quickly caught myself and looked away, though it was obvious from Hood's giggling she had noticed. With a sigh I quickly walked off.
Unsurprisingly it was Javelin who came to my room to drop off my stuff. There really wasn't much for her to bring. Mostly just a bag of tools and a few spare clothes I had bought. "Here you are, we have nearly finished loading the Warspite, and I will be moving over to the Queen Elizabeth to get the emergency supplies on her." I could tell from her tone she was sad at the decision of making Warspite flagship.
"Javelin I-"
"I understand." She cut me off. "Destroyers aren't meant to be flagships, and you will be safer onboard a battleship. Just, try not to go forgetting about us smaller ships ok." she gave her strongest smile.
I knelt down and pulled her into a hug. "I would never do such a thing. You are incredibly important to me Javelin, it's one of the reasons I decided to not stay onboard. Your main strength is your speed and manoeuvrability, with me around you won't be able to use your rigging. Here, there's something I want you to look after for me." Leaning back, I took the two cubes out of my pocket. They had recovered a bit of their glow from when they had healed me, but were still incredibly dim compared to how the cubes normally were. "I can't think of anyone more suited to keeping these safe."
She took the cubes into her hands; the slight glow was reflected into her eyes. "I can... I can feel her, it's very slight, but I do know she wants to be kept safe."
It was a surprise to know that Javelin could feel the ship inside, it was a stark contrast to the sudden shock Warspite had when she touched Z23's cubes, and something I would have to investigate further.
I broke the hug and stood back up. "Right, we have idled for long enough. I'll let you get back to unloading and I will go get started on some food. It's going to be the first proper meal on this trip so I'm going to make it a good one."
"I will look forward to it." Javelin spoke as we left my room.
The day continued without incident, after all the ships had adequate amounts of supplies loaded onto them so we wouldn't be caught out again we all shared a large dinner onboard the Warspite. I could tell everyone's spirits were high from the constant complements I got for my cooking.
After dinner Z23 spent a long-time practically scolding most the convoy for their nigh constant radio chatter, and was eventually able to get some form of radio discipline going. I didn't know if it was due to the rumours spreading around the fleet of how powerful the girls were, or just that it had been an angry German accent telling them off that finally got them to fall in line.
Elizabeth, after looking over all the manifests reorganised the convoy so that any ship carrying passengers were at the front of the formation, meaning they were the most protected by the ships. Any oiler was placed in the back so any spills wouldn't pose a fire risk to ships behind them. I had been with her on the radio while she spoke with the other captains, it had seemed so obvious after she finished speaking her reasons.
The day begun to come to a close and the girls either returned to their ships, or found a room onboard the Warspite to spend the night.
Leaning against the railing at the bow of the ship, I watched the sun slowly begin to set. I allowed myself a moment to let my mind wander, I didn't hear the footsteps approach from behind. "You know, I hit a rather large wave and you will end up with a face full of seawater."
I turned to look at Warspite as she walked over. From how she was holding her hands behind her, I knew she wanted to show me something. "What can I do you for?"
She was silent for a moment as she tried to find the right words. "I need to ask you something, and I want you to be truthful with me."
"What is it?"
"Well." She rocked on her feet. "Have you ever handled a firearm before?"
That certainly caught me off guard, but I had an idea as to why she was asking. "I've been out hunting with my family a few times, so I have some experience."
Warspite relaxed slightly. "That's good, means I don't have to overly worry about you blowing your foot off. The reason why I ask is because I want you to have this." She revealed what she was hiding. In one of her hands was an old looking revolver.
"Why do you want me to have it. And how did you even get that?" I asked curious as to why she had somehow gotten her hands on firearm.
"A badge of office. We used to use swords, but I think this will be more suitable for the modern era. And you would be surprised at why you can get ahold off in a Port town." She spun it round in her hand and offered me the handle, even with the casual manner she was acting, it was obvious she was handling it properly. "Consider it a gift for saving me back in Inverness."
Taking it, I was surprised at just how heavy it was in my hands. "Thanks, though with you girls around I doubt I will ever need to use it."
"And let's hope you never have to." She gave me a pat on the side. "I was giving it a look over. I don't think it's ever been fired before. Don't worry, I checked, all the right parts are there. It will work if you ever need it to."
Warspite cleared her throat. "Now, that was one of the reasons I found you out." Taking a step back she summoned her sword. "Another is to enshrine into oath a promise we made."
"Promise?"
Warspite nodded. "Back at Inverness when I was battered and bruised, you were there and made me promise to never give up. And I said that if you are willing to protect my sister, then my sword will be yours to command."
She lent down on one knee, using her sword as a support. "I would first like to apologise. When we first met, I wished for nothing more than to be rid of you. I rationalised it as being concerned for your safety, while that is in part true another reason is I was jealous that Her majesty was giving attention to someone else. It was a petty and childish thing to do, and I hope you can forgive me for it."
Lifting her head, she smiled at me. "I Warspite, Dreadnought of the Queen Elizabeth class, hereby swear to serve Sir James Dawson. Your enemies shall learn to fear the wrath of my guns."
There was silence, the sea breeze made both her coat tails and scarf gently flutter. My mind went to the art and stories of the knights of old. Despite how she looked Warspite perfectly radiated the same feeling they gave off.
"I don't know what to say."
"There is nothing to say." Warspite spoke as she stood back up. "My ship is yours to command. There is but one condition that I will give my fealty under. You have made it clear that you care for our kind, if you are willing to sear to protect us in any way you can. Then the deal will continue." She laughed slightly. "Don't worry it's nothing too serious, just keep doing what you already are and we'll be golden."
I offered my hand to shake hers. "While I think swearing fealty is a little too much, you have a deal."
"What can I say, I'm old fashioned like that." She went to shake hands but stopped and hummed. "Speaking of the old ways, an oath bound in blood sounds fitting. Do you agree?"
I have a nod and she lifted her sword, putting a hand on a side she slightly cut herself. She then offered the sword for me to do the same. I did the same as her and felt the sting as I moved my palm across the incredibly sharp edge.
"Guess this really makes it official then?" I said, looking as a small cut started to bleed on my hand, I offered it out to her to shake.
"A spot of tradition never hurt anyone, helps us connect to our past." She took my hand in hers and shook. My hand suddenly felt incredibly warm and a slight glow came from Warspite's eyes.
After the handshake was finished, I went to ask if she had felt anything, but was distracted by the fact the cut on my hand had vanished. I brushed it off as yet another mystery surrounding these girls.
Warspite, moved to my side and looked out to the horizon. "I think I'm starting to understand why you were looking out this way. It is rather calming."
I turned and matched her gaze. "Yeah, just seeing nothing but the setting sun and ocean helps me clear my mind." I sighed and landed against the railing. "We have no idea what we're going to face out there. Moments like this will probably become a rarity, so it's best to enjoy them now."
"I wish the sea was always this peaceful." Warspite said, before joining me in resting against the railing.
I found myself sharing the same wish as her.
(A/N) The group have started the next leg of their journey. can't wait to show you guys what I have planned, so look forward to it.