The next morning, I decided it was only appropriate to finally let the rest of the task force, surprise U-boat included, in on what had been happening to me.
I told them the whole story, from the built-up stress of my former posting to the cluttering of my backlogs to the unfamiliar territory of the internal management of the task force, and eventually to how Howe had started helping me finally get past it.
"Yes, the system is incredibly complicated," I continued as everyone listened to me intently, "but it's necessary if we want to keep a well-oiled machine running as it should. So instead of dreading the workload, I've come to respect it and treat it correspondingly. I need everyone here to do the same. If you think you can help in any way with regards to these matters, don't be shy. I won't judge if you don't think you're good with details on paper. To be completely honest, I'm not superb at it, either. But we can learn and help each other out."
I looked around the table, assessing their reactions. Charybdis looked quite relieved. Eugen and Vampire were in deep thought while Zed and Javelin whispered between themselves. U1206 awkwardly went back to sipping her juice box.
"To that end," I continued, "Howe will be collecting your individual reports from the incident," I hesitated what with U1206 sitting right there. Despite my efforts – or perhaps, because of them – the submarine blushed lightly. "...By the end of the day. Please have them ready by then. For the ones who didn't participate, that being Eugen, just state that you were not a part of the action. Everyone else, you know what to do."
"Aye, captain!"
"And 1206," I asked, causing the submarine to look up from her food and direct a nervous gaze at me, "I'd like to have a few words with you after lunch. Don't worry, it's not a reprimand. I just want to familiarize us better. Is that alright?"
U1206 looked at Zed. Her destroyer friend nodded encouragingly. "Alright, Kapitän," she replied meekly.
I smiled reassuringly. "Thank you. If there are no other questions, we can all finally get back to finishing our food so well-prepared for us by a...joint collaboration this time, if I'm not mistaken?"
Charybdis and Howe giggled synchronously.
As the meal proceeded, Eugen piped up over everyone's chatter, "So, Kapitän. How have you and Howe been progressing?"
"Progressing?" I echoed slowly, raising a brow and lowering my glass.
"You know. We notice how two people grow close throughout stints like these," she winked.
Beside me, Howe seemed to hack on some of her food and I noticed a blush coloring her cheeks softly. With that key clue, I surmised what Eugen was suggesting. "Well," I cleared my throat, "I like to think we're close friends. Right?" I did my best to fight the fluster and keep my tone as smooth as possible.
Howe looked up at me before throwing a glance at Eugen. She nodded in agreement. "Yes! It's only natural that working together and spending idle time with each other would lead to a bond forming."
"Precisely," I stepped in. "It's the organic development of a close friendship. Nothing of consequence."
"No, not consequence," Eugen snickered.
"Haply a…how doth thee sayeth?" Vampire paused, searching for her words. "A returneth on investment is a more accurate way of declaring 't."
Oh, boy. "What exactly am I 'investing' here," I asked with a chuckle.
"Your time," Eugen replied in Vampire's stead.
"And my return?"
The two looked at Howe with salacious eyes and apparent suggestion, making the poor battleship go red in the face. "What," Howe asked unassumingly.
"Okay," I nodded, "Yes, I get it. I think we've had enough of this discussion." I hated to kill the joy even though I might be the butt of the joke. Unfortunately, Howe had been caught in the crossfire, and it was apparent that they were making her just a smidge uncomfortable. I wasn't going to have that. "We have some two or three days until we expect to arrive at our destination. How's everyone feeling so far?"
Seeming to take the subtle warning in my voice, Eugen and Vampire respected the topic change.
Javelin stirred in her seat and replied, "Well, the weather's gotten much colder. And I myself am feeling a little nervous, sir. You told us yourself there might be something there!"
"I understand," I said, mind flickering to that Agent Maxwell with his own warning and additional mission objectives. He'd said that there was a chance he and his people would arrive in time to help us out, but I didn't want to bank everything on that promise. Use your best judgment, he'd told me with regards to when I should divulge his information to the rest of the force. I looked at Javelin and felt a slight pang of guilt at hiding all the details from them. I told myself that I'd judged I would tell them everything tomorrow. "It's alright. We'll handle that bridge when we get to it."
Zed chuckled from her seat, surprisingly calm despite her friend's contrasting disposition. "This is quite a movielike storyline, isn't it? Minus the theatrics, we have every other ingredient. A mission personally requested by the head of the German navy. That mission being a rescue operation, the likes of which has never been seen before. And a plucky squadron of unassuming people, nothing close to fitting the usual definition of qualified for the job."
The rest of us had unknowingly taken smiles on our faces at her summation of our situation. I nodded and chuckled, "I think you got that pretty accurate."
On the contrary to her apparent embarrassment from earlier, Howe chipped in. "You've forgotten one crucial detail, though."
I cocked a brow at her. "That detail being?"
"A quick-witted squad leader tasked with leading the group to success!" She twittered lightly.
Unsurprisingly, Vampire and Eugen locked their gazes on her, evidently about to launch a salvo before I caught their eyes and raised a brow warningly without the others noticing. They took the hint and stood down.
"I'm flattered you think of me that way," I chuckled, brushing off the quick defense I'd had to pull, "though I'm inclined to think I'm as much of a regular Joe as everyone else here." They had snickers of their own.
"No retort for the quick-witted part, I see," Charybdis piped up from her side of the table.
"Oh, that I won't deny. I am a pretty smart guy," I replied.
They laughed at the quip, U1206 setting her box down swiftly and looking around as if wondering what caused the sudden outburst of noise.
The rest of the lunch went as one would expect, good fun between all of us being had and shared, a light atmosphere drifting through the air. Finally, I thought to myself, I didn't have to feel so heavily burdened by the thought of working all on my own. That meant I was able to enjoy myself fully with everyone else, and for the first time on the whole trip, I was included in banter at a table I felt like I belonged.
"So, did you have a good lunch," I asked U1206 as everyone else filed out of the galley, Zed whispering something encouraging to her before leaving. Howe, of course, had to stay and wash the dishes but gave us her guarantee that she'd be out of the way.
"Yes, I did," the sub replied quietly. "Thanks."
"No problem," I said, doing my best to sound as friendly as possible. "Don't worry, this won't take long. I just want to know how you're doing. You seem really quiet and shy. Do you have any reservations about joining us? Is it the mission that's making you nervous? If so, then I'll be giving a general briefing tomorrow so everyone can review before we start coordinating our entry-exit strategy."
"Well," the girl hesitated, shifting in her chair. "I just feel really bad about attacking you still! And yeah, I'm kinda nervous about what we're being sent out to do. According to Zed, we're finally going to rescue Frau Tirpitz, but…"
I leaned on the table. "But what?"
She sighed exasperatedly. "I don't know! The whole treaty thing is so weird! First, we get orders not to shoot at Royals anymore. And then apparently the Siren are behind everything! And now I'm here on completely unofficial orders! I'm really nervous about everything, and…" She trailed off and looked at me. An almost fatherlike instinct to comfort her bubbled up in me when I saw some mist in her eyes. "I just wanna know if we'll be okay."
Smiling softly, I got up from the table.
"K-Kapitän? What are you–"
Before she could finish, I stooped down so we'd be level and hugged her in her chair. When she didn't struggle against it, I patted a hand on her back. "It's okay. I think we're all a little bit nervous about what might happen. But if it's worth anything to you," I released her and looked at her eye-to-eye, "you have my promise that we'll be okay."
U1206 sniffled and looked right back at me. "I…jawohl, Kapitän. If you say we'll be okay, then we'll be okay."
I smiled and hoped to high heaven that I could keep that promise when we got to it. "Thank you. That's a wrap unless you have something you want to say to me."
To my great relief, she smiled and shook her head. "I'm good, Kapitän. Thanks a lot."
"Cool," I replied. "Then, you're dismissed. I'll see you at supper. Oh, and do try to make friends. I need this task force as tight-knit as I can get it. I don't know if you noticed from your end of the ambush, but a lot of my ideas need everyone to be incredibly coordinated."
"That makes sense," she nodded. "And it's fun to make friends, anyway. Sure Kapitän," she declared triumphantly. "I'll befriend every single person here!"
"That's what I like to hear," I said approvingly. 1206 left the galley with a much bubblier energy about her, and I could still make out her running footsteps for a few seconds after she was out the door before she made it to the deck.
Taking a deep breath, I got up from my crouched position and walked over to Howe, who was wiping the dishes and apparently keeping tabs on our exchange from the kitchen, if her stance was to suggest anything. "That went well," I said.
"Looks like it did," she replied.
"Mhm," I hummed. "Do you need any help here?"
"Oh, yeah. Just the usual. You know," she gestured to the washed kitchenware. "If you could stash all of them back up, that'd be dandy."
"Sure thing," I replied, getting right to it. As we worked, I piped up, "And about what Eugen and Vampire were saying…"
Howe froze her wiping and set the dish carefully on the rack before looking at me. "Yeah?"
"We are close friends, right? Just making sure, you know..."
"Of course," she replied readily. "What makes you think otherwise?"
"Ah, good," I chuckled. "It's just because you looked really…embarrassed? If that's the right word."
"Oh, I was just caught a little off guard by the topic," she reassured me. "Don't worry."
"Cool, cool," I said. Sliding the last pot back into its spot in one of the cabinets, I decided to take up watch on the bridge. "I'll be heading up, then. We'll continue those mission logs tonight, right?"
"Right," she replied. "I'll have those IRs, don't worry about it."
I grinned. "Alright. Thanks!"
"Sure thing. I'll see you later!"
Later during the day, I found myself in the same room where we received Maxwell's initial call. He'd reached out again, this time in more controlled circumstances and with more news from the back.
"I got a mix of good news and slightly eh news. Which one d'you wanna hear first?" He asked.
I furrowed a brow. "If it's a mix, then won't they just be the same pieces of news?"
"You're good," he chuckled drily. "Most people fall for that. Anyway, the IRDI will make it to Norway on the same day as you."
"I notice how you said 'same day,'" I replied inquisitively.
"Indeed," he nodded. "With the current projections for your fleet, the Sakura fleet, and our force, even if we push it, we'll arrive an hour or so late."
"Hm. Do you have any updates on when you think we'll arrive relative to the Sakura fleet?"
"It'll be a question that comes down to an hour between the two of you. We're unfortunately still wrapped up in…something over here, so that's why we can't leave right this minute. We would if we could, truly. That Sakura force is commanded and geared with a lot of high-profile people that were missing at our rai–" Maxwell paused abruptly and backtracked as if he'd said too much. "Point is, we'd catch them right now, but IRDI forces all over the world are already deployed with other pressing matters at the moment. The difference, in this case, is that you're there."
"What difference do I make exactly," I asked, though I had a feeling I already knew the answer.
"You know what," he said coolly.
"Alright. Well, my estimate about the coming down to an hour thing was right on, the way you make it sound. I suppose I'll brief my squadron and that'll be that. How does the IRDI making it there an hour or so later change anything, if it does?"
He sighed. "Well, you still gotta incapacitate. But depending on how fast we work here, and how fast you work there, if we can get the timing margin to thirty minutes, all you'll have to do is stage a great escape with Tirpitz. As you make your way out of the fjord, you'll see us coming over from the horizon." Shaking his head, he then rubbed his forehead and laughed sarcastically. "That's a rosy way of painting it. But yeah."
"Well," I said slowly constructing my response. "You'll be happy to know I'll be divulging my constructed battle plan to my fleet tomorrow which should enable us to fit that schedule. And, although I designed it so it would work assuming no active IRDI assistance, if you can make the timing window thirty minutes or less, I can guarantee the Sakuras' captures."
"Guarantee, huh?" Maxwell stroked his chin, his mind probably pondering the promise I'd just made. "Well, that should mean it's as good as done coming from you. Alright. I'll have people work triple time so we can make that margin. I might as well give you access to our trace of the Sakura fleet too, actually. I don't know why I didn't do that sooner. Just have me at your briefing so I know what you're cookin' up."
"Copy that," I replied after mentally jotting down everything he said.
"I'll be seein' ya, Captain," Maxwell nodded before terminating the connection.
Right, I thought to myself, walking out the room and towards the bridge where my plans were laid out on a table and laptop. Let's consolidate this plan.
"So, what d'you make of it," Charybdis asked Howe curiously as the blonde peered into the scope of the targeting system.
"Well, it's," Howe chuckled as she stood up straight, "certainly unique. Unfortunately, I really can only give you some general pointers for long-range targeting. And…I guess, don't miss?"
The maid giggled lightly. "I'm sure that tip will be most useful. It is a shame, though, that it's foreign to you, too. What are the chances we'll get some target practice out here?"
Howe pondered the query for a moment when an idea struck her. "Now that you say that…" She fumbled around her coat's chest pocket and pulled out a tiny transceiver. "James, are you there?"
There was a split-second of crackle before the captain's voice came through from the other end. "Yep? What do you need?"
"Chary was just wondering what she might be able to use as target practice for the missiles," Howe asked, putting some humor into her voice. Being out in international waters with no hostile in sight, finding targets legally available for shooting at with high-explosive missiles would be tricky, to say the least.
"Oh, you're right. Yeah, I'd be wondering the same thing," the man hummed thoughtfully. "Unfortunately, I can't really think of anything that wouldn't piss off the Norwegian authorities."
Knew it, Howe mused to herself.
"She'll just have to read up by the book and be ready to apply that on the fly once we hit the island. She's going to have a key role, and as much as I'd love more preparation time and resources for her, I'm afraid that's the best she's going to get."
Howe nodded and sighed understandingly. "Hmm. Alrighty. Thanks!"
"No problem." With another little clip of static, the connection cut.
"Well, you heard him," Howe giggled, doing her best to give Charybdis the most encouraging smile she could. "Do your best!"
"I suppose," Charybdis replied, though there was clearly something else nagging at her mind. "So, you've gotten yourself on a first-name basis with him, have you?"
"Ah...yeah," Howe said, unknowingly starting to twiddle a lock of her hair, her voice growing noticeably timid. "We were chatting one day, and I guess he decided that—"
"Ah, so it was even he that took the initiative," the maid coaxed, tittering when Howe realized she would have to start constructing her sentences more carefully. "Goodness, he works fast. Or is it you working fast on him?"
Howe narrowed her eyes and exhaled loudly, sizing Charybdis up as the maid did her best to keep from snickering. "You know, I suppose it's about time I go prepare for supper. I'll see you there?"
Thankfully, Charybdis had the sense to determine if the topic was too touchy. Giggling, she replied, "Mhm! Thank you for the help, too. I suppose I'll approach you anyway in the case you can lend me some insight."
"Absolutely," Howe replied politely. "See you!"
Now, this is a plan, James thought to himself. Nodding at the papers and bulleted lists in front of him, he determined that almost every variable was right where each should be. The way into and out of the fjord that nested Håkøya wasn't too convoluted, which meant they would be able to sail in and out smoothly enough.
The only concern, of course, was the Sakura opposition that would inevitably try to prevent them from escaping. However, as he promised, Maxwell had transmitted just a few hours ago a handy packet containing a link-in to view the feed IRDI was running to track the approximate location of the opposition. Knowing this, James had a crucial piece of information that allowed him to concoct his masterpiece.
Inwardly, he chuckled softly to himself and shook his head. It had been a while since he was able to come up with a plan so outlandish and run with it without anyone telling him absolutely not right from the get-go. Yet the willingness to try the totally inconceivable, and more important, having the innate grasp of a battle's flow to fully coordinate and execute it to the most minute detail, were two of the key things that made him so infuriating to go against even in his days in training.
That said, he had decided on a final mission timing window to safely emancipate Tirpitz and have the highest possible chance of escaping. One hour. They would have one hour after getting to Håkøya to descend, search the wreck, extract the cubes, yoink Tirpitz, and get out of range of the Sakura forces. Obviously, that last bit is never going to happen within one hour. However, everything else will, so long as the plan is followed to a T.
He leaned back in his chair and looked out the viewport, first at the sweeping oceans to his left, then the distant Norwegian shore on his right. He hoped he'd be able to get the whole plan, down to its minutiae, in its entirety, across when he briefed them tomorrow afternoon.
A/N: Hello, folks! Can I get real for a sec? The main reason behind the 2-week release schedule was actually the worst bout of writer's block I've ever had. So, I knew I had to keep going, but didn't want to force myself either.
The block is off now, thankfully. I finally feel like I'm back to writing at capacity. I don't feel like I hit the ground running with the opening chapters of this story, but if you still liked them, then that's awesome.
How are we proceeding moving forward?
Don't worry, the story will continue as planned. I think I'll do a sort of in-between schedule where I'll release some chapters 1 week apart and others up to 2 weeks apart, depending on how ready they are. And I'll make sure that the second half of this story is worth the time you've so generously given me thus far. 'Till then!
Cheers, Jarvis.
