23 February 1992 A

Shropshire awoke on her back in a smooth glossy white plastic tube. Her head and collarbone were strapped in place. She stroked the cold inside side of the tubing with the back of her hand as she got her bearings, gritting through a loud repetitive thumping noise that was only slightly muffled by her hearing protection. "Hey, I'm awake now," she announced.

There was no response.

Shropshire sighed. She closed her eyes again, trying and failing to recall the events of the previous day. "You can let me go now".

Again, it seemed that no one was there to hear her words.

She sat silently for what felt like hours, drumming on her thighs to entertain herself.

Suddenly, she felt the plastic platform underneath her shift. Over the next twenty or so seconds, she emerged from the tube. The thumping of the machine she was in stopped. A woman in a white lab coat stood over her. She undid the straps and took the headphones off of Shropshire's head. "How are you doing for this morning, Mrs. Shropshire?"

Shropshire sat up. "I'm doing alright".

"Let's see, how long have you been awake?"

"It felt like-"

"Fifteen minutes". The woman was sifting through the night's worth of fMRI imaging to determine when her test subject woke up. "Sorry about that, you must've woken up right after I left to get coffee. I got distracted by some chit-chat in the break room". She turned her attention back to Shropshire. "Now it's time for the moment of truth. What do you remember from the day before in the last timeline?"

"Nothing".

"Really, nothing?"

"Yep".

"The imaging shows reduced imaging in all the regions of your brain associated with memory, so I guess that makes sense". She looked down at her clipboard. "Achilles says you were awake and behaving normally yesterday in the other timeline, so that confirms my hypothesis that anesthesia in this timeline affects your memory of the other one".

"Does that help you figure out what's going on?"

"In your brain within this timeline, yes. How your brain is communicating between timelines, no".

"Any new theories about what's going on?"

"Not really. Do you want to see your brain imaging from last night?"

"No, thank you". Shropshire stood up, shores clattering on the hard linoleum floors.

"Today they have cinnamon rolls in the cafeteria this morning. If they've been sitting out, you can put one in the microwave for thirty seconds and it will be like it just came out of the oven".

"Thanks". Shropshire morosely stood up and left the room.

"Really, you remember nothing?" Achilles asked as she stuffed a cinnamon roll into her mouth.

"That was the whole point of the experiment, wasn't it?" Shropshire prodded at the cold hospital scrambled eggs.

Achilles spoke with her mouth full. "Something seems to be eating you". She swallowed. "Is the chirality of your room off or something?".

"I just want this ordeal to be over. We've been stuck in this hospital for a month and a half now, there are things I wanted to be doing this summer".

"Like what?"

"I don't know, like going to the beach and camping and stuff. Maybe going to Europe to see Sussex for her launch day like London is. Not being stuck in a hospital while my family only gets to visit me for an hour a day".

"At least they chose somewhere close to your family. I'm surprised they decided to experiment on us in Australia instead of recalling us back to England or something".

"Right. Sorry if I was being insensitive".

"No issue". Achilles scanned her cafeteria tray for what she wanted to eat next. "I spent too much time with Ajax and became too much like her, and while now I'd rather be more like Leander, I'd still prefer to be my own person, y'know? I'm tired of being defined as Ajax's and Leander's sister".

"I guess that makes sense".

Achilles stabbed a breakfast sausage with her fork. "What were we talking about again? I feel like I derailed your venting with my own".

"I was complaining about being stuck in the hospital".

"Oh right, right, and only seeing your family once a day and wanting to go out to the beach and missing Sussex's launch day".

Shropshire sighed. "I just want this to be over. I wish that science was what it's like in movies where some bloke in a lab coat just magically solves a problem".

"Doesn't something bad immediately happen in those movies though?"

"I guess, but at this point I'd take an accidental zombie apocalypse or whatever over a bunch of people bickering over their preferred theory of what's even going on with us to begin with".

"A zombie apocalypse could be fun. Wait, what if we both write zombie apocalypse stories and share them with each other to deal with our boredom?"

"I'm desperate enough to try".

23 February 1992 B

"With us this morning, we have our correspondent on the ground in Riga to tell us more about Yanayev's announcement. Dave, what do you think about the Soviet President's words?"

"Well, Deborah, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that it means the end of fighting in this region. There's speculation that stopping after months of fighting NATO-equipped forces means that Yanayev realizes the futility of continuing this proxy war and is willing to consider Baltic independence. It's unknown whether he's open to the Baltics joining NATO as their leadership demands or if he's going to pursue a deal similar to what happened with Ukraine and Modlova where the Baltics get much more autonomy but still have to maintain allyship with the Soviet Union. Either way, the people here can sleep easily knowing that the fighting is over, at least for now".

"What about the bad news?"

"The bad news is that Soviet forces that were fighting here will probably be transferred to the Caucasus. The fighting there started at a lower intensity, but it's been escalating around Tbilisi, and as you've heard Yanayev announce in his briefing today, now militias in Grozny are declaring independence. Grozny is not just a city in the Soviet Union, but it's within the Russian SFSR itself, so it's likely the cease-fire here was a react-"

Knocking interrupted the news broadcast.

"Come in!" Shropshire shouted as she turned off the television with a remote.

Paul entered, holding a bouquet of flowers behind his back. "Hey, how's my favorite war hero doing?"

"Hey!" Shropshire moved the bed tray holding her puzzle to the nightstand next to her. After she sat it down, she stretched her arms out towards Paul. The two hugged.

Paul sat the bouquet next to Shropshire. "How is everything today?"

"Boring as usual," Shropshire picked up the flowers. "Just you, me, the 24-hour news, this puzzle, and now these flowers". She stuck her face into the flowers and took a deep breath. "You and these flowers are the highlight of my day. Thank you".

"You say that every day".

"And I say it because it's true. How is your life going?"

"Also really boring. It's really boring with both you and London away. Visiting you is also the highlight of my day".

"I feel like we had this conversation yesterda… wait".

"What's going on?"

"I remember yesterday".

Paul tilted his head. "Yes, what about it?"

"It's something to do with an experiment, nevermind. Do you want to help me for a while with this puzzle?"

"Sorry, but I can't stay for long. My client really wants this job done by Wedensday".

"Oh". Shropshire deflated.

"Are you sure you're okay here? I'm a bit worried about what they're doing to you here if remembering what happened yesterday is notable".

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just trying to get out of here as soon as possible".

"There hasn't been any progress lately from what I can tell. I know you can't say all that's going on, but is what you're doing actually getting you closer to understanding what's happening?"

"...I don't think so".

"I think then maybe you and Achilles should request a break. If they aren't working towards ending your situation, why should you waste your life in this hospital?"

"Can we even take a break though?"

"You don't know if you don't ask. At least see if you could get a couple of days a week home or something".

"I guess I'll try".

Paul leaned in and kissed Shropshire on her forehead. "I just want you to come home soon. Okay?"

"I understand".

Paul glanced at his watch. "I have to go, but tomorrow I'll have plenty of time to visit because I'll have a lot of downtime from the paint drying. Is there anything special you want me to bring you?"

"I'll call home if I think of something".

"I love you"

"Love you too!" Shropshire watched Paul leave the room. She sighed once the door shut behind him. She looked at her bouquet. "I'll get out of here," she murmured to herself.

25 February 1992 A

"Mrs. Shropshire". A man in a suit entered her hospital room without knocking.

Shropshire rushed to turn off her television. "What's going on?"

"I'm with the Royal Navy. We have a new experiment we want to do with your permission. It would get us a lot further in understanding your situation and disconnecting the two versions of you".

"That's the good news I've been waiting to hear. What will we be doing".

"We want to take either you or Achilles and insert a sensor into your cranial cavity. This sensor is higher resolution than an fMRI and measures much more than blood flow. You need to undergo invasive surgery to install this sensor, so we wanted to make sure we had your consent before operating. Would you like to see our full proposal paper?"

"Yes please".

The man handed Shropshire a thick stack of paper. "We haven't asked Achilles yet, and we only need one of you, so if you'd like to talk to her and choose which one of you, if either, want to do this, we understand".

Shropshire skimmed through the technical documents. Her eyes landed on a page with a cross-section of a skull. "So you're putting this at the base of my brain? How would you do that?"

"We want to go in through your nose. More detail on page twenty-five".

"How will you power it?"

"This doesn't matter that much to you, but it should be on page thirty-two if you want more detail. I'll leave you to read this on your own ma'am. Please let one of your nurses know if you've made a decision. We want to get this done in the second week of March though, so we would appreciate it if you made your decision quickly". Without another word, the man left.

27 February 1992 A

"I'm sorry, you what‽" London stood at the edge of Shropshire's bed.

"They say it's going to get me out of this situation!"

"Why didn't you wait a few more days before making your decision?"

"I don't know what would've changed my mind. Their documents looked really thorough and I just want to be done with this".

"Did they tell you the risks?"

"They said it was a low risk of death or serious brian injury".

"How low?"

"Ten percent".

"Shropshire, that's still pretty bad".

"It's a smaller percentage than the percentage of Royal Navy cruisers that were sunk in the second World War. I survived that just fine".

"That's not how statistics work!"

"Hey, London," Paul butted in, "Shropshire can make her own decisions".

"I know, but if it was going to be something this risky I just wish she talked to me about it first".

"How about we take a moment to calm down and talk about this after we formulate more cohesive thoughts".

"I guess that's a good idea".

"So.." after a long pause, Shropshire started, "...How was Denmark?"

"It was fun," London answered. "Sussex's girlfriend proposed to her while we were there".

"That's great! I wish I could've been there".

"I think you could make the ceremony in June. Of course, if the experimental navy brain surgery goes alright".

"Oh come on, why are we harping on a ten percent chance of something bad happening than the one hundred percent chance of something good happening?"

"Death is a bit more final than a civil union".

"Ladies, Ladies, please stop" Paul interrupted. "London, I think your overprotectiveness is kicking in again. Are you a bit cranky because you lost sleep from the flight?"

"Paul, your wife has a ten percent chance of dying in the next two weeks. Aren't you a bit worried about that?"

"I am, but it's her decision to make and it's something that will further our scientific understanding. I'm her partner, not her owner".

"But her death affects others. It affects everyone that cares about her, and it does so permanently".

"Don't you believe in heaven or something?"

"Paul!" Shropshire barked. "Not now!"

"Sorry".

"Listen, if the two of you are really that concerned that this will go poorly, how about we spend the next two weeks together doing fun things like that time the two of you were worried I was going to die in the other timeline? The navy said I can go back home until it's time for the surgery, I don't want to spend that time arguing".

12 March 1992 A

"Please take a seat".

Shropshire obliged. She slowly climbed into the padded chair in the middle of the operating room.

"So, Mrs. Shropshire, how are you doing today?"

"I'm fine. How are you?"

"I've never operated on a rigging operator before, so today's exciting for me". A mask covered the surgeon's mouth, but Shropshire could tell he was smiling from his eyes and the way his voice inflected. "Are you nervous?"

"I am a bit nervous".

"That's alright, everyone is nervous their first time. I've done hundreds of surgeries before, no one has died on me to date. You're in safe hands". The surgeon chuckled as he paced to the counter and retrieved a clipboard. "Just review this paperwork to confirm you want to continue and we can get started. This is your last chance to opt out".

Shropshire quickly read the paper and signed her name at the bottom.

"That was fast".

"The more time I spend thinking, the more likely I'm going to chicken out. This needs to be done".

"You're the boss, ma'am". The surgeon washed his hands and then put on his latex gloves. "Now I just need you to hold out your arm so my partner can administer the anesthesia".

Shropshire pulled her arm out of her coat sleeve and held it out.

The anesthesiologist wiped down a section of her skin with a disinfecting wipe. "You're going to feel a little pinch, alright?"

Shropshire nodded.

?

Shropshire opened her eyes to find herself laying in the recovery position, wearing her original Royal Navy uniform. She laid still for a moment, noticing a grid with ten-centimeter squares on the floor. The grey grid lines didn't look to be painted on or carved out of the floor. They seemed to be an inherent feature of the ground.

While placing her hands on the floor, she noticed the floor didn't have a temperature. Or a texture. Just the feeling of gravity pulling down on her body as she pushed herself into a standing position. Along where she was laying was a thicker red line in the grid. Her eyes followed it to the horizon, where it and the rest of the grid pattern went as far as her eyes could see. Shropshire turned around, seeing that the line went on in the opposite direction. Right in front of her, it intercepted another perpendicular red line.

On the far side of the origin of the grid, there was a door. Next to the door was a series of signs in various languages pointing at a red button. Shropshire approached the signs, scanning for the one in English.

"If you are reading this, I fucked up. Please press this button to send me debug information so I can fix things. Then please go through the door".

Curious, Shropshire pressed the button. Immediately, her consciousness lurched. It was as if she caught herself zoning out, except with no sense of time passing between the last time she was focused. She suddenly felt a warm fuzzy sensation rub against her leg. She looked down.

A cat looked back up at her. "Meow".

"Waffles!" Shropshire scooped down and picked up that cat. "It's been forever since I've seen you".

"Meow".

Shropshire booped Waffles with her fingertip. "I guess you get to come with me through this door, huh?"

Waffles purred.

Shropshire looked at the door. She hesitated briefly before walking forward. The door swung open for her as she got closer, a fact which she was grateful for. She stepped through into a leaf-covered dirt path in an old-growth deciduous forest.

Waffles twisted in her arms to get in a more comfortable position.

While turning around to admire the autumn trees, Shropshire noticed that the door disappeared. She spun back around to face the direction that she was initially pointed in. Ahead, the path lead to the apex of a small hill. She followed it to the top. Once there, she saw a small village on a gentle slope. It was flanked on the left and right by farmland and on the far side, there was a large lake. In total, there were around fifteen buildings.

A short purple-haired figure stood out in one of the fields looking over her crops. She looked up in Shropshire's direction. "Hey! Shropshire!" She waved.

"Kent‽"

A tall woman with long purple hair sat a plate with a sandwich in front of Shropshire. "I think I've heard of someone else with that story…"

"Oh really?" Shropshire sat at a simple wooden table inside a two-story log cabin. She gently stroked Waffles, who was sleeping in her lap.

"Yeah, a while back we had a Russian girl also talk about being stuck in two timelines. Well, two of the same Russian girl actually. She said something about being tested on by the Soviet government and then being executed. One copy of her came in first, and then a second copy a few hours later with all the same memories except she also remembered waking up in the other timeline after being executed. Or at least that's what I think the story is. We don't have many English-Russian translators here".

Shropshire stared out of the cabin window at the forest outside. The trees were vibrant shades of red and yellow, some of them being blown off by the wind and gently falling to the ground. "What is this place anyway?"

"We're pretty sure this place is the afterlife".

"So like heaven?"

"Not quite. There are too many good people here for this to be hell, there are too many Axis kansen here for this to be heaven, I think this is just a special purgatory we all get to go to as punishment for using the alien technology that gave us our riggings".

"So, Canberra?" Kent interrupted from the other side of the table from Shropshire.

"Yes, yes, I owe you twenty rubies. I'll pay you later, making our new guest at home is more important".

"Why do you owe Kent twenty rubies?"

"We had a bet over which London class was going to kick it first".

"Oh." Shropshire took a moment to process Canberra's words, but once she did, she scowled at Kent. "You cunt!"

Kent cackled with laughter.

"Anyway…" Canberra retook control of the conversation, "it's my personal theory that we've all been put in timeout by whatever god or gods made this place and we'll be allowed into heaven once we all get along. I'm not sure why else they'd put all the Allied and Axis together like this. Maybe they just want to watch us fight for eternity…"

"At least they gave us somewhere nice," Shropshire commented.

"They gave us unfamiliar wilderness. We built everything here that's nice".

Shropshire stared out the window, ignoring Canberra's words. "So, if the Axis kansen are here, do you guys still fight frequently?"

"It's a bit more nuanced than that. There are some Axis kansen that are still fascists and trying to take over the world. Others either had total changes of hearts or just forgot their past lives. A lot of people forget their past lives here… The 'good' ones live near us. We have a loose confederation of settlements that work together to keep the 'bad' ones out. The bad ones are all off somewhere fighting each other over who's the real master race, but sometimes they come in and try to raid us".

"How often do you get raided?"

"Not very frequently. In the living room later I can show you a map. We're close to the center of the confederacy so it's peaceful here. But we have a rotating pool of people who stand on guard in the outer settlements, so we'll have to get you signed up for guard duty tomorrow".

"Oh!" Kent interrupted, "You can die here and you wake up where ever you last slept".

"That's strange," Shropshire commented. "I'd expect that you wouldn't be able to die in the afterlife".

"It hurts a lot less. Or that's what I've been told. I was just instantly killed by a falling rock so it didn't really hurt to begin with".

"So what else do you do here?"

"I write books," Canberra answered. "Kent goes off exploring caves, gets lost, and kills herself so she can get back home. Cornwall and Dorsetshire also live with us, they mostly trade and transport stuff between towns. Right now they're in the Japanese settlement across the lake from us, so you can sleep in her bed tonight. Tomorrow I'll send Kent off to New New England to get you a mattress of your own".

"Ugh, why can't I just buy her a mattress from here?" Kent whined.

"When you died I went all the way over there to buy you a good mattress from that Laffey girl. Do you really want our cousin to settle for the sorry excuses for a mattress that they make locally?"

"But I don't want to carry a mattress that far!"

"Then use the cart!"

Shropshire interrupted the sibling argument. "So wait, what is this place called anyway?"

"This is New England, as opposed to New New England," Canberra explained. "Some destroyers named this town, either not knowing or caring if New England was already a place. The Americans found it funny and went with the naming scheme. It's now a running joke among the English-speaking settlements".

"Is there a New New South Wales yet?"

"If you want to round up all the other RAN girls and found it, be my guest, but I'm comfortable staying right here".

There was a knock at the front door. Kent got up from the table to answer it. "Repulse!"

"Hey, I think I saw a certain green-haired friend of mine show up".

"Yes you did, that would be twenty rubies". Kent held out her hands.

Repulse sighed and fished the gems out of the sack she kept tied to her belt. She deposited them into Kent's palms.

Shropshire waved to Repulse from the kitchen table. "Hello!"

"What brings you around?" Canberra asked.

"I see you three are busy, so I'm just stopping by to let you know that my sister is inviting you all to dinner to welcome Shropshire to town".

Shropshire grimaced.

"Don't worry, she's had years of practice cooking," Repulse reassured. "Have you tried deer before?"

"I haven't".

"Well, then I promise you you're in for a real treat".

"What time should we be over?" Canberra asked.

"Whenever you want to come over. We have nothing else going on today. Also, Renown wants me to tell you that you can invite other guests over if you want. Anyway, I'll let you two get back to whatever you were doing".

"Wait!" Shropshire shouted.

"What is it?"

"You gave Kent twenty rubies. Were you also in on the bet?"

"Yes".

"Who else was?"

"Just the three of us".

"So then who did the two of you bet on?"

Canberra and Repulse spoke in unison. "Devonshire".

12 March 1992 B

Shropshire was pulled out of the fMRI right as she woke up. As soon as the technician freed her, she sat up to see London waiting for her.

"Good morning!" London smiled.

"You're here early".

"I just wanted to make sure you woke up from your surgery alright. I sent Paul out to get some coffee and breakfast sandwiches. You could probably use a break from the hospital food".

"I appreciate the thought". Shropshire stretched. "You know, I had my first dream since July".

"Is it normal to dream while under anesthesia?"

The technician was pouring over the images from the previous night. "It happens, though it's less common than during regular sleep. Now that I think about this, this is the first time Shropshire would've been under anesthesia in the timeline she was supposed to be awake in, so I wonder how that affected the imagery…"

"So what did you dream about?"

"I dreamt that I died and went to this place called 'New England,' which was different than the New England they have in the states," Shropshire explained. "Everyone we knew in the navy who is dead was there. I met Kent, and Canberra, and then Renown, Repulse, and Perth stopped by for dinner. Waffles was there too for some reason, though I forget why. It was really interesting, it's one of those dreams that I want to write down as many details as I can remember before I forget. It seems like an interesting premise for a book-"

Someone on the other side of the door to the MRI room grabbed the handle and started pulling on it. The door was locked, so the best this person could do was shake the door and the handle in place. "Let me in! It's important!" the person on the other side cried before banging their fists against the door.

With a concerned look, the technician walked over to the rattling door and unlocked it.

Achilles burst through the door. She frantically looked around the room until her eyes locked on Shropshire. She ran over to her and hugged her tight.

"Achilles, is everything alright?" Shropshire awkwardly freed her arms from Achilles' grasp.

"You died in the other timeline".

"I what‽" Shropshire suddenly felt her airways dilate.

Achilles briefly squeezed Shropshire even tighter before letting go. She took a few deep breaths to banish the desperation from her system. "There were complications in your surgery and then you died".

"What kind of complications?"

"They didn't say. All we know is that you have no brain activity. They put your corpse in the MRI to see if you have any residual brain activity from the timeline stuff, but otherwise as far as I know you're dead-dead in the other timeline".

The technician grimaced at the thought of a dead body being put in her machine. "The imaging from last night looks normal. There's a brief slowdown, but no cessation, so I assume that's when the anesthesia was administered".

Everyone in the room sat quietly, exchanging concerned looks with each other as they thought about what to do next.

Shropshire broke the silence "So how are the other London and Paul doing?"

"They're devastated," Achilles answered.

"As soon as you wake up in the other timeline, you need to tell them I'm still alive in this one".

"That's the plan. You saw how quickly I sprinted across the hospital to get here this morning".

"I know, but I don't really know what else to say. I just feel the need to say something".

London massaged her forehead as she thought. "I can't imagine what it would be like to be them right now. I've been fortunate enough to not have a sister die on me, I've had a spouse die on me, but his health was declining so it wasn't a sudden surprise like this, and I'm not sure how knowing he's alive in another timeline would affect that".

"We could act out a scenario where I'm dead and Achilles tells you I'm still alive in another timeline to find out, couldn't we?"

"If we learned anything in the eight or so months it should've been that everyone else in the other timeline is their own individual and will react differently based on their own experiences in that timeline".

After another pause in the conversation, Achilles spoke up. "So, what was it like to die anyway?"

"I don't know. I just had a dream last night with… Oooh, maybe that's why there were only dead people there and they were all asking me how I died".

"Did you see Neptune there?"

"Uh… not that I recall…"

The door to the MRI room budged slightly. Paul stuck his head through. "Hey, I'm back from the coffee shop. Oh, Achilles is here too! Sorry, I didn't get you anything, do you want me to run back out and bring you back something?"

The group blankly stared back at him.

"Did somebody die or something?"

Shropshire's mood was the first to shift. She released a small chuckle. "Well actually…."

The other women laughed uncomfortably.

13 March 1992 B

Achilles poked her head into the door of Shropshire's hospital room. "Still alive in this timeline?"

"Yes. I take it I'm still dead in the other".

"Yep". Achilles walked fully into the room, bumping the door closed behind her. She looked around the room for a moment. "So, how about the dreams last night?"

"They were a lot fuzzier, much harder to remember".

"Do you remember any details?"

"I think I very vaguely remember Kent and Canberra arguing over leftovers. Honestly I'm even less sure that what I saw last night was not just a dream".

"Well if that's the case, I don't want to force you and have you misremember things that didn't actually happen".

"Yeah…". Shropshire sat quietly, grasping onto the last whisps of details from her dreams. "Are the others doing alright?"

"The other London seems to be doing better knowing that you're still alive here, but she's still devastated. Paul didn't take the news at face value and pulled me aside to ask if I'm just saying that to make them feel better. It took like fifty 'are you sure you're sures' and 'I promise I won't tell Londons' to reassure him. I almost gave up and lied to him to get him to stop".

Shropshire sighed. "Did you tell them about my 'dream'?"

"I did".

"Did they have any thoughts about it".

"Paul expressed his skepticism to me, saying it was probably some hallucination from while your brain was still in the process of dying, but he didn't say anything to London".

"That's almost a more unsettling thought than it being a dream".

"Yeah…".

Shropshire stood up and slowly paced to the window. She stared out the ninth-floor window at all the cars and pedestrians at the street below. Her mind was numb, the severity of yesterday's incident finally starting to sink in. She altered the topic to distract herself. "Are they still going to make you experiment?"

"The Navy had me sign some documents swearing me to secrecy and discharged me yesterday after taking a few more readings. I think something similar is going to happen soon in this timeline because they can't verify anything now if I'm the only one altering timelines".

"How secret can they keep it if Nate's original paper is still available?"

"Maybe they'll go to every university library in the world and rip the pages out of the journal? I don't know". Achilles moved next to Shropshire. "Before I forget, London had two requests for you".

"Oh really? What are they?"

"First, she wanted me to ask you to write a eulogy for your funeral".

"I'm bad at eulogies though. I never really know what to say".

"London told me it was going to be a small service. Just be yourself, if others aren't satisfied, screw them, it's your funeral".

Shropshire closed her eyes and sighed. "I guess I can do that, I can get the London in this timeline to help". She directed her gaze back at Achilles. "What was the other request".

"She wanted to know if I could live with you and your family for a while so she could still talk to you with me as her intermediary".

"That's fine by me as long as it is for you. I could also talk to you over the phone if want to go back to New Zealand".

"As much as I love Leander, she's doing just fine with my replacement and I need a break from children".

"And you're fine sleeping on a futon".

"Yeah. I don't really get a choice when to go to sleep anyway so it's not like it'll keep me up".

"Then I guess you can stay for a while. I'm sure Paul and London will be fine having you over".

22 March 1992 A

"Wow, they gave Shrop the whole Sydney Opera house". A short-haired brunette looked stared up at the interior of the auditorium, eyeing the balconies overhead.

"The PM insisted". Australia responded. She was wearing her navy uniform.

London approached the pair wearing her retrofit uniform. "Devonshire".

"Hi, London". Devonshire opened her arms wide for a hug.

London hugged her tight. "I'm sorry we couldn't meet again under better conditions".

"It wasn't under your control".

"I know". London let go of her sister and stepped back. She took a deep breath. "Do you have any life updates?"

"Well… I thinking of retiring from driving bank trucks and going back to regular lorries. Aside from that, I don't have much".

"Devon!" Sussex called from the stage where Shropshire's casket was displayed. Shropshire's body was displayed in her retrofit uniform. The casket was decorated with a wide variety of flowers. "We're starting the service soon, I suggest you come down here if you want to take a look at Shropshire before we start".

London nodded and stepped out of Devonshire's way. After she passed, London noticed three white-haired women enter the auditorium room. She immediately recognized the shortest of the three who was leading the group. "Mrs. Belfast. What brings you here?"

"The Queen sent me as her envoy. She wanted me to give you this". Belfast reached into the pocket of her maid corps apron and produced a parchment envelope with a wax seal.

London accepted the letter. "Thank you". She looked at the woman standing behind Belfast. "I see the royal envoy needed her escort too".

Enterprise extended her hand out to London. "I'm just here to honor a fellow Pacific vet. It's been a while".

London shook Enterprie's hand, "Indeed it has. And I presume that's your daughter".

The tallest woman in the group stepped up. While her parents wore their navy uniforms, she wore a traditional black funeral dress. Like her mom, she shook hands with London. "Enterprise Jr, CVN-65. I apologize, my uniform is currently at Norfolk Navy base. It's a pleasure to meet you".

"I understand. Nice to meet you too".

Organ music started. Everyone took that as a cue to take their places in the opera house seating. Shropshire's friends and family sat in the front row. Leander sat the furthest to the left, slightly left of the center of the row with several empty seats beyond her. She was followed by an empty seat, then Paul, London, Sussex, Devonshire, Devonshire's husband, Australia, Suffolk, and Suffolk's husband. There was a gap of a few seats, and then beyond that gap sat Belfast, her daughter, and her wife. In the next row back, directly behind London was a minister from her church. The rest of the row was sparsely filled with British and Australian navy officers and frigates. Shropshire never met any of them, but their respective navies insisted they attend her funeral as a formality.

The lights at the back of the auditorium dimmed. A spotlight illuminated a podium on the stage and the casket in front of it. Achilles walked to the podium. As the prerecorded organ music ended, she produced a stack of index cards. "We are gathered here today to honor the life of the British and Australian Navy hero, Shropshire. While it's tradition to start a navy funeral at the beginning of the deceased's career, the knowledge of Shropshire's last months is essential to understand this service.

"For those here not in the know, around the beginning of July, Shropshire and I both started to alternate between two timelines. We would live a day in one, go to sleep, wake up in the other, and repeat. We sought to know more about our condition, and in December we were moved to a hospital here in the Sydney area for experimentation overseen by the Royal Navy. Shropshire died from complications from one of these experiments.

"Fortunately, Shropshire is alive and well in the other timeline. She only died in this one. This puts her in a unique position. At the request of London, she will be delivering the first eulogy of her funeral". Achilles looked out at the audience, deliberately tapping her stack of notes against the podium to indicate that she was now quoting Shropshire. "'I am sorry.

'It took me a while to really process that I am dead in your timeline. Even now I don't think I truly understand. It's awkward waking up and expecting that I'll be in a different timeline, it's strange having dreams again, but aside from that, I don't feel dead.

'I have been fortunate in that I've yet to have a sister die on me. I had one husband die, but that was over a half-century ago and now and the emotions from then have faded. Saying I understand the agony my decision brought my family would be a lie.

'London, your support from your timeline was instrumental for me to get through my struggles in the one I'm in. I'm sorry I didn't consult you before making my decision. Even if I came to the same conclusion, I could tell how much not talking to you first affected you.

'Paul, your support was also invaluable to me throughout this journey. The past few years we've been married have been the best of my life. I'm sorry they've been cut short.

'Australia, you're an extremely dependable person. I regret not spending more time with you in the last few years. I think your stop-motion film work has great potential.

'Sussex and Suffolk, I know both of you have major life events planned ahead, and my death threw a wrench in your plans. I look forward to celebrating them in the timeline where I'm still alive, and I hope my death doesn't overshadow the joy these events were supposed to bring you.

'Devonshire, I'm sorry you were largely kept out of the loop. I hope you can understand the chaos that I was going through and can forgive us. I know I talk to you less than our other sisters, but I want you to understand that I still love you.

'And to everyone else who decided to attend, thank you for showing support to my family. I wish everyone in your timeline a good life, and would like everyone to know that Achilles has agreed to be an intermediary to talk to me for the foreseeable future'". Achilles looked up from her notecards, indicating that she was done quoting Shropshire. "Paul was slated to speak after me. Paul, are you ready". Achilles gazed into the audience.

Paul looked up at her, his eyes were red. The best he could muster was a light nod before standing up.