Chapter 20.
"The convoy has been making good progress. Despite some minor engine problems with the older cargo ships, we're ahead of schedule. At this rate we may be arriving at New York a day early." Javelin commented as she looked over a report. We were currently walking through one of Warspite's lower decks, checking to see if there was anything left that needed to be repaired.
"That's good, the less time we have to spend out here the better."
"Your terrified, aren't you?" The lights flickered as a strange breeze blew by. The words seemed to echo inside my mind.
"Huh?" I turned to ask what she meant, only to find that Javelin had disappeared.
"Javelin?" I called out, looking around to find out where she had gone. I slowly started to panic; something wasn't right.
I turned around again, the sight I was greeted with made me yelp and jump backwards. Someone was standing on the other side of a hatch.
"Who are you?" I asked, they looked to be male so I knew it wasn't one of my ships. His clothes were dripping wet and he had his head tilted forward preventing me from seeing his face. However, somehow, he looked familiar.
He didn't seem to respond. "Hello, what are you doing on my ship?" I took a step forward.
With unnatural speed his head snapped upright. His face was completely pale, milky white eyes, completely devoid of any pupils stared directly at me.
"You." It was him. His face had been burned into my memory; it was the kid from the Endurance. "But how? I saw you… there was nothing I could do." My ears started to ring, the room felt like it was spinning.
Suddenly the hatch swung itself shut and locked. I only had a moment to look confused before there was a sudden impact on the ship, followed by the sound of an explosion.
The compartment was plunged into darkness as the ship rocked violently, sending me to the floor. I started to feel water on my hands and feet.
My worries were confirmed when the room was bathed in a deep crimson light as the emergency systems kicked in. The hull had been breached and water was flooding into the compartment.
There was no escape, both the doors on either side of the compartment where locked shut. The wall practically became the floor as the ship started to list heavily.
By the time I had fully comprehended what was happening my head was under water. I couldn't even see where it was coming from.
"-der." Something made a noise, but I was too distracted to hear it. I tried to swim upwards but was somehow stuck in place.
"Commander." This time I heard it, I looked for the source but there was nothing but water around me. "Commander!" Again, I heard someone call for me, but I just couldn't tell where it was coming from. The world around me was starting to go dark.
"Commander!" Warspite yelled, she poked me in the chest.
"Huh?" I jumped awake. I was sitting in the captain's chair on Warspite's bridge, my hand resting against my cheek.
Warspite rested a hand on her hip. "Seriously, falling asleep on duty. You can be written up for that."
Memories of the dream started to fade as I rubbed my eyes. "Sorry, I must have dozed off for a moment there. I didn't mean to."
"Don't worry about it." Warspite waved a hand dismissively. "I've got all the scopes covered anyway. And you do have a rather cute sleeping face."
"I've been told." I stretched out my back. "Did I miss anything?"
Warspite moved over to my side. "Not much, the convoy is making good progress. A few hiccups here and there but noting major. If this keeps up then it should be smooth sailing from here on ou-." She stopped talking with a sudden gasp.
The rigging in my ears retuned as I looked over to see what had stopped her. Warspite stood completely frozen, A writing black tentacle had pierced straight through her chest, drops of her blood started to pool on the deck. Her eyes dilated as she begun to shake.
"Warspite!" The tentacle removed itself and let her fall to the ground. In a flash moved off the chair to grab her, clutching her shaking body just before she hit the ground.
She tried to speak as blood frothed up in her mouth, it was inaudible but I knew she was calling for her sister. "Warspite! Just hold on, I'll get you some help." I knew it was hopeless, it was a miracle she was even still conscious.
In my panic I hadn't even looked to see what had attacked her. A shadow moved above me and the entire bridge was filled with a deep yellow light.
Tearing my eyes away from Warspite I looked at the source. A long black barrel pointed towards me; sparks ran down its length as the weapon charged. It was held up by a mass of tentacles. The owner looked at me with an evil grin. "Pathetic." Observer laughed as she licked her lips. The cannon seemingly finished charging and fired. The entire world went white.
With a yelp I bolted upright and started coughing heavily. A quick glance around showed I was still in bed.
Once I recovered, I pinched myself on the arm to confirm I was finally awake. It had all been just another nightmare.
Sighing I laid back down on the bed and looked to the ceiling. It had been like this every night, I would wake up in the early hours of the morning covered in a cold sweat, heart beating furiously as tried to get over what I had seen.
I tended to try and get a few more hours of sleep, but tonight had been especially rough. The small amount of light coming through the porthole meant it would soon be dawn. Rubbing my face, I got up out of bed and decided to head towards the bridge, hoping that watching the day begin would help me clear my head.
Apart from the ever-present hum of the engines, the ship was completely silent. I walked as softly as I could while passing the other cabin's, hoping not to disturb anyone.
The bridge was still completely dark, with only the faintest amount of light shining into the ship. I just closed the door behind me and walked over to a window. Had it been brighter, I probably would have noticed the figure sitting in the captain's chair.
"Couldn't sleep?" Warspite asked after a while, making me jump slightly. I turned to see her sitting in the chair, one hand resting on her face while she gave me a warm smile. "Could have at least brought me some tea."
"Sorry, I didn't see you there." I leaned against a console. In a sense I was glad someone was here; tonight's nightmare had stuck with me. "And if I knew you were up, I would have."
Warspite waved dismissively. "I will let it slide this one time. But next time, you better bring me some. Now, why are you up so early? You usually don't roll out of bed for another few hours."
"Been spying on me? Just woke up and couldn't get back to sleep." I lied. "What about you, surprised you're not still in bed with her Majesty."
"It's not spying if I can't help but tell where you are at all times, and I like to get up early to have some quiet time before the day begins in earnest."
"Ah, sorry for disturbing you"
"Don't worry about it. I enjoy your company, and if you're up again don't hesitate to swing by. But next time don't forget the tea."
"Yeah, I'll remember." I turned back around to look at the rear of the convoy, the first rays of sunlight had begun to peak up out of the horizon turning the eastern sky a dark red. Our ships were heading westward, our destination still covered in the shroud of night.
Out of the light and into the dark. It almost felt poetic.
"So James, what do you think? Not bad for my first attempt at making bread if do I say so myself." Javelin asked. After everyone had woken up, we had inspected the Warspite, all of her guns were now in full working order and there didn't seem to be any noticeable damage left. I decided to give her some time off from sailing and asked her to move me over to the Javelin for the day. After discovering that she also liked to carry me like a newlywed, Warspite went off to spend the day on her sister's ship. Leaving me with the two destroyers.
It was now midday and with the weather being nice Javelin wanted to have a picnic out on deck. She had got a large cloth out for us to sit on and another to wrap over one of her turrets to create some shade.
"It's really good, been far too long since I've had fresh bread. You should try putting a pan of water at the bottom of the oven next time, helps it rise." Nearly all of the lunch had been prepared by Javelin, the large number of plasters on her fingers showed the hard work she had put in.
"Water. Got it." She nodded, committing the advice to memory.
"What of the sauerkraut? I was able to find a recipe, but I don't know if I made it how it's traditionally made in my homeland." Z23 looked to me from where she was sitting.
"I've never had it before so I can't really judge how well it compares. But it was a nice addition and one I won't mind having again. Though it was a little too sour, you said you made it yesterday? I think you're supposed to leave it fermenting for a bit longer." Z23's mood seemed to drop at the latter half of my comment, I quickly moved to headpat her. "Don't worry, we still have some left, we can try it again in a few days. I'm sure it will taste better then."
"Yeah." She sighed before putting on a smile. "I will strive to do better next time." Z23 moved her head away from my hand and put her beret back on. Standing she begun collecting the plates. "Now, please allow me to take these back to the kitchen and gather our pudding."
"Need any help? Feel like I haven't done anything and just let you girls do all the work."
"Nien." She shook her head. "I am more than capable. You have been working hard these past few days. Allow us to give you some time to rest." Z23 promptly walked off.
With her gone Javelin quickly moved to my lap and wrapped her arms around me in a hug. I figured she was just catching up on lost time, as we hadn't been able to spend time together these last few days. "You know we're sitting out on deck, right? Anyone can see us." While I knew she only wanted a hug. The position she had decided to sit in was rather compromising.
"I don't care." She buried her face into my shirt. "We've been at sea for three days, and I haven't had even a single hug. It's enough to drive a girl crazy."
"Fair enough." Laughing I put a hand on her head and leaned back against the turret housing.
Even with her gone my mind was still stuck on Z23, something just didn't sit right with how she had been acting all day. "Javelin I've been wondering, how has Z23 been? You've spent more time with her than anyone else."
She looked up at me and sighed. "I was worried about when you were going to ask about that. She keeps getting nightmares. At first, I just thought it was like me and she was just coming to terms with her sinking, but she continued to have them. Sometimes she rolls around in bed trashing her arms around and I have to hold her down until she calms."
Javelin looked at the growing concern on my face. "Don't worry, she's been getting better. These last few nights have been relatively peaceful and she's definitely been smiling more during the day."
"Well let's hope she continues to improve, for now let's just keep an eye on her and be there if she needs us." I remembered how her cube had been connected to that siren machine. my mind betrayed me and pictured Z23 hooked up to it instead, I felt my stomach tie itself in a knot just thinking about it.
Due to my tiredness, I didn't realise Z23 had been gone far longer than she should have been. Thankfully Javelin had noticed and sat up with a confused look.
"That's odd, Z23 is just standing in the middle of a hallway."
I sat up. "Did anything happen before she stopped moving?"
"I, don't fully know. I was kinda distracted thinking about something else." She looked away in embarrassment before standing up.
A feeling of pins and needles flooded down my legs as she got off. After a second to get them moving I started to stand as well. "Let's go have a look. Probably just something trivial."
We made our way into the ship, the warm light of day replaced by the cold interior lighting. With every step a sense of dread started to grow at the back of my mind. I couldn't tell why I was feeling it, but I just knew something was wrong.
"She should be... Ah there we are." Turning a corner, we spotted Z23 further down the corridor. We both stopped in our tracks at what we saw. "Z23, you alright?"
With her back to us she was crouched down, smashed plates and her beret by her feet. Both of her hands tightly held her head. I could hear her mumbling something in her native tongue. Her whole body looked to be shaking.
Concerned for her friend Javelin took a step forward. "Zee. It's me Javelin, can you hear me?" When she gave no reply Javelin continued to walk towards her.
Even though I couldn't understand what she was saying it almost sounded as if she was arguing with something, it made me wish U-556 was here to translate.
Just as one of Javelins boots touched the floor the murmuring stopped and Z23 suddenly went rigid, her head turned to show she had noticed us. But both of her eyes were completely unfocused.
I almost missed it, A slight distortion of the air around Z23 was the only warning we had, before I was tackling a stunned Javelin as a shell shot past us. Thanking fate that we were right next to an open doorway.
A deafening boom rang out as we impacted the cold metal floor. Javelin screamed in pain as the ship shook violently.
The fact we were still alive meant the shell hadn't hit any ammunition stores. I knew we were above the waterline too, so the risk of flooding would be minimal. With my ears still ringing I dragged myself and javelin further into the cabin. "Javelin! How bad is it?" I shouted, trying to get through to her.
Clutching her abdomen she writhed in pain, the ships lighting continually flickered as she tried to get over the shock. "It hurts! It hurts." She cried.
Grabbing her head, I forced her to look at me. "I know! If things get too bad you need to form your rigging." She went to speak but I cut her off. "Don't worry about me, that's an order." I looked to the door, there had been no follow up shots.
"Why? Why did she fire at us. She's my friend!" Javelin cried.
"I don't know." With an aching body I started to stand. "But I intend to find out. Stay here." The room had begun to fill with smoke, I hoped it was just from the explosion.
"Wait." Javelin weakly grabbed my shirt. "It's dangerous."
I gave her a smile. "It's ok, I'll be fine." Taking a step back her grip broke. With blood starting to drip from her nose she looked at me with pleading eyes.
"Don't worry, I'll bring her back to us."
Stepping out of the cabin I was met with poor visibility. The lights had completely gone out, leaving only the daylight from the hull breach to help me see. Not that it mattered, smoke had reduced visibility to only a few feet. "Z23, you there? It's me, James." I called out, every instinct in my body was telling me to turn and run, but I continued making my way through the smoke. I thought of Z23, how she had always smiled and went along with Javelin's antics. I wanted to see her smile again.
All I saw was a flash of grey before a hand reached out and grabbed me by the throat. Z23 pinned me against the wall, her strength easily holding me in place. The large jaw of her rigging seemed to bark and gnaw at me like it had a mind of its own, the only thing holding it back was Z23's other hand on some sort of handle.
She shouted something in German and her grip tightened to the point where breathing was nigh impossible, the edges of my sight started to darken. She repeated the same words and brought her rigging closer to my head making me wish I hadn't slept through my German lessons.
"Z...23... it's me. Please!" I struggled to speak, she tilted her head and lowered the rigging slightly. Her violet eyes remained unfocused.
Speaking again I noticed the word siren. Was she back in the machine, fighting sirens again? I had to somehow pull her out of it.
My mind was starting to go fuzzy. Someone would have noticed the explosion, If Warspite or any of the girls came across Z23 standing over my body I feared they wouldn't even hesitate. I had to do something.
Feeling a burst of adrenaline and hoping she would forgive me I brought my leg up and kicked her in the stomach as hard as I could. The sudden shock made her release her grip and stagger backward.
Taking a deep breath and praying it wasn't my last I put on my most commanding voice possible and made my bet. "Z23! I am your commander, and I order you to stand down!"
Just as she was recovering from the kick and bringing her gun up to attack my words got through to her. Z23 suddenly paused, the same blue light I had seen before begun to shine around her eyes. Blinking serval times her rigging dissipated and her eyes returned to normal.
"Wha- where am I? Kommandant? I was just..." She looked at the scene around her. "I... I." Tears begun to form as she fell to her knees. "No no no!" She clutched her head again and begun to cry heavily.
I kneeled down and brought her into my arms. "It's, ok. I know you didn't mean it." She tried to push herself away, but her strength quickly left her.
Just as she begun to bawl uncontrollably into my shoulder, I heard footsteps quickly approach. The hole in the hull had pulled most of the smoke out by now, allowing me to see Warspite and Queen Elizabeth quickly round the corner. Both had their riggings out and looked ready to fight. From the scene in front of them it didn't take long to figure out what had happened.
"Javelin. She's in there, check to see if she's all right."
"I'm ok." Javelin spoke as she limped out of the cabin. She held onto the wall to help keep herself upright. Elizabeth went over to help her, but surprisingly Javelin waved her off and walked over to us. "Zee. You ok? Don't worry about me."
Concerned for her friend Javelin reached out for her. Z23 promptly pushed her hand away and hid herself in my grip. "No! Stay away, I don't want to hurt you."
Javelin looked as if she was about to start crying. I looked to Elizabeth. "Your majesty, can you take Javelin and get her all cleaned up, then just double check the damage. It looks mostly superficial, but it won't hurt to be sure."
Elizabeth nodded and walked over. "Come Javelin, let's get that nose looked at, wouldn't want it staining that lovely dress of yours now, would we?" She promptly took Javelins hand and starting leading her off to the sick bay. Javelin Kept her eyes on Z23's crying form until she turned the corner.
Warspite sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Hood is on her way over, let's get her to my ship. You can explain what happened later. For now we need to deal with the entire convoy asking why there was an explosion on one of our ships."
I looked down at Z23 "Want to go to the Warspite?"
I felt a nod. "Please, I don't want to be on Javelin anymore."
With her agreement I carefully picked her up and started walked towards the deck. Warspite picked up her beret from the floor and flowed behind us.
It was a bit awkward when Hood arrived. Z23 didn't want to leave my embrace even for a few seconds. Resulting in Hood having to pick both of us up and make the short trip over to Warspite's ship.
We had to make the long walk over to the bridge so I could explain to Spence what had happened. I went with the story of a training drill going wrong and that nobody had been seriously injured. He didn't sound overly convinced, but said he would relay it to the rest of the convoy captains.
After having some food and warm tea Z23 eventually calmed down. I had already recounted what had happened to Hood and Warspite, and asked if there was anything she remembered.
"I was walking back to the deck with the pudding. But then, I was suddenly in the middle of the ocean and surrounded by sirens. I tried calling out for you but something inside me just wanted to abandon reason and destroy everything around me. It was only when I heard your order was I able to come to my senses." tears started to appear again. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to harm anyone."
"I know you didn't." I let her cry it out while giving her headpats. I looked to the other two girls. They both had solemn expressions. "We just need to keep any eye on her for now. I'm sure with some good food and a nice night's sleep she'll be as right as rain in no time."
Z23 spent the rest of the day practically glued to my side. We eventually received news that the damage to Javelin was minimal and shouldn't take too long to fix. But it was obvious the morale of all the girls was in the gutter. Z23 seemed to relax slightly at this news, but still wouldn't make eye contact with anyone and just silently stood by, while I made dinner.
Warspite always stayed nearby. I was worried she had lost all trust in Z23 and was worried for my safety. However, I couldn't help but notice she had a very concerned look on her face and sometimes would even make jokes to try and cheer up everyone. But despite her best efforts, dinner had been eaten in near complete silence.
Soon night came along and the time for everyone to turn in had arrived. "Do you want to go with Hood and get cleaned up. A nice shower will do you the world of good." We were just outside of Warspite's main cabins, Z23 still smelt of gunpowder and ash. I knew she was going to end up spending the night with me, but I wanted to at least try and get her to build up some confidence again.
She held onto my shirt. "W-will you still be here when I get back?"
"You know I will, now go and relax. The warm water will do wonders." Hood offered a hand to her and after a moment of deliberation Z23 took it and walked off with her to the washrooms, constantly looking back at me as she went.
I felt someone pat me on the back. "You did good today, don't go doubting your abilities as a commander now." Warspite spoke as she stood beside me.
"Yet all I can do is doubt myself. I should have seen this coming; you saw how her cube was connected to that machine. We need to figure out what exactly happened to her."
Warspite rubbed her chin. "While my knowledge of it is limited, I may have an idea. Have you ever heard of the term, shell shock?"
"Can't say I have."
She sighed. "Figured as much, the term was coined during the great war after all." Warspite leaned against the wall and looked down the hallway to where Z23 had gone. "It didn't really affect my crew, so I don't fully know what it is. But I do know that the land war was a gruesome affair, trenches and barbed wire snaked all across the mainland. Men had to live through nigh constant artillery bombardments only to then be sent across an ocean of mud into machine gun fire. Even when the war was won and they returned home. It was said a part of them remained in those trenches."
"I could be miles off what's actually wrong with her. After all, we don't entirely know how different we are to you humans. However, some of the main symptoms were nightmares and flashbacks. Sound familiar?"
Javelin had said that she was still having nightmares. "Is there any way to treat this?"
Warspite shrugged. "Not that I know off, but the best thing we can do is be there for her. If our bodies can heal even the most serious of wounds then I'm sure over time even her mind will heal." with a yawn she looked towards her cabin. "Today really has been a trying one. Try to get some sleep, you look tired."
"I will." I replied as she retired for the night.
Z23 eventually returned. I had been laying on my bed reading a book while waiting for her. I had to do a double take when I realised, she wasn't wearing her usual outfit. Instead, she was wearing a short black silk top with red straps and a matching pair of black pyjama shorts. She stood in the doorway, waiting for me to speak. "When did you get that?" I asked.
"Miss Hood just gave it to me. She had been making all of us some nightwear."
"Well, it looks very nice, and I'm sure it's better than having to sleep in your normal clothes." I moved over to the side. "Come get yourself comfortable."
She hurryingly made her way over and climbed into bed. Placing my book to the side I switched the light off and laid down. Z23 quickly pulled herself into a hug.
Wrapping my arms around her I gently rubbed her head and started to relax. After a while she spoke. "Do you think Javelin hates me?"
"I don't think it's in Javelins capacity to hate anyone, especially you."
Z23 sniffed and I felt my shirt go slightly damp. She was crying again. "But I hurt her. How could she ever forgive me."
I moved downward until we were face to face. It was hard to see with only moonlight illuminating the room, but I carefully wiped the tears away. "Trust me, she knows you would never hurt her on purpose. And I'm sure that if you asked her for forgiveness all she would do is say there's nothing to forgive and then pull you into a hug.
"You sure?"
"I'm sure Z23. Now let's get some sleep and put this day behind us." I pulled her back into the hug and started to relax.
For the first time in days, I had a good night's sleep, as did Z23.
During breakfast the next day Z23 went over to Javelin and asked for forgiveness and if they could still be friends. As I had predicted Javelin just said she was being silly and didn't need to ask. They both hugged and started crying. Javelin would later apologise to me for breaking our no tears deal, but I told her that tears of joy didn't count.
The days returned to normal. The hole on the side of Javelin's ship was soon repaired and the two destroyers started sharing a bed again. And to no surprise I started having nightmares again.
It was the early hours of our seventh day at sea. I had awoken even earlier than normal, and couldn't find it in me to go back to sleep. After remembering what Warspite had told me, I was making my way over to the bridge while carrying two cups of tea.
Warspite was standing beside a window, looking out to sea. It was both a clear night and a full moon, the sea was glowing a brilliant dark blue. "Hey Warspite, I remembered to bring tea this time."
She raised a hand to stop me, the slight movement of her finger made it out she was counting something. "Three, two and one. We just hit the halfway point, New York is now closer than England." She turned to look at me with a smile. "Ah good, you remembered this time." walking over she took the offered cup and sat down on a chair.
"Halfway heh. Guess there really isn't any turning back now then." I looked out the window. The clear night made it easy to see all the ships in the formation. I looked up, with us being so far away from land the sky was filled with thousands of stars.
"Well technically the time for turning back passed a few days ago. Were close to Greenland and the northern territories and will soon be turning south to make our way down. It's annoying we couldn't make a more direct route, but it seems the centre of the Atlantic is still a no-go zone."
"Still?" I asked. The ocean was a dangerous place, but the northern centre was something entirely different. I had heard stories, even knowing we had passed over it had made me feel nervous.
Warspite took a sip of her drink. "The maelstrom was there back in my day. Scouting showed a large collection of siren ships all circled around large offshore facilities. We figured that was where the sirens were coming from."
"Huh, guess warships were able to get closer. We just know it as an area where there are more sirens than usual."
She laughed. "Didn't make any difference. In hindsight knowing what the sirens are capable off, it wouldn't surprise me if they just let the scouting fleet get close to lure us in."
"Lure you in?"
With a sigh she set aside her drink. "Guess I should tell you about that fateful day. We wer-"
Warspite was cut off as a ships alarm suddenly rang out breaking the serene calmness of the night. I looked out to sea to find out where it was coming from. Off to the starboard side the Javelin was the source of the noise.
Thanking the fact I had left my binoculars on the bridge I quickly looked over at the ship to see what was wrong. I could just make out a figure running along the deck before it was covered in a sudden bright blue light. Once my eyes had gotten over the sudden change in light the Z23 was beside the Javelin smoke pouring out of her funnels as she quickly started moving into formation.
"Warspite! Warspite! Please tell me your there. You need to get the commander up immediately." Javelins panicked voice came out of the radio.
I quickly moved over and grabbed the receiver. "I'm here Javelin. What's wrong?" There was another blue glow as the Queen Elizabeth appeared to the ships port side.
"I'm sorry, I felt it a few hours ago but thought nothing of it. Had I known it was a reconnaissance I, I." She was starting to panic.
"It's ok Javelin, just tell me what's happening!" Even though I was asking, I had a grim idea of what she was about to say.
There was silence for a few seconds. When she spoke again, she had calmed somewhat. "My radar is picking up a large aerial return coming in from the south. With the altitude and speed there's no denying it. We've got incoming Siren aircraft. Probably launched from a carrier."
Ice shot down my spine and my mouth suddenly felt dry. I took a deep breath. "You did good Javelin." I looked to Warspite, holding her sword she gave me a nod. "All ships, prepare for combat!"
Warspite moved to my side. "Steel yourself James. War is upon us."
(A/N)
Well, that's chapter 20 all done. we are slowly approaching 1 year since I posted the first chapter, I had originally planned to only release a chapter once a month, but as you can see, I have gone well over that.
Though this chapter was a bit darker than normal, I hope everyone still enjoyed reading it and will be looking forward to the next chapter.